Chinese media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chinese media - Essay Example The same could be said of China, a country in which activism is viewed as illegal and an act against the values shared by the government. However, the presence and availability of media activism has increased the country’s ability to take part in activism. With a massive population, media activism in China has provided a platform for communication for many people gagged from taking part in conventional activism processes (Wallis 410). Specifically, people in China have been cited as one of the greatest consumers of media activism in a country where freedom is not viewed as a democratic right. Media activism in China may be defined from two contrasting perspectives. There is the government and society definition of media activism. For the Chinese government, media activism is only legal where the users use the available technologies in communication to cite the positive features of the government. For instance, media houses in China are licensed to provide information as specified by the government. This form of media activism does not allow for criticism of highlighting of the errors by the governing body. The definition also covers providing information on the acts of the government depicting change, control, superiority and just (Yang 54). The social definition of media activism in China is the completely opposite of the stated definition. The definition mainly focuses on highlighting the need of change. Considering that the conventional media in China has no power to provide voice to the citizens, other media sources are relied upon to voice the frustrations on the government. Media activism from the people is defined as act by which the society is provided with an opportunity to challenge the existing non-democratic rule of law. China is highly defined by a rule of law inconsiderate of the rights of people. Problems in the nation can only be headlined

Criminal Trends Essay Example for Free

Criminal Trends Essay There is no question that crime has had and continues to hinder society. The criminal justice system is an intricate part of society and is essential that this system remains capable of adequately dealing with the latest crime trends. It was the establishment of the consistency with the Social Commission that the number or crimes should become a priority so that the facts and statistics developed can be readily available for use. When the first crimes were recorded over 60 years ago there findings showed crime trends in larceny, physical assaults, and homicide. As time progressed into today the studies conducted show an increase and broader concept to include organized crime from the mafias, organized crime involving gangs, trafficking of illegal drugs, and the illegal trafficking of humans. The interface between components of the criminal justice system and criminal justice connections with surrounding society is always changing. There are many components that affect society and criminal justice system. Components such as the increase of juvenile crimes, gun control, technology, and legalization of drugs, terrorism, and the list can continue. The two main components that have the largest effect from society to the criminal justice system are going to the increasing advancement of technology and the newly risen debate of gun control. These two components have the largest impact on society and the criminal justice system. Past trends that affected the criminal justice system: Society and the criminal justice system had their share of crime during the past. The crime that was handled during this time was difficult as it is today when something new occurs and has to be handled. Years ago there was not the forensics capabilities or the technology that we have today to solve murders and other crimes. The technological devices and advances that are available today were not present; therefore, requiring society and the criminal justice system do the best they each could do. The criminal justice system and its many agencies did not have bullet proof vests, GPS search systems, DNA/forensics, computers, Internet, biometric imagery, database information centers, telephones, walkie-talkies, and the list continues. Depending on how deep in the past things is observed or studied the criminal justice system and society had a different relationship than what is found today between the two. Society was not as quick to get involved with matters that did not concern them or their families; however, society had more of a hardcore respect for the criminal justice system especially, law enforcement. Technology is not the only component that affects the criminal justice system and society, gun laws and rights do so as well. In 1787, under The Bill of Rights in the second amendment was established allowing the American citizens to the â€Å"right to keep and bear arms† (Lee, 2012). Gun Control issues that are prevalent today were not seen as issues in the past and possibly could be seen differently in the future. There has been laws and policies created in the past that if they were not established the impact would be horrible for today’s criminal justice system. The list below complies to the past circumstances with gun control to make what society and the criminal justice system has developed recently. 1934 The National Firearms Act was established to help maintain, control, and tax firearms used during the prohibition era (Lee, 2012). * 1938 The Federal Firearms Act was established to begin the process of record keeping and acquiring a licensing for sellers (Lee, 2012). * 1968 The Gun Control Act was established to prohibit anyone from purchasing a long gun through the postal service, prohibits convicted felons, drug users, and the mental ill from obtaining the right to carry a firearm (Lee, 2012). 1990 The Crime Control Act was created to make certain areas gun-free zones, such locations that of a school area (Lee, 2012). The fact that these actions created and maintain from the past a foundation that we use today when dealing with any form of gun violence or gun requirement. In past people could carry a gun inside facilities, own whatever make or model that was present at the time, children knew how to shoot, children could carry a gun (western days); however, with the incidents that occurred developed the impact that we carry on today in society. The truth behind every act or law there is a reason to why it was created, established, and enforced. Recent and present trends that affecting the criminal justice system: According to Cetron and Davis, â€Å"the exponential rate at which technology is changing directly affecting policing today. While it offers new tools for officers, it is also providing extremely lucratively and easy means of criminal activity. † The criminal justice system and citizens are both affected by this change. Technology has progressed so rapidly over the past decade alone that criminals are committing crimes internationally, and this is making the job of law enforcement agencies even more difficult, more time consuming, and more dangerous. The criminal justice system does still have corruption from different agencies, especially the law enforcement. Today, technological advancements, and crime control relate to investigator and investigations may not significantly decrease violent crimes, only time will tell if technology advancements are hindering the criminal justice system and the privacy that Americans so desire nowadays (Muraskin, 2009). One of the most important technological creations used today is smartphones. Smartphones are equipped with cameras to take live and still shots, voice recordings, application downloads, file storage, area to link other equipment into the phone, and the list continues. The second most important technological device that has been created and used today by society and members of the criminal justice system with the different agencies is The Global Positioning System or GPS. The second trend that has taken toll recently with society and the criminal justice system and its many agencies is gun control. The horrible incident that occurred at Sandy Hook elementary school where innocent children lost their lives started a national conversation on the revision of gun control policies and acts presently in effect (Greathouse, 2013). Issues such as assault weapons bans, ammunition access, deterring the use of guns by criminals and the potentially violent, and the influence of violent media are in question because of this horrible attack. The role of law enforcement and the courts in reducing further incidents of gun violence has also been at the forefront of the h\gun violence discussion. There have been efforts to impose harsher sentences for gun crimes, producing stark difference in the federal versus state or local penalties in some areas† (Goldberger, 2008). Society has mixed emotions of the possible increments that could affect their ability to maintain their second amendment right. The main argument with most individuals in society is that guns don’t kill people, but people kill people. The possibility of divided society is strong if society loses their rights to â€Å"bear arms†, and on the other hand member of the criminal justice system who are also a part of society when off duty will have to handle the aspect of a â€Å"twin edged sword. † Future trends that will affect the criminal justice system: Attorney General Eric Holder stated, â€Å"The globalization of criminal networks and advances in technology have made international criminal organizations a significant threat to the safety and security of our nation. Preparing for the future in the criminal justice system with its many agencies and society is a hit and miss. The technology possibilities are endless. The new crimes that can occur or the possibility of terrorism happening again in this country are always strong. According to Nancy M. Ritter, â€Å" There is no question that terrorism, the growth of multicultural populations, massive migration, upheavals in age composition demographics, technological developments, and globalization in the future will affect the criminal justice system† (Ritter, 2004). Society is ever changing with the flow of the economy and the different cultures and nationalities that are present. It is a fact that we cannot control what has happened in the past, but we do have some control on what happens in the future. Society and the criminal justice system with its many agencies needs to develop an understanding and a respect for each other immediately so that when situations occur that no one in particular is involved respect for the decision and outcome are acceptable. Value of the criminal justice system in a changing society: People of society want to feel safe in our communities no matter where we are or what we are doing. There should not by any shape or form of reasoning to why individuals should not feel safe within their own homes, communities, and neighborhoods. People should be able to arise every day without having to look around and make sure if it is safe to leave their domain. Individuals should be able to walk down the street without having to look constantly over his or her shoulders in fear of harm. The relationship between the criminal justice system and society is not a complex relationship. Society is involved in many steps, policies, and procedures within the criminal justice system. Society helps with the elections of officials and also has a possible role in law making. Individuals from society help in the courtroom proceedings as well as they are members of a jury. According to Muraskin and Roberts, who states that â€Å"society is a part of the criminal justice system and its protocol such as the prevention of crime, policy making, and witnesses during court cases and jury members during courtroom proceedings. The criminal justice system is establish with law enforcement help enforce the laws of the â€Å"land† and protect the individuals in society. Society and the criminal justice system has had their differences that changed the perception and amount of respect some individuals had toward the system, but strive forward the past has to be let gone. Soceity and the criminal justice system has to work to work together to maintain a safe and stable living en vironment for everyone. The value of the criminal justice system in a changing society is irrefutable. Society would be nowhere if there was not a crimirnal justice system. If the criminals justice system did not exist, and this country would be taken over by organized crime, terrorst groups, by drugs, identity theft, prostitution, human trafficking, and the list continues. The system gives society their rights, what keeps them safe and what upholds the law. Our societies are changing daily with the increasing illegal immigrants who are located within our borders. The increaseing amount of illegal immigrants develops differences in races, cultures, beliefs, and ideology. The crimnal justice system keeps many of these things from taking over our nation and witout them there is no hope. â€Å"Predictions and visions of the furture are makred by challegnges, expectatons, advaced preparedness, and techological developments. Crminal justice professionals are encountering enormous challenes and organizational changes, Whether or not the technologically advnaced changes in criminal justice investgations and crime control will contnue to significantly reduce violent crime rates remains to be seen. But, technological and social developments as well as policy changes offer much promises for the future† (Muraskin, 2009). Conclusion: The crimes that society has had to contend within the past still hinder the criminal justice system along with the new elements of crime. Crime trends are extending beyond the border of the United States and are a challenge globally. Cybercrimes are on the rise as society becomes more dependent upon electronic data gadgets and the Internet. The criminal justice system of today is believed by many not to be capable of remaining effective without change. The current methods of dealing with criminals and their crimes are ineffective toward the current crime trends. This will require changes in the way the grand jury operates on an everyday basis. The most practical effective method for the grand jury would be to meet and discuss current crimes and punishments without an authoritarian disposition. The ongoing fact is that the criminal justice system has and will contour to change. Criminal will come up with new and clever ways to commit their crimes and the criminal justice system has to come up with ways to combat these advancements. Society will always have criminals therefore making the constant need for the criminal justice system and all the agencies involved. The criminal justice system will always be an ever evolving field within society. Society changes on a regular basis and with change from within society develops the technological needs are established. In other words, as society changes the needs that it takes to be more productive is altered to fit the present situation. The barriers that come along can affect how the criminal justice system interprets on how to control and maintain the situation. The fundamental basis of the criminal justice system is to protect and serve the community. The criminal justice system has to stay ahead of the game, especially the changes that occur in society. Crime trends may not last; therefore, receiving a fundamental explanation of how long crime trends will last is anyone’s guess because different trends have no set time frame to how long they are going last. Trends whether what nature they are come and go and other develop in another ones place. Changes over time in crime trends and patterns have significant consequences, which affect the criminal justice system as well as to the essential departments because if one were to look at â€Å"such areas as health, housing, and employment consistent trends ad patterns emerge, whereas America lacks the information and comprehensive research on crime trends† (Goldberger, 2008).

Joan of arc Essay -- Biography

Joan of Arc Through all the hardships and blood, Joan of Arc was a fierce warrior and led the French to complete victory. Starting out in a maiden village, and more of a shock for being a woman, Joan completely transform herself and France. Advancing in a year and a month, crowned a reluctant king, rallied broken people, reversed the course of a great war, and shoved history into a new path (Richey 1); Joan made a name for herself. No one can ever suppress what she achieved at such a young age. Joan of Arc (Jehanne Darc) was born January 6th, 1412 in a little village of Domremy, France. She grew up as a faithful Catholic and a sweet, respectful maiden girl. According to a prediction, a young maiden girl would save France and sure enough Joan would be that girl. Starting at age twelve, she began having visions of different Angels and hearing voices from the Saints and God himself. And with these orders, she made a sacred promise to always stay a virgin and disobeyed her father even though he warn her not to be influence by this craziness. By the time she was nineteen, she was up on trial for claims of witchcraft even though she saved France. Throughout her adventures, she inspired others and showed she was no different even though she was a girl. Throughout each situation, the voices and visions helped Joan on what she had to do. Whenever she wept and felt hopeless, they helped bring her to her feet. This encouragement build up much self confidence in Joan as a fearless leader. With this gift, Joan used it to help convince the church and the captain of Vaucouleurs, Robert de Baudricourt, she was chosen to help save France and have Dauphin Charles VII crowned King. Once given the permission, she was given armor b... ...his during WWI, her name was invoked by Allies on battlefields to pay tribute for the inspirational leader Joan became to be. Joan impacted France and the world by creating a national consciousness that never existed before and became a personality cult that embraced all who looked up to her. She made a absolute stunning moral impact to everyone, no matter if they were against the fact she has a special gift, by all her military victories and the patriotism and devotion she gave, which also helped all her soldiers believe in themselves. Joan hauled all the wrecked mess from these people in France and brought back a hopeful future and renewal embrace. Not only the battles Joan won for France and bringing alive a great King, but she will be remembered for her excellent leadership, even when she was shot down, and fighting and dying for what she stood for.

Why Hester Is A Whore :: essays research papers

Adulterous relationships always end in pain. Examples of such pain are present throughout the intricate web of time. From Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, to the media buffet of Bill Clinton, adultery leaves pain. Hester embodies this pain. Not in pity but in cause. She embodies pain. Pain of loss, suffering. The pain of adulterous relationships. The universal wronging of adultery is deserving of such pain. Even in present times, with views much lax than puritan epoch, the wrong exists in full force, and just as deserving. Nathaniel Hawthorn's "The Scarlet Letter" deals in the justice of adultery. Wronging. This simple word exemplifies all things that one could do to destroy any sort of bond between two objects. A politician wrongs a public, a teacher wrongs a student, a boss wrongs an employee. A wife wrongs a husband. Wronging is universal in its presentation. The act which juxtaposes the wrong remain unimportant, it's the simple wronging which exists most corporeal. Hester wronged. She wronged more than her husband, but deeper, she wronged herself, and because of her times she wronged her god. Wronging deserves punishment. "Before the ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a grass plot, much overgrown with burdock, pigweed, apple peru, and such unsightly nail in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society, a prison." Almost parallel to Hester's deserving of pain stands a prison. Born out of civilized society springs a prison, a home of villainy. A breading ground for the wrong. What building more deserving, a nd what woman? Hester became a prison. Holding in the wrongness of her sin. Her justice was to carry out it's sentence. "It may be less soothing than a sinless conscience. That I cannot give you." Truly spoken from Nathaniel Hawthorn's text. Hester's wronging was her cross to bear and hers alone. Much like when Christ made a walk to his own crucifixion, so must Hester, deserving, make a walk through life bearing her A shaped cross. However, religion is a rather minor reason for her rightful punishment. The feelings and morals of the time dictate right and wrong. Presently we have values and views quite different than those of Hesters period, but the wrongness of her act of adultery remain universal. Even to this day, with views much lax of those Puritans in question, her wrong remains quite acute. Why Hester Is A Whore :: essays research papers Adulterous relationships always end in pain. Examples of such pain are present throughout the intricate web of time. From Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, to the media buffet of Bill Clinton, adultery leaves pain. Hester embodies this pain. Not in pity but in cause. She embodies pain. Pain of loss, suffering. The pain of adulterous relationships. The universal wronging of adultery is deserving of such pain. Even in present times, with views much lax than puritan epoch, the wrong exists in full force, and just as deserving. Nathaniel Hawthorn's "The Scarlet Letter" deals in the justice of adultery. Wronging. This simple word exemplifies all things that one could do to destroy any sort of bond between two objects. A politician wrongs a public, a teacher wrongs a student, a boss wrongs an employee. A wife wrongs a husband. Wronging is universal in its presentation. The act which juxtaposes the wrong remain unimportant, it's the simple wronging which exists most corporeal. Hester wronged. She wronged more than her husband, but deeper, she wronged herself, and because of her times she wronged her god. Wronging deserves punishment. "Before the ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a grass plot, much overgrown with burdock, pigweed, apple peru, and such unsightly nail in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society, a prison." Almost parallel to Hester's deserving of pain stands a prison. Born out of civilized society springs a prison, a home of villainy. A breading ground for the wrong. What building more deserving, a nd what woman? Hester became a prison. Holding in the wrongness of her sin. Her justice was to carry out it's sentence. "It may be less soothing than a sinless conscience. That I cannot give you." Truly spoken from Nathaniel Hawthorn's text. Hester's wronging was her cross to bear and hers alone. Much like when Christ made a walk to his own crucifixion, so must Hester, deserving, make a walk through life bearing her A shaped cross. However, religion is a rather minor reason for her rightful punishment. The feelings and morals of the time dictate right and wrong. Presently we have values and views quite different than those of Hesters period, but the wrongness of her act of adultery remain universal. Even to this day, with views much lax of those Puritans in question, her wrong remains quite acute.

Readers Response to John Updike’s A&P Essay

In the summer of 1961 we meet Sammy. Sammy is a 19-year-old clerk at the local A&P in a small town, and one day a few girls walk in, in their bikinis. Everyone in the store either stares at them lustfully or averts their eyes uncomfortably. When the manager gets back he scolds the girls and tells them that they cannot come back in there dressed that way again. So Sammy quits. I personally enjoy this story because of the dated wordplay and the character development. John Updike fleshes out Sammy quite well. We learn that he has been working that the store for some time, and in doing so has noted many peculiarities about the people who frequent it. Having little else to do on a Thursday afternoon, he just looks around and internally judges everyone that he sees. Of an elderly woman who he is assisting at the start of the story he says, â€Å"She’s one of these cash-register-watchers, a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows, and I know it made her day to trip me up. She’d been watching cash registers for fifty years and probably never seen a mistake before. The story goes on about his observations with only a few bits of dialogue, in which one person is typically talking to someone else, with no real back and forth. I think that Updikes’ decision to keep the majority of the story in Sammy’s mind was interesting to me, and I feel as though it added a lot to the character. It was a very short story set in one place, over a period of about twenty minutes, so most of the success of the character development has to do with his inner monologue. We learn that Sammy is a bored 19 year old who is tired of his job and the predictability of the people in it. When something as unnatural as three scantily clad girls entering a supermarket in the early sixties occurs, the people in the market hardly pay attention. He believes that â€Å"you could set off dynamite in an A & P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering â€Å"Let me see, there was a third thing, began with A, asparagus, no , ah, yes, applesauce! † or whatever it is they do mutter. † Right there is a great summation for this character; dark, crude, pessimistic, and overly observant. Other than his witty wordplay, the story was lacking for me. I enjoyed reading it, but it was not the best thing that I have ever read. I feel like there could have been more, Sammy was so talkative in his own head, but then when the girls showed up he was quiet as a mouse. That makes sense for the character, but when he quit and the girls left I feel like there should have been more interaction between him and his manager, or maybe more of his inner thoughts. It is hard to pinpoint, and I would not even begin to know how to fix it, but this story falls short at the end in my opinion.

Homophobia

Homophobia among University Students The term homophobia, sometimes referred to as homonegativity and sexual prejudice, refers to an unreasonable fear, avoidance, and discrimination of homosexuals. Society has greatly changed their views on homosexuality over the years, yet homophobia still exists today. Extensive research has been conducted on homosexuality and how it affects our society. A previous study aimed at measuring homophobia examined literature on the topic since 1987.It was found that while society has seen a reduction in homophobia over the past twenty five years, discrimination still remains to be an issue (Ahmad & Bhugra, 2010). Another study was conducted at a university that examined the impact of college sexuality classes on students’ attitudes toward homosexuality. This study used a comparison group and had participants of both groups take two surveys, one at the beginning of the semester and one at the end.This study found that a sexuality curriculum can he lp to reduce homophobia by exposing students to accurate information (Rogers, McRee & Arntz, 2009). However there continues to be issues with measuring such a sensitive theme for reasons such as, measuring an attitude is difficult to do, and acquiring honest responses can also be a challenge. The present study aims at measuring homophobia among university students by asking a wide range of questions around the central theme. Methods ParticipantsParticipants were ( ) male and ( ) female undergraduate psychology students from a California university. Materials A survey was developed around six main themes. Those sixt themes were then divided among six groups, three in each lab, and each group developed five to ten questions that would measure their assigned theme, and research five to ten more questions from research articles. Seventeen questions were developed to measure homophobia. One question asked if marriage between homosexual individuals is acceptable.Another question asked whe ther homosexual couples are as qualified to raise children as heterosexual couples. Another question asked the participant if they would end a friendship upon discovering a friend was gay. Most answers were presented on a likert scale, using anchors 1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neither agree nor disagree; 4=disagree; 5=strongly disagree. 1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neither agree nor disagree; 4=disagree; 5=strongly disagree. However to ensure increased reliability, some questions were deleted and replaced with new ones and the survey was administered a second time.Procedure The survey was posted on psychsurveys. org for three days. Participants were emailed a link to access to and complete the survey. After the survey was complete, a reliability analysis was done, and some of the questions were replaced with new ones. Participants then had another three days to log back into the survey and re-take it. Results Discussion In order to increase this scale’s reliability, a larger survey should be used in the future to assess homophobia, with more in depth questions about feelings and attitudes around homophobia.Directly asking participants whether or not they are homophobic would create a floor effect because it is unlikely that anyone would identify themselves as homophobic. Instead, many carefully thought out questions should be used. Developing questions to assess a feeling like homophobia is a difficult task. Questions need to be worded in such a precise way as to not lead the participant into answering untruthfully. Questions need to be neutral so that the participant does not feel pressured to answer a certain way.In addition, the answer format was not ideal for all questions in the homophobia section of the survey. Answers were mostly reported on a likert scale for statistical purposes, while open-ended responses may have been more insightful. Furthermore, the sample used in the current study was all college students from California. Had this survey been administered to non-students from a more conservative state, or at a religious gathering, the results that were obtained may have been greatly different. Conclusion ReferencesMcCann, P. D. , Minichiello, V. , & Plummer, D. (2009). Is homophobia inevitable? : Evidence that explores the constructed nature of homophobia, and the techniques through which men unlearn it. Journal of Sociology, 45(2), 201-220. Retrieved from http://jos. sagepub. com. libproxy. csun. edu/content/45/2/201. full. pdf html (McCann, Minichiello & Plummer, 2009) Ahmad, S. , & Bhugra, D. (2010). Homophobia: An updated review of the literature. Sexual and relationship therapy, 25(4), 447-455. Retrieved from http://web. bscohost. com. libproxy. csun. edu/ehost/detail? [email  protected]&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ== (Ahmad & Bhugra, 2010) Rogers, A. , McRee, N. , & Arntz, D. (2009). Using a college human sexuality course to combat homophobia. Sex education, 9(3), 211–225. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. libproxy. csun. edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? [email  protected]&vid=1&hid=122 (Rogers, McRee & Arntz, 2009)

Contributing Factors to Low Performing Students

Contributing Factors to Low Performing Students In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts major in Guidance and Counseling CHAPTER 1 Introduction Students are facing with many issues in their lives, and because of the competing things for your attention, it’s hard to concentrate on studying. Studying can seem very boring when compared to any other exciting activity. You may even prefer doing non-sense things rather than to study your lessons.Too many people treat studying as the thing to do when you get around to it or have some spare time, too many people look at studying as necessary task, not an enjoyment or an opportunity to learn. ( Grohol, 2006 ) Studying is important in our lives, especially to the lives of the students. Each student as unique individual has different abilities, approaches, ways of thinking, interests and ways of studying the lessons. These individual differences have significant influences on ones learning style and acqui sition.Each student has different methods and ways of studying and these methods are sometimes helpful but some are not as effective as the others. (Oppapers, 2010) http://www. termpaperwarehouse. com/essay-on/Study-Habits-Chapter-1/82775 Students’ low performance in school is not without consequences to either the students themselves or the school system. Problems like difficulty of adjustment to school works, distance of parents, rebellion against authority, feeling of basic inferiority and financial difficulty are often manifested by underachievement in school.However, these variables have contributed to the success or failure in the four year stay in high school but are perceived in different perspectives by the individual learners (Soberano, 2000). Bar-On and Parker (2000) stated that the school is a social environment with many demands on social competence. The young people who fail to get along with their peers in the classroom are likely to be perceived as distractibl e or even disruptive, thus affecting their performance and progress in school.Family relationship is considered to be an important factor in student life. Schneiders indicate that from the very start it is the family and particularly the parents, who ensure the satisfaction of basic physical and psychological needs on the basis of which intense and lasting ties are ordinarily established. The close affinity between youth and the home has significant implications for personality development. As the evidence indicates, the personality development of teen-agers is to an important degree a measure of home and family influences.As pointed by Franken (Batingal, 2007), â€Å"children growing up in a positive family atmosphere, whose parents are involved in their schooling tend to develop better self-regulation and also do better in school. † However, irresponsible, unstable job of parents and lack of financial and moral support to their siblings has resulted the student’s low esteem, less motivated in their school performance. Moreover, expertise of knowledge of the teachers in his field of studies and effective classroom management plays a significant factor of the student’s academic performance and achievements.Since given the best teacher in terms of knowledge ability and potentials, if he lacks the ability to control his students in the classroom, teaching cannot be effective and thus, no learning will take place (Acero, Javier, and Castro, 2007). Individual characteristics such as age, sex, and parents’ educational attainment are important factors in achieving better education outcomes. Adolescents encounter varied obstacles during their entire school life. Academic performance is affected by the characteristics of the learner’s environment.One of which is, living environment, whether one lives in the home or in the lodging/boarding house show an effect on the academic performance of students. Graceda (Soberano, 2000) discusses that the impact of the types of residential arrangement and some important factors, like I. Q. , parents’ relationships and socio-economic status of the family correlate in each residential arrangement indicates lower academic performance. On the other hand, adolescent peers also affect how well and how much they learn. Peers provide models that can encourage or discourage learning. However, by and large, peers have harmful effect on grades.Over half the students’ surveyed said that they did not talk about school work with their friends. In fact, merely 1 in 5 said he or she did not do as well as possible for fear or earning the disapproval of peers (Rathus, 2001). The major findings of the study from National Center for Education Statistics, compared with students with friends who showed little interest in learning, those with friends who cared about learning had better educational outcomes–they were less likely to drop out of school and more likely to be enro lled in an academic program, graduate from high school, and continue their education after graduating.On the other hand, students with friends who were interested in having sex, drinking, and using drugs experienced less desirable educational outcomes. These students experienced a higher rate of dropping out of school and a lower rate of being enrolled in academic programs, graduating from high school, and pursuing postsecondary education (nces. ed. gov).