Amerigo Vespucci: An Italian Explorer

Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer was born in Florence, Italy in the year of 1454. Florence was a good city to grow up in for young Amerigo, because of the growing interest in the field of exploration. Some of the adults told young Amerigo about the wonders and riches of the Indies. Like the other Italian boys in his village, undoubtedly Amerigo was fascinated with by those tales.

Amerigo lived in the Ognissanti section of Florence with a lot of the Vespucci family. The Vespucci family was pretty well off, so Amerigo thought that he was in line for a lot of money after his father's passing, but his brother Antonio was highly favored over the rest of the children. Most of the Vespuccis living with Amerigo were merchants dealing in wine, olive oil, or wool. Not all of the Vespuccis were merchants, a small percentage of the Vespuccis were bankers. All of the family liked art and learning, poetry and music just like the rest of the Florentines. The ruler of these interesting Florentines was Lorenzo de' Medicior, who was also know as Lorenzo the Magnificant.

When Amerigo was older, but still a young man, his father Antastagio Vespucci sent him to the Monestary of San Marco to study with his uncle Giorgio. In his new school, Amerigo along with the other European boys learned Latin, math, grammar, history, Italian and Greek Literature, geography and astronomy. Amerigo learned to love astronomy, because he was fascinated about all of the shapes the stars made, that his uncle called constellations. Amerigo thought about traveling about the Earth, but he thought it to be impossible, because he was tought in school that the equator was a ring of fire that made the waters boil there.

Amerigo's hopes of traveling the world were become more realistic over time. The first thing that sparked this was the invention of the caravel, a light, narrow, 60 to 70 foot boat. The Portugese, that started making this boat had learned to rig the caravels to sail well against the winds and currents of the rough oceans. Another reality check occured when Amerigo was 19. What happend was the Portugese finally sailed to the equator and found no boiling seas, which proved the Roman theory that young Amerigo was taught in school wrong. But then came a period in his life that Amerigo realized he would never see the world, for Florence, unlike the nation of Portugal, which had humongus navies, where Florence had just tiny merchant ships.

Later on in Amerigos life, Christoper Columbus went on a great journey to the Indies. People had thought that he and crew were swallowed up by a sea of mud. Just about 7 months later, though Columbus came back with gold, tropical animals, and copper-skinned people he named "Indians". When all the excitement was over, Columbus spoke to Vespucci and Gionatti Bernardi a friend of Amerigos about a voyage back to the island Columbus found called Hispaniola.

The American Government: For the People, By the People?

Every year millions of Americans vote on various laws.  After all, our government motto is “for the people, by the people”.  However, how many of our choices are actually represented by the laws that are made?  In recent years there have been many crucial debates concerning issues that represent the beliefs of a group of people, predominantly Christian.  These issues concern topics such as same-sex marriage, using the word evolution, and abortion.  Several states have made rulings on behalf of these issues, rather, largely on behalf of the religious Christians in their states.  However, the First Amendment of the Constitution states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (www.usconstitution.net).  The beliefs of many other people are unfairly not represented in these rulings because they are not the majority.  Although our country institutes laws based on majority rulings, the government should not be allowed to institute laws that are biased against certain groups of people merely because morals are at stake. 

            In a country that is often engaged in major international problems, the issue of gay marriage still manages to stir even the calmer people in the United States society into becoming irate.  In the 1770’s when we were fighting for independence from England, one of our countries prominent reasons for starting the American Revolution was in order to gain freedom of religion, and civil rights.  Now, almost 300 years later religious orders are fighting to make sure than gay marriage does not become legal because their religions say that it is not morally right.  Society’s general attitude toward legalizing gay marriage is based on religion and “moral values”, rather than on the politics and constitutional rights that we as a people chose for our country.  Issues that will augment this case consist of religious beliefs versus politics, security, child welfare, and gender discrimination. 

            Many religious activists state that gay marriage is not moral and that marriage is a sacred communion between a male and female, that can naturally result in the life of another human being. I do not feel that religion should be mixed with politics.  It outrages me that so many people put all their efforts into making sure that it never becomes legal, when there are more valuable problems that they could be concerning themselves with in order to make a much more worthwhile difference in the world.

            In the past election eleven states passed anti-gay marriage amendments to their constitutions.  The majority of Bush voters cited moral values as their reasoning for voting for President Bush (Witkowski 1) .  Many of those moral values stem from religious beliefs.  Legislations in various states have used moral values as reasoning behind banning same-sex marriages, sidestepping around the sensitive separation of church and state issue.  Many advocate that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman.  Ironically, many of those same people think that divorce is okay.  In my opinion those people do not deserve to call marriage sacred when they will also be the same people to have affairs, get separated, or decide to divorce after twenty-five years of marriage.  Therefore, they are not people who should have the right to say that marriage is such a “sacred” thing. 

            Marriage, legally, is something that is mandated by the state, not legally by religion.  A justice of the peace can legally marry any male and female.  A marriage does not have to be related to a religious order.  Therefore, why are some marriages restricted?  It should not matter what gender the two people are, whether the same or different.  Gender discrimination is illegal in our country.  However, our own laws seem to violate and contradict each other, especially after the recent election.   

            Another aspect of the situation is that many areas in our society grant married couples certain rights or privileges. For example, if a woman’s husband were to die when they were only thirty years old, than that woman would still be entitled to receive his social security years later when he would have been of age.  However, gay couples are deprived of this security in their relationships (with the exception of a few states such as Vermont and Massachusetts) merely because of their type of relationship.  The issue of a gay couple having children also brings up another point of security within their relationships.

 Although, I personally believe that every child should be entitled to a mother and father, that does not change the fact that gay couples can adopt a child through various ways.  Thus, if that is taken into account, if the guardian gay parent dies, does our government really want to take that child out of their home because the other gay parent was not legally their parent?  There should be laws that protect the welfare of the child, and if the parents were given the legal right to marry than there would not be a whole series of legal problems if one of the parents were to die.  

Not only is gay marriage not allowed, but school officials in Austin, Texas have called upon the publishers of a school-used textbook to change the wording of it to unmistakably state that marriage is “between a man and a woman” (Official 1).  The textbooks have stated “’asexual stealth phrases’ such as ‘individuals who marry’ instead of husbands and wives” (Official 1).  Robert Ellis, the executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas said that the officials are tying to institute a “religious rights agenda” into the students’ textbooks (Official 2).  People

So why is gay marriage truly illegal?  The real reason does not lie in any sort of rules or regulations, but in the prejudice of the people who make those alleged “rules and regulations” in the first place.  People, who I believe let their own personal values and morals, or rather their own religions stand in the way of what should be simply a political matter and nothing more.  The reasons gay couples should be allowed to marry outweighs the reasons they should not, especially considering all the reasons that they should not be allowed to marry consist of beliefs that stem from a person’s own morals. Legal issues should not be mixed with religion. It is every citizen’s right in this country to have our own beliefs, and thus gay people should be allowed theirs instead of being discriminated against.

In addition to marriage disputes, religion is appearing in other areas of the classroom.  In Georgia the state Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox proposed earlier this year to remove the term “evolution” from science curriculums in public schools.  She said that the term “changes over time” would be more suitable.  The proposal never went through but the underlying meanings are critical.  Religion is now not only limiting marriages; it is limiting what students learn in school.  Currently a federal lawsuit is being heard in Georgia over school officials placing a disclaimer on high school biology texts that said, “Evolution should be critically considered” in 2002 (Some Worry 1).  Science instructors argued that the disclaimer made the state look “backward” and that it sends the meaning that evolution did not happen. Wes McCoy, a high school teacher, said that he was afraid that “college admissions counselors would think less of their science educations, thinking they hadn’t been taught evolution or something” (Some Worry 2).  Carlos Moreno, a molecular biologist at Emory University, said that the prestigious northern universities look down upon southerner’s educations, due to issues like these.  Why is it such a big deal? Parents like Marjorie Rogers think that the evolution theory is atheistic and insults the intelligence of the students because they are taught only evolution, and not the religious reasons.  The evolution theory may be atheistic, but it is science and it is proven.  Perhaps, the Bible should be the book with the disclaimer. 

The latest United States Commission on Civil Rights, an assessment of President Bush’s civil rights record, was put the Internet in September.  Of Bush’s public statements about civil rights, only seventeen have actually outlined plans of action.  Over half of those have pertained to “faith initiatives” (NYTimes.com).  With a President running our country who is guilty himself of mixing state and church, how can our society hope to keep the two separated?  While the country was formed with freedom of religion as one of its foremost attributes our President in 2004 seeks to impose his own religious beliefs upon the whole of our country.  In 2002, the CIA World Factbook published the percentages of religions in the U.S.  Fifty-two percent were Protestant, twenty-four percent were Roman Catholic, two percent were Mormon, one percent was Jewish, one percent was Muslim, ten percent made up other religions, and ten percent were of no religion.  Although approximately half of the population may be Protestant, and another quarter has similar “moral values” no one should be able to impose an order’s religious standards on people who do not believe in them when the Constitution states, “no law should be made respecting a religious establishment”.  Even if the changes are made under the guise of “moral values”. 

Amazing Grace Book Review

Introduction

      Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace is a book about the trials and tribulations of everyday life for a group of children who live in the poorest congressional district of the United States, the South Bronx. Their lives may seem extraordinary to us, but to them, they are just as normal as everyone else.  What is normal?  For the children of the South Bronx, living with the pollution, the sickness, the drugs, and the violence is the only way of life many of them have ever known.

      In this book, the children speak openly and honestly about feeling 'abandoned', 'hidden' or 'forgotten' by our nation, one that is blind to their problems.  Studying the people themselves would only get us so far in understanding what their community is really like and why they feel this way. Jonathan Kozol really got to know the people individually.  We can take his knowledge and stories to try for a better understanding of the environment in which they live.  By doing this, we can explore the many reasons why the people have problems, what some levels of intervention could be, and possibly find some solutions to making the South Bronx a healthier and safer place for these children and others to live.

Problem Identification

      The environment in which we study these people can only be defined by first taking a look at possible reasons why the people have problems.  Some of the problems discussed in Amazing Grace  have festered throughout the United States for some time now.  The high numbers of drug users in the community, the high amounts of gang-related violence, and the numerous cases of people who have contracted the AIDS virus are just some of the problems that have arisen in this ghetto.  There are many differences between this community and others in the United States, one of which is that the government has grouped these people all together and made a ghetto of the lowest income families.  This has ostracized them from the rest of the nation.  It has given them many abandonment issues to deal with, while also telling them they are not worthy of living among the wealthier population.

      Environmental factors are involved in the problems arising in the South Bronx.  Pollution, for example, could be the biggest source of the high number of children in the community who have asthma.  Asthma is a condition in which one has trouble breathing.  Without clean air, breathing for an asthmatic is almost impossible.  A waste burner in the middle of the South Bronx causes a lot of pollution and makes the air the people breath, below safe levels of cleanliness.  Another environmental factor that affects the resident's healths has to do with how most of the buildings in these neighborhoods are run down and infested with rats.  Many of the buildings have no working elevators.  This causes people to have to walk several flights of stairs each time they want to leave their apartments.  This is very time consuming and tiresome.  Then, when they find that there is so much violence and drugs in the street, that it is not safe to be out there anyway, they usually end up staying in their apartments for most of their free time.

      The cultural differences between these people and others of higher income communities is also a reason why they may have problems.  Racism is very obvious to the people of the South Bronx, especially when they go outside of their district.  If a woman from this area goes to a hospital outside of her district, a hospital that is more than likely wealthier and cleaner, she is usually turned away and told to go to a hospital in her own district.  Others, who are admitted into these hospitals, are put on a special floor, mainly for the lower income or Medicaid patients. (Amazing Grace, p. 176) 

      Another way the government discriminates against them is how they are housed.  Most of the residents are living in government housing where the government pays their rent.  When the government helped the people to get off the streets and out of homeless shelters and then put them into low cost housing, they put all of the residents in the same area.  This created their ghetto and kept them segregated from the rest of the world.

Level of Intervention

      If we look at these people through an exosystem, or "a setting in which a person does not participate but in which significant decisions are made affecting the person or others who interact directly with the person," we would ask the questions "are decisions made with the interests of the person and the family in mind?" (Social Work and Social Welfare, p.79)  Did the government really think of the people of the South Bronx when they grouped all of the sick, troublesome, and low income families together in the same community?  What kind of opportunity structure can people have when the government puts them into never ending situations such as giving them only enough money to get by, but not enough to get out of poverty?  Some people say that it is not the government's responsibility to get people out of poverty, but then whose fault is it that they got there in the first place?  No one asks to be poor, no one asks to be homeless.  Cultural differences are an excuse some use for treating people of different backgrounds differently.  But can the government also participate in this obvious form of racism?  Our nation has tried for many many years now to stop racism and prejudices, but the problem is still prevalent in communities all over the world.

      We could also look at the people and their problems using a macrosystem, or the "'blueprints' for defining and organizing the institutional life of the society," (Social Work and Social Welfare, p.79) to decide if some groups are valued at the expense of others and do these groups experience oppression?  As we have seen, the people of the South Bronx feel abandoned, this is a type of oppression.  They are pushed away from the rest of society, where the only place they can turn is to this community that is filled with crime, violence, disease, and poverty.  The residents have shared assumptions about what the government wants and expects from them.  The government's attitude towards these people is such that the residents feel devalued and not worthy of being seen or heard.  Without much hope of financial stability, many have turned to selling and/or using drugs.  Selling drugs is seen as an easy way of making some money, and using drugs keeps a person on a high so they do not have to face reality.  This just continues the cycle of problems they face since selling drugs to others keeps those others high, and staying on a drug induced high only prolongs the problems.

Discussion and Recommendations

      Because of all the trials and tribulations they go through, you would think that everyone in this community would lose hope.  This is not true for many of the children that Jonathan Kozol talked to and became friends with on his many journeys into their neighborhood.  The children speak of their problems with great maturity.  Many of these children are far older than their years on Earth, for they have felt true abandonment by our nation.  Many of the issues they have had to deal with are not ones which we think of as children's issues.  AIDS, for example, is not something that many think of as an issue that children talk about or even think about.  For the children of the South Bronx though, it is a major issue.  With "one-fourth of the child-bearing women in the neighborhoods where these children live testing positive for HIV," (Amazing Grace, inside cover) pediatric AIDS takes a high toll.  The numbers of children who have had one or both parents die of AIDS in the South Bronx and surrounding areas is the highest among the nation.  If the government keeps sending the low income and troublesome families into these neighborhoods, "it is likely that entire blocks will soon be home to mourning orphans, many of whom will follow their own parents to an early grave." (Amazing Grace, p. 194)

      The government's placement of a waste burner in the South Bronx is another prime example and a reason why the children feel like they are being "thrown away."  Many residents believe that the waste burner is to blame for their health problems.  Many children in the community are only able to breathe with the use of a breathing machine because their asthma has gotten so bad.(Amazing Grace, p. 170)  Why then would the city decide to put one there?  Did the city have the residents in mind when they built the waste burner in this community?  The residents do not have much of a say in city, state or governmental issues.  Positions in government are held by wealthier and more powerful people who more then likely have no first hand knowledge of life in a low income ghetto.  How can we change this?

      To change a whole community involves much more then direct practice with individuals. Counseling people on an individual basis gives individual responses.  The problems of the South Bronx are not with the individuals themselves, but rather community organizational problems.  Changing the social policy of the community is of utter importance in making it a better place to live.  The norms for the people in these neighborhoods have gotten to be that of violence and drugs.  These are not healthy norms.  To change them, the communities could use more education on social issues in the schools and communities to help the people learn to live healthier lifestyles, to get the word out that violence and disruptance are not all right, and to help the people obtain some community unity.  Getting some of the well known community members involved in politics is another way they could get their voices heard and let the government know their needs and desires.  Support groups held for people with AIDS, for people who have lost loved ones, and also for people who just need a place to talk about their emotions and get their frustrations out, would help the community as a whole and get more people involved in the healing process of that community.  If the people in the South Bronx would act as a community bound together to help themselves and each other, there would be less tolerance for deviant behavior among it's members.  Then the ones who act defiantly could be out-numbered, and the good citizens of the South Bronx could reclaim their homes and their lives.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, was born in June, 356 BC, in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. His

parents were Philip II and Olympia. Some say that Zeus was his father but it is probably just a

myth. Aristotle taught Alexander in his early teen years. He stimulated his interest in science,

medicine, and philosophy. In the summer of 336 BC, Alexander's father was assassinated, and

Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne. He found himself surrounded by enemies at home

and threatened by civilizations all over. But Alexander disposed of quickly of all his enemies by

ordering their execution. Then he took off to Thessaly, where partisans of independence had

gained ascendancy, and restored Macedonian rule. Before the end of the summer of 336 BC as

general of the Greeks in a campaign against the Persians, originally planned by his father before he

croaked, he carried out a successful campaign against the defecting Thracians, penetrating to the Danube River. On his return he crushed in a single week the threatening Illyrians and then again

took of to Thebes, which had revolted. He took the city by storm and razed it, sparing only the

temples of the gods and the house of the Greed lyric poet Pindar, and selling the surviving inhabi¬

tants, about 8000 in number, into slavery. Alexander's promptness in crushing the revolt of The¬

bes brought the other Greek states into instant submission.

Alexander began his war against Persia in the spring of 334 BC by crossing the Hellespont

(now Dardanelles) with an army of 35,000 Macedonian and Greek troops: his chief officers, all

Macedonians, included Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. At the river Granicus, near the ancient

city of Troy, he attacked an army of Persians and Greek soldiers which totaled 40,000 men. His

forces slatured the enemy and according to tradition, only lost 110 men! After this battle all the

stated of Asia Minor submitted to Alexander. Continuing south, Alexander encountered the main

Persian army, commanded by King Darius III, at Issus. The size of Darius's army was unknown;

but ancient tradition said it contained about 500,000 men but now is considered a very big exag¬

geration. The Battle of Issus, in 333 BC, ended in a great victory for Alexander, who treated them

with the respect due to royalty. Tyre, a strongly guarded seaport, offered obstinate resistance, but

Alexander took it to by storm in 332 after a siege of seven months. Alexander captured Gaza next

and then passed on into Egypt, where he was greeted as a deliverer. By these successes the Nile

River, the city of Alexandria, which later became the literacy, scientific, and commercial center of

the Greek world. Cyrene, the capital of the ancient North African kingdom of Cyrenaica, gave up

to Alexander soon afterward, extending his dominance to Carthaginian territory.

In the spring of 331, Alexander made a trip to the great temple and oracle of Amon-Ra,

Egyptian god of the sun, whom the Greeks identified as Zeus. The earlier Egyptian pharaohs were

believed to be sons of Amon-Ra; and Alexander, the new ruler of Egypt, wanted the god to ac¬

knowledge him as his son. Amon-Ra (Zeus) agreed. I tried doing that the other day and Amon-Ra

accepted but I told him that he wasn't good enough for me. So he has cursed me by making my

right arm longer then my left are for 7 years. Crossing the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, Alex¬

ander met Darius at the head of an army of unknown size, which, according to the exaggerated

accounts of antiquity, was said to number a million men! This army he completely defeated in the

Battle of Guagamela, Oct 1, 331. Daruis fled as he had done at Issus and was later killed by two

of his own generals. Babylon surrendered after Gaugamela did, and the city of Susa with its

enormous treasures was soon taken over also by Alexander. Then, in midwinter, Alexander forced

his way to Persepolis, the Persian capital, and plundered in and the royal treasures and took the

rich by their butt, and burned the city during a drunken binge and thus completed the destruction

of the ancient Persian Empire. His domain now extended along and beyond the southern shores of

the Caspian Sea, including modern Central Asia. It had taken Alexander only 3 years to master

this vast area.

In June, 323 BC, Alexander contracted a dangerous fever and died. He left his empire, in

his own words, "too the strongest"; this resulted in huge conflicts for half a century. Alexander

was one of the greatest generals of all time, noted for his brilliance as a tactician and troop leader

and for the rapidity with which he could traverse great expanses of territory. He was usually brave

and generous, but could be very cruel and ruthless when politics demanded. Is has been said that

he was actually and alcoholic having, for example, killed his friend Clitus in a drunken fury. He

later regretted this act deeply. He himself, in his life had a few wives and a few children. He was

also reported to have had sexual relations with his close friend Hephaestion, who was a man.

"ick"

AIDS and You: The lethal Relation

We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Experts repeatedly

remind us that infective agents do not discriminate, but can infect any and

everyone. Like other communicable diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. It is not necessarily confined to a few high-risk groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and teach our children about it in time to take effective precautions. Given the right measures, no one need get AIDS.

AIDS is a life and death issue.  To have the  AIDS  disease is at present a sentence of  slow  but  inevitable  death.   I've already lost one friend from AIDS.  I may soon lose others.  My own sexual  behavior  and  that  of  many  of  my  friends  has  been profoundly altered by it.  In U.S.A.  one man in10 may already be carrying the AIDS virus.  While the figures may currently be less in much of the rest of the  country, this  is changing rapidly.  There currently is neither a cure, nor even an effective treatment, and no vaccine either.  But there are things that have been PROVEN immensely effective in slowing  the spread of this hideously lethal  disease.  

 AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Defficiency Disease.  It is

    caused by a virus.

The disease originated somewhere in Africa about  20  years ago.  There it first appeared as a mysterious ailment afflicting primarily heterosexuals of both sexes.  It probably was spread especially fast by primarily female prostitutes there.  AIDS has already become a crisis of STAGGERING  proportions  in  parts of Africa.  In Zaire, it is estimated that over twenty percent of the adults currently carry the virus.  That figure is increasing.  And what occurred there will, if no cure is found, most likely occur here among heterosexual folks.  AIDS was first seen as a disease of gay males in the world.  This was a result of the fact that gay males in our culture internationally, in the days before AIDS had an average of 200 to 400 new sexual contacts per year.  This figure was much higher than common practice among heterosexual (straight) men or women.  For these reasons, the disease spread in the gay male population immensely more quickly than in other populations.  It became to be thought of as a "gay disease".  Because the  disease is spread  primarily by exposure of ones blood to infected blood or semen, drug addicts who shared needles also soon were identified as an affected group.   As the AIDS epidemic began affect increasingly large fractions of those two populations (gay  males and drug abusers),  many of the rest of this society looked on smugly, for both populations tended to espied by the "mainstream" of society here. 

But AIDS is also spread by heterosexual sex.  In addition, it is spread by blood transfusions.  New born babies can acquire the disease from infected mothers during pregnancy.  Gradually more and more "mainstream" folks got the disease.  Finally, even the national news media began to join in the task of educating the public to the notion that AIDS can affect everyone.

The best way to avoid AIDS is to regard it as a highly lethal disease and practice commonsense prevention.  Avoiding infection is IN ONE'S OWN HANDS.  People can protect themselves.  To stop its spread, people are encouraged to obtain and apply accurate AIDS information to their living styles and sexual habits in order to reduce the risk of getting or transmitting the virus.  Sadly, health promoters claim that "reaching the many who don't want to know" is no easy task.  Health promoters suggest that educators must learn how and when to communicate AIDS information-in the right way at "teachable" moments.  Many Public Health Departments are now taking the lead in disseminating education about AIDS with large-scale public awareness programs

For those who would have sexual activity, the safest approach in this age of AIDS is monogamous sex.  Specifically, both parties in a couple must commit  themselves to not having sex with anyone else.  At that time they should take AIDS antibody tests.  If the tests are negative for both, they must practice safe sex until both members of the couple have been greater than six months since sexual contact with anyone else.  At that time the AIDS blood test is repeated.  If both tests remain negative six months after one's last sexual contact with any other party, current feeling is that it is now safe to have "unprotected" sex.  Note that this approach is recommended especially for those who wish to have children, to prevent the chance of having a child be born infected with AIDS, getting it from an infected mother.  Note also that  this approach can be used by groups of three or more people, but it must be  adhered to VERY strictly.

For those who wish to have sexual contact with folks on a relatively casual basis, there have been devised rules for "safe sex".  These rules are very strict, and will be found quite objectionable by most of people who have previously enjoyed unrestricted  sex.  But to violate these rules is to risk

unusually horrible death.  Once one gets used to them, the rule  for  "safe sex" do allow for quite acceptable sexual enjoyment in most cases.  A condom must be used by a man in order to obtain the safe sex.

By conclusion, it is my own strongly held view, and that of the medical and research community world wide, that the AIDS epidemic is a serious problem, with the potential to become the  worst  disease this species has ever known.  This is SERIOUS business.   VASTLY greater sums should be spent on searching for treatments.  On the other hand, we feel strongly that this is "merely" a disease, not an act by a supernatural power.   And while it does not seem likely we will find either a cure or a vaccine in the foreseeable future,  it may be that truly effective treatments that can indefinitely extend the life of AIDS victims may be found in the next few years.  When science and technology do finally fully conquer AIDS, we can go back to deciding what sort and how much sex to have with who ever we choose on the basis of our own personal choice.  May that time come soon.  In the mean time, we must all do what we can to slow the spread of this killer.  

The young adult: Erikson's theory

The young adult has numerous stresses placed upon them through the route of development.

Erikson has theorised developmental stages of growth into tasks. Of  Eriksons' theoretical tasks,

one task describes the theory of intimacy versus isolation. This task theory can be examined using

the normative crisis model. The knowledge of developmental tasks of the young adult can be

beneficial to the nurse especially associated with their ability to relate to the young adult.

One of the stages in life is the young adult, which suggests significant changes and an increase of

responsibility. This stage of development is described as between twenty and forty years, where

"...the potential for furtherance of intellectual, emotional and even physical development occurs".

(Gething, 1995, p.377). As people age the progress of the developmental stages can differ, so they

have formulated to assess the progression by using  two principal crisis models. The first, are the

normative crisis model and the second includes the timing of events crisis model. The normative

crisis model has been powerful in shaping the psychology of the developmental stages as it has

allowed theorists to imply that stages of development can follow an age related time sequence.

(Gething, 1995).

The normative crisis model suggests that human development has  a built in ground plan in which

crisis as describe by Erikson are seen as a requirement that must be resolved by the person before

successful  progression from one developmental stage to another. Such achievement of this task

crisis should provide the young adult with the ability to challenge previous ideas held by the

adolescent about intimacy and isolation. This model is adapted for progression of the tasks to

follow the chronological age of the adult, while the related social and emotional changes progress

through a sequence that Erikson characterises in to eight specific crisis tasks over the life span.

(Kozier, erb, blais & wilkinson, 1995.).

The second crisis model depends upon the timing of events and is not dependant upon resolution

of crisis or a ground plan, but stresses the importance of each event  that occur in the young

adults life. Life events that proceed as expected will encourage development, where as life events

that are unexpected can result in anxiety and a slow progression of development. (Gething,

1995.).

The young adult according to Erikson's theory of personality  should be progressing through the

psychosocial crisis of intimacy versus isolation. The tasks for this stage of life consist of courting

and selecting a "mate", marriage and associated choices, e.g. children and monogamous

relationship, career choices and lifestyle changes and furthering intellectual abilities to

accommodate choices. (Turner & Helms, 1987.). Some of the personal abilities that the young

adult must employ include decision making, career planing, understanding nature of increased

responsibility  and being able to accommodate greater demands of self.

Erikson's theory describes the crisis of the young adults developmental stage being intimacy

versus isolation. This indicates the maturity of psychosocial development from the prior stage of

crisis of adolescence. Erikson's  theory has been adapted and modified from Freud's psychosocial

theory to incorporate the entire life span, defining eight crises each with various tasks. (Kozier,

et al 1995). Erikson believes that "...the greater the task achievement, the healthier the personality

of the person", (Kozier, et al, 1995, P.572.) thus suggesting from his theory  that failure to

achieve these tasks, will result in the inability to proceed to the next task or crisis. Erikson

believed that failure to achieve any given task could lead to a detrimental effect on the ego.

(Rapoport & Rapoport, 1980.)

One of the tasks of the theory of intimacy versus isolation, relates to courting and selecting a mate

for marriage. Courting usually starts prior to this developmental stage and may continue for an

undesignated period. The continuation of courtship is entirely reliant on the individual but the

development of  issues such as independence and sharing associated within a serious relationship

should be initiated. A result of this task achievement should be that the individual has developed

or learned skills that are essential to relationships, e.g. sacrifice, compromise and commitment.

This task is considered a major issue that helps the individual to conclude their own feelings on

intimacy with another. (Gething, 1995.).

The union of marriage is dependant on the partners involved as to the reason to extend a long-term relationship to marriage. Some reasons for marriage can consist of a long-term commitment

to sharing, companionship, monogamous relationship and a desire to start a family. These

characteristics symbolise dedication, expression and development of the individual's identity.

Marriage is an opportunity to overcome Erikson's  negative theory of isolation  and to continue

through intimacy in a positive manner. (Turner & Helms, 1987).

These issues of marriage and courtship indicate a sense of achievement between identity and

intimacy as Erikson stresses it is important as  "...before one can achieve intimacy, it is essential

to have a sense of identity, which should be achieved in adolescence" (Gething, 1995, P.401). As

this sense of identity and intimacy develop the young adult should also be generating their own

sense of moral values and ethics related to relationships. (Gething, 1995,P.401). Erikson also

considers marriage  a mark of an adult  and constantly refers to the developmental importance of

identity. With marriage, a change in "normal" lifestyle occurs, leading to greater demands,

responsibilities and development of identity. (Gething, 1995.).

The changes in a lifestyle from an adolescent to a young adult lead to adjustment of situations,

e.g. living arrangements, change of school to a career/job and coping abilities, e.g. financial

responsibilities. The establishment of this new identity can be stressful and demanding on the

young adult. These new changes require a considerable degree of maturity, which Erikson believes

will promote physical and psychological achievement. One change in lifestyle leads to a new task,

career preparation. This is an important part of a positive aspect of identity that plays a major role

in individual development. (Rapoport, 1980).

Career preparation and achievement assist the individual to achieve further personal and

developmental goals. The ability to maintain a job gives the young adult financial independence

and they are now at a stage where they can relate establishment of themselves as a worthwhile and

significant person to their choice of careers. (Turner & Helms, 1987.).

Career development fuses with many other facts of adult life. Erikson believes the gender of a

person affects the eventual career that the young adult,  the abilities, interest  and personality will

also play a role in the choice of career. The consequences of career choice are often  voluntarily

but can be forced upon for any number of reasons, e.g. parental advice. (Gething, 1995.).

The young adults choice in career gives identity, self-respect, pride, values and ideas about the

world. According to Erikson this gives the individual a healthier personality  if they achieve set

goals. The young adults first choice of career may not be the best choice, "...young adults are less

satisfied with their jobs, and are more likely to change later in life". (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1980,

P.393). In this task the young adult discovers that work is a consequence of life, and is bound

tight with their ego and self-image. Erikson expresses that if they are not successful with this task,

the ego will be affected. (Gething, 1995).

The nurse uses this information and knowledge about the young adult's developmental tasks to

assess the domains of health. These domains can include physical, psychological and emotional

and then intervene according to the positive and negative aspects of their health. Assessing and

intervention is for the well being of the young adult. To maintain the autonomy and sense of

achievement of the young adult the nurse should suggest positive alternatives as appropriate.

Erikson describes the development of depression, anger and failure or delay of intimacy as a result

of dysfunctional development. (Gething, 1995). As the nurse can assist with advice and positive

encouragement, he or she must also accept the decision made by the young adult, "...assisting

with necessary adjustments relating to health."(Kozier, Erb et al, 1995, P.843).

The young adult period is marked with many changes to the life of a person. The decision related

to career paths, development of relationships with peers and  romantic relationships  all places a

lot of pressure on young adults. Erikson's psychosocial theory of development describes intimacy

versus isolation to be the major issue for the young adult in personality development for the

person in the twenty to forty years age ranges. In the tasks of this stage the young adult must

resolve the issues to achieve growth and pass on to the next stage of development. The nurse

should posses the ability to asses the development of the young adult and appropriately provide

support and encouragement.       

Concept of Sex in Advertising

Introduction

Sex in advertising has been the theme of much 20th Century American Advertising. It seems like all we see these days are advertisements which use the human body and sexuality to sell all kinds of products from food and cars to colognes and exercise equipment. It is virtually impossible to tune into any type of media they days and not encounter some type of an ad which uses sexuality to sell it's product. Most of the time sexuality and the use of the product in a real world setting is irrelevant, but for centuries if sexual connotation is put upon the use of a certain product then the product has been a success in the market place. In the following pages we will be analyzing an ad for Robert Lee Morris Watches, placed in Harper's Bazzar, which uses the concept of "sex" to sell it's watches. For a copy of the ad please refer to the end of this report. We will be applying the basic Principles of Advertising to help use critique this ad.

Objectives and Mission

The objectives of any company using the concept of using "Sex" in it's advertising campaigns are clear. The company wants to appeal to the conscious level of the target market to sell it's product. The company wants to appeal to the consumer who appreciates his/her sexuality and will spend a few extra dollars to look especially sexy. The mission of this type of advertising is to convince the target market that the product, in this case a watch, is essential to their need and want to be seductive and portray that image to his/her fellow peers.

Consumer Analysis

Before any company decides what kind of an ad will be used to represent their company and their product, they will need to consider their target consumer. The advertising agency will need to take personal influences and environmental forces into consideration. While choosing a type of ad, it is very important that the advertiser take marketing stimuli into consideration, these stimuli include: demographic factors, cultural/social influences, and reference groups. The advertiser needs to understand the perceptions, motives, needs, personalities, lifestyles, and attitudes of their target market.

In this ad, it is obvious that the advertiser is trying to appeal to the fashion conscious woman in her 20's or 30's with a moderately high income level who could spend a few extra dollars for the sake of being fashionable. The ad is placed in a high class fashion magazine which shares the company's target market.

Finally, consumer analysis can be thought of the most important of the Principles of Advertising. If an ad is positioned to appeal to the interests of anyone but the target market, then the ad would simply be a waste of precious time and resources.

Advertising Effectiveness

Advertising effectiveness is a measure to see how effective the advertisement is on consumer recognition and intentions on buying a certain product. There are two kinds of classifications of advertising effectiveness. The first is the communication effects and the second is sales effectiveness. The Robert Lee Morris Watches uses the second type, sales effectiveness. Sales effectiveness measures the impact of advertisement on sales. There are three types of sales effectiveness a company can use. They are inquiry testing, direct response and market testing. Robert Lee Morris Watches uses the inquiry test method. We know that they use this method because they offer a toll free phone in the upper left hand corner of the advertisement. The ad does not offer a lot of content in regard to words. They want the consumer to call them and tell them what they think about the ad and to inquire about additional information.

Creative Strategy & Creative Appeals

The "big idea" for a creative strategy in regards to the concept of sexual appeal in advertisement is virtually to attract the attention and maintain the visual process of the incoming information. Sex in advertisement grabs the attention of a sexual attitude of behavior for the targeted audience. The "love/sex" creative appeal directly impacts the emotions leading to a change in attitude or behavior of the targeted audience. Sexual appeal may be displayed by using naked bodies, illustrative emphasis on attractive body parts, and romantic or intimate moments for selling a hopeful image to the target market. The image of sexual feelings, therefore, lead audiences to believe that the purchase of the product will lead to fulfillment of being part of that romantic moment.

Four components make up the focus for the creative side of advertising. First of all, the "Big Idea" is the starting point and it is important because it is what the audience looks at. The idea must be created to grab the attention of the audience and differentiate the product from other related products in a magazine ad. The "Big Idea" can jump out of the ad, leading the audience to an illusion of "wow" (product image) for purchase and increase in sales. In the magazine ad chosen, the big idea presents the Robert Lee Morris Watch by using a lady's naked waist and having her wear the watch on her wrist as she tries to cover up her private body part.

Robert Lee Morris ad does not present the display of the watch to the audience in a surrounding that a watch would normally be involved in. the idea of wearing a watch while unclothed is irrelevant to a watch wearing purpose. The ad dresses the watch displayed on her wrist by making it visually inviting for the audience to recognize product, create an image of the watch and brand name, and positioning the ad in an environment for the upper class consumer. The ad is placed in Harper's Bazzar to appeal to the more fashion wise and image conscious shoppers who are usually earning a substantial amount of income to dress for this image.

The creative process designs the ad's originality for product differentiation. Using the concept of sex in advertisement is very common in the advertising industry for all media types. The magazine ad must create a powerful impact on the audience, which the Robert Lee Morris ad does. The ad's creative process uses demonstration to present the product and brand name, unique selling proposition which focus on the correlated attributes between the beauty of the watch and the beauty of the woman, resonance by printing an ad that makes you think about the ad, and image by the unity of layout and positioning of the ad.

Layout Strategy

The particular layout strategy in this ad is to use a large photograph and a few words to grab the reader's attention. The photograph primarily accomplishes this with its sexual design. The words Robert Lee Morris Watches are strongly supported by the picture. The idea is that the lady has nothing on but she still is wearing the watch. Now, it may seem that only these elements are what make the ad appealing, but there are other qualities that participate in the overall appearance of the ad. These certain qualities are referred to as layout qualities. The layout qualities most pertinent to this ad are balance, contrast, proportion and gaze motion.

The balance of an ad pertains to the placement of elements on a page. Formal balance is when the elements are evenly placed on a page and informal balance is when the elements are unevenly placed on a page. The elements in this ad are the photograph of the woman wearing the watch and the words used to designate a brand of watch. By observing the article one could tell that the strategy here is to use informal balance, because the elements are not completely centered on the page. For example, the woman in the photograph is standing at an angle which makes the left and right borders completely different. The left border is a curvaceous hip while the right border is more linear, with the woman's hand reaching straight down. Another example of informal balance in this ad is the placement of "Robert Lee Morris Watches." The phrase is not centered, instead it is placed on the right portion of the ad. There is on other phrase to counter it on the left side. The informal balance of this article may seem like it is a bad thing, because the elements are not evenly dispersed, however, informal balance is what makes the ad appealing.

The contrast of the ad deals with it's shape and color. It there is any shape that could be used to describe this ad, it would be the shape of an "S." by looking at the left side of the ad, the woman's hip is a mirror image of the letter "S." The color also plays an important role because readers envision the ad to be a real naked person wearing a watch, by virtue of the actual color of a woman being used. The color is not exaggerated as to project a sense of fantasy. The actual color projects a real person and therefore makes the ad more concrete and believable.

The proportion of this ad is key. The entire page is encompassed by the photograph of the woman. The picture lies in the background while the words are in the foreground. By using this approach the picture and the words can be viewed separately. It can be seen from big (woman's picture) to small (Robert Lee Morris Watches).

Gaze motion is another quality of layout that plays an important role in this ad. Gaze motion has to do with how a person' eyes move through an ad. This particular would be referred to as an S-gaze, because a person's eye moves through the ad in the shape of an "S." This is very evident on the left side of the ad where the woman's hip is shaped like an S. With S-gaze a reader may start at the torso, follow it down to the curvaceous hip, which leads directly to this most sexual part.

Message Strategy

The message strategy is the strategy used by advertisers to convey the idea of the advertisement. The message strategy consists of the selling premise and execution. The selling premise is the sales logic behind an advertising message. It can be a claim, benefit, promise, reason why or a unique selling proposition. The selling premise that our ad, Robert Lee Morris Watches uses is a unique selling proposition, which is sex appeal. It is not a unique selling position in the sense that on one has ever used sex appeal before. It is unique considering what they are selling, which is watches. The use of an almost completely nude woman to sell a watch is unique. The other element of message strategy is execution. Execution is the form taken by the finished ad. The execution of the ad was done very well and accomplished what they set out to do.

When considering the message strategy one must decide if they want the ad to be on the conscious level, being able to perceive the message, or subconscious, being below the consciousness of the senses. Our ad uses the conscious level, more specifically, the sight. The advertisers want the consumer to see the partial

Making Sense of the Plagues: The Education of Pharaoh

INCONSISTENCIES WITHIN THE PLAGUES

Then YHVH said to Mosheh, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let

the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the

water; stand by at the river bank to meet him, and take in your hand the

staff that was turned into a snake. Say to him, 'YHVH, the God of the

Hebrews, sent me to you to say, "Let my people go, so that they may worship

me in the wilderness." But until now you have not listened.' Thus says

YHVH, "By this you shall know that I am YHVH." See, with the staff that is

in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be

turned to blood. (Sh'mot [Exodus] 7:14-17)

In this account of the warning of the first plague (blood), there are

several details which show up again in some - but not all - of the other

plagues:

1) Mosheh warns Pharaoh about the upcoming plague - but not every time

(only before the plagues of frogs, wild beasts, pestilence, hail, locusts

and the first-born).

2) Some of these warnings take place in the early morning by the banks of

the Nile (wild beasts and hail) while others take place in Pharaoh's

palace.

3) A theological message (e.g. "By this you shall know that I am YHVH") is

appended to the warning - whereas other warnings are bereft of such a

message.

4) Mosheh's staff is used in some of the plagues - but not all (it is only

used in the plagues of blood, frogs, lice, hail and locusts).

Our first simple and straightforward question is: Is there any rhyme or

reason to the plagues and their attendant warnings which would explain

these apparent inconsistencies?