Banksy’s Artwork in Detroit Free Essays

string(126) " the absolute importance of the concrete yet entirely transient and stochastic qualities of the urban canvas to the art form\." Once again, all of the pieces Banksy put up in Detroit have either been destroyed by the owners of the walls upon which they were created – not knowing the signiflcance of the work – by Individuals looking to profit from the sale of the work, or, in the case of this image, ‘preserved,’ significantly altered, or ‘destroyed’ – depending on one’s perspective – by individuals in the community seeking to save them from their Inevitable destruction, It Is equally Important to recognize that they surely (and undoubtedly) would have been destroyed in one way or another. Street rt is one of the only – if not the only – plastic arts that embrace’s its own eventual demise. It Is, In other words, and Its practitioners are eminently aware of this, inherently ephemeral. We will write a custom essay sample on Banksy’s Artwork in Detroit or any similar topic only for you Order Now As this [SLIDE – GO SLOW HERE] sequence of images [SLIDE] by a Street Artist known as Mobstr indicates. [SLIDE] The inherent ephemerality [SLIDE] of these works of art Is the result [SLIDE] of a relatively unique set of contextual circumstances [SLIDE] and social relationships of power within which most street artists ply their trade. [SLIDE] Just now, I referred to these pieces as works of art and I believe that that’s how they should be regarded. Not as vandalism, not as a crime, not as a nuisance, or blight – however all of these descriptors are accurate, once again, depending on one’s perspective. There is no other contemporary art movement that works at the same scope [SLIDE] and grandeur as street artists’ do. They consider walls that sometimes stretch horizontally [SLIDE] for entire city blocks as a canvas of massive proportion. They see the blank concrete of a high rise and think of It not as private property, or the structure of someone’s home or business, but as a concrete canvas. The sheer size, complexity, [SLIDE] and detail involved in ome of street art’s most notable exemplars qualifies it as an artform par excellence. However, In the eyes of the law, the majority of property owners. or In the by laws of municipal city councils, this is, for the most part, not the case. Once again, and for the most part, in the eyes of the law [SLIDE], street art is vandalism and property damage that upsets the stability of city life and the sensibility of city dwellers, making them fear for their safety on the streets of their city. From this perspective, street art needs to be eradicated, erased, and/or tuffed out,’ as the terminology of the street calls It, as soon as possible. Removing graffiti and street art Is akin to fixing the broken windows that, if left unrepaired, as the infamous story told by Wilson and Kelling goes, will lead to further crime, disregard for private property, the apparent safety of others, and an overall degeneration of the city as a space reserved almost exclusively, according to David Harvey, for commerce and private property rights. Succinctly, then, the life expectancy of a piece of street art [SLIDE] is very short. It is around buffing out the work of street artists, however. There are at least four other factors that make the work of street artists inherently ephemeral. In addition to municipal officers buffing out pieces, the second factor limiting the life expectancy of street art, are property owners themselves [SLIDE]. When a piece of private property gets tagged without the permission of the property owner, the inclination of the property owner is to get to rid of what they consider to be vandalism as soon as possible. This is especially the case when the owner isn’t aware of the value of certain pieces. This one [SLIDE], done by Banksy in Melbourne, Australia, was apparently destroyed when, someone’s father was house sitting and he thought he would do his son-in-law a favour by getting rid of it. However, and generally speaking, the commercial value of street art by the vast majority of street artists, save a very select few, is close to nil. If you’re a street artist and you’re not Banksy, you breaking proverbial windows all the time. Property owners, then, seeking to maintain the aesthetic integrity of their property, are the second cause of street art’s limited life expectancy. The third cause is other street artists themselves. Ever since the appearance of graffiti on the subways and walls of New York City [SLIDE] and Philadelphia in the late 70s and early 80s, graffiti and street art have been caught up n a clandestine contest that revolves around territoriality, prestige, ego, and fame, based on the courage and capacity to get one’s tag up in the most dangerous and visible locations possible. Looked at from these five different perspectives, street art is one of the few ‘plastic arts’ that is planned, designed, and created in full knowledge that the end product will, in one way or another, disappear or be destroyed over time – and in some instances, very short periods of time. This inherent ephemerality is, of course, where the digital camera and the Internet become incredibly important implements in the treet artist’s quiver. As much as these artists are reliant on the physical qualities of cinder block, concrete, wood, and steel, to exercise their creative vision, they are equally reliant on the immaterial, virtual, and distributed hardware and software characteristic of the Web 2. 0 era, to document that which in all likelihood, and in the very near future, will disappear for one of the five reasons listed above. Taking into account the ephemeral transience of street art from the perspective of the artists themselves, these same artists can, then, as much as they are regarded as street rtists, also be regarded as digital artists, digital photographers, albeit digital artists and photographers that go to great lengths, and put themselves at great risk, in the preparation of their compositions. This point is important enough to recognize, but to stop here would be to cut short a more in depth examination of the practice of creating street art and the absolute importance of the concrete yet entirely transient and stochastic qualities of the urban canvas to the art form. You read "Banksy’s Artwork in Detroit" in category "Papers" As I hope to demonstrate, the vagaries of the urban fabric serve only to reinforce the point Just ade regarding the importance of the digital camera and the Internet. AWKWARD – The very particular qualities of the surfaces upon which this kind of art is produced – the individual qualities of very particular walls – and the either serendipitous or pre- planned incorporation of trash, foliage, or other elements of the natural (or stretched canvas upon which other forms of art are produced – play an incredibly important role in the creation of street art. Reciprocally, and at the same time, they also underscore the importance of the digital camera, the digital photograph, and the Internet to the preservation and dissemination of the works themselves. I think this can best be explained by reference to the photographs themselves. If we look at this piece by Banksy for instance, [SLIDE] created in the run up to the London Olympics in 2012 and around the same time as his ‘Slave Labour’ piece, we see a pole-vaulter falling backwards, not quite making it over the barbed wire fence and onto the discarded mattress below. For the time being, I’m less interested in a semiotic reading of the piece than I am in paying attention to the actual physical things that play a part in the construction of this semiotic meaning. The mattress and the fence are absolutely integral elements of the piece. They are as important to the work as the pole and the pole-vaulter. If absent, for whatever reason, the piece itself wouldn’t be the same piece. Or, rather, it would be an entirely different piece, with an entirely different meaning. For instance, after this photograph was taken, there is a good chance that the mattress might have been discarded, the fence taken down in order to install the requisite Plexiglas. The point being, that the artist has obviously deemed these elements of the urban fabric to be elemental to the overall work itself. If removed or altered in any way, as they surely will be, the work is no longer that of the artist. Much like deleting scenes from Hamlet would fundamentally alter the play as Shakespeare intended it, removing the mattress alters the piece as Banksy intended it. If the mattress goes missing, is moved, or shifted, the artwork, as the artist envisioned and created it, is no longer. This example [SLIDE] too, indicates how important the actual elements of the urban fabric are to the piece. They are intricately woven into the artwork itself. This is becoming ever more important and prominent in Banksys work and†¦ f I can speculate for a moment, I think this has everything to do with his politics – I presume he’s a ‘he’ at least – it has everything to do with his politics, the market value of his work, and the propensity of property owners to remove it and auction if off, or of municipal councils to put it behind Plexiglas. So what would happen if this wall was cut out and moved to a gallery, into a private salon, or placed behind Plexiglas? Or what if we simply come back in Winter? Well, of course, the flowers that this boy is vomiting would die. They would either be uprooted and killed, squashed behind the Perspex and killed, or in time, and as a esult of the elements, die of natural causes. This is, of course, in addition to, and on top of, the fact that the piece itself has a very limited shelf life for the five reasons described above. As mentioned previously, once the work of street art is finished, the artist responsible for its production turns his/her back on it, in effect abandoning the work, leaving it to live or die as the street sees fit. Before doing so, however, and for the most part†¦ The work, as the artist intended it (and as he/she created it), is documented with a photograph. This practice too has its historical lineage. SLIDE] These are slides taken by Martha Cooper, a photographer, along with Harry Chalfant, responsible for archiving the early history of graffiti on the streets of this fair city we all find ourselves in today. Without the photographs of Cooper and Chalfant, not to mention the artists themselves, this important stage in the history of arguably one of preserved for us to see today. The photographic record of these inherently ephemeral works, then, preserves them and at least some of the context within which they existed at the time of their creation. In a manner of speaking, then, not only oes the digital photograph enable the preservation and dissemination of the artwork in a state that the artist obviously approved of, but the physical act of taking the digital photograph is the final brush stroke that signifies the piece is finished and the artist is done with his/her work. The moment at which he/she can turn around and walk away. Much like an oil painter who, when the canvas is completed to his/her satisfaction puts his/her name to the piece [SLIDE], the digital photograph serves as the street artist’s signature of sorts. [SLIDE]lt signifies that the work is as the artist ntended it and that, in the state it was when the photograph was taken, is complete. So, again, similar to the signature in the top right corner of the Picasso, the signature is a sign that signifies the painting is complete. The digital photograph plays much the same role. Once again, it functions in much the same way as the artist’s signature in that it denotes that the artist is happy with the result and the scene looks as it should. One of the more provocative questions that this pushes to the fore of our investigation, is, then, what if the piece is altered or removed from the context in which it was created for any reason whatsoever? SLIDE]. Extracted from the broader landscape that plays such a pivotal role in its interpretation and meaning. Does it continue to be a Banksy for instance? And I think there’s a very good argument that it does not. Doesn’t the digital photograph of the work – in the place where the artist created it and inclusive of the elements so pivotal to its meaning – more accurately represent the artwork than the ‘salvaged’ (or preserved) work [SLIDE] when it’s placed in the white cube ofa gallery? And I think the answer is, yes, yes it does. If this is the case, then, the photograph serves not only as the signature of the artist, but because f the ephemeral nature of the work and the resolute importance of the surroundings to it’s meaning also as a work of art itself – albeit one that reciprocally depends on spray paint to be completed. As mentioned earlier, in these instances, the street artist can be equally considered a digital artist, albeit a digital artist that goes to great lengths and puts him/herself at great personal risk in the preparation of their compositions. This piece [SLIDE] was placed inside the perimeter of the dilapidated and abandoned confines of a Packard Assembly plant – a 3-and-a-half illion square foot ruin [SLIDE] on the south east side of metro Detroit. To be honest, and in my opinion, the piece itself isn’t one of Banksys best [SLIDE]. It is, however, notable because it makes specific and pointed reference to the very particular and exact location in which it was created. It is, much like a lot of his more recent work, heavily context dependent. â€Å"l remember when all this was trees. † And it is this this’ [SLIDE] that I think distinguishes this piece. At the end of the process of filling in the stencil, and writing the phrase, Banksy metaphorically signs the piece by taking a hotograph of it. And he takes the photograph of the piece as he wanted it to look – knowing full well that it will probably disappear in the near term. The stencil itself is frame left, [SLIDE] with the ruins occupying frame right, inviting the viewer of the photograph to complete the story the boy is telling by following the implicit directions offered in the word bubble. This is how Banksy wanted us to see the piece. This is he wanted it interpreted. The location and the broader context in which it is placed is, in fact, as important (or more so) than the image of the boy himself. This photograph, then, is a more accurate representation of the artwork in the way the artist created it than the actual piece that is now housed in a Gallery in South West Detroit. The only thing that marks the place of the original – in January of 2012 at least [SLIDE] – this too has probably changed – is an odd tangle of colourful fabric whose origins and purpose are impossible to verify – other than the fact that they are placed at the exact location where the piece was once located. Completely extracted [SLIDE] from the context that constitutes an incredibly important part of the canvas’ itself, the meaning of the piece as the artist intended it, no longer makes sense. Or perhaps, and rather, it still makes sense, but the sense that is now being made is not that intended by its creator, but, rather, by those persons who ‘saved’ it from its eventual destruction†¦ or by somewhat obsessed academics like myself. Therefore, by moving the piece and extracting it from the place that is part and parcel of itself – that plays such an important role in the work – those individuals that preserved it, or saved a relatively small portion of the piece, did so by means of destroying the larger piece which might include the 3. million square feet that constitute the abandoned factorys footprint. In the absence of these 3. 5 million square feet, we no longer have a piece of street art by Banksy, but a roughly 7†² x 7†² corner of a piece that forms part of a much larger work of art. The fact that the photograph is also a poor representation of these 3-and-a-half million square feet is something I’m still thinking through†¦ To concluders however, and completely omitting from consideration any conversation regarding the ephemeral nature of street art in relation to Benjamin’s notion of the ‘aura’ as it relates to works of art that o longer in exist, something I’m going to take up in my book†¦ s a result of the ephemeral nature of street art and the fact that the urban canvas is part and parcel of the artwork itself†¦ I would like to conclude by reiterating that as much as street artist’s can be thought of as artists that work within (and with! ) the very concrete confines and materials of the urban fabric, they ca n also, and perhaps better, be thought of as digital artists that go to great lengths in the preparation of their compositions. Thank you so much for your time and attention today. YouVe no idea how much I appreciate them both. How to cite Banksy’s Artwork in Detroit, Papers

The Philippine Education System free essay sample

The education system of the country includes formal and non-formal education. Compared to other Asian countries, the  Philippine education  system differs in a number of ways. Secondary education The second level, secondary education, corresponds to four years of high school for age group of 12to 15, the prerequisite of  which is completion of elementary education. Higher education The third level is tertiary or higher education where a student enters at age 16. Higher educationconsists of collegiate, master’s and doctorate degree programs in various  fields or disciplines including the  post-secondary schooling leading to one-, two-  or three-year non-degree technical or vocational courses. As of 1998, there are 46,654 schools in all levels, of which, 85 percent is public (see Table  1).Of the38,774 elementary schools, 92 percent is public. In the secondary level, of the 6,598 schools, 60 percent is public. And of  the 1,282 higher education institutions, 20 percent is public. Enrolment statistics for all levels are shown in Table  2. 2. 2  Non-formal  education Non-formal education is an organized learning activity aimed at attaining a set of objectives outside the established formal system intended for a particular clientele, especially the out-of-school youth or adult illiterates who cannot avail themselves of formal education. We will write a custom essay sample on The Philippine Education System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The attainment of empowered and globally  competitive Filipinos shall be ensured through: 1)  provision of  undergraduate and graduate education which meet international standards of quality  and excellence; 2) generation and diffusion of knowledge in the  broad range of disciplines relevant and  responsive to the dynamically changing domestic and international environment; 3) broaden the access of  deserving and qualified Filipinos to  higher education opportunities; and  4) optimization of social, institutional, and individual returns and benefits derived from the utilization of  higher education resources. 3. 1  Coordination  of the  higher education  system Previously, the administration, supervision and regulation of higher education rests on  the Department of  Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) through its Bureau of  Higher Education.

External Factor Are Affecting the Ecosystems free essay sample

The word ecosystem refers to the combined physical and biological components of an environment; these organisms form complex sets of relationships and function as a unit as they interact with their physical environment. Ecosystems are constantly changing naturally, and they’ve got a specific and stable climax, equilibrium. Living as well as non-living factors may have an impact in an ecosystem such as the impact of humans in ecosystems by hunting, fishing, agriculture etc. r climate change may affect an ecosystem and dare it to adapt to the conditions. Will human’s activity affect the equilibrium of the arctic wolves ecosystem? Equilibrium refers to balance, so†¦ will human’s activities affect the balance of the physical and biological components of the tundra? Human activities, which affect the arctic wolf’s ecosystem, the tundra, are pollution, chemical contamination and overdevelopment. All of them are harmful to the ecosystem. Pollution affects in directly the tundra, habitat of the Arctic wolf. We will write a custom essay sample on External Factor Are Affecting the Ecosystems or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Pollution leads to Global Warming and this affect the global temperature, as a result ice melts and the tundra is affected because its an ecosystem nearly made up on ice, so eventually the ecosystem would be endangered and also the species that are contained in the ecosystem. Lately, thousands of â€Å"green† organizations have been generated to promote the green habits and to try to reduce pollution worldwide, reducing also the vulnerability of the tundra biome. Their projects consist in reducing wastes of any kind of energy source and saving any resource we get. This will involve social aspects also in the way that our society must take part and have an impact into world pollution, which will finally affect the tundra ecosystem; it has lately become popular to be ecofriendly. This ecologic movement has also affected the fashion industry which lately looks for looks with more pure materials, not much synthetic ones, also they’ve preferred clothing with pure cotton, even not only the materials of clothing are involved but the message in the clothing’s have taken a very special impact in the society. Hunting, affects directly and indirectly to the ecosystem of the Arctic wolf, it affects the interaction of living organisms by hunting the animals. The overhunting of species such as the musk ox and caribou in Alaska and North America were even near of extinction. This would create unsustainability on the ecosystem because there would not be equilibrium in the food chain and all the animals that have any relationship with the specie would me affected by don’t having a predator or a prey. Hunting in the tundra has had a very negative effect because important species suck as the musk ox have nearly got to extinction. By 1950, herds in North America were reduced by ninety percent, so this made the American population realize what was really going on in their country. They were loosing biodiversity and so laws were created to protect animals. This had an economic impact, because musk ox’s (prey of the arctic wolf) leather was part of the market so it has also a social impact, not only from for hunters but for the fashion industry which had a relation with musk ox’s fur and leather. Chemical contamination also affects the Arctic Wolf’s ecosystem. Lately, Petroleum and Coal or Natural Gas, Iron, Lead or Zinc mines and mineral exploration and exploitation and extraction are increasing worldwide especially in the Arctic. The development affects the Caribou, which are one of the main species present in the Arctic wolf habitat. Overdevelopment indicates to the building of roads and buildings in the tundra, this lead to more circulation. Fragile tundra areas of plants are taken out for the creation of these roads. Without plants to give nutrients to the soil, earth will stop being rich and will abolish the community of flora in the tundra. After discussing all the direct and indirect human impact in the environment, hunting, chemical contamination and overdevelopment are certainly harmful for the ecosystem. These activities attempt to the balance of the ecosystem by attempting against the living organisms that live in the tundra, ecosystem of the arctic wolf and by attempting against the non-living factors in the ecosystem such as climate. Even tough there are solutions for these activities to reduce or to stop, they are not completely efficient. In my opinion after all my investigation, apart from the pollution affecting indirectly to the tundra, the other activities are not a major concern for the arctic wolf’s ecosystem. As seen, human activities impact in the arctic wolf’s ecosystem is not positive (although they don’t damage much the tundra) toward the ecosystem. My final conclusion will be that external factors are definitely against the equilibrium of the arctic wolf’s ecosystem.

Stand and Deliver Essay Example

Stand and Deliver Essay Example Stand and Deliver Essay Stand and Deliver Essay The movie Stand and Deliver was inspired by a true story. The fact that It Is realistic, further Initiates the possibility of improving at something, which I think was the mall point of this movie. The movie started with the East of Los Angles Scene, things werent pretty. Crime and corruption was obviously rampant and emphasized. Children were not properly equipped with education, and were prone to live a life of obscenity if the areas education system was not improved. This particular person with the thick glasses; Jaime Escalate, wanted to make a change, he was completely determined to change the system and challenge the students to a higher level of achievement. And after trials and even a heart attack he had managed to succeed expectations. I think that this show was another testimony of the saying said by Napoleon Bonaparte The only limitations you have, are those you acknowledge. I think that If you balance motivation, determination, hard work and a little luck, you an achieve anything. Although the movie was a bit old, the Ideas never get old to me. Apart from the stories lesson, the click © part of the whole scene of what was happening came across to me as cheesy. The thick accents were also a hindrance to understand the movie; I Just wished It had subtitles. Also the filming was mediocre, low quality. The making of the movie was not that impressive but the story was. This in my opinion, are one of those movies you watch intentionally not for entertainment, UT for your own personal gain. The motivating factor and the cheesy stereotypic scenes depicted add to either its deterioration or common Interest amongst viewers. The ending was sort of expected, but I would be happy that it ended that way. Overall I think the movie was good in terms of substance. The movie is questionable though for people that seek more of an entertainment factor both from the quality of the movie and/ Its uniqueness among.

Sexual Deviance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Sexual Deviance - Essay Example Kraft-Ebbing in Psychopathia Sexualis regarded deviance as arising out of disease processes. Freud who used the term perversion discussed sexual aberrations in Three Essays on Sexuality and he used the term perversion. Sexual perversions are conditions in which sexual excitement or orgasm is associated with acts or imagery that are considered unusual within the culture. Paraphilias differ from what some people might consider "normal" sexual activity in that these behaviors cause significant distress or impairment in areas of life functioning. They do not refer to the normal use of sexual fantasy, activity or objects to heighten sexual excitement where there is no distress or impairment. We can enumerate these forms of sexual deviance here. They are: homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, sadomasochism (s-m), masturbation, fetishism, paedophilia (pedophilia), voyeurism, exhibitionism, transvestism, zoophilia and other paraphilias. There are a lot of these listed in books and encyclopedias, but we have listed some of the common ones. Paraphilias include fantasies, behaviors, and/or urges which involve human and nonhuman sexual objects, such as shoes or undergarments, some requiring suffering or humiliation of oneself or partner, and may involve children or other non-consenting partners. There are well over 40 types of paraphilias which have been identified and defined (Money, 1986). Only eight of them are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1987), where the remainder are subsumed under, "not otherwise specified." Given the socio-cultural-religious-political climate, some paraphilias are legally considered to be sex crimes which are punishable by law. In legal codes, crimes against nature and affronts to socially acceptable sexual behavior are criminalized and are regarded as sex offenses. These crimes have included statutory rape, violent rape, child molesting, exhibitionism, voyeurism and incest. Common forms of Sexual Deviance A. Masturbation Technically, masturbation is not a deviation because it is a majority activity and its portrayal as a perversion pathologizes most of the human population from their teens onwards. It is very likely that the people who performed this characterization were pathologizing themselves. Some works, such as that by Kinsey, indicate that virtually all males masturbate during adolescence, being in the region of 95% to 98%. This is to say that among males masturbation is statistically more normal than heterosexuality. There are some revelations about so-called shared masturbatory experiences, involving two or more young males. Masturbation is less common among women, with an incidence of about 60%. Many mammals engage in self-stimulation of the

The bible and Quran common teaching about voilence and faith Essay

The bible and Quran common teaching about voilence and faith - Essay Example From Arabia and Persia: The World of Islam and the Near East: The Spread of Christianity written in the Bedford Anthology of World Literature, it talks about the history of how Islam, the youngest religion, and Christianity, was established and formed. In the deserts of Arabian Peninsula during the seventh century, a prophet named Muhammad, at the age of 30 while he was in a cave, believed to have received a calling from Allah, the Islamic name of God, and that he was the last of the prophets. From then on, he began to preach and share Allah’s revelations presented to Muhammad to the rest of the world. The revelations, said to be the precise words of Allah himself is preserved in its text called the Qur’an. Muslims practice the teachings in it, including the Five Pillars such as fasting and alms-giving, and other practices such as Jihad, also known as struggle. Christianity, on the other hand, was created roughly 30 A.D. All its teachings and the practices done by Chris tians are based on Jesus Christ’s life and teachings. In the Rise of Christianity, it explains and retells the spread of Christianity, starting from the Roman Empire. Jesus’ teachings are all presented in the different texts and scriptures mainly the Hebrew Bible, which talks about Jesus’ birth, his life including his death and resurrection. Its main teaching is that Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah, died for the world’s sins and if anybody accepts Him as their Lord and personal Savior, they will be able to go to heaven and be with God. Christians practice worshipping and praising the Lord, praying and fasting, and baptism. Even though they are two totally and completely different religions, Christianity and Islam are considered and regarded to be the closest between all other religions in terms of their faith, beliefs as well as some of their values, sharing several similarities and likeness. The main similarity that both religions share is the monotheis tic belief in the same God. In Islam, this is shown through several verses in Islam’s most sacred book, the Qur’an. In one of the verses written, particularly in Qur’an 3:64, it says â€Å"Say, ‘O followers of the scripture, let us come to a logical agreement between us and you: that we shall not worship except GOD; that we never set up any idols besides Him, nor set up any human beings as lords beside GOD.’ If they turn away, say, ‘Bear witness that we are submitters.† And in the Holy Bible, it says in the book of first Corinthians in the New Testament, â€Å"yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.† The Qur’an and the Bible also believe in the existence and presence of angels who are the messengers of God, endlessly glorifying Him. Both holy books also tell of the same prophe ts such as Adam, the first human on Earth, Noah, Abraham whom is highly given importance to in Islam and is believed to be one of, if not the most important prophet and messenger of Allah who has followed all of the Lord’s commandments and who has overcome all the trials that God has given, Moses and Jesus, but in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God, not just a prophet in which Islam believes. The Day of Resurrection and Judgment and the belief that it is predetermined by God but unknown to anyone else in heaven and on Earth is also a common and a shared belief written in both texts.

Reading for Pleasure Importance

Reading for Pleasure Importance It is important to read as it can improve childrens language use and by reading for pleasure they can adapt to the language easily. According to Reyhene (1998) children who read for pleasure could somehow improve their language skills unconsciously and automatically. Besides that, Bignold (2003) pointed out that the reading habit could enhance or improve childrens reading skills. Therefore, the main issue of reading is that it helps to expand young peoples experiences and knowledge (Green, 2002). Children not only can expand their knowledge but they can also cultivate reading habits for lifelong learning (Pandian Ibrahim, 1997). It is usually being recommended that reading behavior should start at an early age and conducive reading environment plays an important role in order to stimulate lifelong reading (Pandian, 1997; Anderson, 1982; Winebrenner, 1971; Sanacore, 1990; Krashen, 1996). The exposure to reading for pleasure could help the children in many ways and it can increase or improve their reading achievement. Reading materials appear important for the development of reading comprehension such as reading fluency, or the ability to read text quickly and accurately (Chall, 1996; LaBerge Samuels, 1974; Stanovich, 1986), and learning many vocabulary because children are more likely to encounter new words by reading rather than from their daily conversation (Hayes Ahrens, 1988). Reading could increase childrens background knowledge that could help to assist future growth in reading comprehension (Stanovich, 2000). 2.2 TEACHERS ROLE Teachers play an important role where they could be described as the one who can instill intrinsic motivation to read among the students. Cole (1999) recommended that in order to motivate students to do pleasure reading, a teacher must be motivated to discover their students literacy personalities. Cole (1999) also talks about the role of librarian teachers who could offer the students with an enormous variety of books on various topics, levels and genre to capture the interest of students in reading. Students will have the interest to read if the librarian teachers could provide books according to the four stages of reading development such as building fluency, reading for pleasure, reading to learn and mature reading (Gillet Temple, 1994; Fong, 1997). According to Abeyrathna Zainab (2004), teachers could help inculcate the reading habit by giving students the experience of reading under guidance such as helping students to select materials based on their interests. Students are usually motivated to read by adults and take the adults as their reading model. Parents would be in the first rank, teachers would be in the second rank and librarians would be the third choice in being the students reading model (Hughes-Hassell and Lutz 2006). Most of the students are motivated to read usually because of the parental and home influences. Teachers should never take for granted that reading potential of students can happen anywhere although they come from an environment where reading is not valued (Duncan, 2010). Teachers can have strong and lasting effects on students reading attitudes and practices (Pitcher et al. 2007). Teachers must adopt an enthusiastic attitude toward reading and openly discuss their personal reading lives with students. In the class, teachers can have sharing book recommendation or just mention a recent enjoyable reading experience that could help change the perceptions and beliefs of nonreaders. The main problem is that most teach ers do not do reading for pleasure. Nathanson, Pruslow, and Levitt (2008) found that most graduate education students viewed reading as important, yet many were disinterested and did not engage in regular personal reading. Teachers cant expect students to be excited about reading if they themselves are not personally engaged in reading for pleasure (Duncan, 2010). 2.3 ROLES OF LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS This is the part where the roles of the library are being stressed and the environment of the library plays an important role. Every classroom should have a classroom library collection that can be filled from the main library collection. It is easy to access and at the same time could encourage and motivate students to read (Gniewek, 1998). The school librarians are the ones who should provide a richer collection by having latest books and knowing the students reading preferences. According to Abeyrathna Zainab (2004), students are not happy with the library collection when it comes to reading for pleasure. There were a vast differences on the books that the students need and the books that was available for them to read. It is suggested that to solve the problem, the school library should have borrowed some books from the public library for teaching and reading needs. This could help financially for the school and obtaining reading materials that students are interested in. In Thailand, a study was carried out about the roles of libraries. According to Somsong (1999), the roles of libraries, librarians and library programs play an important role in helping to stimulate and develop reading interests among students. There are lots of studies that indicated that children who are in schools that have libraries and librarians read a lot often compared to children who attended schools that have libraries but no librarians to guide them (Lance, 1994; Lance, Rodney and Hamilton-Pennell, 2000). It is important to have librarians in the library as they can help provide resources for the students regarding their reading preferences. They can help children search for the books that students prefer easily by organizing the books according to its genre which will trigger the students interest (Whelan, 2004). Reading can also be integrated with electronics such as reading e-mails and journals from the internet (Pandian, 1997). Libraries should have equipped with electronics such as computers and internet connection to provide the latest issue or information (Whelan, 2004). Librarians should renew their effort in guiding and tutoring the children for the usage of the libraries to stimulate and to promote positive attitude towards using the library for leisure reading (Chai, 1996). A warmth feeling of librarians who welcome readers to read in the library could help in stimulating students to read more. In Sri Lanka, the National Library and Documentation Service Board (NLDB) carried out a survey in 2002 and found the following situations; reading habits of students was poor due to the condition of the school libraries that was not encouraging as the book collections were old and most students read light materials such as magazines, novels, comic books and newspapers (Abeyrathna Zainab, 2004). 2.4 PARENTS ROLE Parents play an important role in order to reinforce the childs reading habit and interest (Cole, 1999). The first teacher for reading are the parents as they are the role models for their children and this apply to the interest in reading either to gain knowledge or for pleasure. According to De Medina (1976), who studied 50 families in Brazil, reading only occurred when there is a place to read at home, if the adults bought books and also if there is someone who guides the children to read often at home. There is another study which supports that home does influence reading among children. According to Kathers (1996), the study is on the children who were active in participating in extracurricular activities or have children that perform well on their reading test and have parents who were actively involved in school activities (Goldenberg, 1992). Home environment did influence ninth grade students attitude towards reading. Home environment can be included when a child is used to being read to, having a public library use, receive books as gifts, large personal and parental book collection and have subscriptions to magazines (Abeyrathna Zainab, 2004). Parents who are readers can encourage reading for pleasure among their children but it will be reduced once the child grew older (Demise, 2001). College students do not need parental encouragement as they usually read for pleasure. Besides that, they also do not need their educational status to make it as a leisure reading habits (Blackwood, 1991). Parents who create a pleasant atmosphere that fosters reading by providing space, reading materials, encouragement and example will endorse their children the love for reading (Pandian, 1997; Greaney, 1996). 2.5 ATTITUDES ABOUT READING There are two motivations that could encourage students to read for pleasure. The first one would be individuals feelings about reading. Alexander and Filler (1976) stated that the feelings of the reader can be influenced by involving themselves in reading, thus attitudes about reading should relate to individuals. The theory of information pickup suggests that perception depends completely upon information in the stimulus array rather than atmosphere that are influenced by cognition. According to Gibson, perception is an express outcome of the properties of the environment and does not engage in any form of sensory processing. Information pickup theory stresses that perception requires a lively organism. The act of perception depends upon an interaction involving the organism and the environment. All perceptions are made in reference to body position and functions (proprioception). Awareness of the environment derives from how it reacts to our movements (Gibson, 1977). The second motivation is childrens interest in reading. Researchers have looked into the interest that affects comprehension. Schiefele (1996) found that college students who were interested in the text materials used in the study understood those materials more deeply than did students who were less interested in the materials, even when the students prior knowledge of the materials and general intelligence were controlled. In studies of fifth and sixth graders, Renninger (1992) found that interest in the materials enhanced comprehension, even of materials that were quite difficult for the children (although there were some gender differences in these patterns). Thus interest in reading appears to be an important motivational variable influencing different aspects of reading performance. 2.6 REASONS STUDENTS DO NOT READ FOR PLEASURE One of the main reasons students do not read for pleasure is because of the technologies. According to Gunasekara (2002), there are three major hindrances to the promotion of reading habits. It includes preference to chat using the computer, listening to the radio and preference for television viewing. There are also some students who liked to read and considered themselves readers but did not take the time to read regularly or update their knowledge. This does not mean that they are reluctant to read but they gave priority to other activities such as sports, social life and school work (Abeyrathna Zainab, 2004). 2.7 ACADEMIC READING PURPOSE Most reading was done mainly for examination purposes (Abeyrathna Zainab, 2004). Students usually read to prepare for examination. A recent Malaysian survey on the reading behavior of 22,400 individuals and 6,050 households by the Ministry of Education revealed that only 20 per cent of Malaysians read regularly (Pandian, 2001). This review (New Straits Times, 29 August, 1996) further stressed that the small figure includes students who read just to pass exams. In Malaysia, the students associate reading with academic tasks and not for knowledge or pleasure most of the time (Sunday Star, May 26, 1991). By doing this, it does not enable students who can read to use the activity in a significant way for self or social development (Pandian, 1997). The main hindrance on reading for pleasure is the excessive concern of students with reading textbook for examination purposes. Students will regard reading to pursuit knowledge in preparing for the examination as the main purpose of reading and they will never realize the importance of reading for pleasure or enjoyment (Abeyrathna Zainab, 2004). 2.8 TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNICATION Public awareness has been haggard to the rising crisis of non-reading among Malaysians especially among the Malaysian students. Readership behavior here refers to reading skills and enthusiasm to read for information and leisure as well as reading practices that appoint different prints and audio-visual contents, such as newspapers, magazines, non-textbooks and informative material of various multimedia (Pandian, 2001). The cultivation of reading habits is also inclined by a series of other factors like exposure to media and computers. We live in an era where technologies are the center of everything and we tend to be occupied by it. One study investigating the media exposure among young people in the Klang Valley has observed that in a week these young people spend about 14.6 hours on television, 3.4 hours on video, 4.1 hours on computer, 16.3 hours on radio, 7.11 hours on newspapers and 4.7 hours on books and comics (The Star, May 8, 1997). The above findings advocate that the visu al representation is becoming arguably more significant than the printed word (Pandian Ibrahim, 1997). This proves that Malaysians spend more time on technologies rather than having the printed materials to read. Reading reluctance happens when a generation who can read chooses not to read. This situation can lead to generating more reluctant readers. The term reluctant readers refer to the people who can read but do not read. The focus on reading is critical given the growth of communications technology and the adjustment of reality we tackle in modern societies. In order to make reading more meaningful, it is important for young people to learn not only to read but nurture reading behavior for lifelong learning. There are many new forms of reading texts such as mass and multimedia but it does not ensure if communication technology will be used to sustain students reading for pleasure and lifelong learning (Pandian, 2001). 2.9 READING MATERIALS PREFERRED BY STUDENTS Easy access to books could promote or encourage students to read more. In an article of a magazine by Duncan (2010), it is suggested that every classroom should have a library where the books are filled with high-interest reading materials that students would love to read. Books that are easily accessible are most likely to be read by students when they do not have anything to do. Lots of researches have been done on the most important role which is the home environment itself that could promote and create lifelong readers but for students who could not afford to buy any reading materials, the classroom library must provide many reading materials that could be easily accessed. It can also help to promote positive reading attitudes and help the students to improve their reading performance (Young Moss 2006). Teachers are the ones who will be in charge of picking the texts that are popular among students. Teachers should not limit the students reading by only providing books they feel students should be reading. Teachers need to widen the concept of reading materials and also supply books with a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books (Duncan, 2010). Comics, series books, magazines and other materials not traditionally read in school should be considered (Lesesne, 2003). Students who are intimidated by books, magazines and comics might be interested in reading as it offers a comfortable and risk-free reading experience (Duncan, 2010).