Effect of Stimulus Uncertainty Essay Example for Free

Effect of Stimulus Uncertainty Essay Participants The participants of the card sort experiment, were twenty-one psychology students enrolled in psychology 213W. Four of the students were male and seventeen of the remaining students were female. Students participated in this experiment to satisfy a course requirement. Setting The experiment took place in room 337, the experimental psychology lab room in the science building of Queens College, CUNY. Materials The participants used a standard deck of playing cards, which had 52 cards in four suits. Participants used cellular devices with 1 second precision, as time keeping devices and a pencil or black or blue ink pen to record data on a piece of paper. The internet based program VassarStats was used to calculate the T-Tests. Experimental Design A within-subject counterbalanced experimental design was used for this study (ABBA). In this design, each participant received each condition and served as his or her own control. The independent variable in this experiment was the method of sorting; condition A was a 2-sort alternative and condition B was a 4 sort alternative. The dependent variable in this experiment was the change in the response time, which was measured in seconds. Response time was the time it took the participant to sort all cards into corresponding piles, until the last card is on the table and no longer in the hand of the participant. The Null hypothesis in this study was the differing levels of the independent variable will produce no change in the dependent variable. The alternative hypothesis was the changes in the independent variable would result in changes of the dependent variable. Procedure The twenty-one participants divided into groups of two, because there was an odd number, there was a group of three. When groups were settled into their cubicles, one participant counted the cards, to make sure the deck contained 52 cards. Once the participant finished counting, cards such as joker and informational cards were taken out. The cards were than shuffled, three times, for randomization. Before the experiment could start, one student would take on the role as a participant and the other as the time keeper. The time keeper used their cellular device to time all 4 trials. Before the experiment could begin, the students counted the cards, to make sure that there were 52 cards. After counting the cards, a student used the bridge method to shuffle the cards. Each trial began when the time keeper said â€Å"go!† For all four trials, the experimenter timed the participant once he/she began sorting the cards and stopped the time once the participants hand was no longer hold ing the last card. Trial 1 (A), included the participant holding the deck of cards face down , and he/she must sort the deck of card into 2 piles, one pile being a black suit pile and the other a red suit pile. In between the trials, the experimenter (also the time keeper) shuffled the cards. Trail 2 (B), again, holding the deck of cards, face down, the participant is asked to sort the cards into 4 piles this time, one for each suit; diamonds, clubs, spades, hearts. Once Trial 3 (B) is finished, the cards are shuffled again and handed to the participant. Trial 4(A), is a repeat of trial 1, the participants had to separate the deck of card into 2 groups, by alternative color. For each trial, the participant was timed as to how long it took them to complete the sorting, for each trial. The results were recorded on a piece of paper. Once all four trials were completed the experimenter and the participants switched roles. The procedure was repeated for the new participant. After the data was collected, the groups, calculated their means. Results Sorting by color (M(mean)=48.33 seconds) was significantly faster then sorting by suit (M(mean)=66.43 seconds). The results were significant at t(-11.78), with p.0001. Figure 1 shows the means of the 2 sort groups and the 4 sort groups. The participants were able to sort the cards in condition A significantly faster than condition B. Therefore, we accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis. Figure Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 The Y-Axis represents the averages of the groups. The X-axis shows the two types of sorting methods. Group means were lower for the color sort (2 sort), than for the suit sort (4 sort).

Difference Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Transcription

Difference Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Transcription SUMMARY Biosynthesis of proteins is under direct control of DNA in most cases or else under the control of genetic RNA where DNA is absent. Information for structure of a polypeptide is stored in a polynucleotide chain (Gupta, 2007). Sequences of bases in a particular segment of a polypeptide chain will determine the sequence of amino acids in a particular polypeptide (Gupta, 2007). The relationship popularly known as central dogma explains how protein synthesis is controlled by nucleic acids. There are two major steps involved in protein synthesis (1) transcription and (2) Translation. Transcription involves transfer of genetic information from DNA to mRNA and Translation involves translation of language of nucleic acids in to that of proteins (Gupta, 2007). Transcription will be discussed in detail in the present topic. TEXT Transcription is the synthesis of RNA which carries the genetic information present in DNA (Fig. 1). The DNA is double stranded and can theoretically code for two separate RNA molecules (Jain, 2000). However, it has been found that only one of the two strands of the gene is transcribed (Jain, 2000). Only in a few exceptional cases both strands are transcribed. This is possible because the promoter is asymmetrical and unidirectional (Jain, 2000). The DNA strand which have a sequence homology with the RNA is known as the coding strand. The second strand which is complementary to RNA and serves as the template for RNA synthesis is known as the non-coding strand. It is therefore, a misnomenclature, as it is the non-coding strand which is in fact transcribed to form the primary transcript (Jain, 2000). Transcription in prokaryotes The principal enzyme involved in transcription is the DNA dependent RNA polymerase (commonly called as RNA pol). To understand the transcription, it is necessary to learn more about the RNA polymerase. The bacterial RNA polymerase consists of five polypeptide chains including two chains of ÃŽ ± (alpha) polypeptide and one chain each of ÃŽ ² (beta) and ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ (beta dash) and ÏÆ' (sigma) polypeptides (Fig.). The RNA polymerase molecule thus can be represented as ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ÃÆ', in which the attachment of sigma (ÏÆ') factor is not very firm, so that the core enzyme (ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹) can be easily isolated. The size and function of the prokaryotic RNA polymerase is given in table 1. The active sites of core enzyme are shown in fig. (). Once RNA synthesis is initiated, ÏÆ' dissociates after RNA is 8-9 bases long and then the core enzyme brings about elongation of mRNA. The dissociated sigma factor may again combine with core enzyme to form RNA polymerase holoenzyme (Fig,..). Events in transcription The entire process of transcription can be divided in to following steps: (1) Template recognition (2) Initiation (3) Elongation and (4) Termination Template recognition The promoter directs the RNA polymerase to recognize the correct region of the gene and to bind at this site. The -35 region serves this function and is recognized by the enzyme. The size of the RNA polymerase is such that about 60 nucleotides in the gene are involved in binding of the enzyme to the template. Sigma factor plays an important role in specific binding of the enzyme with the template (Jain, 2000). The core enzyme without the sigma factor can bind to DNA but the binding is not promoter specific. The sigma factor is thus necessary for the formation of promoter-enzyme complex. The binding of RNA polymerase to a site other than the promoter is generally referred as loose binding. In presence of sigma factor, the affinity for loose binding is reduced while the affinity for specific binding is increased (Jain, 2000). Thus the chances of only the specific binding taking place are enhanced many fold in presence of sigma factor (Jain, 2000). Initiation and elongation of RNA synthesis in prokaryotes RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase proceeds in four steps: (i) the holoenzyme first binds at the promoter site, forming the closed promoter complex in which DNA remains double helicle, (ii) the closed complex isomerizes and causes unwinding and separation of DNA strands to form open (binary) promoter complex, (iii) after unwinding only one of the two strands is copied; this is achieved by incorporation of nucleotides, initially without movement of enzyme leading to the formation of RNA chain, up to 9 bases in length. During the incorporation of these 9 bases, at every step, there is a possibility for the release of this small RNA chain, a process described as abortive initiation (Gupta, 2007). A cycle of abortive initiation usually occurs generating a series of short (2-9 base) oligonucleotides, before initiation is usually successful. (iv) Once initiation succeeds, the sigma factor of RNA polymerase dissociates. (v) the dissociation of sigma factor marks the entry of NusA protein, whic h helps elongation, and promotes pausing and termination at specific sites. Core enzyme now undergoes a major conformational rearrangement and a stable ternary elongation complex is formed. This complex moves along DNA, synthesizing RNA all along its path at a rate of about 40 bases per second at 370C (Gupta, 2007). Elongation of RNA transcript continues till an unstable termination complex is formed (Gupta, 2007). Termination The termination of mRNA chain in prokaryotes is brought about by certain termination signals on DNA. These DNA sequences providing termination signals are called terminators (Gupta, 2007). Once the enzyme hits the terminator, it falls off the template and the transcription stops. The termination signals whenever found on DNA can be of two types: (i) Rho (Ï ) dependent termination and (ii) Rho (Ï ) independent termination. (i) Rho (Ï ) dependent termination: The termination factor (Ï ) participates in this type of termination (Jain, 2000). Rho (Ï ) is a 46 KD protein and its active form is a hexamer, having a total mass of 275 KD. It binds to growing RNA chain and moves along the RNA. Once rho catches the RNA polymerase, it results in chain termination. The question arises how?. It has been found that once RNA polymerase hits the terminator sequences, it pauses for a short time. During this period the rho factor reaches the RNA polymerase and causes it to fall off the template. Once RNA polymerase is detached, the RNA chain also comes off and the transcription terminates (Fig). (i) Rho (Ï ) independent termination: In some genes, there is a definite region of intrinsic sequences which causes the termination of RNA chain. This includes two G:C rich stretches at the end of RNA transcript which are complementary to each other. These form a 7-20 bp intra-molecular hairpin structure. Further this region is followed by a small stretch of U residues which form relatively weak interaction with dA residues of the gene (Fig..). such a structure is highly unstable thermodynamically and causes the displacement of newly synthesized RNA from the DNA template. Once the RNA is detached, the RNA polymerase falls off and the termination of transcription occurs. This type of termination provides an interesting example where the structure of RNA itself can cause its own termination from the DNA chain. Transcription in Eukaryotes The eukaryotes have more than one type of RNA polymerase. Based on the activity to ÃŽ ±-aminitin, an antibiotic which inhibits mRNA synthesis, three classes of RNA polymerases have been identified which are involved in the transcription of different class of eukaryotic genes. There properties are given in table 2. The eukaryotic RNA polymerases are large molecules of ˃500KD in size. It has two large subunits of -200KD and -140KD, respectively. The 200 KD subunit is similar to ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ subunit of E. coli of RNA polymerase and have similar function (the template binding). Besides these two proteins it also has upto 10 different small subunits. A subunit of Pol II, which has similarity with one of the subunits present in Pol I and also in Pol III, is similar to the ÃŽ ±-subunit of E. coli enzyme and helps in the enzyme assembly. Besides the RNA polymerase, a number of other transcription factors are also needed for the transcription. Promoter sites for Initiation of transcription Promoters for RNA polymerase I could not be initially studied since all genes for rRNA were similar. Promoters for RNA polymerase III, on the other hand, had some unusual downstream promoters. However for RNA polymerase II, several hundred eukaryotic genes have now been sequenced and their promoters studied revealing some general features in three regions located at start point, centred at sited lying between -25 bp and -100 bp. The least effective of these three regions is the TATA or Hogness box (7 bp long) located 20bp upstream to the start point. The TATA box is surrounded by G-C rich sequences and is comparable to pribnow box of prokaryotes. Further upstream is another sequence called CAAT box, which being necessary for initiation, is conserved in some promoters (ÃŽ ² globin gene), but is not necessary in some other genes. This sequence lies between -70 and -80 bp. Another sequence called GC box (GGGC GG) is found in one or more copies at -60 or -100 bp upstream in any orientation in several genes. It has been shown that CAAT and GC boxes determine the efficiency of transcription, while TATA box aligns RNA polymerase at proper site, with the help of TFIID and other transcription factors (Gupta, 2007). Initiation In eukaryotes the initiation is more complex. It involves a number of specific transcription factors. The process has been followed for the Pol II action resulting in the synthesis of mRNA. The process is essentially similar for Pol I and Pol III. For initiation, it requires, a number of trans acting factors along with the RNA polymerase. The trans acting factors, which are the product of various regulatory genes, bind to either DNA or to each other or to RNA polymerase. They can also bind in various combinations. All the transcription factors involved with Pol II are called TF II. First the factor TF IID binds to TATA box (-15 to -21 region) covering about 25 nucleotides within the -17 to -42 region. Now factor TF IIA associates itself to the complex, further extending the protected region towards upstream, upto the -55 to -80 region. On the other hand TF IIB associates itself protecting the region at -10 to +10. It binds to two strands in a non-symmetrical manner. This complex prep ares the stage for binding of RNA polymerase II which covers up to +15 region on template strand and 5 extra nucleotides (up to +20) on the non-template strand. Finally TF IIE joins, extending the protection upto +30 region. Once the entire complex has been assembled, the incorporation of first nucleotide takes place. Transcription factors and elongation of RNA chains in eukaryotes Certain accessory proteins of transcription, called the elongation factors enhance the overall activity of RNA polymerase II, leading to increase in elongation rate. Atleast two such proteins (transcription factors) are known (i) the transcription factor TFIIF accelerates RNA chain growth relatively uniformly, in concert with RNA polymerase II or pol II, (ii) transcription factor TFIIS (also called SII) helps elongation of RNA chain, by relieving the obstructions in the path of such elongation. TFIIS is known to function by first causing hydrolytic cleavage at 3Ê ¹ end of RNA chain, which are stuck and can not elongate. Thus RNA polymerase moves backwards (hydrolytic cleavage) under the direction of TFIIS before it moves forwards through the block to elongation (fig.) (Gupta, 2007). Termination of RNA synthesis in eukaryotes In eukaryotes, the actual termination of RNA polymerase II activity during termination may take place through termination sites similar to those found in prokaryotes (the nature of individual termination sites is not known). But these termination sites are believed to be present away (sometimes up to one kilobase away) from the site of 3Ê ¹ end of mRNA. Obviously 3Ê ¹ end of mRNA will be generated due to post-transcriptional cleavage. This cleavage, at the end, is believed to be achieved by what is popularly called snurp (small nucleur RNA-protein complex). Snurp used for post-transcription cleavage has not been identified so far but is believed to be certainly different than the U1 snurp, which is believed to be involved in intron splicing in split genes. Moreover, a sequence 5Ê ¹ AAUAAA 3Ê ¹ has been found just on the 5Ê ¹ side of poly(A) addition site in several eukaryotic mRNAs. The poly(A) tail is added to 3Ê ¹ end of eukaryotic mRNA after processin g of precursor mRNA. The sequence 5Ê ¹ AAUAAA 3Ê ¹ in mRNA 3Ê ¹ end seems to be common in eukaryotic mRNA and mutation in this sequence cause elongation of mRNA. This will suggest that this sequence contains the signal for endonucleolytic post-transcriptional cleavage. This sequence therefore, is not involved in the termination of the synthesis of mRNA, but helps in generating 3Ê ¹ end later through endonuclease cleavage, in which snurp helps in an unknown manner. FAQs Q. What is transcription? Ans: synthesis of RNA which carries the genetic information present in DNA. Q. What is the composition of RNA polymerase in prokaryotes? Ans: RNA polymerase consists of five polypeptide chains including two chains of ÃŽ ± (alpha) polypeptide and one chain each of ÃŽ ² (beta) and ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ (beta dash) and ÏÆ' (sigma) polypeptides. Q. What is the function of sigma factor of RNA polymerase in prokaryotes? Ans: The function of sigma factor in prokaryotes is Promoter recognition and initiation of transcription. Q. What are the steps in transcription? Ans: The entire process of transcription can be divided in to following steps: (1) Template recognition, (2) Initiation, (3) Elongation and (4) Termination. Q. What is a Promoter? Ans: Promoter is defined as a sequence of DNA having the signal which directs the proper binding of RNA polymerase to DNA and activates it to a form which is capable of initiating the transcription. Q. What is the role of NusA protein? Ans: NusA protein, helps in elongation, and promotes pausing and termination at specific sites in prokaryotic transcription. Q. How termination of transcription occurs in prokaryotes? Ans: The termination of mRNA chain in prokaryotes is brought about by certain termination signals on DNA. These DNA sequences providing termination signals are called terminators (Gupta, 2007). Once the enzyme hits the terminator, it falls off the template and the transcription stops. The termination signals whenever found on DNA can be of two types: (i) Rho (Ï ) dependent termination and (ii) Rho (Ï ) independent termination. Q. How many RNA polymerases are involved in eukaryotic transcription? Ans: three classes of RNA polymerases (Pol I, Pol II and Pol III) have been identified which are involved in the transcription of different class of eukaryotic genes. Q. What the functions of Pol I, Pol II and Pol III? Ans: The functions of Pol I is Ribosomal RNA synthesis, Pol II is mRNA synthesis and Pol III is tRNA synthesis, 5S and other small RNA synthesis. Q. What are transcription factors? Ans: transcription factors are proteins which are needed for initiation of transcription, but are not a part of RNA polymerase. Q. What is Hogness box? Ans: The second region of eukaryotic promoter which is similar to -10 region of prokaryotes. is called the TATA box or Hogness box. Q. What is the role of transcription factor TFIIF and TFIIS? Ans: the transcription factor TFIIF accelerates RNA chain growth relatively uniformly, in concert with RNA polymerase II or pol II while transcription factor TFIIS helps elongation of RNA chain, by relieving the obstructions in the path of such elongation. Q. How TFIIS helps in elongation of RNA? Ans: TFIIS is known to function by first causing hydrolytic cleavage at 3Ê ¹ end of RNA chain, which are stuck and can not elongate. Q. what is the role of small nucleur RNA-protein complex? Ans: Termination takes place at termination sites which are present away from the site of 3Ê ¹ end of mRNA. The 3Ê ¹ end of mRNA will be generated due to post-transcriptional cleavage. This cleavage, at the end, is believed to be achieved by snurp (small nucleur RNA-protein complex). Q. How does Rho (Ï ) helps in termination of transcription? Ans: When RNA polymerase hits the terminator sequences, it pauses for a short time. During this period the rho factor reaches the RNA polymerase and causes it to fall off the template. MCQs: 1. Transfer of genetic information from DNA to mRNA? a. translation b. transcription c. transformation d. All of the above 2. During transcription the DNA strand which have a sequence homology with the RNA is known as: a. coding strand b. non-coding strand c. Both a and b d. None of the above 3. During transcription the strand which is complementary to RNA and serves as the template for RNA synthesis is known as? a. coding strand b. non-coding strand c. Both a and b d. None of the above 4. The principal enzyme involved in transcription is: a. RNA polymerase b. DNA polymerase c. transcription factor d. a and b only 5. RNA polymerase is: a. RNA dependent b. DNA dependent c. protein dependent d. hormone dependent 6. The RNA polymerase molecule thus can be represented as: a. ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ²2ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ÃÆ' b. ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ÃÆ'2 c. ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹ÃÆ' d. ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ²ÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¹2ÏÆ' 7. The function of ÃŽ ± subunit is: a. Template binding b. Nucleotide binding c. Both a and b d. Enzyme assembly 8. Sequence of DNA having the signal which directs the proper binding of RNA polymerase to DNA is known as: a. Hogness box b. promoter c. CAAT box d. None of the above 9. The sigma factor is necessary for the formation of: a. promoter-enzyme complex b. Enzyme assembly c. CAAT box d. All of the above 10. The dissociation of sigma factor marks the entry of NusA protein: a. TF IIB b. TF IIE c.TF IIS d. Nus A protein 11. Termination of transcription in prokaryotes is: a. Rho (Ï ) dependent b. Rho (Ï ) independent c. both a and b d. a only 12. Hairpin structure for termination of transcription is found in: a. Rho (Ï ) dependent b. Rho (Ï ) independent c. both a and b d. a only 13. which RNA polymerase is found in Eukaryotes: a. Pol I b. Pol II c. Pol III d. All of the above 14. TATA box of eukaryotes is comparable to which sequence of prokaryotes: a. pribnow box b. CAAT box c. Hogness box d. All of the above 15. Transcription factors helps in: a. initiation b. elongation c. termination d. a and b only 16. At what region of DNA does RNA polymerase first bind to a gene: a. Initiation site b. Transcribed region c. Promoter d. Intron 17. RNA polymerase adds new nucleotides to the growing RNAs at what end? a. 3Ê ¹ end b. 5Ê ¹ end c. both a and b d. none of the above Key: 1-b, 2-a, 3-b, 4-a, 5-b, 6-c, 7-d, 8-b, 9-a, 10-d, 11-c, 12-b, 13-d, 14-a, 15-d, 16-c, 17-a. ASSIGNMENTS/TUTORIALS Q. 1: Difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcription initiation. Q. 2: Explain the role of RNA polymerase in prokaryotes. Q. 3: Eukaryotes contain multiple RNA polymerases explain their role? Q. 4: Explain Rho dependent and Rho independent termination of transcription in prokaryotes. Q. 5: What are transcription factors? discuss the role.

Post Modernism In Pop Culture

Post Modernism In Pop Culture Attempts to define post-modernism can come in many different forms as different people have different ideas as to what exactly the term means. This being said, most people who take part in the debate over modernism and postmodernism share a consensus that postmodernism might be many things, but it certainly is linked with the growth of popular culture in the late twentieth century in the West. In other words, postmodernism can be seen as a new historical moment, a new sensibility, or a new cultural style, but popular culture can be referenced as the site on which these changes can be most easily found. Postmodernism is a perspective which tends to reject many of the accepted values of modernism. It involves a reinterpretation of gender roles and the differenced traditionally applied to them. It takes a more global perspective in its view of ethnic and national distinctions, and rejects stereotypes of all kinds. At the same time, it embraces the notion of nostalgia in art (film, telev ision, advertising) and uses multiple referencing (among other strategies) to communicate on a variety of symbolic levels. This essay will research the nature of postmodernism and apply it to a body of film, television, or advertising material. It should the focus on a single example and analyze it as typical of postmodern artistic form. From this essay it will be clear that postmodernism represents a blurring of the boundaries between levels of culture, and The Simpsons is a typical example of postmodernist artistic form. It was the late 1950s and early 1960s that the movement that we now come to know as postmodernism began to emerge. In the words of Susan Sontag, a critic of American culture, it came with the emergence of a new sensibility, and this involves a blurring of the distinction between high and low culture. Anyway, the distinction becomes less meaningful. The post-modern new sensibility did not follow along the same lines as the cultural elitism of modernism. Although modernism seems to have an important place in popular culture, it is marked by a significant suspicion of all things popular. It was those items that were associated with elite culture that were accepted under modernism. Culture was that which would be readily accepted into a museum, it was that which had a homologous relationship with the elitism that is inherent in class society. What this means is that the drive towards post modernism in the late 1950s and 1960s was associated with the growing attack on the elitism of modernism. The emergence of postmodernism signaled a refusal of the great divideà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a discourse which insists on the categorical distinction between high art and mass culture, moreover, to a large extent, it is by the distance we have traveled from this great divide between mass culture and modernism that we can measure our own cultural post modernity. A good early example of the new wave of post-modern popular culture can be seen in the American and British pop art movement of the 1950s and 1960s as it rejected the division between high culture and popular culture. This can be said to be postmodernisms first cultural flowering. One of pop arts first prominent theorist, Lawrence Alloway explains that the area of contact was mass produced urban culture: movies, advertising, science fiction, pop music. We felt none of the dislike of commercial culture standard among intellectuals, but accepted it as a fact, discussed it in detail, and consumed it enthusiastically. This acceptance of the new movement of postmodernism allowed people to treat popular culture in the realm of serious art, and not a second tier of culture. When seen from this perspective, postmodernism first came out of a refusal by the different generations to abide by the categorical certainties of high modernism. It came to be thought of as taboo to continue to maintain an absolute distinction between high and popular culture. This was very evident in the way that art and popular music merged. A good example of this can be seen in the way Peter Blake designed the front cover of the Beatles Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and the way Andy Warhol designed the cover of the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers. By the middle of the 1980s, the post-modern new sensibility had become deeply engrained into popular culture, and for some, a reason to despair. The postmodern condition is one that is marked by a crisis in the position of knowledge in Western societies. This served to give intellectuals less eminence as the academy continually lost its credibility. Iain Chambers argues this point from a different perspective. He says the debate over postmodernism can in part be understood as the symptom of the disruptive ingression of popular culture, its aesthetics and intimate possibilities, into a previously privileged domain. Theory and academic discourses are confronted by the wider, unsystemized, popular networks of cultural production and knowledge. The intellectuals privilege to explain and distribute knowledge is threatened. Another cultural theorist, Angela McRobbie agrees with this as she sees it as the coming into being of those whose voices were historically drowned out by the (modernist) metanarratives of mastery, which were in turn both patriarchal and imperialist. She put forth the argument that postmodernism has enfranchised a new sect of intellectuals who speak from the margins from a perspective of difference, including ethnic, class, gender and sexual preference differences. These are the people whom she refers to as the new generation of intellectuals. A similar point is made by Kobena Mercer as she sees postmodernism as partially an unacknowledged response to the emerging identities and voices of those people who have emerged from the margins, and this opens a new way of seeing and understanding. Hyperrealism can be said to be a component of postmodernism. In the sphere of the hyperreal, the real and the imaginary continually come into contact with each other. Simulations begin to be experienced as something that is more real than real itself. The evidence in favor of this argument can be seen throughout our Western society. For example, we live in a society where people write letters to the characters they see on television, asking them out on dates, and offering them places to live. This can be called the dissolution of television into life, or the dissolution of life into television. It was said by John Fiske that postmodern media does not, like it once did, provide secondary representations of reality: they affect and produce the reality that they mediate. Additionally, Fiske argues that those events in our lives that matter must be synonymous with media events. The arrest of O.J. Simpson was a good example of this. As the news of his story unfolded, people in the area rushed to his house so that they could be part of the news cycle. They wanted to be indistinguishably live people and media people. This is an attribute of the postmodern era. These people were aware that the media was not merely reporting of circulating the news, they were creating it. Therefore, if people wanted to be part of the news of this event, it was not sufficient to be there on the scene, to actually be part of this event, they had to be on television. This is a testament to the fact that in the hyperreal world of the postmodern, the distinction between a real event and its media represe ntation loses its distinction. Frederic James who is an American critic of culture as is well versed in postmodernism argues that it is a culture of pastiche. To him, postmodern culture is a world in which stylistic innovation is no longer possible, all that is left is to imitate dead styles, to speak through masks and with the voices of the styles in the imaginary museum. Postmodernism is a culture that is put together from many different places it can be said to be a culture of quotations. Our cultural production is the consequence of other cultural production. Postmodern cultural texts do not just quote other cultures, other historical moments, they randomly cannibalize them to the point where any sense of critical or historical distance ceases to exist there is only pastiche. This trend of the pastiche is noticeable in both the body of film and television. It can be seen in the nostalgia film that is evident in both television and film. Some movies that would fall into this category of the postmodern nostalgia film would be Back to the Future as it seeks to recreate the atmosphere and stylistic peculiarities of America in the 1950s. Other films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Robin Hood and Lord of the Rings act in a similar way as they induce a sense of narrative certainties of the past. In this way, the nostalgia film either recaptures and represents certain styles of viewing the past. These films seek to make cultural myths and stereotypes about the past. They offer false realism: films about other films, representations of other representations. As this study of postmodernism in popular culture progresses, it is useful to apply it to a single example, and then analyze it as typical of postmodernist artistic form. The Simpsons is a spectacularly popular show of the lat two decades and it represented the first prime time animated series since the Flintstones. Since its inception, this show has emerged as a cultural phenomenon. It is because of this immense success that The Simpsons represents a worthy object of study for cultural critics. There is no doubt that this television series can be placed in the category of the postmodern. All of the rhetorical devices that are synonymous with postmodern theory are present in The Simpsons: pastiche, quotation, intertextuality and reflexivity. The Simpsons, because of the way it uses reflexivity and intertextuality in particular is a great example of the postmodern at work. All elements of this show are related to a network of intertextual references to popular texts of other. In particular there are four ways in which The Simpsons uses intertextuality in recurrent forms. Firstly, there are single elements in the show that carry many intertextual references. A good example of this is the fact that the name of the town that The Simpsons live in is called Springfield. This is significant because it is the same name as the town that the vintage television show Father Knows Best was set in. This might be a rather obvious reference to the nostalgic, but there are much more subtle references in the show that make it surely a postmodern creation. For example, the curator of Springfields museum is named after a couple of dormitories at Harvard University. Also they build on nostalgic phrases on the past, two cars in every garage, and three eyes on every fish. In this way The Simpsons can be said to be a collection of quotations. Many of the scenes from The Simpsons are also taken from other movies or television shows. There is that episode that includes 22 Short Films about Springfield, and this in particular serves as a parody of Pulp Fiction, another important creation in the postmodern milieu. In fact, there are whole episodes of The Simpsons that are entire parodies of other shows. For example, the episode Bart of Darkness is a parody of Alfred Hitchcock, and there are even echoes of Jimmy Stewart in Itchy and Scratchy Land. Additionally, the show is one that heavily displays internal references. This builds on the fact that each episode is at its outset freestanding. Even though the main characters do not evolve, they posses a memory of past episodes and the supporting characters do change. The Simpsons can also be said to be postmodern because of the way that it is an example of reflexive television, one in which the text is a reference to its condition of consumption and production. This can be seen in four ways. First, The Simpsons can be seen to be reflexive from an examination of the opening credits where the family rushes home to crowd the couch and watch television. This highlights the fact that the show is about the process of watching television, and television consumption is a necessary component of family life. The Simpsons also possesses a commentary on the star system. In one way, the show contains a television universe where television stars are created. One such example is Krusty the Clown whose purpose is to fulfill the ongoing process of consumption and merchandizing. In another way, real stars make cameo appearances on the show giving their voices characters that either represent themselves of other figures. The show can even serve as a parody of the a nimation industry within the animation industry. There is an episode where the ratings of the new Itchy Scratchy Poochie Show has poor ratings. This episode is interesting because it highlights a caricature of a market research process which utilizes the pulse meter for assessing how new characters are received when they are seen by the audiences for the first time. This is a great example of how The Simpsons is reflexive television. The Simpsons can even refer to what has been dubbed postmodern hyperconscious. It is a type of commentary on the role that they play in popular culture. An example of this comes when Homer is enjoying a night out and Apu ask Homer if he is on television as he looks familiar. Homer says, sorry buddy, you got me confused with Fred Flintstone. This is reflexive in that it shows that the series creators are aware of the links between their show and their predecessors. These are just some of the many examples that make The Simpsons a great example of postmodern culture, although their use of these rhetorical devices is systematic. What is the reason for this shows particular approach, meaning that unlike the other cartoons on television, The Simpsons is very unique? This is because the show is not intended to attract the same audiences as other cartoons, it provide a social commentary and is thus attractive to the sophisticated public. The Simpsons actually works in an interesting way as its form serves to encourage the consumption of popular culture. The show uses postmodern strategies to make political and social commentary in a way that is non partisan and in a way that is appealing to the masses. The creators of the show clearly do not want to create divisions among its audiences. In this paper it has been shown that attempts to define postmodernism can be a difficult task, but there are simple ways to explain it. One thing for sure though is that postmodernism is linked with the growth of popular culture in the late twentieth century in the West. Postmodernism is a perspective which tends to reject many of the accepted values of modernism. It involves a reinterpretation of gender roles and the differenced traditionally applied to them. It takes a more global perspective in its view of ethnic and national distinctions, and rejects stereotypes of all kinds. At the same time, it embraces the notion of nostalgia in art (film, television, advertising) and uses multiple referencing (among other strategies) to communicate on a variety of symbolic levels. It was then shown that The Simpsons is a perfect example of postmodern pop culture as it is nostalgic and reflexive, and also uses rhetorical devices which are common in postmodernism. From this essay it is clear th at postmodernism represents a blurring of the boundaries between levels of culture, and The Simpsons is a typical example of postmodernist artistic form.

Jack the Ripper Essay -- Serial Killer Essays

Jack the Ripper was one of the most famous and renowned killers in history. Even though he was not the first serial killer, he was the first killer to strike on a metropolis setting. Jack the Ripper was in his prime at a time when the media had a strong control over society and society as a whole was becoming much more literate. Jack started his killing campaign at a time of political controversy between the liberals and social reformers along with the Irish Home rule partisans. The reports of Jack the Ripper were collected and reported by the police, but then the different newspapers with their political influences slightly distorted the stories to give them their own effect. It has been more the one hundred years since the last murder and there is no longer any more original evidence, and the â€Å"facts† about the stories have changed over time due to different writers or differing sources. The press changed Jack the Ripper from being a depressed killer of prostitutes to on e of the most romantic figures seen throughout history. One fact that most sources agreed upon was that the Ripper was a killer who wanted nothing more than to strike fear into the entire city by horribly mutilating his victims and then leaving them in locations where they were sure to be seen. Jack was the type of killer that wants fame and loved the fact that his â€Å"name† was on everyone’s lips and was able to strike fear into anyone and everyone’s heart. In the late 1800’s â€Å"Jack the Ripper† began his rampage of killings. He was a serial killer who murdered several prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888. The people of London, mainly the press at the time, dubbed this killer, â€Å"Jack the Ripper.† The name was given to the killer because at the time of the murders, a person wrote a letter to the police and press claiming to be this serial killer, and he had called himself, â€Å"Jack the Ripper.† These killings took place in the districts of Aldagate, City of London proper, Spitalfields, and Whitechapel which all happen to be within a mile radius of each other. Within these different districts, he was given different names depending on the stories that were told about the killings some of these other names that the serial killer â€Å"Jack the Ripper† was given were Whitechapel Murderer, which was an extremely creative and original name, and â€Å"Leather Apron,† which is presumed to reference the... ...se â€Å"search parties† one can find on the internet is board-line obsessive and insane. What people need to learn to accept is that their questions and puzzles they stubble upon in life will not always be answered. They need to realize that this was some lonely, crazed man that enjoyed killing defenseless individuals, but even so he was bright enough to get away with the crimes. It is a very sick and sadistic cycle of being deranged enough to plan out a murder so that no one will be able to catch that person, but at the same time being smart enough to be able to do all this. So basically, â€Å"Jack the Ripper† was a crazy, smart guy that enjoyed killing young and attractive women. Works Cited Barbee, Larry S. â€Å"Casebook: Jack the Ripper.† Ryder, Stephen P. and Thomas Schachner.  ©1996-2014. http://www.casebook.org/intro.html. Cornwell, Patricia. â€Å"Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper—Case Closed.† Berkley Publishing Group. October 28, 2003. Montaldo, Charles. â€Å"Crime/ Punishment: Jack the Ripper.† A PRIMEDIA Company.  ©2014. http://crime.about.com/od/history/a/ripper040721.htm. Sugden, Philip. â€Å"The Complete History of Jack the Ripper.† Carroll and Graf. January 9, 2002.

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - Is He Insane? :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Hamlet: Is He Insane?         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The term insanity means a mental disorder, whether it is temporary or permanent, that is used to describe a person when they don't know the difference between right or wrong.   They don't consider the nature of their actions due to the mental defect.(â€Å"Insanity†, sturtevant)   In William Shakespeare's play â€Å" Hamlet† Shakespeare leads you to believe that the main character, Hamlet, might be insane.   There are many clues to suggest Hamlet is insane but infact he is completely sane.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the play Hamlet makes wise decisions to prove he is not insane.   He knows exactly what he is leading up to.   He just delays to act due to his indecisiveness.   An example of this is in Act III, section III, line 73, Hamlet says â€Å"Now might I do it pat, now 'a is a-praying, and now I'll do it-and so ‘a goes to heaven, and so am I revenged that would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge.†Ã‚   He says here that he has his chance to kill his father's murder but, he is praying.   By killing him while he's praying his soul goes to heaven and this wouldn't be revenge. This is not a thought of an insane person.   An insane person would have completed the murder at this opportunity.   In Act III, scene I, line 55, â€Å"To be or not to be...†, Hamlet displays his indecisiveness by thinking about suicide because of the situation he is in.   He would rather be dead than live with the thought of his father's death going unavenged.   He is scared to get revenge because he found out from a ghost and he doesn't know what to do.   In line 83,† Thus conscience takes a major part in the thought and action of murder.   This is why he delays so long to commit the murder.   An insane person would not wait.   They would be more apt to act in impulse.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet's madness only existed when he was in the presence of certain characters.   When Hamlet is around Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Gildenstern, he behaves irrationally.   For example in Act II, section II, Polonius asks Hamlet,† Do you know me, my Lord?†Ã‚   Hamlet replies,† Excellent well, you are a fischmonger†.   Hamlet pretends not to know who Polonius is, even though he is Ophelia's father.   When Hamlet is around Horatio, Bernardo, Fransisco, the players and the Gravediggers, he behaves rationally. In Act I, section V, lines 165-180, Hamlet says â€Å"How strange or odd some'er

Outline and Evaluate Research Into the Breakdown of Relationships

Outline and evaluate research into the breakdown of romantic relationships. (24 marks) One piece of research into the breakdown of romantic relationships conducted by Thibaut and Kelly, can explain why a relationship may breakdown using the Social Exchange Theory. A relationship may breakdown due to the ‘profits’ and ‘losses’ in the relationship, one of the participants in the relationship may compare the current relationship to a previous one and realise they are not getting what they should be out of it.However, Hatfield’s Equity Theory suggests that individuals in a relationship are not trying to maximise the benefits and minimise the costs, but the happiest individuals were the ones where the rewards for both parties were equal. Therefore, a relationship may not breakdown because a person is under-benefitting but because there is an imbalance in the rewards. This research is supported by further research carried out by Hatfield which shows that th e happiest newlyweds were the ones who felt like they both inputted equally into the relationship and had equal rewards.The ones under-benefitted had feelings of anger, resentment and deprivation, and those over benefitted felt guilty and uncomfortable. However, this may not mean that a relationship will break down. Karney and Bradbury (1995) found that marital unhappiness did not strong predict a future divorce. A problem with both of the theories is that they cannot explain why people stay in unhappy relationships, where the costs are clearly outweighing the benefits, or where the rewards are unequal.For example in an abusive relationship, many partners stay in the relationship even though they are not having any benefits from it. Another criticism of the social exchange theory is that they imply that people are extremely selfish and underestimates the role of altruism. There are also problems when trying to quantify the costs and benefits in a relationship. A problem with the equ ity theory is that there are strong individual differences as to how much equity people expect from a marriage or romantic relationship.These two theories focus on individualist cultures, where there is an emphasis on personal freedom. They may not apply to collectivist cultures where there is an emphasis more on what is best for society. Another researcher, Duck (1992) looked at findings from several longitudinal studies into the breakdown of relationships. He found that there are many predisposing factors that could influence the dissolution of a relationship. These factors can either be internal; which is where the risk lies in the partners background and personality, or external where it is events outside the relationship that may threaten it.Graziano et al (1996) supports the fact that personality has shown to be an important factor in the breakdown of relationships and says that individuals who are high in agreeableness (co-operative, supportive and non-confrontational) tend t o be in relationships which last longer and there is less conflict. They also believe that relationships where one of both of the couple is high in neuroticism are more likely to end in a divorce. Duck’s predisposing factors do offer reasonable explanations for why some marriages may fail.However only some of the marriages that meet most of all of the criteria will actually end in a divorce, many divorces will involve couples that do not meet any of the criteria. This then suggests that the predisposing factors oversimplify the complex behaviour. This would make the theory reductionist and therefore is not good in explaining the breakdown of relationships. Another problem with the research is that a lot of it can be troubled by various factors such as individual differences with the individuals involved in the relationships.Many of the couples interviewed were often white and middle class, this is culturally biased and therefore means that the results found from the studies c annot be generalised to the cultures of the rest of the world. The data gathered from the research is often mainly retrospective self-report, this is bad because the retrospective means looking back after the event has happened and therefore may be unreliable as it relies on the memory of the individuals meaning that it is not reliable, the self-reports also may lack in validity because it is possible for the participants to lie.

Building successful parent-teacher partnerships Essay

The problems in the school life can be solved if teachers and parents work together as a team. â€Å"The traditional concept of involving parents in the process of educating their children has typically been restricted to one-way communication approaches. Either the parent is talking at the teacher or the teacher is talking to the parent. Yet the real purpose of parental involvement in the educational process is to foster an improved learning climate and support system for the child. Parent-teacher confrontation models do little to foster the development of their environments conducive to effective interaction and learning for the child† (Swick, 7). â€Å"parents and teachers must come to realize that their behaviors are much more important than their words in affecting the child’s self-concept. When parents and teachers work in complementary, supportive type roles as partners in the development of learning climates and support systems for young children, not only are they learning, but they are a vital part of the educational process† (Swick, 7). â€Å"†¦ the parent is the first and most important influence in the child’s development. It holds that the parent, like all other teachers,must first be a growing, compassionate person in order to be an effective parent† (Swick, 7). â€Å"Parents and teachers become stronger, more insightful individuals when they participate in joint determination of the educational program in which their children have optimal conditions necessary for growth toward becoming functional and developing persons† (Swick, 8). Parents provide personal information about children’s behaviors, characteristics, talents, interests, etc. Teachers give another view about the social development of the children for example with friends and other people, progresses in school, skills, achievements, etc. Involved parents: The hidden resource in their children’s education by Anita Gurian, Ph.D. Gurian, Anita. â€Å"Involved Parents: The Hidden Resource in Their Children’s Education† NYU Child Study Center. Available: 01 May 2012. Web Page. â€Å"In adolescence, children become more independent and usually don’t want their parents in school. In middle and high school, students have to deal with more courses and more teachers in a more impersonal way, so parent involvement, although less direct, is still critical. Parents can participate in events at school, monitor homework, provide experiences and materials that supplement course work, and help children with organizational strategies. Parents can influence their children’s academic progress by encouragement, reinforcement, and modeling. Children learn from their parents’ own learning styles and activities, such as discussions, newspapers and other reading materials, television habits and quests for information and knowledge.† When parents want to be in charge and spent their time for their children, they can have the opportunity to know their child’s life better. The parents can know the social life of their children at school and all the other activities that their children have. United States. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. National Center for Education Statistics. Parent Involvement in Children’s Education: Efforts by Public Elementary Schools. Washington, DC, 1998. Internet. â€Å"Parent attendance at school-sponsored events was related to the concentration of poverty in the school, as defined by the percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. In general, as the concentration of poverty in the school increased, reports of high parent attendance decreased. For example, while 72 percent of schools with a low concentration of poverty reported that most or all parents attended the school open house, 48 percent of schools with a moderate poverty concentration, and 28 percent of schools with a high poverty concentration reported that most or all parents attended the open house† (Carey, 14). Davis, Jonathan. â€Å"Facilitator Helps Parents Get Involved in Their Children’s Education.† NBC 26 News. (25 April 2012). Available: 1 May 2012. Web Page. â€Å"In order for a school to run efficiently you need to have the parents involved. I try my best to communicate that to the community and let them know that we have things that they can do, Like being a room mom and are able to give back to the school. In order to do that you have to have the parents to get involved because we want lifelong learners,† said Inga Coleman.