The American Dream - 1890 Words

The topic of The American Dream has been brought up on many occasions. The arising issue that still ascends is whether or not The American Dream is alive or dead in the United States. The American Dream has come to the generalization of the personal perspective of any individual. The history of The American Dream has always gone back to the common man thinking of their future generations to come and how he will implant a positive outcome throughout it. Many now believe that the ideal plan of The American Dream cannot even be met anymore. Values and beliefs are now being questioned towards the aspect of upward mobility, the cost of education, jobs, and even affordable housing. Referring to an executive editor and vice president of Time Reporting, he states, â€Å"combined with a formidable American work ethic, made the pursuit of happiness more than a full-time proposition† (Meacham, Keeping The Dream Alive). This statement is targeted towards the actual definition of what The American Dream actually meant in various societies in the past. Happiness and a full-time of gratitude were critical aspects towards being met because it was the initial reason for this ideal. Some of the key causes and components that affect the way The American Dream is supposed upon today is the basic principles of economics, education, and a downward spiral. These reasons lead to The American Dream being considered in a diverse way with much complexity. The American Dream was different from the past andShow MoreRelatedImmigrants And The American Dream1362 Words   |  6 PagesImmigrants and the American Dream In the article â€Å"The American Dream†, by James Truslow Adams in The Sundance Reader book, he stated that the American dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and highRead MoreThe American Dream By Kimberly Amadeo1637 Words   |  7 PagesNowadays, a large number of people migrate to the United States to work and achieve the American Dream. According to the Article â€Å"What is the American Dream?† by Kimberly Amadeo, â€Å"The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in Epic of America. Adam’s often-repeated quote is, ‘The American Dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyon e, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.’† There are many peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The American Dream 754 Words   |  4 Pages Nyreel Powell Ms. Jones American Literature 1 June 2015 The American dream in A Raisin in the Sun Have you ever had a dream and it didn’t come how you wanted it to be? Have you ever had accomplishments that you wanted to achieve but people were getting in the way of them? The four main characters in this book all have good dreams but there are people in the way of getting to those dreams or their dream is too high to accomplish. A Raisin in the Sun a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, andRead MoreSister Carrie and the American Dream1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream is surely based on the concept of â€Å"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness† but it is above all, a matter of ambition. James Truslow Adams, an American writer and historian, in 1931 states: life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement†, which not only points towards a better standard of living for Americans but also denounces a degree of greed in the US society. Ambition not only â€Å"killed the catâ₠¬  butRead MoreGrapes Of Wrath And The American Dream1644 Words   |  7 PagesThe idea of the American Dream is ever changing depending on the person and the time of life that person is in. Although the main ideas of the American Dream remain the same to be educated, economically sound, healthy, to have a family, and equal rights. Many great films and works of literature were created to show case all the different ideas people have for their American Dream. The film â€Å"Grapes of Wrath† directed by John Ford and the poem â€Å"I Will Fight No More Forever† by Chief Joseph, both depictRead More Destruction of the American Dream Essay2145 Words   |  9 PagesDestruction of the American Dream I’ve talked about it in the past, the destruction of the American Dream. Always, there have been papers, writings, and thoughts that quantify a particular section of its ultimate demise, be it due to money, education, or sexuality. Maybe the destruction cannot be viewed as a singular event or cause. Perhaps instead it must be examined as a whole process, the decay and ultimate elimination of a dream. Self destruction, if you will†¦ Mr. Self Destruct Read MoreSuccess As One Of The American Dream1137 Words   |  5 PagesApril 2015 Success as One of The American Dream When we hear the word â€Å"success†, we often think of wealth and money. To some people, the embodiment of being success is earning a lot of money. In fact, the concept of success is primarily based on how much money a person earns. However, each person views the definition of success differently. One way to define success is something that has more to do with flash than it does with substance. John Wooden, an American basketball player and coach viewRead MoreJim Cullen And The American Dream2081 Words   |  9 Pages The American Dream, as defined by Cullen, is starting your goal off with a little and ending with more; it s like a business, you invest in it in order to gain more money. Usually, people will define the American Dream as being able to achieve your goal because everyone is offered opportunities. Cullen does acknowledge that people are born with different opportunities, so he talks about the good life. The good life describes different factors that determine your opportunities. Throughout the otherRead MoreFactors Influencing The American Dream1834 Words   |  8 Pagesindividual to succumb or to not succumb to the seductions of crime. These three factors are brilliantly portrayed in the television show, Breaking Bad and the novel, The Stick Up Kids. The American Dream is what many American citizens strive for. However, not all of those citizens are able to achieve the American Dream through a legal pathway. The reason an indivudal may not being able to do so is because of his or her background factors. It is important to note that background factors are a fractionRead MoreShark Tank And The American Dream1755 Words   |  8 PagesShark Tank and The American Dream The TV show Shark tank embodies everything the American dream represents. The show obtains successful Entrepreneurs ready to invest their own money into other Americans wanting to be just like them, reaching the American dream and become a successful entrepreneur. The show presents entrepreneurs working towards the goal of creating a business to not only gain wealth but also change the way we live today. The show is to keep the American dream alive and well while

Topic 1 How Would Your Ideal Society Differ From Plato’S

Topic 1: How would your ideal society differ from Plato’s? What would Plato think about your proposals? How might you defend these proposals against Plato’s objections? My ideal society is different from the one created by Plato in the Republic in three ways. Firstly, everyone in the city would be able to receive a high-quality education, as opposed to Plato’s idea that only the chosen children who are gifted or show a potential for future ruling can be accepted to the elite education program. Secondly, in the city I created, citizens would not be forced to specialize in things they are good at but not passionate about, different from Plato’s design where everyone should only do what their talent suggests. Thirdly, spirited and appetitive†¦show more content†¦Moreover, the government could use the money saved from every year’s extensive search and assessment to fund the public education. Education for the public could also reduce the chance of citizens committing crimes. Because without education, they might not know clearly what is right and wrong, the law of the city, and rationality. However, after receiving the education as the guardians do, ordinary citizens, though might still be dominated by their appetitive part of the mind, are equipped with more reasoning in their minds, and therefore less likely to break the law. As a result, guardians and rulers could spend more energy on external enemies, and less on internal criminals. My response to Plato’s second disagreement is that although the city might be more efficient if people do what they are best at doing, its citizens would be unhappy and feel enslaved because these choices are not made by themselves. For example, a person who is talented to be a professional runner might actually want to be a warrior, and if we deprive him of this chance, he would be unhappy. This specialization requirement could potentially create a discrepancy between most people’s talent and passion, and in that case, most people in the city would be unhappy. If the majority of the city’s population is unhappy, the value of justice becomes doubtful. Plato would probably respond by saying theShow MoreRelatedontemporary Thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aguinas Essay6220 Words   |  25 PagesAristotle, Augustine, Aguinas Question #1 : Please discuss the political organization of the Greek city- states, particularly Athenian democracy at the time of Pericles, Plato, and Aristotle. Also discuss the backgrounds of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and the fate of the Greek city-states historically. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;During the time of Pericles, Plato, and Aristotle, Greece was divided into city-states with a wide variety of constitutions, ranging from Spartas military dictatorship toRead MoreFormal and Dynamic Equivalence and the Principle of Equivalent Effect7564 Words   |  31 Pages language, descriptions and explanations. We also acknowledge the importance of translation as a unique bridge between two different languages and cultures. We touch upon some translation techniques and methods, define what good translation is and how to achieve such a translation carrying on naturalness and fidality to the SLT. In Chapter Two The Problem of Formal and Dynamic Equivalence we dwell upon different translation theorists who proposed different translation techniques, mostly E.Read MoreEssay about Compare and Contrast Leadership Theories9999 Words   |  40 PagesLeadership From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leadership has been described as the â€Å"process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task†. Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith of Genentech states that, Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. According to Ken SKC Ogbonnia, effective leadership is the ability

Early Social Development

Question: Describe about the Early Social Development? Answer: Introduction: Early Social development refers to psychological, emotional and biological changes that take place in every human being with respect to time and organic growth. This is a continuous process that is included as a part of development. Because of this development several genetic factors gets affected and this leads to child development. The social behavior of child gradually changes as he grows up and this represents an individuals approach towards socialization. There are various habits of social responses that help them to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Development also includes normative development which denotes a summation of the entire variations that is happening and it a continuous and cumulative process (Thornton and Jones, 2013). There are various stages of development and they are divided into specified intervals of age. They are: newborn (0-4 weeks), infant (4 weeks- 1 year), toddler (1-3 years), preschooler (4-6 years), school aged children (6-13 years) and adolescent (13-19 years) (Zelan, 2008). Parents play an important role in determining social development in a childs life. This involves caring, nurturing and proper parental training given to their children to develop them. 2.1) Define the term Socialization. Socialization can be defined as a learning process which a child needs to develop themselves. Socialization is a process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills, language and other social norms that are required by an individual for sustaining in a group or community. Socialization also refers to the process of adopting a particular culture and adhering by the norms that is restricted to that particular culture. Socialization also helps in shaping the personality of an individual. A human being socializes in order to interact within a group, learn various behavioral aspects and act according to situations (Swart and Grauerholz, 2012). There are various types of Socialization which are as follows: Natural Socialization: This occurs when infants and youngsters discover their social world and discover what is happening around them. Planned Socialization: This occurs when other people take actions to implement changes to train them. Positive Socialization: this is a type of learning that takes place due to exciting experiences. Negative Socialization: This takes place when any criticisms or punishment is been given to teach an individual. Socialization is a powerful tool that helps to promote human development and helps to maintain uniformity within a society. In todays world even organizations are socializing because they are composed of several ethnic groups. 2.2) Stages of Socialization in Infants and Children: Socialization consists of various important stages that every child passes through. They are: Primary Socialization: This refers to socialization of an infant in his early days of life when he is born. This process begins when a child develops norms and values and learns cognitive skills. The infant also learns how to become a social participant within a group. These norms become a part of the personality of the individual which he can relate which he can relate with the right and the wrong things as well. Secondary Socialization: this process begins outside an individuals immediate family within a peer group. The growing child learns all the important lessons during this phase. Lessons are also been taught in the school as well. This is a kind of social training which is been given to the child at institutional level and this learning continues for rest of the life as well. Adult Socialization: In this process various roles are performed by an individual as that of a husband or a wife. This theory basically teaches an individual to take new responsibilities and to perform them effectively. The basic objective of this process is to bring change in the views of the individual. Adult socialization basically refers to change overt behavior rather than molding the basic values which already exist. Anticipatory Socialization: this is a process that refers to learning a particular culture of a group and abiding by its policies as well. In this process an individual learns all the norms, values and beliefs of that group and this inspires him to apply those in the new role he is performing. Re-socialization: this is a process that refers to the process of discarding former behavior patterns and to accept the new ones. Accepting such becomes a transition phase in an individuals life. This takes place when a social role is radically changed. This process involves abandonment of one way of life for another so that the incompatibility is matched with the earlier reference. 2.3) Theories of Socialization in contrast to different types of socialization: The major theories of Socialization are: Family: Family plays an important role in this process. Families contribute a lot to the socialization process. Infact it is the most important part of this process. The parents use both reward and punishment to imbibe that is required for a child. All the undesirable behaviors are checked by the family itself. Peer Group: This means a group that shares some common characteristics. This group can be school friends, classmates, colleagues etc. A growing child learns several aspects from its peer group as well. Various information can be exchanged that give rise to shared values. Religion: Religion also plays an important role. It instills an individual from bad and undesirable events that can affect an individual personally as well. Educational Institutions: Schools colleges and universities form an essential part to bring changes in the socialization process. Not only have they helped to learn languages but also to acquire concepts about various subjects as well. Conclusion: It can be concluded that apart from understanding that children are growing and changing according to the various stages they are also getting matured day by day in terms of their height weight and other proportions. Cognitively they start thinking symbolically and explores through various forms of language. Emotional feelings also develop within a child and they also learn how to work on them and express empathy as a reflexive emotional bond. Socially they also start mingling and interacting with friends, relatives and siblings. Morally they fight within their brain to understand as to what is right and what is wrong for them. Therefore Socialization reflects the parenting skills also as to in what proportion a parent are involved to develop and bring in their child. References Antonacopoulou, E. and Pesqueux, Y. (2010). The practice of socialization and the socialization of practice.Society and Business Review, 5(1), pp.10-21. Ellis, M. (2010). Child development and disability in resource poor settings.Child: Care, Health and Development, p.no-no. Gelman, S. (2010). Modules, Theories, or Islands of Expertise? Domain Specificity in Socialization.Child Development, 81(3), pp.715-719. Grusec, J. and Davidov, M. (2010). Integrating Different Perspectives on Socialization Theory and Research: A Domain-Specific Approach.Child Development, 81(3), pp.687-709. Hitlin, S. (2006). Parental Influences on Children's Values and Aspirations: Bridging Two Theories of Social Class and Socialization.Sociological Perspectives, 49(1), pp.25-46. Swart, E. and Grauerholz, L. (2012).Socialization. New York: Infobase Pub. Thornton, K. and Jones, B. (2013).Socialization. New York: BowTie Inc. Zelan, K. (2008). Two child-rearing socialization models.PsycCRITIQUES, 53(9).

The Glass Cileing Essay Research Paper Youve free essay sample

The Glass Cileing Essay, Research Paper ? You? ve Come a Short Way, Baby! ? Professor Diana Bilimoria hit it on the nail when she proclaimed, ? Even when adult females do all the right things, and have all the right material, they continue to be blocked from the innermost circles of power? ( Daily ) . The increasing figure of working adult females with an instruction and experience in the concern universe continue to meet this encirclement mentioned by Professor Bilimoria. Suzanne M. Crampton and Jitendra M. Mishra find that the publicities to managerial places achieved by adult females have, unluckily, non kept up with the addition of adult females in the work force. This barrier that keeps adult females from publicities is called the glass ceiling. ? Glass ceiling is a term coined in the 1970? s to depict the unseeable unreal barriers, created by attitudinal and organisational biass, which bar adult females from top executive occupations? ( ? Glass Ceiling Separates Women for Top? ) . Robert B. Reich, Secretary of Labor, informs his readers that the look? glass ceiling? foremost appeared about ten old ages ago in a column entitled? Corporate Womans? in the Wall Street Journal? ( three ) . Since the mid to late 1880ss, the term has been applied to place state of affairss where adult females have bumped their caputs in attempts to make high-ranking places. One beginning studies that the consequences of a Labor Department survey prove that the? glass ceiling? prevents adult females from accomplishing publicities in direction and leading places ( Crampton ) . Women? s? highest degrees tend to be in staff places, such as human resources, or research or disposal, instead than line places, such as selling, or gross revenues, or production? ( Reich three ) . Crampton finds that out of all direction places of modern organisations adult females hold merely 16 per centum of them. Even worse, adult females reside in 4 per centum of the highest-level places in direction and d isposal ( Crampton ) . Even with the aid of affirmatory action, the glass ceiling still does non shatter. Affirmative action was developed in reaction to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act declared that favoritism on the footing of race, faith, or sex was illegal. The President? s call for affirmatory action acted as a accelerator for the Civil Rights Act. The Random House Dictionary defines affirmatory action as? the encouragement of increased representation of adult females and minority members, particularly in employment. ? With the constitution of affirmatory action adult females have gained promotions and prestigiousness in the concern universe ; nevertheless, the phenomenon known as the glass ceiling hinders adult females from accomplishing publicities to high-ranking places in corporate America. Similar to how the authorities recognized affirmatory action as a solution to implementing the Civil Rights Act, it recognized the demand for a solution to the glass ceiling state of affairs. Reich believes that due to the attempts of Secretary Elizabeth Dole and Secretary Lynn Martin? the Department of Labor became closely involved in placing and publicising the glass ceiling job? ( three ) . Senator Bob Dole proposed the Glass Ceiling Act in order to turn to the state of affairs. The Glass Ceiling Act designed a committee, known as the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, to analyze and suggest agencies for extinguishing the glass ceiling ( three ) . Fortune magazine sporadically ranks and publishes a list of America? s largest companies. Many adult females advocators use these studies as trials to see where adult females stand in the selected companies. Crampton studies? of the Fortune 50 companies, merely 1.3 per centum of corporate officers are adult females, while 1.7 per centum are adult females within the Fortune 500 companies. Among two-hundred of America? s largest companies, adult females hold less than a one-fourth of executive occupations and less than five per centum of the vice-presidents are women. ? One may believe good at least adult females have broken through the glass ceiling and that promotions have been made. However, in the past 10 old ages no more than two adult females have served as CEO? s for a Fortune 500 company ( Daily ) . The figure of adult females who serve on the boards for these major corporations? consist a comparatively modest per centum of all board members? ( Daily ) . A catch-22 is establish ed because most male board members one time served as CEO? s, and that experience is sometimes an unestablished regulation to going a board member. If few adult females can do it to the top, how will adult females of all time make it on the boards? The adult females that are board members normally serve on more than one, or two boards ; the statistics are unable to convey that the same few adult females make up that? modest per centum? ( Daily ) . Kaufman relays that the Bureau of Labor estimations that in five old ages adult females will do up 48 per centum of the American work force. Advocates for adult females? s patterned advance in concern businesss would trust that with the addition in working adult females, the figure of adult females in CEO places would besides increase. Unfortunately, this position does non look excessively promising. In Fortune magazine? s study of America? s largest companies? merely 16 indicated that they thought it really likely or slightly likely that their company would hold a female Chief executive officer within the following 10 old ages, while 18 per centum believed it was really likely within the following 20 old ages? ( Crampton ) . Several cardinal factors hold fast the glass ceiling and prevent adult females from patterned advance. Discrimination against adult females still plays a big portion in implementing the unreal barrier. Crampton reported that a recent survey found that 79 per centum of the CEO? s believed that? bias and stereotypes are among the most identifiable barriers to adult females? s advancements. ? ? Discrimination can happen in the signifier of organisational construction policies, informal webs, and civilizations that are so male-dominated that they become barriers for adult females to lift in the organisation? ( Crampton ) . Womans can trust that over the following twosome of old ages favoritism will get down to disintegrate, which will let for more incursion through the glass ceiling. Even though adult females can non command the biass held by work forces, adult females can seek to interrupt and free of the gender stereotypes. By confuting that non all adult females fit the stereotypes, calling adult females may be able to help their promotion to higher places. ? Females are frequently thought of as being dependent, inactive, delicate, non aggressive, non competitory? adult females lack calling committedness, Ate non tough plenty, wear? T want to work long and unusual hours, are excessively emotional, won? t relocate, lack quantitive and analytical accomplishments and have problem devising determinations? ( Crampton ) . Since work forces and adult females? s features differ in certain facets, the male-dominate concern universe believes that adult female lack the? qualities that are considered good to be effectual directors, and traditionally masculine traits have a higher sensed value? ( Crampton ) . Womans are non even given opportunities because of pre-established beliefs even when they may be more qualified and better educated than their male opposite numbers. This state of affairs occurs more frequently than non, and companies create alibis that will look legitimate. Catherine M. Daily informs that when Mr. Preston, the CEO of Avon, resigned, legion top female executives within the company possessed the qualities and experiences to make full the vacancy. However, the board elected an outside manager, Charles R. Perrin, to replace Preston ( Daily ) . Even though favoritism and stereotypes basically preserve the barriers, other factors contribute to their upholding. Another commanding factor that reinforces the glass ceiling is the deficiency of wise mans. Womans? s biological characteristics, which work forces do non possess besides hinders adult females from making high-ranking places. ? Womans have to cover with the complexnesss of the double function as working adult female and female parent? ( Crampton ) . Even though adult females about make up half of the work force, they entirely are still expected to transport out all of the family jobs and responsibilities. Most adult females leave work merely to travel place and run about, clean and cook. ? Uniting of a household and a calling and the behavioural outlook placed on adult female? at times seems impossible ( Crampton ) . Beginnings Cited Crampton, Suzanne M and Jitendra M. Misha. ? Womans in Management. ? Public Personnel Management 28.1 ( Spring 1999 ) : 87-107. ( Epscohost ) Daily, Catherine M. , and Dan R. Dalton. ? Cracks in the Glass Ceiling? ? Directorship 25.3 ( March 1999 ) : 4-7. ( Epscohost ) ? Glass Ceiling Separates Women from Top. ? Worklife Report 11.1 ( 1997 ) : 15. Kaufman, Laura. ? Women CEO? s See the Sky through Glass Ceiling. ? Westchester County Business Journal. 38.20 ( 17 May 1999 ) : 15-17. ( Epscohost ) Reich, Robert B. ? The Glass Ceiling Fact-Finding. ? Message from the Chairman. Cornell U. 5 Feb. 2000. # 225 ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.irl.cornell.edu/library/e_archive/Glass Ceiling/ # 241 ; .

What Are Symptoms Of Autism In Children an Example of the Topic Health Essays by

What Are Symptoms Of Autism In Children by Expert Tracy (PHD) | 26 Jul 2016 There is an unprecedented increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism. This has led those in the medical and scientific community to conduct studies not only to find out the cause and the cure for the disorder but also to detect this disorder at its earliest stage. The efforts of medical professionals in the past have led to the development of standardized screening techniques to detect early signs of autism. Need essay sample on "What Are Symptoms Of Autism In Children" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed However despite the substantial development in the screening techniques, current screening practices reveal that we are far from achieving its maximum potential. A substantial number of children with signs of autism reach the age of three or four years old without being detected and screened. Research on the current literature reveals that the two primary reasons for the failure to conduct developmental screening are: lack of awareness of pediatricians and pediatric nurses of the early signs of autism; and lack of knowledge of the screening tools for autism. The solution to this problem is to adequately arm the pediatricians and pediatric nurses with sufficient knowledge so that they will become aware of the early signs of autism and recommend early intervention techniques to the parents. Autism is a brain disorder that affects a childs ability to develop normal communication skills and social responsiveness to other people.It is currently the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Current research shows that there has been an alarming increase in cases of autism among children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease now affects one in every 150 children born today in the U.S. (One in every 150 U.S. children autistic) In New Jersey, it is estimated that the rate of autism is 1 in 94. About ten years ago, it was 1 in every 500 cases. In view of this information, autism is now considered as the fastest growing developmental disability worse than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes or pediatric AIDS combined. A child with autism is characterized by three distinctive behaviors otherwise known as the triad of impairments. First impairment is that autistic children experience difficulties in interacting socially with fellow children. Autistic children are aloof and indifferent to people. They are unresponsive and unsociable and have problems fitting in a group. They are also unwilling to look people in the eye. Second impairment is that children with autism have difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication. Usually, they will not respond even if called by their name. They are also incapable of interpreting what others are thinking and feeling. Third impairment is they have the tendency towards repetitive behavior and have narrowly limited interest. They would often engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling or biting or head-banging. Diagnosis of Autism Before a child can find treatment for autism disorder, it is essential for him to be diagnosed with autism. Detecting autism, however, is very difficult especially when parents who do not pay particular attention to their childs development and may disregard early symptoms of autism. In some cases, parents will notice signs of autism before the child reaches the age of three while in some cases parents will fail to notice it until the child reaches the age of four. This can be attributed to the fact that a child with autism, at first, may not exhibit unusual behavior. He may develop normally at first and then shows autistic traits. However, in some cases, even if parents notice something unusual about their childs behavior and relay their observation to their pediatricians and nurses, the latter may merely dismiss such fears and allay the parents fears to say that the child is just a late bloomer without conducting a more thorough screening or evaluation. (Mary Amoroso) Because of th is neglected child with autism do not get the necessary medical intervention from experts until it is too late to do so. In addition, autism is a complex disorder which requires a comprehensive evaluation and not just a specific test. To confirm whether a child has autism, a multidisciplinary team is needed which includes a psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist and other professionals. A thorough neurological evaluation and cognitive and language testing must be conducted for the team to rule out other problems such as hearing impairment or delayed speech development. In view of this inherent difficulty, the American Academy of Pediatrics has now taken a proactive role in helping parents detect early signs of autism among children. It now mandates as part of routine pediatric care the monitoring of children for developmental disability including ASD. Routine screening and monitoring of children for developmental disability is being done so that the condition of a child who has autism or other disorder may be detected in advance. Developmental Screening for Autism Developmental screening is defined as the brief, formal evaluation of developmentalskills applied to a total population of children, which is intended to identify those children withsuspect problems who should be referred for a complete diagnostic assessment and the prospective identification of unrecognized disorders by the application of specific tests or examinations. Developmental screening as a required practice in pediatric primary care was formulated in 1999 by a panel comprised of 13 organizations which include the Child Neurology Society, American Academy of Neurology and the National Institutes of Health. The panel formulated the parameter for the screening of and diagnosis of children with autism under a two-level approach. The first level comprises of the routine screening for abnormal development which will be followed by the ASD-specific screening for children who are found positive on the general developmental screening test. The second level screening follows if a chi ld scores positive on the ASD-specific screen or if a child is found to have other abnormalities. The second level screening includes a more thorough screening of the child by determining the childs developmental and health history and neurological assessment and a formal evaluation by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians. Concerns with Current Screening Practices Current Research, however, shows that while screening techniques have improved in the past years, the parameters established by the panel are not being observed by the pediatricians and pediatric nurses. According to a survey, only 50% of pediatricians and nurses conducted routine developmental screening during well-child visits. (Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin 165) In another survey in Australia, only 41% used standardized developmental screening measure and a lot of them used the screening incorrectly. In another study in Virginia, it was reported that 97% of the respondents conducted developmental screening but only 58% used standardized screening. One of the primary reasons for the failure to observe the parameters as established by the panel is that pediatricians and pediatric nurses fail to recognize the early symptoms of ASD. (Study: Pediatricians Overlook Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder) This was the result of the study conducted by Special Abilities, Inc which found that out of a total of 500 respondents, 42 of the pediatricians did not notice any developmental delay in those children who were eventually diagnosed with ASD. Pediatricians failure to recognize the early symptoms of autism can be attributed to the fact that they received minimal information about autism back in medical school. Another reason why developmental screening is not being actively implemented is the lack of knowledge among some pediatricians and pediatric nurses of the use of screening tools. This is confirmed in a study conducted by Johns Hopkins Childrens Center and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The results of the study show that of the 255 pediatricians 82% said they regularly conduct screening for general development delays but only 8% conducted screening for ASD. Almost 62% of the respondents admitted that they failed to do so because of lack of familiarity with the screening tools. (Pediatricians Fail to Screen for Autism, Johns Hopkins Study Finds; Most Know Too Little About the Screening Tools) Recommendation/Conclusion Considering the importance of pediatricians and pediatric nurses in the early detection of children with autism, it is suggested that the following actions be undertaken: conduct full training among the pediatric nurses to improve their knowledge of the early signs of autism; train the pediatric nurses in the use of developmental screening tools; practice pediatric nurses in the use of the developmental screening tools for them to gain sufficient familiarity with the use of these tools. Reference: Amoroso, Mary. Pediatricians Getting a Needed Nudge on Autism. "The Record" (Bergen County, NJ). 2001. 3 Feb. 2009. Complete Human Diseases and Conditions. Gale Group. 2008. 4 Feb. 2009 One in every 150 U.S. children autistic News-Medical.net. Retrieved 3 February 2009 - http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/02/12/21836.aspx Pediatricians Fail to Screen for Autism, Johns Hopkins Study Finds; Most Know Too Little About the Screening Tools AScribe Health News Service. AScribe. 2006. 3 Feb. 2009 Pinto-Martin, Jennifer A. The Role of Nursing in Screening for Autistic Spectrum Disorder in Pediatric Primary Care. 2005. 3 February 2009. Study: Pediatricians Overlook Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder PR Newswire. PR Newswire Association LLC. 2005. 3 Feb. 2009

Talking Writing, Music and Editing with Tom Flood

Talking Writing, Music and Editing with Tom Flood Talking Writing, Music and Editing with Tom Flood Tom Flood helped us refine Reedsy from our earliest days. Now we want to share his amazing story. From songwriting to novels and finally manuscript editing, Tom has honed his knowledge of the writing craft over the years, and contributes today to our (aspirationally) literary blog.In one of our most in-depth interviews so far, what started as a conversation about Tom’s agency Flood Manuscripts moved on to cover his work as an editor, a writer, and an independent musician.Tom analyses the oft-invoked parallel between book and music publishing and what the future holds for both these industries. He also shares his own experience as a writer - he made this great observation about identifying oneself as a writer:â€Å"When people ask, ‘What do you do?’ and I answer, ‘Writer, editor, musician,’ the next question is invariably ‘Oh, what do you play?’ Writing is both less and more mysterious. Nearly everyone writes, so it engenders the second q uestion ‘What do you write?’ way less often. The more revealing ‘How do you write like that?’ comes rarely. People think skill in musicianship comes with practice and dexterity, but skill in creative writing? Like art, they believe it’s a gift. The reality is they’re the same.†His tripartite career gives Tom a unique lens through which to see what’s happening right now in the new world of publishing. His advice to writers is both practical / motivating - persevere, keep going - and informed by years of experience editing self-published authors.Hi Tom, you have an impressive portfolio and experience in writing, editing and proofreading. Which one came first in your career? In other words, what made you become an editor?Thanks, Ricardo. I came to editing via writing. I have always been a songwriter but in the 80s, buoyed by a boom of new Australian fiction engendered by the infrastructure built by the short-lived, ground-breaking Le ft government of the 70s, I began to try my pen at short stories, got one published in a short-lived journal, and finding that slow going, switched to the big picture of the novel. The success of that move (three national awards) led to connections in the world of publishing and I began occasional award judging, assessment through our major residential writers’ centre, and some editing for publishers throughout the 90s, also being commissioned to write a theatre piece and a feature film. That all petered out as I moved back towards music performance and had a stab at academia.In 2003, with a string of part-time jobs, and looking to find new income streams, I began working through the net for a few large assessment/appraisal services in other states, a relatively new industry, reading and advising across a wide range of prose writing. A year later my artist partner suggested I start my own to fund living through a PhD, and a writing client created the first Flood Manuscripts w ebsite. Within a year it was full-time assessment and clients began to ask if I would mentor them, act as agent, ghostwriter and all manner of services I had no intention of taking up. Dumping the doctorate to ride the growing self-pub wave with Flood Manuscripts, the next step was mentoring, structural editing and copy editing, and finally proofreading, as Aussie writers began to become impatient with the trade publishers and adept at dealing with the digital, their needs evolving. I keep the service personal, despite many suggestions to expand into an agency, because I like to be at the coalface.You have also both won and been a judge to major writing awards in Australia, how did that start, and what do these awards represent for you as an author? (Is that just a nice acknowledgement of your craft or something you’re genuinely proud of?)Awards! Without them Flood Manuscripts wouldn’t exist. Despite both parents writing pretty successfully (my mother, Dorothy Hewett, was a well-known poet and playwright), neither had published with a mainstream press. I made my name in fiction by winning our premier manuscript award, the prize including publication by Allen Unwin, and that novel then took out more awards, including our oldest and best known fiction prize, the Miles Franklin Award. Everything else I have been lucky enough to be involved with has stemmed from those awards. Flood Manuscripts’ clients have since taken out even more awards, mostly international, and yes, I’m very proud to be a small part of that.We are in London, and most of our audience is in the US. But you live in Australia, so can you tell us how the publishing landscape looks like over there? How â€Å"big† are ebooks and self-publishing?I think we’re trailing a decade behind USA in some aspects, particularly genre, as we are a small market and still retain a certain English literariness in our publishing landscape, largely fed by our tertiary educat ion system. That said, we were and still are ahead in acceptance of manuscript assessment /appraisal as an essential part of that landscape. Once convinced, Australians do have a fast technology take-up and self-pub is really developing into a snowball.Has the â€Å"digital revolution† truly changed your career, or do you feel you continue working with authors more or less like you did before?Flood Manuscripts is a child of the digital ‘revolution’. 98% of my work is sourced, contracted, paid and completed via the net. That has grown from about 70% over a decade. I’m receiving around one paper manuscript a year. I prefer to read and edit digitally for work, although I still like to read paper for pleasure. I like the ancient craft of bookbinding. It will be a shame if we lose that art form to the economics of the trade.Songwriting, though, has not changed for me. The pen is still mighty, the pencil mightier, and scraps of waste paper litter the study on ev ery surface. With the novel, I began handwriting it in ‘85, moved to a borrowed typewriter, then a borrowed word processor, and finally finished the last drafts on a redundant computer with bootlegged software (WordStar) from my partner’s work place. I was over 30, on the dole, and on the rebound from an art pop band in Sydney. I don’t think I actually got on the net until 2003.This is a traditional question in our interviews: does working directly with an author (indie or hybrid) make it easier or harder for you? Does the absence of a traditional publishing structure change the way you communicate with the author?Except in the early days before Flood Manuscripts, I’ve almost always worked directly with authors. I don’t court the trade publishers because there are so few here and they don’t outsource much anyway. How it continues to change is in the speed, volume and creativity of new digital ventures and what they offer to litworkers. As an assessor, keeping up with even a small part of that change is a challenge.You are also a musician, singer and songwriter in the acoustic trio Blues Angels. The music industry and the publishing one are often compared, many people proclaiming that what happened in music will happen to books. What’s your opinion on that?Conventional wisdom has had the popular music evolution in four phases: 1) sign with a big label; 2) music publishers make big money from big musicians and use some of those profits to develop new talent; 3) big musicians realise they’re leaving money on the table and set up their own labels (self-publishing), resulting in music publishers dwindling and new musicians having no corporate sponsorship; 4) digi-platforms like iTunes do the same as Amazon/KDP/Kindle and new musicians go direct to consumers (less 30%), but there is new pressure to discount or give away material for free; and we can now add phase 5) big musicians realise how much money they are leaving on the distributors’ table and abandon digital platforms (Taylor Swift/Spotify, Radiohead /iTunes). New musicians have no sponsor, make no money from Spotify and can’t sell on iTunes without a massive marketing spend.The book trade significantly differs to music in that it doesn’t have a regular large performance aspect, although writers are often performers at festivals, schools, readings, etc., and libraries aren’t really a power in the same way in the music trade, although ideas like Self-E and the digital library may significantly endanger lending rights payments in the pursuit of ‘going viral’. It’s not a matter of ‘will happen’; it already has, at least to level 4. Writing, like music, has gone digital and that digital product is being given away in the millions to create traction towards a fame of sorts and is being streamed, not quite like Spotify et al, through Kindle Owners Lending Library, but podcasting and YouTube are pushing text more into performance re audiobooks, book trailers, and even as the music industry has been digitally driven back towards the single as its principal product, so Kindle Shorts, blogging, social media publishing and other developments continue to drive fiction back towards the heyday of shorter forms. Will this be a boon to poetry? It should be, but I haven’t seen a Shorts- or YouTube-based boom in verse, though it’s early days yet. I do see bundling going on in either form by both indies and trade, both live and product-based, and I expect we’ll see even more specific-subject social media appearing, like mootis, a Twitter for legals, and new models for crowdfunding, like Patreon.This is the big picture, but as with BluesAngels, who don’t operate in the world of popular music, we do our gigs and small festivals, make our recordings and sell our music at those live gigs, then rinse and repeat. Sure, we’ve put it up digit ally on iTunes and Spotify, but we don’t expect to compete with the pop forms; we don’t have that kind of money. So far we’ve made eight cents from streaming. Indie authors can and do still exist at this same level. I have a long term client with Flood Manuscripts who self-pubbed a hardback verse novel, offset printed, and took it on the road to sell – door to door! He’s sold 15,000 over a number of years, making him a best seller in Australian poetry, and funded an audio CD, but he doesn’t register on Bookscan, nor have the poetry awards or Amazon ever heard of him.A hard question now: do you prefer being an author, and editor or a musician? Where do you feel you have more creative freedom?The last one was hard. Creative freedom might just be a curse to some. Many artists prefer a given structure within which to work, although I’m not one of them. Some like to push the boundaries of form, others to innovate within those boundaries, a nd others prefer to capitalise on proven market structures. Creative freedom is not a term I think about or relate to, perhaps because I have it? Perhaps not: like writers’ block, I don’t think you can pin down what it is. As to author, editor, musician, all three can be personally satisfying.Some say that certain media are better than others to express a particular message. Do you think music allows you to express some things that you cannot in writing, and vice-versa?As an aural form based on sound, not words, and not limited by language, only taste, music is probably capable of appealing more indefinably to the emotions, but I’m a songster, so for me it’s a vehicle to carry fewer words more urgently to the audience, kinda like poetry, but it can and does operate differently. Unlike writing, there are also visible tools, and people do appreciate visible, live craft. When people ask, ‘What do you do?’ and I answer, ‘Writer, editor, mus ician,’ the next question is invariably ‘Oh, what do you play?’ Writing is both less and more mysterious. Nearly everyone writes, so it engenders the second question ‘What do you write?’ way less often. The more revealing ‘How do you write like that?’ comes rarely. People think skill in musicianship comes with practice and dexterity, but skill in creative writing? Like art, they believe it’s a gift. The reality is they’re the same.Finally, if you had one word of advice for authors (mainstream, indie, hybrid) in 2015, what would it be?I’m a novelist! Even tweets give us more than one word, but when it comes to publishing, I shuffle between ‘Persevere’ and ‘Quit’, but ‘Time Management’ may be two words worth contemplating. Things are both worse and better for authors than at any time in the history of printing, but the history of authors is millennia older. What we’re seein g today is the very rapid furthering of the democratisation of publishing. Making money is a relatively new notion in that history. What is an author? A writer: or a writer who is published? With the rise of self-pub, ‘is published’ is changing to ‘has published’, from passive to active, but an author is simply an originator. So my advice to authors, as always, is mundane; if you enjoy writing, keep learning by reading and doing, and you will be constantly challenged to go further. It is principally a vocation. If you want to become a publisher, you’re back to square one – an ingà ©nue - set out to learn your new set of jobs thoroughly, and keep learning and doing.Thanks a lot for your time, Tom, and for sharing these fantastic insights with us.Thanks, Ricardo, for this opportunity, and thanks to the Reedsy crew for authoring this quality new service.Follow Flood Manuscripts and Reedsy on Facebook!What do you think about Tom’s story? A re we right in drawing parallels between the book and music industries? What fundamental differences do you see, and what’s the future going to look like? Leave us your thoughts, along with any question for Tom, in the comments below.

Bodies as a Site of Productions and Commodification Essay

Bodies as a Site of Productions and Commodification - Essay Example The loveliness and magnificence of different organs of a body capture the eyes and hearts of the viewers, and they find marvelous physical appeal in the same to love and adore the person(s) carrying these charms, in accordance with their choices, tastes and standards of beauty. Therefore, Baudrillard (1998) has declared human body as the finest commodity available in the market, which outshines all other products and merchandise existing in the corporate environment in general because of its dazzling stand out, unique characteristics and natural ecstasy. In addition, various parts of human body are also used and employed for medical and research purposes, which turn out to be highly beneficial for discovering new realities about human body and its attributes and characteristics, paving the way towards discovering new formulae, techniques and devices for the complete convalescence of the people suffering from various ailments and diseases. The people also allow granting various parts of their bodies including eyes, kidney, liver, blood and semen for commercial benefits on the one hand, and as donation to the blind, ill and issueless individuals on the other. The credit goes to technological advancements, which have wide opened the new avenues of transplanting various body organs from one person to the other in a successful and skilled manner. However, contemporary biotechnological developments are accompanied by the fear that commodification of human tissue and DNA will lead to exploitation of dignity and integrity of innocent individuals. Ethical principles and historical traditions can constitute powerful arguments against direct commodification of the human body (Rendtorff, 2000: 57-58). Thus, human body and its different organs can be utilized during man’s life-time as well as after his departure from the world. The significance of human body can be explored in several different viewpoints. On the one hand, the people also develop love and affection f or the innocent countenances the little children carry, and compare them to the angels in respect of simplicity, innocence and tenderness; and on the other hand, the changing physical appearances of the teenagers and adults is taken as a gorgeous source of obtaining sexual gratification and satisfying their carnal desires as well. Langlois et al. (2000) are of the opinion that it is the male for whom attractiveness and showiness is more important in comparison with female. It is partly due to the very fact that female body looks far more alluring because of its flexibility, bewitching organs and softness that tempts the male to conquer the same either permanently or for the time being. In humans, because attractiveness is especially important as an indicator of reproductive fitness in women, the reliability of attractiveness ratings should be higher when judging females than when judging males, especially as evaluated by male perceivers (Jackson, 1992). However, the stoutness and ha iriness of male body fascinates the females as well as effeminate males, which long for their company and romance or sexual union with them. Consequently, the naked bodies of both men and women have been being carved, painted, drawn out and engraved for centuries since