Culture as a Process in Levines Highbrow, Lowbrow Essay -- Highbrow L

Culture as a Process in Levine's Highbrow, Lowbrow In Highbrow, Lowbrow, Levine argues that a distinction between high and low culture that did not exist in the first half of the 19th century emerged by the turn of the century and solidified during the 20th century, and that despite a move in the last few decades toward a more ecumenical interpretation of â€Å"culture,† the distinction between high art and popular entertainment and the revering of a canon of sacred, inalterable cultural works persists. In the prologue Levine states that one of his central arguments is that concepts of cultural boundaries have changed over the period he treats. Throughout Highbrow, Lowbrow, Levine defines culture as a process rather than a fixed entity, and as a product of interactions between the past and the present. Levine’s first chapter presents evidence that 19th century Americans of all social classes enjoyed Shakespeare as an integral part of their culture and entertainment. Shakespeare’s works were familiar enough to the populace that a variety of parodies were written and performed for large crowds that displayed their engagement with the works by applause, vegetable-throwing, interruptions, and commands to the actors. Shakespeare’s plays were performed in frontier communities and in cities, in churches and theatres and make-shift stages, attended by people of all classes. He describes the integration of Shakespeare into the Americans’ language and imagination, and explains Shakespeare’s popularity on the basis of its compatibility with 19th century Americans’ oral rhetorical style and their ability to see their own culture’s emphasis on individualism and morality reflected in Shakespeare’s characters and stories. Levine ex... ... and others whom Levine treats are a different breed of reformers because they are concerned only indirectly with morality. But when Brown laments that today’s youth are intellectually wanting and have no connection with their cultural heritage, he uses bold phrases such as â€Å"junk food for the soul,† indicating that the erosion of appreciation for high culture is changing not only the common forms of entertainment but the character of today’s youth. Another parallel exists in Brown’s conception of culture and the Springhall’s reformers’ concept of morality as something that youth can access if they choose to break away from the evil influences of â€Å"mass† or â€Å"popular† culture – with the help, of course, of their moral or intellectual superiors, who long to inculcate their own (perhaps technologically or culturally outdated) ways of thinking into the next generation.

A Growing Epidemic of Alcohol Problems

Previous studies have shown that the combination of biological markers and CAGE questionnaires is an efficient tool in determining alcohol abuse.Among the laboratory tests used to determine biological markers of alcohol abuse, it has been found that the most sensitive marker is the level of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) (Viitala, 1998; Yersin et al., 1995). CDT is a protein which is found out to be a sensitive marker of disease of the liver caused by excessive alcohol intake.Among the commonly used biological markers are detection of the level of ethanol and acetate, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb A1c) (Hoeksema & Bock, 1993). The CAGE questionnaire was made by Dr. John Ewing to identify alcoholics. It is consist of four questions scored as 0 or 1 and alcoholism is considered to be significant if the individual in question scores two or greater.In a certain study conducted to compare the sensitivity and speci fity of CAGE questionnaire, plasma levels of ethanol and acetate, mean corpuscular volume, gamma glutamyl transferase and glycosylated hemoglobin, it was found that the it is through the use of CAGE questionnaire that the alcoholic patients are most accurately distinguished against nonalcoholic and patients with non-alcoholic hepatic disease with 90%sensititvity and 99% specificity (Girela, Villanueva, Hernandez-Cueto, & Luna, 1994).Socio-demographic factors are also commonly included in studies conducted to ascertain alcoholic problems for it has been shown in some studies that it is related to alcoholic abuse.Age, sex, educational attainment and economic status are among the factors commonly observed. In a study conducted by Bataille (2003) to identify heavy drinkers in a large population, he included the use of socio-demographic factors as one way of identification.Results of his study show that there is no significant difference in age, sex, arterial hypertension but educational level and smoking habits proves to have significant differences in the population observed. Those with lower educational background and frequent smoking habits relates to greater alcohol consumption (Bataille et al., 2003).Although there have been lots of studies that used biological markers, CAGE questionnaires and evaluation of socio-demographic factors but there is a lack of substantial findings that elucidate the interrelationships of these indicators in identifying alcohol problems. Thus, there is need to conduct a study regarding this matterIII. Conceptual FrameworkA.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nominal Definition/Meaning of ConceptsAccording to Viitala (1998) â€Å"alcohol abuse refers to heavy drinking that results into health consequences, social problem or both and patients of this kind suffer from mental or physical complications brought on by alcohol even though the criteria for alcoholism may not have been fulfilled while alcoholism is the most severe problem related to alcohol consu mption and it is a disease where severe dependence and increased tolerance has been developed.†According to Peterson (2004), â€Å"a biological marker or biomarker is a compound or series of compounds that can be used to measure the progress of a disease or the effects of treatment.† Among the currently used biomarkers for detecting alcohol intake are serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) which are all liver enzymes.N-acetyl-ÃŽ ²-hexosaminidase (beta-Hex) which indicates break down of carbohydrates in liver cells and other cells of the body is also used as a biomarker.Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) which is a measure of red blood cell volume is also used as a biomarker (Peterson, 2004). In this study the biomarker that will be used is CDT. CDT is a form of glycoprotein transferrin which carries iron in the bloodstream but without carbohydrate sialic acid. Norma lly different forms of transferrin are available in the body but the one that is most abundant among heavy drinkers of alcohol is CDT.

The Strength of Family in Death of a Salesman and A Raisin...

The American Dream is a vision of economic opportunity available to all those who work for it, regardless of race or class. However, as seen in Arthur Miller’s â€Å"Death of a Salesman† and Lorraine Hansberry’s â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun†, perverted conceptions of the American Dream convince certain characters that they are entitled to the fruits of miracles. Despite their best intentions for supporting their families, Walter Younger and Willy Loman encounter unsurpassable obstacles and are unable to fulfill their dreams. When all hope has been lost, family is the only thing that these characters have left. â€Å"Death of a Salesman† and â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† portray family as asylums of safety amidst the hopeless ambitions of tragic heroes. Both Lena†¦show more content†¦Lena tells Beneatha to love her brother when he is in a time of crisis and to understand what tribulations he had to go through (hills and valleys) out of love for his family. Lena’s establishes peace between Walter and Beneatha by teaching them to forgive each another and value family harmony above all else. The family peace is thus preserved and ultimately this unity allows the Youngers to stand by one another at the end of the novel in the decision to move into their new home and persevere against racial pressure. Lena’s diplomatic skills come into play again during this climax and empower the tragic hero of the story to make a redeeming decision. A major source of tension within the story comes from disagreement over how the money should be invested, but that question becomes meaningless when a crook dupes Walter and runs away with the money. Desperate, Walter is tempted to acknowledge racial inferiority by staying out of Clybourne park in return for money, but ultimately Lena convinces Walter that family is more important than money. As Walter prepares to seal the deal, Lena tells her son to â€Å"make [Travis] underst and what you doing, Walter Lee†¦ you show where our five generations done come to† (147). Lena challenges Walter to submit like that of his slaveShow MoreRelatedComparing the Plays, A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman902 Words   |  4 PagesIn history there have been an uncountable amount of plays made, but there have only been two that fully captured the American dream like A Raisin in the sun and Death of a Salesman. In both plays the protagonist is trying to achieve the American dream, but it is near impossible when neither of them has the respect of their superiors or the people around them. It is amazing that two different plays can so closely parallel each other when they have a time gap of over 10 years. 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A true salesman is one who can convert an indifferent consumer walking into the store into a new customer. Johnson believes in the ________ concept. A) product B) production C) selling D) marketing E) social responsibility Answer: C Page Ref: 18 Objective: