Technology and the Future of Pornography

Technology and the Future of Pornography Pornography and the Internet: A Healthy Marriage To say that pornography is a profitable industry is to terribly understate reality. Though it does not have it’s own NAICS ‘code’, estimates of the extent to which sex sells range from at least $1 billion to up to $50 billion dollars annually (Byers 2004, p. 6; Cronin Davenport 2001, p. 38; Davidson 2003, p. 92; Murray 2004, p. 9; Simpson 2003, p. 1). Clearly, the estimates are wide ranging, due in large part to the lack of formal reporting methods for such occupations as â€Å"prostitute† and â€Å"exotic dancer† while adult bookstores may, from an industry accounting perspective, may simply be viewed as a â€Å"bookstore†. In addition, it is important to note that the pornography pseudo-industry is not just a multi-billion dollar force, it is a growing industry. Market Overview The principal reason for its recent explosive growth is in many ways similar to reason for pornography’s first â€Å"boom†, the invention of the printing press. The press permitted wide scale distribution and subsequent access of not just Bibles and books but other ‘subjects of interest’ which allowed the public’s latent desires to be aroused. In more recent times, the internet represents the application of disruptive technology in that it is a form of distribution that, especially for pornography, presents additional advantages over the pornography of yesterday with regards to a distribution that is an order of magnitude larger than the press is capable (Davidson 2003, p. 91). Pornography that is online represents a significant portion of the broader category of pornography in general which also includes print, television and music media. This category in turn is part of an even larger segment of â€Å"sex† which further encompasses adult clu bs, escort services and other products and services that are estimated to contribute the almost half a trillion dollar global industry. Of this, though estimates are difficult due to the nature of the industry, analysts suggested in 1999 that between $2-2.5 billion is from online sources, a figure which constitutes perhaps  ½ of all online revenues (Cronin Davenport 2003, p. 38; Byers 2004, pp. 6-7, Thompson 2005, p. 32). Concurrent with the growth in revenue is the proliferation of a pornographic web content which witnessed an eightfold (8x) growth between 2001 and 2005 (Thompson 2005, p. 32). One net effect of this is an overall industry is that it is both an attractive industry with regards to margins yet is highly competitive and fragmented. In further consideration of the industry, the following analysis is presented: Strengths – Pornography is perhaps as recession-proof an industry as the funeral home business. The product is backed by a millennia of biological imperative and fueled by a never-ending thirst for satisfaction and pleasure. When enabled by ubiquitous internet technology, it is easier to access and this access breeds familiarity which in turn creates a creeping social acceptance. Weaknesses – Clearly pornography is not ‘embraced’ by society as a whole. While there is evidence that its consumption may lead to a host of social ills such as violence or exploitation of children, this industry faces a stigma greater than industries such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling or firearms. Opportunities – Though there are some signs that, in its current iteration, the industry is maturing (Cronin Davenport 2001, p. 45). Despite this, there should be little doubt that, â€Å"†¦the digital age is porn’s golden age† (Byers 2004, p.8). Additionally, the nature of both the industry and the technology presents a very low cost of entry to a trade for it seems there is an insatiable demand. Threats – Perhaps the greatest threat is simply negative stigma attached to pornography as being obscene, indecent, perverted, ‘dirty’ or other negative label. Though consumers are relatively assured of anonymity, there remains a fear of being discovered whether by one’s spouse, supervisor, congregation, neighbors or others. Worth mentioning is the threat of being â€Å"outlawed†. Though pornography functions under a broad interpretation of the US first amendment concerning free speech, illicit pornography still manages to flourish, especially in the age of the internet. Overall, though pornography may be a maturing industry, due in large part to the omnipresence of the internet, it is an evolving one due to the fact that 2/3 of Americans have internet access (Management Today 2005, p. 19: Thompson 2005, p. 32). Of this online activity in 2004, excluding pornography, the market for paid online content was almost $2 billion of which â€Å"personals and dating† and â€Å"entertainment lifestyles† construed approximately half (Thompson 2005, p. 32). This evolution is a consequence to the interest to facilitate the distribution anonymous, affordable and on-demand pornography. This broad distribution, while meeting an apparent pent-up consumer demand, has had the side effect of ‘decentralizing’ a formerly constrained industry. For example, whereas one previously had to venture to seedy locales that were, for the most part, geographically restricted to a certain area of town to partake of pornography, pornography is now virtuall y everywhere (Davidson 2003, p. 97). Subsequently, this decentralization has resulted in a broader acceptance manifested by both wider recognition of its existence and the ‘pushing back’ of the line of what constitutes socially acceptable â€Å"pornography†. For example, consider the 1995 release of music from convicted felon Snoop Doggy Dogg in which group and oral sex was ‘advocated’ (!). Prior to this controversial release, one might have thought that the fundamental laws of economics and the general sensibilities and tolerances of even youth would essentially squelch such ‘filth’ yet, to the surprise of many, the songs in questions hit the top of the charts and sold over 300,000 copies within weeks (Davidson 2003, p. 100). Clearly, such an example illustrates the slipping lines of what is tolerated, accepted and even embraced by society. Technology Enabled Pleasure Marketing With this degree of financial impact pornographers, regardless of perceived social virtues, there is a penultimate combination of marketing- and technology-savvy that is driven by the motivation of the obtaining just a piece of the fortunes that seemingly stand to be taken. Beginning with a virtually irresistible and attractive product, modern pornographers have been at the forefront of profitably e-commerce almost since the inception of the internet. Pornographers are widely regarded as the first and most profitable internet business models (Davidson 2003, pp. 191-192; Vinas 1996, p.11). Though they are marketing a highly desirable product, pornographers have both employed technology and been facilitated by the nature of the technology of the internet in a number of ways to enable their business. Key to facilitating online pornography are the following characteristic of e-commerce (Cronin Davenport 2001, pp. 36-37): Transparency – The internet as a consumptive product is truly â€Å"WYSWYG†, the compu-speak acronym for â€Å"what you see is what you get†. Immediacy – With the internet, one’s delay in gratification is limited solely by the size of one’s wallet (or purse), the bandwidth of connection and the speed at which one can click. Disintermediation – Clearly, the internet is a medium which readily lends itself to a direct-to-consumer business model in which profit-taking, cost-increasing middlemen are eliminated. Price Competition – A key aspect of the ability of the internet to facilitate comparable prices for comparable products is the speed and availability of consumers to ‘price shop’ and vote with their financial patronage for the product which grants them the greatest utility. Convenience – 24/7. No clerks. No â€Å"Closed† signs†¦. And you never have to even get dressed and leave the house. Accessibility – The internet in not only in your home, it is also in your office (a fact that has been the bane of some), it is on the road and if you do not own a computer, you can likely borrow a public access terminal at the local library. Modularity – A consumer is not forced to ‘one-top shop’ – they can fulfill one fetish of their pastiche identity at one site and another at a different site†¦. Something for everyone, or rather, everything for almost anyone. Low Switching Costs – There is little â€Å"lock-in† through contracts or any other means. A consumer can, with little or no direct or indirect cost incursion, switch from â€Å"this-is-my-fantasy† to â€Å"that-is-my-fantasy†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ they can even likely have both, maybe, bandwidth permitting, simultaneously. Impersonality – This factor is one of the most salient in that, within reason, anonymity is relatively assured. For ‘respectable’ persons to be able to acquire smut desires of their heart without having to risk discovery is likely a key driver of the how technology is driving the financial success of pornography. Similar to the nine factors above, other theorists similarly summarize the key drivers of the proliferate success of online pornography such as Cooper’s ‘Triple A Engine’ in which access, affordability and anonymity come together for tremendous synergy (Byers 2004, p. 1). An additional factor that is present in online pornography is found in the very nature of internet technology itself: the ability to gather, analyze and act upon actual consumptive data (Davidson 2003, p. 181). Pornographers are perhaps among the world’s greatest marketeers in their ability to mine data and utilize this information to drive additional sales or, as one report puts it, charge and collect a fee for the customer to have the opportunity to spend even more money (Weber 1997, A1).. Thorns of E-Commerce Though surfing the internet is perhaps functionally anonymous, there are nonetheless bits and pieces of data left behind of which many cases are involuntarily and unknowing. For example, if a certain user, identifiable initially by a specific IP address visits one certain site, porn marketeers make use of computer algorithms to predict additional sites of interest which are then presented as pop-ups or other intrusive internet marketing techniques. For consumers who voluntarily submit information such as might be utilized for â€Å"club†-access, the pornographer has access to even more information in addition to information gleaned from recurrent visits such as which web pages were viewed, etc. As technology has enable pornography, pornographers have quite likely made full use of this technology using, at best, ethically questionable marketing tactics. Such tactics are designed redirect unsuspecting internet surfers to either an explicit web site or to a gateway to one. Once there, pornographers often make it very difficult to leave yet very easy, i.e., automatic, to come back. While it is an accepted retailer strategy to take such steps as utilizing larger shopping carts, positioning commodities such as milk or toilet paper at the back of a store, and to utilized free samples, pornography-in-general has a reputation for ‘virtually’ kidnapping browsers through hiding or re-tasking exit buttons, unrequested software downloads, resetting home pages and other techniques designed to direct consumers to their sites, entice them with their wares and keep them there longer than they might want to stay (Murray 2004, pp. 63-67). The increasing proliferation and acceptance of pornography represents a significant market force for marketeers as this force works ‘both ways’. That is, as pornography gains a larger market, the ‘pie’ grows in size while, consequently, what was taboo becomes more normalized, pornographers must become increasing creative in pushing the envelope. The downside for pornographic producers is that they are fundamentally limited by a fixed number of body orifices and the arriving at some new form of ‘sex’ would seem to be a finite proposition. This dual-natured dilemma is also represented in the efforts of some in society to squelch or at least, contain pornography by the proposal of a â€Å".xxx† internet domain designation for ‘x-rated’ sites. On one side, such a device would make it easier to filter out unwanted pornography yet it requires compliance from both the pornographic industry and a desire for compliance on behalf of the consumer. Additionally, in the event that such a requirement was enacted, it would serve the ‘undesirable’ purpose of legitimatizing an industry that many would just as soon pretend did not exist. Finally, such an action might have the ‘net’ effect of essentially doubling the available cyber-shelf space of pornography as marketeers could simply operation two identical sites (one site with two IP addresses) (Trueman 2005, p. 12a). As pornographers gain financially, they do not do so in isolation. In addition to generating revenue from targeted ad placements in pornographic media, other firms profit directly from its success and distribution. For example, payment intermediaries such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and similar firms capture a fixed percentage of every ‘dirty’ dollar and, as was indicated previously, there are ‘many-billion’ of them. Despite the massive financial gain, credit card firms may be under pressure from groups that would prefer pornography not to exist (Lubove 2003). Regardless of the hassles that the credit card oligopolies seek to impose, the sheer financial impetus of the industry is assurance that the mother of invention, if needed, will create a solution that will deliver the goods to lonely, demanding consumers. The Future of Pornography Regardless of one’s love or hate of pornography, it is the nature of fallen man to seek pleasure and avoid pain. It is the nature of the capitalism to meet the needs of any market with funds sufficient to cover the costs. Thus, the question is not whether pornography will exist, rather, the question is what will it look like and how will it be delivered? Currently, the continuing emergence of broadband and multimedia applications is fueling the growth of mobile telecommunications equipment. This segment resulted in over $600M revenue in Europe in 2003 and is projected to grow 5x in less than three years to over $3 billion (Booth 2003, p. 17). With regards to the current version of online pornography, there is likely to be either increased regulation of marketing practices or the growth of third-party software providers to block aggressive attempts and the pornographers’ online version of the telecommunications industry’s ‘slamming’ practices. As cyber space becomes more crowded and competitive with seemingly indistinguishable offerings, more traditional marketing strategies such as ‘adding value’, emphasizing communities and clubs and niche marketing will be more extensively utilized. In addition, due to the social stigma associated with not only pornography but advertising it as well, marketeers will likely focus on programs that are subtle, suggestive and semiotic (rather than ‘in-your-face’). In addition, the continued integration of technology is likely to be a coming event. Mobile phone internet browsers that make computing at home, at the office or on the go a nea rly seamless digital environment in which you can be with either stored or streamed content of your choice anywhere. Finally, it would seem as the next step of the industry and the ultimate future of online pornography will complete virtual sex experiences in which there is participation as well as sights, sounds and sensation. Though â€Å"teledildonics† is a well-explored concept, there are no commercially available products currently available (Balderson Mitchell 2001). Regardless, the arrival in the homes of technology that currently exists with remote surgery apparatus will herald a new techno-sexual renaissance which, as history has witnessed, pornography will eagerly adopt. Works Consulted Author Unknown. (2005, December). Management Today, p. 19. Balderson, M., and Mitchell, T. (2001). â€Å"Virtual Vaginas and Pentium Penises A Critical Study of Teledildonics and Digital S(t)imulation†. http://www.georgetown.edu/users/baldersm/essays/teledildonics.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2006. Booth, N. (2003, November). â€Å"More Bang for Your Buck†. Total Telecom Magazine, p. 17. Byers, L. (2004, April). â€Å"Pornography and the Internet†. University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (MA Thesis). Cronin, B., and Davenport, E. (2001). â€Å"E-Rogenous Zones: Positioning Pornography in the Digital Economy†. The Information Society, (17), pp. 33-48. Davidson, D. (2003). Selling Sin: The Marketing of Socially Unacceptable Products, 2nd edition. Praeger: Westport, Connecticut. Lubove, S. (2005, March 1). â€Å"Visa’s Porn Crackdown†. http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/01/cz_sl_0501porn_print.html. Murray, B. (2004). Defending the Brand: Aggressive Strategies for Protecting Your Brand in the Online Area. American Management Assocication: New York, New York. Simpson, N. (2003, Fall). â€Å"The Money Shot: How the Porn Business Resurrected the Studio System†. University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada (MA Thesis). Thompson, M. (2005, August). â€Å"Online Recreation†. Technology Review, p. 32. Trueman, P. (2005, September 15). â€Å".XXX Would Legitimatize Porn†. USA Today, p. 12a. Vinas, T. (1998, September 21). â€Å"X-Rated and on the A-List†. IndustryWeek, pp. 11-12. Weber, T. (1997, May 20). â€Å"The X-Files: For those who scoff at internet commerce, here’s a hot market Raking in millions, sex sites use old-fashioned porn and cutting edge tech Lessons from the Mainstream†. The Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. A1. New York, New York.

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 35

Aprison, with filthy rushes on the floor and bars between her and the sleeping Stefan. Between her andStefan! It was really him. Elena didn't know how she could know. Undoubtedly they could twist and change your perceptions here. But just now, perhaps because nobody had been expecting her to drop into a dungeon, no one was prepared with anything to make her doubt her senses. Itwas Stefan. He was thinner than before, and his cheekbones stuck out. He was beautiful. And his mind felt just right, just the right mixture of honor and love and darkness and light and hope and grim understanding of the world he lived in. â€Å"Stefan! Oh,hold me! â€Å" He woke and half sat up. â€Å"At least leave me my sleep. And meanwhile go away and put on another face, bitch!† â€Å"Stefan! Language!† She saw muscles in Stefan's shoulders freeze. â€Å"What†¦did you†¦say?† â€Å"Stefan†¦it's really me.I don't blame you for cursing. I curse this whole place and the two who put you here†¦.† â€Å"Three,† he said wearily, and bent his head. â€Å"You'd know that if you were real. Go and let them teach you about my traitor brother and his friends who sneak up on people with kekkai crowns†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena couldn't wait to debate about Damon now. â€Å"Won't youlook at me, at least?† She saw him turn slowly, look slowly, then saw him leap up from a pallet made of sickly-looking hay, and saw him stare at her as if she were an angel dropped down from the sky. Then he turned his back on her and put his hands over his ears. â€Å"No bargains,† he said flatly. â€Å"Don't even mention them to me. Go away. You've gotten better but you're still a dream.† â€Å"Stefan!† â€Å"I said, go away!† Time was wasting. And this was too cruel, after what she had been through just to speak to him. â€Å"You first saw me just outside the principal's office the day you brought your papers into school and influenced the secretary. You didn't need to look at me to know what I looked like. Once I told you that I felt like a murderer because I said, ;;Daddy, look' and pointed to – something outside – just before the car accident that killed my parents. I've never been able to remember what the something was. The first word I learned when I came back from the afterlife wasStefan . Once, you looked at me in the rearview mirror of the car and said that I was your soul†¦.† â€Å"Can't you stop torturing me for one hour? Elena – the real Elena – would be too smart to risk her life by coming here.† â€Å"Where's ;;here'?† Elena said sharply, frightened. â€Å"I need to know if I'm supposed to get you out.† Slowly Stefan uncovered his ears. Even more slowly he turned around again. â€Å"Elena?† he said, like a dying boy who has seen a gentle ghost in his bed. â€Å"You're not real. You can't be here.† â€Å"I don't think I am. Shinichi made a magic house and it takes you wherever you want if you name it and open the door with this key. I said,  ¡Ã‚ ®Somewhere I can hear and see and touch Stefan.' But† – she looked down – â€Å"you say Ican't be here. Maybe it's all an illusion anyway.† â€Å"Hush.† Now Stefan was clenching the bars on his side of the cell. â€Å"Is this where you've been? Is this theShi no Shi ?† He gave a little laugh – not a real one. â€Å"Not exactly what either of us expected, is it? And yet, they didn't lie in anything they said, Elena. Elena! I said ;;Elena.' Elena, you're really here!† Elena couldn't bear to waste any time. She took the few steps through damp, crackly straw and scampering creatures to the bars that separated her from Stefan. Then she tilted up her face, clutching bars in either hand, and shut her eyes. I will touch him. I will, I will. I'm real, he's real – I'll touch him! Stefan leaned down – to humor her, she thought – and then warm lips touched hers. She put her arms through the bars because they were both weak at the knees: Stefan in astonishment that she could touch him, and Elena in relief and sobbing joy. But – there was no time. â€Å"Stefan, take my bloodnow – take it!† She looked desperately for something to cut herself with. Stefan might need her strength, and no matter what Damon had taken from her, she would always have enough for Stefan. If it killed her, she would have enough. She was glad, now, that in the tomb, Damon had persuaded her to take his. â€Å"Easy. Easy, little love. If you mean it, I can bite your wrist, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Do itnow !† Elena Gilbert, the princess of Fell's Church, ordered. She had even gotten the strength to pull herself off her knees. Stefan gave her half a guilty glance. â€Å"NOW!†Elena insisted. Stefan bit her wrist. It was an odd sensation. It hurt a little more than when he pierced the side of her neck as usual. But there were good veins down there, she knew; she trusted Stefan to find the largest so that this would take the least amount of time. Her urgency had become his. But when he tried to pull back, she clutched a handful of his wavy dark hair and said, â€Å"More, Stefan. You need it – oh, I can tell, and we don't have time to argue.† The voice of command. Meredith had told her once that she had it, that she could lead armies. Well, she might need to lead armies to get into this place to save him. I'll get an army somewhere, she thought fuzzily. The starving bloodfever that Stefan had been in – they obviously hadn't fed him since she had last seen him – was dying into the more normal blood-taking that she knew. His mind melted into hers.When you say you'll get an army, I believe you. But it's impossible. No one's ever come back. Well, you will. I'm bringing you back. Elena, Elena†¦ Drink,she said, feeling like an Italian mother.As much as you can without being sick. But how did – no, you told me how you got here. That was the truth? The truth. I always tell you the truth. But Stefan, how do I getyouout? Shinichi and Misao – you know them? Enough. They each have half a ring. Together it makes a key. Each half is shaped like a running fox. But who knows where they may have hidden the pieces? And as I said, just to get into this place, it takes an army†¦. I'll find the pieces of the fox ring. I'll put them together. I'll get an army. I'll get you out. Elena, I can't keep drinking. You'll collapse. I'm good at not collapsing. Please go on. I can hardly believe it's you – â€Å"No kissing! Take my blood!† Ma'am! But Elena, truly, I'm full now. Overfull. And tomorrow? â€Å"I'll still be overfull.† Stefan pulled away, a thumb on the places where he had pierced veins. â€Å"Truly, I can't , love.† â€Å"And the next day?† â€Å"I'll manage.† â€Å"You will – because I broughtthis . Hold me, Stefan,† she said, several decibels softer. â€Å"Hold me through the bars.† He did, looking bewildered, and she hissed in his ear, â€Å"Act like you love me. Stroke my hair. Say nice things.† â€Å"Elena, lovely little love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was still close enough mentally to say telepathically: Actlike I love you? But while his hands were stroking and squeezing and tangling in her hair, Elena's own hands were busy. She was transferring from under her clothes to under his a flask full of Black Magic wine. â€Å"But where did you get it?† Stefan whispered, seeming thunderstruck. â€Å"The magic house has everything. I've been waiting for my chance to give it to you if you needed it.† â€Å"Elena – â€Å" â€Å"What?† Stefan seemed to be struggling with something. At last, eyes on the ground, he whispered, â€Å"It's no good. I can't risk you getting killed for the sake of an impossibility. Forget me.† â€Å"Put your face to the bars.† He looked at her but didn't ask any questions, obeying. She slapped him across the face. It wasn't a very hard slap†¦although Elena's hand hurt from colliding with the iron on either side. â€Å"Now,be ashamed !† she said. And before he could say anything else,†Listen!† It was the baying of hounds – far away, but getting closer. â€Å"It'syou they're after,† Stefan said, suddenly frantic. â€Å"You have to go!† She just looked at him steadily. â€Å"I love you, Stefan.† â€Å"I love you, Elena. Forever.† â€Å"I – oh, I'msorry .† Shecouldn't go; that was the thing. Like Caroline talking and talking and never leaving Stefan's apartment, she could stand here and speak about it, but she couldn't do it. â€Å"Elena! Youhave to. I don't want you to see what they do – â€Å" â€Å"I'll kill them!† â€Å"You're no killer. You're not a fighter, Elena – and you shouldn't see this. Please? Remember once you asked me if I'd like to see how many times you could make me say  ¡Ã‚ ®please?' Well, each counts for a thousand now. Please? For me? Will you go?† â€Å"One more kiss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her heart was beating like a frantic bird inside her. â€Å"Please!† Blind with tears, Elena turned around and grasped hold of the cell door. â€Å"Anywhere outside the ceremony where no one will see me!† she gasped and wrenched the door to the corridor open and stepped through. At least she'd seen Stefan, but for how long that would last to keep her heart from shattering again – – oh, my God, I'mfalling – – she didn't know. Elena realized that shewas outside the boardinghouse somewhere – at least some eighty feet high – and plummeting rapidly. Her first, panicked conclusion was that she was going to die, and then instinct kicked in and she reached out with arms and hands and kicked in with legs and feet and managed to arrest her fall after twenty agonizing feet. I've lost my flying wings forever, haven't I? she thought, concentrating on a single spot between her shoulder blades. She knew just where they should be – and nothing happened. Then, carefully, she inched her way closer to the trunk, pausing only to move to a higher twig a caterpillar that was sharing the branch with her. And she managed to find a sort of place where she could sit by sidling and then pushing backward. It was far too high a branch for her personal taste. As it was, she found that she could look down and see the widow's walk quite clearly, and that the longer she looked at any particular thing the clearer her vision got. Vampire vision plus, she thought. It showed her that she was Changing. Or else – yes, somehow here the sky was getting lighter. What it showed her was a dark and empty boardinghouse, which was disturbing because of what Caroline's father had said about â€Å"the meeting† and what she had learned telepathically from Damon about Shinichi's plans for this Moonspire night. Could this be not the real boardinghouse at all, but another trap? â€Å"We made it!† Bonnie cried as they approached the house. She knew her voice was shrill, was over-shrill, but somehow the sight of that brightly lit boardinghouse, like a Christmas tree with a star on top, comforted her, even if she knew that it was all wrong. She felt she could cry in relief. â€Å"Yes, we did,† Dr. Alpert's deep voice said. â€Å"All of us. Isobel's the one who needs the most treatment, the fastest. Theophilia, get your nostrums ready, and somebody else take Isobel and run her a bath.† â€Å"I'll do it,† Bonnie quavered, after a brief hesitation. â€Å"She's going to stay tranquilized like she is now, right? Right?† â€Å"I'llgo with Isobel,† Matt said. â€Å"Bonnie, you go with Mrs. Flowers and help her. And before we go inside, I want to make one thing clear: nobody goes anywhere alone. We all travel in twos or threes.† There was the ring of authority in his voice. â€Å"Makes sense,† Meredith said crisply and took up a place by the doctor. â€Å"You'd better be careful, Matt; Isobel is the most dangerous.† That was when the high, thin voices began outside the house. It sounded like two or three little girls singing. â€Å"Isa-chan, Isa-chan, Drank her tea and ate her gran.† â€Å"Tami? Tami Bryce?† Meredith demanded, opening the door as the tune began again. She darted forward, then she grabbed the doctor by the hand, and dragged her along beside her as she darted forward again. And, yes, Bonnie saw, there were three little figures, one in pajamas and two in nightgowns, and they were Tami Bryce and Kristin Dunstan and Ava Zarinski. Ava was only about eleven, Bonnie thought, and she didn't live near either Tami or Kristin. The three of them all giggled shrilly. Then they started singing again and Matt went after Kristin. â€Å"Help me!† Bonnie cried. She was suddenly hanging on to a bucking, kicking bronco that lashed out in every direction. Isobel seemed to have gone crazy, and she went crazier every time that tune was repeated. â€Å"I've got her,† Matt said, closing in on her with a bear hug, but even the two of them couldn't hold Isobel still. â€Å"I'm getting her another sedative,† Dr. Alpert said, and Bonnie saw the glances between Matt and Meredith – glances of suspicion. â€Å"No – no, let Mrs. Flowers make her something,† Bonnie said desperately, but the hypodermic needle was already almost at Isobel's arm. â€Å"You're not giving her anything,† Meredith said flatly, dropping the charade, and with one chorus-girl kick, she sent the hypodermic flying. â€Å"Meredith! What's wrong with you?† the doctor cried, wringing her wrist. â€Å"It's what's wrong withyou that's the matter. Who are you? Where are we? This can't be the real boardinghouse.† â€Å"Obaasan! Mrs. Flowers! Can't you help us?† Bonnie gasped, still trying to hold on to Isobel. â€Å"I'll try,† Mrs. Flowers said determinedly, heading toward her. â€Å"No, I meant with Dr. Alpert – and maybe Jim. Don't you – know any spells – to make people take on their true forms?† â€Å"Oh!† Obaasan said. â€Å"I can help with that. Just let me down, Jim dear. We'll have everyone in their true forms in no time.† Jayneela was a sophomore with large, dreamy, dark eyes that were generally lost in a book. But now, as it neared midnight and Gramma still hadn't called, she shut her book and looked at Ty. Tyrone seemed big and fierce and mean on the playing field, but off it he was the nicest, kindest, gentlest big brother a girl could want. â€Å"You think Gramma's okay?† â€Å"Hm?† Tyrone had his nose in a book, too, but it was one of those help-you-get-into-the-college-of-your-dreams books. As a senior-to-be, he was having to make some serious decisions. â€Å"Of course she is.† â€Å"Well, I'm going to check on the little girl, at least.† â€Å"You know what, Jay?† He poked her teasingly with one toe. â€Å"You worry too much.† In moments he was lost again in Chapter Six, â€Å"How to Make the Most of Your Community Service.† But then the screams started coming from above him. Long, loud, high screams – his sister's voice. He dropped the book and ran. â€Å"Obaasan?† Bonnie said. â€Å"Just a moment, dear,† Grandma Saitou said. Jim had put her down and now she was facing him squarely: she looking up, and he looking down. And there was something†¦very wrong about it. Bonnie felt a wave of pure terror. Could Jim have done something evil to Obaasan as he carried her? Of course he could. Why hadn't she thought of that? And there was the doctor with her syringe, ready to tranquilize anyone who got too â€Å"hysterical.† Bonnie looked at Meredith, but Meredith was trying to deal with two squirming little girls, and could only glance helplessly back. All right, then, Bonnie thought. I'll kick him where it hurts most and get the old lady away from him. She turned back to Obaasan and felt herself freeze. â€Å"Just one thing I have to do†¦,† Obaasan had said. And she was doing it. Jim was bent at the waist, folded in half toward Obaasan, who was on her tiptoes. They were locked in a deep, intimate kiss. Oh, God! They had met four people in a wood – and assumed that two were sane and two insane. How could they tell which were the insane ones? Well, if two of them see things that aren't there†¦ But the housewas there; Bonnie could see it, too. Wasshe insane? â€Å"Meredith, come on!† she screamed. Her nerve breaking completely, she began to run away from the house toward the forest. Something from the skies plucked her up as easily as an owl picks up a mouse and held her in an unrelenting iron grip. â€Å"Going somewhere?† Damon's voice asked from above her as he glided in the last few yards to a stop, with her neatly tucked under one steely arm. â€Å"Damon!† Damon's eyes were slightly narrowed, as though at a joke only he could see. â€Å"Yes, the evil one himself. Tell me something, my fiery little fury.† Bonnie had already exhausted herself trying to make him let go. She hadn't even succeeded in tearing his clothes. â€Å"What?† she snapped. Possessed or not, Damon had last seen her when she had Called him to save her from Caroline's insanity. But according to Matt's reports, he had done something awful to Elena. â€Å"Why do girls love to convert a sinner? Why can you feed them almost any line if they feel that they've reformed you?† Bonnie didn't know what he was talking about, but she could guess. â€Å"What did you do with Elena?† she said ferociously. â€Å"Gave her what she wanted, that's all,† Damon said, his black eyes twinkling. â€Å"Is there anything so awful about that?† Bonnie, frightened by that twinkle, didn't even try to run again. She knew it was no use. He was faster and stronger, and he could fly. Anyway, she had seen it in his face: a sort of distant remorselessness. They were not just Damon and Bonnie here together. They were natural predator and natural prey. And now here she was back with Jim and Obaasan – no, with a boy and girl she'd never seen before. Bonnie was in time to watch the transformation. She saw Jim's body shrink and his hair turn black, but that wasn't the striking thing about it. The striking thing was that all around the edges, his hair was not black but crimson. It was as if flames were licking up from the tips into darkness. His eyes were golden and smiling. She saw Obaasan's doll-like old body grow younger and stronger and taller. This girl was a beauty; Bonnie had to admit it. She had gorgeous sloe-black eyes and silky hair that fell almost to her waist. And her hair was just like her brother's – only the red was even brighter, scarlet instead of crimson. She was wearing a barely-there laced black halter that showed how delicately built she was on top. And, of course, low-rise black leather pants to show the same thing on the bottom. She was wearing expensive-looking black high-heeled sandals, and her toenails were enameled the same brilliant red as the tips of her hair. At her belt, in a sinuous circle, was a curled-up whip with a scaly black handle. Dr. Alpert said slowly, â€Å"My grandchildren†¦?† â€Å"They don't have anything to do with this,† the boy with the strange hair said charmingly, smiling. â€Å"As long as they mind their own business, you don't have to worry about them a bit.† â€Å"It's suicide or an attempted suicide – or something,† Tyrone told the police dispatcher, almost weeping. â€Å"I think it was a guy named Jim who went to my high school last year. No, this is nothing to do with any drugs – I came here to watch my little sister Jayneela. She was baby-sitting – look, just come over, will you? This guy's chewed off most of his fingers, and as I came in, he said,  ¡Ã‚ ®I'll always love you, Elena,' and he took a pencil and – no, I can't tell if he's alive or dead. But there's an old lady upstairs and I'm sureshe's dead. Because she's not breathing.† â€Å"Who the hell are you?† Matt was saying, eyeing the strange boy belligerently. â€Å"I'm the – â€Å" † – and what the hell are you doing here?† â€Å"I'm the hell Shinichi,† the boy said in a much louder voice, looking annoyed to be interrupted. When Matt just stared at him, he added in an annoyed voice, â€Å"I'm the kitsune – the were-fox, you could say – who's been messing with your town, idiot. I came halfway around the world to do it, and I'd think you'd at least have heard of me by now. And this is my lovely sister, Misao. We're twins.† â€Å"I don't care if you're triplets. Elena said somebody besides Damon was behind this. And so did Stefan before he – hey, what did you do to Stefan?What did you do to Elena? â€Å" While the two strange males were bristling at each other – quite literally in Shinichi's case, since his hair was almost standing on end – Meredith was picking out Bonnie, Dr. Alpert, and Mrs. Flowers by eye. Then she glanced at Matt and touched herself lightly on the chest. She was the only one strong enough to womanhandle him, although Dr. Alpert gave a quick nod that said she would be helping. And then, while the boys were working up to shouting volume, Misao was giggling at the ground, and Damon was leaning against a door with his eyes shut, they moved. With no signal at all to unite them, they were running, instinctively, as one group. Meredith and Dr. Alpert grabbed Matt from either side and simply lifted him off his feet, just as Isobel quite unexpectedly jumped on Shinichi with a guttural scream. They hadn't expected anything from her, but it was certainly convenient, Bonnie thought as she hurtled over obstacles without even seeing them. Matt was still shouting and trying to run the other way and take out some primitive frustration on Shinichi, but he couldn't quite manage to get free to do it. Bonnie could scarcely believe it when they made it into the Wood again. Even Mrs. Flowers had kept up and most of them still had their flashlights. It was a miracle. They had even escaped Damon. The thing now was to be very quiet and to try to get through the Old Wood without disturbing anything. Maybe they could find their way back to the real boardinghouse, they decided. Then they could figure out how to save Elena from Damon and his two friends. Even Matt finally had to admit that it was unlikely that they would be able to overcome the three supernatural creatures by force. Bonnie just wished they'd been able to take Isobel with them. â€Å"Well, we have to go to the real boardinghouse anyway,† Damon said, as Misao finally got Isobel subdued and semi-conscious. â€Å"That's where Caroline will be.† Misao stopped glaring at Isobel and seemed to start slightly. â€Å"Caroline? Why do we want Caroline?† â€Å"It's all part of the fun, isn't it?† Damon said in his most charming, flirtatious voice. Shinichi immediately stopped looking martyred and smiled. â€Å"That girl – she's the one you've been using as a carrier, right?† He looked mischievously at his sister, whose smile seemed slightly strained. â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"The more the merrier,† Damon said, more cheerful with every minute. He didn't seem to notice Shinichi smirking at Misao behind his back. â€Å"Don't sulk, darling,† he said to her, tickling her under the chin while his golden eyes gleamed. â€Å"I've never set eyes on the girl. But of course, if Damon says it'll be fun, itwill be.† The smirk became a full-fledged gloating smile. â€Å"And there's no chance of any of them actually getting away at all?† Damon said, almost absently, staring into the darkness of the Old Wood. â€Å"Give me a little credit, please,† the kitsune snapped. â€Å"You're a damned – a vampire, aren't you?You're not supposed to hang out in the woods at all.† â€Å"It's my territory, along with the cemetery – † Damon was beginning mildly, but Shinichi was determined to finish first this time. â€Å"Ilive in the woods,† he said. â€Å"I control the bushes, the trees – and I've brought a few of my own little experiments along with me. You'll all see them soon enough. So, to answer your question, no, not one of them is going to escape.† â€Å"That was all I asked,† Damon said, still mildly, but locking gazes with the golden eyes for another long moment. Then he shrugged and turned away, eyeing the moon that could be seen between swirling clouds on the horizon. â€Å"We've got hours before the ceremony yet,† Shinichi said, behind him. â€Å"We're hardly going to be late.† â€Å"We'd better not,† Damon murmured. â€Å"Caroline can do an awfully good impression of that pierced girl in hysterics when people are late.† As a matter of fact, the moon was riding high in the sky as Caroline drove her mother's car to the porch of the boardinghouse. She was wearing an evening dress that looked as if it had been painted on her, in her favorite colors of bronze and green. Shinichi looked at Misao, who giggled with one hand covering her mouth and looked down. Damon walked Caroline up the porch steps to the front door and said, â€Å"This way to the good seats.† There was some bewilderment as people got themselves sorted out. Damon spoke cheerfully to Kristin and Tami and Ava: â€Å"The peanut gallery for you three, I'm afraid. That means you sit on the ground. But if you're good, I'll let you come sit up with us the next time.† The others followed him with more or less exclamation, but it was Caroline who looked annoyed, saying, â€Å"Why do we want to goinside ? I thought they were supposed to beoutside .† â€Å"Closest seats not in danger,† Damon said briefly. â€Å"We can get the best view from up there. Royal box seats, come on, now.† The fox twins and the human girl followed him, switching on lights in the darkened house all the way up to the widow's walk on the roof. â€Å"And now where are they?† Caroline said, peering down. â€Å"They'll be here any minute,† Shinichi said, with a glance that was both puzzled and reproving. It said: Who does this girl think she is? He didn't spout any poetry. â€Å"And Elena? She'll be here, too?† Shinichi didn't answer that at all, and Misao just giggled. But Damon put his lips close to Caroline's ear and whispered. After that, Caroline's eyes shone green as a cat's. And the smile on her lips was the one of a cat who has just put its paw on the canary.

Indigenous Music of Australia Essay

Australia is a society of many cultures from all over the world. The music of Australia’s indigenous people represents a wide variety of music styles created by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. The music styles range from contemporary to styles that are fused with European sounds. The music of these people has become an important part of the society and culture of the people even though the ceremonies may have changed. â€Å"The traditional forms include many aspects of performance and musical instrumentation which are unique to particular regions or Indigenous Australian groups; there are equally elements of musical tradition which are common or widespread through much of the Australian continent, and even beyond. † (â€Å"Indigenous Australian Music. † Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 13 May 2007. 17 May 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_music) The Indigenous populations of Australia have learned from other travelers that have visited Australia for trade or other reasons. The colonization of Australia brought many changes to the way Aboriginal society functioned. It changed the land and how the people went about their daily lives. Before 1788 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders inhabited Australia. In 1788 the Aboriginal people lived on mainland Australia and the Torres Strait Islanders lived on the islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea, in what is now called the Torres Strait (Dreamtime. net. au. Australian Museum. 17 May 2007. http://www. dreamtime. net. au/indigenous/index. cfm). Many of the Europeans that came to Australia misunderstood the Aboriginal culture and created policies that did not benefit the people. They worked against the people by creating policies that benefited the farmers who moved across the continent using up natural resources and exploiting the Aboriginal people for labor. The European colonists did not understand the way the native people used the land for food and spiritual balance, thus causing many problems. The Indigenous cultures of Australia are one of the oldest in the entire world. â€Å"We’ve been here a long, long time† ( Koori Mail. October 1996). Their ability to adapt over time has allowed them to last. The Aborigines talked of â€Å"Dreamtime† or â€Å"the Dreaming†, which was their version of a creation story. The Rainbow Serpent created the Australian world. As she moved back and forth along the land she created great rivers and from her body the tribes, birds, and animals of Australia emerged. The Aborigines took great pride in the land because they believe that they emerged from it. They believed the Great Ancestral spirits put the plants, animals, and people in their places according to the land forms and spirits surrounding them (FrogandToad’s Indigenous Australia. The Travel Around Company. 19 May 2007 http://indigenousaustralia. frogandtoad. com. au/cultural. html). By the time Europeans arrived to colonize Australia there were more than 700 Aboriginal tribes. Each tribe had their own unique traditions, language, and customs. Traditional music of Australians indigenous people gives great meaning to their lives. There were three distinct types of Aboriginal music. The first was used for sacred ceremonies. The second type of music is semi-scared and is sung by men, with the women dancing. This music was used for initiation. The third type of music was not sacred and was used for entertainment. This is the only kind of music that can be performed by any person at any time. Music was used throughout the Aboriginals lives to teach what must be known about their culture, about their place in it, and about its place in the world of nature and super nature. Aboriginals encouraged their children at a very young age to dance and sing about everyday tasks. (Telford, Hans W. â€Å"Australian Aboriginal Music. † Santa Clara University. 20 May, 2007. http://www. scu. edu. au/schools/sass/music/musicarchive/AusGeneral. html). When the girl or boy reaches puberty he or she learns about totemic plants and animals of the clan and the mythology of their group, also known as karma songs. Karma is the Aboriginal type of oral literature that tells a historical story of the people ( Indigenous Australian Music). These songs have specific melodic formulas that distinguish them from other tribe’s songs.. Because the stories come from oral tradition the music is learned my imitating elders and is passed without writing everything down. Before a man marries he learns more lively and fun songs that are entertainment for the tribe. When he marries and becomes a responsible tribe member he is to depend on the karma songs to keep him strong. The man matures by the knowledge he acquires through song and when he is older his on her is based partly on his mastery of the secret sacred songs of the tribe (Telford, Hans W. ). Some clans in Aboriginal Culture may share songs known as emeba, fjatpangarri, and manikay. These songs are directly tied to the story telling of Dreamtime, when the features of the land were created and named. When they sing the songs in the correct order the tribe could navigate vast distances. They relate the person who keeps the song with the land itself (Indigenous Australian Music). A traditional for of music is Bunggul. This style of music is known for its intense lyrics, and is usually stories about epic journeys. These stories continue or repeat after the music stops (Indigenous Australian Music). A death wail is also a very traditional music style in Aboriginal culture. It is a mourning lament performed in ritual fashion after the death of a family or tribe member. Roy Baker, a descendent of the Murawari tribe describes the death wail, â€Å"You hear the crying and the death wail at night,† he recalled, â€Å"it’s a real eerie, frightening sound to hear. Sad sound†¦ to hear them all crying. And then after the funeral, everything would go back to normal. And they’d smoke the houses out, you know, the old Aboriginal way. † Aboriginal Australians used the resources around them to make their instruments. Most of their instruments fall into the idiophone class. An idiophone instrument is made from resonating material that does not have to be tuned (Encarta World English Dictionary). Their instruments consisted of two separate parts, which are stuck together to make a percussive sound. There are no string instruments in their culture, but they did use a skinned drum type instrument and wind instrument. Idiophones were the most common types of instrument and the most basic. The first example is sticks. Each singer would hold a pair of wooden sticks and clap them together. They could also be shaken to make a rattling sound. Boomerang clapsticks also were used in the same way. Aboriginal Boomerang Clapsticks[pic] If there were no sticks, hand clapping or slapping various parts of the body were substitutes for a pair of sticks or clapsticks. A rattle usually accompanied songs. These rattles were made by holding bunches of seed ponds in ones hand. [pic] Seed rattle. The most well known of all the Aboriginal instruments is the didjeridu. The didjeridu is usually formed when termites hollow out a tree branch. The branches are usually cut to about 5 feet and are smoothed to make a suitable mouthpiece. When blown the didjeridu is a rich and complex sound. The function of the didjeridu is to provide a constant drone on a deep not, somewhere around D flat. The note is broken up in rhythmic patterns and accents by the use of the player’s tongue and cheeks. Constant air pressure s maintained by simultaneously blowing out through the mouth and breathing in through the nose, known as circle breathing. Great stamina is needed to play the didjeridu. [pic] [pic] Most contemporary styles of indigenous Australian music come from the fusion with European traditions. It also represents from the fusion with mainstream styles of music such as rock and country. Artists like The Deadlys give us an example of this using rock, country, and pop. Common traditional musical instruments such and the didjeridu and clapsticks are used to give a different feel to the music (Indigenous Australian Music). Overall, most ancestors stay true to their past roots of music. The remaining indigenous Aboriginal tribes still practice their culture and pass it down from generation to generation. The traditions have all remained the same even though European colonization changed the tribes forever. Even though there aren’t as many tribes remaining, the people of Australia keep their music alive in traditional and contemporary ways. Works Cited â€Å"Indigenous Australian Music. † Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 13 May 2007. 17 May 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_music (Dreamtime. net. au. Australian Museum. 17 May 2007. http://www. dreamtime. net. au/indigenous/index. cfm Telford, Hans W. â€Å"Australian Aboriginal Music. † Santa Clara University. 20 May 2007. http://www. scu. edu. au/schools/sass/music/musicarchive/AusGeneral. html.

Importance of Grandmothers in the Evolution Perspectives - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3658 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2018/12/18 Category Anthropology Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Evolution Essay Did you like this example? Pieces of evidence have evolved that the grandmothers were very crucial in the history of human evolution. They assisted their species to evolve social skills and have a long life. For centuries, anthropologist and evolutionary researchers have struggled to bring the idea and explain the existences of the menopause stage, a human life stage that is not shared with the primate relatives. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Importance of Grandmothers in the Evolution Perspectives" essay for you Create order The researcher asks themselves why it would be necessary for the female being stopped being able to bear children with some decades left to live. According to the article; Proceeding of the royal society. It is suggested that the grandmothering stage was the first stages that make society who we are. The article explains that the menopause stage underappreciated the evolutionary value of the grandmothers (D. van Bodegom, 2010). Grandmothering assists the society and the community at large to develop a whole spectrum of social capacity that is the foundation of the for the evolution of other differentiated human behaviors which include, bigger mental brains, pair bonding, learning new skills and the tendency of for corporation with other people of the society. The research was conducted by a mathematical biologist where he was using a computer in compiling the simulation to provide a statistical evidence in the grandmothers hypothesis. To assess the strength of the ideas, the resea rcher simulated what would then happen to the lifespan of a hypothetical species primate if they introduced grandmother and menopause as part of SS structure in the system. In the evolutionary theory, the grandmother was influential in the society as they would help in the collection of the food to feed the children before they reach the age of feeding themselves. Assuming that the grandmothers were not there and a mother has given birth and had other young children, the chances of them surviving was less because unlike the other primate, human s are not able to feed themselves and take care of themselves after the period of weaning. The parent must devote themselves, their time and attention to the new baby at the expenses of the older children. But the presence a grandmother can resolve this problem by stepping in and acting as a supplementary caregiver to the children. The researcher has the extent of offering grandmother care and do not always specify the circumstances under whi ch it occurs. Its frequency and the arrangement of parents can alongside the grandparent care and make it hard to make a clear picture (Gray, 2013). The grandmother plays an eminent function in providing children care and offering support employment more so for the low earning families. From research, the grandparent was the main child care arrangement for thirty-five percent of the families selected where the women were either studying or working when the children are of some months old, apart from all other types of care but very few grandmothers offers full-time care and management. Most of those who provide for the care do so for about or fewer hours a week. Grandmother care can take many kinds, from occasionally bedsitting through regular assist with child care to being the sole or major provider of childcare while parents work or living with the kids in a multi-generational home. The grandmothers may also care for the children whose parent are unwilling or unable to take care of the kids, either as kingship care where the organization is made by the social services. Then the stage of grandmother involvement is larger for mothers who return to work earlier before their young kids attain six months of age and more so in single-parent families. The grandmother is likely to offer support when the grandchildren are the first-born or where mothers are younger, and the mothers work on part-time basis. There are some elements that children are receiving informal childcare in their first several years of life have a good vocabulary but do less well literally and numerous tests and are likely to be overweight and have a raised level of hyper activity and some peer difficulties. Although in some cases the relationship only gets to the children from the more privileged home. From his research, he suggested that the few number of ancestral females who were in the first able to live postmenopausal ages raised the chances of their grandchildren surviving. As a result, the longer-lived female was not proportionally likely to pass their genes that would favor the longevity and hence over the course of hundreds of generations, the generation of the species as a whole evolved longer lifespans (Robert Boyd, 2014). Grandmother continues offering support in children arrangement when the child starts school and specifically during holiday times. In some cases, the parental separation, most of the kids continue to experience a close relationship with their maternal grandmother but the relationship with the paternal grandparent is weakened, this is from an Australian research that should help that nearly seven lost contact completely. The researcher goes a step further and argues that the social relations that go together with grandmothering concept could have attributed to a bigger brains and behaviors that differentiate human being. For example, if you are a gorilla or a chimpanzee and your mother is only concerned with you, the researcher li kens the scenario with a human baby who your mother has other children and she is worrying about and that only means that there are choices on her which never existed on the other ape creatures, she gets more concerned about her. The suggested that grandmothering gave us the kinds of upbringing that made the children more dependent on themselves and get prone to engage other individuals attention. The trends above drives to an increase in the brain size along with the longer human lifespan. The closeness to the grandmother is associated with better grandchild behavior adjustment. However, the effects of the continued contact with the grandmother are likely to depend on the type of the relationship between the grandparent and the mother with care. In the early 1980s, Kristen and James spent time in their society study with Hadza who was hunters and gathers. The socialized with them and notices that the oldest women in the society spend their time collecting tubers and food for their grandchildren. In their theory, they suggested that the human being evolves to live so long for the reason that the grandmothers lived with them around and offered in helping the young children (Hawkes, 2013). In the early years in the society, the theory suggests that the older women gathered food for their offsprings kids. By doing so, they were freeing up their daughter to have more kids for continuity of the society. Evolutionally fit the grandmothers had most kids to whom they passed on their longevity promoting genes. In many studies, positive effects of presences of grandmothers on the well-being of the children. For example it was observed that in country like Tanzania, the grandmothers appears to enhance the nutritional welfare of the grandchildren by assisting their children in provision of foods from the kid, in Gambia the maternal grandmothers usually double the survival chances of their children by taking care of the children and finally in Ethiopia the grandmo thers has a positive influence on the child survival through relieving their children from heavy domestic work. A positive environment has been formed in the due to the presence of a grandmother, and the children well-being have been found in our modern society. In the eighteen and nineteenth century in Canada and Finland was associated with less mortality among their grandchildren. The importance of this effects depended however on the age of the grandmother and the children. The ability to take care of the children is based on the role of the grandmothers hold the demands these functions and resources they provide. The more grandchildren an older individuals have more opportunities, and they have the caregivers although the opportunity of giving they have provided become a caregiver despite that the opportunity of giving for a specific child may decrease (Konner, 2013). In the evolution perspective, on the social, economic resources the grandparent who had a higher social, econ omic status in the society, they had more resources that allow them to keep close contacts with the kids without the issue of core siding. For those who had higher income they allowed the parent to provide the financial support to the children for the cost of the child care they offered support on the children in the community who were on the following categories; firstly on the parent who had more children, secondly, the parent who had fewer minor children of their own and thirdly, the parent and children who were not in a paid labor force. For the grandmother who was employed, they had less time, and this suggests that they subsidize their children instead of providing care directly. For the teenagers raised by the grandmother, the normative development task of the adolescent are accompanied by a different organization and organization. The way the arrangement was viewed by the adolescent had impacts on the personal narratives they constructed in their lives. The grandmother was r aising the kids often were finding themselves deviating not only in the normal development tasks of the adolescence but also raising the teens in who might engage in risk-taking behaviors and they might struggles in being raised by the grandparents caregiver arrangements. The grandmother caregiving is a vital component of the families supports in the larger contexts of the generational relationships. The grandmother and children relationship was partially contingent in their roles in the life spheres. For example, the parenthood, marriage and the forced labor participation (Parmel, 2009). The willingness and availability of the grandparent, as well as the preferences and needs and the children, change over the life and the course of the primary determinant and the extent of caregiving provided by the grandmothers. In that context, the individual experience role based relationship as an organization of resources and demand that entails of money, time, attention and skills. The cul tural norms that downplay and emphasize the role of the grandmothers affects the type and level of involvements. The assessment of day-specific chances of preventing the sexual behavior show fertility may reduce in women starting just or immediately after the mid-twenties. In the industrial society, the women in the age of forties have few babies, a sequences that link among modern foragers. Almost all the births that take place are before the period of forty-five years. The ages of the old are often known in captivity and are known more rarely in the wild. While comparing the age of menopause is a very difficult since it menopauses very difficult to document in a human being in the book. In a well fed and nourished normal population menopause to the women ranged widely from the early forties and fifties of age with about half of the women not using hormones is roughly fifty-one. From the sample of other countries, they suggest that there might be presences of some variation amon g a different human population. The characteristics of grandmothers that make them fit in the society include the following; Firstly, willingness to listen, right grandmothers should know how to listen. The virtue of being there to listen to the grandchildren stories and advice that encourage their enthusiasm which is a gift to give to the children. Secondly, empathy; the successful grandparent learn how to see and observe the world through their children eye. This is the privilege of being a grandmother, and they get to interact with their grandchildren and live a life for a little while with their sense of period and their capability of wonders. Thirdly, is the unconditional love, to the grandmother is a rock- solid foundation of love to the children in the family and the society at large. The grandchildren need to know the fact that no matter what might be going in their lives and the disappointment they may face and encounter in school, outside the school and or over the w orld, they are always safe and bounded by love in their grandmothers house. Fourthly, generosity; the most successful grandparent tend to be generous to their children and the society. They buy gifts and presents such as toys, offering financial generosity. They also offer their time, hospitality and advice to the children. Fifthly, detachment; and this means that the grandmothers know how to maintain a healthy distance without necessarily meddling the children views. For example, even the time the children are not doing something right, in the normal way or they opt to follow a different tradition; they best grandmothers should know a way of letting things be and allow them to chart their courses as the parent. Another one is the presence, being a grandmother is not necessarily about buying the present, gifts, taking the kids on special vacations or even hosting then a dinner, apart from the fun things, your presence to the children is the most gracious offer. The kids get to learn many things just for the grandmother being with them. For example, watching how you wash utensil, how you prepare a meal, listening to your songs among others. The grandmothers seeing their multiple generations is an important channel for the children to learn and get educated on how to live. The grandmothers have helped in developing tremendous and romantic relations; researchers have for long predicted that the evolution of larger brains might be what caused by human being to live longer than the apes. The grandmothers help played an essential role in playing human life history, in precisely the longevity of human in the evolution concept. The interested of the evolutionary biologist in the grandmother originated on the senescence of evolution. This research aimed at getting the explanation for the existence of a prompt reduction in the reproduction system. In the research, it was suggested that the prolonged need for the care of children started and the evolutionary developme nt in which the termination of the female fertility shifted to the younger kids. It was suggested that the species had a considerable dependency of offspring on the care of the parent. The characteristic of social history and life institution that distinguish human from other primate evolved due to the increase of reliance on hunting big animal prey that gave a net advantage for bigger brains. The above are have the following features; firstly, the care needs that interfered with maternal hunting, so the grandmother relied on the provisions from the hunting mate. This helped from father allowed the mother to produce more surviving kids. Secondly, the parent formed a lasting bond and nuclear family become important levels of a corporation in which a sexual division of work served as the family objectives of reproduction and production. Thirdly, the mechanism of bipedal movement limited width of pelvic, so brain expansion created a dilemma requirement more brain growth to be postna tal (Meyer, 2014). As a results, the children with increasing brains were immature longer and are more dependent for a longer time on maternal care. Fourthly, bipedalism was favored because it freed hands for the use of tools which have increased the success in at hunting the animals and get a premium on larger brains. Lastly, the drying conditions in the late tertiary constricted forest making the capacities to use alternatives foods merits between the ancestral apes. According to the aging theory, it is explained that people grow older, fewer fertility remains and hence perpetual survival contribute less reproductive fitness. More so successful reproduction often involves generation as the transfer as well as fertility in women. For the species of the optimal quantity investment tradeoff of children, only the transfer affects the shape of the mortality hence explaining post productive survival and the reason why mortality in children is decrease with age. The theory also explai ns that the evolution of longer life, lower fertility and increased investment in offspring. The evolutionary theory of aging explains that the as health and function reduces. The individual age and their survival contribute to less reproductive fitness because of the reason their lifetime fertility remains. Consequently, the natural resource selection act more weakly to reduce mortality at the older ages. Despite the fact that this theory has dominated, the evolution of aging has focused on fertility of women alone. Turning to the children mortality when there is a parental investment, contrast the death of a baby just after the baby fledges. The classical theory predicts of equal selection against kids mortality of ages. The death would lead to freeing of the parental resources for a larger investment in existing of reproduction fitness. In some species, the post-reproductive female makes an essential contribution to their offspring either through direct parental care or grandm other care. This contribution continues after birth. Majorly sex is what mainly provides care to the children that tend to have a higher life expectancy. In evolution perspectives, the grandparents acted as the National Guard or a watch dog of the society. They offered security to the people, animals, and their property against theft and destruction from their neighbors. Their main aim was to ensure that peace existed in the community. The grandmothers played a significant role in arbitration, where they would bring together two conflicting groups. This ensured that people, relative and the children of the community lived together and embraced peace and love. This promoted peaceful co-existences people in the community. The grandmother also acted as stress buffer; this is where the grandmother would assemble the grand children especially in the evening, teach them folk songs and offer advice. This would relieve the stress that the children would be going through. The grandmoth er acted as valued elder where they were regarded as people of integrity, serving as a source of love and equality to all. The grandparent would teach the children on how to make instruments of wars, treating some diseases, herding of animal, preparation of food, cleaning, and farming techniques. They were people of high moral values and acted as a role model and a mentor to the children in the society. The grandmother conveyed the family legacy and culture to other generations in the society (Peter C. Kj? ¦rgaard, 2006). They took the role of educating the young kids about their values traditions, norms, and culture of their societies. They were also the silent savior of the young children from faltering families. Some parent were irresponsible, and they could not take care of their children needs, the grandmothers in the society took charge of and provided for the needs of the suffering children. They provided for shelter, food, clothing, and education. This aimed at making them feel that they belong to a particular community and society. Finally, the grandmothers acted as a surrogate parent especially when the birth parent is not present; they might be diseased, and the grandparent would help in planning the childrens education program, monitoring their programs and protecting them. The grandmothers in the society faces a myriad of challenges, Thee grandmothers usually have a legal problem which is related to the guardianship such as enrolling the children in the educational institution and accessing medical care for the grandchildren. They might also have the concerns that are related to the custody fights or battles with their grandchildren. Or sometimes to the parents. Another challenge is that the grandparent may have a limited energy in and physical health problems that may make parenting more difficult (Lee Ann Mjelde-Mossey, 2013). More so the grandparent care providers sometimes feel depressed and stressed by the parenting role. Their parent ing might also be faced by custodial grandmothers who need information about the behaviors and discipline especially when the children face problems. To offer effective parenting, the grandmother needs current information about child development and discipline and the childhood problems. The grandmother needs to change from traditional ways of raising the children to modern ways. Another challenge which the grandmother is facing is the financial problem, where the grandmother has difficulties in providing adequate food, housing, and clothing to the kids. It is also tricky for the grandmothers to care giver to manage the children. The parent makes unrealistic promises to the kids where the grandmothers struggle in trying to protect the children. Additionally, it might be very disappointing when seeing the kids failing as their parent. Lastly, the grandmother may be angered by the childrens parent, guilty about their parenting or embarrassment about their familys condition (Park 2005) . In conclusion, the grandmother played a vital role in evolution. They provided food to the families, providing education about the norms and regulation following the culture of the community. They offered advice to the youths and children for then to people of integrity in the future. Besides that, they acted as role model where the children emulated the grandparent to whom in many communities they children were named after. For example, if one of your grandparents was a doctor, then the child named after him was trained to be doctors. The values of culture were asses from one generation to the other. References D. van Bodegom, M. R. L. M. M. K. F. T. J. M. R. W., 2010. When grandmothers matter. Gerontology, Volume 56, pp. 214-256. Gray, P. B., 2013. Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. HAWKES, K., 2003. Grandmothers and the Evolution of Human Longevity. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Volume 15, pp. 360-400. Konner, M., 2010. The Evolution of Childhood: Relationships, Emotion, Mind. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Lee Ann Mjelde-Mossey, I. C., 2013. Women and Aging International: Diversity, Challenges and Contributions. London : Routledge. Meyer, M. H., 2014. Grandmothers at Work: Juggling Families and Jobs. New York: NYU Press. Palmer, D., 2009. Evolution: The Story of Life. California: University of California Press. Park, H.-O., 2005. Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Family well-being and economic assistance. Volume 24, pp. 189-267. Peter C. Kj? ¦rgaard, D. V. A. M., 2006. Human Evolution: Theory and Progress. The Archaeological, Volume 6, pp. 320-432. Robert Boyd, J. B. S., 2014. How Humans Evolved: Seventh Edition. New York: W. W. Norton Company.