Hispanic speaking mental health program at catholic charities of Research Paper

Hispanic speaking mental health program at catholic charities of fairfield - Research Paper Example The world of today is rather unique in that it has been torn apart by wars, racism, homelessness, unemployment and various types of financial and economic crises that are affecting and crippling millions of people every day. True to its motto ‘Faith in Action’ this organization has developed a number of housing schemes for the homeless which enables both the able bodied as well as physically and mentally challenged individuals to live and correlate with each other in peace and harmony, thereby enhancing the worth of the family unit. The housing schemes of the Catholic Charities of Fairfield are of various kinds from the Permanent Housing Diocese Program to the Scattered Site Housing Program to the Conger House and Thomas Merton Center Programs. The agency’s New Heights Program is directed towards the mentally challenged individuals in Bridgeport, CT and is dedicated towards making every individual achieve their maximum possible potential. It is a psycho-social pro gram that offers pre-vocational and vocational training, educational training, computer knowhow and support groups, with peer and telephonic support as well. In order to be a part of this program, one must be diagnosed with a mental illness, be receiving service from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and be residing within one of the areas served. The issue at hand appears to be that these services need to be expanded as the population of Bridgeport is increasing. However the problem is that the majority of the new population that has entered Bridgeport in recent years appears to be Hispanic. It is not difficult to see this when recent US census estimates show that the Hispanics are the single largest ethnic majority in the USA today. These facts had come to light in the last two elections and Obama and Bush had both tried to win a large part of the Hispanic vote as it affected their overall results. Most likely the problem has existed for a number of months now and came to light of the administration when mentally challenged Hispanic individuals and their caretakers applied for assistance and admission to the New Heights program. A check up from the Mayor’s Office or even a local real estate agent would have given an indication of the changing trend of residencies in the county. The problem is that the Catholic Charities of Fairfield had not planned for this demographic trend and have not included diversity within their program makeup. The consequences are that the services and the staff are all English speaking Americans and there is no one to assist the Hispanic speaking population. As we have noted, the majority of the newcomers have been from South and Central America and therefore the present setup is at a loss as to how to accommodate for this change in demographics. As a result the Spanish speaking individuals cannot be served and are placed on waiting lists. But sooner or later, a solution will have to be found as the probl em is not going to go away. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS & THEIR IMPLEMENTATION Planning for change is a very important thing and should be practiced by individuals as well as organizations and their management staff. Even if the problem was not recognized in the past, it is not too late now and some swift and effective changes this agency can help accommodate the new Hispanic patients. The first thing would be to see if there is enough room and funds under the present programs. As Hispanics would also be attending

The White Cube Museum Essay Example for Free

The White Cube Museum Essay Introduction: White cube was set up by art dealer Jay Jopling, an ex-Estonian and son of a Conservative MP who is married to artist Sam Taylor Wood. It was first opened in a small, square room in May 1993 in Duke Street. Indeed, it was the smallest exhibition space in Europe at the time, and yet, for such a small space white cube became, arguably, one of the most influential galleries of the past decade. Situated at 44 Duke Street, St James, one of London’s most traditional art dealing streets, surrounded by auction houses, old master galleries and specialist art bookshops.   The central concern of White cube was to create an intimate space in which an artist could present a single important work of art or a coherent body of work within a focused environment. In this regard, the gallery achieved its reputation by being the first to give one person shows to many of the so-called Young British Artist [YBAs]. Even when it moved to its present location at Hoxton Square, it still held on to its unique gallery rule that an artist could only be exhibited once. By this time, white cube had built up an international reputation for showing international artists such as Chuck Close, Richard Prince and Jeff Wall but interspersed with this Jay Jopling had also shown, cutting edge, YBAs including Gary Hume, Mona Hatoum, Marc Quinn and Sarah Lucas. Alfred H. Barr. Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, is credited for transforming the white cube concept into a functionalist ideology that conveyed purity and restraint, hence setting up the canon for modern art. On the other hand, Carol Duncan has attempted to bring out the effect caused by MoMA’s imposition of the masculine gaze to modern art galleries. Indeed her writings have given feminists an impetus to show that the personal is political and hence, women can channel there own experiences to disrupt the masculinity of the museum’s space. Ideally, Carol Duncan challenges the white cube’s functionalist concept of purity and restraint by directing us to begin to think about ‘female form’ and its cultural significance. The concept of purity and restraint conveyed by the white cubes has its basis in the ideology that representations of the female body can be though to be less of a static object and more as a limit point or set of exclusions, for while an image of the body of a woman can represent all that is pure or worthwhile, it can also embody that which is thought to be the most contaminated and disgusting. It is this objectivism of the female body by male artists’ that Duncan describes as male artists’ attempts to reach abstraction. The white cube captures this abstraction in such a way that it bars women artists from admittance to its canon. She seems to portray the idea that this canon emanates from the view point of a heterosexual male audience whose desires activated the modernism of the white cube art concept. In essence Carol Duncan’s main critique of MoMA’s white cube is based from its perceived attempt to foster stereotypes in society. From her are led to imagine exhibition sites to be quite the opposite of the white cube, to be social spaces based on the model of a living, responsive, organic entity. This is because to her, the white cube deliberately restricts the range of sensorial input to the viewer as works are spatially isolated in uncluttered, pristine environments characterized by large expanses of bare, unadorned wall. The cool aesthetic of the modern art institution, to her, only serves to emphasize the architecture as a functional container and a set of solid surfaces. This makes the art museum appear like a ritual site whose aesthetic exhibition, courtesy of the white cube, distinguishes viewers from art works both conceptually and spatially, which is an ideal of the neutralized relationship between art and space. Emma Baker also presents a different angle to the critique on the white cube. She argues that by interpreting artistic statements concerning art and space within the expanded notion of interior space, better understandings and more appropriate solutions will result. This solutions are necessary because the modernist idea of a universalized and neutral environment for art as espoused by the white cube concept impinges on the interior space in the gallery, and therefore on the artwork. The idea of space itself is considered an ambiguity, and it is this ambiguity that the white cube concept capitalizes on, presenting an unobstructive gallery space characterized by sterile and lifeless walls. This is a marked contrast from the artists of the past who expressed their spatial concerns within the abstract notions of the interior, architecture, environment, and /or space; hence there is a lot of interest expressed by artists, in negotiating concerns associated with the physical, psychological, and experiential implications of space. In as much as Emma Baker declines to support the white cube concept, which has been the traditional approach of a modernist museum to the collection and exhibition of art work, she also does not go out to support the artists of the past since, according to her today’s museum’s privileging of newness, non-linearity, and post modernity seems to disavow the influence of history and the relevance of modernity. Her writings instead seem to allude to an approach which is concerned with the mediation of that art work to a diverse public, rather than the cultivation of the artist within a historical context. This is because, today architecture is the prevailing element that determines the quality and characteristics of art related spaces and therefore dictates the interrelation of art and space. Thus, because of the psychological, aesthetic, and behavioral implications, the notion of the interrelation of art and space needs to be considered within the complexity of interior space. Essentially, Baker advocates for a generic post modern approach style, which presents the concept of space in a fashion that is without precedent in architectural style, something which is widely apparent in recently constructed museums and shopping malls globally. And yet, the fundamental structure underlying these new effects can also be seen as maintaining clear connections with past incarnations of the institution’s built form. Precedents for this approach include the exhibitions from the Education and Community Program, such as Unspoken Truths (1993), and Once is Too Much (1997-1998). These exhibitions, and the programs of work from which they derived, set standards for education and community work within, rather than parallel to, the museums activities. Hence the idea of neutrality as espoused by the white cube is in this context dismissed within a design sensitive framework.   Furthermore, Emma Baker considers that one of the key functions of a museum of modern art, through the acquisition of art works, is to challenge rather than to reinforce assumptions about definitions of art and artists. This viewpoint contributes to make a powerful argument for a new way of looking and thinking about art that is open and inclusive rather than closed an exclusive. As such, this viewpoint employs features of modernity at a generally invisible albeit fundamental level. This is so in regard to history, display and communication on the one hand, so that on the other, it can attempt to undercut the problems of representation associated with modernity, by referencing a post modernity that denies both historical precedents and the connection between museums and modernity as a progress-oriented project. This is ironic in relation to modernism’s belief that ‘ornament is a crime’ because it   looks as if post modernity has been appropriated within Emma Baker’s view point not as a cohering style, or as a guiding principle, but as precisely that: adornment. In both asserting and critiquing the idealized modernity of white cube exhibition spaces through their strategies of display, Emma Baker’s viewpoint may be physical evidence for the argument that modernity and post modernity do not exist in a dialectical relationship, but as influences that overlap and compete for attention. In conclusion, it is important to note that both authors, Emma Baker and Carol Duncan attempt to critique the white cube’s concept of artworks that speak for themselves by employing neutrality to achieve the needed effect. Carlo Duncan approaches her criticism from the standpoint that rather than have museums with bare and unadorned walls, art exhibitions were designed to be   social spaces based on the model of a living, responsive, organic entity. Emma Baker on the other hand argues that what is essentially needed is some sort of mediation of that art work to a diverse public, rather than the cultivation of the artist within a historical context. Reference: Marie Fitzpatrick, D. The Interrelation Of Art And Space: An Investigation Of Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Century European Painting And Interior Space http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:StnTM_h7QVAJ:www.spokane.wsu.edu/Academics/Design/documents/Theses/d_fitzpatrick_10568509.pdf+Emma+Barker+*white+cubehl=enct=clnkcd=24gl=keclient=firefox-a Toorn, T. Sensing Bodies: Documentation, Preservation and Wearable Computer Art http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:ClLDm5PRsH4J:www.docam.ca/Pedagogie/Seminaire_2006/Tai_van_Toorn.pdf+Carol+Dunkan+*white+cubehl=enct=clnkcd=10gl=keclient=firefox-a

Defining And Understanding Empowerment Social Work Essay

Defining And Understanding Empowerment Social Work Essay Empowerment can be defined in general as the capacity of individuals, groups and/or communities gain control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals, thereby being able to work towards helping themselves and others to maximise the quality of their lives. In health and social care empowerment means patients, carers and service users exercising choice and taking control of their lives. It is not that one is empowered means he or she become all powerful like God. Even if we are empowered still we have limitation. Actual meaning of empowerment is that one feels that he or she able and feels powerful enough in certain situations to take part in decision making. I also will explain how politics played a part in disempowering women in health and social care services. It is a greatest challenge in health and social care to achieve progress with the empowerment of carers and people who receive services. Beginnings of twentieth century women were disempowered because of politics played a part. Emancipation is a commonly used word in other western European countries to refer to what in the UK mean by empowerment. The word emancipation has is useful because it has overtones of the struggle for votes for women in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century, so it reminds us that empowerment  Ã‚  in the health and social services has a political aspect. When carers and people who use services experience being disempowered and excluded, this is a form of political disenfranchisement. In other words, it is as though they have no vote and are not treated as full members of society. In contrast, when people become empowered, they can exercise choices and have the possibility of maximising their potential and living full and active lives.   There is a tension between enabling people to take control of their lives and recognising that workers may need to intervene and take control sometimes, in order to protect other people. This applies to both empowerment and advocacy. Empowerment for people with learning disabilities is the process by which they develop increased skills to take control of their lives. This will help them achieve goals and aspirations, maximising their quality of life. A key feature in empowering people is giving them a voice and actively listening to what they have to say. Empowerment is, therefore, closely linked to the concept of advocacy. Empowerment in learning disability can be described as a social process, whereby people who are considered as belonging to a stigmatised social group can be assisted to develop increased skills to take control of their lives. This increased control will help them to achieve their goals and aspirations and thus potentially maximise the quality of their lives. The concept has connections with assertiveness and independence and is clearly linked to the various forms of advocacy. When considering the current climate it is somewhat an indictment on our times that the Government sees the need to name the White Paper regarding its vision for learning disability services as Valuing People. The title alone inversely suggests that as a society we are not valuing people. The content presents the evidence on levels of exclusion, disempowerment and lack of valued social roles facing those with a learning disability and how services should be planned to address this. (A similar Scottish Executive Review of Learning Disability has the title The Same As You.) For the individual with a learning disability, the subjective experience of empowerment is about rights, choice and control which can lead them to a more autonomous lifestyle. For the professional, it is about anti-oppressive practice, balancing rights and responsibilities and supporting choice and empowerment whilst maintaining safe and ethical practice. Education is often seen as the main engine of empowerment, equality and rights of access. Thus, as a group, people with a learning disability can be at a particular disadvantage. They may have to be enabled and supported to perhaps overcome social obstacles and can be dependent on others to make important information accessible to them, assist them with advocacy and help safeguard their rights. A key feature in empowering individuals is giving them a voice and then listening actively to what they have got to say. Person Centred Planning with its focus on placing the individual at the centre of the process and using techniques to obtain meaningful participation can be a major contribution to finding out what people have got to say. Empowerment will bring along with it rights and responsibilities plus also potential risks for people. It is often the fear of physical risk which can inhibit empowerment processes for people who see themselves as responsible for vulnerable people. They may fear a blame culture if things go wrong. Surprisingly, as recently as 1998, the Social Services Inspectorate noted there were no systematic approaches for risk assessment and management in the field of learning disability. The Foundation for People with a Learning Disability set out to identify good practice in how to reconcile the tension between ensuring the safety of an individual with a learning disability and empowering them to enjoy a full life in the community. A report was produced called Empowerment and Protection (Alaszewski et al, 1999) which suggested that organisations needed to develop risk policies which embrace both protection and empowerment issues at the same point. The definition of risk should look at consequences and probability. Procedures should also include, from the start, the wishes and needs of the person who has the learning disability and involve them  throughout, including the decision making stage. Such comments about organisations developing appropriate risk strategies show that empowerment is not there just  as a concept for front line staff, but should penetrate the strategic planning levels. Valuing People states (Section 4.27) that people with a learning disability should be consulted for their views on services and these views utilised at a corporate planning level. In Mrs Ali case she is empowered by Muslim religious faith to take of her bed-bound husband although in contrast her care taker Jean believes that Mrs Ali should be empowered. This indicates religion also empower some people to take care vulnerable people.

E-tendering implementation best practice

E-tendering implementation best practice Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Research title E-Tendering Implementation: Best practice 1.1 Abstract E-Tendering is a web tendering service offered on a pay-per-tender basis where allows clients and their consultants to run tenders through a secure website. But not all the countries involved are fully implemented e-Tendering. They are only implementing e-Tendering at certain stages. This research is carried out to study the best practice in the implementation of e-Tendering worldwide. The anticipated findings are each countries involved are not fully implemented e-Tendering because of certain problems and constraint. The benchmark was developing for the best practice of e-tendering. This research will narrate for government and construction industry itself where it stands in terms of e-Tendering implementation compared to its peer countries. Introduction Construction industry all over the world have demonstrated the need to improve the service delivery and being able to handle issues swiftly and satisfactorily. The advent of Internet Technology has made it possible for authority of construction industry to transform themselves by offering traditional services especially tendering process through online. Tendering is considered to be one of the fairest means of awarding government contracts and the method most likely to secure a favourable outcome for a government in its spending of public money. The basic principles of the tendering process have been applied to many business areas, such as purchasing goods seeking service providers, business consulting, or the selection of main contractors for construction work. With the expand and spread of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in world and this country, government of Malaysia under Public Works Department (JKR) collaborate with Construction Industry Development Board (CID B) to implement the National E-Tendering Initiatives (NeTI) program. E-tendering program will provide all tendering process through online. At this stage, JKR and CIDB implement e-tendering for government construction project only. According to Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, e-Tendering is a Web tendering service offered on a pay-per-tender basis. E-Tendering allows clients and their consultants (buyers) to run tenders through a secure website. It offers a simple, secure, standard, efficient and cost effective way to manage tenders online. It provides a major opportunity to replace existing paper based procedures and achieve significant cost savings, while producing a more efficient and reliable process. Use of the system is charged on a per tender basis to buyers, there are no subscription fees. Use of the system is free to contractors (suppliers). This reason bring to government of Malaysia and countries over the world to use and implement e-tendering, which offer a simple, secure, standard, efficient and cost effective and also can avoid corruption. That means contractors all over the country can register and get tender through online and do not have to use the traditional tender process which is pa per-based, more costly and sometimes bias tender awarded. Problem statement Most of the developed and develop countries have their own channels to publish the notification of tenders through the Internet, which are displayed in their official websites. However, implementation of electronic tendering is not complete in the reality world because of certain barriers and problems. In Malaysia, the tendering process is still based on manual activities even though they have National E-Tendering Initiatives (NeTI) program, which website program that conduct tender process through internet. In the current situation, government of Malaysia only advertises their tender through online. When looking entire the world, same situation of e-tendering implementation happens. Many countries like India and Singapore conduct and organize tender process through online in the half way. Different countries have their different nature of technology and construction industry. In UK, e-tendering is already implemented in the most efficient manner. Player of construction industry in UK, especially contractor, they have enough technology and equipment to adopt e-tendering. Now the question is what is the best practice to adopt e-tendering in present time? Benchmarking best practice need to develop to give some guideline to the develop countries what is the best way to implement e-tendering. Researcher recognize that most of people are tend to do benchmarking in IT and supply management but lack of study in benchmarking the best practice of e-Tendering. So the gap of knowledge must be filled and explore to produce the new findings that might be give benefits to people and construction industry itself. For above statement, this research has explored the best practice of e-Tendering implementation in few countries. This research has identified e-Tendering processes involved and compares it with each country selected. By the end of this research, the best practice of e-Tendering implementation is recommended for the benchmark. Aims This research is carried out to study the best practice in the implementation of e-Tendering worldwide. Objectives To identify the countries in the world who have implemented e-Tendering To study compare the best practice of e-Tendering implementation as identified above. To recommend the best practice of e-Tendering implementation. Research questions What countries that already implemented e-Tendering in their construction industry? What are the processes of e-Tendering? Are they fully implemented e-Tendering in their construction industry? What is the best practice of e-Tendering for their construction industry currently? Research methodology Literature review In order to provide good background information of the study area, literature review is very important. Literatures reading were carried out to collect all information and studied to get better understanding about e-Tendering implementation in Malaysia and others countries worldwide. All the sources are collected from internet, journals, books, past master thesis and dissertation related to this topic. Desk study All the sources are analyse and make interpretation. From literature study, data were collected and distinguish what are the needs in this research. Quantitative interpretation is the main method to carry out this research which based on data and more relevant with the current issues. Significance of research This research is about best practice of e-Tendering implementation worldwide was done for the following major reasons: The Malaysia government needs to know where it stands in terms of e-Tendering implementation compared to its peer countries to mark its current progress of milestone achievement. Malaysia construction industry needs to know with their current status e-Tendering implementation compare to others countries. Benchmark for e-tendering is very important to recognize the best practice of e-tendering implementation worldwide. To discuss the current status e-Tendering worldwide. Overview of content Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: An overview on conventional tendering Chapter 3: New version of tendering system- Electronic Tendering Chapter 4: Methodology Chapter 5: Case study discussion Chapter 6: Recommendation conclusion

Displaying the Confederate Flag :: Racism Confederate Flag Symbolism Essays

Displaying the Confederate Flag Ever since I first moved here, I have always wanted to know why so many people from this area go out of their way to display a symbol that is regarded by many others as a symbol of hate. I see it everywhere I go—on clothes, backpacks, license plates, and even in yards. The confederate battle flag is flaunted by many in this area, and I think that we can all attest to this. Why do so many people display this flag on an everyday basis, and who exactly are these people? What does the flag’s glorification say about these people, and how do they want to be thought of by displaying this symbol? Finally, I would like to better determine what the flag means to me and to other people of the area who do not exhibit the flag. The first step in understanding this cultural phenomenon is to determine who exactly is responsible for creating it. It is pretty obvious who these people are. Have you ever seen a plain confederate battle flag shown off by an African American, Hispanic, Asian, or any other non-whites? I would bet my life savings that over half of the flag pushers are people who have never lived in a racially diverse area or a large metropolitan location, as this symbol is not tolerated in these types of areas. In addition, I think it is safe to say that many of these people come from the more rural, conservative areas of the country. All in all, however, the flag’s promoters are essentially the white people who choose to display it. I have come to the conclusion that these people display this flag for a number of different reasons. There are some people out there who actually use the flag as a representation of being from the south. Unfortunately, I think this belief is more often utilized as an excuse for displaying a symbol of racial intolerance than as a hometown indicator. The Ku Klux Klan, which houses its capital in nearby Harrison, has used the flag for years as a sign of white supremacy. Is it just a coincidence that many other whites from surrounding areas so proudly display the symbol as well? I wonder why the supposed non-racist southerners decided to use the same particular flag instead of the many other symbols that can be used to show southern pride.

Diversity: Individual Behavior Impact Essay -- Work Diverse Behavior

Diversity: Individual Behavior Impact   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Individual behavior is the pattern of behavior, thought, and emotion, unique to an individual, and the ways he or she interact to help or hinder the adjustment of a person to other people and situations (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2001). Within organizations, diversity can positively or negatively impact the behavior of individuals. Organizations are responsible and held accountable for making the overall work environment conducive for all within the diversified setting. Diversity is shaped and informed by a variety of characteristics including age, ethnicity, gender, disability, language, religion beliefs, life stages, education, career responsibilities, sexual orientation, personality traits, and marital status. Workplace diversity is about acknowledging differences and adapting work practices to create an inclusive environment in which one?s diverse skills, perspectives, and backgrounds, are valued (Workplace Diversity Strategy, 2003). There are many diversity issues within the workplace however, age, gender, personality traits, and religion highly impacts individual behaviors within an organization. Age   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)?, states the unlawfulness of discriminating against a person because of his or her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment; including, but not limited to, hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training (Age Diversity, 1997). Age diversity at work means employing people of all ages, and not discriminating against someone because of how old he or she is. Age discrimination can take place as a result of the organization or from the different generational differences that make-up the organization. Generational differences can have many diverse impacts on individual behavior with regard to age differences. These differences can become a big distraction, hurt morale, and teamwork, unless managers learn how to accommodate the uniqueness of each group (Gomolski, 2001). Typically older persons tend to take his or her work related responsibilities very serious unlike their younger counterparts. Older employees take pride in doing a job well whereas younger employees want to just get the job done and move on to the next assignment. Although each person is working toward the same organ... ...997). Age Diversity: Facts about Age Discrimination. Retrieved from www.eeoc.gov/policy/adea.html on August 4, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Author unknown (2005). The Workplace Religion Freedom Act. Your Gateway to the Jewish Internet, 2005. Retrieved from www.ou.org on August 7, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Author unknown (date). Workplace Diversity Strategy (2003-2005). Retrieved from www.dewr.gov.au/publications on August 4, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BSR Staff (1999). Religion in the Workplace. Business for Social Responsibility. 2001-2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gomoliski, B. (2001). Managing age diversity in the workplace. Computerworld Inc., 2005. Retrieved from www.computerworld.com on August 6, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hahn, S., Litwin, A. (1995). Women and Men Understanding and Respecting Gender Differences in the Workplace. Anne Litwin & Associates, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McInnes, R. (1999). Workforce Diversity: Changing the Way You Do Business. Diversity World, 1999-2005. Retrieved from www.diversityworld.com August 4, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2001). Columbia University Press, 2001-2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William, S. (2005). Appreciating Personality Diversity. Retrieved from www.wright.edu/~scott.williams on August 4, 2005.

The Desire for Intoxication Leads to Destruction Essay -- Marijuana Dr

The Desire for Intoxication Leads to Destruction Through time, people all over the world have looked for ways to feel intoxicated and alter their consciousness for different reasons. One of the most ancient ways people have reached this state of intoxication has been through the popular marijuana plant. Today this plant has become so widely accepted that it has been legalized in a few states and will most likely be legalized in other states, such as California and Maine, even though it is prohibited by federal law. Advocates claim it has medicinal properties, and that the drug may actually be beneficial to people’s health. But even though many people argue that feeling intoxicated relaxes them and alleviates their pain, research and past incidents have proven that the desire to be intoxicated has more damaging effects than positive ones. In his book The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan looks at four different desires: beauty, control, intoxication, and sweetness, each represented by a plant . Each plant has either evolved or has been modified to fulfill a desire craved by human beings. Pollan shows us how the desire for sweetness is represented by the apple, beauty by the tulip, control by the potato, and the desire for intoxication by marijuana. In this book, Pollan explains how marijuana became modified through time to fit the different needs and expectations of consumers worldwide. Putting it in Pollan’s own words, â€Å"cannabis had to do two things: it had to prove it could gratify a human desire so brilliantly that people would take extraordinary risks to cultivate it, and it had to find the right combination of genes to adapt to a most peculiar and thoroughly artificial new environment†( 130). Marijuana was here to stay... ... A. Kallen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002. Print. Works Cited Hadly, Scott. â€Å"CHP Officer remains in critical condition. Ventura County Star. 21 Dec. 2007. Web. 29 Oct. 2010 Huff, Charlotte. "A risky decision: with marijuana, your good judgment may go up in smoke." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication Feb. 2010: 20+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2010. Marijuana Policy Project. "Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized." Legalizing Drugs. Ed. Stuart A. Kallen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002. Print.