As an educational tool, Essay (Wikipedia)

In countries like the United States, essays have become a major part of a formal education in the form of free response questions. Secondary students in these countries are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and essays are often used by universities in these countries in selecting applicants (see admissions essay). In both secondary and tertiary education, essays are used to judge the mastery and comprehension of material. Students are asked to explain, comment on, or assess a topic of study in the form of an essay. During some courses, university students will often be required to complete one or more essays that are prepared over several weeks or months. In addition, in fields such as the humanities and social sciences,^{[citation needed]} mid-term and end of term examinations often require students to write a short essay in two or three hours.

In these countries, so-called academic essays, which may also be called "papers", are usually more formal than literary ones.^{[citation needed]} They may still allow the presentation of the writer's own views, but this is done in a logical and factual manner, with the use of the first person often discouraged. Longer academic essays (often with a word limit of between 2,000 and 5,000 words)^{[citation needed]} are often more discursive. They sometimes begin with a short summary analysis of what has previously been written on a topic, which is often called a literature review.^{[citation needed]}

Longer essays may also contain an introductory page in which words and phrases from the title are tightly defined. Most academic institutions^{[citation needed]} will require that all substantial facts, quotations, and other porting material used in an essay be referenced in a bibliography or works cited page at the end of the text. This scholarly convention allows others (whether teachers or fellow scholars) to understand the basis of the facts and quotations used to support the essay's argument, and thereby help to evaluate to what extent the argument is supported by evidence, and to evaluate the quality of that evidence. The academic essay tests the student's ability to present their thoughts in an organized way and is designed to test their intellectual capabilities.

One essay guide of a US university makes the distinction between research papers and discussion papers. The guide states that a "research paper is intended to uncover a wide variety of sources on a given topic". As such, research papers "tend to be longer and more inclusive in their scope and with the amount of information they deal with." While discussion papers "also include research, ...they tend to be shorter and more selective in their approach...and more analytical and critical". Whereas a research paper would typically quote "a wide variety of sources", a discussion paper aims to integrate the material in a broader fashion.^[5]

One of the challenges facing US universities is that in some cases, students may submit essays which have been purchased from an essay mill (or "paper mill") as their own work. An "essay mill" is a ghostwriting service that sells pre-written essays to university and college students. Since plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty or academic fraud, universities and colleges may investigate papers suspected to be from an essay mill by using Internet plagiarism detection software, which compares essays against a database of known mill essays and by orally testing students on the contents of their papers

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay#Film

5 ways your TV is slowly killing you

You’ve accepted the idea that TV makes you dumber. You know there are lots of more edifying things you could be doing with your time than cheering on the contestants on "Survivor."

And unless you’re working out to an exercise video, you know those hours sprawled out in front of the screen are going to make you fatter — not to mention the impact of all that junk food you’ve been tempted to scarf down during the commercial breaks.

But you’ll be surprised to learn the host of other bad things TV can do to you.

1. TV makes you deader.  

TV-viewing is a pretty deadly pastime, research suggests. No matter how much time you spend in the gym, every hour you spend in front of the TV increases your risk of dying from heart disease, according to a recent report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Australian researchers studied 8,800 adult men and women for an average of six years and found that every hour spent in front of the TV translated into an 11 percent increase in the risk of death from any cause, a 9 percent increase in the risk of death from cancer and an 18 percent increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. So, compared to people who watched less than two hours of TV a day, those who watched four or more hours a day had a 46 percent higher risk of death from any cause and an 80 percent higher risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. And that was true even among people who didn’t smoke, were thin, ate healthy diets and had low blood pressure and cholesterol.

2. TV makes you drunker.  

TV may make you drink more. When it comes to drinking, we’re apparently very susceptible to what we see on TV, according to a report published in Alcohol and Alcoholism. To discover whether what we view actually affects drinking habits, researchers rounded up 80 male university students between the ages of 18 and 29 and plunked them down in a bar-like setting where the students were allowed to watch movies and commercials on TV. The researchers found that men who watched films and commercials in which alcohol was prominently featured immediately reached for a glass of beer or wine and drank an average of 1.5 glasses more than those who watched films and commercials in which alcohol played a less prominent role.

3. TV can make your kid pregnant.  

Teens who watched a lot of TV that included sexual content were twice as likely to get pregnant, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Once a year for three years, Rand Corporation researchers surveyed 1,461 youngsters — ages 12 to 17 at the beginning of the study — about TV-viewing habits and sexual behavior. Boys were asked if they had ever gotten a girl pregnant and girls were asked if they had ever been pregnant. To get a handle on how much sexually charged TV kids were watching, the researchers asked teens if and how often they viewed 23 specific programs.

 

Video: Watching TV leads to heart disease, docs say Another study showed that kids who watch two or more hours of TV a day start having sex earlier, according to a report in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers followed 4,808 students for a year. The kids — all ages 15 or younger — had never had sex at the beginning of the study. Among kids with parents who disapproved of teen sex, those who watched two or more hours of TV per day were 72 percent more likely to start having sex by the end of the study. The researchers said they weren’t surprised to find no TV effect among kids with parents who didn’t care about teen sex since those kids were at high risk of early sex anyway.

4. TV weakens your bones.  

Hours spent watching TV can set a kid up for later problems with brittle bones, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics. Until we hit 25 or so, we accumulate bone in a kind of savings account. The more bone we build when we’re younger, the less likely we are to develop the brittle-bone disease osteoporosis.

To see whether TV watching might impact kids’ bone growth, researchers followed 214 3-year-olds for four years. The children’s height and weight were checked every four months, along with their activity levels. At each checkup, parents were asked about their kids’ TV-viewing habits. The more TV kids watched, the less bone they grew, regardless of how active they were at other times.

5. TV makes you less engaging.
 

A recent study found that when the TV is on — even if it’s just in the background — parents interact less with their kids. To learn more about TV’s effects, researchers brought 51 infants and toddlers, each accompanied by a parent, to a university child study center, according to the report published Child Development. Parents and kids were observed for half an hour in a playroom without a TV and then for a half hour with the TV tuned to an adult program such as "Jeopardy!" When the TV was on, parents spent about 20 percent less time talking to their children. And when parents did pay attention to their kids, the quality of the interactions was lower: With a program on in the background, parents were less active, attentive and responsive to their youngsters.

Source:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35646508/ns/health-behavior/#.UFVj7KP90hs

How is a Collective Paradigm Created?

 

Take a look around at our world and you will notice something very quickly. We do a lot of things that we never question. It’s as if many of the actions we do are robotic or mechanical. We repeat things that our parents taught us and when we ask them why it’s done they don’t even know. We repeat things we see on TV, learn in books or see in a movie because it all seems so normal. But how did all of this come about? How is it that we are doing things and don’t even know why? I once read this story about an experiment done with monkeys and it accurately depicts what humans have been doing for hundreds of years. I will post it below so you can check it out for yourself.

Mind Paradigm Created

 

Think about it, doesn’t this sound exactly like what we do here? We do things because of things that may have happened years ago and don’t even apply to us anymore. We never ask or question why it’s like that because we find it easier to be robotic than to think outside the box. Or is it that we have been educated into  not thinking outside of the box? Either way you look at it, I think it’s time we start moving ourselves out of mechanical mode and into free thinking mode.

Source:  http://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/08/03/how-is-a-collective-paradigm-created/

The Story Of Positive Thinking

We have all heard the slogans. “Think Positive!”, “Expect only the best outcomes!”, “Strive to be happy”, “Avoid negativity!”, “Put more effort in your intentions!” “Find happiness in what you have” or “Be careful with your thoughts, think negative and you’ll attract negativity. Think positive and…” you know the drill. 

Positive thinking has become quite popular amongst spiritual communities and even in the business world. It is a concept that pairs up the truth of our creator essence, and the desire to attract riches, success, happiness, the ideal partner, or even spiritual enlightenment. Some believe that in order to get rid of what we don’t want while attracting what we do want, we must pretend that our desired reality is already in play while ignoring the current challenges. Even when it comes to global change, I often hear people say that we must avoid looking at what doesn’t work in our world because it will perpetuate negativity, or that we must even “believe” or “pretend” that all challenges have already been overcome.

But let’s tune into the underlined key words that are often paired with this concept. Think, expect, strive, effort, happiness, positive, negative, avoid, want, have, success, believe, pretend, ideal, riches… PHEW!! Sounds like quite the mental workout. But what about… not getting what we want? Who are we then? Did we fail? Are we now afraid to face a version of ourselves that does not match our expectations? Must we push even harder to try and stay positive? Or will we be pulled down into negativity and be forever lost?

Notice how agitated and demanding these thoughts and concepts feel in the body. Instead of allowing you to be as you are, they push you to act in a certain way, to force/avoid thoughts, to chase an “ideal”, to fear the “worst” case scenario… But thoughts create reality, right? You think what you want, you get what you want, is that it?

Sure, we can try to avoid or shape this moment all we want and believe that this is how you create your ‘ideal’ reality. But if we want to know what truly creates our reality, we must ask ourselves the right questions. What can’t we accept about this moment? What is the story behind our ideals? Must we constantly be in an effortful chase mode, want mode, pretend mode or faith mode to feel good about ourselves? Why can’t we feel at peace right here and right now?

The truth is, there can be a belief system or a suppressed emotional baggage behind our thoughts and desires. And THAT is what creates our experience. That is what ‘the secret’ won’t tell you. That is where we must inquire further.

• Why should we put so much effort in creating happiness? Is this our natural state? Or is it because we are we unhappy with ourselves when dropping all effort or with the idea of not getting to where we ‘want’ to be?
• Why should we hold on to so many expectations? Is this our natural state? Or is it because we would we be devastated when facing an outcome that would not match our expectations?
• Why must we find happiness in what we HAVE? Is this our natural state? Or is it because we cannot just be happy and at peace with what we ARE?
• Why should we attach ourselves to the ‘positive’ polarity? Is this our natural state? Or is this because we are holding judgment towards the opposite polarity and are afraid of facing hidden negative charges within us?

Notice how our minds have been programmed to avoid uncomfortable feelings. Many people will reach out for television, alcohol, partying, food or credit cards to avoid facing them. Positive thinking goes right in the list. It is just another way to focus ‘out there’ and not have to look at the feeling.

“An uncomfortable feeling is like a compassionate alarm clock that says, “You’re in the dream.” It’s time to inquire, that’s all. But if we don’t honor the alarm clock, then we try to alter and manipulate the feeling by reaching into an apparent external world.” – Byron Katie

Self-policing our way to “happiness” is no different than walking on eggshells. If we don’t get to reach our “happy happy” goal or emotional state, we then see ourselves as a failure and jump into an opposite polarity (e.g. sadness, dissapointment, frustration, depression). But does it really feel natural to live your life on such a fine line between highs and lows, between contentment and discontentment?

So let’s drop our ideas of polarity, of one being better than the other, and of the two being the only states that exist. Have you ever heard of peace? Not the “happy” or “satisfied” feeling of the ego having accomplished a goal or met an expectation, but the peace that holds no condition. The peace that underlies all of the mind’s illusory fears, identities, roles and belief systems. The peace that is who you already are.

Positive thinking, negative thinking, expectations, needs… all of these are simply effortful mind stories that pull us away from experiencing the only thing that is real: the totality and beauty of the present moment AS IT IS. As the tibetan saying goes, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path”. When we create such a strict path for ourselves and fill our minds with conditions, rules and expectations, we greatly narrow our possibilities to grow and experience the totality of what this moment has to offer. We strive towards a goal that we often set up only to avoid what could be our best teachers, the very personal challenges that we need to face for our own evolution.

And guess what happens when we try to avoid what challenges us? It keeps happening. The teachers keep coming, the button pushers keep poking, and the fire keeps burning until we get rid of our own gasoline.

The whole idea of positive thinking actually programs us to miss out on the beautiful lessons, healing and expansion that occurs when we allow ourselves to face the darkness and negative charges within us. It perpetuates the belief that the “negative” is to avoid and the “positive” is to praise, when in reality, both are equal experiences that the soul has been using to play, learn and finally discover that it is not defined by either. It is once we let go of our attachment to polarity, that we transmute them both back into peace.

“Staying positive is just as effortful and draining as staying negative. Both require maintenance. True inner-peace, however, needs no story or concept to maintain itself. Peace is who and what you already are.” 

Observe the image above. Who looks more free, limitless and at peace? The one who allows himself to experience the full spectrum of his environment, or the one who restricts himself to only a fine line? That right there should be enough to debunk the myth of “positive thinking”.

Breathe… let go… and just BE!

“I went through that stage where I forced myself to be happy all the time. But when I actually gave up on it, that is when I found peace.” – Anonymous

Love,
Elina 

Source:  http://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/08/03/the-story-of-positive-thinking/

¿Qué hace la televisión con nosotros? (http://www.luventicus.org)

¿Qué hace la televisión con nosotros? Elementos para educar en una actitud crítica frente a la televisión

Por Juan Marcelo Pardo

7 de mayo de 2003

Quien informa tiene el poder Los tiempos que corren podrían ser definidos como la era de la información. El estar informado se considera algo muy importante, casi una necesidad básica. Las personas que no tienen acceso a los medios de comunicación (TV, radio, diarios y revistas, Internet) quedan excluidas de la sociedad o ven notablemente disminuidas sus posibilidades de realización. Los medios de comunicación social (MCS), especialmente la televisión, son poderosos formadores de opinión, transmisores de ideas, valores y contravalores. Esta capacidad, sumada a su extraordinario alcance y a la gran velocidad con que realizan su labor, los transforma en herramientas capaces de conducir a pueblos enteros. Quien es dueño de un medio de comunicación, tiene el poder de forjar la conciencia de muchas personas. La televisión como herramienta para la manipulación Los MCS, cuya función debería ser la de informar y transmitir la verdad, pueden convertirse en manipuladores de la opinión pública cuando quienes los conducen comunican deliberadamente verdades a medias o falsedades. De hecho, los medios son usados para dirigir los sentimientos y las opciones de los telespectadores, oyentes, lectores y cibernautas. La mejor manera de evitar la manipulación de los MCS es enseñar cómo ellos influyen sobre nosotros y ejercitar nuestro juicio crítico ante lo que nos transmiten. Analicemos, por ejemplo, el caso de los efectos negativos de la televisión. Efectos sobre la mente de los telespectadores Ver televisión no requiere un esfuerzo mental especial, a diferencia de la lectura, por ejemplo. No implica esfuerzo por aprender, ni habilidad para adquirir: no exige inteligencia. Las personas se sientan frente al televisor, no como lectores se ponen frente a un libro —lo que requeriría un esfuerzo—, sino como espectadores, con una actitud totalmente pasiva. Las imágenes se ofrecen sin que el telespectador haga ningún esfuerzo, no requieren capacidad reflexiva o analítica alguna. Frente al televisor estamos por debajo del estado de alerta normal en una persona. Por otro lado, tener la vista fija produce un estado cercano al trance, como de ensoñación. (Esto ha sido demostrado haciendo mediciones de la actividad eléctrica cerebral.) Por eso es que no filtramos la información y quedamos expuestos a la manipulación. La acción de los estímulos recibidos desde la pantalla, y las sensaciones por ellos generadas en las áreas más profundas del cerebro, pueden producir estados de euforia o de temor, de alegría o de tristeza, placenteros o depresivos, sin que las personas que los viven sepan por qué se producen. La imagen televisiva entra en la mente de manera subliminal, es decir, sin ser percibida conscientemente.  Efectos sociales y psicológicos La televisión influye poderosamente sobre los espectadores, configurando su personalidad. Predispone, condiciona, y genera actitudes, conductas, formas de pensar, gustos, costumbres y modas. Por eso es que ejerce su influencia especialmente sobre la cultura infantil y la juvenil. La personalidad de un niño o de un adolescente no se conforma de la misma manera viendo o no televisión.  Nuestro lenguaje sufre hoy un empobrecimiento considerable. El mismo está fuertemente asociado a la acción de la televisión. Los personajes que siguen nuestros niños y adolescentes no son personas formadas. Mediante una palabra intentan expresar lo que normalmente necesitaría de una o más frases para ser expresado. Por ejemplo, en Argentina, es muy común escuchar a los adolescentes decir que algo «Está joya», queriendo decir que «es algo de muy buena calidad».  La televisión crea una personalidad dispuesta sólo a recibir cosas, sin cuestionarlas. Esto, a su vez, repercute en otras esferas de la vida, reforzando la tendencia a la pasividad, pues quita tiempo al ejercicio físico, las relaciones humanas, la lectura y otras actividades que exigen iniciativa. Sin quererlo, los niños y los jóvenes van adquiriendo la preferencia por una vida hecha. Si se acostumbran a presionar un botón y que todo les llegue terminado, se habitúan a recibir las cosas de segunda mano, sin verse obligados a realizar el esfuerzo de producirlas por ellos mismos. Como consecuencia de esto, se paran ante la vida como lo haría un espectador. Podríamos decir que siempre se cumple esta regla: Más tiempo frente al televisor, menos capacidad de iniciativa. También está comprobado que, cuando los niños pasan mucho tiempo frente al televisor, se vuelven menos espontáneos y más inestables anímicamente, como si hubieran sufrido la amputación de su capacidad de vivir emociones auténticas y profundas. La televisión atrofia la sensibilidad. Los niños y jóvenes son cada vez menos capaces de entablar relaciones interpersonales cargadas de verdadero afecto.   Hoy somos menos comunicativos que en tiempos pasados. Nunca el hombre ha estado tan informado y de un modo tan rápido, casi inmediato. Pero tampoco ha estado nunca tan incomunicado. La televisión, los video-juegos y las computadoras producen niños y jóvenes aislados del mundo que los rodea, incapaces de comunicarse. La televisión, el más fantástico medio de comunicación social, es también el mayor medio de incomunicación familiar. (No es lo mismo comunicarse que compartir un espacio físico.)  La  televisión alienta la propensión al consumo. Estamos amaestrados para el consumo. Los niños llegan a ser leales y entusiastas consumidores de un producto determinado. Los niños no sólo asedian a sus padres con el fin de consumir determinado producto sino que llegan hasta el extremo enfermizo de decir: «Papá, compráme algo.» No importa qué, pero algo. Las personas ya no se interesan por el producto sino por el acto de consumir.    Hoy, en la Posmodernidad, padecemos una nueva enfermedad: la teleadicción o síndrome de adicción televisiva. Pasar frente al televisor, la computadora o los video-juegos tres horas por día produce una adicción tan fuerte como el consumo del tabaco o las drogas. Hay personas que llegan al punto de depender tanto de la televisión cuanto de los alimentos. Y pierden el contacto directo con la realidad. Lo real pasa a ser lo televisado, no la experiencia personal. Para los adictos a la televisión, las cosas no son verdaderamente reales mientras no las hayan pasado por ese medio. Viven una verdadera esclavitud. Y si se los priva de la televisión, aparecen los síntomas de la abstinencia: la depresión, el aburrimiento, la irascibilidad, la angustia, etc. Estas personas llegan a pensar, a amar, a odiar, a rechazar, a aplaudir, a vestirse y a comportarse según lo que han aprendido por televisión.    ¿No vemos en los patios de las escuelas a nuestros niños un poco más violentos, con conductas violentas reiteradas? Los siguientes datos nos dan una idea clara de la violencia que transmite la televisión: los niños ven cada semana un promedio de 670 homicidios, 15 secuestros, 848 peleas, 420 tiroteos, 8 suicidios, 20 escenas eróticas, 30 casos de tortura y 18 casos de drogadicción. En 18 horas de programación se ven 1846 actos de violencia. Está comprobado que la violencia televisiva contribuye a formar conductas agresivas. Un medio que muestra acciones violentas, las desencadena. La televisión nos anestesia y terminamos tomando como normales actos de pura violencia. Elementos para analizar una publicidad Los efectos nocivos de la televisión no son producidos exclusivamente por los programas que se emiten: un rol importante lo juegan los espacios de publicidad. A continuación se presenta una guía básica para analizar un aviso o propaganda. Siguiéndola se podrá descubrir el mensaje que la misma transmite y los medios de que se vale para hacerlo. 1 ¿Qué se ve en el anuncio? (Prestar atención a todo: paisajes, personas, leyendas, objetos, etc.)   2 ¿Qué producto se quiere vender?   3 ¿Cuál es su marca?   4 ¿Cuáles son las palabras que se destacan más y cuáles menos? Entre palabras e imágenes, ¿qué es lo que más se destaca?   5 ¿A quién va dirigido el anuncio? (Nivel económico-social-cultural, edad, sexo)   6 ¿Cómo está hecho el anuncio? ¿De qué forma? (Tener en cuenta cuatro cosas: el "enganche", utilizado para atraer de inmediato la atención; las líneas visuales que dan realce al producto (color, postura de los personajes); el nombre del producto, que se destaca de las demás letras; los argumentos que se esgrimen para vender el producto: placer, poder, fama, prestigio, autodominio, dinero, etc.)   7 ¿A qué apunta la propaganda? (Algo que el consumidor no tiene y desea: sensualidad, conquista del otro sexo, poder, dinero, tranquilidad, etc.)   8 ¿Qué soluciones ofrece para esas carencias? (Teniendo el producto se puede ser feliz: en lo sexual, por su carga erótica, varonil, femenina, de atractivo, de fuerza o de placer; en el amor, por su condición maternal, paternal, por su ternura o su bondad; obteniendo seguridad, a través de la riqueza, el dominio, la salud, la decisión, el poder, el prestigio o el éxito; obteniento reconocimiento, siendo más agradable, distinguido, alegre, bello u original, y logrando así un mejor status social)   9 ¿Sobre qué necesidades profundas del potencial consumidor se apoya el mensaje?   10 ¿Qué ideal de mujer o de hombre se encuentran implícitos en el mensaje? Fuente: http://www.luventicus.org/articulos/03R007/index.html