The White Cube Is Designed To Neutralize Philosophy Essay

The White Cube Is Designed To Neutralize Philosophy Essay Heres the question: In your own words, how would you describe the connections between the idea of white(ness) and the themes in Buckinghams work? *If you want to include references to our reading and conversation on Kirk Varnedoes lecture last week-where we covered topics ranging from how history is recorded, how knowledge is formed, and how we come to believe in or trust the art we live with-please do. One paragraph. Buckingham forces the viewer to investigate further into his work; he wants us to actually become involved by making us think and see beyond want being presented to us rather than to simply look at an image. As with other work we have discussed in class, Buckingham uses color (colorfulness and white/black) to compare and contrast the past with the present in the film production of Mary Wollstonecraft. It is his way of cluing us on that there are two different worlds, just as he did to present the ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft. He also uses the glow of whiteness to lightened Wollstonecraft to convince us whether or not she is in the past or present. He is able to use white(ness) to guide us through his time-based production. As I read through Chapter 3 regarding minimalism, I was having a constant pull and push of Minimalism versus modernism. How is that one genre of artist can take a square and assign a meaning to it, then later another genre takes the same square and assigns a different meaning to it, then claim to owe nothing to its predecessors? To me, this calls on the same conversations we have had several times in previous classes. Is it really a new art because you are able to have support of art critics and come up with your own vocabulary to bring a different meaning to a work of art? Donald Judd claims to reject rationality as part of the European philosophical tradition. This is how he explains the difference between his work and traditional abstraction. But Frank Stella says to balance piece? Is that not rational? The correlations between the two types of art beg the question; isnt minimalism very much rooted in abstract modernism? It seems to me that Minimalist were just a self-proclaimed development of modernism. Judd and other Minimalists artist claim they wanted to get rid of the hands-on ethic of abstract; they wanted to get rid of the idea that the character of the art resides in the touch of the artist compared to abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock who stomped on a canvas and rubbed cigarettes in to it who affirmed that the painting was an object in the world, not a window onto anything else. This is when I began to better understand the difference in the two genres. The Minimalist opposed the cult of the gallery and attempted to remove the appearance of composition from their work. To that end, they tried to expunge all signs of the artists guiding hand or thought processes all aesthetic decisions from the fabrication of the object. For Donald Judd, this was part of Minimalisms attack on the tradition of relational composition in European art rather than the parts of an artwork being carefully, hierarchically ordered and balanced, he said they should be just one thing after another. Comparing Marcel Duchamps ready-mades provided important inspiration for the Minimalists. His example suggested an approach to sculpture that emphasized fabrication and industrial materials over the craft techniques of most modern sculpture. Much of Minimalist aesthetics was shaped by a reaction against Abstract Expressionism. Minimalists wanted to remove suggestions of self-expressionism from the artwork, as well as any illusions. The Minimalists also sought to erase distinctions between paintings and sculptures, and to make instead, as Donald Judd said: specific objects. The Minimalist opposed the cult of the gallery and Summary of Inside the White Cube The gallery space is the first interaction between the spectator and the artist. Clean white walls were ideal for presenting a painting. Because of its simplicity, a white wall is seen as neutral and supposedly indispensable for placing each painting. However, what a white wall does to a Baroque or easel painting, is it actually transforms it into a modernistic one, just as framing a Baroque or modernist painting and placing it in Le Salon converts it into a tableau. The white cube is designed to neutralize Another value of the white cube was a social one. Readymade as invented by Duchamp totally depend on the special social status of a gallery space. Reliance on the social power of a gallery space can lead to anything goes. Yet if a gallery space is considered a sacred place intended only for art, than anything that is placed there cannot be anything but art. When you put something into a gallery, it transforms the thing into a picture of itself. The intention of To fully understand the nature of how the viewer interacts with a piece of art it is essential to understand the dynamics of how the work is presented to the viewer. He talks about the eye and how the white cube gallery determines how the eye behaves. The eye urges the body around to provide it with information; the body becomes a data gatherer. The eye was capable of experiencing art in a disinterested and detached way. The spectator, on the other hand is unable to distinguish the difference between real space and art space in the white cube gallery because they have become blurred into one another and the walls of the gallery itself. Such a spectator is prone, he believes, to sensation and impression and as such experiences not only art but their own sense of self as something fractured. The eye appears as the disembodiment faculty that relates exclusively to formal visual means, while the spectator constitutes the attenuated and bleached-out life of the self from which the eye goes forth and which, in the meantime, does nothing else. The bodies of the visitors become unnecessary. You can only gaze at the framed spaces in the gallery space. Consequently, it is only the eye that interacts directly with the artwork. One has to teach the eye how to palpate those spaces. Frames also facilitate this separation into two realities the distant relation of a fixed viewer to a framed view. The framed easel on the wall assists the spectator to align herself in space; it indicates the place where one should stand, look at, or refrain from touching. One is not allowed to touch the sacred objects, the artworks. Touch is directed and mediated only through the eye. ODohertys main concern is the relationship between the white cube is where the object sits, the surrounding space and the effect or the influence that the combination of these elements impose onto the viewer. By bringing attention to the arrangement in which works are exhibited and the influence on the spectator, context becomes content. Another factor that ODoherty suggests bought about a new way of looking art is  Courbets one-man Salon des Refusees outside the Exposition of 1855. ODoherty states that this was the first time an artist had to  construct the context of his work. It is to say the artist had to set about displaying his work in such a way that the placing and hang of the pictures influenced the meaning of what the artist was attempting to say with his art. This was highly significant as it highlighted the importance of how a work is displayed affects the way in which its viewed. For example displaying the Mona Lisa on the floor would give the painting a different meaning than placing it, in its own special room. ODoherty defines the artistic gesture as a singular artistic action, an individualist, daring act. The successful gesture created a narrative became a story by changing history. He believes that these gestures always had two audiences, one present and another one not present, which, as he writes, is usually us. We, as this second audience, are looking back at the eventof a performance as a historical fact, an occurrence. ODoherty furthermore says that the original audience is usually not appreciative, often nervous, not at all pleased. It is only in retrospect that we learn to appreciate the gesture. All these gestures are transformations of the given situation in one way or another. What makes them potent, I believe, is that they are stop signs; or rather they are the stops themselves in the train of events, interruptions in the business as usual. The gallery gestures start with Duchamps, continue on with Yves Klein, Armand, Daniel Spoerri, Andy Warhol and Kaprow and many others. Many of these gestures can be described as parody, mocking the art business, but many of them really challenged the spectator, the gallery space and what is meant by art and showing art. There are several categories of gestures; those that question the gallery space altogether are of course in the minority. ODoherty points out that at least the American avant-garde never really questioned the gallery space as an idea, except for one brief moment when artists did their performances and events in the landscape and only brought photos back to the gallery. Summary of Pictures of Nothing- Chapter 4 Late 1960s is when the urge to escape catergories by artist becomes all the more difficult itself because but minimalism itself had become a category. This installation of minimalist traditions happened very fast. Anti institution makes want to go away from any type of object. Artist wanted to get away from any types of collectible object. Which makes sculpture dominant. It turned out to be the only non of the above catergory. Painting was only paintying, sculpture could include video installation, earth works, performance, etc.. it was constantly transforming itself and was flexible in the way painting could not be. The idea of a generation of artist who absorb the formal term of minimalism but challenge the basic princibles. Tweaking image reconigtion became important. Shiparo installed from the 70;s compared to morris is obvious mostly by scale. The gallery space isnt about blank kinestectic anymore it becomes a place for imagination and stimulation of metaphorization Imageless abstraction became much more representational. Basic propertyies extracted from pollaock drip paintings. Judd argued the paintings had a greater sense of simplicity or wholeness Directness of which becomes a part of the are, simplicity wholeness order process materials become the watch workds for the new generation of artists Present and future was linked to the deep past. Heiser stated we were living at the end of time. Complex 1 had been made in the dessert and the angle was designed to deflect necluear bomb. He wanted to collapse the idea of time Minimalist idea of reducing internal relationship the work became redirected of the relationship of the person to the object. The sense of space became extrapolated beyond the gallery. Heiser was key in moving out into much broader canvses. Like making huge circles in the deserts. Double negative made a huge mark a vast space. All about bedded layers of structure, represents stratified time. Vs. the overview which shows it as a unified with a unified simplicity man made absolute against the geolocial forces of the canyon. Had different experience through close up and far away views. Clarity of the overview vs the caois of the close up view Staged collision between order and disorder. The idea of order. Cannot simply be. Evident declaration of process. The new left compared to old left. Blue collar ethic. Materials (1:03) Smithson piles dirt on shed until it collaps. Concerns with weight. Not just meaning attaches itself but simple certainties become charges with ambiguities. Abstraction cant stay pure and out of catergories but it can revitalis new ideas of ourselves and our time.. Summary Chapter 5 Although abstraction tries to be pictures of nothing, it constantly could be a picture of something. Rauschenbergs Factum 1 and Factum II were important to the uniqueness of the moment in abstract expressionist painting. Lichtenstein continued more aggressively in works such as Big Painting No. 6. Abstract expressionism becomes reduced by Lichtenstein. His satires and comments run throughout his career, with two different meanings. One, he is engaged by the notion that you cannot get away from the history of style. Second is that all representation is at base abstract. He is engaged in both sides and does not want to let go of either representation or abstraction. Olderburg wants to bring modernism out of its closet and into the public. He believed it was ill served to by idealism. Both Olderburg and Lichenstein hold the irony that bad faith is a necessary ingredient for a good society. Pop art jokes are less serious and more serious than they seem: admiration of abstraction and at the same time deeply suspicious of it. Andy Warhol has found the nerve of the good/bad faith problem. He uses and understands to some extent the language of abstraction. His most direct insult to abstract painting is represented by his Oxidation Painting of 1978 which he pisses on Pollock. With canvases on the floor he urinates on them in an exaggerated replay of Pollocks drip paintings. Where Lichtenstein tends to be interested in economy and reduction, Warhol is an artist of spit, splash, blot, excess. He is very interested in the graininess of photography. Halley isnt interested in the ambiguity of abstraction. He believes that all abstraction is coded representation of power. Taafe is also is against abstraction but in a different way. He puts to work the idea of revisiting high decoration with intent to make it low decoration. Richter has gambits between abstractions and representation. He literally waters down Stella; Both Warhol and Richter, it is blur and smear that obscures rather than makes things clear. Comparing to Johns, the whole idea that destroying order is the same thing as producing it. Twombly expands the repetitive gesture to the scale that Pollock had with his blackboard work. Everything that Twombly achieves, he achieves by the negation, by distancing of himself from Pollock, by the exact inversions of what Pollock is. Johns too take a swipe at Pollock. He made his living debunking abstraction. Just as Twomblys repetition speaks of expressionism, so is Johns gesturalism. He has to establish a system in order to cancel or bury it. The order itself is hardly as important as the demonstration of its vulnerability or fragility. He obsessively worked the surface with personal marks. These aforementioned artists are speaking about art through art by their knowing relationship to that tradition. It is a relationship of negation. It is a relationship to tradition that involves the acceptance of traditions constraints at the same time that is subverts and reacts against them. With these artists you have an abstraction saturated with skepticism, saturated with knowing, an abstraction that proves that abstraction can be knowing and still have meaning. Chapter 6 De Kooning abstraction gives rise to a new kind of life in his works by compacting them. His work misrepresented the dichotomy between abstraction and representation. Within his work such as the Women and early figurations, he shows the border between abstraction and representation wasnt something untouchable but rather something transgressive. Agnes Martin is the opposite of de Kooning. His works are at the other end of abstraction. His work is about delicacy of touch and tint. Martins art is all about the experience on the part of both the artist and the observer. In contrast, Robert Ryman is all painting; he is an abstractionist who is interested in imagery and in the nature of painting. His art is about constant restlessness and is never about perfection. Unlike Clement Greenberg, who believed there was an essence of painting. Ryman is sure that there is no essence at the bottom that painting constantly needs to be changed. Brice Mardens work is a good demonstration of pulling together the contemporary abstractions of Johns and Pollock. He tried to live with the legacies of Pollock as a great abstract artist and Johns as representative painter by mixing and blending what they both stand for. Gombrich believed that representation is a matter of solving dilemmas and is neatly summarized in his drawing. Gombrichs interest seems to be primarily in rendering. He believed strongly in the nature of visual representation and realism. Pollock finds one translation in Klein through the acts of performance yet a completely different translation in Richard Serra. Instead of painting on a canvas, he throws hot lead into a corner. What was refined in Kleins interpretation becomes industrial with Serra. Many artists unpack many meanings from Pollock, however, the intention of what brings an artist to the canvas does not control meaning nearly as much as does the material existence of the picture itself. The experimental dimensions of abstract art- its scale, materials, method of fabrication, social context, and tradition are crucially important to our understanding of it. Abstract art is a symbolic game and it is akin to all human games: you have to get into it, risk and all and this take certain act of faithà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a faith in possibility, a faith in not knowing. Practically Nothing:   Light, Space, and the Pragmatics of Phenomenology In the exhibitions catalog Schuld writes, does not deal with light space as media as much as it deals with the participating subjects personal adjustmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In this essay, Schuld grounds the work of Irwin, Turrell, Orr and Nordman in the phenomenological philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty. This essay explores the Light and Space movements giving its roots in Minimalism. Merleau-Ponty sought to establish a primacy of perception with particular interest to Light and Space art. Irwin and Turrell experimented with psychologist Ed Wortz as a part of Maurice Tuchmans Art and Technology Program. In these experiments, scientists and engineers were paired with artists in tests that involved sensory deprivation, particularly within an anechoic chamber, a soundproof structure used for astronautic and psychological research.   Irwin, Turrell, Wheeler, Nordman and Orr all spent time in the chamber, occasionally enhancing it further by light proofing the space. The experience of dep rivation training attributed an increased sensory awareness.   Light and Space art does not deal with light and space as media as much as it deals with the participating subjects personal perceptual adjustment by extending ones own experience in the extremes of sensory deprivation experiments. Irwin, Turrell, Wheeler, Nordman, and Orr bring phenomenology into practice by creating situations that act as experiential snares, capturing attention through disorientation. Work and Word Adrian Kohn raises practical questions about writing about California Light and Space art, much of which frequently deals with language. He questions the inadequacy of verbal language to approach abstraction. According to Kohn, language falls short of communicating the obscure with much clarity. He calls attention to the vagueness of artists statements that make the emotional qualities of the artwork take precedence. This same problem plagues Light and Space art as well as other works that will also pose a challenge to photography. Words inevitably catch up to art and take hold. Belles thinking of his canvas support as a geometric illusionary volume and his notion that panes of glass can feel soft prompt you to stop and assess the validity of those formulations. While words may obscure arts strangeness at first, their failings, when noticed, restore it. http://www.theartstory.org/movement-minimalism.htm http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/modern_art/abstract%20art5.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_O%27Doherty http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/sep/20/art1

Literature During the Naturalistic Period :: Literature Essays Litarary Analysis

Literature During the Naturalistic Period What is the one struggle that all human beings have in common? It is life itself. As important as humans think they are, in the scheme of reality, the human race is not that significant. During the late eighteenth century and the earlier nineteenth century, authors such as Émile Zola, Jack London, and Stephen Crane and poets such as Robert Frost and Wallace Stevens were struggling with leaving behind traditional attitudes and finding a new philosophy of life. These writers, along with many others, are known for writing during the Naturalistic time period. Literature of Naturalism, just as all literature does, reflects the attitudes and events happening during this time. The world was changing in many more ways than ever before. Traditional unquestioned beliefs had fallen by the wayside because of many factors but especially with the introduction of Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species. Darwin's view that humans evolved and were not created by some Supreme Being startled societ y, especially the religious community. For the first time, society began to question the mainstay of their religious beliefs. In the economic realm, Karl Marx was expounding his view of socialism. Economic factors had a profound effect on the people of this time as well. The industrialization and the urbanization that were occurring were forcing changes on every front of life. Along with the scientific and social advancements of the world at this time, psychology was breaking ground to become an important science of its own. Freud with his view of why people act the way they do and Jung with his thoughts on the collective unconscious were offering new thought and insight about human behavior. However, with the removing of the old beliefs that gave humans a sense of direction and order in their lives, the search, which often included the loss of oneself, needed to be embarked upon so that people of this era could find some sort of direction in the new world of knowledge and confusion. Never before or since this time has there been such a wandering in the desert of uncertainty. Therefore, it is quite natural that the authors of this period reflect all of the turmoil created by the amount of knowledge that was being shared and that was trying to be comprehended. Authors of this time were at the forefront of this investigation. Naturalistic writers tend to write in a somewhat scientific method because their characters are placed in a situation where the forces of nature or the environment are imposed upon them.

Basketball Needs To Be Fixed Essay -- essays research papers

Basketball Needs to Be Fixed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professional and college basketball have become very popular in the hearts and minds of many Americans. Millions of dollars a year are spent on apparel, tickets, and television all generated by people's love for basketball. But in the last couple of years, both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball have lost a substantial amount of their competition and have caught much criticizim for it. At the heart of this problem is a single cause, greed. The game of basketball has become all about money instead of the game and its fans. This problem needs to be addressed, and the best place to start is with the college players, or more specifically, the NBA draft. The rules and guidelines that pertain to the draft are greatly at fault for the down slide of both college and NBA basketball and they need to be changed before the game down slides into nothing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The changes that need to be made are simple, underclassmen should not be eligible for the NBA draft; or in other words, if you have years of eligibility left, you should not be eligible to be drafted by an NBA team. What problems would this solve? The answer is most problems in basketball today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, college basketball has paid greatly by losing its most talented players to the NBA as many as three years early. This has resulted in not only an overall lessening of the game, but in certain circumstances caused the downfall of once great basketball programs. This is how it happens, colleges recruit players based on what their needs are or what they will need shortly in the future. So let us say that one school has a great core of sophomore and junior players for an upcoming season. The coaches do not have the need or the room for many new top notch players. So all of the top recruits find other schools to go to. Then, let us say that the great core of players leaves for the NBA, leaving the team with mediocre players and a horrible season to look forward to. By the next recruiting period comes around, the school's reputation has been hurt, and so has their chances of landing the top recruits. This continues until the school's once proud basketball tradition is a thing of the past. This situation is not only hypothetical, schools like UNLV, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Hous... ...ard spiral. That is how players' salaries have rose to absurd limits. No one noticed the problem while it was happening, but now that it is a problem there is no real way to fix it. In 1996, a rookie salary cap was put into effect by the NBA to put a limit on beginning salaries, so some measures are being taken. This is a start, but it is not the answer to the problem. If underclassmen were not allowed to come out early, high rookie salaries would not have to be as high, and the players would probably be more accepting of less money than most rookies are getting now, and this would help solve the all- around money problem in the NBA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both the NBA and college basketball seem to be in a rut. And as stated before, they reason is the underclassmen leaving school early to make money in the NBA. So what's the solution? Easy, do not let the college players enter the NBA draft early. It would benefit everyone in the future. Of course there would be a transitional period, but the losses would be short and the effects of the change would be evident very quickly. Let the game be played the way it was meant to be played, for the competition and not for the money.

Challenges of Raising a Disabled Child Essay

Caring for a child with a disability can be challenging due to parenting responsibilities and the difficulties they encounter when interacting with an often unreceptive environment. Consequently, parents can be at increased risk for excessive levels of personal distress which in turn can adversely affect the well being of the child and the entire family unit (Plant & Sanders, 2007). Parents of children with disabilities can be at an increased risk for psychosocial distress (Parish, Rose, Grinstein-Weiss, Richman & Andrews, 2008; Plant & Sanders, 2007). The parenting responsibilities for parents of children with disabilities often require a significant amount of time to complete, can be physically demanding, can disrupt family and social relationships, and can adversely affect caregiver employment (Brannen & Heflinger, 2006; Seller & Heller, 1997). Perhaps as a consequence of these additional impacts, family caregivers of children with disabilities can be at increased risk to experience depression, physical health problems, and decreased quality of life (Feldman, et al. , 2007; Ones, Yilmaz, Cetinkaya, & Calgar, 2002). The added challenges of caring for a child with a disability may lead to more stress and greater physical and emotional health risks for parents and their families (e. g. , increased conflict with spouse; Murphy, Christian, Caplin & Young, 2006) compared to families without a child with a disability (Feldman et al. , 2007). This topic is particularly personal for me because I know first hand the psychological affects and challenges that a handicap child could have on parents, family members, and friends. My son was two months when I notice that something just wasn’t right with him. I noticed him favoring one side instead of looking straight ahead. I mentioned my concerns to our family doctor. His doctor didn’t see it as a problem. She said to just continue to watch him. Two months passed and still no change, so at his next appointment I expressed my concern again. I insisted that she run tests on my son immediately. I knew something seemed different; I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I had already had two other boys so something just didn’t sit right with me. The doctor sent my son to be tested at University of Maryland Hospital and my son was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus Dandywalker Malformation with Palsy. He had to have surgery at six months to have a shunt placement to drain the water from his brain. I was devastated. My husband and I went through several defense mechanisms. The first I believe was denial. We didn’t want to face the fact that something was wrong with our child, our baby. He seemed so perfect when he was born just a few months ago. We went through repression, rationalization and intellectualization. We couldn’t wrap our minds around the fact that our child would be different from other children. Nobody wants to believe that something is wrong with their child. I felt a little embarrassed for fear of what people might think about our child or what someone would say. So many things raced around my mind. We wanted to blame the doctors; maybe they did something wrong in my prenatal care. I went over in my mind again and again of every little thing I did when pregnant to ensure that I had did everything I was supposed to do. I didn’t drink, smoke or do drugs. What happened? We tried to search our family history genetics. We just came up empty. My husband and I became depressed, frustrated, and angry. I felt helpless about my son’s condition. I wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, I began to investigate my son’s condition. I read all I could get my hands on. I searched for schools and other medical resources to help me address my son’s needs. In the back of my mind I was still trying to make sense of the fact that my son had a developmental and neurological problem that would affect him for the rest of his life. I wondered what restrictions we would face now and in the future. I still wasn’t sure if I could cope with his lack of development neurologically, physically, mentally or emotionally. I began to question God. I wondered why me. I wasn’t sure if I would have to stop working. I wondered how we as a family would work together to stay a family. I had so many questions, but no answers. I prayed asking God for help and guidance. Later, I began to realize that I had to be strong. I had to accept what the reality was with my son and his disability. It hasn’t been easy. We faced many financial problems, medical issues, several hospitalizations for my son, divorce; daycare issues especially since my son needed twenty four hour daycare. Day care is very expensive as well as diapers and wipes for disabled children. Insurance covers some things but not enough. A person has to be making next to nothing in order to get any assistance from the government; we needed assistance regardless of what we made monetary. I would have never known what disabled families went through to get their voice heard and children’s needs assisted unless I had to face these great challenges myself. So much goes into raising a child with disabilities. There are many variables that factor into taking care of a disabled child. Financial hardships are another important factor that influences parents’ wellbeing. In general families with children with disabilities experience much higher expenditures than other families (Newacheck and Kim, 2005) found that, on average, the total annual health care expenditures for children with disabilities were more than three times as much compared to children without disabilities. The financial strain incurred by families of children with disabilities is likely due to increased expenses related to the child’s needs as well as loss of employment or inability to work because of parenting responsibilities (Murphy et al. , 2006; Parish et al. 2008; Worcester et al. , 2008). Inability to engage in employment can also lead to feelings of isolation, a lack of fulfillment and low self-esteem (Shearn & Todd, 2000). Families of children with disabilities often report feeling isolated from the community (Freedman& Boyer, 2000; Worcester et al. , 2008). What I’ve learned from researching the challenges of raising a child with disabilities; as well as bein g a parent of a disabled child is that there is still so much more to be done. There is still research that hasn’t been touched regarding parents and their disable children. We the parents have to be the voices for our disable children. We have to be better informed about what our disabled children rights are. We have to be willing and ready to fight on behalf of our disable children. Parents and state officials have to work to get better laws passed to accommodate disabled children. Disabled children need better health care programs, better schools; a place for them to be themselves. Parents need a place to relax and not have to worry about dirty looks that people who don’t have disabled children give them. Parents shouldn’t have to feel ashamed that they have disabled children. We shouldn’t be looked down upon because our children are different. Our children shouldn’t be bullied or treated like they are worthless. Our children are special. They deserve the best that we can help them to achieve in life. They deserve a chance like the rest of us. We’ve got to come together and help each other to provide a better life for all! The questions we should ask researchers to study are many. One could be what’s being done to assist parents with disabled children? Are there programs to assist parents in child care for disabled children? Normal daycare centers are for infants through 12 years of age. As of today my disabled son is 16 years old and there’s really no day care for children his age. Another question is why do they go according to parents’ income in order to assist with social security disability? A parent shouldn’t have to be jobless in order to obtain assistance from social security disability. Yet a person who walks into social security disability and say my back hurt or that they have a condition can obtain money; work the system while the truly disabled suffer. There are so many people working the disability system and really aren’t disabled. We have to help the programs we have for our disabled children actually help the disabled children. In conclusion caring for a child with a disability can be challenging, but many of these challenges are likely due to a lack of necessary environmental supports. Future research should expand on these findings and policy makers, scientists and providers should give particular attention to the environmental support needs of parents in order to create policies and interventions that are more family centered.

How To Write A Good Book Critique: Steps And Suggestions Essay

A book critique is a description, critical analysis, and an evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book, not a book report, retelling, or a summary, It should (1) focus on the book’s purpose, content, and authority, (2) include the reviewer’s reaction on the strengths and weaknesses of the theories, concepts, and content presented, (3) evaluate how well (in the opinion of the reviewer) the author has succeeded, and (4) present evidence to support this evaluation. Step 1: The first, and most important, – Read the book. Suggestion 1: When you read a book (for its educational value), take notes about it and formulate your thoughts as you go along. (You should be able to write most of your critique without looking back at the book. If you continually are paging through the book as you write, the result is likely to be a string of paraphrases taken from the book, rather than your own evaluation.) Suggestion 2: While reading the book don’t be afraid to consult outside resources (dictionary, the book’s cited references, etc.) for confirmation and/or clarification. Include these findings in your notes. Suggestion 3: Keep in mind that your assignment is to write a 4-page (max) BOOK CRITIQUE, a summary and analysis (not a review) of a particular book’s (author or authors) perspective on a selected topic, not a 20-page paper on the topic. Step 2: To begin writing your critique, start with a centered title in 14 pt New Times Roman Bold, followed by your name in 12 pt New Times Roman standard (not Bold). As an example: Summary and Critique of (main title of the book you read) Submitted by (your name) Step 3: Using the following format, identify the book you read. Author & Author. (year of publication). Complete title of book in italics. City of publication: Publisher’s name. Number of pages. As an example: Marvin E. Lusts. (1997). How to Be Great: Getting Ahead in a Humble Way. New York: Deficient Press, 1997. xvii, 234 pp. Step 4: Write the introductory paragraph (or two). Without using a heading, provide a contextual background (such as for whom the book is intended; what we know about the author; the â€Å"school of thought† represented by this author or work), a statement of the purpose of the book (what the author or editor is trying to accomplish), and the scope of the book (how much ground the author is trying to cover) – you must judge what background information will be helpful and/or necessary for understanding the nature/uniqueness of the book. Step 5: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Overview, write your summary of the book. Your summary should consist of a short, succinct â€Å"overview† of the contents (as opposed to a play-by-play summary of the book), identification of the main thesis or theses, a recap of the supporting argument/logic/rationale, description of the author’s assumptions, and note-worthy statements/wordings/quotations from the book. Suggestion 4: Don’t plagiarize from the publisher’s, reviewer’s, or book seller’s reviews/summaries. They are trying to promote the book, you want to objectively describe the content. Suggestion 5: When you quote from the book that you are discussing, put the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. As an example: The author concludes that â€Å"size does matter, as all the truly great leaders were exceptionally short people† (p. 79). Step 6: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Analysis and Reaction, write your analysis and reaction. For your analysis, objectively evaluate the book for relevance and importance to the selected topic; accuracy, thoroughness, and usefulness, and the author’s objectivity (is the book based on research or personal opinion?) Show whether the author’s main arguments are logically rational (based on testable, factual evidence), logically irrational (based on un-testable espoused theory and rhetoric), or illogical (based on emotional opinion). Comment on parts of particular interest, and point out anything that seems to give the book literary merit. Additionally, relate the book to larger issues. Identify specific issues the book raises and the possibilities the book suggests to you? Suggestion 6: Be careful not to criticize an author just because he/she did not write the book that you would have wanted, or because their position is based on a belief that is diametrically opposed to your personal beliefs (for example, the author belongs to one political party and you belong to another). Only judge a book according to the author’s stated (or blatantly implied) intentions. For your reaction to the book, respond to the author’s arguments/opinions. What do you agree or disagree with, and why. What specific points are not convincing, and what has the author omitted or what problems were left unsolved. Support your argument for or against the author’s opinions with evidence (research findings or by bringing in other authors you agree with). Suggestion 7: When you quote or introduce supporting evidence from other books/authors identify the source by putting the author’s last name, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. As an example: However, the research has clearly shown that there is no correlation between genetics and leadership effectiveness (Sommebodi, 2001, p. 79). Step 7: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Summary write a summary paragraph (or two). Close with a comment on the overall significance of this work (is it a valuable piece, a useful piece with some minor problems, or a waste of the trees), briefly restate your main points, and comment on whether or not you would recommend this book to others, and why.

Fear of Crime

Introduction Fear of Crime in members of our society today has been widely researched. For the purpose of this essay, fear of crime is used in the context of an individual’s perceived risk of becoming a victim of crime. In this essay it is argued that the elderly and the youngest members of our society are the most fearful of crime and that, of these age groups the elderly have the lowest risk of becoming victims of crime. Firstly, research shows that fear of crime is wide spread and that certain age groups are more fearful of becoming victims than others. Secondly, that the Media’s portrayal of crimes contributes to society’s perceptions of safety and crime itself, increasing fear of crime in these age groups. Thirdly, that the Elderly fears of crime and perceived risk of victimisation is also contributed to by social and physiological factors, such as vulnerability that leads to altered lifestyle changes. Data confirms that levels of victimisation rates are low for the elderly but high for the young, which is in contrast to those in the elderly age group having heightened levels of fear. In conclusion, fear of crime is becoming a serious societal issue as our population ages being that the elderly are becoming the most fearful of crime whilst the youngest age group with the highest fear are most likely to become victims of crime. Discussion Firstly, we see that in modern society today that a growing fear of crime is widely recognised. It is acknowledged that the elderly aged 65 and over, and the youngest members aged 16 – 24 of our society have the highest fear of crime in comparison to other age groups(Johnson, 2005). Australia has an aging population (James, 1992 p. 1), for those 85 and over numbers has doubled and there are increased numbers of those aged 65 and over. The last twenty years spanning from 1990 to 2010 has seen the number of elderly people in our society increase by 170%; in comparison to around 30% for total population growth for Australia, where those age 15 are seen to be decreasing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010). This correlated to the findings from the 2004 International Crime Victimisation Survey (Johnson, 2005) showing that the age groups 15 – 24 and 65 and over were the most likely to answer the series of questions asked around feelings of safety when walking alone at night, utilising or waiting for public transportation at night and whether they believed they would be victims of burglary in the ext year as unsafe or very unsafe. Secondly, it is argued that the Media’s representations of criminal acts and events through sensationalised stories depicting crimes that are violent and those with a sexual nature; these have contributed to and influenced levels of fear and perceptions of risk for the age groups 15 – 24, and 65 years and over. The first edition of Violence Today (Chappell, 1989) links society’s perceptions of violent crime to media stories and publicity that is focussed on crimes of a violent nature that attributes to growing fears of crime posturing â€Å"Australia is succumbing to a torrent of crime beyond the control of traditional system of traditional law† (Chappell, 1989). The focus on violent and sexually explicit crimes by the media has left our society with the misconception that these sorts of crimes are an everyday occurrence. The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (Roberts & Indermaur, Australian Institute of Criminology 2007) recorded that over half of those aged 65 and over believed that crime had increased over a period of two years before the survey was completed, this is attributed to an individual’s media consumption – whether it be newspapers, internet or television – of factual or fictional medians (Kort-Butler & Sittner Hartshorn, 2011). The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes also collected data on the medians that individuals get their crime and criminal justice beliefs and views from, and observed â€Å"that the media remains the most important source in informing Australians’ views of crime†(Roberts & Indermaur, Australian Institute of Criminology 2007 p. 9). The importance given to certain crimes in the daily newspapers and other media sources shows us proof to the fact that crime is a topic that has the public’s interest and is a focus of their worries (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001). It goes on to discuss the fact that crime as reported on by the media increases the public’s levels of fears and that there is little or no correlation to actual levels of violent crime in our society today. Thirdly, crime victimisation data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008-2009, p. 17) reflects that those 65 and above are the least likely to be victims of crime with a victimisation rate much lower than all other age groups in the category of personal assault. This cannot be said or the younger age groups of 16 -24 who’s fear of crime can be linked to high numbers of victimisation in the same category. Carcach, Graycar & Muscat (2001) attribute social and communal activities that elderly people partake in to this anomaly between the elderly fear of crime and victimisation rates. The change in activities of the elderly over time may contribute to the lower victimisation rates reported where on the other hand the young tend to have many more communal social activities which serve to increase their chances of victimisation. The data collected from the Crime Victimisation Survey (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008-2009) although it showed very little difference between the fear levels for the youngest age group and that of the older age group of 65 and over the differences in social activities and community relationships and the fact that the elderly are far less likely to be out alone without a companion, or travelling on public transport or waiting for the same can be accounted for, by personal vulnerability. A key concept used to explain high levels of perceived risk of victimisation is that of vulnerability. Powell & Wahidin (2007, p. 94) assert â€Å"the fear of crime operates on a myriad of emotional and practical levels from feeling vulnerable and isolated, to affecting personal well – being†. Vulnerability has been attributed to contributing to fear of crime within the elderly age group (Carcach et al, 2001). It has been argued that ‘personal vulnerability’ (Franklin, Franklin & Fearn, 2008 p. 06), the inability for an individual to protect themselves due to lack of physical strength (James, 1992) and the feelings of â€Å"powerlessness to resist attack’ (Callanan & Teasdale, 2009 p. 362) and their worry of being able to heal from an act of victimisation (Johnson, 2005 p. 33) explains the disparity between higher levels of fear and that of actual victimisation. Cossman & Rader (2011, p. 143) add further to this that most elderly people are now livi ng alone, either having lost a lifetime partner through death, or hospitalisation due to frailty or illness also attributes to higher levels of fear of crime. A workshop held between several services and organisations in South Australia on Crime and the Elderly identified that elderly people thought themselves to be the most victimised by crime, that during the day break-ins caused them fear, however break-ins with the potential for personal assault caused the most fear after dark, these fears impacted on all aspects of their lives, which in turn has restricted and isolated them from their communities and the lifestyles they have been previously accustomed to living. Doherty, 1991, p. 1)(Johnson, 2005, p. 29) The elderly by far have the highest levels of fear that are based on misconceptions that they perceive about crime in our society today. The young 15– 24 years of age perceive their risk of victimisation to be high and statistics show that in 2005 this age group had the highest victimisation rate for crimes against the person ( Australian Institute of Criminology, 2006). Conclusion Fear of crime in our society has far reaching implications, Australia has an aging population that exhibits one of the highest levels of fear of crime that can be attributed to feelings of vulnerability, yet statistics have shown the elderly to be the least likely to be victims of crime. Their perceived fear of victimisation has lead to changes in their lifestyles in order to protect themselves, based on misconceived notions that they are the most victimised in society. The young aged 16-24 years of age also have a high level of perceived risk from crime but this is in proportion to the victimisation rates recorded for this age group. Perceptions of fear and perceived risk of crime are contributed to by the media’s portrayal of crimes that have a violent or sexual nature which further serves to contribute to a growing fear of crime. The fact that society tends to get its views and beliefs of crime and criminal justice from the media means that misconceptions about the perceived risk of victimisation tend to be over the top and misinformed. References Australian Institute of Criminology 2006, Australian Crime: facts and figures 2005, Crime Facts Info, no. 120, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001, ‘Measuring Wellbeing: Frameworks for Australian Social Statistics, 2001, cat. no. 4160. 0’ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘2008-2009, Crime Victimisation, Australia, cat. no 4530. 0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, ‘Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, cat. No. 3201. 0’, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Australian Social Trends, cat no. 4102. 0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Callanan, V. J. , & Teasdale, B. (2009). ‘An exploration of gender differences in measurement of fear of crime’. Feminist Criminology, 4(4), 359-376. doi:10. 1177/1557085109345462  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carcach, C. Graycar, A. & Muscat, G. 2001 ‘The Victimisation of Older Australians’, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no. 212, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Chappell, D, 1989. Violence Today, no. 1 Violence, Crime and Australian Society’, National Committee on Violence, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Doherty, B. 1991, Home Assist – A new approach to House Security, Department of Employment and Further Education, Adelaide. Fearn, N. E. , Franklin, T. W. , & Franklin, C. A. (2008). ‘A multilevel analysis of the vulnerab ility, disorder, and social integration models of fear of crime’. Social Justice Research, 21(2), 204-227. doi:10. 1007/s11211-008-0069-9   Hartshorn, K. J. S. , & Kort? Butler, L. A. (2011). Watching the Detectives: Crime Programming, Fear of Crime, and Attitudes about the Criminal Justice System’, Sociological Quarterly, 52(1), 36-55. doi:10. 1111/j. 1533-8525. 2010. 01191. x   James, M. 1992, ‘The Elderly as Victims of Crime, Abuse and Neglect’, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no. 37, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Johnson, H. 2005, ‘Crime Victimisation in Australia: Key Results of the 2004 International Crime Victimisation Survey’, Research and Public Policy Series, no. 64, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Powell, J. & Wahidin. A. (2008). ‘Understanding old age and victimisation: A critical exploration’. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy,  28(3/4), 90-99. doi:10. 1108/01443330810862160 Rader, N. , & Cossman, J. (2011). ‘Fear of Crime and Personal Vulnerability: Examining Self-Reported Health’, Sociological Spectrum,  31(2), 141-162. doi:10. 1080/02732173. 2011. 541339 Roberts, L. & Indermaur, D. 2007, ‘What Australians think: about crime and justice: results from the 2007 Survey of Social Attitudes’, Research and Public Policy Series 101, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.

Buddhist Temple Visit

Buddhism is religion that is based off of peace and spirituality taught by the teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gotama. Many who follow its teachings believe Buddhism to be more of a way of life or lifestyle choice rather a religion. Buddha is not a god, but one man that taught his followers a path of enlightenment from his experiences and values. Buddha’s main teachings were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths were teachings about suffering, pain, disease, happiness, loneliness, and aging.It explained why we as humans can overcome certain obstacles in our lives by looking at the more spiritual side of things such as â€Å"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. † (Dalai Lama). The Eightfold Path is the teachings of being moral, being aware of our actions and thoughts, developing compassion for others, and most importantly gaining wisdom from the understanding of The Four Noble Truths. I visited the Vietnamese Buddhist Center in Sugar Land this past Sunday and it was a sight to behold.The center was surrounded by a green metal fencing with some sort of crest or emblem that looked similar to an steering wheel on an old ship. Driving into the center, the main road was split then split into two smaller roads. The road to the left led to a parking lot, while the road to the right led to a smaller parking lot surrounded by small buildings that seem to be places of worship. The scenery that over hung the roads were statues of lion heads, beautiful trees and flowers in all sorts of colors.The main statue however was a huge tall Buddha in the middle of large pond filled with Koi Fish. There was a small tiled area that visitors could take pictures of the statue in its amazing and beautiful nature. The aura of the place was one of peace and tranquility. The small tiled visitor area was then extended by an overhanging wooden bridge leading to a large tiled courtyard with small trees that was around the perimeter. In the middle of the courtyard was two rows of small trees that were placed vertical to the steps of a large temple, which was the main place of worship.Behind the main temple was another small courtyard was two smaller buildings for worship to the left and the right of the courtyard. Another large building was to the back which looked fairly newly built. It seemed to be a place of serving food that contained no meat but some sort of meat substitute that was not artificially made from what the servers were telling me. Then to the right of that building was a small warehouse that looked to house desks and whiteboards for the weekly Vietnamese classes that are being held there.Outside of the warehouse was a basketball goal for the students that would come for Sunday school, and a small parking lot for more visitors. As I took off my shoes before entering the main temple before the first worship session began, I began to feel a sense of peace within myself as well those that were atten ding the worship session. Inside the main temple was a huge statue of Buddha surrounded with white silhouettes of the Lotus flower, which seems to be the symbol of peace. Tens of incense jars filled with sand litter the alter the room.The room smelled like incense, pleasant and peaceful. There were twenty rows of small cushions that were used for kneeling and sitting, and twenty rows of small raised shelves that were used for holding the prayers that were going to be recited during that session. People were filling the room really quickly, and seats were being taken fast. The elders were given their seats first, and if an elder came a tad late, someone would give them their spot and moved to the side of the room. Everyone was dressed somewhat casually. Most of the older occupants were wearing work clothes like the men wearing slacks and a nice fitted collared shirt, while the women would wear either a dress or slacks and nice top or blouse. The younger occupants, ones of my age or younger, would just be wearing casual school clothes like jeans and a tee shirt. In such a religious place, I have not yet witnessed a young female wearing short-shorts or any revealing outfit for that matter. The room was filled with a mild chatter of Vietnamese and English.Most conversations that I could comprehend were mostly of those catching up with each other and wondering how each other was doing and such. The younger occupants would be talking about the latest craze in music or movies. It suddenly got quiet as there was three loud bangs from striking of the gong to commence the prayers. The head monk for that prayer came out from one of the side doors in a traditional orange robe holding a microphone in his right hand, and prayer sheets in his left. He thanked us all for coming today and briefly explained he prayer we were going to be reciting. The prayer was for those that had lost a loved one, and for them not to be sad as their loved ones have found peace and tranquility as the moved on into the steps of enlightenment and eventually reincarnation. He then turned to the giant Buddha towards the front of the room and began reciting as everyone joined in and recited along. Everyone was on their knees having their hands together as they recited the prayer either from memory or from the pieces of paper that had three pages of prayers in Vietnamese.I could not read the prayers so I just silently glanced at them and tried to make sense of where we were in the prayers. Then one of the monks hit the small drum which everyone bowed for a few short seconds then returned to their original positions. Then a few moments later the drum was struck again, everyone bowed, but now stood up instead of returning to their knees. Then again, the small drum was struck, everyone bowed then returned to being on their knees. The prayer was now being recited faster as a drum was being struck with a beat in quick succession.This was repeated three times and when the prayers were being done recited, the head monk told those that have lost a loved one to follow him into the incense room. I followed about four families into that room. The room had pictures of everyone that had passed away that was a member of the temple. Families that were in that room had a special prayer and ceremony to honor their loved one. The monk said that one member of the family shall come up to the alter, drink a sacred tea and pour a small cup in honor of their loved one.A drum was struck as everyone started to recite a prayer. During the reciting, another monk came and tapped the four members that represented their families with some sort of sacred text. Then the prayer stopped as the four members went to the front, poured their tea, drank it, and poured it for their deceased loved one. Before everyone excited the room, every person was given three incense to pray and let their deceased loved ones know of their prayers today.They would bow three times, pause to pray, went up to the alter, placed their incense into the jar, returned to their spot, and lastly bow three times once more. That was my experience in a Buddhist Temple, the peace and tranquility of the people, and the monks was quite wholesome. Being a young adult, I never really understood the importance of religion and culture, but after visiting a place like this†¦ It really opened my eyes to how a religion can bring peace and everlasting faith within a person.