Culture and Society Articles

Culture and Society | By John Bisnar @ Wednesday, 15th October 2008 @ 6:25 AM

Chico is not only the most populated city in Butte County, with 84,396 people living within the city limits, but it is also the home to the most bike accidents in the region. In 2006, there were 57 bike accidents in Butte County, with Chico accounting for 27 of them. While it may seem shocking that Chico accounts for 47% of the county's bike accidents, its population makes up 42% of Butte County's total. In order to avoid bike accidents in Chico and the rest of Butte Co... more...

Culture and Society | By Mitch Endick @ Wednesday, 15th October 2008 @ 12:20 AM

During over one hundred years of watch making history, the name Rolex has become synonymous with craftsmanship and style. Rolex is probably one of them most recognizable brand names in history and is well known throughout the world. These watches are among some of most popular and sought after watches, prized by prince and pauper alike. As a result of this enormous cultural popularity, the Rolex name has long been the target of those seeking to capitalize on this famous brand by flooding ... more...

Culture and Society | By Alan Biron @ Wednesday, 15th October 2008 @ 12:04 AM

Shooting games are a subgenre of action game because shooting game make up the majority of action games, it is a fairly wide subgenre. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun or some other long-range weapon. Most shooting games are played as solo ventures, several offer the players the opportunity to control a squad of characters, usually directly controlling one, and gi... more...

Culture and Society | By Alan Biron @ Wednesday, 15th October 2008 @ 12:00 AM

According to Patrick Masell, recently the media has bombarded Americans with images and stories concerning a popular and morally corrupt video game called "Grand Theft Auto." GTA 3 and its sequel GTA: Vice City has sparked record sales as well as protests and news reports across the globe. Most of these reports and protests question the game's graphic content and the effects it may have on its audience, especially teenagers. However, GTA was not the first series of vi... more...

Culture and Society | By Alan Biron @ Tuesday, 14th October 2008 @ 11:55 PM

Perhaps the most unforgettable video game character ever created is Mario, of the Super Mario Bros. series featured on Nintendo consoles for the last twenty-five years. Mario is now considered a pop culture mainstay because of his rich history of being the main character in Mario games. I began playing Super Mario games when I was very young. The first installment was released a few years before I was born, actually, but I was given my first console, along with the original "... more...

Culture and Society | By Ann Knapp @ Tuesday, 14th October 2008 @ 5:04 PM

Many cigar smokers know that their chosen indulgence was once, for many Native American groups, part of religious ceremonies. But do they also know that as late as 1586, one British scientist was so taken with the mind- and feeling-altering powers of tobacco as to call it a "holy smoke"? Visitors to the so-called "New World" noted the use of tobacco almost immediately - in fact as early as Christopher Columbus's first voyage of 1492. Two of his sailors, Rodrigo de Xer... more...

Culture and Society | By Ann Knapp @ Tuesday, 14th October 2008 @ 5:03 PM

Anyone who knows the history of cigars knows that Columbus, so influential elsewhere, had his role to play here as well. The journey in which Columbus, for European purposes, "discovered" the American continent is also the one in which Europeans discovered the joys of smoking. The basic story is well known, now that Bartolomeo de Las Casas's redaction of Columbus's journal has been published and made available to scholars. On October 28, 1492, two of the sailors on Colum... more...

Culture and Society | By Mitch Endick @ Tuesday, 14th October 2008 @ 1:24 PM

For a number of years before the wrist watch became a common sight, the standard for personal timekeeping was the pocket watch. Pocket watches are said to have originated in Germany towards around the end of the fifteenth century. The design of early pocket watches was patterned after the clock designs of the day. What made pocket watches different from clocks was the mechanism used to drive the watch, which used a balance wheel, hairspring and a mainspring. The clocks of the time relied ... more...

Culture and Society | By John Bisnar @ Tuesday, 14th October 2008 @ 7:27 AM

Many of us remember the TV Shows The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, but most of us had no idea how close we would come to rebuilding our human bodies in the 21st century. Inventions and advances in medical technology have given so many a 'second chance' at life. But, many times there may be a price to pay, as in the case of Shelhigh. Shelhigh is known for producing some of the best and most lauded medical devices available for the last ten years, but problems with... more...

Culture and Society | By Thomas Pretty @ Tuesday, 14th October 2008 @ 2:36 AM

Stansted airport is currently the fourth busiest in the country, although if the proposed development plans go ahead it is likely that this position will be improved. Any development is likely to include an expansion of accompanying services such as shops, car hire desks, and eateries as these are all an efficient method for Stansted Airport to earn extra revenue. The expansion of the site however is not without its critics, as Stansted Airport sits in one of the most beautiful rural set... more...

Culture and Society | By Art Gib @ Monday, 13th October 2008 @ 9:28 PM

Greeting cards are folded cards featuring a greeting message or sentiment. Getting appropriate cards has become rather easy today. Thanks to the internet, people can now source these cards from wherever they are. Many websites present different kinds of printable cards at no cost. Buyers can even personalize cards by adding pictures and personal messages before printing. There is a broad assortment of greetings cards on the market. With the ever-increasing use of the cards, makers and de... more...

Culture and Society | By Luana Pershing @ Monday, 13th October 2008 @ 3:56 PM

As we all know, libraries are the stockroom of knowledge. It is the vault of every record made and noted of human existence, achievements and looming future. But what if the movie The Day After Tomorrow became a reality? The movie is an apocalyptic science fiction on the possible effects of global warming and cooling. The polar ice melts and disrupts the North Atlantic current, causing unforeseen hurricanes and flash floods that lasted for months. Let's end the story at that. ... more...

Culture and Society | By Aydan Corkern @ Monday, 13th October 2008 @ 2:02 PM

Are you one of the millions of people who love to read the ragtag magazines that supply the supposed latest scoop on all of the celebrities that are famous enough to grace the covers? If you are then you are adding to the absolute distress of many of these famous folks. Of course, there are some truths in some of the stories that are published by the tabloid magazines, but exactly how much of what you see and read is true and how much of it is absolute fiction? People spend millions of do... more...

Culture and Society | By Christine OKelly @ Monday, 13th October 2008 @ 1:02 PM

Having a need for safety garments means you will need to make a choice between using protective shirts and pants or a one-piece coverall. Safety should always be the main concern. From there, however, it depends on your personal preferences, cost, and practicality. The reality is that both suits and separates are effective, but it really depends on your particular situation. Which Option Will Keep You Safe? Both choices come in a variety of different fabrics making them suitable fo... more...

Culture and Society | By Thomas Pretty @ Sunday, 12th October 2008 @ 8:36 AM

The number of British people undertaking the emigration process to enter New Zealand is steadily growing. Understandably the benefits of making the move down under are there, an excellent climate, outstanding natural beauty and a brilliant way of life are just some of these benefits. In addition, the government of New Zealand actually encourages emigration by putting in place procedures that allow skilled migrants easier access to the country. These policies seem to be successful, especially whe... more...

Culture and Society | By Thomas Pretty @ Saturday, 11th October 2008 @ 9:48 PM

Printing has been an important part of the development of the human race that has allowed the spreading of ideas and theories. It was especially important during the seventeenth century where religious reformers regularly printed material that was viewed by authorities as illegal and in some cases treasonous. This was the first time when people had the power to print their ideas even though the printing press was still a rarity in the early modern world. Today the situation is wholly different w... more...

Culture and Society | By Shaun Parker @ Saturday, 11th October 2008 @ 4:35 PM

There is no denying, there is something to be said for the work uniforms of the emergency services. For all but the lowest of the yobs that hang about street corners at night, the work uniform of an emergency service is a welcome beacon of light. When you are involved in an accident, or witness an accident, it feels like an age after the emergency services have been called before you see them screaming up with lights a-blazing and fluorescent jackets shining. But once you see them, don�... more...

Culture and Society | By Ann Knapp @ Saturday, 11th October 2008 @ 12:46 AM

The history of technology is littered with those ideas that didn't quite make it. HD-DVD got beaten out by Blu-Ray last year, just as DVD has, with time, supplanted VHS tapes like a better-equipped predator hunting another species to extinction. VHS once did the same for Beta, laserdisc, and those record-shaped visual disks of the early 1980s. Flip phones got picked over brick phones (in other countries, the reverse has been true). And the mini-disc failed to beat out the CD, despite its sm... more...

Culture and Society | By Jim Rowland @ Friday, 10th October 2008 @ 5:46 PM

Amongst the glitter and glamour, the stalwart rain umbrella has made more than one cameo in many a star-studded Hollywood extravaganza. Rain umbrellas have been used in countless romantic scenes to protect couples from perfectly choreographed downpours. Interestingly, umbrellas have just as often been used as poisonous weapons in many films. Often carried by covert spies, the deadly device disguised as raingear can be cleverly used on an unsuspecting victim. Of course, who can forget the... more...

Culture and Society | By Shaun Parker @ Friday, 10th October 2008 @ 12:12 PM

There is no denying, there is something to be said for the work uniforms of the emergency services. For all but the lowest of the yobs that hang about street corners at night, the work uniform of an emergency service is a welcome beacon of light. When you are involved in an accident, or witness an accident, it feels like an age after the emergency services have been called before you see them screaming up with lights a-blazing and fluorescent jackets shining. But once you see them, don�... more...