Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec knew how to use his genius and characteristic style of drawing not only to draw attention to himself, but also to commemorate others - especially his muse, Jane Avril.
Born Jeanne Beaudon, the dancer grew up under the care of her abusive mother (she never learnt the true identity of her father); the mistreatment lead to the development of neurological problems in Avril. However, her stay in the Salpêtrière clinic helped the young patient discover her talent and passion for dancing.
As a professional, Jane Avril was appreciated by various representatives of the Symbolist movement in poetry, but it was Arsène Alexandre, a French art critic, who noticed her unconventional relationship with Toulouse-Lautrec.
The painter's acknowledgement of Avril benefited both artists: after unsuccessful beginnings, Lautrec became a well-known poster artist, and the beauty and eye-catching charm of the dancer was captured not only for the late 19th century Parisians, but also the whole world.
Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that Lautrec's paintings of Avril differ considerably from his posters: the latter depict a "graceful, light, a little mad, pale" woman, as Alexandre notes, while the former detail a pensive and older figure. The way the dancer was portrayed on the canvas helped establish her persona as an independent and self-sufficient woman, whose grace can still be regarded today.

What role does creativity play in modern education? [short example essay]

Creativity plays a huge role in the modern education process. Whether it is teachers choosing unorthodox methods of sharing their knowledge, or pupils trying unconventional ways of acquiring information, an innovative approach is always beneficial.
To begin with, state-of-the-art technology provides teachers and lecturers with an opportunity to educate young people in a more creative and engaging way. A monotone and repetitive talk can be replaced with watching a topic-related film or browsing the Internet together in order to find the desired information; such activities are, undoubtedly, present in every student's day-to-day life and will transform their academic experienced into a pleasantly spent time, instead of a dull necessity.
Yet, it is not just teachers that can use creativity to improve the quality of the class. Thinking "outside of the box" is certain to make an individual presentation or a group project more enjoyable - both for the teacher and the classmates - and have an impact on the final grade. Possibly, it can even draw the pupils' attention to certain topics and issues, therefore broadening their knowledge even more.
Finally, creativity proves to be helpful not only during the class, but also when studying at home. Homework does not necessarily mean hours spent reading textbooks - a person that is not afraid to use their imagination can surely find numerous ways of looking for the needed information that usually are less time-consuming and might provide them with even more valuable knowledge.
The modern world creates various opportunities for those that desire to learn or share what they already know, if only one is willing to try a different, previously unavailable approach, certain to improve one's academic performance.

What role does music play in life? [short example essay]

Just as there are many different genres of music, this branch of the arts might also serve various purposes. From helping a person achieve a well-deserved rest to becoming a valuable source of income, music provides numerous ways for it to be enjoyed.
First of all, listening to music can be relaxing or help one calm down - there are many songs and albums created specifically for this purpose. The biggest advantage of such a way of resting is that there is usually no need to take any medicaments to alleviate the stress it is important to remember, however, that if painkillers or other drugs have been prescribed, they should always be taken.
Additionally, music provides an opportunity for a person to be met with a cathartic experience. It might seem similar to relaxing, but requires one's own effort - creating lyrics and songs - rather than simply listening to other artists. It is a fine method of confronting negative emotions that prevents one from upsetting others or harming oneself.
Lastly, as music is highly commercialised these days, composing one's own pieces might not only help cope with personal struggles, but also become a way of making money. Surely, not every musician is talented (or lucky) enough to sell millions of records worldwide, but it should not discourage anyone from trying to advertise their own creations the alternative scene is also popular, especially among the young, and can provide a chance for wider recognition.
Beyond any doubt, music serves numerous purposes, and can be used as a means of improving a person's well-being - both psychological and economic - without unnecessary medical or other external intervence.

The role of creativity in a person's life [short example essay]

Usually associated with ar or innovative inventions, creativity can also come in handy in day-to-day life. This particular trait can definitely help one in a variety of circumstances, from improving work performance to discovering uncomplicated methods of self-help.
Many people, especially those who have struggled to find their current job, are afraid of losing the position, and thus do not consider taking any risks or carrying out their ideas of how to increase their chances of promotion. While such an attitude is understandable, not taking advantage of whatever capabilities a person might have - in this case, creativity - is sure to prevent them from progressing, which can have a negative influence on both their career and mental well-being.
Alarming and potentially dangerous consequences of numerous situations can also be alleviated by an original approach. From actions as simple as figuring out how to open a tightly sealed jar to evading a car crash, one should always consider imagination an important resource.
Finally, a person who feels sad and distressed can easily count on their creativity to help them break out of their bitter mood. Obviously, one should always seek professional help if it is needed, but it is important to remember that something almost effortless - like a new hair colour - can make a day better.
The work "resourcefulness" might have negative connotations, but when used to describe the simple ways of advancing the quality of someone's daily life, nobody should refrain from using their creativity to benefit themselves or others.

Is studying history a waste of time? [short example essay]

Nowadays, people - especially the young - are so focused on their day-to-day life and concerned with their future that they minimalise the importance of the past, thus not paying much attention to history lesson. Such an approach, however, is likely to prevent one from acquiring valuable knowledge, affecting both one's academic and personal chances of success.
It is often said that whoever does not know history is sure to repeat humanity's past mistakes. the belief appears to be true, as the world is continuously troubled with military conflicts, as well as social and economic issues; the reasons for said disturbances, more often than not, happen to be very similar to those that sparked past conflicts.
Studying history can also be very helpful if a person desires a stable job or a fruitful career path. Positions such as an archaeologist or a politician are usually well-paid and respected, but unattainable without a higher level of historical knowledge.
Last but not least, past events have made every person who they are today - this tendency is especially visible in regions that have been damaged by wars or troubled by various other conflicts. Familiarising oneself with the origins of such situations can become a valuable asset on one's path to self-discovery.
Being preoccupied with living in the moment should never be an obstacle on a person's path of rediscovering the past. What has already happened can undeniably happen again, and whoever is familiar with history can certainly use it to their advantage.

What can be learnt from studying literature [short example essay]

Literature, like many of the subjects that form a part of the liberal arts, cannot be thoroughly defined or subjected to strict rules, due to the variety of material and subjective interpretations. Such freedom, however, does not make studying literature chaotic, but rather creates many different possibilities of acquiring valuable skills and helpful habits.
Firstly, literature classes can help students learn historical facts by introducing them to the chosen creators. A large number of poets and writers, especially those living during the times of war and unrest, were involved in politics, serving in the army, or simply encouraging civilians to fight through their literary work; some of them, like the famous Polish poet Krzysztof Baczyński, became significant historical figures.
Secondly, studying various literary texts allows one to learn the vocabulary they would not otherwise encounter during their daily reading activities, such as opening a newspaper or checking social media profiles. Literature classes include pieces of work comprising of rich and sublime vocabulary that can undoubtedly improve the student's academic performance.
Finally, familiarising oneself with literature enables a person to learn the correct way of creating texts. By observing the structure and other core features of a literary piece, one can more easily create one's own work, as well as avoid common mistakes and misconceptions.
To sum up, studying literature proves to be beneficial for those involved in it - from helping deepen historical knowledge to allowing students to become more fluent in a given language, literature is definitely a subject one will not waste one's time on.

Activism [women in social media - part 3]

 Previous two chapters described unquestionably negative factors contributing to a female celebrity's online experience related to social media. It it important to notice that the ordeal was also involuntarily; an unforeseen consequence of seemingly innocuous actions, rooten in the trust put into leading Internet companies, and, obviously, other users.
        Among the undeniably adverse occurrences, it is, however, necessary to remember that famous American women are not fated to encounter problems every time they log into their accounts; social media, above all, provide an opportunity not only to defend oneself and respond to criticism and comments about sudden vulnerability, but also to take a stand against it, as well as other forms of mistreatment experienced by the victim, and others.        
        Moreover, besides expressing internal, personal feelings, social media allows users to share concepts and ideas they support with a large and usually diverse audience.
The term “activism” might bring to mind taking literal physical action and steps towards reaching a chosen goal or drawing a wider attention to a situation or a problem. Examples of such processes involving or centering around women can be traced – most noticeably – from past decades (suffragettes being probably the most recognisable one) to the present day (Iranian women publicly opposing mandatory veiling in hopes to regain the right to present themselves in accordance with their beliefs and will).       
        Even though those movements, among others, were, and still are, widely discussed and popularised through the Internet and, ipso facto, social media, they did not specifically start within the online community. In his book, Tweets and The Streets. Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Paolo Gerbaudo (2012) informs the reader that online activism is not as foreign and unfamiliar of an occurrence as it might seem.
“Where self-managed activist internet services like Indymedia and activist mailing lists were the media of choice of the anti-globalisation movement, contemporary activists are instead shamelessly appropriating corporate social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Commenting on this enthusiastic adoption of social media, pundits and journalists have readily resorted to expressions like ‘the Facebook revolution’ or ‘the Twitter revolution’.” (p. 2)

As with many popular movements, online activism gets divided into categories and manifests itself within different realms of focus. The types of activism described in this chapter are going to be divided into two categories: societal issues and political activism.
        Aforementioned mandatory veiling can be considered related to the first category, however it is associated with a law upheld in a Middle Eastern country. In Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling, Hamideh Seghdi (2007) details the coercion to the reader:
“From the outset, unveiled women became a social anathema but veiled women acquired revolutionary credentials. Extolling the concealed women, women's bodies were ordered to be disguised like “pearls protected inside a shell”, as street murals conveyed and communicate today. Veiling guarded Islam, but significantly, it hid women's sexual power/energy from eliciting public disorder by distracting and arousing men sexually.” (p. 211)

Taking cultural differences into account, one might wonder what decree or societal norm western women, especially those who are famous, might struggle or have issues with? From being the first to be granted the right to vote, to being in a complete control over their lives and choices (which, sadly, still cannot be attributed to women and girls in numerous contemporary societies), the lives of the female part of the populations of North America and Europe appear desirable and praiseworthy.
        However, behind the facade of liberty, there are various concerns and questions, still unanswered, that shatter the seemingly perfect notion of such life, and, by the fact itself, motivate female celebrities to try to have a say in discussions and debates about a certain commotion.
        In the early seventies the Supreme Court in the United States decided that providing an access to abortion as well as the procedure itself would no longer be treated as a criminal offence. The infamous case is known as “Roe vs Wade”, as those were the name and the alias of the opposing sides that took part in the case.  Since the legal settlement American abortion clinics have been providing approximately 300000 terminations every year. In their book, Abortion Politics: Public Policy in Cross-Cultural Perspective, Marianne Githens and Dorothy Stetson (1996) describe the long-lasting effect of the case:

“(...) In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in the case Roe vs. Wade that abortion fell within a woman's zone of privacy and struck down a restrictive Georgia abortion law in the companion case Doe vs. Bolton, the right to obtain an abortion has continued to be hotly debated (…). The case for an against abortion is regularly made in homes, in churches, in the media, and in legislatures across the country.” (p. 7)

Abortion and access to contraceptives (often called “reproductive rights”) for many seem to be a big part of western women's liberation. Even though the concept of a woman's right to choose her own way of living is mostly seen as positive, the meaning of liberation varies. Just as the accessibility of medical procedures mentioned above might be seen as an improvement on women's life, there are those – also females – that bear a different perspective.
        One of the most influential pro-life advocates is a famous California-born journalist Lila Rose. As Marsha Vanderford (1989) explains in Vilification and Social Movements: A case study of pro‐life and pro‐choice rhetoric, the term “pro-life” (as opposed to “pro-choice”) is a name given to a person or organisation that disagrees with abortion, as well as any other form of ending a human life by another person. They also support adoption and promote taking care of the elderly, both of which are alternatives to terminating pregnancies and providing an access to euthanasia for people who are close to their natural passing or death caused by severe or terminal illnesses. Interestingly, in her book, the author also mentions the abundance of pro-choice personalities in media, therefore making the case for activists like Lila Rose:

“Patterns (...) delineated powerful individuals in media, business, and politics as pro-choice supporters. Media executives were consistently linked to pro-choice action.” (p. 171)

Rose, on her website, describes herself as: “a speaker, writer and human rights activist. Lila founded and serves as president of Live Action, a media and news nonprofit dedicated to ending abortion and inspiring a culture that respects all human life.”
        Besides more traditional form of online presence, like websites, Rose uses several social media platforms that help the advocate spread her message.
        Similarly to Facebook, Twitter does not only allow its users to share content and comment on it in a conventional form. Adding the commentary directly above the shared post is a popular feature which allows the user's remark to be seen by everyone, not just those who directly open the comment section. Rose seems to use this function a lot in order to target a larger audience.
        The Twitter posts quoted below come from the activist's account (@LilaGraceRose) and are written in a form of the described reply.

"Since 2015, at least 16 babies were born alive in Florida after failed abortion attempts. We don't know what happened to these little ones. Were they given sufficient medical care to survive? Will we ever get to hear their stories?" as a response to "Over the past few years, according to online reports, there have been 16 abortion survivors born after abortion attempts in the state of Florida."

"Thank you, Nebraska @GovRicketts for ending federal funding to Planned Parenthood through Title X. Planned Parenthood is the largest recipient of Title X funding, and every dollar frees the abortion giant up to pay staff and lobby for more tax dollars." as a response to "Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a budget Wednesday that will eliminate federal family-planning funding to Planned Parenthood of the Heartland."

"Your [Planned Parenthood] abortionists violently tore apart 900 children today, some of them old enough to survive outside the womb. All were helpless.
You took money from parents who were scared and struggling and sold violence and death as a solution to their struggles." as a response to "Everyone has the right to lead a life that is healthy & free from violence (...)"

The tweets, obviously, give the reader and users an insight into the author's view, but, simultaneously, help them understand how social media has alleviated a woman's ability of signalling ideas and engaging in discussion.
        Even though a female celebrity might already have a degree of recognition and capability to use long-established means of sharing her opinions (interviews, authoring a book), a direct message with an option of an easy engagement in conversation creates a sense of ability – and, in many cases, the ability itself – to actually take part in a case one is interested in supporting or debating. Davidson (2008)  details the importance of such opportunity:

“Managers and leaders routinely use a variety of techniques, such as encouraging informal social interaction and creating and maintaining strong organizational to help people feel a part of the whole organization (Schein, 1985). One's sense of feeling included is most crucial because it strengthens affective commitment to the organization.” (p. 172)

Societal issues – abortion and adoption being not only not an exception, but a popular and returning points – are thoroughly linked to politics. On the other hand, they rarely stem out of it, however, an issue discussed publicly by a politician or a party might start a nationwide debate, involving, besides ordinary voters', the opinions of those with an already established fanbase and following.
        The 2016 American presidential election seems to be a good example of such involvement.
        One might safely assume that the fact that Hillary Rodham Clinton became one of two main candidates in the race to the White House greatly encouraged female celebrities to start social media based political commentary. Since the wife of the former president, Bill Clinton, had the chance to become the first female to take the office, numerous famous women used their Internet platforms to show their encouragement.
        However, similarly to the previously discussed issue related to abortion, there were also those who disapproved of Clinton's candidacy. The opponents did not hesitate to detail their stance by using social media accounts as well, and – what was easily predictable – both sides drafted a wide attention for their activity, which resulted in a great number of favourable, but also, what seemed inevitable, critical comments.
        It is important to remember that the purpose of this chapter is to present the famous American woman's availability to debate political turmoil (that had an impact on them as citizens) that presidential elections usually bring, and analyze the experience. The examples and quotations presented below do not ai at judging the person's position or opinion, but are supposed to illustrate and provide details of said online environment.
        During the presidential campaign in 2016, Katy Perry (full name Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) – one of the best selling American pop artists worldwide - became a prominent and dedicated supporter of Clinton. Among various public ventures, notably designing shoes named after the candidate and dedicating one of the songs on her album Witness to the loss of the supported Democrat, Perry used her Twitter account, which is currently followed by over 100 users, to show her approval for Clinton. By adding a popular hashtags created by other supporters, she announced:

“YOU GOT THIS @HillaryClinton #DEBATES”

"She's smiling with ease cause #shesgotthis #ImWithHer #debatenight"

"RT if you're already preparing a seat at the table for @HillaryClinton"

As mentioned above, despite the tweets being targeted mainly at the singer's fans and the followers of the Democratic candidate, Perry also faced criticism for her posts. Under the article of the writer Jerome Hudson (Katy Perry Begs Democratic National Convention To Vote For Hillary Clinton), working for the political news site Breitbart, they commentators demonstrated their contempt for the woman's plea and actions. The author of the most popular (given the most votes by other readers) comment claims:

“(...) EMPTY mind, you vapid c_nt. Empty, not open. Make an IQ of at least 110 a prerequisite for voting rights, and all America's problems will be gone. Make it a requirement for performing in public, and we'll never hear from Katy Perry again.”

The statement clearly indicates the person's derogatory attitude towards the woman in relation to her gender (“vapid c_nt”), as well as doubt in her mental abilities, calling her mind “empty”. Even though it is unknown whether Perry saw the comment, it is safe to assume that she must have been aware of the opinion others have of her for supporting the chosen candidate, since the post, as previously mentioned, gained a big applause of the readers of the article.
        Nevertheless, since there were two candidates hoping to become the resident of The White House, both of them gathered supporters amongst the famous.
        Keeping in mind the point made earlier – that Hillary Clinton could have become the first female president of The United States – it seemed that she was the one to have the majority of female celebrities as allies. Scholars Bremner, Soufer, McCarthy, Delaney, Staib, Duncan, and Charney (2001) support the theory in their article, Gender Differences In Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Remembrance of Emotional Words:

"Studies suggest that men and women have important differences in specific cognitive functions. (...) women rely on emotional content to a greater degree in the processing of information." (p. 56)

The emotional aspect of having a representative of their gender among American leaders was undoubtedly an important factor that lead many female celebrities to show Hillary Clinton their appreciation. Nonetheless, her rival, Donald John Trump, managed to attract various popular names as well.
        Kaya Jones (real name Chrystal Neria), a singer raised in Nevada, who was once performing with a popular all-girl music group The Pussycat Dolls, did not conceal her support for the Republican candidate. Similarly to Perry, Jones decided that Twitter would help her spread her opinion and approval:

"I want to show other celebrities who voted for @realDonaldTrump it’s ok to come forward. Better yet let’s show the world how many Americans stand with him. Bullies shouldn’t be allowed for almost a year and a half to bully us without cause. If you voted for him just Like or RT"

She even used a hashtag invented by Trump's opponents to show her support:

"Trump that’s who. Himself even more fabulous #CouldBeatTrumpIn2020"

The statements received a negative feedback as well. In an interview with Willie Pena, as an answer to the question about being criticized for openly supporting the candidate, the woman admitted: “Yes. I've received death threats.”
        Jones, however, is not the only famous ally of Donald Trump. Blaire White, a political commentator with a following of almost 400 thousands users on her YouTube channel, admitted to voting Republican in the 2016 election. White is usually considered as phenomenon, since transsexuals have always been associated with the opposite side of the political spectrum, a theory that is backed in Rawyn Connell's (2012) Transsexual Women and Feminist Thought: Toward New Understanding and New Politics:

"The political meaning of transsexuality began to be negotiated in the US New Left (...). Several small, radical transsexual/transvestite groups formed, and they issued a manifesto calling for social justice." (p. 4)

White shares her experience from the point of view of a trans female who has publicly voiced her approval of the candidate. Marie Solis adduces White's interview with Newsweek, where the YouTuber describes a physical assault she has endured:

"I have never been assaulted for being trans. I’ve never had anyone on the street say anything nasty to me about being trans. But I was assaulted for wearing a Trump hat. I think that speaks for itself."

Although such reaction to someone expressing their political leaning might seem exaggerated, Henrik Urdal reminds that, surprisingly, it is to be expected in countries like The United States: "The opportunity literature suggests that the opportunity for political violence is greater the less autocratic a state is (…)" (p. 613)
        In summary, the chapter described a new opportunity for famous women not only to join a discussion, usually related to a popular or controversial topics, but also to spread their message and opinions more easily. Despite already having an audience, social media allows a celebrity to engage with followers and commentators in a way that is quick and gives the impression (and, obviously, the real experience) of having an impact on The United States and the world's current struggles and events.

Hacking [women in social media - part 2]

Identity theft is only one of many misconducts that, with the popularization of the Internet, started to occur online. Though similar, as it involves stealing personal data, the purpose of hacking differentiates from creating a fake persona. In her article, Why Do People Hack?, Carol Finch describes various reasons for such activity, one of them being especially relevant in cases of the famous being the victims:
“Some hackers use their skills for criminal activities. On a personal level, a hacker might break into someone's computer and take control of it -- this could give him access to passwords and financial information that he could then use to defraud the individual. On a larger scale, groups of hackers might target companies as part of a wider criminal operation. For example, in 2014, a group of Russian hackers accessed systems in various companies around the world and stole over 1 billion usernames and passwords from over 400,000 websites.” (Finch, 2015)
       
The vulnerability of well-known American women to being targeted by illegal hacking  to can be illustrated by the example of Celebgate, a 2014 controversy, where numerous female celebrities fell victim to an organized picture leak.In the summer of 2014, users of a popular image board-type forum, 4chan, began publishing personal, mostly nude, pictures of female celebrities. As it became obvious that the images had not been previously shared by the people depicted on them, the situation was understood to be a leak, either coincidental or intentional.
        Eventually, it turned out that the published pictures had been deliberately stolen. An online cloud service, iCloud (a part of Apple Inc.), was found to be the “culprit”; the later investigation revealed that the hackers exploited the service's insufficient security measures which allowed them to guess any user's password, thus gaining access to the stored data. The even had been given the name “Celebgate”, an obvious implication to The Watergate scandal; the idea originated from the people responsible for the leak.
Celebgate, as an example of an invasion on famous women's privacy, can be examined in various aspects, including, inter alia, the motive of the hackers, and legal consequences of such misdemeanor. The description of the original actions of the individuals accountable for Celebgate should help one correctly discern the subsequent events, as well as the case itself.
        The person officially charged with illegally obtaining the pictures was Ryan Collins, a Pennsylvania resident, whose methods are described in detail in an article published two years after the incident by U.S. Attorney's Office in California:

“He sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked victims to provide their usernames and passwords. When the victims responded, Collins then had access to the victims’ e-mail accounts. After illegally accessing the e-mail accounts, Collins obtained personal information including nude photographs and videos, according to his plea agreement. In some instances, Collins would use a software program to download the entire contents of the victims’ Apple iCloud backups.”

Apple itself provided an explanation as to why individuals other than those contacted by Collins beforehand were also subjected to the hacking, shedding a light on the technical side of the problem:
“After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud® or Find my iPhone.”
        The characterization of the process raises two substantial issues: the aforementioned mistakes in security precautions taken by the creators of Apple's storage system, and the seemingly effortless practice – involving the victims' participation - that let Collins collect the information necessary to temporarily take control of the accounts he was interested in. The first point, being a technical issue disrupting the usage of a product, is distinctly connected to the legal proceedings resulting from the incident, while the second has a psychological and societal basis.
        Using Apple's - an international, well-known company - products, rarely raises concerns in a user, as a business this size appears to have gained trust of many. A customer, in many cases rightfully so, does not suspect such corporation to have problems securing the  content stored by the user, let alone allowing a third party to view and copy it, unbeknownst to the owner.
        In their research, Xin Li, Traci Hess, and Joseph Valacich (2008) provide an explanation as to why users remain unsuspecting of any technical issues:
“When the trustor has no prior interaction with a trustee, he/she cannot develop trust based on direct experience with or first-hand knowledge of the trustee. Instead, the trustor will depend on other sources, such as second-hand information, contextual factors, or personal intuition to make trust inferences. For example, before having direct interaction with an information system in a specific context, a trustor can build initial trust in this system based on their experiences with other systems, their knowledge about this system used in other contexts, and/or others’ opinions about the system.” (p. 41)

        Such prevalent and understandable conviction seems to be one of the aforementioned factors -  that are rooted in societal beliefs - which made an incident like Celebgate possible. Yet, it is not just the victims of the leak who were afflicted by Apple's mistakes; Collins, after discovering the security loophole, had decided to use it to his own advantage.
        In an interview with Marlow Stern, one of the victims, actress Teresa Palmer describes her experience and attitude towards the leak, as well as a specific connection between her gender and falling prey to Collins:
“It was difficult,” says Palmer. “It certainly was such an invasion of privacy, but also scary on a universal level that nobody’s stuff is safe. Thank god for me I didn’t really have anything too risqué, but it’s really scary to know that I have so many photos of my son, my birth video, all of my stuff that I know is in the hands of someone that’s hacked into my computer.” (…) “You know what’s so unfortunate?” Palmer says. “All the women got together and talked it out. We all had photos of boyfriends—some are famous, some are not—who are naked, and none of the photos of famous men were ever released. It was all women. So, it was a personal attack on women, and trying to shame women. I just think it’s disgusting that there were no men—I think there was only one male victim—so women were specifically targeted.”

It is important to pay attention to how Palmer reacts to the idea of being vulnerable to having private data published against her will: she calls it “scary”, which supports the claim that companies like Apple have the reputation of being trusted providers of expected services.
        Interestingly, the actress' ordeal mirrors another famous' woman struggle with her image being used against her will. In the further part of the quote, Teresa Palmer stresses that it was not just pictures of her that were exposed to Collins; stored were also images of her son, which, though not illicitly published, were also viewed by an unapproved party. This claim resembles what Aimee Gonzales, the victim of catfishing, admitted happened to her children when Angela Wesselman decided to impersonate her online – even though the minors' identities were not stolen in the same way as their mother's was, they were also indirectly involved in the process. This instance yet again demonstrates how a child can suffer collateral consequences, however small, of the actions of those who decide to target the mother, whether to fulfill their personal agenda (Wesselman), or to induce a controversy, as in Collins' case, causing troubles for both the victims and the provider of the service.
        The last part of the quote, in which Palmer mentions even more people concerned, gives one an insight into the hacker's mind and motive, as from the perspective of a person affected. According to the actress' statement, the women whose accounts were hacked, also kept saved private pictures of their male partners, whose depictions were similar to those of the victims. Nonetheless, none of the pictures were leaked. Palmer understands this as an example of a perpetrator specifically targeting women in order to put them in a situation that might expose them to ridicule and humiliation. She does not, however, fully explain her logic as to why she believes so. Roxanne Gay, a writer for The Guardian, in an article related to the Celebgate, provides what Palmer failed to in her interview. According to Gay:

“It’s not clear what the people who leak these photos hope to achieve beyond financial gain and a moment of notoriety. (...) These hackers are not revealing anything the general public does not already know. BREAKING: beneath their clothes, celebrities are naked. What these people are doing is reminding women that, no matter who they are, they are still women. They are forever vulnerable.”

Teresa Palmer concludes her talk with Stern with a clear statement:

“I’ll be in the bath with my son and my husband will take a picture of us. I’ve just given over to the fact that, ‘You know what? This may end up on the Internet' (...) I think I have a pretty healthy perspective on it, but I know some of the other girls were really traumatized by it.”

        Unfortunately but obviously, not all victims eventually reacted to the leak with such confidence. One of them was a popular actress, Jennifer Lawrence. In an article for Vogue, Ellie Davis reminds the reader what are Lawrence thoughts on being targeted by Collins:

“When I first found out it was happening, my security reached out to me. It was happening minute-to-minute - it was almost like a ransom situation where they were releasing new ones every hour or so,” (…) I feel like I got gang-banged by the f***ing planet - like, there's not one person in the world that is not capable of seeing these intimate photos of me. You can just be at a barbecue and somebody can just pull them up on their phone. That was a really impossible thing to process.” (Davis, 2017)

        The easiness of sharing the pictures, mentioned above by Lawrence, calls into question the issue of trust once again. This time, however, it can be described from the perspective of Collins. The hacker, besides his technological knowledge, has used persuasion to obtain any information necessary to access the pictures. Marian Friestad and Peter Wright (1999) describe the aim of the technique used by Collins. Their explanation might be linked to that of Li, Hess, and Valacich in an instance that the hacker used the well-known name of the company to convince the victims to provide him with desired information. In this case, however, the trust in security measurements was deliberately taken advantage of by a single person, and not just by the users' belief that Apple's precautions were sufficient. According to Friestad and Wright:

“Persuasion knowledge (...) is an especially important interpretive belief system because it tells people about situations where an intelligent purposeful outside agent is skillfully trying to alter their inner self (their beliefs, their emotions, their attitudes, their decisions, their thought processes) and thereby alter the course of their lives. (...) The resources that enable someone to competently manage the numerous influence attempts that other people direct their way are their personal persuasion related beliefs. Individuals who allow unnoticed or uncontrolled invasions of their internal psychological world, and consequent changes in their behaviors, do not survive and prosper.” (p. 186)

        The cases described above relate to a violation of privacy where a personal, private data, previously stored within websites that mainly provide related services, was involuntarily published on an image-board type page, consisting of anonymous posts and users. Both domains – iCloud and 4chan - however, are not widely understood to be a part of personalised, customisable social media profiles. Whereas, after discussing the origins and course of Celebgate, one can undoubtedly state that the leak has greatly contributed to how the victims perceive their online presence, and how it has affected not just their Internet activity, but also their sense of intimacy, the responses, reactions, and role of utilities like, amongst many others, Twitter and Facebook, cannot be omitted or underestimated.
        To support the claim of what constitutes social media in the first place, it is apt to familiarise oneself with how Thomas Poell (2013) defines it:

“Social media can be roughly referred to as a "group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of the Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content" ([20], p. 60) The quick rise of social media platforms in the first decade of this century was part of a more general networked culture where information and communication got increasingly defined by the affordances of web technologies such as browsers and search engines. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as well as user generated content sites, including YouTube and Flickr, became the core of a host of web-based applications that together formed an expansive ecosystem of connective media.” (p. 5)

The “quick exchange of user-generated context” can be understood as crucial in describing a female celebrity's experience. Since social media allow users to easily portray themselves in a desired way by sharing text, pictures, and various other types of data, it can also, paradoxically, enable others to depict the famous in any chosen way. Again, such actions bear a resemblance to catfishing; however, the aim differs from creating a fake online persona, as the content revealed during celebgate hack shares even more features with the phenomenon of “revenge porn”.
        Scott R. Stroud (2014), besides explaining what the foregoing term represents (revealing private materials, previously shared between consenting individuals, usually after their relationship has come to an end), specifies the incentives behind it:

"Posting revealing photos of non-consenting others along with identifying information potentially leads to humiliation, embarrassment, and could increase the potential for online and “real life” harassment. (...) This harm is enabled by the anonymity provided to the posters of this information, and those who run the sites that allow for such posting. As research on user-generated content for news sites has determined, anonymity often increases incivility and immoral behavior (Singer & Ashman, 2009)." (p. 9)

Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley (2017) compare the phenomenon to sexual abuse:

"Advances in technology have transformed and expanded the ways in which sexual violence can be perpetrated. One of these new manifestations of violence and abuse is the non-consensual creation and/or distribution of private sexual images: a phenomenon we have conceptualised as image-based sexual abuse." (p. 1)

The issue of being anonymous, mentioned in the first quote, can undoubtedly be attributed to social media as well. Since it has already been discussed what triggers one to act accordingly in circumstances characteristic to the events surrounding Celebgate, it is essential to describe the consequences of the behaviour.
        The statements from Teresa Palmer and Jennifer Lawrence concern their feelings related to the hack itself, not their attitude to appearing on social media afterwards (although Palmer provides the reader with the idea on how she hopes to deal with the aftermath of Celebgate, she focuses on her daily life, simply revealing that she is now aware that any type of personal data might get stolen and uploaded online). While the two women are, undoubtedly, not the only ones that concentrated mainly on the fact of being subjected to Collins' shenanigans, and not the direct reactions of others, their way of coping with the trauma in the media should be considered to be as legitimate as the response of those who chose to publicly share their views on the engagement of Internet users and followers with the case, since methods of dealing with stress vary greatly according to one's personality and numerous psychological traits.
        The experience of another victim of Collins, actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, gives one a detailed insight into the struggle of online presence following the leak. Winstead used her Twitter account to voice her concerns and describe her attitude at that time:

"To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves."

"Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this."

"Going on an internet break. Feel free to my @s [mentions] for a glimpse of what it's like to be a woman who speaks up about anything on twitter"

These three simple messages (in 2014 Twitter's 140 characters limit still existed) thoroughly describe the actress' approach to the situation. She feels not only that her privacy and personal freedom have been violated but also does not understand why users are interested in content that was never intended to be viewed by third party. Winstead is also surprised with the effort put into looking for the photos even after most of the copies have been removed. Finally, she informs that she is not going to respond again, stating that the reaction to her posts is what a woman in a time of stress is likely to experience from her online following, and other users, curious about a given case.
        Bernie Hogan (2010), however, appears to have answered Winstead's question concerning the users motives to keep looking for the pictures: "To expect privacy online is not to imply that one has something worth hiding or a presentation that may contradict one’s role in other spheres of life" (p. 4). The author suggest that the interest was fueled by the actress' general image: in the opinion of the public, Winstead was never considered to be a person that would agree to appear in such pictures; such impression had probably been caused by the woman's public demeanor and the impression that occurred from it.
        While Winstead's reaction might have seem harsh and incited by anger, another actress afflicted with the hack took a less exasperated, however still firm approach. Yvonne Strahovski, whose career, similarly to Palmer, flourished in the US, chose Instagram to publish her statement:

“It is with great sadness and disappointment that I address this hacking issue. To my fellow actresses whose privacy has been invaded – my heart goes out to you. I'm so disappointed that there are people in the world who feel the need to commit these criminal acts. Some of these pictures are fake, my own included. Regardless – I ask you all – do not share the links. Don't even look at the photos. Just let people have the privacy they deserve. Integrity is sacred.”

The response, besides calling for respect and voicing Strahovski's attitude towards the person responsible for the leak, also suggests yet another issue the woman had to face: despite the pictures being fabricated, there was still the need to address the situation.
        Obviously, a person unfamiliar with photo processing might not have been able to recognize the pictures to be fake. This might be understood as beneficial, since the actress' privacy has not, in fact, been invaded. Nonetheless, even if Strahovski's plea not to distribute the links prevented a given number of people from seeing the pictures, those who have already viewed them were not certain to also see the discussed Instagram post, and therefore remain under the impression that they have come across a genuine depiction of the actress. In such case, the woman has not been hurt directly by having her privacy violated, but by false assumptions that lead to both reactions similar to those Winstead experienced, and having been wrongly accused.
        Carolyn Hole, Naomi-Ellen Speechley, and Ross Burnett warn of the severity of the described kind of situation:

"It is apparent that for those wrongly accused the effects are likely to be devastating(...) they may have a substantial impact. Some allegations (...) may still affect their subjects’ employment or standing in the community. Others may be aired in employment tribunals or family courts, and even when they are not substantiated, their consequences may be severe. (...) Significant damage may be done to alleged ‘perpetrators’ in circumstances where there has been no finding of guilt." (p. 4)

To conclude, violation of privacy in a form of illegally obtaining private data is yet another factor that a famous American woman's social media experience comprises of. Albeit similar to catfishing, its reach and effects are considerably greater, as events like Celebgate involve not just one person (or a small group of people) that is meant to be deceived, but the victim's online following, as well as a global audience, interested in the situation. Such leaks create a sense of doubt in security measurements of even the biggest Internet storage providers, which, along with the feeling of humiliation (especially when confronted with direct comments) and uncertainty (in many cases related to the fear of losing business opportunities and inability to pursue chosen career path), might make social media usage more of an ordeal, than a pleasant and work-facilitating activity.

Restricting access to violent video games [argumentative essay]

Keep in mind that argumentative =/= for and against.

        Nowadays, online video games are one of the most popular means of entertainment for teenagers, but also for children. However, despite their wide popularity, violent themes - which are prevalent in such games - should result in stricter restrictions on the access to them for the aforementioned demographics.

            First, young people, especially those under the age of sixteen, are very prone to graphic and emotional stimuli that video games are rich in. If a person is exposed to a violent, yet engaging, content for a long period of time, they might get influenced by it to the point of mimicking the behaviour they have seen on their computer screen, thus carrying out violent acts in the real world.

           What is more, the immunity to being affected by extreme or traumatising sights varies from person to person. A game that is simply a form of relaxation for one teenager, can have a long-lasting effect on the psyche of the other. The damage caused by the exposure to such graphic content might require years of therapy, or, in more severe cases, become irreparable.

           Thirdly, a person's personality develops most rapidly during their adolescence. Indulging in an entertainment where other players are seen and interacted with only in the form of their nicknames, and the contact is focused mainly on the violent gameplay, puts the proper development of personality traits and the ability to form and maintain interpersonal relationships in jeopardy.

           Finally, a game's storyline comprised of malevolence and wrongful deeds might trigger the worsening of an actual mental illness or personality disorder the young player may already have. Mental problems - even if properly treated - can be easily deepened by exposure to violence, especially if they themselves are the result of it.

           Taking everything into account, the access to violent online games should be met with more severe and serious restrictions. A young person's healthy development, as well as taking care of their pre-existing problems, are prone to be disturbed by graphic and sinister gameplay; the consequences of such psychological turmoil can sometimes be irreversible. 

Report essay example (reading habits)

          The discussed survey was conducted among college students, aged 20-23, from Some University in Somewhere. The interviewees were asked to fill a questionnaire, comprising of questions related to their current, as well as past reading habits. The report describes answers that show the most prominent or surprising tendencies. 

          As an answer to the first question, which dealt with favourite literary genres, almost 19% of the students picked romance as their preferred type of fiction. Novels, thrillers, and fantasy books were chosen by 16% of respondents each, followed by travel books (12%), comics (9%), historical books (6%), chic-lit (3%), as well as fan fiction (a story written usually by a fan of and based on a book or TV series, etc.), chosen by 3% of students. The answers suggest that developed plot, description of interpersonal relationships, and mystery (related to both criminal activity and scientific innovations) are the elements that draw students’ attention when choosing a position they would like to read. 

The next question sheds perspective on the preferred form of read text. A vast majority (72%) claims that traditional, paper books are their favourite. The remaining chose between e-books and Internet blogs (14% each). The result clearly indicates that despite various technological advances regarding reading and writing, young adult students still largely prefer conventional forms of books.

          The query related to the issue following - the part of the day that is most comfortable and preferable for reading - resulted in presented answers: 73% of the interviewees tends to read in the evening, 18% favour afternoon, and the remaining 9% prefers reading during nighttime. Similarly to the previous outcome, there seems to be a clear tendency towards choosing a specific answer.

          The results regarding visiting libraries proved to be not disparate. Only one person confessed to visiting libraries, while the rest stated that they do not. One student specifically declared that they prefer buying to renting since they do not like being put under time pressure while reading. Such acknowledgement signifies that the students prefer obtaining their own paid for book, than renting a public, free copy.

          The last issue, reading habits the students had during their childhood, produced a concerted answer - all respondents asserted that they used to read a lot when they were younger. The unity suggests that when the students were children, they had means, as well as were willing to choose reading as one of their preferred leisure activities.

          The data reviewed above leads to following conclusions. Students from Bydgoszcz prefer longer, developed stories to books discussing specific subjects or shorter texts, and they are most likely to read them in a classic form rather than by using electronic devices, usually by the end of the day. Libraries do not seem to be popular among the respondents, indicating that they would rather purchase their chosen copy; they were also avid readers earlier in their life.

Description of Moloch in "Howl"

"Moloch" is depicted as an embodiment of evil - yet the name does not refer to the devil or widely understood wrong deeds, but rather to the state of society, financial system, and politics.
To introduce his meaning of "Moloch", Ginsberg uses undoubtedly negative connotations, mostly related to emotions ("Solitude! Filth! Ugliness!"; "Nightmare of Moloch! Moloch the loveless!").
The author also provides examples, even if not directly, of Moloch. At the beginning, he mentions "boys sobbing in armies", which is a reference to the army, followed by "Moloch the vast stone of war! Moloch the stunned governments!" - a description of a (probably corrupt) government, constantly engaging the citizens in wars and military conflicts. "Moloch whose blood is running money!" describes the core need fuelling the society, money, and, therefore, banks. Similarly, Ginsberg brings up "Moloch whose love is endless oil and stone! Moloch whose soul is electricity and banks!" - referring to one of the most profitable industries, the oil industry, and reminding the reader of how trade and material goods can replace spiritual life, becoming one's "soul". Later, the author mentions "Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs! Moloch whose factories dream and croak in the fog! Moloch whose smokestacks and antennae crown the cities!", meaning to depict an industrial area, stale and soulless, that has erased natural landscapes. Finally, through "Moloch in whom I sit lonely! Moloch in whom I dream Angels! Crazy in Moloch! Cocksucker in Moloch! Lacklove and manless in Moloch!" he presents the emotional state Moloch puts him in, leaving him isolated and longing for a different way of living, and slowly depriving him of his own nature, positivity, and even sanity.

Obraz przemocy wobec najmłodszych na podstawie reklamy "Don't Wait Until You're Certain"

Przemoc wobec najmłodszych jest zjawiskiem obecnym zarówno w krajach i rejonach ubogich, jak i wysoko rozwiniętych. Jak wynika z raportu fundacji Ark of Hope For Children, rocznie na świecie fizycznie i psychicznie krzywdzącego traktowania doświadcza czterdzieści milionów dzieci. Wpływ na występowanie przemocy ma wiele czynników, często trywialnych, bądź niezrozumiałych dla osób trzecich. Jak wiele innych negatywnych zjawisk dotyczących osób bezbronnych, temat znęcania się nad dziećmi był wielokrotnie poruszany w rozmaitych produkcjach, począwszy od filmów (m.in. dramat biograficzny "Mommie Dearest", opowiadający o dzieciństwie aktorki Christiny Crawford), poprzez nowele, utwory muzyczne, i inne formy przekazu, mające na celu poruszyć ów problem i wywołać dyskusję na temat jego przyczyn i sposobów zapobiegania.
Ze względu na niekwestionowaną popularność telewizji, kwestia przemocy wobec dzieci jest również przedstawiana w spotach reklamowych, najczęściej wykonywanych na zlecenie fundacji zajmujących się ofiarami tego typu, jak brytyjska National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Jedną z takowych produkcji, zrealizowanych na zlecenie właśnie NSPCC, jest "Don't Wait Until You're Certain" (tłumaczenie moje: "Nie Czekaj, Aż Się Upewnisz"), wyemitowana w brytyjskiej telewizji po raz pierwszy w roku 2013, w niekonwencjonalny sposób obrazująca tożsamość i odruchy dzieci, które przeżyły, bądź przeżywają dramat przemocy psychicznej i fizycznej.
Reklama ta wykorzystuje naturalne zachowania dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym i wczesnoszkolnym, takie jak zabawa lalkami i zadawanie pytań, kontrastując ze sobą niewinne pytania z wyrażeniami, które zasłyszały one od rodziców bądź opiekunów, takimi jak: "Shut up, you're doing my head in! I'm warning you!" (tłumaczenie moje: "Siedź cicho, boli mnie już głowa! Ostrzegam cię!"), w celu zobrazowania oddziaływania przemocy na odruchy i wypowiedzi ofiar. Jednocześnie, nawiązując do tytułu, spot ten zachęca potencjalnych świadków do przywiązywania uwagi do tego typu sytuacji, które często bywają lekceważone ze względu na umniejszanie ich wagi przez tłumaczenie ich dziecięcą wyobraźnią, bądź frazami usłyszanymi w filmach, lub z ust rówieśników.
Jedną z najpopularniejszych polskich organizacji zajmujących się tego rodzaju przemocą jest powstała w roku 1991 Fundacja Dzieci Niczyje. Porady zamieszczone na jej witrynie internetowej odnoszą się w dużym stopniu do tego, na jakie zachowania dziecka, sugerujące, że może ono doświadczać agresji, powinno się zwrócić uwagę. W sekcji "Jak rozpoznać przemoc" poruszona zostaje kwestia cierpienia emocjonalnego: "Przemoc emocjonalna to powtarzające się poniżanie, upokarzanie i ośmieszanie dziecka; wciąganie dziecka w konflikt osób dorosłych, manipulowanie nim; brak odpowiedniego wsparcia, uwagi i miłości; wymagania i oczekiwania wobec dziecka, którym nie jest ono w stanie sprostać." Dalej, autor tekstu wymienia objawy tego typu zachowania ze strony dorosłych, wśród których są także "objawy hipochondrii, histerii, obsesji lub fobii", co poruszone zostało właśnie w początkowym fragmencie reklamy NSPCC. Słowa dziewczynki: "Rabbits are scary. It's like they're looking for people to eat and I don't really like it." (tłumaczenie moje: "Króliki są przerażające. Wyglądają, jakby szukały ludzi, których mogłyby pożreć, naprawdę mi się nie podobają.") Uprzedzenie dziecka względem rzeczy, sytuacji, lub - jak w omawianym przypadku - zwierząt powszechnie uważanych za przyjazne bądź urokliwe, może być objawem histerii i irracjonalnego strachu wywołanego właśnie agresją ze strony opiekunów. Warto zauważyć, że dziewczynka nie używa przestraszonego tonu, a raczej mówi o swoim strachu w sposób neutralny, co wpisuje się w oparty na sprzecznościach koncept reklamy.
W dalszej części spotu słowa dwójki kolejnych dzieci zdają się nie mieć ukrytego znaczenia i nie odnosić się pośrednio do sposobu traktowania ich przez dorosłych. "All pigs are pink, even boy pigs" (tłumaczenie moje: "wszystkie świnki są różowe, nawet te, które są chłopcami") i "Do babies mummies teach them how to laugh, or do they know already?" (tłumaczenie moje: "Czy mamy uczą małe dzieci się śmiać, czy może one już to potrafią?"), mimo iż są po prostu obrazem ciekawości świata w młodym wieku, sugerują widzowi, jak łatwo jest zbagatelizować sugestie dotyczące przemocy w wypowiedziach jej ofiar, sprowadzając je do zwykłych pytań dziecka, które dopiero poznaje otaczający je świat, lub do wyimaginowanych obrazów.
Świat fantazji jednakże odgrywa istotną rolę w kształtowaniu się tożsamości młodych ofiar agresji. Alicja Karawaj w swoim wypracowaniu pod tytułem: "Wyobraźnia dziecka w wieku przedszkolnym" stwierdza, iż: "Wyobraźnia dziecka przedszkolnego charakteryzuje się dużą ekspansywnością jego stanów wewnętrznych. Przeżycia emocjonalne dzieci stanowią źródło wielu wyobrażeń, a wyobrażenia potęgują siłę uczuć, zwłaszcza lękowych." Również i ten aspekt pojawia się w produkcji NSPCC, kiedy to dziewczynka, podczas zabawy lalkami, mówi o niej: "Dolly's having a vodka" (tłumaczenie moje: "Dolly napije się wódki"). Warto zaznaczyć, że prócz uzewnętrzniania się emocji dziecka podczas zabawy i próby naśladowania sytuacji najpewniej przez nie zaobserwowanej, słowa te sugerują widzowi także problem nadużywania alkoholu poprzez rodziców bądź opiekunów. Uzależnienie od alkoholu, lub innych substancji wymienione zostało w artykule: "Przemoc wobec dziecka w rodzinie" autorstwa Aleksandry Sobkowskiej jako jednak z przyczyn występowania agresji wobec dzieci.
W jednej z końcowych scen spotu, siedzący na schodach chłopiec szeptem wypowiada słowa: "It's a secret, I'm not allowed to tell" (tłumaczenie moje: "To tajemnica, nie mogę o tym mówić). Obniżenie tonu głosu ma znaczenie symboliczne, odnoszące się jednakże nie tylko do ogólnie przyjętego sposobu mówienia o rzeczach, o których wspominanie zostało zabronione, ale także do biernej postawy osób trzecich wobec problemu przemocy względem nieletnich. Brak reakcji na ów problem obrazuje się ‒ przede wszystkim ze względu na tytuł ‒ jako puenta, główny problem przedstawiony w omawianej reklamie. Wyniki badań, przeprowadzonych przez TNS OBOP w roku 2012, opublikowane na stronie internetowej kampanii "Jak Reagować" sugerują, że: "[...] jedna trzecia badanych uważa, iż nie powinni się wtrącać w to, jak rodzice postępują z dziećmi i w sytuacje stosowania kar fizycznych. Najczęściej powodem braku ich reakcji jest niechęć do wtrącania się w sprawy innych (29%). Niemal połowa respondentów (47%) nie zareagowałoby, uznając zasady nietykalności rodziny lub nie czując się "uprawnionymi" do tego. Powodem braku działania u prawie jednej czwartej badanych (23%) okazał się być strach." Słowa dziecka interpretować można także jako parafrazę wypowiedzi rodziców bądź opiekunów, którzy zakazali mu otwarcie mówić lub skarżyć się innym na sytuację, w której się znalazło. Zniechęca to osoby z jego otoczenia do reakcji, gdyż nie mają one pewności co do swoich podejrzeń, co również przedstawione zostało w tytule..
Podsumowując, spot reklamowy "Don't Wait Until You're Certain" zgodnie z rzeczywistością obrazuje tożsamość dziecka, które doświadczyło, bądź doświadcza, przemocy fizycznej lub psychicznej. Zachowania ukazane w produkcji zawierają w sobie szereg cech charakterystycznych dla najmłodszych zmagających się z ów problemem. Wplecenie fraz zasłyszanych ze strony agresywnego opiekuna (opiekunów), a także zobrazowanie zjawisk zaobserwowanych przez dziecko pomiędzy odruchy i sytuacje typowe dla jego wieku pełni rolę metaforycznego przedstawienia tożsamości ukształtowanej przez dramat przemocy.

How The American Dream Relates To An Immigrant's Experience

The United States is often called "a nation of immigrantsin Built - also literally - by people from all over the world, it still attracts foreigners who come to America, usually with a certain idea for their future. One might ask: why is this specific place so attractive to immigrants? Is this the legendary American Dream fuelling the urge to arrive? How does it merge with their mindset before and experience after the arrival?
To answer those questions, we need to explain what the American Dream is in the first place. Rather than an actual dream (though it might be for some), it is a series of beliefs, originating from the times when the US was still a newly established country. To get into even more detail, it is a stance that everyone can achieve success and life they have always wanted - no matter where they come from or who they are, hard work and determination will provide them with an affluent lifetime. It is the idea of equal chances that makes The United States a destination for those, who, due to segregation and other obstacles, would not achieve much in their native lands.
When we mention "hard work", job opportunities come to mind first. Being able to earn a decent amount of money, usually much higher than in other countries, without having to worry about one's social status, gender, or race, might be something American-borns or most Europeans take for granted. Yet, what we perceive as a right, others need to travel the world for. A chance to shape an immigrant's future without rules other than own engagement is definitely a part of both the American Dream, and their own aspirations.
Still, equality does not only refer to pursuing a chosen career; it is always intertwined with personal freedom. "The land of the free and the home of the brave" - as some call The United States - guarantees every person that is over eighteen (or, in some cases, twenty-one) years old a right to decide how to lead their life; even if they fail miserably, it will be the consequence of their conscious decisions. They can choose to follow celebrities through the TV and magazines, or simply spend the time in a more productive way - but it is not so obvious in many African or Asian countries. When the phrase "democracy" is censored in search engines (China), or you need the leader's own permission to leave the country (North Korea; usually limited to government workers), America once again becomes a fantasy of many. When a person risks persecution for browsing internationally available websites, or death when trying to leave the country, it sets a whole new perspective not only on how valuable American freedom is but also at the minds of those who founded it, revealing them to be truly ahead of their times.
Finally, it might seem that the definition of American Dream has expanded lately. While it still holds the same basic principles, we cannot omit the role of popular culture that delivers a specific image of the States. Hollywood, the Wild West, casinos, and pop music are what many foreigners perceives America to be like. These aspects, seen as rather positive, match the definition of freedom (gambling, cowboy culture), achieving success (Hollywood), and equality (even if in its most trivial form, like male, female, and even child celebrities of every race and background). Those glamorous and fun images are, sadly, most of the time connected with other, negative situations, but so is working hard and trying to stay focused. If anything, Hollywood Hills simply add even more to the fascination with starting over in The United States.
It is no doubt that the American Dream relates to peoples' experience as immigrants in North America, in two main aspects - jobs and personal freedom. We can only wonder how the country would look like today if different values have been included in The Declaration of Independence. What is certain is that "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are merits that seem to have gained a wide acclaim and that have been attracting those firm about leading a self-determined and secure life.

The governement should not be able to access cell phone data [argumentative essay]

The easiness of communication and almost effortless access to information have had a great impact on the lives of people in the 21st century. Even though immediate, global flow of data certainly helps improve relations between members of various cultures and citizens of countries around the world, it also possesses risk of the the personal content being easily obtained not just by intelligence agencies, but legally elected governments. The opponents of the idea of the state collecting cell phone data
claim that such procedure violates basic human rights and helps criminals develop alternative means of communication, unbeknowst to the police. Others argue that it is the first step to estabilishing a totalitarian regime, as well as to teaching citizens to censor themselves on a daily basis.
The right to privacy is one of the most important values that uphold human dignity. Supporters of surveillance often raise the arguement that if a person has nothing to hide, they should not be afraid when their phones are being monitored. However, such logic can easily be dismissed. Why do people lock the bathroom door? Why do they cover their bodies with clothes? These activities, among many others - especially being able to talk with the other person without the conversation being tracked
by the authorities - fulfill the natural desire for security and confidentiality.
Furthermore, a law allowing the government to collect cell phone data would inspire lawbreakers, particularly larger terrorist groups like The Islamic State, to estabilish new channels of communication since they would be aware of their activity being observed. Journalist Don Reisinger warns that: "[...] they've built their own "customized" tools to communicate. Those tools include an encrypted email application called Mojahedeen Secrets, a mobile app called Tashfeer al-Jawwal, and even an
Android-based news app for "terrorist-related actions," called Alemarah." 1 It means that, ironically, regulations designed to stop criminals would actually benefit them, as their technology would make it harder for intelligence agencies to track their steps.
What is more, legal monitoring of information shared by people is characteristic of totalitarianism. For instance, wiretapping was one of the main aspects of the regimes of Fidel Castro and other like-minded leaders.2 Supervising cell phone data would not just allow authorities to gather even more knowledge, since they would be able to track online activity and text messages as well, but would help construct a new totalitarian state.
Finally, lawful cell phone surveillance would spark the destruction of one of the modern world's most important qualities, the freedom of speech and expression. Knowing their communication might be observed, people would subconsciously develop a fear of expressing creative or controversial ideas. Such self-censorship would be devastating to human artistry and discourage citizens from resisting opressive or wrongful conditions.
In general, allowing governments to collect cell phone data would lead to depriving people of their basic rights and freedom of thought. As Evgeny Morozov once said: "Surveillance might reduce crime - even though the evidence here is mixed - but no studies show that it results in greater happiness of everyone involved."
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1fortune.com/2016/05/03/terrorists-email-social-media/

The causes of divorces [example cause-(effect) essay]

A high divorce rate in developing countries sparks questions related to the causes of the phenomenon. Whether the decision to end the marriage is based on severe or rather trivial concerns, the responisibility for separation is usually caused by the other person's behaviour.
First, the most common reason for leaving the partner is adultery. Although there are many types of relationships, the union of two people is the foundation of marriage. Not everyone is comfortable with their spouse having a romantic relationship with someone else, and even though polygamous relationships are present, the majority of people do not tolerate cheating.
Next, the decision to end the union might be motivated by one - or both - of the spouses' infertility. Not every childless marriage remains so by choice. Even if some couples decide to stay together, there are also people who get overcomed by the desire to have a child and decide to find a healthy partner.
Furthermore, various addictions can also contribute to a divorce. If substance dependence becomes so severe that the person starts abusing their husband, wife, or children, leaving the abuser is, in most cases, the only way to save the physical and mental health of the victims.
Finally, the relationship might end because one party has fallen out of love with the other - more often than not, they might have also already developed a romantic interest in someone else. If the spouse realizes they are not their partner's significant one anymore, they usually face serious issues with self-esteem and jealously; the best way for the couple to stop being surrounded by such negative emotions in their relationship is to end it.
To sum up, although there are many different causes of ending the marriage, the demeanour, behaviour and well-being of the spouse plays an important role in making such a decision. Not everyone is capable of succesfully fighting the difficulties they are likely to face in their relationship. What is more, leaving the partner might - just like in case of being abused by an addict - be the only way to achieve happiness in the future.

Causes of eating disorders

Distorted perception of one's own body is considered to be a mental issue which ultimately leads to a variety of physical problems. Eating disorders, as those are called, even though usually associated with women, are a serious threat for both sexes' health and development.
The influence of the famous happens to be the most prevalent cause of such condition, especially among young people. Teenagers and young adults, to whom healthly nutrition is crucial, tend to mimic their idols' physical image, which often also includes trying to achieve a similar body shape. Celebrities, who more often than not have gone through numerous plastic surgeries and used, not necessarily cheap or even safe, drugs supposed to help them lose weight, usually lie that their physique is natural - causing the fans to start a rigorous diet that has not been approved by a specialist, or even starve themselves (which is the main symptom of anorexia).
The impact of others appears to be an important factor entailing an eating disorder; in many cases, a person whose love interest is attracted to skinny people (or even openly states that they find unhealthy low weight attractive) tries to draw their attention by dieting and drastically changing their body shape in a short period of time. Such process usually involves excessive exercising or forcing consumed food out of the body - a characteristic behaviour of a victim of bulimia.
The need for acceptance and praise also plays a role in developing an eating disorder. One might believe that changing their physical apperance is what is essential to gaining friends or even improving their social status. In this case, counting calories and exercising is likely to become an obsessive behaviour, continuing for a time long enough to cause health problems and affect mental functions.
Finally, being even slightly overweigth can result in a low self-esteem. Instead of seeking professional help, a person desperate to feel comfortable in their own body might start to force it to look differently, without considering any possible negative consequences of their way of achieving the goal. Such irresponsibility is a major and characteristic obstacle in overcoming unhealthy eating habits.
Causes of eating disorders are not intricate and do not differ much from one another - the opinion and influence of others is usually the key factor in developing them. Effects, however, vary in intensity, and can affect multiple aspects of one's health.
Anorexia and bulimia result in severe problems with internal organs, such as heart and liver, as well as with a bone structure, leading to multiple fractures from minor injures; smaller changes, like weakened hair and purple spots on the skin are present too. The disorders also disturb a mental well-being, forcing the sufferer to strictly count calories, weight themselves daily, and induce a manic fear of gaining even a little weight. False perception of one's own body, a result of the said obsessions, prevents the person from recognizing the hazardous state they are in, which, at the same time, allows them to continue dieting. If left without a specialist's supervision and help, a victim of an eating disorder is almost certain to die from malnutrition and organ failure.
In conclusion, the enviroment and level of self-esteem of the person play an important role in triggering unhealthy eating habits. Whether it is the desire to look more like a certain public figure, or the effect of detracting self-values, both bulimia and anorexia can result in a variety of physical and mental struggles.

How to mend a broken heart [process essay example]

Being heartbroken is a common condition, occuring in people of nearly all ages. Whether it is caused by an inability to confess the feelings for the other person before they fall in love with somebody else, or witnessing a spouse of thirty years cheating, following four simple steps will hopefully help you mend your broken heart.First, do not surround yourself with objects that might remind you of your partner. Although you will probably feel nostalgic and want to save the remnants of the relationship, being constantly exposed to them is certain to bring - among many happy ones - painful memories of ending your relationship (or, in case of unreciprocated love, remind you of the absence of your loved one). It is not necessary to destroy or remove anything completely; simply store all the photographs and gifs in a box and then hide it in the attic or any other place you do not visit often.
Second, try to find new a hobby or a part-time job. The more occupied you will be with tasks that require concentration and dedication, the less time you will spend thinking about your relationship and the person you loved. Nevertheless, do not indulge in behaviours that might actually help you stop focsuing on the pain, but are hazardous to your well-being, like excessive drinking and taking heroin. The relief caused by substance abuse does not last long and can lead to a severe addiction.
Next, make sure to maintain civil relations with your ex-partner, even if you ended your relationship in anger or because of their despicable behavior. Do not, under any circumstances, try to take revenge on them. Hate and vindictiveness will only increase your pain and might even cause you legal problems if you decide to physically harm anyone.
Finally, remember that even if you used to perceive the person that hurt you as perfect or the relationship has been a happy one for a long time, there are many people that can make you happy again. Refusing to recognize positive traits in others because the one you loved seemed flawless will make it difficult for your broken heart to heal. No matter how many times you have been betrayed and hurt, there is still a chance for you to find someone you can share your life with.
Follow the steps mentioned above and you will be certain to heal from the trauma and pain caused by an unfortunate infatuation.

Example book review (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child)

"Harry Potter and The Cursed Child", written by J.K. Rowling with the help of two other authors, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany is, undoubtedly, a must-have for many fans of the saga. Set twenty years after the ending of the last of seven books, "The Cursed Child" reveals the story of Harry's youngest son, Albus Severus, and another student, Scorpius Malfoy, as they become best friends, despite the odds between their families.
Unlike the first seven volumes, the story of Albus is written in a form of a stage play, which not only lets the reader explore a less known genre of a written text, but also gives them an insight into Rowling's skills, as she has never written or co-written a play before.
However, the author's popularity and abilities are not the only merits of the book. Thanks to the simplistic, yet not infantile style, readers will most likely get fascinated with the story after the first few pages, learning about Albus' relationship with his famous father. What is more, the father-son bond is not as strong as one would expect; it reminded me how even a seemingly perfect family can have unpleasant - and thoroughly hidden - secrets.
In later chapters, the plot centers on Albus and Scorpius' decision to steal the last magical time turner in order to come back to the past and save the life of Cedric Diggory, whose death was one of the main causes of Harry's depression. Sadly, playing with time turns out to be hazardous and leads to plethora of unexpected events which might change the future forever. The importance of a detail is another thing I learnt from "The Cursed Child" that I believe I will never forget -
even the smallest
decision has its consequences, often disproportionately severe.
If you are looking for a book that is both easy to read and certain to make you think deeply of the other side of - apparently - obvious circumstances, "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child" is a perfect choice. It is surely an interesting and highly anticipated read for the fans of J.K. Rowling's world of wizards, but also a thought-provoking story for those that are not necessarily familiar with the saga.

Art vs Life in "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

Art becomes interwinded with people's lives in many ways, especially because nowadays its definition keeps broadening, and it is accessible to everyone, sometimes even without any special effort put into reaching it, as it surrounds us. Is there anyone who has not been intrigued by a photoshoot seen in a random newspaper, or who could not stop humming a song heard while on their way to work?
But, obviously, art is not just something we randomly encounter only to forget about it after a while. It might become a hobby for someone who has just started being interested in photography, a direction for an amateur writer who tries to mimic the style of their favourite storytellers, and, finally, a job when a musician or an actor gains - whether deserved or not - popularity. Still, one question remains - is there a bigger dedication to art than making a living out of creating one's own? Is it possible for it to become an actual way of living, even if marked by being exposed to criticism or seclusion? If we take aesthetism, an artistic movement from the second half of the 19th century which also comprised of certain moral and intellectual values, into consideration, the answer most definitely will be 'yes'.
One of the most popular and significant personalities of that period of time, also associated with the term 'art for art's sake' and the insight into creating it described, was Oscar Wilde, an Irish playwriter and poet. A flamboyant personality, gifted with sense of humour ('There is only one thing in life worse than being popular, and that is not being popular.'), and fascinated with then-condemned, 'dark' behaviours like homosexuality, Wilde was a dandy, whose goal was to see the two - art and life - meet, and become truly intertwined, merging with each other, and whose way of living gathered a lot of rebuke and even disdain from the Victorian society.
His well-known novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, also depicts the coorelation between artism and reality. The main character does not exclude himself entirely from the society and, in fact, takes pleasure in being able to split his life between hedonistic unconcern and victorian prudishness, which reflects the author's own experiences. As stated in Nicholas Frankel's The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition: "In the wake of the Cleveland Street Scandal, Wilde had particular reason to be cautious in his published writings. Like Dorian, he was harbouring his own secrets. Since at least 1886, Wilde had been leading a secret double life, designed to conceal his sexual orientation and extramarital affairs from from close family members and "respectable" society." Mimicking this characteristic aesthetic rethoric of divided existence, Oscar Wilde describes events in Dorian's life, as well as his choices, that eximplify various obstacles preventing artistic vision from being fully conjoint with everyday life.
The novel begins with a preface dedicated to help the reader understand the novel, but also art in general, properly. It describes the artist as a creator dedicated to the sole beauty of their creation, rather than to being a moralist or a teacher, which is a clear reference to the 'art for art's sake' mantra. However, the novel gives an impression of being an ironic sight into the society, as there are, undoubtely, similarities between the plot and Wilde's life. Whether including the author's thinly-veiled outlook on victorian morality in the story was a deliberate process or not, it might leave the reader slightly confused, but also suggest that there is a kind of picture inside of a picture - an aesthetist's double life emerging in a form of contradiction between the preface and the rest of the novel.
On the first pages of the book, Dorian Gray's life is at the verge of change. Finding inspiration in his fascination with the young man's beauty, Basil Hallward decides to paint a portrait, not only to commemorate Dorian, but also to try to put into practise the new ways of artistic creation the painter has discovered under the influence of his subject. After the portrait has been completed, the boy, who has already encountered Lord Henry's views on life, differiating from Victorian characteristics, looks at the oil likeness of himself, and wishes that, instead of him, the portrait could face the inevitable consequences of passing time. However, it is not the fact of this scenario becoming reality, but Dorian's dream itself, that reveals another (yet first in the actual plot) moment of art being in a way separated from reality. It is no secret that every human being's physical beauty fades over time, and that most probably Wilde's main character was not the only young person that wished to stop this process - but the only one that succeded, as such desire can be fullfilled only in a world of fantasy, or in art, which, surely, also includes a novel. Music, poetry, sculpture - and paintings, are amongst numerous others artistic meanings of preserving, not necessary just human beauty, but the moment. While it is not possible to stop time, there are cenrtainly methods, in the world of art, to ensure that at least short excerpts from the past can be maintained and not forgotten.
Next, as James Esch words it in his essay, Notes on 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', "Rushing headlong into a love affair with Sibyl Vane, Dorian is influenced by her acting; and his romantic attachment and idolization influences her in ways Dorian never anticipated. In fact, she decides to sacrifice her art for the reality of his love, which is anethema to him." Sibyl, a young, but undoubtely talented actress, gets mentally detached from her performances, the distraction being a strong infatuation. Love is considered to be the biggest source of artistic inspiration - from ancient forms of paintings to popular songs on the radio, the stories of lovers have been told and shown countless times, but, obviously, not all of them picture positive themes or endings. One of the most popular tragic love tales, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is also being performed in the novel by Sibyl. The woman, rapt with her feelings for Dorian, cannot focus on the role, spoiling the play.
In this case, love embodies real life; it does not become an inspiration, but rather an obstacle in an artistic craft. Reality, whether in a form of feelings, or many different physical aspects, can deter a person from creating. Even though, with the exception of various generes of fantasy, the world surronding the creator is usually their strongest muse, art is fundamentally just one of many parts of human life, and more often than not, gets relegated to the background by the others.
The story of Sibyl Vane proceeds as Dorian decides not to continue his relationship with the actress, citing the downturn in her acting skills as the main reason. The deeply hurt and heartbroken woman decides to take her own life. Seeing Dorian's attitude towards Sibyl's death, Basil becomes aghast. The young man percieves the tragic event as an ultimate artistic expression, a tragic sacrifice. His demeanor might fit the aesthetic narrative, but only in his own eyes. The artistic perception, together with his hedonistic aspirations, seems to have deprived him of the ability to correctly understand the situation - his former lover's untimely death was not caused by an urge to create an image of a suffering performer, but by her pain itself. There was nothing romantic or tragically beautiful about her suicide; yet again, life has proven to alienate itself from the creator's world.
As time passes, the once beautiful portrait becomes notorious, changing with every of Dorian's bad deeds. It no longer pictures a beautiful young man, not even a little smirk the likeness has developed after Sibyl Vane's death. Oscar Wilde describes it as "some foul parody, some infamous, ignoble satire". The painting is now more like a mirror than ever before - but instead of the character's body, it reflects his soul. Portraits changing by themselves exist, of course, only in fiction, but an individual percieving and opinion on art are nothing sort of unreal. If the readers had a chance to see the portrait, as gruesome as it was by the end of Dorian's life, most of them would probably despise it, not putting a deeper thought into its author skills, and focusing only at the details of Gray's apperance. A question arises - does a creation deserve disdain solely because it pictures something repulsive? Is this another clash, another 'art versus life' situation, where something natural and ingrained in human brain, like general sense of beauty, makes some pieces of art seem less valuable, despite talent and dedication put into creating it?
The novel ends with the death of Dorian Gray. It was neither a sacrifice in the name of art, as he thought Sibyl's death to be, nor was it caused by opium or the character's lifestyle in general. Dorian, still as physically beautiful in his late thirties as years ago, becomes overwhelmed by guilt. After an internal battle between the desire to lead a sinless life and the unwillingness to admit to his mistakes, he furiously stabs the portrait. What is left is the painting being as astonishing as it was when Basil painted it, and a dead gnarled man lying on the floor - the real Dorian Gray. The life becomes what it is supposed to be - not free from harm and passing time, and so does art, unchanging, confined to its own world.
'Art for art's sake', living one's life as it was a play will definitely remain singature values of aesthetism. But they probably would not emerge without being triggered by something certainly opposite, like the ethics of Victorian society and rather rigorous norms of creating art. Hence the idea of double life, of remaining pure in a physical aspect, but provocative and sometimes even corrupt inside. This conflict was clearly visible in The Picture of Dorian Gray, where it was shown as the idea of art and life usually not being fully compatibile. Whereas creative process is most often inspired by reality, and way of living can also be devoted mostly to it, it is not possible to treat them as one combined matter - just like in case of aesthetists like Oscar Wilde, whose life is a great example of an artistic mind, who became even more salient as he was surronded by Victorian mentality and ethics.

Being an only child has both advantages and disadvantages

Modern families tend to differ a lot from those our grandparents or parents were raised in. While people who are now elders most of the time grew up surronded by multiple siblings, younger marriages often decide to have only one child or even remain childless. Such decision shapes not only the parents' life, but also the child's, if they decide to have one, as the enviroment a person grows up in can affect their behaviour and well-being. Being an only child has advantages as well as
disadvantages, both while growing up and in adult life.
To begin with, since the parents of an only child do not need to divide their attention between numerous children, they can provide their offspring with extra care. The parents might pay strict attention to the grades and achievments, and in case of the child having problems with a given subject, find a more judicious way to help them. Yet, the effort is not limitied only to performance at school. When there is no need to provide for other minors, the child can be given more toys and treats,
or gadgets of better quality.
Secondly, an only child - even thought they might possess a lot - does not have to share their belongings with brothers and sisters. Children tend to grow attached to their favourite toys and be reluctant to let others play with them. If they are the only ones to use their dolls or toy-cars, they do not experience jealously or fear of the things being lost or broken by someone else. Not having to share their possessions with siblings is even more crucial for teenagers. During teenagehood, one
values their personal space and individuality, and might perceive constant presence of other teenagers or younger children as tiring and intrusive.
However, if there are no children of similiar age in the neighbourhood, and contact with cousins (in case of there being any) is not regular, only children might find making friends with people their age and maintaining existing friendships difficult. As daily contact with other minors does not start until kindergarden or middle school, they develop certain social skills later than those who grew up with brothers and sisters. Moreover, in such case, being suddenly exposed to school environment
might be distressing, which can lead to fear of participating in classes and refusing to attend school.
In addition, being an only child can deprive a person of close bonds and cause the feeling of isolation. If the parents or friends are not present for a longer time, the child can develop a sense of loneliness, which can be harmful to their evolving personality and might negatively affect skills that have yet to emerge. Later in life, if the parents are no longer alive or not able to see the child on a regular basis, and the person has no family of their own, they might be left with no close
relatives they could trust or rely on in case of emergency. They can also be affected by lack of social interactions, just like children, and suffer from detrimental consequences which might vary from occasional sadness to depressive thoughts and lacking the sense of purpose.
Taking everything into account, remaining an only child provides the person with both positive and negative consequences that affect their entire lifetime. While a child can experience more attention from their parents and do not need to be concerned about privacy, an adult without a sibling will likely be afflicted with loneliness and might lack a reliable companion.