Thursday, October 31, 2019
Combating Future Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Combating Future Terrorism - Essay Example Domestic terrorism has been described as the violence focusing on populations or the nationââ¬â¢s facilities but have no foreign direction. Such activities of groups of terrorists or individuals are homegrown, meaning they have no external assistance, such as funding, to attack populations or government elements. On the other hand, international terrorism involves activities that are either or both foreign-sponsored and foreign-based. Under the FBIââ¬â¢s foreign classification, the activities of violence may either extend beyond the USââ¬â¢s national boundaries or originate from foreign countries. In this sense, the distinction between international and domestic terrorism is not based on where the violent acts take place but rather, on the responsible groupsââ¬â¢ or individualsââ¬â¢ origin (Enders & Sandler, 2006). Since the al-Qaeda led the 2001 September 11 attacks on the US, it has become difficult to clearly determine, define and predict the future characteristics of terrorism. Subsequently, the US has developed counter-terrorism strategies that will address any form of terrorist attacks aimed at its facilities and populations. Basing on the decision that foreign terrorism constitutes the greatest threat to the US, this paper will support the decision and discuss combating future terrorism using diversity, cultural and historic aspects. Terrorism, evidently, results from the interactions of human beings sharing an environment with other groups, individuals and governments. The government may or may not meet the expectations and needs of its people; the people increasingly and continuously identify with radicals founded on different reasons; the people may have experienced genuine or perceived trauma or discrimination, which may either be indirectly or first hand; the people may also have met charismatic leaders or heard of resonant messages that interconnect
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Methadone Treatment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Methadone Treatment - Essay Example As a result, there have been many advances and research into the field of psychopharmacology. One of the widely used pharmaceutical treatments on people suffering from heroin addiction is a drug known as methadone. Heroin is a synthetic version of morphine. The opium poppy plant is the base from which it is synthesized. The compound of Heroin was first synthesized in 1874. After it was synthesized, it was marketed as a non-addictive morphine substitute and often used as a cough suppressant. It was originally marketed by Bayer. After reformation in the government in regards to drug administration and regulation, the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was passed in 1914 which moved this drug for only recreational use. Eventually, it was moved to a Schedule I drug and made illegal. Characteristics of Schedule I drugs include the fact that there is a high likelihood of abuse and they provide very little medicinal purpose. The pharmacology of heroin is what makes it a very addictive substance. Th e typical paths of administration are either through snorting or through intravenous injection. The reason that heroin has such a quick effect on the body is because it is highly lipid soluble. It binds to specific opioid receptors which induce an effect of euphoria for the user. This is caused by an excess in the secretion of dopamine and the occupation of dopamine in these opioid receptors. These receptors are located throughout the body, but in particular in the brain and spinal cord. Drug dependence occurs when people have used heroin for such a long period of time that their body has been chemically changed and they can no longer function without the drug. As a result, the withdrawal symptoms can be extremely horrible and can include: depression, anxiety, nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, etc. One of the many commonly reported adverse side effects is the feeling of crawling on the skin, which leads to lesions and scars to form from users obsessive scratching. Fatality from withdrawal is not commonly observed with this type of addiction (US Department of, 2005). One of the most commonly used drugs in the treatment of heroin addiction is Methadone. It was first synthesized in 1937 in Germany. It works by occupying the opioid receptors in the body which is able to block the effects of dopamine in the body. This opioid agonist is also a glutamate inhibitor which helps prevent the excitatory action in the central nervous system. This allows the user to come off the heroin addiction much easier. The medication is taken orally once a day and typically has an effect of between 24 and 36 hours. While methadone moves to take the place of heroin in the addiction, it is able to block many of the more harmful effects of the addiction, but does not provide that high associated with heroin. The addiction, however, becomes the same with methadone, but can sometimes take more time to come off of (Broekhuysen, 2000). Even though it has been shown that methadone is an important c omponent in the recovery process, there are many critics who believe that this is ââ¬Å"merely substituting one addiction for another.â⬠It is because there is large criticism regarding whether the addiction is being treated as a medical addiction. Like the idea of people selling prescription drugs illegally, many critics feel that if methadone is made too widely used, then it will become an abused drug in the trafficking industry due to
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Advantages and Disadvantages of NGOs
Advantages and Disadvantages of NGOs ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION AS MAJOR POLITICAL ACTOR IN GLOBAL SOUTH ââ¬Å"To invest a little time and genuine support with real-world exchanges of informationà grounded in what truly interests those in your own worldâ⬠. -Mitch Throwe NGO are tugboats in international channels ââ¬Å"Development is the strategy of evasion. When you canââ¬â¢t give people land reform andà Given them hybrid cows. When you canââ¬â¢t send children to school, try non-formal education. Then you canââ¬â¢t provide basic health to people, talk of health insurance. Canââ¬â¢t give them jobs? Not to worry, just redefine the word employment opportunities. Donââ¬â¢t want to do away withà Using children as a form of slave labor? Never mind. Talk of ââ¬Å"improving the conditions of childà Labor!â⬠It sounds good. You can even make money out of itâ⬠. -Palagumi Sainath, Everybody Loves a Good Drought; Stories form Indiaââ¬â¢s Poorest Districts,à (Penguin Books, 1996), p.42 -Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) NGO describe to a non-profit citizens, voluntary entity organized national or internationally. Thus, professional association, trade unions, foundations, religions organizations, womenââ¬â¢s,à youth groups, cooperative associations, human right associations, and development also someà environmental protection groups, research institutes concerning with international affairs and associations dealing parliamentarians are considered NGOs. The south-based NGOs that provide services either to the rural poor or to basic level membership organizations and institutes and also with local branches of international NGOs that enjoy varying levels of autonomy. NGOs are therefore primitive from historical or formal and informal membership organizations such as framersââ¬â¢ associations. Even within this, there exists wide range of origins and philosophy. The majority of NGOs is miniature of major NGOs structures with minor lines of communications and is therefore capable of responding accessibility feasibility and rapidly to its clientââ¬â¢s requirements. They are also predefined by a work ethic conductive to generating sustainable processes and impacts of development in various fields. NGOs also presence in remote locations, where it is difficult to keep government staff in post. Role of NGOs Limited technical capacities and relevant small resources bases may characterize someà of NGOs. NGOs sometimes may have limited strategic manner and weak linkageà with other players in development. NGOs may have limited managerial andà organizational capacities. In some countries, the relationship between NGOs andà government may involve political, legal, ideological, and administrative constraints. NGOs in international processes perform many functions like settings agendas,à Negotiation outcomes, conferring legitimacy and implementing solutions. Some of its major roles are as follows: Supporting aspects: Demonstration ad pilot projects: NGOs have the advantage of selection particular places for new projects and specify and as well as improved projects and also advancing the length of time which they will be maintaining those projects and tackle some shortcomings that government projects overcoming some of shortcoming that governments face in this manner. Faciliatiate communication: NGOs also can facilitate communication between people and government. Evalaution and Research: Improved and innovative activities need to be carefully documented and shared effectively and specifically monitoring would accessible for the sharing of final results with people and with the project staff. NGOs also play and important role in advocacy manner that it is implement the governmental programs from criticism to advisable form. NGOs also play an important rule nationally and internationally indeed have a typical rule in helping and encouragement for governments to taking the actions for which they have given endorsement internationally. As actors in an global civil society As actors in a global civil society, NGOs can help to recreate a countervailing force to the process that can excluded people by re-distributing assets and opportunities, injecting social values into market processes, and holding economic institutions to account for their actions. This represents the cutting edge and implementations of innovation of much NGO work today and also for the future. NGOs also represent issues and its own views in the dynamics of the developmental processes. The UN Secretary ââ¬âGeneral in 1995 said: ââ¬Å"NGOs are a basic element in representation of new world. In all continents of world NGOs are spreading in number rapidly. And this is inseparable from the aspiration to freedom and democracy which today animates international society. From the standpoint opinion and the mobilizing powers of NGOsâ⬠. NGOs are also facing challenges to generate themselves to work in more global and strategic tracks in future. In a sense this is what NGOs are already doing by integrating micro level actions in their sense projects and advocacy activities in exact way. NGOs must create form of concrete innovations at is grass-level to connect with enforcement that can be easily influence the shape of poverty, violence and many other exclusionary violent behaviors and also capture the world of knowledge. Role of NGOs in development cooperation The basics of non-governmental organizations remain the same: to provide basic services to those who need them. Many NGOs have demolished their ability to reach poor locality for working in an accessible areas and innovate areas or in other hand achieve things better than by official organizations and agencies. Many non-governmental organizations have an ability to reach poor people, work in inaccessible areas, innovate, or in other ways achieve things better than by official agencies. Many non-governmental organizations have closest linkage with poor group of people. Non-governmental organizations resources are largely additional; they complement the development effort of others, and they can help to make the development process more feasible, translucent, transparent, participatory and accountable. Non-governmental organizations not only ââ¬Å"fill the gaps ââ¬Å"but they also act as a response to failures in the public and private sectors in providing basics services. Relationship of NGOs A healthy relationship is only conceivable when both parties (government and Non-governmental organizations) share same objectives. If the governmental commitment to innovating the provision of turban services is weak or low level, Non-governmental organizations will always find dialogue and correlation or even counterproductive. When government has social agenda and where Non-governmental organizations are more effective, than there is the potential for strong, collaborative relationship found in both of them. However, the mutual distinct jealousy also appears to be deep-rooted.Governemts fear that NGOs threaten national security and can erode their power. And Non-governmental organizations mistrust over the motivation scenarios of officials and also of government. Though many of the strategic Non-governmental organizations are overcoming their inhibitions and are seeking closer collaboration with governments. To support these roles and relationships, Non-governmental organizations will need to develop a range of new and improve skills and competitive in learning, mediation dialogue bridging, maintaining and influencing. Now focus of Non-governmental organizations is on narrow management issues acquiring skills valued by donors, and formal or traditional concepts of lobbying, need to be replaced by capacities wide range and include the ability to listen, learn and team work at both locally and also globally. The balance of power Non-governmental organizations in world is very hard to shift as we found and organizing this conference. Non-governmental organizations paly high level legitimacy and accountability to mount, fatally undermining the credibility that NGOs will need if they are to play in global debates. Modifications and Sustainability Most Non-governmental organizations shows themselves as catalyst for change and as well as an actor affected by exclusive changes, such as the capacity development. In terms of type of activities andabout the receiver of Non-governmental organizations efforts. Whereas the object of capacity development efforts by Non-governmental organizations formally orusually has been civil society itself through a focus on the community. For change, action and intervention need to change. According to one author, capacity development hints radical changes in Non-governmental organizations action, leading to a significantly reduced role in problem identification, design and use of interventions and greater focus on help (in doing something), strategic inputs and supporting processes aimed at strengthening developing country capacity. Functionally, this means a move away forming projects to investments in developing country program and less reliance ontechnical assistance(Gordjin, 2006: 14 ). Equally, Uvin at al. suggest that Non-governmental organizations canreadjustand expand their action by using their knowledge through activities such as training, informat ion sharing,company that helps business and advice in order to promote changes in other institutions whocorrect (should) include (s) the provisions of such support services, that is, government (2000: 1414-1417). Criticism /Disadvantages of Non-governmental organizations There has additionally been reproval on how Non-governmental organizations have utilized their funding and other monies received or raised. There is additionally disparity between Non-governmental organizations in the north and Non-governmental organizations in the south between their viewpoints and conceptions in which to implement programs in cognation to development and human rights discretely. By endeavoring to amalgamate these two discourses across the globe can engender quandaries of fragmentation of conceptions and programs. If fragmentation were to occur it would be the antithesis intention of Non-governmental organizations that were endeavoring to cumulate human rights and development into kindred programs. Issa G. Shivii is one of Africaââ¬â¢s leading experts on law and development issues as an author and academics. His critique on Non-governmental organizations is found in two essays. ââ¬Å"Silence in Non-governmental organizations discourse: The role and future of Non-governmental organizations in Africa Another reprove of Non-governmental organizations is that they are being designed and utilized as extensions of the mundane foreign policy instruments of certain Western countries and groups of countries. There has withal been inundating disaster of Non-governmental organizations utilizing while lies or misinformed advice to enact their campaigns. In other words, Non-governmental organizations have been quite nescient about critical issues because, as chief scientist at Greenpeace Doug Parr claims, these organizations have lost their efforts in being authentically scientific and are now more self-intrigued. Rather than through science so as to be rationally and efficaciously practical, Non-governmental organizations are now abusing the utilizations of science in order to gain their own advantages. Human Rights and Non-Governmental Organizations: (Some Channels for Non-governmental organizations Participation in international organizations) Some of the Case studies are as following: Non-governmental organizations representatives can be on a national delegation to an international conference to advice delegates from their government (Cairo Population Conference in 1994); Representatives from Non-governmental organizations can be included on a national delegation to an international conference to represent the NGO and conduct negotiations (International Labor Organization); NGOs can send delegates to semi-public international conferences (IUCN has a membership that includes 699 BGOs as well as states and government agencies); An international organization can set up an advisory group that includes experts from NGOs, who do not represent the Non-governmental organizations (UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters); An international organization can give Non-governmental organizations an opportunity to participate (not necessarily in a negotiating role) in an official conference to draft a teat (ECOSOC); An international organization can give NGOs an opportunity to participate in preparatory committees for an international conference (Rio earth summit in 1992, Johannesburg summit on sustainable development in 2002); An international organization can hold a special session to give Non-governmental organizations an opportunity to make presentations (General Assembly on sub-Saharan Africa in 1986); Itââ¬â¢s also cover some main areas i.e. Womenââ¬â¢s economic empowerment, in achievement gender equality. Organizational Implication: Some implications are as follows in the aspect of Non-governmental organizations field: How to create and move genuinely inclusively civil society at every level of world system. How to hold other organizations accountable for their actions and ensure that they respond to social and as well as environmental requirements? How to insure and improve that international regimes are both implemented effectively and work for the benefit of needy people and also for poor communities? How to approve that profit made at global field are translated into concentrate benefit at the base roots. The above challenges raise major questions about how Non-governmental organizations organize and improve themselves to work in more and more global aspects worldwide and also some improvement in the way for future. Conclusions NGOs play an increasingly important role in the development. Non-governmental organizations can bridge the gap between government and community. Community based organizations are essential in organizing poor people, taking major action and representing the interests of their members in dialogue between Non-governmental organizations and government. On the other hand, Non-governmental organizations are better at facial thing and supply the inputs into monumental and management, also mediating between people and the wide political party, internetworking information and policy reform. By enabling framework of laws, economic and political methods and conditions the State can play and perform a fundamental role in helping Non-governmental organizations and as well as for CBOs. Non-governmental organizations may have limited organizational and managerial capacities. In some of the countries, the relationship between NGOs and government may involve legal, administrative and some political entities. Sometimes questions arise concerning the motivations objectives of Non-governmental organizations, and the degree of flexibility NGOs accept for the itââ¬â¢s final impact of policies and also positions they advocate. The variety of activities in which Non-governmental organizations participate has increasing rapidly since the 1980s, witnessing particular expansion in the 1990s.This has been presented Non-governmental organizations, specifically those that operate at pressure of centralization and decentralization. By centralization Non-governmental organizations, particularly those that operate at international level, they can easily assign a common theme or set of goals. Intervarsity it is also advantageous to decentralize as these increases the chances of an Non-governmental organizations behaving flexibility and effectively to localized issues. The strength of Non-governmental organizations , operating at the field level, itââ¬â¢s their ability to create close links to local communities, and to engender community ownership and participation in improvement at developmental effort. References: 1-Source: Charnovitz, Steve. 1997. ââ¬Å"Two Centuries of Participation: Non-governmental organizations and internationalâ⬠Michigan Journal of International Law18 (2): 281-282 2-Role of Non-governmental Organizations in development cooperation Research paper, UNDP/Yale Collaborated Programme, 1999 research Clinic, New Haven 1999: Olena P. Maslyukivska 3-NGO funding Policy: INTERACT-NGO Research Programme, 2001 4-Aid, NGO and Civil Society: Eldis, 2003 5-Edwards, M. (1997) Organizational learning in NGOs: what have we learned? Public administration and development 17 (2), 235-50. 6-World Bank (1991 1b), Trends in developing countries 1991. Washington, DC: World Bank. 7- Palagumi Sainath, Everybody Loves a Good Drought; Stories form Indiaââ¬â¢s Poorest Districts, (Penguin Books, 1996), p.42
Friday, October 25, 2019
Miltons Passage :: Milton History Essays
Milton's Passage Works Cited Missing In this passage Milton surveys the battlefield after the inconclusive first day of fighting between the rebellious third of the angels and the equally-sized contingent God has sent to face them. The purpose is to portray the disarray and destruction caused by the battle, especially on the side of the fallen, and to contrast that chaos and baseness with the dignity and honor of the champions who defeat them. Little has been accomplished by the fighting, except to demonstrate the difference between the warriors on the two sides. Neither side is defeated, but the side of good has displayed its superiority in valor and glory, and the evil have shown themselves to be the lesser precisely because of their moral inferiority. Though they have fought to a draw, only the angels do so honorably, holding their ground as we watch the Satanic Host fly in a state of fear and panic. Milton seems to evoke a parallel with two of the most famous battles in history, as presented by the father of his tory, Herodotus: the Spartan duels with the vast Persian force of the Great King Xerxes. In the first battle, at Thermopylae, the Spartans stood their ground faithfully, and through obedience and discipline shamed their (in Herodotus' portrayal) morally inferior foe by forcing them to pay an outrageous price for victory. In the second, at Plataea, the Spartans this time defeat their more numerous foe, again due to their inherent superiority, which is ascribed, ultimately, to their virtue. If Milton's scene is imagined cinematically, the view begins low, looking down to see "all the ground" where the detritus lay "strown," "in "heap[s]," and "overturn'd" (388-90), and generally tipped over and fallen down in a catalogue of ways. The rebel angels' fallen condition is made literal by the work of the loyal warriors, whom we see in exactly the opposite condition, in spite of having fought just as hard and taken the same beating. We look up from the jumbled mass to see the angels in their state of "high advantages" (401), seeming to fly in formation unbroken by the onslaught, unperturbed by their wounds. Milton presents a dual image of battle lines shifting and being wrenched out of shape in parallel with the picture of bodies being crushed and mangled. Following his announcement that the devils' "Mightiest quell'd", we are shown that the "battle swerv'd" and we see "inroad[s] gor'd" into the broken battle formations and the broken bodies of the fighters (386-87). Milton's Passage :: Milton History Essays Milton's Passage Works Cited Missing In this passage Milton surveys the battlefield after the inconclusive first day of fighting between the rebellious third of the angels and the equally-sized contingent God has sent to face them. The purpose is to portray the disarray and destruction caused by the battle, especially on the side of the fallen, and to contrast that chaos and baseness with the dignity and honor of the champions who defeat them. Little has been accomplished by the fighting, except to demonstrate the difference between the warriors on the two sides. Neither side is defeated, but the side of good has displayed its superiority in valor and glory, and the evil have shown themselves to be the lesser precisely because of their moral inferiority. Though they have fought to a draw, only the angels do so honorably, holding their ground as we watch the Satanic Host fly in a state of fear and panic. Milton seems to evoke a parallel with two of the most famous battles in history, as presented by the father of his tory, Herodotus: the Spartan duels with the vast Persian force of the Great King Xerxes. In the first battle, at Thermopylae, the Spartans stood their ground faithfully, and through obedience and discipline shamed their (in Herodotus' portrayal) morally inferior foe by forcing them to pay an outrageous price for victory. In the second, at Plataea, the Spartans this time defeat their more numerous foe, again due to their inherent superiority, which is ascribed, ultimately, to their virtue. If Milton's scene is imagined cinematically, the view begins low, looking down to see "all the ground" where the detritus lay "strown," "in "heap[s]," and "overturn'd" (388-90), and generally tipped over and fallen down in a catalogue of ways. The rebel angels' fallen condition is made literal by the work of the loyal warriors, whom we see in exactly the opposite condition, in spite of having fought just as hard and taken the same beating. We look up from the jumbled mass to see the angels in their state of "high advantages" (401), seeming to fly in formation unbroken by the onslaught, unperturbed by their wounds. Milton presents a dual image of battle lines shifting and being wrenched out of shape in parallel with the picture of bodies being crushed and mangled. Following his announcement that the devils' "Mightiest quell'd", we are shown that the "battle swerv'd" and we see "inroad[s] gor'd" into the broken battle formations and the broken bodies of the fighters (386-87).
Thursday, October 24, 2019
The Worst Hard Times
The Worst Hard Times Study Guide Chapters 3-5 I. PROMISE: The Great Plowup, 1901-1930 Chapter 3: Creating Dalhart 1. Vocabulary (choose 3 that you want to make sure you know): sharecropping (p. 52), optimism (p. 53), factory farms (p. 53), hooch (p. 54), landlord (56), cannon fodder (57) 2. Make a list of all the names. Who are they? What are their stories in connection with Dalhart and the times told of in this book? 3. Make a list of all the different ways the grass of the prairie is referred to; also keep a list of all the ways the land and the dust are referred to. 4. What were the ways people hoped to make money around Dalhart?Which were successful and which were not? 5. Who were the ââ¬Ëgirlsââ¬â¢? What did they do for the town? (Read between the lines. The actual words on the page are not the answer to this question. ) 6. Who were the people (US origins? European origins? ) migrating to the High Plains? What were they looking and hoping for? Chapter 4: High Plains Deutsc h 1. Vocabulary (choose 5 you want to make sure you know): glut (p. 59), wheat mounds (p. 59), bushel (p. 59), debts, naked (p. 60), gamble (p. 60), swamping (p 60), defiant (p. 61), pungent (p. 62), potent (p. 62), turkey red (p. 62), thistle (p. 62), pacifists (p. 2), manifest destiny (p. 64), yeomen (p. 66) 2. When wheat prices went down and then down again, what did farmers do? What do you think of this? 3. Add to your list of all the names. What are their stories in connection with the area mentioned and the times told of in this book? 4. What is the family event in this chapter? Like other chapters, Egan begins telling this story, but then he goes to other events. What is the point of the story he tells us in this chapter? 5. What are the similarities and differences between the story of Russia and the High Plains? 6. What is the point of George Ehrlich family story?What particular experiences did he and his family have? What were the particular characteristics of George and h is culture? 7. P 61: ââ¬Ëmake fun of;ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëcall them in for questioning;ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ërefuse them entry;ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëmock.. ;ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëlaugh at;ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëderide. ââ¬â¢ What is the subject of and object of these verb phrases? What do you think about this? 8. What countries did people come from to settle the High Plains? Support each place with names that Egan tells us. 9. What is the point of Egan telling us about the immigrants? What did they bring to the High Plains? 10. What does this mean, ââ¬Å"Some railroads practiced selective ethnic shoppingâ⬠?Chapter 5: Last of the Great Plowup 1. Vocabulary(choose 3 you want to make sure you know): stock market (p. 73), shares (p. 74), foreclosure (p. 79), warrants (p. 78), mule trains (81), tumble weed (p. 84) 2. When wheat prices went down and then down again, what did farmers do? What do you think of this? (I know this was in Ch 4â⬠¦but what is different or the same in this chapter? ) 3. Althoug h most Americans did not own stocks, they had land and wheat. What happened to the prices of wheat and land after the stock market crash in 1929? 4. There was a peculiar kind of storm. What was it ? What did the storms do? How did people react? . Is President Hoover concerned about food? Why not? 6. How do farmers try to beat the banks in foreclosure sales in Boise City? 7. How much was Hazel paid for her teaching job? Where did the money come from to pay her? 8. What activity did Ike Osteen observe when he was playing at the ghost church? 9. Egan says that Prohibition was a ââ¬Å"moneymaker and job creatorâ⬠(p. 82). What is he telling us? 10. How were black men treated in Dalhart? Give an example. 11. What was going on with the wheat? What idea did President Hoover reject? What did farmers do in response? 12. ââ¬Å"A new decade was dawningâ⬠â⬠¦. What does this refer to?
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Janis Joplin Essay
Perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson was right and may as well have referred to Janis Joplin as he was saying this quotation had he lived during Joplinââ¬â¢s time. With her death at a young age of 27, it had been a short-lived life the musical genius Janis Joplin had. We may not know whether or not her cousins can tell nothing about her but her life deserves to be relived and I am here to write about it. A look into the context in which she lived will help give a better understanding of how the course of her life was influenced and came to be the way it was. Janis Joplin is one of the most prominent individuals in the 1960s, an era considered to be a revolution of sorts. Beginnings On the morning of January 19, 1943, Janis Lyn was born to be the eldest child of Seth and Dorothy Joplin. It was years later that she would have younger siblings Michael and Laura making them a middle-class family composing of five members. Growing up in an industrial town called Port Arthur in Texas crowded with oil refineries, chemical plants, factories, and rows of oil-storage tanks with fumes hanging in the air, it wasnââ¬â¢t the best place to satisfy the brilliant and inquisitive little Janis as there wasnââ¬â¢t much room for activities and recreations. Although that was the case, she did well in school, having a great interest and aptitude for reading and painting. As a child, she already had a reputation for singing as one of the soloists in their church choir. According to one of her friends, she had been popular in Port Arthur as a talented and cute little girl. Janis considered her childhood as relatively pleasant. It was only at the age of fourteen, as confessed in many of her various interviews, that she felt like the world turned on her. That was the time she gained weight and had acne problems, problems which meant most than anything for teenagers. The eventual lost of her looks coincided badly with her entry to the highschool world where the popular girls were the ones with good looks and Janis just fell behind (Echols, 2000). While at the Thomas Jefferson highschool, Janis took rejection by heart (Amburn, 1993). Used to having attention on her, she started acting out and whilst she began to receive attention, she even emphasized her being different. She was determined to keep the attention on her even if it was a negative one. She became a beatnik girl who would flaunt her eccentric clothes ranging from above-the-knee skirts, black or purple tights coupled with liking unconventional and ââ¬Ëdifferentââ¬â¢ liberal arts and music. As Echols put it, ââ¬Å"she was bent on becoming an eyesore, an affront to everything the townspeople believed in. Indeed, Janis was eager to defy as many social conventions as she could. This made her parents unhappy- ââ¬Å"she just changed totally, overnightâ⬠quoting her mother Dorothy. As an underage girl, her defiant attitude was too much that one incident happened involving the police after she took a ride with her male friends who were overage. This made her even more the topic of talks and gossips around their Pleasantville of a town. She was much into music and drinking, acting as if these two things are wedded. And this always gets her into trouble. She was often sent to the counselorââ¬â¢s office for misbehavior and drinking (Echols, 2000). Her parents were baffled and felt helpless. Joplinââ¬â¢s rebellious proclivity was unwavering, she just wanted to be different and be free to express herself. Little did they know that Janisââ¬â¢ rebellious actions symbolize the beginning of an inevitable social revolution and an ââ¬Å"emerging generation gapâ⬠that was about to come(Echols, 2000). The fact was: it wasnââ¬â¢t just Joplin; it was going to be a collective movement. The Sixties was well on its way. The Sixtiesâ⬠, as it is often used in popular culture by some journalists, historians and other academes, has seen many varied influential and transforming trends in culture and ideologies which can be described as nothing less than exciting, powerful, radical and even rebellious. It was a time when people are trying to break free from the rigid and conformist social norms and social constraints in search for individual freedom (Booker, 1970). It could be said that this period of history has a great impact on Janis Joplin and further influenced not only her genius but how her entire life turned out. Musical Inclination Music would eventually become a passion for Joplin. Aside from singing in their local church choir, Janis developed her musical interest further after befriending a group of outsiders as a teenager. She and this gang would listen and idolize African-American Blues artists such as Leadbelly whose album was the first she claimed she ever purchased (Echols, 2000). During highschool she continued listening to blues music and listened to other blues artists like Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton and Odetta. And even later on, she will begin singing blues and folks songs together with some friends, imitating the artistsââ¬â¢ husky yet soulful voices. Amburn, 1993). She always had a gut feel about her singing ability but it wasnââ¬â¢t until she imitated Odetta and performed one of her songs which stunned her friends that she she confirmed, she indeed ââ¬Å"has a voice. â⬠Her early efforts included playing in coffee houses in their small town. Talent, Notoriety and Fame In 1963, she left for San Francisco and found herself residing in North Beach. She also ventured to other places like Venice, the Village, New York and Haight-Ashbury acquiring further experiences and experimenting on her music and creativity. It wasnââ¬â¢t just a year ago that she started taping her first song at a friendââ¬â¢s house and a year after she would record more songs with her friends Jorma Kaukonen and Martha Kaukonen providing her accompaniments. An album called Typewriter tape will be released containing seven tracks including ââ¬Å"Long Black Train Blues,â⬠ââ¬Å"Nobody Knows You When Youââ¬â¢re Down and Out,â⬠ââ¬Å"Typewriter Talk,â⬠Kansas City Blues,â⬠ââ¬Å"Trouble In Mind,â⬠ââ¬Å" Hesitation Blues,â⬠and ââ¬Å"Daddy, Daddy, Daddyâ⬠. As the Sixties progress, various movements are emerging from the left and right. The counterculture and social revolution was spreading. A popular term emerged as the hippies, a youth movement characterized strongly by a shift towards a more liberated society. It includes the questioning groups created a movement toward liberation in society, including sexual revolution, questioning of authority and government, fighting for the freedom and rights of the marginalized groups including Negroes, women, homosexuals, and minorities. The use of marijuana, heroine, LSD and various others drugs and listening to psychedelic music were also rampant. Janis would not be left behind and took part in these movements. Joplinââ¬â¢s waywardness continued well into those years. Around that time, she increased her drug use and took on a reputation as a frequent heroine user and a thrill-freak (Amburn, 1993). She was also heavy on alcohol and other intoxicants and even engaged in sexual high. In 1965, she was described as skeletal, even emaciated due to the effects of her amphetamine use (Amburn, 1993). For some time, she was convinced by her friends to become sober and to refrain from drug use. An old friend and then manager Chet Helms of a group called Big Brother was attracted by Joplinââ¬â¢s bluesy voice. On June 4, 1966, Joplin officially joined the band. Their first public performance was in San Francisco at the Avalon Ballroom. Her drug use was kept at bay with the help of her friends who she lived within a communal apartment (Friedman, 1992). They signed a deal with Mainstream Records on the 23rd of August of 1966. A year after, the band released their debut album by Columbia Records. Joplin and her band gradually gained fame after several follow-up performances including those in Monterey Pop Festival, appearances in television such as The Dick Cavett Show. She received positive reviews from various magazines labelling her as a powerful singer and a staggering woman of rock and roll. Eventually, she would leave the Big Brother band and went for a solo career and would later form a band called the Kozmic Blues and another group, which she would call her as her own called the Full Tilt Boogie Band. After breaking up again with the band, she recorded several songs which would be released after her death and would become the highest-selling album of her career. It included the best hit single â⬠Me and Bobby McGeeâ⬠, a cover of Kris Kristoffersonââ¬â¢s who had been her ex-lover. Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970 at the age of 27 years. Legacy Janis Joplin can be considered as the Queen of Rock and Roll in the late 1960s. She was a music icon which would influence the music scene in the years to come. She was an established female star who had success in a male-dominant music scene. Fans and musical experts alike would consider her songs as immortal and contiunes to influence modern day music and artists. She also made contributions to the fashion industry. The way she dressed herself had been another avenue for her self-expression. In interview after interviews, she would update the media of her latest fashion statement from her clothes, to her hair styles, hair accessories, body decorations, and body accessories. She would also affect the movie industry influencing and inspiring movie directors, actors and actresses such as Better Midler especially in the 1979 film entitled The Rose which would garner her an academy nomination for her performance as Janis Joplin. Other films were also produced based on her life including Gospel According to Janis. A musical play was composed in the 1990s, which will then win a praise and be lauded together with the outstanding performances of the artists who would play Janis. She would also receive posthumous awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievment and the induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the arts, some of her personal artifacts including the Porsche she owned were displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Musuem Exhibition which will serve as a testimony to the psychedelic era dubbed as ââ¬Å"The Summer of Love- Art of the Psychedelic Eraâ⬠. This made people reminisce to that nostalgic and definitely not-forgotten era of the human history. Truly, Janis Joplin was a genius not only of her time but her genius continues to live and influence various industried today.
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