Thursday, September 19, 2019

Frankenstein Vs. The Monster Essay -- English Literature

Frankenstein Vs. The Monster At this point in the novel, I sympathize with the monster even though he has become a terrible person. As his creator, Victor Frankenstein should have cared for the monster despite his disgusting appearance. Frankenstein failed to provide the monster with any type of parental guidance and instead ran away from his responsibilities. In the first few hours of his birth, the monster is faced with rejection, even from his creator. If Frankenstein would have guided and nurtured him, then the monster would have never sought revenge on Frankenstein and his family. However, I sympathize mostly with the monster because he is no the one to blame. I believe with most instances that the parent is the one to blame. The parent influences a child the most in that child's life. If a child lives in a bad or corrupt family that child will live with a damaged past. All that child knows is the failure of a family. Therefore, there is a continuation of this through family generations. Without a home or any place to go, the monster is forced to live in t...

Rising Tide Chronicles Flow of Changes Essay example -- social issue

'Rising Tide' Chronicles Flow of Changes John M. Barry's Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, takes us back 70 years to a society that most of us would hardly recognize. In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded 27,000 square miles from Illinois and Missouri south to the Gulf of Mexico. No one expected the government to help the victims. President Calvin Coolidge even refused to visit the area. As a result, the flood created and destroyed leaders: Herbert Hoover, Coolidge's secretary of Commerce, was considered politically dead until he took over rescue/relief efforts. His competence and public relations skills sent him to the White House in 1928. (But his duplicity in dealings with black leaders helped begin turning black voters from the Republican Party of Lincoln to the Democrats.) The Percy family, planters who had built an ``empire'' around Greenville, Miss., moved onto the national, even the international, stage. In 1922, LeRoy Percy's sense of obligation to blacks led him to fight the Ku Klux Klan, then a national power. Yet in 1927, Percy more than acquiesced when the Mississippi National Guard held black refugees in camps, forcing them to work on levees in conditions close to slavery. In New Orleans, officials dynamited a levee south of the city. Water washing across St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes relieved pressure on New Orleans levees, maybe preventing flooding. But those parishes were ruined. Bankers and city leaders reneged on promises of full compensation to victims. Such backtracking was among the many resentments people in Louisiana had against the upper classes when they elected Huey Long governor in 1928. The major physical legacy of the Great Mississippi Flood - an elaborate system of lower Mississippi River flood control measures that have confined larger floods - was recently in the news. Fast-forward to March 17, 1997, when the Army Corps of Engineers began diverting water around New Orleans for only the eighth time since 1927. The flood also has helped create today's response to disasters: quick federal aid, often with the president on hand to take credit. By Jack Williams, USA TODAY Weather Editor A major flood on any river is both a long-term and a short-term event, particularly any river basin where human influence has exerted "control" over the ri... ...vaulted Hoover from unlikely presidential candidate to dark-horse candidate to the White House in a mere 18 months. At the time, Hoover's coordination of relief efforts re-earned him the title of "The Great Humanitarian" -- a far different image of the man than we have today as we link his name and presidency with the Great Depression. Rising Tide is a well-written book with many insights into American social history on just about every page. Although I was disappointed that there was not more said about the flood's impact outside the area around Louisiana and Mississippi, the story of how politics and the quest for personal power interact with a major natural disaster on one of the worlds's major rivers was quite rivetting. Once started, I found the book hard to put down. If you are looking for a book which successfully combines the human need to control nature with an in-depth history of part of the affected area during a time of disaster, I strongly recommend this book. If your interest is purely in the meteorology and hydrology of a great flood on a great river, you many only be interested in parts of the book, and I would suggest looking elsewhere for more detail.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

dark side :: essays research papers

â€Å"THE DARK SIDE†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sara was a 15 year old girl who had just moved into new town with her mom. Her parents got divorced and she was taking it very hard. She missed all her friends and family she left back home and she felt out of place. All she wanted is her old life back and be happy like she used to be. But that was impossible and she just had to deal with the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She started her first year of high school and she hated it. She didn’t fit in with the crowd, the teachers picked on her, and her grades were poor. She gave up on her hobbies, like sports, and drawing; things that she enjoyed doing. In other words, she became depressed. Spending all her time daydreaming of a better life, during the night, she stayed up and cried. She felt so lonely, wanting to escape to a far off place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As those terrifying days passed, she met this group of kids. Others didn’t like them because of their gothic ways. Kids were scared of them, and became known as the outcasts. Sara became acquainted with them fast. They started to hang out more, she felt comfortable around their presence. She also started to like the activities they did like spells, witchcraft, rituals, and ceremonies that took place at the cemetery. She was fascinated and glad that she found her spiritual side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She automatically changed. She became this unknown person. Her mother and the people around her noticed that she became weird. But she enjoyed what she did, because it gave her a sense of power and control over her life. Although, what she didn’t know was that the witchcraft became her obsession. She stared to get more involved in it. Now not only did she did spells, Voo Doo Dolls, and rituals but she started â€Å"Black Magic†. Which is very dangerous, and it might even cause disaster. Her habits got so out of hand that even the crowd didn’t want to hang around with her, because they were afraid to mess with Black Magic. Sara believed so strongly in the evil powers that she decided to invoke the evil spirit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At midnight, she went to the cemetery all by herself. She made a fire and drew the devil stars around it with human blood. She kneeled down in front of the burning fire, holding the black book in her hands, she said the following words â€Å"EVIL SPIRIT COME TO ME, I INVOKE THEE†, and she threw a mixture into the flames.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Frankenstein Essay

Frankenstein was originally written by Mary Shelley in 1818. In 1818 scientists were discovering many different scientific revolutions. One thing they discovered was vaccination. People at that time were both very scared and excited about this. Shelley’s novel was inspired by Galvini who used electricity to move a late criminal’s hand jaw. Also Mary was influenced by her father and her husband’s view of life, who were both radical thinkers. Mary’s story was brought to life after long days and nights during her holiday when she entered a horror competition. She wrote her initial draft from a nightmare she had. Without Galvini, the holiday, nightmare, her father and her husband then this story wouldn’t have been brought to life. In the play which is adapted by Phillip Pullman. We feel empathy and sympathy for various characters throughout. The two main characters I feel sympathy and empathy towards are Frankenstein and the monster. We feel sorry for these characters in different places in the play. But who do we really feel sorry for? We initially feel sorry for Frankenstein. For example Frankenstein had a lack of care for his own health. For instance he spent all his money on chemicals and not for himself. We know this because in the play it quotes â€Å"No, no fire I keep it cold on purpose- it’s the only way to preserve my specimens. † This implies that Frankenstein thinks his specimens are more important than his own health and well-being that he resulted into living in the cold. This also shows how much Frankenstein was devoted into creating the monster and didn’t let the cold stop him from achieving his goals of creating life. It also shows how much he loves the monster. This makes the reader feel sympathy towards Frankenstein as it makes them feel like Frankenstein how he put his own health at major risk just because of his life ambition and has resulted to adapt to the cold. We also feel sorry for victor because of the death of William. For example â€Å"You killed my little brother! Is that love? Is that good will? † This make the reader feel sympathy for victor as he’s lost a loved one who was killed by the person he had created. On the other hand it makes us understand upon victors opinion towards the monster as everything victor witnesses and everything the monster does it appears evil. This makes it acceptable for victor’s opinion towards the monster. However it’s not the monsters fault because when the monster was born the first thing he received was hatred and the more hatred he got the more it drove him to be evil. The monster was judged by his looks which appeared evil and this drove him to do evil actions which led the monster looking even bad. I also blame victor for playing the role of god. As victor has no right in creating life and death and questioning God by saying â€Å"if lightning can kill someone it can bring someone alive. † Victor knew that he had neglected Elizabeth because he was so preoccupied with creating the monster. In the novel it quotes â€Å"No Elizabeth don’t- you’re right, I’ll come back with you but my work. You don’t understand it’s reached I’ve been working towards for six years. † This tell us that Frankenstein had realised how he had treated Elizabeth with rudeness, he instantly agrees to go see his father but insists on finishing the monster as he had been working on it for 6 years. This makes the reader feel sympathy for victor because he had devoted most of his life on the monster and at the end everything goes wrong. On the other hand what was the purpose of creating life and this also showed how he thought the monster was more important than his very own father at the time of need, he could have took a break as he has been working constantly for 6 years and to see his father who was at his death bed. On the other hand we also feel empathy for the monster. For example the monster was unloved from the start. For example â€Å"But you’re not what I thought you’d be. † This suggests that Frankenstein’s was disappointed in his very own creature he has devoted 6 years for and didn’t accept the monster the way he was but instead judged him on his appearance as soon as he laid eyes on him. Frankenstein prejudged the monster by looking at him to be ruthless and evil but it also shows that Frankenstein wanted the best for his monster and wanted it to be perfect like an angel. The word angel suggest that Frankenstein wanted pure beauty but instead he discriminated the monster which made the monster feel neglected and disowned, he had a perfect deal of what a human should be. People judged the monster on his appearance and not his personality. I know this because â€Å"Felix runs in, sees the monster apparently attacking her and Agatha struggling to be free and without hesitation seizes the musket. † The stage direction suggests that soon s Felix comes in and he sees the monster and tries to shoot him because he apparently thought the monster was attacking Agatha. The word â€Å"without hesitation† suggests that as soon as Felix saw the monster and judged he was up to evil and he quickly got the musket and didn’t even consider the situation. Also the word â€Å"apparently† suggests that Felix prejudged the monster and the entire situation as he thought the monster was hurting Agatha but on the other hand the monster was trying to get through to Agatha as that was his only hope for a friend but Felix never listened and persisted into believing that the monster was spiteful. This make the reader feel sympathy toward =s the monster because he had found a friend that had looked at his inner beauty and didn’t judge him but it was ruined but a person who didn’t see that inner beauty and just thought plain evil of the monster. We feel sorry for the monster because all he wants is to be loved. In the play it quotes â€Å"They’d throw stones and shouted harsh words to me but they had companions, fellows, friends. Couldn’t I find a friend? So I began to look. † This makes the audience feel empathy towards the monster because it makes us feel how harshly the monster was treated. He got hurt even more as he saw that everyone had friends. He wanted a friend. The quotation â€Å"Couldn’t I find a friend? † this suggests that the monster wanted someone to support him and a person who he can laugh with like the people who were laughing at him together. This makes the reader feel sympathy towards the monster because he is lonely and isolated. The writer at this moment makes us feel how people are judged without even finding out about that person and naming the monster monster it over reacts straight way and if someone heard that they would assume bad and keep their distance. As the word â€Å"monster† suggests evil and scary. The writer also wanted us to think about human nature. And how we look can play a big role in our life and the changes we want to make to ourselves to fit in. I believe that Mary Shelley the writer was trying to put across that the consequences of trying to play God and challenging the unknown. It also puts across about how you shouldn’t discriminate against someone cause of their appearance. Another thing that it puts across is love and how important role it plays in everyone’s life. In my opinion I feel more sympathy for the monster because Frankenstein had no right to play God and create a living creature because it is going against God by taking his power against him which is causing life and death also saying you are as superior as god as you are creating life. The monster didn’t want to be created and as it has no family or support Frankenstein’s duty was to take care of the monster and feed him but Frankenstein just prejudged the monster and disowned him. That’s what made the monster evil at that time. It’s not his fault for turning evil and does the actions he did. So in my opinion I feel sorrier for the monster.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The impact of parental involvement

There is important research over the last 30 old ages affirms that parental engagement is a vehicle by which to raise academic accomplishment ( Hara, 1998 ) . Henderson and Berla ( 1994 ) reviewed 66 surveies of parental engagement and concluded, â€Å" Regardless of income, instruction degree or cultural background, all households can- and make lend to their kids ‘s success. † In the undermentioned extract from The Evidence Grows: Parent Involvement Improves Student Achievement, Anne Henderson ( 1987 ) summarises the decisions drawn from 52 surveies on the topic of parental engagement in secondary instruction: When parents show an involvement in their kids ‘s instruction and high outlooks for their public presentation, they are advancing attitudes that are keys to achievement, attitudes that can be formed independently of societal category or other external fortunes. It is at this point that the school enters the image. Schools can promote parents to work with their kids and supply helpful information and accomplishments, thereby reenforcing a positive rhythm of development for both parents and pupils. The surveies show clearly that such intercession, whether based at place or at school, and whether begun before or after a kid starts school, has important, durable effectsaˆÂ ¦ The opposite, of class, will besides be true. If schools treat parents as unimportant, or as negative educational influences on their kids, or if they discourage parents from going involved, they promote the development of attitudes in the household that inhibit accomplishment at school. There is a direct nexus between parental engagement and kids ‘s higher accomplishments in linguistic communication and mathematics, registration in more ambitious programmes, greater academic continuity, better behavior, better societal and version to school, better attending and lower drop-out rates ( Heymann, 2000, Henderson & A ; Mapp, 2002 ) . Cotton and Reed Wikelund ( 2001 ) identifies that all research surveies which focused on affectional steps found that parental engagement has a positive consequence on pupils attitudes and societal behavior. Parental engagement supports pupil acquisition, behavior and attitudes irrespective of factors such as parent ‘s income, educational degree and whether or non parents are employed. All parental engagement plants and works wellaˆÂ ¦ so disadvantaged kids have the most to derive from parent engagement programmes. In a study on the Educate Together Ethos and Parental Participation, Nugent and Mooney ( 2008 ) they province that when parents have the chance to take part in their kid ‘s instruction, there are benefits for both the kid ‘s cognitive development and their public presentation as scholars and their parents ‘ attitude to school. The benefits of parent engagement goes beyond instruction and includes societal and economic benefits ( OECD, 1997 ) . These include improved wellness benefits, a decrease in dependance on societal public assistance and degrees of offense ( Wolfe and Haveman, 2002 ) . The most interesting determination in the OECD 1997 Report highlights the comparatively untapped potency of parental instruction in helping parents from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds to back up their kids ‘s larning more efficaciously. It was noted that parental engagement can cut down exclusion and better equality. â€Å" Education is a powerful tool in the integrating procedure † ( OECD, The economic and societal facets of migration 2003 study ) . Research within 2nd degree instruction would bespeak that parents go less involved in their kid ‘s instruction as the kid gets older, there are many grounds for this: a more hard course of study, bigger schools – larger staff, location of the school, the kid is more independent etc. Recent pupils indicate that American instructors and educational psychologist topographic point great importance on parental engagement to promote educational results, peculiarly among deprived pupils ( Eccles & A ; Harold, 1993 ; Jeynes, 2005a ; McBride & A ; Lin, 1996 ) . The benefits of parental engagement are so great, parental and community engagement is used as a cardinal scheme in school effectivity. ( Smit and Driessen 2007 ) . The inquiry, therefore emerges: can parental engagement through the execution of the Academic Intervention Model ( AIM ) truly better the educational results of deprived pupils within Fairhill Community College? More specifically, this inquiry can be farther defined into four separate inquiries that are applicable to the writers country of research: To what grade is parental engagement associated with higher degrees of school accomplishment among deprived pupils registered on the AIM Programme? What aspects of parental engagement aid disadvantaged pupils the most: Can the Home School Completion Programme/Home School Liaison Officer positively influence parental engagement of deprived pupils? Does the relationship between parental engagement and academic accomplishment clasp across racial groups?

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Influence of Tv Violence to the Behavior Essay

Thus, the influence of TV violence to the children particularly in the Cebu can cause negative changes in their behavior. An experiment shows that children when exposed to televised violence, exhibited the aggressive behavior they have observed – hitting, kicking and using hostile language. Prior to that time, the prevailing theory was that televised violence drained aggressive impulses. This is also the reason why television has become a growing source of parental anxiety where parents worry about the amount and kinds of program their children watch. This study aims to talk about TV violence and its effects on the behavior of the children and the ways to handle it. In order to achieve this goal, this paper is organized into three sections. The first section helps us know about the children’s understanding of television. The second section discusses the influence and effects of TV violence to the behavior of Filipino children which is the main concern of this study. And the third section offers suggestions in handling and regulating TV violence. Chapter II Presentation of Data Children’s Understanding of TV According to research, before age seven, children have difficulty integrating separate scenes into a continuous story line. Instead, they treat each scene as an isolated incident and are unable to relate a TV character’s behavior to its prior motives and eventual consequences. Thus, young children cannot see the connection between violence and its consequences if the perpetrator of violence gets to be punished only at the end of the program. Studies show that young children recall little information that is central to the plot of a story. Their difficulty ranges from their inability to differentiate what is essential to the plot and what is nonessential. Character actions, especially those showing physical actions and confrontations, are remembered better than scenes offering explanations for their actions. Children find it hard to recall scenes recounting inner feelings that explain previous events. Young children also have a hard time distinguishing make-believe from reality. A five-year-old child wondered why an actor who â€Å"died† in one TV program â€Å"came back to life† in another show; and if Superman can fly, why can’t he (the child) even if he wears a Superman cape. Children observe that cartoon characters manage to recover from severe violent acts almost immediately. This kind of exposure could lead them to interpret that in real life, people who are victims of violent acts do not really get hurt at all. A conversation between an author and a six-year-old clearly illustrates the kind of message a child gets from a cartoon program: â€Å"Why is GI Joe your favorite show? † â€Å"Because it has a lot of fighting. † â€Å"Who would you like to be like when you grow up? † â€Å"I want to be like Rambo because he has a big gun. † â€Å"What happens to the bad guys you shoot? † â€Å"They die. † â€Å"And what happens to you? † â€Å"Nothing. Young children who watch a lot of television tend to believe that it is all right to hit someone if one is angry and have a good reason. (Source: http://www. childprotection. org. ph) Influence and Effects of TV Violence Upon meeting Snow White at Disneyland, a p reschooler said to her, â€Å"You’re not Snow White, you know. † â€Å"Why do you say that? † asked Snow White. â€Å"Well,† the child replied, â€Å"if you were real, you’d be a cartoon. † And this is how powerful the media is in shaping children’s images of reality. (http://www. stanford. edu/dept/bingschool/research_dsl_1999bandura. html) The Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 4 Child psychologists point out that it is a misconception to consider cartoons as harmless just because they are funny. The theme of cartoons such as Popeye is that any problem can be solved by brute force which one acquires by eating spinach. In being funny and fast paced, cartoons may tend to reduce a child’s perception of danger, pain, and suffering. TV violence can produce at least four effects. First, it teaches aggressive styles of conduct. Second, it weakens restraints against aggression by glamorizing violence. When good triumphs over evil violently, viewers are even more strongly influenced. Third, it habituates and desensitizes reactions to cruelty. And finally, it shapes our images of reality; for example, only 10% of major crimes in society are violent, but on TV, 77% of major crimes are violent, which has the effect of making people more fearful of becoming crime victims. Psychologist have speculated that watching televised violence might be emotionally arousing, making it more likely that viewers will react violently to frustrations in the environment. Televised violence might also provide models that viewers imitate, particularly if the violence is carried out by attractive, powerful models (Bernstein, et al, 284). The Social Learning Theory considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. The ten-year old boy, Sergio Pelico who died after watching Saddam’s execution in TV must have imitated it. (Lucas, et al, 103) This theory together with other theories was used to explain a great many social problems such as crime, suicide, divorce and alcoholism. Furthermore, there are some people who could easily be influenced by propaganda and they would through themselves into new mass organizations in an effort to find some sense of belongingness. Stark, 21) The mass media especially the television, also contributes heavily to adolescent nonconformity in three ways. First, they stereotype all adolescents whose grooming and clothing do not reflect approved adult standards as nonconformists and attribute the behavior characteristic of nonconformity to them. If society labels its adolescents as â€Å"teen-agers† and expe cts them to be rebellious, unpredictable, sloppy, and wild in their behavior, and if the picture is repeatedly reinforced by the mass media such cultural expectations may very well force adolescents into the role of rebel. The mass media contribute to adolescent nonconformity by making real life appear unsatisfying and dull. (Hurlock, 124) A survey was conducted concerning the influence and effects of TV violence to the behavior of the children in Cebu City. The survey aims to know how children are linked to television and how it affects them and their parents. The results of the survey are shown on the next pages. . Survey results The percentage of the parents’ answers based on the following questions: Question # 1: Does your child love to watch suspense movies that involve killing? Question # 2: Does your child watch television for more than 8 hours? The Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 7 Question # 3: Are you worried about the kinds of television program that they watch? Question #4: Have you noticed any negative changes in your child’s behavior after watching television? The Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 8 Question #5: Does your child spend more time watching television than other necessary things like studying? Question # 6: Do they pay more attention to the television than to you? The Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 9 The survey shows that most children pay more attention to the television than to their parents. A mother even commented, â€Å"Maayo pa sauna nga wala pay TV kay ang mga bata buotan† (It was better before the television came because children are still kind and obedient). Most children that are 8-12 years old spend more time in front the TV than doing other necessary things like studying. And what’s the bad thing is that if children are used to watching television, they will be exposed to violence that might influence their behavior. Although not all children are watching television for more than 8 hours, the effects of television are still prone to children. Some parents even admitted that they have observed some negative changes in their child’s behavior after watching a television show that has some bad scenes in it since children tend to imitate the things they have seen from the show without knowing that it might be wrong. Several scholars have pointed out that as media content has increased in violence in the past few decades, violent crimes among youth have declined rapidly. Although most scholars caution that this decline cannot be attributed to a causal effect, they conclude that this observation argues against causal harmful effects for media violence. Regulating TV Violence Parents worry about the kinds of television programs that their children watch. The urgency and seriousness of this issue on media violence has reached global proportions. A worldwide concern has prompted parents, educators, advocacy groups, and mental health professionals to launch protest activities and public discussions on how children can be protected against harmful media influences. Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 10 A number of bills were filed to mitigate the negative effects of televised violence. House Bill 19183 proposes a ratings system for TV programs. House Bill 10183 provides that cartoons featuring violence and unethical conduct should be aired only during times when young children are not usually watching. The Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas has its code and internal guidelines. Relevant sections pertaining to responsibility towards children are: – Children’s programs shall not present violence, whether physical or psychological, as a means to resolve conflicts and problems. – Children’s programs shall not emphasize perverted sex and undue violence. – Penalties have been stipulated for violations of these rules. These include fines ranging from P5, 000 to P15, 000, suspension of KBP privileges, expulsion from KBP membership, to recommendation to the National Telecommunications Commission for suspension of station lease for the fourth offense. Consequently, The Department of Education are monitoring television channels through a project aimed at reducing violent content that might be watched by children. The campaign involves TV shows between 6 a. m. and 10 a. m. , which the DepEd claims to be the period where more children watch TV. Their goal is to have stations comply by reducing violent or vulgar shows by as much as 20 percent. The campaign also encourages parents and concerned citizens to send reports or file complaints to NCCT regarding TV shows that may be harmful for children. Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 11 Television is not merely bad since it is used as a means of communication and as a means of educating but what makes it wrong is the way people abuse its use and the way some of them used television to expose violent actions without even thinking how it could affect the viewers. The effects of TV violence are no doubt harmful especially to children. These may cause negative changes in their behavior one of which is being aggressive. That is why children should be guided by their parents or guardians so that will not be influenced by the words they hear and the things they see. When viewing together, they can discuss how the conflict could have been solved without the violence. They should explain to the child how violence in entertainment is â€Å"faked† and not real. Such interventions, whether at the personal or family level can moderate the impact of violent scenes on children. Adult explanation improves children’s understanding of plots, characters, and events. Co-viewing with children can provide occasions for parents to discuss values, beliefs, and moral issues. Parents should also set clear guidelines on the time and length of television viewing. Perhaps the most effective approach in dealing with this problem of television violence should be systemic and multilevel—changes must take place at the home, school, and industry levels. Though researches have all pointed to the association between televised violence and aggression in children, what a child learns from television may be â€Å"a product of the broader relationship among medium, child, and parent† Thus, active, responsible parental involvement in the child’s television viewing does make a great difference. Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 12 Chapter III Conclusion Television has become a potent agency of socialization because like the family, school, and peers, it directly provides the child with experiences which shape their attitudes and influence their behaviors. Children that are exposed to TV violence can experience negative changes in their behavior. First, it can teach aggressive styles of conduct. Second, it weakens restraints against aggression by glamorizing violence. Third, it habituates and desensitizes reactions to cruelty. And finally, it shapes our images of reality. In order to handle this, a number of bills were filed to mitigate the negative effects of televised violence. Parents can also encourage their children to find pleasure in other mass media, such as books and newspapers. Perhaps the most appropriate solution in dealing with this must take place at home, school and industry. Thus, active, responsible parental guidance is very necessary. The power to initiate change for the prevention of the harmful effects of TV violence should come from the â€Å"market†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not a market that passively laps up unhealthy and disturbing programs that assault young, sensitive minds, but a market that is critical, enlightened, and imbued with a strong resolve to protect children’s well-being and right to wholesome entertainment. Influence of TV Violence to Children’s Behavior; 13 Chapter 1V Bibliography Books Lucas, Maria Rita and Corpuz, Brenda. Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing, Inc. , 2007. Stark, Rodney.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Why is Parliament so weak in relation to the executive?

The domination of the legislature, which includes Parliament, by the executive branch, which contains government, is a majorly important feature of the British political system. According to French philosopher Montesquieu, the lack of the separation of powers and, hence, the fusion of the executive and legislative branches (as, uniquely, in the UK) may lead to a large accumulation of power in one branch. Unlike the USA political system where these branches are kept strictly separate, there is excessive executive power which means that Parliament can be exposed as weak and powerless to the ruling party. There are many factors that make Parliament look weak in relation to the executive including; the electoral system, the scrutiny of MP’s, and the power (if any) of the House of Lords. The first past the post electoral system allows governments in the UK to seemingly dominate Parliament without representing a very large proportion of the electorate. The system ensures that one party with win an absolute majority, which tends to be very large, and, hence, means that parliament is relatively powerless in contrast as the role of dissidents is limited which allows government to dominate. The 1997 landslide victory of New Labour was only achieved with about 36% of the vote. This comparatively small percentage of the voting population gave the party a mammoth 197 seat majority after sitting on the other side of the chamber for 18 years. The huge numbers of seats in Parliament that were given to Labour meant that fair representation of political opinion was undermined hugely. Additionally, the majorities necessary for new laws would be a given if the party were behind their leader which in the case of Tony Blair was almost always the case. It is in these ways that Parliament is made to look weak in relation to the executive. In theory, however, the flip side of a strong single-party government is that there are still enough seats left in Parliament to perform a critical checking role and for opposition parties to present themselves as a realistic alternative to the government of the day. This system also excludes extremist parties, such as the BNP, from representation in the legislature unless its electoral support is geographically strenuous; it is unlikely to win any seats under FPTP which is positive in order to prevent them from electoral legitimacy. In any case the Commons have the ultimate power to remove the present government from office. Scrutiny of fellow MP’s is made difficult if one party dominates the House of Commons. MP’s have insufficient time and support to be able to call ministers to account effectively. MPs often lack the technical expertise to scrutinise legislation adequately and on the occasions that they do ask penetrating questions, the respondent usually has a response prepared and/or by civil servants. In addition, poor timing of Opposition days might blunt impact which is why any attack on the present government must be carefully planned. In February 2010, the former bosses of the Royal Bank of Scotland were for three hours questioned vigorously by a select committee and they responded with both candour and courtesy. The committee members probed diligently enough but, not for the first time, they were outsmarted by expert witnesses with too much technical information at their disposal. This proves that the understaffed and poorly resourced scrutinizers cannot do their job properly and, hence, also highlights how weak Parliament are in relation to the executive. However, MP’s are allowed freedom to ask questions in areas of special interest to them without having to worry about party whips. In Parliament, in the past, a number of important bills have been debated and published in draft, including Identity Cards and Mental Health Bills. In addition, whatever a minister proposes is subjected to Parliamentary scrutiny at some stage so will have to be viable with room for agreement from the entire Parliament. Finally, constant debate ensures that even the ruling party is affected by what Parliament thinks even if this is not so obvious at first glance. The House of Lords’ lack of authority and powers means that the government can often avoid pretty much anything that it throws. The powers of the Lords are extremely limited by law as it has absolutely no power over financial matters and can’t veto legislation in the long term. Additionally, all amendments can be overturned and, like the Commons, the Lords have a limited role in developing legislation. In 1997, Tony Blair abolished the honour of hereditary peerage but allowed the 92 hereditary peers to retain their seats before appointing a vast number of Labour peers into the House of Lords in order to make it even easier for him to gain a majority. The huge power of government is shown here and can be manipulated to make Parliament look weaker. However, when peers do vote against legislation then parliamentary gridlock can be created. This was certainly the case in 2007 where the House of Lords defied the general consensus in the Commons with 361 votes to 121 in favour of a 100% appointed House of Lords. It is in this way that Parliament can stand up to the executive, whose party have a majority in Parliament, and force compromises by the government. This particular controversial case of rebellion has proved a success for the Lords as to this day Peers still have to be 100% appointed. In conclusion, it seems Parliament has been made to look powerless by government who can make use of the first past the post system and gain large majorities without large representation. Additionally, scrutiny directed at MP’s is easily combated with the brilliantly crafted answers of government. Government has also become increasingly dominant thanks to further Lords reform by Tony Blair and the mere delaying of laws by which act as a thorn on legislation. However, it has to be said that Parliament has many ways in which it can reduce the ‘bullying’ it receives from the ruling party. The electoral system has obvious advantages that arguably improve Parliament’s role such as the ability to improve on scrutinising future laws and to offer better decisions than the ruling party.