Plan an Intervention Strategy

I am writing about case Scenario 1. This is a referral made by the GP of a 72 year old Punjabi lady, Jameela, to the older person's team. She has increasing care needs and is cared for by her Daughter-in-law, Farah, who has become increasingly depressed and unable to cope. She has two children, the younger of which has learning difficulties. The GP has spoken with Majid, the husband suggesting that his mother should go into a home and asking him to discuss this with his mother. This is a close knit family with culturally based family values which are resulting in tensions and conflict between Jameela, Majid and Farah, his wife. It is human nature that we all form our own opinions, beliefs and values but these personal values can cause problems as a social worker. According to Banks (2006, p. 6): ‘Values are particular types of belief that people hold about what is regarded as worthy or valuable'. It is important that I am consciously aware of my own views and opinions and challenge them so that they do not interfere with my treatment of all service users. It is my duty to not allow my individual beliefs, for instance my own religious beliefs and values may cause me to have stereotypical views about the Muslim/Sikhism religions and beliefs of my service users in this scenario. This could lead to assumptions about the service users' family values and lead to the possibility that I may let my own beliefs influence how I act with this family and I may subconsciously discriminate against this family on this basis. It is important for me to identify and challenge my own stereotypes to achieve anti-discriminatory practice positively with my service users. My service users will all be individuals with their own make-up, as indeed I am myself and irrespective of both my own and my service users race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, mental or physical disability, political or religious beliefs I need to be non-judgemental, respectful and not allow my own values to cause discrimination and prejudice to any person. This is using the important social work value of unconditional positive regard. ‘There is recognition that personal and agency values may conflict and that the worker as a person has a moral responsibility to make decisions about these conflicts'. Banks, S. 2006,p. 150) In agencies there may also be different attitudes and values to our own and social work values and it is important for me to challenge these values so they do not affect the fairness of treatment to my service users. For example an organisation with predominantly female staff may not be aware of the views and opinions that they appear to have are creating sexism towards male members of the team and may also interfere with the fair treatment of service users leading to discrimination. It is important for me to have a non-judgemental attitude and to not judge any members of the family or treat them as being responsible for their problems or needs. There are many concerns from this referral; Majid is the point of referral from the GP and not the main service user, Jameela. This is disrespectful and disempowering to Jameela taking away from Jameela the control over her own life and decisions of her own. This referral is not promoting good practice where we would give Jameela the right to make her own informed decision and to take part in the decision making process. Kant's moral principle of the categorical imperative: ‘I ought never to act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law'. (Kant, 1984, p. 88) Which means that we should treat other people in the way we feel all people should treat each other. By suggesting that she be taken into a home is treating her as a means to an end or a solution to the difficult family situation. Kant's philosophies focus on respect for persons and valuing them as human beings which influenced the social work value of respect. BASW (2002, p2, 3) states that practice should promote human dignity and worth, giving every one individual value and respect and a right to self-fulfilment and control over their own lives. As part of the process of getting to know this family it will become apparent that the actions of each adult family member are affecting others. As a social worker I have a moral obligation and responsibility to work with the family to help improve the resulting conflicts. Majid by showing loyalty to both his wife and mother may be contributing to the problem as he is unwilling to acknowledge the views his mother holds about his wife and this in turn will increase Farah's depression as she can't talk to anyone about this. A utilitarian act focuses on working for a greater good or the action which benefits the majority. In this case to promote the idea, to Majid, of taking Jameela into a care home for a temporary period initially to allow Farah to recover and to improve family relationships between Majid, the children and herself. Farah is in the position of least power in this family and this is largely due to the cultural and social expectations within the family, therefore she is probably unable to speak for herself, feeling oppressed which may have caused her to internalise her experiences and feelings and contributed to her depression. The emancipatory movements of the 1960s and 1970s where oppressed groups such as women, rebelled and fought for social justice such as the right to study at university, to have equal rights in the workplace has helped to raise awareness and influence the emancipatory values in social work practice. These values encourage us to promote social justice and consider the inequalities that Farah has, also that she is struggling to cope with the responsibilities of her Punjabi family traditional culture and values. It would be important to consider virtue ethics, and to demonstrate that as social workers we have good character traits of truthfulness, honesty. Integrity, knowledge and that we act justly and in a trustworthy manner with all members of this family. There is also an element of seeking and appreciating the character traits or virtues of all members of the family and the good things about them, without judging their actions. In trying to form a professional judgement, as part of the process of undertaking an assessment, I would analyse the dilemmas in this scenario and be guided by the moral philosophies already mentioned which have in turn helped to underpin the social work values that we aspire to and the BASW and the GSCC codes of ethics which guide our professional practice. Banks, (2006,p8) describes : ‘Ethical dilemma- a choice between two equally unwelcome alternatives relating to human welfare'. This relates to one of the ethical dilemmas in this scenario being that Jameela's self determination is having a negative effect on Farah and an indirect effect on the children, also Majid who is colluding with his mother. ‘Self-determination of service users'. (BASW, 2002, 4, 1, 3) States that we should help to make informed decisions and promote a person's autonomy provide it doesn't conflict with their safety or rights of others. There is a conflict between the needs of Jameela as opposed to the rights of Farah and her own need for autonomy. I would help Farah to recognise her rights as a carer and explain the implications of this. (GSCC, 2002, 3. 1) says that: ‘Promoting the independence of service users and assisting them to understand and exercise their rights'. The balance needs to be addressed between Farah and Jameela's needs by limiting Jameela's self determination but still allowing her to give informed consent, with the intention of reaching informed decisions of a joint nature with the agreement of Majid and Farah. However, I do feel this is going to take a lot of sensitive discussion with all family members to help achieve harmony and agreement on the best solution for all. Although it may be necessary still to collaboratively make the difficult decision or choice of action to place Jameela in a care home, which may be unwelcome to her and thus compromising her rights, a further ethical dilemma. S. Banks(2006 p48) says: Yet while the social worker may be able to focus largely on one individual service user and take on the role of advocate for the service users rights, often the social worker has to take into account the rights of significant others in a situation. In the interests of justice it may not always be morally right to promote the service users rights at the expense of those of others'. This is in accord with my own conclusions for this scenario and the moral dilemma it has created by putting the rights of Farah, Majid and their children before Jameela. On considering all the options this would be for the greater good and benefit the majority. ‘Cultural awareness'. (BASW, 2002, 4, 1, 6) As there are many cultural expectations on family members, in particular Farah and the responsibilities and duties it places on her; it is important for me to not impose westernised values on this family but to be aware of their cultural values, beliefs and customs. I would obtain a working knowledge of this individual family beliefs and culture, paying attention also to communication barriers and use an interpreter if needed. Radical position and praxis could be used with effect to set up a day care centre to help Jameela and other elderly Punjabi members of this community, to help social inclusion of Jameela and others. Using praxis to reflect then act we could evaluate the service we have provided , its strengths and weaknesses and improve the service and expand it further to meet the needs of Punjabi members of the community. There is a power struggle within this family with Jameela having the greater and Farah the least power. As a social worker we have the power to influence the lives of our service users. I would use my power to give information and available choices to all the members of this family to help them participate in the overall decision making process. It would be very important to try to help them to see the individual needs of other family members in a sensitive way without apportioning blame. By valuing the difference and the cultural identity of this family this would empower them and give them acceptance and equality, creating an opportunity for them to have choices in their lives. Thompson uses a Personal, Cultural and Structural (PCS) model to help understand discrimination and oppression that can result from it. There are three levels which interrelate; the personal area looks at the psychological aspects of discrimination and how personal experiences will become apparent in our attitudes. The cultural aspect of the model is about what are perceived as the norms in society and the shared beliefs of society about what is right and wrong. The structural section of the model is making reference to the structure of society and includes within it media, religion and government (Thompson, 2006). I should consider the inequalities and discrimination that this family may face and how these may impinge on their lives. As a social worker it would be my role to counteract the effects of oppression by focusing on both Jameela and Farah so they could gain control of their own lives, as they may feel disempowered by their situation so by adopting an anti- oppressive approach this would aim to empower them both. My own personal learning resulting from this scenario has been a reflection of my own character, my own values, personal beliefs and the importance of not allowing them to impact on the service offered to service users. By reflecting on my previous working experience I have realised that I do actually adhere unknowingly to many of the philosophical principles that have underpinned the value base in social work. I have always treated all persons with respect, acceptance as individuals in their own right irrespective of their make-up or heritage (Kantism). I have the belief that there is some good in everyone although it is not always apparent (Virtue ethics). I am always non- judgemental and sensitive to cultural identity and aware of the diversity of all people. The subject of ethics and the moral dilemmas that will occur in practice will be a challenge for me and all social workers I do believe on an ongoing basis. Learning how to empower people and to increase their own strengths and coping abilities is a theory for me to learn how to apply in practice situations. The importance of this to me as a future social worker is to ensure I acknowledge the power I will have, to always be reflective and consider evidence-based practice, to be a non-biased worker and to give all service users unconditional positive regard to create a safe and trusting environment so service users can express themselves.

Past and Future Life

Here I am 36 years old and writing a paper on my past, present and future life. In this paper I will present a brief description of a few of my life experiences that I faced growing up. I will also look ahead to the goal I want to accomplish in the future. I grew up in a military family, My father was in the U. S. Army at the Air Force Base in Fayetteville, NC about 2 hours from Jacksonville where he and his family was living. My father and mother met in Jacksonville and from there the rest is history. My earliest childhood memories were growing up between Jacksonville and Georgia. I was the youngest of 2. My dad continued to serve in the Army but for whatever reasons he and my mother decided to divorce. At that point my mother packed me and my sister up and moved back to Georgia to live with her parents for a while. While living there with my grandparents my sister and I never got along she would always do things and blame me for it. I remember one night after eating dinner my sister got up to put her dishes in the sink in the kitchen, so I came in behind her but as I walked up into the kitchen I saw her turning the gas stove on (and you know to use a gas stove you have to light it) she then walked out of the kitchen, so I stayed in there nd washed my dishes up but, before I could finish my mother came in and said that she smelled gas, so I told her that my sister was in here messing with the stove, my mother called my sister in the kitchen to find out what happened and of course my sister sat there and lied and said that I turned the stove on. I then tried to tell my mother that my sister was lying on me but she didn't want to believe anything that I was saying so I got into trouble for something I didn't do. I was never able to tell my side of a story because the first thing my mother would say was shut up because I don't believe a word you are saying. As I got older and into my teenage years I started experiencing things and seeing a lot of things for myself. I started sneaking out to hang out with my friends, I went to parties, sleep overs just so I could get out the house. I wanted to have a boyfriend but my mother told me that I was to young to date. At the age of 16 , I had gotten pregnant I kept it a secret for a very long time, I continued to go to school and work. One day someone called my mother and told her that she may want to take me to the doctor and check to see if I'm pregnant. Well a few days later My stepfather and I was in a car accident and I had to go to the Hospital and et x-rays on my knee because it had gotten busted up in the accident. So when the nurse came in my mother was asked to step out the room and the nurse started giving me a physical and I told her that I believed that I was pregnant and she said well that's funny you say that because your mother wanted me to do a pregnancy test on you. I asked the nurse not to say anything to my mother at that point and the nurse told me that she couldn't do that so I immediately got scared of what was going to happen next. My mother was told the news about me being pregnant and she was not happy at all. I couldn't go back to school because I was unable to walk on my leg from the accident but that really wasn't the real reason it was because my mother didn't want to many other people knowing but they already knew what was going on. Well a few weeks went by and one morning my mother came and woke up it had to be around 3:00am so I got up without any questions my mother , stepfather and I all got into he car and left, I had no idea where we were going so I ended up falling back to sleep until we reached our destination and when we got there my mom asked me â€Å"Do you know where we are? † I aid no so we proceeded to go into the this huge place but once we got in I new what it was from there. It was the abortion clinic in another part of Georgia my mother was getting ready to make me have an abortion and I didn't wan to. Well we went to the back I spoke with the doctor and they had to see how far along I was first before they proceed with the procedure lucky they couldn't perform the procedure because I was to far along in my pregnancy,so then my mother wanted me to have the child and put it up for adoption, she wanted me to give it to one of my step father's brother and his wife but hat fell thru, then she wanted me to have the baby and put his last name the same as hers for insurance purposes at least that's what she told me. I really didn't have a say so when it came to my child, and I had a big problem with that so I went back to work so I can take care of my child. One night I came home from work and before I could get to the steps I could here my baby crying and crying, I walked into the house to see that no one was there to comfort him. I walked through the house to find that my mother was in the bed sound asleep. I was very angry with her at this point so I had to figure a way to et out of that house, so I called and spoke with my oldest sister and we both got in contact with our father and we made plans for him and my uncle to come and rescue us from this mess. I finally turned 18 and my father and uncle came to pick us up from Georgia and brought us to NC I was very glad to be away from that house with my mother. When I got settled in I went back to school and got my high school diploma I was very excited then because I completed the high school and it was time that I find a job so I can continue to take care of my child. I attended the local community college here and eceived my certification as a nursing assistant and from there I went to work for a few nursing homes but then, I got tired of all that hard work for a little bit of pay so I quit working in that field for a while and started doing retail , I enjoyed working in the retail field it was a real learning experience but my passion was still in the health field so I went back to college. In our studies of adult development theory, I was interested to learn about Erikson's theories of psychosocial stages. Erikson believed adolescents †anguish over who they are and how they fit into their social world. (Witt& Mossler 2010, pg. 53). Here I am now with 2 children and working towards my Business degree. It has taken me a really long time to figure out what it was that I really wanted to be doing and where I wanted to be in my life and I have figured it out now. My goal is to finish my business degree and open up my business and then go back to school to obtain my bachelors in healthcare management. I have learned so many things from my childhood growing up, but I can't dwell on the past although sometimes I have to go back in time to relate to the present. Now I have to build a future for me and my hildren so they can see how hard there mother worked and how far I have gotten in life. As our text explains, modeling is an important source of learning (Witt& Mossler,2010) and I also want to set a good examples for my children. My family and friends are very supportive and happy that I have chosen to go back to college and get my degree. With all this support it has helped me to succeed in my courses (chu2010). I believe that you are never to old to go back to school and reach the goals that you have been trying to reach. I think you have to have faith and believe that things will work out.

Integrated marketing communications plan for 1 year for small or Assignment

Integrated marketing communications plan for 1 year for small or medium business - Assignment Example Their target market is presumably young people, as they emphasise their youthfulness in all their media, emphasizing that their hierarchical structure is all people under the age of 26, and emphasizing how they want to get young people involved in their mission, and also this is shown by their concentrating their efforts at universities and schools. The weakness lies in what is brought up above – Oaktree does not make financials available. These are numbers that potential donors will look at to decide if their dollars are going to be well-spent, and with Oaktree it would be impossible to tell where donations go, because there is no information about this. As I stated above, their Facebook page is not doing Oaktree any favors either. Although Oaktree regularly posts information into the newsfeed, this information garners very little attention. Very few people comment on any of their postings, and very few people even bother to state that they like the postings. Yet they have 2,700+ followers on Facebook. I am not certain what the problem is there, but they are obviously have problems getting people interested in what they are doing. Their strengths lie in their initiatives. They knock on doors, they partner with other organisations and schools in other countries, they fundraise as part of a global effort. These are all good. Their goals are admirable, and they are clearly stated – they want young people to get involved in the effort to eradicate poverty. It is just the execution of these ideals that leaves much to be desired. The potential competitors for Oaktree are Oxfam and World Vision Australia, both of which have their act together more than Oaktree does. Oxfam has over 40,000 Facebook followers if you combine Oxfam UK with Oxfam USA. Their website is much more user friendly as well. It is easy to navigate, the pages do not take forever to load, and

RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS - Assignment Example There is evidence that the average customer satisfaction score is age-dependent. These are questions number 2 and number 7 in the questionnaire that the customers of the gymnasium during the weeks filled. The relatively younger customers tend to have been more satisfied by the services of the gymnasium as compared to the older ones. Those in the age groups 16-24 and 25-44 scored highly in the level of customer satisfaction in the ranges of 4 and 5 as opposed to the older ones in the age groups of 45-64 and above 65 who had lower scores of customer satisfactions in the ranges of 1 and 2 on average. The data establishes that indeed the mean willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium is at least  £75. This is question number 6 in the questionnaire that the customers of the gymnasium during the weeks filled. More than half of the people from whom data was collected concurred the maximum amount they would be willing to pay for monthly membership to the upgraded Gymnasium is more than  £75. This makes it a fact that the members of the gym are willing to pay a minimum of  £75 monthly for the services of the gymnasium. The gymnasium has way much more males than females. However, on average, there is a slight difference between the willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium of male and female customers. The females are slightly more willing to pay a higher amount on average of the fee than the willingness of the males on average. In accordance to a two-variable linear regression that describes the relationship between household weekly net income and willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium there is indeed a relationship between the household weekly net income and willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium. According to this regression, the estimated willingness-to-pay of a customer with a household weekly net

Phenomenon and Behavior Now and in the Future Assignment

Phenomenon and Behavior Now and in the Future - Assignment Example Understanding that society is dynamic, meaning that it does not always remain the same throughout the years is important. This will bring to the realization of people that whatever society determines as normal will someday in the future be deemed as abnormal while whatever is determined as abnormal can change to be very normal in the future. This means that the social norms will change in the society say 25 to 100 years to come. Very many phenomenon and behaviors will change from being currently considered as normal to being considered as abnormal in the future. This will also be the case with the currently considered abnormal phenomenon or behavior turning out to be normal in the future. Therefore, this paper will compare some of the phenomenon or behavior in the present 2015 and in the future 2040 to 2115. I shall deal with the prisons phenomenon, the education phenomenon, tolerating poverty, language use, the behavior of queuing for goods and services and finally privacy. In the first part, I shall handle the normal things turning out to be abnormal in the future. Looking at the current prisons system sends a chill down one’s spine. Imprisonment is a normal phenomenon currently where the state has little or no alternatives to it (Tonry, 2004). Criminal behaviors are tried in the court system. If the convicts are found guilty, they end up in prison. This is where all judicial systems believe the punishment for wrongdoing can be achieved. The main aim is to reform the criminals into becoming good law-abiding citizens. In the future, an alternative might be found far different from the current ones which include house arrest, electronic monitoring among others. The prisons of the future may aim at completely different alternatives of regular imprisonment. Predictions are that innovative prison options for the future will be developed.  

Outline for renewable energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Outline for renewable energy - Essay Example This also ensures energy security. Renewable energy is, therefore, sustainable. Renewable energy also creates employment opportunities due to the fact that the labor and materials needed to establish and sustain renewable energy facilities need workmanship. This also boosts the economies of regions making use of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is also considered safer, compared to the safety concerns and risks such as explosions associated with fossil fuels and collapsing of coal mines. Before the development and extensive use of coal as a source of energy in the 19th century, almost all the sources of energy that were used were renewable. Wind and solar energy were among some of the oldest sources of renewable energy in history, apart from biomass. European Union countries are considered number two in the world when it comes to developing and applying renewable energy (Bradford 3). These countries include Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Lithuania. 20% of Germany’s energy needs, by the end of 2012, were provided by renewable energy. The largest contribution of this was from wind energy. Portugal also heavily relies on renewable sources. In 2010, more than 50% of the electricity generated in the country came from renewable source, with wind energy taking a significant portion. The same could be observed in Spain, with more that 15% of the energy produced in 2010 coming from wind energy. The entire EU hopes to acquire more than 20% of its energy from renewable sources, at least by 2020. This will enable the region to reduce greenhouse emission and lessen its dependence on imported energy. It will also create more employment opportunities, as well as foster technological creativity and

Study skills used by Gateway students Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Study skills used by Gateway students - Thesis Example A major contributing factor to the success of students in various examinations rests with the kind of study skills adopted by students (Koduah, 2010). The Education Atlas (2011) explains that a study skill involves a whole lot of concepts including â€Å"developing effective study skills, improving reading comprehension, discovering your own personal study style, learning to manage your time more efficiently and learning the best way to prepare for exams.† This is to say that the study skills adopted by a student envelope the entire study or learning program of the student. Indeed, there cannot be any successful educational program without a study skill in place. Study skills are commonly adopted by students. However, it is very important that educators of the student, most especially teachers of the student play a role in selecting the most appropriate and workable study skill that would work best for a student. This is because not all strategies work best for all teachers. With the professional knowhow of teachers however, they are in a better position to discovering the study skills that work best for each students. The selection of study skills should therefore be a collaborative activity between students and educators. Problem statement The Gateway to College â€Å"serves youth, 16 to 21 years old, who have dropped out of school or are significantly behind in credits and unlikely to graduate† (Gateway to College Organization, 2011). The researcher embarked on this course project to find out the various study skills adopted by students in the Gateway Course; the factors that influence the selection of the various study skills and how the study skills are impacting on the academ ic success of the students. Research Questions The following questions were designed to be delimitation in guiding the researcher in the course of the research. This is to say that data and information collection shall be based on the research questions and not outside the research questions. Again, the research aims and objectives shall be crafted around the achievement of the research questions. The research questions are: 1. What are the factors that account for the selection of particular study skills by Gateway students? 2. What role do educators play in the selection of study skills by Gateway students? 3. What are the commonest study skills used by Gateway students? 4. What are the principles necessary in the selection of a study skill for an individual? 5. How does the study skill used by a student affect his or her learning outcome? Objectives The research is being embarked on to achieve the following objectives: 1. To identify the factors necessary in the selection of stud y skills by students. 2. Identify the role educators (most importantly teachers) can play in the selection of study skills for students. 3. To be abreast with the commonest study skills adopted and used by Gateway students. 4. To scrutinize principles necessary in the selection of study skills for and by students. 5. To identify the role study skills play in the general success of students. Justification This course project is an assignment for a class I am taking in the Gateway to College class. Indeed there were a lot of topical areas that I could have decided to write on. I however decided to write on the study skills adopted by students for a number of justifiable reasons. In the first place, the researcher acknowledges the important role that study skills play in the success of students’ examinations. With the objective of the Gateway to College program being to help students with low academic standings to advance to the higher level, it is extremely important that all

The Social Changes of Song Dynasty in Ancient China Research Paper

The Social Changes of Song Dynasty in Ancient China - Research Paper Example Invention of gunpowder led to the creation of explosive weapons such as grenades, bombs, canons and small rockets. Before the invention of paper, the Chinese made carved characters on bones and tortoise shells. Prior to the song dynasty, printing blocks only contained one page of texts hence every block could only produce a particular page of a book. During the song dynasty, single characters could be engraved on blocks of wood and a single character could be used over and over again. There were huge advances in arithmetic and algebra that led to many mathematical ideas. The inventions served the society by helping in establishment of powerful, unified national organizations that extended over many regions. Printing, paper and the compass provided means of social communication and transportation. Gun powder began to be used as a weapon, gun powder weapons were used abolish the uprising of Li Sun and Wang Xiaobo in the first year of the Northern Song. The four inventions are very closely related to the unified organization of the Chinese feudal society indicating the degree of development of ancient Chinese science and technology. Maritime trade with India and near East was boosted under the song dynasty. Cities with high populations flourished along the southeast coast and principal waterways, trade guilds were established to organize trade and banking and paper currency was developed to replace cumbersome copper currency. Ship building and navigation techniques improved with large vessels using sails and oars coming into use. The magnetic compass came into use in 1119. Under the song dynasty, China got to monopolize trade with Korea and Japan, products were in demand in the whole of Asia, East Africa and Persian Gulf. Prior to this era, Muslim Arabs and Persians had dominated oceanic trade. Printing grew bringing literature and learning to the people. Movable type printing was invented

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Human Resource Management - Essay Example This helps in the HR planning processes that entail incorporation of reward systems and increase of responsibilities for workers. Furthermore, the termination of services of workers also falls under the HRM department is expected to use proper channels that are fair and transparent to uphold integrity. This also includes the guiding reasons for terminating the services of an employee through effective tribunals that follow tenets of justice and equality. There are several differences between personnel management and Human Resource Management in every organization such Coca Cola Company. For example, in terms of nature relations, HRM deals with unitarist view while personnel manager leans with pluralist view. Therefore, in terms of a unitarist perspective, the HRM coordinates with the management and staff through a common vision for the establishment of a mission for the attainment of business goals. Additionally, the vision targets the achievement of mutual interest whereby the needs of corporations are met by employers and employees (Yeandle 2003, p. 123). However, with personnel management, there is a centralization of power whereby all powers are held by the top management. Therefore, this influences decision-making where all suggestions rest on the management excluding the personnel manager. Alternatively, there is a difference in leadership and management responsibilities between HRM and personnel manager. For example, while leadership style is the emphasis in personal management, in HRM it is transformational. Another difference is the contract of employment whereby there is a clear written employee contract in personnel management while HRM emphasize on one-time-long contract (DuBrin 2008, p.167). This means that there is less rigidity in the terms and conditions for employees. In other words, there is flexibility in terms of approach to the contribution of knowledge and skills for the organization. Therefore, there are numerous HRM related roles and res ponsibilities of line manager

Energy Use, Ethics, and Global Climate Change Term Paper

Energy Use, Ethics, and Global Climate Change - Term Paper Example Nevertheless, the forbearance array is not equal in all species, and thus, disclosure to environmental conditions at the maximum limit of a certain being's tolerance scope symbolizes environmental stress (Anil, 35). Environmental studies refer to the research and analyses made regarding environment, its degradation levels, and the appropriate ways to maintain or better its current status. This paper seeks to analyze the current energy policies in all levels, and the various ways and effects of constructing and developing an appropriate lifestyle through the environment. The science of climate change This refers to the study concerning the planet’s climate system, and how it has been undergoing various changes over time. The earth’s climate structure has always been experiencing change. The universal climate change is the varying, in the long-term, of the climate outline that typifies the various parts of the world (Anil, 56). Earth’s climate has forever been chan ging in regard to temperature, as proved by the great fluctuations in hotness. Since about 150000 years ago, the mean worldwide temperature dipped for approximately 15000 years, and then started to augment stridently for close to 10000 years. After that, it dropped again, and then remained comparatively constant, though it continued to alter by about 1 to 2 degrees. The mean temperature then dipped sharply roughly 80000 years ago, and then upped again, sub sequenced by an additional 35000 years of relatively steady temperature. Soon after, the temperature dropped progressively till approximately 15000 years ago, then began to rise drastically, while only showing a small decline in the speed of increase in the precedent 2000 years. Though the pace of change decreased slightly throughout the past 5000 years, the universal average temperature is still rising (Joseph, 58). Nonetheless, temperature is not the lone climatic aspect that is currently changing swiftly. The concentration of c onservatory gases in the air has increased rapidly over the precedent two centuries, and this, in reality, the main reason behind the increase in the mean global temperature. The present rate of alteration in the level of carbon dioxide in the air is an issue that has raised much worry among scientists. Globally, the concentration of CO2 has amplified from just about 280 parts per million (0.028%) to about (0.0365%). even though the swell may seem to be inconsequential, the increase implies that approximately 3 billion metric tons of CO2 are injected to the atmosphere every year. Scientifically, this increase is in the region of about 30.4%. This figure exhibits the extent of effect in progress. As CO2 soaks up heat, more CO2 being injected into the atmosphere implies that the globe’s temperature will tend to rise in concurrence with the increases in the level of concentration of CO2 in the air. Climatologists have noticed a minute but sturdy increase in the international ave rage temperatures over the past years (Denis, 94). Given the current tempo of change, and the potential insinuations they could have on the present world, the world, through scientists, is justified in being alarmed about the particular rate of vary, instead of the said changes. The reason behind this is that changes on a trivial level would have a negligible effect.

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) Essay Example for Free

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) Essay Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a family-based prevention and intervention program that deals with such juvenile problems as child abuse and neglect, early sexual involvement, alcohol and drug abuse, youth conflict and aggression. Since these problems originate within the family structure in many cases, FFT program refers to every member of the family in order to achieve the highest treatment results. It is important to emphasize that FFT recognizes that both positive and negative behaviors influence and are influenced by multiple relational systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main positive influence of FFT is that it develops inner strengths and sense of being of each member of the family. In such a way, family members are united under the common viewpoints on life, activities and goals. As a result, the situation within the family might be improved due to different intervention and assessment phases. Functional Family Therapy consists of three specific intervention phases: engagement and motivation, behavior change, and generalization. Each of these phases has certain goals, risk and protective factors, assessment focus and therapist/interventional skills that might be related to each of the phases. The first phase – engagement and motivation – helps to increase family’s hope and expectation of change, improve trust between therapist and family, and reduce negativity within families and toward the community as well as build respect to individual values and differences. During the second phase – behavior change – therapists develop long-term plans of behavior change that can fit to certain culture, family situation and understand the unique characteristics of each family member. Cognitive, interactive and emotional components are included into behavior change phase. The main focus of this phase is to improve the quality of relations skills because of the risks dealing with poor parenting and communication skills, negativity and blaming. Thus, FFT program gives an opportunity to model the change plan, train each member and control the whole process. Finally, generalization phase helps to unite the families with available community resources in order to prevent relapses in the behavior change. It is directed to improve the ability of the family to affect the multiple systems like school, juvenile justice system, community, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since FFT program addresses each member of the family where there are problems with juveniles, it helps to identify the core reasons of juvenile behavior change which in most cases happen within the family. Parents learn to understand their children, but most important to listen to their thoughts, opinions, problems, and many other issues which are important for juveniles, but might be neglected by the adults. At the same time children learn to understand the behavior of their parents, to respect and listen to the adults as well as improve their relations with the families, school and community as a whole. Due to FFT program recidivism rates greatly decreased in the recent time. Certainly, there is no single treatment which is commonly accepted and can help all juveniles and heir families to solve the problems or prevent them. However, FFT I is considered on of the best way to prevent juvenile delinquency since it does not only solve the problem itself, but addresses the core reason for this problem to occur – the juvenile family and community he/she lives in.

Cultural Differences Biggest Challenge For MNCS

Cultural Differences Biggest Challenge For MNCS With the changes in the global economic reforms and advent of globalization, international business has become the greatest priority for every business to become the Multinational Company to take the competitive advantage of whole global market. But with these benefits, the companies have to face the major challenges and complexities too to manage the business in other countries. The major challenges comprises of the environmental factors and out of which cultural differences is also the major issue that the MNCs faces within the host country. The issue of cultural diversity within the international business is the current scenario is constantly rising up with the growing factor of globalization (The Problem of Cultural Diversity in International Business, 2008). Managing the differences in the languages, traditions, cultures and religions within the host country is very difficult and complex job as compared to the home country for the MNC. The cultural diversity among the human resources and the customers not only relates to the social setup but also have impact on the psychology and the personality of the stakeholders. Setting up an organizational culture which makes the pace with the country culture is quite difficult for any MNC as business culture is quite different from the social culture of the host country (The Problem of Cultural Diversity in International Business, 2008). The UAE is considered as the country of great cultural heritage which is strongly influenced by the originality of its people. Though the UAE is considered as the greatest business hub for the international trade but at the same time, it is quite difficult for MNCs to adapt the cultural shift within the country. The business within the UAE has its own cultural etiquettes and ethics which a MNCs need to adapt with tolerance and flexibility. The UAE is the Islamic country whose culture is totally different in respect to greetings, attribute towards the god, prayers, appearance, religion, behavior, communications, workplace environment, women at workplace, eating and drinking habits etc. Thus the MNC doing business o planning to do business within UAE have to follow such cultural norms in relation to marketing and all other operational activities so as to follow the legal obligations and also to make the market loyal towards the company with the feeling of belongingness (Cross cultural business relationships: Abu Dhabi, 2011). FedEx Express is the industry global leaders in the express distribution industry and committed to provide rapid, reliable, and timely delivery service in about 220 countries and territories which connects the network of more than 90 percent of the worlds GDP within one to three business days. The company facilitates the customers with several world class services such as unmatched air route authorities and best transport infrastructure, integrates with high class technical infrastructure which makes FedEx Express as the worlds largest freight and express transportation organization. The global leader has to face various challenges of the global business environment and combating with all such challenges it becomes the leader to take the competitive advantage of the global market. Being the global leader, the company faces various challenges in trading within the foreign countries including the cultural challenges utmost. FedEx UAE also faced various cross cultural challenges to esta blish itself and to earn the loyalty of the customers as FedEx is the US based company and UAE is the Islamic country thus there is a huge cultural difference between both the home country and the host country of the FedEx (Company Information). Cultural Challenges faced by FedEx in UAE Being the global market leader of the express industry and even in the UAE express market, FedEx has to face various environmental challenges particularly the cross cultural challenges with respect to the workplace environment and the marketing among the host country customers. The cultural challenges relate to religion, language, working style, women at workplace, behavior, attitude, appearances etc. These Factors pay a very vital role in the organizational culture and the customer satisfaction and loyalty as the local national prefer those brands within which they have trust and belongingness and the most culturally related organization is able to reach more and more local customers. Within the host country, the FedEx have to attract the UAE local Nationals and have to employ the local Emirati people as per the UAE policy of Emiritization and to reduce the operational cost. But in doing so the company has to face various challenges related to cross cultural environment. Islam, the official religion of UAE encompasses the every aspect of life within the country. Showing disrespectful feeling for the Islam is the serious and punishable offense within the country. The Islamic faith throws light on the generosity, respect and the modesty within the business which is totally opposite to the US based organizational culture. The individual honor and respect as the human is the most prominent and supreme within the Islamic culture and business discussions are mainly done with the help of indirect style of communications. Hierarchy is the most important concept within the UAE which mainly focuses on the top down approach having the decisions, powers and authorities centralized to the single person. Within the direct communication, they leave comparatively less personal space as compared to other organizational culture but the Arab gives high value to the Civility within the business itself. Shaking hands within the meetings and departing is restricted only t o Men; Women usually avoid shaking hands for greeting and the Men usually place hand over their own heart in greeting women. Status of the person within the organization is considered as very much important and most senior person in the group is greeted first whether with the first or last name or with the titles. Hospitality is considered as the matter of pride within the Arab culture and they preserve the honor of the host (Culture and Work Styles in Dubai, 2011). The culture is very many vast terms and comprises of various factors, attire is one of the major factor within UAE culture. Arab Men used to wear Thobe, a long ankle length white cotton garment and the women wore Abaya which makes them covered from shoulders to feet. Foreign men wore the formal business attire for the business and western women wear western clothing with the care to cover the legs, arms, shoulders and legs as it is considered as impolite to remain them uncovered (Culture and Work Styles in Dubai, 2011). Alcohol is strictly prohibited under the culture and it is considers as illegal offence to have the license of alcohol. Bars and hotel provides the alcohol for the tourist, expats and the residents who have the license to buy the fixed amount of alcohol every month. Public display of drinking alcohol is the strict offence and punished as fine to incarceration as per the offence (Culture and Work Styles in Dubai, 2011). As compared to Europe and the US, the attitude towards time in the UAE is far more relaxed for instances, the meetings can start late or can be cancelled at the last moment without any warning which is the greatest challenge for FedEx as it is the US based firm where strict timelines are followed. The working week within UAE culture is also different from the Christian countries i.e. it runs from Saturday to Wednesday with the weekend having the Muslin Sabbath (Challanges of Doing Business in UAE). Arabic is considered as the official language of UAE, though English, Hindi, Persian is widely spoken in the country and Urdu is considered as the language of commerce. More than 80 % of the UAE national and Expats follow Sunni Branch of Islam, and rest follows Shia Branch of Islam. Religious freedom is being provided by the constitution and other religions practiced in the country are Hinduism and Christianity (Culture People). Strategies and Measures to manage such challenges Such cross cultural challenges so faced by the FedEx within UAE can affect it international business in the host country of UAE as it directly affects the work culture environment and the organizational culture and also affects the marketing strategy of the company. FedEx have to interact the local UAE consumers directly as it is involved in the Express business. Managing the cultural impact is quite difficult to the company in the direct marketing and interaction with the consumers and even with the other stakeholders. Some of the strategies and measures can be applied in order to combat with such challenges and to evolve as the UAE local as well as the global market leader within the Express market of UAE. Such measures are as follows: A basic understanding of Islam. Knowledge about role of women in the workplace environment and at home. Awareness to the Arab workplace culture. Knowledge of verbal and non verbal communication in the Arab culture. Attire and dressing knowledge as per the requirement. Effective translation during communication. Respect as a prominent factor (Cross cultural business relationships: Abu Dhabi, 2011). Future Prospects The UAE is considered as the most cosmopolitan and westernized country of the world but in spite of such business exposure, it has preserved its cultural heritage. The globalization have resulted to the transformation of traditional culture in to multicultural tapestry which would lead to the mix of traditional and modern eastern and western culture within the UAE and helps to manage the cross cultural challenges for the MNCs planning to set p their business in UAE.

Psychological Contract Of Generation Y Management Essay

Psychological Contract Of Generation Y Management Essay The mutual expectations people have from one another in a relationship of employer employees are commonly referred to as a psychological contract. The content of these contracts can be changed over time and can affect the behavior of the two. The origins of these psychological contracts go beyond thousands of years back. Amidah (1998) was one of the initial writers who used the term psychological contract as the mutual understanding between employees and their employers. The psychological contract between employers and employees related to job security has been facing changes due to the economic down grading. The increasing rate of short term and contractual employment has forced employees to seek self actualization sort of psychological contracts. The changing nature of psychological contracts of generation Y has certain implications on organizations which have always been interesting to a workforce committed to the organizational goals and objectives. According to recent literature, psychological contract is an individuals beliefs necessary to perform commitment that may exist between employee and the organization (Lester, Turnley et.al. 2002). Individuals perception and expectations from the organization in terms of receiving benefits, wages and opportunities against the services provided to the organization by the employee used to form the foundation of any psychological contract (Lester, Turnley et.al. 2002). The inherent perceptual nature of the psychological contract between employers and employees may have contrasting implication about obligations of the contract (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Nowadays companies are more focused on the achievement of corporate goals and profit margins while noticing stock market prices because of the competitive business environment all around the world (De Meuse, Bergmann et. Al., 2001). This is because of the fact that world has seen the problem of corporate downsizing, restructuring and mergers since 1980s and 1990s (De Meuse, Bergmann et. al 2001). This current scenario of doing business has absolutely changed the nature of employee and employer contract and the demand of this relationship. In past, these psychological contracts were of long term where employees were committed with an organization where they continued to learn as well as they got high job ranking but now the psychology of the contract has seen changing nature because of the availability of short term employment with upscale designation for professionals and technical workers (Smithson and Lewis, 2000, Lester and Kickul, 2001). Hiring of high skilled professional(s) for specific task completion is one of the emerging trends in business community (Lester and Kickul, 2001) and consequent termination of the staff with the attainment of work objectives. This phenomena has made the modern workplace a source of stress and extra work load and job insecurity and decreased commitment to organizational goals and objectives in return (De Meuse, Bergmann et. al). The need of personal growth, development of transferable skills, networking opportunities and career management for immediate job has been gaining potential among professionals due to the current scenarios of job insecurity (De Meuse, Bergmann et.al., 2001, Lester and Kickul, 2001). The changing environment of employment has considered another driver of the change in nature of psychological contracts of generation Y. The previous employees to employer psychological contracts were relational in nature and their specific features were trust, respect and loyalty between the employee and the employer. But this new insecure job environment has randomly changed the nature of psychological contract from relational to transactional nature. This transactional exchange has been defined by De Meuse and Begmann et.al (2001) as an explicit or an implicit promise having capacity of maintaining information about monetary remuneration available to employee against his services to the organization. This periodical change in nature of psychological contract was predicted by Rousseau and Parks in a research conducted during 1993 with explanation of change in the nature of contract from relational to transactional in case of occurrence of any violation of the contract. However, it is important to maintain the equilibrium of trust between the employee and the employer either in relational psychological contract or in transactional psychological contract. But in present situation of job insecurity it is hard to have any trust on employer or employee. Therefore, the lack of job security has brought the concentration of employee to acquire transferable skills and techniques and contracts of transactional type (De Meuse, Bergmann et al). Impacts of the changing nature of psychological contract of generation Y on organizations With the emergence of new markets, competitors and technologies have been increasingly changing the behavior of organizations towards the hiring of skilled employees at every level of the organization (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Businesses of today are only selecting skillful employees for short term periods to make their projects accomplished by utilizing the skills and expertise of professionals (Lester and Kickul, 2001). It is because of the use of new technologies in business processes and to get competitive edge in the market. To achieve this desired level, organizations have to keep track of professionals and motivated and committed workforce to efficiently achieve their goals. It has been studied that changing nature of psychological contracts is because of the reducing commitment of employees due to job insecurity and enhanced competition faced by todays employers (Bunderson 2001, Lester and Kickul, 2001). However, high level of commitment and satisfaction is enjoyed by the employees who have long term psychological contract as per studies conducted during 1998. There are measures to be taken by the organization to retain and motivate their employees even on presence of economic pressure and new organizational structure (Lester and Kickul, 2001). The level can be achieved by just understanding the elements of psychological contracts as well as the fact that it is a continually changing and evolving contract and organizations have the right of making a choice regarding an employee to get committed and motivated workforce and employment. According to Maslows hierarchy theory, the highest need for humans is self-actualization. Lester and Kickul (2001) states that today  employees are  becoming increasingly aware of the non-monetary rewards that companies are willing to provide  in exchange for their skills. This suggests that employees are now at a point in time where they are able to seek out the self-actualization. Self-esteem or self actualization is the highest need of humans as stated by Maslows hierarchy theory. Employees are increasingly getting awareness of the behavior of organizations of giving non-monetary rewards to employees against the skills of professionals and technical persons (Lester, Kickul, 2001). This is the time when it can be suggested that employees are gradually heeding towards the state of self actualization. Stalker (2000) stated that successful companies of the day are keeping balance between the needs of the employee and the needs of the organization. To achieve this, companies are needed to maintain a balance between their efforts and time investment. Managers are responsible to achieve this balance while keeping the workforce committed and motivated (Lester, Turnley et, al., 2002). It is a fact that nowadays job insecurity has made psychological contracts a dynamic and evolving one and can be handled by the organization by just understanding the causes of changes and timely changes in the contract according to the needs and demand of the sources (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Lester and Kickul (2001) shows that a  proactive approach to the psychological contract is likely to reduce an employees intention to leave since their needs are more likely to be met by the organization. The other step that can be an effective support to minimize the gap of psychological contract is communication. Better and timely communication between the contracting bodies can reduce the conflict and can reduce the gap of psychological contracts (Lester and Kickul, 2001). Open book management techniques are an effective communication tool between the organization and employees and help in the formation of an effective communication framework for the organizations. Successful organizations are required to start working on the psychological contract before the hiring of the employee. The organizations publications, interview processes, contract negotiation and orientation processes are some of the ways that can help the organizations to make better changes in the psychological contract and keep it up to date (Niehoff and Paul 2001). An organizations publications and literature creates the first impression of the values espoused by the employer.  The interview process then establishes an image of the organization for potential employees (Niehoff, Paul, 2001), while promoting expectations  ranging from the tangibles  such as pay and benefits,  to the intangibles such as  treatment of employees or degree of empowerment etc (Niehoff, Paul, 2001). As suggested by Niehoff and Paul (2001), by  providing Realistic Job Previews such as that done by Cisco Systems  (Lester and Kickul, 2001), candidates can be given a  clear and realistic view of the actual expectations of the duties, work hours and performance levels  (Niehoff and Paul, 2001).  The negotiation process after an offer is made to a candidate  provides a further  opportunity to clarify the specific details of the expectations of both parties  (Niehoff, Paul, 2001). Finally the orientation program (either formal or informal) gives an o pportunity to re-enforce the psychological contract that has been formed. By having all of these in line with each other and in line with the companys expectations allows the company to form a contract that is more likely to be clearly understood by both parties and has a less chance of being breached. Conclusion Changed psychological contract is the demand of the modern economic environment. It is the demand of both the organization and employees. The psychological contract of generation Y are more transactional and related to self actualization. This change in the nature of the contract has been considered by the management of an organization and employees with the increasing demand of giving more time and effort in the formation of psychological contract acceptable to the organization and employees. As it has been seen that psychological contracts are formed on the basis of trust but it can be strengthened by the two following factors: Internal factors External factors Internal factors can be the individuals perception that can be the outcome of his or her cultural behavior. But external factors include situations that how the organizations are shaping their policies in the interest of employees and how much they are acknowledging the perceived obligations according to the formal contract of employment with those professionals or skilled technicians. These measures can be used to determine the commitment of employees to the organizational goals and objectives and any violations can lead to job satisfaction depletions actions. However, the choice to be in employment contract can be up to individual employee. The long lasting employer to employee relationship can only be possible if there is a strong build up credibility between employer and employee. This credibility can give the contract more and more reliance and can be effective to build up a long lasting relationship. Psychological contract will remain strong till the time they remain in favor of the employees orientation towards the life and can be the source of strong commitment of the individuals to be or not to be the part of an organization. But with the change and any amendments in organizational structure, strategy, and the job role, the individual can shift to new works and job roles and this new work role can be the source of better return on relationship (ROR) than on return on investment (ROI). Strong and reliable psychological contract can provide the organization with a healthy and fruitful relationship between employee and employer that would be helpful in the sustainability of the organization. Whatsoever it can be better concluded in a way that changing nature of psychological contract of generation Y is only the result of changing nature of job environment and increasing insecurity to jobs. Therefore employees have transformed their interest from signing relational contract to transactional contract. This transformation of contract nature has caused the o rganization to bear the loss of committed and loyal workforce for long period of time on one hand while getting benefit of having highly skilled professionals for the completion of their project within short period of time.

Architecture, Principle, and Culture: The Universal Value for Which Sta

Stanford University is a private research university located in Stanford, CA at geographical coordinates 37.43Â ° N, 122.17Â ° W. Erected in 1891 in memory of the founders’ son, Leland Stanford Junior, The Stanford University campus combines Romanesque, neoclassic and Mission Revival architectural styles on its buildings, with red tile roofs, sandstone walls, and beautiful aesthetic decorative details. Its architectural landmarks, for example, the Main Quad and Memorial Church, are representative of many eras of culture and technological advancement in the United States. Its physical and symbolic aspects make it a universally valuable site like no other. Stanford University is a site of outstanding universal value because of its architecture, which is representative of many eras of historic technological innovation physically as well as symbolically. Stanford’s Main Quad is a brilliant exhibit of architecture that reveals influences from important eras in European architecture yet maintains a Romanesque, mission revival theme that is also prevalent throughout campus. In addition to this, Stanford maintains a commitment to academic advancement and excellence. A place of such physical and intellectual prowess merits outstanding universal value. The campus meets criteria (i), (ii), and (iv): its architecture is representative of creative human genius, is a testimony to the cultural tradition of the United States, and illustrates significant states in human history in the United States, while its intangible aspects exhibits an interchange of human values over the span of more than a century. Both its authenticity and integrity a re attributed to the fact that the campus maintains a culture representative of the entire World. Stanford is... ...f sites such as these, we may lose the opportunity for preservation altogether in the future. We need to preserve the Stanford campus now in order to protect the legacy for which it stands. Works Cited "Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2012. . The Founding Grant; with Amendments, Legislation, and Court Decrees. [Stanford, Calif.]: Stanford University, 1971. Web. . Joncas, Richard, David J. Neuman, and Paul Venable. Turner. Stanford University. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2006. Print. "Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2012. .

Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthys Memories of a Catholic Girlhood :: Essays Papers

Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood McCarthy reinforces the mind/body and culture/nature gender dichotomies proposed by Sherry Ortner through character presentation. She aligns mind and culture aspects with male characters, and bodily concerns and natural occurrences with the female. She exhibits traditionally feminine qualities of writing by using a more circular rather than linear style, giving attention to details of food, clothing, and body appearances. In her book Making Gender, Ortner argues that women's different bodily functions may cause them to be closer to nature, place them in different social roles, and give them a different psychic structure than men (27). Along with the woman-is-to-man-as-nature-is-to-culture analogy come other dichotomies associated with masculinity and femininity. Women's writings are traditionally more circular than linear and women are more concerned with their bodies than men. The opposite can then be said about men; they write in a linear style more often and value their bodies less. McCarthy aligns most female characters, including her grandmother Preston and her great-aunt Margaret, with bodily concerns. She describes her grandmother physically, giving details about her high-bridged nose, and hair that "was naturally black, black as a raven's wing and with a fine silky gloss, like loose skeins of embroidery thread" (202). McCarthy furthers the importance of her grandmother's body by stating that "this body of hers was the cult object around which our household revolved" (225). Her body is on display, not any aspect of her mind or personality. Mrs. Preston is most concerned with the presentation of the body, her own as well as McCarthy's. Due to its importance, she keeps properly clothed so much so that it becomes a garish sight whenever exposed. She often reminds McCarthy to pull her skirt down, even in the private home. This concern with coverage adds to the dramatic scene when her grandmother learns of her sister's death, goes into hysterics and her night gown exposes her thighs. McCarthy remembers wanting to pull down the gown as a first impulse rather than comfort her. This thought reveals that body presentation is the concern that overrides the mental state of the woman. It also reinforces the idea that women are more concerned with bodies than minds. McCarthy presents her grandfather Preston more abstractly with illustrations about his character rather than details about his physical appearance. Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood :: Essays Papers Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood McCarthy reinforces the mind/body and culture/nature gender dichotomies proposed by Sherry Ortner through character presentation. She aligns mind and culture aspects with male characters, and bodily concerns and natural occurrences with the female. She exhibits traditionally feminine qualities of writing by using a more circular rather than linear style, giving attention to details of food, clothing, and body appearances. In her book Making Gender, Ortner argues that women's different bodily functions may cause them to be closer to nature, place them in different social roles, and give them a different psychic structure than men (27). Along with the woman-is-to-man-as-nature-is-to-culture analogy come other dichotomies associated with masculinity and femininity. Women's writings are traditionally more circular than linear and women are more concerned with their bodies than men. The opposite can then be said about men; they write in a linear style more often and value their bodies less. McCarthy aligns most female characters, including her grandmother Preston and her great-aunt Margaret, with bodily concerns. She describes her grandmother physically, giving details about her high-bridged nose, and hair that "was naturally black, black as a raven's wing and with a fine silky gloss, like loose skeins of embroidery thread" (202). McCarthy furthers the importance of her grandmother's body by stating that "this body of hers was the cult object around which our household revolved" (225). Her body is on display, not any aspect of her mind or personality. Mrs. Preston is most concerned with the presentation of the body, her own as well as McCarthy's. Due to its importance, she keeps properly clothed so much so that it becomes a garish sight whenever exposed. She often reminds McCarthy to pull her skirt down, even in the private home. This concern with coverage adds to the dramatic scene when her grandmother learns of her sister's death, goes into hysterics and her night gown exposes her thighs. McCarthy remembers wanting to pull down the gown as a first impulse rather than comfort her. This thought reveals that body presentation is the concern that overrides the mental state of the woman. It also reinforces the idea that women are more concerned with bodies than minds. McCarthy presents her grandfather Preston more abstractly with illustrations about his character rather than details about his physical appearance. Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood :: Essays Papers Gender Dichotomy Reinforcement in Mary McCarthy's Memories of a Catholic Girlhood McCarthy reinforces the mind/body and culture/nature gender dichotomies proposed by Sherry Ortner through character presentation. She aligns mind and culture aspects with male characters, and bodily concerns and natural occurrences with the female. She exhibits traditionally feminine qualities of writing by using a more circular rather than linear style, giving attention to details of food, clothing, and body appearances. In her book Making Gender, Ortner argues that women's different bodily functions may cause them to be closer to nature, place them in different social roles, and give them a different psychic structure than men (27). Along with the woman-is-to-man-as-nature-is-to-culture analogy come other dichotomies associated with masculinity and femininity. Women's writings are traditionally more circular than linear and women are more concerned with their bodies than men. The opposite can then be said about men; they write in a linear style more often and value their bodies less. McCarthy aligns most female characters, including her grandmother Preston and her great-aunt Margaret, with bodily concerns. She describes her grandmother physically, giving details about her high-bridged nose, and hair that "was naturally black, black as a raven's wing and with a fine silky gloss, like loose skeins of embroidery thread" (202). McCarthy furthers the importance of her grandmother's body by stating that "this body of hers was the cult object around which our household revolved" (225). Her body is on display, not any aspect of her mind or personality. Mrs. Preston is most concerned with the presentation of the body, her own as well as McCarthy's. Due to its importance, she keeps properly clothed so much so that it becomes a garish sight whenever exposed. She often reminds McCarthy to pull her skirt down, even in the private home. This concern with coverage adds to the dramatic scene when her grandmother learns of her sister's death, goes into hysterics and her night gown exposes her thighs. McCarthy remembers wanting to pull down the gown as a first impulse rather than comfort her. This thought reveals that body presentation is the concern that overrides the mental state of the woman. It also reinforces the idea that women are more concerned with bodies than minds. McCarthy presents her grandfather Preston more abstractly with illustrations about his character rather than details about his physical appearance.

Frank Sinatra Essay -- Biography

Frank Sinatra was widely known from coast to coast. He was definitely one of the most popular stars of his era. (3) He, not only was a singer/ song writer, but as his career grew he shifted smoothly into acting and dancing. Ole Blue Eyes was an American icon who was capable of charming his way through each decade that rolled by. He had a sound that carried like no other. His soft voice could sweep women off their feet and right into his arms. Ole blue eyes had an extraordinary talent and sure did not waste it. It all started when Italian immigrants, Martin and Natalie Sinatra gave birth to a baby boy on December 12, 1915. On that night Francis Albert Sinatra was born not breathing. His grandmother decided to hold him under water. Thankful, he began to gasp for air. Even since the beginning Frank made his way through unfavorable odds. Martin, Sinatra’s father, was a firefighter for the city of Hoboken, New Jersey. Frank’s mother, Natalie or she was often referred to as Dolly, was an amateur singer; who often played at clubs and social events. (1) As Frank grew so did his love for music. His first real passion for music came when his uncle gave him a ukulele. On hot summer nights Sinatra would sit out on his front porch while playing and singing to family and friends. Frank never had to take singing lessons. His wonderful gift came from the Lord. Were they lived was a rough neighborhood so Frank had to be on his guard almost all the time. To protect himself, he decided to take up boxing. Later on he would become a competetent boxer. (1) Frank Attended Demarest High School. He was a generous, but pugnacious person. These characteristics would follow him throughout his entire life. He competed in all... ...e and alcohol abuse. Frank Sinatra’s career spanned for more than fifty years. He ventured from recordings, film television as well as countless performances in night clubs, concert halls, and sports arenas. (3) He was truly the first modern pop star. The audiences who grew up with him and his music were complemented by adoration from younger generations. They have all made Ole Blue Eyes one of the most outstanding popular singers of the 20th century. His smooth style transcends through all generations and can survive the cold hard fact of time. He was able to withstand the great shifts in the time eras. He was a creative and gifted man who charmed the world with his blue eyes and beautiful smile. No matter how you see him; the starry eyed boy next door, the bruised romantic, or the smooth cosmopolitan man he was and always will be Frank Sinatra.

The Effects of Memory Improvement by Saying Words Aloud

This experiment proposes to study the effects of memory improvement by reciting and saying the words out loud to oneself. Participants will be assigned to either two different types of conditions and will then be required to recall the information of words as best as they can. It is assumed that a higher level of generating the targeted words into memory is improved when readers say the words out loud to themselves. Thus, the hypothesis concluded is that people who say words out loud after reading them are expected to improve their memory in retaining information.The Effects of Memory Improvement by Saying Words Aloud Whenever a person thinks, sees or hear words that are needed later on for remembrance, most of us would automatically try to retain the information by methods of imagery, recitation and elaboration to bring it more meaning in their understanding of the definition of those words. Words and languages are interrelatedly connected and associated with memory. Historically, m emory is a complex system which began in primitive organisms that stores an assorted array of fragments that grows more indispensable as we advance through the years.In terms of retaining memory, humans have extraordinary abilities to accumulate a huge amount of knowledge, but they do not always be able to retrieve or gain access to the parts that have since long been forgotten. Since words serve as a medium to communicate and interact with other people, it is a natural part of daily life that people will say certain words out loud in order to effectively convey particular messages or to recall specific information. According to Macleod et al. 2010), saying a word out loud or at least mouthing it, improves memory function by increasing its distinctiveness, i. e. making it unusual compared to others. The fact that producing a word aloud, which is relative to simply reading a word silently, improves explicit memory (Hourihan & MacLeod, 2010). The past studies done on the effects o f mouthing or vocalizing words to an extent of memory recall often yield consistently similar results in which those who have recited the information out loud were being reinforced to maintain that information for a longer term.Physically moving or acting out the words by means of vocalization would involve certain electrical muscle movement so that information sent to the brain are known to increase mental response, thus it has its relativity on the ‘generation effect’. This generation effect refers to an enhanced memory encoding by which a participant has better memory improvement by being involved in its creation or by acting it out. By vocalizing â€Å"out loud†, recitation in past research by Foley et al. (1983) as cited in Dodson & Schacter (2001) had participants to hear and say words out loud.Reciting words out loud would naturally be one of the most effective method for review because it employs more of the senses than any other review technique (ima gery, auditory). For instance, in Schacter et al. ’s (1999) study, when students were reviewing notes or tests immediately after class by means of vocal recitation, they yielded higher scores in memory improvement because not only will they be consolidating the new information, but also it strengthens the neural traces made to the brain. It ‘provides a basis for employing a distinctiveness heuristic during the test. (Dodson & Schacter, 2001). Reciting words out loud to understand the message conveyed by a sentence or paragraph would only then have a higher chance of that information moving on into the long-term memory, as most verbal information goes first in the short-term memory. When information is rehearsed aloud, part of it goes into our long-term memory. The most recent research done by Hourihan & MacLeod (2010) found that reading words aloud during study explicitly improves memory compared to reading a word silently and this is called ‘the productio n effect’.The researches hold that the production effect is that by saying words aloud would make them distinctive and better recognized than words which are read silently, which will be easier to forget. This distinctiveness is not available for the words read silently (Hourihan & MacLeod, 2010). The production effect has its basis on the generation effect whereby reciting words out loud produce a certain distinctiveness as done by a series of experiments by Macleod et al. , (2008).Moreover, a study done by Strain, Patterson & Seidenberg, (1995) as cited in McKay et al. (2008) found that words containing high imageability (e. g. house, chair, elephant) are proposed to have stronger representations in semantic memory. However, past researches found contrasting results compared to Hourihan & MacLeod’s. Research done by Maisto et al. (1977) as cited in Mohindra & Wilding (1980) in a free recall tests found that saying each word out loud three times had im paired their memory performance when subjected to expected recall.This study is further supported by Folkard & Monk (1979) as cited in Mohindra & Wilding (1980) where they suggested that articulating words impaired free recall. In view of these findings which yielded contrasting or relatively different results in relation to vocalizing words out loud, it can be explained that participants were using a strategic reading process when reading the words aloud, since it does not normally involve the conscious recall of information (MacLeod & Masson, 2000) as cited in McKay et al. 2008). There is also a claim that a potential issue in difference of these researchers’ results could be in the time criterion whereby participants shift the influence of certain words to a different semantic pathway (Strain et al. , 1995, as cited in McKay et al. , 2008). However, recent research done by Reynolds & Besner (2008) suggests that contrary to the view that by vocalizing words out loud is entirely an automatic memory encoding, it in fact requires some form of attention.Previous research was investigated further where participants were exposed to reading lexicon and pseudo homophones aloud that required the use of central attention. In research done by Blais & Besner (2007), repetition of words of lexical representations suggests longer persistence in the early memory processing, as cited by Reynolds & Malley (2008). It was discussed earlier that possibly the mere action of vocalizing words for memory recall will encourage memory improvement at a higher level, thus making a person to be able to better retrieve previous information if need be (Macleod et al. 2010). In another study, Kappel, Harfard, Burns & Anderson, (1973) gave another possible explanation on the advantage of reading words out loud, indicating that serial voiced recall were found to be superior for the later positions, and these results replicates previous experiments done by M urray (1966) and Conrad & Hull (1968). However, Kappel et al. , (1973) proposed that the results reported suggest that differences in participants’ level of processing information to memory between saying out loud and reading silently.Similar to the researches done by Macleod and Hourihan (2010), our proposed study focuses in determining whether reading and saying words out loud would have an effect on people’s memory improvement and recall when acquiring new information. The hypothesis of our proposed experiment is that adults, who vocalize new information aloud is expected to have higher memory improvement and better recall of information, thus have the highest number of correct answers in the test as indication of their reading the story out loud during the experiment.Based on past researches, I am taking the side with the assumption that saying words aloud can aid in memory improvement to gather information during other reviewing or learning new knowledge, as s uch an act would require a certain amount of cognitive effort, thus enabling adults to improve their memory technique on learning tasks at hand. Methods Participants As many as 200 participants from schools and offices will be recruited in this study. All participants will include both English speaking males and females and should be between the ages of 18 to 30 years old.All participants will be divided into two categories, each receiving a story in the English language of an average English proficiency level. It should be estimated that the total number of males and females selected are approximately equal in number. The participants will not engage in any other experiments beforehand. Design In this experiment, we will be using a 1 (memory improvement or performance) x 2 (participants recite the story out loud or does not recite the story out loud) independent design. The first independent variable (IV) is the participants’ memory improvement and their ability to remember certain information in the story.For this proposed experiment, the operational definition of reciting the story out loud is where a participant vocally recites aloud a story as they read and comprehend the story at the same time. The dependent variable (DV) is the vocal recitation of the story either the participants read it out loud, or to just read the story silently. Materials The materials to be used in this experiment include administrative letters sent out to the participants informing them of the research and what is expected of them.Procedural materials include the sheets of paper containing the story, test papers with 30 fill-in-the-blank questions, experimenters’ scripts and a stopwatch to keep track of time. The sheets of paper which contains the story to be later recalled by the participants will be a short story that is in English and contains approximately 1000 words. It is entirely fictional and unique, therefore it is not in any way affiliated to share any res emblance or similarities to stories the participants would have known in the past i. e. fairytales or well-known childhood stories.Thus, we expect the participants to be reading and learning about new information based on the fictional story given. This is done so as to reduce any extraneous variables that may interfere with the results of the experiment. The test papers consist of 30 fill-in-the-blank questions that require the participants to answer by recalling information based on the story provided. This format is chosen to avoid any possibility that participants may get the correct answer by chance of lucky guesses. The experimenters’ scripts will contain the standard instructions for the experimenters to read out to the participants when conducting the experiment.Procedure Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 2 rooms. In each of the rooms, it is expected to have approximately similar ratio of male and female participants so as to avoid gender directed outcome s and to maintain neutrality. Participants will be led into the room by the experimenter and be asked to take a seat. They will then be briefed on the experiment and will be required to sign two consent forms, one of which is to be kept for themselves and the other, for the research copy of the experimenter.In Room 1, each participant will be provided with a sheet of paper containing the fictional story to be read out loud by the participants. The following instructions will be read out to them: â€Å"You are required to read the fictional story provided out loud. You are highly encouraged to vocalize your words aloud at your own pace. † In Room 2, each participant will be provided with a sheet of paper containing the fictional story. The instructions read will be as follows: â€Å"You are required to read the fictional story given silently. You are not allowed to vocalize your words by reading the story out loud.You will read the story silently at your own pace. † The experiment will take 25 minutes for the participants to take time to read the story. After they read the story, each participant will be given a surprise fill-in-the-blanks test. The test consists of 30 questions relating to the fictional short story that they had to read earlier. Participants will be given 20 minutes to answer the set of questions. Their answer sheets will then be collected and the participants will be thanked for participating in the research. Statistical AnalysisThis experiment will use an independent t-test to calculate the results of the experiment. This test will be used because this study has only 1 IV with 2 levels (1Ãâ€"2) and uses between-subjects design, in which the participants will experience different levels of the IV.References Besner, D. , O’Malley, Shannon, & Robidoux, S. (2010). On the Joint Effects of Stimulus Quality, Regularity, and Lexicality When Reading Aloud: New Challenges. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36(3), 750-764. Retrieved June 16, 2010 from PsychARTICLES database. Dodson, Chad S. amp; Schacter, Daniel. L. (2001). If I Had Said It, I Would Remember It: Reducing False Memories with a Distinctiveness Heuristic. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8 (1), 155-161.Retrieved June 14, 2010 from http://pbr. psychonomicjournals. org/content/8/1/155. full. pdf Hourihan, Kathleen L. & Macleod, Colin M. (2008). Directed Forgetting Meets the Production Effect: Distinctive Processing is Resistant to Intentional Forgetting. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 62, No. 4, 242-246. Retrieved June 14, 2010 from PsychARTICLES database. Kappel, S. , Harford, M. , Burns, V. & Anderson, N. (1973). Effects of Vocalization on Short-Term Memory for Words. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 101(2), 314-317. Retrieved June 16, 2010 from PsychARTICLES database. MacLeod, C. , Gopie, N. , Hourihan, K. , Neary, K. , & Ozubko, J. (2010).The Production Effect: Delinea tion of a Phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36(3). 671-685. Retrieved June 16, 2010 from PsychARTICLES database. McKay, A. , Davis, C. , Savage, G. , & Castles, A. (2008). Semantic Involvement in Reading Aloud: Evidence from a Non-Word Training Study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 34(6), 1495-1517.Retrieved June 18 from PsychARTICLES database. Reynolds, M. , & Besner, D. (2008). Contextual Effects on Reading Aloud: Evidence for Pathway Control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 34(1), 50-64. Retrieved June 14, 2010 from PsychARTICLES database. Wilding, J. , & Mohindra, N. (1980). Effects of Subvocal Suppression, Articulating Aloud and Noise on Sequence Recall. British Journal of Psychology, 71(2), 247. Retrieved June 18, 2010 from Academic Source Premier database.

Night Market

WHAT IS NIGHT MARKET Night markets or night bazaars are street market which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. They are typically open-air markets. Night markets are commonly known as Pasar Malam by the locals, which literally means night market, â€Å"pasar† being related to â€Å"bazaar† in Persian or also the meaning â€Å"market† in Malay, and â€Å"malam† meaning â€Å"night†. A pasar malam is a street market in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia that opens in the evening, usually in residential neighbourhoods.WHAT IS IN THE NIGHT MARKET Night market brings together a collection of stalls that usually sell goods such as fruit, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, movie discs and ornaments at cheap or at least reasonable prices. A night market often takes place only one to a few days of the week, as the traders rotate around different neighbourhoods on d ifferent days of the week. Haggling over prices is a common practice at such markets. WHY PEOPLE LIKE TO GO NIGHT MARKET Night markets or night bazaars are street markets which operate at night.Most of the people like to go night markets because of convenience, cheaper price of items, shop for leisure, temptation of local food where you might not get it from restaurants, and strolling. It is very common to find the night market or the street market in Malaysia that usually opens from evening till night. Night market is usually located in residential areas. You are able to find the night markets only one to a few days of the week at one residential area. The traders will also be selling their things around different neighborhoods on different days.Night market is a one stop place whereby many stalls sell goods such as local food, fruits, vegetables, toys, clothes, shoes, and many more at cheaper prices, where at least the items are cheaper. NIGHT MARKET IN MALAYSIA The good thing of night market at Malaysia is, you can see the night market’s stalls are selling different things by our main three ethnics, which are Malay, Chinese and Indian. This is one of the reasons why more and more tourists start to hit the night market at Malaysia, as they are able to see the culture of Malaysia, goes with the traditional food from different races.As we are pacing up the trend of advanced technology of lifestyle, same goes as the demand of food. A combination of traditional Malay food in the modern life, we have even more tasty delicious food yet maintaining the traditional taste of recipes when we pay a visit to the Malay night markets. During the olden days at the Malay food stalls, most of them are just selling the traditional food such as satay, nasi lemak, kuih, spicy rendang chicken, lemang goes with the delicious rendang beef. Normally the traders will cook at home or restaurants first, and then only they do food packing and sell to the customers.Some Malay tra ders do also sell some Chinese or Indian concept of food. For example, you can see some Malays are selling ‘yong tau fu’ or ‘muruku’. SITUATION AT NIGHT MARKET Night market is not a strange place for today's city life. It is almost as same as the wet market. The difference is the market starts in the evening whereas the wet market starts in the morning. Besides that, only every Monday and Wednesday, the place is swarmed with people. On other days, the field is just gathered by a few cows grazing on the coarse grass. Night market is a spectacular and colourful market.From one end to the other, one can see a dense mass of human heads moving about restlessly under the bright neon lights of the hand-carts and stalls. These temporary stalls sell all manners of useful household goods, food and drinks. Night market is a colourful place. There are many types of fruit and vegetables, such as red tomatoes, orange carrots, green capsicums, etc, which are sold. There a re all kinds of clothes and materials too. There are different kinds of coloured plastic goods and so on. All of them add up to a marvellous view under the bright moonlight.The field at the night market is crowded by people from all walks of life. Cars spill over everywhere from the parking area to the roadsides. In such condition, only the early birds will get parking spaces. Motorcycles and bicycles going in and out. The crowds of people are walking about and the loaded carts on the middle of the path make it even more difficult to move. It is closed to traffic jam during peak hours in town. It seems like the whole community is there. Furthermore, it is also a noisy place. All around, customers and hawkers are bargaining.The din is earshattering. Nevertheless, everyone is in good mood. The shouting and bargaining are enjoyed by both customers and hawkers. â€Å"Apples! Four for $1! Cheap sale! † come the cries of one hawker. Then another hawker suddenly cries, â€Å"Apples ! Five for $1! Come on! Cheap sale! Cheap sale! † Obviously, there are already a number of people examining the fruits. There are people laughing and children crying. Just two stalls away, the loud music of cd vendors comes along cheering up the situation. The stall is also brightly illuminated. No doubt, it is doing a roaring business.Then a few stalls away, traditional medicine sellers promote their medicine. They use a microphone to speak and a loudspeaker to spread their voice. Becauseof that, a big crowd of customers will take a look and buy their products. All of that bring a festive atmosphere in the night market. There are loud and happy music like clashing ofcymbals and beating of drums, children's laughter, hawkers' call and teenagers' giggling. Everyone is in a holiday mood – enjoying the tasty food and drinks and unwinding after a hard day's work. By about 9 p. m. awkers begin to pack their things into vans. Some of them remain to get some last minute sellin g done. â€Å"$1 only, Madam! This is the last one. I sold for $2 just now but I want to go home now. † In this way, many sales transactions are closed. Furthermore, most vendors have a hard life, trying to make both ends meet. They really need to make some profits each night. Although the night market is very crowded and noisy, but the hawkers and customers will come back again and again because the night market is where things are cheaper as there are no middlemen to make a profit for themselves.