Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2016

Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2016 All jobs have aspects or components that make them stressful- even the ones that don’t seem like very high-stakes occupations. Certain scenarios or times of the year come up and it’s a mad sprint- all hands on deck. Crunch time.  Then there are the jobs that just don’t seem to ever let up. Here are the top 10 most stressful jobs of this year- based on deadlines, public scrutiny, required travel, physical risk, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards, public interaction, and risk of one’s life. Starting to look pretty good to go into Library Science? 1. Enlisted Military PersonnelMaking less than $30k per year, and constantly risking one’s life, this is one of the most stressful jobs out there.2. FirefighterYour job is starting to look pretty cushy, when you consider that for less than $50k a year, on average, some people have to run into burning buildings on the regular. And you thought that big project was really making you stressed!3 . Airline pilotWith a median income of just over $100k per year, airline pilots are well compensated for the stress of ferrying hundreds upon hundreds of souls around the globe. That responsibility alone is incredibly stressful.4. Police officerMaking just a bit more than a firefighter, based on median income, police officers are also under a great deal of stress and risk of life.5. Event coordinatorEvent coordinators may not risk their  lives or limbs, but they are still the people  left holding the bag when anything- major or minor- goes wrong. If the hors d’oeuvres come out five minutes late- or early- or if the band has the wrong cord to connect their amp, or if there is a typo in the invitations†¦ You name it, they  gets yelled at. These aren’t life threatening stakes, but the stress is almost always at a high.6. PR ExecPublic Relations executives are responsible for the reputations and the fame-level of their clients. They don’t just have to man age logistics, they have to manage perception and public opinion. And that takes a lot of nail biting. Especially when their clients do something that requires the putting out of fires (albeit, of course, not literal fires).7. Senior Corporate ExecIf you’ve made it to the top of your company tree, it’s not all big bonuses and stock options. With every rung up the ladder comes a great deal more pressure. And with pressure comes†¦ you guessed it, stress.8. BroadcasterFor a surprisingly low annual median salary of less than $30k per year, a broadcaster is required to clearly and calmly read the news from a teleprompter often riddled with typos. She must be poised and in control at all times, as all of this happens live. You think public speaking is hard? Try doing it every day on television.9. Newspaper reporterYou won’t make a lot of money, and you’ll have to run headlong into potentially dangerous or volatile situations to get a story. And once you ge t it, you have to race to get it published first. One mistake and you’ll have lost your reputation.10. Taxi driverThis gig is perhaps the least well-paid of the top 10. Taxi drivers have to deal with rude people, drunk people, and people in a rush. Not to mention other lunatic drivers, rush hour traffic, accidents, and weather. Plus they’re stuck in a car. Imagine trying to find a parking space in NYC every time you had to pee!The 10 Most Stressful Jobs In 2016

Research Project Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Project Reflection Paper - Essay Example If one was suspected of having been an associate of witchcraft, torments were started until the victim gave up and confessed of having participated in the witch-hunts. Secondly, we learn of the staged s of witchcraft decline: the accusatory and convictions decrease stage and the conclusion of the matter. The impact of political, intellectual, social and economic factors are also looked and expounded holistically, and the way they did contribute to witchcraft decline. Therefore, the witchcraft decline is looked like a process cultivated by many factors, all brought together and brewing up the declining heat (Bever, pg. 276). On conducting the research, I faced several research limitations, especially with reference to the availability of scholarly materials. Some of the materials that I grasped to conduct were sometimes not so reliable. Reliable resources were quite limited, and it did call for me to conduct a thorough search on the primary sources in the university databases. Additionally, very few scholars have conducted research on the same topic. It was quite hard to find a consistent and reliable relationship between the research I conducted and the one that conducted by previous researchers. The research did call for analyzing primary resources on works done around 15th to 17th century. Sometimes the different scholarly articles could communicate different information at a similar topic. The bias prevalence was hence was quite a concern. Another bias is the language used in the primary sources. Having been written around 15th to 17th century, the language used was quite hard and did call for one t o take quite a lot of time analyzing the content. Many interesting topics emerged during the process of my research conduction. I would like to conduct further research on them, should a chance erupt. First, I would conduct a thorough research on Matthew Hopkins, a witch hunter in England. His career did flourish in an environment

Qualitative Interface evaluation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Qualitative Interface evaluation - Assignment Example In this regard, some authors have provided guidelines and methods for developing and evaluating graphical user interfaces (GUI) and web designs. Some of the guidelines and methods for evaluating a website are given below: i. Heuristic Evaluation ii. Cognitive Walk-through iii. Pluralistic Walkthrough iv. Summative Evaluation v. Formative Evaluation Apple Web Design Guideline vi. IBM Web Design Guidelines vii. Library of Congress World Wide Web Style viii. Yale Web Style Guide Selection and Justification of Two Methods In this paper, I have evaluated a website having URL: http://www.thorpepark.com/, using two of the above usability methods for evaluating a website. The first method that I have chosen for evaluation of the website is Heuristic Evaluation, developed by Jakob Nielson, it is the most increasingly used method for evaluation and improvement of user interface designs. As per a study on comparison of four techniques of evaluation, the largest number of problems in a website ( more than 50 %) were found by the method of heuristic evaluation, this include most severe as well as least severe. Four to Five (4-5) user interface evaluators (experts) are required, in order to evaluate a website by this method, but as far as this assignment is individual, therefore, the website has only been evaluated by me. The second method that I have chosen in this paper in order to evaluate the said website is Cognitive Walkthrough, a method for identifying and fixing errors that transpire when browsing and searching for information on a website. This method helps defining and evaluating goals, assumptions and tasks in users’ perspective. The cognitive walkthrough focuses on the user’s tasks, user interface design, user’s experience and how fast the user can learn the functions/tasks. Furthermore, this method uses fewer resources in terms of human, equipment and time. I chose both of above methods, for not only the advantages given above but also they a re poles apart from each other and we are expecting to have diverse results. Furthermore, these methods are used to evaluate the accessibility, usability and adaptability of the website, interface evaluation, with both perspectives user’s as well as website and its behavior. The browser that I have used in this paper is the Internet explorer version 9. Furthermore, I have given below the URL of the pages that I have included in this paper for evaluation. Heuristic Evaluation Technique In order to evaluate the website through the heuristic evaluation technique, I have used set of criteria mentioned by Jakob Nielsen heuristic. Sundry aspects of the website were reviewed, violations identified, and severity ratings assigned to the evaluated issues. It is based on a permutation of occurrence, impact, and determination of usability problem. The ratings of the Nielson follow a 0 to 4 scale and map to the following information. 0 = I don’t agree that this is a usability probl em at all 1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project 2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority 3 = Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority 4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released Following are the ten (10) set

Micheal jackson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Micheal jackson - Essay Example Some of his commonly known music videos include Beat It, Thriller, Scream, Black or White and Billie Jean which were considered to be advocating for racial integration in the American society (Fisher, 23). He emerged with a number of dance moves such as the robot and moonwalk to which people knew him best and became part of his thrilling performance whenever he was on stage. The curtain finally went down in his life in June 25, 2009 in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, in the United States aged fifty when he died. The life as well as the music career of Michael Jackson is filled with numerous remarkable events and he made a great contribution to the music industry that has long lived beyond his death. He is therefore worth writing about owing to the fact that very few music artistic have achieved what Michael was able to achieve in his entire music career. Many people all over the world have something to remember about this popular pop artist who inspired them in life. He had a great influence on other genre of music such as hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock by being the role model to the artists who performed such genres (Danesi,57). Despite the fact that pop culture has been witnessed in a number of departments and areas of life, music has registered the most remarkable application of this culture and it is mainly attributable to the King of Pop; Michael Jackson. His biography clearly demonstrated the formation as well as the establishment of this form of culture that has become a way of life in various parts of the world to date. In June 1975, the Jackson 5 made a historic signing with Epic Records which is a subsidiary of CBS Records. The move necessitated a change in their name from The Jackson 5 to The Jacksons. It was at that time that another Jackson known as Randy formally joined the band. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums

Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Health and Social Care Essay Our campaign was a drugs campaign our main aim was to inform people on drugs and what effects it can have and to not stereotype drug users as they can be anyone. M2- Positive influences I felt our group were very well prepared as we had a good use of resources. This included plenty of leaflets to give out on drugs to inform people on the effectiveness on drugs. We also had a laptop with the Talk to Frank game on it available for people to play, and other drugs game activities that were available for people to take part in. We also gave out questionnaires and cakes which rewarded those for taking part. We also had plenty of space to set up the table and all the activities. This was important as not having enough space would have meant not being able to set up all the activities we made. We also, had plenty of time as we had a good time slot of 2 hours between 11 – 1 to implement the campaign. This gave more time for us to hand out questionnaires and inform and teach more people on the effects of drugs. We all took part equally in the campaign as we were involved in the stereotyping activity where we all attached signs to us asking â€Å"do you think I take drugs? where we asked people with regarding what we looked to like to whether we took drugs or not. Read more: Identify ways of working that can help improve partnership working  essay This involved us dressing up in particular clothes which seemed to be very effective rather than showing pictures of people. I believe we also taught lots to people as many people were shocked at the information gave to them especially about the â€Å"legal highs activity†. Negative influences I felt we didn’t all equally participate in preparation as the questionnaire and research I made were not used and a different questionnaire was made. This in effect made it seem as if my contribution was not necessary. I also, felt that I didn’t take part in setting up the campaign as the presentation tasks went to other group members. However, the campaign involved dressing up as characters and I believe that we all did a good job of dressing up except certain members of the group didn’t dress up as they should of as originally, we had the plan of someone dressing up in a suit to show that your appearance doesn’t affect whether taking drugs or not. This was important as not only were we raising awareness we were teaching about tereotypes. Also, the people that came to the campaign didn’t engage in all activities as we hoped as there was so many to take part in and so much information to give out. Also, our target audience were teenagers as there was evidence most drug users were around this age However, mostly adults came. I felt we had a limited audience and not as many people as we thought came to the campaign and a lot of the people had learning disabilities in which we weren’t prepared for and didn’t cater for. M3 – Ethical issues One of the main ethical issues in our campaign was confidentiality.  Confidentiality is important as during the campaign someone may come forwards and confide in you about drugs or there drug intake and it is important that confidentiality is not breached and that person’s name is not discussed and their privacy is kept. As we gave out questionnaires, they were kept anonymous so therefore, all information received from the campaign can be kept confidential as one of the questions was â€Å"Do you know anyone that takes drugs† which although this was a closed question it was quite personal and anyone answering might of felt uncomfortable if the questionnaire was to ask your name. This then links to safe guarding. During the campaign no one came forward with any information that could of lead them to be unsafe However, it was important that information we gave out was correct and that we weren’t giving false information which could lead someone to danger when taking drugs. This I felt we did successfully as all research given out was from drug websites such as Talk to Frank. Also, other ethical issues include choice and own beliefs. I believe that when giving out information we didn’t preach any of our own beliefs to anyone. It was completely factual. As this could of lead someone to feel uncomfortable as everybody has the right to choose whether they take drugs or not and if it is important that when teaching that you are not preaching your beliefs about people taking drugs as this could lead to offending someone who is taking them. Finally, it is important to not ask any inappropriate questions as this could lead to someone feeling uncomfortable. All personal questions that needed to be asked during our campaign were on an anonymous questionnaire which didn’t involve any questioning from anybody from our group. Therefore, making people feel comfortable in answering. Other questions asked by us were â€Å"do you think I look like the type of person that takes drugs? † as we were dressed up as characters. However, this question was asked after we explained that we were dressed up as characters as part of the campaign so people felt comfortable in answering without offending. Also, the question â€Å"would you like a cake? † for those who didn’t want to take part in any of the activities. D2 – During our campaign we gave out questionnaires after people took part in the activities. However, only 32 people answered the questionnaire. According to the questionnaire 22 people out of 32 knew someone who takes drugs that left only ten people who didn’t know anyone who took drugs. According to the Shropshire star â€Å"16 local Shrewsbury men had a powerful and overbearing’ influence on others in the drugs chain and was said to be taking ? 15,000 a month from the trade. † â€Å"Phoenix Car centre was aware of the extent of drugs operation and played significant part in getting drugs to the street of Shrewsbury under orders from other people. Some of these men are parents to teenagers in Shrewsbury and therefore, it is possible that some of the people that filled out the questionnaire knew these men. http://www. shropshirestar. com/news/2013/03/03/how-police-smashed-shropshire-drugs-cartel/ Also, 28 out of 32 people were made more aware of the effects of drugs after the campaign whereas only 4 people didn’t. This could of meant that they already knew about the effects drugs had on someone or they didn’t feel out campaign gave much information on the effects drugs have one someone. However, more than three quarters did find out more about the effects of drugs which is positive. This could suggest that existing campaigns aren’t using the correct technique as we did to inform people on the effects of drugs. Talk to Frank is a website that only offers online information and a call centre in which people are able to access to talk about drugs. However, although our campaign used most of the Talk to Frank information we implemented it in a different way which was more effective to informing people on the effects of drugs. â€Å"Since 2011 the Talk to Frank website has had a 6% increase in feedback† Therefore, It could suggest that people are using the website a lot more than previously. This could be why some people didn’t learn anymore about the effects of drugs and as our campaign was implemented directly through explaining we were able to teach more people about the effects. http://www. clear-uk. org/talk-to-frank-is-back/ 29 out of 32 people found out more information about drugs after the campaign was implemented. This meant that only 3 people didn’t learn anything from the campaign. This could have meant that they already knew or that our campaign wasn’t very informative. However 29 people did find it informative, which is more than 3 quarters of the people that were involved. Therefore, I feel as though our campaign did inform people well. Also, when questioned how useful the campaign was statistics show that 19 people thought our campaign was really good 11 people thought it was good and only 2 people thought it was average. And nobody felt our campaign was poor or really poor. Therefore, more than half thought out campaign was really good and useful and the rest thought it was good or average. This is positive results. Overall, our campaign results are very positive. This means that our campaign was very beneficial. I feel that our campaign went really well due to the positive feedback that we got of the audience. This is proved with results from our questionnaire which we gave to the audience to get their personal opinions on how well our campaign was to them. When giving out the questionnaire I felt we were present and observant when the questionnaire was filled out. Therefore, I feel that the results we got back from the questionnaire may be slightly warped due to people not wanting to be judged or questioned about their answers if they were negative as although it was anonymous it was very overt. Other campaigns use the questionnaire online and get feedback from the public, such as the Talk to Frank website and if I were to do the campaign again I would allow people to step aside to fill in their questionnaire and ask them to put it into a box I feel this covert way of gathering information is much better as it gives the public privacy which makes them able to write down their real thoughts and opinions about the campaign and not put answers to be polite. However, I felt our campaign nformation was as good as Talk to Frank as we had the talk to Frank games available and we were able to use a good range of information from the Talk to Frank website to bring awareness about the effects of drugs. http://www. talktofrank. com/? gclid=CLf-1dOy6bcCFQ3KtAod_Q4AnA A National campaign launched by the Australian government in 2011-2012 also used public speaking and posters to communicate to the public about the awareness of drugs and it was also very effective for them. They also collected results from their campaign on how it affected certain people and how it has made a difference for these certain people, how they’ve become more aware of drugs and the dangers, how they now feel about drugs and if they would ever attempt to take drugs. Which is slightly different from our campaign questionnaire but it is still the same method of gathering information and still very similar to the way in which we implemented our campaign. http://www. drugs. health. gov. au/internet/drugs/publishing. sf/content/campaign4 This proved very good in some aspects as there has been an increase in showing that drugs are harmful and helping people avoid using drugs which is very similar to our campaign in the fact it is bringing awareness by showing that drugs are bad and harmful by looking and there effects. Also, other statistics show that more adults are talking more to their children about substances after the campaign which again is bringing awareness and also p romote two way communications.

Modern Technology Verses The Thinking Man Media Essay

Modern Technology Verses The Thinking Man Media Essay Humanity as a whole has witnessed through their own efforts, great advances in the creation, distribution and application of ideas, information and technologies designed with the intention to uplift the overall standard of living. With the use of these technologies mankind has entered the postmodernism era where the use of modern technology has become an integral way of life. The use and consumption of modern media and the significance of the relationship between humanity and technology however comes at a price. The thoughts of how humanity relates to their own technological creations and mediated messages, the relationship between humanity and nature and the essence of technology with its inherent problems and possible solutions were advanced by the philosopher Martin Heidegger. His writings influenced the thinking of how mankind has allowed itself to become slaves to its own creation by becoming passive consumers of products and ideologies mediated by the producers of media and technology. The rise of consumerism, capitalism and its social implications were also issues of grave concern to Heidegger. His ideas and influence can be seen in the writings of philosophers Herbert Marcuse, Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno who expanded the ideas of Heidegger to describe various aspects of the social effects of the postmodern era and the influence of modern media. Taken from the view of how technology assists humanity to access the effects of media in contemporary life, the relationships between the producer and the consumer, the creator and the created, the message and the medium for the message and the relationships between the message itself and the consumer is one of great fascination and complexity. This essay is an attempt to show these relationships, how they were formed, why they were formed and its effects on postmodern society through the ideas of Heidegger with support from the aforementioned philosophers. In his essay The Question Concerning Technology (1977) Heidegger establishes that in order to understand the essence of technology a free relationship with it must first be established. To develop this free relationship the proper use of language is of utmost importance. The true meaning of the word technology according to Heidegger (1977:13 ) is a mode of revealing. He then establishes that the word technology is made up of two parts: technie and poiesis. Technie, according to Heidegger (1977) is defined as the skill or work of the craftsman and is inclusive of the fine arts. Poiesis is the process of bringing forth. Heidegger argues that humanity has forgotten the true meaning of technology, which it is a mode of revealing, and this lack of understanding has caused humanity, through this distorted relationship, to create technologies that fulfil a specific capitalistic purpose. Heidegger suggests, that (1977:5) modern technology à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is a means to an end. and humanity has allowed itself become the servants of technology. The creation of passive observers who have lost the ability to be revealers themselves instead of active participants is the end result. Heidegger uses the concept of enframing to describe the relationship between man and nature. Enframing is a process whereby man can structure nature, human relationships, mediated messages and technology to instil premeditated agendas and to increase financial wealth. Heidegger explains that since modern technology created for contemporary living is used to serve a capitalistic purpose the essence of technology is enframing and this method of classification must in his word (1977:23) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ employ exact physical science. Heidegger also goes on to illustrate how humanity, through enframing, can also have adverse effects on nature by challenging nature to reveal itself as commodities to be used. Heidegger (1977) makes comparisons between the practices of a peasant and coal mining. The peasant is in the practice of letting (1977:15) the forces of growth take its course in the process of producing crops and in turn the peasant cares for and maintains the land. The land is not forced to produce and there it is a harmonious relationship between man and nature. With the use of mechanized tools, coal mining has made the land to be seen as a commodity to produce at (1977:15) maximum yield at the minimum expense. This according to Heidegger (1977) challenges and forces nature to produce financial wealth and the land is seen as a commodity to be exploited. Heidegger uses the term standing reserve to describe resources that are stored for human consumption and use. Furthermore he states that everything can be seen as a form of standing reserve by saying that (1977:17) everything is ordered to stand by, to be immediately at hand.. He goes on to give the example of the dam built on the river Rhine as a standing reserve for hydro-electrical power to the detriment of the river and the surrounding areas. Nature can also be a commodity to be brought, modified and sold. Plants are seen not for their beauty but as a standing reserve as medicines for pharmaceuticals, animals are captured and kept in zoos for viewing entertainment and stones are collected and sold for construction. Human activities are now also termed as industries to be exploited. The entertainment, music, art, leisure and media industries are a small example of the extent that the powerful concepts of enframing and standing reserve have on contemporary life. Human beings, espec ially in the world of advertising, can also be seen as human resources to be also used and exploited. Although Heidegger was gravely concerned with the direction humanity is heading because of what he saw as its disregard for nature and loss of the true meaning of the essence of technology he offered a possible solution to what he saw as a frightening dilemma? The rediscovery of nature and the practice of not being dominated by technology. Heidegger (1977) also suggested a rediscovery of the true meaning of the word technology and having a free and healthier relationship with it. We will now look at how the ideas of Heidegger the present media, production, distribution, consumption and technological environments and its effects on contemporary life. In modern contemporary life, individuals and groups are inundated and coerced with messages and ideologies from various media houses, conglomerates and corporate entities into buying or believing ideas of what they should think about themselves, their social groups and society as a whole. These messages are transported through various media. Heideggers view of our relationship to technology is one of enslavement. The fact that humanity is being graphically portrayed according to Heidegger as being (1977:4) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ unfree and chained to technology à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ gives the impression that there must be an entity that was able to enslave humanity. This entity is the dominating force of the owners of media production and distribution that have the ultimate agenda to control the emotional, psychological and financial futures of its audience. The schema is basically capitalist in nature and is designed to keep the viewer or listener as a loyal, passive follower and consumer of the goods and services offered by the producer. Heidegger (1977) was correct in portraying technology as a contrivance, a device. This device is not however, forced upon the population. It is, in fact, eased into their consciousness. Marcuse (2004) noted that the overall strategy of media producers is one of identification of the beliefs of the people. The population are then, according to Marcuse (2004: 67) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ trained to identify their faiths with them. This is the portal which Heideggers theories on technological dominance come through and the effects of media are felt. The mass media uses the science of enframing to emotionally divide, stereotype and enslave the loyal follower into believing that a product, concept, gadget or idea would give them piece of mind and a sense of security. For the producers of media enframing is a powerful ally who primary duty according to Heidegger (1977:27) is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ regulating and securing of the standing-reserve à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Heideggers use of the term standing-reserve is an effective description of the consumers of mass media. The population is categorized by advertisers along the demographics of where they live, age group, gender, social status, income and other factors. Commercials or concepts are then targeted at these sectors through a variety of media. This concept of showing the differences in any given population to serve financial goals was not missed by Adorno and Horkheimer (2002:97) who state that Something is provided for everyone so that no one can escape; differences are hammered home and propagated. In advertising, the population is looked upon as a human resource who, if properly coerced would buy into the capitalists agendas. The effect created from this form of advertising to the targeted audience from these messages is that the advertised product is essential for contemporary life and once acquisition of the new product is completed they would be at the forefront of their social group. The attachment placed on the feeling of acquiring the possession is actually not derived from the consumer but it is, in actuality, induced from the outside via the messages from the advertiser. The relationship between the consumer and the product is one of a slave to a master where the consumer feels that they must have the product to fulfil an emotional need. If the product is destroyed or misplaced the consumer may feel lost without the use of the product. An example of this kind of enslavement by technology can be seen in the rise, popularity and reliance of global positioning systems or GPS in vehicles and smartphones. In the area of transportation GPS systems has replaced the use of maps. These systems are programmed to do the thinking for the user, communicating with the user and giving directions to the locations of the best restaurants, the easiest traffic routes to take and also where the nearest gas stations are. The user is not required to think but have been conditioned to rely on pre-programmed instructions from an external, mechanical source. We now look at Heideggers thoughts on the dangers of our relationship with technology and some of its effects in the postmodern age. The view of Heidegger in regards to the concept of the standing-reserve gives rise to media producers taking advantage of the apparent gullibility of the consumer. The constant differentiations that distinguish peoples for all walks of life are being constantly broadcasted by the dominant media. There is a danger of a person of any race being typecast by certain behavioural patterns that the media claims through its broadcasting to be the typical behaviour of that race. This is but one of the aspects that philosophers Adorno and Horkheimer used to coin the term The Culture Industry defining the industry as (2002:95) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the false identity of universal and particular. Adorno and Horkheimer (2002) continue their analysis of the media landscape by discovering that producers of media adhere to formulas that produce the greatest financial gain. These methods include stereotyping the behavioural the roles of the various demographics. One of Heideggers the greatest fears concerns humanitys relationship to technology and its disregard for nature. He saw that consumerism and the concept of objects being viewed as standing reserve will become so much a part of the emotional and social landscape that it will become all-consuming. The threat, according to Heidegger (1977:33) of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ everything will present itself only in the unconcealedness of standing-reserve. has been gradually coming to pass. Heidegger (1977) gives the examples of how words like industry are now being attached to various human endeavours, an example of the use of human resources and the profitability forest to supply wood to various industries. He concludes that man is also responsible for the way he things about himself and his surroundings. An example of the power of the standing reserve on a world-wide scale can be seen in the rise and control of the American mass media that has dominated the lesser known media landscapes due to its economic power and reach. For these lesser known cultures, due to their lack of sufficient funding to buffer themselves from the onslaught of a well-funded, hyper-commericalized and heavily-mediated American media machine, have found themselves at the mercy of surrendering and at times disassociating themselves from their indigenous cultural norms in favour of the fabricated needs they consume via the mediated American cultural standard. The effects of this bombardment by outside sources have led to a change in the wants and needs of weaker populations. Due to the lack of proper resistance they will begin to aspire to the mediated American wants and needs, aspire to the American standard of beauty and absorb in ever-increasing volumes the cultural norms, language patterns and political view s of the dominant media landscape. The American broadcasts to the weaker cultures however are only a construct of their culture industry. This construct can be seen in through the view of Adorno and Horkheimer (2002:108) who state à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the culture industry remains in the entertainment business. Its control of consumers is mediated by entertainment. With this is mind producers of American media, are seeing populations from different countries who consume American content as merely the standing reserve of potential customers. The thoughts of Adorno and Horkheimer are similar to Heidegger in the belief that in postmodern life individuals are losing the ability to think for themselves due to outside influences. This ability to be influenced by the media in terms of what to buy, what to eat, who to admire and when to shop are all effects of the process of enframing. The blanket marketing of goods and services to the consumer creates a situation where the individual is lost in the comodified sterotype of the typical purchaser of that product. The originality of the individual it therefore lost. The rapidity of how the message from outside is absorbed is a reflection of how the masses see themselves in relation to how they want to be seen by society. The more the masses allow themselves to be enframed by outside influences the easier it will be the masses to be manipulated into an identity they were previously foreign to. Consumerism, in regards to the acquisition of gaining access to information, falls under the scope of technology being all-encompassing, encouraging the user to be always connected to information. The Blackberry smartphone has become one of status symbols of postmodern living. Under the guise of convenience and easy access to the internet the Blackberry smartphone encourages the consumer to be always connected to online content; the internet provides various paths of easy access to information and communication. In the postmodern age, access to information is marketed to be best enjoyed through a medium that is ubiquitous. The effects of being always connected to information makes, for the producer of content, an easier and more accurate way of tracking the viewing and listening habits of the consumer. Thus there is the possibility to accurately target specific commercials to users. Regarding the features of the Blackberry and the promise of easy access to multiple forms of informati on, the relationship between the consumer and the medium of information is even stronger than that of an ordinary handset because the Blackberry is seen as a necessary postmodern convenience. Due to the strong influence of the media in regards to mediating messages regarding the acquisition of certain possessions and that their possession constitutes the baseline standard that an individual has properly integrated themselves into the postmodern age, the choosing of not acquiring these possessions may seem, to the person whose goal is to attain possession of these assists, as irrational. This technological rationality, how we relate to technology, is a social process whereby according to Marcuse (2004) the producers of the culture industry give to the passive consumer goods that the consumer thinks they need but in reality, the need was mediated from the producer. In the final analysis the same power that is has gripped the masses regarding the skewed relation to technology is the same power that can liberate humanity from it. Heidegger was very keen on questioning humanitys relationship with technology. He was convinced that humanity can liberate itself from the clutches of technology. According to Heidegger (1977) his belief that humanity can be saved from the dangers of technology, not by creating better technologies and facing the danger head on but by re-establishing the original relationship with the word technology will bring humanity in realignment with nature. Heidegger states this can be done by (1977:33) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ human reflection à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He continues to state that when humanity reflects and continues to question the true meaning of technology the rediscovery of the meanings of techne and poiesis will come forth. He was of the belief that since humanity was once close to nature especially before the postmodern age we have the responsibility to rediscover our relation to nature. He was also of the belief in the use of technologies that would not place extraordinary demands on the environment. In his essay (1977) the use of a windmill was used as an example to show the harmony between technology and nature.

Mother and Daughter Similarities in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club Essay

Mother and Daughter Similarities in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club â€Å"Here is how I came to love my mother.   How I saw her my own true nature.   What was beneath my skin.   Inside my bones.† (Tan 40)   Ã‚  Ã‚   The complexitities of any mother-daughter relationship go much deeper then just their physical features that resemble one another.   In Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club, the stories of eight Chinese women are told.   Together this group of women forms four sets of mother and daughter pairs. The trials and triumphs, similarities and differences, of each relationship with their daughter are described, exposing the inner makings of four perfectly matched pairs.   Three generations of the Hsu family illustrate how both characteristics and values get passed on through generations, even with the obstacles of different cultures and language.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Joy Luck Club was formed while the four mothers were in Builica   during the time of war.   â€Å"Each week we could forget past wrongs done to us.   We weren’t allowed to think a bad thought.   We feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, and we told the best stories.   And each week, we could hope to be lucky.   That hope was our only joy.   And that’s how we came to call our little parties Joy Luck.† (Tan 12)   These small gatherings consisted only of the same four women, one for each corner of the mah jong table.   While bombs were going off outside, these women would keep their happiness alive with this blissful get together once a week.   Later, when these women moved with their husbands to America, they naturally continued the tradition.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Each mother had high expectations for their lives as they came towards America, and especially their daughter’s lives.   â€Å"In America I will have... ...bowen/314fall/novels/lit.html)   Each in their own way has learned a lot from their mothers and can see over the gap that divides them.   In the Hsu family especially there is a strong sense of loyalty that is based on through each generation. â€Å"You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother before her.   Until there is nothing.   No scar, no skin, no flesh.†Ã‚   (Tan41)   It is most important in Chinese culture to remember who you are and where you came from. Work Cited * Tan, Amy.   The Joy Luck Club. New York. Ivy Books. 1989. * Tavernise, Peter.   â€Å"Fasting of the Heart: Mother-Tradition and Sacred Systems in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.† 23 March 2000. * Amanda Matthews.   â€Å"Structural Analysis†¦Thanks to Amanda Matthews† 1995.