Time For A Change :: Essays Papers

Time For A Change The more that I learn about fossil fuels and their effect on the environment, the more surprised I become about the state of the world we live in. It seems that we live in a time that demands instant gratification. The problem with instant gratification is that the repercussions are seldom thought about. While millions of people think nothing of driving their cars for hours a day, the effects of decades of this behavior are already manifesting themselves around the world. This is particularly true in the United States, where mass consumption of fossil fuels are propagating serious environmental hazards. Perhaps the problem that strikes me as most frightening is the problem of acid rain. The nitrogens and sulfides in fossil fuels that we burn are wrecking serious havoc on the air we breathe. It is horrifying for me to think of rain falling that contains extremely corrosive and damaging factors. If this rain has the ability to corrode buildings, monuments and stat ues, I can only imagine how its long term effects must damage organic matter (Acid Rain, March 2005). It is also difficult to predict the future of this state. Will the problem intensify with time or will the recent slew of clear air acts and proposals have a palpable effect on the air we breathe? Have we passed the point of irreversibility or can we ameliorate the problems that have building over the last decades in the golden age of fossil fuels? Despite the looming problems at hand, I can’t help but feel optimistic about the situation. Technology has gotten us into this problem, and it could very well get us out of it. One breakthrough in technology could easily reduce the incidence of pollution in the long run. With the emergence and surprising popularity of hybrid cars (Hybrid Cars, March 2005) and all the research into alternative fuels such as hydrogen, it seems that the only thing missing is the technology itself. The market is clearly there. Hybrid cars have sold an astounding already. Also, considering the unprecedented exponential rate of technological advance in the past 100 years, it seems almost inevitable that a breakthrough is just around the corner.

Adventure in pisay

Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Biological Science Year and Section: AAA Resource Teacher 1: Mrs.. Minute Date: August 4, 2014 Cooperating School: Philippine Science High School – Bucolic Region Campus Instructional materials are designed for use by students and teachers as a earning resource for students to acquire essential knowledge, skills, abilities and dispositions.This includes print and non-print materials, including comprehensive/ core textbooks, supplemental materials, web-based and electronic textbooks, and other type of Instructional materials being use by teachers in a classroom. Topic: Culture Media Preparation Instructional Material used: Power point presentation and Textbook Instructions: use the checklist below to evaluate the instructional material (s) use by our resource teacher.Place a (0 mark on the blank before each item If the instructional material (s) fit the description or an (x) mark If It does not fit the description. 1. The instructional m aterials used by the teacher align with the learning objectives. Lesson. 2. The instructional material is appropriate for the content of the 3. It supports self-directed learning. 4. The Instructional material is flexible In Its use. 5.The Instructional trials reinforce the learning and stimulate Interest of the learners. 6. It commensurate with student's learning abilities. Active learning. 7. It engages student in 8. Real-world application is relevant to students. 9. Instructional material provides access to or demonstrates concepts in multiple ways, allowing for a variety of students responses. Of skills and concepts at grade level. 10. Instructional material Includes application 11. The Instructional material present

Characterization Of Everyday Use By Alice Walker - 912 Words

Characterization is considered to be an element of literature. Analyzing characterization is the key to finding a fictional story’s theme, and it is made known through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization tells the personality or traits of the character, while indirect presents the character by their actions. Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† is a short story that reveals its theme through characterization and used by exposing the characters values, heritage, and insecurities. The literary sub ¬genre of â€Å"Everyday Use† is realistic fiction. This story focuses its writing and plot around the values of a rural family. Walker’ story is about two sisters and a mother who live in a rural section of Georgia. The oldest daughter left and pursued a college career and after a while she decides visit her mother. At the end of her visit she intends to leave with some of the family heirlooms two quilts. The mother finds out her d aughter only wants the quilts as a pretense of displaying heritage. Alice Walker story exposes the theme of heritage. Throughout the story, Walker uses indirect characterization to describe Dee, and direct characterization to describe Maggie and Mama, in order to reveal the different ways that people embrace their heritage. The indirect characterization of Dee shows how she embraces her heritage superficially. While Dee is shown to be spoiled and selfish, throughout the story her indirect characterization is shown through her ownShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Flowers, By Alice Walker1525 Words   |  7 Pageswas how Alice Walker grew up. She has written stories about her life, and stories that have had an impact on her life based on how she grew up. The two short stories The Flowers and Everyday Use have a common theme of feeling comfortable, safe, and at peace when one is home. Walker uses diction, syntax, and characterization to develop this common theme in her writing. A house is a safe comfortable place where one can feel at peace and in The Flowers and Everyday Use, the author Alice Walker developsRead MoreCharacterization And Suspense In Alice Walkers Everyday Use987 Words   |  4 Pages but those details can be used to build suspense when they are placed in the correct space. Characterization is a huge part of Walker’s piece, and the way in which she used imagery and past events builds suspense and provides only needed information. The suspense created by Walker creates a sense of uneasiness in the reader, and adds to the overall message of the story. Through foreshadowing, Alice Walker was able to build up her characters and her plot, while at the same time not giving away tooRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1725 Words   |  7 Pages17 April 2017 Everything is Not What it Seems Sometimes people forget that heritage has to do with truly understanding their past. Many often misrepresent it, especially the younger generations who just accept its presence. Alice Walker’s short story, â€Å"Everyday Use,† revolves around an African American family that consists of three women, who are very different from each other. The story begins with Maggie and Mama waiting in the yard for Dee, the main character, to visit from Augusta. Dee isRead MoreAnalysis Of Walker s Everyday Use863 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† The short story â€Å"Everyday Use,† by Alice Walker, contains multiple different literary elements. History and heritage play a key role in the development and conclusion of this rather intriguing story. Although history and heritage are important, the driving factors of this story are the literary elements. In particular the elements of symbols, characterization, and point of view in this story are significant. The use of symbols in this short story provide a deeperRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1111 Words   |  5 Pagesculture. Alice Walker highlights and distinguishes the dissimilarities and clichà © of country African American women with the actualities that make up their lives. Characterized by short, compound sentences, with long adjectives and use of literary elements, her style is eloquent conversational and authentic. Alice Walker’s short story, Everyday Use is stylistic, ironic and narrates profound interpretation of unique views and approaches to African-American culture. Walker’s use of characterization, contrastingRead MoreThe Usability of Symbolism in Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essay1230 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism is a technique that author’s uses to bring out the main importance of an object, but more emphasized details are being extracted in the usage of it. Alice Walker uses quilts, for example, to symbolize a â€Å"bond between womenâ €  (Spark Notes) a relationship between women, that would get passed down from generation to generation. In this story, symbolism plays a big role that makes this more attracted to the reader’s eyes. The characters such as the following: Mama Johnson, Dee, and Maggie allRead MoreEvery Day Use by Alice Walker Essay875 Words   |  4 PagesGrowing up in the late 60’s as an African American in the South, Alice Walker has had to withstand many of the oppressions black people faced at the time. Her direct experience with the torment of being prejudiced by her skin color and the national movements against this, have been the fundamental basis to the themes in her writings. In her story â€Å"Everyday Use,† she depicts the different understandings of culture between a literate daughter, Dee, and her mother and sister who have not been educatedRead MoreThe 1950’s -1960’s was a tough time for African Americans. Struggling for freedom since the 19th700 Words   |  3 Pagesthey were finally closer to getting what they deserved. Alice walker’s short stor y, â€Å"Everyday use,† describes the different stances blacks had during that decade. The author uses characterization, symbolism, and theme to demonstrate African American viewpoints during the civil rights movement. Characters are picked carefully because without them the plot of the story is nonexistent. In Alice walker’s short story, â€Å"Everyday Use,† there are three main characters. Mama is a â€Å"large, bigRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker923 Words   |  4 Pagestale of conflict between society’s upper and lower class. While controversial in the real world, this notion is not far-fetched in the realm of literature. For example, Alice Walker’s short story â€Å"Everyday Use† shows prominent signs of tension between classes. When examined from a Marxist perspective, Walker’s characters in â€Å"Everyday Use† highlight how each class values items and how survival needs and societal expectations differ among classes. To clarify, Walker’s narrative focuses on two classes ofRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker962 Words   |  4 Pages In Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use,† this story describes what a continuing theme in her writings is: the depiction of constant harmony and inner struggles and conflicts that the minority culture goes through especially the African-American society. In Alice Walker Short Story â€Å"Everyday Use† it centers on the relationships between a lower class family by the name of Johnson in a small poor rural community. This meeting takes place when the oldest daughter Dee comes home to visit her mother

Essay about Physician Assisted Suicide - 909 Words

Physician Assisted Suicide 1. A request for assisted Suicide is typically a cry for help. It is in reality a call for counseling, assistance, and positive alternatives as solutions for very real problems. 2. Suicidal Intent is typically transient. Of those who attempt suicide but are stopped, less than 4 percent go on to kill themselves in the next five years; less than 11 percent will commit suicide over the next 35 years. 3.Terminally Ill patients who desire death are depressed and depression is treatable In those with terminal illness. In one study, of the 24 percent of terminally ill patients who desired death, all had clinical depression. 4. Pain is controllable. Modern medicine has the ability to control pain. A person†¦show more content†¦Before beginning, I would like to preface my remarks with one disclaimer. I am currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine, on the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Additionally, I serve as Medical Director of our in-patient hospice and palliative care unit. Moreover, I serve on the board of our local hospice organization, Hospice of the Piedmont, where I also serve as Associate Medical Director. Though my work with these organizations has greatly enhanced nd deepened my commitment to the care of the terminally ill, I in no way claim to speak for or on behalf of any of the institutions for which I serve. The opinions expressed below and in my written testimony are entirely my own. Ladies and gentlemen of this committee, I am a physician who spends a significant part of his working day caring for terminally ill people and their families. It is work which I find ennobling, enriching, rewarding, and -- unfortunately -- sorely underrepresented in my profession. I come in contact almost daily with desperately ill people, with poorly managed symptoms, turning to our profession for help in their final days and weeks. It is these very patients -- the terminally ill, those in desperate pain, the isolated na marginalized on our society -- whom proponents of assisted-suicide would now have us aid toward what isShow MoreRelatedEssay On Physician Assisted Suicide1549 Words   |  7 PagesWriting Project Worksheet 1. This paper will examine the Washington state policy of physician-assisted suicide. 2. State Info: (characteristics, size, culture, political culture, industries, features, etc. to explain state support of policy) Washington is a state in the northwestern United States with an estimated population of 7,288,000, as of July 1, 2016. Washington’s population is primarily white at 69% (not including Hispanics), with Hispanics comprising 12.4%, Asians 8.6%, and African AmericansRead MoreThe Treatment Of Physician Assisted Suicide1025 Words   |  5 Pagesprecious hour will give the loved ones a time to say goodbye just before they die with dignity in physician assisted suicide. Terminally ill patients have the right to end their own lives using physician assisted suicide (PAS) without repercussions of laws and people with opposing opinions. According to an article from CNN.com, there are currently five states in the U.S. where physician-assisted suicide is currently legal. In order to be eligible legally for PAS the patient must have six months orRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide1418 Words   |  6 Pagesresult in patients giving up on life, physician-assisted suicide should be legalized in all fifty states for terminally ill patients with worsening or unbearable pain. What is physician-assisted suicide? â€Å"Suicide is the act of taking ones own life. In assisted suicide, the means to end a patient’s life is provided to the patient (i.e. medication or a weapon) with knowledge of the patients intention† (American Nurses Association). Physician-assisted suicide is known by many names such as deathRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide2301 Words   |  10 Pagesend-of-life decisions is â€Å"physician-assisted suicide† (PAS). This method of suicide involves a physician providing a patient, at his or her own request, with a lethal dose of medication, which the patient self-administers. The ethical acceptability and the desirability of legalization of this practice both continue to cause controversy (Raus, Sterckx, Mortier 1). Vaco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg were landmark decisions on the issue of physician-assisted suicide and a supposed ConstitutionalRead MoreThe Ethics Of Physician Assisted Suicide926 Words   |   4 Pagesethics of physician assisted suicide since the late 18th century. According to medicinenet the definition of physician assisted suicide is â€Å"the voluntary termination of one s own life by administrating a lethal substance with the direct assistance of a physician.† This would typically come into play if/when a critically ill patient wants to end their suffering. Confirming with the State-by-State Guide to Physician-Assisted Suicide, 5 states have Paquin 2 Legalized physician assisted suicide. CaliforniaRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Essay1214 Words   |  5 Pagesrelentless pain and agony through physician assisted death? Physician-Assisted Suicide PAS is highly contentious because it induces conflict of several moral and ethical questions such as who is the true director of our lives. Is suicide an individual choice and should the highest priority to humans be alleviating pain or do we suffer for a purpose? Is suicide a purely individual choice? Having analyzed and even experience the effects of physician assisted suicide, I promote and fully support itsRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Is A Controversial Topic1929 Words   |  8 PagesOne may have heard of suicide, but not physician-assisted suicide. The two are very different in terms of the act of taking one’s own life. For instance, physician-assisted suicide is done with help from another person, usually a physician; where the doctor is willing to assist with e ither the means of how to take one’s own life or the actual act itself. This can either be by prescribing lethal doses of drugs to these patients who want to take their own life or by counseling these patients onRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide : A Controversial Subject1692 Words   |  7 PagesPhysician-assisted suicide is a controversial subject all around the world. Although it is legal in some countries and states, such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Vermont it is not yet legal in most (Finlay, 2011). People travel from all around the world to these locations to receive information. Physician-assisted suicide is when terminally ill and mentally capable patients perform the final act themselves after being provided with the required meansRead MoreEssay on Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide1871 Words   |  8 PagesPhysician-assisted suicide should be a legal option, if requested, for terminally ill patients. For deca des the question has been asked and a clear answer has yet to surface. It was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. Can someones life be put into an answer? Shouldnt someones decision in life be just that; their decision? When someone has suffered from a car accident, or battled long enoughRead MoreThe Rights Of Physician Assisted Suicide1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe Right to Die By: Antony Makhlouf Antony Makhlouf PHR 102-006 Contemporary Moral Issues Final Paper The Right to Die Physician-assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia, has been a hot topic as of late. If you do not know what this is, physician-assisted suicide is the taking of ones life. This usually occurs when a patient is in a irreversible state, and must live through a tube. With multiple cases occurring in the past, current and the more to occur the in the future, this looks

Do We Have Free Will - 1560 Words

Do we have free will? Whether we have free will is widely controversial. The absence of a universal definition poses a primary problem to this question. In this essay, I shall base my argument on a set of three conditions for free will: 1) that the actor is unconstraint in his action, 2) the actor could have acted otherwise and 3) the actor must be ‘ultimately responsible’ (Kane, 2005: 121) for his action. After I have explained them, I shall apply these conditions to three scenarios that cover most, if not any, circumstances that occur when taking choices. The purpose of this essay is to show that if my conditions are true, none of the scenarios is based on free will and thus we do not have free will. The first condition seems to be obvious. If an actor wants to act in a certain way but constraints hinder him from doing so, then he cannot pursue his will; he is not free in his actions. This condition must be satisfied in order to have free will. My second notion of free will requires that an actor is able to decide between different possibilities of actions that lead towards different futures. Robert Kane calls this concept ‘a garden of forking paths’; every action leads to other actions that again allow for alternatives of action (Kane, 2005: 7). If an actor could not have done otherwise, he would not have had free choice. Even if he did not choose to do otherwise, he could not have done so. Free will seems to require the power to do otherwise, or our actions wouldShow MoreRelatedDo We Have a Free Will? Essay example1462 Words   |  6 Pages Do We Have A Free Will? An individual with â€Å"Free Will† is capable of making vital decisions and choices in life with own free consent. The individual chooses these decisions without any outside influence from a set of â€Å"alternative possibilities.† The idea of â€Å"free will† imposes a certain kind of power on an individual to make decisions of which he or she is morally responsible. This implies that â€Å"free will† would include a range of aspects such as originality, moral value, and self-governance. HoweverRead MoreFree Will : A Society Based On Rules And Conditions For Freedom1342 Words   |  6 Pages Jennifer Gephart Mrs. Hammock English 101 19 September 2015 Free Will Very few people in today’s society actually have free will. Free Will is described by Webster’s dictionary as â€Å"the ability to act at one’s own discretion.† America is a society based on rules and conditions for freedom. For this reason, one could argue that free will does not actually exist in American society. B.F. Skinner argues that we, in society, are like conditioned animals in his experiments, based onRead MoreCompatibilism vs. Imcompatibilism: Is There Really Free Will1043 Words   |  5 Pages　　Compatibilists and Incompatibilists debate determinism and free will. Determinism is the idea that our actions are determined by past events. In other words, in our present state we do not have control over our actions and they are pre-determined. Only one thing can happen given a certain condition and nothing else can occur. Determinism seems to pose a problem because it tests the possibility that we do not have free will or control over our actions because with certain conditions there can onlyRead MoreNot Freedom And Determinism Can Coexist1425 Words   |  6 PagesCompatibilists and incompatibilists have always disagreed on one issue: whether or not freedom and determinism can coexist. The compatibilist believes that the events in one’s life can be predetermined while the indiv idual can nevertheless have free will, while the incompatibilist believes that one must choose between free will or determinism as both cannot coexist. In this paper, I will argue that even though there may be some faults within the compatibilists ways of thinking, most of their argumentsRead MoreDiscussion On Free Will And Determinism1332 Words   |  6 Pagesgoing to discuss and argue about free will and determinism. What is free will, and do we have it? Free will is simply the power to act with no constraint, in other words, to act freely with no one holding us down. The controversial argument of this topic is if we have free will or not. According to physical determinism, â€Å"If our brain is in a certain state, then our next move is determined. Therefore, we do not have free will† (Holbach). According to others, we do have free will. In my paper, I will talkRead MoreThe True Freedom Of Free Will1180 Words   |  5 Pagessomething we can possess. Once we take away what ever it is that is holding us back, at our core there is freedom granted to everyone. Exploring the idea of what true freedom is and whether or not we have it we begin to see philosophical theories arise that gives us alternatives to these preconceptions. Freedom, specifically free will, is usually the one thing we believe we have. Even though there are obvious factors affecting us, our free will, or freedom, is what we think we truly possess. Free willRead MoreDo People Really Have Free Will Essay867 Words   |  4 PagesDo people really have free will? Toshia Perry Axia College Slide 2 What exactly is free will? Speaker notes: It is the ability for a person to determine some or all of his actions. Some consider free will to be its own cause. Some consider free will to be independent of any other causation, predestination, or predetermination by any other person, event, or stimulus. Of course, this does not make sense since a person is free to do as he/she wants but what he/she wants can only be consistentRead MoreConception of Free Will and the Concept of a Person1392 Words   |  6 Pagesconception of free will and the concept of a person. Sartre’s main point is on existentialism, the fundamentals of freedom and the responsibilities of our emotions and desires. Frankfurt focuses on the first order and second order desires. Identifying with a desire and externalizing them and taking a stance as an agent, as well as, the importance of morality and self interest. Jean-Paul Sartre is a philosopher who argues about the conception of free will. In order to establish the existence of free willRead MoreThe Basic Theories Of The Free Will1095 Words   |  5 PagesAm I free to choose what I do? That is a question most people don t ask themselves. I believe that most people believe we have free will. I believe that many we are never truly free to choose. That our choices are ultimately affected by the situations around us that lead to choice we make. When viewing perspective we can decided that ultimately what around can shape us to do good or bad. This question ultimately leads us to an overwhelming question when it comes to the freedom we have in life andRead MoreFree Will Essay example1168 Words   |  5 PagesFree Will I want to argue that there is indeed free will. In order to defend the position that free will means that human beings can cause some of what they do on their own; in other words, what they do is not explainable solely by references to factors that have influenced them. My thesis then, is that human beings are able to cause their own actions and they are therefore responsible for what they do. In a basic sense we are all original actors capable of making moves in the world. We

Dave Matthews Tim Reynolds free essay sample

The crowd at the new University of New Hampshire coliseum was on their feet the minute Dave Matthews and long-time friend, Tim Reynolds stepped out onto the illuminated stage. With Tims classical style guitar riffs, and Daves overwhelming singing, the fans at UNH had nothing to complain about. Starting off with one of Daves favorite songs, Warehouse to Reynolds jaw-dropping solo Stream, the non-stop duo played through the night. It was interesting to see that Dave was really with the crowd the whole night and making pleasant conversation with everybody and telling hilarious stories, one excited fan said after the show. Traditionally, Dave and Tim scaled the neck of the guitar with Ants Marching right before the encore which took the excited crowd completely off their feet. After three minutes, Matthews and Reynolds took their places once again to play a few more tunes. Leading off with an unreleased song Tangerine, they left the stage with Dave and Tims version of an old John Prine song titled Angel from Montgomery. We will write a custom essay sample on Dave Matthews Tim Reynolds or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Leaving the coliseum, no negative responses were heard. One fan put it best when he said Its a once-in-a-lifetime show when you get to see one of your favorite musicians, and a guy who plays the axe like Tim does, in the same building. If you get a chance, make sure you check out Dave and Tim if theyre in the area. You wont be disappointed

Introduction to Contemporary Society

Introduction Human societies consist of individuals and groups of individuals with different needs, interests, and aspirations. Furthermore, different individuals are endowed with different qualities. For instance, some are physically stronger than others while others are intellectually well endowed than others. Some have special talents and abilities which distinguishes them from the rest of the members of a society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Introduction to Contemporary Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, we all belong to different and unique socio-economic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds which profoundly impacts up on our social standing (Perry Perry, 2005). Interactions between and among individuals and groups of individuals takes place within matrices that are made up by these diverse features which more often determines our social status as well as how powerful we are as individua ls or groups in a society. In our endeavor to satisfy our basic need of power and influence, some people take advantage of their privileged status in the society to intimidate others and assert their power in relation to others who are ignorantly and blindly considered less important. Schools are perfect examples of institutions consisting of individual students and groups of students who are different in power and status despite the principle of equality before the eyes of the school rules and regulations and laws of the land. Available statistical evidence shows that senior students in public schools bully new and junior students a trend that is common in most of our public schools and that have reached alarming rates prompting an outcry of concerned stakeholders. Covert or overt bullying in words or actions is definitely a bad and an unacceptable behaviour in all schools and other social set ups consisting of different people. It is a result of misguided efforts of the senior stu dents to achieve, assert and re-affirm their power (Holt Kysilka, 2005). According to Glasser, one of the greatest psychologists of our age, all of our behaviors (good or bad) and choices are motivated by our desire to meet six basic needs including survival, belonging, love, power, freedom and fun (Glasser, 1998). Through harassment in words and actions, senior students in public schools seek to confirm their seniority and power in relation to new and junior students (Crime in America.Net 2009). Bullying results in to devastating, dehumanizing and destructive consequences up on junior students including loneliness, stress, low self-esteem, poor self-confidence and lack of self-assurance among others which ultimately distract students’ concentration in their studies. This results to poor academic performance as well as poor social and emotional development of the bullied students (Crime in America.Net, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the media influences p ublic opinion on social issues of concern like bullying which is rampant in our public schools and establish similarities and differences of reporting on Bullying by two articles from a broadsheet and a Tabloid newspaper, that is, ‘The Guardian’ and the ‘The Star’ respectively.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More How the media influences public opinion on social issues Information is a critical ingredient for unity, stability and socio-economic and political progress of a society. In fact, mature and genuinely democratic cultures grants and safeguards the constitutional rights of individual citizens to access all information on public affairs except any information that can compromise national security of a country. Equally important is the means and avenues through which information is relayed to individuals and groups of individuals in the society. Theref ore, the media (both print and electronic media) plays a significant role in democratic cultures of providing a means through which information on social, political and economic issues at national as well as international levels is relayed to the citizenry. The media enjoys a very influential status in democratic countries where there is freedom of the media from unnecessary and unconstitutional state control. Consequently, media tends to have immense influence up on public opinion on social issues. Mass media is significant given the way they represent the outer world influences in our minds. In other words, the way mass media represents an issues influences our perception and understanding of the issue. Siegel, Siegel Lotenberg (2007) point out that what we see on the internet, television, newspapers and magazines and hear on our radios influences us in two ways. First, it tells us what to think about. Secondly, it influences how we think about it (Siegel, Siegel Lotenberg, 2007 ).In a nut shell, the media plays a significant role in the formation of people’s awareness on issues as well as their opinions of what issues are important. The mass media also plays an influential role in setting the policy agenda, that is, priorities of law makers, senior government servants and policy influencers such as think tanks, political parties and lobbyists (Siegel, Siegel Lotenberg, 2007). Most scholars believe that media’s greatest influence on public affairs and politics is found in their power to put in place political agenda, that is, a list of political and socio-economic issues that the public classify as needing urgent government attention (Janda, Berry Goldman, 2011). In the United States, tremendously believe that the media puts a strong influence on t heir socio-political institutions and about nine out of ten Americans believe that the media strongly influence public opinion (Janda, Berry Goldman, 2011).For example, pictures of cheerful Iraqi s destroying an effigy of Saddam Hussein impacted up on the American public opinion about war in Iraq. However, it is important to note that establishing general effects of the media on public opinion about more general social and political issues is difficult. Sometimes the media force the government to act on distasteful social issues such as child abuse, wrongful execution of death sentence, racial discrimination as well as violence and bullying in our learning institutions and work places (Janda, Berry Goldman, 2011). It can also force the government to deal with issues regarded as exclusively a preserve of the scientific community like cloning, HIV/AIDS and climate change (Janda, Berry Goldman, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Introduction to Contemporary Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A Comparison and Contrasting of Two Articles on Bullying from a broadsheet and a Tabloid newspaper How a piece of Information on an issue is passed on to an individual news consumer or the public is critical in determining efficiency and effectiveness of communication in a society. In most cases information about a given happening or issue differs in terms of language, style, content and presentational features used by an individual media outlets (Robertson, 2006). Despite reporting on the same event or issue different newspapers, magazines or television stations differs in the above mentioned aspects. To illustrate this we shall look at the differences evident in reporting on a similar case of bullying by a broadsheet newspaper and a tabloid newspaper. The prime differences between a broadsheet and a tabloid newspaper are their sizes; a tabloid newspaper is half the size of a broadsheet (Franklin, 2008; Batchhelor, 2004; coursework.info, 2005). As a result, you require a junior reading age to read a tabloid newspaper articles because there are shorter articles, and more pictures (cour sework.info, 2005). On the other hand, to read broadsheet newspaper articles you require a senior reading age because they use long terms, they also tend to be more in-depth and detailed (coursework.info, 2005).Tabloid newspaper consist of the Mirror, Sun and Star. Broadsheet newspapers include the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and Times. ‘The Daily Star’ a tabloid newspaper and ‘The Guardian’ a broadsheet newspaper reported the incident of the girl who killed herself allegedly because of bullying on thirteenth October 2003 (coursework.info, 2005). Despite reporting on a similar happening there were key differences in the articles that featured in the two newspapers in terms of language, tone, layout, content, style and presentational approach adopted by the two newspapers. In the Daily Star, the article was titled ‘Taunted to Death’ while in the Guardian it was titled ‘Bullied Girl Kills Herself’ (coursework.info, 2005). The langu age used by authors of the two newspapers articles is different and has the potential to make different news consumers to create different mental pictures about a similar social issue. This becomes the source of differences on what different readers think about a similar issue as well as how they think about it and understand it. For example, a reader of the article in the Star may think of the issue in terms of mocking by just referring to the title of the article before reading more details. Another reader who has been to a public school and is conversant with bullying may be curious to read the whole story in the Guardian in order to find out what kind of bullying it was that made the girl decide to take away her life. Such a reader may have been bullied or harassed others and may be shocked to hear that what he or she used to think was a normal school culture could have destructive consequences due to the clarity of the title in the Guardian and thus want to read more.Advertisin g Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The title of the article in the Guardian can also arouse pictures and memories of bullying in readers during the days of their schooling faster than the title of the article in the Star newspaper. In short, by reading the titles of the two articles in the Guardian and Star only readers may think of different things about the same issue before inquiring into the details of the stories that follow. The style used by the two newspapers also differs significantly. In the Guardian the heading of the article is bold and was written in white letters against a black background in order to attract the attention of the reader. The font of the story’s content is equally big and easily readable by a quick and good reader. On the other hand, the title of the article in the Star is in black against a white background .The font of the heading and the content of the story is relatively smaller (coursework.info, 2005). The report in the Star is accompanied by more artist impression pictures d epicting cases of bullying involving different grade school students. Much more important is the difference in the amount content of the two reports. The Guardian’s report is more detailed and includes a general public perception of bullying, opinions from psychology experts and reputable educationists about bullying besides a detailed coverage of the circumstances that culminated to the death of the girl. Thus besides reporting the tragic death of the innocent girl, the Guardian report is to a certain extent more educating on the issue of bullying in public schools than The Star’s story. The Star’s story is made more emotional and sensational by its pictorial concomitants. All these differences in language, style and content acts to bring out their differences in the general layout of the reports which also affects the way the two newspapers affect public opinion about bullying in our schools. In journalism, differences in language usually guided and determined by motives of an individual journalist, his or her knowledge and experience levels , specific formatting and writing style preferred by different newspapers in the market and much more important the circumstances surrounding the happening that is being reported. The sad case of the bullied girl suicide came at a time when bullying in our public schools had reached distressing levels attracting great concern from parents, educators and other stakeholders including the media. Thus the language and the tone used by the two newspapers in reporting the incidence is effective in calling for attention to the fatality and seriousness of the unpleasant issue at hand from parents, teachers, educators, government and the general public. The way the issue was reported not only by the two newspapers used as example in this task but also by other media outlets immediately and after the tragic death of the innocent girl played a major role in setting public opinion about bullying. It might have i nstigated the public to exert more pressure up on school administrators and concerned government officials in order to deal with the problem of bullying in our public schools more seriously and sternly than ever before. It also played an important role in changing attitudes of those who regarded bullying in schools as an acceptable rite of passage for new and junior students. Conclusion Mass media is definitely an important institution not only in the democratization process of a society but also its socialization particularly in a democratic culture. Different media outlets play significant roles in forming public and policy agendas. It plays an important role in setting people’s awareness on issues and deciding what issues are more important. Thus it enables them put pressure on the government to deal with issues they consider as requiring urgent attention. It is also important in setting policy agenda because of its inevitable influence up on the think tanks, policy makers , law makers, senior government servants and lobbyists regarding important and urgent socio-economic and political issues of a society. However, it is important to note that different media outlets present their reports about similar happenings and issues in unique and different ways in terms of language use, style, tone, content and layout and thus they end up having differing influences up on opinions of individual news consumers about an issue. Reference List Batchelor, A., Green, T. (2004). Revise GCSE Citizenship Studies for Edexcel. New York, NY: Heinemann. Coursework.info. (2005). Compare and Contrast two articles on Bullying from a broadsheet and tabloid newspaper. Web. Crime in America.Net. (2009). Bullying in Schools–US Department of Justice. Web. Franklin, B. (2008). Pulling newspapers apart: analyzing print journalism. New York, NY: Taylor Francis. Glasser, W. (1998). Choice Theory. New York: HarperCollins. Holt, L. C., Kysilka, M. (2005). Instructional pattern s: strategies for maximizing student learning. New York, NY: Sage. Janda, K., Berry, J. M., Goldman, J. (2011). The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in Global Politics. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Perry, J. Perry, E. K. (2005). Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Social Science. New York: Allyn Bacon. Robertson, J. W. (2006). Illuminating or Dimming Down? A Survey of UK Television News Coverage. Fifth Estate Online: An International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticis. Web. Siegel, M., Siegel, M., Lotenberg, L. D. (2007). Marketing public health: strategies to promote social change. New York, NY: Jones Bartlett Learning. This essay on Introduction to Contemporary Society was written and submitted by user Angela Vazquez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.