Aboriginal Awareness, a look at the culture of Australian aboriginals.

Aboriginal Awareness, a look at the culture of Australian aboriginals. Growing Awareness ofAboriginal CultureCulture, according to the Macquarie Dictionary, is the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings which is transmitted from one generation to another.At contact there was no single, homogeneous Aboriginal society, groups differed in aspects of their cultural and social organisations.Existence of widespread social networks meant that people had to be multilingual to communicate, like wise music and dance, kinship systems, art forms and ceremonies differed dramatically between regions. Yet these differences were probably less important then the underlying similarities which brought groups together for ceremonies, trade, to intermarry and which allowed the maintenance of myths, song lines and exchange cycles that extended over hundreds of kilometres.The Dreamtime, or Aboriginal Dreaming, refers to stories about the creation period. It is part of a complex system of beliefs and spirituality governing the whole lifestyle of the Ab original people.Indigenous Australian rock art depicting Barramund...Religious and spiritual beliefs affected all aspects of Aboriginal life, including which foods people were permitted to eat, marriage laws, and the designs that were carved or painted on implements and weapons.Knowledge of the law and of religion and of the Dreaming stories was acquired progressively. The elders in each group possessed the traditional knowledge and passed it on to the younger generation at particular ceremonies.Today much detailed religious knowledge has been lost due to the effects of white settlement.Terms such as tribes, clans, clusters and so on, are used somewhat loosely in English but for Aboriginal society there were very clear laws and kinship systems which determined the society structure of any group.The Aboriginal people used the resources of the land with expertise. Their movements in search of food were not random but in response to seasonal availability of resources. The waterways,

Here Is a Brief History of Print Journalism in America

Here Is a Brief History of Print Journalism in America When it comes to the history of journalism, everything starts with the invention of the movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. However, while Bibles and other books were among the first things produced by Gutenbergs press, it wasnt until the 17th century that the first newspapers were distributed in Europe. The first regularly published paper came out twice a week in England, as did the first daily, The Daily Courant. A New Profession in a Fledgling Nation In America, the history of journalism is inextricably intertwined with the history of the country itself. The first newspaper in the American colonies - Benjamin Harriss Publick Occurrences both Foreighn and Domestick - was published in 1690 but immediately shut down for not having a required license. Interestingly, Harris newspaper employed an early form of reader participation. The paper was printed on three sheets of stationery-size paper and the fourth page was left blank so that readers could add their own news, then pass it on to someone else. Many newspapers of the time were not objective or neutral in tone like the papers we know today. Rather, they were fiercely partisan publications that editorialized against the tyranny of the British government, which in turn did its best to crack down on the press. An Important Case In 1735, Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, was arrested and put on trial for allegedly printing libelous things about the British government. But his lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued that the articles in question could not be libelous because they were based on fact. Zenger was found not guilty, and the case established the precedent that a statement, even if negative, cannot be libelous if it is true. This landmark case helped establish the foundation of a free press in the then-fledgling nation. The 1800s There were already several hundred newspapers in the U.S. by 1800, and that number would grow dramatically as the century wore on. Early on, papers were still very partisan, but gradually they became more than simply mouthpieces for their publishers. Newspapers were also growing as an industry. In 1833 Benjamin Day opened the New York Sun and created the Penny Press. Days cheap papers, filled with sensational content  aimed at a working-class audience, were a huge hit. With huge increases in circulation and larger printing presses to meet the demand, newspapers became a mass medium. This period also saw the establishment of more prestigious newspapers that began to incorporate the kinds of journalistic standards that we know today. One such paper started in 1851 by George Jones and Henry Raymond, made a point of featuring quality reporting and writing. The name of the paper? The New York Daily Times, which later became The New York Times. The Civil War The Civil War era brought technical advances like photography to the nations great papers. And the advent of the telegraph enabled Civil War correspondents to transmit stories back to their newspapers home offices with unprecedented speed. Telegraph lines often went down, so reporters learned to put the most important information in their stories into the first few lines of the transmission. This led to the development of the tight, inverted-pyramid style of writing that we associate with newspapers today. This period also saw the formation of The Associated Press wire service, which started as a cooperative venture between several large newspapers wanting to share the news that arrived by telegraph from Europe. Today the AP is the worlds oldest and one of the largest news agencies. Hearst, Pulitzer Yellow Journalism The 1890s saw the rise of publishing moguls William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Both owned papers in New York and elsewhere, and both employed a sensationalistic kind of journalism designed to lure as many readers as possible. The term yellow journalism dates from this era; it comes from the name of a comic strip - The Yellow Kid - published by Pulitzer. The 20th Century - And Beyond Newspapers thrived into the mid-20th century but with the advent of radio, television and then the Internet, newspaper circulation underwent a slow but steady decline. In the 21st century, the newspaper industry has grappled with layoffs, bankruptcies and even the closing of some publications. Still, even in an age of 24/7 cable news and thousands of websites, newspapers maintain their status as the best source for in-depth and investigative news coverage. The value of newspaper journalism is perhaps best demonstrated by the Watergate scandal, in which two reporters, Bob Woodward, and Carl Bernstein, did a series of investigative articles about corruption and nefarious doings in the Nixon White House. Their stories, along with ones done by other publications, led to President Nixons resignation. The future of print journalism as an industry remains unclear. On the internet, blogging about current events has become enormously popular, but critics charge that most blogs are filled with gossip and opinions, not real reporting. There are hopeful signs online. Some websites are returning to old-school journalism, such as VoiceofSanDiego.org, which highlights investigative reporting, and GlobalPost.com, which focuses on foreign news. While the quality of print journalism remains high, its clear that newspapers as an industry must find a new business model in order to survive well into the 21st century.

Oprah Winfrey Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Oprah Winfrey Life - Essay Example All the ventures that she started achieved a great measure of success. After 25 years of hosting the immensely successful show known as The Oprah Winfrey Show (TOWS) Oprah made the drastic decision to end the show. She also indicated that she has the intention to start up her very on television network to be known as Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Considering that TOWS which is what most people identify with Oprah will no longer be produced, the question becomes whether Oprah’s network OWN can achieve the same success that TOWS achieved or Oprah is overstretching her ability and brand power (http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Winfreys-Official-Biography ) . TOWS was broadcast over the 25 year period and it grew to be one of the most watched television shows. The show had an estimated viewership of 42 million weekly viewers in the US. It was also broadcast in around 145 different countries. The popularity of the show was credited to the confessional approach that the show had. It provided a forum for people to share their story and was used as a platform to empower people to live better and healthier lives. The book club that Oprah formed as a segment of TOWS served to encourage people to adopt a reading culture. Most of the books selected for this role achieved the best seller status. Other brands that were endorsed by Oprah also became immensely successful. The success of the Oprah brand was also extended to the online version or website for TOWS, which is Oprah.com, and to the O magazine. Oprah’s media ventures also included satellite radio when through a deal with XM satellite radio she started the channel Oprah and friends, and later renamed the channel Oprah radio. Aside from her contribution to the media, Oprah is also a philanthropist. She has regularly contributed to causes that are aimed at making education accessible for the disadvantaged in different communities. Her contribution to education also includes starting The Oprah Winfrey Aca demy for Girls, which is aimed at empowering young disadvantaged girls in South Africa. The academy seeks to empower them to achieve their dreams and ambitions and also develop women in South Africa for leadership positions (http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Winfreys-Official-Biography). The different brands that Oprah managed to create and grow to a success are often associated with her personality and her face. This makes it easier for people to identify with the brand and has led to what is considered ‘the Oprah effect’. Her personality has been recognized based on her ability to be honest about different issues that have affected her as well as those that affect people all over the world. She is therefore considered as one of the most powerful opinion leaders and shapers in the world. Celebrity branding has been unsuccessful in several instances. There is therefore the concern that the new venture (OWN) by Oprah may fail following an overuse or overexposure of Op rah as a brand. Celebrity branding has gone wrong such as in the case of Martha Stewart who was once a powerful brand in several instances. Following credibility issues that were brought about by her arrest and jailing, the brand Martha Stewart became one that nobody wanted to have any kind of association with. Despite many attempts to revive the brand, people continued to avoid it and anything that was thought to have any form of

Snowblower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Snowblower - Essay Example Every project faces constraints at the drawing stage. Constraints are the challenges or obstacles that affect an undertaking. It is therefore very important to analyze all constraints that a project may encounter before it begins. However, constraints do not imply a failure but they act as a guide to success. That being said, designing a snow blower is not an easy task because of the various designs in the market. Before we started the project, we were determined in producing an electric snow blower for a start before further engaging in producing gasoline or diesel powered snow blower machines. The following are just but a few of the constraints encountered and their significance (Kolisch, 1995). These constraints generally focus on architecture decisions that have a tendency to limit the project’s solution design. They therefore tend not to be flexible and static. They have a great impact on the implementation of the solution (Kolisch, 1995). Technical constraints in our case included materials, design, whether manual or computerized, type of engine whether electric or gasoline powered and the size of the snow blowers. This was very challenging because the mentioned constraints are very significant for the success of the project. These types of constraints are required due to the fact that the theme of our project aimed at designing something unique and not available in the market. This was a driving force for further innovation in the design of the snow blower. Quality is a vital constraint in a project because in designing a product, quality is fundamental for the customers to accept the product. It was very significant because our snow blower had to be a state of the yard invention that delivers the required workload as expected in a short time frame. Under this constraint, the idea was whether to develop a single stage or a two stage snow blower. Single stage machines use

Social Awareness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Social Awareness - Assignment Example waited without having any interaction with his spouse or girlfriend, he was more or less relaxed with an open stance; however, as soon as she appeared, he closed his legs, removed his arm from the back of the bench and acted as if he were immediately in a more formal setting. With regards to the social awareness that the situation presented, it is the belief of this observer that the level of awareness was directly exhibited by the man on the bench with regards to how the situation changed for him as soon as his wife or girlfriend returned from her shopping experience. As has been previously discussed, the situation itself was more or less informal as it too place within a relatively busy shopping mall and both participants knew each other reasonably well due to the fact that they exhibited being in a relationship. However, even though a level of familiarity existed between the individuals, an analysis of the social awareness that was exhibited by the male specifically helped this observer to quickly note that his overall level of comfort with the situation and/or with seeing his wife or girlfriend was not as easy or as informal as the situation itself dictated. Although the conversation between the two individuals was within earshot of me while I observed the given communication and signals that were transmitted, it was the nonverbal communication that most effectively told me what was truly going on within the given situation. As a result of the male’s actions and non verbal stance with regards to seeing the female return, I was able to form a rather rapid determination of my impression of the pair based upon this observation. The second interaction that I observed was that of a general manager of a grocery store discussing the way in which a return could not be accepted due to the fact that the customer was unable to present a valid receipt for the item. What took place between the two individuals was a situational misunderstanding, disagreement, and

Development Of Autobiographical Memory Psychology Essay

Development Of Autobiographical Memory Psychology Essay Three Forms of Social Interaction in Early Life and the Development, Organisation and Maintenance of Autobiographical Memory. Autobiographical memories are those enduring memories of events and personal experiences which are drawn from in the construction of an individuals life story. The personal and social meanings attached to those memories provide us and those we relate our story to, with a sense of how we became who we are. The development of an inner autobiographical knowledge base begins with the onset of the cognitive self and social interaction plays an important role in shaping and maintaining our memories. This essay will describe three forms of social interaction and how these influence the development, organisation and maintenance of autobiographical memory early in life. The interaction forms described focus on gender development, personality development and distancing from the negative emotions of an event. There is debate in psychology over the timeframe in which autobiographical memories begin to develop. The sociolinguistic argument states that the acquisition of language is crucial to early life development of autobiographical memories which are created in the construction of our personal narrative (Fivush, Haden Reese, 2006). Proponents of the cognitive perspective however, have found empirical support for their argument that the development of the cognitive self, awareness of self as a separate individual, during the second year is of greater importance than the onset of language (Howe, Courage, Edison 2003). Howe et al. report the period of amnesia in infants ends with the ability to recognise oneself and self consciously touch a red spot surreptitiously placed on ones nose by an experimenter (2003). There is consensus however, that social interaction plays a vital role in the maintenance of memories and how these memories are recounted. Cross-cultural studies have shown that culturally driven styles of interaction lead children to create their story from culturally shaped memories. Investigation of American and Asian mother and child reminiscence reveal the promotion of independence and personal actualisation valued in American culture and interdependence and modesty valued in Asian culture occur during mother child interaction (Wang Brockmeier, 2002). Comparisons of Chinese and American student memories clearly demonstrate these culturally shaped practices influence how events are encoded into autobiographical memory. American students remember detailed events which emphasise the autonomous, assured self, while Chinese students are more likely to remember less detailed events with group orientation and personal humility (Wang Brockmeier, 2002). Research suggests that parent and care-giver reminiscence style and content aids the development of culturally determined gender norms, values and beliefs. Fivush (1994) found during observations that white middle class mothers tended to be more elaborative in their talk about personally relevant past with girls than boys, whose language skills where not developed enough to steer or influence the conversation. Greater adult reminiscence elaboration and encouragement to construct their own narrative aids a childs autobiographical recall and solidifies the memories (Fivush, Haden Reese, 2006). Further, mothers clearly distinguished between boys and girls when leading talk about the emotional content of events. Girls tended to be given the message that they should seek out an adult to resolve fear or sadness and were encouraged to find resolution to conflict within their own relationships. Talk with boys included more emphasis on independence and attribution and explanation of anger wi th less talk of resolution. These patterns suggest that western children are socialised to understand that anger is more tolerable in boys than girls, and girls have greater responsibility towards others feelings in relationships (Fivush, 1994). Studies with adults confirm that western women and men remember differently, women recall more events that are relationship focussed (Skowski, Gibbons, Vogl Walker, 2004). The research discussed suggests that gender identities are influenced in early social interaction and autobiographical memories will develop to reflect the gendered values of ones culture. Another form of reminiscence between adult and young child serves to reinforce desirable aspects of the childs developing personality and discourage less desirable aspects. Discussion of a childs memories builds self awareness but can illicit tension, for example disapproval in relation to an episode when the child was particularly stubborn. The tension lies between the childs ideal self (loveable) actual self (stubborn) and ought self (co-operative) (Conway Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). Conway and Pleydell-Pearce (2000) devised the Self Memory System to explain how autobiographical memory is organised in terms of the complex hierarchical goal structure of the working-self which interacts with the autobiographical knowledge base. The onset of self consciousness, the cognitive self is necessary for the organisation of memories (Howe et al., 2003). The working-self goals of a young child, i.e. to be loved and accepted, are motivated by needs such as, to increase positive affect and reduce n egative affect (Conway, Singer Tagini, 2004). Conway et al. (2004) suggest that self defining memories have the strength to incorporate personal scripts into enduring autobiographical knowledge. Scripts, for example stubborn behaviour, the associated emotion and outcome, become cues and link together related autobiographical memories into themes. If being loved and accepted is a childs goal the theme stubbornness, will activate relevant memories from cues in the situation and help the child predict if being stubborn in a context will elicit a loving parental response or the opposite. In this way memories are organised to be drawn on as tools to assess how plausible and reachable goals are (Conway et al., 2004). However memories are malleable and can become distorted across time and in interaction. Researchers have found that the organisation of autobiographical memories, linked together by themes activated by contextual cues, is the foundations of personality (Woike, Gershkovich, P iorkowski Polo, 1999). Reminiscence between care-giver and child can function to equip the child with the skill to step back from the negative affect associated with an original event. On the other hand adults will encourage children to savour the positive affect tagged to an event. A body of research has demonstrated that people generally experience the fading affect bias, where event positive affect is much stronger at recall than equivalent event negative affect (Ritchie, Skowronski, Wood, Walker, Vogl Gibbons, 2006). The more a memory is talked over the better the maintenance of the memory and the stronger the fading affect bias (Skowronski et. al, 2004). From approximately two and a half years children begin to understand reasoning and often becomes fixated on why questions. Once this questioning is realised care-givers can incorporate an understanding of why events happened in their reminiscence with the child. Reduction of negative affect is the result of conscious self-distancing from the affect a nd paying attention to why they feel negatively instead of focussing on what they experienced (Kross, Ayduk Mischel, 2005). Kross et al. (2005) found that negative affect does not fade if the individual uses a cognitive immersion strategy while reflecting on the unpleasant memory. Cognitive distancing from negative affect and savouring positive affect may be skills learned in childhood, and could be contributing to the fading affect bias in autobiographical memory found in adult populations. The persons life story begins to develop in early childhood with the development of the cognitive self. The specific construction of the story will be heavily influenced by adult led conversations shaped by the family and cultural values the child is born into. Life stories convey who we are, for example our beliefs about gender norms, and are built selectively from autobiographical memories. A person will be motivated by their current goals to emphasise aspects to of their history and personality through the reconstruction of the past that maximise positive affect in that particular context. Adult child reminiscence aids the organisation of these memories which are linked together by themes and activated by cues in the environment. Adults also have the capacity to teach children to enjoy the positive feelings linked to memories and to distance themselves from negative emotion attached to memory by stepping back and asking why an event is unpleasant.

Terrorism Essay -- essays research papers

Terrorism and hostage taking may be as old as civilization itself. There are numerous references to abduction throughout Greek mythology. In midievil times hostages were taken for money or a guaranteed safe passage through a country. In the U.S., Indians on the western frontier terrorized settlers to frighten them away. Throughout the twentieth century, up until the 1970’s various terrorist acts were committed, yet it was not as big a problem as it is today. The new age of terrorism dawned at 4:30 in the morning of September 5, 1972. It was then that members of the Palestinian organization Black September attacked the Isreali Olympic team. Three men were killed on the spot and nine were taken captive. The terrorists demanded that 200 of their fellow Arabs be released from Isreali prisons. They also wanted Isreal disbanded and its territory returned to the Palestinian people. The results of the Munich attack were tragic. Following a gun battle between German sharpshooters and t he terrorists, which killed one German policeman, all nine hostages and five of the terrorists were killed by a hand grenade. The events at Munich proved that a single terrorist action, cleverly planned and daringly executed by a small band of people could accomplish as much as the movement of a large army. That is why the Munich attack was the dawn of a new age of terrorism. From the point of view of the terrorists, the main goal of the Munich attack was to draw attention to the Palestinian cause, a goal that was achieved through media coverage. This accomplishment was a lesson that terrorists everywhere were quick to learn. This is widely shown in that the number of terrorist acts has generally risen, with a trend toward bloodier incidents. The accumulation of terrorist attacks on innocent civilians has caused many changes around the world. There have been thousands of instances of terrorism. Just a few statistics can give one the idea of the seriousness of the problem. Robert Cla rke from the National Security Council put it perfectly when he said "organized crime groups now posses such significant resources that they can almost buy and sell governments" (Morrison 6). The Department of defense estimates that as many as 26 nations may posses chemical agents and or weapons and an additional twelve may be seeking to develop them. Between 1970 and 1977, terrorist movements thr... ...at the problem of terrorism. These new policies have clearly changed many routines and spending of money. Programs have been set up, thousands of people have been hired, and billions of dollars have been spent in order to reduce terrorism around the world. In the past decade, over 18,000 individuals in 50 nations gave been trained in counter terrorism. The U.S. alone gas trained more than 19,000 foreign law enforcement officials from more than 80 countries in such areas such as airport security, bomb detection, maritime security, VIP protection, hostage and rescue, and crisis management. The FBI is moving to reassign 500 of its agents to counter terrorism duty. It is also dramatically expanding its presence overseas. Along with hiring thousands of individuals to counter terrorism duty, governments have set up hundreds of programs to help gain intelligence. Anti-terrorism funding has been boosted by one billion dollars in over four years. In 1986, the Counter-Terrorism Center was set up to collect data about and coordinate strategies toward terrorist groups. In 1985, President Reagan set up a cabinet level commission, known as the Vice President’s Task Force on Combating Terrorism.