Critical Book Review Of Charles Payne Book History Essay

Critical Book Review Of Charles Payne Book History Essay Charles M. Paynes book Ive Got the Light of Freedom is a wonderfully written book. Payne describes the civil rights struggle African Americans faced during the 20th century especially in Greenwood, Mississippi. Paynes underlying focus is that of the strong tradition of organizing against oppression African Americans had. It is seen throughout the entirety of the book. One in particular was the Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee activism in Greenwood during the 1960s. He explains that the movement of the 1960s was not the only one of its kind. Many people today believe that movement for racial equality in democracy and schools for African Americans only became possible because of the actions of Martin Luther King and the NAACP in the 1960s. They were of course very effective and participated but were not the only reason African Americans began to see change. Ive Got the Light of Freedom, layouts in detail that there was no sudden change and it was a long fought effort. Instead of being a just decade of activism, it was more of slow construction of multiple decades made possible by previous African American activist that created the foundation possible for change. Payne was able to do all of this beautifully. Ive Got the Light of Freedom, was great because it explained the influence elder activist had and explained in detail key aspects of the Mississippi Freedom movement. Both are very interesting and essential to the improvement of equality African Americans were able to see during the 20th century. The theme of building upon the past was a great aspect of the book. He did this by describing the importance of elder activist and how they shaped the Mississippi Freedom movement. This is seen in the beginning of the book which was very essential to the overall base of the book. In the first four chapters Payne explained how elder activist laid out the ground work. Some of these African American icons were Medgar Evers, Amzie Moore, Aaron Henry, Ella Baker, Septima Clark, and Myles Horton. Payne was able to correlate how all of these people played a huge role laying the brickwork. One example was the formation of the Council of Federated Organizations (Payne, pg 62). COFO was organized in an order to create a unified unit so that a meeting with Governor Ross Barnett could be established. Payne writes, COFO became the organizational vehicle that allowed the younger activist to exploit the networks built at such cost by the older ones. Had the veteran Mississippi activist, with their credibility and contacts, taken the stance toward the other groups that the national organization consistently took, the movement of the sixties would have had more difficulty establishing itself (Payne, pg. 62) Further more Payne also used a quote from Lawrence Guyot, a SNCC field secretary that stated without people like Amzie Moore contacts and help would not of been possible (Payne, pg. 62). All of this explains to the reader the power and influence the older generation of activist had. This is incredibly informative necessary when explain the true movements of African Americans during the 20th century. Another example would be the importance of schools like the Highlander. The Highlander was cofounded by Myles Horton. In the 1950s the school became a meeting and training center for all people active in the civil rights movement (Payne, pg. 70). One of the major characteristics about this school was that it went against all state laws. The Highlanders was an interracial school that pushed egalitarian living (Payne, pg.70). The Highlander trained many well-known activists such as Rosa Parks, E.D. Nixon, and Diane Nash of SNCC (Payne, pg.71). One can understand more clearly how the students of SNCC were able to work with White Americans in Greenwood after their mentors had done so previously at the Highlander. Furthermore Highlander would incorporate soul music which would stick with members that attended and help bring a voice to the oppression in the South. The constant push for community early on really keeps the reader stuck in the book. Ella Baker was another one of these activis ts that arguable had the largest impact on organizations like SNCC. Baker was considered a radical democrat and constantly insisted on organizations to not be formed in the NAACP mold. For instance an organization that would hear all voices and also help develop leaders, instead of bossing around members (Payne, 101). This was seen early on my Ms. Baker while backing up Citizenship Schools that would try and get more African Americans to register for voting. Payne however explained the importance all of these civil rights leaders had for SNCC and all movements in the 1960s best. The SNCC organizers who started working in the most feared counties in the Deep South in 1961 and 1962 had to learn a great deal quickly but they were not starting from scratch. They were heirs to a complex intellectual legacy shaped by older people whose thinking had been informed by lifetimes of practical experience, a legacy reaching at least far back as Miss Bakers grandfathers farm (Payne, pg. 102). All of these activist played huge roles and Payne is able to give a voice to these heroes. Another amazing aspect of this book was the Paynes immense detail of almost every aspect of the movement. This was seen in the media, nonviolent aspect, and the skillful use of the government. He is able to easily explain how everything worked during the sixties and some tactics used. With pressure from activist around the country, the Civil Rights Bill was passed in 1964. Activist realized that the only way to see change was to test the bill at local level (Payne, pg 319). This was headed by the NAACP which was at the forefront after SNCCs success. Payne writes, In some cases, they made it virtually impossible for merchants to conduct their normal business. They would go to the Holiday Inn, for example, just before noon and take up all the seats. They didnt get served, but no whites could be served either (Payne, pg. 320) All of this began to show progress because by the end of the year all business were at least trying to look like they were abiding the law (Payne, pg. 320). Anothe r tactic was a complete hold out of businesses. This was seen all over and became very successful. The activist gave the businesses the choice to either be racist and stay segregated or go out of business completely. Mass meetings were another fascinating aspect of the civil rights movement. Mass meetings, which had the overall tone and structure of a church service, were grounded in the religious traditions and the esthetic sensibilities of the Black South (Payne, pg. 256) The implementation of music at meetings motivated activist and kept them strong through the tough times. Payne puts the lyrics of the some songs throughout the book which add a great touch. Paynes acute attention to detail never disrupted the smooth informative flow of Ive Got the Light of Freedom. When looking at Charles M. Paynes Ive Got the Light of Freedom, one cannot find any flaws. This book was able to bring the struggle of African Americans in the south into full spectrum. While focusing on the Mississippi freedom struggle during sixties Payne was able to inform the reader on many aspects. For instance why there was a sudden surge of success in activism in the sixties. One now knows that it was actually a snowball effect. A struggle by activist like Medgar Evers, Ella Jo Baker, Septima Clark, Myles Horton, Amzie Moore, etc who had been fight well before the sixties. They would use their knowledge and help guide organizations such as SNCC so that the momentum of the movement would grow stronger. Through this development of leaders and transformation into an everyone has a voice system progress would be made. All of this was complemented perfectly with Paynes detail of tactics and pretty much every aspect of the movement. Ive Got the Light of Freedom, an amazing book and should be read by all. It teaches the reader that progress and change is not at sprint but a marathon that can be won.

How is fear and stress created in Journey’s End? Essay

The play Journey’s End is based upon the author R. C. Sherriff’s experiences during the First World War, after being seriously injured in the battle of Passchendaele in 1917 Sherriff began to write the play reflecting the way he and his comrades lived through the trench warfare. The play was written in 1928; just ten years after Sherriff had experienced the war. He is known for many other plays, novels and film scripts although it is for Journey’s End that he is most well known. The characters have to cope somehow with the remarkable amount of anxiety which is thrown at them from the war, so Sherriff provides the audience with how the characters in the play handle their stress. Captain Stanhope, the commanding officer of the company, is referred to by the other men as ‘the best company commander [they’ve] got’ then again, from the pressure of being involved in the World War Stanhope has put himself in such a situation that could make the audience’s possible reaction ambiguous. Firstly, the audience could refer to Stanhope as being an unstable character because of how Osborne describes him as being a potential ‘freak show exhibit’, although this has been said before Stanhope has been introduced into the play. So, afterwards when he is described as ‘his experience alone makes him worth a dozen men’ this is a positive way of referring to Stanhope but this image of him could be destroyed if he carries on with his habit of drinking. Sherriff could have decided to make the character of Stanhope become a drinker so the audience can recognise that even the most important and successful man in any situation can have their weaknesses, so becoming important in an occupation does not mean to have no flaws and to perform with utter perfection. Not all the characters react in the same way however, Osborne had been reading an unusual book for his age and Trotter has scornful reactions to the book by saying ‘Alice in Wonderland – why, that’s a kid’s book! ‘ Although, Sherriff may have chosen this book for Osborne because the contrasts of the cheerful and high spirited book with the horrific experiences of the World War creates an oxymoron for how the major differences between the two help Osborne balance out the severity of War with the bliss from the children’s book. The point of having a children’s book for Osborne could define his character by representing that he is quite like a child himself; although he is not juvenile he can show aspects of vulnerability, also in a conversation with Stanhope about worms Osborne shows he has an imagination like a child because he is empathising what life could be like for a worm, ‘When it’s going down I suppose the blood runs to his head and makes it throb. ‘ Having Osborne reading a book like Alice in Wonderland might make the audience feel a protective towards Osborne since he is acting in some ways like a defenceless child.

Brain Structures involved in Risk-Taking

Evolutionarily speaking, humans, as a species, may long have possessed a risk-taking personality (Zuckerman, 2000). Being risk-takers, our ancestors have been able to survive and pass on their genes to their offspring. Their primary means of survival, which is hunting for wild animals for food, and also their means for propagating their genes, mating, are examples of risky behaviors manifested by humans of centuries ago. However, despite our innate nature of being risk-takers, individuals differ in their levels of risk-taking trait, believed to be a function of heredity.According to Zuckerman (2000), the sensation-seeking trait which encapsulates the risk-taking behaviors, is 60% genetic –higher than the average, which points to 30% to 50%. But aside from genetics, he also mentioned that other factors which might affect a person’s level of risk-taking are the biochemistry of neurotransmitter systems and the structure and function of the brain. Brain structures There has been a significant amount of research covering the relationship of various areas of the brain with risk-taking behavior.Most of them have identified particular brain structures as being connected with the persistence of risky behavior in humans. The primary structures that have been identified are located in the Frontal and Parietal lobes, suggesting the involvement of working memory and imagery in the selection process, respectively. Risks were found to produce higher activation than certain alternatives in both of these lobes (Gonzalez et. al. , 2005). This indicates that considerably more cognitive effort is involved in the selection of a risky gain than that of a guaranteed one.In particular, structures such as the: (1) inferior pre-frontal cortex (Paulus et al. , 2001), (2) nucleus accumbens, (3) orbital frontal cortex, (4) the insula (Critchley et al. , 2001), (5) the ventrolateral and ventromedial frontal cortices (Elliott et al. , 1999; Rogers et al. , 1999; Elliott et al. , 2000), (6) the amygdala (Trepel, et al. , 2005), (6) the anterior cingulate cortex (Elliott et al. , 2000), and the (6) parietal cortex (Paulus et al. , 2001) have been reported to be activated in studies on risk-taking.The pre-frontal cortex, located in the frontal lobe, was found to affect the estimation of future outcomes and appraisal of risky choices. Significant prefrontal activation was observed in many other risk-taking studies (Ernst et al. , 2002; Paulus et al. , 2003; Krain et al. , 2006; Van Leijenhorst et al. , 2006). The dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex, in particular, was found to be responsible for a person’s ability to plan for future actions –a required step in a decision-making task under a risky situation. On the other hand, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex has another specific function in decision-making under risk.This area of the brain is activated when the person faced with a risky decision-making task anticipates losses in the said task (Tre pel, et al. , 2005). However, this area may be less influential than another area identified, the nucleus accumbens (located in the brainstem), in terms of evaluating reward (Galvan et. al. , 2006). This area of the brain was found to be correlated with subsequent risk-taking behaviors since the activation of the nucleus accumbens is consistent with the idea that risk-taking behavior may be reinforcing.This is due to the findings that anticipation of risky outcomes activates reward-related systems (Kuhnen & Knutson, 2005). The amygdala, on the other hand, is also responsible for emotion and learning (Trepel, et al. , 2005). It is one of the areas that influence reward processing in risk-taking tasks (Steinberg, 2007). According to Trepel (2005), people who have lesions in this structure are more prone to choose the option which entails more risk.This is because the amygdala is shown to be an essential structure in the anticipation of losses in a risky decision-making situation. The right insula was observed to have significantly stronger activation in subjects who selected a risky response in a risky-gains task. In addition, the degree of activation of the insula was correlated to the probability of selecting a safe response after a punished response. The degree of harm avoidance and neuroticism of the subjects’ affected the activation of the insula as well (Paulus et. al. , 2003). Objectives of the StudyThis research study aims to demonstrate the differences in activation in the brain structures of people from different developmental stages and genders while perceiving or engaging in a risky behavior using an fMRI imaging technique. Also, the participants’ risk-taking behaviors will be assessed through a scale and the results will then be compared with those of the results of the fMRI scan. The researchers would also like to determine if there are certain brain structures that have developed further because of individuals heightened tendency to engage in risky decision-making.It is hypothesized that results of this experiment will be similar to the findings of the previous researches, that the prefrontal cortex and other associated regions would be the areas responsible for risky decision-making. Also, it is assumed that there would be differences based on the participants’ ages, when it comes to risk-taking trait and that these differences would also manifest in the development of the certain brain parts responsible for their behavior. For the people assessed as risk-takers, those areas that are responsible for their increase in risk-taking behavior are more developed than the other parts of the brain.METHODOLOGY Participants A total of 18 participants will take part in this experiment. This will comprise of six adolescents (age 7-11), six young adults (age 21-29) and six middle-aged adults (age 38-50). Each group will be further composed of three males and three females. Adolescents are defined as participants age d 7 to 11, while adults are those aged 23-29. Subjects would be screened to make sure that they have no history of neurological or psychiatric disorder. Adolescent participants will be volunteers from the Psych 101 subject pool while the adult participants will be volunteers from internet advertisements sent by the researchers.Participants below 18 years old would be required to have their parents’ consent before participating. Materials Cognitive Appraisals of Risky Events Scale (CARE). The CARE is a 30-item self-report measure that consists of six factor-analytically derived scales that represent six categories of risk-taking behavior (Fromme, Katz, & Rivet, 1997; Appendix B). Its scales involve (1) Illicit Drug Use, (2) Aggressive/Illegal Behaviors, (3) Risky Sexual Activities, (4) Heavy Drinking, (5) High Risk Sports, and (6) Academic/Work Behaviors.The CARE uses a seven point Likert scale (1=not at all likely; 7=extremely likely) to rate three types of outcome expectanci es: (1) Expected Risk (ER) or likelihood of a negative consequence, (2) Expected Benefit (EB) or likelihood of a positive consequence, and (3) Expected Involvement (EI) or the likelihood of engaging in the activity in the next six months. The CARE has also been used to assess participation in prior risk-taking behavior (Katz et al. , 2000). Risk Perception Questionnaire.The risk perception questionnaire will measure the risk perception or the perceived adverse consequence and risk preference which describes whether one believes the benefits inherent in an activity outweigh the costs, or vice versa (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). Along with the CARE, participants will be asked to rate the risk involved in engaging to these behaviors. For each scenario, the participants will be asked to provide a rating from 1 to 7: (1) If you did this activity, how scary are the things that could happen?(1 = Risks are not scary at all; 7 = Risks are very scary); (2) If you did this activity, how much ar e you at risk for something bad happening? (1 = I would be very much at risk; 7 = I would not be at risk); (3) How would you compare the benefits (or pleasures) of this activity with the risks (1 = Risks much greater than the benefits; 4 = Risks equal the benefits; 7 = Benefits are much greater than the risks); (4) If something bad happened because of this activity, how serious would it be? (1 = Not at all serious; 7 = Very serious).The higher the ratings for each scenario would mean higher risk and risk perception for the behavior to elicit. Procedure – Pretest The aim of the pretest is to come up with one highly representative scenario for each of the six domains of risky behaviors used in the study of Fromme, et al (1997). After consolidating as much scenarios possible of risk taking in coordination with the domains from literature, the researchers will administer a pretest mechanism to figure out which scenario to use for the fMRI part of the experiment.A very brief prete st form will be given to the participants asking the scenarios that come to mind when they imagine each of the six domains. The question for the preliminary form will be very direct and open-ended in questioning. This pretest sheet will be administered to at least 50 adolescents, 30 young adults, and 30 middle-aged adults – different from the pool that the researchers will use for the fMRI part. Once all data are consolidated, the researchers will determine the central themes that are used to depict any of the six domains.The central themes that come up will be used as the scenarios that will be read aloud for the participant when they become asked to appraise different risk-taking situation during the fMRI task. Procedure – Experiment A brief introduction to the research will be given to the participants. The participants will then be asked to fill up a written consent form. The participants will be asked to be tested in the Clinical Neuropsychology Research. They wil l be led to a private room and, after giving out informed consent and completing a demographic questionnaire.When the participant enters the experiment area, he or she will be asked to complete the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events Scale (CARE) (Fromme, Katz & Rivet, 1997) with the Risk Perception Questionnaire. The participants will be asked to rate the following factors: Risky Sexual Behavior, Heavy Drinking, Illicit Drug Use, Aggressive and Illegal Behaviors, Irresponsible Academic/Work Behaviors and High Risk Sports in terms of expected risk, expected benefit and expected frequency of behavior. After the pen and paper part of the experiment, the participants will then be asked to schedule an fMRI.They will be asked their contact numbers so that the researches can remind them of the schedule for their interviews. The researchers will ensure that confidentiality and anonymity will be granted for the participants of the experiment. During the fMRI session proper, the researchers will explain thoroughly the process that they will go under. Each participant will be asked to take off all metal accessories that they may have because it might disrupt the data that will be collected by the machine, both seen at the Appendix at the end of this proposal.They will also be asked to wear a hospital gown when they go under the fMRI machine. They will be instructed that they must avoid movement because it might also disrupt the data that would be collected. Once inside the fMRI machine, the researchers along with licensed medical practitioners will give instructions to the participant via microphone in an adjacent room filled with the controls for the machine. The researchers will narrate the scenarios which were found to be most fitting according to the pretest and then ask the participants to think of what they will do in those situations.So that the researchers are assured that the participants will really appraise the tasks, they will be told that they must know the ir answers fully after being inside the machine because they will be asked to explain them to a panel. They will also be given two minutes for each situation to think about what they will do. Six situations will be presented, each will reflect the domains of risk-taking as provided by literature. During the time given for them to think, the machine will take images of their brain.As what research claims as optimal (Horwitz, 2000), images will be taken 2-3 mm apart for every 5-7 seconds to maximize spatial and temporal resolution respectively. This aims to see which brain areas are used when thinking about what they would do in risky situations. After the images of brain activation are taken using the fMRI, the participants will be briefed fully on the nature of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, the data from both the questionnaire and the fMRI images will then be assessed for analysis.The researchers will try to determine whether the results from the self-report translat e to the activation of certain brain parts that have been found to take part in the decision making process of risk taking and appraisal. The areas that the researchers will look out for are orbito-frontal cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens. The insula, the ventrolateral and ventromedial frontal cortices, the anterior cingulated cortex and the parietal cortex. Supporting structures like the calcarine sulcus, precuneus, thalamus, cingulated gyrus and superior temporal gyrus will also be closely observed for activation in the brain image.The data will then be compared to the responses of the participants in the CARE scale and the Risk Perception Questionnaire. The cumulative score of each participant should correspond to the brain areas that are hypothesized to be related to the decision making processes involved in risk taking behaviors like the prefrontal cortex (for estimation of future outcome), the nucleus accumbens (for the activation of reward-related system d uring risky-gains situation), the right insula (for harm avoidance and risk appraisal).

An Outlook On Social Media - 2812 Words

Victoria Cifarelli An Outlook on Social Media: The Positive and Negative Social media has significantly impacted the lives of many individuals as well as the world in its entirety both negatively and positively. Throughout current times, it has been evident that technology and the concept of social media has become a significant aspect of everyday life. According to Merriam Webster, social media can be best defined as â€Å"forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content such as videos† (Social Media). It is continuing to evolve in its complexity and popularity on a daily basis. Social media is a technological advancement that can be seen as the primary source of communication today. It acts as an influence on how the way individuals think and act as well as how different parts of the world communicate with each other. This aspect of technology gives us the ability to send or share, personal or public messages such as pictures, videos, text messages, a nd telephone calls. Some of the applications that can perform these actions include: ï‚ § Facebook ï‚ § Twitter ï‚ § Instagram ï‚ § Pinterest ï‚ § Tumblr ï‚ § Vine ï‚ § YouTube There is much controversy over how advantageous and disadvantageous these forms of social media are in society. Social media gives us access to a decent amount of information. It gives us access into the lives of many individuals. Social media also gives insight into not what isShow MoreRelatedSocial Media Influences On Politics And World Outlook1804 Words   |  8 PagesHow the Social Media Influences Society’s Relationship/views on Politics and/or World Outlook Social media is everyday and everywhere. It’s hard to imagine today’s world without social media or social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 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