Emma and Clueless- Text and Context

Ideas about the human condition can transcend time and expressed through different contexts while reflecting society’s changing values. Emma, written by Jane Austen reaffirms and challenges the conservative society of 19th century England, where moral growth is a result of strict social etiquettes and rigid class structure. However, Heckerling has taken similar ideas that speak powerfully about human nature to the different context of 20th century America, within the world of Clueless where a much fluid social structure is orientated around popularity and superficial materialism.While both texts are able to mirror the values and beliefs of its time, they convey similar ideas which are universal and relate to any context. The importance of personal growth is an element of humanity which transcends time, and can resonate through any context. Emma lacks life’s experiences, with â€Å"little to vex her† whilst doing â€Å"just what she liked†. Her flawed and s poiled character is overshadowed by her â€Å"mutual attachment† to her â€Å"mild† tempered governess further exemplified through the authorial intrusion that she â€Å"had rather too much her own way†.In contrast, Mr Knightley treats others with respect despite their social standing, acting as a moral voice in the novel when he says that Miss Bates deserves â€Å"compassion†, not â€Å"ridicule† when Emma insulted her as being â€Å"dull† at the Box Hill picnic. He scolds Emma that â€Å"it was badly done! † acting as compass to the realisation of her wrongs and â€Å"cruel† behaviour which â€Å"exposed herself to ill opinion†, indicating the strict social etiquettes of her time.Finally, â€Å"she acknowledged the whole truth† which metaphorically â€Å"darted through her, with the speed of an arrow† that she was in love, consequently leading to her realisation that she had been â€Å"inconsiderate†, â€Å"indelicate†, and â€Å"irrational† towards others, and how with â€Å"insufferable vanity she had believed herself in the secret of every body’s feelings†. This marks a major turning point in Emma’s moral growth, which is later rewarded through marriage.Heckerling’s Clueless explores similar ideas of growth while reflecting the different context of modern America, where self realisations are consequences of personal dissatisfaction within the superficial society. Cher’s initial voiceover that she has a â€Å"way normal life†, ironically contrasts the images of her picking out clothes on the computer. Her preference of cartoon over news suggests her naivety whilst shallow indulging within her narrow world of superior wealth and popularity.To Cher’s own amusement she concludes that â€Å"(Tai’s) life will be better because of me†, leading to the â€Å"makeover†. This mirrors the personality o f Emma, who also ignorantly takes matters into her own hands. However, while Emma simply failed to match make, Cher finds her own position and power being challenged when Tai becomes â€Å"the most popular girl in the school†, which Cher hyperbolically describes as â€Å"an alternate universe†. Cher questions in disbelief â€Å"I failed something I couldn’t talk my way out of? when her arrogance and confident character is challenged by reality, resulting in her self realisation, that all her friends were â€Å"really good in different ways†, signifying the overcoming of her self-centeredness, further highlighted in her willingness to help others. Her change in attitude is rewarded by a greater appreciation of life and the people around her, including Josh, whom she loves. Unlike Emma’s self transformation, Cher’s realisation due to trivial events translates to a much shallow world in the 20th century where there is a lack of strict social e tiquette.Austen reaffirms the rigid social classes which often defined one’s social standing, while satirising the pretensions of the gentility. Austen lists properties such as â€Å"handsome†, â€Å"rich† and â€Å"clever†, emphasizing Emma’s position as an aristocracy in contrast to Mr Martin is a â€Å"gross, vulgar farmer†, and therefore â€Å"remarkably plain† due to his lower social standing. Emma pretentiously refers to herself as a â€Å"fanciful, troublesome creature†, with the vain intent of receiving flattery from others, exposing Austen’s satirical purpose.Mr Elton’s disgusted tone as he declares he will â€Å"never think seriously of Miss Smith† because â€Å"everyone has their level†, In addition to his refusal to dance with Harriet highlights the rigidity within social classes. Qualities of Emma are constantly juxtaposed to Harriet, who is the natural daughter of somebody†, a eup hemistic portrayal of Harriet’s lack of status and worth due to her unknown family background. The reference of Mr Westin as having been â€Å"born† into a â€Å"respectable family† illustrates importance of inherited wealth.Despite Emma’s influence over Harriet to marry higher, she ultimately marries appropriately to Mr Martin. Therefore the lack of mobility and strict rules which govern the differences between each class is not challenged by Austen. Emma’s world reflects a clear class structure that is extremely rigid. While the idea of social class within Emma is defined as strict and rigid, the casual contemporary American society based on material wealth and popularity is reflected in Clueless.An opening montage together with the popular culture background music â€Å"kids in America† depicts the freedom and fast paced lifestyle of teenagers, whose interactions imply general acceptance of all types of people. The medium shot featuring C her’s â€Å"classic† vintage house undermines the superficial and materialistic foundation of the social structure. Furthermore the stereotypical division of social groups such as â€Å"Loadies†, â€Å"Popular boys† and â€Å"Persian mafia† based on popularity and material goods such as â€Å"BMW† again illustrates the value of materialistic goods.Unlike Emma where individuals of one social class were mostly encouraged to interact while disregarding other social classes, the social structure presented in contemporary society allows for fluidity and cultural diversity. While orphans such as Jane Fairfax and illegitimate children like Harriet were not highly regarded, Christian, a â€Å"cake boy† has no trouble blending into the microcosm of high school society and its social cliches.In addition to this, Tai, who climbs up the social ladder, highlights the highly fluid social structure. Therefore, Heckerling’s popular cultured fi lm and Emma both explore an idea of social class, yet boundaries between different social classes depend on values of the time and context. While ideas about the human condition are similar and relevant to any society, their expression is greatly influenced by beliefs and values of its context.Austen’s Emma features a society with strict social etiquettes, from which Emma learns and morally matures. Heckerling takes the idea of self growth and interprets it through a different context, where the lives of teenagers are rather shallow and revolve around trivial things. While the 19th century English society of Emma is governed by social classes which are distinct and rigid, Clueless features the fluid society classed by popularity and materialistic wealth. Overall both texts clearly reflect the context of its time.

Efficiency and Collaboration Proposal

Efficiency and Collaboration Proposal Learning Team D: Terry Hooks, Dante Legare, Reginald Mitchell, Javier Sanchez, and Stephanie Wright University of Phoenix BIS/220 Lakeesha Seawood November 10, 2011 Efficiency and Collaboration Microsoft Excel to Microsoft Access Benefits in the Work Environment The benefits of using Microsoft Access in the work environment for the Party Plates Company would be the ease of creating â€Å"contacts, issue tracking, project tracking, and asset tracking,† (Software-Matters, 2011). This program would help the company by maintaining the current clients and customers previous orders, attach receipts, shipment orders, and any other documents directly to their profile. The company will be able to forecast future orders and share the information across the company using Windows SharePoint Services. Using this option will help the employees share information, back up the data, and will ultimately keep everybody working in a joint collaborative effort. Reginald Mitchell The excel spreadsheets that are currently being used work primarily off of memory. If the save icon is not clicked all work will be lost if the program is closed accidently. The same tragedy can happen if there is a power loss as well. The benefits of using access are it works primarily off of storage. The data that is entered is automatically saved and the database is updated. While using access more than one person can work on the same file at one time. Excel only allows one person to use the spreadsheet at one time. Stephanie Wright Information from Excel Excel Exported to Acces. Examples of Tables, Reports and Queries. Javier Sanchez Suggestions for Improvement The implantation of the Transaction Processing System will help the company to monitor, collect, store and process data generated from the daily transaction. This system will replace the antiquated system that is in place currently. Transaction processing system Transaction processing system Transaction Transaction Business database Business database Detailed reports Detailed reports Paper plates Paper plates The data that is collected from transactions are placed into batches. This system is called Batch Processing. Using collaborative software such as Peachtree by Sage (www. peachtree. com) will help the company manage their financial transactions. Using this software the company will have access to sales ledgers, purchase ledgers, sales order processing. Stephanie Wright Conclusion In conclusion, the Party Plates Company would have easier access to pertinent data. By manipulating fields and properly formulating the tasks required in an excel spreadsheet, the company can track what is needed in each department and apply it to its database more efficiently. The Party Plates Company can also quickly make reports from each department within the company. For example, if the Supervisor or Department Manager of the Human Resources Department wanted a report on all personnel that had missed more than five days of work over a three month period, excluding holidays, vacations, and maternity leave. He or she would simply access the database and simply click the required field to receive the answers desired for the report in particular. With excel alone; this would be more of a tedious task. With excel one could enter the data in fields and have such data imported to access to be stored. This helps every business because the data is saved and can be retrieved at a later date if necessary for reports, strategy building, and brain storming new products or projects. If a database is built with the proper parameters the product will be more conclusive for the task of the company, or a department within the company that the database is built. In summary the implantations of the various information systems will allow the company to operate more effectively. Dante L. LeGare Reference Software-Matters. 2011. Microsoft Office Access benefits. â€Å"Software-Matters†. Retrieved from http://www. software-matters. co. uk/microsoft-access-benefits. html.

Discussion Of The Impacts Of Introduction Of Tennis Racket On Coaching Essay

Discussion Of The Impacts Of Introduction Of Tennis Racket On Coaching - Essay Example With most sports, coaches of tennis are reluctant about the standard of applying the information to bring out the real nature of excellence in playing tennis. The scoreboard does not always tell how well someone really played, rather it shows how the player who had the better day. With no application of the modern technology performance scores such as the first-serve percentage, approaches of the net can only be determined accurately through a win or a loss. Coaches often chart matches and practices for their trainees, to clear this out. But with most of those training do not have a coach watching every move they make and checking on their progress. Introduce the Babolat pure play drive. In conclusion, we can say that one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of coaching is being able to coordinate with the players during their growth from childhood up to adulthood. The coach needs to understand their players’ emotions, reactions, and their progress in mental growth. A coach who coordinate well with the players through understanding the changes that come along physically, emotionally, and mentally stands in a better position to effectively communicate with the players with no barriers or challenges and in a case of any problem along the way they will be able to handle it perfectly. Technology is a crucial doctrine in sports since the introduction of modern technology has seen different sports make big and commendable progress. However, our focus was on the tennis game and the impacts of these modern technology introductions.

Visual Literacy in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Visual Literacy in Business - Essay Example They totally stand out from the rest. TV commercials are composed of visual graphics accompanied with verbal explanations of the same. The commercials are effective in drawing attention because of the appealing mode of presentation. Application of audio-visual graphics in the commercials emphasizes what is seen by relating it the relevant audio information. The new trends in graphic design have extensively improved the manner in which TV commercials are portrayed (Gkiouzepas & Hogg, 2011). Billboards are quite big and easily noticeable. Therefore, the size of the billboards is the initial reason for their effectiveness because it is hard to ignore them. The incorporation of attractive pictorial illustrations of whatever is being advertised also makes billboards stand out. Most of them are located along busy streets and high ways and the messages are encrypted in a simple and understandable format. The use of visual communication in the media today displays an ever-changing trend. The visual graphics that were being used in past have been elevated to a higher quality that is more appealing. Recent billboards are digitized, in that; they have screens that display visuals like any other appliance with a screen. The use of effective forms of visual communication would increase the coverage scope of business marketing messages. The information is effectively relayed to the target group. Visual communication can be complemented by verbal communication when advertising on platforms such as televisions and internet

Christian Expression Vocation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Christian Expression Vocation - Essay Example Third, Christian vocation may connote gifts and leadership in readiness for lasting service. In view of this, Cooling (19-31) indicates an individual is self-conscious of his or her own gifts and capacities and to exhibit a fairly focused sagacity of the manner in which God wants these qualities to be employed to the advantage and betterment of the general world. Abraham is one of God’s servants who exercised utmost faith in the Creator by following all the commands of God. After the death of his father, Abram was instructed by God to abandon his homeland for another place where He would direct him (Eslinger 189-193). The faithful took his household of three including his wife Sara and Lot and followed God’s commands to what is today Israel-Palestine land. Despite the fortunes in the rich land, Abraham never built a home in this new environment but led a nomadic life, moving from one place to another to earn a living. The immense faith demonstrated by Abraham led him into securing his descendents the rich land. Additionally, God altered his name from Abram to Abraham and his wifes from Sara to Sarah. This is a clear manifestation of the strong faith he had in God. Few would agree to change their name in favour of a new beginning. According to Eslinger (192-207), God tempted Abrahams faith in Him by instructing him to offer his only son, Isaac for sacrifice. This event was imperative on two grounds: if the Isaac was sacrificed Abram would not have any heir to take over the land that God had assured Abraham. If Abraham successfully offered his son to God as sacrifice, he must have had faith in the coming back to life of the departed. Once God witnessed the seriousness of Abraham, in regarding the sacrifice of his son, He set forth and offered him a ram instead, to offer in the occasion.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company - Dissertation Example The goals of the company also involve meeting individual needs of consumers in regards to the demands for energy services. The company has already taken promising actions towards the fulfillments of this particular mission by designing efficient energy management solutions for the end users and the customers Apart from that, the Oklahoma Gas And Electric Company is also focused towards the balancing of increase in load and in an effort to achieve this mission, the company is focusing its attention towards the maintenance of the existing infrastructures while replacing worn out ones. The company is keenly dedicated towards compliance with regulatory as well as legislative and regulative relationships. Through the accomplishments of the missions which are designed for the short term, the company is actively looking forward towards the achieving of its long term vision. The vision of the company is to actively defer the accusation plans for new plants that are focused towards the extrac tion of fossil fuel till the year of 2020 (Oklahoma, 2011). Market Demands The market demand for a sector is evaluated on the basis of the demand supply scenario, industry competitiveness, the economic factors as well as the level of elasticity. The US Energy Information Association has predicted that due to fall in energy prices, there will be a significant fall in energy retail prices. The association has projected that the average amount of crude oil production will be around 6.3 million barrels per day (US EIA, 2012). The Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company have been in the forefront of facing competition from various forms of government as well as municipal entities which own electrical systems due to the implication arising from the Oklahoma law concerning electricity distribution. The company also stands to face competition from electric cooperatives from rural regions as well as various private entities such as utilities, power marketers and cogenerators. The legislation and r egulatory based initiatives and decisions implemented by the state as well as the federal agencies have significant level of impact on the costs of doing businesses in this particular market. The impact of these government based frameworks has a dominant effect on the rate structures, besides having a significant impact on the competition in this particular market. The company faces significant level of competition from some major companies like NiSource Inc, South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Pepco Holdings Inc. The output from the industrial sector has grown quite slowly as compared to the other sectors thereby reducing the consumption coming from this sector. This can be attributed to low demand due to the economic crisis in various countries. Business Strategy Options The largest energy company in the Oklahoma belt has several

Sexuality in Todays Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sexuality in Todays Society - Essay Example This report stresses that today many teens are engaging in sexual promiscuity thus resulting to many of them falling for unwanted pregnancies. This has been encouraged by the many writings on sex, sex films and plays which depict sexual matters without a distinct coverage. For instance today pornography is being watched by people across all ages, young children who cannot even define their sexuality included. Thus the openness of sex may be said as having positive impact but it is largely negative. In today’s society parents have also been reluctant to control their children sexual habits thus worsening the situation. This is partly due to the increasing number of working class parents who end up having less time with their children. Therefore it is a high time that parents realized their role in teaching their children in relation to their sexual habits. This paper makes a conclusion that the society today is obsessed with sex and the question that comes to the fore relates to how the society should behave in relation to the issue of sexuality. In this aspect religion is an important tool for fighting unfavorable sexuality issues. This is because religious groups mostly advocate for sexual purity which ought to be of great importance in the society today. However it has proved difficult to maintain sexual purity today considering that many cultures are obsessed with sex and permissiveness in all types of sexual expressions.

Port Reform - to Improve Productivity, to Become More Competitive, to Essay

Port Reform - to Improve Productivity, to Become More Competitive, to Attract Private Capital - Essay Example Specifically, this paper would assess the following rationales: to improve productivity, to become more competitive, and to attract private capital. Specific and actual examples of ports that have or are in the process of reform would be identified to expound on the rationales. Different ports would be utilized for each of the areas being evaluated and assessed. About 75% of the world is covered with water. No wonder people have long discovered ways and means to traverse this natural resource. As a consequence, the need for facilities and loading docks and ports have been given due importance. In California, McLaurin (2009, par. 4), President of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association reported that â€Å"ports create hundreds of thousands of trade-related jobs throughout the state – and with that billion of dollars in tax revenue†. The Port of Los Angeles is the number one port by container volume and cargo value in the United States, handling a record-breaking 8.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the calendar year 2007. (The Port of Los Angeles 2008, par. 11) On the other hand, the port of Long Beach reported a â€Å"trade valued annually at more than $100 billion moves through Long Beach, making it the second-busiest seaport in the United States† (The Port of Long Beach 2007, par.2) Not to be outdated is the Port of South Louisiana which boasts of being the â€Å"largest tonnage port district in the western hemisphere†. (Port of South Louisiana 2009, par. 1)

The great debaters Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The great debaters - Assignment Example debate team proved to be a reflection of black sentiment at that time; with each of them having unique experiences and goals, all were united for the cause of racial equality and an end to racial discrimination. Washington’s The Great Debaters highlights with the Wiley Debate Team facing the Harvard Debate Team, with the former winning the debate, although racial slur continues to haunt them back home despite their victory. Their coach, Melvin B. Tolson, symbolizes the need for action beyond education, with him balancing the complexions being a college professor and a tenant farmer organizer at the same time. Meanwhile, James Farmer represents the unique struggle of black adolescents in the 30’s, balancing the act between puppy love and ambition with a growing outrage against racial discrimination. Samantha Booke also displays the unique struggle of black women, carrying the double burden of gender and racial discrimination. Hamilton Burgess also shows the contradictions of the struggle, with his family not approving the growing radicalism of

Writing Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writing Assignment 2 - Essay Example The airline industry, post-deregulation in the late 70s, is free to set prices, which are now determined by the market forces. Airline tickets have never been cheaper, thanks to increased price transparency through the internet. Air travel is easily available to the general public as its demand for affordable prices has been met by carriers, who have unique cost structures in place for scale economies. For price setting, airlines are able to predict (through trend analysis) which time of year most people would prefer to fly. With demand high, the price is also set high. When a particular airline observes that ticket sales are slower, it will cut down on the ticket price. These changing prices obviously frustrate consumers and have prompted the government to establish some sort of consumer protection. According to the author, the government is requiring airlines to include all ‘potential’ fees, along with the actual ticket price, on every advert. The customer has to be ap prised accurately of the baggage fees. Air carriers must now also include all government taxes in the advertised price. The government has also imposed huge penalties on carriers for extended tarmac delays.

Careers in Psychology Essay Example for Free

Careers in Psychology Essay In Psychology there are so many different careers that have gained my interest because I love learning how people function, behave, and how the brain works. The first career that truly gained my full interest is Neuropsychologist. Neuropsychologists are the ones that explore not only the brain system but they also explore behavior and the relationship between the two. This is something that interests me more than I can put into words. One of the reasons I have so much interest in this type of career is because I myself have fetal alcohol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as learning disorder. Being able to study the cognitive functions of the brain such as attention, language and memory I believe will eventually help me to understand more of my disabilities and how to work past them. A  Neuropsychologist is also able to evaluate people who have various types of nervous system disorders. They work closely with doctors including neurologists. Illnesses, injuries, and diseases of the brain and nervous system can affect the way a person feels, thinks, and behaves and some of the symptoms may call for a neuropsychologist. Those symptoms are memory difficulties, mood disturbances, learning difficulties as well as nervous system dysfunction. If other doctors are unable to identify the cause of a condition then they bring a neuropsychologist into help determine the diagnosis. In order to become a Neuropsychologist you have to obtain many different skills such as reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, social perceptiveness, complex problem solving, writing, speaking, science, active learning, judgement and decision making, instructing, service orientation, learning strategies, monitoring, system analysis, systems evaluation, time management, coordination and persuasion. Each and every one of these skills is just as important as one or the other. By having all these skills it will help To become successful in helping your clients. There is a lot of education involved in becoming an aspiring neuropsychologist. The first step is to earn a bachelors degree which is four years long, after that you complete a masters degree of another two years, then the last and final step is to earn a PHD or PsyD which can take another two to four years. So overall you are looking at spending 8-10 years in college if your heart is truly set on becoming a neuropsychologist. The duties and responsibilities of a neuropsychologist may vary depending on their specialties. Some Neuropsychologists, for instance work primarily as researchers. This might involve studying both healthy humans as well as animals, and those with brain injuries and or illnesses. Neuropsychologists might also work in clinical settings as well. This typically involves assessing and diagnosing patients. This can be done by observing symptoms and using sophisticated technology, such as brain scans. After successfully diagnosing a neurological problem, they can then often recommend a course of treatment which can include therapy, medication or even surgery. The neuropsychologists that are primarily concerned with research might work in private or government research facilities. Some universities might also hire  these professionals to conduct research as well as teac h a class or two. Clinical neuropsychologists might work in a number of different healthcare settings. This can include hospitals, clinics, and physicians offices. Some neuropsychologists might also choose to open private practices and treat patients in their offices or work as consultants. The second career in Psychology which really grabbed my attention more and more as I researched it and read what they do is Rehabilitation Psychologists. Rehabilitation psychologists work with stroke and accident victims and people with mental retardation and those with developmental disabilities caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism. I once worked with a gentleman who had a severe case of cerebral palsy and could not do anything for himself. I was always helping him from the time he woke up in the morning to the time he laid down in bed at night. The sad thing is that from one day to the next I wasn’t sure if he was going to remember me or not. If he didn’t remember me then he would lock me out of his house and he wouldn’t let me back in so most of the time I had to crawl through a tiny window. I believe I would be very good as a Rehabilitation Psychologist for many different reasons. The first reason is that those with disabilities have a soft spot in my heart because I know what its like to be looked at differently for one and for two the willingness to work past the disability is outrageous. Some people with disabilities you cannot even tell they have one because they have learned how to work past it and not let it show. This type of career works closely with public health programs to prevent disabilities including those caused by violence and substance abuse. Rehabilitiation Psychologists testify in court as expert witnesses about the causes and effects of a disability and a persons rehabilitation needs. Rehabilitation Psychologists are uniquely trained and specialized to engage in a broad range of activities including clinical practice, consultation, program development, service provision, and teaching and education training, amongst many others. I am always looking out for everyone else and trying to figure out how I can help them or do something for them to make their lives a little easier on them. In order to become a Rehabilitation Psychologist  you need to have to same type of skills as you would if you were a Neuropsychologist as well as the same path of education. This goes for many of the careers in Psychology. As for where a Rehabilitation Psychologist can work, they can open up their ow n practices, work in healthcare facilities, or in government buildings.

Urbanization: An analysis

Urbanization: An analysis 2.1 Urbanization 2.1.1 Current discourse in urbanization concept Urbanization is growing in most part of the world in line with technological discovery and human civilization. The rapid urbanization began at England’s industrial capitalism (Clark, 1998) at the end of 18th century and it spread rapidly after the use of coal for the industry primary raw material and a better transportation system (Hall, 1994). In developing world, urbanization started in 1950 after the Second World War (Crenshaw, 1991) and it is growing everywhere now especially in Africa and Asia. United Nation’s report indicated that by 2050, most population will be concentrated in cities and towns of developing countries. By this year, if Africa and Asia continue their current rapid growths, 50 percent of the population will live in urban areas and in 2010 it is predicted that the urban population is higher than the rural one (figure 2.1) Figure 2.1 Urban and rural population of the world, 1950 2030 (Source: Junaidi, 2006) There are four existing definitions for urbanization concept that mostly be the attention of urban planners. First, urbanization is seen as a process in which there have occurred transferring ideas and practices from urban areas into surrounding hinterlands. Second, urbanization is viewed as the increase both in behavior and problems considered to be urban types of rural area. The third, urbanization is related with the process of population concentration in which it is found the increasing ratio of the urban population to the total population (Phren. K. P, 1962) and the fourth, urbanization is seen as the combination of densification or the increase of density of people and building unit and the outward spread of people and built areas (Forman, T. www.cambridge.org). However, all of these definitions are interelated that all the urban planner needs to consider them in urban planning process integratedly. There are many related concepts involved from these in defining urbanization definition. From economic point of view, urbanization tend to connect it with labor division; demography related with density and population size, sociologic regarding to the way of living, and the last is geography from characteristics of the built up environment (Crenshaw, 1991). However, most analysts agree that demography is the basic criterion in differentiate urban and rural area (Clark, 1998, White, 1994, UNECA, 1968) because the population growth, including population density change, are the most quantified way to see the growth of an area. The most common example is United Nation that also uses the population size to standardize the urban localities and city among the nations. Mostly literatures argue that the driving force for urbanization is economic reason (Clark, 1998; Crenshaw, 1991, Jeremias, 1988), but there is a difference in the background of which. In developed world, rapid urbanization occurred because of industrial revolution, capitalism, and the invention of technology and a better transportation system while in developing countries, urbanization tend to occur because of economic imperial. The developing countries’ cities were previously prepared for supporting the economic interest of the powerful regime to earn money, to expand and control foreign trade, to create new markets for products and to acquire raw materials and cheap labor (Crenshaw, 1991). Many specific reasons for the driving force of urbanization and the traditional literature categorized them as push and pull factors. The push factor occurred because of the pressure of poverty problem and environment degradation in rural area. The poverty occurs because of limited job opportunities, limited land for agriculture and other natural resources limitation. The pull factor is related to the attraction of urban area for a better life. It is often related to a wider job opportunity, higher economic growth, better services and modern facilities (Baiquni, 2004). From this pull and push factors, it could be seen the disparities between urban and rural area are the main reason making more and more population concentrated in urban area. 2.1.2 Urbanization determinant The proximate determinants of urban growth can be grouped into three categories: firstly, the total population; secondly, rapid economic growth; and the third, percentage of built up area and areal extend (White, 1994). Population size The more population size of an area, the more urbanized it will be and it is positively related to the growth of urbanization (Rogers, 1982). The increasing of population size is caused by both migration and mortality. Migration flows occur because of employment availability in nearby cities and towns, ethnic connections in particular cities, the roads development and the accessibility of transportation (Connell et al, 1976). Some researches stated that the economic imbalance resulting wage disparities in urban and rural is a major reason for high levels of rural-to-urban migration. The size of population in urban area will be in line with the needs of water for these urban dwellers. Economic growth It appears that rapid economic growth related to urbanization (Becker Morrison 1988, Preston, 1979) that the urbanization level of an area can be marks by its rapid economic growth. Mostly in urban area people do not work in agriculture sector as in rural area, but in service and manufacture. The manufacture developments in urban area have triggered the employment opportunities for rural people to come, and a higher wage offered by manufacture sectors compared to the agriculture ones results in a better economic condition and quality of life. The quality of life will also influence to the water consumption quantity and quality. Percentage of built up area The urban characteristic can be seen from the density of people and the increase of building units. The sign is can be seen from the reduction of green spaces or the changing from low to high-rise apartment buildings. Other sign of urbanization is the city grows by expanding outward. Cities may also urbanize by rolling over suburbs, and suburbs urbanize by rolling over farmland or natural land (Crenshaw, 1991). The changing of landsape by built up environment will be related with the number of recharge area and wastewater quantity that will influence the groundwater. 2.2. Groundwater system on earth Groundwater constitutes about 98 percent of water on earth and both its storage and flow is one of the key elements of natural water systems (Foster, S, 1998). This fact makes groundwater an essential element to human life and economic activities. The details about groundwater hydrology are beyond the scope of this discussion, but a general overview will be presented. Figure 2.2. Hydrology Cycle Source: http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/stratplan2003/final/graphics/images/SciStratFig5-1.jpg Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and including one component of the earth’s water cycle. The water cycle is called the hydrologic cycle and it involves the movement of water as rain, snow, water vapor, surface water and groundwater. The earth’s water is constantly circulating from the earth’s surface up into the atmosphere and back down again as precipitation. When rain falls, a part of it infiltrates the soil. A proportion of this water will be taken up by plants while some will infiltrate more deeply, accumulate above an impermeable bed, saturate the pore space of the ground, and finally form an underground reservoir. This underground reservoir is called an aquifer, a place from which significant quantities of water can be abstracted for human needs. An aquifers productivity to store and transmit water are not the same, it depends on the fundamental characteristic of its constitute. Some of which are granular sediment such as sand, cement sediment such as sandstone and limestone, rock and fracture rock. The ground above an aquifer through is called the vadose zone; it is where the excess rainfall passed vertically. The level to which the ground is fully saturated is known as the water table. The nature, the occurrence of groundwater and the movement of water trough groundwater system is shown in the figure 2.2. 2.3 Urbanization and groundwater resources 2.3.1 Current Discourse Urbanization has been recognized as a trigger of social and environmental problems (Dogan Kasarda 1988, Timberlake 1985). The rapid expansion in groundwater exploitation of many industrialized nations occurred during 1950–1975 while in in most parts of the developing world it occurred during 1970–1990 (Zektser Margat 2003). The groundwater is estimated to provide at least globally 50% of current potable water supplies; 40% of the demand from industries, and 20% for water use in irrigated agriculture (Foster, 1998). These proportions vary widely from country to country and within countries depending on human activities on it. The groundwater is generally the main water resource to be tapped for urban dweller needs if a city has productive aquifers (Minciardi, 2007; Somma. 1997; Hiscock, 2002). This is because the groundwater has an excellent natural quality with significant savings in treatment costs compared to other surface water source. Other reason is because groundwater is a more secure source of water supply during long dry periods compared to the surface water resources (Clark, 1998, Ohgaki, 2007). Groundwater is also a suitable for public supply and independent private use, especially during the early stages of development (Foster, 1998). Two common methods for urban aquifer exploitation are by hand-dug wells and drilled boreholes (Foster, 1998). Hand-dug wells are usually less than 20 meters depth with diameters of 1 meter or more. In this method, the water is usually abstracted manually or by small pumps. The water supply boreholes are mechanically drilled, usually having smaller diameter than hand-dug wells, but much deeper ranging from 20 to 200 meters or more in depth. These two methods if developed in uncontrolled manner will cause groundwater depletion as it has occurred in many urban cities over the world (Ohgaki, 2007; Minciardi, 2006; Foster.S.S.D, 2001). 2.3.2 Urbanization impact to groundwater resources It has been identified that urbanization results in aquifer depletion, saline intrusion, and land subsidence, changing patterns and rates of aquifer recharge and affecting the quality and quantity of groundwater (Foster, 1998, White, 1994, Ohgaki, 2007, Minciardi, 2006). In this discussion the overall focus will be on the depletion of groundwater quantity related urbanization. Figure 2.2. Urban development and its impact to water resources Source: (Foster, 1998) From the figure above, it could be seen the urban development and its impact on the changing of urban groundwater. In the beginning, all cities evolve from small settlements; formal or informal. In this stage, the city dwellers can abstract groundwater using shallow well and boreholes as the groundwater is still abundant. As the infrastructure for wastewater either has not been adequate yet or less than the population needs, the wastewater starts discharging to the ground and starts to pollute the groundwater supply. When the town becomes city, the need of water supply is getting higher resulting from rapid urban population growth in contrast with the decline of groundwater supply. As the result, the well is deepened and there has been occurrence of land subsidence because of more urban dwellers do this deepening. The wastewater is still continuing to pollute the groundwater. The city then expands in line with the urbanization trend resulting to more water needed, more contaminant enters groundwater system and water table rises beneath the city. The urban dwellers start abandons their groundwater resources while the groundwater exploitation of hinterlands area as the alternate sources are getting higher. Because of the storage capacities of most aquifers are large, there is often a major time lag before the problems of groundwater depletion, water table rise and groundwater pollution becomes fully apparent (Foster, 1998). Further, there is increasing water supply scarcity with higher marginal costs for urban water supply. At the end, the traditional use groundwater that is low cost, minimally treated, and abundant for public water supply in urban areas is being threatened. Groundwater depletion The abstraction of groundwater has proved to be the cause of a qualitative decline in water levels. If abstraction is limited, the water level will be stabile at a new equilibrium. However, if occurs either a heavy or and concentrated groundwater withdrawal until it exceeds the local recharge, the water level may continue to decline over many years. As the result, there will be spreading of depress water level, land subsidence, water quality deterioration, sea water intrusion, up-coning and induced leakage of polluted water from the surface (Foster, 1998; Wangsaatmaja, 2006; Braadbaart, 1997) Mostly the problems and causes of aquifer depletion and contamination are clear while immediate solutions are not. General solutions involve some combination of increased recharge rate, reduced consumption rate, efficiency gains, and reduced or eliminated contaminant sources (Vo, 2007, Venkatesh Dutta, Foster.S.S.D, 2001). For example, reducing the velocity of runoff and providing time for recharge could enhance groundwater supplies significantly and at the same time reduce land-based sources of pollution to receiving waters. Land subsidence Land subsidence occurs for a variety reasons, but natural and manmade groundwater abstraction is one of the most contributor to this condition. The remedying efforts of the land subsidence impact involve a high economic cost (Foster, 1998). It is because differential subsidence damages roads, buildings, and other surface structures and it can seriously disrupt underground services such as water mains and water pipelines, sewers, cable conduits, tunnels, and subsurface tanks. In cities located on flat topography, subsidence can disrupt the drainage pattern of rivers and canals and can increase the risk of flooding. The land subsidence effects can be more serious in coastal areas because it can increase the risk of inundation (Hiscock, 2002). Saline intrusion The uncontrolled aquifer exploitation will impact on saline intrusion and it is usually occurs in coastal area. When the groundwater levels fall, the water flow direction change occurs. For thin and alluvial aquifers, this condition results in the formation of wedge shaped pattern and but in the thicker ones, salinity inversions often occur with intrusion of sea water in near-surface aquifer and fresh groundwater in deeper area. Once salinity has diffused into the pore water, its elution will take decades or centuries. Induced pollution Uncontrolled exploitation has consequences to contaminate the deeper aquifer. This induced pollution is caused by inadequate well construction, vertical pumping-induced, and sewage. Some rapidly developing cities have provided mains sewerage and generate large volumes of wastewater but this wastewater is normally discharged untreated or with minimal treatment to surface watercourses. It especially occurs in more arid climates (Anderson, 1987). 2.4 Urbanization Impact on groundwater management policy Although groundwater is the source of drinking water for most people, it is often ignored and taken for granted in urban planning program. The problem was expressed this way by the US Water Council in 1980: â€Å"The role of groundwater in water supply often has been slightenend in the past, one reason being believed that groundwater couldnot be adeqately evaluated in terms of avalibility, chemical quality, economics, or injuctive supply with surface water resources. However, substantial progress in groundwater analitical capability in recent years has made the resources more amanable to rational planning and management operation† (US Water Council in Grigg, 1996) Urban groundwater problems evolve over many years or decades as the result of slow the respond to most groundwater problem. The groundwater depletion and pollution problem are usually solved in incremental way by abandoning the shallow wells and replacing them with deeper boreholes to the aquifer (Grigg, 1996). However, this approach may only provide a temporary solution and if the urban planners continue this method, the groundwater supply will be in more stress condition. Therefore, the more comprehensive and sustainable groundwater planning and management approaches are needed to be developed (Tellman). 2.4.1 Groundwater Management Many literatures define groundwater management differently. Some emphasizes on the technical aspect such as engineering and hydrology, some are the process of managing and some others are the combination of them. However, the common similarity is on their objective that groundwater management is prepared to ensure that groundwater resources are managed in a fair, equitable and sustainable manner (Hiscock, 2002; Ohgaki, 2007; Minciardi, 2006;Venkatesh Dutta). Groundwater management can be defined as a number of integrated actions related to both natural and managed of groundwater pumping and recharge to achieve the long-term sustainability. California government in 2003 DWR Bulletin 118 2003 defines groundwater management as a set of activities including the planned and coordinated monitoring, operation, and administration of a groundwater basin or portion of a groundwater basin with the goal for long term sustainability of the resource. As the result, the groundwater management involves a number of engineering disciplines including survey and monitoring, geological interpretation, hydrological assessments, hydrogeological modeling, chemical and geochemical assessments and optimization. Groundwater management also deals with a complex interaction between human society needs and physical environment and it presents a difficult problem of policy design (Foster.S.S.D, 2001; Somma, 1997). For example, aquifers are exploited by human decisions for sustaining their lives and overexploitation cannot always be defined in technical terms, but as a failure to design and implement adequate institutional arrangements to manage people who exploit the groundwater resource. Common pool resources have been typically utilized in an open-access framework because of the characteristics of groundwater resources (Somma, 1997). When no one owns the resources, the users do not have any obligation to conserve for the future, and as the result, self-interest of individual users leads them to overexploitation. Groundwater management is a debated issue with very few examples of effective action on groundwater resources. However there some approaches that several studies concluded them as a successful groundwater methods, for example, sustainable groundwater development and management in the overexploited regions is treated by combining artificial recharge to groundwater and rainwater harvesting; management of salinity ingress in coastal aquifers; conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater; water conservation by increasing water-use efficiency; regulation of groundwater development.. Further, there also innovative methods of recharging the groundwater and storing water in floodplain aquifers along the river banks to enhance the ultimate irrigation potential from groundwater. The following four steps are essential for most groundwater management cases. Firstly, there must be regular and accurate assessment of actual groundwater use in both rural and urban areas to correlate with recharge and extraction. Secondly, expansion should be strictly monitored. Thirdly, separation of feeders for domestic and agricultural power and the fourth, ways must be explored to empower and entrust the communities to manage the groundwater uses. Development of groundwater management is usually begun by an assessment of groundwater problems and management issues, a compilation of groundwater management tools, an identification of action to address issues and problems, selection of the management plan and a discussion of implementation aspects of the plan. Mostly, the suitable groundwater management approaches are identified at the local water agency level and directly resolved at the local level. However, the State also has role in providing technical and financial assistance to local agencies for their groundwater management efforts. The Department publishes a regulatory framework for groundwater management to ensure that the groundwater resources are maintained and used in an orderly, equitable, and sustainable manner. If groundwater management is obeyed and the problem cannot be directly resolved at the local agency level, there is usually an additional actions such as enactment by local governments or decisions by the cou rts. 2.4.2 Sustainable groundwater management Groundwater is an important source of clean drinking water in many areas because of its characteristics, but mostly a sustainable management has not yet been established for this resource. Natural water bodies have become the place for storing human activities products, such as wastewater and other industrial pollution, causing little natural water storage capacity left. The sustainable groundwater management needs to involve a larger management system including the development of alternative surface water supplies, reallocation among economic uses of water, and regulatory limits on abstraction. Like other water resources management and other environment issues, all elements of active aquifer management must involve stakeholder participation and whole basin analysis. It means that sustainable groundwater management should take place on various levels, starting from the localized borehole owner and user to the regional aquifer, basin and catchment area. At the end, the groundwater development will much depend on management principles applied by Local authorities, Government and Inter Governmental development planning and management strategies. By taking appropriate measure, sustainable groundwater management development can be built. In urban planning practice these measures tend to reduce sewer overflows, improve the quality of treatment plant effluent and prevent falling water tables in areas around towns, cities, and the hinterlands. 2.4.3 Major approaches in sustainable groundwater management The literature generally literatures found that the approaches for sustainable groundwater management are divided into spatial and a-spatial approaches as below. The most common similarity in these approaches is that one method cannot stand alone but must be integrated and connected with other disciplines and other sectors. Integrating sustainable groundwater in spatial planning and management a.1) The use of `Hydrological Design Principles This approach involves zoning related to the catchment planning approach, the location approach, and buffering approach. The `Hydrological Design Principles as a basis for making spatial planning decisions or design of land use patterns is the most common approaches for groundwater management. The Catchment Planning Approach objectives are both to adjust land uses or activities with environmental requirements in the catchment area or drainage basin and to prevent peak discharges. This is implemented by allocating land use profiles to each catchment area and by taking account to maintain or increase the catchment areas’ water storage capacity. The attention to be paid is to both water quality and quantity aspects, which are to be managed with the most important goal for achieving an ecological balance with the land use activities. The Location Approach’s aims are to order the various land uses and activities within each catchment area so that the affect occurs is as little as possible to each of them. In this approach, the land uses that have greater demands on water quality are located upstream of more polluting ones, while the more vulnerable uses is located in areas of groundwater seepages. The clean land use activities are placed in the infiltration areas. The Buffering Approach is used to give chance the land uses with incompatible environmental requirements to co-exist. A well-known example at the local level is the hydrological buffering of natural sites from surrounding agricultural land. This can be achieved through appropriate design and management measures that can be implement in a relatively easy and quick manner. a.2) Integrating land use activities, groundwater systems and the environment The approaches are by water storage, habitat creation and natural water treatment combined with new urban development. In many places where the abstraction of drinking water causes damage to nature, water may be abstracted elsewhere instead, for example is in the hinterlands of that area. In some cases, groundwater abstraction should be stopped regarding to riverbank filtration. Water from the river can be pumped into the ground under the banks and later abstracted when it has been sufficiently filtered by passing through the sand and clay in the sub-soil. Raising storage capacity in the river basin through habitat creation, landscaping and establishing outdoor recreation areas are also other approaches for this method. The groundwater system had double function for human life. a.3) Ensuring enough room for water: Catch water where it falls It is mostly done in the areas around the main rivers or flood prone area. It can be in line with habitat protection because the raising the water storage capacity by lowering the ground level of the river or moving back the dikes back offer opportunities for nature development. The widening ditches and raising the drainage level can increase the water storage capacity. As the result, more room for water and the rainwater can be infiltrated into the soil instead of being drained away as quickly as possible to the sewer. An advantageous effect of giving water more room is the greater opportunity it presents to make use of natural filtration and water purification processes. a.4) Controlling subsurface contaminants load and ensuring sufficient clean water Water pollution problems can be partially minimized or controlled by delineating source protection zones around major groundwater catchment areas. On the other hand, there are some related approaches such as firstly; appropriate planning provisions or mitigation measures to reduce contaminants load in particular areas, especially where aquifer is highly vulnerable. Secondly, to moderate the subsurface contamination to acceptable levels by considering the vulnerability of local aquifers to pollution, land use planning to reduce potential pollution sources. Thirdly by selecting controls over effluent discharges and other existing pollution sources and the fourth is by planning waste water treatment or landfill disposal sites regarding to groundwater interests and impacts. Integrating sustainable groundwater in a-spatial planning and management b.1) Institutional management To improve groundwater management, a strong institutional framework is prerequisite. Regarding to groundwater characteristics, an ideal institutional framework should to include legislation to provide clear definition of water use rights that is separate from land ownership. It could be implemented through granting of licenses and tax for groundwater exploitation in a specified manner. Other approach is by regulating and supervising the discharge of liquid effluents to the ground, the land disposal of solid-wastes, and other potentially polluting activities with a need legal consent or planning approval. Some literatures also presented about the behavior change and prospectus in groundwater that is believed can be last longer than the technical approaches. b.2) Demand side management Groundwater management not only requires adequate assessment of available resources and hydrogeology by understanding of interconnection between surface and groundwater system, but also actions required for proper resource allocation and prevention of the adverse effects of uncontrolled development of ground water resources for short and long term. One of the important strategies for this is a-spatial sustainable management of groundwater by regulating the groundwater development in critical areas using demand side approach. Management of demand means managing efficiency of water use, interaction among economic activities that is adjusted with water availability. In demand side management, socio economic dimension plays an important role that it also involves the managing the users of water and land. It is because the regulatory interventions in demand side management such as water rights and permits and economic tools of water pricing will not be successful if the different user groups are not fully involved. As the result, for achieving effective management of groundwater resources, there is a need to create awareness among the different water user groups and workout area specific plans for sustainable development. From among these two characteristics, it can be concluded that there are two emerging broad types of management approaches for groundwater. Firstly, approaches including tools such as power pricing, subsidies for efficient technologies, economic policies discouraging water intensive crops, etc. Secondly, approaches dealing with specific aquifers on the basis of command and control management through a resource regulator. Whichever approach is adopted, the development and management of these resources must be based on an adequate knowledge of a clear comprehensive situation of groundwater aquifer system and its replenishment. Contents CHAPTER II 1 URBANIZATION AND GROUNDWATER PLANNING 1 2.1 Urbanization 1 2.1.1 Current discourse in urbanization concept 1 2.1.2 Urbanization determinant 3 a) Population size 3b) Economic growth 3c) Percentage of built up area 42.2. Groundwater system on earth 4 2.3 Urbanization and groundwater resources 5 2.3.1 Current Discourse 52.3.2 Urbanization impact to groundwater resources 6a) Groundwater depletion 8b) Land subsidence 9c) Saline intrusion 9d) Induced pollution 92.4 Urbanization Impact on groundwater management policy 9 2.4.1 Groundwater Management 102.4.2 Sustainable groundwater management 122.4.3 Major approaches in sustainable groundwater management 12a) Integrating sustainable groundwater in spatial planning and management 13a.1) The use of `Hydrological Design Principles 13a.2) Integrating land use activities, groundwater systems and the environment 13a.3) Ensuring enough room for water: Catch water where it falls 14a.4) Controlling subsurface contaminants load and ensuring sufficient clean water 14b) Integrating sustainable groundwater in a-spatial planning and management 15b.1) Institutional management 15b.2) Demand side management 15

Assessing The American Society Today

Assessing The American Society Today American society today is one which is accustomed to the abundance of resources and opportunities that are made available to the public. For the most part, people take these bountiful resources and opportunities for granted because they have no recollection of life before their time. Until the 1920s, American society was conservative with traditional values. It was a quiet and conservative culture, however this tradition began to change significantly change during the 20th century and even more specifically during the 1920s. The United States was quickly changing with the adoption of new cultural and social values and increased prosperity, and though not all people were content with the changing culture and times, their resistance to modernity and materialism were flattened. America was changing for the better and for the future. From the revolution which defined the 1920s, dubbed as the Modern Temper by historians, emerged a changing culture in the United States. Among many transfor mations, new dominant cultural and social values surfaced, there was great economic growth characterized by a new sense of materialism and consumerism, and there was major progress in the social and cultural identity of women. The Modern Temper ushered in a more secular, materialistic, individualistic, leisure-oriented, cosmopolitan, and pluralistic society; one which has flourished to new heights even till this day. Before the Modern Temper emerged, American society was a much more culturally and socially traditional. In essence, the road leading up to the 1920s was a clash of two completely different cultures. Just before the decade, America was apparently under the attack of alcohol. In fact, the apparent effect of alcoholism on the country was so bad that drinking too much alcohol was referred to as being just as useful as a slave. It was estimated that there were 5,000,000 drunks in the United States and this issue has to be halted (Kerr). While the experience with prohibition was dismissed only 13 years after the amendment was passed, the battle over alcohol provided an arena for the mounting conflicts between the modern and traditional, urban and rural, immigrant and native, and even Catholics and Protestants (Pennock). An even more prolific event that provided evidence of the changing culture in the United States was the John scopes trial. The trial of 1925 reflected the vast cultures tha t were clashing all across the nation (Childs). More than just a trial simply deciding between religious fundamentalism and traditionalism and scientific and modern teachings, it was a keen indication that Americans had begun in a more forceful manner than ever before to debate the basic values of their society and culture (Childs). What can be seen from the Scopes trial and Prohibition is that the process of change in America had been going on for many years and that when the 1920s came along, the country finally felt the great effects. The new cultural and social values that culminated towards the beginning of the 20th century formed a decisive turning point in American history. From the culture clashes of the 1920s emerged the formation of a modern mass culture (Mintz). Many of the defining features of modern American culture such as the radio, jazz, films, and spectator sports emerged during the 1920s (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). Mass entertainment was a new concept to Americans and probably has one of the greatest cultural effects overall. Probably the most revolutionary of all was the impact of the invention of the radio. Between 1922 and 1929, radio sales soared from $60 million to $426 million. The radio brought the nation together and imposed similar tastes and lifestyles through the same news, entertainment, and advertisements, and was doing so to 10 million Americans by 1929 (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). The radio was such a growing phenomenon that by 1922, 600 radio stations were broadcasting across the United States (Radio in the 1920s). Along with the radio, of course, came the most popular music of the 1920s; jazz. The roaring twenties saw the formation of new forms of music known as jazz and blues. By the mid-1920s, jazz was being played in dance halls, roadhouses and speakeasies all over the country. This however was not met as gift to all Americans, but rather as a threat (Roaring Twenties: History in the Key of Jazz). Jazz was the music of the African Americans, putting more emphasis on the innovations of supremely gifted individuals and giving blacks a voice in an overwhelmingly white society. Such innovation could be seen by the popularization of scat by Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Hendersons big band jazz (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). To millions of people though, jazz was seen as one more cause of loosening morals. It wasnt considered music but rather just bad noise that inspired dancing with a dreadful impact on the national character. (Roaring Twenties: History in the Key of Jazz). These feelings were of course felt by white Americans who were threatened by the music. They were motivated by racial concerns and not actually by musical concerns. Critics expressed consistent political and social dislikes of the black population more so than the music itself in reports (Anderson). Clearly, jazz was not only a step forward for African Americans but it was also another clash between different cultures during the 20s. Regardless of the fact, young black men were willing to take on laws and customs that forbid them to compete on anything like an equal basis with whites to create a brand new world created by black Americans who were admired (Roaring Twenties: History in the Key of Jazz). In addition to jazz and the radio, the United States also saw the rise of spectator sports. Sports provided heroes to the vast audiences that were attracted to them during the 1920s. Many sports, including football and baseball, drew huge crowds to watch and support their favourite teams. Sports became even more competitive, especially as seen with Babe Ruth and his transformation of the game of baseball. Even more popular were individual sports, like boxing, with athletes whose talents or personalities made them appear larger than life (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). Spectator sports became so popular because people had so much more leisure time on their hands. With new technologies and increased productivity from the second industrial revolution, society needed more entertainment during their longer vacation and leisure times (Mintz, The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment ). While spectator sports did provide some food for this appetite, it was movies which filled the void that Americans had. As it can be seen, American culture was significantly affected by the radio, jazz, and spectator sports, but no new instrument of mass entertainment was as significant as the movies (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). By 1929, 90 million Americans were going to the movies each week; this was an increase of 40 million just 9 years earlier. Movies became such a collective activity for all Americans that one estimate shows that Americans spent 83 cents of every entertainment dollar going to the movies (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). While movies did provide a new form of entertainment and social demeanour, they also provoked cultural warfare. The movies presented progressively more open displays of sexuality and with ever more daring language. (Kulturkampfen (Wars for Civilization) of the 1920s). Films increasingly featured glamour, sophistication, and sex appeal, imposing on teenagers and young adults the fashions, fads and conduct that wer e a part of a new generation. Essentially, movies created a new popular culture with common speech, dress, behaviour, and heroes (Mintz, The Formation of Modern American Mass Culture ). Like the radio, the movies became a mechanism of the new found consumerism and materialism that shaped the emerging culture of the Modern Temper. Young men and women were becoming new people, drifting away completely from the cultural and social values their parents lived by (Kulturkampfen (Wars for Civilization) of the 1920s). Both men and women felt changes in their identities, however, they were nothing as profound as the changes that women felt during the Modern Temper. For many years, women had struggled to find equality and likeness with men in society. In 1920, finally began travelling on the road to relative liberation by winning the right to vote (Mintz, The New Woman). The changes in womens identity and role actually began during World War I. With men off to war, womens role changed in order to fill their place in the workforce. In fact, the socio-economic changes that occurred for women during the four year war and that were accepted could not have been achieved through any better means (Thomas). The emergence of the modern woman during and after World War I emphasized her determination to break free of long-standing cultural constraints (The Decline of the Victorian Cultural Consensus). This want for an individual identity started to take shape with in the late 19th century with emergence of the new woman. The new woman was an icon of changing norms, a woman who was less constrained by Victorian mores and domesticity than previous generations. She had greater freedom to pursue public roles and even flaunt her sex appeal, another term which emerged alongside the new woman (Freeman). The new woman was the step before the modern women emerged in the 1920s. They were the first to attend college and justified their new roles in terms of the ideal of service to others. These new women were as aggressive and ambitious as the men they dealt with (The Decline of the Victorian Cultural Consensus). What was so new about women in the early 20th century was their presence in the public a rena. Women began venturing into jobs, politics, and culture outside the domestic realms and home life that most 19th century women tended to revolve around. Still met with resistance by conservatives, such as the church and Ku Klux Klan, and on a subordinate level to men economically and politically, the new women was a symbol of revolutionary change for women across the United States (Freeman). While the new women was a major stage in solidifying a new identity for women, nothing defined the modern temper more accurately than the flapper. The flapper was completely parallel to what women were supposed to be; womens identity became alternate to what had previously existed. Flappers were more thin and flat, and exposed more flesh. They challenged old norms by wearing new fashions, donning boyish looks and haircuts, drinking more alcohol and even smoking (Freeman, Image and Lifestyle). The Modern Temper brought new fashions along with the flapper that identified people as individuals. The flapper wore short skirts, used make-up in public, which was considered to be the badge of prostitutes, and wore baggy clothes which exposed the arms and legs (The Jazz Age: Flapper Culture Style). She was a symbol not only of a revolution in fashion and mores, but an expression of their emancipation. They expressed their individuality and sexuality through their clothes, their behaviour, an d the activities they partook in (The Jazz Age: Flapper Culture Style). The female identity was completely altered by the new woman and flapper, producing a new woman of the modern temper. A conservative barrier was broken with the new identity of women in the 1920s. Sexual flaunting was a revolution that came along with the new woman. Unmarried women began expressing their sexual desire, likely unapproved by their parents, as well as courts and Progressive reformers. They were stepping outside of their traditional gender role, entering the workforce in record numbers and taking part in jobs and activities that were once associated only with men (Freeman, Sexuality). Even further changes occurred with the relations between young men and women. Though the aspect of marriage remained constant between the new and old generation of women, there was an emergence of a new ritual in the form of dating. Young women could now flirt with boys and have sexual interactions with men unlike anything their parents had experienced (Freeman, Sexuality). The new woman, more specifically the flapper, epitomized the individualistic, materialistic, and leisure-oriented society that the mod ern temper created during the 1920s. The new cultural and social values associated with the emergence of the modern temper can be credited a great deal towards the new woman, however, nothing changed American culture more so than the creation of a consumer based society. As the 1920s rolled along, major transformations occurred in the workplace and the economy flourished. The standard of living for a large number of Americans improved drastically as wages increased and working hours decreased. This change was symbolized by Henry Ford, whose assembly line and $5 a day pay scheme decreased the time it took to make a car, increased wages, decreased working hours, and essentially, transformed the American industry (Mintz, The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment ). As a result, Americans had more money in their pockets and more time on their hands. Material goods started to become more important to people as more stress was put on consumer goods and advertising. The emergence of new marketing and increased focus on consumer goods led to consumerism and materialism in American culture. Consumerism changed the cultural and social values of American society during the 1920s. Material goods that were once only available to the wealthy or no one at all were suddenly available to the mass public at a low cost. The consumer society changed Americans values in way that made them believe that all material goods available to them were a must-own product. The ultimate symbol of the new consumer society was the car. In a 10 year span from 1919 to 1929, Americans went from owning 6.7 million cars to owning 27 million-nearly one car for every American household (Mintz, The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment ). All this could be explained by the advertising which slowly changed Americans towards being more materialistic as consumer goods were being associated with human values, emotions, and social status. If you didnt own a car, a radio, or any other major appliance or item that emerged during the early 1900s, consumerism and advertising made you feel like you just werent being fulfilled. Eventually, advertising expanded to stimulate sales and increase profits, and the public was even being offered instalment credit. Mortgages were first being offered in the 1920s, and estimates were that 60% of all furniture and 75% of all radios were purchased on instalment plans (Mintz, The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment ). Consumerism transformed America into a buying and borrowing country; later on America would be a country of debtors rather than buyers as a result. Consumerisms greatest impact on society was on the cultural identity of women in the 1920s. Of course the new woman and the flapper were major symbols of the modern temper, however, they would not have made such a large impact let alone have emerged if it had not been for the focus of advertising and marketing on women (The Jazz Age: Flapper Culture Style). Advertisements for fashions like Coco Chanel had a dramatic effect on women of the early 20th century (Thomas). Sexual expression was imposed onto women through advertising campaigns as simple Coca-Cola and new technologies were focused at women in the household. Electricity and the invention of the washing machine, vacuum, and other household appliances were focused at housewives who wanted to make home cleaning much easier and more efficient. Consumerism changed the life of an urban housewife inside and outside the house. Entertainment and leisure also were changed for the women of the 1920s by consumerism. Smoking for women even became somewhat of a fad, being popularized by marches in the streets of New York imitating the suffrage marches in the 1910s (Mintz, The New Woman). Other fads such as the Miss America pageant marathons imposed new social values into young women; telling them that individualism is not just about beauty, but also about fashions, housekeeping, and appealing to the other sex. Women, and all Americans for that matter, were interested in being entertained. More fads emerged to feed Americans appetite for leisure, including Mah-jong and crossword puzzles, contract bridge, photography, golf, tennis, and bowling (Mintz, Low Brow and Middle Brow Culture). Americans, women specifically, were also exposed to new values through the movies. Sexual interactions, social interactions like smoking, and new language and slang were all expressed through movies, projecting a life beyond the ord inary which their parents lived and which they had been living. Furthermore, magazines and books expressed new social values for women which they had never experienced. Confession magazines filled the void in women by sharing stories of romance, divorce, success and failure (Mintz, Low Brow and Middle Brow Culture). Through movies, advertising, entertainment and leisure, consumerism changed the way woman lived and experienced society in the 20th century, and more specifically, produced the epitome of the modern temper through the new woman and the flapper. With the rise of consumerism and materialism in the 1920s, the modern temper created a sophisticated and pluralistic society in the United States. The new society challenged and defeated traditional Victorian mores and yielded a new generation of Americans that had new social and cultural values, and created a powerful economy that built on new businesses, chain companies, quick and efficient manufacturing, and higher incomes (Mintz, The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment ). The modern temper instilled a sense of individualism in Americans and challenged Americans to do and get anything they want. Simply put, the modern temper created an affluent, more secular America with more liberated and modern social and cultural values which to this day has continued to grow through industry, consumerism, and most notably, individualism.

Summary of A Separate Peace by John Knowles Essay examples -- A Separa

Summary of A Separate Peace by John Knowles As the novel opens, Gene Forrester returns to Devon, the New Hampshire boarding school he attended during World War II. Gene has not seen Devon for 15 years, and so he notices the ways in which the school has changed since he was a student there. Strangely, the school seems newer, but perhaps, he thinks, the buildings are just better taken care of now that the war is over. Gene walks through the campus on a bleak, rainy November afternoon, revisiting the buildings and fields he remembers—and especially two places he recalls as â€Å"fearful sites.† At the First Academic Building, he enters the foyer to look closely at the white marble steps. Then he trudges across the playing fields to the river in search of a particular tree and finally recognizes it by its long limb over the water and the scars on its trunk. The tree, he thinks, is smaller than he remembers. The chapter section ends with Gene heading back to shelter through the rain. The second section opens during the summer of 1942 when Gene is 16. He is attending a special Summer Session at Devon, designed to speed up education to prepare the boys for the military draft in their senior year. Gene stands at the same tree with his best friend and roommate, Phineas (nicknamed Finny), and three other boys, Elwin Lepellier (Leper), Chet Douglass, and Bobby Zane. The tree seems enormous to Gene, but Finny suddenly decides to climb it and jump into the river, just like the Devon 17 year olds, who are training for military service. Finny jumps and dares Gene to follow. Against his better judgment, Gene climbs the tree and also jumps, but the three others refuse. . The shared danger of jumping brings Finny and Gene closer. While the rest of the boys hurry ahead at the sound of the bell for dinner, the roommates playfully wrestle until they are late for the meal. They slip into the dormitory, where they read their English assignments and play their radio (against school rules), until it is time for bed. Ch 2 The morning after the boys first jump from the tree, Mr. Prud’homme, a substitute Master for the summer, scolds Gene and Finny for missing dinner. Finny tells Mr. Prud’homme that they were late because they were jumping out of the tree to prepare for military service—a far-fetched excuse he weaves into a long, funny explanation. Finny’s friendly chatter c... ...e he prefers. Gene explains that he is planning to join the Navy in order to avoid being drafted into the infantry, while Brinker, too, has made a careful choice, deciding on the relative safety of the Coast Guard. This disgusts Mr. Hadley, who urges them to think about how their military service will sound when they talk about it in the future. The safest choice may not be the wisest choice in the long run, he explains. Afterward, Brinker complains of his father’s hearty enthusiasm for war service, especially since the older generation will not face any risk in the war that Brinker insists they caused. Brinker’s thinking reminds Gene of Finny’s theory about the fake-war conspiracy of â€Å"fat old men.† But for himself, Gene decides that the war arose from something â€Å"ignorant† within humanity itself. As Gene empties his locker to leave Devon for military service, he thinks of Finny and their friendship, which still remains a vital part of his life. Later, from his adult perspective, Gene believes that his war actually ended before he ever entered military service. He sees now that he killed his â€Å"enemy† at Devon, while Finny, always unique, never saw anyone or anything as his enemy.

LASIK Surgery :: LASIK Surgery Essays

Seeing well without contact lenses and glasses is the dream of millions of Americans and modern medical science has enabled that dream to come true (Caster, 8). Since first grade, Dede Head, a 30-year-old fitness trainer in North Carolina, has worn glasses to correct sever nearsightedness and astigmatism. Over the years she became accustomed to wearing glasses and contacts, but this has limited many important aspects of her life, including sports. She then heard of a laser eye surgery that â€Å"supposedly†, helped to correct a person’s vision by means of lasers. She immediately signed up for the procedure and ever since that day, she has not worn glasses or contacts. Dede is just one of the eight hundred-fifty-thousand people who have undergone a procedure by the name of LASIK or Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis. If surgical procedures were movies, LASIK would be this years box office smash as it has received much media coverage and many praises; however, not that many peo ple know what LASIK is, what the advantages and disadvantages are, and most importantly if LASIK is right for them (Buratto, 1). LASIK is basically a type of laser surgery which can help correct nearsightedness (myopia), which is the inability to see distant objects, farsightnedness (hyperopia), which is the inability to see close, and astigmatism, the inability to focus light waves evenly. LASIK has grown greatly in the last year, mostly because of 4 reasons; it is fast (procedure takes about 5-10 minutes), safe, painless, and the results are almost always prolific. The eye is just like a camera because it works by focusing light waves that pass through it. Light rays that enter the eye must first pass through the most outer layer of the eye called the cornea. The cornea performs 2/3 of the focusing process, the remainder of is then completed by the crystalline lens which further focuses the light on the retina. This requires extreme precision in that the focused light must fall ex actly at the level of the retina (Gallo, 126). The retina is a nerve tissue that carpets the inner surface of the eye, much like wallpaper covers all aspects of a wall. The retina converts the light into electrical signals, which are transmitted to the brain by the optic nerve. Just as a camera cannot produce clear photographs of the image if the incoming light is not focused on the film, we cannot produce a clear vision if the cornea and crystalline lens do not focus the light precisely on the retina.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Essay -- essays research papers

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman begins with a note from the editor, who is a local schoolteacher near the plantation where Jane Pittman lives. He has long been trying to hear her story, and, beginning in the summer of 1962, she finally tells it to him. When her memory lapses, her acquaintances help fill in the spaces. The recorded tale, with editing, then becomes The Autobiography of Miss Jane. Jane Pittman is born into slavery on a plantation somewhere in Louisiana. Jane is called "Ticey" during her days as a slave and has no parents; her mother died as a result of a beating when Jane was a child, and Jane did not know her father. Until she is around nine, Jane works in the Big House caring for the white children. One day toward the end of the war, some fleeing confederate soldiers arrive, followed soon after by some union soldiers. While being served water by Jane, one Union soldier named Corporal Brown tells Jane that she will soon be free and can then visit him in Ohio. He tells her to change her name and offers her that of his daughter, Jane Brown. After the soldiers leave, Jane refuses to answer when her mistress calls her "Ticey." The mistress later beats Jane until she bleeds, but Jane insists that her name is now Jane Brown. Because of her obstinacy, Jane is sent to work in the fields. On the day of the Emancipation Proclamation, Jane's master frees them all. On the same day, Jane leaves the plantation with a group of ex-slaves. They have no idea where they are going, but a woman named Big Laura leads the way. Jane wants to go to Ohio to find Corporal Brown. The first morning away, a group of "Patrollers," local white trash who used to hunt slaves, comes upon them and kills everyone but Jane and a very young boy Ned, whom they did not find. Jane and Ned then continue on their own, still headed for Ohio. They meet many characters on their trip, all of whom tell Jane that Ohio is too far and that she should go back to her plantation. Jane's obstinacy persists for a few weeks until she and Ned are completely exhausted from walking. Finally they catch a ride with a poor white man named Job who lets them sleep at his house and takes them the next day to a plantation run by Mr. Bone. Mr. Bone offers Jane a job, but only pays her the reduced rate of six dollars a month (minus fifty cents for Ned's schooling) because sh... ...but one night he goes to her house and asks her to marry him anyhow. After she tells him that he is not thinking straight, he returns home and commits suicide. Tee Bob's stepfather intervenes after the suicide so that Mary Agnes is not imprisoned or killed in revenge for Tee Bob's death. In a conversation with Jane, he describes that they all killed Tee Bob because of their adherence to racial regulations beyond which Tee Bob could see. In the final chapter of the book, Jane describes a boy named Jimmy Aaron, whom the whole plantation hopes will become the "one" who will save them all. Eventually, Jimmy gets involved in the civil rights movement. After several years away from the plantation, he returns home and plans an act of civil disobedience followed by a protest at the courthouse. First a young girl is arrested for drinking from a white water fountain. On the day that they all are to march to the courthouse in protest, however, Jimmy is shot dead. The crowd who was planning to march had already gathered when they hear the news. With the assistance of one young black man, Jane bravely encourages the people to march and takes the lead even though Jimmy is already dead

Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay

Abstract Nonverbal communication speaks louder than verbal communication; therefore, nonverbal communication, such as background music, needs to be sensibly evaluated. As a form of nonverbal communication, background music is capable of influencing a target audience. In advertising, emotions can be shifted depending on the music being played in the background and the same feelings are then transferred to the product, providing a tremendous advantage in business (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Music can change one’s mood; in the workplace, an improved mood allows employees to be more content and, overall, more productive. In addition, with the right musical selection, the music is able to increase the amount of information an individual is able to retain (Balch & Lewis, 1996). Various aspects from several studies have been examined, demonstrating the power of background music and music in general. The Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Nonverbal communication may be unintentional and speakers may not be aware of their behaviors or it may be just the opposite (Troester & Mester, 2007). However, background music is often carefully selected in order to aid in the desired goal, particularly in advertising (Dillman Carpentier, 2010; Kellaris, Cox, & Cox, 1993). The goals of every businessperson may not be the same; yet, the capabilities and effects of music are rather consistent (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Whether via television, radio, or in person, music is able to affect the moods of those in the audience (Knobloch, 2003). Music also has the ability to improve the performance of the task at hand of an individual (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, & Heiden, 2012). According to Balch and Lewis (1996), an increase in memory is also induced by music. In any aspect of business, the effects of music can be utilized and even increase efficiency and productivity. Mood Alteration One’s mood determines the way one thinks and acts and what is said (Knobloch, 2003; Hunter, Schellenberg, & Schimmack, 2010). According to Hunter et al., â€Å"music is the language of emotions† (p. 47). The perception of music determines the emotion felt. The perception of happiness is more often transferred to feeling happy than the perception of sadness and feeling sad (Hunter, Schellenberg, & Schimmack, 2010). Davies (2011) refers to the emotions of music as being contagious. When one is around people who are depressed, that person’s mood adjusts closer to those who are in the depressed state. Similarly, although a person may not actually be sad, a sad part in a movie can make that person feel sad; the same applies to music. Hearing music that sounds happy can make one feel happy and to the contrary. Davies models this as a cause and effect relationship. The music being heard is the cause and the effect is one’s reaction to the music. Whether the reaction is happy or sad is dependent upon the perception of the music to the listener. Sounds that reflect happiness include little amplitude variation, a vast pitch variety, and fast tempo (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1993). Therefore, when one hears these sounds of happy music, emotional contagion is invoked on the subject and causes that person to feel happy. In advertisements, music is selected as an enhancement but also to affect mood. It is a company’s goal to influence potential buyers by creating a positive attitude and feeling towards that company’s product. With a positive image in mind of a particular product, there is a greater likelihood that the consumer will purchase the product (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). An average of more than 9.5 hours of media is taken in by the average American on a daily basis; of those hours, 38% is dedicated to music – all of which affects mood in some way (Knobloch, 2003). In addition, according to Dillman Carpentier, 90% of commercials include music of some sort (2010). The preceding statistics show the value of music to consumers and therefore, reflect the importance music-induced moods have in marketing. Enhanced Performance Not only is music able to affect one’s mood but it is also capable of increasing the performance of an individual (North & Hargreaves, 1999). According to Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky, the IQ scores of the participants of their study were highest when the participants were under the influence of music (1993). In the other two trials, the participants went through a relaxation process and sat in silence for 10 minutes; the scores were 2.95 and 3.56 points respectively lower (Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky, 1993). Some teachers have started using music to increase the focus and efficiency of students. Relaxing music is played to keep the students’ minds from wandering and, instead, concentrated on the lesson. The relaxing music causes one’s brainwave frequencies to alter, entering the alpha state. The alpha state has been found to be the state where the best connection to one’s subconscious is made (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, & Heiden, 2012). Koenen’s and Restak’s (as cited in Fassbender et al., 2012) findings have both supported that music inhibits thought. Restak’s claim is based on a study conducted with surgeons as the participants. Due to differing parts of the brain being used for music and for physical tasks, the music doesn’t inhibit the task but keeps the other part of the brain occupied and, therefore, from becoming distracted (Fassbender et al., 2012). In another study, surgeons were asked to count backwards by various numbers under three different conditions and were monitored throughout their tasks. The different conditions were no music, music of personal preference, and experimenter-selected music. Each surgeon was individually tested and each surgeon’s blood pressure, pulse, timing, and accuracy were recorded. The results showed a significant difference among the three conditions and the areas being monitored. The surgeons’ blood pressures and pulses were at much higher levels when performing the tasks without music. The results of the tasks with the presence of music showed lower blood pressures and pulses but an increase in the speeds and accuracies of the surgeons. Of the two music conditions, the overall results of the surgeons were better when listening to music of their choice rather than the experimenter-selected music. The participants of the study are of a profession that undergoes much stress in the operating room; by listening to music of their choice, the effects of stress decrease and the quality of performances increase (Allen & Blascovich, 1994). The studies of Dr. Adrian C. North provide several benefits of music for employers and employees. As previously mentioned, music can affect one’s mood. In the workplace, putting the employees in a better mood will increase their productivity by improving how well they interact with their fellow employees. It has been proven that one’s mood and helpfulness are directly related (North & Hargreaves, 1999). Music has also been found to raise the employee morale, leading to a decrease in the number of absences (Furnham & Bradley, 1997; North & Hargreaves, 1999). The output per employee can also be increased in a work field involving repetitiveness. According to Johnson (2004), participants of his study (whose work was repetitive) matched the tempo of the music being played while working. Therefore, with the addition of music – causing a better mood, cooperation, and increased pace – the overall productivity and efficiency of the workforce can increase and, in turn, boost the company revenue. Music is a friend of labour for it lightens the task by refreshing the nerves and spirit of the worker – William Green ( quoted in Furnham & Bradley, 1997) Increased Memory Although music and its relationship to human memory are still being researched, scientists do know that music affects several parts of the brain (Weir & Nevins, 2010). Cognitive neuroscientist, Petr Janata, says, â€Å" It [music] calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person’s face in your mind’s eye† (Weir & Nevins, 2010, p. 12). According to John Sweller, one must relate what is being learned to something that is already known (2003). Studies have proven the word-for-word is much higher when heard with music than when heard without music (Wallace, 1994). Wallace also suggests the musical accompaniment is used as a retrieval device or as an aid in the way the words are stored. The belief is that the music accents the words being spoken by acting as a cue when determining the number of syllables in a word and words in a verse (Wallace, 1994). It has also been shown that some memories are solely dependent on music being the trigger to recall them (Balch & Lewis, 1996). In marketing and advertising, music plays a significant role on one’s memory. Most can probably identify the brand image, along with the melody, by simply reading, â€Å"five, five-dollar foot long† (Weir & Nevins, 2010) due to the capability of music that allows one to recall melody and image from the text read (and the contrary) (Wallace, 1994). Pertaining to memory, music can also serve as an aid in health services (Simmons-Stern, Budson, & Ally, 2010). According to a study by Simmons-Stern et al., patients with Alzheimer’s disease were able to recall more of the information they were given when it was sung rather than spoken. It is thought to be possible that these findings may aid in discovering a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patients (Simmons-Stern et al., 2010). Conclusion There is no doubt music plays a role in everyone’s life in some way. The effects of music are nearly unavoidable due to the fact that music is incorporated into such a variety of activities and places and can cause differentiating feelings and results. Sad music can spread sadness (through emotional contagion) and infect the listener with that sadness, causing the listener’s mood to worsen. On the contrary, music is also able to make one feel happy (Davies, 2011). In the workplace, music is able to improve the mood of employees, motivate employees, and quicken the pace of the work being done (Furnham & Bradley, 1997). By playing upbeat music where the work to be done is monotonous, the workers are less irritated and fall in rhythm with the beat of the music. A workforce that has a higher rate of productivity can ultimately benefit the company by increasing the profits (North & Hargreaves, 1999). Music also accentuates words and increases the memorabilia of those words; this can be quite beneficial in advertisements (Weir & Nevins, 2010). Another benefit music offers, with regards to memory, is as a possible treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Simmons-Stern, Budson, & Ally, 2010). Regardless of being a form of nonverbal communication or where it may appear, music strongly affects human beings with its ample array of capabilities. References Allen, K. P., & Blascovich, J. P. (1994). Effects of Music on Cardiovascular Reactivity Among Surgeons. Journal of The American Medical Association, 272(11), 882-884. Balch, W. R., & Lewis, B. S. (1996). Music-Dependent Memory: The Roles of Tempo Change and Mood Mediation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 22(6), 1354-1363. Davies, S. (2011). Infectious Music: Music-Listener Emotional Contagion. In A. Coplan, & P. Goldie, Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press. Dillman Carpentier, F. R. (2010). Innovating Radio News: Effects of Background Music Complexity on Processing and Enjoyment. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 17(1), 63-81. Douglas Olsen, G. (1995). Creating the Contrast: The Influence of Silence and Background Music on Recall and Attribute Importance. Journal of Advertising, 59(4), 29-44. Fassbender, E., Richards, D., Bilgin, A., Thompson, W. F., & Heiden, W. (2012). The Effects of Music on Mem ory for Facts Learned in a Virtual Environment. Computers and Education, 58(1), 490-500. Furnham, A., & Bradley, A. (1997). Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and Extraverts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11, 445-455. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional Contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, 2(3), 96-99. Hunter, P. G., Schellenberg, E. G., & Schimmack, U. (2010). Feelings and Perceptions of Happiness and Sadness Induced by Music: Similarities, Differences, and Mixed Emotions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(1), 47-56. Johnson, V. W. (2004). Effect of Musical Style on Spontaneous Exercise Performance. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, 24, 357. Kellaris, J. J., Cox, A. D., & Cox, D. (1993, October). The Effect of Background Music on Ad Processing: A Contingency Explanation. Journal of Marketing, 57, 114-125. Knobloch, S. (200 3, June). Mood Adjustment via Mass Communication. Journal of Communication, 53(2), 233-250. North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and Driving Game Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40, 285-292. North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Musical Tempo, Productivity, and Morale. Unpublished Manuscript. Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and Spatial Task Performance. Nature, 365, 611. Simmons-Stern, N. R., Budson, A. E., & Ally, B. A. (2010). Music as a Memory Enhancer in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3164-3167. Sweller, J. (2003). Evolution of Human Cognitive Architecture. San Diego: Academic Press. Troester, R., & Mester, C. (2007). Chapter 7: Nonverbal Civility. In Civility in Business & Professional Communication (pp. 87-105). Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for Music: Effect of Melody on Recall of Text. Jornal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6), 1471-1485. Weir, K., & Nevins, D. (2010). Music and Your Mind. Current Health Kids, 34(1), p. 10.