Public Service Broadcasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Service Broadcasting - Essay Example Public service broadcasting is, probably, the only truly public service left which is truly accessible and comprehensible by viewers, but it is clear that even the most effective PSB structure is not secured from the influences of the postmodern age. Given the bright promise of digital television and the profound alterations it brings to the culture and ecology of mass media, public service broadcasting should undergo a series of changes, to make sure it fits in and meets the needs of new audiences. Public service broadcasting: Defining the term Understanding the pros and cons of public service broadcasting in Britain is impossible without trying to delineate what stands behind the very term â€Å"public service broadcasting† (further PSB). The controversy and vagueness surrounding the PSB term cannot be easily dismissed. That there is no single definition of public and public service broadcasting has been abundantly established (Syvertsen 1999). During the past 60 years in th e study of PSB no single definition of public service and its nature was developed and crystallized (Syvertsen 1999). Some definitions had considerable variations, whereas many others are obviously contradictory (Syvertsen 1999). For a long time, the term â€Å"public service broadcasting† was associated with BBC; but today, none of the existing definitions satisfies the changing demands of the media reality. The fact is in that the term â€Å"public service† is no longer limited to the community and those who are interested in this type of services. The terms â€Å"public service† and â€Å"public service broadcasting† have several distinct definitions, and all these definitions may help to explain the changing nature of PSB in the digital world. First, public service broadcasting can be treated as a unique and important type of public utility, namely, one of the many types of services provided by governments (Syvertsen 1999). In this sense, public servi ce broadcasting is similar to postal services, railroads and roads, and other public utilities used by citizens on a daily basis and for no fee. Treating public service broadcasting as a public service utility is the same as underlining its socioeconomic and technical ingredients: from the viewpoint of public utility, PSB must meet the basic criteria of efficiency and quality, which include the quality of signal, the breadth and sophistication of the distribution network, operations efficiency, etc. (Syvertsen 1999). This definition of public service broadcasting emphasizes the â€Å"utility† aspect of the service provision. Second, public service broadcasting can be viewed as something provided in the public sphere (Syvertsen 1999). This definition shifts the emphasis away from â€Å"utility† towards the â€Å"public† character of broadcasting. Here, the meaning and boundaries of the â€Å"public sphere† should also be delineated. Syvertsen (1999) writes that â€Å"the public sphere represents institutions in which members of the public take part as citizens and collectively make decisions for the common good† (p.7). The public character of PSB implies that everyone, irrespective of their status or position, have the right and can access the services provided by public broadcasters. Here, PSB is also depicted as an invisible eye monitoring the progress of society and providing citizens

Climate Change, Deforestation and the Media Essay Example for Free

Climate Change, Deforestation and the Media Essay Various factors exist that are causing a negative impact and damaging the natural ecosystem. Various emissions from motor vehicles and different industries and chemical plants, processes like deforestation and various other activities continuously contribute to the deterioration of the well-being and livelihood of individuals and the ecosystem. Various researches conducted worldwide have detected various changes in the terrestrial ecosystems marked with the various activities propagated by the actions of human beings towards the environment (Midori, 2014, p 105). The alterations that exist have been attributed to climate change as opposed to any other types of activities and factors that may have arisen. There are various marked causes and effects of climate change towards the natural terrestrial organisms and all the other substances that consti0tute to the natural ecosystem. For instance, different animal, plant and biomes ranges have undergone shifting. The different timings in which various organisms and plants take to perform various activities such as flowering have been altered (Maxwell, 2013, p 779). The migration of animals has also been shifted since the prediction of the climate which facilitates there movement has significantly been altered. There have been instances in which the scotching sun has led to the development of various wild fires. Moreover, various amphibians, for instance seventy-five different frog species have been driven to extinction because of the climate change. Projections and various statistics have it that the various greenhouse emissions may lead to an overwhelming supply of various poisonous gases into the atmosphere hence altering the natural adaptive mechanisms of various organisms in the ecosystem. If the situation were left unmonitored and uncontrolled, vast areas would turn into ASALS thereby contributing to the alterations of the biochemical cycles that are experienced worldwide (Maxwell, 2011, p 779). Aquatic Ecosystems The aquatic ecosystems form a very functional and important role in the interrelation and existence of the global environment. Apart from playing a key and functional role in the ecological productivity and their contribution towards biodiversity, they play a very important role to the human beings. However, they face direct threats from the activities of human beings either in a direct or indirect manner. Climate change has an impact on the aquatic environment in the sense that an increase in the temperature of water significantly alters the basic ecological process facilitated by the marine life and the aquatic life species geographical distribution. The marine life may show tendencies of migration to various suitable habitants but various human activities may hinder their respective migration (Brulle et al, 2012, p 182). They may be unable to migrate thereby leading to their extinction of the various treasured species. Climate change influences the precipitation patterns. Moreover , the surface run off may have been contaminated by various gases that exist in the atmosphere thereby influencing marine life. Agriculture Agriculture forms a vital component of many economies. Agriculture is a composition of various cash crops, domestic livestock and various aquatic fish species, which are consumed or reared for commercial and consumption purposes. Climatic conditions highly influence the existence of fish and various agricultural produce. The effect of climate change on agriculture can be viewed from various dimensions since various factors exist that favor the process of agriculture while some hinder growth and production (Christensen et al, 2012, p 201). The excess existence of temperature and release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contribute to increase in productivity and synthesis of various crops. However, for these conditions to have a positive impact on the various crops, various other factors such as the correct soil pH, the availability of water, moisture content of the soil, and other factors must be met. Massive periods of droughts and excess floods are always a challenge to various farmers. Moreover, when the temperature of water that harbors the aquatic life becomes warmer, the fish may migrate or die hence influencing the ecosystem (Corner et al, 2012, p 470). Crops are influenced by warm temperatures. They hasten the growth levels but reduce on the quantity of the yields produced. Moreover, an increase for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also increases the amount of yield that is expected from a given type of crop. The growth process of crops is hindered by the existence and presence of extreme occurrences of rain and temperatures. The occurrence of drought and foods hinder crop growth since the crops become washed away and wither (Doherty et al, 2011, p 265). Human Health Human beings are affected by the occurrence of various climate change processes. These effects vary from the influence and diverse effects of heat waves, extreme weather events, air quality and occurrences of climate-sensitive diseases. Instances of hydration and the occurrences of heat strokes are prevalent and major causative agents of weather-related ailments and deaths. The impact would be a shift in the population patterns. Weather events, which are extreme, may contribute to various challenges that may be faced by human beings (Dotson et al, 2012, p 69). For instance, there would be a general reduction of water supplies and food in various parts of the country. Various health care services and communication utilities may be interrupted. Storms and various other factors may contribute to the excess concentration of carbon monoxide gas, which is poisonous to the human life. Climate change can therefore be seen to have various diverse effects on the natural ecosystem and if not pr operly controlled can lead to the extinction of various life forms and species. Mitigation of climate change Mitigation of climate change refers to the various actions adopted with the aim of reducing the affect of the natural ecosystem. Framing Issues The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change consists of a numerous enrolment of countries that have united to adopt various measures and practices to curb climate change. The principle aim of UNFCCC is to ensure the stabilization of various concentrations of atmospheric gases as a block of various human related activities that would contribute to the interference of the atmosphere (Fahey et al, 2013, p 134). Some of the main activities involve the control of emission of green house gases into the atmosphere. There was a universal consensus to the fact that the level of green house emissions should be limited to 1.5 to 2.0 degrees and below. Governmental and intergovernmental action Majority of the countries are adopting various policies proposed by various organizations such as the Green Belt Movement to extensively use clean technologies in their daily business operations. The mitigation process is promoted by the action that may be adopted by the various firms. Many countries aim at reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere (Hajer et al, 2012, p 300). The government aim is to ensure reduction and minimization of emissions containing carbon into the atmosphere, the utilization of renewable energy and a boost in the efficiency of energy that is being consumed in the industry. The adverse effects of climate change are always felt greatest in nations, which have a low economic status. There exists the Commitment to Development Index, which analyses the various policies adopted to curb rising instances of emission of gases to the atmosphere. There are various activities that majority of the countries engage in that may be seen to contribute to the emis sion of gases in top the atmosphere. Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and various emissions always influence the emissions. Therefore, the effective regulation of the particular emissions facilitates control of the climate change. Various strategies have been formulated with the main aim of curbing the spread of the adverse effects of climate change. These strategies include the Kyoto protocol, which remains to be the existent international agreement with the sole purpose of curbing climate change. Non-governmental policies These refer to policies that are aimed at reducing the extents of climate change through the effective funding from private investors and other business entities. They may also take the form of various environmental groups, which are seen to promote personal initiative when it comes to the process of fighting crime (Christensen et al, 2013, p 12). The non-governmental bodies also thrive through the encouragement of various personalities to adopt various effective means of using energy for instance the lowering of cooling usage and house heating, the effective use of renewable energy sources, minimization of exhaust fumes from vehicles through finding of means of transaction and operations that do not involve mobility with a vehicle. Apart from the road transport, various researchers have also expressed concern about the emissions produced by the air travel (Dotson et al, 2012, p 76). Various emissions are produced by the air travel, which may influence the atmospheric balance and the resultant ecosystem. The non-governmental bodies therefore aim at finding methods and means through which the emissions can be minimized to maintain an eco balance to the environment. Implications of climate change for sustainable development in rural areas. Rural areas have been known to hold and be a major backbone when it comes to agricultural production. The main occupation of majority of the people who reside in these regions is farming. Majority of the climate alterations because of climate change are diverse in urban areas, which are populated by industries. Rural areas experience constant and predictable rainfall patterns (Fahey et al, 2013, p 143). However, the effect of climate change resulting from various emissions to the atmosphere can easily alter the weather and climate patterns of a vast area of land. It therefore becomes important to note the fact that the sustainable development of rural areas whose people’s livelihood is dependent on the main economic activity which is agriculture. Rural areas are known to consist of vegetation that regulates the atmospheric gases in the atmosphere. They play an important part in balancing the ecosystem (Takahashi, 2011, p 249). Therefore, the efficient regulation of climate change may result to increase in various product output with a rise in production due to the occurrence of precipitation and adequate rainfall to facilitate growth of crops and the existence of livestock and fisheries. Coverage of Climate Change by the Media The media has played a pivotal and vital role in the influence of international, personal and national actions and efforts to address the issue of climate change. The mass reporting off climate change has been predominant in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The level and extent of climate change is hugely attributed to the massive reports and collaborations with the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change. The media hit the sky during the early 2007 when featuring the Al Gore documentary and the Fourth Assessment Report on Climate change (Sheppard et al, 2012, p 235). Media reporting was also heightened in the year 2009 when the world held a conference on climate change organized by the United Nations. It was referred to as the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Consequently, another forum was referred to as the Climatic Research Unit email controversy that had been held earlier in November. Besides the USA and the UK, various other countries have shown massive efforts in the reporting of climatic changes and sensitizing the world on better policies to be adopted to minimize the effect and extent of the climate change. Countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand and India have shown particular interest in climate change and this has been made possible through the media coverage that is received (Segerberg et al, 2011, p 201). The media has also been though t to attribute the findings of climate change to the public opinion and politics. Through the reporting, various governments have held numerous sittings with the aim of coming up with climate policies that various industries such as transport and manufacturing industries should adopt with the principle purpose of maintaining the ecosystem. The media has largely contributed towards the sensitization of the public to be able to know what happens when industrial chemicals and toxins are thrust into the sky (Olausson, 2011, p 290). For instance, a survey conducted indicates that when people were asked about the urgency of control of climate change and whether it was a problem or not, the following responses were obtained: It is not a problem 8% It is a future problem 14% It is a present problem 41% It is an immediate problem 36% I do not know 1% Climate change remains to be an eminent threat to the existence of natural and human beings. Campaigns by all media types and other institutions should be encouraged. The governments should come up with stringent climate change policies to curb the spread of acidic rain, drought, floods and any other extreme weather conditions (Dotson et al, 2012, p 80) References Aoyagi, Midori. Climate Change Governance and Media: Media Exposure, Public Opinion and â€Å"the Most Important Issues,† By the Japanese Public. In XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 13-19, 2014). Isaconf, 2014.Boykoff, Maxwell T. Public enemy no. 1? Understanding media representations of outlier views on climate change. American behavioral scientist 57, no. 6 (2013): 796-817. Boykoff, Maxwell T. Who speaks for the climate?: Making sense of media reporting on climate change. Cambridge University Press, 2011.Brulle, Robert J., Jason Carmichael, and J. Craig Jenkins. Shifting public opinion on climate change: an empirical assessment of factors influencing concern over climate change in the US, 2002–2010. Climatic change 114, no. 2 (2012): 169-188. Christensen, Miyase, Annika E. Nilsson, and Nina Wormbs. Globalization, Climate Change and the Media: An Introduction. Media and the Politics of Arctic Climate Change: When the Ice Breaks (2013): 1. Christensen, Miyase, Annika E. Nilsson, Nina Wormbs, Sverker Sà ¶rlin, Dag Avango, Per Hà ¶gselius, Henry Huntington, and Ralf Dà ¶scher. When the Ice Breaks: Globalization, Climate Change and the Media. (2012). Corner, Adam, Lorraine Whitmarsh, and Dimitrios Xenias. Uncertainty, scepticism and attitudes towards climate change: biased assimilation and attitude polarisation. Climatic change 114, no. 3-4 (2012): 463-478. Doherty, Thomas J., and Susan Clayton. The psychological impacts of global climate change. American Psychologist 66, no. 4 (2011): 265. Dotson, Devin M., Susan K. Jacobson, Lynda Lee Kaid, and J. Stuart Carlton. Media coverage of climate change in Chile: A content analysis of conservative and liberal newspapers. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture 6, no. 1 (2012): 64-81. Fahey, Dan, Paras Patel, John Rawlins, and Meiko Peng. Climate Change Podcast Series-The Media and Climate Change. (2013). Hajer, Maarten, and Bart Strengers. Who speaks for the climate: making sense of media reporting on climate change. Cambridge Review of International Affairs 25, no. 2 (2012): 298-300. Olausson, Ulrika. â€Å"Were the ones to blame†: Citizens representations of climate change and the role of the media. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture 5, no. 3 (2011): 281-299. Segerberg, Alexandra, and W. Lance Bennett. Social media and the organization of collective action: Using Twitter to explore the ecologies of two climate change protests. The Communication Review 14, no. 3 (2011): 197-215. Sheppard, Stephen Richard John. Visualizing climate change: a guide to visual communication of climate change and developing local solutions. Routledge, 2012.Takahashi, Bruno. Framing and sources: a study of mass media coverage of climate change in Peru during the V ALCUE. Public Understanding of Science 20, no. 4 (2011): 543-557. Source document

Small C lass Size :: essays papers

Small C lass Size When looking at small class size, it is important to first understand that this concept is very popular with parents and communities. In New York, according to many parents, classrooms are ridiculously overcrowded and something must be done. A union of parents has formed in the community to try and get the legislature to pass an act that will reduce class size (Hartocollis, 2004). Although this union of parents is very active, because of the factors that go into reducing class size, they have not been very successful. Most parents and teachers believe that with reduced class size, the amount of attention spent on their child will increase drastically. This is the prime reason for the desire and commitment to reduce class size. According to Class Size Matters (2002), an organization made up of parents and educators, â€Å"smaller classes are seen as the most effective way to increase the quality of instruction, far above raising salaries or providing professional development.† This exemplifies the belief that reducing class size is the most appropriate way to increase teacher-student involvement and make the classroom atmosphere more accessible to all students. Along with closer involvement between teacher and pupils, with small class size, there is more room for students to interact with each other. It also allows students who would not normally speak up to become more active and involved in discussions. Much research and experimentation has been done concerning the effects and benefits of reducing class size. David Alan Gilman (2003), studied an experiment done on class size and lays out the findings in great detail. In the experiment he studied there were twelve million students involved, so it was relatively small-scale. The participants were voluntary and participated in the experiment understanding fully what it was all about. The experiment was random assignment between teachers and students and had one control with a regular class size and two treatment groups containing classes with smaller amounts of children. The findings of this experiment were very much in favor of reducing class size. Students in the experimental groups with smaller classes â€Å"performed better on all sets of achievement measures† (Gilman, 2003). Also, six years later, when the students who were not in the control group were interviewed and restudied, the experimenters found that they â€Å"performed better in all academic areas studied, that they expended more effort and initiative in the classroom, and that their overall behavior was well above the students that were in the control group† (Gilman, 2003).

The Impact of Technology on Education Essay -- Teaching Education Essa

The Impact of Technology on Education Technology affects every aspect of our lives. From romance to business, it has shown its presence everywhere. But technology has had a huge impact on education that cannot be denied, and has done nothing but improve the quality and quantity of education. Today, schools are being pressured more and more to improve the technology they use and teach in the classrooms. Parents are placing this pressure on schools so that their students have the skills needed to compete in the real world job market. Students are placing pressure on the schools to improve technology by having more knowledge of current technology than the school’s staff. Teachers in turn are placing emphasis on the schools to improve technology they want to increase efficiency of information sharing, grading, and communication in the classroom. Businesses place an emphasis on technology in schools so that the schools adequately prepare their future employees, the students. The government is also placing pressure on schools to improve technology in the classrooms so that Americans can compete, along with helping prepare successful employees to help improve the economy in the future. These pressures are welcomed however, as schools are eager to improve their current use of technology in the classroom. But why are schools so eager to improve their use technology? And why is there so much importance placed on educating today's students with modern technology? The answer is simple: because technology has such a positive impact on education, and in so many ways. In regards to Language Arts education, the prominence of word processors has helped to ease the work of editing and rewriting. Built in spelling ... ...mpus isthe use of WebCT. This web site allows professors to create a source for the course syllabus, lecture notes and course calendar’s to be posted, along with public forums and public chat rooms. WebCT keeps track of what students are enrolled in what courses and when the student logs in, it brings up the information available for that student’s courses, along with notes if anything has been updated since the student’s last visit. All of this is available forLSSU students at their web page. These are examples of how exactly technology has affected education at Lake Superior State University. Technology has had a huge impact on education. It continues to shape the way we learn and what we learn today and in the future. As technology advances, so does the quality of education and that is nothing but good news for the students of today and of the future.

Superstition and Daily Life Dealings

What does the word superstition mean to you? We really find it difficult to define it. According to one simple definition, feelings or believes involving fear of some unseen forces is called superstition. For example, if a person believes that by wearing some kind of charm he will be protected from evil spirits and bad luck and without wearing It he will be under the influence of some unseen forces and also he will have bad luck.This kind of feelings or believes which involve fear of unseen forces, which can't be proved, is called superstition and those people ho have such kind of believes are known as superstitious people. This kind of people believes in signs and numbers of good luck and bad luck and their whole live are greatly affected by these signs and numbers. How did Superstitions Begin? It is almost impossible to say that when people started believing in signs and numbers because there are many things all of us believe in that can't be proved.At certain times In man's histor y, and even today, everyone believed In certain things that now we regard as superstitions. At that time science was not as much developed as today, so those things and events which wondered and righted people at that time. They started believing In them and became superstitious. For instance, when they went under the trees at night time, they felt uncomfortable breathing.As they didn't know any authentic reason behind this fact so they started beveling that to go under trees at night time Invites the anger of Ghost which makes their breathing uncomfortable in order to harm them. But, today we all know that trees absorb oxygen at night time and the deficiency of oxygen under trees at night makes our breathing uncomfortable Instead of Ghost. Similarly they believed that the shadow or reflection of a person is a part of soul. So, to break those things on which this shadow appeared was regarded as to harm the soul. So they considered it unlucky to break a mirror.Today If someone consid ers it unlucky to break mirror or believes that to go under the trees at night invites the anger of Ghost, we will definitely call him superstitious because today we no longer believe in these kind of â€Å"foolish† reasons which long time ago people believed. So superstition is actually a belief or practice that people cling to after new knowledge or facts have appeared to disprove them. That's why it is impossible to say hen superstitions began. Some Familiar Superstitions: We can find superstitious people almost in every society, every country and In every religion although less in numbers than past.In past people TLD know about sun, stars, moon, and comets etc. So they made up explanations about their motion and followed certain practices to protect themselves from the influence of their motion on life. This is very common even today and become a commercial under the name of â€Å"Horoscope†. If a black cat crosses the way of a person, then that is considered as un lucky for that person. Another superstition which is very common in Europe and America Is â€Å"Friday The 13th†. When a Friday guests are expected.Some people wear stone made rings and believe that when bad luck is ahead , these stones change their color or they break down. Some people wear amulet and believe that this will protect from evil spirits. Some believe that if owls live in a house then that house will be ruined. Many people have their lucky numbers and they believe in them. There are many other superstitions which seem to be Joyful and Joke for us but they change the entire lives of those who believe in them. How to avoid Superstition? Superstitious people live their lives under the influence of unseen forces and fear.They cannot live a normal life. They are extra-careful in their daily life dealings. To keep yourselves away from these kind of feelings and believe Just believe in God Almighty, Who decided the fortune of man before man's birth. So nothing can influ ence your lives. Superstitions are strictly denied in Islam. In any trouble, pay attentions towards Allah Almighty and seek His help. Find the genuine and scientific reasons behind the facts (instead of believing their influence or power as superstitious people do) and enjoy the life.

Does Singapore Government Really Care Social Work Essays

Does Singapore Government Really Care Social Work Essays Does Singapore Government Really Care Social Work Essay Does Singapore Government Really Care Social Work Essay Since the 1980s Singapore authorities has started to recognize that the population is acquiring older. Statisticss have shown that by 2030 the aged in Singapore will treble to about 900,000. The steps taken by the authorities includes making elder-friendly installations and comfortss in every lodging estate. Recently, the authorities has besides looked into the employability of the aged who wish to go on working. Housing and Development Board ( HDB ) , Ministry of Manpower ( MOM ) and Ministry of Social and Family Development ( MSF ) are the authorities bureaus which have direct impact on every older individual in Singapore. Aged bend to HDB, MOM and MSF for their lodging, work and public assistance issues severally. These authorities bureaus are viewed as the faces of the authorities. Housing policies have been tuned to the publicity of societal integrating of our seniors by non segregating them from the remainder of the population so that they could age in topographic point . HDB has put in attempts to make barrier-free handiness in the reinforced environment to promote mobility of the aged. A scope of health care and eldercare programmes and services have been rolled out to back up caregiving and let aged to be engaged in the society. The authorities besides recognised the desirableness of employment and employability of the aged for their fiscal security. Although lodging policies and programmes are in topographic point to look into the countries like easing the common attention and support by the households of the older occupants, we feel a sense that the authorities is taking for a strong accent on the person and household autonomy. Harmonizing to the HDB, the assorted strategies rolled out by them are meant to assist the aged to age in topographic point and to let them to hold intergeneration adhering with their households. One of the steps taken by the HDB is by raising the higher-income ceiling for drawn-out households to purchase subsidised HDB flats to advance intergeneration bonding. However, many of such applications have turned out to be simply investing for the younger household members and there is no statistics to demo that how many elderly have benefited from this strategy. This is particularly true when the recent launching of the Executive Condominiums ( EC ) bing 1000000s of dollars by the private developers. HDB besides launched the Married Child Priority Scheme and Higher-tier CPF Housing Grant to promote married kids to remain with or near their parents. On paper, this strategy would profit the aged as their kids are nearby so that whenever they need aid, their kids would be at that place for them. However, this has in fact benefited the younger coevals as they could acquire a grant of up to $ 30,000 if they opted to populate nearer to their aged parents. The purpose by the HDB is good but the younger coevals will believe otherwise. They will take advantage of the pecuniary addition and subsequently do a net income from the sale and travel someplace else. Ultimately, non many of the kids would be populating near their parents when they are truly in demand of their aid. We are besides non certain how the intergenerational relationship of these households even though they are still populating nearby. Another similar strategy is the Higher-tier Singles Grant which is given to promote sing les to populate with their parents. There is no statistics to demo that whether the aged are still remaining with their individual kid after they have collected the flats. HDB has implemented the Monetisation options to enable aged to unlock place equity for retirement income. For those with alternate topographic point to remain e.g. with kids, other relations or with another belongings, they may take to sell their flats to recognize the full lodging equity for retirement demands. Another option will be to sublease their flats under HDB s Approved Subletting Scheme. HDB besides encourages the aged to downgrade by selling their bing flats and purchasing a smaller 1. HDB has resumed constructing 3-room and 2-room flats in 2004 and 2006, severally. This is to promote the higher proportion of aged families purchasing little flats than that for larger flats. Aged are besides encouraged to travel to Studio Apartment ( SA ) which are located nearer to comfortss such as market, nutrient Centres and the easy handiness of public conveyance. In add-on, the HDB has besides rolled out the Lease Buyback Scheme in 2009 to assist the aged aged 62 and above life in 2 o r 3-room flats to monetise their level value whereby they could have monthly income and go on to populate in same level, community and environment. However, all these strategies merely help those who have their flats and who have adequate hard currency to purchase the SA but non those who do non have any belongings or those who are disadvantaged. They are left to fend for themselves and hold to seek aid from assorted public assistance administrations. Harmonizing to the HDB study, they have been turn overing out the Undertaking LIFE ( Lift Improvement A ; Facilities Enhancement for Elderly ) since 1998 to heighten the mobility of the aged. This undertaking has been rolled out in phases and the mark completion of the whole undertaking will be in 2014. The strategy has taken such a long clip to finish has made us inquire what went incorrect with the executing of the undertaking. It has been reported that the HDB has been dragging its pess in the implementing of the strategy to assorted estates based on their petition and demands. HDB has besides politicized this strategy by non offering the life upgrading to certain wards because they are under different political party or their Town Councils ( TC ) have non made any formal petition. If any aged happened to be populating in a ward run by a different political party or the TC has non made any formal petition, so they would hold to go on walking up their stepss as their precedence wo uld be last. Recently, HDB has besides looked into the betterment of the life environment for less comfortable aged in rental flats. It has been reported that lifts have been modified to halt on every floor, where possible. Non-slip floor tiles, support manus saloon in lavatory, alarm dismay system, etc. are installed in all rental flats. In fact, all these fixtures were eventually put up after legion ailments by the aged life in those flats and the public assistance administrations looking after that country have voiced their concern of the safety of the aged life in those rental flats. Several public assistance orgainisations have reported that before the upgrading the aged life in those rental flats were less nomadic and needed more aid and were frequently neglected. With all these strategies in topographic point, HDB has projected to the state as a caring authorities section for the aged. HDB needs to recognize that there are loopholes in their old strategies and non many elderly have benefited from those strategies. They are traveling to rectify their old errors by establishing another strategy under the Integrated Studio Apartments ( ISA ) which comes with elderly-friendly characteristics and infinites provided for societal and community installations. These ISA are being integrated with larger HDB flats for better occupant mix of immature and old and to ease more societal interaction. Children can purchase larger level types in same block to populate near parents. Since this is a reasonably new strategy, we have yet to see the result of the undertaking. HDB and the TC are in the procedure of doing public lodging environment barrier-free. Ramps and linkways to ease wheelchair entree are being planned and built. All these installations were projected to be completed by 2011. However, non all the lodging estates benefited from this environment barrier-free undertaking. Again the HDB was seen to politicise this undertaking by offering to certain estates where the Members of Parliament ( MP ) have made the petition. HDB and TC have non been seen as merely giving lip service and non pre-emptive plenty to supply senior friendly installations to the estates. Many lodging estates are still waiting thirstily for the undertakings to make their door stairss. HDB and TC are still dragging their pess in the execution of this undertaking even though we are already in 2013. Although HDB and the TC have been stressing that they will go on to measure and modify the lodging landscape in expectancy of demographic alterations and lifestyle demands, they have non done good in this country. They need to seek for new lodging signifiers to provide to the aged in the close hereafter and demand to work closely with other bureaus and administrations to supply community-based attention and support services to the aged. On the employment forepart, in 2011 Budget, Ministry of Manpower ( MOM ) seems to hold done a great occupation by turn overing out the Particular Employment Credit ( SEC ) to make a hard currency inducement for employers to use older workers. This SEC will enable the employers to have reimbursement of hard currency for the employment of aged if they wish to use any older worker. Under the SEC commissariats, the employer would have six-monthly reimbursements numbering 8 % of each of the older worker s part to the Central Provident Fund ( CPF ) over the twelvemonth. Hence, the employer would merely hold to pay the other half of the parts. The SEC is to promote the employment of the older low-wage workers. This is to complement other steps to hike the employment rate of older workers. The SEC strategy was enhanced in Singapore s 2012 Budget to enable an even bigger pool of older workers to measure up. However, this strategy merely benefited a little pool of aged who are still fit to wor k. Those who are frail would non acquire anything from this strategy. The authorities current system is still stressing on the minimum province outgo and in promoting of a strong work moral principle. However, the authorities does non recognize that there would be societal costs like many disadvantaged aged slipping through the spreads. It appears that the system fails to supply an equal safety cyberspace for the aged who are hapless and entirely, the aged unemployed, the handicapped aged and many unsupported older people. Sad to state, our authorities will merely supply the basic societal aid philanthropically, but non an entitlement footing. This is true to our Public Assistance Scheme which is limited via rigorous standards to merely those deserving individuals or households populating in acute poorness who are unable to work due to old age, unwellness or disablement and have no household member able to help. Our quickly ageing population and holding a big proportion of disadvantaged aged has created a vacuity in our wellness attention and other societal outgo. Although the authorities has assured that the aged will acquire immense subsidy for their medical attention, most of the aged prefer to remain off from the infirmaries in order non to burthen their kids with the high medical cost. Although the authorities late announced a $ 20 million addition in passing on specialist professional societal workers to supply more effectual aid to needy elderly, there are non many takers who are willing to function in the societal service or public assistance administrations where they could acquire better work environment and wages in other sectors. Overall the authorities has done a just spot to assist the aged. But we feel that the authorities is still fearful to dunk deeper into their pockets to supply more aid for the aged fearing that more would look to the authorities for aid. Hence, the authorities is merely giving lip service in several countries and still keep their base on single and household autonomy no affair how disadvantaged you are. The authorities will go on to maintain their custodies off on any province public assistance on the aged. It has been a pattern since and the authorities will non alter their accent on the communal duty for back uping the aged who are disadvantaged and entirely. It would look that although our authorities has recognized grounds of increasing adversity amongst the aged, they are still loath to dunk into their pockets for a public assistance safety cyberspace.

Selena Nguyen Essays (386 words) - Sewing, Clothing, Textile Arts

Selena Nguyen Essays (386 words) - Sewing, Clothing, Textile Arts Selena Nguyen 1/3/2018 The sewing machine The English inventor and cabinetmaker, Thomas Saint, wasissued the first patent for a complete machine for sewing in 1790. It is not known if Saint actually built a working prototype of his invention. The patent describes an awl that punched a hole in leather and passed a needle through the hole. It is known that when an attempt was made in the 1880s to produce a machine from Saint's drawings it would not work without modifications. Thomas Saint was born in the 1700s in Greenhill Rents parish of St. Sepulchre London, England. Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine design, but he did not successfully advertise or market his invention, His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas material. It is likely that Saint had a working model but there is no evidence of one; he was a skilled cabinet maker and his device included many practically functional features. His sewing machine used the chain stitch method, in which the machine uses a single thread to make simple stitches in the fabric. A stitching awl would pierce the material and a forked point rod would carry the thread through the hole where it would be hooked underneath and moved to the next stitching place, where the cycle would be repeated, locking the stitch. Saint's machine was designed to aid the manufacture of various leather goods, including saddles and bridles, but it was also capable of working with canvas, and was used for sewing ship sails. In 1874, a sewing machine manufacturer, William Newton Wilson, found Saint's drawings in the London Patent Office, made adjustments and built a working machine, currently owned by the London Science Museum. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. The invention of the sewing machine freed women of this chore, liberated workers from poorly paid long hours in factories, and produced a wide variety of less expensive clothing. The industrial sewing machine made a range of products possible and affordable. Since the invention of the first working sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790, the sewing machine has greatly improved the efficiency and productivity of the clothing industry.

Deciphering The Presidentials Tapes Watergate essays

Deciphering The Presidentials Tapes Watergate essays Ever since I can remember I have always heard, whether over the news or on an educational channel, about the Watergate scandal. I never knew what the Watergate scandal was about, but I did know that it had to do with one our former Presidents. Before I read Breaking into Watergate I had no clue about all the lies and betrayals that went on in the highest and most prestigious office in America. It is very important as a history major to have read this article so that I am no longer oblivious to what went on in the Oval Office prior to June 7, 1972. As I started to read through this article the realization of what the Watergate scandal was, became more and more clear. The information that I read was very upsetting and discomforting. To know that a President of the United State would be so deceitful and disloyal to not only his piers but also to the people of the United States is very upsetting but unfortunately is not too uncommon these days. Reading about President Nixon trying to bribe witnesses with money and trying to blackmail the opposition was mind boggling. President Nixon did almost everything perfect and might of slipped past the accusations except for the fact that he forgot about the tapes that recorded his phone conversations. Donald Sanders was very smart to think of something that none of the other investigators thought of; a tapping system. Alexander Butterfield, when reminded that he was under oath, admitted that there was a recording system in the White House which no longer made John Deans testimony just his word against the Presidents(Breaking Into Watergate, 341). Knowing that John Dean would stand up and tell the truth, despite being told to do otherwise, makes at least one good moral story come out of the scandal. In the thirty years that the presidents had been making secret recordings, on and off, all of them had their different reasons. In nineteen forty Franklin Roosevelt had a...

Argentina Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Argentina Economy - Research Paper Example GDP Per Capita Source: (tradingeconomics.com; Argentina GDP Per Capita; Retrieved: 2nd April 2012) Analyzing the ten years, we clearly see that the overall trend of per capita GDP has been rising. The per capita GDP has approximately doubled in the last ten years from $6300 to around $10,800 in 2011. We do see that the economic slow down had an effect on Argentina since its growth stagnated between 2009-2010 but has risen considerably since. The overall outlook for 2012 is also very positive. Inflation Rate: Source: (tradingeconomics.com; Argentina Inflation Rate; Retrieved: 2nd April 2012) Argentina has always been ridden with high inflation issues. Specially at the start of the millenium the CPI figures were sky high around 40% .The dramatic decrease in CPI was because of devaluation of its currency. Since then various measures have been underway to keep the inflation rate in and around 10%. Although some unofficial figures state that inflation is twice as much, around 25%. The inf lation issue continues to be a main concern for the country and measures are to be taken with repect to this to ensure any further growth in the country. UnEmployment Rate: Source: ( tradingeconomics.com; Argentina Unemployement Rate; Retrieved: 2nd April 2012) The overall umployement figures for Argentina have been impressive. Unemployement was very high in 2002 around 21%. Since then, there has been a steady decline in unemployement rate to around 7% in 2012. The unemployement numbers have decreased which certainly is a positive sign for the country which is because of the growing demand for argentinian products and growing local demand. With growing domestic as well as international demand the country is creating jobs for its citizens and the figures may get better in 2012. Source: (Indexmundi.com; Argentina Poverty Rate; Retrieved: 2nd April 2012) The poverty rate for Argentina has declined since 2003 from a staggering 48% to around 12% in 2010. The decrease in employment has la rgely been due to the strenghtening economy and higher opportunities for growth in manufacturing and agriculture.Argentina has now a very high Human Development Index and is now in an upper middle income economy in the world. The poverty rate does seem to be getting higher and measures need to be taken to address this issue.Population being below the poverty line was estimated at around 10% in the CIA factbook, however the figure is still alarming. Democracy Index and Level Of Corruption: A research study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit compiled a list of 167 democracies around the world to identify their level of democrarcy based on a number of factors most notably; political participation,civil liberties,and functioning of the government. In this survey Argentina was placed at number 51 of the 167 countries with an index of 6.84 which translated to flawed democracy. 10 being the highest, full democracy and 0 being authoritarion regimes. ( (Kekic) The country has democ ratically elected governement although there are some flaws in the system that have made its democracy level go down a bit. The transparency International conducted a study to identify corrupt and non corrupt nations by providing an index

Marketing Youtube video Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Youtube video - Essay Example This is a good advertisement. One on hand it gives a good display of product features and on the other hand provides a hilarious backdrop of three office executives. The linkage of the backdrop with real life events would induce repeat viewing. This is an example of an excellent advertisement. The innovative backdrop would induce repeat viewership, the advertisement shows a husband and wife fighting for the car devoid of the consequences, which is likely to make the product attractive and would enhance the positioning of the brand. An excellent advertisement with an innovative backdrop which effectively correlates with the tagline of the product ‘extremely strong’ as it shows a mouse doing something impossible after consuming a piece of cheese. The innovative backdrop would induce repeat viewership. Extremely innovative advertisement which communicates the product features in an innovative manner which would induce repeat viewership. The character portrayed in the advertisement effectively correlates with the product features which are likely to generate a good impact on the customers. This is an average advertisement that on one hand effectively promotes the product features but lacks in the aspect of inducing repeat viewership as the backdrop appears to be lengthy and somewhat uninteresting in

Principles of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Principles of Leadership - Essay Example Development of the appropriate mental model for leadership is thus important. Means to develop an appropriate mental model were also uncovered in classroom practical discussions. I intend using the knowledge gained from these sessions to act as a guideline in developing the appropriate mental model for enhancing leadership skills in me. In addition, Northhouse 2010 provides two key ingredients of leadership, which are behavioural abilities and diagnostic abilities. The essence of successful leadership lies in selecting strategies that are practical than rather leaning on idealistic goals. In this lies the importance of the evaluation of behavioural abilities and the diagnostic abilities of the leader (Whetten & Cameron 2011). Classroom discussions have arrived at the conclusion that the important factors of evaluation of the group environment gives vital clues to the leader on what can be achieved based on the communication structures in an organization, which may not be at idealisti c levels. In such a scenario, a potential leader has the necessary information to develop realistic strategies to decrease the variance between the actual situation and an ideal situation. In short, it is this diagnostic ability that allows a leader to mould behaviour in an organization to get as close as what the ideal situation needs to be (Bennis 2007). The ability to choose the required behavioural abilities provides a leader with the greater chance of achieving this objective (Zaccaro 2007). Based on this understanding of development of leadership skills, I have evolved the following strategies towards development of leadership skills in me: Work with a leadership guru. - find someone whom I feel confident with and learn from him/her. It is my belief that these interactions will open my horizon to new experiences and ideas. Invite opinions and accept criticisms. Look for other people eager to give direct, truthful, decisive opinions or criticisms. I should look for opinions fro m a multitude of viewpoints and be willing to accept them. Be compassionate. Be an attentive listener. I should create an approachable impression, so that people around me will not be hesitant to raise their concerns. Persevere to gain the integral leadership features in any way possible. I should strive to possess the ‘axioms of effective leadership’ such as healthy attitude, moral worth, and so on. Personal Development Plan I have chosen to use the SMART principles in my personal development plan. I have been moved to this decision by the purposeful statement of Battley, 2006, 127, â€Å"The SMART method is an old workhorse that remains effective, based on proven principles of adult learning.† As far as leadership is concerned SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time bound objectives (Dennis & Meola, 2009, 38). SMART principles in tabular form provided as Appendix – 1. What do these mean in real terms? Specific stands for det ailed and concise objectives. Measurable is quantifiable objectives. Achievable are realistic and feasible objectives. Relevant is for high value and desirable objectives and time bound means that the objectives do not stretch into infinity (Battley, 2006, 127). Specific Objectives The specific objectives that I have chosen for my leadership development plan are skills for evaluating the behavioural culture in a group of

International Business news analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Business news analysis - Essay Example e art† mathematical models currently used by economists which presupposed that household and ideal firm optimize their behavior with perfect rationality. In the end they revert back to Ricardian and Smith’s principle as a more plausible law to govern the market and international trade. Adam Smith originally meant that the mechanism of the invisible hand is a result of the market settling the distribution of goods and the prices between what the producers want to produce and what the consumers chooses freely what to consume within a given economy and across economies. As a result, producers will have to create goods that are cheaper to produce undermining competition and gain market share. On a bigger picture, Adam Smith’s invisible hand is comparable to David Ricardo’s idea of Comparative Advantage which is the guiding principle behind globalization of free trading across economies. Ricardo posited that countries will be better off if certain goods and services will be exported by countries that can produce them most efficiently. This is the main principle of outsourcing where a poor country will naturally have a cheap labor serving as its comparative advantage and would be willing to work for wages lower than those their rich counterpart countries which may have been more expensive if done in other countries. As a result, industry will naturally move to these countries as they make more profits by discounting on the labor cost as afforded by the poor country. This is the invisible hand at work in international trade whereby the invisible hand will â€Å"guide† and regulate international trade in the most beneficial manner by directing goods to be produced by more efficient countries so that everybody can benefit from it at a lower price and higher quality. The article however proposed a scenario what if invisible hand and its mechanism of comparative will no longer work because some economists thought of some brilliant mathematical models that

Diversity and the Culture of 'Fitting In' Essay

Diversity and the Culture of 'Fitting In' - Essay Example Two authors, Kenji Yoshino and Kwame Appiah, have recently addressed the problems confronting the diverse world of globalization. While they both advocate the justice and fairness that is due all people, they also have their differences. Yoshino warns that in the attempt to legislate equality, we have institutionalized conformity. In doing so we lose the very characteristics that make us unique. Appiah contends that as human beings we all possess cosmopolitanism, a worldly sense of shared ideals, principles, and moral obligations to our fellow man. From Appiah's point of view, we are more alike than different. Yoshino contends that our differences mark out individuality. Whose school is it anyway Students may wish to be cosmopolitan, and to shrink from their own uniqueness and just try to do their best at fitting in. Yoshino argues that it is the student's responsibility to bring to the experience their own individual outlook, flavor, and thinking. After all, it is the student's scho ol. Yoshino will help the student understand the implications of their culture, while Appiah will aid the student as they evolve from classroom to worldly college graduate. One of the most difficult tasks for any human being is the challenge of staying true to one's self, while fitting in with a diverse crowd. In college, this will be magnified several times over in every situation. We may be tempted to keep our true identity covered, out of fear of discrimination and bias. However, this would not only be unfair to yourself, but it would also cheat the other students out of the chance to experience the real you. We expect it of others and others expect it from us. Appiah speaks to this when he writes, "a deeper answer is that evaluating stories together is one of the central human ways of learning to align our responses to the world. And that alignment of responses is, in turn, one of the ways we maintain the social fabric, the texture of our relationships (29). We search for the common threads that bind us and as we work to build a world of universal civility based on the understanding of our sameness and an acceptance of our differences. We do not be come the same; we merely bring out and celebrate that which is the same. This celebration of the freedom to be unique is one of the ways in which we are all alike. "In practice, I expect the liberty paradigm to protect the authentic self better than the equality paradigm" (Yoshino 191). Women should not strive to be equal to be men, but should have as their goal the freedom and liberty to be women. Being free to be yourself, and not just fit in, in any social setting is the liberty that is the challenge for the college student. When you are free to be your true self, the classroom will present greater opportunities for self-expression and a deeper understanding of the material that is presented. When you know where you stand and where you are going, it is easier to see the effects of culture, bias, and the partiality that is presented in the classroom debates about the past, current events, and future policy. When you look around the campus you will see the future policy makers, the administrators, and leaders that will shape the future. A thorough understanding of the impact of culture and its potential for bias will be invaluable in shaping and contributing to the debate. If we wish to make

International Business news analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Business news analysis - Essay Example e art† mathematical models currently used by economists which presupposed that household and ideal firm optimize their behavior with perfect rationality. In the end they revert back to Ricardian and Smith’s principle as a more plausible law to govern the market and international trade. Adam Smith originally meant that the mechanism of the invisible hand is a result of the market settling the distribution of goods and the prices between what the producers want to produce and what the consumers chooses freely what to consume within a given economy and across economies. As a result, producers will have to create goods that are cheaper to produce undermining competition and gain market share. On a bigger picture, Adam Smith’s invisible hand is comparable to David Ricardo’s idea of Comparative Advantage which is the guiding principle behind globalization of free trading across economies. Ricardo posited that countries will be better off if certain goods and services will be exported by countries that can produce them most efficiently. This is the main principle of outsourcing where a poor country will naturally have a cheap labor serving as its comparative advantage and would be willing to work for wages lower than those their rich counterpart countries which may have been more expensive if done in other countries. As a result, industry will naturally move to these countries as they make more profits by discounting on the labor cost as afforded by the poor country. This is the invisible hand at work in international trade whereby the invisible hand will â€Å"guide† and regulate international trade in the most beneficial manner by directing goods to be produced by more efficient countries so that everybody can benefit from it at a lower price and higher quality. The article however proposed a scenario what if invisible hand and its mechanism of comparative will no longer work because some economists thought of some brilliant mathematical models that

Public Tax Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Tax Policy - Essay Example Therefore, a public tax policy can be described as guidelines for actions that the executive or the administrative branches of a country’s governance should take. These actions are usually encompassed with essential principles and are usually of responsive nature (McGrail, Morgan, and Hertzman 160). As such, these actions are mostly adopted to respond to certain issues in a manner that can be identified as consistent with the country’s laws as well as customs of the institutions within that country. The stronghold of public policies in any country is the national law as well as the constitutional law, which is in most cases substantially established. In addition to this, the implementing legislation is also identified as fundamental to national policies. An example of this is the U.S federal code (McGrail, Morgan, and Hertzman 166). Judicial interpretations as well as the legislation authorized regulations make the rest of the substrates essential in establishing public taxpolicies. According to scholars, the most effective description of public policies is that they are a system of regulatory measures, funding priorities as well as actions taken with reference to a specified topic. It should not only be a topic but one that has been promulgated by the government representatives or the entity itself (Feehan 45). Commonly, the public policies are entailed such aspects as the judicial decisions, constitutions as well as in legislative acts (Howlett 36). II. Thesis Statement The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the public tax policies adopted by the U.S and thereby determining if the founding fathers really made the right decisions concerning those policies (McGrail, Morgan, and Hertzman 170). III. Discussion Analysis of Govermental engagement in Public tax policies i. President’s Office In the US, the office of the president is usually mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that the government agents operate cohesively as well as optimumly with regard to govermantal projects. The funding of these projects comes from the public finances. Usually, the president designs the framework in from which implementation of the public tax policy will be done and passed to the U.S treasury and from there, this framework is released to the public (Feehan 46). In his Gettysburg address, Lincoln brought the U.S together while it was experiencing impairments. He did this by invoking the Founding fathers. This course of action can also be traceable in the actions of Franklin Roosevelt during his attempts to change the America’s social contract such that, apart from the security from hostility, he ensured that it also included the economic security which is a subject of a common good for the public (McGrail, Morgan, and Hertzman 176). Moreover, the process is usually multifaceted and it entails interplaying between individual groups as well as several individuals (Feehan 47). As such, these individuals and inter est groups engage themselves in collaborations in an effort to inflict an influence on the makers of the policies such that they will act in a certain manner. In an effort towards advancement of their aims, these interest groups and individuals utilize a wide range of tools as well as tactics. These include; mobilizing the affiliated parties on some issues, make explicit attempts not only to empower but also to educate the supporters as well as the opponents. In

Different Sociological Perspectives Essay Example for Free

Different Sociological Perspectives Essay Critically Analyse and Evalute The Different Sociological Perspectives On The Types of Family And Households In Britain. Evaluate Their Functions And Roles. To What Extent Do They Take Into Account The Diversity of Family Types In Britain? In this essay I will be looking at the different sociological theories as they relate to the family household, functions and roles. The socialists include The Functionalist , The Marxist, The Feminists, The New Rights and The Post Modernisms. There is an array of different family types. These include the nuclear family, reconstituted family/step family, single parent family, cultural family, and even more so in the modern times an evolution of different and alternative family types are getting more common such as gay families. The nuclear family is seen as the most traditional family type. It is one where you have a married couple with children, whereby the male is the head of the household and the sole breadwinner and the female takes on the responsibilities of the household and the care of the children. This type of family was a very common type in the early days compared to the present period in the Europe however, according to Browne (n.d), Pakistani and Bangladeshi families are most likely to live in the traditional nuclear family type. In modern days with divorce on the increase nuclear family types have been replaced with reconstituted families and single parented families. Reconstituted families consist of separated or divorced people who enter a new relationship with someone that already has children. Single parented families are one that consists of one parent that takes care of the child. According to Browne (n.d) ninety per cent of this type of family is headed by women. The nuclear family is the family type that is regarded to the Functionalist, Marxists and the New Rights as the most ideal. The main functionalists’ theories of the family are G.P Murdock and Talcott Parsons. They view the family as a tool in order for the society to function. Ken Browne (n.d) suggests that the Functionalists believe that the development of an individual is helped by the upbringing from the family. The reason why Parsons believes in the nuclear family is because he believes that the male and the female both serve a role within the family that benefits society. He believes that the female has an expressive role whereby the females’ nature is to be emotionally supportive to her children and husband, providing them with love and nurture. The males’ role is to be instrumental, whereby his duty is to be the provider of the family. Browne (n.d) suggests that Parsons states that the male instrumental role can cause stress and anxiety in which the females’ expressive role takes place in order to soothe her husbands’ tension. The problem with this view is that the functionalists do not take into account that now in modern times we have an array of family types and family roles have been reversed. For instance, it is very common now for a woman to have a job and be the breadwinner in helping maintain the family. It is also very common for men to be the main carer of the home and the children, especially when you take into account that the rise of unemployed men is high due to the recession, and as a result of this, men are actually taking expressive role into action and the female the instrumental role. And also the nuclear family is now decreasing. The tradition of children within a marriage isn’t as common as it was in the past as now cohabitation is a common family type. Also divorce rates are high resulting in reconstituted families and single families. The expression for the instrumental and expressive roles isn’t as valid when you apply them into the roles of the sexes, as now with the increase of different family types the roles can be reversed or one parent could provide the instrumental and expressive role. Marxists do not view the family as acting in the interest of society as a whole but more in the form of a superstructure that benefits the capitalist system. â€Å"Marxist see the family within the framework of a capitalist society, which is based on private property, driven by profit and is riddled with conflict between social classes with opposing interest†. (Browne pg 123) According to the Marxists the industrial aspects and the reproduction of people and generations contributes to the system by them working to maintain the economic system. This view on the family fails to take into account the sociological benefits a family can have outside of the industrial perspective. Brown (n.d) states that Engles, an early Marxists, believed that the monogamous practice of the nuclear family guarantees the paternity of the children, therefore ensuring that private property was passed down to the right people. There is also the perception that women married for material gain as, like t he functionalists, they believed men should be the breadwinners and women should stay home and take care of the children. As their view concentrates mainly on the structural perspectives to society they fail to take into account the emotional side of the family and the fact that couples do actual marry for love. As I mentioned earlier, it is now very common for women to work and earn their own money and to be independent therefore minimising Engles’ view on the perception that women married for money and security. Their view on the importance of the nuclear family suggests they do not recognise the wide diversity in the families we now have today as not all families are nuclear. Reconstituted families, in some cases property or money could be shared equally amongst step-children and paternal children, this also indicates that Engles hadn’t taken to account the varieties of the different family types. However, in most Muslim marriages they tend to be arranged and due to the strong religious influence divorce rates are dramatically low in comparison with European and Afro-Caribbean marriages . Due to the nuclear family setting in Muslim marriages, Engles theory would best describes them. Browne (n.d) states that the Marxist Feminist has an extended view on the Marxist perspective as the feminists focuses mainly on the female contribution to the family. They highlight the key issues on the negative effects of family life towards women, e.g. domestic violence, which the Functionalist and the Marxists do not acknowledge. Radical Feminist highlights that patriarchy is the cause of restriction on women. They highlight that the duty that women undertake as carer of children restricts them in their workplace and that the upbringing they give to their children socializes them so that they are fit for the working environment. They believe that women’s unpaid domestic labour benefits the capitalist system. The key problem with the Marxist feminists is that they do not take into account the diversity of modern families. It’s as if they assume that every family consists of a heterosexual nuclear family. Gay families as well as other types of families are not even taken into account in this view. Browne suggests that they also paint a very negative perspective of family life making the family to the woman a burden when in reality not all women feel this way. Some women love the fact that they are considered in their family as the main nurturer, and in other families the roles are shared equally between the mother and father as it very common for both parents to work. With this said as women have their own source of income women are less obliged to remain with their partner if they are unhappy, highlighting the fact that, according to Browne (n.d) , 70 per cent of women initiate divorces. The New Right theory is politically themed as opposed to socially. They believe that the decline in the traditional nuclear family contributes to various social problems such as spending on welfare, underachievement and the existence of the ‘underclass’ (criminals). The New Right do not take into account that some nuclear families do also have their problems. The feminists have addressed that domestic violence does take place within the nuclear family. This in turn could affect a child to the point where that child is deeply affected by these incidents within the family home which results him/her to be a nuisance to society in which case, a single parented family would indeed lessen the problems as the domestic problem would have been taken out of the equation. The functions of the New Rights are just indeed theories that all of which do not have any evidence to back them up. The Post Modernisms embraces every family type and states that no family structure should be considered as more desirable than others. They state that an individual can experience various family structures throughout their lifespan. Although the Post Modernism’s theory does not discriminate households that are deemed as ‘not ideal for society’ by other socialist groups, they appear not to have any boundaries which can be detrimental for society and the individual as they do not enforce a degree of structure. The commonality between all the sociological theories that I have discussed so far is that none of them have taken into account the cultural differences and views of the family. The nuclear family is not universally accepted. An example of this shown by (FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD BOOKLET-NO AUTHOR/DATE) mentions that Kibbutz, an Israeli family type, is one that consists of the community taking on the responsibility of the family as opposed to the parents. (THE BOOK STATES) â€Å"In the early Kibbutzim, childrearing was separated as much as possible from the marriage relationship, with children kept apart from their natural parents for much of the time and brought up in the children’s house by metapelets†¦. It is one of the most famous and successful attempts to establish an alternative to the family†. (p117) The Jewish way of life proves that other family type such as theirs can be successful, shadowing the Nuclear family type status to be the most effective way of family life. Another example as to why cultural differences have been overlooked is that Polygyny tends to be quite common in the Muslim culture. This type of family setting would not go in the favour of what the Marxist stand for as the Marxist believes in the monogamy setting where one husband and one wife is all that is required. The fact that socialists’ still use theories from the earlier period shows that their perspectives are very old fashioned and dated. In the earlier days the numbers of ethnic minorities, homosexuality and divorce in Great Britain was considerably lower to the numbers of today. This suggests that the perspectives were aimed solely for the European nuclear society. As the number of ethnic minorities, homosexuality and divorce features so largely in Britain, the perspectives is in some need of amending as they do not benefit people from different family types and cultures. Bibliography Aiken Dave; Chapman Steve: Moore Stephen, (n.d), Sociology AS For AQA Browne Ken, (n.d), Sociology for AS AQA 3rd Edition New Right and Postmodernist, (n.d), To introduce New Right and Postmodernist perspectives on the nuclear family, available at: http://www.educationforum.co.uk/sociology_2/post.htm Postmodern Sociology, (n.d), available at: http://www.allaboutworldview.org/postmodern-sociology.htm

Heinz Kohuts Theories and Practice

Heinz Kohuts Theories and Practice Heinz Kohut: The Man and His Work Although not as well known as his contemporary Sigmund Freud, Heinz Kohut is equally famous among his peers for his exploration of narcissism and the client’s need for empathy and understanding from his or her therapist. The aim of this paper is to describe the theory and practice of Heinz Kohut and his influence over the author’s practice, both describing the psychological mechanisms that drove Kohut to this line of thinking along with brief vignettes of the author’s own psychobiography that led her to include some of his theory into her work with clients. Usually, far more is known about a psychoanalyst’s work than about his life or persona. Scholars have found it useful to examine the life of a theorist to gain insight into how he may have come to the conclusions he had, especially as there is currently no grand unified theory of therapy. In one of Kohut’s biographies, Siegel (1996) described him as a walking contradiction that has more than a healthy dose of self-love. â€Å"Kohut seemed a strange mixture of aloof, aristocratic and almost puritanical austerity in a warmly responsive and considerate person. He was a very private person and was careful how he let himself appear in public. I never saw him sloppily dressed and I know that he corrected and edited his writings again and again before he was satisfied to release them for publication. He was properly discreet about his health and few of his friends knew that during the last decade of his life he was suffering from a chronic leukaemia in remission. Long before the contemporary popularity of exercise and jogging, Kohut ran, not jogged, his prescribed miles several times a week. He ate sparingly to maintain a trim figure.† Another biographer described him as someone with a profound zest for life that often ‘enraged people or hurt them badly with his intense narcissism (Strozier 2004, p. 12). Perhaps he noticed these traits quite strongly in himself which is why he became fixated on creating a theory of development with narcissism at the core. As a perfectionist, he carefully controlled how others would perceive himself as Siegel stated above. This fastidiousness may have stemmed from his personal history. As the child of two German Jews living under the sword of Damocles that was Adolf Hitler, and the German Imperium of the early twentieth century, the family had to assimilate as best as they possibly could into the society. Europe had long been hostile toward the Jewish Diaspora and conformity was a matter of life and death. Thus, there is a need to develop two selves: the public self and the private self. According to Strozier’s biography, in addition to his legal name, he also had a sep arate name to be used within the confines of his religious community (2004). His further study of the development of narcissism originated in the wholesale rejection of the academic community when he sought to begin his didactic analysis, in order to eventually become a psychoanalyst. The committee cited his narcissism as a bar to entry but his biographer noted that there were several narcissistic psychoanalysts in the 1940’s and suggested that his rejection may have been linked to his rather unorthodox sexual practices (Strozier 2004). In the time that he flourished, he and a few of his contemporaries placed a strong emphasis on the importance of the therapist’s relationship with the client. First is the premise of non-defensiveness. The adoption of an open posture enables the clients to open up and speak freely without fear of being rejected or humiliated, even if the client should express reservations about the therapist herself (Kahn 1997). Although this is extremely difficult to achieve in practice because therapists, like the general population, have ‘sore spots’ and strong value systems that they usually defend quite vigorously. However, once the therapist learns non-defensiveness, the client would feel comfortable speaking about any issue because she feels that her therapist would unconditionally support her. In early psychoanalysis, taking such a humanistic stance was seen as a bold move as psychoanalysts were careful to cultivate a detached, observational role—ensuring a noticeab le emotional distance between therapist and patient. Especially obvious, was the notion of authority—that because the therapist was the expert, his interpretation (as most psychoanalysts at the time were male) was unquestionably correct in the mind of the patient. Kohut fell into the trap himself until he finally stopped and listened to an especially difficult client. In his notes, he writes: I was inclined to argue with the patient about the correctness of my interpretations and to suspect the presence of stubborn hidden resistances†¦For a long time I insisted†¦ that the patient’s reproaches related to specific transference fantasies and wishes on the Oedipal level†¦She became [even more] violently angry, and furiously accused me of undermining her†¦and†¦wrecking her analysis (Kohut qt. Kahn 1997, p. 89). As it turned out, those so-called resistances were his client’s attempts to communicate the reality of her childhood and being constantly misunderstood and ignored. This breakthrough could not have come until Kohut stopped offering interpretations and started to truly hear where she was coming from. While this was one of his more important breakthroughs in the practice of modern therapy, his theory of on the development of the self had drawn many admirers and critics, as he views the development of narcissism with the growth of the self as one-and-the-same. However, a healthy sense of self-love is necessary to flourish, many psychologists and lay-people view narcissism as a pathological elevation of the self at the expense of others at worst, or at best a defence-mechanism against low-self esteem. On Self-Psychology According to Kohut, the grandiose self is the ‘child’s second attempt to regain the lost blissful state by creating a sense of perfection within the self. In this effort, all imperfection is assigned to the world outside’ (Siegel 1996, p. 86). For a child’s psyche, this is a survival mechanism as acknowledging imperfection or flaws within the self causes tremendous amount of psychic pain. This was especially true for one of my clients. Over time, we discovered that she could only feel worthy of respect by projecting this ‘grandiose self’-image’ of success and invincibility—not because she necessarily believes she is superior to others, but because she fears rejection by her peers and contempt from her subordinates should people discover who she really was. According to Kohut, clinging to the grandiose self usually happens if a child’s primary caretaker is not very empathic or the child has been exposed trauma at this time ( Siegel 2006). Part of her therapy includes discovering who this self is. Because she had constructed several layers of false identity, she does not know who she is, as her self-concept was buried in shame, humiliation, and neglect. Most of the patients in the author’s work have exhibited signs of an ‘injured grandiose self’, which necessitated a heavy emphasis on empathy and a mirror-transference over the course of treatment. Applying the Theory: A Case Study For the sake of privacy, no one’s name would be released, so this paper will refer to the author’s client as Nadia. She had been in therapy for several weeks because she had experienced a series of unfortunate events, which made her reflect further upon her life. Her relationships have unhealthy patterns where a suitor would appear to put her on a pedestal during the courtship phase and then when things became settled, she would break off the relationship in search of the next man that would make her feel as special. She has lapsed into a deep depression because her life had taken a course other than what she had envisioned her ‘destiny’ would entail with respect to her career and acquiring certain status symbols (i.e. house and nice car). She withdrew from family and friends not able to face the humiliation that comes with life’s setbacks, partially because she would always speak of how wonderful her life was. Meeting her own expectations and those of her family had become a compulsion as it served to validate her existence and her superiority over others that were somewhat less driven. The author’s role in the interaction is small, but significant. With patients such as Nadia, it is just necessary to listen and establish a sense of twinship—that is, cultivate the feeling that she and I are very similar, having very similar expectations of life. Initially, those seeking therapy are searching for someone to validate them and human nature being what it is, they will not feel understood by someone that seems drastically different confiding in those that are most like themselves, but this tendency is even more pronounced in the narcissist. The client must feel that it is all right to share her feelings; because she is certain that they would be understood unconditionally. According to Kohut, in the mirror/alter-ego transference: â€Å"The patient experiences you as like himself; his thoughts seem to be present in you also, and what’s going on in him he feels is going on in you too. When he feels distant, you are distant from him too. When he is enr aged, he feels you are enraged too† (Kohut, Tolpin Topin, 1996, p. 34). Intriguingly enough, narcissism often provides the patient an unparalleled degree of connectedness as she views the other as an extension of herself and loves her because she loves herself. Conversely, she may hate her therapist because she may reflect back aspects of herself that she does not like. Sometimes, when the client no longer views the therapist as a mirror-object, but another person, the therapy sessions would end because she would no longer take any narcissistic pleasure in understanding herself, however that separation may signal the beginning of deeper changes to come. According to Kohut, once the client becomes subconsciously aware that the therapist and client are two separate entities, she proceeds to narcissistic projection—where she projects aspects of herself unto the therapist (Kohut, Tolpin Tolpin 1996). The therapist then must work through the reasons why her client is sendi ng forth those particular emotions and then encourage her to reflect upon her emotions and the events of the past that brought them out and caused the client to project those emotions onto her, whether those emotions are positive or negative. Reflections To a small extent, the therapist must attempt to keep this interest in play as long as possible for significant change to occur. That does not necessarily mean that a client will be cured—in fact, a cure may not be desirable because narcissism is often necessary for life in the competitive, individualistic cultures of Western nations. This is not a rare practice for psychotherapists to control how they are perceived by their clients, as it is often necessary to project an image of competence as well as physical and mental health in order to increase credibility with them. However, there is the danger of seeming intimidating and unapproachable because clients usually cannot relate to someone that seems perfectly conscientious and undisturbed by the world at all times. They need a mirror to reflect and validate a more empowered version of their self-images. This is where empathy becomes all the more significant in practice. The therapist must always maintain her image as a compe tent professional, but she should be able to convey that she is capable of putting herself into another’s situation and then helping her clients from a position of strength. Biography Greenberg, J.R. Mitchell, S.A. (1983), Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Kahn, M. (1997), Between Therapist and Client: The New Relationship. New York, NY: Henry Holt Company, LLC Kohut, H., Tolpin, P., Tolpin, M. (1996), Heinz Kohut: The Chicago Institute Lectures, Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press Siegel, A.M. (1996), Heinz Kohut and the Psychology of the Self, London: Routledge Strozier, C.B. (2004), Heinz Kohut: The Making of a Psychoanalyst, Chicago, IL: Farrar, Straus Giroux, LLC

Early Entry into the NBA Causes a Negative Impact on Professional Sport

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract:   Basketball players who enter the NBA early are not ready for the NBA. Early entry into the NBA by high school and college basketball players has had a negative affect on the college basketball program, the NBA, and the players themselves. Each year the number of early entries in the NBA rises more and more. In 1997, 47 basketball players entered the NBA draft early, and the number has risen since then. The college basketball program is drained of talent due to players leaving early. The high school players that go directly into the NBA are hurting the college program because they never contribute to the college program at all. The NBA now has to deal with a higher level of immaturity and disrespect by young players. College basketball players obtain a certain amount of respect and maturity in college. The players suffer by not grasping the concept of learning due to lack of education. Many analysts say that entering the NBA before finishing a fo ur-year program is entering too early. The NBA commissioner, David Stern, has begun to work on ways to encourage players to go to and stay in college. High school and college basketball players have started to enter the NBA earlier and earlier as the year's progress. In general, this is resulting in a negative effect to the college programs, the NBA, and the players themselves. Before 1994 there were usually only eight to ten early entries into the NBA. The number grew to 18 in 1995, and an astonishing 40 players in 1996, and 47 in 1997. The number of early entries in the NBA grows to the point where it is a problem that needs to be dealt with by the NBA players association. College basketball is in serious trouble. Of course, any sport would be when it's marquee s... ...arper, 1994. Curtis, Jake. "The Young and the Restless." San Francisco Chronicle 8 May 1996: E1 Clarkston, Michael. "From Boys to Men." The Toronto Star 28 May 1997: B6 Feldman, Robert. Understanding Psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Henderson, John. "Skippin' School." The Denver Post 11 March 1999: D1 Livingston, Bill. "Young NBA Players Learn on the Job." The Plain Dealer 17 December 1997: D1 May, Peter. "Exorbitant Salaries." The Boston Globe 11 July 1999: E2 McCallum, Jack. "Going, Going, Gone." Sports Illustrated 20 July 1996: C4 Pensa, Patty. "Early Departures." The Columbus Dispatch 4 July 1999: E2 Wann, Daniel. "Team Identification." Journal of Sports Behavior 7 June 2000: 23 Wilbon, Michael. "Draft Pool." The Washington Post 3 May 2001: D1 Wolff, Alexander. "Impossible Dream." Sports Illustrated 2 July 1997: C4

The Masque of the Red Death Essay -- essays research papers

To begin I would like to state that this is the first time I have had the experience of reading Poe and as such the reading process was greatly intriguing. The short story I chose was the Masque of the Red Death, which I found to be very dark and vile. From the beginning of the story to the end I found great concentration on the issues of life and death, among other things, which made the story very dynamic for its size. Another point of interest I found in the story was Poe’s concentration on historical accuracy as he successfully attempts to illustrate the feudal system at its best. However, two aspects of Poe’s writing that I did not exactly enjoy was the use of obscure words and seemingly long sentence which can some times take away from the flow of the story but overall it was enjoyable. In this short story Poe successfully illustrates matters of life and death specifically through imagery and projection of morals through diction and mood. This is important to make note of because Poe provides very vivid and precise images pertaining to the message he is trying to convey. The concentration on colour is the most prominent element throughout the story. The use of the colored chambers was greatly effective in delivering its massage of night and day. However, while the implicit theme of the coloured chambers are in fact night and day it again relates back to the more larger theme life and death and the rooms symbolize that progression through life, starting with birth (the...

Nz Fitness Industry

Within New Zealand a growing number of people are using the fitness industry as a convenient means of improving and maintaining their well-being. In recent times a market boom has taken place with more and more gyms being built throughout the country, and with them new business opportunities arising. One of the most renown gyms in New Zealand, Les Mills is an example of one of these modern business franchises.In the 43 years since Phillip Mills family started running their first Les Mills gym in New Zealand, the gym has since gone international with over 14,000 gyms now spread throughout 75 countries worldwide and an estimated net worth of (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ) (citation). It is estimated that in New Zealand alone the gym industry generated over (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ) in 2008 (citation). Along with the increase in gyms being established a large proportion of the fitness industry is now focusing on nutrition as an additional market for generating profit.This report serves to a nalyse and interpret both individual markets along with relevant figures, and will outline the potential future business prospects for investment or creating a new franchise in both markets. New Zealand has a large fitness industry as exercise has become a very important part of everyday life. Today’s gym goers are opting for low frills operators trading away high end services in favour of convenience, price and flexible contracts.With more than 10% of New Zealand’s population now seeing an exercise professional regularly, there is a total of 400,000 people on average seeing 1500 exercise professionals on a regular basis. (cited) Some of the top gyms in New Zealand are Les Mills, Next generation and Jetts. Les Mills has a competitive advantage of having fun while exercise via the fitness classes that are suitable for all ages and sizes, such as Body Combat. Les Mills is a large firm that has privately owned companies headquarters in Auckland only which are valued at $1 30 million.Les Mills believes that by 2020 they will open a further of 10 gyms in Auckland (cited Mills). The health and fitness market has been described as blandly premium as there is little deffirentiation between service offerings, indicating that there is opportunity for competitive advantage to be achieved through quality. In order to open a new franchise sufficient funds must be available. Competition exist with a newly opened Les Mills Britomart, which was set up with a total cost of $10 million dollars. Margins are very slim for smaller gyms, so would need to be a large player to be successful. Nz Fitness Industry Within New Zealand a growing number of people are using the fitness industry as a convenient means of improving and maintaining their well-being. In recent times a market boom has taken place with more and more gyms being built throughout the country, and with them new business opportunities arising. One of the most renown gyms in New Zealand, Les Mills is an example of one of these modern business franchises.In the 43 years since Phillip Mills family started running their first Les Mills gym in New Zealand, the gym has since gone international with over 14,000 gyms now spread throughout 75 countries worldwide and an estimated net worth of (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ) (citation). It is estimated that in New Zealand alone the gym industry generated over (†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ) in 2008 (citation). Along with the increase in gyms being established a large proportion of the fitness industry is now focusing on nutrition as an additional market for generating profit.This report serves to a nalyse and interpret both individual markets along with relevant figures, and will outline the potential future business prospects for investment or creating a new franchise in both markets. New Zealand has a large fitness industry as exercise has become a very important part of everyday life. Today’s gym goers are opting for low frills operators trading away high end services in favour of convenience, price and flexible contracts.With more than 10% of New Zealand’s population now seeing an exercise professional regularly, there is a total of 400,000 people on average seeing 1500 exercise professionals on a regular basis. (cited) Some of the top gyms in New Zealand are Les Mills, Next generation and Jetts. Les Mills has a competitive advantage of having fun while exercise via the fitness classes that are suitable for all ages and sizes, such as Body Combat. Les Mills is a large firm that has privately owned companies headquarters in Auckland only which are valued at $1 30 million.Les Mills believes that by 2020 they will open a further of 10 gyms in Auckland (cited Mills). The health and fitness market has been described as blandly premium as there is little deffirentiation between service offerings, indicating that there is opportunity for competitive advantage to be achieved through quality. In order to open a new franchise sufficient funds must be available. Competition exist with a newly opened Les Mills Britomart, which was set up with a total cost of $10 million dollars. Margins are very slim for smaller gyms, so would need to be a large player to be successful.