College is a Waste of Time and Money by Caroline Bird Essay

College is a Waste of Time and Money by Caroline Bird - Essay Example The paper tells that the views and structure of the article â€Å"College is a Waste of Time and Money† by Caroline Bird are truly bound to their senses having conveyed in the author’s statement â€Å"college is the dumbest investment you can make† . That should suffice to proceed without contesting the majority in the general public who would at any time be disposed to argue â€Å"that is downright true and how can a regressed economy running scarce with job creators ever address the fresh yields of the academe, the new brood of the first-time bloodthirsty job hunters?† However, while Bird commits to this type of sentiments in her period which are presently felt as well and expresses sold-out support for the abolition of college, does it ever occur to her to ponder on how the world would look with money-driven human beings who act, talk, treat, and think like some crazy engine for dough all the time? For one, having thought ahead of the possible scenarios with that and what the author would most likely feel about each of them, he is rather afraid of acquiring much trouble in coping with that kind of future Bird insists in her sphere of change and investments. Apparently, she is quite significantly concerned with the keen reality experienced via the inverse proportionality that exists between finishing college and the hard-to-settle issue of unemployment than the core essence of tertiary education itself. Perhaps we ought to guide her perception to veer off at examining and modifying the curriculum instead of rationalizing â€Å"If high-school graduates don’t want to go, or if they don’t want to go right away, they may perceive more clearly than their elders that college is not for them† in a tone of complaint. The concept of further education is never unwise and if our main problem lies on the reluctant attitude of most 18-year-olds toward college, this can be neutralized or put to balance by focusing on the man ner educators are supposed to work on tools or techniques of fostering a stimulating atmosphere for the students. We can opt herein to find hope and realize that exploring beyond the conventional academic realm enables studying individuals to learn the remarkable key to versatile potentials and thereby gain opulent interest on succeeding with the targeted growth in both professional and economic goals as they stay in school prior. Bird primarily communicates her findings that â€Å"A great majority of our nine million college students are not in school because they want to be or because they want to learn – They are there because it has become the thing to do† (1975). Of course, we have widely known the ever-prevailing behavior among youth in transition from secondary level as such since we have gone through the stage and somehow managed to comprehend all the frailties and unpleasant feelings thereof. This we can acknowledge, nevertheless, as a normal phase of life where immaturity inevitably combines with confusion and curiosity due to the so-called ‘identity crisis’ which naturally places a young person to a state of random inquisition, denial, rebellion, and repulsion of moral discipline. Whether in and out of the academe, this condition lives as a fact and may not be prevented from happening so it would be irrational to tolerate the reasoning that college alone is responsible ju st because the 18-year-olds are being forced into a challenge or something they are not prepared yet considering which, they must thus be allowed the freedom to decide for themselves as Bird proposes. After conducting scholarly studies and interviews, Bird is eventually brought to conclude that â€Å"students are sad because they are not needed ... there is no room for so many newly minted 18-year-olds –

Cheating and Taking Steroids in Sports

Cheating and Taking Steroids in Sports INTRODUCTION Sports will either be a school of virtue or a school of vice, and thats why the epidemic of cheating in professional sports is, and ought to be, a huge cultural concern. Sports, at every level, is supposed to be a training ground for virtue, to mould the character of athletes, coaches and supporters so that they may learn lessons that may help them to achieve off-the-field as much as on. In few other venues are people able to learn as effectively the good habits of perseverance through difficulties, teamwork, striving to overcome obstacles, the importance of preparation and practice, and the courtesy and class we call good sportsmanship. But the field, court, track, diamond, rink, pool and roadway can also cultivate vice, when results become more important than virtue, when winning becomes more important than winning fairly. It has been hard to open a sports page recently without reading something to do with cheating and its consequences. Recently encountered readings include Bill Belichick and the clear contravention of the NFLs videotaping policy; Patriots Safety Rodney Harrison and his suspension for taking an illegal substances; NBA referee Tim Donaghy and his expulsion for betting on games he was officiating; Barry Bonds and his tainted home run record, along with former heroes turned synthetic pseudo-supermen Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro; Floyd Landis suspect yellow jersey and the expulsion of what seemed to be half this years Tour de France participants for blood doping and other violations; WWE icon Chris Benoit and his steroid-induced murderous-suicidal rage; various college recruiting violations, Olympic scandals and much more. Professional boxing almost looks clean and honest by comparison. WHY DO THEY CHEAT Sports are a microcosm and stylization of life: goal-setting, preparation, effort, character, the integration of mind and body, competition, success and failure. Its all there in sports, distilled and intensified into a few hours experience. The usual answer is that cheaters have so strong a desire to win that they will strive to do so at all costs. Cheaters do have a desire to win, but by the time we are adults we know that a cheated victory is hollow. An adult cheater knows that he has not won through skill and effort, and he knows he will not experience the pride that comes from a genuine win. The only thing the cheater is left with is that he knows that other people will believe that he won and he will reap the value of their enhanced esteem. So heres a hypothesis about the psychology of cheaters: Cheating is not motivated by a desire to win, but by wanting to be thought of by others as having won. Cheating is a kind of social metaphysics-what others believe is true is more important than what is actually true. Another possibility is that the cheater knows the above-that a cheated win is hollow-but in the short run his intense desire to win crowds out his knowledge. So cheating is a failure to hold the context of why one is playing sports: strong desire overwhelms the cheaters knowledge, or through weakness of will the cheater ignores his knowledge to indulge the desire. Cheating in a financial context: You cheat not because you want the win but because you want the money that comes with the winCheating in a social context: You cheat because you dont want your teammates to lose or because you want your teammates to have the win they wantCon-man cheating: You cheat just for the pleasure of pulling off a scamCheating that is malevolent: You want to see your opponent suffer a loss, so you dont care that the win is hollow-you enjoy knowing the other guy is hurting and/or that you deprived him of the experience of winning WHAT ARE STEROIDS Steroids are manufactured testosterone-like drugs that are usually taken to build muscle, enhance performance, and improve appearance. While some steroids are used medically to treat many conditions including asthma, chronic lung disease, skin conditions and allergic reactions such as poison ivy, non medical use of steroids can have serious side effects. Using steroids for cosmetic or athletic purposes is not sanctioned in the United States. Method of Use Swallowed in tablets or liquid or injected. Users take them in patterns called cycling, which means they take them over a specific period of time, stop, and then start taking them again instead of continuously using them. Many users also take different types of steroids in combination with other drugs. This is known as stacking. Signs and Symptoms of Steroid Use Steroid abusers often exhibit the following symptoms: Rapid weight gain Rapid muscle development Acne flare up Fluid retention Yellow tint in the eyes and on skin (jaundice) Mood swings, depression Aggressive behaviour Premature balding Drug Test Detection Oral steroids can be found in your system up to several weeks after use. Injected steroids can be found for several months after use. Short-term Consequences Use of steroids can increase muscle mass, strength, and endurance, but can also cause liver tumors, jaundice, water retention, and high blood pressure. Some users show bad judgment because the drugs make them feel invincible. Other users suffer from uncontrolled aggression and violent behavior called Roid Rage, severe mood swings, manic episodes and depression. They often suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability and can have delusions. Long-Term Consequences When the body experiences a build up of steroids in its system, conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, kidney disease, stunted growth, and heart damage are likely to occur. Women can experience irreversible deepening of the voice, shrinking of the breasts, menstrual irregularities, baldness and hair growth on other parts of the body, and genital swelling. Men can experience baldness, breast enlargement, sterility, shrinking of testicles and impotence. Steroids such as prednisone and other synthetic steroids can cause a rise in blood sugar by blocking the effect of insulin. Over time, users can develop diabetes. WHY TAKING STEROIDS CONSIDERED CHEATING Steroids give some players an unfair competitive advantage over others. But this response stems from the faulty underlying assumption that players have some innate ability or talent which is not dependent upon their environment. In fact, the only way steroids are different from other performance enhancers like protein shakes or nutritional supplements is because their side effects are worse and their performance enhancing effects are large. This efficacy, and the steroid body that goes with it, triggers fans pharmacological Calvinism, the belief that taking a pill for any reason is bad, and leads to the media labelling the steroid culture and users as alien, which are the factors that truly keep steroids on the wrong side of public opinion and MLB policy. The first and most basic reason people view steroids as cheating is because they feel it gives players abilities that they otherwise would not have had. This is the position of every poll or article researched for this essay in the national sports media over the last four years. Again, the signs displayed in Philadelphia are representative. One 60-foot long sign said Babe Ruth did it on Hotdogs and Beer. Aaron did it with class. How did you do it?This question rests on the assumption that Bonds steroid use differentiates him from Aaron and Ruth, who set career home run records without steroids. But to simply say steroids enhancers players performance is easy. The deeper question behind that answer is Why does that matter? That question involves a number of different aspects of what it means to be a baseball fan. First among them, perhaps, is the notion of fairness. The US culture in general holds fairness as one of its central tenets, as part of the Puritan Work ethic and the capitalist ideal: everyone must deal fairly, so everyone has their shot to succeed if they work hard enough. That ideal is held to as strongly in baseball as any other sport. The problem with steroids, then, is not just that users have an unfair advantage over non-users. Widespread steroid use limits the free choice of non-users, because if they want to make a living they are almost forced to start taking injections, and having to deal with the side effects. This is called free choice under pressure by Thomas Murray (as reported by Peter Kramer). Theres no question, then, that the more players use steroids, the harder it is for others to stay clean. What are the implications of that for players, and what are players responses? At the physical level, this spiral of steroids forces players to endure the side effects of steroids when they otherwise might not. At the level of consciousness, players have their free choice limited by steroid-fuelled competition, and free choice is also something this country values. Players respond to these concerns by claiming that steroid use supports American values. For example, a value much appreciated in sports is the desire to win above all else. Players that have that desire, like Michael Jordan in basketball, are often revered. So a baseball player might argue that he simply wants to win at all cost, even sacrificing his body to steroids to win. Just because another, non-user does not want to win enough to take steroids, that doesnt mean the user should be punished for it. There are other problems with the argument that using steroids is cheating because they give a competitive advantage. The biggest fault with it is that steroids are not the only thing in baseball that gives a competitive advantage when there was none before. Revenue and payroll differences and environmental factors like the skill of the training staff and the quality of the facilities can cause unfair competitive advantages between teams and players as well, but those discrepancies are considered part of the game. The responses to this argument are that taking a substance is fundamentally different from working out more or on better facilities because you do not have to work as hard to get the same results as someone not on steroids. But some players use a good diet to get into better shape, or take legal supplements to make their workouts more effective. This is exactly the way steroids work they help to build muscle faster in conjunction with exercise and weightlifting, so those t hat work out the most are going to get the most out of steroids. Should the MLB disallow all possible supplements and mandate player diet and workout regimens to eliminate the possible advantage? Ultimately, you cannot justify getting rid of steroids because they give a competitive advantage, because baseball operates by identifying and using competitive advantages. Despite the arguments above, most people would remain convinced that taking steroids was cheating. There are three primary reasons: One is the notion of pharmacological Calvinism, two is the influence of the press on public perception of steroids, and three is the labelling of drugs in general and those who take them as alien. These are the real reasons that taking steroids in baseball is considered cheating today. Pharmacological Calvinism is the belief that taking a pill or drug is morally wrong, because hard work, suffering and pain are essential parts of human existence. The concept figures prominently in Kramers discussion of Prozac as a way of explaining the publics response to the drug, and the same can be said of fans and baseball players. This phenomenon can be seen in baseball lingo: someone who is clean is someone who is off steroids. This terminology might come from the MLB policies, but it probably comes from larger drug culture, and reflects the idea that even though it is tough to argue against steroids ideologically, there is still a taint to taking steroids, the sense that a player who takes them has lost some purity they might have off steroids. This also might be why players like Jose Canseco are ridiculed and reviled when they talk about steroids being the standard throughout the league: they are deliberately taking a stance against pharmacological Calvinism, and so automati cally people hearing them want to reject the idea without listening to their analysis, which often is more logical than people care to admit. Another effect of pharmacological Calvinism is that news reporters looking to cover steroids automatically assume a negative stance towards them, although that is also influenced by the dangerous side effects. Sports journalism is very pervasive. Every fan has to get their scores and results from somewhere, often on a daily basis. Sports fans also tend to spend a lot of time discussing sports, so ideas and opinions they read get discussed and argued about in their social circle. The final reason steroids are considered cheating is because they work so well. And because they work so well, and so many ballplayers used them, the build of a user, his problems and habits, became commonly known and looked for. What is more, because of the negative press steroids got, fans were able to label them an other to dismiss steroids users as people holding alien values without really looking or considering how they might be motivated by the same things as regular fans. This can be shown by the massive amount of jokes about big heads, small balls, a common side effect of steroid use, and the vehemence of the national polls quoted earlier. For fans to say that anyone testing positive should be thrown out of the sport is quite harsh, considering that there are arrests of ballplayers all the time for a variety of other drug use charges and crime, and none of them are thrown out on the first offense. Something that might help explain this position is the legitimate use of stero ids. Steroids are not like nutritional supplements of protein shakes that people might regularly take to get in shape, and they are not petty crimes or drug charges that baseball fans are familiar with or have committed themselves. They are treatments for sick people to help survive treatment, including treatment of diseases like AIDS, which already is somewhat marginalized in mainstream culture. And even in those diseases, steroids are something to avoid if you can. So that makes purposeful steroid users in sports all the more alien. Ultimately, the reason why taking steroids is considered cheating goes back to the chemical properties of steroids themselves: they work too well at helping athletes build muscle, and combined with the countrys pharmacological Calvinism, make for bad press and public perception. This leads fans to consider steroids cheating and justify it by saying steroids give an unfair competitive advantage, when the entire sport of baseball is built on just such advantages. If steroids were less useful, like nutritional supplements today, they would probably be legal, widely used, and just another part of the game, like spitting sunflower seeds. Unfortunately, because of the pressure on athletes who will do anything to succeed, steroids are only going to get more powerful and hard to detect, rather than more benign and legal. But that doesnt mean the steroid scandal wont go away. Already, journalists are trumpeting this baseball season as the post-steroid era. If history is any indication, people will think steroids solved, stop caring, only to be shocked again when the next great and popular surge of offense turns out to be the result of their beloved players using the next generation of performance enhancers. CONCLUSION The recent epidemic of cheating in sports reveals ethical and anthropological dimensions that must be considered if we wish as a culture to eliminate it. The ethical dimensions go far beyond the violation of a particular rule governing a sports league. It goes to one of the bedrock principles of ethics, whether in sports players, coaches and fans believe that a good end never justifies immoral means. In the cases of cheating above, we see that the cheaters think that the end of winning or doing better in competition validates the dishonest means one takes to get there. There are now such enormous financial rewards or losses hinging on sports outcomes that those of lesser character find far greater incentive. The anthropological dimension refers mainly to the means one takes in violation of the ethical principle. Sports cheating today very often involve technological manipulation not just of the rules of the game like with the Patriots spy gate but also of oneself through performance-enhancing drugs. In former days the path to improvement came through practice, coaching, exercise and experience. Now for many it comes through injections, pills and creams. Rather than improving ones skills, one seeks to make himself better, stronger and faster through technology like a modern six million dollar man, or, if you consider the financial incentives for many pro-athletes, a hundred million dollar man. This comes at a huge cost. The death of pro-football player Lyle Alzado and 11 recent professional wrestlers through steroid use is enough of a warning. But we also have to be conscious of the huge temptation it places on all those who, at whatever age, wish to be successful college or profession al athletes who cannot compete on their own with artificially-enhanced peers. References: Sports and Cheating by Fr. Roger J. Landry Why in Baseball using steroids considered cheating? Brian Chase American council for drug education www.acde.org

Sistine Chapel :: Essays Papers

Sistine Chapel Papal chapel in the Vatican Palace that was erected in 1473-81 by the architect Giovanni dei Dolci for Pope Sixtus IV (hence its name). It is famous for its Renaissance frescoes by Michelangelo. The Sistine Chapel is a rectangular brick building with six arched windows on each of the two main (or side) walls and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The chapel's exterior is drab and unadorned, but its interior walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes by many Florentine Renaissance masters. The frescoes on the side walls of the chapel were painted from 1481 to 1483. On the north wall are six frescoes depicting events from the life of Christ as painted by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandajo, and Cosimo Rosselli. On the south wall are six other frescoes depicting events from the life of Moses by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Botticelli, Domenico and Benedetto Ghirlandajo, Rosselli, Luca Signorelli, and Bartolomeo della Gatta. Above these works, smaller frescoes between the windows depict various popes. For great ceremonial occasions the lowest portions of the side walls were covered with a series of tapestries depicting events from the Gospels and the Acts of th e Apostles. These were designed by Raphael and woven in 1515-19 at Brussels. The most important artworks in the chapel are the frescoes by Michelangelo on the ceiling and on the west wall behind the altar. The frescoes on the ceiling, collectively known as the Sistine Ceiling, were commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 and were painted by Michelangelo in the years from 1508 to 1512. They depict incidents and personages from the Old Testament. The "Last Judgment" fresco on the west wall was painted by Michelangelo for Pope Paul III in the period from 1534 to 1541. These two gigantic frescoes are among the

Create a speech on “Looking for Alibrandi” Essay

â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi† is a film which develops the notion of changing perspective through focusing on the central character Josies search for identity and belonging in the world and her relationships with other characters. Moreover, the use of music and camera shots is applied to certain scenes to emphasize Josies attitude and feelings. The use of voice over is applied throughout the film by the main character Josie Alibrandi as it constantly reveals personal ideas and impressions from Josies point of view. During her final year of High school, her life is turned upside down. However, as she matures from being a very rebellious and determined girl to a more responsible and experienced young woman, perspectives of her own identity, her culture and the people around her change drastically. In â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi† changing perspectives is demonstrated through the concept of cultural background, Josie has to come to terms with her Italian heritage including Tomato Day or as she likes to call it National Wog Day, because her culture makes up who she is. Italian music is applied to this scene to represent there Italian culture and to allow the audience to gain some knowledge and understanding about their traditions and customs. Also, fast paced music is taken over towards the end of the scene to indicate the way she feels rushed and embarrassed about her culture. A key event in the film that changes Josies perspective is the meeting of her father, Michael Andretti. Initially, Josie is hostile to her father and unsympathetic to his explanations. However, as certain events unfold, Josie begins to admire him and sentimental piano music is plays to convey the positive attitude she had towards the idea of having a father figure. Michael Andretti also faces a similar change in perspective of his daughter and his own perspective on fatherhood. Furthermore, another change in perspective is identity. Primarily, Josie  believes due to her ethnic background, she was looked down upon. However, the experience of a close friends death causes her to realize the importance of family and that others have it much worse than her. In relation to John Bartons death, a close up of Josies face is captured to display her devastated yet numb expression along with harmonious tunes to mirror Josies grief. In conclusion, as demonstrated in â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi†, changing perspectives is an ongoing process in life and is can be both positive and negative. Without this process in life, a person cannot adapt to new situations and present themselves in life.

Intergumentary System

Integumentary System Laszlo Vass, Ed. D. Version 42-0280-00-01 Lab Report Assistant This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor. Purpose: What is the purpose of this exercise? The purpose of this exercise in to learn about structures and functions of the skin.Is there any safety concerns associated with this exercise? If so, list what they are and what precautions should be taken. As always take precautions when handling the microscope and slides and always have a clean safe work area. Exercise 1: Structures of the Skin Observations Before beginning, set up a data table similar to this Data Table 1. Fill in the names of the numbered st ructures. Skin Diagram (National Library of Medicine at http://nih. nlm. gov) Data Table 1: Structures of Skin| Item| Name| 1. | Hair shaft | 2. | Arrector pili muscle | 3. Sebaceous gland | 4. | Hair follicle | 5. | Sweat gland | 6. | Pacinian corpuscle | 7. | Subcutis (hypodermis) | 8. | Dermis | 9. | Epidermis | 10. | Sensory nerve ending | 11. | Dermal papilla | 12. | Sweat pore | Questions A. How does the skin tan when exposed to ultraviolet light? When ultraviolet light penetrates skin it begins to break down DNA causing the body to produce melanin. The melanin makes the body become darker or tanner and when the body is darker the more protected it is from the sun and sunburn. B. Describe the functions of the epidermis.The epidermis is the outermost layer that has keratinized squamous epithelium and the dermis. The epidermis has a bunch of different cells which allow it to perform many different functions. The keratinocytes produce keratin that produce fibrous protein that giv es skin protective properties while the melanocytes produce melanin to protect deeper cells from ultraviolet radiation and allows the skin to tan. Merkel cells from sensitive touch receptors on nerve endings and langerhans’ cells are involved in the immune response of the skin. Stratum basale constantly go through cell division to produce million of new skin daily. Stratum spinosum has think bundles of protein and stratum granulosum contain lipids that provide waterproofing for the skin. The stratum lucidum is a layer of flattened keratinocytes are only found in thick skin. Stratum corneum is the outer layer of the epidermis made of squished and flattened layers of dead keratinocytes. C. Describe the functions of the sweat glands. Sweat glands are controlled by sympathetic nervous system and regulate body temperature.When the body becomes to hot they secrete water to the skin surface and the heat is removed by evaporation. D. Compare the structure of the epidermis to that of the dermis. The epidermis consists of several different types of cells while the dermis canonists of dense, irregular connective tissue. E. Fill in the following table by either inserting the name of the structure/cell or by giving its function(s): Structure/Cell| Function(s)| melanocytes| Makes a pigment for tanning| Langerhans cells| Small and involved in the immune response| Merkel cells | Found on nerve endings|Stratum lucidum| Provides protection, thick found of palms a soles makes skin waterproof | Reticular layer | The blood supply here provides radiational cooling for the body| Exercise 2: Microscopic Structure of the Skin Observations Sketch and label your keratinized stratified squamous epithelium slide in the space below. Be sure to label all of the structures in the epidermis and dermis you were able to find: Questions A. Compare your slide to the photomicrograph example in the lab Procedure. How are they the same and how are they different?Propose a reason why you would see several differences between different slides of skin. B. What is keratin? Is fibrous protein that gives the skin its protective properties? C. Why is skin keratinized? Keratinized cells give skin a tough protective barrier. After a cell is born it begins to make protein called keratin that they store inside them. As the cells grow they build up with this protein until their so full they die forming a tough layer of packets of keratin. Exercise 3: Clinical Conditions of the Skin Questions A. What are the three types of skin cancer?Squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma B. Which type of skin cancer is easily treatable? Basal cell carcinoma C. Explain why melanoma is so dangerous. Melanoma can spread to other areas of the body. D. What factors can cause acne? Acne is caused when sebum isn’t able to pass through the hair follicle. This causes cells from the lining of the follicle to shed to fast and clump together clogging up the follicle’s openi ng so sebum cannot get through. E. What is a common myth about the cause of acne?Eating chocolate, greasy food or dirty skin F. What are some treatments for acne? Dermatologists use a medication that reduces clumps of cells in the follicles, oil production, bacteria, and inflammation. Depending on the case of the acne the doctor may prescribe a topical medication or an oral medication. G. Describe the signs of first, second and third degree burns. First- affects only the outer layer, epidermis. Second- damage the epidermis and the dermis Third- involve damage or complete destruction to the fullest depth of the skin and underlying tissue. H. What are the principle effects of aging on the skin?