The History of Greece Essay Example For Students

The History of Greece Essay The two most dominating city-states in Greece of their time, Athens and Sparta, were great rivals with two very different ways of life. Spartas overbearing military and Athens impartial justice system and government are models for many modern day countries. Even though these two city-states differ greatly from one another, they share many characteristics of their country and their time period. Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful Greek territories of their time. Like most cities of the same country, they have the same Greek culture, worshipping the same Greek gods and speaking Greek. Like all Greeks, their people loved to talk and tell stories. Although they fought against each other, their citizens equally had great amounts of pride for their entire country as well as their city-states. The two rivals were both devoted mainly to agriculture and based their wealth, but not their success, on agriculture. Both also participated in the annual Olympics, an ancient Greek national athletic competition which is now a worldwide tradition. These to Greek city-states were the most feared city-states in all of Greece. We will write a custom essay on The History of Greece specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Though Athens and Sparta were similar, they were also very different. Athens was the first democracy, and it was also the first to govern with trial by jury. Athens main accomplishment was that it had a very strong Navy. It was the command of the sea and the head of the Naval Alliance, or the Delian League. Athens was the most feared city-state to fight at sea. Its other achievements were that is had excellent forms of art, architecture, drama and literature, philosophy, science, and medicine. It was very wealthy and had beautiful, extravagant temples. The boys of Athens went to school between the ages of five and eighteen, where they learned reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics. The girls stayed at home and learned spinning, weaving and domestic arts. Athens had well educated men, a good sense of art, and an all-powerful navy. Sparta developed the most powerful military oligarchy of their time. They had a very strong army and were the most feared city-state to fight on land. Sparta was a member of the Peloponnesian League and was the most powerful people in it. Its excellent military conquered many territories, which they controlled with slaves. Spartas sole achievement, other than military supremacy, was that its people possessed a simple life style, with no care for the arts of Athens. When Spartan boys turned seven years old they began training for the military, and they ceased their training at the age of twenty. There was much more gender equality in Sparta than in Athens, and girls went to school where they learned reading, writing, athletics, gymnastics, and survival skills, and they could even join the military. Sparta was militarily supreme over Athens, and it also supported better equality and simplicity of life. Sparta and Athens contrasted greatly in military, art, education, government, and in many other areas. The few similarities they had were mainly based on their countrys rituals and traditions. These rituals and traditions are what the modern world remembers of the Greek culture.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Case Study

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Case Study Free Online Research Papers Part I. Introduction The economy in today’s society is in an unstable position. The costs of living, including energy bills are increasingly expensive. The heavy impact of economic hardships has trickled down into the low-family income bracket. The increase in gas and electric bills are significantly affecting low-income families in the District of Columbia. To mention, D.C. has the highest rate of child poverty in the nation. The percentage of African-American D.C. children living in poor families was 62%.2; more than half of D.C.s children live in low-income households. However, families in poverty and the increase in gas prices is a new problem. This crisis derived many years ago, but it is a continuing issue that led to a many legislative acts and the creation of a energy assistance program. Enabling Legislation For the most part, industrialized economies relied on crude oil, and OPEC was their predominant supplier. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program was established as a result of the increase in oil prices resulting from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo in 1973. In detail, the 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), consisting of the Arab members of OPEC, plus Egypt and Syria proclaimed and oil embargo â€Å"in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military† during the Yom Kippur war which lasted until 1974. OAPEC declared it would limit or stop oil shipments to the United States and other countries if they supported Israel in the conflict. To address these developments, the Nixon Administration began parallel negotiations with both Arab oil producers to end the embargo, and with Egypt, Syria, and Israel to arrange an Israeli troop withdrawal fr om the Sinai and the Golan Heights after the fighting stopped. By January 18, 1974, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had negotiated an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of the Sinai. The promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was sufficient to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. By May, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights. Independently, the OPEC members agreed to use their leverage over the world price-setting mechanism for oil to stabilize their real incomes by raising world oil prices. The action followed several years of steep income declines after the recent failure of negotiations with major western oil companies earlier in the month. Figure 1: The fluctuation in oil prices through the years (wikipedia.org) Legislative History The mid-to-late -1970’s, a time marked by rapidly rising fuel prices, also marked the beginning of federal energy assistance funding for low income households. The first national program to help low-income households was created in early 1975 to assist families with energy conservation primarily through home weatherization. This assistance was provided through a new Emergency Energy Conservation Program (EECP), enacted as part of the head start, Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act of 1974. The funds were administered by the Community Services Administration (CSA), the successor agency to the Office of Economic Opportunity, which was responsible for many of the programs created as part of the 1964 war on poverty. Beginning in 1977, funds were also made available through the CSA to help families directly pay for fuel. Congress continued to appropriate funds for energy assistance programs through FY 1980, at which point a new program, the Low Income Energy Assi stance Program (LIHEAP) was enacted as part of the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act of 1980. The program was introduced in the Senate as the Home Energy Assistance Act, the bill that would become the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. LIHEAP allocated funds to states in order to help low income households pay their home energy cost (www.neada.org.) The LIHEAP statute provides for two types of program funding: regular funds sometimes referred to as block grant funds - and emergency contingency funds. Regular funds are allotted to states on the basis of the LIHEAP statutory formula, which was enacted as part of the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1984. LEGAL CITATIONS FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ADMINISTERED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HUMAN SERVICES STATTUTE AND DATE OF ENACTMNENT PUBLIC LAW TITLE CITATION FISCAL YEAR AUTHORIZED PROGRAM NAME Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 198011/27/79 96-126 N/A Supplemental Energy Allowance Program for the Low Income Population 1980 Energy Assistance Program (EAP) Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 19804/2/80 96-223 III Home Energy Assistance Act of 1980 1981 Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (OBRA)8/13/81 97-35 XXVI Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 1982-1984 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1984 (HSRA)10/30/84 98-558 VI Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 1985-1986 LIHEAP Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 (HSRA)9/30/86 99-425 V Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 1987-1990 LIHEAP Augustus F. Hawkins Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1990 (HSRA)11/3/90 101-501 VII Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 1991-1994 LIHEAP National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 19936/10/93 103-43 XX Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 1995 LIHEAP Human Services Amendments of 19945/18/94 103-252 III Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 1995-1999 LIHEAP Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 199810/27/98 105-285 III Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 2000-2004 LIHEAP Energy Policy Act of 200508/08/05 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended 2005-2007 LIHEAP Mission Statement The mission of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is to assist low income house- holds, particularly those with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs. Objectives U.S Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Administration for children and Families, Office of Community Services, Division of Energy Assistance LIHEAP is a federally funded block grant program that is implemented at the State, Tribal, and Insular Area levels. Grantees serve from low income households who seek assistance for their home energy bills. LIHEAP has been operating since 1982 and its purpose is: to assist low-income households, particularly those with the lowest incomes, that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs. The program encourages priority be given to those with the â€Å"highest home energy needs†, meaning low income households with a high energy burden and/or the presence of a â€Å"vulnerable† individual in the household, such as a young child, disabled person, or frail older individual. Some forms of assistance available to low income households through state LIHEAP programs include: financial assistance towards a household’s energy bill, emergency assistance if a household’s home energy service is shut off or about to be shut off, and a range of other energy-related services that States may choose to offer, such as weatherization improvements, utility equipment repair and replacement, and budgeting counseling. LIHEAP grantees, i.e., States, Tribes and Insular Area governments, receive block grant funding from the Administration for Children and Families to run their LIHEAP programs. Additionally, LIHEAP grantees may receive separate contingency funds, which are released at the Presidents discretion to supplement needs in areas during times of energy emergencies, such as extreme weather or high fuel prices. State grantees may also apply for additional Federal funds through the optional LIHEAP leveraging program where the federal government provides funds to grantees that leverage their Federal LIHEAP funds with non-Federal energy assistance resources. Each year LIHEAP also awards a limited amount of funds under the REACH program to grantees that provide innovative plans through local community-based agencies to help LIHEAP-eligible households reduce their energy vulnerability and minimize health and safety risks from inadequate home temperatures. (www.acf.hhs.gov) LIHEAP remains dependent on federal appropriations process for its funding, which means the amount granted to the program varies from year to year. Federal funds for LIHEAP have fluctuated from a high of 2.1 billion in FY 1985 to a low of 1.0 billion in FY 1997. In FY 2006, Congress appropriated 2 billion for LIHEAP, however President Bush approved an additional $1 billion ($500 million in regular program funds and 500 million as emergency contingency funds), bringing the total funding up to 3 billion. In June of 2006, the House Appropriations Committee voted to cut LIHEAP funding by one third, returning LIHEAP’s funding to the 2 billion levels. It remains to be seen whether the Senate will accept the proposed cuts. Source: LIHEAP Report to Congress for FY 2000, Table 2 Even with the relatively high funding level for FY 2006, LIHEAP program directors faced an ongoing crisis. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, between 1981 and FY 2000, the number of federally eligible households rose over 49 percent; however, federal fuel assistance funds rose only 22 percent. As a consequence, the percentage of federally eligible households receiving LIHEAP assistance has declined sharply, from 36 percent in 1981 to 20 percent in FY 2000. [1] The funds allotted to states cannot meet growing needs for heating and cooling assistance. The total number of recipient households has declined from 7.1 million in 1981 to 3.9 million in 2000, as states have had to restrict eligibility to the neediest of the needy. Despite the additional $1 billion appropriated for FY 2006, only 15 percent of households that were eligible received LIHEAP assistance. Source: LIHEAP Home Energy Notebook for FY 2001, page 26, figure 3-20 The residential energy burden (including heating, cooling and all other energy uses in the home) for all U.S. households in 2001 was $1,537 per household, or 7.0 percent of income. For LIHEAP recipient households, the respective figures are $1,301 and 17.2 percent, nearly two and one half times the average burden. At this level, many poor and elderly, including households with children, are forced to choose between heating their homes and purchasing food and/or important medications. Increasingly, the energy markets at the wholesale level have been deregulated and behave now like other commodity markets where price volatility exists. But price volatility adversely affects the poor, because they enter the market at the highest times of demand. Low-income consumers generally do not have the disposable income to purchase fuels off-season at lower costs. Thus, while energy prices have remained fairly stable on an annualized basis, seasonal price spikes have had terrible effects on the poor (www.liheap.org.) Clientele/ Special Interest Groups The clientele for LIHEAP are vulnerable individuals in households, such as a young child, disabled persons, or frail older individuals. TANF recipients- The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Low Income recipients Disability recipients LIHEAP has proven to have successful relationships between the government, businesses, gas and electric utilities and community-based social service organizations. The Public Service Commission requires Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO), and Washington Gas to offer discount rates to low-income residential customers. Their special interest groups and networks are listed below: Change Incorporation- offer emergency rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to residents in Ward 1 Columbia Heights Shaw Family Collaborative- strives to build neighborhood-based systems that strengthens and nurtures families and keeps children, youth, and families safe from abuse; provides emergency assistance Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place- provides FEMA emergency rent and utilities in Ward 3 Intergovernmental Relations LIHEAP intermingles with governmental agencies at various levels of government. First, the LIHEAP program is an in sync with their state government and federal government. This program is regional and located in Boston, Dallas, New York, Kansa City, Philadelphia, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle. There are also many federal agencies collaborating with the low income home energy assistance program on a federal and state level. FEDERAL AGENCIES Department of Energy o Energy Hog Energy Efficiency Campaign o Low Income weatherization Program o Monthly Energy Review o Residential natural Gas Customer Choice Programs o Short-Term Energy Outlook Department of Health and Urban Development Federal Emergency Management Control and Prevention Federal Energy Regulatory Commission NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Alliance To Save Energy American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Part II. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT Introduction There are different strategies organizations use to deal with business of managing a program. Moreover, program management is the process of managing several projects, often with the intention of improving an organizations performance based on planning, organizing, staffing, directing, budgeting, controlling, and evaluation. Managing an effective and efficient program means that leadership acknowledges the daily operations and implements order to maintain and organization. Briefly, on December 5, 2009, I meet with Mr. William Vazquez, Chief of the Low Energy Assistance program regarding managing this program. He was very resourceful and disseminated information. This section of the paper entails the structure of the how LIHEAP operates in terms of providing quality services to the public. Planning When planning for a new fiscal year, a detailed plan is submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This plan includes the District of Columbia’s code that designates Administration for Children and Families as the agency to administer the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for the District of Columbia and present information based on Assurance, Certification to the Assurances, Components Operated Under LIHEAP, Use of funds, Alternate Use of Crisis Assistance Funds Eligibility, Outreach Activities, Coordination and Benefit Levels: Equal Treatment and Determination of Benefits. This will provide in depth information for the Office of Budget management to distribute a sufficient amount of dollars in order to service as many individuals in need. The Governor of DC has delegated authority to make the assurances and certifications required as part of the LIHEAP application to the Executive Director of the DC Department of Health and Human Services. The detailed plan for future funding entails planning and administering of funds under the titled amount not to exceed 10 percent of the funds payable to such state under the title for the fiscal year. Also the state will pay from non-federal sources the remaining costs of planning of the program. So in the beginning of the fiscal year , LIHEAP provides such services at the local level, outreach and intake functions for crisis situations and heating and cooling assistance that is administered by additional State and local governmental entities or community-based organizations (such as community action agencies, area agencies on aging and not-for-profit neighborhood-based organizations), and in States where such organizations do not administer functions as of September 30, 1991, preference in awarding grants or contracts for intake services shall be provided to those agencies that administer the low-income weatherization or energy crisis intervention programs. However, LIHEAP plans to provide services that encourage and enable households to reduce their home energy needs and thereby the need for energy assistance, including needs assessments, counseling, and assistance with energy vendors, and report to the Secretary concerning the impact of such activities on the number of households served, the level of direct benefits provided to those households, and the number of households that remain unserved. The federal government strategically plans and set guidelines for the program. In planning for worst case scenarios and state emergencies, management combines different approaches, urban and regional, crisis management and rational Organizing and Leadership LIHEAP use a cross-functional team approach; employees from various departments meet as a team and resolve problems regarding civilians in need of energy assistance. The division maintains organization by using a matrix system. What helps distinguish who is eligible for the program is the guidelines. Cutomers’ information is in a particular database for tracking. Quarterly, data is retrieved from the system to calculate for future statistics and to maintain order. Leadership in the department comes from Keith Anderson, Director of Energy, following the chief of each division. Mr. Anderson gives directions to the chiefs and they implement each task throughout each division. Below is LIHEAP organizational chart. Organizational Structure of LIHEAP and Public Health Service Director of Energy Mr. Keith Anderson Chief of LIHEAP Mr. William Vazquez Chief of SEU Ms. Teresa Lawrence CAC Ward One ________________________________________ COC Ward Two ________________________________________ CAC Ward Three ________________________________________ CAC Ward Four ________________________________________ CAC Ward Five ________________________________________CAC Ward Six ________________________________________CAC Ward Seven ________________________________________ Chief of Weatherization Menda Richardson Intake workers(15) ________________________________________Staff Assistant Mr. Keith Anderson- Has a strong background in Finance and was recently promoted from chief of LIHEAP to the Director of Energy. Mr. William Vazquez- is responsible for proving low-income families with energy assistance o Intake workers- checks the eligibility of customers using a matrix system Mrs. Teresa Lawrence- is responsible for the sustainable energy utility programs Mrs. Menda Richardson- is the responsible for home visits and weatherize those in need Leadership Mr. Anderson, Director of Department of Energy sets realistic standards, encouraging efficient, productive performance, sets direction, organizes, encourages, inspires, and motivates others to do what needs to be done for the benefit of the department and overall institution. Also he is assertive and self confident in a tactful and positive manner in the discharge of his responsibilities. LIHEAP reinvents its organizational chart less frequent then other organization. They have a great over turn rate. Majority of employees remain with this division for a numerous years and some exceed 15 to 20 years; it varies. Staffing and Personnel Employers understand their requirements for hiring new employees. Specifically, LIHEAP want employees to know and understand the responsibilities for the specific job. Next, the position is advertised, current employees are entitled to apply, resumes are screen, candidates are interviewed, and candidates are selected based on the criteria. Majority of LIHEAP staff are civilians. During the hiring process, human resource management and superiors look for specific qualities. Mainly, employees are hired based on competency of computer skills, they are also trained and must sustain a level of sufficient experience they must be competent, and computer literate. In taker’s job description entails using the matrix system that is software on the computer. Potential candidates must rank high in the personality dimension and emotional intelligence section. After employed, management take approaches to motivate and promote growth within the organization. They monitor employee performanc e, appraise mid-year performance, determine the outcomes of performance ratings, reward excellence, determine how to manage poor performance and keep records. Budget, Control, Evaluations The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations began the process of working on the spending guidelines for the federal government for fiscal year 2010, which begins on October 1, 2009. The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies marked up the appropriations bill in its jurisdiction on July 10. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has received a funding level of $5.1 billion, the maximum allocation allowed by law and the same level of funding with which the program operated in FY 2009. The basic grant would receive $4.5 billion, and $590.3 million would be available in emergency contingency funds. The basic grant would be allocated as follows: $3.669 billion would be allocated under the Tier 1 part of the formula and $839.9 million by the Tier 2 and Tier 3 parts. Like FY 2009, the program will continue to allow states to use an eligibility ceiling of 75% of state median income; however, unlike FY 2009, the funds will not be required to be completely distributed 30 days after enactment of the bill. On July 17, the Committee on Appropriations held a markup and adopted the legislation. The legislation, with the LIHEAP provisions included, then passed out of the House on July 24, and was sent to the Senate. In the Senate, the legislation passed out of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee on July 28, and then out of the Appropriations Committee on July 30 with the same LIHEAP provisions as in the House version. The legislation will be taken up by the Senate as a whole in September. Although the House of Representatives succeeded in passing the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill, as well as the other 11 spending bills, before the August recess, the Senate has only passed four bills. Due to the remaining amount of work, it is expected that a stop-gap spending bill will be introduced when Congress returns from the August recess to ensure that the federal government runs passed the September 30, 2009 deadline. It is unsure as to how long an initial Continuing Resolution will last, or how many will be required. There is also a possibility of an omnibus spending bill if the Senate is unable to complete its work or if there are complications in any conferences that may need to be held between the two chambers of Congress on any of the bills. A breakout chart provided by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) that states how the grant money would be distributed to the states based on the House legislation can be found at neada.org/appropriations/2009-08-05-FY10AppropriationStatus.pdf. FY 2009 was the first year that the LIHEAP program was funded at its full appropriations level. Due to the level of allocated funds, LIHEAP was not a beneficiary of the stimulus bill at the beginning of the year. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act did not include additional funds for LIHEAP; instead, Congress decided that this program would be best served through the traditional appropriations process. The program is evaluated by contractors and subordinates are evaluated quarterly and yearly on performance. Human resources developed a new computerized system especially for evaluations. The E system measure the performance of intake processes. After assuring that performance elements and standards are understandable and fair employees and supervisors will sign the Position Description and Performance Plan Certification of the PMR. The approving supervisor, who is generally a level above the immediate supervisor, signs stating that the Position Description and Performance is accurate. Employees are monitored in a variety of ways by holding periodic meetings to be updated on employee progress. Within 30 days of the mid-point of the performance cycle, the supervisor must initial a formal, face-to face progress review with each employee. Conclusion The Low Energy Assistance Program is available is assist eligible low-income families with many barriers due to the increase in energy prices and there are executing the policy proficiently. Many citizens are being helped with expensive Pepco and Washington Gas utility bills. Now that many legislative acts have been passed, citizens that are mobile inclined and low-income recipients, some forms of assistance will remain available. Throughout each state, LIHEAP programs will include: financial assistance towards a household’s energy bill, emergency assistance if a household’s home energy service is shut off or about to be shut off and a range of other energy-related services that states may choose to offer, such as weatherization improvements, utility equipment repair and replacement, and budgeting counseling. Work Cited 1973 Oil Embargo. www.en.wikipedia.org. Http://www.wikimediafoundation.org/, 15 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. . Wolfe, Mark. LIHEAP Brief Issue. National Energy Assistance Directors Association, Nov. 2007. Web. Oct. 2009. . LIHEAP Summary. www.ach.hhs.gov. Low Energy Assistance Program, 27 Feb. 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. . 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Rhetorical Analysis of the Cinema I Shall Fight No More Forever Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of the Cinema I Shall Fight No More Forever - Essay Example Chief Joseph fudged and avoided his chasers for 90 days after travelling a very long errand until he eventually laid down his arm to General Nelson Miles following the total slaughter of his tribe from a five-day clash. After a long struggle, Chief Joseph decides to surrender and give a surrender speech. This surrender speech is extremely compelling, in spite of its shortness. With just a few number of words used, Chief Joseph was able to express the complete essence of a loss as likewise conveyed by the many Native peoples moved and dislocated from their abodes. He expresses ethos by the use of his modest reputation as one of the greatest leaders at the time; he epitomizes a man that is esteemed by the Native peoples. Chief Joseph's submission to General Miles signifies that incredible ability of words in demanding to ethos, pathos, and logos, his capability to enclose emotion in a group, and the correct identification of reason and audience. Chief Joseph causes the speech to become more compelling by recognizing all the varying age categories, making the in predicament influence every member of the tribe and making it a subject that menaces Native Americans all over the place. This ethos of the tribe as well as the arrangement and influence of a family likewise plays a significant part in the inclusion of pathos in his surrender speech. The movie appeals to the audience and encourages the youth to keep fighting and declaring the old people dead. Chief Joseph reminds his tribesmen that their interests and values must be protected especially for their native land. Chief Joseph uses these appeals in order to put more strength and power to his speech despite the brevity of time. He also employs descriptions of death of the other leaders to improve the essence of defeat in that these societies have lost the governance that managed every facet of their lives. Similarly, Chief Joseph utilizes the cold and deficiency of important ingredients to improve compassion to his tribe. The immobilizing cold and the dearth of blankets suggest the idea of seclusion and absence of energy and enthusiasm. The film employs various forms of language ranging from angry, sad, and confrontational. The language used is confrontational especially when Chief Joseph calls the youth to keep fighting for their interests. The language used is also sad. The unavoidable sense of defeat and misdirection is a very engulfing sensation that creates a sad language in the speech. The speech acknowledges the long struggle and the chase with people left homeless and with hunger. The sad language is still present in the film especially when Chief Joseph realizes that he has lost most of his tribesmen in the battle. The dialogue between the speaker and the audience is both logic and real. It appeals to the target audience and the feedback indicates that the message is reaching the intended audience. For example, Chief Joseph admits that he is tired and his heart is sick. Considerin g the shortness of the speech at 157 words in total, it definitely suggests the fact that he was already weary and exhausted. The phrase indicates the dialogue between the speaker and the audience. The narrator of the film is not biased in any form. The narrator presents both sides of the story and creating a balance that appeals to audience. The narrator appeals to the audience by creating suspense. The narrator has no hidden agenda that is likely to distract the audience and prevent them

Photosynthesis deep within ocean waters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Photosynthesis deep within ocean waters - Essay Example These little organisms find a way to live in such places by adjusting accordingly and are highly resistant. The existence of microbial life in deep sea was discovered ages ago. They have been sorted out into different categories depending upon their properties. The sea bed is a diverse environment which is rich in nutrients. The organic material settles down as sediments at the bottom which comes from dead plants and animals and it is a source of energy for microbial life. Therefore in these sites most particularly the sea floor where nutrients are present diverse microbial communities exists. There are micro organisms which can survive even in energy depleted conditions that is when no or limited amount of nutrients are present. Condition in deep sea is very critical as energy is most depleted there. It is difficult to understand how micro organisms survive in these conditions. (Feast and famine microbial life in the deep sea bed, 1 October 2007). Micro organisms can live in places where there is no light and an example of such place is deep sea. Sunlight cannot penetrate deep into the sea and the existence of microbial life in the dark zone of sea floor is yet to be understood. Researchers have dedicated their studies to explore life in the darkness of deep sea. Recent discovery of microbial communities in deep sea hot spring vents gives the idea that the earliest existence of life might have occurred in the deep sea in the absence of light. Before, this discovery it was assumed that light is necessary to survive as it is the primary source of energy but, now it is known that life that exists in deep sea vents survive on thermal and chemical energy provided by the vent which means that light is not necessary for survival. (Deep sea vent communities: Did life originate in the abyss?) Scientific studies reveals how organisms manage to survive in hydrothermal vents. When cold sea water mixes with the heat of hydrothermal vents it leads to the formation of organi c compounds which is a source of nutrient for the organisms. The presence of vents in oceans also helps in maintaining the temperature and chemical balance of oceans and is a source of many renewable resources. Hydrothermal circulation occurs when sea water penetrates deep into the ocean where it gets heated and then reacts with rocks and rises to the sea floor. This hydrothermal circulation plays an important role in removing and adding up different compounds and in this way maintains the composition of sea water. Hydrothermal circulation also helps in recycling the water of oceans through hydrothermal vents. (Deep sea vent communities: Did life originate in the abyss?) The environment of hydrothermal vents is harsh for survival of life. The pitch darkness of vents, poisonous gases, presence of heavy metals, extreme acidity and enormous pressure makes the existence of life almost impossible. Yet, microbial communities exist at hydrothermal vents. In deep sea there is no light and w hen there is no light the presence of solar energy is out of question. All forms of light require light directly or indirectly as a source of energy but, life in deep sea is light independent. In this case organisms use geothermal energy as their energy source to carry out their life sustaining processes. Such organisms use inorganic chemicals derived from rocks and from sea water where nutrient is abundantly available in soluble form and utilize CO2 as their sole source of carbon. (Jean, Windsor, Between a rock and a hard place,

Classifying Projects Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Cognitive Approaches to Language and Grammar

Cognitive Approaches to Language and Grammar 1. Introduction of This Section Cognitive grammar is a cognitive approach to language developed by Ronald Langacker, which considers the basic units of language to be symbols or conventional pairings of a semantic structure with a phonological label. Grammar consists of constraints on how these units can be combined to generate larger phrases which are also a pairing of semantics and phonology. The semantic aspects are modeled as image schemas rather than propositions, and because of the tight binding with the label, each can invoke the other. Cognitive Grammar belongs to the wider movement known as cognitive linguistics, which in turn is part of the functional tradition. Besides cognitive grammar, important strands of cognitive linguistics include construction grammar, metaphor theory, the study of blends and mental spaces, and various efforts to develop a conceptualist semantics. Among other major components of functionalism are discourse-pragmatic analyses, the study of grammaticalization, and universal-typological investigation via crosslinguistic surveys. Naturally, terms like cognitive linguistics and functionalism are fluid in reference and subsume a diverse array of views. There is at best a broad compatibility of outlook among the scholars concerned, certainly not theoretical uniformity. Cognitive Linguistics grew out of the work of a number of researchers active in the 1970s who were interested in the relation of language and mind, and who did not follow the prevailing tendency to explain linguistic patterns by means of appeals to structural properties internal to and specific to language. Rather than attempting to segregate syntax from the rest of language in a syntactic component governed by a set of principles and elements specific to that component. The principal focus of functional linguistics is on explanatory principles that derive from language as a communicative system, whether or not these directly relate to the structure of the mind. Functional linguistics developed into discourse-functional linguistics and functional-typological linguistics, with slightly different foci, but broadly similar in aims to cognitive linguistics. Language is traditionally considered to open the gate into the world around us. However, language is viewed by cognitive linguistics as the product of cognition as well as a means of cognition, a means that helps reveal human beings mental world and secrets of cognitive processes. Language structure is the product of our interaction with the world around us. The way we build discourses and develop linguistic categories can immediately be derived from the way we experience our environment and use that experience in speciesspecific communication (Heine, 1997) . As its name implies, Cognitive Grammar is first and foremost a theory of grammar. Rather surprising, therefore, are statements to the effect that Langacker doesnt believe in grammar- everything is semantics. Rest assured that cognitive grammar neither threatens nor denies the existence of grammar. Grammar exists. The issue is rather the natureof grammar and its relation to other dimensions of linguistic structure. 1.1. What is Cognitive Grammar? Cognitive Grammar belongs to the wider movement known as cognitive linguistics, which in turn is part of the functional tradition. Besides Cognitive Grammar, important strands of cognitive linguistics include construction grammar, metaphor theory, the study of blends and mental spaces, and various efforts to develop a conceptualist semantics. Naturally, terms like cognitive linguistics and functionalism are fluid in reference and subsume a diverse array of views (Langacker, 2008). 1.2. What is about Cognitive Grammar in general? Language is part of cognition and that linguistic investigation contributes to understanding the human mind-that much is shared by many approaches, both formal and functional. Within functionalism, cognitive linguistics stands out by emphasizing the semiological function of language. It fully acknowledges the grounding of language in social interaction, but insists that even its interactive function is critically dependent on conceptualization. In this part, Ive considered cognitive grammar as an approach to explain the phenomena of languages. As for cognitive grammar in particular, care is taken to invoke only well-established or easily demonstrated mental abilities that are not exclusive to language. We are able, for example, to focus and shift attention, to track a moving object, to form and manipulate images, to compare two experiences, to establish correspondences, to combine simple elements into complex structures, to view a scene from different perspectives, to conceptualize a situation at varying levels of abstraction, and so on. Can general abilities like these fully account for the acquisition and the universal properties of language? Or are specifi c blueprints for language wired in and genetically transmitted? Cognitive Grammar does not prejudge this issue. We are evidently born to speak, so it is not precluded that language might emerge owing to substantial innate specification peculiar to it. But if our genetic endowment does make special provisions for language, they are likely to reside in adaptations of mo re basic cognitive phenomena, rather than being separate and sui generis. They would be analogous in this respect to the physical organs of speech. 2. Some reasons for selecting cognitive grammar to explain the phenomena of languages 2.1. Cognitive Grammar and Cognitive Linguistics 2.1.1. What is Cognitive linguistics? Cognitive Linguistics is a new approach to the study of language which views linguistic knowledge as part of general cognition and thinking; linguistic behaviour is not separated from other general cognitive abilities which allow mental processes of reasoning, memory, attention or learning, but understood as an integral part of it. 2.1.2. The relationship between Cognitive Grammar and Cognitive Linguistics Idea from Cognitive Grammar now widely held in Cognitive linguistics. And Cognitive linguistics, provide good evidence that doing linguistics from a cognitive perspective leads to rich insights into many linguistics phenomena, ranging from studies in phonology, to those in semantics pragmatics, and psychological aspects of language use. In addition, language and culture are inseparable. Language is part of a certain culture, therefore acquiring a language, being a member of a language community, inevitably means absorbing certain cultural aspects of that community. Culture and the lifestyle of the community where one grows up influence their habits and world views and it was these factors that have decided awareness of the language of each individual, from which formed the phenomena of languages. Cognitive Linguistics, recognizing the mutual influence between cognition and language, naturally accords these crucial aspects of human life, and thereby cognition, their share of reciprocity with language. According toBielack and Pawlak (2013) suggested that in cognitive linguistics and cognitive grammar the relationship between language and cognition is considered to be dialectic; not only does human cognitive functioning tell us something about the language faculty, but also our insight into language provides important clues to understanding cognitive processes. Although this claim is reminiscent of the formalist understanding of the term cognitive as used with reference to language study, in cognitive linguistics this term is, as has just been explained by referring to the formative linguistic role of cognitive processes, understood much more broadly. In brief, cognitive grammar represents a specific practical and theoretical approach to language within the broader discipline of cognitive linguistics. Cognitive linguists view all forms of language as rooted in the same basic cognitive mechanisms involved in other areas of experience in our wider encounters with the world. For cognitive linguists, language is embodied; it is grounded in our physical, bodily experiences as human beings. Furthermore, this embodied experience has an important social and cultural dimension. Cognitive linguists recognise the specific uses to which language is put within a sociological context, and their role in shaping the linguistic system. 2.2. The status of linguistic cognition For a cognitive linguist, linguistic cognition simply is cognition; it is an inextricable phenomenon of overall human cognition. Linguistic cognition has no special or separate status apart from any other cognition. This means that we expect patterns of cognition observed by psychologists, neurobiologists and the like to be reflected in language. Furthermore, the various phenomena of language are not cognitively distinct one from another. Although it is often useful and convenient for linguists to talk about various levels or modules of language, these distinctions are perceived by cognitive linguists to be somewhat artificial. The truth is that all the parts of language are in constant communication, and indeed are really not parts at all; they are a unified phenomenon operating in unison with the greater phenomena of general consciousness and cognition. Linguists have frequently observed that the borders between traditional linguistic phenomena can be crossed. Phonology, for exampl e, can be affected by morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics; and syntax has likewise been shown to be vulnerable to the workings of phonology, semantics, and pragmatics. The fact that these items are not pristinely discrete is perhaps not news, but for a cognitive linguist this type of evidence is expected, pursued, and focused on rather than being relegated to the status of something marginal and unimportant. 2.3. The status of meaning All the various phenomena of language are interwoven with each other as well as with all of cognition because they are all motivated by the same force: the drive to make sense of our world. Making sense of what we experience entails not just understanding, but an ability to express that understanding, and indeed these two projects inform each other: our experience is formative to expression, but it is also the case that our expressive resources have some influence on how we perceive our experiences. Of course language does most of the heavy lifting (and the finer handiwork) in this job of expression that is so important to cognition. All phenomena of language are mobilized for this task, and all are therefore driven by the need to express meaning. Meaning underwrites the existence of all linguistic units and phenomena, none of which are semantically empty. Meaning is therefore not tidily contained in the lexicon, but ranges all through the linguistic spectrum, because meaning is the very energy that propels the motor of language. Grammar is an abstract meaning structure that interacts with the more concrete meanings of lexicon. Grammar and lexicon are not two discrete types of meaning, but rather the extreme ends of a spectrum of meaning containing transitional or hybrid types (functor words like prepositions and conjunctions are examples of hybrids that carry both lexical and grammatical semantic freight). From the supra- and segmental features of phonology through morphology, syntax, and discourse pragmatics, all of language shares the task of expressing meaning. This includes even idioms and dead metaphors, which remain motivated within the system of a given language, and whose motivation can be made explicit. 2.4. The conceptualist view of meaning From a cognitive linguistic perspective, the answer is evident: meanings are in the minds of the speakers who produce and understand the expressions. It is hard to imagine where else they might be. A conceptualist view of meaning is not as self-evident as it might first seem and has to be properly interpreted. The platonicview treats language as an abstract, disembodied entity that cannot be localized. Like the objects and laws of mathematics (e.g. the geometric ideal of a circle), linguistic meanings are seen as transcendent, existing independently of minds and human endeavor. And more reasonable is the interactivealternative, which does take people into account but claims that an individual mind is not the right place to look for meanings. Instead, meanings are seen as emerging dynamically in discourse and social interaction. Rather than being fixed and predetermined, they are actively negotiated by interlocutors on the basis of the physical, linguistic, social, and cultural contex t. Meaningis not localized but distributed, aspects of it inhering in the speech community, in the pragmatic circumstances of the speech event, and in the surrounding world. 2.5. Foundation of meanings A considerable progress is that meanings are being made in cognitive linguistics,in the broader context of cognitive science. Conceptualization resides in cognitive processing. Having a certain mental experience resides in the occurrence of a certain kind of neurological activity. Cognitive grammar embodies a coherent and plausible view of conceptualization, allowing a principled basis for characterizing many facets of semantic and grammatical structure. Meaning is equated with conceptualization. Linguistic semantics must therefore attempt the structural analysis and explicit description of abstract entities like thoughts and concepts. The term conceptualization is interpreted quite broadly: it encompasses novel conceptions as well as fixed concepts; sensory, kinesthetic, and emotive experience; recognition of the immediate context (social, physical, and linguistic); and so on. Because conceptualization resides in cognitive processing, our ultimate objective must be to characterize the types of cognitive events whose occurrence constitutes a given mental experience. Cognitive semantics has focused on the former, which is obviously more accessible and amenable to investigation via linguistic evidence. Cognitive semantics claims that meaning is based on mental imagery and conceptualizations of reality which do not objectively correspond to it but reflect a characteristic human way of understanding. Thus, one of the basic axioms of cognitive semantics is that linguistic meaning originates in the human interpretation of reality. It is part of the cognitive linguistics movement. Semantics is the study of linguistic meaning. Cognitive semantics holds that language is part of a more general human cognitive ability, and can therefore only describe the world as people conceive it.It is implicit that there is some difference between this conceptual world and the real world. An imaginative phenomena prove essential to conceptualization and linguistic meaning. A primary means of enhancing and even constructing our mental world is metaphor, where basic organizational features of one conceptual domain usually more directly grounded in bodily experience are projected onto another. In (4), aspects of the source domain, pertaining to the manipulation of physical objects, are projected metaphorically onto the target domainof understanding and communicating ideas. (Riemer, 1972) (4) (a) I couldnt grasp what she was saying. (b) We were tossing some ideas around. (c) The message went right over his head. (d) He didnt catch my drift. A linguistically appropriate characterization of meaning should accommodate such differences. Cognitive grammar defines the meaning of a composite expression as including not only the semantic structure that represents its composite sense, but also its compositional path: the hierarchy of semantic structures reflecting its progressive assembly from the meanings of component expressions. For example, that the composite semantic values of pork and pig meat are identical. As an unanalyzable morpheme, pork symbolizes this notion directly, so its compositional path consists of the single semantic structure [PORK]. However pig meat is analyzable, that is, speakers recognize the semantic contribution of its component morphemes. The meaning of pig meut therefore incorporates not only the composite structure [PORK], but also the individually symbolized components [PIG] and [MEAT] together with the relationship that each of them bears to the composite value. The two expressions arrive at the s ame composite value through different compositional paths (a degenerate path in the case of pork), with the consequence that they differ in meaning. 2.6. Metaphor and metonymy and semantic domains in cognitive grammar The example discussed in this section returns to an issue raised earlier (section 2) and demonstrates that sameness versus difference of semantic domain should not be taken as the basis on which to distinguish metaphors from metonymies. Slap in (17) can be paraphrased as make move by slapping, which reveals its nature as a metonymic extension from the verbs basic meaning to the result of the verbal action: (Raymond W. Gibbs Steen, 1997) (17) Louise is coming to-night to see me slap the masked fellow to the dust. (OED slap 1b. vt. 1889 drive back, beat down, knock to the ground, etc. with a slap.) Slap here is analyzed as x make y move by slapping, but it is unlikely that a slap, or even a series of slaps, in the sense of a blow, esp. one given with the open hand, or with something having a flat surface (OED slap sb.) would be enough to achieve this result: in order to knock someone to the ground a more forceful type of P/I with a more rigid impactor than the hand, which is jointed and thus weakened at the wrist, would be necessary (except in the case of an exceptionally strong agent and an exceptionally weak patient). There is thus a mismatch between the inherent semantics of the verb slap and the context in which it appears. One way to describe this situation would be as understatement: slap in (17) plays down the effort needed to overcome the opponent. I propose that the understating effect of (17) derives from its nature as a metaphorical application of the initial metonymic extension. The physical actions needed to bring down the masked fellow presumably a whole repertoi re of aggressive moves taking place in the context of a struggle are represented as equivalent to a different class of physical actions, slapping. The effect of this metaphor is to treat the metaphorical target (the actions that do in fact take place) in a way that makes it seem minor and inconsequential. The present meaning of slap can therefore be derived through a two-step process. First, slap is extended metonymically from its root meaning to the meaning make move by slapping; secondly, this newly created meaning is applied in a metaphorical fashion to a situation which does not actually involve any slapping, but which is imagined as doing so in order to conceive of the event in a certain perspective (i.e. as unstrenuous and trivial). The fact that both the action really needed to down the opponent and the action of slapping are in the same general semantic domain of contact through impact or some such is not relevant and certainly does not make (17) an example of metonymy, as it would for those analysts who define m etonymy as intra-domain meaning extension. (17) counts as a metaphor (a metaphorical application of the initial metonymic extension to make move by slapping) because it uses one class of events as a conceptual model for another class, thereby imposing a particular understanding of the second class. The fact that both target and vehicle of the metaphor share the same general semantic domain issues not in a classification of the figure as metonymic, but simply as an understatement. Metaphor is an interesting linguistic phenomenon which has attracted the attention of many linguists. Metaphor has traditionally been viewed as one of the figures of speech, a rhetorical device, or a stylistic device used in literature to achieve an aesthetic effect. Metaphor in the light of cognitive linguistics is not only used in poems and prose but also in daily life language. In short, metaphor in cognitive linguistics is considered not merely a means of communication but also a means of cognition, reflecting the mechanism by which people understand and explain about the real world. In short, the meaningfulness of grammar becomes apparent only with an appropriate view of linguistic meaning. In cognitive semantics, meaning is identified as the conceptualization associated with linguistic expressions. This may seem obvious, but in fact it runs counter to standard doctrine. A conceptual view of meaning is usually rejected either as being insular entailing isolation from the world as well as from other minds or else as being nonempirical and unscientific. These objections are unfounded. Though it is a mental phenomenon, conceptualization is grounded in physical reality: it consists in activity of the brain, which functions as an integral part of the body, which functions as an integral part of the world. Linguistic meanings are also grounded in social interaction, being negotiated by interlocutors based on mutual assessment of their knowledge, thoughts, and intentions. As a target of analysis, conceptualization is elusive and challenging, but it is not mysterious or beyond the scope of scientific inquiry. Cognitive semantics provides an array of tools allowing precise, explicit descriptions for essential aspects of conceptual structure. These descriptions are based on linguistic evidence and potentially subject to empirical verification. Analyzing language from this perspective leads to remarkable conclusions about linguistic meaning and human cognition. Remarkable, first, is the extent to which an expressions meaning depends on factors other than the situation described. On the one hand, it presupposes an elaborate conceptual substrate, including such matters as background knowledge and apprehension of the physical, social, and linguistic context. On the other hand, an expression imposes a particular construal, reflecting just one of the countless ways of conceiving and portraying the situation in question. Also remarkable is the extent to which imaginative abilities come into play. Phenomena like metaphor (e.g. vacant star) and reference to virtual entities (e.g. any cat) are pervasive, even in prosaic discussions of actual circumstances. Finally, these phenomena exemplify the diverse array of mental constructions that help us deal with and in large measure constitute the world we live in and talk about. It is a world of extraordinary richness, extending far beyond the physical reality it is grounded in. Conceptual semantic description is thus a major source of insight about our mental world and its construction. Grammatical meanings prove especially revealing in this respect. Since they tend to be abstract, their essential import residing in construal, they offer a direct avenue of approach to this fundamental aspect of semantic organization. Perhaps surprisingly given its stereotype as being dry, dull, and purely formal grammar relies extensively on imaginative phenomena and mental constructions. Also, the historical evolution of grammatical elements yields important clues about the meanings of their lexical sources and semantic structure more generally. The picture that emerges belies the prevailing view of grammar as an autonomous formal system. Not only is it meaningful, it also refl ects our basic experience of moving, perceiving, and acting on the world. At the core of grammatical meanings are mental operations inherent in these elemental components of moment-to-moment living. When properly analyzed, therefore, grammar has much to tell us about both meaning and cognition. It fully acknowledges the grounding of language in social interaction, but insists that even its interactive function is critically dependent on conceptualization. Compared with formal approaches, cognitive linguistics stands out by resisting the imposition of boundaries between language and other psychological phenomena. 3. Conclusion In a nutshell, as their names suggest , cognitive linguistics and Cognitive Grammar view language as an integral part of cognition. Conceptualization is seen (without inconsistency) as being both physically grounded and pervasively imaginative, both individual and fundamentally social. Being conceptual in nature, linguistic meaning shares these properties. It fully acknowledges the grounding of language in social interaction, but insists that even its interactive function is critically dependent on conceptualization. Compared with formal approaches, cognitive linguistics stands out by resisting the imposition of boundaries between language and other psychological phenomena. Grammatical meanings are schematic. At the extreme, they are nothing more than cognitive abilities applicable to any content. The more schematic these meanings are, the harder it is to study them, but also the more rewarding. Grammatical analysis proves, in fact, to be an essential tool for conceptual analysis. In grammar, which abstracts away from the details of particular expressions, we see more clearly the mental operations immanent in their conceptual content. These often amount to simulations of basic aspects of everyday experience: processing activity inherent in conceptual archetypes is disengaged from them and extended to a broad range of other circumstances. In this respect, grammar reflects an essential feature of human cognition. References Bielack, J., Pawlak, M. (2013). Applying Cognitive Grammar in the Foreign Language Classroom. Heine, B. (1997). Cognitive Foundations of Grammar. Langacker, R. W. (2008). Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Raymond W. Gibbs, J., Steen, G. J. (1997). Metaphor in Cognitive Linguistics. Riemer, N. (1972). Cognitive Linguistics Research: The Semantics of Polysemy

Comparing Peter Tosh and Malcolm X :: Civil Rights Racism Malcolm X Peter Tosh Essays

Comparing Peter Tosh and Malcolm X Introduction: Who Were These Men? Maya Angelou, a contemporary author and poet, once asserted,"No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place."It is this quote that serves as the underlying principle in an effort to demonstrate the commonalities that tie Peter Tosh and Malcolm X together by a similar history of slavery. No other quote is more fitting to exemplify how Peter Tosh and Malcolm X came to understand themselves and their relation to the rest of mankind. Maya Angelou's statement epitomized their goals, personalities, and the sentiment that Peter Tosh and Malcolm X tried to instill in all oppressed people. At the very least, their legacies have reminded all persecuted people to stand up, fight, and let the glory of each individual shine. This was their message. Both of these individuals knew exactly what they were creating through their respective songs, speeches, and interviews: severe discomfort for"Babylon", or tile oppressive white establishment."Babylon,"to Peter, referred to the corrupt Western society that exploited the rest of the world through hundreds of years of capitalism and imperialism (/ / 3mill.bitshop.com/ MiddlePassage / origins.htm). Malcolm held the same position (Malcolm X and Haley, 1964). For their efforts in trying to revolutionize the black man's position in this world, these martyrs lived with harassment, violence, and an"unnatural mystic"of eminent death. But this did not deter the conscience of these soldiers of justice. Malcolm X even went so far as to blatantly state:"It is time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood. That's the only thing that can save this country." Though Malcolm in this statement referred to saving his"country,"it soon became apparent that he was also referring to the entire world. For Peter Tosh and Malcolm X, the means to finding a better place for blacks could never come from one country. If significant change was to result, all black people had to unite, regardless of nationality or religion. The only concern for these men was to attain a better dominion for blacks. Both individuals felt this cause was worth more than their lives. With these beliefs in hand and heart, they devoted their existence to one purpose: ending the hypocrisy where all black men and women fell prey to a"slavish mentality." The black man's reasoning needed to be slaughtered if he ever was to be considered an equal.

A Hmong Child, Her Doctors and American Tragedy Essay

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America is known for having a culturally diverse society. The Hmong Group is among the population of the said society. In the story entitled â€Å"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down†, which was written by Anne Fadiman, the main character came from the said ethnic group. The Hmong ethnic tribe is known for their knowledge and practice of traditional and primitive medical processes in healing their sick members. Based upon their beliefs of spirits, they usually create their medical observations on the patients and later on apply the practices they know are needed for the patient’s recovery. The question is that â€Å"since their traditional practices have been proven effective for many members of their group for the past years of their history, does it guarantee that their ways of healing the patients that they treat are better than that of medical processes? Is there any possibility that the medical practices of the modern medicine be integrated with the cultural ways of the ethnic groups and still gain better results on the patient’s recovery later on? How effective could the said kind of medical processes be when it comes to actual application? These questions with regards to culture and its effect and influence towards medication would be the main topic of this paper and the subject of the discussions that would follow. About The Case   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story, as written by Anne Fadiman involves a young child who is afflicted with a serious illness. The girl’s name is Lia, a preschooler who has been experiencing developmental delay since she was in her younger years. As she grew up, she developed more serious health problems such as major seizures every now and then accompanied by several series of severe convulsions and cerebral Anoxia. Because of the said situation, the young child was profoundly impaired and physically incapable of doing the normal things that a young child naturally does. She was not playful and she had fewer chances when she used to react on the situations that are happening around her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The parents of Lia, who were traditional Hmongs, believe in their cultural medication. Hence, whenever she passes out, or looses her consciousness, they claim that it is simply because she has ‘lost her soul’ and thus needs to  Ã‚   receive ritual practices to be able to regain her own self. For several times of having seizures, the ethnic elder of their tribe has tried reviving the young girl through ceremonial ministries and application of herbal medicines which were prayed over for her benefit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon knowing this, the medical experts who used to handle Lia’s case before she went home believed that the further developments of her illness towards becoming worse was caused by the neglect of her parents in giving her anti-convulsant medications. The said anti-convulsants are known to be strong and really affect the system of the child as it tries to ‘repair’ the damaged brain tissues of the child every time she looses her consciousness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Later on, the medical practitioners who were supposed to both evaluate and take charge of Lia’s health situation was moved to get the child from her parents and bring her to a medical center where they believed she could be more closely observed and cured as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the medical processes used by the said practitioners were not as successful as they believed it would be. As for a fact, the terminality of the case of Lia even pushed to a worst condition until her parents were advised to take her back home, especially when they started to believe that her case could not be met anymore and that there is only a little time left before she dies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon coming home, the tribe or the ethnic group of Lia performed several rituals again which they strongly believed would help her recover. As a result [as the tribe members claim] is that the young girl did not die. However, she was brain dead. This means that although she still breaths, her brain does not function anymore making the other systems of her body useless as of the said moment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowing the situation behind Lia’s case, a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) Protocol shall be created regarding her case. Hence, by doing so, the author of this paper hopes to help in turning the situation around by answering the question â€Å"What could have been done that could have contributed better on the progress of the healing process of Lia?† The DSM Protocol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The process of pre-medication and therapeutical approach towards the illness shall be applied on the DSM protocol that follows: Interview The interview shall be performed for the sake of creating a basis for the creation of the medical protocol that needs to be applied for cases such as that of Lia. The interview then would be addressed to several parties that are involved in the direct healing practice that needs to be applied for the patient. The said interview is subdivided into three major sections. Interview with the Parents of the Patient Since they are the ones who regularly attend to the patient and are also the ones who are directly affected by the illness of the child, it would be best to know how they are able to give the child’s needs amidst her health situation. It would also help if they would be asked on what kind of ‘home nurses’ they are to be able to meet the medical requirements of their child’s health status. The interview shall help the psychology experts to understand the environment of the child and thus identify what factors [may include emotional and social] affects the healing development of the patient. Interview with the Physician The Physician’s records as well as his own opinion towards the health situations of the patient are among the important sectors of this research. To be able to know the medical observations that they have done towards the patient’s situation, the development of the therapeutic process would be more practical and medically authorized. Interview with the Elders of the Ethnic Group An interview with the elders or the chief leaders of the ethnic group that the patient is joined with would help the person analyzing the situation to gain some knowledge about the basic cultural background of the patient and how the said traditional practices could be incorporated into the medical practice that would be applied to then patient afterwards. Tests The tests would involve oral, practical and medical tests: Oral tests This would be done with the patient [Lia]. This test would measure the development of the child with regards to the mental reasoning that she is able to use as she is asked some questions. [the author of this paper preempts that the patient is still at the first stage of her illness when she is still having slight seizures pertaining to the developing status of her illness. Practical tests This test involves both the parents and the child. They would be asked on how they are able to meet the challenges of the situation together. It should also include the ways by which they are able to treat their child during situations wherein their child experiences seizure and other health problems relayed to it. [It could be an inquiry on what they value better, the medical ways of healing their child or the traditional ways of dealing with the said health problem] Medical Tests The medical tests are almost the same as that of the interview with the physician attending to Lia’s case. Only this time, it would be based from the hard copy of the medical tests that have been made to identify the child’s sickness. Observation The observation on the patient would be based on both the written output of the interviews and tests that were done on the earlier part of the protocol, as well as with the actual observation of the situation of the patient during regular days. Life Records This mainly involves the observation and analysis of the life of the child as an infant and how she was taken care of by her parents. It would also be a measure on how the tribe tried to help in the child’s recovery through the application f traditional practices and cultural beliefs. This would allow the one working on the analysis to understand the possible sources of the aggravating health situation of the child. Assessment This process involves a more in depth observation of the situation. Assessment of the results that were collected would be incorporated within the healing [therapeutic] processes of medicating the patient. Clinical Inference After all the processes are done, it could be expected that the clinical application of the healing process could already be done.   The pre-trial and the actual application would help the patient, the relatives and the physicians involved in the case understand the importance of working together to be able to complete the healing process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the application of the said protocol comprising of six major processes, it could be noticed that the author of this paper aims to integrate some of the cultural practices within the healing process not only to avoid ethical issues and cultural conflicts in the progress of the healing the patient but also to evaluate ways buy which some of the cultural practices of the said ethnic group could help in the process of healing. Hmong Cultural Sensitivities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are three major ways by which the Hmongs treat their patients. Most often, they tend to base this from their own diagnosis of the situation. As for Lia’s case, they believed that every time she passes out or losses her consciousness, she looses her soul. Thus they have to apply the three major practices to be able to regain her back. The three practices are as follows: Herbal Medicine application (A leaf that has been prayed over is applied on Lia’s body to regain her strength) Ceremonial Ministrations of a traditional practitioner (involves the prayers ad some group rituals that the ethnic tribe does to call the spirit of Lia back to her body) Sacrificing of Animals (Most often that not, this rituals are focused towards the gods of the tribes as a way by which they ask for the guidance of their gods for assistance in healing the sick member of the group) With the three major traditional ways that the Hmongs use, it could be noticed that the most important factor there is that has strong possibilities of being incorporated in a medical process is the use of herbal medicine. The reason behind this shall be tackled in the paragraphs to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ON HERBAL MEDICATION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although man’s use of synthetic drugs is a modern medical development, plant extracts have been used as cures for common ills for thousands of years. Early Assyrian records describe the use of the common anemone to alleviate pain. And Egyptian medical papyri from the time of the Pharaohs reveal a widespread use of medicinal plants. (Duke, 54) The World Health Organization has recorded the use of about 20,000 medicinal plants worldwide. In Britain alone an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 tons of herbs are used annually as ingredients in some 5,500 different herbal products, and in the United States, it has been reckoned that over half of all doctors’ prescriptions are for medicines derived from plants. With as many as 250,000 known species of plants in the world, each possessing a potentially unique chemistry, scientists constantly look for clues to find useful medicines (Mowrey, 87). One of the obvious ways is to study how people treat ailments using plants growing in their locality. The discovery of cocaine started with the observation that chewing coca leaves deadened hunger pangs and eased fatigue. By isolating and modifying the structure of the cocaine molecule, chemists produced a synthetic derivative for use as a local anesthetic. Much valuable information on the use of plants is still filed away in botanical collections. Scientists who spent over four years examining 2.5 million specimens in the Gray Herbarium and Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University were able to pinpoint more than 5,000 plant species previously overlooked as potential sources of medicines. (Duke, 54) Another line of inquiry compares the chemical contents of plants. If one species contains useful compounds, related species may also be valuable. When work on a north Australian tree, the Moreton Bay chestnut, isolated castanospermine, a poison displaying antiviral activity, botanists searching for related trees suggested looking at the South American Alexa. (Chevallier, 63) It could be noted that the use of herbal medicines could out do some of the effects of the strong anti convulsant medicines that Lia received from her physicians. Hence, through the incorporation of herbal medication in the healing process it could be expected that the process would yield better results. New Culturally Sensitive Protocol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In any healing process, it should be realized that the involvement of the family, the relatives as well as the society that roams around the patient is a very important factor of the restoration process for the patient being treated Hence, in this section, a more culturally sensitive protocol shall be created: Creation of a Physician-Parent relationship This would help the physician and the parents of the patient work together through the incorporation of the cultural practices of the family in the medical process. The physicians must study if the herbal medicines would do no harm in reaction to the existing medical processes applied towards the patient. In a way, this could take time, but carefully considering things with regards the issues involved in the medication could even shorten the period of healing that is required for the patient. Integration of the Processes Close enough to the first stage; this involves more of the cultural or ethnic chieftains of the group where the patient belongs to. Their realization of the fact that some of their rituals may not be that applicable on the situation of the patient and thus would not be incorporated into the system, would help them cooperate with the healing process provided by the medical experts. Evaluation of the Strengths and Weaknesses of the New Protocol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As clearly seen, the process involves in depth study which may require time and stress on the physicians since they are at some point controlled with the way they are supposed to deal with the situation. However, thru realization of the fact that emotional and social acceptance is important for the patient’s recovery would enable them to meet with the said challenge to their profession.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, if carefully applied, this process could help both parties [medicine and culture] see the importance of each sectors of medication and thus create better ways of healing the patients based form then practices that both social sectors accept. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this analysis, it could be noted that at some point, giving importance to the cultural background as well as the cultural practices of an ethnic group with regards to medicine could help in the development of medical practices that are used towards patients today. It is seen that by doing so, the integration of two worlds to result to better medical development could be considered as a way by which medicine could further progress its practices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After all, the ancient times when people lived longer lives and dealt with less complicated diseases, people appreciated herbal and other traditional ways of medication even before modern medicine was discovered. Going back to the original cure would sure not be a hindrance to further medical progress in the future. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anne Fadiman. (1998). The spirit catches you and you fall down. http://www.spiritcatchesyou.com/bookexcerpt.htm. (December 15, 2006). Growth House Incorporated. (1999). A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. http://www.growthhouse.org/books/fadiman.htm. (December 15, 2006). Books: Andrew Chevallier. (2000). Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: The Definitive Home Reference Guide to 550 Key Herbs with all their Uses as Remedies for Common Ailments. DK ADULT; Revised edition. James A. Duke. (1998). The Green Pharmacy: The Ultimate Compendium Of Natural Remedies From The World’s Foremost Authority On Healing Herbs. St. Martin’s Paperbacks. Daniel Mowrey. (1986). Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine. McGraw-Hill; 1 edition.

When Morality Should Not Be an Issue

When Morality Should Not Be an Issue Free Online Research Papers There is an interesting dialogue going on within the field of cultural anthropology that addresses whether or not anthropologists have a moral responsibility to defend human rights. This discussion is a result of anthropologists making philosophical claims about the nature of morality, an activity anthropologists should not be focusing on. The main purpose of cultural anthropology is to observe and analyze the differences in structures of society around the world and not to make value judgments because making value judgments while attempting to objectively record and observe cultural practices hinders the anthropologist’s ability to remain completely neutral to the subject matter. This neutrality is necessary so that other fields such as philosophy can appropriately evaluate the human condition and its role in the nature of reality. Anthropology is a holistic science that observes, analyzes, and compares the past, present, and future of the human experience. Within this definition, there are four subcategories of anthropology: biological, archaeological, linguistic, and cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropologists study the diversity of culture. They attempt to explain differences and similarities between cultures by developing theories for how societies operate. They attempt to find the underlying meaning behind the behaviors and norms of a given society (Robbins 12). A major problem found by most anthropologists is how an anthropology should approach and understand cultural differences. Europeans were exposed to â€Å"primitive† peoples during a period of discovery and exploration in the 1800’s. It was a lot like a close encounter of a third kind for these explorers because the masses were not aware of other beings living on Earth. Questions arose about the human species. Were humans everywhere essentially the same or was cultural and biological diversity so great that the unity of human kind did not exist? Are these â€Å"primitives† human? Do they have a soul or a religion? Anthropology was a field developed to help answer these questions by observing the different cultures. The relationship between the fieldworker and the native was asymmetrical, however. The natives did not have a choice or a voice against anthologists studying their culture because the anthropologists had more power both in numbers and in weaponry. Anthropologists could, without question, intrude into the lives of non-Europeans and put them under a microscope as if they were specimens. The judgments of these anthropologists were not value free because bias, especially then, was always present. Power was given to the researcher, and the researcher believed what he or she saw and recorded was â€Å"the God’s truth.† Ethnocentrism is the concept of believing that your own society’s norms are better than other’s because they are true. Your reality is the only reality. Anthropologists do not rely on their own culture to understand other cultures because to do so would contaminate their research. This power relationship discloses the true imperialistic nature of anthropology in the 1800’s. Intellectual movements such as the publication of Darwin’s theory of evolution in 1859 also caused elitist attitudes to dominate the majority’s mind. Darwin suggested that human instincts, including morality, only existed because these instincts at one point in human evolution allowed for humans to survive. The idea of survival of the fittest and progress through evolution heavily influenced people such as Thomas H. Huxley and Herbert Spencer to apply progressive evolution to entire societies, termed Social Darwinism. Social Darwinists believed that wealth and power in a society was a sign of a highly developed culture, and the more developed a culture was, the higher their moral superiority was (Boss 108-110). This outlook allowed for anthropologists and the nations they were working for to look down on any different, primitive culture and regard them as morally inferior. This, in turn, served as a justification for the colonization of these people. Anthropologists then used these â€Å"savage† cultures to illustrate human ancestry as if these â€Å"primitive† cultures were so far behind in development that they were a historical window in to the past of the dominate culture. As anthropology continued o develop at the turn of the twentieth century, new anthropologists such as Ruth Benedict and Franz Boaz began to speak out against viewing the native as â€Å"primitive.† In 1934, Ruth Benedict published â€Å"Patterns of Culture,† in which she debunked social Darwinism and puts in its place cultural relativism in order to prevent the imperialistic tendencies that resulted from Social Darwinism. She claimed that although cultures differ, the civilized society does not necessarily have a higher developed sense of morality. All cultures, Benedict asserted, have the same amount of history behind them and the dominate culture has no right to judge the morality of another culture as wrong (111). By dismissing altogether the notion of a universal moral code by which any community of people can use as a standard for judging the morality of another community, Benedict claimed what is right and wrong is dictated by the community and is relative to that community alone. Right is what the community approves of and morality is equivalent with custom alone as she mentioned in her article, â€Å"Anthropology and the Abnormal.† This is cultural relativism. At first glance, this theory seems very plausible and useful. When it gained popularity, the theory prevented the dominate society from justifying the exploitation of other, less powerful cultures and ethnocentric ideas of superiority. No longer could one society look at another and judge their actions because according to cultural relativism, morality is contingent on the context of the society. It also is very useful today. The observation that what I deem as right is only so because my society approves of it almost leads me to question my cultures norms and creates in me this need to explore other cultures way of life (Rachels 30). Despite these benefits, however, there are numerous problems with cultural relativism. First, imagine if cultural relativism were true. Initially, it seems like a good idea to not judge the moral practices of another culture, but what about the Nazi regime in Germany. If everyone adhered to cultural relativism, then no one could justify going to war against Germany to stop the elimination of the Jewish people. Slavery in America would be morally acceptable. With the ability to label certain activities of a culture morally wrong, we would be unable to criticize any culture for the obstruction of human rights. Also, it is very easy for you or I to imagine how our society could be better; we can think of things that might improve our society. Cultural relativism, however, states that this is impossible. If a society things slavery is right, then it is right without objection and to suggest otherwise would be to go against society’s moral code. This notion erases any concept of cultural progress. Most would say the abolishment of slavery was a form of progress for the United States of America, but according to cultural relativism, progress would never occur. Progress suggests the society improved, and to improve is to be better. â€Å"Better† is a value judgment and value judgments are not allowed in the realm of cultural relativism. Aside from this, cultural relativism is not logical. Benedict observed that differences were present in what cultures believed to be right and wrong. She then applied this observation to what is. So, there is no absolute morally right or wrong because people disagree about what that absolute would be? Simply because two different cultures disagree about what they believe to be right and wrong fails to prove that there is no transcending moral code. It is possible for one culture to be mistaken in their beliefs. Is it even acceptable to suggest that societies differ on what they think is morally right and wrong? There are numerous examples of universal values (Rachels 25). Perhaps cultures express these similar values differently though custom, but they are similar nonetheless. Take for example infanticide. Initially, this practice seems barbaric and one could assert that this custom shows that the Inuit have no love for their children. But what is the purpose of infanticide? Inuits lived in harsh conditions, and sometimes it was necessary to kill a child if that child’s survival would cause the instability of the community’s future. If the Inuit hated their children, there would be no community because there would be no children to populate the future generations. By reflecting on the purpose of a custom, we are able to recognize similarities between our values and those of another culture. For these reasons and perhaps others, some anthropologists today abandon cultural relativism. Because of cultural relativism’s inclination to ignore violations of human rights, some anthropologists even feel that it should be the anthropologist’s responsibility not only to observe cultures, but also to attempt to reform them. In her article, â€Å"Ethical Considerations in Anthropology and Archaeology, or Relativism and Justice for All,† anthropologist Merrilee H. Salmon attempts to motivate her colleagues to group together in effort to abolish female circumcision (Welch and Endicott 342). By making value judgments concerning morality, anthropologists take a step into the realm of philosophy and this is precisely what should be avoided. Personally, I do not think it is the anthropologist’s responsibility to defend human rights. Anthropologists observe the human condition and do not have â€Å"make this condition more pleasant† in their job description. Regardless of whether or not a custom may appear to violate human rights, it is not the anthropologists job to reform the culture or make value judgments. This is not to say that action should not be taken to defend human rights, however. The point is that anthropologists should remain neutral and objective when conducting their research. Leave it to the philosophers to determine or question the morality of a given action. There are several reasons why anthropologist should avoid this blending of philosophical thought into their fieldwork. If an anthropologist spends all of his or her time analyzing the wrongness of a custom, how much effort is not geared towards actually observing the culture in question? In addition, the main goal in anthropology is to be objective, to give a non-biased interpretation of other culture’s societal structure. The observations that come from anthropology are very useful if thorough and objective enough for allowing others to reflect on morality like human right activists and philosophers. By making value judgments, anthropologist take the risk of being ethnocentric and contaminating their research. It is true that philosophy and anthropology have some things in common, however. Philosophy studies and theorizes into the nature of reality by using rationality. To understand the nature of reality, it is important to recognize societal influences and ultimately to understand the function of these influences within one’s own society. This way, it becomes easy for the philosopher to question societal norms and place them in the context of this ultimate reality. Anthropologist and sociologists alike also participate in this realization. It is crucial, as Ruth Benedict pointed out, not to immediately regard one’s own culture as the only right and true reality. Ethnocentrism hinders the anthropologist because when the anthropologist (who is ethnocentric in this example) views another culture, he or she is seeing the other culture through his or her own culture’s lens, and this prevents the anthropologist from being able to interpret the structure of the given society. If only Ruth Benedict could have stopped her observations here. It is true that other cultures have different beliefs and customs. It is also true that every culture has an equal length of history behind it. These claims alone should suggest that no culture is necessary better than another because of civilization, and this was all that was necessary to ignite an opposition to Social Darwinism. Her additional claim, that there were no objective, universal moral truths was not needed. The introduction of making philosophical claims about humanity in relation to morality simply confused the anthropological world. Today, following Benedict’s lead, anthropologists think it is their duty to make philosophical claims, without philosophical training. In school, philosophers learn how to analyze arguments like the one Ruth Benedict introduced. They learn how to find error in lines of thought and learn how to avoid making these errors when creating their own arguments. Nowhere in anthropology is there a focus on this type of training. Anthropologists learn how to shed their own cultural biases in order to objectively observe other cultures, but this is the extent of their philosophical training. The purpose of this training is to prepare the anthropologist for making observations and analyzing these observations so that the anthropologist can understand the structure of a culture. The training is not intended to prepare anthropologists to make deductions concerning the reality of nature. Making philosophically oriented moral judgments will also lead to a lack of trust between the culture that is being studied and anthropology as a whole. Anthropologists have a trust with other cultures because the other cultures understand that anthropologists are there to simply observe, not indoctrinate. Once anthropologists attempt to reform the cultures they observe, the host culture will no longer allow the anthropologists to study them. The efforts of anthropologists such as Ruth Benedict to develop philosophical theories about morality are well intended but these efforts to saturate anthropology with philosophical discussion dilutes anthropology by creating a field that is not only lacking focus and direction, but also effectiveness. The observations made in anthropology are needed for the understanding of the human condition and will be put in jeopardy if anthropologists attempt to step outside of their field of study. Bibliography Barrett, Richard A. Culture and Conduct: An Excursion in Anthropology, Second Edition. Belmost, California: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004. Boss, Judith A. Ethics for life. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. pgs 100-132 Kottak, Conrad Phillip. Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity. New York: MeGraw-Hill, 2002. Endicott, Kirk M., Welsch, Robert L. Taking Sides . Guilford, Connecticut: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2003. Rachels, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy, Forth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. pgs 16-31 Robbins, Richard H. Cultural Anthropology: A Problem Based Approach. Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 2001. 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