Friday, November 29, 2019

Jean Michel Basquiat Essay Example

Jean Michel Basquiat Paper LIFE AND TIMES OF ARTIST Jean Michel Basquiat was born on December 22, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Gerard Basquiat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and his mother, Matilde Andradas was born in Brooklyn of Puerto Rican parents. At an early age, Basquiat displayed an aptitude for art and was encouraged by his mother to draw, paint, and to participate in other art-related activities. In 1977, when he was 17, Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz started spray-painting graffiti art on slum buildings in lower Manhattan, adding the infamous signature of SAMO (their graffiti â€Å"tag† which stood for â€Å"same old shit†). The graphics were pithy messages such as Plush safe he think†, â€Å"Pay for Soup†, Set it on Fire† and SAMO is an escape clause. SAMO’s social message was critical of mainstream culture; the style was poetic with an intellectual edge. In December 1978, the Village Voice published an article about the writings. The SAMO project ended with the epitaph SAMO IS DEAD written on the walls of SoHo buildings. In 1978, Basquiat dropped out of Edward R. Murrow High School and left home, a year before graduating. He moved into the city and lived with friends, surviving by selling T-shirts and postcards on the street. By 1979, however, Basquiat gained a certain celebrity status amidst the thriving art scene of Manhattans East Village, for his regular appearances on Glenn OBriens live public-access cable show, TV Party . In the late 1970s, Basquiat formed a band called Gray, with the then-unknown musician and actor Vincent Gallo. Gray played at clubs such as Maxs Kansas City, CBGB, Hurrahs, and the Mudd Club. Basquiat worked with Gallo again in a film Downtown 81 (a. . a New York Beat Movie) which featured some of Grays rare recordings on its soundtrack. He also appeared in Blondies video for Rapture. Basquiat first started to gain recognition as an artist in June 1980, when he participated in The Times Square Show, a multi-artist exhibition, sponsored by Collaborative Projects Incorporated (Colab). In 1981, poet, art critic and cultural provocateur Rene Ricard published The Radiant Child in Ar tforum magazine, helping to launch Basquiats career to an international stage. We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Michel Basquiat specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Michel Basquiat specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Michel Basquiat specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer During the next few years, he continued exhibiting his works around New York alongside artists such as Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger, as well as internationally, promoted by such gallery owners and patrons as Annina Nosei, Vrej Baghoomian, Larry Gagosian, Mary Boone and Bruno Bischofberger. By 1982, Basquiat was showing regularly alongside Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Francesco Clemente and Enzo Cucchi, thus becoming part of a loose-knit group that art-writers, curators, and collectors would soon be calling the Neo-expressionist movement. He started dating an aspiring and then-unknown performer named Madonna in the fall of 1982. In 1982, Basquiat met Andy Warhol, with whom he collaborated extensively, eventually forging a close, if strained, friendship. By 1984, many of Basquiats friends were concerned about his excessive drug use and increasingly erratic behaviour, including signs of paranoia. Basquiat had developed a frequent heroin habit by this point, starting from his early years living among the junkies and street artists in New Yorks underground. On February 10, 1985, Basquiat appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine in a feature entitled New Art, New Money: The Marketing of an American Artist. As Basquiats international success heightened, his works were shown in solo exhibitions across major European capitals. Basquiat died of mixed-drug toxicity (he had been combining cocaine and heroin, known as speedballing) in his Great Jones Street loft/studio in 1988 several days before what would have been Basquiats second trip to the Cote dIvoire. After his death, a film biography entitled Basquiat was made, directed by Julian Schnabel, with actor Jeffrey Wright playing Basquiat. ARTIST STYLE Basquiats art career is known for his three broad, though overlapping styles. In the earliest period, from 1980 to late 1982, Basquiat used painterly gestures on canvas, often depicting skeletal figures and mask-like faces that expressed his obsession with mortality. Other frequently depicted imagery such as automobiles, buildings, police, childrens sidewalk games, and graffiti came from his experience painting on the city streets. A middle period from late 1982 to 1985 featured multipanel paintings and individual canvases with exposed stretcher bars the surface dense with writing, collage and seemingly unrelated imagery. INTERPRETATION These works reveal a strong interest in Basquiats black and Haitian identity and his identification with historical and contemporary black figures and events. On one occasion Basquiat painted his girlfriends dress, with his words, a Little Shit Brown. The final period, from about 1986 to Basquiats death in 1988, displays a new type of figurative depiction, in a new style with different symbols and content from new sources. This period seems to have also had a profound impact on the styles of artists who admired Basquiats work. Basquiats lasting creative influence is immediately recognizable in the work of subsequent and self-taught generational artists such as Mark Gonzales, Kelly D. Williams, and Raymond Morris. In 1982, Basquiat became friends with pop artist Andy Warhol and the two made a number of collaborative works. They also painted together, influencing each others work. Some speculated that Andy Warhol was merely using Basquiat for some of his techniques and insight. Their relationship continued until Warhols death in 1987. Warhols death was very distressing for Basquiat, and it is speculated by Phoebe Hoban, in Basquiat, her 1998 biography on the artist, that Warhols death was a turning point for Basquiat, and that afterwards his drug addiction and depression began to spiral. ART VALUE Up until 2002, the highest mark that was paid for an original work of Basquiats was $3,302,500 (set on 12 November 1998). On 14 May 2002 Basquiats Profit I (a large piece of art measuring 86. 5 by 157. 5), owned by heavy metal band Metallica co-founder Lars Ulrich, was put up for auction at Christies. It was there that the highest mark for a work of Basquiats was set when Profit I sold for $5,509,500. The proceedings of the auction are documented in the film Some Kind of Monster. On 15 May 2007, an untitled Basquiat work from 1981 smashed his previous record, selling at Sothebys in New York for $14. 6 million.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Critical Study of Open Adoption and the Symptoms of Adoption The WritePass Journal

Critical Study of Open Adoption and the Symptoms of Adoption Introduction Critical Study of Open Adoption and the Symptoms of Adoption IntroductionReferences:Related Introduction For much of the 20th century adoption were generally closed and confidential in nature. They were secrecy. It means since birthmother signed relinquishment papers, she would never see her child again and typically would never know about the future of this child. Secrecy adoptions were phenomenon which occurred in the mid 1800s and were at its peak in the early 1900s. Confidential adoptions were primarily designed to rescue the children of unmarried woman. Secrecy about adoption was also encouraged by societal attitude about sexuality – people excluded from society unmarried pregnant women and their child. These closed and secretive practices were developed to protect all three parties of the adoption triad (birth parents, adoptive parents and children). Confidential adoptions were thought to ensure birth parents’ right to privacy and at the same time it lets protect unwed birth mothers from the stigma of â€Å"illegitimacy†. These practices also protected adopted children from social ridicule and adoptive parents from the humiliation of their infertility (Xiaojia Ge, 2008). It was also assumed that birthmother wanted to maintain anonymity and forget that she had ever given birth to the chid. People also believed that confidential approach facilitate relinquishment of the child (emotionally and legally). From the beginning of 1940s, social workers in every state (USA) convinced legislators to pass laws which were preventing adult adoptees and their birthparents from learning about each others. For decades birthmothers, adoptees and adoptive parents were protected from the stigmas of illegitimacy, unwed motherhood and infertility by stressing secrecy, anonymity and confidentiality in adoption process. With the civil rights movement of 1960s, secrecy become a synonym of discrimination. In courts some adopted children maintained that their civil rights had been violated, because they had no access to information which another people had about them. Since these time also contraception and abortion become more available – marriage were no longer viewed as an essential prerequisite for a respectable pregnancy. Today children rights to know their identity is assured by international and national lows. This right is assured for example in Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention was adopted and opened for signature on 20 of November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of Declaration of the Rights of the Child). It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of November 2009, 194 countries have ratified it. It means all this 194 countries are obligated by international low to assure children right to know their origins. According to the article 7 of convention: child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. It took long time to accept and create the low which can assure this right. There has been gradual change in societal practices and views around parenting since the 1970s. Since these time female-headed households and pregnancy without marriage had become more and more accepted. Also tracing one’s genealogical roots and ethnic heritage had gained acceptance. At this time more and more adoptees and birthparents returned to adoption agencies seeking additional background information. It was shown that adult adoptees had suffered a lot because they had no access to information about their origins and identities. Adoptees expressed their pain which appeared as a result of living in lie. The changes were causes also by birthparents. They expressed that they did not forget about the children they had placed for adoption. They also always wondered if those children were alive, well, or knew they were adopted. They said that secrecy in adoption process made their loss more complex and difficult. Another cause for changes come from adoptive parents. They expressed their frustration and feeling of helpless over their inability to help children connect with biological parents and impossibility to say their child about his/her heritage. All these different voices and desires bring changes in adoption process. Nowadays we see that frequency of open adoption increases. Open adoptions becoming norm as stigma surrounding unwed births diminished and non-martial parenthood become more and more accepted. Openness in any adoption should be based upon mutual agreement between birthparents, adoptive parents, adoption agency and the adopted child, if age is appropriate. Nowadays it is quite common for birth and adoptive families to have some degree of postplacement contact with one another. Open adoption, in contrast to closed, is characterized by contact and communication between birth and adoptive parents. We cannot, however, share adoption exclusively on open and close. The degree of openness varies widely. Some adoption have minimal openness, for example, the two sets of parents never meet or talk with each other, share last names, but before the birth they exchange letters and photographs through adoption agencies. Other adoption can be much more open, for example before placement the two sets of parents meet, exchange complete names and addresses. Sometimes they go together to the doctor, gynecologist during the pregnancy, or even they live with each other. They can continue contact through adoptees’ childhood. Of course between these two examples of contact, there exist many another variables and the number of permutations is limitless. In essence, open adoption mean exchange of information before or/and after placement, either by letters (with or without photographs), telephone calls, or in face-to-face meetings. In the case of open adoption (as in the case of close adoption) birthparents need legally relinquish all parental claims and rights to the child. The adoptive parents are the legal parents. There is no one and clear opinion about what is better: open or close adoption. Both of them have some advantages and disadvantage. For example opponents of open adoption say that continued contact between the adopted child and birth parents impedes the attachment and creating family ties between adoptive parents and their adopted child. It means that open adoption can bring destructive relationships and loyalty conflicts for adoptive family. In case of open adoption birthparents can intrude on the adoptive family and disturb their equilibrium. It can also cause the adoptee’s uncertainty about their identity. In the case of open adoption, adoptive parents can feel also less in control and less secure in their parental role. It can happen also that adoptive parents feel need to distance from birthmother’s pain, loos and regrets which they live together in case of open adoption. On the other hand birthparents don’t want to hurt birth mother more, to stop or limited their contact. One of the question which occurs in case of open adoption is: how to set limits on frequency and type of postplacement contact without hurting feelings of birthparents. Another disadvantages mentioned by adoptive parents is pressure which is put on them.   It is the pressure to be the perfect parent when members of birthfamily are around. Adoptive parents are also afraid about the influence of birthparents on adoptee. They are nervous that child can identify more with birth parents and they background than with his or her â€Å"new family†. Why they are afraid about that? Most of the birthparents of adoptee come from lower social class, they have low education level. Adoptive parents simply do not want their child fallow this way. Among opinions against open adoption we can also hear that open adoption interfere with the grieving process that is essential for the mental health of the birth mother by not allowing her to experience a finality of the separation and a full mourning experience. On the other hand some researches show that open adoption may help facilitate healthy adjustment to grief and loss. It means: relationship which develop between birthmothers and adoptive families in open adoption mediate the experience of grief. It occurs also thanks to well-being of the child from whom the birthmothers made an adoption plan, facilitated their coping with grief. Grief is defined as the range of feelings, behaviours and thoughts which can occur as a response to a loss. The reaction, responses are different. Everyone can live this time in different way. To the responses on loss we can include: anger, crying, withdrawal, guilt, sadness, anxiety or numbness. Birthmother’s feeling of loss should be viewed as healthy and appropriate, regardless of which of the feelings associate this time. Resolution of these feelings results in the birthmother forming a new, integral identity in which the past is not denied. Some researches shown that close adoption means: prolonged feelings of loos and continued mourning, depression, somatic symptoms, restless anxiety, anger and often intense attachment to and over protection of children subsequently born to and raised by birthmothers after the placement. Some researches reported even psychological impairment of mothers who didn’t receive appropriate support after adoption (Cinda L. Christian et al, 1997). Study made by Cinda L. Christian and others (1997) support the opinion that fully disclosed adoption lets better cope with grief. In this study researchers examined grief resolution. Indicators of unresolved grief including: crying during interview, denying or repressing the past, expressions of guilt or regret, depression, dissatisfaction with the placement, desire to reclaim the child, continuing nightmares about the child, and inability to move beyond the placement decision. Indicators of good resolution included among others: positive, optimistic opinions about decision, acceptance of the decision, ability to separate self from the placed child, demonstration of empathy for the child and adoptive family, ability to move beyond the placement decision and to express satisfaction from current life. The results of this study shown that 4 to 12 years after placing child, birthmothers who have ongoing contact with the adoptive family either ongoing mediated or fully disclosed adoption shown better resolution of grief than birthmothers whose contact has stopped (in time-limited mediated adoptions). Moreover birthmothers in open adoption had significantly better grief resolution than those in confidential adoptions. This studies shown that 30% of birthmothers in close adoption, 38% in time-limited mediated adoption, 10% in ongoing mediated and 11% in fully disclosed adoption had very poor grief resolution. This results show that within each type of adoption, regardless of the time since adoption, there were birthmothers who were still experiencing problems with grief resolution, as well as, there were birthmothers who had resolved their grief issues. These findings mean that here is no one good   way of placement child to another family. Birthmothers with ongoing contact with adoptive parents have better grief resolution, they are much more reassured of their child’s well-being, and feel they had made the right decision. Some of birthmothers with ongoing mediated contact reported feeling ambivalent upon receiving pictures of their child. Even though they are pleased that they have opportunity to receive updated information. Having first-hand knowledge and an opportunity to acknowledge the adoption placement through actual observation and conversation about the adoption may have led to better grief resolutions for many birthmothers. Trusting and secure relationship with the adoptive family (through direct or indirect contact) may lead some birthmothers to the gradual acceptance of the adoptive parents entitlement to the child. This situation allows also to the birthmothers to develop positive feelings about their own role with the adoptive child. There was one another factor which influence grief resolution of birthmothers – current relationship with birthfather. This factor occurred regardless of openness level. Birthmothers who were still in relationship with birthfathers were at greater risk for prolonged grieving. It is difficult for these birthmothers to stay with birthfathers after having chosen to place their child for adoption – these birthmothers may feel exaggerated guilt and blame regarding the choices they have made. Another factor which influence grieving is religion interpretation and giving birth to another child. It means accurately inability to have a child after placement one for adoption. These two factors sometimes trigger past losses and rekindle old feelings of helplessness, regret, or anger associated with placement. To sum up the results of this study: there is no one option which is the best for everyone. Some of birthmothers can feel better with fully disclosed adoption and another with confidential adoption. Another argument which support open adoption is that for a birth mothers openness in adoption allows her a more active role in the child’s future. Thanks to possibility to choose open adoption, birth mother can be assured she will receive information about child-well being. Another issue related to satisfaction from adoption process is parent’s feelings toward close and open adoption. In study made by Siegel (Siegel, 1993) respondents were asked, â€Å"Why, if any, were your initial fears, anxieties, and concerns about the adoption being open?† Most of the parents who took part in this study answered that they felt some fear on the beginning. Many of them were reluctant to deal with the pain of birth mother. Some of these adoptive parents were afraid also that that the birth mothers would want their babes back, even that babies could be kidnapped after adoption. Parents expressed also that open adoption on the beginning seemed to them weird, uncomfortable or awkward. Some adoptive parents were worried also they can be rejected by birthmothers. One adoptive mother said: A year or so ago, the idea of birth mother were so threatening to me. It was just so terrible obstacle between me and getting baby. At that point, I didn’t want to deal with birthmother at all. I wanted my own baby. And if I couldn’t have that, I wanted the closest   thing I could get to it. On the other hand the proponent of open adoption suggest that adoptive parents in open adoption benefit significantly from information about birth parents through ongoing process with them. In case of open adoption, adoptive parents can comparatively easy gain knowledge about their adopted child’s medical and mental health histories, ethnic and cultural background, and reasons for adoption. Open adoption lets parents to feel more sure about this knowledge (it is better for parents to ask all questions, to gain knowledge about the child by their own than from intermediary person). All this information can have significant influence on rearing process of the adopted child. Adoptive parents can gain also â€Å"troubling† information, for example, about lack of parental care or birthparents alcoholism, substance abuse, or genetic risk factor. This kind of information are, in truth, difficult but for adoptive parents it is better to know all of them. Thanks to these informat ion, adoptive parents can know what to expect and they can be prepare for some difficulties, troubles which may occur in the future. In this view open adoption helps adoptive parents feel more, rather than less, secure in their parental role. Adoptive parents feel that birth parents can give them important information about child and it makes adoptive parents more competent. Adoptive parents can feel also they received explicit consent to parent child from his or her birth parents. Some parents mention also the need to know that birthmother had chosen adoption freely and willingly. This knowledge diminish adoptive parents guilt about having someone else child and alleviated fears that the birthmother would come in the future and demand her rights to the child. What is also important for adoptive parents – it is the need to know that birth parents felt good about the decision which they undertook. Otherwise adoptive parents could have moral doubts and wonder if birthparents think adoption had been mistake and they regret it. Some parents in the Siegel study (Siegel, 1993) mentioned also that they felt more pleasure at knowing that the birthparents would welcome the children according to the belief that the more people love their child, the better. Openness in adoption has advantages also for children. Information about birthparents are much more accessible to the children. Thanks to that, they can decide if they want to search birthparents later in life. Adoptive parents who know last names and addresses of birthparents, feel more helpful for their adoptee. They can freely hand over this information to their children. Children can have also more adequate information about their biological heritage and about the reasons for adoption. Open adoption is perceived also as good for birth parents. First of all some people mention that it is more human and compassionate to enable the birthparents to choose the children’s family. Open adoption helps also to mitigate birth mothers’ feelings of pain and loss, which in turn resulting in less destructive behaviour and greater emotional-well being. Thanks to the direct contact which birth mothers have with adoptive parents, they can feel assured of their child’s well-being and welfare. Adoptive mothers can see their child is in safe and caring home. This knowledge is really helpful for birthmothers and their well-being. In contrast in the case of close adoption, birth mother often feel isolated, have unresolved feelings of guilt and self-blame. They feel also uncertain of the well-being of the child. Meanwhile greater certainty of the child’s well-being not only may alleviate the birth mother’s grief but even may contribute to her sense of p ride regarding the decision. Opponents of the close adoption mention that this kind of adoption is a way to punish woman for being sexually active. It can be difficult to examine the effects of openness and closeness in adoption on birth parents, adoptive parents or children. One of the reason to give clear answer on this question is that this effects may very depending on how long ago the placement occurred. So the length of time since placement may very well be a confounding factor. In the study of Xiaojia Ge and others, researches using 323 matched parties of birth mothers and adoptive parents, examined the association between the degree of adoption openness (e.g. contact and knowledge between parties) and birth and adoptive parents postadoption adjustment shortly after the adoption placement (6 to 9 months). A unique future of this studies was the inclusion of birth fathers (112 birth fathers took part in these researches). The results of this study shown that for adoptive parents and birth mothers the degree of openness in the adoption was significantly and positively associated with satisfaction with the adoption process shortly after the adoptive placement. Increased openness was also significantly related to the better postplacement adjustment of birth mothers. This finding was also further strengthen by interviewers’ reports of their impression of birth mothers’ well-being. This study shown also that levels of choice or control birth fathers had in determining the degree of openness was positively associated with birth fathers’ satisfaction toward the adoption experience. There are opinion that children benefit most from openness in adoption. Proponents of open adoption list many benefits for children. One of the arguments concern child’s identity. Adopted children need to integrate the facts surrounding their birth into their identity. Formation of identity can be more complex for adopted adolescences because of the existence of many unknowns. There is many information which adopted children desire and which are unrecognized by most of the people who have automatic access to such information. For example, knowing about one’s medical background, where one’s red hair came from, who else in family was an artistic. Access to this kind of information is underestimates but it is very important to everyone and is perceived as our basic need. Denying adopted children this information is seen by some as violation of basic human rights. It can lead to an array of emotional and identity problems. Openness in adoption can assure children access to this kind of information. Many children desire to have contact with birthparents. This contact can facilitate identity development and satisfaction with the adoption experience. Proponents of open adoption show that close adoption gives rise to more fantasies about the biological family which can be reason for some emotional problems. Jerica M. Berge et al (2006) made study about adolescents’ feelings about openness in adoption. They examined adolescents’ satisfaction from having or not having contact with birthmothers. Their findings support the idea of open adoption. We can share adolescences which took part in this study on four groups: Adolescents who were satisfied with the contact they were having with their birthmothers; Adolescents who were not satisfied with the contact they were having with their birthmothers; Adolescents who were satisfied with not having contact with their birthmothers; Adolescents who were not satisfied because there was no contact occurring with their birthmothers. First group were the largest. There were 56 adolescents who were satisfied with the contact they were having with their birthmothers. These adolescents had very positive feelings about their birthmothers. When they were talking about their birthmothers they often used terms like: â€Å"thinks she is great woman†, â€Å"like our relationship†, â€Å"love her†, â€Å"friend†. These young people emphasis especially friendship which connected them with their birthmothers. They told that birthmother have different role than adoptive parents. Birthmother was viewed like another person who love them, friend but not as a person who fill parental role. Positive relationship with birthmothers give them extra support and it was something which adolescents appreciated a lot. These adolescents mentioned that birthmother is very important to them. Another aspect mentioned by adolescents was â€Å"identity formation†. Relationship with birthmothers allowed them to ask question why they look the way they do. For adolescents knowing how they were similar in personality traits to their birthmothers is very important. It helps them to make sense of who they are. Adolescents who were satisfied with the contact they had with birthmother expressed also desire to meet other members of family, for example: siblings, birthfather, grandparents. Another group of young people included adolescents who were not satisfied with the contact they were having with their birthmothers. There were 20 adolescents who expressed they were not satisfied with this contact but at the same time only three of them wanted contact to stop. One of the reason why they were not satisfied with the contact they had with birthmothers was desire for more contact or a different intensity level of contact. It happens in situation when adolescents had, for example contact with their birthmother by email and they wished to meet them face-to-face. Another example was an adolescent who had mediated contact with birthmothers through the adoption agency and wished to talk with her by phone, but couldn’t arrange it. These adolescents desire also to have more deep contact with their mother. Adoptees who had not satisfying contact with birthmother felt gratitude towards them for what she had done for them. It means that this adolescents were thankful to their birthmothers for placing them to adoption. In point of view of these young people , their birthmothers care a lot about them and found better lives for them. So adoption was viewed as an act of selfless love. Adolescents who were satisfied with not having contact with their birthmothers. To this group belong 21 adolescents. In the opinion of these young people, adoption didn’t have much impact on them personally. For these adolescents adoption was just abstract concept not something what connect to them personally. These adolescents felt also â€Å"lucky†, they have better life thanks to adoption but at the same time they didn’t feel any gratitude towards birthmother for placing them to adoption. These adolescences simply did not feel that contact with birthmother is something what they need or want. They expressed also they could feel uncomfortable with having to face information about their adoption. Some of adolescents express also that such contact would be negative experience for them. They were simply afraid about it. Also that they could hurt adoptive parents by meeting birthmothers. The last group of young people who took part in this study belong to group of adolescents who were not satisfied because there was no contact occurring with their birthmothers. There were 26 adolescents belonging to this group. These adolescents express negative affect towards birthmothers. Among their feelings there was: anger, sadness, they were disappointed and hurt. These adolescents felt so bad because their birthmother did not make effort to contact them. Some of them wonder if their birthmother is healthy, fine. These young people express desire to contact their birthmother. Many of these adoptees mentioned wanting medical information and to know similarities – both in physique and personality – that they had with their birthmothers. This information could help them to answer questions who they are, why they are like they do and why they were placed. Many of adolescents in this group did not desire to have contact with their birthmother. Some of them made some efforts to contact them but there were not successful (for example they wrote letter to birthmother but never send it). They were also thinking their adoptive parents would not like the idea to have contact with birthmother. Findings of these study shown that searching of the birthparents, having contact with them do not change adoptees feelings towards their adoptive parents. These adolescents do not love their adoptive parents less. They rather viewed relationship with birthmother as a separate type of supportive contact. These results challenge also belief that when birthmother has a contact with her child she will reclaim the adopted child and her rights to his or her. None of the adolescents in this study who had contact with birthmother reported that she ever tried or even mention of trying to reclaim them. To sum up there is a lot of advantages and disadvantages of openness in adoption. However, many of doubts, disadvantages do not find confirmation in the recent studies. These researches showed us that all three parties of adoption triad can benefit significantly from openness in adoption. At the same time we can find people who are not satisfied from the contact which they have with each other. It shows me there is no one and good solution – everyone is different and have different needs and adoption agencies need to answer on these needs. Adoption always will be difficult process and in my opinion all actors of this process need to receive very good support from professionals, like from psychologist or social worker regardless of type of adoption. Satisfaction from openness in adoption process depend largely on the contact which children and adoptive parents have with birthparents. If they are satisfied from this contact they will be satisfied also they choose open adoption. References: Berge, J.M., Mendenhall, T.J., Wrobel G.M., Grotevant H.D., McRoy R.G. (2006) Adolescents’ Feelings about Openness in Adoption: Implications for Adoption Agencies. Child Welfare, 85, 1011 – 1038 Christian. C.L., McRoy, R.G., Grotevant, H.D., Brytan, C.M. (1997) Grief Resolution of Birthmothers in Confidential, Time-Limited Mediated, Ongoing Mediated, and Fully Disclosed Adoptions. Adoption Quartely, 1: 2, 35 – 38. Siegel, D.H. (1993) Open Adoption of Infants: Adoptive Parents’ Perception of Advantages and Disadvantages. Social Work, 38(1), 15 – 23. Xiaojia Ge., Natsuaki, M.N., Martin, D.M., Neiderhiser, J.M., Villareal, G., Reid, J.B., Leve, L.D., Shaw. D.S., Scaramella, L., Reiss, D. (2008) Bridging the Divide: Openness in Adoption and Postadoption Psychosocial Adjustment Among Birth and Adoptive Parents. Jurnal of Family Psychology, 22(3), 529 – 540. Convention of the Right of the Child

Friday, November 22, 2019

Gun Control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Gun Control - Research Paper Example Many other American considered that viewpoint to stand in direct defiance of the 2nd Amendment, which guarantees a citizen’s right to bear arms. However, most Americans support a certain amount of gun control that does not prevent its citizens from gun ownership but can more effectively weed out those most likely to misuse or abuse the right. There are three areas most heavily debated concerning the issue of gun control; the focus being on how gun control influences and effects violent crime statistics, suicide rates, and finally the potential of â€Å"civil wars† or the encouragement of other civil uprisings. Human beings have always committed crimes against each other of one kind or another, were harmful to themselves, and were prone to armed rebellions since the beginnings of society. From wooden spears to sabers and swords, humanity has worked very hard at developing ways to fight and conquer others. The discovery of gun powder and the use of firearms it has only helped to perpetuate those historical traditions. Films like â€Å"Braveheart† and â€Å"Troy† have dramatized how bloody and extreme of the battles fought long before the modern era; the concept of hand guns and semi-automatic weaponry were not even a â€Å"twinkle† in the inventor’s eyes. However, guns may have changed how we fight, but not the reasons that we fought. They were committing acts of robbery and murder long before guns were invented. People who wanted to end their lives and found the means to do so long before guns were invented. People, most certainly, fought wars over civil issues, long before the invention of firearms (Borade 1). For this reason many experts feel that guns do not cause crimes to be committed. However, at the same time a gun gives wrong-doers an advantage over their victims when implemented. Violent crimes are being committed every few

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

How Important Are Supplementary Community Schools for Diasporic Essay

How Important Are Supplementary Community Schools for Diasporic Communities - Essay Example This essay stresses that supplementary education, therefore, plays a very important role in education of the young ones in the society. We have seen how pupils do not only acquire knowledge of the classroom needed to pass exams, but also values that are to enable them be useful members of the society. According to these schools, culture, tradition, and language are essential aspects of life of a society that are not supposed to get ignored as in the case that happens, one might end up losing their identity. They also have been important in dealing with racism that is central in most of the state schools that hinder the performance of the blacks due to lack of attention and lesser opportunities of learning offered to them. In China for instance, we have realized that they provide their pupils with additional education so that when they move to the American schools, they do not have to suffer in terms of under-achievement. This paper makes a conclusion that they can compete favorably and move to colleges that provide them with opportunities for better employment opportunities. Underachievement in supplementary schools in Turkey has been able to diminish due to the constant rewards presented to these pupils who have shown an improvement in their studies or those who have performed well so that those with poor performance can get the challenge to work harder.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Analysis of Movie Posters (Pirates of the Caribbean) Essay

Analysis of Movie Posters (Pirates of the Caribbean) - Essay Example The main poster for Pirates of the Caribbean is very amazing. This poster was designed specifically to announce the debut of the movie and the first screening. This poster was created in the US to help create awareness of the new movie. The poster is a typical representation of movies of this genre characterized with a lot of graphic images. Its design, the use of color and images is completely attractive and persuasive for one to go see the movie. The most standing out features of the poster include the title, which has been written in a large artistic font at the bottom of the poster; names of the main actors placed at the top of the poster, a large image in the foreground of one of the main actors and a background image of a ship in stormy water. The date of the movie, which is written in red color at the bottom left corner of the poster and the name of the institution behind the movie as well as the available formats for the movie are also outstanding and give the audience someth ing to look forward to. The poster has mainly used dark colors such as black and grey in the background to create a psychological effect of war (Noble 135). The background image of the ship in a stormy sea represents a scene in the movie that takes place when the ship is attacked. This image has been used to create an urge among the viewers to go to movie theatres to watch what exactly happens in the scene. The date for showing the movie has been written in red color for it to stand out. ... Its design, the use of color and images is completely attractive and persuasive for one to go see the movie. The most standing out features of the poster include the title, which has been written in a large artistic font at the bottom of the poster; names of the main actors placed at the top of the poster, a large image in the foreground of one of the main actors and a background image of a ship in stormy water. The date of the movie, which is written in red color at the bottom left corner of the poster and the name of the institution behind the movie as well as the available formats for the movie are also outstanding and give the audience something to look forward to. The poster has mainly used dark colors such as black and grey in the background to create a psychological effect of war (Noble 135). The background image of the ship in a stormy sea represents a scene in the movie that takes place when the ship is attacked. This image has been used to create an urge among the viewers t o go to movie theatres to watch what exactly happens in the scene. The date for showing the movie has been written in red color for it to stand out. This would enable people o easily know when the movie will be showing. It is the only red color on the poster and could also have the psychological effect of expressing danger thus indicating the extent of violence in the movie. The formats of the movie such as digital 3D and Imax 3D have been written in large font at the bottom of the poster to inform the viewers of the various forms of the movie so that they can decide on their preferred option. The title of the movie stands out as having the largest artistic font together with an image of a human skull with two swords to

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Being A Passive Listener English Language Essay

Being A Passive Listener English Language Essay Listening is a prerequisite of learning. It involves hearing, attending, understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding to spoken messages. We cannot understand , learn or remember something unless we pay attention. A passive listener is one who pays low concentration and effort into what is been communicated, which may be attentive or supportive but occurs without further conscious engagement from the listener, this unresponsiveness may represent a failure on the part of effective listening skills with school,family ,friends and co-workers. There are numerous disadvantages of passive listening. Being a passive listener is an unresponsive act, it may affect an individuals academic progress, social and official interactions. In class participation may be highly important but being a passive listener deprives one the opportunity of staying focused. it brings about low intake during lectures and study hours. More concentration could have been made within the time spent on mopping or interacting with other folks. The passive listener tends to hear words but does not really listening to the words nor the deep meaning of them. The listener is known for staying at a surface communication level and never understands the deeper significance of what was being said. Being a passive listener is a very bad skill for students because they tend to loose a lot during lectures and classes. A passive listener might be present in class but isnt paying total attention to what is been taught . They could be easily distracted when been spoken to because they tend not to have their minds on what is being taught and because of this they tend to loose the most vital information during lectures ; instead of taking down important notes in class, their minds wander so they only collect little or no points and information which is not really important. Hence, they do not get most out of a lecture can affect a student during exactly because they tend to be lost. It is a largely inactive process which leaves the individual clueless. They do hear the words but find it extremely difficult to understand or to empathize with the speakers intention. The listener tends to listen logically and is more concerned for content than for feeling ; this makes the listener emotionally detached from the conversations, by this attitude friendships may be ruined as well. Passive listeners tend to destroy their short or long term relationships and friendships, it also gives an unpleasant impression about people, it sends around the idea that the listener isnt interested in paying attention to what is been said, due to the fact that they do not take in a lot from the senders messages , this could be either personally or professionally informations. Personal information could include social relationship , marriage complains , school issue , break ups, unwanted pregnancy and so on. If sender could find confidence in an individual. Being a passive listener can also affect ones communication with friends and family or even in work places due to the fact that passive listener makes one not to communicate properly because the passive listener cannot give inputs, opinions and supportive words but instead waits for a speaker to response what the individual has to say . being a passive listener also makes one not to react while listening or even give verbal dues to show they are listening e.g. nodding , blinking of eyes , questioning etc. Hence, if you care for someone you would pay attention to their lives too, thats what good friendships are made of. Being a passive listener does not motivate one to be active student because passive listeners tend to be dull and not responsive in class because they tend not to understand the speakers pattern of organization. i.e. what the speaker is ariving at and how the speaker is getting there. passive listening can also make one to be an unmotivated listener because a passive l istener may not know why listening is important because they do not even have the time to determine why what the speaker is saying is important to them. Low motivation to examine the text critically or at an in-depth level. other factors may include ; low motivation to study , poor reflection skills and unprogressive reading. Important pieces of data and assumptions may be missed. Data and assumptions that are perceived by the passive reader are accepted at face value or are examined superficially, with little thought. Being a passive listener can also affect ones communication with friends and family or even in work places due to the fact that passive listener makes one not to communicate properly because he/she cannot give supportive words but instead waits for a speaker to response what he/she has to say . being a passive listener also makes one not to react while listening or even give verbal dues to show they are listening e.g. nodding , blinking of eyes , questioning etc. They receive information has though bing talked to rather than as being an equal partner in the communication process. A passive listener is a big assumer. they believe the communication is the responsibility of the speaker. Little do they know such listening habit can lead to dangerous misunderstandings because there is insufficient communication. Being a passive listener can make one not to have high grades during tests or exams , which have happened due to the fact that the listener did not develop organized notes for study time and has less knowledge when it comes taking in good ideas from class topics. Getting low grades is an end factor of being a passive listener , not only does it reduce the performance of the passive listener but it may also decrease the individuals self confidence academically and socially. They tend to tune in and tune out unexpectedly. They are somewhat aware of others but mainly pays attention to self thoughts. They follow the discussion only enough to get a chance to talk. Their listening is quiet and unresponsive, such a listener will often fake attention while thinkin g about unrelated matters , forming rebuttals or preparing what he wants to say next. According to the english writer Chesterton G.K there is a lot of difference between listening and learning. Listening is when an individual puts full concentration or is consciously aware of the communication from the speaker while learning is perfectly likewise to listening but the big difference is the response and features of the listener when questions are being asked. The passive listener tends to misunderstand the of actually relating with each sentences that comes from the speaker; and writing it down on paper for more understanding However, every individual should master good listening skills as it is important in every aspect of our lives. Poor listening skills brings about nothing but no preparation and unawareness for an individual. A good listener will defiantly learn and progress more with academics and social interactions with friends and family. It takes a great individual to be a good listener

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

fairy tales :: essays research papers

Fairy Tales   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I love to see Professional Dances, such as ballet and Riverdance. But what is even better is seeing dancers who aren’t professionals. I love going to see Dance Studios Dance Recitals. What I really like about them is that it shows up much people like to dance, but doesn’t show true talent. Not to long ago I attended Dave Ragnacci’s School of Dance recital, Fairy Tales. This play was set up as if every scene was a fairy tale story. When the curtain opened, it started, as the dancers were all different fairy tale characters, such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, ect. Not only did I like to watch it, but also I could see that other children did too because of the story of the recital.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every scene was different for each number. In the beginning all the character pretended to be sleeping, until the music started and they all joined together for the dance called â€Å"Never Ending Story†. The song was perfect for the opening because fairy tales are never ending stories, everyone likes to listen to them, read them and tell them. The second scene was the story of Snow White. The dance was a ballet, and the second dance was modern, which is an upbeat type of ballet. When the witch came out and danced the perfect song came on, Dark Lady by Cher. The dancers danced on toe shoes and played tambourines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After that scene was over, the little 4 year old kids came out and act out the Snow White Scene. They were dressed as little dwarfs, all different colored costumes. They came out and danced with Snow White. They danced to â€Å"One Bad Apple† by Jackson 5.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next scene was Jack and the Bean Stalk. This was a tap dance, which is my favorite. The main characters were Jack and his mother. The song that they danced to was â€Å"Hit the Road Jack† by Ray Charles. They 2 main dancers acted out the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After every story, the 4-year-old group would come out and either does tap, ballet or jazz dances. I think that the crowd loved them the most because they are so little up on stage, and its funny watching them because they tend to forget their dances very easily.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next 2 scenes were Cinderella and Humpy Dumpty. These 2 scenes were mixed into 2 dances. fairy tales :: essays research papers Fairy Tales   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I love to see Professional Dances, such as ballet and Riverdance. But what is even better is seeing dancers who aren’t professionals. I love going to see Dance Studios Dance Recitals. What I really like about them is that it shows up much people like to dance, but doesn’t show true talent. Not to long ago I attended Dave Ragnacci’s School of Dance recital, Fairy Tales. This play was set up as if every scene was a fairy tale story. When the curtain opened, it started, as the dancers were all different fairy tale characters, such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, ect. Not only did I like to watch it, but also I could see that other children did too because of the story of the recital.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every scene was different for each number. In the beginning all the character pretended to be sleeping, until the music started and they all joined together for the dance called â€Å"Never Ending Story†. The song was perfect for the opening because fairy tales are never ending stories, everyone likes to listen to them, read them and tell them. The second scene was the story of Snow White. The dance was a ballet, and the second dance was modern, which is an upbeat type of ballet. When the witch came out and danced the perfect song came on, Dark Lady by Cher. The dancers danced on toe shoes and played tambourines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After that scene was over, the little 4 year old kids came out and act out the Snow White Scene. They were dressed as little dwarfs, all different colored costumes. They came out and danced with Snow White. They danced to â€Å"One Bad Apple† by Jackson 5.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next scene was Jack and the Bean Stalk. This was a tap dance, which is my favorite. The main characters were Jack and his mother. The song that they danced to was â€Å"Hit the Road Jack† by Ray Charles. They 2 main dancers acted out the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After every story, the 4-year-old group would come out and either does tap, ballet or jazz dances. I think that the crowd loved them the most because they are so little up on stage, and its funny watching them because they tend to forget their dances very easily.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next 2 scenes were Cinderella and Humpy Dumpty. These 2 scenes were mixed into 2 dances.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Dating and the Single Parent Essay

Summary In the book Dating and the Single Parent Ron Deal walks the single parent through the process of dating again. This book is broken into three sections. Section one has five chapters and is titled â€Å"Getting Past the Butterflies and Warm Fuzzes.† In the beginning Deal starts with â€Å"Dating in a Crowd: Dating with Purpose.† (29) With this in mind the reader begins to understand you will be dating the entire family. Deal describes different types of daters, and warns the reader against the â€Å"Consumer daters who want guarantees† (44) about the dates. These consumer daters want the dates to be their all in all and meet their every need. Deal also describes the thought of â€Å"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall; Am I Ready to Date? (47) This section describes â€Å"the impact loss has on you, and your willingness to surrender to God’s direction regarding divorce and remarriage.† (58) While determining if you are ready to date; Deal lists the readiness factors: can you handle being alone, trusting in God, looking at past issues, and asking the questions like, â€Å"What in my past can I not shake?† This is getting yourself and kids ready for dating. While thinking of fear as the main hurdle in beginning to date, Deal suggests you not â€Å"sidestep† (83) your fear but â€Å"acknowledge it.† (83) Not only your fear but how to handle the kids’ fears and concerns in the dating world. Deal explains â€Å"When a parent dates, kids feel the shift in direction away from them and the family; this ignites their fear of more loss.† (98) The second section of the book is called â€Å"Going Fishing† (115) and talks about finding love. â€Å"Finding love in all the right places †¦and in all the wrong ways† (117) talks about defining the  relationship or the DTR; there are three ways to look at relationships; we need to learn when to yield, stop or run with yellow, red and green lights. â€Å"Going deeper† (163) reminds us to think of where we are in life. Deal states â€Å"Single people need that perspective so that won’t overvalue getting married, and married people need that perspective so they won’t lose sight of their purpose in being together.† (165) â€Å"Marital Commitment and Stepfamily Preparation† (181) is the topic of the third section of the book. It is about getting re-engaged and making decisions about getting married. Guidelines are given about what things to look for such as commitment and trust issues, how to be open with the children (young and adult). Some key steps in how to become a blended family are listed. Deal suggests exercises on how to be introduced, recognize loss in your child, planning the wedding and including the children, and telling the ex. This book takes you through the processes of wanting to date again, dating, and choosing the right type of person to date. The next steps are about the engagement, telling families and children you’re getting married and creating a happily blended family. Potential Use for Christian Couples The chapter on â€Å"Yellow Light. Red Light. Green Light.† (141) is a chapter that most pastors need to share with their clients in the premarital counseling. This chapter and the concepts to be taught and learned can save couples from a lot of pain down the road and give additional skills for making a marriage more compatible. â€Å"Yellow lights saying slow down† (143) warm that things are great for now, however when you get married and the honeymoon is over rough times are coming. When you are trying to carefully blend families you need to make sure no one has on â€Å"rose-colored glasses† (145) or is ignoring the bumps in the road that will turn in to mountains later on if not dealt with before the couple gets married. A counselor needs to advise a couple to slow down if â€Å"loneliness or desperation† (146) are detected in the counseling sessions. This could indicate an underlying problem that will come out later in the marriage. The person with one of these disorders may demand that the other person in the relationship try to be their all in all, and no one can be everything to someone. Counselors should consider a postponement of a marriage if one of the clients comes in with any character traits like: â€Å"quick temper, intimidating, anger  reactions, chemical or physical abuse, can’t say no, constantly blaming others, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, problems staying calm, financial problems, disengagement with family, hiding previous relationships, or diagnosed personality disorder.† (147-148) If a person has experienced or is experiencing one of these challenges, this counselor will strongly suggest that it is dealt with before the marriage takes place. One of these problems will cause too much stress for most marriages to overcome. Deal suggests there are red stoplights. If you â€Å"have extreme differences in parenting styles† (151) you need to stop dating. This counselor would agree. Raising children is a very hard job when you agree; however, when you disagree children tend to play one parent off the other causing conflict between the parents. You need to remember you are not only marrying the person, but also the children. Another red light could be the ex-spouse. If he/she causes constant trouble, you will be in constant turmoil in the new marriage and will need to consider canceling your plans to marry. Deal suggests other red flags such as cohabitation. This counselor would agree with Deal that cohabitation leans toward persons â€Å"who have negative attitudes toward marriage, increase their divorce risk by 50%, are less sexually trustworthy, have lower religious commitment, and are tempted to slide into marriage.† (154) Cohabitation is not biblical, in Genesis 2:24 gives us the standard for all marriages and in Matthew 19:5 Jesus tells us marriage is a legal and binding relationship. The â€Å"green light† (159) means everything is good and you can proceed with the dating or marriage plans. In the â€Å"green light† stage you can define your relationship. At this point Deal suggests you can share your relationship with your children. This also is the stage during which it is suggested you take the â€Å"Couple Checkup† (169). There are two advantages to doing it in this stage: first â€Å"it provides you and your partner an objective X ray of your relationship health.† (169) Second â€Å"learning about your weaknesses helps you as a couple target specific ways to improve.† (169) This counselor will encourage couples in the red light zone to take a break and consider not dating any longer. If they are in the yellow light zone this counselor will encourage them to consider looking deeply at what the problems are and working through them before proceeding with the relationship. In the green light zone this counselor will encourage them to be willing to talk about issues when they arise, to be willing to  talk about them, and to work on a compromise. Deal states: â€Å"Confidence calms the heart and reduces anxiety†. (194) This counselor could not agree more, and knowing where you stand in a relationship is the most important element. Solidifying the relationship so both persons know how each other feels and what to expect keeps the green light going. Telling the children if you have children will be important. A plan needs to be made about how to tell them and expect the unexpected. One needs to expect them to be happy and for them to be angry about the decision. Letting the children know what will happen will help them through the fear and anger. Deal does not go into depth about what to do if the families do not want this marriage. What if the families do not like the person you want to marry? This counselor agrees the spouse that was married to the ex ought to tell him/her before the wedding day. Once the wedding day has taken place often times the children are going to be stressed out by this and misbehave. Deal suggests often times when things settle down from the wedding the child parent relationship will work itself out. This is a relationship neither party has had to handle before and it will be new challenges to both the parent and the child. Deal encourages parents to have a united front with the children. (206) If they do not have a â€Å"unified team everything will begin to crumble.† (207) Critique Deal speaks about â€Å"commitment and trust† (187) issues with couples. He explains that marriage is complicated and requires a couple to not be selfish. â€Å"God in his infinite wisdom ask each person to make a covenant that binds them together throughout life,† (187) or â€Å"until death do us part.† (187) Elwell states in the time of Christ a man could â€Å"divorce his wife for the most trivial of reasons† (347) from the â€Å"Hillelite Pharisees.† (347) This would suggest that if you take the side of the Hillelite Pharisees, our no fault divorce laws have been around for centuries. It is a delicate dance to get someone to commit to marriage to you when you are ready to commit to marriage and they will not. Deal gives several ideas: â€Å"Patiently continue dating, wrestle with your impatience, identify any specific concerns, give time for the hesitant person to find resolution, and at some point, the higher desire person will grow weary of waiting.† (188) Deal does later in the book suggest a time line of five years is a reasonable time to wait on  someone. If you have waited for five years and they still have not made a decision but you love them and cannot imagine life without that person do you walk away? Would it not be like a divorce? This counselor would not suggest anyone stay with someone for more than the five years unless they can make a decision to marry or not to marry. Deal speaks about crockpots and blenders in the chapter about â€Å"Preparing for a Good Blend.† The crockpots are those couples who move slowly with low heat,† (208) while the blender couples are those who â€Å"move quickly with high velocity.† (208) Deal states: â€Å"It is far wiser to adopt the crockpot cooking style.† (208) Otherwise slow and study is a much better way to blend a family than trying to quickly trying to force them to be a blended family. In this chapter he gives ideas about how to create stepfamilies. He says: â€Å"Younger children under the age of five may require far less time to soften toward stepparents than those between the ages of ten and fifteen years. Also, on occasion, a stubborn ingredient may resist softening and retain a sour taste. In either case, keep cooking.† This counselor would whole heartedly agree with his wisdom. The younger children are when stepparents arrive into their life, the easier it is to accept t hem. Deal also gives ideas about how to handle situations like: â€Å"getting married, calling a stepfather Daddy, combining holidays and other special-day traditions, and taking pictures as a family.† (209-210) With statistics saying that â€Å"fifty percent of first marriages fail and sixty percent of second marriages fail† (smartmarriages.com) this counselor believes Deal has made great recommendations in his book about how to blend families. Blended families will take work and Deal says that many times in this book. This book is an easy read with thought provoking topics. Some of the topics have a different way of looking at them than traditional thoughts. This book is a must read if you are thinking of remarrying or marrying someone who has been married before. References Deal, R. (2012). Dating and the single parent. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishing. Eller, W. (2001). Evangelical dictionary of theology. 2n ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. Marano, H. E., Divorced? Don’t even think of remarrying until you read this. www.smartmarriages.com. Accessed November 8, 2014.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

HIPAA’s Pros and Cons Essay

HIPAA or what is known as the â€Å"Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996† has its pros and cons (United.., 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pros include the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA guarantees dependability and promptness of â€Å"electronic patient health, administrative, and financial data† (HIPAA, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA implements rules, policies, and standards that maintain the confidentiality and soundness/constancy of â€Å"individually identifiable health information covering the past, present, as well as, the future† (HIPAA, 2006). For instance, in case where an established institution needs an individual’s record, this individual is ensured that his or her personal information is safe with that institution (HIPAA, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cons, on the other hand, include the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA negatively affects the access of clients to their medical records (United.., 2007). This is because information may be â€Å"pending† to those who have the right to get hold of it because of the penalties enforced (United.., 2007). This is also because of the fact several health care providers are unsure when it comes to the legalities of the Act (United.., 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA also does not have a positive impact or effect on health research (United.., 2007). This is because of the fact that HIPAA limits or controls the researchers’ conscientiousness to carry out â€Å"retrospective, chart-based research† (United.., 2007). In addition to that, HIPAA restricts researchers to â€Å"prospectively assess patients by getting in touch with them for the purpose of follow-up† (United.., 2007). Not to mention of course that, in terms of, â€Å"informed consent† forms, wide-ranging and far-reaching detail on how confidentiality is safeguarded is necessitated making it more complicated for subjects to grasp before they could sign in, which usually ends in not signing at all because they do not know what they will be signing on (United.., 2007). References       United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). HIPAA. Retrieved December 5, 2007 from   http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/ HIPAA. (2006). Unsure How to Handle HIPAA? Retrieved December 5, 2007 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hipaa.org/

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Academic Paper Writing Help and Tips

Academic Paper Writing Help and Tips Don’t be scared if you have trouble getting started your paper, all writers have experienced this more than once in their lives. Paper writing isn’t an easy task as you might think before. It requires a lot of skills, time and concentration. Sometimes you can spend days on your paper, don’t be surprised. Inexperienced writers think that there is nothing complicated in paper writing, however, if you are limited by format and topic boundaries, writing the paper becomes much more complicated task than composing an email to your friend. Here we will list and describe some techniques that will help you start writing and concentrate on your topic and main idea that you want to deliver to your audience. These techniques are listing and free-writing. Listing Listing is a simple way to produce information in writing. If you are creating your own paper, you can make a list of potential subjects. If you are responding to teacher’s directions, you can list what you already know or need to know about the issue of the paper. Begin by giving your list a title, a prompt that will evoke events, impressions, and ideas. Write the title at the top of a new page in your notebook, and then, working down the page as quickly as possible, list any word or phrase that comes to mind. Dont stop to edit, organize, or evaluate the items in your list. Merely spill them down the page in whatever form they occur to you. Dont be unenthusiastic by occasional pauses or by the strange ideas you wrote down to keep the list going. The task is to list as many as possible. It doesn’t mean that each phrase should be useful from the very beginning, you need all that occurs in your mind. Then you will need to evaluate your list. After completing your list, scrutinize your information. What subject dominates your list? Can you identify other topics? What questions do you want to develop in greater detail in your paper? Underline or star the items that seem most promising. Circle and connect those that seem to go together. Pick a word or phrase and start another list. You may need most of the information or only a few fragments or sentences on your list in your paper writing. But one of those sentences may be the one that points the way to your subject, audience, and purpose in your paper. Free-writing Free-writing helps you write down as quickly as possible what you can remember. It encourages you to remember incoherent blocks and to write in phrases and sentences. In this technique, you dont have to worry about writing perfect sentences. You write for a sustained period (usually 10-15 minutes) without stopping. Once you finished, you will have time to look it over and useful abstract ideas. You can practice free-writing as an unfocused or focused activity. In unfocused free-writing, you merely begin writing, transcribing onto the page the first ideas that pop into your head and then allowing your mind to wander to other subjects. While you are filling up the page, you may discover a provocative word or forgotten episode that leads to more complex ideas that can be helpful in your paper writing process. It is often difficult to evaluate unfocused free-writing because the sentences slide from subject to subject, never stopping long enough to develop. Underline words or phrases that seem significant to your paper. Do they deal with different topics? Do they have a common theme? Does one evoke a particularly powerful memory? Answering these questions may help you discover information for focused paper writing. Very often students find that paper writing inhibited at the times when we most want or need to write. Corresponding blocks afflict us. In this case, students need the help of professional writers to break these blocks and to write their academic papers successfully. In the present section of this chapter we will first examine the relatively simple question of what the causes of writing blocks might be, and then we will try to help with your writing problems by considering the more difficult question of how such blocks might be removed and the flow of writing initiated or maintained. Writing blocks may be put into two categories, procedural or psychological, depending on whether we cannot decide what to write next in the term paper or research paper we cannot bring ourselves to write anything next. There is a third general reason why writing might become difficult at times, and that might be called physical. Academic paper writing requires far more physical effort than reading than talking or listening. It may occasionally be the case that we are too tired to write at all, but what is more likely is that fatigue is an additional but critical factor when we are experiencing writing difficulties with a psychological or procedural basis. We are too tired to solve our problems and need help to answer them, especially since overcoming writing blocks frequently requires effort and determination. To struggle for half an hour with a stiff sentence that is not exactly what we want to say, while we do not know exactly what we want to say, can demand the concentration and stamina of an athlete. Procedural Blocks Quite literally, we can be in the position of not knowing what to write next. It need not mean that we have no idea why we are trying to write in the first place, nor that we are incapable of putting words together if we know what to say in this paper. The situation can perhaps best be expressed regarding levels of intention. At a global level we know and can specify very well what we want to write about in the paper, and at a local level, we have no trouble putting one word after  another – provided we can decide what we specifically want to say. But we are lost at an intermediate level and need help therefor example, in determining the exact direction in which we wish to a paragraph to go. There are several possible reasons for vacillation related to an unwieldy ramification of alternatives in writing term papers or research papers. One reason is the packing of too much information into a sentence, into a paragraph even, leaving too many directions in which one might go and too many strands to be followed. There may be digressions into which our developing ideas have led us, and we become entangled in the undergrowth of our own proliferating intentions. One related problem almost as disruptive as the inability to start writing is the inability to stop, even though the paper is taking us further and further from the path we intended to pursue. Writing difficulties are often not so much a matter of having nothing to say as the manipulation of dams and torrents, dams that must be carefully broached afterwords have built up behind them, and torrents that must be halted or channeled when the words burst through. Psychological Blocks The most challenging moment is often the moment when the first words should come in the research paper or term paper. In this case, we are not talking about the occasions when you have nothing to say, even though it may often be the case that the brain requires more time to sort out some ideas. Nor we are talking of procedural problems when the writer cannot decide a direction to take. We are talking about the case when words should come and could come, but we refuse to allow them to confront us. We cannot bring ourselves to let words appear on paper and therefore we cannot even start term paper and complete it on time. In this case, most of us will need help. But at first, we should understand where this problem comes from. There are probably two main reasons for this reluctance. The first is to do with the magnitude of the task. We may be committing ourselves to a considerable amount of effort, and even risk and the first few words we put on a page may set a course from which we feel there will be no turning back or yet opportunity for second thoughts. This degree of resistance to undertaking the enterprise will increase depending on the perceived magnitude, importance, and probability of succeeding in whatever our aims might be. The second reason is complicated. It is the apprehension that the product of our labors will fail to measure up to some standard, which is often applied to any research paper or term paper that we ever handled to professors. And the reluctance is intensified because this standard cannot be precisely defined or be too high. The standard needs to be the approval of the reader to whom the text is addressed. One other general psychological reason for writing blocks is simply expressed: habit. Just as we have our habitual and preferred writing materials, our favorite time of day and place for writing, so may we have our regular and preferred strategies for avoiding it. Overcoming Writing Blocks The write at all costs, write anything, no matter how irrelevant is most appropriate to the psychological aspects of writing-block problems, but not to the procedural elements. In the latter case, the problem is organizational and is best handled by capitalizing on the particular advantages of written language, its ability to overcome constraints of time and space. Instead of trying to puzzle over and remember alternative constructions in the head, we should put them on paper, where not only can they be inspected but also moved around to be evaluated in different order and different contexts. The difficulty of finding a beginning may be resolved by writing various alternatives, even the most mundane. You may find yourself writing something that takes off for you with a fluency you did not suspect. If you cannot think of anything else to write in the term paper, write a summary statement of what in general you want to write about. These possibilities also apply to blocks that occur at other places in the  text – in the middle or at the end. Hope we provided you with sufficient paper writing help and especially in starting it. Use these recommendations and practice your writing skills to achieve mastery in writing term papers.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Operational managment report on apple company Essay

Operational managment report on apple company - Essay Example Since the disposal of a high amount of wastage is highly detrimental for the people living on the earth, there have been various enactments to regulate the environmental issues particularly with the waste management. Tougher environmental standards have been enacted to ensure that the firms do reduce the wastage to the maximum extent. In order to avoid these environmental liabilities the product recycling has been made a function of the product life cycle management of larger companies to save considerable time and money which otherwise would have been spent on the discharge of the environmental liabilities. In the present study this paper while detailing the broad issues connected with the product life cycle management analyses in detail the steps taken by major computer manufacturers Apple computers in the area of product life cycle management as a function operational management. The purpose of any manufacturing organization is to provide a quality product or service to its customers. In doing so the firm attains a competitive edge to its products by bringing in new ideas to the market quickly and faster than the competitors. In this way the firms are able to provide the maximum satisfaction to the customers. An addition to this phenomenon is the service to the human beings in the form of meeting the environmental liabilities, by improved product designs whereby the products are recycled at the end of their useful life. Enormous time and money are being sent by large corporations in the area of developing new product designs that will improve the effective working life of the product and at the same time making the production processes easier for manufacture and repair than existing products and services. The role being played by the innovative product designs and technological advancement is commendable in this respect. Such development of the new product designs to meet the recycling requirements often face a host of problems both internal to the organization as well as external in relation to the customers and other external stakeholders of the firm. 1.1 Internal Problems: Any new product design to meet the requirement of both fitting the production processes as well as satisfying the environmental requirements of recycling face the following problems within the organization. The design process Should

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Strategy Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategy Implementation - Essay Example This report discusses the strategy that needs to be implemented within CPK and what are the ways through which the strategy can be implemented. The strategic option that is deemed to be suitable for CPK to achieve sustainable competitive advantage is through the adoption of the Blue Ocean strategy and this paper analyzes CPK’s resources to carry out this strategy. Introduction California Pizza Kitchen is a California based dining restaurant that specializes in providing different varieties of pizza. According to their website they have 265 stores in 32 states and ten foreign countries. The company is expanding this business with great vigor and energy. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the control environment in the organization and assessing the company’s ability to follow the Blue Ocean strategy. This includes the assessment of the structure, design, control systems and the people working in the organization. ... Main Body The mission statement of CPK is to â€Å"introduce flavors and tastes from around the world, from Thai to Jamaican Jerk†¦all on a pizza in an upscale environment† (About CPK, cpk.com). This mission statement seems to be too broad and according to the innovative trend carried out at CPK (Offering new flavors and new menu items) (CPK, Press Release), it seems that the mission statement is followed appropriately. To ascertain whether CPK can implement the Blue Ocean strategy, proper research of the company’s resources and abilities is done through these three parts: Structuring The structuring part includes the analysis of processes, relationship and organizational structure and their bonding with each other to make them work more smoothly. The processes at CPK are that Larry S. Flax looks at the operations and the menu of the company whilst Richard S. Rosenfield is in charge of the financial and other investor issues. The organizational structure at CPK is a centralized sort of a structure with a proper Board of directors consisting of 2 CEOs and 5 executive directors. It seems that the company is operated in a rigid manner, sort of an autonomous structure but this power is usually vested within both the CEOs of the company rather than any one of them. The CEOs work together in collaboration so that it might help in succession planning; this clearly suggests that the company is forward sighted. (Business Week, Oct 2009) According to the autonomous structure, it clearly seems that the company offers same menu at all the locations that it has around the globe. Although this may be very beneficial as consumers might be able to get all the renowned varieties offered by CPK but this may also have some implication e.g. the taste of the people situated in other