Arabs in the Media: Victim or Villain? Essay example -- Argumentative

Arabs in the Media: Victim or Villain?   Ã‚  Ã‚   For decades, the media portrayal of the Arab culture and Islam has contributed to a skewed public opinion in America. Looking closely at the news coverage concerning the Middle East and the United States, there is an inherent media bias against Arabs and Muslims as foreign threats to domestic security. Stephen Franklin argues that "Islamic nations are often portrayed in news reports as uniformly intolerant and anti-democratic" (Franklin 17). Unfortunately, such coverage has contributed to the public and government misconceptions of all Arabs and Muslims as terrorists. According to Fawaz Gerges, "terrorism has emerged as one of the most important political issues in the United States...[linking] it to Islamic militancy..." (Gerges 79). Moreover, the media's skewed depiction of the Arabs and Muslims has perpetuated countless stereotypes that undoubtedly affect the American opinion. These stereotypes and misconceptions of the Arabs and Muslims clearly indicate a media bias provoked by ignorance and ethnocentricity. The elite media's role in the portrayal of the Arab culture and Islam following the Oklahoma City bombing has had adetrimental effect on America's public opinion, investigation proceedings, and government action.    Once word of the Oklahoma City bombing reached the Associated Press and major American publications, journalists were quick to point the finger of guilt at Muslim fundamentalism. The Western perspective of the Middle East is a dark one. The Muslims are looked at as ruthless and barbaric people, inclined to kill and destroy. Steven Emerson, a so-called expert featured on CBS Evening News, "suggested that there [must] be some inherent cultural trait behind... ...people.virginia.edu/~sy5u/Bias.html    Works Cited Bazzi, Mohamad. "The Arab Menace", The Progressive. Vol 59, n8. August 1995. P40. Franklin, Stephen. "Covering the World of Muslims", Columbia Journalism Review. Vol 33, Iss 5. Jan 1995. p17 Gerges, Fawaz A. "Islam and Muslims in the Mind of America: Influences on the Making of US Policy", Journal of Palestine Studies. Vol XXVI, no2. Winter 1997, p68-77. Hernandez, Debra Gersh. "Religious Stereotyping By The Media", Editor & Publisher. Vol 117, Iss 36. 3 Sept 1994. p16-17. Lacayo, Richard. "How Safe is Safe?". Time. 1 May 1995. p68-72. Rosewicz, Barbara. "Terrorism Hits Home: US Building Bombed; Dead Include Children". The Wall Street Journal. 20 April 1995. A1, A6 . Thomas, Pierre and Ann Devroy. "Clinton Condemns 'Evil Cowards' for Blast". The Washington Post. 20 April 1995. A1, A24.

Cyberbullying as a Social Issue Essay

           There are varius social issues that need to be highlighted today, but cyberbullying has in one way or the other impacted on everybody. Bullying is categorized as hostile behavior where a prevailing group abuses its authority by threatening a less central group (Maher, 2008). Bullying is a by-product of the capitalist society that advocates for personal advancement over any other goals. From a tender age, children are encouraged to be the best they can be. Instincts push people to achieve these results at any cost. The overriding instinct in most instances is personal survival and the need to dominate others. If an person does not have the right values, they devise ways to intimidate others out of the competition. In the past incidents of bullying were limited to the relatively few cases of face-to-face bullying. All this has changed in the information age. Proliferation of communication devices combined with the internet provides fertile ground for bullying. One re ason that could explain the rise in Cyberbullying is the anonymity that the internet affords. People know that they do not have to account for their actions online and therefore tend to be more belligerent than usual. In the past the threat of physical confrontation in bullying was always present, however, the internet has largely diminished that threat. Forms of cyber bullying          Previously, I thought that only on field bullying existing. However as we went deeper in the course I realized that there exists different types of bullying. I also came to learn that cyberbullying takes more than one form. Cyberbullying refers to a range of activities done online that are harmful to the well-being of the victim (NoBullying.com). These may take the form of flaming where an argument between two people quickly spreads to include more people each taking one side of the argument and hurling insults to people on the other side. Another form is harassment, where a bully humiliates the victim by sending hurtful images, text messages, or emails about the victim. This type of bullying has grown with the recent trend of making memes. Memes are images containing a message meant to ridicule the victim. Denigration is another form of Cyberbullying; the bully attacks and tarnishes the victims through spreading false information about them.             Impersonation is another form of Cyberbullying. The bully assumes the identity of another person with malicious intent. Closely related to this is outing where someone gains personal information about the victim using dishonest means such as impersonation. The bully then publicizes that information with the aim of humiliating the victim. We also have stalking which involves following the victim online in an unjustified way. As illustrated, Cyberbullying involves a myriad of activities taking place in the online space. These activities involve both passive and active participation by victims and bullies (InDirect) Causes of online bullying               Online bullying may happen for several reasons. First, bullying by popular kids happens because they want to maintain their popularity (Donegan, 2012). Such people use bullying to validate their popularity. Often, this requires the support of backers and henchmen who remain on the sidelines cheering actively and passively as the bully brings down the victim. This kind of bullying is likely to target famous people since attacking them provides the bully with potential for attracting more attention. In addition to popularity, hurting others makes such people feel powerful. The more people they bully the more powerful they become. Taking on famous figures boosts the power of such bullies to even greater heights (NoBullying.com).                The other group of online bullies is people who are less socially successful. This group forms the bulk of cyber bullies. They find solace in bullying as it helps them cope with their low self-esteem. Their objective is to fit in with their peers and bullying provides a chance to help them achieve this goal (InDirect). Cyberbullying requires even less courage than traditional forms of bullying. The internet with its anonymity helps people show their true colours. Cyber bullies might not be bullies in real life but since the internet provides them with anonymity, they take advantage of that to bully others (Donegan 2012).               Effects of CyberbullyingStudies have shown that bullying causes emotional damage to its victims though most of these victims find it difficult to admit it. In a study involving over 3000 students, researchers learnt that out of all bullying victims, 38% felt vengeful, 37% were angry, while 24% felt helpless. Another study conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Centre using a sample size of 468 students drew almost similar conclusions. They found that out of all the female victims 39% felt frustrated, 36% felt angry and 25% felt sad about it, the males figures were 27%, 36% and 17% for each of those respective categories. Females seem to show high susceptibility to bullying than males. However, this is hardly surprising since males tend to admit emotional weakness less readily than their female counterparts do (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009).             Sociologist Robert Agnew developed the Great Strain Theory, which hypothesizes that victims of bullying can develop problematic emotions, which cause deviant behaviour. The victim goes through a vicious cycle and this can result to the victim developing antisocial behaviour as they try to process their emotions and find an outlet for their anger and frustration (Hinduja and Patchin, 2009).               Bullying also takes a toll on the bully. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report, over 60% of males with bullying tendencies between grade six and nine were later convicted of at least one crime in their adult life. This is in comparison to 23% of people who did not bully. Forty per cent of these former bullies got at least three conviction by the time they were age 24 years; this is in comparison to 10% of those who were not bullies (Donegan, 2012). When bullies use bullying as a coping mechanism it leads to development of a vicious cycle for both the victim and the bully (Oleus, 2001). Evidently, bullying has a heavy toll on the society, the effects of this habit are long lasting, and some individuals feel the repercussions throughout their life. Solutions             Solutions to Cyberbullying will come from solving the general problem of bullying since Cyberbullying is only a subset of the wider problem of bullying. Wiseman reports a study conducted in Nevada that identified six essential elements in dealing with bullying in schools; availability of a reporting procedure, integration in the curriculum, student-centred approach with students taking the initiative of stopping the practice, prevention rather than punishment, effective punishment to deter the practice, and keeping up with technology. A solution to bullying must incorporate all stakeholders involved in growth of a child starting with parents and teachers (Wiseman, 2011). Conclusion          Capitalism subconsciously fosters bullying by placing pressure on individuals to succeed. However, this is not a reason to tolerate this vice. Competition is only good if it is fair and productive. The rise in bullying should be viewed in the context of moral decay of the society. Advances in information technology and emergence of social media have led to the evolution of bullying with new forms of bullying occurring in this new space. The toll of bullying in society is huge and steps must be taken to address this menace through legal and social means. References Donegan, Richard. â€Å"Bullying and Cyberbullying: History, Statistics, Law, Prevention and Analysis.’’ The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications 3.1(2012): 33-40. Web. 1 May 2014 Hinduja, Sameer and Patchin, Justin.(2009) â€Å"Safe and Responsible Social Networking Strategies for keeping yourself safe online.† Cyberbullying Research Centre. Web. 1 May 2014 InDirect. (2013) â€Å"Bullying on Social Networks.† Web. 1 May 2014 NoBullying.com (2010). â€Å"six unforgettable Cyberbullying cases. Tyler Clementi: New Jersey vs. Dharun Ravi, 2010†. Web. 1 May 2014. Olweus, Dan.(2001) Peer harassment: a critical analysis and some important issues. New York: Guilford Publications Wiseman, Brian (2011). Cyberbullying in schools: A research study on school policies and procedures. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Source document

Biopsychosocial Analysis of Maria Andrade Essay

Maria Andrade is 79 years old. She came to America as a Cuban refugee at the age of 20. She was raised by her grandparents in Cuba. She began working at the age of 14. When she arrived in Miami, she was able to obtain part time employment and immediately enrolled herself in ESL classes. Thereafter she attended community college for about two years. She then moved to Los Angeles due to being accepted to UCLA where she obtained a BA in Sociology and a Masters’ in Business Administration. She worked for a private bank for about 24 years where she met her current husband. She now works for the Department of Public Social Services where she has been working for about 25 years and is planning on retiring in the near future. She has been working for the past 49 years non -stop not including the years she worked in Cuba. Maria got married at the age of 30 and has been married since. I recall Maria stating that although she is looking forward to retirement and loves her husband very much, one reason she is not looking forward to retirement is due to the fact that she will now have to spend the majority of her time with her husband. She feels that one of the reasons they have had a long successful marriage is due in part to the fact that she and her husband have not had to spend all their time together and have been able to have separate lives away from each other due to both of them having full time employment with different schedules. The reason I mention the marriage is because she has been working for 49 plus years and therefore, she will now have to adjust to a new life that does not include work. Maria also stated that when she retires she will be able to spend more time with her grandchildren and close friends and family. She will continue to be active by gardening, walking, swimming and any other activity that her mind, body and soul as she  puts it, allow her to. Maria understands the importance of maintaining an active life style â€Å"The new model for successful aging includes physical and mental well-being and contains three elements: avoiding disease and disability, sustaining high cognitive and physical function, and engaging with life (NIMH, 2002; Row & Kahn, 1997). The reason Maria is able to remain active now is because she began taking care of herself as a teenager after both of her parents passed from severe cases of diabetes. She made a conscious decision to always eat healthy and remain physically active. She kept this way of thinking even after arriving in a foreign country. Although diabetes runs in her family, she has been able to remain free of diabetes and other major health issues that seem to plague older people. She feels that majoring in Sociology helped her to understand the importance of how living a healthy life style from an early age will help in the aging process, â€Å"In early childhood, the life cycle’s second phase, learning physical autonomy and control of one’s bodily functions, versus shame and doubt in not learning them, paves the way for coping with deterioration of the body in old age† (Hillier, Barrow, 9e, p76). At 79 years old, since I have known Maria, she has not had been on any type of medical leave. She believes that her parents’ death served as a wake-up call for her. She feels that if it were not for both of them dying, she may not have lived to 79 years old because she would have eventually developed diabetes. Her mental well being was affected so much so that at one point while still in Cuba, she was starving herself in order to avoid eating the â€Å"wrong foods†. She eventually learned what types of food were healthy and unhealthy. Maria feels that her perceptions, intelligence, learning, memory and personality have been affected but only because she feels that it is part of the natural aging affected process, â€Å"Normal aging includes stable intellectual functioning, capacity for change, and productive engagement with life† (Hillier, Barrow, 9e, p122). She admits to once in a while not remembering where she left items. Although her perceptions and memory have been slightly affected, she has been able to maintain a work load of 400 plus cases. As mentioned before, once she retires, she will be spending a lot of time with family and friends. Maria and her siblings became even closer after her parents passed away. Together they experienced the deaths of both parents and they travelled together from Cuba and have not separated since. Therefore, she understands the importance of having family and friends in your life, â€Å"Given their shared experiences, siblings can be a major resource for life review among older adults†, (Hillier, Barrow, 9e, p153). She keeps close relationships with her brother and sister as she is the eldest and has always been protective of them. Maria and her husband will assume the roles of babysitters for their grandchildren. They volunteered to take care of their grandchildren as part of their plan to continue with their active lifestyle. Maria understands how important she and her siblings were to her own grandparents as they were raised by her mother’s parents. Maria will continue to be physically active by walking, gardening and swimming and will continue with her friendships. Currently she meets with her friends once a week due to her full time work schedule; however, once she is retired, she is planning on meeting with her friends every other day. She knows how important friendships are; therefore, she understands that by maintaining her friendships so close to her, she will be able to turn to them for support as she feels that she may need it once she retires, â€Å"Friendship is extremely important in the lives of elderly people† (Hillier, Barrow, 9e p162). As for her husband, she believes that he is a blessing because she understands that not everyone is lucky enough to live a long married life, let alone getting to an older age while still having your spouse by your side. Maria feels that he has been an integral part of her overall well being. He supports her with everything she does. They both maintain well eating habits and daily exercise although she states that he protests at times, â€Å"Marriage maintains health: married people tend to have higher levels of well-being and better health than unmarried people† (Hillier, Barrow, 9e p174).

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Duel

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr meet at Weehawken on July 11, 1804 to end the long rivalry between both of them. The collision between Hamilton and Burr in 1804 was clear that they came from family backgrounds that have contributed to their rivalry. Burr was born into a prestigious social status and Hamilton being an illegitimate son of West Indian parents and had no connection. Therefore, he married Elizabeth Schuyler.Where his father-in-law was a Senate and in 1791 G. Philip Schuyler lost his Senate seat to Burr. Due to Hamilton popularity in Federalist, he blocked the Federalists to nominate Burr for governor. Then in 1792, Burr declared himself a Democratic-Republican. John Adams called Burr â€Å"unprincipled both as a public and private man† Hamilton was a Federalist and Burr was a Republican. Both men have repeatedly opposed each other.Hamilton owned the Bank of New York. Burr broke the stranglehold of the Federalists financers. Hamilton had lost the power of the purs e and his political prominence all because of Aaron Burr. In that year, a tie between the Democratic-Republican candidates Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton in effort for denying Burr for becoming the winner for candidate, he favor Jefferson and crushed Burr campaign that let to Jefferson winning the election.On June 27, Burr formally challenged Hamilton to a duel, and Hamilton accepted because Hamilton political led him to refuse to deny the challenge. The duel wasn’t the result of the 1804 election but more of a culmination of their rivalry and disagreement between both of them for decades. Hamilton death was truly a tragedy for America because his efforts during American Revolution and Secretary of the Treasury.

Drugs In The World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drugs In The World - Essay Example To this end, opium planting first began in eastern Mediterranean and spread systematically to India via trade routes and eventually arriving at China by the eighth century A.D (Chouvy, 2010). On the other hand, cocaine, which is a derivative drug of the cocoa plants traces it genealogy back to the Andes region where it was cultivated by the Incas populace. Evidently, cocaine was first derived from coca in 1860 and it powerful stimulant effects became evident. To this end, the drug creates an instantaneous sense of euphoria by igniting the brain’s regulatory transmitters (Marcy, 2010). Presently, both opium and cocaine have become a global drug menace that was catalyzed through colonization and wars. During the British occupation of India in 1750, they specifically took control of Bihar and Bengal which were key opium growing districts. To this end, the British shipping company took control over the opium trade from Calcutta to China. Evidently, by 1767, the opium exports to Ch ina by the British reached a record two thousand chests per year. In addition, the British India Company created a monopoly over the opium trade and restricted the Indian poppy growers from selling the commodity to competing trading companies. In Turkey, the British Levant Company bought more than half of the opium originating from Smyrna Turkey. Furthermore, they diverted all importations strictly to the United States and Europe. During the First and Second Opium War which was precipitated by efforts to suppress opium trade by the Chinese commissioner, the British sent warships to China’s coast. To this end, the Chinese lost the war to Britain and eventually opium importation was legalized. This further proliferated the supply of opium. On the other hand, cocaine spread and proliferation began during the Spanish colonial era when it was slowly becoming entrenched as a global commodity. Furthermore, the success of Europe’s commercial revolution was also hinged on cocai ne since it assisted in lubricating the major silver mining industry of colonial Spain. Evidently, the colonial Spanish slave masters came to discover that the coca stimulant made the laborers to work harder, eat less and work for longer hours. To this end, the cocoa leaves were used as a major stimulant towards coercing the Indian worker at the Potosi mines. When cocaine alkaloid derivative was discovered, the Spanish colonial masters began an intensive cultivation of coca for cocaine cultivation. The leaves were thus traded and also transplanting of the Andean coca specimens in Asia, Australia and Africa. During World War 1 and 2 eras, importation of coca leaves and manufacturing of cocaine increased significantly. Evidently, between 1918 and 1921, Japan recorded an all time import of coca of 455,000 kg. Evidently, the trade of cocaine has been largely fuelled by notorious violence in countries such as Peru and Colombia since the late 1970’s. In the United States during Wor ld War 2, coca trades that were used in the manufacture of cocaine increased to the range of 300-400,000 lb. These were largely imports from Peru. The U. S cocaine networks during the World War 2 period exhibited features such as monopolies of cocaine processing that were assisted by the state, while leading intensive global campaigns that were against the illegal production of coca and

Coca Cola Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coca Cola - Research Paper Example Dr. John Pemberton developed the Coca-Cola ® syrup on May 8, 1886 and this the foundation day for Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception, the cola drink became one of the most famous and largest selling non-alcoholic beverages. The rapid popularity of cola drink of Coca-Cola Company had led to expand its market in international boundaries and in every international market its performance has been applaudable. With the passage of the company kept introducing many innovative beverages other than cola drinks. In the process, the Coca-Cola Company was led by a number of efficient decision makers like Roberto Goizueta and Warren E. Buffett who have contributed towards the value growth of the company. This paper mainly deals with case of Coca-Cola Company when it was led by the veteran Mary E. Minnick, the â€Å"Executive Vice President and President of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation† (Forbes, 2011). Based on the given case study, multiple aspects like innovations and product development strategy and in this process the role of Mary E. Minnick will be discussed. Question 1 Describe and evaluate Coke’s marketing and innovation strategy transformation designed to position the company on the cutting edge of consumer trends. During 1980s and '90s, the Coca-Cola Company was the global leader of non-alcoholic beverage company and had portrayed itself as one the best blue chips companies. This was the phase when the company was led by the team of Roberto Goizueta and Warren E. Buffett. However, after this immediate period of glory, it faced a threat from the key rival PepsiCo Inc. PepsiCo was founded in 195 by Donald M. Kendall with the similar concept of cola drink (PepsiCo, 2011). Within the next ten years of its inception, it gained significant amount of market share and as an effect, Coca-Cola Company lost higher percentage of market value. In such situation, it became very necessary to position the company on the cutting edge of consumer trends by i mplementing an effective set of marketing and innovation strategies. By the time Mary E. Minnick joined Coca-Cola, the competition took place on a global level and for success in global markets, and understanding of culture was one of the key factors for developing globalized marketing and innovative strategies. Minnick realized that the innovations like merely by repackaging and slightly changing the flavors would not be helpful. In the process of innovative marketing strategy, multiple innovative product developments were the key factor for the company. The innovation strategies were basically meant to counter against the products the two key non-carb rivals Snapple and Gatorade. Moreover, during 1990s, Coca-Cola focused to generate revenues by introducing innovative products other than cola drinks. Besides, the marketing strategy also involved of cultural aspects of each region. It offered different products for different markets and also the promotional and campaigning activitie s were also very specific as per the culture of markets. Question 2 Critically evaluate Coke’s product strategy of developing healthy beverages. During 1990s, the product strategy of Coca-Cola was the major activities to cope with intensifying competition. Product development strategy during the time of Minnick took a new attempt as there were significant product development took place in the existing production as well as in new products. During this period, more than 1000 new beverages were introduced and the main theme behind these new products was the ‘health’; for example, diet drinks like Coca-Cola Zero, coffee-flavored cola etc were launched for male market segment. However, such products were not capable of offer major benefits to the company for longer period of time. Perhaps, the true

Points To Consider Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Points To Consider - Article Example All the members contributed to effective team building because they considered the ideas of others as valuable and they were well aware of the history and feelings of each other. They resolved their minor issues by themselves. They set rules and regulations to be followed and formed consensus on any problem arising. It was not only erecting tents in the evening but it was more of team building. It was the sense of responsibility which this group of people were showing. Everyone was responsible for his work. Even small children were contributing in this team by collecting firewood. The newcomers were warmly welcomed by Steinbeck’s team. Help was to be provided for newcomers so that they could set up their perimeter. They are helped in cooking food and their sadness is shared for leaving their homes. Past is not revised before them so that they may move on without any regrets or memories from the past. Songs should be sung for the newcomers so they do not become nostalgic and they can easily adapt themselves to the new place. Hence the idea was to be helpful to the newcomers in all possible manners. Conclusion and observation is very important for team building. Everyone must know that what is right and what is wrong. And punishment is also set for the wrongs. Rules and regulations are being followed and they are same for everyone. No one is above these regulations. Poor are equally treated. If anyone could not share his rich food with the poor, he should not eat it openly. Ultimate freedom is the main cause of Frankl’s. If a person is having some future goal only then he can remain optimistic. In this case, the goal and hope of prisoners was freedom. If they think that they cannot achieve the goal, all their resistance would be long gone and they will be subjected to despair and diseases, either physical or mental. Goals and targets act as motivating factors for people in harsh situations