Yusef Komunyakaa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Yusef Komunyakaa - Research Paper Example His complex background and unique voice show the power of poetry. Throughout his many years at the craft he has risen to become one of the foremost writers of his age. But his work is far from laudatory. Komunyakaa explores many complex and painful chapters in American life, many reflected through his background. He is not afraid to celebrate what is good, but nor is he unwilling to explore what is darkest and saddest about America. Biography Komunyakaa was born in Louisiana in 1947 into a family that was recently from Africa (Cocola, 211). He joined the army when he was a young man and fought abroad. When he returned to the United States, he began writing poetry and publishing and teaching. Over the years, he has won numerous awards both in the U.S. and internationally. His work takes as one of its major themes the dislocations and traumas of African-American life. It uses many of the techniques of this more traditional style to great effect. From the beginning it was clear that Kom unyakaa was a wilful man who saw himself as different. His original birth-name was James Willie Brown, but he changed it to his grandfather's name when he was young (Pereira, 45). His grandfather had been a stowaway from Trinidad. The poet's experience in Vietnam as an American soldier inform many aspects of his work. The Vietnam War was a difficult time for America. It was a war far from home against a people that Americans knew little about. The draft forced many people who would not normally fight in wars to participate. Back home, protests and riots broke out and brother turned against brother. Civil strife was common. For Komunyakaa this experience was a galvanizing one. But he did not see it through the mainstream lens of White America. He is not like other soldiers as his relationship with his country is more complex due to his ethnicity. He did not feel the same in Vietnam as the other American soldiers; indeed, he felt somewhat at home in the alien land (Cocola, 215). Influ ences and dialogue among writers Yusef Komunyakaa has many influences. Jazz is a key one. In a sense, Komunyakaa sees in jazz the same improvisational and emotive capacity of poetry. He also sees jazz as highly dependent on the blues and other traditions (Komunyakaa and Clytus, 121). But he is more formal than many jazz practitioners. He takes as inspiration the work of the Harlem poet Langston Hughes and even a man as remote as T.S. Eliot. Clearly, his own father is an important influence. In his father, Komunyakaa sees just how far he has come and how much he has accomplished in his years on this planet. While he may occasionally criticize America, Komunyakaa clearly recognizes that only in this country can the son of an illiterate man become a world famous poet. My father could only sign His name, but he'd look at blueprints & say how many bricks Formed each wall. This beautiful ending of a poem shows how Komunyakaa sees his own poetry as a product of accumulation and hard work o ver the years. That no single poem or brick stands alone appears to be the lesson he has taken from his father. Like a cathedral starts with a single brick, so a poem starts with a single line. The poet understands that the line cannot be written without education, without literacy, and so he has sought these things out. Writing theories/ style and technique Komunyakaa's writing theories are at the core of his work. A great example is the poem â€Å"Facing It† is an extraordinary journey through war and memory, and is surely one of Komunyakaa's best. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, the poet recalls his own horrifying experiences and is overcome with emotion. He remembers his comrades who have died in the bloody fray and his own complex feelings about the war and his place

Katrina Course work Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Katrina Course work - Coursework Example If people will not do something about it, chances are, the city will eventually vanish. Hurricane Katrina started as a tropical depression twelve due to the interaction of the tropical wave and the tropical depression. It transformed into the tropical storm status and in the span of 2 hours became a hurricane. The intensity ceased for a moment but came back growing from Category 3 hurricane to category 5 in the span of 9 hours. It decreased its intensity when it was absorbed by a frontal boundary. Yes, because the continuous rise of the intensity of the hurricane from tropical depression was nonstop. It started as a tropical depression on the 23rd of August, and within just a few hours, it transformed into category 1, to category 3, and finally made its strongest as category 5 hurricane. No, Hurricane Katrina was an extremely powerful storm. It was just too strong making it one of the five deadliest hurricanes in America and Katrina could easily change its intensity in just a few hours making it hard for the government and the people to make thorough

Ancient goddesses of the middle east Research Paper

Ancient goddesses of the middle east - Research Paper Example In most cases, these civilizations have left behind a great deal of artifacts that suggest the types of religions they practiced, most being of a polytheistic or multi-god format, as well as evidence of what these gods and goddesses represented. Today, the region is more often associated with the advent of Christianity and the concept of a one-god religion, so it is interesting to note the polytheistic tendencies and perhaps examine some of the more specific details of these tendencies to determine how or why the transition was made to a male-dominated religious tradition that would span more than 2000 years. Was it a reaction to an overly powerful, highly restrictive goddess cult? As a means of trying to isolate this grander question, it would be helpful to have some understanding of the greater goddesses of the Mesopotamian region, their powers and their development over time to determine whether the legends provide any support for the Great Goddess legend. Many people assume that the earliest civilizations worshipped a Great Goddess. She was a solitary figure that gave birth to all life on Earth and was responsible for everything on it – much like the God or Allah of the modern day. Evidence for her existence is found in a number of things such as the statuary that has been discovered and some of the myths that have been passed down. Decorative art in societies such as the ancient Minoans indicate women holding high places in society (Goodison & Morris, 1998). It is assumed that a society worshipping a Great Goddess such as this would be organized according to matrilineal lines with the female gender holding much of the power. â€Å"That at least some of the peoples †¦ new-comers encountered were matriarchal and Goddess-worshipping was accepted by even such hard-headed (and influential) archaeologists as V. Gordon

Graphics Communications Industry Essay Example for Free

Graphics Communications Industry Essay Graphics Communications Industry, according to the College of Technology at the University of Houston, is defined as the processes and industries that create, develop, produce, and disseminate products utilizing or incorporating words or pictorial images to convey information, ideas, and feelings. Its products make possible learning, enjoyment, enthusiasm, and business. These products like books, magazine, maps, invitation, etc. are part of people’s daily life. Graphic Communications includes those market sectors that exploit the technologies of printing, publishing, packaging, electronic imaging, and other associated industries. They are often referred to as the graphic arts, print, or imaging industries. Graphic communication companies are entrepreneurial and innovative. Ideas are created on the computer and carried through different stages that can include the Internet as well as printed forms of several types and variations. Due to the emerging technological advances, companies in the business have expanded services such as creative design, e-commerce, web page design and hosting, mailing, fulfillment, and a multitude of services that provide parallel marketing beyond the major printing activity. (Education Summit for the Graphic Arts 1) The field of Graphic Communications is obviously a technology-based system. It includes the developing technologies of computer-age press, image generation, data repurposing, designing and posting internet web pages, interactive multimedia, digital photography, electronic digital imaging, and desktop publishing. Furthermore, it offers a lot of career opportunities. Thus, it contributes a lot to the economy. It needs millions of people in a range of challenging technical, creative, or professional activities. They vary from small companies with a few workers to large plants with several hundred people on multiple shifts. Almost all companies have acquired modern computerized equipment and stay updated with technology changes taking place in the industry. The top ten leading states in total number of graphic communication employees are California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Michigan. (Education Summit for the Graphic Arts 1) REFERENCES: â€Å"Graphic Communications Industry. † (2006). College of Technology, University of Houston. 7 April 2009 †¹http://graphics. tech. uh. edu/industry/industry. php†º â€Å"The GraphicCommunication Industry: A Quick Overview. † (April, 2008). Education Summit for the Graphic Arts. 7 April 2009 †¹http://teched. vt. edu/gcc/HTML/CareerInfo/PDFs/GraphicCommunicationOverview. pdf†º

Canadian Press Coverage in the Middle East :: Canada Media Middle East News Essays

Canadian Press Coverage in the Middle East In December 1985, the Canadian press reported the death by suicide of hundreds of field mice in the Middle East. In an apparently instinctive reaction to a problem of over-population, the mice willfully plunged to their doom off the cliffs of the Golan Heights. This bizarre story was the subject not only of straight news coverage in the Canadian press, but also of an editorial in the Globe and Mail on December 20. On November 1, 1985, the Globe and Mail also ran a photograph of a visiting Roman Catholic priest from Brazil, saying prayers on the banks of the Jordan River at the site where Christ is said to have been baptized. Standing alertly near the priest was an Israeli soldier with a rifle slung over his shoulder, his eyes carefully scanning Jordanian territory across the river. For the analyst of the media and media image-making, these rather unusual press items raise an interesting question about news selection and presentation by the editorial departments of the daily press. Had the mice toppled off Mount Kilimanjaro would this essentially scientific story about animal behavior have found its way so prominently into the Canadian press? Had the priest been peacefully saying mass on the Mountain would this religious item have been deemed worthy of coverage? Or was it the newspapers' sense of the irony of these events, of their news value as symbols depicting the pervasive conflict and violence we have come to associate with the Middle East that led to their selection for publication from the reams of teletype endlessly flowing into the editorial departments of the Canadian press? It would seem that even when the subject matter is scientific or religious--about mice or monsignors--the press is inclined to remind its readers of the inherently violent nature o f the Middle East, and a fundamentally negative image is developed or reinforced. It is, Canadians are told in effect, a region so bleak and hopeless that even its despairing mice are driven to take their lives. The purpose of this study is to examine in an empirical fashion Canadian daily press coverage of the Middle East to establish, inter alias, what type of image of the region and of its principal actors (Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states) is, in fact, resented to the Canadian reader and what impact, if any, the character of that coverage has had on the shaping of Canadian foreign policy.

Multifactorial Model of Health Psychology

The multifactorial model in health psychology is a leading paradigm that recognizes the multi-faceted nature of illnesses. It is not a clear-cut, simple case that a disease is caused by a singular factor. The fact is that decades if not over a century of modern research has led to the recognition that a host of factors, as well as their interactions, function in illness and health determination (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). These varied factors that the multifactorial model indicates to be the range of possible influences or causes of diseases cover the psychological, sociocultural, environmental, and stressors. This broad range of factors, which include both those within and without one's control, determine an individual's health and his/her level of susceptibility to health problems (Nevid & Rathus, p. 127). Psychological or personality and behavior factors figure in quite a large number of health problems. Such is seen in the large number of preventable deaths that occur yearly in the United States. For one, smoking leads to way over 400,000 annual deaths from cancer, diseases of the heart and lungs, and stroke. Some 300,000 year deaths stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes can actually be prevented with good diet and proper exercise. Immunizations, moderation or control of alcohol drinking, and abstinence or safe sex practices could also help prevent deaths from infectious diseases, vehicular and other accidents/injuries, and sexually transmitted diseases, respectively (Nevid & Rathus, p. 128). It should be well noted that depression and other negative psychological states could actually render an impaired immune system functioning (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). The reason for this is that, contrary to popular thinking, the mental and the physical are not entirely separate domains but, rather intertwined (Nevid & Rathus, p. 131). Biological factors include age, gender, genetics, as well as injuries, exposure to pathogens and inoculations. One's genetic make-up, while beyond an individual's capacity to be altered, tend to make certain people falsely assume that their health is doomed by, say, a family history of diabetes. Having a family history of a disease can make some people think fatalistically that nothing they do can improve their chances of overcoming or escaping a disease. Dr. Robert N. Hoover of the National Cancer Institute, however, says that many cases of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and others merely give rise to predispositions, not really certainties (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). Environmental factors include pollution, water quality, hygiene from solid waster treatment and sanitation, natural disasters, and even global warming and depletion of the ozone layer. Personal stressors cover a wide range of situations such as daily hassles at home, co-workers, time pressure, and financial insecurity; frustrations; major life changes; workplace situation; and isolation or rejection by peers (Nevid & Rathus, p. 27). Thus, in the diagnosis of illnesses, the multifactorial model considers the possible roles played by psychological, biological, environmental/cultural factors, along with their interactions (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). In the United States, the application of the psychological health model can be seen in studies that attempt to explain the phenomenon of black Americans seemingly suffering from health problems more compared to the European Americans. The ethnicity consideration has led to studies showing that African-Americans may indeed be genetically predisposed to hypertension but, at the same time, poor diet, stress and smoking contribute to the development of the disease. Such consideration has also led to findings that the tendency of Afro-Americans to have lower access level to quality health care help explain, for instance, why they are less prone to receive surgeries for hip and knee replacements (Nevid & Rathus, p. 128). Use of Psychology in Understanding Illnesses Diagnosing, understanding and managing headaches have been helped a lot with the use of psychology. The multifactorial model views headaches, migraine headaches in particular, as being triggered by multiple factors that include fluctuations in hormonal levels/balance, stress, barometric pressure changes, exposure to very bright lights, certain drug use, certain chemical ingestion, and certain foods, among others (Nevid & Rathus, p. 132). Said factors, of course, involve biological and environmental factors, but also psychological ones which are more the concern of health psychology—how psychological factors interact with physical health problems, including in terms of triggering, preventing, or treating diseases (Nevid & Rathus, p. 18). Health psychology studies have shown that stress figures in migraine headaches. The causal mechanisms that underlie migraines have been described to be complex and not well understood—with neurotransmitter serotonin imbalance and resulting blood flow changes in the brain appearing to be related somehow. The psychological perspective ha s identified stress and glaring lights exposure, among others, as possible triggers for migraine headaches. As well, this branch of psychology has indicated that behavioral coping responses may help people deal with headaches. While evidence collated in a study showing that women suffering from regular migraines tend to be more self-critical, likely to make a big thing of life's stresses, and less likely to look for social support during periods of stress, is only correlation, the study does suggest that people's behavior may inadvertently be leading them into a vicious cycle. Psychology shows that with recurrent headaches such as migraine, certain behaviors help trigger the illness as much as how the refusal to avail of social support may further aggravate emotional distress and pain from migraines (Nevid & Rathus, p. 32). With advances in health science in general, headaches today are better managed, with its triggers even being avoided. Psychology has helpe understand and cope with migraines also by way of advising people, women in particular, not to accept such an illness as â€Å"normal† and, instead, advise them to be more assertive with their doctors who limit migraine treatments to only one approach (Nevid & Rathus, p. 133). The importance of health psychology is, perhaps, more apparent in the case of coronary heart disease or CHD. This is because this leading cause of mortality in the US clearly lists several types of psychological factors as triggers: diet patterns; anger and hostility; Type A behavior that markedly consists of hostility; job strain; chronic emotional strain and fatigue; sudden stressors; and an inactive lifestyle (Nevid & Rathus, p. 135-137). Health psychology science has established how consumption patterns such as overeating, heavy alcohol drinking, smoking, and high-cholesterol diet lead to coronary heart ailments. It is also worth noting that the science has also identified that a minimal amount of alcohol appears to be beneficial to the heart. The psychological perspective also makes the suggestion that a modest association between coronary heart disease and Type A behavior exists, particularly among white, middle-aged-to-older men. Hostility and anger are closely linked with increased CHD risk and are even thought of to be a stronger predictor of CHD compared to genetics, obesity, or smoking (Nevid & Rathus, p. 35). With regards work-related psychological factor, the job-strain health psychology model helps understand how highly demanding jobs and jobs that gives workers little control lead to increased risk of heart-related illnesses (Nevid & Rathus, p. 136). The multifactorial health psychology perspective has also led to the understanding of how sudden life stressors, chronic fatigue/emotional strain and a physically inactive lifestyle figure in the development of heart disease and occurr ence of heart attacks. The multifactorial model in health psychology is a leading paradigm that recognizes the multi-faceted nature of illnesses. It is not a clear-cut, simple case that a disease is caused by a singular factor. The fact is that decades if not over a century of modern research has led to the recognition that a host of factors, as well as their interactions, function in illness and health determination (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). These varied factors that the multifactorial model indicates to be the range of possible influences or causes of diseases cover the psychological, ociocultural, environmental, and stressors. This broad range of factors, which include both those within and without one's control, determine an individual's health and his/her level of susceptibility to health problems (Nevid & Rathus, p. 127). Psychological or personality and behavior factors figure in quite a large number of health problems. Such is seen in the large number of preventable deaths that occur yearly in the United States. For one, smoking leads to way over 400,000 annual deaths from cancer, diseases of the heart and lungs, and stroke. Some 300,000 year deaths stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes can actually be prevented with good diet and proper exercise. Immunizations, moderation or control of alcohol drinking, and abstinence or safe sex practices could also help prevent deaths from infectious diseases, vehicular and other accidents/injuries, and sexually transmitted diseases, respectively (Nevid & Rathus, p. 128). It should be well noted that depression and other negative psychological states could actually render an impaired immune system functioning (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). The reason for this is that, contrary to popular thinking, the mental and the physical are not entirely separate domains but, rather intertwined (Nevid & Rathus, p. 131). Biological factors include age, gender, genetics, as well as injuries, exposure to pathogens and inoculations. One's genetic make-up, while beyond an individual's capacity to be altered, tend to make certain people falsely assume that their health is doomed by, say, a family history of diabetes. Having a family history of a disease can make some people think fatalistically that nothing they do can improve their chances of overcoming or escaping a disease. Dr. Robert N. Hoover of the National Cancer Institute, however, says that many cases of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and others merely give rise to predispositions, not really certainties (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). Environmental factors include pollution, water quality, hygiene from solid waster treatment and sanitation, natural disasters, and even global warming and depletion of the ozone layer. Personal stressors cover a wide range of situations such as daily hassles at home, co-workers, time pressure, and financial insecurity; frustrations; major life changes; workplace situation; and isolation or rejection by peers (Nevid & Rathus, p. 27). Thus, in the diagnosis of illnesses, the multifactorial model considers the possible roles played by psychological, biological, environmental/cultural factors, along with their interactions (Nevid & Rathus, p. 126). In the United States, the application of the psychological health model can be seen in studies that attempt to explain the phenomenon of black Americans seemingly suffering from health problems more compared to the European Americans. The ethnicity consideration has led to studies showing that African-Americans may indeed be genetically predisposed to hypertension but, at the same time, poor diet, stress and smoking contribute to the development of the disease. Such consideration has also led to findings that the tendency of Afro-Americans to have lower access level to quality health care help explain, for instance, why they are less prone to receive surgeries for hip and knee replacements (Nevid & Rathus, p. 128). Use of Psychology in Understanding Illnesses Diagnosing, understanding and managing headaches have been helped a lot with the use of psychology. The multifactorial model views headaches, migraine headaches in particular, as being triggered by multiple factors that include fluctuations in hormonal levels/balance, stress, barometric pressure changes, exposure to very bright lights, certain drug use, certain chemical ingestion, and certain foods, among others (Nevid & Rathus, p. 132). Said factors, of course, involve biological and environmental factors, but also psychological ones which are more the concern of health psychology—how psychological factors interact with physical health problems, including in terms of triggering, preventing, or treating diseases (Nevid & Rathus, p. 18). Health psychology studies have shown that stress figures in migraine headaches. The causal mechanisms that underlie migraines have been described to be complex and not well understood—with neurotransmitter serotonin imbalance and resulting blood flow changes in the brain appearing to be related somehow. The psychological perspective ha s identified stress and glaring lights exposure, among others, as possible triggers for migraine headaches. As well, this branch of psychology has indicated that behavioral coping responses may help people deal with headaches. While evidence collated in a study showing that women suffering from regular migraines tend to be more self-critical, likely to make a big thing of life's stresses, and less likely to look for social support during periods of stress, is only correlation, the study does suggest that people's behavior may inadvertently be leading them into a vicious cycle. Psychology shows that with recurrent headaches such as migraine, certain behaviors help trigger the illness as much as how the refusal to avail of social support may further aggravate emotional distress and pain from migraines (Nevid & Rathus, p. 32). With advances in health science in general, headaches today are better managed, with its triggers even being avoided. Psychology has helpe understand and cope with migraines also by way of advising people, women in particular, not to accept such an illness as â€Å"normal† and, instead, advise them to be more assertive with their doctors who limit migraine treatments to only one approach (Nevid & Rathus, p. 133). The importance of health psychology is, perhaps, more apparent in the case of coronary heart disease or CHD. This is because this leading cause of mortality in the US clearly lists several types of psychological factors as triggers: diet patterns; anger and hostility; Type A behavior that markedly consists of hostility; job strain; chronic emotional strain and fatigue; sudden stressors; and an inactive lifestyle (Nevid & Rathus, p. 135-137). Health psychology science has established how consumption patterns such as overeating, heavy alcohol drinking, smoking, and high-cholesterol diet lead to coronary heart ailments. It is also worth noting that the science has also identified that a minimal amount of alcohol appears to be beneficial to the heart. The psychological perspective also makes the suggestion that a modest association between coronary heart disease and Type A behavior exists, particularly among white, middle-aged-to-older men. Hostility and anger are closely linked with increased CHD risk and are even thought of to be a stronger predictor of CHD compared to genetics, obesity, or smoking (Nevid & Rathus, p. 135). With regards work-related psychological factor, the job-strain health psychology model helps understand how highly demanding jobs and jobs that gives workers little control lead to increased risk of heart-related illnesses (Nevid & Rathus, p. 136). The multifactorial health psychology perspective has also led to the understanding of how sudden life stressors, chronic fatigue/emotional strain and a physically inactive lifestyle figure in the development of heart disease and occurrence of heart attacks. Reference Nevid, J. S. and Rathus, S. A. (2000). Psychology and the challenges of life. John Wiley & Sons.

Psychologists & prejudice Essay

According to Dollards et al (1939) frustration-aggression hypothesis aggression that cannot be expressed directly at the source of frustration can be displaced unto a ‘representation’ of the source (scapegoat), leading to bias and prejudice. Unlike the previous cases which have their origins in social learning or social identity this form of prejudice is borne out of the frictional component of social interaction. A ‘solution’ is therefore to reduce this friction as much as possible. The apartheid era in South Africa did recognise the problem of ‘cultural friction’ and sought to address it by separating black from white. However, the separation was not fair favouring white (supremacy) over black. This in effect only amounted to replacing one source of friction and frustration with another. Typically, social frustrations are linked to exogenous economic conditions where the contrast between the rich and poor is clearly sharpened. The challenge for any government to implement a solution to such frustrations may be simply be too difficult, or not at all practical. Germany in the late 1930’s and early forties provides a good example of national frustration followed by an explosion of national prejudice and aggression. The application of the ‘solution’ shaped the history of the 20th century. By understanding the origin and causes of prejudice, psychologists are able to propose methods and conditions that can lead to a reduction of prejudice. However, economic factors, social learning, and identity beliefs based on religion or culture may mean that any attempt to remove prejudice from ‘free’ society will be met with limited success.