Oklahoma City Essay Example for Free

Oklahoma City Essay This paper will describe the historical geography of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma’s states capital. There are several sections to this assignment, which starts with the original settlers in this city, their motivation to inhabit the area and research on their ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. The paper then progresses to describe the economy basis in the early years, its development over the years and the changes in the population, socio-economic, physical and cultural background, which appeals to tourists. At the finale of this essay, they will be a segment which highlights the well-known personalities which were born in Oklahoma City and their corresponding achievements. It took approximately 100 years from its day of birth on April 22 1889 for Oklahoma City to be the metropolitan it is today. Oklahoma was first recorded in history in the year 1541, when they were the home to Plains Indian tribe, consisting of Osage, Kiowa, Apache and Comanche (Gibson, 1965). Subsequently, in the year 1803, the United States purchased Oklahoma as a piece of the Louisiana Purchase. Seventeen years later, the federal government forced the Five Civilized Tribes to leave their homeland in southeastern United States, such as Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi River to other parts of the country, namely Oklahoma. Gibson (1965) in his book Oklahoma: The History of Five Centuries also detailed the Trail of Tears in 1838 in which many men, women and children were forced to walk a torturous journey to Oklahoma, and some even lost their lives. Here we notice the changeover of settlers from the Plains Indians Tribe to the Five Tribes and upon this settlement, Oklahoma became an Indian Territory. Cultural, Ethnic Religious Background The Five Tribes relied primarily on maize agriculture, fishing and hunting. Households generally included the extended families with kinship based on matrilineal clean system. Temple architectures, ceremonial centers and elaborate rituals such as the Corn Dance existed, as a tribute to the growing of corn and respect to the Sun. They also made traditional crafts such as coiled pottery, natural fiber blankets and articles of shaped copper (Stein Hill, 1993). The next settlers who made Oklahoma their home were the cowboys. Coming from their home in Texas, they were out to sell beef to the East Coast where there was a huge demand for it. They soon realized that that fastest way to get to their final destination was to cut through Oklahoma, which was not only closer to the railroads; it was also an excellent location to rear cattle. The cowboys began to research and found out that there was a piece of land which was not a part of the Indian Territory: the Unassigned Lands. Finally on April 22 1889, President Benjamin Harrison signed a legislation that opened up the 2 million acres of Unassigned Lands to these settlers. Oklahoma was officially the nation’s 46th state on November 16 1907, when the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory merged (Baird, 1994). Economical and Social Development Oklahoma City started with approximately 10,000 people in 1800’s, and a drastic increase to 718737 in 1970, and 1,143,404 people in 2005. By the year 1900, Oklahoma Territory had slightly more than 19,000,000 acres which were used for cultivation. Oklahoma’s another source of income started off with agriculture, which begin in a small way and in the early 1900’s, nearly every farmer owned cattle which they could sell for an annual income and also for supply for food. This immense development in agriculture and stock rising fascinated many people from the neighboring states (Dale Wardell, 1948). Many believed that oil was the main reason for the influx in people and money, from the early 1900 till sometime around the 1960s. The City suffered the biggest hit in the 1960s’ when the oil supply started to draw to a close. After the oil-dominated days, Oklahoma City started to diversity with a great selection of businesses, such as agriculture, aviation, healthcare and manufacturing. Among the facts to illustrate Oklahoma’s high points is that it is the home to approximately 150 Fortune 500 facilities, such as ATT, Sonic, OGE Energy and Oklahoma Publishing Company. Oklahoma is also the largest tire producing state in the country, and Oklahoma’s Aviation and Aerospace industry employs over 143000 employees and generates 10% of the states industrial output (First Commercial Real Estates Corporation, 2003). Being the nations major processing centers for an assortment of ranch products, the metropolis is abode to the worlds prime stocker and feeder cattle market. Farm animals are also big industry in Oklahoma City, extending back to the state’s days as a key cattle center and access to westward development. The city is known as the Horse Show Capital of the World for the nine major national and international horse shows held annually. Further current and upcoming businesses include fabricated metal, computers, clothing lines, oil-field gears, crude oil, distribution and food processing. Oklahoma City’s Current Landscape Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum are the two most prominent tourist attractions today. The storyline for the museum represents the instances following to the bombing, investigation and capture of bomber, Timothy McVeigh. Tourists also get to revisit another piece of history at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum which has a huge collection of materials from the Wild West, pictures and monuments and the Rodeo Hall of Fame. The Frontier City in Oklahoma is a rebuilt 1880s Oklahoma settlement and an amusement park. It has more than 50 rides, such as roller coasters and water rides. It also prides itself with the live shows and musical reviews. Personalities from Oklahoma City There are numerous personalities who were born or lived Oklahoma city, amongst them are James Garner, Bill Goldberg, Vince Gill, Tisha Campbell, Thomas P Stafford, Shannon Miller, Dennis Weaver and Ralph Ellison (Wikipedia, 2007). For the purpose of this paper, three personalities will be highlighted: James Garner, Shannon Lee Miller and Tisha Campell-Martin. James Garner is a well-known actor who has starred in films including The Great Escape and the Americanization of Emily. He was also the proud owner of American International Racers (AIR) from 1967 to 1969 (Alvey, 2007). Shannon Lee Miller is gymnast from Oklahoma who has won more than 15 medals. Miller does Oklahoma City proud by being the first and only American gymnast to be the World All-Around Champion for two consecutive years from 1993. However in 2000, she broke her leg and lost out on an opportunity to be in the Olympic team for the third time. Since then, Miller has turned to the academics and is currently pursuing a degree in law (People Magazine, 2006) . Tisha Campbell-Martin, the â€Å"My Wife and Kids† fame was born in Oklahoma City, but grew up in Newark and subsequently entered the show-business with several notable performances. She enrolled in the American Film Institute and the Writer’s Boot Camp to expand on her current skillsets and went on to produce a short film titled ‘A Luv Tale’ which won the Audience Choice Award in the Black Hollywood Film Festival. She and husband Duane Martin currently reside in California with their six year old son. Campbell has now ventured into writing- her latest projects being a cookbook and a novel (IMDB, 2007).

The Evolution of the American Television Family Essay examples -- essa

The Evolution of the American Television Family Television is not just a form of entertainment, but it is an excellent form of study of society’s view concerning its families. This study focuses on the history of television beginning in the early 1950s and will run through present day. It examines the use of racial, ethnic and sexual stereotypes to characterize the players of these shows. The examples assist in tracing what has happened to the depiction of the American family on prime time television. It reveals the change of the standards employed by network television as disclosed to the American public. Finally, I will propose the question of which is the influential entity, television or the viewing audience. The Goldbergs, which was originally a radio show, became the first popular family series. It became a weekly TV series in 1949, revealing to Americans a working class Jewish family who resided in a small apartment in the Bronx. The show, while warm and humorous, confronted delicate social issues, such as sensitivity due to the Second World War. It is an excellent example of an ethnic family’s status in society. A classic among classics, I Love Lucy appeared on television on October 15, 1951, (http://www.nick-at-nite.com/tvretro/shows/ilovelucy/index.tin). The series’ premise focused on the antics of a nonsensical wife who beguiles her easily angered husband. The series created the men-versus-women standard on television, (such as what we see between Dan and Roseanne on Roseanne today), that still predominates today. One circumstance that led TV executives to seriously challenge the show’s impending success was the use of Lucille Ball’s real-life Cuban husband, Desi Arnaz. The â€Å"mixed-marriage† status was a questionable concept that worried the administrators. The situation prevailed; its episodes routinely attracted over two-thirds of the television audience. Leave it to Beaver, the definitive 1950’s household comedy, focused on life through the eyes of an adolescent boy, Beaver. Beaver was a typically disorderly youngster. His brother Wally, just entering his teens, was beginning to discover the opposite sex. The relationship that existed between the boys and their parents, Ward and June, was impeccable. A situation never developed that damaged the kinship beyond restoration. The parents exhibited perfect attributes that no ... ..., the idea of the American family is much more realistic than that of those shows from the 1950s. The family’s obnoxious mother is the most dynamic member of the family. Married with Children was an overly exaggerated example of a problematic family. While it was a far cry from reality, the show expressed the society’s opinion of its own culture in a satirical fashion. Television’s portrayal of the American family has undergone a significant transformation in the fifty years of its existence, as stated by this essay. The families seen on television today are the diametric opposite of those seen in the early 1950s. The relationship between the parents and the children has gone from perfect to dysfunctional. But, it is the dysfunctional relationships that are better examples of American families. Racial and ethnic lines have been crossed in the fifty years of television’s existence. If anything, television families have been teachers, showing the viewing audiences how to act and how things truly are. Blind folds, previously worn by the American people, have been taken off and thrown away. It is society’s greater appreciation for honesty that has greatly influenced television.

Workforce Education

Author Note Heartfelt thanks to Dr. Terre Eversden to have given me an opportunity to present a paper on the Adult Educational Philosophies – Benefits and Challenges & their involvement in real life scenarios or the environment we live in. The paper captures the benefits, challenges and example to each Adult Education Philosophy i. e. Liberal, Behavioral, Humanistic and Progressive. Abstract An adult education philosophy, or philosophical orientation, is the categorization of an individual's beliefs, values, and attitudes toward adult education and what the purpose and outcome of adult education should be.In this paper, I shall discuss of Liberal Educational Philosophy, Behaviorist Educational Philosophy, Progressive Educational Philosophy, Humanistic Educational Philosophy and finally Radical Humanistic Philosophy. These are the Adult Educational Philosophies. Benefits and Challenges of each of these philosophies shall be discussed in brief. Keywords: liberal, behaviorist, pr ogressive, humanistic, radical, educational, philosophy Liberal Educational PhilosophyThe liberal adult education philosophy stresses the development of intellectual powers. Liberals always seek knowledge. They work to transmit knowledge and clearly direct learning. The educator is the â€Å"expert†, and directs the learning process with complete authority. Learning methods used include lecture, study groups, and discussion. Socrates, Plato, and Piaget were practitioners of the liberal philosophy. (Note: Liberal adult education does not refer to liberal political views; it is related to Liberal Arts. ).According to liberal adult education, â€Å"the educated person possesses the four components of a liberal education: rational or intellectual education which involves wisdom, moral values, a spiritual or religious dimension, and an aesthetic sense† (Elias & Merriam, 1995, p. 26). Liberal adult education emphasizes liberal learning, organized knowledge, and the developme nt of the intellectual powers of the mind. It also stresses philosophy, religion, and the humanities over science. The teacher is given a prominent place within this philosophy, and must be well-versed in many intellectual interests.Liberal adult education employs heavy promotion of theoretical thinking. This philosophy is suited for adult learners because it requires life experience in order to fully gain from the reflection and contemplation involved in liberal education's goals. To illustrate the significance of this philosophy, Elias and Merriam (1995) write: As long as the human person does these things [searches for truth, desires to develop their moral character, strives for spiritual and religious visions, and seeks the beautiful in life and nature], the liberal tradition in education will be a potent force.  (p. 42).The negatives of liberal approach are not everyone is critical thinkers and problem solvers and their opinions can be swayed by others. Example: A liberal cla ssroom setting is a more traditional environment. In the classroom you my just have a lecture or even break students or adults into study groups to help each other out. Another option is critical reading and discussion. This approach allows students to free themselves from past experience. They are able to prepare themselves for diversity and change. It teacher teaches them to be critical thinkers and problem solvers.Behaviorist Educational Philosophy A major tenet of behaviorism is the belief that â€Å"all human behavior is the result of a person's prior conditioning and is determined by external forces in the environment over which a person has little or no control† (Elias and Merriam, 1995, p. 79). Because behaviorism fundamentally aims toward individual and societal survival, emphasis is put on skill acquisition and learning how to learn. Thus, the teacher must create an environment that is optimal for bringing about behavior that ensures survival.The behaviorist adult e ducation philosophy emphasizes the importance of the environment in shaping the learner. The traits of the behaviorist teacher are close to those of the liberal, in that the behaviorist â€Å"manages† the learning process and directs learning. Behaviorist concepts include mastery learning and standards-based education. Some teaching methods used by behaviorist educators include programmed instruction, contract learning, and computer guided instruction. Learners are active and able to demonstrate a measurable, learned behavior.Accountability is an important concept in behaviorism and punctuates that teachers and learners are both accountable for successful learning. Behaviorism is strong in setting clearly defined purposes, learning objectives, and in selecting experiences that work toward those purposes and objectives. Evaluation is valued in assessing the attainment of the behaviors being taught. Vocational training and teacher certifications are both behaviorist practices. Skinner, Thorndike, and Steinberg were believers in the behaviorist philosophical tenet.Example: A good example of Behaviorist is a coach. If a coach tells you what to do then you have to do it, otherwise you won’t get to play. You must practice the task on hand in order to be successful just like in sports. The teacher has to be a manager who directs the learner outcomes and design the environment. Many teachers must be competency-based teacher. Competency-based focuses on outcomes and has a certain curriculum that teachers have to follow to get the outcome that they want. Progressive Educational PhilosophyThe power of progressivism runs deep in American adult education, as stressed by Elias and Merriam (1995): â€Å"Progressivism has had a greater impact upon the adult 14 education movement in the United States than any other single school of thought† (p. 45). The progressive philosophy of adult education stresses an experiential, problem-solving approach to learning . Like behaviorism, progressivism sees the goal of education being individual and societal. However, the goal of progressive education is improvement rather than survival, which is achieved through liberating the learner.There are five basic principles of adult progressive education. The first is a broadened view or concept of education, meaning that education is not restricted to formal, classroom instruction but is a lifelong process influenced by many sectors of society and daily life. The second principle is a new focus on the learner and the potential of that person to learn more than his or her immediate interests. The third principle is the introduction of new instructional methodologies.Diversifying these teaching methods in turn diversified learner knowledge gained by learning from those methods. The fourth principle is a new teacher-learner relationship that is interactive and reciprocal. The fifth principle is that education is an instrument for preparing learners to chan ge society. Learners of this philosophy need problem solving skills and practical knowledge. They learn by doing, inquiring, being involved in the community, and responding to problems. Teaching methods used in this philosophy include problem solving, the scientific method, and cooperative learning.The educator is an organizer who guides learning instead of directing learning and evaluates the learning process. Progressive proponents include Spencer, Dewey, and Lindeman Example: Progressive setting is showing someone how to frame a wall while constructing a house and then watching them do it themselves. Progressive is showing someone how to do something and then they do it while you guide them through the task. Training and Development in present organizations follow such type of education. Humanistic Educational PhilosophyHumanistic education aims at the development of people who are open to change and continued learning, people who strive for self-actualization, and people who can live together as fully-functioning individuals. The humanistic philosophy of adult education follows some basic principles such as the following: human nature is naturally good; freedom and autonomy influence behavior; individuality and potentiality are unlimited and should be nurtured; self-concept leads to self-actualization; perception of the world explains behavior; and individuals have a responsibility to humanity.Foundations of humanistic education lie in the following: the notion of self-concept; that the adult defines himself in terms of the accumulation of a unique set of life experiences; that an adult's readiness to learn is linked to developmental tasks unique to a stage in life; and that adults desire an immediate application of knowledge. The humanistic adult education philosophy seeks to facilitate personal growth and development. Humanists are highly motivated and self-directed learners; responsibility to learn is assumed by the learner. The humanist educator facili tates learning but does not direct learning.According to Elias and Merriam (1995), â€Å"Humanistic adult educators are concerned with the development of the whole person with a special emphasis upon the emotional and affective dimensions of the personality† (p. 109). The educator and learner are â€Å"partners. † Concepts that define the humanistic philosophy include experiential learning, individuality, self-directedness, and self-actualization. Humanistic teaching methods contain group discussion, team teaching, individualized learning, and the discovery method. Rogers, Maslow, Knowles, and McKenzie are facilitators of the humanistic philosophy.The challenge is as this concentrates on people’s natural desire to learn, the teacher is a facilitator and students relate to past experience with this approach; however, if there isn’t mutual respect between the students and teacher this method will probably fail. Radical Educational Philosophy The radical adu lt education philosophy promotes extreme social, political, and economic change through education. Radical education does not work within existing social norms or structures, but strives to change those structures. Within this philosophy, the educator and learner are equal partners in the learning process.The educator is the coordinator of the class and makes suggestions but does not direct the learning process. This philosophy embraces concepts such as noncompulsory learning and deschooling. Exposure to the media and people in real life situations are considered effective teaching methods. Holt, Freire, and Illich are proponents of the radical adult education philosophy. Radicalism falls outside the realm on mainstream adult education philosophy, mainly because the purposes of many adult education activities are not parallel with the purposes of radical adult education. Identification of Adult Education Philosophical Orientation

Discrimination in Police Use of Force - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 782 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/04/01 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Discrimination Essay Did you like this example? In recent years there has been an appreciable surge in tensions between the police and minority communities; namely, allegations of police discrimination in the use of force have arisen. Given the civil liberties at stake including the very basic right to live it is imperative to address these allegations using rigorous research. It should be noted that this is not an easy issue to address. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Discrimination in Police Use of Force" essay for you Create order First, there are different ways that discrimination can be defined; taste-based discrimination refers to discriminatory treatment motivated by hostility towards a certain group, while statistical discrimination refers to discriminatory outcomes motivated by factors other than bigotry (such as racial profiling and implicit bias.) While some argue that statistical discrimination is acceptable, not all agree. It is clearly difficult to come up with an answer when the question changes depending on who you ask. Moreover, this issue is difficult to tackle because it would be unethical to conduct experimental research on discriminatory use of force. Without experimental data, we cannot be as confident in our findings. That being said, valuable studies on this topic have been conducted. Given the conflicting results and limitations of these studies, however, it is difficult to conclude definitively whether or not police discriminate in their use of force. Some evidence certainly is consistent with the idea that police use force in a discriminatory manner. For instance, Fryer (2016) analyzed Stop and Frisk data from New York City, which indicated if force was used and included information about the person stopped (including gender, age, etc.), information about the encounter (time of day, neighborhood, etc.) and information about the civilians behavior. Fryer found that African Americans were 54% more likely than whites to experience force. Even after controlling for factors like baseline and encounter characteristics, as well as civilian behavior and fixed effects, African Americans were still 17% more likely to experience force. Fryer then looked at data from the Police Public Contact Survey, which are very similar to the data from New York City with the exception that they are from the civilians point of view. This analysis paints an even starker picture, with blacks being over 300% more likely to experience force than whites (270% more likely when controlling for various factors.) The fact that this difference persists even after controlling for multiple characteristics is compelling. However, the control function approach taken here is not perfect; there is always the possibility that the researcher has not controlled for everything. If there were more factors that needed to be controlled for, it is possible that the differences Fryer observed would disappear once they were controlled for. Moreover, if one believes that statistical discrimination is okay, it is hard to discern whether the differential use of force is evidence of police discrimination. There is also evidence that suggests that police do not discriminate in their use of force. For example, Fryer also analyzed data from the Houston Police Department. The data consisted of the same information as the earlier analyses, but only included instances where lethal force was used. By focusing only on the riskiest situations, Fryer found no significant differences in the likelihood of blacks and whites to experience lethal force. Moreover, black victims of officer shootings were not statistically significant ly less likely to be holding a weapon. It must be acknowledged that this study only looked at one city, and thus we cannot draw sweeping conclusions from it. Moreover, as Uri Simonsohn (2016) points out, if police do racially discriminate against blacks when it comes to who they arrest, they will have less risky black suspects. This would result in the police not shooting at blacks significantly more, which would mask a true effect of discrimination. Feldman (2016) also takes issue with these findings; he argues that Fryers conclusion rests on an assumption that statistical discrimination is acceptable. Feldman disagrees that statistical discrimination is okay, and argues that the proportion of blacks in the population not the proportion of blacks that are arrested is the appropriate benchmark to use when assessing claims of discrimination. Thus, using Feldmans definition of discrimination, Fryers findings would support the argument that discrimination exists. The topic of police discrimination in use of force is sensitive but critical. It is also not black-and-white. The fact that 30% of those killed by the police in 2013-2015 were black, even though only 12% of the population is black seems like clear evidence of discrimination. However, the added statistic that 44% of those who feloniously kill the pol ice were African American nuances the picture and makes some reconsider their view of the matter. Although there have been solid attempts to answer this question, it is impossible to say whether discrimination exists given the contradicting evidence and methodological issues.