American Masculinity: Defined By War Essay -- War and American Masculi

War has been a mainstay of human civilization since its inception thousands of years ago, and throughout this long and colorful history, warriors have almost exclusively been male. By repeatedly taking on the fundamentally aggressive and violent role of soldier, Man has slowly come to define Himself through these violent experiences. Although modern American society regulates the experiences associated with engaging in warfare to a select group of individuals, leaving the majority of the American public emotionally and personally distant from war, mainstream American masculinity still draws heavily upon the characteristically male experience of going to war. In modern American society, masculinity is still defined and expressed through analogy with the behavior and experiences of men at war; however, such a simplistic masculinity cannot account for the depth of human experience embraced by a modern man. Whether engaging in European trench warfare or fighting through the jungles of Vietnam, a soldier must learn to cope with the incredible mental stress brought on by the ever-present threat of a grisly death. The physical stress introduced by poor nutrition, a harsh and hostile environment, and the cumulative physical effect of emotional trauma only serves to make a trying situation even more taxing. It is out of this violently stressful environment that the coping mechanisms that characterize wartime masculinity arise. A natural response to such a violent environment is to simply behave in a way that portrays no weakness. If the soldier does not show any signs of weakness, he finds it much easier to convince himself that he can survive by his strength. In asserting his control over himself by hiding all of his weaknesses, h... ...y and war still abound; however, these analogies cannot capture the full masculinity of the modern man as they do not allow for the formation of intimate personal relationships, such as that between husband and wife, which lie at the heart of ordinary civilian life. Works Cited Kriegel, Leonard. â€Å"Taking It.† Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. Ed. Estelle Disch. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 194-196. Messner, Michael A. â€Å"Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities.† Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. Ed. Estelle Disch. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 120-137. O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. Petrie, Phil W. â€Å"Real Men Don’t Cry†¦ and Other ‘Uncool’ Myths.† Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. Ed. Estelle Disch. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 221-226.

Faust: Book Review :: essays research papers

Faust: Book Review   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This novel written originally by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and translated by Walter Kaufmann. There are 201 pages in this novel.. This book is a poem divided into two parts and has many adventures in it. The point of view is from the writer of the play, 3rd person narration. The theme of this novel is Don't always take the easy way out of things because in the end you will pay for them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This novel starts off with Mephisto the Devil asking God to be able to tempt a scholar named Faust. Mephisto talks with angels and God. Mephisto tells God that Faust is loyal to him but will no be for long. Mephisto is going to take Faust from him. Faust is sitting in his study most of the poem. He looks up information to gain more knowledge. When he is looking one day through his study he notices a book that he has never seen before. Faust takes it out and examines it and finds out it is a book of spells, With this spell book he calls on Mephisto. Faust finds out that Mephisto never wants to say his name just describe his great power and plans that he can give Faust. Mephisto fails the first time to get Faust to give in. He comes back the next day and tries again but doesn't gain his  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hand in this deed. After Faust calls on Mephisto they make a deal. Mephisto would serve Faust in this life and when Faust would die he would come to hell and help Mephisto in return for giving Faust all this power. Faust agrees and this is the start of the deed. Mephisto would do anything in his power for Faust. These things that Mephisto did was to try to get Lady Gretchen (that Faust liked dearly) to notice him. Mephisto would give Gretchen diamonds and other assortment of jewelry to tempt her. This did not work. Over the years of Mephisto doing all these deeds for Faust, He gained a lot of knowledge. Faust started to get real old and very ill. He started to see ghosts and other kinds of unnatural things in front of his eyes that he never saw before. Over more time Faust becomes blind and can no longer do anything. When Faust is dying Mephisto gets ready to take him to hell to serve him in eternity. When Faust dies God comes into the picture again. He gets angels to distract Mephisto and take Faust into Heaven. God forgives Faust for all he has done.

Should Smoking Be Illegal

Introduction/Thesis Statement: People who smoke should have the right to smoke if that is their desire. The Bill of Rights states that as an American we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For some people, smoking makes them happy and calms them down in stressful situations. As an American it should be your choice as to whether or not you smoke. Our forefathers based our constitution on our basic human rights. Increasingly vocal â€Å"smokers'-rights† groups, allied with some civil libertarians, have decried the work of governmental â€Å"nannies† that â€Å"refuse to treat smokers as adults. † Clark, C. S. (1992, December 4). Crackdown on smoking. CQ Researcher, 2, 1049-1072. Retrieved November 3, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online,http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1992120400. Jefferson City, Missouri just recently passed its own smoking ban, which is city wide. This means that any citizen that might want to smoke will have to hide somewhere to do it. Apparently the smokers, were absent during this election. Making smoking illegal will only have even more far reaching consequences. Small businesses, particularly restaurants, hotels and transit providers, have warned us that smoking bans will cost them the clientele that sustains their livelihoods. Due to current city ordinances in Columbia, Missouri that have banned smoking, there have been at least fifteen local businesses that have gone out of business. News Tribune (2010), Smoking Ban Passes Anti- smoking groups have also been accused of feathering their own nests, spending more on salaries and fund raising than on research. It has been accused of being an industry that provides â€Å"employment for an army of smoker-bashers, and for many, the opportunity to amass personal fortunes,† writes Fred Phillis, a Trumbull, Conn. , public relations consultant and smokers’-rights activist. There is no denying the health risks that are involved when someone smokes. There are over 400,000 deaths per year that have been directly linked to smoking. This should still be our choice to make, just as it is our choice about whether to watch TV or not. While there have been health issues related to second hand smoke, we cannot lose sight of the fact that, they can always go somewhere else to sit. Non-smokers do not have to sit by smokers. There is much to be said about not smoking, my own grandchildren are allergic to cigarette smoke. Also the University of North Carolina researchers reported that children of smokers showed a 38 percent higher chance of ear infections Clark, C. S. (1992, December 4). Crackdown on smoking. CQ Researcher, 2, 1049-1072. Retrieved November 3, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online,http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1992120400. It is still our choice to not smoke around our grandchildren, someone didn’t tell us not to. In the classic mold of social scapegoating, smokers have been stigmatized, ghettoized and threatened with cultural annihilation. â€Å"Smokers are being made to feel like social pariahs,† declares John F. Banzhaf III, a George Washington University law professor who founded the anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). Conclusion/Closing: â€Å"What we are also losing in this whole debate is science, which has become political,† says Walker Merryman, a vice president of The Tobacco Institute. Those are the business people who hav e to try to operate when their economic life is threatened? † In conclusion I have but one thought â€Å"Give me a place, even if it's outside. But you just can't legislate it out of my life. †

Process in an Ideal Weight

The topic of weight is very prevalent among people in today's society. Everywhere we look we find people of all sorts of different weights and appearances. Tall, small, thin, wide, fat and skinny are just a variety of the words we use to describe people. Almost no one is completely happy with their weight. We are constantly looking for ways to better ourselves and improve our physical appearance. It is this paper's purpose to provide information in helping a person feel comfortable with their weight and aid in determining an ideal body weight for you. Topics also include: society's view on weight, the dangers of various weight-related disorders and diseases, and methods of achieving a recommended healthy weight. The goal is that once you have the proper information you will be able to achieve this ideal weight safely and on your own, giving you an ultimate sense of satisfaction. The question that is constantly being asked is just what is the ideal healthy weight? The ideal body weight is different for every individual as healthy ideal weight depends on a person's sex, race, and genetics. To quickly simplify and determine an individual's ideal weight we use a simple chart called the Body Mass Index or BMI for short. This chart determines how much a person should weigh. People can calculate their BMI by dividing their weight in pounds by their height in inches squared and multiplying the resulting number by 704. 5 (Woods 98). A person who weighs 164 pounds and is 68 inches would do the following calculation: 164/4624 x 704. 5 = 25 BMI. A BMI between 18. 5-24. 9 is normal and is called the safe zone (Woods 98). The people in this recommended safe zone are considered to be in the best health. A BMI less than 18. 5 usually means that a person is underweight (Woods 98). Studies indicate that the underweight have an increased risk of death compared to those of normal weight. A BMI of over 30 means obesity, and obese people take a lot of health risks (Woods 98). People with obesity have an increased risk of: high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, the most common form of diabetes, gallbladder disease, arthritis, respiratory problems, and certain types of cancer. As long as you fall into or close to the recommended safe zone you should feel comfortable and happy with your weight the way it is. This paper will now discuss the dangers that society's infatuation with weight can have on a person. It will also provide methods on how a person can change to find a comfortable and healthy weight. Eating disorders are a common and very realistic part of our society. They are seen as the most dangerous health related risks involving weight. Dieting, binge-eating and food obsessions are prevalent among all weight groups. Many people strive to be lighter than their natural weights and exercise excessively and eat sparingly to attain an often-unrealistic weight goal. Societal pressures share blame for producing eating disorders. Some victims of eating disorders feel that others are pressuring them to be thin, making them feel guilty about what they eat (Washington 99). They become isolated from family and friends and turn to food as a release and source of comfort (Washington 99). People with eating disorders excessively exercise and are known to induce vomiting after eating or drinking (Washington 99). Eating disorders target many people in society. The main target group is females, especially in the traditionally masculine cultures. Society places a great deal of emphasis on the physical appearance of a person's body and this alone is enough to drive someone into an eating disorder. An example is the supermodel with the skin and bones look whom you see on television. With this in mind many women might look at their weight and find themselves socially unacceptable. The result can be an eating disorder. Another target group is athletes. For example, in the sport of gymnastics there is pressure on the female athlete to maintain a low weight and petite slim figure. Since gymnastics is judged on how an athlete looks in competition many gymnasts develop an eating disorder as a result of the importance of body image to the sport. Another example of the occurrence of eating disorders is in boxing and wrestling. Sometimes there is pressure on the athlete to have a rapid weight loss in order to compete in a lower weight class where he or she might have a better chance of winning. There are two main eating disorders that effect many people in society. They are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is a deliberate and obsessive starvation in the pursuit of thinness. It is characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, or the disturbance in the way one's bodyweight size and shape is perceived by another individual (Clark 96). Bulimia is described as recurrent episodes of binge eating and a lack of control over one's eating behaviour resulting in purging (Clark 96). Purging can be achieved by using laxatives and/or vomiting. Many of the symptoms of eating disorders are similar; however, each disorder is somewhat different. If someone is anorexic, symptoms might be: an extremely thin person, isolation, loneliness, obsessive preoccupation with food as regards: obtaining it, cooking, and eating, and compulsive exercise (Washington 99). If someone is bulimic, you might expect to see: the use of food as a comforter, laxative abuse, mood swings, constant concern about body image and weight, quick trips to the bathroom after meals, excessive exercise, some isolation, and low self-esteem (Washington 99). Both forms of eating disorders are dangerous to your health and can cause major problems, both now and in the future. Some immediate physical problems include constantly feeling cold, bloodshot eyes with dark circles, finger calluses, dizziness, weakness, moodiness, insomnia, swollen glands, sore throat, or dry skin (Washington 99). Some of the long-term effects include gastrointestinal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation, malnutrition, heart attack, permanent damage to internal organs, kidney failure, and death (Washington 99). Family and friends of people affected should be aware of the symptoms and risks associated with disordered eating patterns. It is imperative to avoid becoming a victim to an eating disorder. You will only end up hurting yourself and loved ones around you. Now that the dangers of weight have been discussed an effective method of weight gain and loss will be presented. This information will help you reach a desired ideal weight so you can be happy and take pride in yourself. The topic of weight management is prevalent in today's society and is discussed from two different perspectives. People might think that they are too small or weak and in this case they will want to put on more weight. On the other hand, others might think that they are too big. In this case they will try to reduce their weight. Requirements of caloric intake differ for everyone. These requirements are determined by age, sex, weight and activity level. The simple definition of weight is the balance between caloric intake and caloric expenditure (Berning 96). Your body weight will change when there is a difference between calories taken in and calories burned up. Taking this into account, for the average person to lose weight the caloric intake must be less than caloric expenditure. Put simply, to lose weight you must eat less, exercise more, or a combination of both. For the average person to lose one pound they would have to run about 35 miles or eat 3,500 fewer calories (Berning 96). This is impossible to do in one day. To put this into perspective the following formula is given: 3,500 calories 7 days per week = 500 calories per day. It can than be said that eating 500 calories less per day will result in a weight loss of one pound per week. The same can be said by combining 250 calories less per day and burning 250 calories in exercise. Weight loss is most successful when diet and exercise are combined. The safe weight loss recommendation for the average person is no more than 1-2 pounds per week (Berning 96). By using this method of losing weight a person will decrease their chance of health problems and achieve their ideal weight. This method of weight loss will leave you with a sense of satisfaction and pride in reaching your ideal weight. The same basic theory applies for weight gain. In order to gain weight you need to consume more calories than you expend (Berning 96). Family history plays a major role in the development of a body. For example, people from thin families are less likely to transform their bodies into bulky muscular ones. A person can increase his chance of gaining weight with improved nutrition and appropriate weight training. Muscle is gained through intense training and the consumption of additional calories. For each pound gained as muscle you would need to consume 500-1000 additional calories each day (Berning 96). The key to weight gain is consistency and with a little hard work the average person should be able to get to his/her desired ideal weight. By combining a high calorie diet and a rigid exercise program you will find that your body will produce weight in the form of muscle, making you healthy and giving you your desired physical body image. We all must act together and make it our priority to help change society's perception of body images. This can protect everyone by making others feel comfortable with their weight and prevent them from developing eating disorders. Education is essential. By studying our ideal weight in the BMI chart and keeping an eye on the amount of calories in our diet we can stay healthy and feel good about ourselves. This process is aided through complete reinforcement and support from our family and friends. It doesn't stop there as we all must refrain from prejudicial treatment of fat or thin people and see beyond their weight. It is only then that we can feel comfortable with our weight and develop satisfaction in knowing that we have obtained an ideal healthy lifestyle for ourselves.

Drink-at-Home, Inc Essay

CASE 2: DRINK-AT-HOME, INC. Drink-At-Home, Inc. (DAH, Inc. ), develops, processes, and markets mixes to be used in nonalcoholic cocktails and mixed drinks for home consumption. Mrs. Lee, who is in charge of research and development at DAH, Inc. , this morning notified Mr. Dick Jones, the president, that exciting developments in the research and development section indicate that a new beverage, an instant pina colada, should be possible because of a new way to process and preserve coconut. Mrs. Lee is recommending a major program to develop the pina colada. She estimates that expenditure on the development may be as much as $100,000 and that as much as a year’s work may be required. In the discussion with Mr. Jones, she indicated that she thought the possibility of her outstanding people successfully developing such a drink now that she’d done all the really important work was in the neighborhood of 90 percent. She also felt that the likelihood of a competing company developing a similar product in 12 months was 80 percent. Mr. Jones is strictly a bottom line guy and is concerned about the sales volume of such a beverage. Consequently, Mr. Jones talked to Mr. Besnette, his market research manager, whose specialty is new product evaluation, and was advised that a market existed for an instant pina colada, but was some-what dependent on acceptance by both grocery stores and retail liquor stores. Mr. Besnette also indicated that the sales reports indicate that other firms are considering a line of tropical drinks. If other firms should develop a competing beverage the market would, of course, be split among them. Mr. Jones pressed Mr. Besnette to make future sales estimates for various possibilities and to indicate the present (discounted value of future profits) value. Mr. Besnette provided Table 1. Mr. Besnette’s figures did not include (1) cost of research and development, (2) cost of new production equipment, or (3) cost of introducing the pina colada. The cost of the new production equipment is expected to be $ 100,000 because of the special way the coconut needs to be handled, and the cost of introducing the new product is expected to be about $150,000 because of the point-of purchase displays that would be necessary to introduce the new product. Mrs. Lee has indicated that she does have alternative development proposals, which are: 1. A reduced research program to see someone else comes out with the product first and if not, then proceed with a crash program. The reduced program for the first eight months would cost $10,000 per month. One advantage of this is that if the effort was unsuccessful, then development costs would be held to the eight-month figure (8 months ? $ 10,000 = $80,000). The likelihood of success under this approach is the same as the more orderly development. (The likelihood of a competing company developing a product in 8 months is 60 percent.) The crash development program would take place in months 9 through 12 and would cost an additional $60,000. It would proceed only if the eight-month study guaranteed a success. 2. Use a reduced research program and maintain an awareness of industry developments to see if someone else develops a product. If someone else has developed a product at the end of six months, it would cost only an additional $30,000 to analyze their product and duplicate it. The reduced development program would cost $10,000 per month. Mr. Besnette, being the great marketer that he is, is of course reluctant to be second on the market with a new product. He says that the first product on the market will usually obtain a greater share of the market, and it will be difficult to win those customers back. Consequently, he indicates that only about 50 percent of the sales that he indicated in Table 1 could be expected if Drink-at-Home waited until competing brands were already on the market. Moreover, he suspects that there is only a 50/50 chance that the competitor will be out with a product within the next six months. There are four options: (1) orderly development of the pina colada, (2) modest development effort followed by the crash program, (3) a modest development effort for the first six months to see if a competitive product comes on the market, and (4) do nothing. TABLE 1. Sales and Profit Potentials Consumer Acceptance Substantial Moderate Low (Sales Potential) Probability Present Values 0. 10 0. 60 0. 30 (Discounted Value of Future Profits) $800,000 $600,000 $500,000 What would you recommend? Show all supporting solutions/computations. Source: http://wps. pearsoned. co. uk/ema_ge_render_qam_11/202/51952/13299854. cw/content/index. html.

Factors Affecting Students academic performance Essay

The article â€Å"Kids Who Use Facebook Do Worse in School† by Bonnie Rochman illustrates the pros and cons of using Facebook by kids. On the negative side, it has been found by a research, conducted by Larry Rosen, that teenagers who use Facebook continuously or after a short interval of time during study, relatively weaker in study and have more adverse effects on their health such as more physical disorders, nervousness and depression. Moreover, young adults who use social sites extremely have more psychological disorders. On the positive side, social sites help children to sharpen their ability to understand others and improve their personalities. To conclude, Rosen said that parent’s job has become more difficult now because they are in dilemma that how much time, a student should spend on a social site as too much use of it leads to serious problems and they usually avoid to pay attention on important things because of that diverted stuff whereas a child can becom e more empathic by using it. I learnt a lot from this article as it provides all the important information regarding good or bad effects of using Facebook. I found this information very interesting and important as I am a student and Facebook user. It tells me that I should not use Facebook during my study because it can affect my grades and health in a negative way. The information seems accurate and concise and it reminds me to avoid multitasking that is use of Facebook during study period. I think the ideas of the writer are similar to that what I have faced in my life. I firmly agree with the author because all the information includes by the writer in article is accurate and helpful.

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx - Essay Example The latter group is identified as being a dangerous class, which may be swept into a proletarian revolution where the proletariats take over, while also dethroning the bourgeois class (Marx 1). Through the structure of his Communist Manifesto, Marx successfully shows how the history of nations is driven by their economic concerns, as well as how the struggle between the hard working proletariats and the rich bourgeois could eventually result in Communism. Following his examination of the bourgeois’ history and nature, Marx’s Communist Manifesto turns to discussing the development of the proletariat class. In this initial sub-section, it is argued how the bourgeois class developed alongside the proletariats, setting the stage for the eventual destruction of the bourgeois by the proletariats. It is noted how the proletariats only live as long as they can get work, as well as the fact they can only find work if the labor they offer works to increase capital for the bourgeois (Marx 1). In this case, the distinctions based on sex and age became less essential since the proletariats become labor instruments. In addition, as soon as the exploitative boss pays the proletariats, the bourgeois exploit them further (Marx 1). This initial description of the proletariat’s nature sets the stage for Marx to expound on his argument of a struggle between them and the bourgeois. This struggle is identified as involving groups of workers and individual laborers rebelling against the exploitative bourgeois, specifically in the hope that their medieval worker status would be revived. The proletariat is shown as having been initially geographically divided, disorganized, and competition with each other. In addition, even after they formed unions, the proletariats were still under the bourgeois’ influence, which meant that they continued to serve and further the bourgeois objectives (Marx 1). It is at this point of