Putnams Theory On Bowling Alone Essays - Community Building

Putnam's Theory On Bowling Alone Robert Putnam's central thesis in Bowling Alone is that there has been a decline in civic engagement and social capital over the past few decades. The idea of bowling alone stems from the fact that bowling in leagues from 1980 through 1993 decreased by 40 percent, while individual bowlers increased by 10 percent (Putnam 112). Putnam uses this metaphor for all forms of civic disengagement, meaning that people virtually do as little as possible collectively and would rather focus purely on the individual, rather than the group. Putnam's book addresses several topics of civic disengagement, including a decline in civic participation and social isolation. Putnam focuses on the increasing amount of television viewership and is wary to comment on technological increases, like the Internet, for this decline. However, Putnam tends to focus on what is occurring, using various sorts of data, and overlooks the true meaning of why it is occurring or the positive effects from an average American' s viewpoint. The increase in television viewership and use of the Internet does mark a change in social habits, but it does not warrant Putnam's view that it causes social isolation or disengagement. People in the forties and fifties did not have the same ability as society has today to watch television or use the Internet to get information. It is true that 50 years ago, citizens that wanted to be informed on current issues needed to attend meetings or engage in verbal conversation with other people to gather that information. Today, citizens spend an average of four hours a day watching television and countless hours at a computer, but they are getting more detailed information than the people fifty years ago did. The increase in television has allowed for all people to be better informed. Television enables people to get a broader view of current events, including immediate reports from around the globe and every angle of a situation because of the increase in television technology. This helps America's fast-paced society. In addition, there are more opportunities to discuss current concerns, like health, education, and even entertainment. The ability to watch television around the clock means that someone working a night shift can still get the latest new cooking and health techniques, or that a child who is home for the summer can still engage in educational, but entertaining programming. It may be argued that this isn't an effective use of time, but it is convenient and that is important to the American public. Another aspect of increased television viewership is the ability to watch sitcoms and sporting events. A person can also watch political debates and political analysis programs on television. Some people may watch this genre of television alone, but typically people enjoy watching them in a group. An example of this is the crowd of people at local bars on Monday nights watching football or the parties that people throw for a season premiere or an awards ceremony, or spending a family dinner enjoying the debates on television. The fact that the number of restaurants has nearly doubled in the past 30 years shows that there is a need to house more people for these kind of social interactions (Lemann 6) and they might be too lazy to cook the meal and invite people over, but they still want to engage. This contradicts the idea that more television watching means less of virtually every form of civic participation and social involvement (Putnam 228). Putnam believes that it is too early to assess the long-run social effects of the Internet (Putnam 171), but the positive impact on society must be expressed. However, seeing that Putnam has a website (www.bowlingalone.com), one must assume that he thinks it is a good form of social participation and civic engagement. The best way to express how the Internet functions are through the words of Internet theorist Michael Strangelove: The Internet is mass participation in fully bi-directional, uncensored mass communication. The Internet is so full of possibilities and it has truly helped the American people to better communicate with the world. The Internet has impacted the lives of everyone that has access to it. People utilize the Internet for every form of social participation

EE Cummings essays

EE Cummings essays E. E. Cummings, who was born in 1894 and died in 1962, wrote many poems with unconventional punctuation and capitalization, and unusual line, word, and even letter placements - namely, ideograms. Cummings' most difficult form of prose is probably the ideogram; it is extremely terse and it combines both visual and auditory elements. There may be sounds or characters on the page that cannot be verbalized or cannot convey the same message if pronounced and not read. Four of Cummings' poems - l(a, mortals), !blac, and swi( - illustrate the ideogram form quite well. Cummings utilizes unique syntax in these poems in order to convey messages visually as well as verbally. Although one may think of l(a as a poem of sadness and loneliness, Cummings probably did not intend that. This poem is about individuality - oneness (Kid 200-1). The theme of oneness can be derived from the numerous instances and forms of the number '1' throughout the poem. First, 'l(a' contains both the number 1 and the singular indefinite article, 'a'; the second line contains the French singular definite article, 'le'; 'll' on the fifth line represents two ones; 'one' on the 7th line spells the number out; the 8th line, 'l', isolates the number; and 'iness', the last line, can mean "the state of being I" - that is, individuality - or "oneness", deriving the "one" from the lowercase roman numeral 'i' (200). Cummings could have simplified this poem drastically ("a leaf falls:/loneliness"), and still conveyed the same verbal message, but he has altered the normal syntax in order that each line should show a 'one' and highlight the theme of oneness. In fact, the whole poem is shaped like a '1' (200). The shape of the poem can also be seen as the path of a falling leaf; the poem drifts down, flipping and altering pairs of letters like a falling leaf gliding, back and forth, down to the grou...

Addiction problems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Addiction problems - Case Study Example Mrs. Smith was aged 85 and on 28 November 2009 was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. On 1st December 2009, she was being assisted by a nurse to get out of bed when she slipped on a wet floor and sustained a fractured neck of her right femur. This was treated surgically on 2 December 2009. She died of a pulmonary embolism following a deep vein thrombosis on 10 December 2009.One scenario is that the nurse could be sued for the fractured neck of the patient's femur. Another scenario is that the hospital might be sued for the fractured neck of the patient's right femur. The doctor could be charged with malpractice for the way in which he handled the pulmonary embolism for surgery. The hospital could be liable for the surgery gone wrong. Additionally, as a fifth scenario, the hospital might be liable for the patient's death, in which case, it would be a wrongful death lawsuit. As a sixth scenario, the hospital could get sued for negligence for the patient's death.The first scenario is that the nurse could be sued for negligence in the matter of the patient having fractured the neck of her femur. The nurse was supposed to be helping the patient avoid such a travesty. Since this accident happened on her watch, she would be liable. In negligence, the person preventing the wrong from happening to the other person has a duty of care. "Under the new rules, the existence of a duty states will depend on three factors: the foreseeability of damage occurring; the proximity of the relationship between the claimant and defendant; and whether it is just in the circumstances to impose a duty of care."1 From the nurse's point of view, since Mrs. Smith was aged 85, it should be a reasonable assumption to make that this nurse would have foreseen such an accident happening. Additionally, the nurse's proximity to the patient was such that she should probably have been aware of the patient's difficulty, although, proximity of the nurse to the patient would have to be established. Also, it is probably just to assume that the circumstances under which the nurse found herself required her to impose a duty of care. The second scenario is that the hospital could be sued for the patient's fractured femur. Obviously, this would probably not happen since the patient is already deceased, and litigation would obviously be moved to address the patient's death. In that case, the hospital could definitely be held liable for the patient's surgery having gone awry. After all, doctors are places that are supposed to help people get better, not allow them to pass away. Hospitals are technically supposed to be helping people. They are not necessarily liable for an unforeseen problem such as a pulmonary embolism, but it could be that the hospital's practices which were put in place had something to do with the patient's demise. If this was the case, the hospital could certainly be liable. The doctor could be charged with a malpractice suit due to negligence on his part if he knew that the procedure he used was not correct, or if he made a mistake during surgery. This is not necessarily what happened, but it is unsure. That is why, at the Inquest, it must be mapped out what needs to be found out in terms of evidence. The way the doctor handled the pulmonary embolism is sure to affect the outcome of the Inquest. Additionally, the hospital could be involved in a wrongful death lawsuit. This would be because the patient would not have had to have surgery if the patient had not slipped and fell due to the hospital staff's negligence. In this case, the hospital would probably take on the lawsuit and most likely win. Hospitals are notorious for doing this kind of thing. They are infamous for committing negligent acts and then sweeping them under the proverbial rug, hidden from the public's bird's-eye view.