What Dog are You?

Dogs are one of the few animals that are considered as pets and are usually domesticated by man. These canines are usually groomed to become guards or simply a home-buddy and best friend. Others spend time, efforts and money to teach their pet dogs certain tricks and abilities. Dogs, in general, are friendly and kind to their master/s while aloof and sometimes can pose threat to strangers. In current times, dogs are associated with their masters in terms of attitude, physical appearance, and abilities. In these regards, I would like to take into account the breed Saluki and its similarities to myself. Saluki, pronounced as Sa-loo-key, is a pure breed that can be traced as far back as 3 500 B. C. The relevance of this claim can be identified through an inspection of paintings found inside the Egyptian pyramids and tombs. It also regarded as special and at some places worshiped in the Middle East regions (Brown, 1968). Murawski elaborated that Saluki plays a significant role for the Egyptians. It is revered and is known as ‘el hor’ or ‘noble one’ There is even a tradition that when a saluki died, the family that owns it shaved off their eyebrows. It is also known as Persian greyhound or gazelle greyhound (O’Neil, 2007). Saluki is originally used by the Bedouin tribe to hunt for gazelles. Gazelles, by the way, are considered as the quickest of all antelopes (Murawski, 2001). This illustrates that Saluki’s are fast runners. According to dogbreedinfo. com, Saluki’s run at top speed of 40 mph. In Bitain and some parts of Europe, Saluki is prized for their hunting skills to bring down an agile hare (Hom, 2008 ). Saluki is usually compared or at times confused as greyhound. This is due to the fact that both are ‘gazehounds, hunting by sight and have similar body type (Allsen, 2006)’. Both of them exhibit features such as ‘long legs and deep chest which are built for speed and endurance (Allsen, 2006 )’. The difference between the two breeds is their ears. Allsen, (2006), described that greyhounds are known for their pricked and short ears that differ from saluki which are pendulous and long and at time feathered or has longer furs. I can relate myself with Saluki in terms of temperament. Saluki’s are sensitive which highly demonstrates my perceptive side. I am critical of another person’s emotion/s and of what other people think. I always take into consideration other people especially when they will be affected by decision/s. Saluki is also even-tempered, that is they do not get mad easy. Although, I sometimes get mood swings when really irritable circumstances are present, I usually try to understand the logic behind things before reacting. This attitude could reflect being even-tempered since I do not react easily when triggered by heated or annoying events. Other characters of saluki includes being gentle and affectionate (Burke, 2005). In my opinion I am not really an aggressive type when in comes to my friends and families. However, like a Saluki, I seldom show my affection. I am barely a demonstrative type. Thus, people often think I am taking them for granted when in fact I just don’t want to show my emotional side. Burke (2005) elaborated that Saluki are happy in the company of other Saluki. Well, this seems to generally portray my own temperament. For one I only make friends with people who have common traits with me. One cannot be close and happy with someone you cannot connect anything about. I am a magnanimous and generous type of person especially to friends. I am also sincere to my friends and family. When something wrong happens to anyone of them there’s this natural tendency in me to retaliate. Saluki, according to O’Neil (2007) is ideal for active people. They are recommended outdoors due to their running skills and instinct. They are basically inactive indoors. This means they are quiet, clean and enjoys as much attention, just like a cat (Burke, 2005). I think I am very much the same since I am really quiet at home but a bit more active outdoors. In the outdoors I am a bit more talkative. I can express myself more freely with friends than family members. I enjoy camping and swimming outdoors most specifically in places I haven’t been. Camping makes me feel refreshed and free. Saluki is known to be a good watchdog (Burke, 2005). Although, of course I am not a watchman or a guard, I often watch other people and, as mentioned above, reflect on their possible position regarding a certain issue. It is not as though I am trying to learn mind reading. It is simply taking into account what their views would be and how I will or can be affected by them. As explained, Salukis are prominent hunters. They are known as hunter millennium ago and they are still used to hunt in some Middle East countries up until today. Despite their non-aggressive nature towards humans, dogbreedinfo. com explained that it is Saluki’s natural instinct to kill or chase non-canine animals. Thus, it is recommended that obedience training are needed to keep their hunting instinct under control. Well, I don’t possess such hunting instinct myself. But I believe I am not an obedient type either. I believe that humans are embedded with their capacity to reason and think for themselves. Thus, at times it is simply hard to follow everything that your parents or elders say. There are occasions when I disobey rules but I guess it is normal for people to do things this way. It is like testing the limits of my ability and luck. My favorite sport is soccer which is like hunting in the sense that the goal is to get the ball. Somehow, I am also a fast runner but not as fast as the Saluki, I mean, I cannot outrun a gazelle but I am confident that my running skills are good enough especially in the soccer field. In the soccer game, the Saluki abilities reflected my own since I also need to be watchful and to try to get hold of the ball as much as possible. Physically, Saluki has thin body type with long legs. Basically I am also medium built. Although I am not as thin as Salukis are. Brown quoted Morrow in commenting that ‘Saluki’s look as if they undergone 7 weeks of famine’. I don’t really look like that. But at least I am not a fat type of guy or a muscle builder type. I also don’t have long legs; I guess my legs are normal for my height. Saluki’s has feathered fur in the ear area which somehow resembles my curly hair, according to my friends. My friends and family agree that I do resemble some of Saluki’s attitude although I do not look so much like a Saluki. My abilities do resemble some of those portrayed by Saluki such as good running skills. Nevertheless, I am not as thin as Saluki and I am not so much as a hunter type. I believe that I best display Saluki’s abilities in the soccer field. I enjoy the outdoors as much as Saluki does. Trying to relate myself to a dog is something that uncovers my inner self. In doing this essay I did amazing discovery regarding some parts of my attitude that are too blatant for me to pay attention to. A dog indeed resembles some human abilities and a certain type of dog can be appropriate for certain types of person. As for me, I guess a saluki is not a bad match. I prefer saluki than a shiatsu or a poodle, that’s for sure.

Bowling for Columbine Is Not a Documentary Essay

Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine’, the film which won an Oscar for best documentary, is not in fact a documentary, but rather more of a persuasive essay in film format. The widely accepted definition of ‘documentary’ is a film emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, and minimal editting, and ‘Bowling for Columbine’ does not show any of these characteristics. Instead of presenting a neutral view of the issues, it is clearly biased and purposely manipulates the viewers into agreeing with Moore’s opinions. In the process, Moore frequently uses incorrect statistics and information. In some cases fabricated evidence is also inserted. Documentaries should have close to no editing of the evidence, however in some cases Moore uses sly editing techniques to deceive the viewers. A prominent example of this can be seen in Charlton Heston’s speech. It appears as though the NRA president is holding protest rallies in response to the gun related incidents in Columbine and Flint Michigan, holding a musket up and proclaiming â€Å"I have only five words for you: ‘from my cold dead hands’† whilst the crowd cheers. Moore makes a point of cutting from scenes of heartbroken victims to Heston’s ‘arrogant’ speeches. The purpose of this is to demonize Heston, and also all the members of the NRA. He wants the audience to perceive all gun lovers as heartless, selfish monsters. However on closer observation, it turns out Moore simply grabbed segments from Heston’s former speeches, splicing them together to form a new one, completely different from what the president had intended. Documentaries are meant to lay out the truth, whilst here the film has morphed the truth into a lie instead. Going back to the definition, Bowling for Columbine again falls short of being a documentary through it’s failure to include only correct, factual evidence. Moore chooses to use incorrect ‘facts’; the national gun murder statistics that seem abnormally high are sourced from the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and is a combination of gun related and non gun related incidents, so is therefore irrelevant to what the documentary was trying to say. The rockets shown in the Lockheed Martin sequences and being driven though the streets of Littleton in the night are in fact space launch vehicles, not weapons of mass destruction as Moore claims. These â€Å"facts†, false in nature, are again put there to distort the truth and make the viewers believe that things are more horrifying than they actually are, so that they are more susceptible to Moore’s mental manipulation. One of the fundamentals of a documentary is that it must present facts, and obviously â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† has not fulfilled that requirement. Throughout â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, Moore presents an extremely biased view of events. Moore does everything in his power to manipulate viewers into see things from his eyes. Many are many persuasive techniques are used to achieve this. The film horrifies the audience with confronting scenes from the 9/11 attacks and the Columbine shooting. ‘A Brief History of America’ makes people see Americans as cowardly and pathetic. Charlton Heston’s ‘speech’ angers the audience and makes them turn against gun lovers. There are many more examples, however the point is that documentaries should be neutral and informative, yet the film actively tries to force the viewers to a narrow-minded conclusion. In summary, although â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† may be a creative persuasive film, it is most certainly not a documentary. Not only does the film fail to adhere in any way to the definition of a traditional documentary, it largely utilises deceptive techniques to push Moore’s artificial and contrived point of view.

How the Arrival of the Europeans Alter the Environment for Native Americans

Justine Hertwig HIS 416 Exam 1 How did the arrival of the Europeans alter the environment of Native Americans? Documentation and oral history help historians piece together the past. We know when and who arrived in early America, but we don’t have the most detailed idea of what the now United States actually looked like because technology was at a bare minimum. Columbus arrived in1492 and reported vast empty lands ripe for the taking. If America was properly surveyed at that time, Columbus may have had something else to tell the rest of his people.Perhaps he would have described huge civilizations and cities, massive agricultural centers capable of feeding thousands, and domesticated beasts in giant herds. When discussing the involvement of destruction on the early America, it’s easy to point a finger at the Europeans as wasteful and intrusive. Louis S. Warren’s â€Å"American Environmental History† gives points that support the idea that American Indians had already made a significant carbon footprint on the land.According to Warren, Bartolome de las Casa, a Spanish priest and author of many items of literature that demonized the Spanish for their cruelty to the natives, believed that more than 40 million American Indians had died before colonial America had even begun to spread west. The fact that very little population censuses were performed on the native peoples means that that number could be far more or far less. Either way 40 million people would need massive amounts of resources to allow their civilizations to thrive.Warren suggests â€Å"a New World total of 53. 9 million. †-pg. 6 This notion would make Columbus’s claim of vast empty lands ripe for the taking as a gross exaggeration. What we do know is that there are many physical land features that are greatly altered at the hands of the Native peoples not just the invading Europeans. Warren describes evidence that fire had been used as a means of clearing ou t land and pushing back forest lines for agricultural use in the early Americas long before Europeans arrived.Lightning alone could not have been the cause for these massive fires suggesting the American Indians as the culprits. We also know that as the fur trade began to explode, many feuds erupted over hunting lands needed to supply the Europeans with pelts. The Native peoples became dependent on foreign goods such as; copper pots and pans, guns, gun powder, and bullets, and tools offered by the European traders in return for huge numbers of pelts. This trade sparked the Beaver Wars which laid waste to many American Indian tribes and made the trade business even more competitive and cut throat.Besides the unwanted intrusion on enormous areas of â€Å"pre-owned† land and the spread of lethal disease, Warren describes the European settlers cutting down too many trees, over fishing the seafood population, and being generally wasteful of the resources that, at the time, seemed infinite as their primary offense. Yet this claim wasn’t until colonial America was concretely established and westward expansion began for an ever growing population and economic market. Pastoralism was the trend for settlers causing more and more land to be obtained questionably by unknowing American Indians.The European expansion pushed indigenous further and further out of their lands disrupting their ancient tradition forever. The environment became hostile immediately after the first Europeans arrived, not just from fighting over land ownership but because of the death brought on by foreign disease and threat of being captured during raids from enemy tribes and sold to the Europeans as slaves. It’s obvious that European arrival greatly impacted and altered the physical environment for the American Indians, but to say that they were the only people that laid waste to forests and herds of animals is just egregious.Warren suggests that the land was significantly alt ered with soil erosion as well as a growing medium left with little nutrients for further growing seasons. -pg. 90 Yet the question of â€Å"Which civilization decimated the land the most? † remains. If disease, forced relocation and war hadn’t all but destroyed the American Indians by the 1700’s who’s to say that they wouldn’t have ravaged the land and its resources to support the massive native population. 100 years after first European contact the native population was reduced by over 90%.This gives convincing evidence that the landscape that colonial settlers described as lush, wild and unused was once extremely modified by natives a few hundred years before European arrival. How has disease shaped the historical development in the United States? Until the arrival of the Europeans, the New World was free of measles, typhus, cholera, and smallpox. When the Spanish invaded Mexico, they brought with them a silent killer more potent than any army. The infectious diseases ravaged the American Indians because they had no immunity.By the early 1600’s, the indigenous population was decimated from smallpox, mumps, measles and other European diseases. The large-scale epidemics that followed devastated native communities creating cultural disruption. This greatly weakened their capacity for military response and inadvertently paved the way for rapid European expansion and cultural dominance. Disease didn’t just give the Europeans the upper hand for domination by reducing American Indians ability to fight back with numbers, it deeply disturbed the native religion.American Indians had shamans or medicine men that, for centuries, provided all that was needed to treat their ailments. Warren lists the diseases not foreign to the natives as; pinta, yaws, venereal syphilis, hepatitis, encephalitis, polio, some varieties of tuberculosis and intestinal parasites. -pg. 51 As Old World disease took hold of the American Indians th ey turned to their shamans and medicine men for solution. Like the Puritans, American Indians first believed sickness was caused by sin.Their God, or in American Indian sense their spirit world, was giving ailment to punish those not living correctly. The shamans gave instruction on proper ritual and ceremony execution to rid the infected of sickness. After this didn’t work the tribes people began to lose faith. Their traditional medicine wasn’t working and the disease seemed to be indiscriminate to man and woman of any age. This caused the American Indians to look at the European’s state of health. They weren’t affected as harshly because of immunity.Not knowing the concept of immunity, the indigenous began to forsake old ways and assimilate European culture into daily life in hopes to gain strength from the European God that spared his people from sickness and death. Europeans brought catastrophic death to the American Indians as well as the seeds that sprouted a loss of faith in their traditional native ways. The native population wasn’t the only peoples greatly affected by disease. Warren illustrates the devastating effects of cholera and dysentery on colonial America. Many of the colonists just weren’t educated enough to take proper care of themselves when sick.Warren describes the few doctors that lost more patients then they saved. -pgs. 141-147. Many colonists also believed that many sicknesses were due to punishments by God or the doings of evil spirits. Colonial America had major problems with sanitation. They didn’t even know that poor sanitation was the cause for most of the illnesses ailing their people. Colonial homes had no bathrooms or running water. Their toilets were either a chamber pot they kept under beds or a privy. Drinking wells were contaminated by discarding toilet waste into streams and creeks.A lack of understanding pathogens and how they survive caused many, who were able to recover, to get sick all over again. Another problem was that the colonials rarely bathed. They felt that bathing washed away the layer of dirt that was their protection against germs and disease. When they did bathe, it consisted of washing with a cloth dipped into a basin of water. We know now that this could actually spread germs and bacteria instead of ridding them, especially when using the same infected washcloth to bath the sick and the healthy.Cholera itself won’t kill a person, but lack of hydration while expelling most of one’s body fluids while sick will. In hopes to escape the disease that ravaged people in close living quarters, colonists moved to what Warren describes as â€Å"open air and waters of the countryside. †-pg. 154 This caused many to expand their communities to areas unaffected by pathogens and inadvertently â€Å"kicking out† American Indians through manipulation while simultaneously introducing them to more sickness.

Great Power Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century Essay

Great Power Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Globalization in the twentieth century fueled the development of favorable environmental conditions which inevitably led to the expansion of international trade of goods and manpower services. On the other hand, the geopolitical polices of the twentieth century allowed the establishment of national and imperial control over the process of globalization. Therefore, globalization coupled with effective geopolitical policies shaped the great power diplomacy of the twentieth century. The development of great power diplomacy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was limited to European countries. The reason for this limitation was due to the centralization of power in Europe. The European countries were and still are in many ways the great powers of the world which promoted the permeation of diplomacy throughout the world. The Second half of the century that followed the Second World War can be legitimately regarded as the great era of balance of power diplomacy in the twentieth century. The balance of diplomacy was essential in order to reduce the increasingly apocalyptic implications another war could have on the stability of the world. Great Britain wanted to take advantage of this time and play an instrumental role in brokering the exact location where the balance of power would lay. However, British dream was threatened from the very beginning due to the rise of two super powers i.e. The United States of America and The Soviet Union. Moreover, Britain did not posses the natural affinity with growing economy and the need for political closeness between previous enemies, which was simply essential for the development of balance of power. 3 I felt the need to briefly discuss the balance of power because it is critically related to diplomacy and it can be safely stated that the mothers of Great Power Diplomacy of the twentieth century were the need for globalization, geopolitical policies, and balance of power. I would now throw light over the real meaning of the word diplomacy. Diplomacy can have different meanings in different countries around the world because the dimensions of the word are determined and influenced by political policies of a country. In general, the meaning of diplomacy is a tool for the promotion and implementation of foreign policies of a country. The most important institute in modern society is, indeed, diplomacy. The process of Diplomacy comprises numerous underlying steps including gathering information, clarifying intentions, and engendering good will. All such processes require stability and peace within a nation. The essence of diplomacy is peace and stability within a society. Therefore, one of the numerous obstacles faced by the great power diplomacy in the nineteenth century had been the political and economical instability of the world. Thus, i n the twentieth century, it became necessary for the great powers to establish peace in order to diffuse the growing tension within the European countries. The diffusion of anger and tension was necessary to eliminate the prospect of another war. I believe that the single most important event which significantly changed the Great Power Diplomacy in the twentieth century were the Locarno Treaties of 1925. The treaties promoted the development of

Chronic Disease Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chronic Disease Paper - Essay Example According to Andrew Prentice, professor of international nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, he finds developing countries facing a â€Å"double burden of disease†. Nutrition and life styles play a major role where chronic diseases are concerned. Cancer occurs or develops when the abnormal cells in ones body grow rapidly out of control. Normally, the cells in our body grow, divide and die in a systematic fashion. When the person is young, the cells grow rapidly until the person reaches adulthood after which the cells in the body mostly divide to repair any injury or to replace the dead or worn – out cells. In the case of Cancer, the cells are much different than normal cells. They keep on growing and dividing replacing the normal cells with abnormal ones. Cancer occurs because of the damage caused to the DNA which is present in every cell and conducts all our activities. Usually, when the DNA becomes damaged, the body is in a position to repair it. But in case the cells are cancerous, the DNA is not repaired. Damaged DNA can also be inherited and therefore can get cancer later on in life. Substances in the environment can damage the DNA, such as smoke from tobacco. Cancer cells often travel to different parts of the body where they take root and grow and multiply while replacing normal tissue. The process by which this takes place is called â€Å"Metastasis†. Most of the Cancers form tumors but in the case of leukemia no tumor is formed but instead these cells flow with the blood and circulate through the blood forming organs. Different types of cancer react differently to different types of treatment. All cancers are not life threatening. The tumors may be benign or non-cancerous and do not spread or metastasize to the various parts of the body. They multiply at a different pace and needs a

Assessment of Global Business Environment Essay

Assessment of Global Business Environment - Essay Example The ways in which individuals and companies interact with one another have been altered significantly. One of the most noteworthy changes is in the aspect of speed with which people can interact with one another in the modern world. Communication methods have improved vastly over the last century and this has forced business organizations to reframe their means and purposes of communication with their employees, customers and other stakeholders. Advancement in technology has allowed the companies to reduce gaps in communication with their overseas markets. In the present business platform, companies are making efforts to move ahead of their services offered domestically and are striving to enter into new markets, particularly in the developing countries. High rate of technological development has helped participants in the global market to access these technological knowhow at a cheaper rate. Information flows across the geographical boundaries with greater speed and accuracy and rea ches a larger population within a short period of time. Telecommunication technology plays an important role in this context. Globalization has cast a significant impact on the telecommunications industry and is in turn driving further improvements in the telecommunications technology. Changes in telecommunications industry due to globalization The telecommunications industry is changing rapidly under the influence of globalization. New state-of-the art technology and modern innovations have brought significant changes in the international as well as the domestic market of the United Kingdom. These radical changes in the global telecommunications industry are critical to the success of the firm. Several technological and political developments are currently occurring in this industry. The most distinctly recognizable changes are: Figure 1: Impacts of globalization (Source: Author’s creation) Deregulation of the telecommunications sector The telecommunications industry has a l ong history of its journey since 1884. With the ground breaking invention of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1884, the telephone came into existence. However, it has come into common use several decades after this invention. The telecommunications industry gained a worldwide importance in the first three decades of the twentieth century. By the 1930s, this industry became stable and the telecommunication service providers became an important aspect for the international trade and commerce as well as for the defence sector. During this period the telecommunication sector was under the regulation of the national governments. However, as a result of globalization, liberalization policies were sweeping across the nations and its impact also touched the telecommunication industry (Bartle, 2005). In the mid 1950s, the United States of America (USA) first deregulated its telecommunications market. This set the example for the other countries to follow this path. Following the USA, co untries in the Europe also began to deregulate the telecommunica

Human Resource Management & Information Management (MBA) pro 6 Essay

Human Resource Management & Information Management (MBA) pro 6 - Essay Example Generally it is believed that PRP is a good tool to set a goal for the employees. It sets a criterion for the employees; and so to fulfill that out of their personal welfare, they indirectly help in gaining the objectives of company in a better, more focused and speedy way. PRP does not only act as a reward system, it also works as a silent warning or alarm system for the employees. When lazy or inefficient employees see their colleagues getting benefits, they are naturally alarmed by their situation. Thus inefficient people come to know through PRP that it is all about â€Å"survival of the fittest† thing and so they strive to work in a better way. PRP is a device that articulates the goals of the employers and the company in a better way. By setting criteria for getting performance related pay, employers clearly define what they want from their employees. This might be one of the reasons that PRP still holds importance for the employers. Thus it helps the employers to attain their focused goals in a better and faster way. Another reason for the prevalence of PRP in organizations is the notion that it targets and reward the deserving employees. Naturally some employees are more efficient and hard working than their colleagues, so this system rewards them for their special efforts and thus encourages them to keep up their good work. Finally I think PRP has an enduring interest for employers just because it is used everywhere. It has become an important phenomenon and is widely practiced so employers use it also because of the peer pressure in the corporate world. So PRP is here to stay although there is no solid proof about its motivational

Volcanoes and Earthquakes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Volcanoes and Earthquakes - Research Paper Example Earthquakes have caused widespread damage to human life over the years. There have been earthquakes that have wiped away generations, cities; only to be found later by geologists and historians. With the advanced technology, it has become easier to measure the magnitude and the origin of the earthquake with immense accuracy. Predicting earthquakes is still a mystery and they always catch the human race by surprise.Earthquakes are caused by the shifting of tectonic plates that are present under the Earth’s surface. The ground we consider rock solid, is made up of plates that constantly keep shifting, occasionally shifting rapidly, causing earthquakes in that region. This movement of plate’s releases stress along the geologic faults. These fault lines are considered the boundaries between two plates. It is along these fault lines that earthquakes occur. Interestingly, Earthquakes can also be caused by human activity such as mine blasts and nuclear testing. The epicenter b eing the exact point on the earth’s surface, under which at the hypocenter is present; hypocenter being the exact point where the movement took place (Caroll, 1997). The thought of volcanoes, brings a mountain with erupting lava in our minds. Volcanoes are almost always associated with fascinating destruction of nature and their blinding rage of destroying everything that comes in their way. However, geologically, a volcano is any opening on the planet’s surface, from which the molten lava can make its way to the surface. From fissure vents to submarine volcanoes; all openings in the earth crust the spew out lava are termed as volcanoes. There is classification based on the kind and composition of lava that comes out of the fissures or openings (Sengupta, 2007). Volcanoes are also classified on the basis of their activity; they are active, dormant or extinct. Active volcanoes erupt regularly with many eruptions scripted in the human history; these eruptions may be mont hs apart, years apart or centuries apart. Dormant volcanoes are the ones who have been quiet (no eruptions) for a long period of time, with no written records of their activity until the day the activity starts again. Extinct volcanoes, as the name implies, are the volcanoes that were active some time but have no activity happening as there is no lava supply (Carol, 1997). Volcanoes and Earthquakes: Relationship? The relationship between the volcanoes and earthquakes is pretty significant. On the face of it, there might not be enough evidence, however, when one studies closely it is evident that one of these surely can trigger the other (Rafferty, 2010). Earthquakes generally occur at tectonic plates and most of the eruptions occur in these volcanic regions only. The movement is caused by

Writing a Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing a Critique - Essay Example One side of the argument could be weighted well by the way that it is accepted by some individuals that the preachers dont accompany a message of affection or peace, as Jesus taught. They stop themselves in one of the busiest zones of the campus and report as loud as possible that we are all going to hellfire. Despite the fact that the way of the preachers presentation is hostile to numerous and reasons solid reactions, the opportunity of expressing ones interests and beliefs in this nation requires that the speech is protected and well thought on. Numerous students have said they dont feel just as the preachers are expressly badgering or verbally taunting them with their words, while the others say they do. It is likewise genuine that universities are intended to be gateways of differences and to incite thought amongst the growing generations. Campuses are a few students first presentation to the varying perspectives on the planet. It is truly odd that a few Christians want to take after the model of the preacher instead of that of Jesus Christ. They censure sins and caution the students of the advancing judgment while Jesus Christ recuperated individuals, sustained individuals’ nourishment, and taught about Gods love and forgiveness to individuals. (Ruckman) In contrary to the above mentioned points, it can be clearly stated that each individual needs to be tested to consider what the explanation behind our presence on earth is. Forever hangs in a critical position for each individual conceived. Trust and consolation must be advertised. A genuine campus preacher will take a gander at each individual they experience and see a potential zone of service where they have the chance of bringing salvation and trust. They state that it is their obligation and responsibility to preach outside on school grounds in the event that they genuinely aim at focusing

Discuss Dickens treatment of the Victorian concept Essay Example for Free

Discuss Dickens treatment of the Victorian concept Essay Discuss Dickens treatment of the Victorian concept of a gentleman in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is a novel about a boy called Pip and is of him growing up. One day a lawyer turns up at his sisters house saying he has great expectations of him. A mysterious benefactor is giving money through the lawyer to Pip. Pip spends this money on what he thinks is becoming gentleman i. e. buying new furniture. However towards the end of the novel, when Pip finds out who his mysterious benefactor really is, he realises what a true gentleman is, a man of great principles and, a person with good manners. The novel is written by a much older Pip looking back at his life and being amazed at some of the mistakes he actually made. In Great Expectations, every character has there own opinion of what a real gentleman should be like. Pip, the main character of the novel; while he is still a teenager thinks that a real gentleman should have a lot of money, wear expensive clothes, know how to read and write and should go to a gentlemans club. Whereas towards the end of the novel, when he is much more grown up, he realises that a true gentleman has good manners and is loyal. Dickens wrote this novel in many sections, which appeared in a newspaper, as the story became so famous the sections were collaborated into a novel. The novel was written in Victorian times, and like many of his novels they were about the times and the attitudes of all people of society. In this novel Dickenss message to the Victorian people was that to be true gentleman one did not have to be of a rich family or have lots of money; but a true gentleman was loyal, treated others with great respect and had immaculate manners. In modern society we all think that a gentleman should treat others with respect, dress smartly, have excellent manners and be well behaved in public. However some people follow the literal meaning of a gentleman, being that the individual comes from a noble / family. In the novel Pip makes friends with Bently Drummel, who is a gentleman by definition of a dictionary, however what Pip realises a true gentleman is, Bently Drummel is not. There are many things about Bently Drummel that convinces the reader that Bently Drummel is not a true gentleman. Firstly for example he beats his wife, which a true gentleman would never do. A true gentleman would treat a lady with respect at all times. Bently Drummel is only a gentleman because he comes from a rich family his ethics are all completely wrong. He does not lens any money to his friends and he treats them as if they are inferior to him due to his riches. We all know that a true gentleman would never mistreat his friends and would always take great care f them. However on could also argue against these accusations, which are against Bently Drummel and say that he is in fact quite a gentleman. But that all depends upon what one defines a gentleman as. If one says that a gentleman is someone who is very arrogant, and loves himself and his riches more than anyone else then you could say that Bently Drummel is a gentleman However I think in modern day society, and what dickens is trying to put across to the reader is that it is not ones position in society; it is not ones riches that make him a gentleman but his humility, his kindness and his love for his neighbours. In the Victorians times, in which the paper is set, the book as we have said was published in small sections in the newspaper and middle and even lower class people would get to read these newspaper one way or another, so Dickenss message is not just to the rich or just to the poor but to the whole society. Another example of gentleman by definition and a true gentleman is of Compeyson and Magwitch Magwitch is not rich nor of noble decent, but has good principles, he is Pips mysterious benefactor who sends him money in order for him to become a gentleman, although it may not seem so due to the events early in the novel but Magwitch is kind and caring, as he makes sure that Pip is well looked after. Having said that Magwitch is an escaped convict yet he earns money via an honest living from which he sends money to Pip. Compeyson was Magwitchs accomplice who ran away with all the money and blamed all the crimes on Magwitch who served the time. Another thing against the Compeyson is that he had very bad principles compared to Magwitch. He conned Miss Havisham into loving him and then and on their wedding day he left Miss Havisham waiting at the altar and ran away with most of her money. This left Miss Havisham devastated she sat I a room with all the clocks stopped at the time of the wedding, she sat their in her wedding gown, very frail obviously because she was not eating well. A true gentleman could never do this to a women and this is highlighted in the way that Magwitch treats women. At the time in which this novel was released in its different sections, Dickens wanted to add enough suspense so that the reader wanted to read the next section and would remember all the previous sections. He added thrill and excitement to the section by introducing a new character relatively in each section, who has there own appearance, is from there own part of society i. e. working class, and who has their own different views and opinions. This is clearly apparent as each character has his own view, for example Estella a beautiful girl, who Pip is deeply in love with tells him that a gentleman dresses smart, has nice shoes and soft hands. IT is clear to see the message that dickens is broadcasting to the people through his novel and is seem to have an effect because it tells all the people the rich and poor that money does not make a gentleman in the eyes of the community so it is better to be happy with what one has and to have good principles and scruples.

Studies In The Theory Of Emotional Development

Studies In The Theory Of Emotional Development The maturational processes and the facilitating environment: Studies in the theory of emotional development written by Donald W. Winnicott is a fundamental book, which is created from collection of his published and unpublished papers on psychoanalysis and child development between years of 1926-1964. The book informs the readers about the maturation process of a human being step by step from early childhood to adolescence stage. The main theme of this book dates back to Freuds theories to infancy. Winnicott mostly based his discussions on Freuds basic concepts and he had taken Freuds concepts as the frame of his references, however Winnicott did not based his discussions on Freudian concept. Through out the paper, it is observed that the ideas were based on between Winnicotts and Freuds ideas on maturational processes (Winnicott, 1965). In this astonishing collection, Dr. Winnicott analyses the maturational processes in three phases of developmental approach, theoretical approach an d the technique in depth. The book is scripted in a straightforward language that people who are new to psychoanalytic study can benefit from its virtue. Furthermore, the aim of this review is to elaborate on theory of maturational processes in emotional development by analyzing Winnicotts theories in support of different theories at of different theorists who studies the emotional development likewise. In order to accomplish this task, first the author and his theory will be introduced briefly. Subsequently, theories of other theorists will be presented and discussed in depth in order to contemplate the likeliness of maturational processes of human being and psychoanalytical therapy session. The Author Donald W. Winnicott (1896-1971), Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and psychoanalyst received his first analysis from James Strachey. Before this event, in 1919 he read Freud in Brills translation of The Interpretation of Dreams. Strachey was attentive to Winnicotts interest in children and child analysis by encouraging him to research about Melanie Klein. Afterwards, he had become Kleins student and spent several years as her supervisee. Way to understand Winnicott, goes from Klein since Klein had pointed out the missing parts from Freuds theory, the emotional development. His accomplishments of working with infants and children clinically, gave rise to psychoanalytic field, and led him to become the second important person after Klein in British Object Relations School. (Phillips, 1988, pp.153-154; Levine, 2006; Winnicott, 1971, pp.7-10). Winnicotts original ideas had differed from Kleinians. According to Rodman, Winnicott differed from others since he was in close contact with mother and infants. He, also, described that Winnicotts conflict with Kleininas was a turning point in his life, which led him to develop the theory of True Self (Levine, 2006). Winnicott had published over two hundred papers and many valuable books including Through Paediatrics to Psychanalysis (1958), Therapeutic Consultations in Child Psychiatry (1971), The Piggle (1977), Play and Reality (1971) (Phillips, 1988, pp.153-154; Levine, 2006; Winnicott, 1971, pp.7-10). Play and Reality, one of his well known books, is improved version of his paper Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena (1951), which discusses the importance of transitional stage in an individuals life, and intense experiences that take place in art, religion and fantasy world. Lastly, Winnicott refers to this book the most (Winnicott, 1971, p.15). When Winnicotts differentiation from Klein observed, one can assume that this process is Winnicotts transitional phenomena from his supervisor to become an independent theorist. Brief summary of the book Part One: Papers on Development Winnicott starts off the book from collection of papers on development. First, he explains the importance of the psycho-analysis and sense of guilt by stating A psycho-analyst comes to the subject of guilt as one who is in the habit of thinking in terms of growth, in terms of the evolution of the human individual, the individual emotional growth (Winnicott, 1965, p.15). Afterwards, Winnicott continues stating by sense of guilt is visible when the child enters to Oedipal Stage, since unconsciously the child is wishing his/her same sex parent to disappear and accordingly feelings of love and hate rises in this stage. After this stage, child enters to Superego and ego comes in terms with the superego, leaving anxiety to mature into guilt. Winnicott states that at this stage, child would feel sense of guilt related to masturbation. He continues by describing the individuals who acquired guilt feeling might suffer from melancholia and obsessional neurosis. The origin of guilt feeling aris es from Oedipus complex, when the child starts to experience three way relationship (mother, father and child). Next, Winnicott continues with the term capacity to be alone which is highly related with emotional development of an individual. It is basically experience of being alone in presence of another person, which helps children to build up his/her ego and contributes to build individuals personality. Winnicott includes the importance of parent and child relationship by defining the holding environment. The infant is dependent to holding environment where the mother holds the infant physically, emotionally and in her mind. Following the mother and the infant will live together. The child is now a psychosomatic (psyche indwelling in the soma) being on its own. He sees all the objects, including his mother, as outside of himself. At this stage, the childs ego moves on from the state of unintegration to integration and now he has gained the capacity to develop object relations. In other words, he has now passed on from a subjectively designed object to an on objectively perceived object rela tionship, which the infant can live with the father and mother together. Winnicott includes that the infant development should facilitated by good-enough maternal care in order for infant to survive. He continues stating that it can be said that infants ego is weak, however strengthen by his mothers ego. Further on, Winnicott states the importance for child to experience full dependency, relative dependency and independence, in order to integrate the ego. He includes the importance of ego strength that receives ego-support from the mothers adaptive behaviour and love. Accordingly, Winnicott articulates the relation of needs of children to those of infants in health and crisis. Additionally, he points out the importance of the relationship between childcare that is provided by healthcare providers versus natural care that is supplied by the parents. Correspondingly, Winnicott discussed the development of the capacity for concern in children. His statement was concern was assumes to belong to the stage that is prior to Oedipus complex. The capacity for concern was part of two body relationship, between the mother and the infant. In order the infant to experience guilt or hold it in full expectation of an opportunity to reparation, he needs to develop capacity for concern. Following this paper, Winnicott discussed infants growth from dependence towards independence. There are three categories in this issue. The first one is absolute dependence, which is the early stage of emotional development. The infant is dependent on the mothers womb and care from the beginning. In this section Winnicott states that This term maturational process refers to evolution of the ego and of the self, and includes the whole story of the id, of instincts and their vicissitudes, and of defences in the ego relative to instinct (Winnicott, 1965). In this state, the mothers go through a phase called primary maternal preoccupation where the mothers are preoccupied with the care of their baby starting from the last few weeks of pregnancy and couple of weeks after the birth. Their babies seem part of them and they are identified with the baby. Accordingly, the mothers know how their baby feels like or what their baby needs. In this situation, the mother herself is dependent. The n ext step is relative dependence where the infant is aware of the presence of dependence. In order to explain this phase, Winnicott stated that when the mother is away for a moment beyond the time-span of his (or her) capacity to believe in her survival, anxiety appears, and this is the first sign that the infant knows. The last step is infants journey to towards independence. Once the child passed the both phases normally, he/she will become eligible to meet with world and its hardships, since he/she will be able to observe what is already present in his(her own self. Lastly, this stage explains the attempts of the toddler child and of the child at puberty. Part Two: Theory and Technique In the second part Winnicott, dedicated himself informing the readers about the theories of child psychology and the techniques that is used in child psychoanalysis. Winnicott starts with contributions of direct child observation to psycho-analysis. According to Winnicotts direct observation, the baby must have a physical and psychological maturity in order to have a full emotional development. When these phenomena take place in psychoanalysis the analyst cannot date when it occurred. However, the analyst will be able to describe to patients early infancy. Furthermore, infants play become acknowledge in process of analysis. Play includes the personal growth of through imagination. Winnicotts foremost crucial theory is transitional object and phenomena. In this phase, the normal developing baby adopts a piece of cloth or a teddy bear. For a while the child will subject this object to himself; he will carry it with him all the time and wants to have full possession of the object. Therefore, according to Winnicott, starting from infancy, the mother should tolerate and allow the baby to besmear this object, to harm it, to ruin it. If the mother is wa shing this object, or cleaning it, or mending it or sewing it, she is breaking up and destroying something. What the mother is destroying is the meaning the baby attaches to the object and to what she is doing to the object. Winnicott explains that concentration of environmental phenomena in which crystallizes out a person (p.138), a mother, and within the mother the infant constitutes as anatomically and physically, later on at the birth date, the infant becomes a female or male individual. Winnicott states that there is no such thing as a newborn on its own, what you can see is the mother baby unity; which is called nursing couple. Where you find a baby you will find maternal care. At the beginning the baby exists only by means of the maternal care with whom the baby forms a whole. This care period is before the verbal period. The baby does not talk, in this period which is prior to presenting the baby with word symbols, the relationship between the mother and the baby is a maternal empathy. The baby is completely dependent and with what he receives from this dependency his ego develops and he paves the way for the construction of a separate self. When assumed that the development progressed normally w ith good enough initiation, true self operates steady and protects the being from the false self. False self is described as the breakdown of the childs illusion of omnipotence by the mothers non-empathetic replies at early period results in serious psychopathological consequences. A child in such a situation will gradually develop a false self. He will give up his needs and demands and will quickly try to form himself according to the demands and expectations of the mother or others. He will observe himself and his surroundings all the time and trying to assess reality, he will be inclined to present a superficial concordance. The real self which has not developed, will be enveloped, encapsulated and hidden by false self. Real self is the source of needs and expressions itself. False self, on the other hand, is a continuous activity in order to create the positive surroundings the environment has not provided one with. In analysis of a false personality, Winnicott describes, the fact must be recognized that the analyst can only talk to the False Self of the patient about the pat ients True Self (Winnicott, 1965, p.151). He continues stating that in point of transition, the analyst and the patient should be in extreme dependence, when the analyst starts to get into contact with the True Self. Winnicott discusses the importance of counter-transference within the therapy. Additionally, he stated the aim of psycho-analytical treatment is keeping alive, well, and awake. It is crucial to be aware of what, when, and how the patient states the certain statement or releases the emotion. Following, Winnicott discusses how to train for child psychiatry, since it is a different field than psychiatry that is applied to adults. Child psychiatry is involved with the emotional growth of the individual child and his/her maturational processes which is provided by his/her environment and the issues that derives from child him/herself. Accordingly, child psychiatry requires additional education of type which is provided by Psycho-Analysis and Analytical Psychology. Winnicott continues by stating the importance of psychotherapy of character disorders and he elaborates by discussing them in terms of maturational processes. Lastly, he concludes by stating the importance of dependence in infant-care, in child-care, and the psycho-analytic setting. The Critique of the book When the main issue is the maturational process, it is crucial to acknowledge Freuds theory since almost all of the theories stemmed from it. According to Freud, in infancy and childhood, the individuals anticipated concern is survival issues, which are experienced through nursing and the mothers activities with infants body, following infants fantasies about birth and death. Also, the infant will experience these issues through the sexual bond with its parents. Later on the infant will experience, pleasure principle where he/she demands all of his/her needs to be accomplished immediately (id). With reality principle, the infant realizes some gratifications are that problematic, however the infant will realize it is worth to wait for them (ego) (McWilliams, 1994; Mitchell Black, 1995). Freuds drive theory states that the child will go through psychosexual stages of oral, anal, phallic and latency stage (where superego develops). Therewithal, Winnicott values the theories of Freud an d based the fundamental of his theories from his. However, Freud states that patients problems stems from secrets, gaps in memory, while Winnicott believes that the patient is shaping and molding the analytic situation to provide the environmental features missed in childhood (Mitchell Black, 1995, 133-134). According to my observation, even though Winnicott had developed a different style of maturational processes than Freuds, still he based his ideas on his drive theory. Freuds maturational processes of emotional development reciprocate my idea of maturation, since the stages are apprised when the children are observed from the frame of drive theory. Accordingly, I believe that Winnicotts stages of theory builds up on Freuds maturational stages with addition of mother-infant relationship reinforcement. The dedicated theorists, Klein and Anna Freud, had different theories which concerned technical problems with regard to analyzing. Klein believed that children were analysable as long as their play was interpreted, while Anna Freud argued that small children are not analysable since they have weak ego and they cannot handle interpretations. (Mitchell Black, 1995). Klein s play technique of child analysis, which the child is offered with simple toys that represents his fantasy life (Klein, 1975). On the other hand A.Freud states that since Superego is the heir of the Oedipus Complex, the pre-oedipal child will be unable to obtain internal controls of his own erotic and aggressive impulses. Even though, Winnicott was influenced by Kleins theory, he still acknowledged A.Freuds view of giving importance of the childs actual parents. On the other hand, Klein was insufficiently respectful of the role of parents and concentrated on childs internal world of fantasy to the exclusion of exter nal factors (Phillips, 1988). However, Winnicotts benefaction to psychoanalytic theory was formulated to re-introduce the importance of the real mother in development. He gives the mother a relatively passive role, at least from the infants point of view (Katz, 1996). Winnicott believes that there is not only an infant there is a nursing couple between mother and the infant. When I think of these theories, I also, believe psychoanalysis cannot be applied to the children. I support Kleins the play technique, however I believe that children are not ready to hear the interpretations, since they have not accomplished all of the developmental stages as A.Freud stated. Additionally, I disagree with Kleins point of view of excluding parents, when working with children. Since the care of the mother and the environment is crucial in childrens development, I think parents contribution to the therapy session will be meaningful as Winnicott stated. Stern disagrees on the existence of developmental stages as other theorists do. Stern makes an attempt to free infancy and psychoanalysis from predisposition of adult psychopathology. His position is that the infants from the start mainly experience the reality and their subjective experiences without suffering distortion or defences (Downey, 1988). In contrary of Winnicotts developmental stages, Stern uses for senses of self, which are emergent self, the core self, the subjective self and the verbal self. According to Erten (2010), Stern emphasizes the importance of sense of subjective self as the crucial steps of development of the child. Erten states that, according to Stern I think, Stern was influenced by Winnicotts theory of mother-infant relationship and applied to his own theory. In Sterns system the mother and the infant are in a dual relationship, in other words in sync. Stern (1985), and A. Freud (1965) were influenced by Winnicot (1971)s transitional object and phenomenon by describing the importance of having a soft substance in process of differentiating from the mother. However, Sterns view on this phenomenon is different than Winnicotts. Winnicott believes that it is crucial for child to be left alone with the transitional object whereas Stern states it is normal for mother to enter infants play in this stage is normal and she should encourage the infant play with the transitional object. Once the infant gets acquainted with the toy, he/she should be left alone. He states that it is beneficial for development of self-regulation (Stern, 1985). Additionally, Erten (2010) includes that the child will start to take a journey from his inner world to external world as he will travel from subjectivity to objectivity. I think that Winnicotts opinion seems more logical, since the transitional object should be an object that will help the child to differ entiate from his mother in order to take steps in the journey of becoming an individual. I think that transitional object would replace the pleasure that the child is receiving from the mother until the child gets acquainted to his new situation. Erten (2010) within Winnicotts holding theory; the environmental mother will witness the child, through out his development by holding the child mentally. The mother will stand besides her childs existence and will have an optimal dance with her child. By optimal dance, Winnicott meant that the mother will stand by her childs side, while not abusing her childs existence by interrupting him. In another words, the child should live his loneliness in presence of his mother. In my opinion, this optimal dance is similar to Sterns idea of affect attunement. Affect attunement is described below: When the infant is around nine months old, however, one begins to see the mother add a new dimension to her imitation-like behavior, a dimension that appears to be geared to the infants new status as a potentially intersubjective partner. (It is not clear how mothers know this change has occurred in the infant; it seems to be part of their intuitive parental sense.) She begins to expand her behavior beyond true imitation into a new category of behavior we will call affect attunement (Stern, 1985, p. 140). In Sterns theory, the mother follows the affect and behavior of her child in a compatible manner, while in Winnicotts theory, the mother watches over her child without interrupting his being but still keeping a compatible manner mentally. Additionally, Erten (2010) was able relate Winnicotts concept of capacity to be alone with Bowlbys attachment theory. He stated that the individual can form relationship which is free from separation anxiety, if he/she was able to securely attach to his mother in infancy stage. Erten continues by stating the infant who formed insecure attachment will be alone in both cases of when the mother departures (the baby is left alone) and when the mother arrives since he/she ignores the arrival of the mother due to her departure. The reason is as the object leaves (the mother), the baby feels abandoned in his/her subjective world and the anxiety will be stimulated according to frequency of mothers departure. I strongly agree with Winnicotts and Ertens statements since the concept of capacity to be alone is also a way for child to relax in his own time. Accordingly, I believe that the child will learn to soothe himself without requiring someones attention. Conclusion In the book, The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of Emotional Development, Winnicott informs the readers about the developmental theory ranging from early childhood to adolescence, while he explains the crucial theories that contribute the emotional development of the individual. He concludes the collection by narrating the differences between child and adult psychiatry styles, while he states the possible psychiatric disorders that might stem from infantile maturational processes. The book consisted from the collection of Winnicotts various papers. Winnicott, a former Kleinian, began to separate from Klein as he started to form his own theory by observing infant-mother relationship. By focusing on this two-body relationship and basing on Sigmund Freuds drive theory and nourishing his theories from Kleins and A.Freuds opinions, Winnicott formed different and useful theories about emotional development of individual. Unlike other theorists, Winnicott begins his theory starting from pregnancy period, when the baby is in the womb, instead of starting from the birth. He values the first relationship of mother-infant, the dependency period, immensely. Winnicott, rarely mentions the fathers role in his theories. Winnicott, also, emulates infant-mother relationship with patient-therapist relationship. When it is considered, the concepts that he mentioned can be visible in therapeutic session. Such as, the patients prefer to have capacity to be alone and experience going on being state by being silent in the therapy room. On the other hand, the therapist maintains a holding environment by not interrupting the patient, by being by his side. Finally, Winnicotts current book of collection is a well rounded, detailed book which captures the reader and provokes spirit as the reader dives into the book. The new students of psychoanalysis and pupils who wants to be psychotherapist must read this book in order to apprehend the full journey of individuals maturational processes.

Overweight And Obesity Of Saudi Arabian Adolescents Physical Education Essay

Overweight And Obesity Of Saudi Arabian Adolescents Physical Education Essay Today, obesity is one of the main concerns among health professionals as a result of its recent and rapid increase in prevalence worldwide. The problems of obesity and overweight are seen in adults and children in both developed and developing countries (World Health Organization (WHO), 1999). Obesity in Saudi Arabia is a rampant disease which has continued to escalate in frequency and size over past decades. Madani (2000) maintains that throughout Saudi Arabia that 14% of children less than 6 years can be categorised as obese; while 83% of adults are simultaneously suffering from the same affliction. Unfortunately, the limited scope of empirical research throughout Saudi Arabia leaves limited attribution variables for analysis and will thereby require in-depth investigation. Furthermore, there is limited research to sustain the relationship between urban and rural lifestyles in this region and their influence on the incidence of obesity. Aims and Objectives of Study The scope of obesity research is extensive given the current affection within international communities. Unfortunately, there is limited empirical analysis of Saudi Arabia that can be used to establish a strategic offensive against this prevalent disease. Recognising such deficiency, the aims of this analysis revolve around conduct of a cross-sectional research study in an attempt to define the socio-economic relationship with obesity in Saudi Arabia among adolescents. Through this analysis, a measurement methodology will be defined which includes categorical qualification and variable comparison to determine at-risk levels for adolescents in this global region. A main aim of this analysis is to investigate the relationship between urban and rural obesity as well as the other variables including exercise and diet which influence the prevalence of this disease. Overall, the objectives of this analysis are to provide indicative data regarding obesity prevalence and the association of socio-demographic and lifestyle variables including dietary habits and exercise frequency. By exploring the specific caloric intake levels and food profiles, determination will be made regarding consumption differences between rural and urban areas, generating a blueprint of obesity that supersedes traditional boundaries. Significance of Study In modern Saudi Arabian society, childhood obesity remains the most significant of health concerns, detracting from overall well-being regardless of economic or social factors. Madani (2000) reminds that obesity is a direct contributor increase in mortality rates due to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and non-insulin dependent diabetes. The main objectives of this study are to explore the main contributors to Saudi Arabian obesity in the context of diet, exercise, and demographic data. Through comparative analysis, this study will provide an empirical framework wherein at-risk categories can be prescribed for health care practitioners to assist in attribution. Furthermore, this analysis will directly contribute to leading academic theories regarding differentiation between urban and rural social foundations and their influence on children. Providing evidence to inform a strategy for obesity combat, this research will offer a gateway for further research and encourage local awar eness and implementation of control measures. Review of Literature Obesity is the heavy and disproportionate collation of fat to an extent that that it can significantly increase risk of disease contraction which can prove detrimental to health like heart disease and diabetes. Whilst there are a genetic, environmental and psychological components contributing to obesity, the main cause is a lack of activity combined with high calorie food intake. This chronic disease is characterized by a severe imbalance in energy metabolism as a result of excessive food intake in tandem with reduced energy expenditure. The WHO estimates that approximately 20 million children less than five years old, all around the globe, are overweight (WHO, 2003). Statistics have shown that it is not only developed countries suffering from this problem; developing countries in the Middle East, Western Pacific and Latin America have high levels of obesity among children (Popkin, 2002a). The Gulf States (GCC) are the richest among the developing countries and as a result of the economic boom, obesity and overweight have become one of the main health problems in this part of the world (Musaiger 2004). Significant economic growth has had a negative impact on the Saudi life style, particularly in terms of diet habits and customs, where traditional food has been replaced by high fat, high sugar, fast food (Al-Othaimeen, 2007). Moreover, this financial change has encouraged the people of Saudi Arabia to move from rural villages to urban cities. This huge change in the environment has led to a change in food habits and styles of physical activities, because urbanisation provides easy access to modern technology, including transportation and a high availability of food at all times of the year (Mendez and Popkin, 2004). Obesity in Saudi Arabia is a rampant disease that has continued to escalate in frequency and breadth over the past decades. More than one study has shown that the prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia ranges between 11.8 per cent and 36.1 per cent (Al-Nozha et al., 2008). Recently, a study found that more than 52 per cent of pregnant women are obese (El-Gilany and El-Wehady, 2009). Moreover, research to study cardiovascular disease and its impacts among 17,232 Saudi adults demonstrated that 72.5 per cent of Saudi people are obese or overweight (Al-Nozha et al., 2005). The highest prevalence of obesity among Saudi children was found in Riyadh, the central region of Saudi Arabia (Al-Nuaim et al., 1996) The prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia is of significant concern, and research studies have been undertaken to better develop causal hypotheses and predictions for future incidence. Abalkhail (2002) determined that between 1994 and 2000, a significant increase in BMI in Saudi Arabian adolescents occurred which was directly correlated with lifestyle and eating habits. These variables led to the conclusion that enhanced nutrition education and school system intervention were essential to supporting healthy development of Saudi children. In fact, recent research by Mahfouz et al. (2008) determined that Saudi school interventions involving increased physical activity and behavioural therapy have garnered significant results in the decrease of childhood obesity. Given that preventative techniques are linked to social networks, establishing a foundation of aversion and active mitigation continues to assist Saudi residents in overcoming the influences of this disease. To date, there is only one national nutrition survey represent prevalence of childhood obesity in Saudi Arabia. This household survey done between 1994 to 1998 and involved only 12,701 children aged 1-18 years (Al-Nuaim, 1996 ). These data were collected from families living in capital cities and urban areas which make this study not truly representative. Beside this national survey, there are number of studies collected at regions level. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabian children is vary because of using different standards and definitions of obesity. Table 1.1 summaries some of published studies. Table 1.1 studies from Saudi Arabia Reference details subjects Measurement methods Main outcomes Life style and nutrition and their impact on health of Saudi school students in Abha, Southwestern region of Saudi Arabia Farghaly, N(2006) Cross sectional Country: Saudi (south) N: 767 Age: male and female students in primary, intermediate and secondary school (7-18 years). -BMI -Height -Weight -BMI=weight (Kg)/ height2 (m2 ) -Obesity: weight-for-height z-scores more than 2 standard deviation above the mean. (WHO NCHS) -72% of primary school students consume food rich in carbohydrates, low fiber -male practicing longer physical activities than female -15.9% were obese -11% were overweight. Overweight and obesity and their relation to dietary habits and socio-demographic characteristics among male primary school children in Al-Hassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Amin,T et all (2008) Cross sectional study Country: Saudi (Eastern region) N:1139 Age: 5th and 6th grades. -weight -height -BMI -Youth and Adolescence Food Frequency Questionnaire (YFFQ) -obese when BMI>95 -overweight when BMI>85 -YFFQ: to assess dietary consumption of adolescents by asking of frequency food consumption per day. -14.2% were overweight. -9.7% were obese -the prevalence of obesity and overweight is more in urban than in rural. -obesity in children linked with low educated mother. Overweight and obesity among attendees of primary care clinics in a university hospital Country: Saudi (Central region) N:3205 Age: all patient male and female who visited outpatient clinics at the University Hospital -Riyadh Between 22 April-22May 2006 -weight -height -BMI -BMI: weight in kilogram divided by height in meters square. -all anthropometric measurements were taken by professional nurses. -60.3% of adolescent are within normal body mass index -18.7% were overweight, (BMI=25 to -only 3.4% were morbid obese, BMI>40 Obesity among Saudi male adolescents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Al-Rukban,M (2003) Saudi Med J ; Vol. 24 (1): 27-33 Cross sectional study Country: Saudi (central region) N: 894 Age:12-20 -BMI overweight >85th -obese >95th BMI percentile -13.8% were overweight -20.5% were obese. Obesity and Related Behaviors among Adolescent School Boys in Abha City, Southwestern Saudi Arabia Mahfouz,A et al(2007) Journal of Tropical Pediatrics Vol. 54, No. 2 Country: Saudi (southern region) N: 2696 Age:11-19 -height -weight -BMI -general structured questionnaire underweight : -normal weight :15th- -Overweight :85th- -Obese:>95th percentile -questionnaire include question about socio-demographic condition, consumed food and physical activities. -16% were obese -95% had lack of exercise -obesity among adolescent in Abha is a health problem now and near future. Prevalence and socioeconomic risk factors of obesity among urban female students in Al-Khobar city, Eastern Saudi Arabia, 2003 Al-Saeed, W et al (2006) obesity reviews 8 , 93-99 cross sectional study Country: Saudi (Eastern region) N: 2239 Age:6-17 years -socio-demographic questionnaire -BMI -questionnaire given to parents to fill it out, includes question about fathers education, occupation and family incomes. -BMI= Weight (in kg)/Height (in m2). -20% were overweight -11% were obese -obesity and overweight in children are associated with highly educated mothers. -obesity among female is higher than male. Power (2009) voices compelling concerns about the prevalence of obesity within the gulf regions and focuses in particular on Saudi Arabia. According to Power (2009) obesity has now reached such a proportion that it is seriously beginning to threaten the Saudi community as becoming a nationwide epidemic. Furthermore empirical studies performed by Novotny (2003) have further implicated Saudi Arabia as the gulf capital for obesity as a sample of Saudi nationals over a five year period were selected utilizing a multistage stratified cluster sampling format with probability being proportionate to size. Physicians had a health obligation of measuring obesity accurately which was done through a quartet index of Body Mass Index. The data showed a sample of 8,865 participants comprising of 46.8% males with a mean age of 33.5 years. The prevalence of overweight came to 28.7% for females and 31.4% for males. With respect to obesity Novotny (2003) continues that holistic prevalence was 21.5% mal es and 25.4% for females. Indeed, the research design is suggestive of the notion that such figures many indeed represent accurate values nationally. According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, issues such as area, income, age and gender etc are from a statistical perspective significant predictors of obesity. Fairburn (2005) agrees and cites that the prevalence of obesity as the data suggests is normally higher in females than males due to sedentary lifestyles but lower in people residing in rural regions who adhere to traditional forms of life. Thus, the data may suggest that the prevalence and pattern of obesity according to gender and age is similar in Arab nations to those in western counties. The risk factors to children are huge. Power (2009) further mentions that Saudi Arabian children in particular are known to be sedentary kids and are more likely to gain weight due to a severe lack of physical activity. Fairburn (2005) however is adamant that some risk factors can be manipulated or modified and eagerly states that most of the risk factors impacting children are controllable in early life and thus negating the risk of heart disease later in life. Fairburn (2008) cites that parents can help children maintain a healthy body weight through physical activity and limiting salt consumption whilst educating them about the dangers of smoking highlighting that nicotine in cigarettes can cause the contraction of blood vessels and thus restricting blood flow through the vessels. In relation to obesity Fairburn (2005) argues that controlling portions containing fewer calories is the best way forward. Power (2009) however cites that this may not be applicable in all instances and states that more methodical ways need to be devised like fun games in order to increase activity. Further research among Saudi adolescents highlighted categorical variance that played a pertinent role in levels of childhood obesity. Amin et al. (2008) determined through quantitative research that male Saudi children with less educated parents and more working mothers were increasingly prone to obesity and overweight. In fact, such research is directly correlated with the work of Al-Subaie (2000) in which mothers education acted as a singular influence on Saudi females dietary habits formation. In a study by Al-Saeed et al. (2007) research amongst Saudi female students determined that parental working patterns were positively correlated to the incidence of childhood obesity. From this perspective, those children whose parents were actively working in private jobs were more likely to become obese. These specific demographic variables and their influence on Saudi obesity are essential to predicting incidence and moderating the increasing prevalence of this disease. From an alternate perspective, geographic research further explores the variability of obesity amongst Saudi adolescents. Regional research by Al-Nuaim et al. (1996) and El-Hazmi and Warsy (2002) has demonstrated that the incidence of obesity is positively correlated to geographic location in Saudi Arabia. These studies highlight increased obesity in the Eastern Province while the Southern Province demonstrated a significant decrease in incidence. El-Hazmi and Warsy (2002) postulate that such discrepancies may be directly related to environmental or genetic factors, thereby illuminating unique traits of obesity that are specific to Saudi Arabia. Further geographic research conducted by Khalid (2008) demonstrated that children at higher altitudes in Saudi Arabia tend to be increasingly overweight which has been suggested to be related to lifestyle and exercise habits. Each of these analyses provides a foundation of necessity for further evaluation of geographic differentiation in obes ity between rural and urban children in Saudi Arabia. Such evaluation could provide an undeniable link between exercise habits, diet, and income which allows regional officials to employ strategic preventative measures to reduce the incidence of obesity. Many medical and psychological risks and complications are associated with childhood obesity and overweight (Lobstein et al., 2004). ).. A strong relationship was found between asthma and BMI among obese and overweight children (Muà ±oz et al., 2001). Further, obesity can affect children emotionally and psychologically, as low self-esteem in obese children is likely to increase levels of anger and loneliness (Strauss, 2000).One of the main concerns of health professionals is the strong relationship between childhood obesity and subsequent adulthood obesity and overweight. Especially among adolescents, a high Body Mass Index (BMI) is highly predictive of obesity in adulthood (Laitinen et al., 2001). As result of the difficulties to assess the relationship between obesity in childhood and obesity in adulthood, epidemiological studies have used different design, age group, definitions and measurements (livingstone, 2000). Beside these limitations, more than one study have found that there is a strong relationship between childhood obesity and adulthood obesity (Whitaker et al., 1997);(Hill et al., 1998) ;(Gue et al., 1999). Obesity in adults is associated in turn with a variety of chronic diseases. For instance, a recent publication of the American Institute for Cancer Research (2007) found that an increase in body fat was associated with a variety of cause cancers including cancer of pancreas, oesophagus, colorectal, breast, kidney, allbladder and liver cancer (AICR, 2007). Roberts (2002) contends that obesity is closely linked to insulin resistance and to elevated blood pressure. Roberts (2002) further contends that complications arising from obesity typically include cancer like renal cell cancer, breast cancer and endometrial cancer. Mendosa (2005) agrees and underlines that other complications include sleep deprivation, liver malfunction, obstetric and gynaecologic complications, myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular disease, and hypertension. Mendosa (2005) in particular relates to the short term consequences of obesity as high blood pressure which can result due to a disproportionate body mass index. Mendosa (2005) cites that whilst high blood pressure has no immediate problems, it is a major risk factor which can lead to serious cardiovascular problems and ultimately heart disease. Wright et al (2005) agrees and further argues that with high blood pressure additional pressure is placed on the to heart to work more intensely in pumping blood around the body which can over a prolonged period of time damage arteries resulting in a blockage and thus a stroke. Contrarily though Roberts (2002) cites that whilst this is a short term problem, this problem mainly increases with age and thus adolescents are not at immediate risk. Wright et al (2005) further notes that osteoarthritis can also be a long term consequence which is a joints disorder. This arises due to additional pressure being placed on bones and joints due to obesity. Wight et al (2005) cites that even reducing weight by as little at 10% can minimise the risk of heart disease by improving blood circulation in the heart and osteoarthritis by negating pressure on bones. Fairburn (2005) further alludes to weight management and cites that blood pressure can decrease by up to 2.5/1.5 mmHg for each excess kilogram which is eliminated. Fairburn (2005) contends that a healthy diet is also essential in counteracting high blood pressure i.e. 6-8 portions of a plethora of fruit and vegetables and a low in salt/fat diet. Thus, high blood pressure is a short term problem which can lead to more serious long term problem but can be controlled through weight management and a sensible diet. Childhood obesity is become a major public health concern as result of its immediate and a later-life affects and consequences. Table 1.2 showed the early and late impacts of childhood obesity. Table1.2 Early and late impacts of childhood obesity (Wabitsch, 2000) Early impacts Late impacts Psychological problems Adulthood obesity Social consequences (low self-esteem and more loneliness) cancer Physical appearance Cardiovascular disease Metabolic disturbance Diabetes and hypertension Immune system and infection (High airway infection) Skin problems (acne and skin infection) Physical disabilities (decrease body mobility and activity) Mendosa (2005) refers to diabetes. Obesity can lead to both type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease and has affected almost nearly 42% of the adult population in Saudi Arabia. Mendosa cites that obesity and diabetes are both increasing at epidemic proportions that as many as 16% of the population may have even acquired metabolic syndrome. Wilson (2009) agrees and cites that chronic inflammatory response comprising of abnormal cytokine production, can lead to acute phase reactants and inflammatory signalling pathways being activated. According to Wright (2005) there is an intense correlation between obesity and health related quality of life due to multiple domains of quality of life and the heterogeneity of obesity. Furthermore as Wilson (2009) notes the concept of health related quality of life can be rather difficult to operationalise since from a theoretical standpoint it is inclusive of all issues of life. Power (2005) agrees and mentions that each domain of health is characterised by various components. As a consequence, quality of life is measurable by certain indices that mirror certain aspects of overall quality of life like functional restrictions and depression. Empirical studies as alluded to by Power (2005) have focused on the relationship between obesity and quality of life and have made use of generic scales instrumented specially for obese people. Additionally, as Wight (2005) notes obesity is a heterogeneous condition, and evidence does suggest that cultural, social, familial and individual facto rs can impact the level of obesity one contracts. In accordance with such a debate Power (2005) in particular argues that short term implications include difficulty in standing and walking. Power (2005) carried out dual studies in 2002 which solicited data from 120 obese individuals in the Saudi town of Tabuk. The data shows that 92 respondents depicted signs of limitations in relation to climbing several flights of stairs. Furthermore, all respondents displayed signs of physical wear and tear in relation to other activities whilst many also displayed emotional distress. However, the world health organisation (WHO) in contrast is critical and cites that underlying conditions such as arthritis may have contributed to this physical wear and tear. As such there is a link between obesity and poorer quality of life was in all age groups and both genders. A growing body of data has been correlated in obesity to suggest impairments in quality of life from a short term view are a genuine co ncern. Childhood obesity needs to be taken very seriously as contended by Poskitt (2008). Economic development in Saudi Arabia over the last three decades has lead to many changes in nutritional and lifestyle habits. Whilst these alterations have indeed influenced the quantity and quality of food consumption and predisposed individuals to a sedentary lifestyle, research of childhood obesity in Saudi Arabia is inadequate. The literature has shown that obesity has continued to proliferate in Saudi Arabia. Whilst some interventions have been imposed they have failed to substantially buck the trend of rising obesity statistics. The short term and long term consequences have been implicated as being a serious risk to those who are obese. Furthermore, the evidence does not bode well for childhood obesity which needs to be taken very seriously to prevent the emergence of such diseases as enlisted within the literature review. It should be studied and then implemented in the curriculum to prevent children from adopting a sedentary lifestyle leading to potentially deadly diseases. Study hypothesis: Urbanisation is negatively correlated to obesity Socio-economic status is ambiguously correlated to obesity Dietary intake is positively correlated to obesity Vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with obesity Location: This study will be carried out in the Riyadh region which is one of the 13 regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh region is located in the centre of Saudi Arabia; it includes 21 small regions called Emirates. It also includes more than fifty rural areas all belong to these small Emirates. Study design and sampling: Cross- sectional study conducted in intermediate and secondary schools in Riyadh region in urban and rural areas. Age group: from 12-17 years male and female students. Participant will be recruited in urban and rural schools which have been chosen randomly based on schools list provided by educational authorities in Riyadh. Schools will be divided into 3 levels depend on the socio-economic statues of the locality; low, medium and high. Five schools will be randomly selected from each SES level. This study design to choose participant will be on two stages by using cluster sampling technique: First stage is choosing schools randomly.Second stage is choosing classrooms randomly. Then 50 participants will be randomly selected from each school by using school enrolment number. Eligibility: All students male and female age 12 to 17 years old attending and studying in the chosen schools. Ethical considerations: This study will be approved by the Social and Behavioral Research Ethics Committee of the Flinders University. Permission will be obtained from the local School Health and Education Directorate authorities. An introductory letter to participant explains research protocol and includes consent form for the parents. *Parents will be asked to sign consent if they wish their child to participate in this study. * In addition agreement will be obtained from children to ensure they do not object to participating in the study. *Parents and participant can refuse or withdraw at any time, even if they signed a consent form. *If they refuse or withdraw from this study, they dont have to give reason for it. Data collection and techniques: Anthropometric measurements All ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURMENTS will be measured by trained researchers and the accuracy of measurements will be checked before use. Researcher will use the SECA digital 763 (Germany) which is a combination scale (weight) and stadiometer (height). The instrument will be calibrated before use at regular intervals as per a standard operating procedure (SOP). Weight: Participant will be weighed without shoes and with minimal clothes. Height: participant will be measured with shoulder in relaxed position without shoes and looking straight ahead. BMI: calculation formula Body weight in Kg/Height in meter*2 (James, 2004). Waist circumference: will be measured with a flexible measuring tape. Blood pressure: by using electronic blood pressure machine, participants will be measured on the same arm with a standard cuff while the participant sitting and in a relax position. Three separate measurements will be taken and the average will be recorded (Pickering et al., 2005). Obesity and overweight determination: Based on the WHO growth chart table (Onis et al,2004); Underweight Nutrient intakes: By using Youth / Adolescents Food Frequency Questionnaire (YFFQ) (Rockett, 1995). This method will be validated with weighed food record on small sample size to evaluate appropriate when using it with Saudi adolescents. YFFQ in Arabic language will be created and students will be asked to complete this questionnaire in the classroom. For assessing food habits and behaviors, closed-ended questions will be added, including the following: frequency of breakfast last week, breakfast at home or outside, frequency consumption of fast food and soft drinks, consumption of confectionary, cakes and biscuits (e.g. ice cream, cake), eating while watching TV or computer. Physical activity: Exercises and physical activities will be measured by using metabolic equivalent (MET) questionnaire (Craig, 2003). Students will be asked to recall last 7days physical activity. It will include activity scale ranged from sleep to high physical activity. For each activity level, MET value will be multiplied by time spend in this activity level. The MET-time at each level will be added to get the total over 24 hours MET-time (Craig, 2003). Socioeconomic status: A self-adminstered questionnaire will be sent to parents to complete and return along with the consent form. It will include questions like household ownership of car, computer, TV and other equipment indicative of socio-economic tatus. -current residence If family has driver or housekeeper. Employment status Educational level. Family income. Family size. Breast feeding status of reference child (i.e. initiation and duration) -Own house or rent -Type of house; villa, town hose, house or unit. Biochemistry: A subsample of participants will be asked to provide a blood sample, obtained by venepuncture for analysis of vitamin D level in the blood. Trained registered nurse staff collected all blood samples. Blood samples were kept on ice and directly transported to a accredited pathology service centre within 12 hours. Vitamin D, lipids and blood glucose will be measured from this blood sample. Data management and data processing: Data entry and data processing will carry out using SPSS software. Expected Outcomes This study is designed to frame tangible data regarding the influence of urbanisation, SES, dietary intake, and physical activity on obesity in children localised to both urban and rural areas in the Central Region of Saudi Arabia. From initial study, benchmark hypotheses will be evaluated including the following suppositions: Physical activity is negatively correlated to obesity Socio-economic status is ambiguously correlated to obesity (non-exclusive)

John Rawls’s The Law of Peoples :: John Rawls Law Peoples Essays

John Rawls’s The Law of Peoples From its beginnings, Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) has produced conflict in post-colonial studies. Does Professor Said’s theory suggest global implications and/or strategies as Culture and Imperialism (1993) argues? Or does the East of Orientalism belong only to the Middle East and particularly to Middle Eastern studies? Is there a monolithic "Othering" at work? Or do resistive pockets exist within Western imperial discourse? Perhaps the thorniest issue, however, concerns the stance from which to view global issues of imperialism and colonization. Ethical decisions—judgments, in a word—should play a large part in post-colonial theorizing and critiques. But on what basis can judgments be made? Where should accountability lie? And if there is accountability, how can it be enforced? Moreover, there has been a recent shift in the major players in the 21st century version of the Great Game. Said and Bhabha have, in characteristically fine ways, questioned the stability of the term â€Å"nation.† â€Å"National identity† may now be seen more as a â€Å"notional identity.† But does it matter any more? Does national identity even count? These questions come on the heels of global political reactions to global capitalist institutions (multinational corporations) and the global political institutions wholly owned and operated by them. By global capitalist institutions, I mean organizations like Bertelsmann, Aramco, Merck, Sony, Microsoft, Daimler-Benz, and so on. By global political institutions, I refer to the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO, and the various protectors of Intellectual Property. Imperialism and colonization must now be looked at in terms of these global institutions, rather than in political or even cultural terms. The dichot omies first world/third world, east/west, north/south, developed/underdeveloped do not hold the relevance they once had. There are thus two issues to be faced: first, how to establish a foundational basis for ethical judgments, and second, how to theorize resistance to the new economic imperialism which has changed rather radically from the old imperialism of nation-state or region and which has rendered Samuel Huntington’s â€Å"clashes of culture† obsolete. Critics of both of these situations must ask where to look for guiding principles upon which to base judgments within a global context. I want to avoid both the hegemonic â€Å"westernization† of democratic/capitalist values and the seemingly benign cultural relativism that avoids any standards of ethical or political judgment.

On Images :: Senses Philosophy Papers

On Images Concrete images are like pictures in the mind's imagination which have been transferred from real objects through the eyes. Abstract images also exist in the imagination, but are not easily described or communicated. Both images interplay in various ways as a person experiences emotional, dream and pure thought states of consciousness. Despite the interplay, the two kinds of images do not merge or meld into a third image type as a graduation between the two. Concrete images change, sometimes drastically. They never become abstract images, however deformed they are. Abstractions are somewhat assumed and exist as spontaneous and at times irrational images in the mind's eye. Light, reason, infinity and nothing are examples of abstract images which cannot be given accurate visual representation. Images take on different meanings with regard to language, death, prayer and society or politics; but the two types remain distinct. All human beings experience both concrete and abstract imagery . However, the level of ability to think abstractly varies from person to person. For Aristotle, the most important and most enjoyable of the senses is the sense of sight. (1) The human eye receives an image with the use of light. Vision of the physical world outside ourselves occurs as light reflects off objects, passes through the eyes, and presents an image to the mind. It is believed that these images are not unique to any single person because they are communicated and described back and forth, thus weakening the solipsist's struggle. In this paper, abstract and concrete images will be defined by way of discussion of the imagination and the mind. Apparently the mind functions in such a way that many images happen without any mechanistic equation to tell us how. The imagination is familiar and so are the images, but it is the wonder and challenge of how they interact that deepens our understanding. It is contended here that the line between the two types of images is stark and obvious, and not a graduation. Images are either concrete or abstract, without any i n between. By concrete image we understand a sort of picture present when we are seeing something or as we close our eyes and remember it. The image seems to be present as a form outside ourselves in the object and in our mind simultaneously. It is an image which has color and real properties like shape and texture. On Images :: Senses Philosophy Papers On Images Concrete images are like pictures in the mind's imagination which have been transferred from real objects through the eyes. Abstract images also exist in the imagination, but are not easily described or communicated. Both images interplay in various ways as a person experiences emotional, dream and pure thought states of consciousness. Despite the interplay, the two kinds of images do not merge or meld into a third image type as a graduation between the two. Concrete images change, sometimes drastically. They never become abstract images, however deformed they are. Abstractions are somewhat assumed and exist as spontaneous and at times irrational images in the mind's eye. Light, reason, infinity and nothing are examples of abstract images which cannot be given accurate visual representation. Images take on different meanings with regard to language, death, prayer and society or politics; but the two types remain distinct. All human beings experience both concrete and abstract imagery . However, the level of ability to think abstractly varies from person to person. For Aristotle, the most important and most enjoyable of the senses is the sense of sight. (1) The human eye receives an image with the use of light. Vision of the physical world outside ourselves occurs as light reflects off objects, passes through the eyes, and presents an image to the mind. It is believed that these images are not unique to any single person because they are communicated and described back and forth, thus weakening the solipsist's struggle. In this paper, abstract and concrete images will be defined by way of discussion of the imagination and the mind. Apparently the mind functions in such a way that many images happen without any mechanistic equation to tell us how. The imagination is familiar and so are the images, but it is the wonder and challenge of how they interact that deepens our understanding. It is contended here that the line between the two types of images is stark and obvious, and not a graduation. Images are either concrete or abstract, without any i n between. By concrete image we understand a sort of picture present when we are seeing something or as we close our eyes and remember it. The image seems to be present as a form outside ourselves in the object and in our mind simultaneously. It is an image which has color and real properties like shape and texture.