Violence on TV Essay -- Argumentative Argument Media Television

Violence on TV For a long time now the debate has been, and continues to be, as to whether or not violence on television makes children more violent. As with all contentious issues there are both proponents and detractors. This argument has been resurrected in the wake of school shootings, most notably Columbine and Erfurt, Germany; and acts of random violence by teenagers, the murders of two Dartmouth professors. Parents, teachers, pediatricians, child psychiatrists, and FCC Chairmen William Kennard and former Vice President Al Gore say violent TV programming contribute in large part to in violence in young people today. However, broadcasters and major cable TV providers like Cox Communication say that it is the parent’s fault for not making it clear to their kids as what they may or may not watch on TV. The major TV networks and cable providers also state it is the TV industry’s fault as well for not regulating what is shown on TV. So who is the guilty party in this argument of w hether or not TV violence influences of the behavior young people in today’s society? There is a "general consensus among social scientists that television violence increases the propensity to real-life aggression among some viewers," and yet, paradoxically, "there is presently little evidence indicating that violence enhances program popularity" (Diener & DeFour, 1978). Top government studies insist, "violent material is popular" (Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972). Differing conclusions may be viable. One leading social psychologist flatly states, "evidence suggests that violence on television is potentially dangerous, in that it serves as a model for behavior -- especially for children" ... ...ichard. "Chips Ahoy." Time February 19, 1996: 58-61. Aronson, E., The Social Animal, New York: W.H. Freeman and Co., 7th Edition, 1995 Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, Television and growing up: The impact of televised violence, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972 Diener, E. & DeFour, D., "Does Television Violence Enhance Program Popularity?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1978, Vol. 36, No. 3, 333-341 UCLA Center for Communication Policy, Television Violence Monitoring Project, http://ccp.ucla.edu/Webreport94/toc.htm New Statesman & Society, May 17 1996 v9 n403 p27(1) by Alexander Cockburn National Television Violence Study , April 20, 1998 v370 n10 p24(1) by Christopher Stern American Academy of Pediatrics , Pediatrics Vol. 108 No. 5 November 2001 Violence on TV Essay -- Argumentative Argument Media Television Violence on TV For a long time now the debate has been, and continues to be, as to whether or not violence on television makes children more violent. As with all contentious issues there are both proponents and detractors. This argument has been resurrected in the wake of school shootings, most notably Columbine and Erfurt, Germany; and acts of random violence by teenagers, the murders of two Dartmouth professors. Parents, teachers, pediatricians, child psychiatrists, and FCC Chairmen William Kennard and former Vice President Al Gore say violent TV programming contribute in large part to in violence in young people today. However, broadcasters and major cable TV providers like Cox Communication say that it is the parent’s fault for not making it clear to their kids as what they may or may not watch on TV. The major TV networks and cable providers also state it is the TV industry’s fault as well for not regulating what is shown on TV. So who is the guilty party in this argument of w hether or not TV violence influences of the behavior young people in today’s society? There is a "general consensus among social scientists that television violence increases the propensity to real-life aggression among some viewers," and yet, paradoxically, "there is presently little evidence indicating that violence enhances program popularity" (Diener & DeFour, 1978). Top government studies insist, "violent material is popular" (Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, 1972). Differing conclusions may be viable. One leading social psychologist flatly states, "evidence suggests that violence on television is potentially dangerous, in that it serves as a model for behavior -- especially for children" ... ...ichard. "Chips Ahoy." Time February 19, 1996: 58-61. Aronson, E., The Social Animal, New York: W.H. Freeman and Co., 7th Edition, 1995 Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, Television and growing up: The impact of televised violence, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972 Diener, E. & DeFour, D., "Does Television Violence Enhance Program Popularity?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1978, Vol. 36, No. 3, 333-341 UCLA Center for Communication Policy, Television Violence Monitoring Project, http://ccp.ucla.edu/Webreport94/toc.htm New Statesman & Society, May 17 1996 v9 n403 p27(1) by Alexander Cockburn National Television Violence Study , April 20, 1998 v370 n10 p24(1) by Christopher Stern American Academy of Pediatrics , Pediatrics Vol. 108 No. 5 November 2001

Behavioral Observation Project

Going to school is one of the most valuable social rituals people do. Staying for over 15 years at school, people earn an academic education that will shape their careers and lives. In school, people also meet friends and mentors who influence their personal beliefs. The early years in school are especially crucial for shaping foundations for virtues such as the proper behavior and self-discipline. Thus, grade school teachers are given the responsibility of instilling in their students the right qualities and attitudes.The learning site observed is a co-ed second grade class. The students are smart and energetic kids, with a few quiet ones thrown in. They come mostly from middle-class families and are of mixed ethnicities. They are still learning the core of education; spelling, writing, reading comprehension, basic geography, and fractions. Their teacher is male and a fresh university graduate; thus, he is younger than most of the faculty members. His youth presents itself in his in teraction and communication style.The teacher is approachable and authoritative at the same time. He is kind, friendlier, and less stiff than other teachers. He also has a more laidback demeanor that is evident in his non-verbal gestures, such as giving high-fives and thumbs up to his students as a way of affirming their answers. His students perceive him as likable and are also more relaxed with him. By their standards, he is seen as more of big brother type rather than a scary teacher. The respect he receives is different, but in no way less than what other teachers get.At times when the students get too noisy or when kids fight, the teacher lets out his more commanding side to discipline the students. The teacher aims to improve and influence his students’ behavior, such as building up their self-discipline to keep them from chatting with seatmates and increase the attention that they pay to the lessons. To fulfill these, he makes use of some reinforcing and motivating con sequences for the children’s actions. According to Skinner, using reinforcements is effective in helping shape or condition one’s reactions to stimuli.Thus, stimuli are called behavior influencers (Barker, Kreider, Peissig, Sokoloff & Stansfield, 2008) Positive reinforcement increases the desired stimulus while a negative reinforcement removes a negative stimulus. Both encourage one to continue whichever action will lead to one’s benefit and increased comfort (Feist & Feist, 2007). In the case of the second grade class, the most important stimulus is their grades. Having good grades leads to positive stimuli such as teacher’s praises, feelings of pride, and rewards from their parents.On the other hand, low grades bring about negative stimuli like dissatisfaction with oneself and disappointment from teachers and parents. The second-grade teacher uses public praises as positive reinforcements for kids who do well. By announcing how high one student’s grade is or by putting up the best artwork on the classroom corkboard, he highlights the student’s admirable behavior and quality of schoolwork, thus heartening the student to continue his or her hard work. The teacher uses mostly intangible reward to cheer his students on, as he hopes to motivate his students intrinsically rather than by bribes or physical rewards.Internal motivation will lead to a continued and better performance. He makes a special exception though for the case of a student with ADHD. He gives external rewards such as bowling games vouchers to this particular student to persuade him to continue his good performance and classroom behavior and continue his improvements. The teacher does not practice much punishment and extinction in the classroom. The harshest punishment he does is calling out a student’s name to get his or her attention back to the lessons. He was allowed to give them detention, especially when the kids get very naughty.His strength as an instructor and behavior model for the kids lay in the fact that he never had to give detentions because he is able to subdue a conflict before it even starts. He also understands the kids’ need to let go of pent-up energy and allows them to have some energy-releasing activities. The students receive punishment and extinction at home, mostly in the form of added chores for the former and revoked TV and video game privileges for the latter. The second graders are under the teacher’s excellent classroom management. The teacher’s policies are effectively and followed soundly.The teacher showed a perceptive understanding of when he should be friendly and when he should be authoritative with his students. Further, the behavior and discipline conditioning is enhanced by the good, trusting relationships between the teacher and his students. References Barker, B. , J Kreider, J Peissig, G Sokoloff, & M Stansfield. (2008). Glossary of terms for the experimental ana lysis of behavior. The University of Iowa. Retrieved February 9, 2009 from http://www. psychology. uiowa. edu/Faculty/Wasserman/Glossary/stimuli. html Feist, J. & Feist, G. J. (2007). Theories of Personality (6th ed). N

Private Property and the Rule of the Middle Class in...

Private Property and the Rule of the Middle Class in Aristotle’s Politics In his discussions of constitutions and cities in Politics, Aristotle makes it very clear that his top priority is to provide people with the opportunity to pursue and achieve the good life. An integral part of this is the stability of the constitution. Although Aristotle explicitly states that a kingship is the best system of rule for any given generation, its lack of stability from one generation to the next disqualifies it from being the best in reality. In his attempts to find a constitution with stability, Aristotle comes to the decision that the middle class would be the ruler of such a constitution. This, he says, will minimize the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Those constitutions which consider the common interest are right constitutions†¦those constitutions which consider only the personal interest of the rulers are all wrong constitutions, or perversions of the right forms† (III.6). The kingship, however, does not appear at the top of Arist otle’s list of â€Å"good† constitutions—constitutions that best allow its citizens to achieve the good life—but rather on the bottom: constitutional government (polity), aristocracy, and then monarchy, in decreasing order of virtue. Aristotle explains this discrepancy by revealing that providing the citizens with a good life necessarily implies the need for stability. â€Å"It remains to treat of the methods for preserving constitutions in general† (V.8). A kingship may be the most virtuous constitutional type for any given generation, but it is extremely vulnerable to corruption from one generation to the next. â€Å"If the kingship is accepted as the best form of government for cities, what is to be the position of the king’s children? Are we to say that his descendants should also be kings? If they turn out as some of them have done, the result will be mischievous† (III.15). The virtue of a kingship is based on the virtue o f the king—on one man. One man, who rules a single generation justly, in pursuit of the common interest, may pass his power on to a man who rules the next general with malice and greed, in pursuit of hisShow MoreRelatedThe Impossible Quest For The Ideal Society1645 Words   |  7 Pagespresented in Plato’s The Republic and Aristotle’s Politics. While they both present a wide range of views on many issues, this paper will only focus on two issues that go hand-in-hand: slavery’s role in society, and the divisions of property and power amongst the classes. Aristotle makes a better case for the selection of slaves from inside his society, rather than outside it, and Plato makes a more convincing argument for the public allocation of power and property, as opposed to the individual allocationRead MoreAristotle s Views On Politics980 Words   |  4 PagesPolitics is a political philosophical work by Aristotle, a fourth century Greek Philosopher, logician and scientist. Along with his teacher Plato, Aristotle is considered as one of the most influential ancient thinkers of political theory in western civilization. Therefore, it is important to understand the gist of his work Politics from our perspective. Influenced by Plato’s Republic and Laws, Politics presents synthesis of lifetime political thoughts and observations. The philosopher attempts toRead MoreEssay on The Doctrine of the Mean in Aristotles Politics2146 Words   |  9 Pages The Doctrine of the Mean in Aristotle’s Politics.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Examining the texts of Aristotle’s â€Å"Nicomachean Ethics† and â€Å"Politics† side by side, one is bound to find parallels between his reasoning with regard to the individual and to the state. In â€Å"Nicomachean Ethics† Aristotle discusses happiness, virtue, and the good life on an individual level and lays out necessary provisions for the good life of a person. He maintains that virtue is a necessary element of happiness: a manRead MoreHow Globalization is Changing World Governments Compared to Plato and Aristotles Government2544 Words   |  11 Pagesbecause both philosophers differed in many areas when they described their ideas of an efficient state. Aristotle’s writings in his work Politics give more freedom to the polis and the structure of government is not as ridged as what Plato believed. Furthermore Aristotle was a firm believer in the laws of nature since everything in nature has a purpose. In contrast, Plato believed in a ridged cl ass structure to form the organization of the state, among other things. Differences in opinion of the twoRead MoreComparing Aristotle and Plato Essays1325 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle argues that in order for a polis to emerge, a union between man and women must convene. Later a household must be introduced which unites with other households to form a village, villages come together to form city-states. This theory is Aristotle’s natural view that an individual can not be self sufficient Plato argues that, in order to achieve absolute justice, a city-state is needed. In The Republic, Plato builds around the idea of Philosopher Rulers. Even though it is not his primaryRead MorePolitical Philosophy and Plato Essay9254 Words   |  38 PagesSocrates stressed that virtue was the most valuable of all possessions; the ideal life was spent in search of the Good. Truth lies beneath the shadows of existence, and it is the job of the philosopher to show the rest how little they really know. Politics It is often argued that Socrates believed ideals belong in a world only the wise man can understand, making the philosopher the only type of person suitable to govern others. In Platos dialogue the Republic, Socrates was in no way subtle aboutRead MoreAristotles Politics: Oligarchy and Democracy1952 Words   |  8 Pages In Aristotles Politics, he focuses much on the regimes of an oligarchy and of a democracy. Democracies exists when the free and poor, being a majority, have authority to rule, and have an equal share in the city. Oligarchies exists when the few wealthy and better born have authority and grant benefits in proportion to a persons wealth (1280a:10-30;1290a:5-10). Within each regime, there are the farmer, the working element and craftsmen, the marketing element and traders, the laboringRead MoreMain Theories Of Major Political Thinkers Essay3882 Words   |  16 Pages In the ideal state, people will be divided into three categories- The Guardians (Leaders), The Auxiliaries (military) and the Artisans. Plato imagined his ideal state with several characteristics (D. Amaj Uddin Ahmad, 2000). They are as follows. Rule of Philosopher King: According to Plato Philosopher king will be the highest authority and absolute sovereign of the state. He will make laws but he will be above law. State Controlled EducationRead MorePlato vs. Aristotle1952 Words   |  8 Pagesvs. Aristotle Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphaels School of Athens (1510-11; Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican), where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down because he supports the natural sciences. In a discussion of politics, the stand point of each philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is not coincidental thatRead More Plato vs Aristotle Essay1835 Words   |  8 Pagestaught by Plato they had different theories and views. Their ethics were very typical and traditional of ancient Greece but Aristotle detailed virtue ethics and the path to happiness. Plato’s political theories for a utopian society varied from Aristotle’s view of ‘best state for each society’. Their metaphysical theories are complete opposites and very contradicting. Even though Plato and Aristotle came from the same era and were closely linked they had very different philosophies. Plato had typical