Controlling Organized Crime Essay

Organized crime groups have been around since the 1900’s. The mafia who came from Italy and other countries to the United States started their business and became a nuisance over a period. The mob became a problem for society with their illegal activities such as gambling, racketeering and prostitution that includes other violent behaviors. The mafia was famous for manipulating individuals with their power and greed. These organized crime units became so popular that it took a group of FBI special agents and special trained police officers to shut down the most powerful and notorious organized crime units. This paper will provide definitions, principles, and theories from previous assignments, in which a thesis will be established regarding the control of organized crime. In addition, this paper will identify the problems presented and the various relationships created by organized crime. The legal limitations associated with combating organized crime, including a critique of the large federal laws and strategies that support this effort. Suggestions for a realistic solution to control organized crime by discussing and evaluating the effectiveness of organized crime organized crime prosecutions. Even though, Fear and intimidation makes it hard to bring members of organized crime groups to justice, organized crime and gangs is a major problem to society. It has destroyed many neighborhoods and families. Murder, drugs, prostitution, corrupt political officials and police departments have always been a part of the organized crime groups. These organized groups and gangs will continue to exist so long as there is fear within our society. Identify the problems presented and the various relationships established by organized crime Organized crime is a major problem to society. It has destroyed many neighborhoods with drugs, prostitution, and murder and corrupt political and police departments. Many people believe that these organizations start from individuals who are living in high crime areas, who suffer from poverty and uneducated. The truth of the matter is that many of these individuals build their empires through their intelligence. They become structured organizations that many people fear. They use scare tactics to members of society that allows them to get away with their illegal activities. Society becomes some concerned that they were scared to report these criminal activities to the police. Organized crime and street gangs both uses their power and violent behaviors against members of their communities. Some criminal activities they are connected with including murder, extortion and bribery. These groups use a lot of scare tactics and intimidation against members of the community that continue to run down our neighborhoods with more crime. Describe the legal limitations associated with combating organized crime, including a critique of the large federal laws and strategies that support this effort. Organized crime consists of different ethical backgrounds and language barriers. They do not racial profile against these groups; however, to be of another ethnic origin makes it hard for an individual to join. Police used individuals who were familiar with their territory they are often from the same ethnic backgrounds who understand their language and how they operate. The problem that occurred with legal limitations was learning how the organized groups operated. They began to recruit from within to take down these groups. The groups used store fronts, trafficking, and other members to hide their illegal  activities. Many of their illegal operations evolved around money with educated people to cover up the transactions made it harder for law enforcement to arrest these individuals. Suggest a realistic solution to control organized crime by discussing and evaluating the effectiveness of organized crime prosecutions. Law enforcement at one point did not believe that organized crime will end. It may be targeted and decrease over time both the truth is organized crime will always exist and will be a part of our society and make it hard for police to bring these individuals to justice and prosecuted. One solution in preventing organized crime will be to charge all persons involved in illegal activities. To bring these people to justice and made an example. These individuals should face hard time for their illegal activities. Providing harsher sentences will deter individuals from joining these organized groups, or gangs are to show these individuals that they can and will be punished for their crimes. Bring more police power to high crime areas could also eliminate the initiation of these groups. Educating individuals on the importance of how not to join these groups could put trust back into the community. Provide more job training and alternative actions when they fear intimidation of joining these groups. Police officers should have extensive training that teaches how to conduct productive investigations could also eliminate criminal acts. Organized crime consists of members of a group who carry out criminal acts to gain profit and power. This action could include murder, abuse and intimidation among their members. The use of violence prevents members within a neighborhood or the group to come forward; this makes it hard to bring the organizers to justice. Organized crime groups and gangs act under some of the same structures that make it hard to distinguish if they are a gang or an organized crime group. They both promote within their groups as status quo. Many of the members are family of their leaders. One preventive method would be to keep taking down  these groups eliminate their ability to become successful. Organized members or gangs often choose to live their lives as criminals and thrive on performing illegal activities. Their use their fame and power to intimidate and promote more members. These are self-employed criminals who sometimes do not see a way out of their criminal behavior. Organized crime and gangs will never end. However, the police force is continuing to look for ways to eliminate these groups. Many of the laws that are in place to crack down on these operations are not the most efficient. One way to remove some of these illegal activities is to legalize some of their business profits. According to Lyman (2007) â€Å"there are theories in organized criminal theories that help to the understanding of criminal organizations. There are three methods of organized crime that assist to the understanding of criminal organizations. The first theory is the Alien Conspiracy theory, which blames outside influences and outsiders for the rise of organized crime in American society. Second, the Rational Choice Theory is when a person weighs the pros and cons of living a particular lifestyle; in addition they also know what the consequences of their actions are as well.† Finally, the deterrence theory is when punishment is instituted as a threat to deter others from offending. Clearly deterrence is an opinion many studies states that criminals who are arrested are not necessarily deterring from criminal behavior. The bottom line is that when punishment is used as a threat it is up to that individual, not to commit any further crime. References: Lyman, M. D., & Potter, G. W. (2007). Organized Crime (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Mallory, S. L. (2007). Understanding Organized Crime. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Social Disorganization. (2012). Retrieved from http://mhk-rad.blogspot.com/2012/07/social-disorganization.html

The bet

It was another lonely night for Mrs Maloney as she sat in her armchair in the middle of her living room with a cup of tea. Her husband had been out all day again in the bookmaker's; it was if he lived there. Eventually he came home and Mrs Maloney had prepared them both dinner, but his had gone cold because she had already eaten hers earlier hoping he would have been there so they could enjoy it together. â€Å"Hello dear I made you some dinner in the kitchen, you'll have to heat it up because its gone a bit cold now† she told him nervously. He replied negatively â€Å"Alright woman let me breath I've only just got in the door!† She could tell he had been in the pub as well the way he staggered in the door. Mrs Maloney quietly started watching television again when she heard Mr Maloney groaning from the kitchen. Then she walked in to see what was wrong, it was just him complaining again. She let him carry on eating it but sat down at the table with him. She asked, â€Å"So how was your day dear?† But he replied, â€Å"Let me finish my dinner first† So she did. â€Å"My day was crap, I didn't win anything† Mr Maloney told her. â€Å"My day wasn't brilliant either, but I found something out† She informed, â€Å"What's that then?† Mr Maloney asked, â€Å"You know Jim from the butchers.† She replied â€Å"Yes† he said curiously † Well his wife is expecting a baby. Isn't it great news† she replied. Mr Maloney responded with no interest † yeah great news.† â€Å"I wish we could have had a baby.† She said. â€Å"Well it's too late your fifty six now and I can't be asked.† He exclaimed, but some of it was the beer talking. She felt really depressed now like someone had just died. It was getting late so Mrs Maloney decided to go to bed; on the way up the stairs she asked, † Are you coming up dear?† He groaned â€Å"in a minute† Later when she was tucked up in bed she heard Mr Maloney switch the lights off and slowly creep up the stairs. As he entered Mrs Maloney pretended t be asleep so he wouldn't say anything. He climbed into the bed and gradually dozed off. The next morning she woke up and gave a big stretch only to find that Mr Maloney had gone. Mrs Maloney didn't make a big deal out of it and carried on as if it were a normal day, which in fact it was. After she had eaten and got changed she watched the television to check out today's news. It announced that the Grand National was running today, â€Å"that's why he's shot off then.† She told herself. She grabbed her coat and dashed to the town centre where the bookmaker's is. When she arrived it was rammed with people all doing their shopping there was hardly room to breathe, but she started searching for the bookmakers to find Mr Maloney. Mrs Maloney eventually found it but she just stood there outside thinking of what would happen if she went in. She picked up her courage and opened the door and everyone inside stared at her, she felt intimidated. She scanned around looking for her husband only to find he wasn't there. Meanwhile Mr Maloney was in his favourite bookmakers, which was in a nearby village about fifteen minutes away from his house. He had bet half his savings on this race because he had a feeling he was going to win. The race was about to start and Mr Maloney had been waiting around an hour for this. He was with his friend Robert who always went with him to bookmakers; they were like a partnership because they were never alone in the place. He told Robert â€Å"I know I'm going to win this time, I just know it.† But Robert replied â€Å"yeah same old story every time† then the race was off and the horses roared out of the starting blocks. Mr Maloney was shouting at the television â€Å"come on red lightning!† he watched with his glued to the screen but the horse was failing him as usual. The race was coming to an end and red lightning was not winning but Mr Maloney didn't care about that anymore, he was more worried about the fact that he'd lost half his savings. He then threw his ticket into bin and shot out the door aggressively to go home. When he arrived home he went into the house. He asked † Mary we're you?† but there was no reply. He then went into the kitchen she wasn't there either. Then he went upstairs to the bedroom and seen a note on the bed. He took it downstairs because he needed his glasses. He read it and it said † I cant live with you anymore because you are driving me crazy. I did a bet on the horses and won so I have enough money to start a new life, sorry but its for the best, yours Mary.† He was angry and swung his arm across the mantelpiece knocking of all the crystal. Then he picked up a bottle and poured a glass of whisky, after he drank it he threw the glass up the wall and it shattered all over the floor. Then he fell to his knees and cried out â€Å"how could you do this to me!† and he fell into over and cried. The bet It was another lonely night for Mrs Maloney as she sat in her armchair in the middle of her living room with a cup of tea. Her husband had been out all day again in the bookmaker's; it was if he lived there. Eventually he came home and Mrs Maloney had prepared them both dinner, but his had gone cold because she had already eaten hers earlier hoping he would have been there so they could enjoy it together. â€Å"Hello dear I made you some dinner in the kitchen, you'll have to heat it up because its gone a bit cold now† she told him nervously. He replied negatively â€Å"Alright woman let me breath I've only just got in the door!† She could tell he had been in the pub as well the way he staggered in the door. Mrs Maloney quietly started watching television again when she heard Mr Maloney groaning from the kitchen. Then she walked in to see what was wrong, it was just him complaining again. She let him carry on eating it but sat down at the table with him. She asked, â€Å"So how was your day dear?† But he replied, â€Å"Let me finish my dinner first† So she did. â€Å"My day was crap, I didn't win anything† Mr Maloney told her. â€Å"My day wasn't brilliant either, but I found something out† She informed, â€Å"What's that then?† Mr Maloney asked, â€Å"You know Jim from the butchers.† She replied â€Å"Yes† he said curiously † Well his wife is expecting a baby. Isn't it great news† she replied. Mr Maloney responded with no interest † yeah great news.† â€Å"I wish we could have had a baby.† She said. â€Å"Well it's too late your fifty six now and I can't be asked.† He exclaimed, but some of it was the beer talking. She felt really depressed now like someone had just died. It was getting late so Mrs Maloney decided to go to bed; on the way up the stairs she asked, † Are you coming up dear?† He groaned â€Å"in a minute† Later when she was tucked up in bed she heard Mr Maloney switch the lights off and slowly creep up the stairs. As he entered Mrs Maloney pretended t be asleep so he wouldn't say anything. He climbed into the bed and gradually dozed off. The next morning she woke up and gave a big stretch only to find that Mr Maloney had gone. Mrs Maloney didn't make a big deal out of it and carried on as if it were a normal day, which in fact it was. After she had eaten and got changed she watched the television to check out today's news. It announced that the Grand National was running today, â€Å"that's why he's shot off then.† She told herself. She grabbed her coat and dashed to the town centre where the bookmaker's is. When she arrived it was rammed with people all doing their shopping there was hardly room to breathe, but she started searching for the bookmakers to find Mr Maloney. Mrs Maloney eventually found it but she just stood there outside thinking of what would happen if she went in. She picked up her courage and opened the door and everyone inside stared at her, she felt intimidated. She scanned around looking for her husband only to find he wasn't there. Meanwhile Mr Maloney was in his favourite bookmakers, which was in a nearby village about fifteen minutes away from his house. He had bet half his savings on this race because he had a feeling he was going to win. The race was about to start and Mr Maloney had been waiting around an hour for this. He was with his friend Robert who always went with him to bookmakers; they were like a partnership because they were never alone in the place. He told Robert â€Å"I know I'm going to win this time, I just know it.† But Robert replied â€Å"yeah same old story every time† then the race was off and the horses roared out of the starting blocks. Mr Maloney was shouting at the television â€Å"come on red lightning!† he watched with his glued to the screen but the horse was failing him as usual. The race was coming to an end and red lightning was not winning but Mr Maloney didn't care about that anymore, he was more worried about the fact that he'd lost half his savings. He then threw his ticket into bin and shot out the door aggressively to go home. When he arrived home he went into the house. He asked † Mary we're you?† but there was no reply. He then went into the kitchen she wasn't there either. Then he went upstairs to the bedroom and seen a note on the bed. He took it downstairs because he needed his glasses. He read it and it said † I cant live with you anymore because you are driving me crazy. I did a bet on the horses and won so I have enough money to start a new life, sorry but its for the best, yours Mary.† He was angry and swung his arm across the mantelpiece knocking of all the crystal. Then he picked up a bottle and poured a glass of whisky, after he drank it he threw the glass up the wall and it shattered all over the floor. Then he fell to his knees and cried out â€Å"how could you do this to me!† and he fell into over and cried.

Media Manipulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Media Manipulation - Essay Example Those people oppose to the media argue that the media has failed to play its designated role in society. Nonetheless, today, it is clear that the media as shifted from its role as a tool for information, and has become a major tool for manipulation in society. The advancement of technology has allowed for the widening of the media. Today, there is media forms include books, newspapers, television, radio, internet, and movies, among many others. Therefore, people today are exposed to a variety of information sources; hence, there is a flood of information from different media, directed to the public. Furthermore, since the media is in business, the different media forms are in a competition. This competition has contributed to the divergence of the media from its ideal role as a tool for information. Although there is an overflow of information in society, people are hungry for the truth. This is because, the media, which should ideally be a source of true information, is owned by ind ividuals, who are only interested in pursuing their interests through the media. For this reason, the media ceases to be a tool for information, and becomes a tool for manipulation. There is a high level of manipulation and bias in the media today. According to the Centre for Research on Globalization

Reponse paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Reponse paper - Essay Example The thesis statement is that: As we grow up and come face-to-face with the practical life, we find out that life is not what we expected it to be, and this makes us angry and frustrated. We read about the boy’s fantasies toward Mangan’s sister. We read about his ecstatic feelings and romantic joy when the girl asks him to attend the Araby bazaar on her part because she cannot go. We come to know about the boy’s fantasies of buying a beautiful gift for the girl of his dreams. His frustration got a start when his uncle came home late in the night. Taking a little sum of money, he headed out to the bazaar; but when he reached there, he saw that, to his dismay, the bazaar was about to close, with only a few stalls open. The lights were going out slowly. This was the push-up for his frustration, which added up when he found out that he could not find a decent gift for the girl with the little sum of money that he had. He was angry. He said, â€Å"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.† This shows how demeaning it was for him to see that he was late. He was late. We all get late, and mourn over the things we cannot get in our lives. The story revolves around the theme that no one is able to enliven his dreams in true sense. We dream of achieving things of our desire; we work hard to get them; but sometimes, we fail. What we dream all our lives gets shattered all of a sudden. The gift symbolizes the goals that we want to achieve, and the boy’s sadness symbolizes our own frustration that shows when we see that our efforts are going in vain. This is all part and parcel of life. This is the tragedy of life. What we get is not what we yearn for; and what we yearn for seems too far away from us. We feel ourselves in total darkness. In short, the story is about human frustration over the loss of something despite true efforts. This is the story of everybody,

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Discussion - Essay Example During the process, Saul who was the Israel leader then gives David fighting weapons but instead, David preferred a sling to confront his enemy. David moves forward and then hits the Giant Goliath in the head by using a single stone. After the giant falls down, David goes ahead and grabs Goliath’s sword before cutting his head off. The story of David generally represents the inner strength, the will to survive, power and a sense of triumph. Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio and Bernini are different artists who decided to bring David’s story to life through their artistic work. However, each artistic has his own way of representing David’s actions. Their styles generally change significantly. The main theme in the piece of work is power, strength or pride. Alternatively, the four artists explored an innocent young David who received power and strength from God. Verrocchio version of David was a young man who had strength and represented the emergence of a hero. On the other hand, Michelangelo depicted David as a hero who was preparing for the big battle. Michelangelo version of David was of a mature and a strong character. Bernini completed the story of David by sculpting a young David who was already fighting, full of strength, power and masculinity both physically and divine. The combination of the four pieces of work is generally a slow moving picture motion from the first sculpture, which poses, to the sculpture that really shows the real war. Michelangelo represents the start of the war with; Bernini completes the sequence with dynamic rhythmos in order to give his piece of work the motion sense. His idea was to bring out the battle aspect through the sculpture. David done by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is a life-size marble sculpture almost the same as that of Verrochio, Donatello and Michelangelo. The David Bernini sculpture was one of the several sculptures used for decorating the Bernini’s patron Cardinal Borghese villa. Today, the

Analyse how 3 complementary therapies (Acupuncture, Herbal medicine, Essay

Analyse how 3 complementary therapies (Acupuncture, Herbal medicine, Massage) differs from conventional medicine - Essay Example 2003). It is also known as Western medicine or Allopathic Medicine. It follows proven scientific procedures and techniques in treating the symptoms of disease, unlike the former where the root cause of the disease is addressed. Conventional therapy is based on the fact that diseases are caused by Bacteria and Virus. It is very successful in acute conditions, accidents and surgery. Western medicine includes all types of conventional medical treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Nevertheless it is important to know about both possible benefits and potential harms of different system of therapies. †Herbal medicines include herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished herbal products that contain parts of plants as active ingredients† (Traditional Medicine: Definition, 2013). Herbal products are gaining prominence in the recent years due to various developments in analysis and quality control. Herbal products come in the form of capsules, pills, teas, syrups, oils liquid extracts. Simple decoctions can be made at home for common ailments like cough, cold, sore throat, indigestion etc... â€Å"Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some part of their primary health care† (Herbal Medicine, 2011). Acupressure is a procedure involving stimulation of vital nerve points on the body through the penetration of thin metallic needles on the skin. It gives instant relief for pain. It is a traditional Chinese practice. Massage is a technique intended to relax muscles by applying pressure on the f lesh. Generally, medicated oils are used for massage. It increases the flow of oxygen and helps to release toxins. Besides, it also help to relieve the body of any stress. Head massage is very popular to improve blood circulation and gives a general feeling of

To what extent was the Irish famine responsible for the decline of the Essay

To what extent was the Irish famine responsible for the decline of the Irish language - Essay Example As seen below, this famine resulted in the decline of the language in several ways including the death of its speakers, emigration to other parts of the world and the introduction of British culture to Ireland. How famine accelerated it When the Irish famine hit Ireland, the main crop to be affected was the potato hence it’s sometimes referred to as the Irish potato famine. The famine had a huge death toll that resulted in the death of 1 to 1.5 million people which although not much when compared to death rates in places such as china (13 million) when they had their own famine, was a lot when compared to the ratio of the general population. The population of Ireland was only 8 million when the famine started and by the time it ended population census results showed that the population had declined to around 6.5 million people. This meant that the population had declined by 18 % signifying a huge loss of native speaking Irish people.1 Moreover, since the hardest hit areas were those that still maintained speaking the Irish language. The Irish famine also resulted in the mass immigration of many Irish people to other parts of Europe as they escaped the hunger and strict anti-Catholic policies the British government had put in place. The migration resulted in many of them moving to America where they searched for new opportunities for employment however they were not welcomed due to the contempt given to the Irish culture. It is estimated that at least a million people migrated from Ireland to USA Newfoundland and Britain, resulting a significant drop in the population. People from Ireland were often stereotyped as aggressive and violent and it was not uncommon for job advertisements to specifically state that they did not want people from Ireland. For a person from Ireland to therefore survive or succeed they would have to lose their Irish accent and be Americanised. This therefore resulted in a population which although sharing a common Irish heritage, d id not speak the Irish language and thus a decline in it.2 One of the factors that caused the famine and even made it worse was the marginalization of the Irish-catholic community by the British government. The British government that had been ruling Ireland since 1801 and had put in place discriminatory policies against the Irish Catholic that barred them from voting and the right to owning land.3 Many Irish viewed these policies as a form of colonization but it was clear that for an individual to climb up the social ladder they would have to adopt the British culture and religion and thus neglect their own heritage. The British policies have in fact been identified as one of the reasons the famine ravaged with such intensity as even though people were starving, food crops was still being exported from Ireland, the tenant system of farming had also meant that Irish workers could not practice large scale agriculture that had grown in popularity with the agrarian revolution. The only crop that was able to grow and support a family on the small farms were potatoes. While some might have being willing to make due with meagre earnings as a punishment for their cultural identity, when the famine reached its climax many faced with the option of death or assimilation into British culture chose to align themselves with the British way of life so as to have access to more social amenities, rights and employment opportunities as English was the language spoken by the landlords and merchants.4

Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in University of East London Essay

Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in University of East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus - Essay Example The campus must try to perceive the expectations of the customer for the internet services, to provide the best service. East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus is one of the famous libraries on U K. Various types of services are provided by this university to people who need it. Also, this library has sophisticated, modern outlook. This library consists of almost 1250 internet hubs for the use of the learners. An individual, group or business firm that has direct or indirect share in a business for the reason that it can influence or be influenced by the business actions, aims and rules. Key stakeholders in a trade business consist of creditors, consumers, administrators, workers, government, proprietors, dealers, unions, and the society from which the industry draws its resources. â€Å"Some are in labs, others in resource centres. The uni accommodation is nearly all served by wired connections to the uni network too - be careful to see if the rest is able to have any int ernet connection. You'd think it should, but the comments on the unis website make you wonder... Many of the facilities are accessible 24 hours a day. Others will shut at 9pm and may not be available all day if the room is used as a classroom. Teaching rooms across campus have Concepts and Evaluation of the quality of the customer service of the internet service: Customer satisfaction of consumers of Costco Wholesale Corporation helps to assess how goods offered by the Costco wholesale corporation meet the expectations of the client. This element is required to be properly monitored and translated into a number of assessable parameters. In the modern day, customer satisfaction for business organisations has developed its significance. The customer satisfaction for the services provided by the University of East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus may decrease if the campus fails to meet the expectations of the customer. Good customer service helps to increase the customer lo yalty towards the products. So that before offering products, the organization can identify the requirement of the consumer regarding the product. The campus of East London is one of the flourishing modern campuses, which is progressively more popular for superiority in both education and study. This university is ranked as the No 1 campus in the United Kingdom. One of the recent campus enlargement plans is the Internet service or Information technology suits. A service blueprint of the University East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus is a graphical or illustrational demonstration of the procedure engaged in offering a service. The function of the service blueprint is to offer an understanding of the various service procedures to the populace engaged in offering these services. It is also a practical instrument for assessing the efficiency of obtainable service procedures and designing such innovative or superior procedures. â€Å"Computing and multimedia facilities are available for general use, along with specialist subject-specific facilities in our academic schools. Free wi-fi internet access Over 1,500 networked computers providing free email and internet access, software including MS Office, specialist learning and teaching packages, and statistical

Who is the audience for Metropolitan Opera Assignment

Who is the audience for Metropolitan Opera - Assignment Example The research by Zamoyta (2011) confirms this as she describes the audience ‘young-cultural-omnivores class’ which makes up about 73%. The ticket sales for opera seats range from $460 to $25 with the higher end for premium seats and the lower end for standing rooms (metopera tickets 2013-14). This explains why the target audience is made of well educated, middle and high class couples with high household incomes. For example in Nothern Ireland this audience earns an estimated income of $38,000 – $80,000 (AudiencesNI, 2007). Education is also a key factor as people with higher education are likely to attend, with the degree level being the least (AudiencesNI, 2007). However, following the current drop in attendance over the last 7 years, the marketing target is shifting to the younger people, with more funding being put into the art to promote the $25 tickets which are affordable (Orden, 2010). The largest audience for Met Opera has been in New York mostly for the live shows, but with the recent developments such as Live HD transmissions, the opera is gaining a larger audience across the continents especially from Europe. The opera also simulcasts to 1700 theaters in 54 countries across the globe (Wise, 2013). These people love art and they find the experience at the opera as a place for relaxation and enjoyment away from common social events such as concerts and sports. The Met Opera fits their lifestyle by giving them an opportunity to enjoy art through the staging of the plays, the lifelike experience produced in the sets, and the music with perfect acoustics. Orden, E. (2010, August 25). Opera Lover Targets Young Patrons With $25 Seats. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from The Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703447004575449731766172828 Wise, B. (2013, September 22). Report: Opera Attendance Drops, Digital Engagement Rises . Retrieved February 23, 2015, from WQXR:

Women would succeed in combat if given the chance Essay

Women would succeed in combat if given the chance - Essay Example pression of poor women, heterosexist bureaucracy, environmental ruin, and militarization all raise weighty issues for feminist movements today.1 Although feminist movements all over the world have been diversely triumphant, we become heir to several issues women of the earlier periods confronted. However, there are new issues as well as we try to understand a world permanently blemished by the unsuccessful attempt of communist and postcolonial capitalist societies to meet the economic, social, religious, and psychological demands of most of the world’s people. Globalization has increasingly become representative of the motives and goals of the free market and companies rather than autonomy and liberty from economic, cultural, and political subjugation for all the inhabitants of the world.2 There are several of the issues tackled in ‘women and war’. It adopts as its basic arguments the importance of the involvement of feminist movements in both local and global political, economic, and cultural mechanisms, and the importance of a global discourse in creating an ethical tradition able to endure and revolutionize the oppressive and commodified processes of the global economy and community.3 The discussion raises the value of feminist research and analysis and aims to build connections between mobilizing, deliberation, and analysis. The discussion of ‘women and war’ offer methodical and workable interventions into the Western-dominated discipline, while at the same time emphasizing the effort that can and has to be carried out to visualize and promote cross-cultural feminist unity. The topic ‘women and war’ is a key representation of the ties between mobilizing, deliberation, and analysis and the actualization of feminist unity promoted by such topic. Drawing on diverse readings and documents, the discussion has introduced a general, compelling, critical analysis of global gendered militarism, emphasizing women’s opposition to it. Furthermore, this

Gender Representation Essay Example for Free

Gender Representation Essay How stereotypical are the representations of Gender in my chosen texts? My chosen texts are The Inbetweeners , X Factor and BBC News. All three texts represent gender in different ways yet I wouldnt say that any of them truly represent both genders in stereotypical ways. In The Inbetweeners the main characters are portrayed in a very stereotypical way at first glance, they are boystrous and objectify women in the crude way in which they speak about them. Yet when you look deeper into their characters you realise that they are not typical at all. The females in the show are typical in a sense that they are pretty, well dressed and are purely there for the male gaze. It is this male gaze that ultimately makes them more powerful than the males in the series as they have the power to either sleep with, or not sleep with the males which takes all control away from the men which is not a typical trait. When you think of a typical male in tv they are strong, handsome and in control, this is not always evident in The Inbetweeners which supports the masculinity in crisis theory which states that males are no longer the dominant sex in modern society. Women may be objectified still but they use their sex appeal to there advantage and get their own way leaving the males powerless. You do how ever have the very typical character of Jays dad which is a hyperbolic example of a male as he passes gas, swears and acts in a completely innaproriate way for the comedic value. The X Factor has a very contrasting representation of gender. In one way the male characters are very stereotypical as they have the power to say yes or no to the acts as judges. Males are stereotypically known for being in a position of power so this is a typical representation. Yet you have Dermot Oleary who is very masculine in his appearance yet is very caring and sympathetic for the contestants. This is not typical as males arent usually shown to have a caring side or emotions as that is left for the women. This again supports the theory of masculinity in crisis. The Female Judges do not have a very typical representation. They are in a position of authority and power and to an extent in the new series do have more power than the male judges as they are more forceful and get their point across better. This is not typically the way women are represented fitting into the theory of Masculinity in crisis. The BBC news is very much like the X Factor. When the males are the anchors they are in a position of power and knowledge which is a typical representation. They appear to the nation as a pillar of knowledge and the public give them a vast amount of respect which is typical of the representation of men. When the women are anchors they too are looked upon as a pillar of knowledge and are given the same respect which does not fit into the typical representation of a female.

Are Same Sex Sexual Relationships Morally Permissible?

Are Same Sex Sexual Relationships Morally Permissible? Homosexuality has been for much of recorded human history a controversial topic, and has become even more so with the advent of religion. Most, if not all religious systems vehemently oppose homosexuality, so far as to condemn homosexuals to everlasting torture in the fires of hell. However, judging the immorality of a deed simply by referring to divine sources is fallacious; it runs contrary to established modern intellectual systems of determining what actions are right and what actions are wrong. In the twentieth century world, reason and well thought out and expressed arguments alone dictate the moral standing of deeds, and any other decision for that matter. The most appropriate method of arguing for or against an ethical issue in the context of its applicability to society is to test it against well-established moral/ethical theories and see how it stacks up. Thus, in this paper I shall argue that homosexuality doesnt contradict the major ethical theories, namely Utilitarianism , Kantian ethics (deontological perspective) followed by a rebuttal of some common arguments against homosexuality. Utilitarianism is a fundamentally consequentialist position, claiming that actions should be judged by their consequences, specifically the level of general happiness they bring about. Hence, in accordance with utilitarianism, one should evaluate the level of general happiness an action brings about versus the amount of pain/suffering it causes. All actions that increase the level of general happiness are morally permissible, and actions that bring about suffering are morally not permissible. To discuss homosexuality on utilitarian grounds, we must therefore first and foremost decide on its consequentialist standing i.e. where it stands on the utilitarian meter of increasing happiness and decreasing pain vs. increasing pain and decreasing pleasure. People who feel that that is what pleases them practice homosexuality. They do so out of personal choice and after much self-deliberation. In fact, since heterosexuality is the norm, converting to homosexuality would be akin to being a mas ochist, i.e. choosing to indulge in that which causes us displeasure in addition to having to face heavy opposition from relatives and society, and those types of homosexuals are beyond the scope of my paper. Hence, if you choose to accept that no individual who prefers a heterosexual lifestyle would adopt a homosexual one, then you agree that those who chose a homosexual lifestyle do so because it is what pleases them. Thus, homosexuality brings about pleasure to homosexuals, and so long as these homosexuals do not attempt to impose their homosexuality on heterosexuals (by harassing or raping them), then the heterosexual population has no right to claim that homosexuality causes them displeasure. For them to claim so, the only means by which homosexuality would have caused them displeasure is by disgusting them i.e. it is distasteful to their senses (since obviously it is not displeasuring them directly, it can only do so then indirectly by being distasteful). Such an argument woul d be fallacious and of the form: P1) All disgusting actions are immoral. P2) Homosexuality is disgusting. C) Homosexuality is immoral. While this argument is valid, it is unsound since the first premise is false. Not all disgusting actions are immoral. For example, collecting the trash is disgusting, does that make it immoral? Homosexuality does not cause any pain or displeasure. Stigmatizing homosexuality on the grounds that it is disgusting is faulty as we argued above. (Common arguments such as homosexual rapists harm children and other victims, homosexuality brings about STDs and so on are irrelevant since they apply to heterosexual acts in the same way they apply to homosexual actions.) Thus, homosexuality does not, and for that matter cannot, harm homosexuals. All it can do is bring pleasure to the people who willfully practice it (because it is what brings them pleasure). On utilitarian grounds, homosexuality increases pleasure (although for a specific part of the population) and does not cause any displeasure or pain. It satisfies the criteria for a moral act as outlined by the Utilitarian ethical system. Kantian ethics is a moral philosophy that is not a consequentialist one. It judges acts not by what their consequences are, but by how they hold under certain imperatives, and maintain the rational and free nature of humans. The principle of universizablity commits us to acting only on those maxims that do not lead to a self-contradictory maxim, and also, when universalized do not undermine the point of the action (class slides.) To test homosexuality against the categorical imperative we begin by formulating our maxim. Note that a common misconception is to formulate the maxim Practice homosexuality or some form of that. This is incorrect as this paper does not seek to argue that all people should be homosexuals, but rather that people that are homosexual are justified in acting homosexually. Let us suppose our maxim is Practice whichever sexual acts that bring you pleasure. Upon consideration, we see that this maxim brings about pleasure to whoever abides by it. Next we generalize this principle to a universal law and see its consequences. Assume a world where people practice whichever sexual acts please them, of course, without imposing their sexual desires on others. Such a world would be very similar to the world in which we live in, which is remarkably pleasant to live in as opposed to one that is a very morally tight society. Moreover, we note that such a maxim, when generalized does not lead to a contradictory world. Furthermore, as we shall see next, homosexuality holds under scrutiny by the principle of humanity. The principle of humanity defines a rightful or moral deed as one that does not use any other person as a mere means, but as an end in themselves. As discussed above, homosexual people choose homosexual acts because it brings them pleasure. Thus, when homosexual people indulge in homosexual activities as consenting adults, they both choose to do so. Since they both chose to indulge in this, and so long as theyre both content with this, then n either is using the other as a mere means, but as an end in themselves. To argue otherwise would be similar to arguing against other heterosexual acts. Other cases where the people do not consent to indulging in the sex are similar to cases of heterosexual people who do not consent to the sex they are having. Finally, we shall consider some common arguments against homosexuality and offer possible response to them in the context of the Utilitarian and Kantian moral theories. To begin with we shall consider the unnaturalness argument and its derivatives. A commonplace argument against homosexuality is that it is a misuse of the bodys organs. Such an argument violates the categorical imperative. To show this, let us attempt to generalize it into a universal law. We begin by formulating a maxim That action which violates the principal use of an organ is immoral. After generalizing this into a universal law, we run into a contradiction, as this yields a world we cannot live in. Consider for example applying this rule to any other body organ. The mouth is primarily for eating, and thus any other action apart from eating is immoral, and hence kissing, speaking, breathing from your mouth and so on would all become immoral. Thus the argument that homosexuality is immoral because it violates the p rincipal use of an organ is not applicable since it violates the categorical imperative. Furthermore, if the misuse of the reproductive organs is immoral because it doesnt lead to procreation, where does that place religious figures that take vows of celibacy? The nonuse of an organ is just as immoral as the misuse of one, since the immorality is based on its failure to result in reproduction. Moreover, another derivative of the unnaturalness of homosexuality argument is that homosexuality is unnatural in that it is not found in nature, i.e. animals do not practice homosexuality. First and foremost, the premise on which this argument rests is invalid, as studies have shown that there are certain animals that practice homosexuality. Moreover, basing our moral standards on the practices of animals is an incredibly fragile argument as one can easily observe that many of human practices are not practiced by animals, such as brushing our teeth, showering and so on. In addition, many prop onents of homosexuality argue that labeling homosexuality as not immoral would lead to the extinction of the human race. This argument is a gross exaggeration. An argument of the form P1) Homosexuals cannot reproduce. P2) If homosexuality were deemed not immoral then many people would become homosexual. C) The human race will eventually become extinct. Such an argument is invalid, and unsound as the second premise is faulty. If homosexuality were not to be frowned upon it does not follow that many people would become homosexuals. No heterosexual person would willfully choose to become a homosexual simply because it is not immoral to do so. This is because one chooses to indulge in homosexuality because it is a sexual preference. Moreover, while not a fundamental argument against the extinction of the human race argument, it would be thoughtful to consider whether a decrease in the rate of human reproduction would not actually be beneficial to the human society given the problems of overpopulation that we suffer from now. In conclusion, homosexuality cannot be deemed immoral as it holds under scrutiny by the major ethical systems: Utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. It increases the happiness of the homosexual community without causing any pain or displeasure to the heterosexual community. This of course is contingent upon the homosexual people not imposing their sexuality on others i.e. rape or harassment. It should be duly noted that even if some homosexuals raped or harassed other individuals, be him/her a homosexual or a heterosexual, this cannot be an argument against homosexuality per se as heterosexuals also rape and harass other heterosexuals. Moreover, it satisfies the categorical imperative in addition to the principle of humanity by not using anyone as a mere means. Homosexuals should not be discriminated against, as their sexual preference is their own personal choice, and solely their business. Given our rights to freedom of choice that we so proudly advocate and vehemently defend, we shou ld extend this right to include the freedom of sexual preference. Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: Themes and Effects Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: Themes and Effects Title: Discuss the implications of Sherwood Anderson’s introduction to Winesburg, Ohio: ‘The Book of the Grotesque’. Sherwood Anderson’s post-war ‘novel’ of America in microcosm, Winesburg, Ohio, was first published in 1919. Undoubtedly, the timing of the collection of linked stories all set in Anderson’s fictional ‘Winesburg’ (like Hardy’s Wessex) influenced the critical approbation it received. It represents a dislocated people torn and shattered by war: a ‘wasteland’ such as T.S. Eliot had created in his 1922 poem of that name. Like Joyce’s Dubliners (1914) the sequence of tales is connected by major themes which Anderson sees as either representative of, or a threat to, modern life. He creates a presence from an absence, a connected representative vision from a fragmented centre. Most of the themes, and their implications, on which Anderson focuses are revealed in the introductory story to the collection, ‘The Book of the Grotesque’ which was the original title of the collection. The fact that Anderson wanted to pla ce such emphasis on the ‘grotesque’ is of primary importance when attempting to locate the author’s themes and their implications. For Anderson, like the writer in the first story, ‘salvation’ from immersion into the grotesque comes not merely from the experience of moments of vision but also from the ability to incorporate them within life in order to re-vitalise it. Strikingly, theme and method interweave to create the consciousness of the visionary or surreal within the recognition of the espoused impossibility of completion. Anderson was determined that the real and the imagined should remain separate forces but also that both should maintain importance. Again, like the writer in his tale, he is constantly reminded of the intrusion upon each ‘world’ by the other and the implications of this: The distinction that he is making [†¦] is not between truth and lie, or between fiction and nonfiction, but between separate spheres of reality. Fancy for Anderson suggests imaginative and compassionate understanding of the beauty within the most grotesque of human actions.[1] The writer in the tale might survive becoming a ‘grotesque’ but he also fails to complete his writing and the immense implication of this is that even when the ‘grotesque’ is avoided, it appears inevitable that the intrusions of reality cause humanity’s plans to fail just as they are continuously altered by social, historical and political events. In a country so recently ravaged by war and about to undergo radical social upheaval, the implications of this are clear. Anderson chooses to make this implicit connection by citing the example of a man whose plans to have a carpenter alter his bed irrevocably change his life: The writer, an old man with a white mustache, had some difficulty in getting into bed. The windows of the house in which he lived were high and he wanted to look at the trees when he awoke in the morning. A carpenter came to fix the bed so that it would be on a level with the window. (p. 1). The full importance of this opening statement, with its beautifully simple syntax, does not strike the reader until much later in the story, perhaps not even until the completion of the reading of the stories as a whole. With the benefit of hindsight, the reader sees that Anderson’s theme is manifest from the first: the ‘old man’, physically impeded, desires to see further, to see ‘the trees when he awoke in the morning’, yet, what the subliminal reading invokes is that the desire to see beyond what we realise is not always present in our intentions; indeed, we may not even be aware of them. The ‘awakening’ comes not with the ‘morning’ but with the recognition of the interiorisation of longings influencing the human directive but being constantly obscured. Thus, though the ‘carpenter’ does indeed come to ‘fix the bed’ he does a lot more besides, in which the old man plays no directive part: ‘fo r a time the two men talked of the raising of the bed and then they talked of other things’ (p. 1). The ‘other things’, are what initiate the directive of the tale, as, Anderson seems to imply, they do with life, serendipity playing more of a role than we realize in our lives: Sherwood Anderson [†¦] was and still is a man of his times. His life and his career are a pictorial history of the unique mood of the modern America which produced them and made them possible.[2]. We are told that the carpenter ‘had been a soldier in the Civil War’ (p. 1) and this immediately gifts the narrative with a textual historicity which deepens its resonance (the Civil War is also referred to in another of the tales, ‘Godliness’: Part 1). Many of Anderson’s readers, after all, were within living memory of the war that split the American nation and again, its profound recognition of the nature of war, so fresh in the minds of those of the post World War era, to inflict pain beyond the immediate is recognized as significant: The carpenter had once been a prisoner in Andersonville prison and had lost a brother. The brother had died of starvation, and whenever the carpenter got upon that subject he cried. (p. 1) Again, the simplicity inestimably aids the poignancy of the telling; Anderson has no need to dwell upon the melancholy, it is self-evident. Moreover, the idea that the ‘ordinary man’, which the carpenter represents, has personal experience of the pain of loss in a past which continues to intrude upon the present; he cannot escape. Although Anderson states clearly that ‘the weeping old man with the cigar in his mouth was ludicrous’ (p. 2), avoiding the faux sentimentality of other contemporary writers, nevertheless, the writer’s plans are widely changed by him and the carpenter alters the bed ‘his own way’ (p. 2). The implication is not just that our plans are changed by present and future events but also that the past is never merely a memory but a constantly present inhabitant of life, a ‘reality’ beyond our reach to restrict or deny, and ‘stamped upon much of our contemporary fiction’[3]. Anderson has already l aid the foundation of the interchanging but ostensibly rigid boundaries of the actual and the imagined which are to cause perpetual interplay within the stories and in some sense all the characters and events are connected with himself: Sherwood Anderson is to be grouped among the most subjective of writers. He has created heroes with many different names; but each of them is the same man a projection in one direction or another of Anderson himself.[4]. Anderson begins now to build on these implications by obscuring life’s most basic and fearful boundary, death, by means of the old man’s imaginative sensibility. The carpenter has been instrumental in this, since he has brought into the narrative a death that is real, remembered and imagined; his memory is the conduit for this mutation of time and of feeling. The irony is that the author is haunted by death, yet: ‘ It did not alarm him’ (p.2 ). Death is inverted as a presence which revitalises the old man as ‘a special thing and not easily explained’ (p.2). Moreover, ‘something inside him was altogether young’ (p.2) and extraordinarily that ‘something’ is a ‘woman, young’. Anderson writes of this as like a pregnancy but what he gives birth to is an idea of the ‘grotesques’ of his previous life and relationships. Significantly, the writer switches subtly to address the reader more directly here, emphasising the idea that: It is absurd, you see, to try to tell what was inside the old writer as he lay on his high bed and listened to the fluttering of his heart. The thing to get at is what the writer, or the young thing within the writer, was thinking about. (p. 2) The ambivalent sexuality of the image is one of many which disturbed careful readers of the time, ‘back in 1919 the book was talked about only in whispers’[5].. Yet, its implications for authorship are important since an author is perpetually ‘giving birth’ and the idea of being both mother and father of his creations informs not just the sexual imagery of this story but also of others in the sequence, such as ‘Hands’ where the protagonist is accused of molestation: ‘Anderson sensed a mystery in human sexuality that defies an easy reduction’[6]. This represents a significant challenge to contemporary social attitudes towards sexuality, as women were accorded status principally allied to that of their male partners and sexual preferences were predisposed indisputably towards the heterosexual. As is typical of Anderson, he refuses to adopt or adhere to the rigidity of a society so recently war-torn and about to undergo a momentous per iod in its history from which it would not emerged unscathed or unchanged. By anticipating and pre-empting these changes, Anderson places his writing ahead of its time both in style and socio-political context. The old man in the tale now proceeds to invite into his consciousness the images of past passions, a theme he also alludes to in another of the stories, ‘Mother’. The reader is told that the old man has known people ‘in a peculiar intimate way [†¦] different from the way in which you and I know people’ (p. 3) and subsequently that ‘the writer had a dream that was not a dream’ (p. 3): this dream is the key to the subliminal implications of the tale as it is the precursor of the writing which does and does not take place: You see the interest in all this lies in the figures that went before the eyes of the writer. They were all grotesques. All of the men and women the writer had ever known had become grotesques. (p. 3). The introduction of the ‘grotesques’, not ‘all horrible’, is a pivotal moment in the tale, just as all the grotesques’ lives will be turned by such a moment in time, and the old man/writer’s perception of this is, like the reactions of the grotesques, crucial in their lives. In many ways, it is less significant that the book is not published than that it has been ‘seen’ by the author, who is gripped by ‘one central thought that is very strange and has always remained with [him]’, facilitating, we are encouraged to believe, the writing of his own book: The old man had listed hundreds of the truths in his book. I will not try to tell you of all of them. There was the truth of virginity and the truth of passion, the truth of wealth and of poverty, of thrift and of profligacy, of carelessness and abandon. Hundreds and hundreds were the truths and they were all beautiful. (p. 4) Hence, the imagined and the real feed one another but remain separate, for ‘truths’ are not the same as facts and ‘it was the truths that made the people grotesques’ (p. 5). Moreover, Anderson lays bare, here, the principal informatives of his sequence: The old man had quite an elaborate theory concerning the matter. It was his notion that the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood. (p. 5) Anderson concludes his tale by making brief reference to the carpenter, one of ‘what are called the very common people’ (p. 5) yet contradicting this description by making him extraordinary as ‘the nearest thing to what is understandable and lovable of all the grotesques in the writers book’. (p. 5) Certainly, Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio set in ‘the critical decade which followed the world war’[7] can be seen as a groundbreaking novel, both in structure and content and ‘the failure of [Anderson’s] heterosexual relationships has often been cited as the reason for the â€Å"grotesque† nature of several of Winesburgs inhabitants’[8]. The stories confront issues that were to inform American writing and the socio-political post-war infrastructure as well as the realization of Modernist and post-Modernist fiction. A writer ahead of his time, Anderson is clearly shaped by the era in which he lived and was thus representative of the past, present and future as is the sequence of stories in his seminal ‘novel’ of ‘the troubled lives of the small-town individuals’[9]. Sources [1]  Adams, Timothy Dow, Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography, (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), p. 44. [2]  Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935), P. 155. [3] Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935), P. 157. [4]  Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967), p. 151. [5]  Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967), p. 157. [6] Ellis, James, ‘Sherwood Andersons Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality’, Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 30, 1993 (Michigan: Gale Group). [7] Van Doren, Carl, The American Novel, 1789-1939, (New York: Macmillan, 1940), p. 334. [8] Whalan, Mark, ‘Dreams of Manhood: Narrative, Gender, and History in Winesburg, Ohio’, Studies in American Fiction, Vol 30, 2002 (Boston: Northeastern University). [9] Thomas, F. Richard, Literary Admirers of Alfred Stieglitz, (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983), p. 65. Bibliography: Adams, Timothy Dow, Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography, (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990). Anderson, Sherwood, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life, (New York: Modern Library, 1919). Angoff, Allan, American Writing Today: Its Independence and Vigor, (New York: New York University Press, 1957). Bryer, Jackson R., Sixteen Modern American Authors: A Survey of Research and Criticism, (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1974). Elliott, Emery, ed., The Columbia History of the American Novel, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991). Ellis, James, ‘Sherwood Andersons Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality’, Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 30, 1993 (Michigan: Gale Group). Fiedler, Leslie A., Love and Death in the American Novel, (Stein and Day, 1966). Fisher, Philip, Hard Facts: Setting and Form in the American Novel, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935). Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967). Noe, Marcia, ed., Exploring the Midwestern Literary Imagination: Essays in Honor of David D. Anderson, (Troy, N.Y.: Whitston Publishing Company, 1993). Thomas, F. Richard, Literary Admirers of Alfred Stieglitz, (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983). Wagenknecht, Edward, Cavalcade of the American Novel: From the Birth of the Nation to the Middle of the Twentieth Century, (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1952). Whalan, Mark, ‘Dreams of Manhood: Narrative, Gender, and History in Winesburg, Ohio, Studies in American Fiction, Vol 30, 2002 (Boston: Northeastern University). Van Doren, Carl, The American Novel, 1789-1939, (New York: Macmillan, 1940).

Relationship between Student Diet and Academic Performance

Relationship between Student Diet and Academic Performance 1.0  Ã‚   Introduction For many young adults joining university, it is a time of substantial change in social, economic and environmental surroundings.1 Currently, there is increasing advocacy for an emphasis on healthy lifestyle behaviours for student populations.2 Researchers have established that academic attainment plays a key role in an individual’s future health, wealth and social outcomes.3, 4 Providing this, academic achievement must be considered by public health decision makers aiming to improve health across the lifespan.5 A balanced and nutritious diet means it is adapted to special individual needs to reach optimal health, that is it supplies optimal levels of nutrients to maintain healthy function.6 Diet quality is a composite measure of scoring food patterns, with a focus on whole food intake.7 The objective is to maintain a high diet quality, through consuming the correct amounts of the food groups from relevant dietary guidelines. Assessment of dietary patterns can allow unfavourable intakes to be identified.8 Poor diet quality introduces nutritional inadequacies and is a significant predictor of poorer health status.9 While the connections between health and education are widely accepted, the mechanisms that contribute to this relationship remain poorly understood. Scholars propose that health behaviours contribute towards cognitive function and maintaining a productive work day.10, 11 The main goal for university students is academic attainment, yet despite this, a high proportion of students report engaging in poor health behaviours during the study period.12 Australian university students are consuming less than the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables, and have a high intake of convenience foods.12, 13 To ensure students are provided best opportunity for success, it is important to understand the determinants of academic performance. It is suggested that the type and variety of foods an individual consumes has an important influence on academic outcomes.14 Diet quality has an association with academic performance, though the isolated effects are yet to be fully explored.15 The scores gen erated may be able to determine areas that can be improved to increase academic performance. There are several variables which affect diet quality and this review will focus on four major themes which emerge repeatedly throughout the literature. These themes are: overall diet quality, eating patterns and behaviours, fruit and vegetable intake and convenience food intake. In order to understand how diet quality is linked to academic performance, the literature was searched for relevant articles released in the last ten years. An analysis of terms identified the key words of: â€Å"student†, â€Å"university student†, â€Å"diet quality†, â€Å"health behaviour†, â€Å"eating pattern†, â€Å"academic performance† and â€Å"academic achievement†. These were used across the electronic data bases of Cochrane library, Web of science, Pubmed, CINAHL and Scopus. Although preference was given to recent articles involving university students, the final search was expanded to incorporate sources of all years, as well as children and adolescent population groups. The aim of this review is to critique current literature between diet quality and university student academic performance. Furthermore, it will assess current measures of diet quality, and the significance of other factors that contribute towards overall diet quality. 2.0  Ã‚   Diet quality Diet is a key behavioral risk factor that can be modified to have an impact on health.16 Free living people consume whole foods, which contain both nutrient and non-nutrient substances.17 Dietary patterns have synergistic effects, which provide insights beyond the role of nutrients and single foods.18 For researchers, it can be difficult to quantify the diet, and any established values should only be used as an approximation. Diet quality is a composite measure of diet in its entirety, and involves the relationships between food groups.7, 8 This qualitative perspective is an alternative approach to provide more detailed dietary information. It can give an indication to the types of food people consume, and therefore where the nutrients are derived from. Diet quality encompasses the central areas of dietary variety, balance, adequacy, and moderation.19 These have been found to contribute to a nutritious diet and can give a greater understanding of dietary habits. Variety and balance involve the consumption of a range of options from the food groups, according to proportionality. Adequacy is attaining the recommended energy intakes to meet nutrient requirements, whilst moderation is regulating the intake of certain foods to prevent harmful effects on health (including convenience foods that are high in sugar and fat).20 It is widely recognised that a high quality diet should be safe, able to promote optimal development and reduce the risk of nutritional inadequacies.6, 21 Diet quality describes how well an individual’s diet conforms to dietary recommendations, and this differs according to country. Australia employs the ‘Eat for Health’ guidelines,6 which were developed through extensive research to provide information on the types and amounts of foods needed to promote health and wellbeing as well as reduce the risk of diet-related conditions. The food groups in the ‘Eat for health’ guidelines consist of: Vegetables and legumesFruitLean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, legumes/beansGrain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varietiesLow fat milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat. 2.1 Measuring diet quality The main tools used to measure diet quality are surveys and questionnaires.19 These are useful for time management, easily sorting data, are relatively simple to design and can be used on a large sample. The questions developed should be well thought out, and it is also necessary to define serving sizes and how often foods are consumed (such as once weekly). The chosen tool needs to consider recall bias, and the respondent’s level of literacy skills. A number of dietary indices have been developed, tested and validated to reflect various aspects of diet quality.7, 17 They are based on existing knowledge of optimal dietary patterns and provide a clear nutritional benchmark. The indices vary in design from simple tools measuring adherence to dietary recommendations, to intricate analyses of macronutrient and micronutrient intakes. The main diet quality indices have scored food patterns in terms of alignment with key dietary recommendations and diversity of healthy choices within core food groups.7 Food-based indices of diet quality are important, as they retain the complexity of foods and permit assessments of single, as well as grouped nutrient components. The dietary indices which are best translated to the Australian guidelines are the Diet Quality Index International (DGI-I), Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI). These are all validated tools and are useful in various population groups.17 The indices have separate nutritional components which are combined into a single ‘overall diet quality’ score. This incorporates cut-off values or ranges for the food groups and selected dietary variables (considered to be representative of healthy eating). The DQI-I was derived from the original Diet Quality Index, and provides an effective means of cross-national comparative work for global understanding of diet quality.22 The DQI-I provides a ‘priori’ analysis (predetermined what is ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’), as it incorporates both nutrient and food perspectives of the diet. The index is validated in both China and the United States, and so reflects a cross-section of cultural attributes.22 It is an in-depth measure which investigates multiple variables and gives a broad picture of diet quality. The DQI uses ranges to find more associations which broadens the information gathered and strengthens the validity of the results.23 The four aspects of a healthy diet comprise the four main categories of the DQI-I. Firstly, there are two variety components, which include the servings across food groups and the diversity within them. The adequacy components use eight food types, and indicates areas in the diet which may need to be improved, and moderation highlights areas that should be decreased (total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, food types with empty calories). The balance component involves calculating the macronutrient ratio and fatty acid ratio. The scores for all four categories are summed, resulting in the total DQI-I score, ranging from 0 to 100 (the higher the score, the higher the diet quality).22 The HEI has been used in several studies that evaluate food consumption. It was originally based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but has been adapted to other areas.24 It is similar to the DQI, with the addition of total fruit and whole fruit, plant proteins and seafood, and the moderation component includes refined grains.   Food group servings are evaluated on a per-thousand-calorie basis. The scores are calculated proportionally between 0 and 10, according to how well a food group recommendation is achieved.25 The main strength of the HEI is that it assesses diets on a given energy intake level, to characterise diet quality while controlling for diet quantity. The DGI was developed and predefined to the Australian Dietary Guidelines with an adherence to specific aspects of a healthful diet.26 However, it does not account for all aspects of diet quality, and could be beneficial if combined with other measures. The DGI consists of fifteen food components using standard adult portion sizes and the score calculation is based on regular consumption of food frequency questionnaire items. Each component contributed 0 to 10 points, where 10 indicated an optimal diet intake (meeting the recommended serves per week). The total DGI score is the sum of the thirteen items, indicating a maximum possible score of 130.27 Selecting a dietary index remains a complex matter with a large degree of subjectivity. It is important to consider whether the index is adaptable to the chosen dietary guidelines and that it fits within the constraints of the study. The specific context in which they are used should be noted when interpreting results and making comparisons. The main limitation of dietary indices is that there is no universal dietary guidelines representative of a healthful diet.7 The tools used need to consistently be revised if they are to truly reflect the latest nutrition science and policy. 3.0  Ã‚   University Students University academic performance is measured through grade point average, which incorporates the scores from all subjects during a study period.10 Identifying the factors that contribute towards academic performance has clear implications for university students. Diet quality is a health behaviour that may improve a student’s chances of furthering their academic career.15 The rate of enrolment for Australian universities is continuing to grow, with a large percentage being young adults (18 – 34 years old).28 A high proportion of students have an increase in independency, an altered support system and are perceived to be time poor.29 University can be a highly stressful environment, where health behaviours change (health may not be a high priority).1, 30 Amongst this group, there is an increased level of socio-economic disadvantage associated with the prevailing issues of food insecurity.28 This may be related to limited resources to source and prepare healthy foods, wher e individual diets decline in quality due to food insecurity.31 Food choice for university students can be influenced by their environment and can include the primary factors of: affordability, accessibility, peer influence and nutrition knowledge.32 Very few young Australians are following the dietary guidelines of consuming from the five food groups and are generally below recommended levels for fruit and vegetable serves.13 Approximately one-tenth are meeting the daily recommended serves of vegetables, and one-third are meeting recommended daily fruit serves.12 These health determinants mean that the diets of university students are quite poor and may be at risk of nutritional inadequacies. This is an issue, as it has been shown that being undernourished negatively effects academic outcomes.31 As the quality of food and drinks consumed have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals, better nutrition has a potential to improve public health outcomes. Performance management is always a concern for university administration bodies as they aim to provide the best environment for student growth and wellbeing. The food environment of a university campus should encourage students to adopt a 30healthful eating pattern.15 An institution is an effective setting for intervention, as it has the structure to bring together multiple strategies to a large group of people. A higher level of education can positively affect future health and employment opportunities.3 The development of healthy behaviors that can be continued during a student’s professional life should be strongly supported during tertiary education. 4.0  Ã‚   Diet quality and academic performance There is increasing evidence that nutrition behaviours have an influence on academic performance, which in turn influences future successes.33, 34 The aim of this review is to evaluate the association between dietary quality and academic performance in university students. However, there is a limited amount of literature related to the population group of university students, which is why much of the following research relates to children and adolescents (school-aged students). Current research has established a relationship between overall diet quality and student academic achievement.14, 35-39 Nutrition and health status have a complex and multifaceted effect on cognitive function.40 It has been identified that moderate associations exist between several aspects of diet quality and student performance.14, 34, 36, 38, 39, 41-43 There are a number of factors which have a direct effect on diet quality, and therefore have been included in this review. They include a person’s habitual eating patterns, fruit and vegetable intake, and convenience food (as well as take-away food) intake. The reviewed studies compared a variety of health behaviours to determine which are most significant to student outcomes. The majority reported statistically significant outcomes between diet and academic performance, which is likely a result of the relatively large numbers of participants. The results concerning dietary components strengthened the concept that diet quality has an influence on academic performance. All included research was adjusted for the modifiable and non-modifiable factors which affect student academic performance. The studies acknowledge that the health behaviours relating to academic work are multifactorial, and involve several influencing variables.    It should be noted there were some common limitations amongst the reviewed studies. The majority of the studies were cross-sectional in design, and were not able to determine an independent association between diet quality and academic achievement. This impedes any inferences that can be made about causality. It was important that authors controlled for significant confounding factors, including attendance, economic status, social support and family background. The nature of these studies left open the possibility that other intervening variables may have been related to the observed pattern of results. 4.1 Overall diet quality Overall diet quality was found to be associated with student academic performance. Across all studies, dietary habits that were in accordance with guidelines were related to better student outcomes.14, 33, 35, 37, 39, 44-46 Furthermore, an improvement in overall diet quality score increased likelihood of an improved academic performance. Students with a high intake of ‘high quality’ nutrient-dense foods, and a low intake of ‘low quality’ nutrient poor foods, had increased odds of a favorable school performance.44 The strongest outcome would be achieved through the combined effects of meeting multiple dietary recommendations. When controlling for the key health behaviors of physical activity and weight status, diet quality was a leading contributor to academic performance.45, 47, 48 Emerging evidence indicates that diet quality may have the strongest correlation to high academic achievement, though this warrants further research. The study by Florence et al.14 on school aged Canadian children found an independent association between diet quality attributes and academic achievement. Furthermore, dietary adequacy and variety were identified as specific components of diet quality which influence academic performance. These outcomes reflect the value of consuming a diverse range of foods from the core food groups. The studies with the best depth in information conducted a full assessment of diet quality, and used a validated tool. It is difficult to make sound comparisons when studies do not use similar diet quality parameters and scoring systems. Different cultures have a diverse range of cuisines which means they differ in how diet quality scores were measured. There were also vast variations in the reporting time period for the outcome measures for frequency of food consumption and academic achievement. Poor nutritional intakes do not meet macronutrient and micronutrient requirements, and this can impede on a person’s health status. Diet quality has been shown to be important for health and wellbeing, and may be beneficial to concentration and productivity levels.37 The consistency of this association across various indicators of diet quality gives emphasis to the importance of nutrition. An improvement in diet quality may be linked to enhanced learning and outcomes beneficial to students and institutions. 4.2 Eating patterns and behaviours Specific eating patterns have an influence on academic performance, as they contribute to the overall balance of a diet. It was found that adhering to a ‘healthy’ Mediterranean style diet pattern (high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish and olive oil), as well as regularly consuming three meals per day, were positively associated with academic outcomes.37, 49-52 There is evidence that suggests habitual breakfast intake, compared to a period of fasting, is moderately related with an improved school performance.50, 53-59 Through a regular eating pattern, a person is more likely to consume the recommended serves from the core food groups, which contributes to an enhanced nutritional status. Eating behaviours influence the quality of a person’s diet, and generally account for whether a person is consciously controlling what they eat. In the studies regarding university students, eating patterns described uncontrolled eating (food consumption is attached to emotions) or cognitive restriction (highly controlling food intake). Overall, the results indicate that lower levels of uncontrolled or emotional eating is associated with a higher grade point average.34 Students reporting to be strict dieters, with a high amount of restrictive practices, were found to have a lower grade point average.15 On the other hand, the use of more ‘flexible’ cognitive restriction, which still involves self-regulation of food intake, but has allowances for all types of foods, may have the best indication to improving academic achievement.34 Additionally, frequency of alcohol consumption is found to be negatively associated with self-reported attendance, motivation and academic performance.15 If students were found to be in the alcohol dependent criteria, they had an excess risk of failing during the study period.60 High alcohol intakes are correlated with other adverse health behaviours, such as sleep deprivation and an increase in discretionary food consumption.11 4.3 Fruit and vegetable intake A higher fruit and vegetable intake is another aspect of diet quality which has a positive relationship with academic performance. When the self-reported daily intake of fruit and vegetables increased, there was a relatable increase in student grade point averages.10, 33, 36, 37, 39, 41, 52, 61-64 The main message is that an adequate fruit and vegetable intake is beneficial to health, and a vital component to good diet quality. Although, results in this area are inconsistent, with a small number of studies reporting no association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and academic performance.65-67 This may be attributed to their study design, as these may have lacked sufficient power to detect certain effects. It was difficult to detect differences between students when a large proportion did not meet the initial recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption. 4.4 Convenience foods An increased consumption of convenience or ‘take-away’ foods and beverages has a strong link to poorer academic performance. There were consistent results amongst all studies which measured these associations, as well as across all age groups. 33, 37, 39, 41, 47, 52, 65, 68-73   Convenience foods are highly refined, and generally rich in salt, simple sugars or saturated fats, and included: sugar sweetened beverages, confectionary items and fried foods37.Serve sizes and options for convenience and take-away foods differed between studies, and thus interpretations may be difficult to generalise. Students who frequently consumed convenience snacks were less likely to pass standardised tests, in comparison with those who consumed healthier options.69 Poor dietary habits are shown to be a significant predictor of health and weight status, which contribute towards school performance.52 Even a moderate reduction in convenience food intake may lessen the negative influence it has on academic performance.   Current recommendations advise that discretionary foods should only be included in a diet once the other food group recommendations are met, to ensure that a high proportion of a person’s energy intake is comprised of nutritious sources.6 They should only be considered in the diet in moderation, with the consumption of foods from the core food groups being the priority.   5.0  Ã‚   Conclusion The findings from this review indicate that there is a positive association between diet quality and student academic performance. Furthermore, some evidence suggests that this is a dose-response relationship, as the higher the diet quality score, the higher the effect on academic outcomes. Diet quality and variety involve food groups and how a dietary pattern aligns with national recommendations. Several variables which impact on diet quality were investigated and shown to also be associated with academic performance. A number of gaps in the literature have been identified throughout this review. Research in this area is still developing, and there are limitations of the published research investigating the relationship between diet and academic outcomes. It is yet to be determined what specific aspects of diet quality have the greatest effect on student performance. Further investigation is needed to establish if the components of overall diet quality, variety, adequacy, balance and moderation have an independent relationship with academic performance. Longitudinal research is necessary to compare these associations over time. Public health investigations should consider whether interventions aiming at promoting healthy dietary behaviours could have a positive impact on academic performance. To date, there have been no studies regarding diet quality and academic performance at Australian universities. It is unknown how dietary intake influences a university student population group, as their stage in life and lifestyle differs from other student populations. Implications from this research support the broader implementation of effective university nutrition programs that aim to improve student’s diet quality, academic performance, and, in the long term, their health. They highlight the importance of promoting good dietary patterns, especially increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, whilst decreasing convenience food intake. The cumulative effect of dietary behaviours on academic performance emphasise the importance of an improved university environment. 6.0  Ã‚   References 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ruthig JC, Marrone S, Hladkyj S, Robinson-Epp N. Changes in college student health: Implications for academic performance. J Coll Stud Dev. 2011; 52: 307-20. 2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Basch CE. Healthier Students Are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap. J Sch Health. 2011; 81: 593-98. 3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brunello G, Fort M, Schneeweis N, Winter-Ebmer R. The Causal Effect of Education on Health: What is the Role of Health Behaviors? Health Econ. 2016; 25: 314-36. 4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ross CE, Chia-Ling W. The links between education and health. American Sociological Review. 1995; 60: 719-45. 5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Li J, Powdthavee N. Does more education lead to better health habits? Evidence from the school reforms in Australia. Soc Sci Med. 2015; 127: 83-91. 6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council, 2013. 7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alkerwi A. Diet quality concept. Nutrition. 2014; 30: 613-18. 8  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wirt A, Collins CE. Diet quality What is it and does it matter? Public Health Nutr. 2009; 12: 2473-92. 9  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pengpid S, Peltzer K. Dietary health behaviour and beliefs among university students from 26 low, middle and high income countries. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2015; 24: 744-52. 10  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wald A, Muennig PA, OConnell KA, Garber CE. Associations between healthy lifestyle behaviors and academic performance in U.S. undergraduates: A secondary analysis of the american college health associations national college health assessment ii. Am J Health Promot. 2014; 28: 298-305. 11  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Trockel MT, Barnes MD, Egget DL. Health-related variables and academic performance among first-year college students: Implications for sleep and other behaviors. J Am Coll Health. 2000; 49: 125-31. 12  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Young Australians: their health and wellbeing. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011. 13  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Australian Health Survey: Consumption of Food Groups from the Australian Dietary Guidelines, 2011-12. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013. 14  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Florence MD, Asbridge M, Veugelers PJ. Diet quality and academic performance. J Sch Health. 2008; 78: 209-15; 39-41. 15  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliens T, Clarys P, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Deforche B. Weight, socio-demographics, and health behaviour related correlates of academic performance in first year university students. Nutr J. 2013; 12. 16  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kourlaba G, Panagiotakos DB. Dietary quality indices and human health: A review. Maturitas. 2009; 62: 1-8. 17  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant AK. Indexes of overall diet quality: A review. J Am Diet Assoc. 1996; 96: 785-91. 18  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tangney CC, Staffileno BA, Rasmussen HE. Healthy Eating: How Do We Define It and Measure It? J Nurse Pract. 2017; 13: e7-e15. 19  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Waijers PMCM, Feskens EJM, Ockà © MC. A critical review of predefined diet quality scores. Br J Nutr. 2007; 97: 219-31. 20  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thiele S, Mensink GBM, Beitz R. Determinants of diet quality. Public Health Nutr. 2004; 7: 29-37. 21  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jomaa LH, Hwalla NC, Zidek JM. Development of a standardized measure to assess food quality: a proof of concept. Nutr J. 2016; 15: 1-11. 22  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kim S, Haines PS, Siega-Riz AM, Popkin BM. The Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I) Provides an Effective Tool for Cross-National Comparison of Diet Quality as Illustrated by China and the United States. J Nutr. 2003; 133: 3476-84. 23  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Newby PK, Hu FB, Rimm EB, et al. Reproducibility and validity of the Diet Quality Index as assessed by use of a food-frequency questionnaire. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003; 78: 941-49. 24  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Guenther PM, Casavale KO, Reedy J, et al. Update of the Healthy Eating Index: HEI-2010. J Acad Nutri Diet. 2013; 113: 569-80. 25  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kennedy ET, Ohls J, Carlson S, Fleming K. The Healthy Eating Index. Design and Applications. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995; 95: 1103-08. 26  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thorpe MG, Milte CM, Crawford D, McNaughton SA. A revised Australian dietary guideline index and its association with key sociodemographic factors, health behaviors and body mass index in peri-retirement aged adults. Nutrients. 2016; 8. 27  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   McNaughton SA, Ball K, Crawford D, Mishra GD. An index of diet and eating patterns is a valid measure of diet quality in an Australian population. J Nutr. 2008; 138: 86-93. 28  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summary of the 2014 full year higher education student statistics. Canberra: Australian Department of Education and Training, 2014. 29  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ganasegeran K, Al-Dubai SAR, Qureshi AM, Al-Abed AAAA, Am R, Aljunid SM. Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: A cross-sectional study. Nutr J. 2012; 11. 30  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wengreen HJ, Moncur C. Change in diet, physical activity, and body weight among young-adults during the transition from high school to college. Nutr J. 2009; 8. 31  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abebe F, Geleto A, Sena L, Hailu C. Predictors of academic performance with due focus on undernutrition among students attending primary schools of Hawa Gelan district, Southwest Ethiopia: a school based cross sectional study. BMC Nutrition. 2017; 3. 32  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hebden L, Chan HN, Louie JC, Rangan A, Allman-Farinelli M. You are what you choose to eat: Factors influencing young adults food selection behaviour. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2015; 28: 401-08. 33  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Burrows T, Goldman S, Pursey K, Lim R. Is there an association between dietary intake and academic achievement: a systematic review. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2017; 30: 117-40. 34  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Valladares M, Duran E, Matheus A, Duran-Aguero S, Obregon AM, Ramirez-Tagle R. Association between Eating Behavior and Academic Performance in University Students. J Am Coll Nutr. 2016; 35: 699-703. 35  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Faught EL, Ekwaru JP, Gleddie D, Storey KE, Asbridge M, Veugelers PJ. The combined impact of diet, physical activity, sleep and screen time on academic achievement: A prospective study of elementary school students in Nova Scotia, Canada. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017; 14. 36  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abudayya A, Shi Z, Abed Y, Holmboe-Ottesen G. Diet, nutritional status and school performance among adolescents in Gaza Strip. East Mediterr Health J. 2011; 17: 218-25. 37  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kim SY, Sim S, Park B, Kong IG, Kim JH, Choi HG. Dietary habits are associated with school performance in adolescents. Medicine. 2016; 95. 38  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   So ES, Park BM. Health Behaviors and Academic Performance Among Korean Adolescents. Asian Nurs Res. 2016; 10: 123-27. 39  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sigfà ºsdà ³ttir ID, Kristjà ¡nsson AL, Allegrante JP. Health behaviour and academic achievement in Icelandic school children. Health Educ Res. 2007; 22: 70-80. 40  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ells LJ, Hillier FC, Shucksmith J, et al. A systematic review of the effect of dietary exposure that could be achieved through normal dietary intake on learning and performance of school-aged children of relevance to UK schools. Br J Nutr. 2008; 100: 927-36. 41  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kristjà ¡nsson AL, Sigfà ºsdà ³ttir ID, Allegrante JP. Health behavior and academic achievement among adolescents: The relative contribution of dietary habits, physical activity, body mass index, and self-esteem. Health Educ Behav. 2010; 37: 51-64. 42  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   McIsaac JL, Kirk SF, Kuhle S. The Association between Health Behaviours and Academic Performance in Canadian Elementary School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015; 12: 14857-71. 43  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Taras H. Nutrition and student performance at school. J Sch Health. 2005; 75: 199-213. 44  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fu ML, Cheng L, Tu SH, Pan WH. Association between Unhealthful Eating Patterns and Unfavorable Overall School Performance in Children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007; 107: 1935-43. 45  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   McIsaac JLD, Kirk SFL, Kuhle S. The association between health behaviours and academic performance in Canadian elementary school students: A cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015; 12: 14857-71. 46  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Correa-Burrows P, Burrows R, Blanco E, Reyes M, Gahagan S. Nutritional quality of diet and academic performance in Chilean students. Bull World Health Organ. 2016; 94: 185-92. 47  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Snelling A, Belson SI, Beard J, Young K. Associations between grades and physical activity and food choices: Results from YRBS from a large urban school district. Health Educ. 2015; 115: 141-51. 48  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Edwards JU, Mauch L, Winkelman MR. Relationship of Nutrition and Physical Activity Behaviors and Fitness Measures to Academic Performance for Sixth Graders in a Midwest City School District. J Sch Health. 2011; 81: 65-73. 49  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Esteban-Cornejo I, Izquierdo-Gomez R, Gomez-Martinez S, et al. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and academic performance in youth: the UP&DOWN study. Eur J Nutr. 2016; 55: 1133-40. 50  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Acham H, Kikafunda JK, Malde MK, Oldewage-Theron WH, Egal AA. Breakfast, midday meals and academic achievement in rural primary schools in Uganda: Implications for education and school health policy. Food Nutri Res. 2012; 56. 51  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kim HYP, Frongillo EA, Han SS, et al. Academic performance of Korean children is associated with dietary behaviours and physical status. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2003; 12: 186-92. 52  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stea TH, Torstveit MK. Association of lifestyle habits and academic achievement in Norwegian adolescents: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2014; 14. 53  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adolphus K, Lawton CL, Dye L. The effects of breakfast on behavior and academic performance in children and adolescents. Front Hum Neurosci. 2013; 7: 425. 54  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Boschloo A, Ouwehand C, Dekker S, et al. The Relation Between Breakfast Skipping and School Performance in Adolescents. Mind Brain EDucation. 2012; 6: 81-88. 55  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fernà ¡ndez Morales I, Aguilar Vilas MV, Mateos Vega CJ, Martà ­nez Para MC. Relation between the breakfast quality and the academic performance in adolescents of Guadalajara (Castilla-La Mancha). Nutr Hosp. 2008; 23: 383-87. 56  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gajre NS, Fernandez S, Balakrishna N, Vazir S. Breakfast eating habit and its influence on attention-concentration, immediate memory and school achievement. Indian Pediatr. 2008; 45: 824-28. 57  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lien L. Is breakfast consumption related to mental distress and academic performance in adolescents? Public Health Nutr. 2007; 10: 422-28. 58  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rampersaud GC, Pereira MA, Girard BL, Adams J, Metzl JD. Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105: 743-60; quiz 61-2. 59  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   So WY. Association between frequency of breakfast consumption and academic performance in healthy Korean adolescents. Iran J Public Health. 2013; 42: 25-32. 60  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aertgeerts B, Buntinx F. The relation between alcohol abuse or dependence and academic performance in first-year college students. J Adolesc Health. 2002; 31: 223-25. 61  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alhazmi A, Stojanovski E, McEvoy M, Brown W, Garg ML. Diet quality score is a predictor of type 2 diabetes risk in women: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health. Br J Nutr. 2014; 112: 945-51. 62  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Harrington J, Fitzgerald AP, Layte R, Lutomski J, Molcho M, Perry IJ. Sociodemographic, health and lifestyle predictors of poor diets. Public Health Nutr. 2011; 14: 2166-75. 63  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MacLellan D, Taylor J, Wood K. Food intake and academic performance among adolescents. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2008; 69: 141-44. 64  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nyaradi A, Foster JK, Hickling S, et al. Prospective associations between dietary patterns and cognitive performance during adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip. 2014; 55: 1017-24. 65  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ickovics JR, Carroll-Scott A, Peters SM, Schwartz M, Gilstad-Hayden K, McCaslin C. Health and academic achievement: Cumulative effects of health assets on standardized test scores among urban youth in the United States. J Sch Health. 2014; 84: 40-48. 66  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Martà ­nez-Gà ³mez D, Veiga OL, Gà ³mez-Martà ­nez S, et al. Gender-specific influence of health behaviors on academic performance in Spanish adolescents; The afinos study. Nutr Hosp. 2012; 27: 724-30. 67  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nigg CR, Amato K. The Influence of Health Behaviors During Childhood on Adolescent Health Behaviors, Health Indicators, and Academic Outcomes Among Participants from Hawaii. Int J Behav Med. 2015; 22: 452-60. 68  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliens T, Clarys P, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Deforche B. Determinants of eating behaviour in university students: A qualitative study using focus group discussions. BMC Public Health. 2014; 14. 69  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Correa-Burrows P, Burrows R, Orellana Y, Ivanovic D. The relationship between unhealthy snacking at school and academic outcomes: a population study in Chilean schoolchildren. Public Health Nutr. 2015; 18: 2022-30. 70  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Li J, Oconnell AA. Obesity, high-calorie food intake, and academic achievement trends among U.S. school children. J Educ Res. 2012; 105: 391-403. 71  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nyaradi A, Li J, Hickling S, et al. A western dietary pattern is associated with poor academic performance in Australian adolescents. Nutrients. 2015; 7: 2961-82. 72  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Park S, Sherry B, Foti K, Blanck HM. Self-reported academic grades and other correlates of sugar-sweetened soda intake among US adolescents. J Acad Nutri Diet. 2012; 112: 125-31. 73  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobin KJ. Fast-food consumption and educational test scores in the USA. Child Care Health Dev. 2013; 39: 118-24.