The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder A research framework

Article Summary The paper presents a sociological theory on the cause of a steady mental disorder. Although the evidences in support of the theory are based on previous formulations, Scheff develops a precise sociological theory that attempts to explain the cause and path of a stable mental disorder.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Using the concepts of the social institution of insanity, residual deviance, the societal responsibility of the individual with mental illness, and the divergence of the societal response such as denial and labeling, Scheff constructs a theory of mental disorder in which the psychiatric signs are thought of as violations of social norms, and stable â€Å"mental illness† to be a social role (Scheff, 1999). Essential to this theory are 9 proposals that require e xperimental processes. By restricting the forms of behavior that are to be covered, by basing the paper on previous findings, and by applying an entirely sociological approach (such as the theory of residual deviance), the author proposes a methodology in which the dynamics of mental disorder take place within the system consisting of the person exhibiting deviant behavior and those responding to it. According to the theory designed here, the basis for the initiation, maintenance and end of the deviant conduct referred to as mental disorder are parts of the social system, and cannot be separated, hence, from endopsychic forms of behavior. Fat is a Sociological Issue: Obesity rates in late modern, ‘bodyconscious’  societies This paper surveys the factors involved in the current spiraling of obesity rates in the contemporary society, focusing both upon the causes of the high prevalence rates and its effects. Crossley contends that rates of obesity have risen rapidly in the last two decades, causing some people to talk of an imminent crisis and compelling governments and health institution to react (Crossley, 2004). Many studies in the sociology of the body are centered on the social belief that certain ‘bodies’ are more acceptable than others, for example, slimness, fitness, and good health are socially acceptable practices. Proof of this assertion exists in the steadily rising number of health clubs in the UK and the corresponding number of subscriptions in the last decade.Advertising Looking for report on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another trend that exists next to exercise is that of dieting. Diet books are among bestseller listings, besides, food consumption in response to recommended diets are very significant. A large number of persons ascribe to weight watching clubs and associations, known as ‘body-conscious society’ (Crossley, 2004). B ody fat affects the BMI and a value of 20 -25 BMI value is deemed normal, a value less than 20 is deemed underweight while a value of 25-30 is considered overweight, with a value greater than 30 considered obese. Obesity varies with age, and narrowly with age and social class, with women at a higher risk of becoming obese. Due to the social concern, the author contends that the steadily rising rate of obesity is a social fact. This is evidenced in two ways, first, the statistics relating to obesity are normally given in societal perspectives, for example, obesity varies between individuals, and across societies, that is, it is a social variable. Secondly, the causative agent for the variation of obesity rates is social. Individual differences in levels of obesity, biological or psychosomatic, cannot be used to explicate on the variations in obesity rates. There are two broad causes of obesity: lifestyle and modernity. We do less physical exercise, live a sedentary lifestyle and use several labor saving appliances at home and at work, consumption of high-calorie foods has increased both in frequency and quantity. It worthy to note that social changes leading to a rise in obesity are related to class and gender variations, this is proven by the fact that obesity is lower among the lower class. The latter sections of the paper attempts to explain the relation between body and society and how fluctuations of the rate of obesity affect the society (illness and early death). This paper targets a general population, especially one that is at a higher risk of becoming obese. This is derived from the fact that it informs of the causative agents of obesity and prevention. It may also be useful to sociologists trying to understand the link between body and the society. Fat Ethics’ – The Obesity Discourse and Body Politics The paper examines how facts about obesity are presented and availed to the public, and the ethical concerns arising from the public†™s comprehension of obesity. Public understanding of obesity is frequently based on various sources of information that focus of cause and prevention of the disease, however, other health problems such as cancer do not receive similar coverage on the public domain, particularly relating to the ethical and moral elements.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Information availed to the public on the ‘obesity epidemic ’ through various media focuses on the grave effects of being obese, the scientific facts about obesity are restated to give authority and sureness to the allegations of the growing rates of the ‘epidemic’ (Rich Evans, 2005). In their attempts to give a grim picture of obesity, these reporters often err, for example, the link between weight, size, and health is not as significant as we are led to believe. It is obvious that obesity is a grave public concern with epidemic proportions, caused by failure to partake in physical exercises, consumption of fast foods, and alterations in our diets. While these are non-debatable scientifically proven facts, they are loaded with philosophies and cultural ideas about how we view ‘fatness’. A key characteristic arising from the obesity presentation is the weight accorded to ‘thinness’ and ‘weight loss’ as unanimously good. This belief arises from the perceived association between weight and health, the association far more complex as compared to the presentations in various media. Another discourse on obesity is on the morality of the body. Numerous reports take a communitarian approach that views the body as in need of protection. A communitarian approach has traditionally related harm to society not on individualistic terms, but by ‘rates of incidenceà ¢â‚¬â„¢ of some trend, for example, obesity is associated with persons of a particular social class. Such a presentation leads to the notion that our body is in need of protection from thee government, businesses and the broad social forces. There are some discourses, however, that take a more humanistic view to weight, shape and value the range of body sizes, for example, a person may be fat and healthy. This discourse has gained acceptance widely after studies showed that obesity is not linked to excess mortality. However, these alternative views take a lower position. Because of the media discourse in the public arena, people overestimate their vulnerability to certain health condition and this may create a moral panic that stimulates disordered connections with food and body. This paper mainly targets persons who are obese or have obese children, relatives, or friends. Persons who give significant weight to the weight-health connection as it informs the reader that the connectio n is not as simple as thought. The paper enables a deeper understanding of the social nature of obesity and public discourses related to it. Connection between Body and Mind The main article presents a sociological approach to mental disorder (mind) while the two supplementary readings present a sociological approach to obesity (body). The two sets of papers increases an understanding of the connection between body and mind.Advertising Looking for report on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While the sociological theory used on the first paper focuses on mental disorder, the theories adopted in the other two papers explain the phenomenon of obesity, drawing on various sources to explain the social aspect of obesity, that is, how it affects and is perceived by the society. The theory of residual deviance attempts to explain the cause and path of a stable mental disorder, integrating purely sociological elements to present a methodology that explains the perceived link between mental disorder and the society’s response to it. The other two readings also adopt a similar approach to explain the link between society and (social groups) and obesity. The first paper informs us that norms that arise from social systems, or are considered significant by social systems, such as labeling of mental disorder as deviant behavior, are hard to eliminate. Reading the two papers, we observe a similar trend that pits social beliefs, such as weight-health connection, against scient ific evidence that shows the two are not necessarily related. References Crossley, N. (2004). Fat is a Sociological Issue: Obesity rates in late modern, ‘bodyconscious’ societies. Social Theory Health, 3(2):222–253. Rich, E. Evans, J. (2005). Fat Ethics: The obesity discourse and body politics. Social  Theory Health, 3(4): 341-358. Scheff, T.J. (1999) The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework, in Traub, S.H. Little, C.B. (Eds), Theories of Deviance. State University of New York at Cortland, NYC, pp. 397-415. This report on The role of the mentally ill and the dynamics of mental disorder: A research framework was written and submitted by user Sage Rose to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. 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Levinsons Seasons of Man

Levinsons Seasons of Man IntroductionBackgroundIn May of 1977, Daniel Levinson constructed a model of the season's of a mans life. His developmental theory consists of universal stages or phases that extends from the infancy state to the elderly state. Most development theories, such as Freud's psychosexual development theory or Piaget's cognitive development theory, end in the adolescent stage of life. Levinson's stage theory is important because it goes beyond most theories assuming that development continues throughout adult life.Levinson based his model on biographical interviews of 40 American men. These 40 men were between 35 to 45 years in age and they worked as either biology professors, novelists, business executives or industrial laborers. The biographical interviews lasted one or two hours and ranged from six to ten interviews for each subject. The questions asked focused on the subject's life accounts in their post adolescent years. The interviews focused on topics such as the men's background (e ducation, religion, political beliefs) and major events or turning points in their lives.Ambassador Visit to the Weizmann InstituteLevinson's concept of life structure (the men's socio-cultural world, their participation in their world and various aspects of themselves) is the major component in Levinson's theory. The life structure for each person evolves through the developmental stages as people's age.Two key concepts in Levinson's model are the stable period and the transitional period in a person's development. The stable period is the time when a person makes crucial choices in life, builds a life structure around the choices and seeks goals within the structure. The transitional period is the end of a person's stage and the beginning of a new stage.Levinson's model contains five main stages. They are the pre-adulthood stage (age 0 - 22), the early adulthood stage (age 17 - 45), the middle adult stage (age 40 - 65), the late...

Anthropological Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anthropological Theory - Assignment Example The author goes into detail and examines extending of the interconnection and the relationships of such names and tries to place them into their reality. In his idea of interconnections, Eric Wolf states that the reification has led to the misconception of the fact about nations. He cites that nations have been taken as entities that existed independently of one another. However, in his idea of connections, Eric Wolf clearly outlines the relationship between nations dating back a long time ago. Eric Wolf cites the dangers of reification as being that of giving falsehood on the reality of humanity. He cites that there is a neglect of interrelationships between human beings. He gives examples of the spread of diseases from past to present, similarly, he cites the diffusion of people through slavery and servitude to justify his idea of connections. One other danger, Eric Wolf cites in his idea of connections is that reification has led to the misconception and division of disciplines. He gave examples to show how scholars of Sociology and political science split political economy. He cites these examples as misleading misconceptions from scholars. Eric Wolf critically examines social sciences split from political economy. He argues that political economy made sense since it justified the idea of interconnection. He points out that the treatment of independent states, for instance, the United States and Greece as static and in rival by stable internal interactions and control from outside has prevented us from understanding their relationships and confrontations, a fact inconsistent with his idea of interconnections. He further points out that the difficulty is further compounded with the imaginary arrangement and division of nations into blocks as well as civilization based categorizations. Such names like, the East and West, the civilized and developed west and the

Human Factors and Ergonomics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Factors and Ergonomics - Assignment Example Suggestions to improve these conditions i. Place study samples of interest onto a table where he or she will work in upright manner ii. Raise the work to a better view where he or he will be aligning with samples to avoid bending head. iii. Avoid bending wrists more than 300 by using in-line appropriate tools when working on things that are lying on flat surfaces. iv. Use low stools especially when he or he is collecting samples but not for a prolonged period. This is to avoid bending of neck. 2. i. Adjustable Driver’s seat and its belt - A person based on an individual’s height is capable of setting both seat and belt such that he or she can hold the steering wheel appropriately without reaching it from behind or operating when it is very close to the chest. ii. Appropriate size of a steering wheel - When negotiating a corner one executes this task with ease without struggling with big or a small steering wheel.

Problem Identification Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Problem Identification - Case Study Example However, in my personal opinion, the most basic problem faced by the healthcare management today is that of the provision of primary healthcare facilities, particularly in the capacity of disaster management. Disaster Management and the provision of Primary Healthcare: Disaster management encompasses a wide array of emergency situations including civil defense, civil protection, crisis management, homeland security etc. (Emergency Management, 2011). The time frame for which the services of Disaster Management teams are employed in a particular area is known as the transition period. This transition period is not only one of physical loss rather the victims are often emotionally drained by the losses they suffer as an outcome of the disaster. It is during this time that the victims need maximum healthcare facilities that guarantee their well being. The provision of primary healthcare facilities requires the building up of strategic national and international partnerships, which unfort unately does not seem to be the priority of Public Policy developers (Mortier, Bullen, & Guillouzic, 2010, Volume 3).

The Distinctive Ethnic Youth Cultures In Britain Cultural Studies Essay

The Distinctive Ethnic Youth Cultures In Britain Cultural Studies Essay Youth cultures in Britain became prominent within discourse during the 1960s-80s, with an amalgam of different subcultures emerging. Upon answering this question, I shall endeavour to construct an analysis of ethnic subcultures within Britain during the mid 20th century, and analyse the extent in which these cultures could be identified as distinctive, or whether they could be seen to be embracive to all ethnicities within society. Post war immigration was seen as a watershed moment within British history. The result of mass immigration bestowed Britain with a economic advantage on a global scale. From a Marxist perspective, the British were now able to maintain profit accumulation through now having a reserve army of labour. Black youth cultures became prominent during the 1960s and 1970s, being the first generation of black youths to be born in Britain. Research often comments on the way in which black people felt like being victims outside of British society, being an ambiguous presence inside the popular culture of the host society' (1987, 160). Youth deeply felt that they never had the African or Caribbean connection, which was instilled within their parents, and further, though being born in Britain, they were failed by the indigenous society to be seen as British. Mullard (1973) further expressed this view by quoting, A black born in Britain, is a shadow of a man. You are not West Indian, Pakistani or African, because you were born in Britain and you know little or nothing about your parents country (cited in 1978,181). Therefore, youth felt somewhat disillusioned to their belonging, subsequently resulting in diaspora and animosity towards white inhabitants. Moreover racialised rhetoric was evidential within society and the media. Love thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom in the 60s which sought to demonstrate prejudicial attitudes towards black people within Britain, which were expressed on a daily basis. It further sought to portray the way in the prejudicial, bigoted attitudes expressions of the character Eddie Booth appeared stupid. On the other hand, the black male character Bill Reynolds, was a smart educated person, who often ended up having the last laugh when Eddie tried to outdo him. Rising Damp which also aired in the 1970s had elements of racial discourse from the main character Rigsby, who was the landlord, towards one of the tenants, Philip Smith. As Philip was a black man, he often brought out knee-jerk suspicions from Rigsby. From analysing these television episodes, its seems incontrovertible that these programmes presented a clear image of the prejudicial discourse/ neo colonial sphere of thought that was poignant within society, however at the same time, it endeavoured to humanise the element of racialism in order to portray how futile and inane these attitudes were. One cannot negate the element of mugging, which had heightened black youth subcultures. Hall et al. in Policing the Crisis: Mugging the State and Law and Order (1978), explained the considerable impact that the media had in perpetuating a negativistic image of black young males, being constructed as your archetypal muggers. This had a pronounced effect within society, causing a moral panic and influencing the police force to carry out more stop and searches on black people than their white counterparts. The extent of the excessive stop and searches brought about the West Indian Standing Council to claim that the police were engaging in nigger hunting and that the British black population had now been demonised. Rastafarianism brought collective identity amongst a number of black youth. Bound together by their struggles and looking to their return to Zion from Babylon. The Rastafarian movement arose in during the 1930s in Jamaica. Rastafarians worship Haile Selassie I, believing he is the resurrected manifestation of Jah and will ultimately lead Rastafarians to Zion (Ethiopia). In order to achieve this, western society (Babylon) is strongly rejected, and seen as corrupt. Rastas also believe in Zion being the original birthplace of mankind, and embrace various socio-political and Afrocentric teachings of Marcus Garvey who is regarded as a prophet. The use of cannabis is embraced, both within spiritual realms and as a symbol of rebellion to Babylon. Rastafarians usually grow their hair into dreadlocks, backed from a Biblical perspective. The Rastafarian colours are red, gold and green, originating from the Marcus Garvey movement, the Jamaican flag, and the Ethiopian flag. In the case of black subculture in Britain, Babylon was identified as London, furthermore Brixton, as there was a high volume of Rastafarians. Dreadlocks were seen by the police in effect as sticking two fingers up at them. There was a deep sense of animosity amongst police and their dislike for black in particular having dreadlocks. It is important to note that although not all black youth adopted the Rastafarian religion, the overwhelming majority of black youth embraced the clothing which they used as symbolic significance to try and end the problem of racism. Rastafarians were often criticised for their beliefs, and in extreme situations, were even rejected by other blacks within Britain. It is imperative to mention that the style of fashion Rastafarians adopted, was also embraced by some white males. The clothing style was adopted, and in some cases, selective patois words were used. Reggae played an integral role within Rastafarianism. This genre was very distinctive as it drew on vivid experiences of black people in Jamaica. It was further distinctive as it used its own language, being Jamaican patois, which was stolen by their master during slavery and colonialism. Usually, the music demonstrates the journey from Africa to the West Indies during slavery. Furthermore, reggae sought to express a back to Africa belief, and a vision of a new Africa based on an Arcadian vision (1990,19). Reggae is also known for its critique of Babylon within its lyrics. On the whole, it is clear that Rastafarianism was a religion adopted by black youth, it were a religion symbolising the struggles against the white dominant culture in Babylon. Moreover, the event Rock Against Racism (RAR), is another example of how ethnic cultures had element that related to some white youth. The campaign was set up in 1976, and used to be a one off occasion. However this changed when Eric Clapton made a remark which supported Enoch Powells River of Blood speech. This was met with heightened animosity amongst youth of ethnic minority, and fans in the rock/punk scene. There was further irony as Eric Clapton had been very much influenced by black music, further, teaming up with Bob Marley to create the hit I shot the Sherriff. Carol Grimes, who became a leading spokeswoman for RAR, commented that the campaign was more than tackling the element of race but for anyone who were victims of discrimination because of going against the status quo. She quoted, [t]he whole Rock Against Racism thing did more than just challenge racismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [i]t made the idea of black, brown and white united something real, and together we could tell the fas cists to f**k off (2009,223). The concert included Rock and Punk fans, of ethnicities. Without hesitation this extract shows that this campaign that punk/rock fans of black ethnic minority adopted within their subculture. Nevertheless, the concert embraced all people against racism and discrimination. The concept of black youth gang culture is still present within modern day. However, the reasons for their grouping up is somewhat different to that of the 1960s. As previously written earlier, black youth who followed the Rastafarian religion, or just adopted the style of clothing, were regarded as rude gang boys/ black gang rastas. Malcolm W. Klein expressed the view that in recent times, the UK has been typified by a number of gangs mainly situated in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. Klein further quoted that a resonating feature of these gangs, is that they were predominantly black ethnic minority street members, involved in the sale of drugs with high intergang rivalry and high levels of violence (2001,154). He specifically, looked at two gangs in Manchester, located within impoverished areas, called Moss Side. The name of the two gangs were, Gooch and Doddington, both involved in the drugs trade. Furthermore, they were also characterised by their sheer violence, wh ich peaked in 1992, with no less than 100 shootings taking place. This gives a flavour of the way in which black youth subcultures have changed in present day, with race struggles no longer pervasive, but characterised by the concern of selling drugs and being hard. This concept describes an individual expressing masculinity and strength within the physical realms. Through this, they are subsequently able to acquire status within the gang, and gain a better reputation. Grime genre brings the question of whether black subculture is a distinctive black subculture. Originating in the early 2000s as primarily a development of UK garage, it started to become more apparent from 2003, when Wiley and Dizzee Rascal released their albums Treddin on Thin Ice and Boy in da Corner respectively. It should be noted that research on this genre of music has been somewhat scarce, and my own approach is that it would bring interesting findings. Grime is now listened to by youth of all ethnicities, of all social classes. For example, Dizzee Rascal and Tinie Tempa have now helped to open the market to those who would not have usually listened. The sound of grime music has evolved, now having a fruity fusion with elements of pop and disco music. However predominantly black working class youth subcultures very much hold grime as their music in which they can relate to, especially during its infancy. During this time, and to an extent now, grime was based upon being hard and getting money. An example being hard is a tune by Scorcher called Gangsta, which was banned from television. Further interest, is the demographic location of grime videos. When watching Giggs Talking the hardest, the videos is set in Peckham, with a group of working class boys, predominantly black, with some having black bandanas as a sign of allegiance to the SN1 crew. The video at times also depicts the struggles that youth are going through, such as their run down accommodation. It seems incontrovertible that black subculture in grime is now based upon three elements, which is depicted within grime music, being hard getting money, and gang affiliation through certain dress codes. However, the development of grime has seen a wider market becoming interested, and with it has brought youth of different ethnicities. Asian subculture was another example of resistance that was present during this time. Less research on Asian youth culture was published during the 1950s to 80s. Asian youth subculture will be specifically about Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi youth. Asian youth culture took aspects of the parent culture, in particular, the acceptance of the struggles their parents went through, and wanting to fight these problems. From a historical perspective, Asian political struggles were observed in the 1950s and 60s, prior to when Indians and Pakistanis entered the country. Asian political members were located within the realms of left wing politics. Examples being MP Saklatava (MP for Battersea). Rajani Palme Dutt, was another influential communist writer, who lived in London. The first association set up was the Indian Workers Association (IWA) in 1938. It was conceived in order for members to help fund for independence in India. However following Indian independence in 1947, the IWA was di sbanded. The IWA were setup again in order to provide support for Asians coming to the UK, during mass emigration. Though individuals within the IWA comprised of different left wing parties within India, they sought to work together, not only provide social welfare to migrants emigrating, but to also deal with the problems of racism. Further, the ethos stated their unwavering stance in tackling racism within society, quoting to, fight against all forms of discriminationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. promote the cause of friendship, peace and freedom (p.40). Mike Brake wrote that Asian parents were in control of many aspects of their childrens lives. Females were closely watched by parents and part of the rules were that they were unable to go out at night, and due to this, it wasnt unusual for girls to attend daytime raves. Asian parents were unlikely to approve of their sons attending multi racial youth organisations, as it was feared that they would fall into bad company and furthermore, different religious and cultural traditions (1980, 129). Brake commented that for Asian youth, home and school were two distinctive different worlds. Brake further believes that the different worlds gives reason to explain why youths wanted to seek new ways, different from their parent cultures, in order to deal with the racism in society, as the parent culture had failed to do so. By the mid to late 1970s the first generation of Asian youth were confronted by racism within a number of aspects. Furthermore, the youth continued to watch their parents being victims to racism within the employment system, through getting less pay than their white counterparts. Moreover, the 1970s was characterised by the recession that took place. During this time African- Carribeans and Asians were seen as the scapegoat. Nevertheless, looking specifically at the Asian community, media reports were published which quoted headlines such as, Asian flood and Asian invasion (2006, 42). Heightened tensions were seen in 1976, when Gurdip Singh Chaggar was killed by racists. To make matters worse, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Robert Mark commented that the motives for Gurdips death may have not been due to racism. This was met by widespread outrage within the Asian community, blaming the National Front for the murder. Division was found when the IWA wanted to work through diplom atic channels, to address the problem, however, Asian youths wanted to carry out direct action. Due to this, youth in Southall decided to organise a march, shouting, we shall fight like lions (2006, 42). During the demonstration, they staged a sit in and refused to leave until two detainees who were part of the demonstrations had been released. This was seen as a watershed moment, as this brought about the emergence of the Southall Youth Movement (SYM). What was more intriguing about Asian youth culture, is the way in which they perceived themselves to be politically black within a white society. Although knowing they were not black, as in terms of skin colour, thoroughly felt black as a political position. There was an innate sense of unity between them and youth of African/ Caribbean origin, as they were experiencing the same struggles and hardships. However, in the eyes of racist white N.F.s, African and Caribbean youth were seen as hard individuals, who could stand up for themselves. However, Asian youth were seen in an obverse light and in consideration of this, Asian youth culture drew on black political movement transatlantic, especially, the Black Panther group. On the AYM flag, they adopted the black fist to portray an image of collective strength, solidarity and defiance. Therefore black was moulded into a concept of political identity uniting against all forms of racism, further symbolising that racist attitudes should no longer be tolerated or accepted. From this research, it is clear to see that Asian subculture was non secular and non sectarian. It was a culture that embraced all Asian citizens regardless of the country of origin. Resonating with the work of Cohen, Asian youth cultures identified there were contradictions within society, thus feeling these had to be resolved. Bhangra was a major characteristic of South Asian culture, in that the music displayed a cultural meaning. Bhangra emerged in Britain during the 1950s. The south Asian population brought a distinctive heritage which was seen in their music. The 1970s was a particularly important time within the transition of Bhangra music. During this time a BBC TV Asian program called Naya Zindagi, Neya Jeevan shifted the emphasis of their series to South Asian British groups and artists. Alaap was a group from Southall who were often played on the show. Their music brought a distinctive fashion to bhangra, fusing bhangra with elements of disco music, known as the Southall twist. On examination of the research, I would take the view that the transition demonstrated Cohens work on the relationship between the parent and youth subculture. The first generation of Asian youth within Britain never had the same contact with South Asia as their parents had, so they altered the style of bhangra music in ord er to create their own meaning for themselves. This new form of bhangra had distinct values and meanings for Asian youth in Britain. As result of its commercialisation, some have drawn parallels with grime and reggae music, in the way in which its lost its distinctiveness as a purely distinctive Asian youth culture. In recent times, there have been a increase in the amount of songs which have elements of bhangra and hip pop flavours which have been released. Examples of these are Punjabi MC- Knight Rider Bhangra, and Jay Sean Ride it. My own approach is that similarly to comments on reggae, although bhangra has now been commercialised, one would still identify as a distinctive, as when one listens to the music, one identifies to a specific ethnic group of people. Upon reflection, ethnic youth subcultures have had profound effect within British society. Since post emigration of ethnic minorities from the Commonwealth, Britain have witnessed distinctive ethnic cultures emerging. Rooting from the growing racism and discrimination, happening through a number of avenues. Parent culture somewhat influenced youth subcultures. However, in line with Cohens theory, both Africa/ Caribbean and Asian youth, felt that parent subcultures had not dealt with the problems they were facing, thus having to create new subcultures to solve the contradictions. Although there are some who question the distinctiveness of the subcultures, my own approach is that, in essence ethnic subcultures were created as a way to create identity and meaning through confidence, unity and self realisation, but at the same time defy against racism. Nevertheless, certain elements have been adopted by youth of different ethnicities, such as Rastafarian dress and the listening of bhangr a. Although saying this, there have been plausible evidence to demonstrate that black subculture has lost its distinctiveness, now adopting social class reasoning. Looking at certain grime songs and gangs in urban areas, there has now been the notion of being hard and getting money. The youth have been overwhelmingly working class and have embraced those of different ethnicities, who are in the same social position, struggling against the class system, rather than being in Babylon.

Edgar Degas and his influence on the art of Mary Cassatt Essay

Mary Stevenson Cassatt's Miss Mary Ellison (1880) and Edgar-Hilaire-Germain Degas's Mademoiselle Malo (1877) are two paintings that, when compared and contrasted, shows numbers of influences that Degas had on Mary Cassatt's art. Both of these paintings are portraits done in tbe standard  ¾ point of view. Even at a mere glance, it is easy to see the striking similarities between the two portraits. It is not too farfetched to assume that Degas had a lot of influence on Mary Cassatt's work because it is known that he was one of her biggest inspirations (Wallis, 14). Furthermore, even within the Impressionist group the bond that Degas and Cassatt shared was an important one to her, since she looked up to him as a model artist (Englemann, 80). Mary Cassatt was born in Philadelphia to Robert Simpson Cassatt and Katherine Johnston Cassatt in1844 (Mathews, 9). Her father was a wealthy banker and her mother was well-educated and spoke french fluently (Wallis,14). They were both part of the upper circles of the Pittsburg Society (Mathews ,9). As such, they had a vested interest in providing their children with the best of educational and cultural experiences (Mathews, 9) Cassatt's interest in art, seems to originate from a 5 year sojourn that the family took in 1851 (Wallis, 14). Although only a mere child at the time, it seems the expatriate life appealed the young Cassatt; furthermore, the sights she saw must have deeply affected her because she would soon return to the life abroad (Mathews,9) As a teenager she studied art privately and later as an adult she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine arts (Wallis, 14). She was able to practice art and complete her studies with the support of her father's finances. Alt hough he d... ...ferent continent, the paths of Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt intertwined much. In her second stay in Europe as an expatriate, Degas took his role as her guide and mentor. She, having been inspired and motivated by Degas's work â€Å"accepted with delight† (Wallis, 14). Degas took an active role in encouraging her and inspiring her, he often worked with her and alongside with her, and sometimes he even helped her with the artwork; such was the case with Little Girl in a blue armchair, Degas worked on the background. (Mathews, 45). The two had a long professional relationship that survived all the way until Degas's death and even in his death â€Å"she revered him as an artist† (Mathews, 45). Since Degas was her mentor and guide, it is expected that he had influenced her art, and he did. However, it is surprising that he begun influencing her art, even before the two ever met.