The Neighbourhood 2002 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Neighbourhood 2002 - Essay Example In selecting suitable areas, their research work included personal knowledge, maps, census, and data that indicated depravity in different areas. In order to understand the potential boundaries of different areas they went on a tour and studied the neighborhood for their public space, shopping facilities and so on, in order to understand the nature of the areas that facilitated interaction between people as well as the areas of disorder. They chose two affluent neighborhoods on the fringe of the city- the boundaries of the Edinburgh neighborhood had low- rise housing flats and semi- detached private dwellings. In the case of Glasgow, playing fields acted as a sort of â€Å"buffer zone that separated the neighborhoods. Five key sections took part in the interviews – secondary school teachers, community police, councilors, youth group representatives and community councilors. These interviews were designed in such a way in order to study the social connections between the different neighborhoods. Baumgartner used the term â€Å"champions† to describe the outside agencies that took part in the interview and wondered if they would be of any use.In the affluent areas, crime and disorder such as property crime, environmental degradation and disturbances involving young people seemed to be the main concerns. On the other hand, serious crime and disorder in the deprived areas seemed to run rampant. Community spirit was perceived to be greater in the affluent neighborhoods than the deprived areas where there was less trust in their neighbors.The neighborly interaction was limited as residents would help in an emergency, but would prefer to keep to themselves otherwise.Findings revealed the va rying perceptions of the neighborhood by its residents. Whilst there are pockets of disturbances our findings reflect that perception of crime partially involves people reacting differently to similar phenomena (Hope, 1998). The people of the deprived areas feel that they are more exposed to serious crime and this, in turn, reflects the nature of community relationship enjoyed by their respective residents.

Violence on Television Increases Violence in Children Essay

Violence on Television Increases Violence in Children - Essay Example All these shootings and other violence by children and teenagers have opened a public debate concerning various issues. Some blamed the easy availability of weapons for the shootings while some focused on the problems of bullying and peer abuse in American High schools as the reason behind this violence. However, there were some researchers who looked beyond the obvious and pinpointed the media behind the increase in violence. In this paper, we shall debate on the controversial issue that violence on television increases the violence in children and teenagers and stand by it. According to a research, children in America watch four hours of television daily on an average which implies that television has a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. But sadly, most of the programs broadcasted on television are violent nowadays. From the daytime talk shows, most of which are portrayed by unashamed emotional, psychosomatic, and corporeal exploitation by jury gue sts towards each other, to the prime time shows and the WCW (World Champion Wrestling), all these programs proliferate excessive violence and aggressiveness. Most of these programs are watched by a growing number of young children and adolescents who view them along with their parents. As the matter of fact, violence forms the key constituent of the Network news too, as most of it is plagued with explicit renderings of murders, traffic mishaps, kidnappings, international war scenes, and the like. The story is the same everywhere; the good people slaughter the bad people, most often with an arsenal of weapons that has become a humdrum possession for today's T.V. characters (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [AACAP] n.pag.). This starts the debate that whether these television programs really affect our children or not. Various studies done to evaluate the impact of T.V. violence on children and teenagers have revealed that children are affected in different ways by these shows. They may become immune or dumb to the horror of violence, or gradually accept violence as the means to sort out problems, or try to imitate the violence shown on television, and identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers. Children who become violent watching such T.V. programs will show a range of behaviors including explosive temper tantrums, threats, bullying, aggressiveness, armed assault, and harm to animals and peer groups. In fact, a research done by psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann, Leonard Eron and others also revealed those children who watch long hours of brutal programs during elementary school level tend to show higher level of aggressive behavior when they become teens. They further found that eight years old children, who watch too much of television, are mostly the ones who get prosecuted for criminal behavior as adults (American Psychological Association [APA] n.pag.). Additionally, many children who are overexposed to violence, and spe cially, to pragmatic violence start judging the society as one which is, by and large, hazardous and perilous. This misjudgment makes them fearful towards life as they start considering themselves future victims of violence (AACAP n.pag.). However, researcher David Buckingham stated that â€Å"one may well discover that children who are violent watch a lot of television violence, but this does not prove that violent television causes real-life violence†