History of Leadership Theory Essay

The history of leadership theory can assist managers in understanding where the schools of leadership thought have been, and where leadership will be going. The key objective of this paper is to critically compare and contrast the historical leadership model and theories across history. Across the history of leadership, there are similar and divergent strategies that have matched the influence of the market and people operating within the market (or industry). The essay examines the roles and strategy of historical leadership models as they converge or diverge with one another. Roles are the expectations of leadership behaviour; this is the ideals in which the organization and employees hold to be important in a leader. Strategy can be defined, for the purposes of this paper, as the manner in which the leader assesses and organizes the tasks and requirements of the tasks and behaviours throughout the interactions and roles of the leader or manager. Theories of Leadership The following section explores the historical theories and implications of leadership as pre-classical, classical, modern and post-modern leadership models. Pre-Classical The most prominent pre-classical models of leadership were in the early Greek history, where early scholars set the value-based ideals for centuries of leadership and management (Martinze and Bitici p 7 2006). Socrates established that â€Å"[the] management of private concerns differs from that of public concerns only inmagnitude †¦ neither can be carried on without men †¦ and those who understand how to employ [others] are successful directors of private and public concerns, and those who do not understand, will err in the management of both† (Wren p 18 2006). This shows the early role of management was to understand the functional variances and magnitude of public concern, thus business was also a political landscape. In later Greek history, Aristotle added to the strategy spectrum of the manager as relating to the specialization of labor, functional roles of departments, choices between centralization and decentralization, the whole of the organization is superior to the part; and, â€Å"On leadership: ‘He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander’† (Wren p 18-192006). Thus the roles of pre-classical era management are relative to the ability to navigate through a highly political economy and direct the organization to answering public and private concerns (Martinze and Bitici p 7 2006). The strategy of the pre-classical era was to recognize the steps involved in the entire scope of the organization based on functionality. This was an effective method of management in the pre-classical era, and can be considered in line with the ideal service industries of the time, such as bath houses, shoe and boot makers, weapons makers, and others. Classical  Adam Smith showed that the leadership strategy â€Å"treated the return or the surplus created as a return to capital† (Wren p 42 2006). After Smith, Jean Baptiste Say (1767–1832) stated that leadership strategy requires knowledge and judgement in â€Å"†¦ the probable amount of the demand, and the means of its production: at one time he must employ a great number of hands; at another, buy or order the raw material, collect laborers, find consumers, and give at all times a rigid attention to order and economy; in a word, he must possess the art of superintendence and administration† (Wren p 42-43 2006). Thus the leadership role in the classical era is defined as one that is highly dependent on the decision making process, and that the strategy incorporates demand, production, and consumption through the entire market-industry domain. During this era, human history was entering the industrial phase, where industry was overpopulating the market rather than the traditional farmer markets (Martinze and Bitici p 7 2006). The classical model recognized the effectiveness of a leader as one who must focus on value-based decision makings when information is not whole, when the industry and foundation of the economy is changing, and be able to administrate in a changing economy (Martinze and Bitici p 7 2006) Modern Modern era leadership evolved through the industrial phase, prompted by technology and the early globalizing aspect of the value chain that existed during the post-WW2 era (Martinez and Bitici p 7 2006). The role formulation of leadership in the modern era can be attributed to Jennings (196) who showed the modern era of management should encompass the situation, behaviour, and incorporate situation-based theory models. Jenning’s leader was emphatically described as a hero who â€Å"acts as though possessed by a destiny that requires his being the center of attention, and having arrived there, he never willingly retires from the center until he feels no longer needed† where the strategy â€Å"requires great stamina, self-reliance, and confidence† (Jennings p 96, 122, 1960). Max Weber initialized the modern strategy of leadership as being: †¢ A continuous organisation or functions bounded by rules (Enock p 6 2002) †¢ That individuals functioned within the limits of the specialisation of the work (Enock p 6 2002) †¢ The degree of authority allocated and the rules governing the exercise of Authority (Enock p 6 2002) †¢ A hierarchical structure of offices appointment to offices made on the grounds of technical competence only (Enock p 6 2002) †¢ The separation of officials from the ownership of the organisation (Enock p 6 2002) The authority was vested in the official positions and not in the personalities that held these posts (Enock p 6 2002) †¢ Rules, decisions and actions were formulated and recorded in writing (Enock p 6 2002) The modern era leader’s role was to serve the organization, and the strategy employed was hierarchical, top-down management. This was adequate for its time, however, the bureaucratic model of organizational leadership did little to promote a value and knowledge based leadership era seen in other theories. Post Modern The post-modern era of leadership is the current theories in place. Entrepreneurial leadership is a formal process that incorporates informal ideas. The leadership qualities are often determined by a number of forces, such as â€Å"The size of the organization, its predominant management styles, the complexity of its environment, its production process, its problems, and the purpose of its planning system all play a part in determining the appropriate degree of formality† (Pearce and Robinson p 13 2004). The effective post-modern leadership strategy focuses on four key points, as outlined by Kouzes and Posner (2002): seize the initiative; make challenges meaningful; innovate and create; look outward for fresh ideas. A post-modern leader values entrepreneur ideals and seizes the initiative through enthusiasm, determination and desire (Kouzes and Posner p 170 2002). The leader wants to exhibit innovation by seeking new ways and new opportunities through invention and motivation. The concept of innovation requires that the leader be ready to focus on opportunities for ways to do what has never been done (Kouzes and Posner p 175 2002). Conclusion The pre-classical era focused on the implementation of public and private beuaracracy into the leadership domain, where the ideals of the ‘whole’ and the ability to command were held in the higher regard as traditional utility. The value of the leader was therefore based on the ability to command and conquer. In later classical theories, the value of leadership changed to incorporate decision-making strategy and value distribution over commanding, but the similarity to pre-classical is the ability to conquer through administration. The modern eras changed the role of a leader from the earlier theories by incorporating behaviour theory over command and conquer ideals. Weber’s leadership model parallels Aristotle’s, in that individual specialization and decision based decentralization better served the organization. The post-modern era of leadership incorporates elements from all the historical theories of leadership, but marks the importance of continuous improvement and constant appraisal, communication, and informalities.

American who art thou?

â€Å"I have lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans† laments Tamenund (Cooper 382) in the book Last of the Mohicans. The death of Uncas and Cora marks the end of the Mohican people. Chingachgook indeed outlived Uncas his son but he is now childless and his people will now pass into legend and song. Ironically, the people described by Cooper in his book are Mohicans (Britanica). But their names rightly belong to another tribe known as the Mohegan (Britanica). The adventures of Uncas shed light on the true meaning of American. An American is a truly difficult to define creature. The US constitution defines as; All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. (Section 1) US citizenship, for those who are not born with it, is surprisingly hard to acquire. Yet thousands of people from the third-world will try every year to gain entry. America is believed to be the land of milk and honey. Millions more would attempt to enter if they only had the means. All seek the freedom and liberty promised by the Statute of Liberty to the Huddled masses. Those who are not Natural Born American Citizens can aspire to receive visa to work in the States. If fortune smiles upon them they can be granted citizenship after proving themselves to be good law abiding people. This also in tales absorbing American Values and ethics although compared to other nations America has a high tolerance for those who thing out of the box and the non-conformists. Media can often be used to reinforce or even create a new identity for a people. For example, Nazi propaganda transformed the innocent Jews into the demons who were behind all the ills of the world. The book last of the Mohicans and the movie last of the Dogmen are examples, of how media can be used to form a country’s sense of identity. In the movie Last of the Dogmen, Lewis Gates pursues escaped convicts into the Montana countryside. All he recovers are a few scraps of cloth, some blood and an old fashioned Indian arrow. Despite the doubts of scientist, Gates believed that the there is a lost Indian tribe somewhere out there. Working on a hunch the Indian arrow leads him down a trail of pursuit of a lost tribe of Dog Soldiers. He eventually encounters the Dog soldiers and they believe him to be their foe. Upon his escape he essays to protect them from being discovered and polluted by civilization. In the movie the American was defined as a Native American, one of the Dog Soldiers whose ancestors once roamed the plains of America free and untamed by today’s mores. The noble savage is worthy of protection from the corrupting influence of mainstream society. By comparison the Last of the Mohicans is about a Mohican caught in the French-English war in Canada. The French are trying to overwhelm Fort William Henry with the aid of the Hurons and the Iroquis. Hawkeye is given the task of escorting the commanders two daughters to safety past the Indians. On the road they encounter Chingachgook and Uncas the last of the Mohicans in the region. The plot of Hawkeye’s guide is soon exposed the guide betrays the company and the two Mohicans agree to be their guides. In the forest, Hawkeye, the Mohicans and their charges face many perils including many Indians who are haunting the woods in search of them. One of the members of the group is wounded by a sniper and they are soon immobilized. The group hides in a cave but a flushed out by a much larger party of Hurons. Now prisoners of the Hurons they are granted a chance at freedom if Cora would but consider to marry Magua. Haughty Cora refuses and soon the enraged Magua decides that the entire party should just die. At that very moment, the Mohicans and Hawkeye attack rescuing the captives and slaughtering the Hurons. Magua escapes but the captives are now safe. Eventually they stop at an old building where a lot of Mohicans died and where Chingachgook and Hawkeye fought together. Soon they are finally within the fort’s walls and are safe. In the fort, Duncan wonders how the fort can hold off so many attackers. Their only hope is for Webb to arrive with reinforcements. Duncan is sent as an emissary to the French commander Montcalm. All this succeeds in doing is letting Duncan know that the Frech are aware of the dire plight of the English Fort. The commanders, Montcalm and Munro eventually meet and Montcalm hands Munro a letter detailing how Webb is unable to send reinforcement. He asks the English to surrender. Munro naturally abhors surrender, but upon hearing the generous terms offered by the Frenchman agrees to sign a treaty. Peace it seems is achieved. But not all are pleased with the accord. Magua is indignant in claiming that his warriors will have no scalps while the white men become friends. While the English are fleeing from Fort William Henry the Hurons attack killing many innocent people. Cora is found by Magua and again he asks for her to be his wife but again she refused. So Magua captures Alice instead. A rescue effort goes horribly wrong when Duncan, Uncas and Hawkeye go to the Huron Village. Uncas is caught and is at the mercy of the Huron. This time the rescue goes well as Duncan is able to rescue Uncas. After a side-trip among the Delaware who are overjoyed at seeing Uncas, a Mohican. Uncas prepares his forces to attack the Hurons. In the battle that follows Magua is killed, Cora is also killed but ere the battle is ended Uncas too dies. Oddly, enough Cooper’s view of Mohican Indian is wildly at variance with the movie version. Cooper’s Mohicans are musket carrying warrior who could fight equally well as the Europeans they traveled with. By comparison   Wyeth portrays Uncas with a dagger, a tomahawk, and a bow and arrow-weapons of precolonial warfare and the customary attributes of an Indian brave. Cooper’s Uncas suggests the complexity of the character's position as a conventionally educated, English-speaking American Indian, Wyeth generalizes and romanticizes the Indian hero's appearance. Wyeth’s version simply conforms to his understanding of American Indians, which was tightly bound to the ideal of an untamed wilderness. Hawkeye is the book’s consummate American, he is the friend of Chingchagook. In chapter three of the Indian’s struggle for identity is first given shape. He was of unmixed blood and his tribe is the grandfather of nations. In the past his people fought the Iroquis, who were now mercenaries at the employ of the French, However, now the tribe is depleted and only Uncas his son remains of the Mohicans. Uncas and Chingchagook are firmly with the English as they are prepared to die fighting the Iroquis. Also in this chapter is the interplay of ideas and beliefs between Chingchagook and Hawkeye. This would later be an important ideal of Americans. The free exchange of ideas and belief or the so called Marketplace of ideas. Another example of the struggle was the discrimination Cora Munro suffered as opposed to the respect that Alice Munro received. Both were the daughters of a prominent military commander but because of Cora’s skin color and heritage she is looked down upon. Although later in the story she would fall in love with Uncas. An American is one who can identify with the values and morals of the American people in General. It is the question of what those values are that is problematic. One of the first defining events of being an American was Declaration of independence. As written by Thomas Jefferson the American people believed that â€Å"All men are created free and equal under God†. Previous to the declaration, Americans were still very much under the heel of the primitive feudal system they inherited from the British. The King, three thousand miles away ruled their lives by fiat. His lords and nobles ran roughshod over his subjects. This same struggle for equality is seen when Chingchagook and Hawkeye are discussing the differences between the English and the Mohicans. Another related event was the Civil war. The ideal of free and equal was put to the test. Till then it was a hypocrisy, the US claimed that its people lived in equality. Yet in the Southern States nearly 1/3 of all people were slaves who had no civil and political rights. The black man was a slave unfitting even of the title man, he toiled in the cotton plantations endlessly providing wealth for the arrogant white masters. Tens of Thousands would die before the African-American could take part and received citizenship in the country. An example, of this discrimination is when Cora rejects Magua’s offer to be his wife. In exchange for the freedom of the thralls. Still Cora refuses because even if she was a Quadroon she still held herself better than the filthy Indian Magua. However, even with the Emancipation declaration, the â€Å"black man† was still relegated to a second class citizen. It was not until Martin Luther King Jr. came forth daring violence and persecution in order end the discrimination and bigotry that plagued African Americans in the south. The struggle for equality can also been seen in the desire of Magua to be wed to Cora where Cora constantly refuses him because of his inferior stock. In the past, there were laws in place, particularly in the south, which prevented a black person from marrying a white person. Manifest Destiny, that doctrine that said that America should expand to the Pacific and beyond was another important even that helped change the American Identity. The Expansion to the west would come at the expense of Mexicans and Indians who would lose their lands. In that point of history a great influx of Irish, Germans and other European immigrants came to America to seek the freedom promised by the Statute of liberty. They were soon welded into the American people and brought their work ethic and industry to the increase the vigor of the rising Hercules that was the Union. The World Wars are another defining event in American History because the US having gained prominence among nations was now ready to take its place among the stars. America sent legions of its finest youths to go forth and fight in Europe and Asia for the defense of the weak and innocent against those who would oppress them. The same way Uncas was willing to endanger himself for the sake of foreigners he barely knew. The American identity remains vague and hard to define. Literature and other media can help express and expound it. But ultimately it must shine forth from the heart of every American Citizen. Simply, put an American is one who lives and breathes the American ideals. In a sense Hawkeye was an American because he respected the views of those who were not in concurrence with his. He also fought hard for the protection of the weak and innocent. Finally, he was a true friend to his allies. Works Cited Cooper, James The Last of the Mohicans. Edwards Brothers Inc 2006 Ed â€Å":Mohican† (history), Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 2007, webpage: EB-Mohicans. (Last accessed 11 Dec 2007) â€Å"Mohegan † (history), Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 2007, webpage: EB-Mahican. (Last accessed 11 Dec 2007) U.S. Constitution. Micheals, Joel B â€Å"The Last of the Dogmen† 8 Sept 1995 WYETH'S NOBLE SAVAGE Sep/Oct 2007. Vol. 28, Iss. 5; pg. 23, 1 pgs

Athenian Democracy and Meritocracy

Athenian Democracy and Meritocracy To what extent did the Athenian democracy live up to its ideology of being a meritocracy, and to what extent was power still in the hands of the wealthy? Athenian democracy was an evolving process in the 5 th century B.C. The concentration of power in the political establishment would change considerably from when the first seeds were planted until the voting citizenship was expanded and new leaders emerged towards the end of the century. Democracy was not instituted in the name of human rights but for pragmatic purposes and it is necessary that we look at it in this light when considering whether Athens was a meritocracy and whether the wealthy still held considerable power in Democratic Athens. It is certainly true that Athenian Democracy, like all systems, on paper differed considerably to how it was implemented. In this essay I will argue that Athenian Democracy was largely successful in implementing a state democracy in which, to a large extent, there were no obvious discrepan cies over who was favoured in matters of society and the state. I will show that the Athenian constitution largely kept the city as a meritocracy, making its citizens equal before the state in matters of legality and political power. However, I will also consider the limitations of Athenian Democracy and to what extent certain functions may have limited its success. I will argue that the power of the wealthy was in most respects limited by the structure of the state but was held back to some extent by the inevitable advantages that come from wealth. I will mainly be arguing that whatever limitations there were, they were not enough to have a damaging effect on democracy as a whole. The Athenian Democracy allowed that only adult males of Athenian ancestry were part of the democratic system, which overall made up around 10-20% of the demos. Slaves, freed slaves, children, women and metics (foreigners in Athens) were excluded. It is obvious from this that to label Athens as a meritoc racy in the modern sense is absurd. In this essay, I will consider Athens as a meritocracy in terms of the rights and opportunities of those who are citizens, not from those who aren’t and will therefore consider to what extent Athenian Democracy worked the way it was supposed to. The wealthy did not hold power to the extent that it harmed the democratic process. The wealthy certainly did have many advantages compared to the poor, but this is not necessarily any comment upon Athenian democracy simply an inevitability that those with wealth will be able to achieve more than those without. The wealthy had power but not to an extent that was greatly damaging to the state. When defining wealth, I will consider Aristotle’s definition as including money, land, real estate, furniture, livestock and a high quality and quantity of slaves (Rhet. 1361a12-16). There was most definitely a significant wealth inequality amongst Athens’s citizens whereby the leisure class (thos e who didn’t need to work as a result of family fortunes, nobility etc.) made up roughly 5-10% of the populace. This class barrier was certainly realised by the lower classes who often showed their resentment at the wealthy. However despite this inequality, they did not see this as particularly affecting when it came down to the political and legal powers of the people, as this inequality was grudgingly accepted. Wealth discrepancies were not seen as unjust as potential legal or political barriers that may have affected the citizens. (see Ober ch.5)

Leadership, Teambuilding, and Communication Essay - 3

Leadership, Teambuilding, and Communication - Essay Example The company’s profits mainly come from advertisement services. Google inc. was founded by Sergey Brin and Lary Page of the University of Stanford in mid 1990s before going public in 1998 and headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company has witnessed tremendous growth in the past decade and is currently running over one million data service centers worldwide and processing numerous search requests. All the achievements certainly came as a result of the leadership characteristics and style adopted the company leaders (Duthel, 2008). Therefore, there are several leadership traits that I would expect of the leaders of Google Inc. Firstly, I would prefer them to be democratic. A democratic leader in this regard means a leader who allows participation and consensus in decision-making. Through democratic leadership style, the company would be able to engage it employees on matters relating to the company which will certainly be beneficial in propelling the company to prosperity. The benefit of engaging employees in matters relating to the company is because employees of Google are certainly the ones who deal directly with the company’s customers and as such understands their needs and where they want improvements effected. Democratic leaders will, therefore, benefit from the consensus building as far as running of the organization is concerned (Adeniyi, 2007). Secondly, the leader needs to be one with a vision. In this regard, the leaders of Google Inc. should be one who is confident and belief of what he or she is doing, with a clear vision of what he or she wants the company to go. This characteristic is important because such a leader would be able to inspire the employees towards the attainment of such a vision for the prosperity of the organization. Truly, a leader without a clear vision cannot inspire people to follow his or her commands (Adeniyi, 2007). The leader should also be one who inspires his followers rather than command. Research

M&A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

M&A - Essay Example According to the information, it is known that the company had revenues drastically raisin from $92 million to 127 million, in 2011. This information alone is enough to give me enough reasons to acquire the company. The role of any business is to make profits, or at least break even. Therefore, critical analysis of the statement of financial positions should be done in order to come up with factual information concerning the move. In terms of competition, the company is doing well, to a point of out doing some other better companies. The company is also able to compete favourable with the competitors who directly supply the products to the customers. The other significant information which I want to know is the pricing strategies of the firm. I need to understand the way the company formulates its pricing policies, the way it deals with customers and how it adjusts its prices. One important issue, which is important concerning investment acquisitions, is getting to understand about pricing strategies. If the prevailing price was $10, then the investor cannot come and arbitrarily fix the price at $20 as this will result to loss of customers and the market grip. Looking at the financial statements will furnish me with enough information so that I can make informed decision about the firm. The firm’s historical performance, as shown by the revenues and gross profit margins, is of great help in making valid conclusions. It is also important to analyse the asset base of the company, as this will make me know whether it will be able to produce efficiently. The first way to learn about all this information I have listed is to visit the company’s website. Here, much of the company’s information concerning the financial status is obtained. The information will act as a directive of whether to invest or not. Visiting the company website is also helpful as I am able to get updated information concerning the company, the manager, the objective

Contracting and Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contracting and Ethics - Assignment Example However, according to the records the individual was able to access non- public propriety information regarding the protester’s performance of the contract that was incumbent, thus appearing to be challenged procurement. Therefore AGPH should be excluded from the competitive bid as it used the services of a former government staff which is unethical with regard to government laws on contracts. With regard to protesting the bid, Government Accountability Office (GAO) will issue the decision arrived at regarding the protest within the hundred days after it has been filed. GAO considers protests that concerns awards of subcontracts by or sales of a federal agency, or of a federal agency, or procurements made by the government agencies other than the Federal agencies. According to Lebowitz (2009) asserted that If GAO finds out that the award is not in compliance with the regulations it may recommend the AGPH to pay the protester the costs of filing and pursuing the protest, and th e bid and proposal preparation. In addition, protests are dismissed on the basis of; contract administration; contracting officer’s affirmative responsibility; and procurement integrity. 2. Since TMA was in the Department of Defense (D.O.D) responsible for awarding and management of contracts. Through the issuance of an RFP the issuance of contracts was to undergo evaluation before being awarded. This includes using the technical approach, past performance and finally price/cost. By employing the services of a former employee of TMA it means the whole process is flawed as he had access to information not available to the public. Therefore, AGPH should have utilized the rating scheme for purpose of evaluating on technical merit. According to the Agency Report (AR) Tab 86, of the Source Selection Evaluation Guide (SSEG) at 11-12, a flaw in the proposal increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance. Also, TMA should evaluate each of the sub factors stemming from propos al risk. With regard to assessment of the ethics issue relevance rating is vital. In assessment and assignment of performance the following rating scheme is utilized; exceptional, satisfactory, marginal and not satisfactory. TMA is to receive time proposals from entities like AGHP for the contracts of the North Region. TMA’s is to commence evaluation and selection process with the establishment of three evaluation teams: firstly is the technical evaluation team (TET), which is to evaluate technical proposals; performance assessment group (PAG), which evaluates past performance information of offeror’s; and the price/cost unit, tasked with analyzing the price/cost proposals. The teams’ findings are then to be submitted to the chairperson of the Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB), who prepares best value award recommendation and evaluation report for consideration by source selection authority (SSA). The SSA following advice from the source selection advisor y council (SSAC) makes the final decision on best value award (G.A.O, 2009). 3. So as to avoid malpractices in the bidding and contracting processes integrity is paramount. The AGPH and TMA should set integrity mechanisms in their organizations. It is useful to conduct interviews including the very key individuals within the TMA who presumably would have wider direct knowledge of the activities of the former government employee. Also

Memo writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memo writing - Essay Example r is that Social Security has been viewed by both parties and many different congresses as a means to rapidly provide a level of funding to any number of pet projects or current goals that exist. Naturally, such a practice has been short sighted to say the least. The end result has been that due to the fact that such a high level of borrowing from the fund has taken place, no project or governmental action is necessarily better off. The level of intra-governmental debt has remained the same. Moreover, the worst part of this type of borrowing is the fact that due to the way in which the laws that govern the use and utilization of Social Security â€Å"surplus† has meant that no meaningful level of surplus has been allowed to accrue. With respect to the way that Social Security surplus funds are allocated and distributed, the government considers a surplus as anything over current liabilities. A secondary means by which the government could and should seek to provide extra resources to the Social Security Fund is to increase withholding taxes on paychecks. Although raising taxes is never a popular choice among candidates that are seeking popularity with their constituents, the fact of the matter is that it is mathematically proven that the fund itself cannot continue to survive unless it receives an influx of new cash; whether as a function of increased government debt or by increased tax burdens upon those individuals who will one day rely upon it. In this way, the reader can quickly see that there remain two options for keeping the current fund afloat past 2033; taxation or an increase in government debt.1 Due to the fact that government debt already surpasses 15 trillion US dollars, it is not advisable that the government should assume that it will continue to have the capacity or the option to borrow the funding necessary to provide Social Security past the time in wh ich it will become insolvent. As one is fully aware, the benefits of Social Security are

She pitied men always as if they lacked something. How does Woolf Essay

She pitied men always as if they lacked something. How does Woolf contrast masculine and feminine in To the Lighthouse - Essay Example Ramsay. The sentence is thought by Lily Briscoe in the novel and the whole sentence is This sentence clearly shows that the novel, â€Å"To the Lighthouse† is written with feminist theme in which, the writer wants to depict that men are naturally lacking while on the other hand, women have some power. Mr. Ramsay, who is Mrs. Ramsay’s husband, is a philosopher who has a good reputation on the basis of his knowledge but in the whole novel, he is shown dependent on Mrs. Ramsay. Mr. Ramsay is shown worried about the existence of his work as he thinks at one juncture, â€Å"and his fame lasts how long? It is permissible even for a dying hero to think before he dies how men will speak of him hereafter. His fame lasts perhaps two thousand years. And what are two thousand years? (asked Mr. Ramsay ironically, staring at the hedge).† These lines by Mr. Ramsay indicate towards his doubts about the remembrance of his work and himself. All his doubts about his existence and being remembered receive a sense of satisfaction because of Mrs. Ramsay who is always there to help his husband. He while talking to Mrs. Ramsay informs her about his doubts about his work being forgotten and he gets encouraging responses and back up from his wife. Mrs. Ramsay is not shown as a perfect woman but she is always ready to support men and while helping them, she sympathizes with them and tries to find solution to their problems. With Mrs. Ramsay, every character of the novel feels relaxed and comfortable because of her complacent and supportive attitude. She is like a source of support to the other characters of the novel including her husband, who looks a strong person but appears to be very weak before her wife. Mr. Ramsay appears wholly dependent on Mrs. Ramsay for confidence and encouragement. Woolf portrays Mr. Ramsay as a person and a man, who feels himself incomplete without Mrs. Ramsay. Woolf tries

Term paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Term Paper Example 1165). Aside from suicide, starvation-related effects such as heart failure, organ failure, and malnutrition also contribute to the high mortality rate of anorexia nervosa. Patients with anorexia are excessively preoccupied with weight, food, and body shape. As much as they would like to eat, patients feel guilty because of a distorted body image or perception that one is distressingly large despite obvious thinness. When the goal of losing of weight is not met, patients with anorexia nervosa lose their desire to live and thrive, fall into depression, and eventually commit suicide or die from starvation-related complications. In the case study, the teenager posed the highest risk for depression as she became "almost obsessive" in her physical activity, taking part in paddling, track, tennis and aerobic exercises at home. There are also signs of cardiac alteration, as manifested in abnormally low heart rate of 44 beats per minute, and malnutrition since the teenager has lost 9 kg (20 lbs.) for approximately a year, height at 50th percentile weight is now at the 10th percentile for her age, obvious thinness, and lack of menstrual periods. 2. What is the most likely electrolyte abnormally in patients with bulimia nervosa who engage in self-induced vomiting? Patients with bulimia nervosa who engage in purging behavior (self-induced vomiting) are likely to have abnormally low level of potassium electrolyte in the blood, a condition called hypokalemia. Potassium is lost during episodes of purging as vomiting of gastric fluid occurs. In addition, the metabolic imbalance termed â€Å"hypochloremic alkalosis† greatly contributes in occurrence of hypokalemia in patients with bulimia nervosa as potassium ions shift into the cells to help neutralize metabolic alkalosis and high pH (Day, Paul & Williams, 2009, p. 313). In short, alkalosis can cause hypokalemia and vice versa. In the case study, there has been no evidence of any binging or purging behaviors and any la boratory result that would confirm hypokalemia. However, health care provider must address hypokalemia promptly as the electrolyte potassium is essential for skeletal and cardiac function. 3. Name three indications for medical hospitalization of a patient with an eating disorder. As stated earlier, patients with eating disorder are likely to die from suicide and starvation-related effects. Thus, early medical hospitalization and treatment is necessary. Goroll and Mulley (2009) enumerate the medical criteria for hospitalization of a patient with an eating disorder, among of which include: more than 40% weight loss of premorbid or ideal body weight in three months, rapid progression of weight loss, presence of cardiac arrhythmias, and persistent hypokalemia (p. 1512). In the case study, weight loss of 9 kg (20 lbs.) since last year and cardiac abnormalities manifested by a heart rate of 44 beats per minute warrant medical attention to prevent further complications and correct physical and psychological abnormalities. 4. A teenaged female reports feeling healthy, denies feeling fat, and has normal menstrual periods. However, she has evidenced a 20 lb. weight loss. What is the most likely diagnosis? Anorexia nervosa is the most likely diagnosis of a teenaged female, who reports feeling healthy, denies feeling fat, and has normal menstrual periods but has evidenced a 20 lb. weight loss. In making differential diagnosis for mental and eating disorders, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) version 10 and the

What Influence the Victorian Architecture Annotated Bibliography

What Influence the Victorian Architecture - Annotated Bibliography Example According to the research findings, Dixon and Mutheisus claim that the changes in technology and political system were reflected in the architecture of that time and the authors mark how it is possible to recognize the signs of the à ©poque in Victorian architecture. As a sub-claim, the authors categorize buildings according to their types and purposes (buildings for the living, for entertainment, for business and manufacture, building for religious purposes). It enables readers to understand how details and peculiarities of construction served specific purposes in Victorian architecture. However, each à ©poque has its peculiar hallmarks. Victorian era was not an exception. But the changes implemented during this period influenced modern and postmodern architecture. The book â€Å"Victorian Architecture: Diversity and Invention† is also valid as it gives an excellent outline of the examples of British Victorian architecture with numerous valuable illustrations. The book is w ritten in according to all academic requirements and is abundant with credible references. The authors of the book describe thoroughly details, peculiarities, functional aspects of Victorian buildings. The book develops the research with the possibility to follow how the tendencies of Victorian architecture were modified later and implemented in new styles and directions. In his book Curl offered a new perspective on Victorian architecture by breaking the myth of this type of architecture being depressive and monstrous. The author states his sub-claim that Victorian architecture despite being originated in conservative cultural à ©poque was able to combine utilitarian functions with aesthetic. The author explains how different purposes of architecture were implemented in life by Victorian architects and how this gothic accent appeared and how spectators concentrate on one side of architecture. The author found a number of examples of colorful and eclectic buildings not typical for general representation of this style in classic literature.

Media Effects on School Shooting Victims Essay Example for Free

Media Effects on School Shooting Victims Essay The participants of this study were students of Jokela High School, the school which experienced the shooting, and a control group of students from Pirkkala High school, which had not experienced a shooting. Jokela High School, at the time, had 474 students enrolled. All 474 of these students were asked to partake in the study. Participation in this study was voluntary and of the 474 students, 231 accepted the invitation to participate in the study, 180 students declined, 34 students could not be reached and 29 students consented to participate but never did. 526 students agreed to participate in the study from the control group school, Pirkkala High School. The participants were a mixture of both male and female students ranging from ages 13 to 19 years of age. Large portions of the families of the students from Pirkkala belong to the upper middle-class compared to Jokela, but there were no major differences in sociocultural background or crime rate between the two communities. The data in this study was collected by dispensing a questionnaire in a school setting in March of 2008. If a student was absent from school the questionnaire was mailed home along with the consent forms. The questionnaire started out asking basic background questions, such as socioeconomic status, living arrangements, previous psychological support or exposure to shootings. Next, students were asked to take a 36-item General Health Questionnaire to measure psychological and psychosocial symptoms. Students were also asked to complete The Impact of Event Scale to map symptoms into two categories, Intrusion and Avoidance. Students were then asked to rate their exposure to the shooter as either no exposure (control students), mild, moderate, significant, severe, and extreme. Each of these categories had descriptions to help the student choose the right option that applied to them. Lastly, students were asked questions about the media’s interactions with them. They were asked if the media interacted with them after the shooting, if they cooperated with the media, if the questions had an effect on their feelings after the shooting, and how the reporter approached them. Then they were asked if they followed the news coverage on the event over the next couple days and what type of effect the coverage had on their feelings.

Children Essay Example for Free

Children Essay 1.1 Explain how legislation, frameworks, codes of practice and policies relating to positive behaviour support are applied to own working practice. The aspects of my role within our setting are regulated by our policies and procedures which have been written with current legislation such as the Children’s act. These policies and procedures cover promoting positive behaviour and we all follow that as our code of practice as this is an important area to both us and all our children. We focus very much on praise for good behaviour, respecting each other and each other’s feelings, helping each other and if they cannot do something but try we give praise for trying. We feel that a child’s behaviour is reflected in how much they feel valued within our setting, we make sure the children have planned activities for them to experience and we allow the children to have their say and we change and mould activities letting the children take the lead and let the activity free flow and it ends up being a lot of fun. We do have a set of house rules which we feel are realistic and very set around house rules that would apply in their own home. We try to be consistent in enforcing these house rules which very much includes our own daughter, we make sure she is included in following the house rules the same as all the other children that we look after. However all children will have times where they misbehave and for this we have several strategies, depending on the age and stage of ability of the child but we find that they work well for us. * Distraction- We will remove the child from a situation and give them an alternative activity or we ask the child to help us with a special task and tell them we need their help. * Ignoring- Depending on the situation we may ignore the bad behaviour as we feel it is being done to get a reaction, we do find this more common with our own daughter too. * Discuss with child- We will take the child to one side and talk to them about why we will remove them from the activity if they continue even though we don’t want to do that but we want children to understand that their actions have consequences, we are always very careful that we explain that it’s their behaviour that we don’t like not them. We also talk to the child about how they are feeling maybe not at that point but we return to it later on to see if anything is troubling them that they want to talk about * Time Out- Removing the child from an activity or situation and giving them some quiet time, maybe even some TV time if this is what their prefer to do, we find that some children burn out and just need some short time on their own or with a friend to chill out and relax We will never smack, shake, or hurt a child in any way and we will never humiliate a child ever We would always discuss the situation with the parent on collecting; we have never had a situation where we have had to call a parent/carer to collect the child but if the situation needed it we would do that. We have found that some children get quite distressed if you tell their parents about their behaviour and this can actually have a negative reaction so we will catch the parent before the child knows they are here and speak to them in private in our lounge about the situation, confirm how we dealt with it at the time and the outcome and that we have dealt with the behaviour at the time that it happened. 1.2 Define what is meant by restrictive interventions. There are a number of forms of restrictive intervention’s, the first one is physical intervention where you have to intervene such as if two children were having a fight and you wanted to break them up then there is a good chance that you will need to separate them to calm them down. Social intervention is another form of restrictive intervention where you can deal with the situation with speech, body language and facial expressions. Social intervention is also used in the setting for example the stair gates to stop the children climbing the stairs, the safety straps on the high chair so they don’t fall out. 1.3 Explain when restrictive intervention may and may not be used. Practitioners will always look for the best possible way of dealing with situations that may arise, unfortunately that’s sometimes not the case and there are times where Restrictive intervention may be required when a child is showing signs of unreasonable behaviour and everything has been taken into account of trying to reason with them, intervention may then be used, but any forms of intervention are best used as a last resort as its always best practice to communicate in a positive way but strongly depending on the circumstances and situation i.e. any injury that may have been caused by a child to another could have been an accident and therefore intervention of any kind may not be required on this occasion. 1.4 Explain who needs to be informed of any incidents where restrictive interventions have been used. It outlines in the EYFS that one intervention that can be used however rare that it is, can be that of a physical one, it is used to manage a child’s behaviour and it must be recorded and the parents must be informed on the same day as the incident occurred. Our own policies and procedures state that any intervention that has been required will be discussed with you at the time of pick up, written in their handbook if they have one or a phone call will be made on that day by us informing the parents of the incident and how it was dealt with at the time. 1.5 Explain why the least restrictive interventions should be used when dealing with incidents of challenging behaviour. I think it’s always important for people who look after children in whatever role they may do to be positive in sometimes difficult circumstances, I don’t mean we should praise bad behaviour far from it but we need to show positive reinforcement of some nature in order for us to get the best out of young people , negativity won’t bring out the best in people and will only give them a sense of despair and lack of self-confidence, positive feedback will hopefully bring them the confidence they need in life to go from strength to strength so I feel it’s always important to concentrate on what they can do well and not what they can’t do right. For all parties involved in situations of bad behaviour it’s important if possible to diffuse situations and to try and talk things through to a resolution with the child involved, with safety in mind. 1.6 Describe safeguards that must be in place if restrictive physical interventions are used. With health and safety in mind there are environments that need to be safe if any physical intervention is required, safety to all is priority in this situation and as unfortunate as it may be, if a person cannot be calmed down by any other means as previously discussed a situation may escalate and turn physical. It’s important that all children are safe and therefore removed from the setting and placed with other practitioners in another room away from the threatening behaviour of the individual concerned. If any unfortunate event does take place it’s important that the room is as safe as possible to avoid any injury to all involved, remember we are still looking for a peaceful and positive ending here and a physical situation is really the last thing anybody wants.it needs reminding here that its best if 2 practitioners are on standby as witnesses may be needed if things got out of hand and if anything was ever required from a medical point of view. 2.1 Explain the difference between proactive and reactive strategies. These are both at each end of the spectrum, a Proactive strategy is about us preventing a situation that we perceive may happen , a reactive strategy is something that hasn’t happened yet and something we may have to react to, a negative situation that we may have to turn into a positive one. 2.2 identify the proactive and reactive strategies that are used within own work role. To use these strategies’ it’s about us seeing, hearing and being aware of situations almost in a psychic form that may develop in our setting, for us to react and respond in a way to prevent something we feel may happen, as it may have happened before so will it happen again?, this could be any type of issue or situation and any act that is carried out by a child such as crying, aggressive behaviour, smacking, biting, arguments , an example of a situation that has occurred with us in our setting are as follows, a proactive and reactive example of the way we work would be to plan an activity when 2 of the children that are involved in this don’t get along very well but we want them to feel included in the groups activity ,it’s our job to understand what happened previously when we did this activity and the cause of the situation in the first place we can then implement ch ange for next time and see if there is any change in the behaviour of the child or children if resolved then fine, if not it’s up to us again to look at the cause and then try another method , methods used in situations like this would be to: Use our knowledge in order to avoid escalation, containment, use diversion as a strategy, use mediation, challenge and explain to children the consequences of their actions, support children and help them resolve situations to a positive end. 2.3 Explain the importance of identifying patterns of behaviour or triggers to challenging behaviour when establishing proactive or reactive strategies to be used. Like I’ve touched on earlier it’s about identifying the early warning signs that triggers children to cause disruptive behaviour and for us to intervene and preventing it from escalating further, it’s usually in our case quite easy to spot as you will see situations from time to time where you may find a child can start something and others will follow and do the same thing , an example of this would be where a child has been given something to do but has no interest in what they are doing, with nothing to do they begin to run around the play area and cause other children to do the same, it’s up to us to identify and intervene with this before it happens , a warning sign can sometimes be a change in their mood and other causes are as follows. Boredom give them something to focus on. Lack of choice it’s so important for them to them to be stimulated make sure there is plenty of choice in terms of things to do. Frustration in not being able to do something. Lack of attention make sure we communicate with them and show positive feedback if their doing something well. Disruption and noise – make sure of a calm environment. Too many children doing an activity – move make sure there another alternative activity A difficult one to identify is sometimes when they’re not well, all children are different and react in different kinds of ways, some will communicate and engage well and some wont. 2.4 Explain the importance of maintaining a person or child-centred approach when establishing proactive strategies. Challenging behaviour can be an individual thing and not all children react in the same way or react at the same level there can be different degrees in the severity of the behaviour. When dealing with inappropriate behaviour it’s important that each child is handled as an individual and not as a group, this shows that we are capable of adapting to each single case and it must be noted that a technique that may suit one child may not suit another, treating the children as individuals is also gives them a sense of value as they are treated as individual young people. Like we’ve said often despite the circumstances a positive spin on the situation is always a good one to end with. 2.5 Explain the importance of reinforcing positive behaviour with individuals. All people like to be praised and look for approval its only human nature and children are no different, to be positive as a person comes from positive behaviour itself, it’s always what we strive for and to be as a person, it’s vital that we show encouragement, praise and to be positive when they do something well if children are not praised for doing something well or they don’t get encouragement in a positive way they will look for attention in another ways, this is usually from a negative point of view i.e. they will start to show challenging behaviour in order to get a response this is most certainly what we don’t want ,as its not only bad for the child in question but the practitioner will find frustration in the fact that the feeling they now have could come across to the child in a negative light and that was something they were trying to avoid initially. You can now see that reinforcing positive behaviour is a good thing and the children mirror th is situation by acting appropriately well and in a positive light. 2.6 Evaluate the impact on an individual’s well-being of using reactive rather than proactive strategies. The use of a reactive approach towards a child is more of a negative one I feel, as an incident has already occurred and there will be a consequence for the child’s action, whereas a proactive approach is more of a positive one as it outlines from the start the behaviour that is expected from them, children as they are need constant reminders of good positive behaviour and if a proactive approach wasn’t used in the first place and an incident has occurred , the reactive approach after the incident has taken place can make the child in question feel a sense of confusion ,they may feel ashamed, humiliated and a whole host of negative feelings even if they are expressed in a positive light.

Applications of Positivism in Social Research

Applications of Positivism in Social Research Scientific methodology in sociology, the study of the social world, is most often associated with what is known as the positivist approach. In this essay, to determine whether or not it is indeed possible to apply scientific methods to the study of the social world, I will analyse the strengths and weaknesses of positivist sociology. â€Å"As developed by Auguste Comte, positivism is a way of thinking based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works.† (Johnson p231) This established knowledge was then to be used to affect the course of social change and it would help improve humanity. Comte’s work was in part a reaction to the ‘anarchy’ that besieged France in the wake of the revolution. Comte sincerely believed that scientific rationality could temper the raw human emotions that had lead to such chaos. Sociology, in his definition (and others), literally the science of society, co uld apply such scientific rationalism, empiricism and positivism to social life, thus improving it and preventing continued anarchy. â€Å"Comte believed that social life is governed by underlying laws and principles that can be discovered through the use of methods most often associated with the physical sciences.† (Johnson p231) One would identify the methods of positivism thus; careful observation measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions mathematisation (connects with all of the previous features; logic and systemisation of theory symmetry of explanation prediction; objectivity understood as value neutrality. â€Å"It consists in deliberately investigating phenomena with the expectations derived from the theory in mind and seeing whether or not the facts actually found agree with these expectations.† (Delanty p52) â€Å"If observed facts of undoubted accuracy will not fit any of the alternatives it leaves open, the system is in need of reconstruction.† (Delanty p53) Positivism, â€Å"Is above all a philosophy of science. As such, it stands squarely within the empiricist tradition. Metaphysical speculation is rejected in favour of positive knowledge based upon systematic observation and experiment. The methods of science can give us knowledge of the laws of coexistence.† (Marshall p510) However, as shall hopefully be shown later, these scientific methods can not show us anything about the inner ‘essences’ or ‘nature’ of things. Broadly speaking structuralism is, â€Å"Used loosely in sociology to refer to any approach which regards social structure (apparent or otherwise) as having priority over social action.† (Johnson p646) Positivism and structuralism are generally highly complementary, positivism effectively being the scientific methodology of structuralism. This can be observed in the works of Comte, Marx, Durkheim and the Vienna circle. Later theorists such as Parsons can also be described as both str ucturalist and positivist although in Parson’s case he does consider certain interpretivist sensibilities. Marx, Durkheim, Comte, the Vienna circle and many others all saw sociology as a science and all believed that social structure was the core component of society. â€Å"Perhaps one of the most important traits in naturalistic or positivistic sociology is the belief that social phenomena are patterned and are subject to deterministic laws much as are the laws governing the natural sciences. Sociological theory then becomes a quest for laws similar to the law of gravity or the law of material density in physics† (Poloma p3) The main difference between the social and natural worlds is that the subject of study in the social world is humanity. People, in basic terms, have a consciousness where as the subjects of the natural sciences, rocks or atoms or chemicals, do not. People are aware of themselves and their surroundings in a way that rocks, for example, are not. This, clearly, is a potential problem for positivist sociology. However, this problem is resolved, in positivist science, by arguing that the self-consciousness of human beings (the ability to think, act and feel) is not a significant factor in our ability to understand social behaviour. This, according to positivists, is because peoples behaviour is, at its genesis, always a reaction to some form of stimulation. This stimulation can be from their socialisation (as we shall see in Parsons work), or it can be something more direct like the need to earn a living or a confrontation with another human. This produces one of the criticisms of positiv ist sociology, as we shall see, action and the meaning placed on that action becomes unimportant for study, only the cause of the action, the stimuli, has any sociological value for positivists. The positivist view of sociology, of its aims, of its methods, is certainly a contentious one. Two of the first sociologists to question these methods, and the first that can be labelled as interpretivist, were Weber and Simmel. â€Å"Weber argues that sociology is not concerned with totalising explanations; only individuals have an ontological reality, society does not exist in that real sense, and so sociological explanations must be in terms of individual events and processes.† (Craib 1997 p51) Rickert’s term of Geisteswissenschaften (literally the sciences of the spirit/mind) greatly influenced Weber’s conception of what sociology should be. The ontological reality which Weber speaks of is that humans are very different from other natural beings. We have free will, an inner life, use symbols, possess language, live in culture and act meaningfully. This ontological reality ensures that humanity cannot be studied using positivist scientific methodology, or any other conventional scientific methodology, sociology must use other methods. While the natural sciences wish to explain natural events, sociology, as understood by Weber, Rickert or Simmel, wishes to understand social action. Social scientists should endeavour to understand social action in very much the same way as one attempts to understand other people, by communicating, through empathy, and through argument. These views are also associated with, and expanded upon, by the philosopher Peter Winch. (Winch 1958) As Weber states, â€Å"Even the knowledge of the most certain propositions of our theoretical sciences – e.g., the exact natural sciences or mathematics is, like the cultivation and refinement of the conscience, a product of culture.† (Delanty p110) In many ways the objective ‘fact’ of scientific enquiry is a fallacy. â€Å"Sociology differs from the natural sciences in that it does not deal with a pre given universe of objects. People attribute meaning to their social world and act accordingly.† (Baert p97) Weber, in his Methodology of The Social Sciences, points out that all knowledge of cultural reality is always from a particular point of view. The philosophical idea that there is no truth, only human opinion is prevalent in this argument. Simmel emphasises and expands upon this point, â€Å"In the last resort the content of any science doesn’t rest on simple objective facts, but always involves an interpretation and shaping of them according to categories and rules that are a priori of the science concerned.† (Stones p74) Any scientific conclusion, be it in the field of physics or sociology, has to be interpreted by its author, then represented by that same author and then reinterpreted by those that read it. In these interpretations any ‘truth’ or ‘law ’ is surrendered to human opinion, human meaning, human understanding. This criticism of positivist sociology is probably best illustrated by a discussion of a classic positivist sociological text, Emile Durkheim’s suicide study. In his study, Durkheim analysed the differential distribution of the occurrence of suicide by country and region. Durkheim professed to have found suicidogenic currents (Durkheim 1963) in society; the pressures to commit suicide, the laws of suicide. â€Å"These are called ‘social currents’†¦They come to each one of us from without and can carry us away in spite of ourselves.† (Delanty p28) Through a positivist, scientific methodology, Durkheim identified the pressures to commit suicide were greater in regions where the Protestant faith was dominant, and weaker where Catholicism dominated. Durkheim’s account posits an external force (suicidogenic currents) as the cause of suicide cause and effect. (Durkheim 1963) However why suicide occurs tends not to be the issue. To say that suicide is caused, not entirely obviously but in part, by the following of the Protestant faith is to assume that the term suicide is a simple one, a fixed one, with no room fo r differing meanings. This view is wrong. What is of importance is how a suicide comes to be defined as such by the coroner’s court. One must remember that a suicide is not an objective fact, but a interpretation, an interpretation that can be influenced by the coroner’s own personal feelings. If a ruling of suicide is likely to cause the deceased’s family pain and suffering, as is likely if they are Catholics, then the coroner may be inclined, where ever possible, to not record a suicide verdict, but an accidental death instead This alerts us to the problematic nature of Durkheim’s, and positivist sociology in general, reliance on statistics. For Durkheim takes those statistics as giving a ‘true’ picture of the incidence of suicide. But do they? Are they rather a representation of the interpretation of suicide as opposed to cold hard objective fact? Interactions/ interpretive work on suicide states that suicide statistics are a construction involving police, courts and coroners. Thus for a death to be counted as a suicide involves a complex social process concerning meaning and interpretation, two unquantifiable characteristics of humanity. Thus suicide is not just the effect of a societal cause, but an interpretation of events, thus not a positivist, scientific event. Therefore if sociologists wish a knowledge of social life, they cannot explain social actors’ action in terms of cause and effect. Rather, they must seek out what the social actors themselves say they are up to, wha t they mean. â€Å"Comte’s view shifted in later life, under the influence of Cloitilde de Vaux. He came to see that science alone could not be a binding force for social cohesion as he had earlier supposed. He argued that the intellect must become the servant of the heart, and advocated a new ‘religion of humanity.’† (Marshall p509) Comte, the originator of the positivist sociological methodology shifted his emphasis away from positivism in his later work, thus exposing the inherent problems and weaknesses at its methodological core. â€Å"Positivism has had relatively little influence in contemporary sociology for several reasons. Current views argue that positivism encourages a misleading emphasis on superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be observed.† (Johnson p231) For example, we cannot observe human motives or the meaning that people give to behaviour and other aspects of social life, but this does not me an that meaning and motive are nonexistent or irrelevant. The best way to illustrate the above points is to set them within the context of a positivist sociological study, in this case Parson’s work on personality. For society to function, it is logical according to Parsons to deduce that the individual members of society have to agree with society’s rule. â€Å"For Parsons, the social system is†¦made up of the interactions of individuals. Of special concern is†¦ that such interactions are not random but mediated by common standards of evaluation. Most important among these are moral standards which may be called norms.† (Hamilton p155) When people in society interact the interactions themselves, the emotions that seemingly control them, the goals that the individual actors (people) are hoping to obtain, they are all in fact controlled by the norms of society. â€Å"The concept of order is located predominantly at the level of the social system itself and the cultural system becomes a mechanism of the functioning of the social system.† (Hamilton p146) These norms are adopted and agreed by each member of the society for Parsons and this is his consensus theory. Imp ortantly Parsons’ theory suggests that the power of societal expectations, the power of norms, is more pervasive than merely being a moral standard that mediates interaction and personal relationships. They are in fact the organisational foci of personality, of people themselves. â€Å"Socialisation is the process by which we learn to become members of society, both by internalising the norms and values of society, and also learning to perform our social roles (as worker, friend, citizen and so forth.)† (Marshall p624) The family, for instance, is controlled by the same norms as society because it is that society, just it is a smaller component of it. The subsystems of society are analogous to body parts in the Parsonian model, they are all essential, each provide their own unique function and all interrelate, interpenetrate and are dependent upon one another. Analogous to the human body where each body part has a specific function to perform, and all of those parts work in unison to keep the structure going, so society is organised. Immersion within these subsystems, such as the family leads to internalisations of norms and objects, and this in turn creates personality. Because personality is internalised from society, â€Å"The foci of organisation of both types of system lies in†¦the value systems.† (Parsons p357) The values of society are the values of people, or personality. People are not just guided by the norms of society, but their very personalities are organised by the very same norms and principles and morals, according to Parsons. Thus peoples actions are quantifiable, reducible to a law since they are mediated by common standards. As gravity is a constant, so are the norms of a society and therefore of personality. The positivist law here is that personality, every action of a human is controlled by the same standards of evaluation as society. The person’s personality is derived directly from society, it is society. Thus a scientific study of society is possible because there is cause and effect, there is a reaction to stimuli. Socialisation is the stimulation that people react to. For Parsons, laws can be discerned from humanity because people will react in predictable ways, mediated by norms, to the stimulation of events and socialisation. Thus sociology can be scientific, empirical and positivist. A major problem with Parson’s work is that it reduces human personality to being produced and organised solely by societal expectations and norms. This societal determinism fails to acknowledge or explain where certain feelings, motives and actions originate. Goffman argues that â€Å"it is . . . against something that the self can emerge. . . Without something to belong to, we have no stable self, and yet total commitment and attachment to any social unit implies a kind of selflessness. Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wider social unit; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways in which we resist the pull.† (Goffman 196 p305) A favourite example of this for Goffman was that of mental patients in asylums. The total institution of an asylum probably forces more strict adherence to societal expectation than most other social situations by using methods such as drug induced control and disciplinary measures such as EST. Yet in the se institutions, despite being forced to play the role of the mental patient, to conform to societal expectation), patients still resisted those expectations. The hoarding of banned materials being an example of this. The motivation to do this does not come from internalisation of norms, as the correct way to behave is to not horde banned items. It comes from a need to keep ones own identity, to satisfy needs and drives and wants. These needs drives and wants are absent from the Parsonian model and a full understanding or explanation of society and social actions needs to take them into account. â€Å"The maintenance of this surface of agreement, this veneer of consensus, is facilitated by each participant concealing his own wants behind statements which assert values to which everyone present feels obliged to give lip service.† (Goffman 1990 p20-21) The norms and laws that Parsons believes to control personality and society, are revealed by Goffman as only being a veneer. Furthermore Goffman states that other feelings and motives in fact influence social action, not just norms. If, as Goffman claims, the so called common standards of evaluation that Parsons identifies are in fact a veneer that hides other motives and feelings, then the actions of humanity are not as easily quantifiable, reducible to a scientific, positivist law, as Parsons first shows. Freud’s metapsychology deals with the general structure of mental life. For Freud there were three psychic structures. The first, the id, contains, â€Å"those basic drives we have by virtue of being human, of which sexuality is the most important.† (Craib 1989 p3) The Id is often equated to by Freud as being like an infant, demanding immediate satisfaction irrespective of societal expectations. The Id makes up the greatest part of the unconscious and it is in this unconscious realm of basic biologically influenced drives that the motivational forces that Parson’s can not identity come from. The Id influences personality. It is important to remember that, as opposed to biological instincts driving us to act like a shark would, a mindless automaton, â€Å"the unconscious is composed not of biological instincts but of the mental representations we attach to these instincts.† (Craib 1989 p4) Thus each individual creates their own mental representation for the ir drives thus meaning that every persons internal world has a different geography. This clearly poses problems for the positivist approach to personality and society and social action, as represented by Parsons here, for if reaction to stimulation is not predictable because each person acts differently, then universal scientific laws can not be established. The second structure of personality according to Freud, the ego or the ‘I’ is the central organiser of mental life. The third, the superego is thought of as the conscience. â€Å"The superego is the internalisation of external control which demands the renuncification of instinctual satisfaction in order that society might be formed and maintained.† (Craib 1989 p21) The superego is the part of personality that Parson’s identifies the part that internalises norms. The basic drives of the id demand immediate satisfaction, immediate gratification of those drives, these demands are contrary to the superego norms and morality, and the conflict has to be resolved by the ego. Our consciousness, predominantly consisting of the ego and superego, protects us from our own id impulses that, if they were followed, would leave it impossible for us to exist within society. Freud stated that â€Å"Civilisation depends upon repression†¦If we tried to gratify all our d esires, sexual or otherwise, as and when they arose, society, civilisation and culture would vanish over night.† (Craib 1984 p195) For Freud the ‘I’, is the resolution of the conflict between the id biologically directed drives, and the superego’s societal restraints. Therefore personality is the site of the, hopefully, resolved conflict between the normative mind evaluated by common standards as Parsons identifies, and the basic id drives. These Id drives, as I shall show, influence personality thus influence social action and society. This being the case then Parsons’ explanation for personality is insufficient and so is the positivist claim for the scientific study of society. The positivist tenants of careful observation and measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions; mathematisation; logic and systemisation of theory; symmetry of explanation prediction and objecti vity cannot be applied to individualistic Id drives and impulses. â€Å"The desire to kill anyone who frustrates us thus becomes unconscious, but none the less remains.† (Craib 1989 p24) Evidence for these desires for Freud appears in slips, where the unconscious desire can ‘slip’ into conscious conversation. â€Å"Freud quotes the husband who supposedly said, ‘If one of us two die, I shall move to Paris.† (Craib 1989 p24) One can not scientifically measure how these unconscious desires influence and effect social action, especially since it can be so hard to identify them as existing in the first place. â€Å"A feature of human life is that an instinct such as the sexual instinct is not directed at any one object, but has to be socially channelled, in our society usually towards members of the opposite sex.† (Craib 1989 p4) â€Å"Human beings are restrained by social organisation from a free and good expression of their drives. Through its oppression, society forces people into neuroses and psychoses.† (Craib 1989 p19) For Freud the very problems that he and other psychoanalysts dealt with were in fact often as the result of the repression of id drives by the superego and societal repression. As such the very existence of neuroses and psychoses can be seen as evidence to the fact that this conflict does indeed exist, that the resolution of this conflict does indeed produce the ‘I’ with all its faults and problems. To fully understand society, sociology needs to be aware of societal pressures, the Parson’s personality through positivism, but also nee ds to recognise the other meanings and emotions that cannot be quantified, cannot be analysed scientifically. Sociology needs to use interpretivism and positivism together. In terms of this example, Parsons positivist models needs to be considered at great length and detail as he does indeed identify a huge force in shaping society, that of norms and how they do penetrate into the psyche and personality. However, a study that only concentrates on the positivist methodology misses the crucial aspects of personality that Goffman and Freud identify, and that is not in the interest of any sociologist. â€Å"Positivism may be dead in that there is no longer an identifiable community of philosophers who give its simpler characteristics unqualified support, but it lives on philosophically, developed until it transmutes into conventionalism or realism. And even if in its simpler philosophical forms it is dead, the spirit of those earlier formulations continues to haunt sociology.† (Halfpenny p120) In conclusion positivism’s attempt at scientific sociological methodology, though fallacious is admirable and certainly many of the aspects of positivism should be considered desirable. As quoted elsewhere, â€Å"positivism is a way of thinking based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works.† (Johnson p231) The desire for reliable, valid knowledge is of course a relevant and important sociological aim and some of the tools that positivism uses to try to reach such knowledge are useful and wort hwhile. Careful observation, measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions; logic and systemisation of theory; symmetry of explanation and prediction and objectivity, if all of these tenants of positivism can at least be attempted in a sociological study then that sociological study will indeed be the better for it. However, sociological study needs to recognise, as Comte himself did, that these aims, in their fullest, are unobtainable and that those aims are not ends in themselves, rather a very rough guide to sociological methodology. As I have hopefully shown above, sociological analysis needs positivism, needs scientific methodology, but a carefully tempered and monitored positivism. The aim of sociology is understanding and that understanding should not be limited by methodology, especially a methodology that is inherently flawed. Positivism shows us how to analyse data, data that is essential to soc iological understand, but that data must not be treated uncritically thus a synthesis of positivism and interpretivism is recommended. To study the social world using a strict scientific methodology is impossible, that does not, of course, mean that scientific methodology is not a useful and critical tool in sociological study. Bibliography Baert, P, 1998. Social theory in the twentieth century. Polity press Craib, I, 1984. Modern social theory. Wheatsheaf books Ltd Craib, I, 1989. Psychoanalysis and social theory the limits of sociology Wheatsheaf Craib, I, 1997. Classical social theory pub by Oxford university press Delanty, G, 2003. Philosophies of social science. Open university. Durkheim, E, 1963. Suicide, a study in sociology. Routledge Goffman, E, 1961 Asylums. Doubleday Anchor Goffman, E, 1990. The presentation of the self in everyday life. Penguin Halfpenny, P, 1986. Positivism and sociology. Routledge Johnson, G 2000 The dictionary of sociology Blackwell Hamilton, P, 1992. Talcott Parsons critical assessments. Routledge Marshall, G 1998. Oxford dictionary of sociology. Oxford university press Parsons, T, The structure of social action Free Press 1949 Poloma, M, 1979. Contemporary sociological theory. MacMillan Stones, R, 1998. Key sociological thinkers. Palgrave Winch, P, 1958. The Idea Of a Social Science. Routledge

Compare Passage A, which is a transcript in which a women working in a :: English Literature

Compare Passage A, which is a transcript in which a women working in a pub, talks about the different managers she has worked under, and passage B, which is an extract from, Odour of Chrysanthemums, a short story by D H Lawrence. Upon reading both passages I can clearly view numerous comparisons and differences. Initially, the subject, (meaning of the text) is extremely different in both extracts. Passage A is a transcript in which a women working in a pub, talks about the different managers she has worked under. Whereas passage B, is an extract from, "Odour of Chrysanthemums", a short story by D H Lawrence, set in the midlands. The passage describes how Elizabeth Bates seeks help from her neighbors one evening, when her husband fails to return home after work. The purpose of the two passages are also extremely diverse, passage A is a transcript, and basically she is informing a group of people or a fellow colleague about her previous managers in comparison to the manager she works under now. For instance she informs the other by telling her how she can get away with things while under her temporary manager, 'were all walking around with four lighted cigarettes in our hand and having a drink off everyone that gives us one. The second passage is there to entertain a particular group of people interested in D H Lawrence's writing. The use of descriptive writing engages the audience brains, in-order for them to carry on reading, 'He stood perplexed'. The audience in passage A is very informal, I believe that she is having a general chat with a fellow worker, because the level of speech is quite informal, 'that's the main thing like isn't it you know', I feel that it is interpersonal, the speaker and listener are in close proximity. While extract B, in my opinion will have an endless audience, because it can be seen over thousands of miles and thousands of years. I believe that the audience will benefit a particular age group, quite elderly people, who understand the particular dialect used. The genre itself is very different as well; principally passage A is a simple review of past and present mangers in which the worker has come across. Whereas on the other hand passage B is a suspenseful story, basically a thriller. You can identify this because of the language used throughout the text. "I don't like leaving the children in bed, and nobody in the house," she said. From this you notice that something eventful has occurred in which has permitted her to leave her children at home by them selves.

Atypical Childhood Social Behavior and Phthalates, BPA Essay -- Medica

The Article describes how endocrine disruptors can produce childhood social impairment and more specifically the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates exposure during pregnancy produces autistic-like social behaviors in children. The specific social behaviors that occur from phthalates and BPA exposure are difficult interpersonal and social awareness skills. Phthalates and BPA, the independent variable, are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). The EDCs interfere with the body’s hormones which are critical to brain development (Braun, 2011). Changes to hormone levels during pregnancy can lead to brain change that can alter childhood behavior. BPA and phthalates are consumer products used in plastics, food can linings, food packaging, cosmetics, personal care products and vinyl plastics. Other studies have found that animals exposed to BPA and phthalates before birth have altered behavior; also, collaborating research shows that same effect in humans (Miodovnik, 20 11). Additional studies also show a connection between these chemicals and hormonal signaling. According to this article 137 mothers and their children were observed over a span of nine years by Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City (Braun, 2011). These mothers came from varying ethnic backgrounds and came from a lower income area of New York City. These women also were of lower education although a majority of them increased their education levels by the end of this study. The ages of the women were fairly evenly distributed from 20- 30 years of age for the majority of the participants (Miodovnik, 2011). This sampling of woman is representative of their target population because of the varying ages and ethnicities that were used and also those ... ...per it would have given more credence to the research without adding any length to the article. If I had to add anything else to this article I would have liked to have seen some of the supporting research added to the content of the article; because, whenever you support your writing with other people’s work it always adds credence to what you are stating, it is the staple of peer review. Also this media article did not include any type of graphics and it would have been nice to see the scatter point graph included in this article as it does a good job of showing the natural increase in atypical behaviors as the levels of EDC’s increased. Works Cited Braun. (2011, april 06). Enviromental Health News. Retrieved from www.enviromentalhealthnews.org. Miodovnik, A. E. (2011). Endocrine disruptors and childhood social impairment. NueroToxicology, 261-267.

Act two then presents a quarrelsome Edward, as he refuses to perform :: English Literature

Act two then presents a quarrelsome Edward, as he refuses to perform even more kingly duties. Scotland has captured Mortimer What techniques does Marlowe use to engage audience’s interest in the first two acts of the play? Marlowe studied the Bible and the Reformation theologians as well as philosophy and history at Corpus Christi College; Cambridge for six years but instead of continuing and taking holy orders, Marlowe went to London and became a dramatist. He made important friends such as Sir Walter Raleigh. Most of his plays were written in blank verse, with â€Å"Edward II† being no exception. It is a historical tragedy play ad was Marlowe’s last play. Later it inspired playwright and director Bertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger to write â€Å"Leben Eduards des Zweiten von England† in 1924. â€Å"Edward II† is an intense and swiftly moving account of a king controlled by his basest passions, a weak man who becomes a puppet of his homosexual lover, and pays a tragic price for forsaking the governance of his country. The play is set in early fourteenth-century England, during a period when England was surrounded by enemies in Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, and France. Edward, preoccupied by the banishment of his lover, Gaveston, barely acknowledges the crises that threaten his country; he indulges his passions and forgets about his duties, failing to recognize that his refusal to attend to state affairs is eroding his royal authority. He picks his battles, preferring those petty skirmishes over Gaveston's fate to those that would benefit his rule and enhance the power of the state. â€Å"Edward II† was first performed in 1594, played by the Earl of Pembroke’s Men. The next performance indicates 1617, Queen Elizabeth’s reign. As the country being protestant at this time, parts of the play would be particularly interesting and entertaining when the play was performed, which may not have the same effect nowadays. For example when Gaveston and Edward demonstrate acts of violence towards the king and banish him to be imprisoned in the tower. Entertaining violence towards the Catholics would have been in those days. The first scene opens with Gaveston reading a letter from Edward II, newly crowned sovereign of England after the death of Edward I. Gaveston had been banished from court because of his corrupting influence on the young prince Edward. Now, with the elder Edward out of the way, Edward II is inviting Gaveston to return and share the kingdom with him. In a few quick lines, Gaveston's soliloquy makes clear the homosexual nature of their relationship ("take me in thy arms") as well as the theme of power that runs throughout the play.

Code Changes After the Mgm Grand Fire

On the Morning of November 21, 1980, a fire burned that killed 85 people, and ultimately injured more than 700 others. Typically, it has come to be known that in order for a new law, regulation, and/or ordinance to be put into place, there has to be a previous event that causes death or injury, makes the news, or basically anything that stirs the voices of the public. The 1980 MGM Grand Fire was just that. Most people remember a lot of people died in the fire and that it was the catalyst for Nevada's tough fire codes and retrofit laws that make the state's resorts among the safest places to stay (Morrison). The 1980 fire at the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel changed fire codes, and established new ones, some of which are still in place today. Many critics and other individuals involved with the fire report and investigation of the MGM Grand Fire said that that if there were properly installed, maintained, and adequate fire sprinkler systems installed, the fire would have been a two-sprinkler fire. Instead, the chairman of the MGM Grand building committee opted against the installation of fire sprinkler systems during construction in the 1970s. As previously stated, 85 people died and more than 700 others were injured, basically all resulting from a poor decision made to save 192,000 dollars by opting not to install fire sprinklers. Ironically, the damages from the fire as well as the lawsuits placed against the MGM Grand Corporation resulted in billions of dollars worth of deficit. Not more than three months after the November fire, Nevada’s building and fire codes were revised to have the most strict fire sprinkler and life safety codes in the country. All hotels larger than fifty-five feet in height were required to be retrofitted with fire sprinkler systems. Also, all future building constructed of three or more stories were required to install fire sprinkler systems.Building officials and chairpersons of hotels and casinos in Nevada were largely opposed to retrofitting their buildings with fire sprinkler systems. Their reasoning for this was that the average cost of the retrofit was usually no less that two million dollars in cost. Ultimately, it took another loss of life and injury causing fire to force these retrofits to take place. While the state of Nevada and the rest of the world was still caught in the wake of the MGM Grand fire, an arsonist set fire to the Las Vegas Hilton Casino on February 10, 1981. Eight people perished and more than 200 w ere injured. Opposition to the expensive retrofitting disappeared. At the time of the MGM Grand Fire, it was not required that fire department personnel had to be part of the building construction plan review process. The fire department is now largely involved in the construction and plan review process before a building is built. Also, construction materials used are more fire resistant. Ventilation systems have also been improved, and are very helpful in removing the smoke, rather than allowing it to make its way to upper floors of a high rise structure, which was a large cause of loss of life in the MGM Grand fire due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Have there been fires in hotels and casinos since the disastrous MGM Grand Fire in 1980? Of course there has. The reason why you may not hear about them as much or there isn’t a loss of life is that most fires are confined to a single room and contents fire, and are extinguished before they are allowed to rapidly spread. This is credited in large part to adequate fire sprinkler systems as well as fire resistant construction. A former Las Vegas fire chief stated that because of the fire code changes and additions as a result of previous fire make Las Vegas Hotels some of the safest to stay in. Also, fire departments are adequately trained and prepared to fight fire in these structures through annual high rise firefighting trainings. The MGM Grand Fire on November 21, 1980, made for revisions of fire codes and the additions of new codes, that are still in place today.

The Organization Kid

He feels that the students have been shaped by their p arnts to act and dress in a certain manner. His article overly concentrates on the idea that students go to college not to gain higher learning, but to conk out a good Job and need money. The students are being trained to be The composition Kid. The Organization Kid is a generation of students who are extraordinarily bright, virtuously earnest and Incredibly industrious. During the Elementary direct era, In the sass and sass schools charge less and less homework, so that by 1981 the honest six-to-eight-year-old was doing only fifty two minutes of homework a week.April 26, 1983, A Nation at Risk was reported. The problem, it said, was that schools had sire too loose and free-flowing. Students faced a cafeteria style curriculum that gave them too many choices. Since then, the central focus of the school see the light was on testing, accountability & medication which dish out reshape the minds of kids whose behavior de viates from the standard. So by 1997 the amount of homework assigned to the average child of the same age had multiply to more than two hours a week. For the uttermost of Adolescence. It became ore organized, regulated and supervised with an emphasis on safety.Neo- romantics of the sass and sass believed that children should grow up freely and let their own original inclinations. Twenty nine years ago parents were advised to keep out of their kids way. permit them grow into their own person. Now theyre warned that If they arent with their kids every single minute of their disembodied spirit, theyll grow up to be serial killers. For an example pot dont blame the actual shooters In the columbine incident, two teen shooters killing 13 people at the Columbine gamy School, they blame their parents. Today parents do not hesitate to impose their authority.Parental authority at once rests on three pillars science, safety and achievement. In the course of the Princeton Experience, the college administrations tend to impose stricter regulations concerning students behavior. As part of an effort they can go to amuse themselves without alcohol or drugs. Yet, students are increasingly supportive of universities regulation of semiprivate matters such as campus drinking. David Brooks describes the typic Princeton student, an impression he rives from interview sessions with students he notes are a few dozen, faculty- recommended, order leaders of tomorrow.Throughout his visit to Princeton, Brooks encountered clean-cut, debonair scholars and citizens, respectful of their professors, too busy to bear upon themselves in national politics or social causes, too future-oriented for social life and too on-the-go to spark up skilful conversations over a meal. To put it briefly, The Organization Kid alludes to an influential study by William H. White, called The Organization Man. The origins of The Organization Kid re to be found in their upbringing.Parents relied on th e achievements of medical and cognitive science to develop their children physically and intellectually. The Organization Kid is students of prestigious universities like Princeton. They appear to busy themselves with a variety of educational & extra-curriculum activities to the extent they do not have time to function a relationship or founder attention to national politics. Most of them are happy with their life, they accept high work load for the reasons of self-improvement, resume building and enrichment. They are exposit as optimistic, serious & conscientious.