Television and the Nuclear Family Essay -- Television Media TV

Television and the Nuclear Family Television families have been around since the 1950s, of which in the beginning, there were the nuclear families. Nuclear families usually consisted of the father, mother, two or three children and sometimes a pet. One the first families on television were the Nelsons. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuted in the early 1950s and ran through the middle of the 1960s (Brooks, 16). The family consisted of Ozzie (dad), Harriet (mom), David (older son), and Ricky (younger son). This show actually modeled the Nelson family in real life. Parts of their life were actually on television, making The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, in some way, the first reality show. The Nelsons were a real family that was not portrayed by actors, but by the... Television and the Nuclear Family Essay -- Television Media TV Television and the Nuclear Family Television families have been around since the 1950s, of which in the beginning, there were the nuclear families. Nuclear families usually consisted of the father, mother, two or three children and sometimes a pet. One the first families on television were the Nelsons. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuted in the early 1950s and ran through the middle of the 1960s (Brooks, 16). The family consisted of Ozzie (dad), Harriet (mom), David (older son), and Ricky (younger son). This show actually modeled the Nelson family in real life. Parts of their life were actually on television, making The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, in some way, the first reality show. The Nelsons were a real family that was not portrayed by actors, but by the...

Nationally Identity Cards

Real ID will not make people any safer no matter how people strive and spin it. In reality people will be less safe from tyranny and despotism than ever before for the reason that it doesn’t come from outside forces but right here in the homeland; our own backyard (AJY, 2005). The terrorist attacks of September 11  have revived proposals for a national identity card system as a way to confirm the identity of airline passengers and keep away from terrorists from entering the country (Kristof and Stanley, 2004). For instance, the Chairman and CEO of Oracle Corp., Larry Ellison, lately called for the creation of a national ID system and offered to make available the software for it without charge.The newest calls for a national ID are only the latest in a long series of proposals that have cropped up repeatedly over the past decade, typically in the framework of immigration policy, but also in connection with gun control or health care reform. But the creation of a national I.D . card remains a misplaced, superficial â€Å"quick fix.† It offers only a false sense of security and will not enhance our security but will pose serious threats to the civil liberties and civil rights. A National ID will not keep people safe or free.The problem is the card itself. No matter how unforgeable we make it, it will be forged. And even worse, people will get legitimate cards in fraudulent names (Schneier, 2004). A national ID card system will not avoid terrorism. It would not have thwarted the September 11 hijackers, for instance, lot of whom reportedly had identification documents on them, and were in the country legally.  Terrorists and criminals will continue to be able to get by legal and illegal means the documents needed to get a government ID, such as birth certificates.Yes, these new documents will have data like digital fingerprints on them, but that won't show real identity just that the carrier has obtained what could without difficulty be a fraudulen t document. And their creation would not justify the cost to American taxpayers, which according to the Social Security Administration would be at least $4 billion. It is an impractical and ineffective proposal a simplistic and naà ¯ve try to use gee-whiz technology to solve difficult social and economic problems.A national ID card system would not protect us from terrorism, but it would construct a system of internal passports that would extensively diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding citizens. Once put in place, it is extremely unlikely that such a system would be restricted to its original purpose. Social Security numbers, for instance, were initially intended to be used only to administer the retirement program.   But that limit has been routinely ignored and steadily abandoned over the past 50 years. A national ID system would threaten the privacy that Americans have always enjoyed and gradually amplify the control that government and business wields over everyda y citizens (Miller, 1995).What happens when an ID card is stolen? What proof is used to make a decision that gets a card? A national ID would require a governmental database of every person in the U.S. containing continually updated identifying information. It would likely contain numerous errors, any one of which could render someone unemployable and probably much worse until they get their â€Å"file† straightened out. And once that database was created, its use would almost certainly expand. Law enforcement and other government agencies would soon ask to link into it, while employers, direct mailers, landlords, private investigators, landlords, credit agencies, mortgage brokers, civil litigants, and a long list of other parties would begin seeking access, further eroding the privacy that Americans have always expected in their personal lives.Americans have long had a visceral aversion to building a society in which the authorities could act like totalitarian sentries and d emand â€Å"your papers please!† And that everyday intrusiveness would be conjoined with the full power of modern computer and database technology. When a police officer or security guard scans your ID card with his pocket bar-code reader, for instance, will a permanent record be created of that check, including the time and your location? How long before office buildings, doctors' offices, gas stations, highway tolls, subways and buses incorporate the ID card into their security or payment systems for greater efficiency? The end result could be a nation where citizens' movements inside their own country are monitored and recorded through these â€Å"internal passports.†Rather than eliminating discrimination, as some have claimed, a national identity card would foster new forms of discrimination and harassment of anyone perceived as looking or sounding â€Å"foreign.† That is what happened after Congress passed the Employer Sanctions provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1985: widespread discrimination against foreign-looking American workers, particularly Asians and Hispanics. A 1990 General Accounting Office study found almost 20 percent of employers engaged in such practices.A national ID card would have the same effect on a massive scale, as Latinos, Asians, Caribbean’s and other minorities became subject to ceaseless status and identity checks from police, banks, merchants and others. Failure to carry a national I.D. card would likely come to be viewed as a reason for search, detention or arrest of minorities. The stigma and humiliation of constantly having to prove that they are Americans or legal immigrants would weigh heavily on such groups.National ID is an extremely terrible idea it really isn't clear to me that a national ID card does not make identification more reliable as well as realizing important economic savings by standardization. In particular while I agree that using one ID system introduces an ordinary point of high value failure it also economically feasible to invest a great deal more in the ID system. If one ID replaces n IDs you can make the ID cost roughly about the sum of the costs of all those other IDs. If one national ID replaced our entire driver's licenses, passports, credit cards and so forth it could afford more sophisticated safeguards than any of the former IDs individually.National ID system is a bad idea. Unfortunately, insecure and badly abused national ID system already exist the Social Security Number. Using SSN and Driver's Licenses as ID systems is bad, bad, bad. There are little or no regulations governing how these data can be used and this result in the current state of things: with your name and SSN, an identity thief can wreak havoc on your life. With a plain, secure, and open architecture for individual ID's, then we, as citizens, could take power over how our identities are used and disseminated for things like insurance forms, employment appl ications, credit applications, etc. Unfortunately, the need to positively identify and track an individual for these purposes is a stone cold part of daily life.Rather than reject outright the notion of any form of national ID we should be actively working towards an architecture that actually works and provides safeguards for our personal information, while at the same time making application processes easier and more streamlined. Honestly, it makes me fume that I have to fill out my personal and insurance information every time I go to any medical professional. Why can't I enter a PIN number or password into a secured touch pad and automatically authorize the download of my information automatically? Enabling this sort of ability would be moving forward, not backward.REFERENCEAJY, Real ID Act Is Our National ID Card; Real Bad, Real Stupid, 2005 Bruce Schneier. A National ID Card Wouldn't Make Us Safer. Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2004 ;http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/05/r eal_id.html;Kristof and Jay Stanley. Should the U.S. adopt a national ID card system? Many countries issue national ID cards. Post-9/11 security concerns have prompted a debate about whether †¦ ): An article from: New York Times Upfront, Scholastic, Inc., 2004.Miller, John J.   A national ID system: Big brother's solution to illegal immigration, Cato Institute (1995).

Creating Your College Wish List

Figuring out where to apply to college is exciting, but it can be a major challenge. After all, there are over 3,000 four-year colleges in the United States, and each school has its own unique strengths and defining features. Fortunately, you can rather easily narrow down your search to a much more manageable number of colleges with the help of our series, Creating Your College Wish List. Youll find a variety of articles, sorted in easy-to-follow sections  that will guide you in the college selection process. Whether youre doing a national or regional search, whether you care most about engineering or the beach, or the most selective and prestigious colleges in the country, youll find articles here that feature top schools that speak to your interests. Every college applicant has different criteria for selecting schools, and the categories featured here capture some of the most common selection factors. The articles are organized to focus first on  topics that will be relevant to all college applicants, and later sections are more specialized. Read below to learn which sections will be most relevant to your own college search.   Tips for Narrowing Down Your College List   The first step in coming up with your college wish list is to figure out what type of school you want to attend.  Understanding Different Kinds of Colleges  begins with an article that discusses 15 factors to consider when choosing a school. Along with the quality of the academics, you should consider a schools student / faculty ratio, financial aid resources, research opportunities, graduation rates, and more. Its also important to figure out if youll flourish at a small college or a large university. If youre a solid A student with strong SAT or ACT scores, be sure to look through the articles in the second section, The Most Selective Colleges.  Youll find a detailed list of the countrys most selective colleges and universities  as well as lists of the colleges that tend to top the national rankings. Whether youre looking for a top public university or one of the best liberal arts colleges, youll find information on a range of impressive schools.   Selectivity, of course, doesnt tell the whole story when choosing a college. Under  Best Schools by Major or Interest,  youll find articles  focused  on particular interests whether they be academic or co-curricular. Are you looking for a top engineering school? Or perhaps you want a college with a strong equestrian program. This third section can help guide your college search. Other colleges have a Distinct Student Body that might appeal to you. In the fourth section, youll find articles featuring schools with specialized missions including the top womens colleges and top historically black colleges and universities. The great majority of college students attend a school thats within a days drive from home. If youre restricting your search to a particular geographic region, youll find guidance in Best Colleges by Region.  Whether you want to learn about the top New England colleges or best schools on the West Coast, youll find an article identifying the top schools in your chosen area. If youre not a straight A student or your SAT or ACT scores are sub-par, dont worry. In  Great Schools for Mere Mortals,  youll find top colleges for B students and a list of test-optional colleges that dont consider standardized test scores when making admissions decisions. A Final Word on Creating Your College List Keep in mind that words like top and best are highly subjective, and the best school for your particular strengths, interests, goals, and personality may very well be a college that isnt at the top of the national rankings. Once youre found the colleges that match your selection criteria, make sure your list includes a realistic mix of match, reach, and safety schools. Many of the schools featured here are highly selective, and plenty of students with strong grades and standardized test scores get rejected.   You should always shoot for the top, but make sure you have a contingency plan. You dont want to find yourself in the spring of senior year with no acceptance letters.