New Challenges for Africa and the Islamic World Essay Example for Free

New Challenges for Africa and the Islamic World Essay * Songhai flourished during the 1400s and 1500s, with an empire stretching 1500 miles east to west. (from Gao to the Niger River) a. Timbuktu * Timbuktu became a major center for trans-Saharan trade. Large supplies of gold, ivory, and slaves were sent abroad. * Timbuktu was a major center of Islamic scholarship, in particular because of the Islamic University of Sankore. * Civil war over succession weakened the empire which was then destroyed by Moroccan forces. B. Other West African States * The small Sudanic kingdoms that formed after the fall of Songhai were parts of a closely linked commercial network. * For example, the Dyula moved goods by donkey and canoe, dominating the regional trade. * A few non-Muslim states, including those of the Guinea Coast, had a matrilineal social structure. a. The Kanem-Bornu Kingdom * The Islamic kingdom of Kanem-Bornu prospered from trans-Saharan trade and reached its height under king Idrus Aloma. a. The Hausa and the Trans-Saharan Trade * The Hausa had trade-oriented states in modern-day Chad, eastern Niger, and Nigeria where cotton cloth and leatherwork were manufactured for export. * Islam became dominant, but women continued to play vital social and political roles. b. Trade on the Guinea Coast * A few non-Muslim states, including those of the Guinea Coast and Volta River basin, had a matrilineal social structure, and prospered from mining and trading in gold to the north. c. Europeans in West Africa * Portuguese encountered such large trading centers as the one at Guinala, (Guinea Bissau), where 12,000 men and women met weekly to trade. C. Bantu Trading Cities and Kingdoms (East) * Bantu settlers and Arab immigrants formed the Swahili culture. * The Swahili city-states grew wealthy by trading in African goods to peoples from around the Indian Ocean. a. Trade on the East African Coast * Swahili city-states were parts of the great trading network generally dominated by seafaring Arabs and Indian Muslims. d. The Shona and the Ganda * The Shona exported gold and ivory through the city of Sofala to the Middle East and India. * The Ganda people established the kingdom of Buganda west of Lake Victoria and Buganda dominated the region by the 1700s. e. The Kingdom of Kongo * In the Congo River basin, the Bantu kingdom of Kongo became one of the first great African states to be visited by European explorers. * The kingdoms of Luba and Lunda resisted European power into the nineteenth century. f. The Xhosa and the Zulu * The Xhosa and Zulu were the main Bantu-speaking groups to migrate into southern Africa. D. Africa in the Hemispheric System * Sub-Saharan Africans lacked interregional connections. * Sub-Saharan African was cut off from European and Asian trade. * Marginally fertile soils, scarce exploitable minerals, and few good harbors impeded development in Sub-Saharan Africa. a. Africa the Unknown * West and East Africa supplied gold, ivory, and other commodities to the Middle East and Europe for centuries. * The remaining Amharic Christians in modern-day Ethiopia were surrounded by Muslims and essentially cut off from contact with Europe. g. The Opening of Africa * Europeans set out to penetrate â€Å"Darkest Africa† with the â€Å"light† of the West, while also looking for direct routes to Asian spices and silk. * Africans were shocked and dismayed upon first sighting Europeans. h. The Beginning of the African Slave Trade * Europeans looked for slaves after setting up in the Americas. * Slavery had a long tradition in Africa, which involved Muslim traders. * Europeans already had enslaved their own peoples, though not with a racialized reason. II. EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM AND THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE * Racism developed from early exploitative relationships forged by Portuguese and Dutch adventurers along the two coasts of Africa and in its southern reaches. A. The Portuguese and African Encounters * By the late 1400s the Portuguese had colonized the Cape Verde Islands and the nearby coastal region of Guinea-Bissau. * They also established a long relationship of cooperation with the prosperous Kongo kingdom of south central Africa and sent Catholic missionaries. a. Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco de Gama * In 1487 Bartholomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean. Vasco da Gama established relations with East African Swahili trading cities. * In India, European goods could not compete with more valuable and finer products from India, China, Indonesia, and Persia. Da Gama had finally located the sea route to the east. * The Portuguese set up a network of trading bases around the Indian Ocean, and tried to limit the activity of their Arab, Ottoman, Persian, and Indian rivals. i. The Portuguese and the Kongo * The Christian King Alfonso I, a Portuguese ally, controlled the Kongo and attempted to emulate Portugal by expansion and modernization. * Slavery soured Portuguese-Kongolese relations. j. Queen Nzinga and African Resistance * After Alfonso’s death, the Portuguese conquered Kongo and Ndongo. Kongolese and Ndongo warriors were no match for Portuguese armies. Queen Nzinga of Ndongo strongly resisted the Portuguese. * Kongolese Christian kings appealed to the Pope to halt the slave raids. The Kongolese kings allied with the Dutch to curb Portuguese influence. Kongo endured civil wars, which led to the capture of more slaves. * Portuguese forces occupied several major Swahili trading cities. They eventually controlled several trading ports from the Persian Gulf to China. They used brutal methods to achieve their ends. k. The Decline of Portuguese Influence * Portuguese influence waned on the East Coast of Africa by the 17th century after they destroyed much of the trade by dissuading merchants to venture to the cities they nominally controlled. * In the late 1600s, Arabs from Oman pushed the Portuguese out. E. New Challenges for the Shona States and Ethiopia (East) * The Portuguese controlled the lower Zambezi Valley in order to dominate the gold trade. * They also moved up the Zambezi River and ended up controlling the largest Shona state of Monomotopa. * They also settled coastal Mozambique and mixed culturally, often through intermarriage. a. Ethiopian Civil War * The Portuguese forces assisted Ethiopians against their Muslim neighbors. * Jesuit missionaries converted Ethiopian king to Catholicism. * Attempts to change the Ethiopian Church did not succeed, and the missionaries and other Portuguese were expelled. F. South Africa and Dutch Colonization * Dutch settlers in Cape Town traded with the Khoikhoi, but then seized their land. They enslaved or killed all the Khoikhoi living near the Cape, then imposed white rule over Africans. * Slaves were imported from Madagascar, Mozambique, and Indonesia. * As the economy developed, Africans and Asians outnumbered whites. a. The Boers and â€Å"trekking† * Some Dutch settlers, or Boers, moved eastward to escape governmental control and look for new land to settle. * The Boers tried to take over Xhosa and Zulu lands. G. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade * Europeans enslaved Africans to fulfill their labor needs in the Americas on plantations and in mines. * Physical differences established racial basis of trans-Atlantic slavery. a. The Slave Trade Expands * West Africa was fragmented, which made it vulnerable to slave trading. The Europeans established trading forts from Senegal to Angola. * The Europeans traded cotton goods, guns, iron, rum, and tobacco for slaves. The Europeans often cooperated with local African chiefs to obtain slaves. * The exact number of enslaved Africans is uncertain, but it probably totaled 25 to 30 million individuals. The trans-Atlantic slave trade reached its peak between 1700 and 1800. l. Horrors of the Middle Passage * Slaves were branded, chained together, and packed into overcrowded slave ships. * Many slaves committed suicide before reaching the Americas, so slavers installed nets along the sides of slave ships to catch jumpers. There were also many attempted mutinies en route. * The majority of slaves were sold to plantations without regard to personal ties. m. Rationalizing the Slave Trade * Europeans justified slavery by claiming that Africans were inherently inferior. * Some Westerners argued that slavery benefited Africans by exposing them to Western culture, values, and religion. H. The Slave Trade and African Societies * Some coastal regions of West and Central Africa succumbed to chronic raiding, kidnapping, and warfare. * Some societies were particularly destabilized when huge numbers were enslaved. * Out of these patterns of human enslavement emerged the Atlantic System. a. The Impact of the Slave Trade on Africa * Some African societies prospered by selling neighboring peoples into slavery. The kings of Benin obtained firearms by trading cotton textiles, pepper, ivory, and beads, and prohibited the sale of male slaves. * States such as Dahomey prospered by cooperating with the slave traders. Coastal regions from Senegambia down to Angola suffered the most (ex. family damage.) * The trans-Atlantic slave trade created economic imbalances that hindered the evolution of local industries, though African societies arguably benefited from the introduction of peanuts and corn. n. Early Imperialism and Colonialism in Africa * Europeans practiced imperialism and colonialism in Africa. * The scramble for Africa intensified with industrialization in Europe. Western industrialization helped end the slave trade, but accelerated the need for African natural resources.

The Role Of Mass Media In Gender Roles

The Role Of Mass Media In Gender Roles Gender roles are very significant to an individual as they determine whether someone is male or female and therefore it can be said to be the attitudes and behaviors that a particular society expects from an individual or member of that society. The gender roles within different communities may vary depending on the expectations that a particular society expects of its individuals. For instance the gender roles that the society expects from its citizens has tremendously changed over the past decade and such changes have really affected relations at work, home, school and all Americans at large. This paper seeks to expound on the role of mass media in the development of gender roles. When talking about gender role formation and development, clear and precise definitions of the term sex or gender, need to be perfectly known and what makes sexuality to differ from gender roles is that the latter is usually influenced externally through various social factors while the expression sex represents the actual physical composition of individuals that describe them as male or female. Gender role mainly occurs during the childhood to the adolescence phase and what one chooses affects him/her throughout his life. At times situations may arise where one is not at peace with his identity. The strongest influence for the formation of gender role are the parents as they are our first teachers on earth and are the ones responsible for teaching children basic things such as walking, talking also attitudes and behavior for instance they tend to allow the boy child to try different things unlike the girls as there is fear for their safety Peer pressure can also contribute to reinforcing the traditional gender roles. This clearly arises when children tend to tease those that that are not fitting to the usual traditional roles which they are normally exposed to. For instance it is vividly clear that a girls color is pink therefore a boy spotted having a pink item will be teased therefore being forced to hate the color Mass media and gender roles formation Introduction Television for a long time has been a tool in promoting the stereotypes of gender roles and tends to show them as being natural. The television industry is usually male dominated therefore most of what is produced tends to take a male perspective therefore bringing about male gaze. Through such productions girls get to learn that this is a mans world and hence they get to change their personalities. It is a very powerful and highly influential means to make and communicate gender equality and gender culture of society are mass media technologies which have become an essential part of individual daily lives and culture in the world over (Craig, 2003, p.93). The mass media are able to genuinely make legal gender ideas and philosophy shaped by gender politics and beliefs, and to increase the likelihood or chance of their reception by the general audiences. The mass informs and also gives great pleasure and full entertainment. It is a dominant influence in distinguishing the roles of men and women in a civilized world. Morley in his work opines that, The younger generations are especially influenced by its depiction of gender roles. Even though television has improved very well in its representation of gender, women are still stereotype in conventional roles, and under-represented, while men are revealed or seen as dominant figures (Lawrence, 2004, p.28). Generally, women are known to be mothers whiles men are depicted as the bread winners of the family. Advertisements by the mass media In mass media advertisements, sex stereotyping tends to be at its greatest because the intended audiences are normally either male or female. Men are seen in further occupations than women; women are seen generally as house-keepers and mothers. Men have greater possibilities to be seen advertising car companies or marketing products; women are mostly advertising household products. Men are more likely to be shown outside or in a big business backgrounds; women in domestic settings. Men are more often seen to represent authority. Craig writes, As far as advertisement is concern, with older men gaining more authority than the younger men, at the same time as women seem to fade away. Television and radio commentary represent the interpretations of what is actually seen by the initiator of the TV or radio program me (Craig, 2003, p.82). These commentary or voice over is the tone of power or authority. A recent figure shows that television commentary majorly male. Even though the number o f female voice-overs in recent years has been on the rise, women still engage in their regular, domestic products and feminine care products advertisement. Male voice-overs are more likely to be linked with a far wider variety of products. Influence of TV gender images There is a general agreement that the mass media act as very significant agents of interaction, in cooperation with the family unit and peers, and it contribute to ensuring the gender roles are shaped effectively. Without doubt, at individuals level, it is normally learnt to be male or female this does not come naturally and the mass media helping in making such roles seem as if they are normal. And there is no doubt that the mass presents influential, compelling images of gender. It has been shown that many male individuals spend most of their time with male role-models on the television. But television as a means of socializing is not accountable for shaping the gender roles of individuals. There is abundance of instances of gender-typed conducts around the world today. An exceptional involvement of the television may be to present clear examples of models seen in a larger world than that which is more honestly experienced domestically and the locality. Wherever they get their tho ughts from, by the age of about eight, it seems that most kids develop precise and definite stereotypes about what the sexes can perform or cannot accomplish. Most individuals tend to see the mass media as unavoidably socializing children into customary stereotypical roles, because of the commonness or popularity of such images on the television and the importance attribute to them by children (Donna, 2010, p.35). On the other hand, such records tend to overrate the power of mass media and underrate the multiplicity of ways in which people; mostly children tend to handle their lifes experiences. Most television images of boys, girls, men and women are more different and less clear-cut than such arguments suggest. In the world today, the television offers conflicting images which can be understood in several ways, and viewers are far more dynamic interpreters than the inactive recipients suggested by such records. Craig states that, The prospective influence of the television may be greatest during teenage years (between 12 and 18), since at this phase gender plays such a significant role in social life. At this juncture prevailing gender pictures on TV may tend to strengthen and support traditional expectations among adolescents, thus bringing to mind role variances (Craig, 2003, p.90). Some individuals speculate that the space between a teenager self-concepts and highly fascinating media images may occasionally induce personal uncertainty. In a nutshell, although there are enormous gaps in our understanding of developmental factors, the developmental point of view gives emphasis to the problem of talking about the weight of television on a growing kid in general. And the critical significance of the family should not be ignored, either. It would be improbable for children not to be subjective by the contradictory ways in which their parents use the television. In some families in which the g ender roles are basically traditional, the television may tend to serve to strengthen such gender roles. In this way TV most definitely plays a very vital role in the building of gender roles. Despite the fact that there is little uncertainty that TV presents largely conventional gender photos there is this mixed evidence about the effects of such images or pictures on gender thoughts and behaviors? It is quite hard and extremely difficult to cut off the role of mass media (TV), since people are influenced by their entire environment, even though there is reasonably widespread acceptance that over time, still yet the mass media seems possible to influence peoples thoughts concerning gender roles. The watching of television by individuals may tend to contribute to gender role development and/or strengthening amongst children and teenagers, and some associating stereotyping of gender roles with profound TV spectators. On the other hand, there is proof that opposing stereotypical portr ayals do appear able to influence the perceptions of most kids, but in general such portrayals are uncommon. In summary, the influence of television gender images or pictures on kids is not very beyond question, partially because they have not constantly been well designed. Rheingold writes, There is a modest relationship between presentation patterns and gender stereotypes. There is not much confirmation yet for any great impact of the mass media (TV). Kids are not inactive recipients of images shown on the television (Rheingold, 2000, p.447). Their open feelings to gender role play a significant part in understanding the meaning of images of gender on the television. Conclusion From the above findings it is clear that there are various factors that bring about gender role formation and these factors are rooted within the society and are passed on from one generation to another. The media has also been a factor in bringing about gender roles as it tends to focus more on the ancient stereotypes that cover the boy and girl child roles in the society hence bringing about the inflexibility in the gender roles Conclusively, there is proof that a stereotypical view of gender role may weigh greatly on the viewers, particularly young viewers. There is also clear evidence to show the effect of television messages on young viewers. On the other hand there is indication to show that there is a strong potential correlation with stereotypical ideas. The ideas of conventional or long-established roles of the genders are very deceptive. So as to ensure a change in the gender roles there should be campaigns against stereotypes that surround gender roles

Literature Review on Gender Inequality

Literature Review on Gender Inequality In Scott Sander’s essay, he shares some personal thoughts and experiences throughout his life with various exposures to viewpoints. He talks about how the physical beauty of women affects men. He talks about how important it could be if girls were to walk naked in order to reduce man’s imaginations. He proves this when he says, â€Å"Until that moment, it had never made any difference to me how much or little a girl’s clothing revealed.† Scott explains how both of them, with the friend Norman, they were warned against looking at women with such lust, because their mother were women too and they would not have liked to be stared at like that. At 11, the girl older than he was revealed her body stimulated the author sexually. Sanders defend men arguing that biology and nature plays a role in men’s sexual desires for women. He gives an example of a goat to explain how the desire is biological by stating, â€Å"Billy goats do not fret over how they should look at nanny goats. They look or don’t look, as seasons and hormones dictate.† For a man to secure the survival of his genetic line, he has to successfully, produce children. He blames biology and his DNA for the reason he desires women in a sexual way. The author exploits another avenue, where he questions whether women intrigue men’s desire because they want the men to see and notice them. Women should try to respect themselves before impressing other people with their looks. To defend his claim, Sanders says,† Whatever their motives, these women had chosen to put themselves on display.† According to Sander’s description of physically perfect women used in playboy’s magazine with no imperfections, is not true because not every woman has the perfect descriptions. This theory puts pressure on the other women lacking these qualities, making most of them begin revealing their body part to be noticed. Women therefore should be treated with dignity and not assumed to be sexual objects. However, in the new generation feminism would challenge Sander’s thinking, as most women tend to fight for equity with the men. Women should stop blaming men when they look at them with sexual motives, as the attraction always comes naturally. The natural sexual attraction occurs a lot in men and therefore, they should stop being so judgmental. Men are at the same time required to look at different women differently, given each woman is solely different from another. Therefore, men are not required to judge all the women with same standards. The growth of equity among men and women, challenges Sander’s argument of men using women as objects. Most women have stable and well-paying jobs and therefore do not find need to depend on men for material support. This has led to respect from men to women, because some of the women are their bosses and managers and therefore men have to respect them. Equitable provision of education has made many changes, and led to women being viewed as academicians and intellects and not by their sexuality. Women are concentrating on their jobs and projects and therefore, do not have time to impress men with the way they wear or by revealing their body parts. The women managers would have to wear official cloths that do not expose any part of the body. Competition between men and women over positions in organizations and institutions, has improved some level of respect to the women because they see them as equals. This has helped the women to know their place in the society. Stage 2 The article, Global Issues/Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, the article defines gender equality as a human right permitting women to opportunities such as economic, education and right to make their own decisions. Attainment of gender equality can be fulfilled when women are given enough opportunities to attain the potential, and the international development objectives. The article discusses gender parity in education and claims that the female gender is still given less opportunity as compared to the male ones. This can be proved from the article stating, â€Å"The higher percentage of school drop-outs includes more girls than boys.† The article continues in the discussion of gender equality in terms of economic and political power. The author compares women’s population in the world, almost half the total, with the worth of the wealth they own less than 5 percent. Some injustices done to them include; long working hours for both girls and women, lack of rights to own land or inherit property, in most of the African cultures, reduced rate of promotions to women at work places and underrepresented in making of important decisions in various institutions. A statement from the article, â€Å"Even though political participation of women is important for the achievement of gender quality and true democracy, they are still underrepresented in the legislatures† support this. These factors discussed in the article discover Sander’s discussion on how men use women as objects. (Global Issues/Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment) Another article by Tamara Cohen, â€Å"Not just a pretty face: Modern men prefer intelligent women to beauty† shows the evolution of the current man from being interested in the physical attractions such as curvy figure, to preferring intelligent women. The author states by saying, â€Å"When a man steals an admiring gaze at a woman, then he has been notified of the woman’s intelligence.† The article states that previously men preferred curvy women meaning they had to be fertile to give him a family, other factors that men considered include women with wifely skills such as being good in cooking. The western societies has given opportunity to women, making both genders to be equal, this has led to women choosing their in terms of appearance and not material as it used to be. The author supports these arguments by stating, â€Å"Women are less concerned with men’s health as most of them are stable financially, and therefore the only they look in man is his looks.† (Cohen, 2012) The last article in this discussion is Ian Brown’s â€Å"Why men cant and shouldnt stop staring at women.† Similar to Sanders, Billy also provides a personal life experience, where he met a girl on a bicycle wearing a miniskirt on his way to work. Even though Billy acknowledges that the girl is young enough to be her daughter, he explains how the body of this girl and her intention to wear the miniskirt and her youth triggered his interest. He explains, â€Å"My first sight of her felt like a light blow to the chest.† The author reveals men secret of feeling guilty when they see something they like but fails to act immediately. He felt guilty for failing to tell her how he felt, even though he was married and had a daughter the age of this girl. The author wonders why the act of men watching girls was posed as a bad reputation, while all the girls he interacted with told him they had no problem even if their partners observed girls passing by. He tells of a 26-year old woman about the matter and gives him this answer, â€Å"Just looking, I dont think it is offensive. But I think i ts offensive if there are comments.† (Brown, 2012). Stage 3 Both stage 1 and 2 have discussed factors that lead to how men look at women. Sanders talks about how the physical beauty of women affect men how they look at them. He shares his personal life experiences from when he was 11 years old and could still be stimulated sexually by a girl older than he was. However, the articles, â€Å"Global Issues/Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment† and â€Å"Not just a pretty face: Modern men prefer women with brains rather than beauty†, prove how facts have changed and the women have been empowered and realized their rights and position in the society, and therefore improve the respect from men. Men should respect women, and stop treating them as objects. When a man sees a woman, he should see something else in her and not sexuality. Women should cease from dressing in an exposing manner, for the men to notice them. They should observe moral and ethics in dressing. Works Cited Brown, I. (2012, March 23). Why men cant and shouldnt stop staring at women. THE GLOBE AND MAIL, pp. 1-3. Cohen, T. (2012, September 9). Not just a pretty face: Modern men prefer women with brains rather than beauty. Mail Online, pp. 1-2. Global Issues/Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment. (n.d.). Peace Corps.

Leadership Skills Essay -- Management

When an organization, business, or agency fails to achieve their set objectives poor leadership is regularly scrutinized as the leading cause of inefficiency. In many respects this holds true because of the countless skills need to successfully lead in both public and private enterprise. Although there are similarities between both public and private management, public servants are held directly accountable to their customers/citizens. In light of this, leadership skills within the public sector are essentials in providing its customers with public goods. These public goods include welfare programs, education, police protection and environmental standards (Starling, 2011 p. 28). If public entities contained leaders that possess interpersonal, informational, and communicational skills governmental programs and services would be more efficient. Throughout this analysis we will address the case study of Dr. Helene Gayle and apply the skills of effective leadership to its events. Interpersonal skills One of the many challenges facing public administrators today is the need to build relationships that foster a work environment that is conducive to collaboration. With numerous social issues transcending borders, the need to cooperate is high. It is stated in Norma Riccucci text that one of the reasons why Gayle is a successful public servants is her interpersonal skills in building strong relationships which created an organizational atmosphere that encouraged teamwork across agencies and borders. According to Riccucci text â€Å"one of the reasons why Dr. Gayle has been so successful at collaboration-building bridges and fostering communication between the federal government, various communities, and global partners-is her skillful i... ...c administrators must process certain leadership skills to effectively manage public policy. In analyses of Norma Riccuccis case study it was found that Gayle success within public health was due to her leadership skills. Gayle’s ability to balance political influence with her own vision of public health created an agency of cooperation. References Riccucci, Norma, M. (2002). Managing Across Boundaries: A case study of Dr. Helene Gayle and the AIDS epidemic. Transforming Organizations Series, Retrieved from: https://bblearn.nau.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-866618-dt-content-rid-10067936_1/courses/1121-NAU00-PAS-421C-SEC806-7479.NAU-PSSIS/AIDSEpidemic.pdf Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2010). Leadership, theory, application, & skill development. (4 ed.). South-Western Pub. Starling, G. (2011). Managing the public sector. (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub Co.

Child Abuse and Neglect :: Violence Against Children

Child Abuse "Trust unto Jehovah with all thy heart, And unto thine own understanding lean not. In all thy ways know thou Him, And He doth make straight thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6, YLTHB) The statistics on physical child abuse are alarming. Of the estimated hundreds of thousands of children battered each year by a parent or close relative, thousands die. For those who survive, the emotional trauma remains long after the external bruises have healed. Communities and the courts recognize that these emotional "hidden bruises" can be treated. Children who have been abused may display a poor self-image, Inability to depend on, trust or love others, Aggressive and disruptive—sometimes illegal— behavior; Passive and withdrawn behavior; fear of entering into new relationships or activities, School failure, Serious drug and alcohol abuse. The child and adolescent psychiatrist is able to treat the "whole child"—medical as well as psychological or emotional problems that have occurred as a result of the abuse. The family can be helped to learn new ways of support and communicating with one another. Through treatment, the abused child begins to regain a sense of self-confidence and trust. Child abuse is a matter of degree: the degree to which a parent uses inap-propriate or excessive control strategies with a child and/or fails to provide standards of care giving. In fact, abusive parents often do not know they are abusive. Our culture has, for generations, used corporal punishment as a means of controlling child behavior. Some parents think society places no restraint on such techniques. Many may recall the old saying, "spare the rod and spoil the child." It is not always clear what the limits are in efforts to get a child to behave. The best way to stop the child abuse and stop the abusive parents from abusing their children is by forming a non-profit organization working in cooperation with U.S. Dept. of Welfare , a resource for children and families to report a child abuse and to search for the abusive parents and put a penalty on them. These type of organizations have worked considerably good in the other fields and I am sure that this solu-tion will work out fairly well. In this Article " The goal of NCMEC," The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children states that "The goals of the NCMEC: A private, non-profit organization working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice, NCMEC is a vital resource for families and America's 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the search for missing children and the quest for child protection." In 1986, six youth and adult survivors of child abuse and neglect formed what

Milpa Agriculture vs. Industrial Agriculture

â€Å"Milpa Agriculture vs. Industrial Agriculture† The Milpa agriculture and Industrial agriculture have many similarities and differences. Milpa agriculture is a form of swidden agriculture that is practiced in Mesoamerica. Traditional Milpa is planted with maize, beans, and corn. Industrial agriculture is a modern faming that produces a life stock, poultry, and crops. The methods that industrial agriculture use to techno scientific, economic, and political. In Milpa agriculture some farmers use a coa stick in order to plan their crops and industrial farming the farmers use different machines. Industrial agriculture makes their job easier and faster by using the machines and technology. In Milpa agriculture is the totally opposite thing they don’t use technology in order to grow their crops it takes them longer to plant their crops by using simple method and one of the methods is the coa stick. Milpa agriculture has more than one plant such as maize, beans, and squash. Industrial agriculture only focuses on one plant. For example if industrial agriculture wants to grow maize they focus only in that specific plant that is being planted. Milpa is traditional in Mesoamerica. What I mean by this is that when milpa is planted in Mesoamerica is passed down in the family generations. Mesoamericans try to keep their tradition of planting milpa. In industrial agriculture is not really traditional to pass it down into their families mostly it is done because of the money. Industrial agriculture uses lots of pesticides in order to keep their crops from danger. By using pesticides they won’t lose lots of their crops. Milpa agriculture doesn’t really rely on the use of pesticides. Milpa agriculture does have the advantage of losing crops because they don’t use pesticides. That’s the reason in milpa agriculture more than one crop is incorporated at the same time they have the other crops to rely on not just on the maize. If industrial agriculture loses all their crops they won’t have anything to rely on because they only focus on growing on type of crops.

A Conducive Learning Environment Essay

An online and/or adult student must have an internal control psych to motivate themselves to continue and excel in the classes and educational career they decided to pursue. In education, there are choices that must be made in order for the adult student to be successful. One important tool necessary for the student to succeed is a conducive learning environment. These environments begin in the student’s mind at a very young age and are developed through parents, teachers, staff, and others connected to the school and educational environment. Today various explanations about learning are available. Some people believe that students learn either through the natural or biological make up of the person without any outside influences. These people believe that there is not any influence from the environment. While others believe people learn according to the environment they are involved. This type of person understands learning is established through circumstances or the surroundings. This is proven by the releasing of a learned habit of doing something and accepting the new thoughts and ways of doing something. For example, a child has been taught to print his/her name by the parent; once this child reaches a certain level in school, the child is taught to write his/her name by the teacher in the school environment. Changing one’s thoughts refers to the process by which failure leads to further learning; where a new experience that is contrary to one’s expectations causes one to change their attitude. (Brown, 2006) A conducive environment has a positive effect on a student because it can determine how and what the person is learning. Conducive environment is defined as favorable surroundings or conditions. One would make the environment conducive to learning starting within. Students should be and are motivated internally as well as externally. Built in instructions, found within our genetics drive the behavior of the student. Meaning the student should have an excellent base to build their education on. The student, especially an online learner, must learn to control the environment which they have chosen to complete class work, homework and study/reading time. The student must also develop the ability to absorb or ignore the surroundings available to him/her. Students in most cases need a well lit, natural lighting is best, and ventilated area that is air conditioned or heated maintaining a certain temperature for comfort. A student will need the typical supplies to complete the required coursework. These supplies and/or tools will come in handy but the area or environment one is utilizing to study, complete class work and homework is just as vital. Students have numerous necessities on a personal and student level. The environment a student decides to use for his/her educational purposes vary from one person to the next. Every student has a special area that is conducive to the person’s education. The student should have a means of self control. Success and failure is attributable to forces outside of themselves. (Sullo, 2007) The student should have a clean and comfortable environment free from foul odors and/or over bearing scents or loud noises to include friends and family. The student’s environment is a secluded area of sorts. The conducive learning environment may exist practically anywhere inside and outside of the classroom environment solely dependent on the student. This environment should be a relaxing and comfortable setting, but not so comfortable that would be enticing one to sleep or nap, if one were in a classroom setting, the student would be unable to nap there. An education requires outside sources as well; teachers, instructors, and professors just to name a few of the sources. They are required to appease to an environment which is conducive for the student to learn and for them to be able to teach. An environment with instruction with the transformative power of an effective teacher is the environment one desires and most of all need. (Tucker & Stronge, 2005) This type of teacher has a compassion for the subject matter and enjoy their work and with this excitement he/she has the ability to convey to the students with ease of reception. The instructor has received the proper training and has earned the proper credentials to practice this type of instruction. (Tucker & Stronge, 2005) The prior explains that not only the physical environment, being the building, is of importance to the student’s educational training but the instructor is just as if not more important for a conducive environment. Learning styles differ from culture to culture or from background to background. (Brown, 2006) In the United States, students are taught in an environment which allows interaction such as teacher to student and student to student. This is an acceptable practice while in other environments which are very formal and controlled, African and Asian societies fit this description, students are discouraged or disallowed to voice their own opinions. Additionally, most parents, teachers and other mentors enforce strict discipline during the learning process. (Brown, 2006) However, in other developed countries such as the US, learning occurs in a less controlled environment as parents, teachers and other mentors allow children time to participate actively in the learning process. (Brown, 2006) Learning habits greatly depends on the nature of the environment in which the student has available to him/her. These would include access to the internet as an example of a need for further education even at the elementary school age. The more advanced the technology the more likely the student will have an opportunity to learn a greater deal of education than those without. Students with access to text books, internet, supplies, a feasible area or work space, and an instructor that is qualified and certified stands an immense opportunity to be successful in the educational training they require as primary students and seek as a secondary student. A student’s success is based on the environment that the student has available to them to be educated. In order for this environment to be a conducive environment the student requires certain entities to be met in order for each individual student to receive just what they are seeking. The student must have an area that is personable for them for their comfort. They must also have available to them an instructor which is qualified to teach the students. Proper equipment to include text books or e-books, well written lectures and well taken notes, and interaction between the student and faculty are just the basics of what a student need to be successful. The most significant element of a conducive environment is the student’s â€Å"I can be successful in my education attitude† . Without a mindset of being able to complete or conquer any challenges that will come to the student, the student will not be successful. With that said, the most conducive environment begin internally. The student has to want, need, and desire the success of being educated in order to recognize and build the perfect conducive learning environment. In conclusion, different environments may be conducive or distracting for the student. A student’s cultural rearing is an influence on their access to necessary resources as well as the style of learning the student has. They may be influenced with a teacher-centered learning environment and the student may or may not have active roles in the class. Families that take interest in the student’s education play a role with equal importance to that of the instructor in the learning process. The design of the classroom, either traditional or online, is an important portion of a conducive environment Works Cited Wood, D. (1998): How Children Think and Learn, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd p 12 Piaget, J. (1950): The Psychology of Intelligence, New York: Routledge, p 35-46 Jonassen D.H., Lowyck, T. & Duffy, J. (2002): Designing environments for constructive learning Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 231-247 Clark, R., Nguyen, F., and Sweller, J. (2006): Efficiency in Learning: Evidence-Based Guidelines to Manage Cognitive Load; Pfeiffer, p 59 Tucker, N., Stronge, J. (2005). Linking Teacher Evaluation and Student Learning Retrieved from http:/www.netlibrary.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=129351. Sornson, B. (2001). Preventing Early Learning Failure Retrieved from http:/www.netlibrary.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=70546. Brown, C. (2006). How the environment plays a role in learning. 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