Connection journal about nutrient cycling Assignment

Connection journal about nutrient cycling - Assignment Example Meanwhile, biotic components may refer to various staff or personnel who takes up the nutrients or ideas for publication. Now that we are quite familiar to the connection that we established, let us take nutrient cycling inside the magazine office. Ideas are always present in the atmosphere, just like nitrogen. Ideas can be converted into functional ideas with the help of creative staff. It is comparable to the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that converts nitrogen to nitrates. Next, the creative director takes in the ideas of the creative staff and forms the cover and photo concepts. The same goes through with the cycle when plants take in nitrogen and form proteins. The next level of hierarchy goes to the managing director who is constantly in contact with the creative director and consumes the proteins formed within a span of time. In the absence of both the creative and managing director, the tasks may not be completed and eventually phase-out. When both plants (creative director) and animals (managing director) die or become absent in the process, proteins (final ideas) formed decompose into nitr ogen in atmosphere. In this case, the role of the editor-in-chief to oversee the whole process takes effect until the editor-in-chief establish constant contact again with the creative and managing directors or until the cycle starts

The personalities of the contenders Essay Example for Free

The personalities of the contenders Essay How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-29? Lenins death on the 21st January 1924 caused huge sadness across the country. After Lenins death, everyone was eagerly waiting to know who would be the next leader of Russia. In the years after Lenins death, there was no clear successor to his leadership. However, when Lenin was leader, Trotsky was always there for him, and he played a huge role in the Civil War, therefore everyone thought he would become Lenins successor. However, as well as Trotsky there were other significant contenders, such as Stalin, Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev which created a huge power struggle. I believe that the personalities of the contenders were significant in this struggle. However, other factors such as ideological battles, removal of opponents by Stalin and the consolidated powerbases also had an effect. The personalities of all were all extremely different by a great margin. The most likely to win, Trotsky was intellectually gifted which greatly benefitted him. He was also a great military leader and had good organisational skills. Trotsky has a few strong disadvantages to his personality though. His late arrival to the Bolshevik party could be interpret Trotsky as an unloyal character while his arrogance due to his intelligence made him quite a few different enemies in the Bolshevik party. Trotsky’s arrogance led to his defeat as he vastly underestimated Stalin and the threat he posed, while also decreasing his inner party support. At the time Trotsky would be clear favourite to win but his poor characteristics let him down. The next contender and winner of the battle for power was Joseph Stalin. An underdog and one of the least likely looking people to win, Stalin played his cards well and to his advantage. Being a Bolshevik from the beginning supported the fact that Stalin was a loyal Bolshevik which was a strength of his personality. Stalin being a cunning character was another strength of his and was a contributing factor to the defeat of his enemies as he was easily able to manipulate and outplay them. His ruthlessness and his ability to easily gain support due to his position and authority to promote them also benefitted greatly to the defeat of his enemies. He had a major weakness and thorn in his side though and that was Lenin’s opinion of him. The ability to easily manipulate Stalin was also a major disadvantage for him. While Stalin didn’t look it, he had just as big  of a chance as Trotsky due to his nature. Another contender in the race for leadership was the â€Å"Golden boy† known as Bukharin. Bukharin was possessed one of the best personalities of the party and his traits and strengths such as his incorruptibility and honest and well natured manner were good aspects about him. His â€Å"Golden boy† title was also helpful as it represented how liked he was by Lenin before his death. His intellectuality also benefitted him greatly and he was often referred to as the brains of the Bolsheviks. Bukharin’s main weakness though was that he ha d no ambition and he was too young. These factors led to a small support for Bukharin while his right-wing views also cut out some votes for him. Another contender, Zinoviev possessed good strengths such as being a good speaker and being good friends with Lenin. These would essentially give Zinoviev a right to the leadership of the party. He was involved little in the civil war though and his dislikeable and vain nature did little to help him gain the support he needed which was why he teamed up with the last contender Kamenev. Kamenev was also a friend of Lenin but compared to Zinoviev was from a working class background which would have benefitted him greatly due to the say and respect he would have. Kamenev had little influence though and was too uninspirational greatly denting his chances Therefore, what we can infer from the personalities and strengths of each other contenders was that Stalin cleverly manipulated and took advantage of each contenders weaknesses which led to him becoming leader. Stalin would also use the past to his advantage e.g. Zinoviev’s poor revolutionary record or Trotsky’s past allegia nces. Stalin would also use the personalities of other contenders to his advantage e.g. Trotsky’s arrogance or the fact that Bukharin has no ambition. There were also many other factors that led to Stalin’s victory though. Another way in which Stalin won was the removal of opponents by Stalin. Stalin slowly but surely took out each of his opponents carefully and concisely. Stalin removed Trotsky by creating the Triumvirate with Kamenev and Zinoviev. Stalin carefully destroyed Trotsky’s reputation with Zinoviev and Kamenev with things such as questioning his loyalty to Lenin, destroying his influence by questioning his ‘Bonapartism’ ideology and question his activities leading up to the revolution. Stalin also made Trotsky miss the funeral of Lenin, shocking the party and destroying Trotsky’s influence by a huge chunk. When Stalin had taken care of Trotsky,  he then took care of Zinoviev and Kamenev by splitting the Triumvirate and creating the Duumvirate with Bukharin. With Zinoviev and Kamenev in decline due to the influence they had in the defeat of Trotsky, Stalin easily defeated them. When that had happened Stalin quickly turned against Bukharin and with his growing inf luence Stalin removed him from the race for leadership. At the end of everything, Stalin had removed all opponents and this was a big factor in determining Stalin’s victory due to the fact that it had removed all of the people in the way of Stalin becoming leader of the Bolsheviks. Another way Stalin took power was by increasing his influence by never actually taking a side. While everyone was on either a left-wing or right-wing stance, Stalin remained neutral as to not damage his influence with members of either side. This way Stalin would face less opposition due to him not going against a large opposition of the party. His stance on things such as the NEP also came to his advantage and he both agreed and disagreed with it at different times. Stalin also took a neutral view on how fast Russia should industrialise, he personally however took a left wing view towards this.

The Department of Homeland Security: Technology

The Department of Homeland Security: Technology The statement: The Department of Homeland Security has complete responsibility for all U.S. homeland security related critical infrastructure (CI) matters is not entirely accurate; originally, matters of national security were the sole responsibility of the federal government (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 7). Today, national critical infrastructure protection is a joint effort among the federal government, public and private sectors. The Department of Homeland Security was established to protect and secure the homeland from both domestic and foreign threats. According to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the development of a plan which will ensure the security of critical infrastructure is the responsibility of the DHS (Homeland Security, 2009). Likewise, the DHS is also responsible for recommending the measures necessary to protect the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United States (Homeland Security, 2009, p. 2). The mission of DHS is one that involves the protection of infrastructure and critical facilities and networks (Homeland Security, 2010, p. 33). The DHS is responsible for the identification and assessment of all components which make up critical infrastructure. In addition to mitigating potential vulnerabilities; improving the resilience of critical infrastructure, is also a top priority of the DHS. This includes but is not limited to: stand-alone facilities and interdependent systems and networks within and across critical infrastructure sectors (Homeland Security, 2010, p. 34). The DHS serves as the leader and facilitator for those agencies who share responsibility for protecting the nations critical infrastructures (Homeland Security, 2010, p. 31). Those agencies include territorial, tribal, local and state governments, as well as the private sector and other agencies not associated with the government (Homeland Security, 2003). Conversely, when a disaster occurs these agencies are the first line of defense for national critical infrastructures. Even though the DHS is responsible for leading critical infrastructure efforts, coordination of security measures within local and state governments and critical sector industry leaders are the responsibility of federal lead departments and agencies (Homeland Security, 2003). Similarly, it is the responsibility of state and local governments to provide protection to critical infrastructures that are located within their jurisdictions (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 10). If and when a catastrophic event should occur which exhaust the capabilities of local and state governments, it is up to the federal government to coordinate a response (Homeland Security, 2003). A majority of our nations critical infrastructures are privately owned or operated, which means that the private sector are initially responsible for providing protection against threats to their facilities (Homeland Security, 2003). When the threat becomes more than the private sector can handle then the government will step in to assist and ensure that our nations critical infrastructures and assets are protected (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 11). Likewise, the federal government will be there to provide support for an environment in which the private sector can better carry out its specific responsibilities (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 11). The chemical sector is one of the most vulnerable critical infrastructures to natural disaster and terrorist attacks, that being said the DHS is working with the EPA to enhance security at chemical facilities (Homeland Security, 2003). In addition, special attention is being paid to those facilities which house large quantities of hazardous chemicals (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 78). Studies conducted by the DHS and private sector are currently underway to identify and understand physical vulnerabilities within the telecommunications infrastructure and their associated risks (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 61). Even though the private sector must occasionally seek assistance from the DHS, there are times when the federal government must rely on the private sector to lend a hand in emergency response and recovery. An example of the federal government calling on the private sector for assistance was the anthrax scare of 2001. A large Washington D.C. construction corporation was contracted to oversee the abatement and restoration of the Brentwood Post office in Washington D.C. and the Trenton Post office facility in New Jersey. One must also understand that quite a few of our nations critical infrastructures cross international borders (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 35). Therefore the federal government has partnered with the neighboring countries to provide security for our interconnected infrastructures (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 35). The United States partnership with Canada is is a vital asset to national critical infrastructure, efforts are being made to provide protection for international interconnected infrastructures. An example of this partnership is the Alaskan Canadian hightway. In order to transport goods and supplies to Alaska we must travel cross Canadian territory. It is evident that matters of critical infrastrucutre involves not only the DHS but the public and private sectors as well. The DHS would not be able to carry out their responsibilites without the assistance of local and state agencies, the private sector and vice versa. The U.S. government has made great strides in developing techniques and strategies to harden U.S. critical infrastructures which will make them more resistant to terrorist attack and natural disasters. One of the U.S. governments goals is to establish a strong partnership that spans across all levels of government, in addition to the private sector and the American people (Homeland Security, 2009). The Protected Critical Infrastructure Information Program is just one of many steps taken by the U.S. government to harden critical infrastructure. This program provides protection to security-related critical infrastructure information (Homeland Security, 2009, p. 5). By breaking down each critical infrastructure sector it is easier to understand how the U.S. government has been successful in hardening each critical infrastructure. The agriculture and food sector is one of the most vulnerable critical infrastructures, that being said, efforts to harden this sector are an ongoing challenge (Mark Sauter James Carafano, 2005). The U.S. government has revised its measures by providing more protection through the hiring of more health inspectors, and adding more reporting requirements (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 291). Contamination of our nations water supply is often a topic of concern; efforts are being made by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a vulnerability and threat assessment (Sauter Carafano, 2005). These assessments will improve not only site security at high threat locations it will also enhance monitoring and sharing of information (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 292). With regards to the critical infrastructure of public health the U.S. government has implemented measures to harden biomedical surveillance (Sauter Carafano, 2005). This is extremely important because of the risks of a biological attack. There have also been improvements in hardening security of emergency stockpiles of medical supplies (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 294). In order to improve the physical security of medical structures the U.S. government has provided incentives to the private sector (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 294). In response to hardening the critical infrastructure of emergency services the U.S. government has established measures to harden interoperable and redundant communication networks (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 295). The U.S. government has instituted a tougher national emergency preparedness exercise program which teaches better security and promotes consistent protection planning and response protocols (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 295). Since the defense industrial base critical infrastructure sector is owned by a majority of the private sector the U.S. government has implemented new measures to include critical infrastructure protection requirements in contract processes (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 296). Likewise, security is being strengthened in the defense related commercial production and distribution processes (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 296). The telecommunications critical infrastructure has been assessed by the U.S. government, and in return a program has been designed to identify where the most vulnerable areas are in the communication architecture and then address the security issue (Sauter Carafano, 2005). Conversely, there have also been efforts made in the energy critical infrastructure sector to enhance resilience of the energy facilities (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 298). Facility equipment is being repaired and replaced and there have also been improvements in restoration and recovery of services (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 298). Significant improvements have been made to harden the transportation critical infrastructure sector; for example, security initiatives have been established to provide commercial airliners with protection from shoulder fired missiles (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 299). There have also been new developments in screening technology which help identify potential threats to transportation as well as aiding the postal service sector in identifying suspicious mail (Sauter Carafano, 2005, pp. 301-302). Despite the many efforts being made to harden critical infrastructure, there are still several weaknesses in the U.S. governments strategy. Lets face it, the only other thing that is more costly than hardening critical infrastructure is the disruption or potential loss of operations in those critical infrastructures. It is clear that trying to harden all critical infrastructures is too daunting of a task and is not cost effective. The U.S. government needs to focus on those areas of the United States where our critical infrastructures are most vulnerable (e.g. New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. etc.). The federal government also needs to look at the protection of our nations water ways. Information security systems need to be deployed to guard the locks on the Mississippi and St. Lawrence seaways (Bruce Don David Mussington). By employing an information security system it will enable the monitoring of vessels and ships while in locks or approaching locks (Don Mussington). To provide another level of security, river marshals could be deployed to accompany dangerous shipments through the locks (Don Mussington). Many people dont realize that a large majority of our nations goods are transported through inland waterways, which is why it is important that more attention be paid to the transportation sector.

Managing Organizational Change Essay -- Business Management

In this dynamic business environment, change is inevitable. Changes can be planned, or unintentional: depending on the driving forces behind. The major forces for change can be derived from the nature of the workforce, technology, economic shocks, competition, social trends, and world politics (Robbins & Judge, 2011). In this post the author will explain the Kotter’s eight –step approaches to managing organizational change and discuss how his company handles the planned changes in term of organization reconstruction. When changes are inevitable, the leaders usually design some adequate steps to make the change go smooth, effective and permanently. Kurt Lewin argued that successful change in organizations should follow three steps: unfreezing the status quo, movement to a desired end state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent (Robbins & Judge, 2011, cited in Lewin, 1951). John Kotter further expanded the Lewin’s model to include an eight-step plan for implementing change. The eight stages are: 1) establishing a sense of urgency 2) creating a guiding coalition 3) developing a vision and strategy 4) communicating the change vision 5) empowering broad-based action 6) generating short-term wins 7) consolidating gains and producing more change and 8) institutionalizing new approaches in the culture (Kotter, 1996). Kotter asserted that many changes failed because some steps were ignored, such as missing the creation of a sense of urgency, vision, or coalition. Using Kotter approach es, let’s analyze a recent change happened in Science Application International Corporation (SAIC), the company the author is working for. SAIC provides scientific, engineering, systems integration and technical services and solutions pr... ...ld improve the change process. The author believes that if the SAIC reconstruction is implemented successfully, the company will be more productive, efficient, agile and competitive. Works Cited Havenstein, W. (July 22, 2010). [Memo From the CEO: Organizational Changes]. Havenstein, W. (October 11, 2010). Message from the CEO. SAIC internal email. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Transforming organizations. Executive Excellence, 13(9), 1. Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading change: Why transformational efforts fail? Harvard Business Review, 85, 96-103. Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper & Row. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Schuler, R. S. (1980). Definition and conceptualzation of stress in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 189.

Popular culture Essay

The idea of popular culture can be epitomized in many mediums nowadays whether it is in films, books, songs or photographs. This paper discusses the way that the `ghetto culture’ is portrayed within various mediums. The first part of this paper will deal with the popular movie `Boyz in the Hood (1991)’ written and directed by John Singleton. Music is known as the avenue where contemporary culture exists – this paper will look at the lyrics in the Crompton’s Most Wanted (CMW) song Growing up in the Hood. It is clear to see the similarities that exist between the two mediums and how ghetto life is expressed. The third medium that will be analyzed in this discussion is that of African American poetry. The poem to be analyzed here is Ghetto Child by Langston Hughes. This poem can be seen to be in line with the other two artifacts that are analyzed this paper. When as an active audience people view these forms of media together we can see how powerful different forms of literature can be on the human soul. Boyz in the Hood known as a groundbreaking movie for its hard-hitting realism and its â€Å"street’’ outlook. This realism made the film so popular and the reason it had so much interest to both black and white audiences. It is a rare instance when a film about one socio economic group can apply to everyone, however John Singleton was successful in doing this in this piece of work. It has been said that the realism of the film and the fact that there was such a human element to the characters that made the characters seem so real and so close to home (as though Tre or Ricky could be one of your neighbors). The film also brought black ghetto culture into mainstream movie theatres (this was not the case prior to this where very little is known about African American films before Boyz in the Hood such as Sweet Sweetback’s Badassess Song (1971) – in the past 10 or more years since this film was made it is clear to see that the African American film industry has become more visible. This is a good thing as African American Culture is no longer hidden behind closed doors – people have the chance to see what life is like in the black ghetto culture of the United States. Singleton wrote and directed a movie that appeals to many different audiences. Critics have praised this film time and time again for the way that it portrays the realistic elements of African American life. A point that is of interest to note that creates a point of difference to a number of films produced prior to Boyz in the Hood was in the way that women are portrayed. Typically, in other films that deal with African American life we (the audience) see women portrayed as servants, prostitutes and welfare mothers. This film is the exception where the stereotype of the black women being unemployed does not exist. We see a glimpse of it at the start of the film when the teacher was speaking to Tre’s mother on the phone and the teacher insinuated that the mother did not work. However, this stereotype came to a pass quickly. The women who play the main characters especially Tre’s mother are seen as strong educated and successful women. Even at the end of the film Tre’s girlfriend ends up going to college (this is a different action to one that people would expect in such a film). Another way we can look at the way that powerful black women are portrayed in this film is so look at Tre’s mother and see how she carries herself and the way she dresses. In comparison to many other films where the African American woman is in a lead role we see her struggling in the African American world, however in this film we see Reva (Tre’s mother) as the strong female living in a white world where it is not important whether you are black or white. Another theme/ idea portrayed in this film in relation to the `ghetto culture’ pertains to the way that Tre’s father (Furious) is adamant that he does not want Tre to turn out like the other boys from the ghetto – he wants him to make something of his life and not be one of the kids committing robberies and loitering around liquor stores. This is a strong and powerful message that Furious portrays throughout the film and one the many reasons why this film was such a success in portraying what life is really like in the `ghetto’. Another theme/ idea that is evident throughout the film is the idea of having a positive role model when growing up in the ghetto. Throughout the film Furious tries to teach Tre what is right and what is wrong. In the early part of the film we see Furious teaching Tre his very first lesson in the scene where Furious shoots at a burglar and talks to Tre about it after wards sitting on the porch waiting for the police to arrive. Furious: Somebody must have been praying for that fool, cause I swear I aimed right for his head. Tre Age 10: You should have blew it off. Furious: Don’t say that. Don’t say that. Just would’ve contributed to killing another brother. This being a contributing factor to killing another brother is another theme that permeates throughout the film. However, it is the final part of the film when Ricky is chased and murdered that we understand what this whole idea of killing another brother is like and how fragile and fleeting life is if you live in the ghetto. All Ricky did was annoy a guy the night before which led to his untimely death when he walked down to the corner store to pick up some oatmeal. The audience learns in the final scene that what goes around comes around if you kill one of your `brothers` you in turn will be killed. The shooting scene further indicates the powerful influence that Furious has had on Tre in making the man that he grew up to be. Despite, being so angry with the person that shot Ricky, Tre had a permanent voice in his head that told him that he could not be involved with Doughboy in shooting down the perpetrator responsible for Ricky’s death. Tre understood that everything his father taught him was for a reason and to protect his son. This is indicative in the credits as two weeks after Ricky was buried Dough boy was murdered and so the `circle of death’ continues. Because Tre lived his life in the image of his father he went to college and escaped from the `hood’ to create a better life for himself. In today’s society music is one of the major forms of expression and because of this it is clear to see how the lyrics in songs come to mean certain things in popular culture. In looking at the lyrics in Crompton’s Most Wanted (CMW) song Growing up in the Hood we can understand how the artist feels about growing up in the hood and can understand the words in a song in much the same way that you understand an underlying message when you watch a film. In looking at just the one song is it interesting how many different themes and ideas are permeated in a three-minute recording. In this song the artist has made it clear that living in the hood is violent and because of this you constantly live a dangerous lifestyle and are constantly running away from people so that they do not hurt you or try to kill you. Quick up the stairs so little sucker stop looking Stagger up to the house so I can collect my whooping But watch out ‘cause a little nigga’s up to no good Growin’ up in the hood. The lyrics in this song further describe the fear that exists when one lives in the hood that if you stay in the hood you will die in the hood. The lyrics above indicate the fear that men living in the hood have to come to terms with in everyday of their lives. The song also suggests that when young boys grow up in the hood they are not always aware of what lies ahead. â€Å"Growing up in the hood, yea boy, 1984 Was the year my peers didn’t know what was in store. â€Å" Another idea that is permeated in this song and that is an issue for African Americans living in the ghetto is that of the police. Police are awful to those people who live in the hood – they make them feel as they are dirt and they do not have the right to exist. Police sweat my tip and keep harassing Trying to lock me up ’cause I keep on blasting Community trying to shut me out Through song lyrics it is almost as if the listener feels the pain that the rapper is going through in terms of the way that the police treat him. Music is a powerful way where one person can express how they feel and how deep they feel. Throughout mainstream media it is clear to see the negative relationship that exists between those in the hood and that of the police. It is indicative in the lyrics to the above song and in the way that the brutality of the police force was described in Boyz in the Hood and in other mainstream films that dealt with the hood culture. Another theme that is expressed through the lyrics in this rap deals with the singers feeling towards his own violence where he feels that because he has existed in that environment for so long that he has become violent to and cannot seem to escape from the violent behavior. Throughout out the rap, the listen understand that life in the hood is all about women (â€Å"bitches’’) and money – those are the man thing that a mans life revolves around in the end. An image of frustration seems to be permeated throughout the rap at the same time and certain lyrics further create this image – â€Å"I got hard times and realize †¦ sometimes I wonder†¦ but it just seems that the hood took me under. ’’ It is interesting to note that in ghetto culture that women do not like to be referred to as `bitches`, `hoes` etc they like to be thought of as women and to be called a women. By referring to women as `bitches’ and the circle will continue – children learn from their parents. In Boyz in the Hood the young men do not seem to respect women and refer to them in derogatory ways and views women as `bitches’ and `hoes’. Doughboy was the character that permeated this stereotype. In the scene where all the young people were at the community barbeque and Tre said to the boys that the women should be the first to eat (he was being polite and being a gentleman). Doughboy was not however. Doughboy: Ho’s gotta eat too. Shalika: Who you callin’ a ho’, I ain’t no ho’. Doughboy: Oops, I’m sorry, bitch. It is clear to see that throughout the movie that Doughboy has no respect for women/ has grown up speaking to women and referring to them in a particular way. Doughboy: Don’t go to college to be talkin’ to no bitches. Your black ass ‘posed to be learnin’ somethin’. Can’t learn shit talkin’ to no stupid ass bitch. It is through the power of words that we as individuals learn what life is like for others and what life means to a particular person. The last cultural artefact that will be analysed in this paper pertains to that of African American poetry. The piece of poetry to be analysed here is apiece by C. Highsmith-Hooks called Ghetto Child. Even from the title of the piece we can come to an understanding of what the poem will be about and the fact that the poem is going to feed deep into your soul once you read the poem. This poem is found in the famous collection by C. Highsmith-Hooks called The Soul of a Black Woman. There were a number of reasons why I chose to analyze this poem and relate it to the other two cultural artefacts but the main reason was because this is a poem written by a woman and the other two mediums analyzed were written by men. Ghetto Child tells the story of a child from the `hood’ whose senseless death is mourned by his mother only. This poem was interesting because it pertained to the very essence of what was conveyed in the other two mediums analyzed that a life in the hood leads to death no matter what way one looks at it. In Boyz in the Hood both Ricky and Doughboy were murdered in the hood. This poem helps the audience understand what it is like for a woman in the `hood’ when she looses a child. This notion was briefly shown in Boyz in the Hood when Ricky was murdered and his mother broke down. It is always said that it is better reading a book before you see a film. In this same sense it is important to understand that reading a poem is much better than watching a film as you get to understand and create your own imagery and understand the character in your own mind. In Conclusion, it is clear that there are similarities in the way that the `hood culture` is conveyed in the three cultural artefacts – film, music and poetry that were analyzed in this paper. The major themes explored in these cultural artefacts were that of the permenant violence that surrounds life in the hood – especially for young males. It is a dog eat dog world in the hood and as a young man you need to make a choice about whether or not you will be using a gun because if you do you surely will get killed in the end. Another point that is of interest and has produced ideologies in all three cultural artefacts was how women are viewed in the ghetto. Males seem to have little respect for women with the except being the character of Tre in Boyz in the Hood where he was taught from an early age how to be a good man and in turn respect women. The other characters in the film had little respect for women and often referred to women as â€Å"bitches’’ or â€Å"hoes’’. References: Film: Boyz in the Hood (1991) : Written and directed by John Singleton. Lyrics: Growing up in the Hood – CMW Poem: C. Highsmith-Hooks â€Å"Ghetto Child’’ in The Soul of a Black Woman: From a Whisper to a Shout (2002).

Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana essays

Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana essays One question that has troubled Americans for a long time is: "Should the use of marijuana be legalized?" Some say yes, while others say, no. According to the Merriam-Webster's dictionary, marijuana is defined as "the dried leaves and flowering tops of the pistillate hemp plant that yield THC and are smoked in cigarettes for their intoxicating effect" (Merriam Webster 1). Owning marijuana has been a crime since 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. However, the drug was still frequently used. Here we are years later, still without an agreeable answer to the question. Legalizing the use of marijuana would have many medical benefits, economical benefits, and would decrease the incidence of crime. There are others who disagree. These people feel that legalization would lead to the formation of other habits and to health problems, such as, the use of a harsher drug and to psychological and personality problems that can come from using marijuana. These individuals feel that the negatives of marijuana use far outweigh the positives, and feel that the use of marijuana should remain illegal. To some people, marijuana is considered a "gateway" drug. Legalizing marijuana would lead to the use of other, much more harsh drugs. From the book Drugs, Teens, and Recovery, Lauren, a teenager that got mixed up in drugs describes how she got involved with marijuana, then with cocaine. She says, "I was ten, in the fifth grade, the first time I smoked pot. I liked pot a lot better than drinking because it was easier. I loved it. Pot and alcohol, that's all I needed. I didn't want to get into anything else". She continues, "About this time, I started getting obsessed with cocaine and thinking about what the high would be like". Just like Lauren people can start off with just smoking marijuana but they would get the urge to try something a little bit stronger (Cheney, 46). Marijuana usage has many medical benefits. It becam...