Post Modern Style of Mass Communication Essay Example

Post Modern Style of Mass Communication Essay Example Post Modern Style of Mass Communication Essay Post Modern Style of Mass Communication Essay This paper discusses about the changing styles of mass communication with the advancement of technology. The paper traces the evolution of mass media from primitive times to the ultramodern techno savvy modern media of mass communication along with the progression of stylistics of presentation, language, content. For the sake of convenience the history of mass media is divided into five stages viz. Pre-printing media, Print media, Radio Films, Television Ultramodern Media. All these media have developed their own style of communication with masses and technology was instrumental for this change. Prologue Communication is an inevitable aspect of life. And each living being has its own style of communication. Human communication is the most complex out of all these communications. Technology added to it made it more effective, rapid, and continuous with the wide reach. Development of language was the most essential factor of human civilisation. Certainly language proves to be an important medium of human communication. Primitive civilisations had developed the techniques to communicate to the large number of people but those techniques were fundamentally the techniques of group communication, till the invention of printing technology. Printing technology was responsible to start the new genus of communication titled mass communication. Experiments on sound and transmission of sound waves from one corner of the world to another opened the new horizons to mass communication. These gradual progressions helped the mankind to evolve with new civilisation and life style which we name as information era. It is really interesting to plot and study the graph of technological development of mass communication and its co-relation with the changing styles of communication. Hence the author has selected this topic for her paper presentation. The word Style is defined in various ways. The dictionary meaning is as follows: Style: i. A kind or sort especially in regard to appearance and form; ii. A manner of writing or speaking or performing; iii. The distinctive manner of a person or school or period, especially in relation to painting, architecture, furniture, dress, etc. ; iv. The correct way of designating a person or thing; A superior quality or manner; v. A particular make, shape, or pattern[1] Similarly Stylistics[2] is defined as: The study of literary style. A branch of modern linguistics devoted to the detailed analysis of literary style, or of the linguistic choices made by speakers and writers in non-literary contexts. Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose (1996)[3]. The term Mass Communication is referred to as: A process in which professional communicators use media to disseminate message widely, rapidly and continuously to arouse intended meanings in large diverse audience in attempt to influence them in a variety of ways. 4] While reviewing the above definitions it is clear that without developing specific styles the professional communicators cannot communicate with masses. The author went through the history of media development and deduced some interesting result. For the sake of convenience she divided the time period into five slots: Pre-printing era, Printing era, Radio and Films era, Television Era and Post Modern Era of Interactive Media. The Th eme The medium is the integral part of communication process hence important element of media study. The medium plays key role in defining the form, pattern and style of the message to be communicated. With the evolution of human race the expression and communication styles vary along with the medium used. The brief account of the above phenomenon is given below. Pre-printing media: The folk media were the only means of group communication then. The genera of mass communication were missing in the society. These folk media were without any technology and the tradition of verbal communication was very strong. Therefore, the era gave first preference to language as it was the only mean of communication to allure the public. It helped in developing language as a basic and fundamental skill of human socio-psyche. Syntax, grammar, etymology, phonetics and other aspects of linguistics evolved. Vocabulary Synonyms, antonyms, idioms and phrases, spellings were the most important elements of this skill. Among all these folk media Drama is the most popular one even today. If it is considered as an example of group media without technology then the style followed by it is referred to as four dimensional style of communication. The stage where the drama is performed has length, breadth and height, the sets and the property used also have these three dimensions and the artistes performing too. The fourth dimension is the time. The artistes and the audience share the same time frame and hence the style of communication is the Four Dimensional one. All the live performances predominantly follow this style. Secondly the total body of the presenter speaks in the presentation along with the stage ambience, costume and drapery, the proximics among co-artistes and audience, usage of stage, set property, timing. The style of these media involves both the performers and the audience as it gives a wholistic approach. Print media: Around 1040, the first known movable type system was created in China by Bi Sheng out of porcelain. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg introduced what is regarded as an independent invention of movable type in Europe (see printing press), along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould. Gutenberg was the first to create his type pieces from an alloy of lead, tin and antimony – the same components still used today. 5] The print media are the language dependent media which further helped the languages to have concrete and formal development. The added the elegance and richness to the lingual expressions and literary glitterati. The style used in the lingual interaction was very flowery, well-designed, robust and more descriptive. Thus style was of slow, lengthy and specious. The print media used various genera for expression of thoughts, the style used was very serious as regard to precision and placement of words which was precisely non-personal in nature. The writer and the reader have one to one communication without sharing the time and meeting each other. The process of codification and concretization took place during this phase of time. Print media especially the newspaper took up a peculiar style for news writing which labeled as ‘Inverted Pyramid Style of Writing’. The most important point is the to be focused first and the least important at the last. This is exactly opposite of story telling where climax appears at the last. Inclusion of 5 ‘Ws’ who, where, when, what, why and 1 ‘H’ how are to be answered in the news and stick to them. Now with the profuse growth of electronic media i. e. News Channels the element ‘I’ means impact of the event is also mentioned in the news report. No verbosity and extra information is to be included is the golden rule followed by the news writers. Phrases like ‘information received from reliable resources or as reported by so and so news agency.. conflict between two racial groups etc. ’ are frequently in use. The news reports are the factual reports written with precision, clarity, accuracy and brevity with out any ambiguity and mystery. The first paragraph of the news is known as ‘intro’. The stalwarts of news reporting developed various styles of ‘intro’ e. g. bullet intro, summery intro, figurative intro, quotation intro, descriptive intro etc. [6] Radio Films: The media which took over next were truly technology based and definitely revolutionary in nature. The miracle to transmit voice from one part of the earth to another was possible due to the uninterrupted efforts of physicists like Graham Bell, Jagdish Chandra Bose, Morse, Herzt Marconi, etc. The first ever techno-based medium was audio and thus again verbal communication was stressed upon. Since it was advanced as regard to that time period it had elite, urban and sophisticated monotonous style. Only monologue, standardized, formal language symbols were in use although the radio professionals pretended to be colloquial in lingual usage. This was also a non-personal presentation based on phonetics, voice modulation, diction and clarity. Using microphone with best efficiency and efficacy with the time bound presentation, were the essential qualification and here starts the blending of technology in the mass communication process. Phrases like ‘due to some unavoidable reasons we are unable to. or this is So So station and you are listening to. you were just listening to . ’ were repeatedly in use creating monotony. Encompassing all the subjects to cater to all the listeners the radio had adopted its own style of presentation through audio images only. Thus the styled can be named as Audio Imagery style of presentation. Cinema: The first non personal audio-visual presentation with the help of motion pictures was magic of science and art together. A two dimensional medium projected on the screen had bigger images never seen before. The ideas that can be transformed into visual images are presented visually and the rest verbally. The words have less to narrate, hence language, for the first time in the history of communication became secondary in nature. Audio-visual presentation made the things easy to say but complex to present. Being the director’s medium, cinema soon became the most popular medium in the communication story. ‘Writing in motion’ is the most commonly used term for cinema. Every director molded the medium in his own style by camera angles, movements, dialogues, sequence, music and back-ground score, location and editing. Apart from the directorial style cinema has ‘Larger Than Life Audio Visual Imagery’ style which is found as common characteristic of the medium. A stereotypical example of Indian Cinema in 40s and 50s is – not showing the death of the character directly on the screen but symbolizing it with the extinguishing flame of the oil lamp due to the blow of storming wind coupled with a sad tune of string instrument like violin or sarangi and human scream. The visual image of the extinguished lamp and the audio of stormy wind plus sad tune and human scream together facilitate the director to tell the audience about the sad demise of the character in a very subtle and aesthetically strong way. This audio-visual feel is certainly more universal and general than that of literary feel thus named as ‘larger than life audio visual imagery’. Television: The small screen is the true modern mass communication medium. The medium which is available inside the home, can provide audio-visual information wrapped in the entertainment and most important, it is user friendly. The 24 hrs access to TV transmission is another main facet to make this medium the most popular one. Every strata of the society is hooked by this ‘idiot box’ for its never ending entertainment programmes. Although cinema and TV both are audio visual media the technology differs. Cinema is the projection medium, serious in nature. The audience have to make up their minds to go to the theatre, buy the tickets and sit in the chair for nearly 3 hrs with one interval of about 5 to 10 minutes, whereas, TV is the transmission medium, and very casual in nature. Apart from the technological differences, style of presentation is also different. Both the media are Two dimensional but the aspect ratio of the dimensions differ hence the style. TV is a close-up medium and it is also referred to as editor’s medium. It has a short lived effect and the approach of the audience towards this medium is very informal. Many a times TV programmes provide background score and nothing much. At the same time the ambience in which TV is watched is almost the same for each family as the decor is changed hardly once a year or so. Thus to avoid monotony external appearance of this medium more and more excitement is inserted in the content of the TV programmes. The efforts put in to create excitement do not prove to be successful every time leading it to non-serious, superficial presentation. The speed of transmission had added new dimension to the style of TV presentation. The private channels especially news channels using satellites for telecasting their programmes had developed BBC and American style of news presentation. Indian news-casters follow American style of news-casting which is predominantly focusing on shallow issues blown up disproportionately with unwanted repetitive details told in crispy language and loud tone. Purity of language and selection of words are at stake. For example to create excitement for hooking the audience and keeping them glued to the same news-channel, the words which were used only in emergency like breaking news, exclusive news are being used so often that these words lost their importance in the journalistic parlance. The style of entertainment channels is glossy, gaudy and extravagant visuals of rich and high class society with cliche scene and dialogues aimed to propagate consumerist approach of life style. Market forces and materialistic trends coated in the Indian culture, add to the formation of this strange style. Most of the time communication of the content is the prime concern and not the language, therefore, usage of words borrowed from English are frequently found in almost all the genera of Television programmes of vernacular languages. The presenters of Phone in Programmes and even news-casters use the language which apparently looks informal, friendly, colloquial giving a feel of closeness to the unknown listener or viewer but actually maintain distance. Thus the style can be referred to as ‘Pseudo-informative style’. Ultramodern Media: Internet and mobiles are the latest gadgets well equipped with modern technology. This technology is well accepted as Information Technology which makes all kinds of information gathering, processing and transporting feasible with finger stroke. The young generation who is proficient in using this technology is now living in information era. The information is flowing at the speed of light covering every nook and corner of the world. Both these gadgets are the interactive media and are responsible to make the whole society media dependent. The first and the most prominent impact of this post modern mass communication media is the changed life style. The people are well connected and well informed. Marshall McLuhan explained this phenomenon as ‘Information Explosion and Implosion. ’[7] The Internet is the most popular medium for information access as it provides the facility of random access and the individual can reach the desired topic within a very short span. The effect of this random access can be seen in the reference books also by the addition of subject index with bibliography. The impact of this facility can be observed as the people using it do not go through the whole text of the book or the webpage but directly reach the required point. It is certainly a time saving activity but one looses the opportunity to go through context and related information. The information is huge in quantity but in-depth knowledge and wisdom is in paucity. The language symbol usage is the at the minimal level as the visuals – graphics and animations are available in ready-to-use forms. The spellings like you, we, before, to, please, thank you are abbreviated to u, v, b4, 2 pl, tq and are so much in use that soon they will be seen in the formal correspondence as a regular feature. The usage of SMS is growing leaps and bounds and the users are habituated to express every thing into 160 characters only chopping off all the unnecessary alphabets. Use of emoticons for expressions [pic] = happy, [pic]= sad etc. is the latest style to use minimum symbols for maximum expression. To support the communication not only written words but also pictures, music and animated images are used in these multi media gadgets giving the opportunity to use all possible way to communicate with maximum delimitation. Thus this style can be referred to as ‘Delimiting Style’ of post modern communication. The Epilogue The inference of above discussion is put forward in brevity as The technology has deep and everlasting impact on the styles of communication especially mass communication. The style change is directly proportional to the change and advancement of technology. The mass communication in post modern era has turned out to be interactive communication in ‘Delimiting Style’ with usage of minimal language symbols in combination with audio and visual clips.

How to Put Together a Poetry Manuscript for Publication

How to Put Together a Poetry Manuscript for Publication Putting together a poetry manuscript to submit to contests or publishers is not a walk in the park. Expect it to take an hour or two a day over the span of a week, month, or even a year, depending on how much work you have, how polished the pieces are, and how much time you can afford to spend on the project.   Despite that, creating a poetry manuscript for publication is an important next step in a writers career. Heres a step-by-step guide on how to make this goal a reality. Step 1: Choose Your Poems Begin by typing (or printing from your computer files) all the poems you want to consider putting into your book, one per page (unless of course, the poem is longer than a single page). This is a chance to make any small revisions you want to make to individual poems so that you can concentrate on the shape of the book as a whole. Step 2: Plan the Book Size To get started, decide how big of a book you want to create- 20 to 30 pages for a typical chapbook, 50 or more for a full-length collection (more on exact page amounts later). You may well change your mind about this when you are actually selecting and ordering the poems, but this will give you a starting point. Step 3: Organize the Poems With the length of your book in mind, sift through all the pages you have typed or printed up, and put the poems into piles that you feel belong together in some way- a series of poems on related themes, a group of poems written using a particular form, or a chronological sequence of poems written in the voice of a single character. Step 4: Take a Step Back Let your piles sit at least overnight without thinking about them. Then pick up each pile and read through the poems, trying to see them as a reader and not as their author. If you know your poems well and find your eyes skipping ahead, read them out loud to yourself to make sure you take the time to listen to them. Step 5: Be Selective When you’ve read through a stack of poems, pull out any poems that no longer seem to fit in that particular pile or seem redundant, and put the poems you want to keep together in the order you want your readers to experience them. You may find yourself doing lots of reshuffling over time, moving poems from one stack into another, melding whole groups of poems together by combining stacks, or discovering new groupings that need to be separate and on their own. Don’t worry about it. You will likely come across new ideas for books or chapbooks and also change your mind a number of times before the poems settle into the shape of a finished book manuscript. Step 6: Take a Breather After you’ve pared down and reordered each pile of poems, let them sit again at least overnight. You can use this time to mull over your reading, listening for the poems that stand out in each stack and how they sound together. Pay attention to other poems that may have popped into your mind when you were reading a certain stack to see if you should add them or replace similar poems. Step 7: Reevaluate Book Length Think again about the length of the book you want to create. You may decide that one stack of related poems would make a good short chapbook. You may have a really large pile of poems that will all go together into a long collection. Or you may want to combine several of your piles to create sections within a full-length book. Step 8: Create an Actual Book Next, try actually making the manuscript into a book that you can live with and leaf through. Staple or tape your pages together put them into a three-ring notebook, or use your computer to print them out in book format. If you’re preparing an email or online submission, you may still want to print up the poems you’re considering- shuffling paper pages is easier than editing a computer file. If you have several long pieces, you may wish to lay everything out in a word processing document with the correct margins for the completed book size, to see how more exactly how many pages the collection will consume. For a typical 6-by-9-inch printed book, youll want the final page count to be divisible by four (include room for a title page, dedication page, table of contents, copyright page, and acknowledgments page in your count as well). For ebooks, the page count can be any number. If you want your document to look like a finished book when printed out, use your software to make mirror image pages when setting up your page size so that the left and right pages will face each other as they would when professionally bound, and add page numbers in a footer or header. That said, don’t think too much about typography or design at this point. You want simply to put the poems together so that you can read through the book and see how they interact in that order. Step 9: Choose a Title After you’ve decided on the length and general shape of your manuscript, choose a title for your collection. A title may have suggested itself during your sifting and ordering of the poems, or you may want to read through them again to find one- perhaps the title of a central poem, a phrase taken from one of the poems, or something completely different. Step 10: Proofread Carefully proofread your entire manuscript from beginning to end after you’ve put it in order. If you’ve spent a lot of time with the book, you may be tempted to give it only a cursory read-through. In this case, you need to set it aside for a few days or weeks so that when you come back to it you can pay close attention to each poem, each title, each line break, and each punctuation mark. You will likely find yourself making additional revisions to the poems at this point- don’t hold back, as this final reading may be your last chance to make changes before you send the book out into the world. Proofreading your own work is difficult- ask a friend, or two, to proofread the manuscript for you, and go through all their notes carefully. Fresh eyes will likely spot some errors that slid right by you but do not feel that you must accept every editorial change they may suggest. When in doubt about punctuation or line breaks, read the poem aloud. Step 11: Research Venues for Submission Next, it’s time to seek appropriate venues for submission. Use a list of poetry publishers or links to poetry contests to identify places you want to submit your manuscript. It’s important to read the poetry books they’ve published or the previous winners of their competitions in order to decide if you want them to publish your work. Targeting your submissions to publishers of like works can also save you time and money on submissions that would have been rejected for not being appropriate to their current catalog. Publishing is a business, and if a manuscript wouldnt fit in with others in the companys catalog, its marketing department wouldnt know what to do with it, regardless of its quality. Weed those publishers out before sending the manuscript anywhere. Keep notes on why a publisher is a good fit, to mention in your submission cover letter. Step 12: Apply! After you have selected a publisher or a contest, reread its guidelines and follow them exactly. Print a fresh copy of your manuscript in the format requested, use the submission form if there is one, and enclose the applicable reading fee. Try to let go of your manuscript after you’ve mailed it off- it may take a long time for you to get a response, and obsessing over one manuscript submission will only set you up for disappointment. It never hurts, however, to keep thinking about the order and title of your book and to submit it to other contests and publishers in the meantime (so long as the companies you’ve sent it to accept simultaneous submissions).

Common law and equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common law and equity - Essay Example Equity was developed in order to overcome the inadequacies of common law. Equitable remedies are available in a number of areas where common law is either incapable of providing justice or is not faultless in providing justice to the individuals. The main purpose of equity jurisdiction is to support the existing laws. Equity was developed to propose principles that are either ignored by common law or not formally accepted in that set of law. Moreover, equity proposes certain remedies that are unavailable in common law. In certain circumstance, common law decisions or remedies are insufficient to provide justice to the innocent (Hudson, 2009). For instance, in the matters involving mortgages, where the lenders are to a piece of land as a security of the loan granted, the principles in equity and common law greatly distinguish from each other. Let’s assume that Angelina grants a loan of $5,000 to Joseph, after considering a piece of land as a security that worth $8,000. Accordin g to the contract, the land in question would be legally transferred on the name of the lender (Angelina), on the terms that she would retransfer the land on Josephs name if he repays the loan in the specified time. If Joseph fails to repay the loan in the specified time, common law gives no entitlement to Joseph for the land that was conveyed and the duty to repay the loan still exists. However, equity practices such situations in a different and more reasonable manner. According to the rules of equity, Joseph would be given another chance to repay the loan in a new specified time. If Joseph still fails to repay, the land which was let for security will be sold and the loan will be repaid. The additional amount would be given to Joseph as it belongs to him. It is not just the matters of mortgages where equity provides a more reasonable and just decision but it also works better in many other areas. Equity and common law are not only different in terms of laws and

One area of my business that I would like to change. The necessities Essay

One area of my business that I would like to change. The necessities of staff change - Essay Example In order to stay in a competitive market, fine tuning of business strategies or implementation of changes are necessary. I am running a Honda cars sales outlet at present and I would like to change the sales staff completely to promote more sales. My existing sales staffs are not competent enough to capture more business in this ever changing competitive market. Majority of them are more than 45 years of age. This paper describes why I want to implement a staff change in the sales department. The necessities of staff change Traditional Sales Mind-set always delivers a strong sales pitch. New Sales Mind-set stops the sales pitch -- and start a conversation. Traditional Sales Mind-set always looks for closing the sale. New Sales Mind-set is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit (Galper, 2011). Relationship building is accepted as the core of every business activity at present. In other words, building strong relations with the customers is necessary fo r the benefit of a company. In this extremely competitive world, the value of customers is increasing rapidly. No organization can sustain its operations if it fails to attract a substantial volume of customers. My sales staffs are following the traditional patters of sales management. They are more interested only in capturing business than servicing the customers after the sales. In their opinion, their duty is over once they bring enough sales to the company. I got many complaints from different customers about the reluctance of my sales staff in servicing them after the closing of sales. The mind-set of my existing staffs needs to be changed completely. Even though I tried to empower them with the help of modern training methods, it is difficult for them to change their traditional methods and attitudes. A new sales team with ample knowledge in modern sales management techniques may serve better than my existing sales team. With superior knowledge in modern communication channel s and technologies, a new sales team would

Physics of Whales Swimming :: physics whale swim

Animals can't rotate like wheels on a car. They must move by oscillatory motion. The resulting flow of fluids are complex and create agonizing studies for biofluid students. These students often find themselves at the forefront on research in fluid dynamics of unsteady, complex viscous flows. Often men have marveled at the dolphins and whale and at how gracefully they moved through the water. Jim Rohr, a fluid dynamicist working for the US Navy was on an evening cruise in the waters near San Diego when he saw nature doing what scientists had failed to do in the lab: reveal water motion to the naked eye. Watching the plankton bioluminesce as the boat moved by he realized that if he could measure that luminescing he could measure fuid dynamics, turbulence and laminar flow. But how do the plakton know that the water is moving? And what forces act on animals as they swim? The answer is mechanical strain of relative motion. Fluids flow around walls slower than they flow in the middle. As the fast molecules tug on the slow ones this creates shear stress. Since velocity is always zero, the faster the liquid, or the animal moving through it, the greater the sheer stress. This is laminar flow. But at some point laminar flow turns to turbulence. Turbulence decreases speed because it increases drag. The plakton were feeling the pull of the drag gainst their cells and luminescing. Whales create spectacular sights as they cruise through the ocean. We have observed them as they thrust with powerful tails and direct themselves with stiff pectoral flukes. To move forward they swing their tail in vertical motions. This powerful motion can push them for hundreds of miles during migration or jettison them out of the water in amazing aerial displays. Below is an animation of an orca as it moves its tail to go forward. Notice that the front of the body is fairly rigid as a planning surface. Other whales, like the Grey Whale, are more streamline for longer journeys. The gray whale migrates from Alaska to Baja twice a year in the spring and fall. Rohr believed that bioluminescence could solve a very large question: do whales and dolphins have frictionless skin and can we imitate it? Laminar flow creates much less shear stress than turbulent flow at the same velocity because there is no swirling or random motion.

Alcoholism And Rehabilitation

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is unfortunately a widespread ailment which spans people of all age groups and socioeconomic levels. The health risks of this disease, and alcoholism is a disease, are as widespread as the individuals who contract it. In addition to these health risks, alcoholism is also an influencing factor in another problem plaguing societies, domestic violence. Thus, alcohol and anger create a sometimes fatal combination. As a result, rehabilitation success rates are vital in the ridding alcoholism and its negative effects from society.Alcoholism is a disease which can be described by degree. Alcohol dependence describes individuals who have developed a â€Å"maladaptive pattern† of alcohol consumption which is characterized by a developing alcohol tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, or hangovers, and the inability to stop drinking. It doesn’t stop there People with alcohol dependence may progress to alcohol abuse which can significantly in terfere with their social lives, their work or their interpersonal relationships.In addition, this abuse can also cause a host of related issues including â€Å"major depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, personality disorders, any drug use disorder, schizophrenia, and suicide† (Cargiulo 2007). According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), drinking up to 14 drinks in a week for men or seven drinks per week as a woman could indicate alcohol dependence. In addition, the NIAAA estimates that up to nearly 18 million Americans could be considered alcoholics (Lauer 2006).That amounts to way too many individuals who are addicted to a drug that is both physically and mentally harmful, not to mention the effects on society as a whole. Despite the many mental and physiological problems that are associated with alcoholism, some of the most frightening are the health problems associated with the brai n. Evidence exists that shows the damage that alcohol consumption does to the brain. Brain imaging studies have revealed that people with alcoholism have significant differences in parts of their brains than those without alcoholism.The brain volume is reduced in alcoholics as well as the blood flow to the brain. The reduced blood flow has been linked to a lowering of inhibitions and memory, impaired cognitive function in general and even damage to the corpus callosum (Cargiulo 2007). Thus, alcoholism can directly translate to serious problems with the mind. These problems can lead to long term brain damage. Lesions in the brain form in those with long term patterns of alcohol abuse. This can translate into Korsakoff’s disease which is characterized by motor impairment and thinking impairments which can affect a person’s ability to care for himself.In the end, the individual may have to be cared for institutionally. Alcohol affects the neurotransmitters in the brain. A s the disease progresses to chronic status, the brain cells begin to adapt to the alcohol that seems to reside permanently in the brain. As a result, the brain becomes reliant on the alcohol to work. If alcohol is removed, the symptoms of withdrawal take longer and longer to subside. Ultimately, the brain tissue will rebel, in a way, and the withdrawal symptoms can be severe, even fatal. Once the cells in the brain die, they cannot be regenerated (Shoemaker 2003).These effects seem to affect males to a greater degree than females. This fact can be explained by differences in drinking patters, choice of alcoholic drinks, rate of alcohol metabolism and the protective effects of hormones such as estrogen (de Bruin, 2005) As such, alcohol dependency and abuse is three times more prominent in men as it is in women even though evidence suggests that for both genders, the numbers are underreported (Cargiulo 2007). As if the physical effects on the body were not bad enough, the behaviors of individuals who are addicted to alcohol are also quite dangerous.The drinkers find themselves to be less inhibited and more willing to engage in risky behaviors. Many of these behaviors can be characterized as aggressive and violent. In addition to the money that society has to pay for the medical care, it is also very costly to sort through all the social issues that alcoholism may create. Galvani (2004) gives several possible reasons why this risky and damaging behavior may occur in drinkers. Physiological theories argue that ethanol, the drug in alcohol increase aggression biologically.A theory known as Disinhibition Theory notes the earlier link between alcohol and cognitive function, specifically the portion of the brain mentioned above that regulates levels if inhibition. The Deviance Disavowal theory argues that the abusers use alcohol as a reason for their behavior and consciously drinks so that they can blame the alcohol for their actions. Social Learning theories explain that people will act in a way based on their experiences around others. Therefore, parents and societal expectations can lead to alcoholic abuse and abusive behaviors (Galvani, 2004).As with many ailments, more than one option for treatment exists. Many of these options can occur in conjunction with others. For years, behavior modification such as one might find in various 12 – Step Program or other similar programs have been the way of choice. These programs focus on the addicts significantly changing the way they behave in society including the people with whom they associate. Either a professional or a group of individuals led by a former addict facilitate the alcoholic’s recovery.Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), is an organization most known for its success rates for alcoholics’ recovery. It is available to anyone who desires its services. Lately increasing research evidence has found that a 12-step program affiliation is not only effective on its own, but even mo re effective along with professional, medical treatment, including residence based programs. The truth is, â€Å"Involvement with AA is consistently and positively associated with improved drinking outcomes, replicated across a large volume of studies using a variety of treatment methods† (Cloud, Zeigler and Blondell, 2004).The reason for this success is the three core items of AA: identification of self as a member, the number of steps completed, and the quantity of meetings attended (Cloud, Zeigler and Blondell, 2004). It can be a tiring process for an already worn individual. Because so many of these types of programs rely on frequent attendance by the alcoholics. One study sought to find the correlation, if any, between the duration of treatment and the level of intensity of the treatment. Moos and Moos (2003) conducted a study of 276 alcoholics who began formal treatment for alcohol abuse.These patients were involved with out-patient programs, residential programs, or a combination of the two. The average length of treatment was 20. 7 weeks, and the average intensity, or number of contacts, was 2. 8 contacts per week. These researchers first note that the individuals who had longer duration of treatment usually had less intense treatment. They found that patients who had a short treatment duration, which is considered 1-8 weeks, were more likely to abstain from alcohol than those who received no help whatsoever.If the treatment lasted for nine weeks or more, then the patient was even more likely to abstain from alcohol. This seems to suggest that the longer the treatment duration, the better the individual may respond to the treatment (Moos and Moos, 2003). However, recently the question has arisen as to whether or not recovering alcoholics must completely abstain from alcohol or not. Most programs, such as AA, or other groups perhaps affiliated with churches or in-patient and out-patient residential programs, build potential and motivation for suc cess on complete life changes.These changes includes huge behavior shifts which focus on completely eliminating alcohol. Unfortunately, many people do not seek treatment because they don’t want to completely give up the occasional beer or social glass or wine. Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst (2005) agree and have encouraged programs like Moderation Management which do not force individuals to part with alcoholic beverages forever. Allowing a choice of goal may be one effective way to increase the numbers of people willing to enter alcohol treatment.It is estimated that as few as 10% of individuals with alcohol use disorders attend treatment; more flexible goals may appeal to a wider range of these people. There is also evidence that therapy can move people toward choosing a realistic drinking goal for themselves (Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst, 2005). On one side of this debate are those that argue in favor of abstinence. They say that the disease controls the individual and that this person will definitely lose control of they are exposed to alcohol, even a small amount . (Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst, 2005).Never drinking again is the surest way to â€Å"cure† this disease. Alcohol recovery patients are constantly reminded that they are and always will be an alcoholic, just like a diabetic always will be a diabetic. Opponents to the abstinence-only argument argue that people and their problems with alcohol are all different with different times of drinking and different levels of drinking. The researchers use the common phrase â€Å"different strokes for different folks† in describing this philosophy. While they agree that some problems require abstinence, but they allow that other individuals could moderate their drinking and still improve.They call this a â€Å"harm-reduction orientation toward alcohol problems† which â€Å"focuses less on the amount of alcohol consumed and more on helping individuals decrease the harms rel ated to alcohol use. Although abstinence may be desirable, it is not the primary measure of successful outcomes† (Humphries, Weingardt, aned Hoyst, 2005). Some of the personal demographics of individuals who are more likely to experience success on non-abstinent programs include younger people, those with social and psychological stability, those who are regularly employed, and those who believe that they can seriously manage a moderate drinking program.However, if the patients are pregnant, experiencing liver problems, or are in the advanced stages of alcoholism, they may be forced to consider only the abstinence route (Humphries, Weingardt, and Hoyst, 2005). Another reason that some people avoid seeking treatment for alcoholism is their reluctance to commit to residential or in-patient treatment. Luckily, recent studies have indicated that outpatient treatment is effective in treating alcoholic dependency. Studies of this type have reported abstinence rates of 34-59% for 6 m onths post-treatment, 48 % for 19 to 24-month post-treatment and 52% for the 49-month post-treatment mark.In Bottlende and Soyka’s study of 2005, their rates were slightly higher for the six month mark at 64% abstaining, and 14 % significantly reducing their alcohol intake with a 22% rate of serious relapse. Perhaps, if people understood that they could get good results with a outpatient program, they would be more inclined to seriously consider treatment. Additionally, alcoholics do not need lengthy terms of treatment. Perhaps a brief commitment would do the trick for many with alcohol problems.â€Å"Brief interventions targeting alcohol consumption have been found to be very effective in changing clients’ consumption levels† (Roche and Freeman, 2004). One study cited by these researchers noted that heavy drinkers were likely to reduce the amount of alcohol they consumed six and twelve months after a brief intervention as compared with similarly heavy drinkers who received no interventions whatsoever: A WHO study conducted in eight countries involving over 1600 participants found that brief interventions reduced daily alcohol consumption on average by 17% and intensity of drinking by 10%.Brief interventions also reduce the number of alcohol-related problems, health-care utilization and associated treatment costs and the number of emergency department admissions. Brief interventions are also highly cost-efficient due to the minimal cost of the intervention and the breadth of scope for prevention of more serious and more costly problems (Roche and Freeman, 2004). However, the same benefits were not noted for women or for low consumers of alcohol who occasionally drank at very hazardous levels, also known as binge drinkers.Evidence suggests that â€Å"the majority of alcohol-related harms† affect these moderate to low drinkers who binge (Roche and Freeman, 2004). This study just shows that people do react differently to alcohol. One h uge area of research in alcohol rehabilitation right now is in the area of gender. The above study mentioned that women do not receive the same level of benefits from brief interventions as men receive. This has led many researchers to fill the research gap between studies that focus on only males or on mixed genders and females. While women have a lower rate of substance abuse, those that are alcoholics suffer just as men do.In fact, women actually suffer more severe effects in some cases than men do. For example, women have more alcohol related health issues, â€Å"mental disorders, death rates, quicker addictions and greater social isolation and stigma† (Najavits, Rosier, and Nolan, 2007). This is unfortunate because women have become increasingly more addicted to alcohol at younger and younger years of age. However, studies also indicate that while in treatment, women show more rapid improvement and are more able to control impulsive behaviors that are so problematic for men (Najavits, Rosier, and Nolan, 2007).Of course, one rehabilitative method that is often overlooked in the search to rehabilitate alcoholics is the pharmacological method. While drugs are frequently use to aid in helping alcoholics avoid painful and dangerous withdrawal symptoms, others are now being marketed as treatment methods themselves. One such drug is Acamprosate which is a synthetic compound with a similar structure to that of the neurotransmitter GABA and the neuromodulator Taurine† (Scott, Figgitt, and Keam, 2005).Once the patient is detoxified, Acomprosate helps the patient maintain abstinence in the place of rehabilitation programs. This way, individuals can maintain his social and professional life. Several studies found this to be true a year after use had begun â€Å"irrespective of disease severity or the type of psychosocial support† (Scott, Figgitt, and Keam, 2005) the patient received. Also, the drug appears to pose few tolerance issues such as naus ea, diarrhea or the like. A second prescription medication is available for the treatment of alcoholism.Naltrexone has also produced very positive results in promoting abstinence among recovering alcoholics. This drug has also had several positive research trials and works better in conjunction with behavioral therapy. One way this drugs works is to result in a reduced urge to drink and negative physical side effects if it is taken in conjunction with alcohol (Rohsenow, 2004). Alcoholism is a horrible, addictive disease that leads not only to medical problems such as brain and liver problems, but also to psychological problems, social problems and even violent behavior.The disease affects individuals differently, and new approaches are always being considered to treat each sufferer. While abstinence only and residential programs seem to have prevailed in the past, the new approaches are leaning to more brief, outpatient programs and interventions that support both abstinence and mod eration when it comes to alcohol consumption. These new programs also take into account differences that result from race and gender. With hope, this disease will soon be tamed, or even eradicated, with better and better rehabilitation programs.. References Bottlender, M. & Soyka, M. (2005). Efficacy of an Intensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Program in Alcoholism: Predictors of Outcome 6 Months after Treatment. European Addiction Research 11 (3): 132-137. Cargiulo, T. (2007). Understanding the health impact of alcohol dependence. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 64: S1-S17 Cloud, RN, Ziegler, CH, & Blondell, RD. What is Alcoholics Anonymous Affiliation? Substance Use & Misuse 39(7), 2004: 1117-1136 Galvani, S. (2004). Responsible disinhibition: Alcohol, men and violence to women.Addiction Research & Theory 12 (4): 357-371 Humphreys, K, Weingardt, KR, & Horst, D. Prevalence and predictors of research participant eligibility criteria in alcohol treatment outcome studies, 197 0-98. Addiction 100(9), Sep 2005: 1249-1257 Moos, RH & Moos BS. Long-term influence of duration and intensity of treatment on previously untreated individuals with alcohol use disorders. Addiction 98 (3), March 2003: 325-337. Najavits, LM, Rosier, M, & Nolan, AL. (2007). A New Gender-Based Model for Women's Recovery From Substance Abuse: Results of a Pilot Outcome Study.American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 33(1), 2007: 5-11 Roche, AM & Freeman, T. (2004). Brief interventions: Good in theory but weak in practice. Drug and Alcohol Review 23(1):11-18. Rohsenow, Damaris J. (2004). What Place Does Naltrexone Have in the Treatment of Alcoholism? CNS Drugs 18(9): 547-560. Scott, LJ, Figgitt, DP, and Keam, SJ. (2005). Acamprosate: A Review of its Use in the Maintenance of Abstinence in Patients with Alcohol Dependence. CNS Drugs 19(5): 445- 464 Shoemaker, W. (2003). Alcohol’s Effects on the Brain. Nutritional Health Review: The Consumer’s Medical Journal 88:

The First Ammendment and Dealing with the Separation of...

The First Ammendment and Dealing with the Separation of Church and State Is it unconstitutional for local, state or federal governments to favor one religion over another? Government can show favoritism toward religion by displaying religious symbols in public places at taxpayer expense, by sponsoring events like Christmas concerts, caroling, by supporting the teaching of religious ideas, or even by supporting the teaching of creationism in public schools. It appears the United States government has had a history of favoring Christianity. The United States governments favoritism of Christianity is a clear violation of the First Amendment. This amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an†¦show more content†¦Even in the early stages of American history there was an urge to put legally protected freedoms into written government documents. The result was the drafting of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, by James Madison (Klinker: 110-111). The applications of the personal freedoms described in the Bill of Rights, particularly the freedom of speech, have been challenged repeatedly in American courts of law and elsewhere. These incidents and challenges of authority reflect the defensive American attitude toward the ever important freedom of expression and the growing significance of personal rights throughout American history. The church became intermingled with politics and became a strong entity. The policies delivered from the church had more authority than the local rulers and magistrates of the developing feudal system. For example, St. Augustine wrote about war and what justified its enactment against fellow men (Witt, 1998: 99). This policy was followed and adhered to for hundreds of years after St. Augustine wrote it. Another example, is the use of the Bible as a guideline for establishing governing systems. Scripture portrayed God as choosing the king of the people. The Pope, being Gods representative was then given the authority to crown the king. This crowning process gave the Pope large influence in the political arena. This ritual continued for a number of centuries (Witt: 100). One could recognize theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Is America Really the Home of the Free?2251 Words   |  10 Pages What about Freedom for All? The most common phrase in America today is â€Å"Home of the Free†. When America first started out in the Colonies the above quote was probably very true. As time has passed through the centuries, America has felt the need to regulate and reduce the freedom that our founding fathers had intentionally planned for us. Such things as religion, reproductive rights, Native Americans and their rights, and marriage rights are being marginalized. These rights could be considered