Recent orders
Nonverbal Communication Observation
Name:
Professor:
Course:
Date:
Nonverbal Communication Observation
Non-verbal communication refers to a technique of conveying messages, thoughts, emotions and feeling through actions and expressions rather than words. In our day-to-day lives, verbal and non-verbal forms of communication work together to deliver messages, thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Aspects of non-verbal communication often express our emotions better than words. Non-verbal communication comprises of body language (kinesics), touch (haptic), distance (proxemics), oculesics, their physical attractiveness, vocalics, and chronemics.
While having my coffee at the local Cafe with my friends, I noticed a couple seated next to our table. One could tell from the onset that the two were a couple from their kinesics, haptics, and oculescis. The young man, Caucasian, was about twenty-three years of age, towering at the height of 6ft 1, while his girlfriend, African American, was about 5ft 7. The two, both smartly dressed, seemed to be on a date, as they sat at opposite sides of the table and were constantly smiling at each other. Due to their proximity, I could catch some of their words. The two were talking about a trip they would have next year to Malta. The lady was animatedly counting up the needs she would need from her trip. As she folded her fingers one by one, the guy began to laugh stating that she did not need all that luggage. It was evident from their body language that the two had been dating for a long time. Their body movements were swift and unrestrained showing that the two were open with each other and had, therefore, probably known each other for a while.
The two were so engrossed in their conversation about Malta that they did not see the waiter coming to take their order. The waiter who had been standing over them for more than two, three seconds cleared his throat. An emblem in America and most of the world that calls for attention. From their widening eyes, quick glances at each other, and embarrassed smiles, the two must have been startled by the waiter’s presence. They made quick orders without perusing the menu meaning that they were regulars. After the waiter took the order, the two did not talk until a few minutes later when their food arrived. The young man extended his hand and held the lady lovingly while they looked deep into each other’s eyes and smiled. These two were a sight to see! When their food arrived, they thanked the waiter and did not hurriedly began to eat, but continued to talk! These time, the two were speaking in hushed tones and were quite close to each other. The lady had held her face with her hands and her elbows on the table while she spoke softly to the guy. After they finished their meal, the two walked out together holding hands, while the gentleman carried the lady’s handbag. When they got to the door, he opened the door for her, and the two stepped into the warm sunshine.
Later that afternoon when I went to the library, I saw a group of about five teenagers. From their dressing, I could tell that they all knew each other and enjoyed a hobby together, say Rock and Roll music. From their dressing, I could tell that they were into Rock Roll as they all had dyed their hair black, wore tight jeans and t-shirts. They were all laughing quietly at something one of them had said. The five teenagers, all male, did not seem interested in reading. They kept whispering to each other, that other library users kept staring at them annoyingly. They flipped pages, switched seating positions, shared earphones while watching some videos on their phones. After a little while, the librarian walked in, tapped two of them on the shoulders, and placed her middle finger on her lips, an emblem meaning, ‘observe silence!” After she walked away, the five looked at each other shrugged, and left the library, to the pleasure of everybody.
The other conversation I observed was by two middle-aged gentlemen who were discussing stocks; on the train, on my way home. One of the men was in an ash-gray suit while the other was dressed in an immaculate double-breasted navy-blue suit. I could not see their shoes as their suitcases blocked my view, but I guessed that they must be wearing expensive Italian, leather shoes. The two men sat on adjacent seats but did not seem to share much. From their conversation on stocks, these men obviously worked in the financial industry but were not friends. They must be colleagues in the same firm, different departments, I guessed. The two had little or no eye contact, they had stiff body movement as if they were uncomfortable, and they went on for minutes without talking. After the first man got to his stop, he got up, picked his briefcase, shook hands with his colleague, and left without many pleasantries.
New Order in America Post World War II
Name:
Professor:
Course:
Date:
New Order in America: Post World War II
When World War 2 was coming to an end, the United States was in a far much better place economically than ever. However, there were still devastating effects that the world war had caused in the lives of Americans. Many Americans including both men and women had joined the military in order to help the country fight and many perished in the war. Industrialization had also kicked off especially industries that manufactured combats and most people had moved near war industries due to high demand of labor. Most of these factories located in the Atlantic, Pacific as well as the Gulf coasts and the migration led to sprouting of towns (Hooks, pg. 303-337). After the World War II it was almost as if America was beginning a new era that would be characterized by growth considering it had just undergone a great depression just a few years back. This paper looks at Americas new order especially between 1940s-1960s.
Building on the economic base just after the war ended was more affluent and easy in America that people could actually not believe it. There were several public policies that were passed that helped Americans especially those who had participated in the war. For example, the GI Bill of rights passed in 1944 was to give the veterans money so that they would be able to attend college, buy farms and also buy homes (Maier, pg. 607-633). The money was a form of compensation to the Americans who had sacrificed their lives in the war front and would help them have a better life. This was where the American Dream was coined, where many Americans were living better lives as they could now even own their homes. After the post war, America was an economical power house and most Americans were actually leaving better lives than Japan and Germany.
The US government had jumped from a great depression to an economic powerhouse as money had been spent during the war. After the war, the war manufacturers tried to convert war materials to consumer goods and the appliance and automobile sector also grew drastically. Many towns had already grown with buildings being constructed and between 1950s and 1960s, some Americans had retreated to live in the suburbs where they could enjoy the consumer economy and also try to search for normalcy. President Lyndon Johnson was also trying to come up with initiatives to help better the society. These initiatives were referred to as Great Society. Aim of these policies were to help reduce crime, end poverty, abolish inequality and help improve the environment. In 1964, during his speech he pointed out that the great society would be one of the largest social reform plan as he was also seeking reelection for a second term (Johnson).
An affluent society was created in America after the WW2 and although many would want to believe almost all American’s lived a good life this was not the case. Many Americans especially the whites had been lifted into the burgeoning middle class but there was also a lot of inequalities that arose. Women were still struggling to attain equal rights and be treated same way as the men (Locke). The poor people who were mostly the black were still struggling to get access to good school, health care as well as better paying jobs. Jim Craw on the other hand was creating laws that were promoting segregation of the colored people. This was another part of America that seemed to have been forgotten while the other part enjoyed the boost of the economy and its fruits.
After the war, the African Americans also became interested in being treated better, they came up with civil rights movements that would advocate for equality and ensure better treatment by the system. After the war many whites had gained employment while the blacks seemed forgotten. Philip Randolph who was the black labor leader threatened to march to Washington unless the blacks too were also given equal employment opportunities. In order to prevent this demonstration, President Roosevelt gave an executive order which prohibited discrimination of the blacks in defense industries. Committee of Fair Employment Practices was also established. They also championed for better treatment of their children especially the fact that schools were also racially segregated. The Brown vs Board was a notable ruling that allowed black children to be able to attend schools that were only meant for the whites. The blacks were also eventually allowed to vote with the clause of one being asked to do an exam before voting being removed (Hall, pg. 1233-1263). The “Journey of Reconciliation” was also created where George Houser led a movement of whites and black leaders on a march which challenged racial segregation in interstate buses.
In 1940-60s, new tension emerged, the cold war, which was a threat between the united states and the Soviet Union. There was political consensus regarding cold war and US received bipartisan support from most foreign US policies. Vietnam war however witnessed in the North of Vietnam led to more tension that would put America in bad light. The USA supported the anti-communist South by sending military guides to instruct and aid the South Vietnamese Army (Feis, pg. 82). The South was at war with the communist party Viet Cong which was established in the South. The fight led to the campaign of assassination spearheaded by the Viet Cong and it received tremendous support from the north in 1959. The Americans were afraid that if the communist party took over Vietnam then it was definitely going to spread to the proximate countries. During this period the cold war was also intensifying in the entire world and the USA toughened its policies against any of the communists and the Soviet Union allies and under the leadership of the then president Dwight D. Eisenhower the United States vowed to aid Ngo Dinh Diem and the anti-communist South.
In conclusion, World War II as a major boost to the American dream. Many Americans were able to leave the lives they wanted which was quite a comfortable life than their economic competitors including German and French. It was also during these period that major changes were initiated to ensure African Americans also felt as Americans. Laws were passed to ensure the racial segregation ended and African Americans too could enjoy the boost the war had impacted to American economy. Vietnam war and cold war was also an eye opener to devastating effects war could have that led to America reevaluating grounds on when they can launch attacks in foreign countries.
Works Cited
Feis, Herbert. From trust to terror: the onset of the cold war, 1945-1950. New York: Norton, 1970.
Hall, J.D., 2005. The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past. Journal of American History, 91(4), pp.1233-1263.
Hooks, Gregory, and Leonard E. Bloomquist. “The legacy of World War II for regional growth and decline: The cumulative effects of wartime investments on US manufacturing, 1947–1972.” Social Forces 71.2 (1992): 303-337.
Locke, Joseph L., and Ben Wright, editors. The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S History Textbook, Since. Vol. 2, STANFORD University Press, 2019
Maier, Charles S. “The politics of productivity: foundations of American international economic policy after World War II.” International Organization 31.4 (1977): 607-633.
Thematic Analysis of Misery by Stephen King (2)
Name:
Professor:
Course:
Date:
Mexican Americans in Sports
Sports in America is one thing that brings people together. Ranging from baseball, basketball, football, boxing and soccer, you will often find so many people who have come together to cheer on their teams. Sports is a great thing as one can be a professional and get paid really well, gone are the days everyone wanted to be a doctor or a pilot as now we can be able to tap into talent. Through sports scholarship many students have earned themselves slots in school where they get to study for free in return play for the school team. Over the years there are stereotypes that have been developed regarding sports and although these stereotypes include the fact that often blacks excel in sports. Although these is true, groups such as the Mexican Americans often do not get the ovation that they deserve. There have been even very many Mexican Americans that have had a major contribution in our sports world and we need to also talk about them while we talk about people who have had an impact in sports.
For over a century in the united states, Mexican Americans athletes have participated in both professional sports as well as community based interscholastic. People of the barrios as well as the ranchos descent have been using sports as way for leisure, recreation as well as bringing community bonding. There ae very few historians that have focused on sport participation for Latinos. This paper looks at important individuals that have been on the world of sport chronologically spanning from around 1920s to present time. The paper will analyze the sporting experience that the individuals had and how sporting life has had an impact on both their lives and the community (Jorger, pg. 67-71). There are those players that used their sports influence to pull themselves out of poverty and help their community. The Mexican sports men and women have also used their positions to voice out the issues that minority immigrant groups go through in America.
Mexican Americans and Sports book by Jorge Iber has an impact on the emerging comprehension of how important sport is especially to minority population in the united states. This could probably explain why African Americans who are also a minority group seem to excel in sports. Through sports, most of these individuals often find a sense of belonging. There has been numerous evidence on how Latina have used leisure, culture and sports as a way of constructing both gender and sexual identities (Jorger, pg. 98-109). Most towns that are predominantly resided by Mexicans have often exhibited high number of crime rate and gang related activities. However, there have been development where sports are being used to preoccupy the young children and nature their various talents thus deterring them from getting engaged in gang related activities.
Most of Latino athletes who have excelled in the sports world will attest to the fact that most of their success is not individual achievement alone. Most of these sports men and women have received support from key community leaders, coaches, friends, family and their fans as well. This goes to prove that their achievement is celebrated communally. Just like most immigrant groups, sports have facilitated the adjustment of Mexican Americans into the urban setting introducing their children to the mainstream American culture but at the same time trying to preserve their ethnic identity. Sports has offered the Latinos an escape from the grim social; realities that they get to encounter in their day to day life. In trying to achieve equality in the world of sports, Mexican Americans have tried to re-negotiate issues including nationalism, race relation as well as citizenship so that they are able to get a sense of belonging in this foreign land.
Latino participation in sports has not been a walk in the park but has rather been shaped by class, racial as well as the gender status. The firs key obstacles that they have faced is the high financial muscle that one needs in order to participate in sports. Most Latino families struggle to put food on their table thus most put work as a priority and not sports. This has envied opportunity to several individuals who have talent but are unable to forgo working and focus on building their skills. There are cost associated with getting right training equipment, buying sports gear, transportation cost as well as training charges that has discouraged parents from enrolling their children in organized sports (George, pg. 87-107). Another challenge is depiction by the media. Most English–language sports media have continually misunderstood the Latinos. Most media have used racial as well as gender stereotypes in depicting athletes. An example is the complaint by Roberto Clemente who was a baseball player stated that he hated how English media often quoted him phonetically making him appear illiterate or poorly educated. Some Latinos have also expressed the lack of commercial endorsement due to perceived language barrier. Richard Pancho Gonzalez who was a tennis player threatened to renounce his American citizenship and play for Mexico if the print media did not treat him well (Greenberg, pg. 671-676).
La Colonia neighborhood in Oxnard, California has often been known as a hotspot for gangs and crime but it is also known for producing toughest boxers in the united states. In the year 1978, Community Service Organization tried to use sports as way of fighting crime. A La Colonia Youth Boxing Club was established it the aim that it will help draw the children from the streets and away from gangs by encouraging them to participate in sports. The boxing trainer Louie Tiny Pationo began a youth program in his backyard and he would later get the backing from the city in opening a fully equipped gym that would help the youth train in professionally. By helping their children, the city officials hoped crime rates in the city would reduce and the city would now be known for creating something positive. This strategy worked as La Colonia Boxing gym became a refuge to many troubled kids’ who would later become top professional boxers,
Fernando Vargas who is a household named in the boxing world is a product of the gym youth club. Growing up he had no father figure and had been suspended out of school severally. However, after he met Garcia who would guide him in the sporting world, he strayed participating in boxing professionally. Vargas became among the youngest people to win the world light middleweight title. There were other boxers that were also trained by Garcia including Victor Ortiz, Brandon Rios, Danny Perez, Robert Garcia his son and Miguel Angel. The name of the gym would later change from La Colonia Boxing gym to La Casa de Campeones which loosely translates to house of champions has it has produced top-notch fighter all whom are, Mexican Americans (Fernando). The success of these gym they converted angry rebellious kids who were ready to go into the streets to become criminals into professionals who are making an impact in the world clearly shows how important sports is in the community and why the government need to support it.
Aside from boxing, Mexican Americans have also had an impact in baseball. Latinos make up highest number of the minority group that play baseball. Esteban Bellan was among the first Mexican American to play baseball in the professional league. In 1990, percentage of Latino players who played in the league had grown from 13% to 30% by 2006 (Samuel, pg. 101-106). Those who have succeeded have stories of how baseball helped them escape poverty. However, they still various challenges including different American culture and language barrier (Bob). They have also been involved in the American football. Although there are not as Many, Mexican Americans who have participated in the NFL games, the few who have participated have proved that everyone is capable of doing something. Danny Villanueva was among the earliest field-goal kickers in the NFL from the Mexican descent. Just like mentioned before, history of Mexican American football is not only limited to individual’s stars but rather include the efforts of coaches, teammates as well as the fans. The best example is when Donna High School football team were able to win the Texas championship. Donna was a racially segregated town but both Mexicans and whites came out to support their team which was composed of 10 Mexicans and 8 whites and they were able to win the games. The team was considered an underdog and was competing against a top ranked team. The Mexican Americans that worked as migrant workers against their parents pulled a surprising win a proof of what they could do if given an opportunity.
Basketball is a sport also loved by the Mexicans and there have been several Mexicans that have been featured in the NBA including Alfred Butch Lee. Basketball among the Mexican Americans brought a sense of community and provided a platform where they got to interact with other ethnic groups. In South Chicago between the year 1930-1940, Mexican youth travelled across America with their basketball teams becoming exposed of various cultures and understanding how their ethnic identities were understood by other people (Carlos, pg. 58). In the 2008 documentary, Basketball in the Barrio, it portrayed how Rocky Galarza founded unique basketball camp in El Segundo Barrio a Mexican American neighborhood in the united states (Jorger, pg. 1-15). The space provided a place Latino youth could come train basketball and escape the street life that would have led the into committing crimes.
Women have also not been lefty behind in fighting for a space at the table sports women who are Mexican American have achieved in various fields including Nancy Lopez a known golfer. Most women grew up in a surrounding where they were encouraged to just take up house duties ND many are into beauty. However, there are those that have shown that women too are good in sports. Lisa Fernandez a pitcher for softball team won Olympics gold medal in 1996 and 2000 inspiring so many girls. Women like Monica Gonzalez who is the founder of Gonzo Soccer has been vocal in encouraging more women to play (Williams). In 2017, Gonzalez was among those who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in collaboration with ex-professionals and the Equal Playing Field Initiative and played a match to raise awareness on gender inequality in sports.
In conclusion, Mexican Americans have had an impact in our sports world. It is important we begin to understand the contemporary roles that the Latino athletes have in the U.S sports. For the various trams, leagues and the sports network this may be an opportunity to expand the market an untapped fan base as well. Despite the barriers that they have to go through including race, gender inequalities and culture, Mexican Americans are fighting all odds to also have a voice and say in the sports world.
Woks Cited
Bob Harkins, “Is Baseball Turning Into Latin America’s Game?” NBCSports.com, at http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/43665383/ns/sports-baseball/, accessed July 19, 2012.
Carlos Ortiz, “Eet Eez Time to KO the Stereotype of the Latino Athletes.” Nuestro Magazine, July 1977, 58.
Fernando Dominguez, “Ready to Rumble: La Colonia Holding a Full House.” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 1996. B3.
George Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 87-107.
Greenberg, Bradley S., et al. “Local newspaper coverage of Mexican Americans.” Journalism Quarterly 60.4 (1983): 671-676.
Jorge Iber et al., Latinos in U.S. Sport: A History of Isolation, Cultural Identity, and Acceptance (Human Kinetics, 2011), 67-71.
Jorge Iber and Samuel O. Regalado, Mexican Americans and Sports: A Reader on Athletics and Barrio Life (Lubbock, TX: Texas A & M University Press, 2007), 1-15.
Samuel Regalado, “Image is everything: Latin Baseball Players and the United States Press,” Studies in American Popular Culture 13 (1994): 101-106.
Stodolska, Monika, et al. ““I was born in the hood”: Fear of crime, outdoor recreation and physical
activity among Mexican-American urban adolescents.” Leisure Sciences 35.1 (2013): 1-15.
Williams, Lena. “Hispanic Female Athletes Are Few and Far Between.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/06/sports/women-s-sports-hispanic-female-athletes-are-few-and-far-between.html.