Wednesday, December 25, 2019

A Socially Acceptable Form Of Schizophrenia - 1055 Words

Writer E. L. Doctorow defines writing as â€Å"a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia†. Doctorow believes writing can be about anything, no matter how arbitrary, and still be acceptable. J.D. Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye to tell about Holden Caulfield s misadventures in a 1950’s New York. After Holden, the narrator and protagonist, is expelled from yet another boarding school, he hides it from his parents. Mental illness plagues Holden’s life, and at the end of the book, he ends up in a mental hospital in California. Holden Caulfield could be diagnosed with schizophrenia because in The Catcher in the Rye, he exhibits signs of the illness, such as frequent delusions, disorganised thinking, and negative symptoms, all of which†¦show more content†¦Schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose because â€Å"some of the early symptoms of schizophrenia in teenagers are common for typical development during teen years† and many symptoms are simil ar to other mental illnesses, such as split personality and depression. (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). Schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed as depression because symptoms include â€Å"[difficulties] feeling and expressing positive emotions†¦ [and difficulties] experiencing pleasure when engaged in activities or around people† (â€Å"Mental Health†). People with the mental illness are not experiencing sadness, persay, but rather a lack of emotion, especially enthusiasm (Mental Health Information). However, depression and suicidal thoughts are often present with or as a result of schizophrenia, but is not the foremost disorder. Contrary to popular beliefs among scientists, schizophrenia is not a split personality; â€Å"the word â€Å"schizophrenia† does mean â€Å"split-mind†, but it refers to a disruption of the usual balance of emotions and thinking† (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). The unbalance of emotions and thinking lea ds to some combination of delusions-- distorted beliefs that contradict those of real life-- and hallucinations-- auditory or visual things that are not real (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). The many symptoms of this mental illness are life-altering; delusions

A Socially Acceptable Form Of Schizophrenia - 1055 Words

Writer E. L. Doctorow defines writing as â€Å"a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia†. Doctorow believes writing can be about anything, no matter how arbitrary, and still be acceptable. J.D. Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye to tell about Holden Caulfield s misadventures in a 1950’s New York. After Holden, the narrator and protagonist, is expelled from yet another boarding school, he hides it from his parents. Mental illness plagues Holden’s life, and at the end of the book, he ends up in a mental hospital in California. Holden Caulfield could be diagnosed with schizophrenia because in The Catcher in the Rye, he exhibits signs of the illness, such as frequent delusions, disorganised thinking, and negative symptoms, all of which†¦show more content†¦Schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose because â€Å"some of the early symptoms of schizophrenia in teenagers are common for typical development during teen years† and many symptoms are simil ar to other mental illnesses, such as split personality and depression. (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). Schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed as depression because symptoms include â€Å"[difficulties] feeling and expressing positive emotions†¦ [and difficulties] experiencing pleasure when engaged in activities or around people† (â€Å"Mental Health†). People with the mental illness are not experiencing sadness, persay, but rather a lack of emotion, especially enthusiasm (Mental Health Information). However, depression and suicidal thoughts are often present with or as a result of schizophrenia, but is not the foremost disorder. Contrary to popular beliefs among scientists, schizophrenia is not a split personality; â€Å"the word â€Å"schizophrenia† does mean â€Å"split-mind†, but it refers to a disruption of the usual balance of emotions and thinking† (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). The unbalance of emotions and thinking lea ds to some combination of delusions-- distorted beliefs that contradict those of real life-- and hallucinations-- auditory or visual things that are not real (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). The many symptoms of this mental illness are life-altering; delusions

A Socially Acceptable Form Of Schizophrenia - 1055 Words

Writer E. L. Doctorow defines writing as â€Å"a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia†. Doctorow believes writing can be about anything, no matter how arbitrary, and still be acceptable. J.D. Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye to tell about Holden Caulfield s misadventures in a 1950’s New York. After Holden, the narrator and protagonist, is expelled from yet another boarding school, he hides it from his parents. Mental illness plagues Holden’s life, and at the end of the book, he ends up in a mental hospital in California. Holden Caulfield could be diagnosed with schizophrenia because in The Catcher in the Rye, he exhibits signs of the illness, such as frequent delusions, disorganised thinking, and negative symptoms, all of which†¦show more content†¦Schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose because â€Å"some of the early symptoms of schizophrenia in teenagers are common for typical development during teen years† and many symptoms are simil ar to other mental illnesses, such as split personality and depression. (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). Schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed as depression because symptoms include â€Å"[difficulties] feeling and expressing positive emotions†¦ [and difficulties] experiencing pleasure when engaged in activities or around people† (â€Å"Mental Health†). People with the mental illness are not experiencing sadness, persay, but rather a lack of emotion, especially enthusiasm (Mental Health Information). However, depression and suicidal thoughts are often present with or as a result of schizophrenia, but is not the foremost disorder. Contrary to popular beliefs among scientists, schizophrenia is not a split personality; â€Å"the word â€Å"schizophrenia† does mean â€Å"split-mind†, but it refers to a disruption of the usual balance of emotions and thinking† (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). The unbalance of emotions and thinking lea ds to some combination of delusions-- distorted beliefs that contradict those of real life-- and hallucinations-- auditory or visual things that are not real (â€Å"Diseases and Conditions†). The many symptoms of this mental illness are life-altering; delusions

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Book Report on the Catcher in the Rye - 814 Words

[Research Paper Title] The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides guidelines for documentation style. This template is based on commonly used guidelines from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th edition) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd edition). For more information about MLA style and publications, go to the MLA website at: www.mla.org. Catcher in the Rye starts off with Holden Caufield, the main character, alone at the top of Thomsen Hill above Pencey Prep. Holden has gotten kicked out of Pencey along with numerous other schools. Laziness is the reason of Holdens lack of success in school like many teenage boys. He goes back to his dorm and starts reading the book Out of Africa when his doofus roommate Robert Ackley walks in. His description to meet is just that awkwardly tall kid, like myself but with poor hygiene. Holdens roommate, Stradlater comes in and tells them about a date he is going on with none other than Holdens old fling named Jane Gallagher. Stradlater has a carefree attitude for her calling her by the wrong name multiple times. Stradlater also asks Holden to write an English composition for him since that is the only class Holden is not failing. Holden reluctantly agrees and that is when we get our first taste of why he is such an angry kid. He writes about his little brother named Allie who died a f ew years before of Leukemia. He specifically wrote about his baseball glove that he wrote poems on so heShow MoreRelatedIs Salingers The Catcher in the Rye a Trigger for Murder?767 Words   |  3 Pagesmotives linked to the Catcher in the Rye, ever since it was published, in 1951 by Jerome David Salinger. Many schools have since banned the book due to the inappropriate language, and the volger behavior that is pushed throughout the book. These schools have also stopped reading The Catcher in the Rye because of the fact that it has been the trigger of many attempted murders and assassinations, turning innocent people into cold blooded killers. The Catcher in the Rye is a book which deeply sided withRead MoreJD Salinger Research Paper1671 Words   |  7 Pages Jerome David Salinger, also known as J. D. Salinger, is a fascinating author best known for his novel, Catcher in the Rye. Although Salinger only published one novel, he wrote several short stories for magazines like The New Y orker and Story. A large number of these stories went on to be compiled into books such as Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. Despite the fact Salinger has not published any stories in over 45 years, his reputationRead MoreThe Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger and Looking For Alaska by John Green1729 Words   |  7 Pagesmultiple reports suggest that the Silent Generation was the happiest generation in American history. The Catcher In The Rye and Looking For Alaska, two American novels about young adulthood, provide an insight on the commonalities and differences between these two generations and their unique American experiences. The two novels written by J.D. Salinger and John Green, respectively, were written fifty-four years apart, but their similarities are nonpareil. In fact, Green cites The Catcher In The RyeRead MoreHarry Potter And The Novel The Rye 1546 Words   |  7 Pagescomplexity and Rowlingâ₠¬â„¢s willingness to take on difficult and contemporary issues such as racism, genocide, classism, and difference – makes Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone uniquely valuable. While both books can be regarded as controversial due to the moral fibre of them, Catcher in the Rye, captures an adolescent protagonist wavering between childhood and adulthood. Holden Caulfield, a confused teenager, explores how adult life appears complex and incomprehensible to teenagers on the brink ofRead More Post-Traumatic Stress In Relation To Holden Caulfield Essay1179 Words   |  5 Pages‘normal’ life. An estimated 5.2 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or approximately 3.6 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD (Narrow, Rae, Regier). This purpose of this report is to prove whether or not Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D. Salingers’s book The Catcher In The Rye, is depressed. What Is A Depressive Disorder? Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person conducts him/herself, and the way he/she think. Depression may includeRead MorePost-Traumatic Stress in Relation to Holden Caulfield1181 Words   |  5 Pageslife. An estimated 5.2 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or approximately 3.6 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD (Narrow, Rae, Regier). This purpose of this report is to prove whether or not Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D. Salingers s book The Catcher In The Rye, is depressed. What Is A Depressive Disorder? Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person conducts him/herself, and the way he/she think. DepressionRead MoreThe Play Macbeth : Naked Ambition, And The Oral Documentary, Kevin s Sentence By Bob1629 Words   |  7 PagesIn my report I will analyse and investigate characters facing adversity throughout their life or at some point and relating them to our society we live in at this time period. The four texts I have used were Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Gandhi: Naked Ambition, a biography written by Jad Adams, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger and the oral documentary, Kevin’s Sentence by Bob Carty. Across these texts the main theme of ‘facing adversity’ was portrayed through characters, language and howRead MoreA Negative View Of Mental Illness1781 Words   |  8 Pagespeople think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, th e attitudes of individuals, and skepticism, and the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, makes a connection to these views of the world. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is clearly disturbed in some way or another. The opening paragraph begins to paint a clear picture of Holden’s unique and descriptiveRead MoreA Pessimistic Adolescent Is Not What Most Consider A Reliable Narrator1295 Words   |  6 PagesA pessimistic adolescent is not what most consider a reliable narrator, but author J.D. Salinger challenges this commonly held thought with his coming-of-age novel The Catcher in the Rye. The reader is introduced to Holden Caulfield, a secondary school junior that is outcasted and aimless upon expulsion from yet another preparatory school in a post-World War II world. Salinger weaves a myriad of comparisons of genuinity and disingenuousness into his work, each explored through a facet of Caulfield’sRead MoreLanguage Catcher in the Rye4730 Words   |  19 PagesThe American Dialect Society The Language of The Catcher in the Rye Author(s): Donald P. Costello Source: American Speech, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Oct., 1959), pp. 172-181 Published by: Duke University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/454038 . Accessed: 30/01/2011 11:19 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTORs Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTORs Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part

Monday, December 9, 2019

American Involvement In The Cuban Revolution Essay Example For Students

American Involvement In The Cuban Revolution Essay The revolution in Cuba was not a result of economic deprivation, nor becauseof high expectations in the economy, it was the political factors andexpectations which evoked the civilians to revolt. The Cuban economy wasmoving forward at the time before the rebellion but the dominant influenceof the sugar industry made the economy assymetrical and encouraged nodynamic industrial sector. Because of the dependance on sugar, theunemployment rate ranged between 16 and 20% rising and falling with sugarprices, ebbing and flowing as the season changed. The rural wage levelswere incredibly unsteady and unpredictable; the standard of living was low. Dependance on the sugar industry did not retard the economy of Cuba, justthe wages of its workers. It was the leaders of the nation who reapedprofit from this dependance, and it was the leaders of the nation whoinsisted on keeping the nation the way it was. By the mid 1950s, however,the middle class had expanded to 33% of the population. Democracy, as weknow it, broke down: the large middle class did not assert democraticleadership, there was no social militancy in the working class ranks, andthe people found order preferable to disarray. Batista could no longerlegitimize his regime . Failure in the elections of 1954 showed thediscontent of the people, and failure in communications with the UnitedStates illustrated its discontent. Finally, opposing forces confrontedBatistas power: there were street protests, confrontations with thepolice, assault, sabotage, and urban violence. This began the revolutionin Cuba. America, with its stubborn ideas and misjudgements of character, forcedCastro to turn to the Soviets for alliance and aid. When Castro visitedthe United States in April, 1959, there were different respectedindividuals holding different views of him and his future actions. Nixonbelieved Castro to be naive, some others thought him a welcome change fromBatista, still others called him an immature but effective leader, withouta well formed view of how to lead a revolutionary movement and not overlyconcerned with abstract of philosophical matters (p. 55). Why, then, didthe United States impress nit-picky ideals like there should not becommunists in the Army or in labor, or Cubas approach to the Batistatrials is totally unacceptable, too casual, too nonchalant on thisforming leader? Castro was like an inexperienced murderer with a gun inhis hand: any rustle in the background could set off his nervous triggerfinger causing death, destruction, and liaisons with the U.S.S.R. WhenAmerica expre ssed dislike of the trial procedures Castro was holding, ofcourse he (Castro) would try to prove he was able to run his country byhimself and snub the U.S. ambassador. The United States had so muchinvested in Cuba that it was stupid to think that Cuba could not retaliatewhen the U.S. cut off sugar imports. America was just too sure of itselfthinking it could get away with criticism and acts like that when animmature leader was in control. Cuba was not totally dependant on theUnited States and proved itself so. If Cuba could not find help andsupport in America, it sought elsewhere for those who smiled on its actionsand ideals. Castro found friends in Russia; the United States made thisso. Succeeding and failing have alot to do with judgement. For the UnitedStates, the revolution was a failure because the result was a communistnation in the Carribean. For the revolutionarie s in Cuba, the revolutionaccomplished many of their goals: capitalism was abolished and socialisminstalled eroding class distinctions and eliminating private property, theworking conditions improved, womens rights improved, labor unions wererecogniz ed, the military became more modern and advanced, political orderwas restored, the status of the country improved from dependant toindependant, and many more. For the people of Cuba, therefore, therevolution can be viewed as a success (if communism ca n be seen asacceptable), but for America, the result was a failure. .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 , .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .postImageUrl , .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 , .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:hover , .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:visited , .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:active { border:0!important; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:active , .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9 .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u94c85377e868adea5eb95dcf317311a9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Culture, Nature Freedom: Treating Juvenile Offenders. EssayLatin America is one of the poorest and underdeveloped sections of theworld. Because of this fact, it is difficult for its nations to compete andthrive in the world market with modern nations as they struggle toindustrialize and improve their status. Capitalism, as a basis for aneconomy, means that each man has to struggle to make a living, that eachman may fail and starve, and that each man may get a lucky break andthrive. We saw this struggle of the lower classes clearly in Mexico duringtheir industrialization. With communism, a man may not become of greaterstatus than he is born with, but then again that status is no better thanhis neighbors; this man is, however, guaranteed a certain amount of land,for example, and a certain home and a certain salary. To the poor, thosethreatened by the extreme of starving, this idea is very appitizing. To anation undergoing change, where there are many poor and these poor co uldget hurt by the industrialization, communism is appealing in every way. The United States has to learn that it is not in total control. Wecannot go around condemning countries which hold procedures different thanour own. The developing count ries in Latin America must struggle througheconomically and politically hard times to reach their own maturity; thismeans experimentating with different styles of government to find out whichis best for the specific country. If America wants democrac y to reignover the Carribean, Central, and South America, it should make the ideaappealing, show these countries that it can work. America should supportstrong democratic leaders, encourage capitalistic moves they (thecountries) make, and advise the nations when they need or ask for it. Mexico is an example where democracy worked, in Cuba, it didnt. Forcewill get us nowhere in preventing the spread of communism, either willcutting off relations with countries who are still debating U. S. A. or U. S. S. R. America has too many interests in Latin America to force itinto alliance with the Soviets. If America is supportive and acts like afriendnot a dictatorthese nations will develop naturally and see thatdemocracy is the best for them.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Reason for Cohabitation Essay Example

Reason for Cohabitation Essay Non Marital Relationship live in partner Cohabitation is an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married Reason for Cohabitation Today, cohabitation is a common pattern among people in the Western world. People may live together for a number of reasons. These may include wanting to test compatibility or to establish financial security before marrying. It may also be because they are unable to legally marry, due to reasons such as same-sex, some interracial or interreligious marriages are not legal or permitted. Other reasons include living as a way for polygamists or polyamorists to avoid breaking the law, or as a way to avoid the higher income taxes paid by some two-income married couples (in the United States), negative effects on pension payments (among older people), or philosophical opposition to the institution of marriage (that is, seeing little difference between the commitment to live together and the commitment to marriage). Some individuals also may choose cohabitation because they see their relationships as being private and personal matters, and not to be controlled by political, religious or patriarchal institutions. Some couples prefer cohabitation because it does not legally commit them for an extended period, and because it is easier to establish and dissolve without the legal costs often associated with a divorce. In some jurisdictions cohabitation can be viewed legally as common-law marriages, either after the duration of a specified period, or the birth of the couples child, or if the couple consider and behave accordingly as husband and wife. This helps provide the surviving partner a legal basis for inheriting the deceaseds belongings in the event of the death of their cohabiting partner. ) We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for Cohabitation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for Cohabitation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for Cohabitation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In Saskatchewan, Canada, a married person may cohabit with other married or single persons and become the spouses of all of them under the Saskatchewan Family Property Act. Consent of the subsequent spouse is not required. Although Canada has a federal criminal code law prohibiting polygamy, which includes nyone who authorizes more than one conjugal union at a time, Saskatchewan judicial authorities that unilaterally authorize multiple conjugal unions have not yet been charged under this federal law. Opposition In the Western world, a man and a woman who lived together without being married were once socially shunned and persecuted and, in some cases, prosecuted by law. In some jurisdictions, cohabitation was illegal until relatively recently. Other jurisdictions have created a Common-law marriage status when two people of the opposite sex live together for a prescribed period of time. Most jurisdictions no longer prosecute this choice. In the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, judicial authorities have used binding authority to sanction married women being the same time spouse of other men due to cohabitation. Consent to be spouses of all persons involved is not required. Therefore, it is likely that future court challenges in Canada will use this Canadian case law to claim married persons may also civilly marry other persons without divorcing first. A scientific survey of over 1,000 married men and women in the United States of America found those who moved in with a lover before engagement or marriage reported significantly lower quality marriages and a greater possibility for splitting up than other couples. About 20 percent of those who cohabited before getting engaged had since suggested divorce compared with only 12 percent of those who only moved in together after getting engaged and 10 percent who did not cohabit prior to marriage. 1] Psychologist Dr Galena Rhoades said: There might be a subset of people who live together before they got engaged who might have decided to get married really based on other things in their relationship because they were already living together and less because they really wanted and had decided they wanted a future together. We think some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting. [2] Support In some Western nations such as the United States and Britain divorce laws and family law give more rights toward women in terms of property rights, rights to male working labor of resource provision outside of marriage, sole parental and custody rights to children. In essence, as a legal institution, marriage is an obligation from a man to a woman to support her outside of marriage by the contractual obligations of divorce. In the United States, women initiate 2/3 of all divorce. 3] As a result some men choose to avoid what they see as the unequal commitment, responsibility, risk and obligation they would be subject to in the legal contract of marriage. The Mens and Fathers Rights Movement and Mens Rights Activists hold similar views and seek equality in divorce and custody law. Cohabitation (government) Cohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as Frances system, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the membe rs of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier (prime minister) that will be acceptable to the majority party within parliament. Thus, cohabitation occurs because of the duality of the executive: an independently elected President and a prime minister who must be acceptable both to this president and to the legislature. Origins Cohabitation was a product of the French Fifth Republic, albeit an unintended one. This constitution brought together a potent presidential position with manifold executive powers and a prime minister, responsible before Parliament. The presidents task was primarily to end deadlock and act decisively to avoid the stagnation prevalent under the French Fourth Republic; the prime minister, similarly, was to direct the work of government, providing a strong leadership to the legislative branch and to help overcome partisan squabbles. Since 1962, French presidents have been elected by popular vote, replacing the electoral college, which was only used once. This change was intended to give Fifth Republic presidents more power than they might have had under the original constitution, while still seen as the symbol and embodiment of the nation, the president also was given a popular mandate. Of course, the majority party of the National Assembly retained power as well, but since the popularly-elected president appointed the prime minister, the former was seen as having the upper hand in any conflict between executive and legislature. Furthermore, the mbalance is further illustrated by the fact that the President of the Fifth Republic can dissolve the Assembly at any time (but not more than once in a year), whereas the legislature has no powers of removal against the president. The sole caveat to this position of presidential pre-eminence was the fact that the presidents selection to the premiership required approval by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament: because the Assembly can dismiss the government by a vote of no con fidence, it follows that the prime minister must be supported by the Assembly. This was not a problem whilst the legislative majority was aligned with the president, and indeed, de Gaulle, who was responsible for inspiring much of the Constitution, never envisioned that such a conflict could exist; to him the French public would never permit such a situation. But because the president was elected to seven-year terms, and the Assembly to five-year terms, it was almost inevitable that such a situation would someday arise. Political scientists regarded it as a flaw in the constitution that had the potential to bring down the Fifth Republic. The first near miss with cohabitation occurred with the election of Socialist President Francois Mitterrand in 1981. A coalition of the right controlled the Assembly at the time. Almost immediately, Mitterrand exercised his authority to call Assembly elections, and the electorate returned an Assembly with an absolute majority of Socialists, ending the presumed crisis. However, when Assembly elections were held, as required, five years later, the Socialists lost their majority to the right, precipitating the first experiment in cohabitation.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Kinesiology †Emotional Stress Relief †Physical Fitness (300 Level Course)

Kinesiology – Emotional Stress Relief – Physical Fitness (300 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Kinesiology Emotional Stress Relief Physical Fitness (300 Level Course) Good health enables individuals to lead productive and fulfilling lives (Report on the health of Canadians, 1) but in today’s society, technological advancements, lack of motivation and lack of nutritional education are causing youth to become more unfit than ever before. Webster’s dictionary defines fitness as being of good health and good physical condition. This definition rarely applies to youth these days. A recent study shows that 33 percent of Canadian boys were overweight in 1996, and the number of overweight girls was 27 percent, which is also a very high percentage. (Demont, 22) Obesity is also becoming a serious problem for children. Obesity is generally defined as being at least twenty percent above the ideal body weight. Since 1981, the percentage of obese children has multiplied by five. Ten percent of boys and nine percent of girls are now considered obese. (Demont, 22) On average, the children and youth of today are unfit and unhealthy, leading to the unfit adults of tomorrow. It starts when you are a child. If you don’t get the motivation that you need to keep fit, then it is likely that the same attitude towards exercise will remain with you throughout adulthood. For an adult, it is hard to get out of long-term lifestyle patterns and into a regular exercise routine. Adults tend to have many excuses for not getting enough exercise. A few of which may be that they are too tired and stressed after a long day at work, or that they don’t have enough time because they have to cook dinner, do housework, or take care of the kids. But here is where the motivation steps in. If you’ve got to take care of the kids then why not incorporate some physical activity? Take them for a walk or go to the play ground with them. Inline skating or biking is also a great way to stay fit with your children. Parents should know what motivates their children and use that information in any way to keep their children healthy and fit. Kids need motivation to stay active just as much as adults do. It has been shown that children are more likely to want to be physically active if their parents are active. Children’s physical activity patterns tend to revolve around what they learn at home. (Pivarnik, James M., N/D) For example, if a parent is always at wor k and the child watches television and eats junk food all day, then that child is likely to develop a negative or lazy attitude, not to mention a very bad habit with regards to exercise, that will likely remain with them through adulthood. Getting a child involved in organized sports is the perfect way to keep them active and healthy. But the problem with this, sometimes, is that the family budget doesn’t allow it. Social class plays a major role in weather or not a child stays active. Children with a lower class status rarely get the same opportunities as the children of higher-class families. Availability of facilities, equipment and coaching for most programs costs a lot. (Shephard, 235) Even after school programs and community recreation centers ask for a sufficient amount of money. A lot of families simply cannot afford to put their child in such programs. Especially lower class families with multiple children. Another problem when trying to get a child into an organized sport may be their friends. Generally, children don’t want to get into a program where he or she will not know anyone. If there is no one familiar in the group, then the child is likely to take a negative attitude towards the program and in turn will not enjoy it, and possibly even quit. For a parent to motivate a young child to get into such a program, they should first consider who the child will know and weather or not they will enjoy the program. As a child grows to like a sport, gender may also cause some problems. Take a young boy in figure skating, dancing or even gymnastics for example. Society seems to shape children at an early age to think that these are â€Å"girls† sports. The same may go for a young girl in a hockey or baseball program. Unfortunately, this affects a lot of children, and even if they enjoy the sport, they may feel pressured by friends or acquaintances to quit. It gets harder to motivate someone later on in the adolescent stage because so many factors come into play. Teenagers â€Å"don’t have time† for physical activity. Social time and even study time take away from going for a walk or a bike ride. This, however, is not necessarily true for all teenagers. The ones who were motivated to start playing sports and enjoyed their time outside at an early age will always find time for physical activity. The negative attitude starts and an early age and unfortunately, it is especially hard to break a teenager from bad habits and patterns such as this. Drugs and alcohol also start to influence physical activity during the teenage years. If a teen starts to smoke, drink or do drugs, then physical fitness becomes one of the least important matters to them. They won’t have enough energy, and even breathing may be a serious problem for smokers when it comes to physical activities. This is when schools and teachers should get involved. Hopefully, by this age, children have been positively influenced by their schools, but teachers need to take an extra step when they see that a child has gotten involved with drugs and/or alcohol. Students spend the majority of their time in school, so they need positive reinforcement and role models within the system. After school programs, nutrition and health classes, and programs that educate the students about how important it is to stay fit and healthy are great ways to incorporate fitness into the school system. Most, if not all schools from junior high onward, have school sports teams. But what about the children who are not particularly good at sports? There are very few schools that have programs for students to get exercise without having to try out for a team. Physical education classes seem to be satisfactory for those students, but in a study about physical education classes in Michigan, the average P.E class keeps children active for less than twenty minutes. (Pivarnik, James M., N/D) Another study also showed that in 1998, only 10 percent of Canadian schools offered gym classes daily, and a tenth of school kids had no gym class at all. (Demont, 24) Also, durin g physical education classes, the trend seems to be that the more â€Å"athletic† students play the sports and the games, while the students who don’t particularly enjoy sports, barely participate. There should be programs available for these students. For example, an after school walking club would be particularly beneficial to students who do not enjoy sports or even for the students with health problems such as asthma. Staying fit doesn’t mean that you have to be on a team and children, especially, need to know this. A good way for a teacher to motivate their students would be to get involved in the activity. Being a good role model could include taking a group of students on an afternoon hike or casual bike ride once a week. In order to incorporate these ideas into the school system, the teachers also need to be educated about health and fitness. This, not only would help the students understand the importance, but the teacher as well would have a better understanding. The last major source of motivation comes from the community. Organized sports, recreation centers and even summer programs all help children get the physical activity that they need to stay fit. Most of the programs for younger children are very good at incorporating a lot for fun games for them to play. This is the key in keeping small children active. These activities have to be fun to keep their interest. There are great new ideas being brought up in recreation centers to keep children interested in the programs. Once a child is introduced to a sport or a program that they really enjoy, then generally, that attitude towards sports and fitness will stay with them. Activities such as swimming are almost always open to the public, so there really is no excuse as to why someone doesn’t go regularly for a swim or even a walk or run. There is rarely anything stopping someone from going. The facilities are provided, so all that is needed is the motivation. Nutrition can also play an immense role in defining fit and unfit. Poor food choices, along with lack of exercise can yield fat, unfit children (Daugherty, 2002), and even adults. Poor eating habits can lead to obesity, which can cause harmful diseases that may last an entire lifetime. There are many vast reasons that can be blamed for the increase in weight gain, and there are also plenty of techniques that can be used to increase physical activity, therefore decreasing weight gain. There are some factors that may cause people to become overweight, or obese such as genetic factors, lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating. They can all contribute to overweight children. Obesity is rarely caused by medical conditions even though many people may think this. Even if a child is brought up in a family with a weight problem does not necessarily mean that they themselves will become overweight. They very well could be at a high risk, but that could be linked to the family’s eating habits and exercise habits. Unfortunately obesity has increased in children more than 50% in the past 30 years (Daugherty, 2002), and one in every five children in the U.S. are overweight (Grayson, 2002). The reason for this drastic increase is lack of physical activity and poor food choices. There are many health risks that can be caused by obesity. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, early heart disease, bone problems, and skin conditions are only some of t he more serious issues that can arise. When kids realize that they are overweight, often times it’s too late and they can become discouraged and never try to improve their physical condition. To be more specific of the factors that can cause overweight and obese children, can be linked to society. Our environment has turned to high-fat, high-calorie, high-sugar, and high-salt snack foods (Daugherty, 2002). Children would much rather have a bag of chips at recess instead a little baggie of raw vegetables. In the twenty years between 1975 and 1995, visits to fast food restaurants in Canada sky rocketed by two hundred percent! (Demont, 23) Super Sized value meals at fast food restaurants are encouraged for just an extra fifty cents. For that extra fifty cents, you are not just getting more food, but hundreds of extra-unneeded calories. So, in a way, when people blame fast food restaurants for themselves and other being overweight, they may have a case. Another major factor for the weight problem for today’s kids is vending machines and soda pop machines (Boyles, 2001). Can you ever go to a school without seeing a vending and a pop machine in numerous spots all over the school? Not usually. They are in every hallway. Children consume most of their calories from pop and other sugary drinks like fruit juices. The average kid consumes thousands of calories a week in pop and fruit juices alone (Boyles, 2001). Just imagine if a child drank one can of pop every day, in the run of a week that’s approximately 2500 calories, on liquids alone. If children wish to have their pop, chips, and chocolate bars, they must do some sort of physical activity to burn most of the calories. Schools need to reinstate effective physical education programs and try to establish an active lifestyle that will continue throughout their youth and adult years. Society can also make people become more aware of health problems through campaigns and presentations to schools, work places and even hospitals. A child’s total diet and activity level can determine a child’s weight (Grayson, 2002). The eating habits children pick up at a young age will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as adults, and even though children have fewer weight-related health and medical problems than adults, overweight children have a high risk of becoming overweight adolescents and adults (Grayson, 2002). Typically, overweight youth become overweight adults (Westcott, n.d.). Even though adults have a better knowledge of a healthy lifestyle, there are still one in four adults that are obese, and three in every four adults that are overweight (Westcott, n.d.). That leaves only half the population defined to be â€Å"fit.† Parents can have a major role in their children’s eating habits and physical activity level. Let them be involved in picking out healthy choices at the grocery store and let them help prepare meals. Parents can also discourage their children from snacking all of the time, especially in front of the television. While kids watch television, they don’t realize if they are full or not, but just continuing to eat. Plan children’s snacks and prepare a healthy lunch for school hours. Television, video games, movies and computers do not help children stay active. If anything, the more time kids spend on these activities, the less time they have for physical activity. The majority of kids choose these indoor activities to playing tennis, or soccer, or even playing tag outside with their friends. On average for children, 23 hours a week is spent in front of the television, and ten hours a week is spent playing video games (Boyles, 2001). There is a constant increase of intake of calories, and unfortunately a decrease in the burning of calories, thanks to television and computers. Technology has made people lazy. How many kids still go out to play with their friends after they have eaten? Most stay home and watch television as much as they eat. And they don’t even have to get up to change the channel because we have remotes that do it for us. And on television, kids see sports figures and movie stars advertising fast food and junk foods. But not only watching television is a big influence on increasing obesity in children. Also computers, video games, and the Internet are related factors of the serious and growing issue of child and adolescent obesity. The average Canadian child watches excessive amounts of television (Bernard-Bonnin et al. 1991). The AC Nielson Company’s report on television found out that the average Canadian child watches 23 hours of television each week, and with some children watching up to five hours daily and the average adolescent watches over 20 hours of television per week. That is a lot of time spent sitting and glaring at a television and if you think about these numbers, by the time a child reaches high school, it will have spent more time watching television than in the classroom. Television is the biggest technological negative factor of child obesity as it contributes to the increased incidence of childhood and adolescent obesity (Dietz WH Jr., 1985). Watching television is an effective way of advertising products to children of various ages (Stasburger VC, 1986). So while our children watch television, they will see more than 20,000 commercials each year (Children, adolescents, and advertising, 1995). But what does a car or a financial branch commercial have to do with child obesity? The answer to that is easy. More than 60% of commercials promote sugared cereals, candy, fatty foods, and toys (Children, adolescents, and advertising, 1995) where the fat content of these advertised products exceed the current average Canadian diet and nutritional recommendations. Not only are these items high in fat, sugar, and salt, but also low in overall nutritional value and fiber (Hill Radimer, 1997). Commercials for healthy foods make up only 4% of the food adve rtisements shown during children’s viewing time. Therefore television viewing makes a substantial contribution to obesity because prime time commercials promote unhealthy dietary practices (Ostbye T et al., 1993). Not only does watching television increase the dietary energy intake in response to food advertising, but also during viewing the programs. Children who watch a lot of television are less physically fit and tend to snack more regularly. The number of hours of television viewing also corresponds with an increased relative risk of higher cholesterol levels in children (Dietz WH Beliizi MC, 1999). Eating meals while watching television should be discouraged because it may lead to poor eating habits. Television also takes away from play and exercise activities. This means the energy expenditure from displacement of physical activity is reduced. It limits children’s time to develop vital activities such as playing outside, spending time with peers and parents, participating in regular exercise, and developing other not only physical, but also mental and social skills. This chart shows that watching television has the highest percentage compared to other influences of child and adolescent obesity. Though it is not the only one. Other media, such as magazines, radio, and the Internet also have the potential to influence children’s eating, exercise and buying habits and its mental health. Even though some video games may help the development of fine motor skills and coordination, most video games have the same negative effect as watching television. The amounts spent watching television and sitting in front of the computer can also affect a child’s postural development (Salter RB, 1983), which is an important development for many physical activities. Research Papers on Kinesiology - Emotional Stress Relief - Physical Fitness (300 Level Course)Influences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseHip-Hop is ArtThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Spring and AutumnComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Pronouncing X in Spanish

Pronouncing 'X' in Spanish You may have noticed that the Spanish x is sometimes pronounced like the English x, but sometimes like the English s. If so, you might be wondering: Are there rules about when it is pronounced as an x  and when its pronounced as an s? ‘X’ Between Vowels Due to regional variations, there arent any rules that hold true throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In general, however, when between vowels (as in exactamente) the Spanish x is pronounced like the English ks sound but softer or less explosive. ‘X’ Before Another Consonant When it comes before another consonant (as in expedicià ³n), it has the s sound in some regions/countries but the soft ks sound in others. In some areas, the letters pronunciation before a consonant varies from word to word. The only way to know for sure is to listen to someone speaking with the regional accent you wish to emulate. Words Beginning with ‘X’ When a word begins with x (there arent many such words, and most are English cognates), it is usually given the s sound, not the z sound of English. Thus a word like xenofobia sounds the same as if it were spelled senofobia. ‘X’ in Mexican Place Names In some Mexican place names, indeed in the name of Mà ©xico itself, the x is pronounced the same as the Spanish letter j  (or the english h). Oaxaca, for example, sounds like Wa-HA-ka. ‘X’ with a ‘Sh’ Sound Making matters more confusing is that in a few words of Catalan, Basque or indigenous American origin the x is pronounced like the English sh. This is especially common in southern Mexican and Central American place names. The No. 2 city of Guatemala, for example, is Xela, pronounced something like SHEL-lah.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Scenario Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scenario Analysis - Essay Example fact that the business that CB is involved in is more customer-oriented, I would recommend as it is in the process of idea generation, it must endeavor to ensure that they customer appreciated and embrace them. They can perform an in-house research to identify products that currently exist in the market, their flavor components, as well as their health effects-this in-house research can be broadened and widened by using the computer-assisted discovery (Goffin et al., 2010). The health effects and flavor components of other products, CB can use the symbiotic idea generation technique to standardize combine and correlate those effects and components into one whole new product idea. The most important idea generation technique that I will recommend to CB will be the evolutionary technique, coupled with internal or in-house brainstorming, since it must be able to meet or even surpass the market health and flavor standards for chocolate products in the US market. Already, CB is a major distributor of chocolate manufacturing ingredients, thus it will be sensible for them to discuss and brainstorm on viable ideas. They can complement this process by using the technique of computer-aided discovery; this will enable them broaden and widen their base and their research possibilities, with regards to ideas of what the customers want or need (Bragg & Bragg, 2005). To carry out the ideation, I would recommend that CB should gather a team made up of people from various departments, with various skillsets and experiences to brainstorm, carry out concept screening, and recommend an idea that can be developed into a viable concept. On top of this list will recommend personnel from the product development and design department, manufacturing department, the marketing and sales department, accounting and costing department, and personnel from CB’s management. This team should also include an external product design and development consultant, who will bring an outsiders or

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Critically discuss how that person's leadership style has made them an Essay

Critically discuss how that person's leadership style has made them an effective or ineffective leader - Essay Example In Morgan Stanley, since she became CEO, she has achieved tremendous success such as growing the bank by over three hundred percent in just a few years. She also saw a very big deal between the Morgan Stanley banks to sell a stake to a Chinese government owned financial services firm. Unlike most other hugely successful women of her age and calibre, Wei Sun Christianson is a family woman and is married with two children (sons) and is able to juggle between family and work. This is the height of success especially for a woman and especially in a male dominated industry such as the financial and investment industry. In this regard, the big question is how has she managed to be this successful? Her leadership style seems to be a big factor which makes it possible for her to be so successful in what she does. Her leadership style involves the following; Keep people close Any good leader understands the importance of keeping people close and utilising the people resources available to the m (Darling and Leffel, 2010). Good leaders understand that people are everything and that success can only be found in keeping these people close in a team. But, Wei Sun Christianson seems to understand this better than everybody else. One striking thing about Wei is that she never loses contact with people she has met in life. Her contacts to date include people she met while she was still in college thirty years ago when she landed in the United States for college. For instance, according to Leow and Carew (2007), Wei has worked with Gao Xiqing, a colleague she met thirty years ago when she was in college. These contacts have been very useful in her success because some of the most successful deals she has achieved in her career were aided by these people she met so many years ago (Leow & Carew, 2007). Wei seems to clearly understand that people are a great resource, whether they are colleagues or employees working under her. In this regard, Wei does not just manage her relationsh ips with colleagues, but also with those working under her. She makes sure that she is able to tap the best out of everyone under her at work and uses this as her strength as well as the strength of the organisation. This deep understanding of how to utilise people resources in order to advance the firm is what separates Wei from other people. She seems to understand this in a very deep and powerful way and uses it as her stronghold. For instance, Wei understands that everybody needs to be respected and their time respected too (Hung, 2010). In this regard, those who know Wei say that despite her busy schedule, she is the best when it comes to managing her time and never cancels appointments. This ability to treat everyone with the respect they deserve regardless of their station in life is a great asset owned by Wei and has led to her being able to look forward and become what she is today. According to Darling and Leffel (2010), leadership styles are essential in team building wit hin the organisation and it is this team building which is most important for an organisation to succeed. This is one area which has therefore led to Wei being so good in what she does and giving her success. As Darling and Beebe (2007) postulate, communication is also another important aspect of leadership and as teams are build in the organisation, communication about the basic goals of the organisation is critical. Wei has built her success on this as she makes it possible and easy

Sunday, November 17, 2019

American Beauty Film Critique Essay Example for Free

American Beauty Film Critique Essay There are few films that achieve the high level of quality exhibited by that of the 1990 beautiful tragedy, American Beauty. The film is a true masterpiece in both content and how this content is delivered to the viewers. It excels at being an enlightening and relevant drama about American life, and never fails to keep the audience entertained by providing many instances of well-placed humor. Every scene is filmed including metaphoric elements that not only show great stylistic and aesthetics, but also create a mood and feeling for the theme of the movie. American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, is a film that is set in suburban America, in a normal neighbourhood, following the everyday life of the central protagonist, Lester Burnham, who is living the typical ‘American Dream’. He appears to have a great job, big house, loving wife and daughter and even a white picket fence. However, all is not as it seems as appearance can often be deceiving; if we just â€Å"look closer†, we as audience members soon see that he realises both his wife, over bearing and controlling Carolyn and jaded teenage daughter, Jane think that, in the words of Jane, he is â€Å"this gigantic loser† and they’re right. The character of Lester is initially portrayed as a depressed, sad and lonely forty-year-old man, deprived of freedom and struggling to find anything worth living for. However as the film progresses Lester’s persona as a character is dramatically developed with the introduction of an equally intriguing character, Angela Hayes. Everything changes for Lester the night he is forced by his wife to his daughters school to see her perform as a cheerleader. There on the floor, engrossed in a pompon routin, parading and dancing around the court, he sees his ‘angel’: Angela his daughters high-school classmate. Angela fulfills the stereotypical idea of what beauty physical beauty is. She is thin, blonde, big blue-eyed and immediately catches Lester’s attention; Angela is not Lesters highway to bliss, but she is at least a catalyst for his freedom (Ebert, 1999). His thoughts, and the dissatisfaction they stimulate, blast him free from years of emotional torture and bring him right back to his youth. It is from this moment on that Lester transforms into a spontaneous hormone-driven teenage boy, who smokes marihuana, works out, and uits his job all in order to impress his Angel-a. American Beauty uses Angela as the image of Lester’s broader want; that being his underlying desire for freedom and evidentially beauty. However, she symbolizes the potential underlying superficiality of physical beauty that is slowly revealed towards the end of the film. The film portrays many of the hidden problems within the white picket fence American dream along with addressing the problems many Am ericans have with feeling free and accepting their own identity. The film shows the vastly different worlds that people can live in whilst still living on the same street, and the disorder and frenzy that lies veiled in a society that we all try to portray as being as perfect as possible. In doing so, American Beauty reveals that the only way to calm the chaos is to find beauty in everything. To â€Å"look closer† is a must for truly understanding and identifying with the continuous bombardment of symbolism that is constantly being illustrated in this film. American Beauty portrays such themes as the falseness in lust, power and appearance and that we need to remind our selves â€Å"†¦of all the beauty there is in the world†, as beauty is a matter of opinion. Beauty however, is the most significant and explored theme in American Beauty. Another prevailing theme is the notion of the characters journey and transformation throughout the film. Lester’s journey can almost be compared to one from childhood from adulthood, figuratively speaking as evidentially, he steps into a mature, paternal phase where he takes responsibility and finds meaning in life, as an adult. Many techniques were used to portray these themes and influence audiences opinions of characters and events, including film techniques of cinematography, soundtrack as well as such visual techniques of symbolism, colour and contrast and both aesthetic and stylistic elements. American Beauty is a complex film that relies so heavily on mis-en-scene and cinematography to portray its message. In particular this is showcased during one scene that truly puts the ‘American Beauty’ into perspective; the opening scene or as it is often referred to as, the â€Å"High Point Scene†. The film explores the concepts of what true beauty really is and as suggested in the title of the film, the American Dream and how far this ‘dream’ really goes and what it actually means; this is explored further from the films tagline â€Å"look closer†; to think about perceived desire and to analyze more what these wants are. Through the exploration of the opening scene and a study of how the cinematography, mise en scene and sound foreshadows plot points in the rest of the film, the underlying messages and symbolism will be uncovered. The movie opens with a grainy shot of Jane Burnham reclining on a bed, complaining about her father. The scene begins with what is referred to as a flash forward, in cinematic terms. The line â€Å"Someone really should just put him out of his misery† is a hint towards the mid life crisis that the father Lester is currently going through and the ways in which she is aware of the pain he is dealing with, not knowing what he truly wants. Through the mise en scene and cinematography displayed throughout the scene, the audience is enabled to receive a glimpse into the events that have just occurred. Through the use of a lesser quality picture, shaky footage and dimmed lighting the audience is able to identify with the fact that the imagery being presented has that of a ‘home movie’ feel. The utilization of ‘raw footage’ within this drama genre of film gives the audience a sense of reality towards the character, hence making the dialogue seem more legitimate and believable. The addition of a pause into the characters dialogue helps to support and express the sense of ‘reality’ further, as it is as if she is really thinking about what she is saying. The rather ambiguous approach to the delivering of the line â€Å"You want me to kill him for you? † helps to draw attention to Jane’s reaction as apposed to the interviewers own intensions. This poses both Jane Burnham, the daughter and the unidentified interviewer as suspects to her father’s upcoming murder. However the abstruse approach from the interviewer combined with the daughters reply is foreshadowing what is to come later in the film, as each character related to the father is set up to be the possible murderer of his death. By using the body language as a primary tool for communication, the reply of â€Å"Yeah, would you† to the previous statement, suggests that she is almost daring the interviewer to kill him. This is expressed through the dominant changing of levels when she sits up, almost creating a shift in power, and looks down and straight into the camera, but at the same time also insinuates some sarcasm on her part. The audience learns in the very first lines of the movie that Jane’s dad, Lester, is not the father that she wants. The opening credits roll, and the shot switches to an aerial view of a neighborhood. The exact location is not specified, and that is very intentional. It is important that this not be a critique of a specific area, but of American culture as a whole. The scene begins with an aerial shot of a suburb, with Lester Burnham introducing the audience to his life and informing them that In less than a year, Ill be dead, and in a way, Im dead already. This dialogue is heightened through the following shots of Lester lying alone on a bed in a very dull coloured room, thus signifying the meaninglessness life in which he is leading. The utilization of an aerial shot here creates the idea that the world is looking down on him. The dominant use of bright lighting also indicates that it is the morning, however through the use of shadowing casted over Lester, it expressed to the audience that he is still in ‘the dark’; he is yet to be enlightened. Visual techniques are a constant feature in American Beauty, including the use of colour, contrast and symbolism. The primary recurring prop that is introduced at the beginning of the film is a rose, in which the audience first sees in a close up before Lesters wife Carolyn Burnham picks it up. The first shot of the rose seems out of place, beginning with the flower filling the frame and then moving down to focus on the thorns before Carolyn’s clippers cut it. The rose symbolizes the impotence of not only the love life between Lester and Carolyn but the idea of the American Dream. This shot not only draws attention to the rose as a recurring object in the film, but it also serves as a metaphor for the Burnhams: on the outside they appear perfect, like the flower, but underneath they are rotten and broken (represented by the thorns). In this shot the character of Carolyn is also introduced and is instantly perceived as a cold, workaholic who is obsessive about how they (the family) is presented. This portrayal is demonstrated through the line â€Å"See the way the handle on those pruning shears matches her gardening clogs? That’s not an accident†, thus showing the audience what level she will go to, to maintain order and control. What is also noticeable about this shot is the mise en scene, in particular the red roses, white picket fences and the blue painting on the house. These colours in specific represent the American flag and therefore the American dream. These objects are most perceived to be included within the American dream as well as stereotypical figure of Carolyn, the suburban housewife. This ideology however, creates contrast with the cinematography. Many scenes are metaphoric in how they are shot, and what is in the frame symbolizes a higher, deeper meaning. This is demonstrated when, Lester looking out the window of his house at his wife, and the blinds on the window represent jail cell bars. Even the blocks of text on his computer screen at work, (shown later in the film) represent jail cell bars. Lester is â€Å"in jail† because his life at this point is so empty and missing substance. This cinematography technique often used in film nior is utilized to convey the emotions of disassociation and distance which in this case, is the way in which Lester feels towards his wife; he is no longer associated with her. American Beauty is more than a biting satire on suburban life. This somewhat contrived story is meant to be an allegory. Alan Balls richly textured screenplay, brilliantly executed stylistic and aesthetic elements such as cinematography, mise en scene and symbols are effectively demonstrated throughout this masterpiece of a film. Every single shot is so carefully taken and layered with such vast significance that it is a marvel to behold. â€Å"Look closer, the films tag line tells us. Look closer at the beautiful things we yearn for and spend our life chasing. There isn’t a single example of a film done better. Not only is the content top-notch, but the technical aspects of the movie are excellent as well. American Beauty truly demonstrates the power of film.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

history of s. africa :: essays research papers fc

INTRODUCTION:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this paper I will be talking about the history of South Africa and how it was segregated and how apartheid came about and give some acts that were used in order to segregate. I talk about the ANC and how the â€Å"white† government outlawed it. I will also show how the apartheid became a thing of the past and was accepted by the new government in order to make peace and bring unity. CREATION: The National Party went into power in 1948 to strengthen â€Å"white Supremacy†. The National Party made it obvious to the public that it identified this political, economic and social policy with the ideology of ‘apartheid’. They immediately made laws that gave apartheid a legislative reality, which could not be overturned easily. These laws separated whites and blacks and formed the theory that whites should be treated more favorably than blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Population Act of 1950 was the beginning for separating South Africa’s population into different races. There were only three different races and they were white, coloured and Bantu (black). This act helped pave the way for other acts that were strictly developed to separate whites and blacks. Listed below are just few of the acts:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Group Area Act- mapped out areas that were â€Å"black free†  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mixed Marriage Act- made it illegal for whites and blacks to marry  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Immorality Act- made it illegal for whites and blacks to have sexual relations  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act- made it mandatory that their could only be white representatives when it came to politics The National Party gained a tremendous amount of support from the white electorate. The National Party, which has five-year terms, was re-elected in 1953 and in 1958, which promoted segregation more and more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While this is going on, the African National Congress (ANC) is fighting for the rights of black people. They were having many boycotts, sit-ins and walking to work instead of having to pay for a ride. While demonstrating in front of a police station in 1960, police fired on demonstrators killing sixty-seven and injuring one hundred eighty-six. A peaceful march took place a while later with 30,000 joined, but led to the arrest of over 18,000 of them. Leaders of the ANC were also arrested, including Nelson Mandela.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prohibited from operating peacefully in South Africa, the ANC established underground organizations in 1961 to continue their struggle with the government. The ANC bombed police stations and power plants, but was very careful not to take any lives.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The Need to Prevent Supervisory Workplace Bullying

Much has been said about workplace bullying and its harmful effects to the victims. With a purpose to clear the area of discussion, this paper will talk about several areas of workplace bullying particularly the one which is manifested between bully superiors and subordinate victims. The paper will also present significantly essential components of discussion such as the issue’s characteristics, hypotheses, causes, implications and precautionary measures. The paper focuses on the supervisory workplace bullying, which involves supervisors and managers who use their power and position to intimidate and eventually inflict harm on their subordinates. The paper ultimately aims to make people realize the need to prevent, if not end, supervisory workplace bullying in order to avoid the unhealthy consequences that it brings in. It cites concrete ways to go about protecting the organization from such threat. Introduction Brief Introduction to the Topic The workplace is one setting that provides people with many experiences. As such, employees’ success or failures depend much on the particular situations that the office environment offers. Given a motivating surrounding, employees are expected to perform well and to deliver the things expected of them. Similarly, workers who are subjected to any form of work-related irritations, whether inflicted by their colleagues or superiors, are likely to manifest inefficiency and dissatisfaction at work. One particular kind of job-related nuisance which has significantly gained concern is workplace bullying. The workplace is an area that is least expected to provide employees with harmful or damaging feelings and thoughts. This is because it is in such environment where employees can supposedly have the opportunity to do their tasks and show their potentials hence the need for the workplace and its employees to be free from any manifestation of bullying. Bullying is, at present, alarmingly manifested in various workplaces. To make matters worse, workplace bullying is not limited among employees themselves. Bullying has escalated to a level that has involved no less than supervisors and higher management of companies. Supervisor or manager bullies use their authorities or positions to inflict harm to their subordinates. Purpose of the Project The purpose of this paper is to discuss, in particular, workplace bullying perpetuated by the immediate superiors of employees – or supervisory workplace bullying. In doing so, this paper seeks to present and analyze the essential details surrounding supervisory workplace bullying as an issue: its nature and characteristics, what causes the superiors to engage in it, its effects on the victimized employees, its overall cost to the company, and the things needed for its prevention. Problem Statement Supervisory workplace bullying has turned out to have a damaging impact on the employees and ultimately on the entire organization. It triggers consequences that bring more harm, as compared to the bullying that employees can do amongst themselves. Needless to say, efficient mechanisms for detecting and preventing supervisory workplace bullying have to be determined and put in place. Problem Background It is unfortunate to note that the workplace is the primary setting where employees are intimidated or bullied in today’s modern world. Bullying is no longer a common happening in recreational areas with children as the involved parties. The occurrence of bullying – especially supervisory bullying – in workplaces has become a serious concern that authorities both in the public and private sectors of society ought to address. Otherwise, its casualties would continue to increase day by day and its growing total adverse effects would remain unchecked. Scope of Problem Analysis In order to have a better and clearer understanding of supervisory workplace bullying, it is necessary to present its nature and characteristics. A detailed account of the dire consequences of supervisory workplace bullying and its quantified harm would help emphasize the urgency of preventing it from ever taking place. Then to advocate measures against the prevalence of supervisory workplace bullying, specific ways to deal with it are included in this paper. Description of the Proposed Project There will have to be ways for properly dealing with supervisory workplace bullying. Solving the problems it gives rise to will require adequate information on it – its causes and origin – and on how such problems arise from it. Research Questions †¢ Which supervisors are likely to bully their subordinates? †¢ Which subordinates are likely to fall prey to the bullying of their bosses? †¢ Which organizations are likely to have bullying supervisors? †¢ What can be done to prevent supervisory workplace bullying? Hypotheses Hypotheses have been drawn for confirmation through research on printed reports and materials about workplace bullying as a whole, and through the use of survey results as reliable data to base conclusions on. A set of hypotheses are focused on why supervisory workplace bullying has to happen. One states that supervisors who are likely to bully their subordinates are those who are not equipped with sufficient professional expertise or know-how. Thus, these supervisors try to cover or make up for their incompetence by bullying selected subordinates – in particular, those who are yet in probationary status and at the same time fearful of losing their jobs. Another hypothesis states that organizations with well-oiled and transparent working systems do not provide settings where supervisory workplace bullying will thrive; these organizations, in fact, deplore supervisory workplace bullying of any form and degree. The third hypothesis affirms that active involvement of management in the bid against supervisory workplace bullying and adequate information dissemination about it as something that is not tolerated within organizations would successfully ward it off. This would then form part of compliance to the enacted laws that require employers to see to the health and safety of all their employees. These questions and hypotheses serve as basis for doing a comprehensive research on the subject. This project aims to emphasize the need to undo the damages of workplace bullying and to establish that mechanisms that will address the prevalence of bullying in the workplace are not complicated or difficult to accomplish. This will encourage an anti-bully culture to prevail in the workplaces, which should eventually wipe out bullying as a common threat to the emotional wellbeing, the productivity level and the general welfare of organizations. Results Origin of the Concept Workplace bullying phenomenon traces its root from the trauma resulting from continued psychological fear of employees in the work environment. Heinz Leyman, the founder of a three-decade-old international anti-bullying association, has cited in her documentations that Namie (2003) used the term â€Å"mobbing† to describe such harmful act. The term â€Å"workplace bullying† was later used by Andrea Adams in the early part of 1990s to refer to the same form of intimidation when the victims happened to be employees doing their work in their respective workplaces. Thereafter, the concept of workplace bullying was introduced to the United States organizational setting by Namie in 1998 while an associate formally presented to the criminal justice system the legal issues emanating from it. Namie, 2003) Nature and Characteristics of Workplace Bullying Different sorts of threats and intimidation coming from supervisors and managers cannot be ignored. They are bound to cause stress, anxiety, discomfort and disappointment or even to inflict pain on the victimized employees. The workplace, then, becomes a hostile place. T here is no doubt that the presence of the bullying bosses doing their bullying tactics does not create a healthy culture. In general, supervisory workplace bullying damages the organization. Workplace bullying is generally characterized by the fact that it is unwanted, intentional, frequent and intense inappropriate behaviors which are enough to inflict harm and trauma-related manifestation to employees’ physical, psychological and emotional conditions (Namie, 2003). Hence, bullying in a work setting is a manifestation of either the supervisor or co-workers’ terrorizing, insulting, demeaning and embarrassing attitudes committed against employee-victim. The workplace bully wants power over his co-workers; the supervisory workplace bully wants control over his subordinates. Namie further said that workplace bullying is often caused by issues pertaining to gender, race, economic or financial status and positions of employees in an organization (Namie, 2003). Workplace bullying can be accomplished in various ways. The Trades Union Congress, by defining the term, names the factors that can lead to it: Workplace bullying can be defined as offensive, intimidating, malicious, insulting or humiliating behavior, abuse of power or authority which attempts to undermine an individual or group of employees and which may cause them to suffer stress (TUC website). Samples of Bullying Acts of Supervisors The Workplace Bullying Institute has described that supervisory workplace bullies generally inflict verbal or spoken abuse against subordinate employees, create work distractions such as sabotage that hampers workers’ tasks from being completed and manifest insulting behaviors with a purpose to threaten, humiliate and intimidate the victims (Workplace Bullying Institute, 2008). Specifically, supervisor and manager bullies can manifest several intimidating conducts which vary from physical or spoken offenses and from subtle and blatant manners. Some of the evident workplace intimidations done by superiors towards their subordinates include demeaning opinion or regular criticisms; shouting or use of offensive language; belittling or unreasonable statements or jokes about an employee’s physical looks, way of living and background. Additionally, the conducts include insulting acts; segregating employees from regular job interaction and development-related opportunities; excessive workload; unimportant pressure; illogical deadlines; meddling with personal and work belongings; aggressive conducts; intentional withholding of needed details, access, assistance and resources; fabricating the idea of uselessness; uncalled work alterations; unmerited jobs; not providing due recognition; exaggerated performance checking, and illogical disciplinary actions (â€Å"Workplace Bullying and Intimidation,† 2008). Prevalence of Bullying in the Workplace and Its Cost Bullying has become so common an occurrence in the working place. This statement is confirmed by documented surveys. Among them are the following: Date of bullying survey Survey origin Ratio of employees bullied % of workforce Number of employees bullied Bullied over the period†¦ Nov 1996 IPD 1 in 8 12 3. 5m 5 years Oct 1998 TUC 1 in 6 18 4. 5m 1 year Feb 2000 UMIST 1 in 4 25 7m 5 years Oct 2003 CHI 1 in 3 37 10. 4m 1 year Apr 2002 Lyn Quine 1 in 3 37 10. 5m 1 year Jan 1999 Lyn Quine 1 in 3 38 10. 5m 1 year Jun 1994 SUBS in 2 53 14m working life Source: UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line webpage With the frequency of bullying incidents in workplaces, the total productivity of workforces of various organizations has been greatly affected. Needless to say, lowered productivity is tantamount to wastage of time and a general failure to maximize the resources – especially the human resources – that would have been available for the organizations and their respective pursuits. A noted psychologist, Michael Harrison, Ph. D. , has cited the results of a survey involving 9,000 federal employees. The entire exercise has led to the significant findings: that 42 percent of the female and 15 percent of the male employees all experienced harassment of any form within two years from the conduct of survey in 2002. In monetary terms, such incidents of harassment have accumulated costs pertaining to lost time and productivity amounting to over US$180 million. (Farrell, 2002). Source: Working to Halt Online Abuse, 2000 Also according to surveys, the male gender composes the majority of the harassers while the female gender composes the majority of the harassed parties. Source: Working to Halt Online Abuse, 2000 Causes of Supervisory Workplace Bullying Given the fact that workplace bullying is not only contained among employees themselves but is more apparent between superiors and subordinates in current work settings, it is empirical to determine and analyze the causes of the problem. This leads to the identification of the reasons behind the inappropriate and unreasonable bullying acts committed by supervisors or managers with their subordinates as victims and the motivating factors that make them engage in such untoward acts. Throughout these procedures, theories related to supervisory workplace bullying will be analyzed as to relevance and applicability. In an analysis of 148 organizational ethnographies, Hodson, Roscigno and Lopez (2006) learned that the relative and organizational bases of workplace bullying are established by three main theories. The first supporting hypothesis stated that powerlessness is related with the vulnerability of subordinates against the bullying of their superiors. Subordinates who are not yet secured with their employment such as casual and probationary employees, members of minority groups and workers engaged in low-end services fall prey to workplace bullying by their supervisors and managers. Secondly, the hypothesis about the context or culture of an organization – the bureaucracy therein and involvement of the company management people in general – also fail to stop workplace bullying and to support initiatives that would help the organization to rationally in dealing the issue. This led to the third hypothesis which explained that common path to workplace bullying is organization chaos. This means that workplace bullying is likely to be committed by supervisors and manager against their subordinates when there is chaos in the organizational set-up or where relational powerlessness adds to the lack of transparency, liability and competence of the superiors or within the organization in general (Hodson, Roscigno & Lopez, 2006). Effects of Supervisory Workplace Bullying Namie further reported that the prevalence of workplace bullying in the country was based on a ballpark figure derived from a random survey of Michigan workers that was conducted in 2000. The study indicated that the lives of a significant number of employees were severely affected because of existence of workplace bullying in their respective companies (Namie, 2003). The issue of workplace bullying has gained significance because of the apparent implications that it has inflicted on the lives of the victims. In particular, Parker-Pope (2008) has noted that supervisory workplace bullying has taken its toll on the emotions of subordinate employees. In fact, its seriousness and the gravity of its negative effects have surpassed another sensitive work-related offense which is sexual harassment. Parker-Pope added that in the current corporate setting, supervisors and managers tend to be insensitive to its damaging implications and even regard bullying as one of the harsh management styles (Parker-Pope, 2008). Workplace bullying is generally bad for any industry. This is due to the fact that bullied subordinates are inclined not to report for work and this scenario, coupled with increased turnover of employees, eventually affects the organization. Aside from emotional impact, workplace bullying results to serious health concerns where bullied subordinates suffer tension, misery, nervousness and even signs of post-traumatic strain illness (Parker-Pope, 2008). This finding is relevant in order to have an increased awareness on the harmful effects of workplace bullying. Aside from these apparent effects, the harm inflicted to bullied employees such as financial problem, reduced self-respect and phobias as well as other physical problems are alarming signs of the issue that need to be addressed. Prevention of Supervisory Workplace Bullying Citing previous studies which proved the negative implications of workplace bullying to the victims, Namie noted that it has definitely spurred an escalated lack of civility in workplaces. Hence, there is indeed a need to regard it in the same way as the other serious work-related offenses such racial discrimination and sexual harassment. In doing so, there will be a clear identification of the bullies and establishment of guidelines. Additionally, an increased awareness will pave the way for companies to create punishments as well as for the lawmakers to enact laws addressing workplace bullying and for the criminal justice system or law enforcement to implement the penalties (Namie, 2003). Supervisory workplace bullying can be prevented if the victims will have the conviction to work on putting such harmful treatment to a stop and if the company management is committed to address the concern. It is only through the collected efforts, therefore, of both the victims and management that workplace bullying can be totally eliminated from the organization. With this kind of cooperation in place, the problem of workplace bullying would be efficiently dealt with. More importantly, the bullies would hence be restricted from taking in more victims. The initial move to prevent, if not stop, workplace bullying is to accept its existence (Union Safe, 2005). When the problem is recognized as an issue that needs to be addressed, it is essential for the company, through its management, to formulate guidelines that will punish bully supervisors and managers as well as precautionary measures or steps that will protect the subordinate victims and punish. For the part of the company, the employers need to present a clear statement among all employees that such act is inadmissible and not tolerated. Another move to prevent economic losses that can stem from bullying acts within organizations is to arrange for training programs to be cascaded from managerial to staff levels and to impose anti-harassment policies that will brook no exceptions. Such policies should cover any act of bullying as something that will not be tolerated by management. (Farrell, 2002) A four-step process for recognizing and removing the risks of workplace bullying has been outlined to specifically guide management in handing the bullies right. Step 1 involves identifying the bullies as hazards; step 2 begins the assessment of the risks of having such bullies around; step 3 brings in effective measures to control such risks identified and assessed; and, step 4 requires the evaluation and review of how the bullies were accordingly dealt with. (Preventing Workplace Bullying: A Practical Guide for Employers) The following is an illustration of these four steps: Source: Preventing Workplace Bullying: A Practical Guide for Employers Preventing any form of bullying from occurring within an organization is not simply a move that top management would want to make for the sake of avoiding the huge costs and non-quantifiable but equally dire consequences that arise from its prevalence. Instead, such prevention is a specifically required by law – specifically, by the S ection 5a of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This law defines the safe and healthy workplace that all employers ought to provide employees; such workplace should, then, be free of threats and other hazards caused by the presence of an individual bully therein. (Farrell, 2002) Putting in concrete writing the campaign of the organization against workplace bullying and its serious policies against all forms of it should come a long way in discouraging everyone from ever bullying fellow members of the organization. A sample written company rule against workplace bullying is as follows: Source: Safety & Health Assessment Research by Prevention Conclusion The support and participation of everyone – the management and the victims themselves – are significant in achieving a good fight against workplace bullying. Subordinates should be able to stop it even at its initial stage by being confident and firm in telling the bully supervisor or manager that the action is a serious offense. The union, in turn, needs to ensure in the first place that the workplace is free from any form of intimidation as well as assist and give essential service to the victim. In doing so, a victim is assured that he or she is not alone in the fight against bullying while the bully superiors are warned as well that resorting to bullying will expose them to moral and legal liabilities. Workplace bullying is a serious and dangerous issue that should not be taken for granted. With heightened consciousness about workplace bullying in general, the bulling supervisors and the bullied subordinates will know their places in the organization and the rights of everyone therein. The management and staff of companies all ought to be properly apprised as to the specifics of workplace bullying – in particular, its characteristics, signs and manifestations, causes, theoretical basis, effects, and precautionary measures against it. Through the collected efforts of the employers, management, employees and the union, the subordinate victims are saved from the ill effects of being bullied while the needed help is provided to the bully supervisors or managers. Indeed, bullying bosses would have to come to terms with issues that they have to face within themselves. They should realize that their bullying actions are manifestations of psychological disorders that would have to be treated for their own good. The significance of supervisory workplace bullying is emphasized by the above discussion on the specific bullies’ actions which threaten the victims. It is important to recognize what causes the bully superiors to intimidate their subordinates in order to identify the appropriate actions to be taken. The extent of the adverse effect of supervisory workplace bullying is more than enough to spur action aimed towards preventing it at all cost. The materials gathered from related literature confirm the hypotheses on which this research has been based. Such materials on workplace bullying indeed confirm that bullying and intimidation are done by the very people who, as supervisors and managers, should have been first to see to the generally healthy working environment that their subordinates are entitled to. The workplace bullies have turned out to be mostly superiors who delight in abusing the authority and power that go with their positions in the company by causing the people at the bottom of the organization chart all sorts of despair and anxiety. They are sick people needing psychological therapy and, unless treated, they ought to never have been designated to occupy supervisory or managerial positions. The alarming increase in the frequency of reported workplace bullying has thankfully triggered higher levels of awareness and resolve on the part of management people to be vigilant in detecting slightest signs of bullying in their respective turfs and to decisively put an end to it all. This should mean that the bullying bosses will cease to make victims of their subordinates and that the non-bullying ones will not anymore hesitate to stop colleagues from engaging in their bullying ways. Increased consciousness should generally limit the opportunities of bullies to do any bullying. It has also been an acknowledged truth, as seen by the rising prevalence of workplace bullying, that management has not been proactively battling it as something that can harm the organization, in terms of both the individual circumstances of its members and the overall effectiveness of the group. Websites of various government welfare agencies and all kinds of published materials have been decrying workplace bullying as a menace to the entire organization, citing specific reasons to substantiate the harm that it is purported to cause. This rising consciousness will equip employees with sufficient ammunition against being victimized by a bullying boss, who is most likely to get away with his bullying when dealing with an intimidated and uninformed subordinate. Thus, bullying now becomes associated with bad bosses who are harboring some insecurities, tendencies toward racial discrimination, imbalanced value systems, or psychological disorders. Gone are the days when victims silently suffer from the ill treatment that they get from bullying bosses. These days, workers now know their rights as provided by enacted laws. Articles have been written to repeatedly emphasize that bullying is a threat against the overall safety and welfare of employees, which are protected by laws as vital to all organizations. In organizations that are inadequately set up, there is bound to be chaos and lack of transparency in different matters that ought to be well-established and systematized. Indeed, bullies would not thrive in an organization where everything is in order. Among the things to be clearly made known to everybody in an organization is how each of them is supposed to epitomize the vision, mission and objectives of their organization. These ideals would encourage virtues and good traits such as honesty, willingness to work hard, treating people right, and concern for other people’s well-being. Needless to say, these ideals go against the motives that lead people to bully other people. Improvement of corporate governance, therefore, is a step toward prevention of bullying in the workplace. Healthy organizations have efficient, skilled, well-trained and confident people, both officers and staff. In such organizations, bullying will not at all be tolerated. In general, competent superiors would never feel the slightest inclination toward bullying as a management tactic or as a way to get their needed confidence-boosting. Good managers deliver what is expected of them and get people to do their own share of work without at all having recourse to bullying. In fact, it is the absence of malpractices like bullying that bolster the integrity and authority of management people. Bullying managers do not at all win the respect and admiration of their subordinates – they get only fear, and even this fear is not known to last simply because bullying either will cease once detected or once the victim has decided to leave the company for good. Workplace bullying brings in unnecessary costs and losses. In totality, it triggers all sorts of dire consequences and not a bit of beneficial result. The development in the area of proactive fight against workplace bullying has undoubtedly improved the lot of the victims thereof. But a lot remains to yet be accomplished in this line of endeavor.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Comparative Education Essay

France has a highly organized educational system, which is divided into primary, secondary and tertiary (college) education. Primary and secondary education is usually imparted at public schools although a strong network of private schools also exists. All educational programs in France are regulated by the Ministry of National Education. Schooling in France is mandatory as of age 6, the first year of primary school while secondary education consists of college for the first four years after primary school and the lycee for the next three years. The baccalaureat is the end-of-lycee diploma that students must attain and is comparable to British A-Levels and American SATs. Students have a choice of sitting for the baccalaureat general which is divided into 3 streams of study, the baccalaureat technologique or baccalaureat professionnel. Higher education is funded by the state and fees are very low. Students from low-income families can also apply for scholarships. Academic councils called academies are responsible for supervising all aspects of University education in a given region. ANALYSING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION THROUGH THE CURRICULAR EVOLUTION AND THE INVESTIGATION THEMES France Twenty years ago, many of them started with this new concept: introducing technology education (TE) in our curriculum. From this point, we developed many project implementing this new subject area and we built progressively meaningful to this area. The aim of this paper is to present this evolution from the French viewpoint with some interest to compare with foreign experiences. We present this evolution through two perspectives: the curricular evolution and the place ofinvestigation. Briefly, we can observe through the French national curriculum a phase of Epistemological delimitation, followed by a phase of activities definitions, arriving, recently, to a phase of activities defined as applied sciences without poor link to the initial epistemological definition. Over these factual dimensions, we can analyze this evolution as the weakness of the knowledge meaningful expressed in the national curriculum, weakness that reinforce the weakness of the TE in front of other subjects as math, literature, foreign language†¦ Many works tried to analyse this particular approach but their audience never really get out the little sphere of TE investigators. A birthday is more the occasion to open perspective and project some ideas and the experience taught us that the position of TE is more a question of social positioning through the knowledge than a question of purposed activities’ interest. 1. CURRICULUM EVOLUTION IN FRANCE The aim of this paper is to present you some aspects about Technology Education in the French school. French schooling has two levels. Primary school starts at the age of three and lasts until the age of eleven, in three cycles: the initial learning cycle (children three to five years old), the basic learning cycle (five to eight years), and the fundamental learning cycle (eight to eleven). Secondary school is divided into two main cycles: middle school (ages eleven to fifteen) and high school (fifteen to eighteen for general education or fifteen to nineteen for vocational training). Technology education was implemented at each of these two levels in the early eighties. 1. 1 THE FIRST CURRICULUM 1. 1. 1 Some elements about the general background The main idea of French schooling is the progressive elaboration of the different school subjects. Understanding the world of children goes hand in hand with organizing that world in different knowledge areas, from the general view to the particular description given by the different subjects. Technology education, like that of science, history, or geography, appears as a school subject specific to the middle school level (Ginestie, 2001a). The second idea of French schooling is the concept of project pedagogy. The introduction of this pedagogy in the Eighties was a departure from a traditional idea that the academic and dogmatic transmission of knowledge is the sole approach to teaching. Under the pressure of a massive rise in number pupils in middle and high schools, project pedagogy was presented as a possible solution to meeting the needs of the diversity of pupils, addressing their individual needs, and developing pupil autonomy (Ginestie, 2002). It was in this context, in 1985, that technology education was introduced in France as a part of science and technology education in elementary schools, as a new subject for all pupils in middle schools and as an optional subject in high schools. We can note four stages of organization of technology education between 1985 and today. 1. 1. 2 1985-1991: the implementation of the first curriculum Technology education was conceived of as a new subject and took the place of MTE (manual and technical education) in terms of hours, classrooms, and teachers. The curriculum emphasized the industrial environment, leaving little room for home economics and craftsmanship (COPRET, 1984). It had two different elements that made these references plain. On the one hand, the general part of the course described the overall goals, context, and aims of technology education in France. The aims were in terms of pupils’ attitudes towards technology (as related in many papers, e. g. de Vries, 1994; Jones, 1997; Compton & Jones, 1998; Gardner & Hill, 1999; Dugger, 2000) and in terms of the social and professional world of industrial production (this idea can also be found in many papers all over the world, e. g. Kantola et al. , 1999). It offered a broad perspective to prepare pupils for professional training. At that time, the middle school became the intermediate cycle where pupils had to make their own personal plan for school, and technology education was responsible for indicating possible career choices. On the other hand, general goals were broken down into concepts and skills. This second element of the curriculum described the organization of concepts based on four domains of reference: mechanical construction, electrical construction, and economics management and computer science. Clearly, the chosen references oriented technology education in Jacques Ginestie Analyzing Technology Education the world of industry towards electro-mechanical production, to the exclusion of other possibilities (Ginestie, 2001b). The main problem in introducing the TE curriculum has been to link the general aims to the specific fields (Sanders, 1999; Ginestie, 2004). These difficulties appeared with in-service teacher training programs. Earlier, the French Ministry of Education strongly affirmed the principle that TE was not a compendium of a little mechanics, a little electronics, and a business management with different aspects of computer science as a binder. To link these subjects together, teachers have had to connect general aims and specific concepts into an overall pedagogical project (Ginestie, 2005). Many in-service teacher training programs develop this orientation rather than aiming simply for the acquisition of specific knowledge. The implementation of technology education has not been reduced to the simple substitution of cooking or handicraft lessons by lessons in mechanics, but the true construction of a â€Å"new world† (Ginestie, 2003). Many original curriculum experiments were conducted at the same time to develop new teaching approaches (differential pedagogy, autonomous work, cooperative work, personal projects, etc. ) and to integrate the new references to industry, the market economy, and new labor organizations by taking into account the needs, design, production, marketing, use, and rationale of industrial methods. The major plan was to combine the pedagogical project with a theoretical industrial project method (IPM). We can note comparable initiatives in the UK at the same time (e. g. Hennessy & Murphy 1999). 1. 2 THE CURRICULUM EVOLUTIONS 1. 2. 1 1992-1999: Introduction of the Industrial Project Method (IPM) At the beginning of the Nineties, IPM appeared to be a good solution for implementing TE in the middle schools. Certainly, IPM has taken an overwhelming place in TE leaving no other alternatives for organizing technology education courses. This position was made official with different additions and modifications to the initial curriculum. The main decision to use IPM was published in 1992 by the French Ministry of Education. This method allows for the simultaneous definition of content and method for organizing the teaching learning process in TE. Everything was done so that each TE teacher plans and organizes a new project each year for each group of pupils. 1. 2. 2 1999-2004: The second curriculum Three problems arose that reduced the role of the project in TE. First, projects were mainly single production projects without any real progression from one year to the next. Secondly, the teachers’ profile evolved considerably during this period, with a large increase in new graduates from the advanced technological universities. Thirdly, the union of industrial science and technique, with teachers exerting pressure to open the curriculum to new technologies and new patterns of labor organization. The implementation of the new curriculum took four years, from 1996 until 1999. These changes tried to organize the relationship between the respective roles of the project and the concepts. For the first three years of middle school, pupils have to make different modules of the whole project, but they do not have to make all of it. The teacher’s task is to focus the attention of the pupils on specific points. During the last year, the pupils have to do a complete project (Ginestie, 2001c). The IPM is always a very strong frame of reference for TE in middle school (Ginestie, 2002). 1. 2. 3 2005: And so long, another change. There is actually a new phase of curriculum change. The Ministry of Education wants to promote the pupils individual choices about their future and by consequences the study they have to do. We can observe a real reduction of the TE as general and Jacques Ginestie Analyzing Technology Education Page 3 cultural subject. The general aspects are more and more developed as applications of sciences; the general method is not the process of design and technology but more and more the process of observation and experimentation (as we can find it in sciences education). The main knowledge properly identified as technological knowledge is banished and the first draft of this new curriculum promote the links with the scientific knowledge. The IPM is still a reference but it is more an object to study more than a method to use with pupils. 2. CONDITIONS OF STUDY IN TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION As we can see briefly, the TE curriculum is unstable as we can note through these major changes since the first writing. These changes are not linked with the technological evolution but mainly due to the lack of understanding about the place of TE in the general systems and to the misunderstanding about the aims of this subject and the knowledge taught. This lack of knowledge’s definition is patent when we observe the structure of the curriculum. This question of knowledge is not so easy to solve. Entry through analysing the conditions of study about TE’s knowledge supposes, in terms of questions for research, a strong agreement with two points: o There is some thing to study in technology education; o There would be multiple study conditions, perhaps different. These two points don’t make evidence. A majority of opinion is that TE is simply a kind of mix between handicraft activities and elements to highlight vocational training choices (Ginestie, 2000; Chatoney, 2003; Brandt-Pomares, 2003). In this posture, all the knowledge comes from sciences and TE is only a question of activities or applications. Evidently, this kind of entry weakens the position of TE as school subject and the recent French evolutions must be understood like this. It is the radical opposite we choose to work in our laboratory. First orientation we choose is to understand the significance of the anthropological approach. 2. 1 THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH The anthropological approach allows registering knowledge in a theory of the activity and in a social field identified. The articulation between task and activity is incomplete if we do not speak about the manner to make. The manner to make relieves of the technique employed by the person to realise the task, that it is appointed by the situation or by him. The articulation between the task and the technique defines a know-how that expresses the manner to realise a determined task type (Ginestie, 1995). To get off this private organization either to account for the activity, or to clarify the manner to make, supposes the utilisation of language mediation. To tell the manner to make necessitate proceeding to an extraction of the individual praxis to elaborate a praxeological organisation, significant of the manner to realise the type of tasks and the context in which these tasks are registered. In fact, it concerns to give the senses in the typical articulation between tasks and techniques by elaborating a field of meaning in connection with a technology, perhaps with a theory. It is this elaboration of meanings on the practice that defines, in the anthropological perspective, knowledge. This approach allows rendering account organisations of knowledge as relationships between praxis, taken in the senses of the activity oriented to finality, and a field of significations that allows referring practice to a technology and/or to a theory (Ginestie, 2001c). The epistemological entry is interested in the nature of knowledge (well obviously in the evoked anthropological perspective above) and to the demarcation of a field of reference (Ginestie, 1997). Some articulations allow thinking these fields, objects to know that are fastened there and the manner of which they are or been able being, taken into account in the framework of a technology education: i. The world of technical objects, their mode of existence and social organizations by and in order that these objects exist so as to register the technological education in the human and social activity field; ii. The articulations between functioning, function, structure, form in the senses of a lighting of interdependences and the different manners to describe an object; iii. The articulation design, production, utilisation notably for marks given on process put at stake in each of terms, but equally, of a more global manner, either in a specific approach on an object, or from an evolutionist viewpoint, in a perspective of an history of technical activities; iv. The articulation object, activity, language in an ergonomic inscription (from the thing to the object, the object to the tool, the tool to the instrument) as revealers of the bonds between gestures and techniques, techniques and technologies. The report to techniques is thought in this framework as a demarcation; the report to languages notices the elaboration of symbols (in a relationship meaning, meant) but equally tools to think the world of technical objects and to act in this world. Well obviously, this qualification of fields is a bit coarse, it needs to be specified, notably if we want to be able to read existent curricular organisations, perhaps to propose evolution of these organizations. The curricular approach is one way to understand the knowledge’s organizations for teaching purposes. The problem is not the transposition of praxis but the transposition of praxeological organizations. It is not difficult to ask to pupils making something, but it is difficult allowing them to construct the meaningful on what they make. Certainly, the important instability of our curriculum is based on this difficulty to elaborate this meaningful. Furthermore, the curricular entry is envisaged here as one of the stages of the didactic transposition process: that the placement in text of teaching objects in an prescriptive aimed that has to organize the teaching activity, to the breadth of the production of these teaching objects in the framework of the class to elaborate some objects of study for pupils, objects of study that are going to determine activities of pupils. This placement in text defines the matter to teach and induces the manner to teach it. 2. 2 SCHOOL INSTITUTIONALIZATION We can thus notice the specification and identification work that operates in this process of scholastic institutionalisation. School institution is characterized as the placement of interactions, surely tensions, between three poles: the pupil, the professor and the knowledge. As soon as we wish to describe these interactions, we are confronted with a problem of methodology, methodology that derives of course the framework in which place our study. Thus, analysing the conditions of the study is going to concern us in what the school institution puts to the study and the manner that’s this study functions. This crossing of analysis rests on the articulation between task and activity: o The task is significant to the knowledge put at stake in the elaborated situation by the teacher in the framework that is fixed (curricular organizations, conditions of exercises, particular constraints, etc. ); o The activity is significant to the work undertaken by the pupil to progress in the task that is appointed it by the teacher and representative of the knowledge’s learning process. Jacques Ginestie Analyzing Technology Education Page 5 It concerns to define a framework of analysis that allows looking the functioning of a teaching situation (Ginestie, 1992). The initial framework, elaborated by these analyses method, does not prejudge of: o Knowledge put at stake, their presence or not and their school form; o Organizations elaborated by the teacher so as to organize conditions of the study of these knowledge; o Activities developed by the pupil that are induced by the organization put in game for this study. These two cross analyses, task and activity, characterize the interactions between three complementary existing logics but that can also appear as rival: the logic of subject, the logic of teaching and the logic of learning. The first one follows from knowledge organisation and requires an epistemological study; the second one takes in account the professional activity of the teacher considering his organisation, his style, his manner to do, the professional gestures he develops; the last one can be highlight by the learning theories, specifically the viewpoint of socio-constructivism theories. Many works have shown the incidence of these logics on the school situations and how they are inscribed in different references and different temporality. In fact, stressing these three logics in a school institution can be looked of different manners. But, for ourselves, we are really interested by what it happens in a class; specifically, we try to analyze the effects produced by this placement in tension (Ginestie, 1996). On the one hand, this approach allows the identification of the organisational and structural elements that act and interact in the process of teaching-learning. In this perspective, the task appears as the preferential expression of the teaching’s logic. It express simultaneously what is at stake, the context in which it is situated, what it is waited and what it is necessary that the pupil makes to achieve the task. In this senses, the task is a concentrated expression of a totality of values, models, elements of theories, knowledge that base the subject’s references and that identify the teacher in a teaching population. The analysis of the task is therefore significant how curriculum is implemented, in the particular intimacy of a specific class. It is equally significant activities that it induced at pupils. It is also characteristic of the epistemological, curricular, didactical or pedagogical presupposition (Ginestie, Brandt-Pomares, 1998). On the other hand, the passage to the real supposes to put in stake an analysis of the activity of the pupil. His perusal of the task, the manner he has to organize its activity and to orient its actions, what it takes in consideration and what it does not see even, allow characterising his learning process. In this perspective, we can notice difficulties that he meets, the manner whose he processes them, adopted strategies and the planning of his different actions (Ginestie, Andreucci, 1999). Reading activity through the description of the task allows proceeding pupil’s activity with some precise characteristic elements of the task. We can value difficulties met by the pupil and identify which are relevant to the context (the formulation of the task, the organization of conditions of the study, the use of models, materials, etc.) and which notices obstacles to the learning (Amigues, Ginestie, 1991). 3. SCHOOL ORGANISATION AND PUPIL’S WORK Organizations implemented at school, in the classroom and by the teacher have a direct influence on the work of the pupil and on the result of this work. Concerning the technology education (but it is not specific for these subject), it is important to specify and to define what is waited from the pupil, recourses he disposes to get there, the manner whose he gets there. Therefore, we have to understand the evaluation the Jacques Ginestie Analyzing Technology Education Page 6 nature of the goal, the manner to get there but also the breach of the goal; everything that allows to bring in front understanding about the process of knowledge’s transmission-appropriation. From this point, we are not in a curricular approach that has for object to define contents of teaching and to determine goals to reach; we discuss goals fixed by the institution, their institutional pertinence, their coherence in a scholastic organization datum. Of course, the temptation is great to believe that we could have act on prescription as to reduce these gaps. The evolution of curriculum shows that this kind of actions is limited because it enters in social negotiations that the research can illuminate to defect to inspire them, even to affect them. 3. 1 TASK ANALYSE Our entry by the situations is an analytic viewpoint to render real situations of classify or in a prospective perspective to think possible evolution. For that, the crossed analysis task-activity presents a good framework. The task’s analyze gives some understanding about the placement in text (or the placement in word) of the object of study. This placement in text constitutes one of the last stages of the didactical transposition, stage in the course of which the teacher anticipates and executes the production of the object of study that it makes return in its class. Many indicators allow characterising some ingredients of the organisation that it counts to put in place: o The nature of knowledge that he exhibits,  o The display of the result expected at the end of the sequence, o The spatial and temporal organization type that he puts in act, o The strategies that he gives to orchestrate the activity of pupils, o The different levels of evaluation on which he counts to lean (evaluation his activity, the progress of his sequence, the activity of pupils, the breach of results), o The devices of mediation and remediation that he envisages, o etc. Others indicators allow to notice explicit or implicit models that he uses for the organization of this production: o model of the logic of pupil learning organized around acquisition of competence noticed to the breadth of significant observable behaviours versus a constructivist approach based on the elaboration of knowledge; o Model of the activity of pupils according to a logic of smooth away difficulties versus a logic of confrontation to obstacles; o Model of the teaching organisation according to a logic of guidance of the action of the pupil versus a logic of problem-solving; o Model of the organization of knowledge references that one can caricature in a binary alternative: in technology education, there is nothing to know versus there is only knowledge. The construction of these models supposes the elaboration of a strong theoretical reference by which we can predict the appearance of the objects of study and how they become into school organisations. Of course, we front three different viability risks: one is an instant risk about what’s happen with the course that is going to unfold here, at this hour, in this  classroom, with this teacher and these pupils; second is a progression risk about what happen in the duration of the class, the articulation of the different sessions and their succession; third is durability risk about the permanency of a teaching at such level, in such class, in such context, according to evolution, development, interaction with the other subjects as a kind of general educational ecology. Jacques Ginestie Analyzing Technology Education Page 7 . 3. 2 ACTIVITY ANALYSE The analyse of the activity, as for it, tries to understand the logic of pupils in their evolution to achieve the task that is confided them and the manner of which they adapt conditions organised by the teacher. Retained indicators refer directly to theories of the apprenticeship, notably through: o The strategy they adopt, o The manner to organize their actions, o The manner to notice and to anticipate difficulties and to overcome them or to avoid them,  o The manner to notice or not constraints imposed by the situation and to take into account them or no, o etc. Analysing the activity of pupils is a powerful tool that allows to notice, to qualify and to valorise gaps between what the teacher waits them, what they obtain really and the manner that they use to reach this result. It concerns, on the one hand, to give indicators of efficiency of a device concerning learning and, on the other hand, indicators on the manner to conceive plan. To adopt a criterion of efficiency of plan put in place by teachers is not easy. That supposes to place the question of the acquisition of knowledge by pupils to the heart of the educational act, what is not without consequences in TE. This challenge is important if we want to reinforce the position and the role of the TE as a general education subject. Through our French experience, but also through some related experiences in different countries, we have change of period. The first time of innovation and implementation is definitively done. Many countries know a decrease period with disaffection for TE: decrease of budget, reduction of school time devoted to the subject. At the same time, more and more teams develop investigation in TE. May be, we have to diffuse the results of these investigations and to develop the support that we can provide to the teacher but also to the curriculum designers, this is our challenge to bring our contribution to TE. ICT and Education in Indonesia Harina Yuhetty I. Introduction  In the beginning globalization is fully believed to be able to lead to greater economic development in the sense of greater market scale, which in turn will increase the gross national product. So people believed that poor countries or third world countries will develop faster, thus the economic gap between the rich developed countries and the third world countries will diminished. However, facts show the contrary. It is true that the gross national product of countries will increase, but the gap between the income of the rich and poor countries is also getting wider. The main reason for this gap is the extra-ordinary growth of information as a result of the development of communications and information technologies in northern developed countries which have full control of these technologies. This information boom enables multinational companies to compete with changes in market demands, new products and new technologies, which in turn can boost the economy of a country, increase its efficiency and win global dominance. On the other hand, in third world countries which are also known as southern hemisphere countries, they have difficulties to seek, to receive, to process and to produce information. The lack of appropriate information at the right time will result in low productivity, low quality research works, and waste of time to pursue information and even to do research which actually had been done by others or in other countries. Indonesia as a third world country has a great concern over this deficiency and believe that the digital divide should be reduced so that there will be an economic recovery. The Indonesian government is determined to utilize the information technology effectively to support efforts to increase the national competitiveness. This aspiration is reflected in the Indonesian Presidential Decree Number 50 year 2000 about the establishment of the Coordination Team of Telemathics of Indonesia. This team consists of all the ministers in the cabinet including the Minister of Education. Its tasks are among others to define the government policy in the area of telemathics; to decide the phases and priorities of development in the area of telemathics and its uses in Indonesia; to monitor and control the implementation of telemathics in Indonesia; and to report the development of telemathics in Indonesia to the President. The government realizes that the success of the development and utilization of telemathics depends mostly on the infrastructure which can provide easy access, and also ensure availability of information and subjects. To meet these three provisions, a competent human resources is a necessity. That is why the preparation of qualified human resources is given priority, because it requires hard work and takes time. Meanwhile, we also know that scarcity of and low quality human resources in the area of Information and Communications Technologies can delay mastery of communication and information technology. As such, the government through the Minister of Efficiency of State Apparatus as Head of the Coordination Team of Telemathics of Indonesia in his letter number 133/M. PAN/5/2001 had drawn up a Five-Year Action Plan for the Development and Implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Indonesia. This plan among others includes a plan for the implementation of the use of telemathics in the area of education starting from 2001 until 2005, which includes: * Develop collaboration between ICT industry and ICT educational institutions through training and R & D collaboration, and found a network for skill and capacity development * Develop and implement Curricula of ICT. * Use ICTs as an essential part of the curricula and learning tools in schools/universities and training centers * Establish distance education programs including participation in Global Development Learning and other networks * Facilitate the use of internet for more efficient teaching and learning From this action plan we can see that the emphasis of human resources quality improvement is especially geared on the provision and expansion of education of human resources in ICT area. Besides that, utilization of ICT for education and learning purposes, as an effort to fill digital divide, which in turn is hoped to be able to improve the national competitiveness to revive the economy is another emphase. II. ICT in Indonesia As mentioned above, the success of utilization of ICT is among others depends on the infrastructure which includes the telecommunication network, the availability of internet facilities and the use of internet. In general the development of ICT in Indonesia nowadays is less encouraging compared to the developed countries, or even compared to neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and others. To give a general picture of the ICT condition in Indonesia let us consider the data quoted from the Center for Research and Application of Information and Electronic Technologies of the Office for the Research and Application of Technologies, 2001 as follows. A. Public Telephone Lines for 203,456,005 populace 1. The number of Telephone kiosks 228,862 2. The number of Telephone booths 345,307 3. Telephone patrons 6,304,798 B. Internet 1. Internet Service Providers 40 2. General Access Speed rate of ISPs 15 KBPS 3. Patrons of ISPs 511,000 with 1,980,000 users ( < 1% of Indonesian population).