Catfish noodling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Catfish noodling - Research Paper Example To be specific, those who indulge in noodling must know swimming and other techniques related to it. Similar to other sports items, noodling requires team effort. Robert Z. Cohen states that, â€Å"Noodling has become so popular in the South that the Okie Noodling Festival is held annually at Pauls Valley, Oklahoma† (29). One must not misunderstand that noodling is a simple technique. Instead, noodling requires physical fitness, experience, and basic knowledge on flathead catfish. Besides, these who indulge in this activity make use of their bare hands, but no other tools. If the flathead catfish is spotted within deep rivers/lakes, the process of noodling becomes more interesting. Some experienced noodlers catch fish which are living in underwater caves. So, one cannot ignore the sports value of noodling because the same is a group activity. One can see that the spread of noodling is limited to the scenario of American South. To be specific, noodling is an activity with immense cultural/traditional value. Tim M. Berra states that, â€Å"Local people in the southern United States may capture flat-heads by noodling† (159). The noodlers select others as spotters to spot and chase catfish. The partnership between a noodler/noodlers and spotter will be long-lasting because an experienced spotter can be helpful for a noodler. So, one can see that noodling leads to proper socialization and cohesion among members within the group. As noodling is limited within a specific geographical area (say, American South), it possesses certain cultural characteristics which is symbolic of traditional style of fishing. So, one can see that the socio-cultural significance of noodling is related to its characteristics as a group activity and as a traditional fishing technique. On the other side, modern fishing methods like angling does not require this much effort to catch fish. As the noodlers make use of their hands to catch

HEALTHY PEOPLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

HEALTHY PEOPLE - Essay Example Their subpopulations are culturally distinctive, diverse, and complex; live on nearly 300 locations in the lower 48 states, speaking more than 300 different languages (National Archives 2011). Top issue or problem: Alcohol takes a substantial toll among American Indians. They have a higher rate of alcohol-related death than the general U.S. population (May 1989). In every 100000 population covering both genders of American Indians in the age group of 25-34 years, 62.5 die from accident, 13.7 from homicide, 7.2 from heart disease and 6.4 from liver diseases (Healthy People 2011). A general observation is that alcohol abuse plays a significant role in these problems as it is a major factor in five of the 10 leading causes of mortality for American Indians (IHS, 1992). It is further corroborate by the fact that American Indian men die 2.8 times more frequently than non-Indian men from motor vehicle crashes, 2.7 times more from other accidents, 2.0 times more from suicide, 1.9 times more from homicide, and 6.8 times more frequently from alcoholism (alcohol dependence syndrome, alcoholic psychosis, and chronic liver disease and alcoholic cirrhosis) (May, 1996). For 19, 86 ­1,988, motor vehicle crashes, other accidents, suicide, homicide, and alcoholism caused a total of 5,781 American Indian deaths. 3,656 of these deaths are estimated to have involved alcohol (May 1989).There is the common view that Leland (1976) described in her book  Firewater Myths, that American Indians have an excessive craving for alcohol and to lose control of their behavior when they drink. Interventions that address the social and physical factors that influence alcohol abuse have the potential to prevent unintentional injuries and violence. Although, public health interventions are quite different in scope and application, however, most interventions share a similar path to succes