Duty vs. Desire

The road to self-actualization is one filled with forks. One must constantly make decisions that affect character and one’s ultimate destination in life. Some travel this road very consciously, making informed and well thought out decisions that they hope will lead them in the right direction. Others live haphazardly, not taking into account the possible consequences of poor decisions. Often times one of the most major forks is a decision between moral obligation and private passion.Pressing matters of family or work may call one to put personal aspirations on hold for the sake of the whole. But does one necessitate abandonment of the other? Which way will lead to a happier life? Tom Wingfield, the disillusioned narrator of Tennessee Williams’ Depression-era play, â€Å"The Glass Menagerie,† must battle through this specific plight. He struggles to find the answer to the question of when desire overrides duty. All humans are blessed with a plethora of gifts, but all have one in common: life.This being said, there is one common humanistic duty: the obligation to live that life in the most satisfying manner in the hopes of reaching fulfillment. However, the individual decides which manner is most pleasing to himself or herself, and one person’s idea of a life well lived is wholly different from another’s. This fact should not be disdained, but embraced. Diversity is what allows for unique and inspirational perspectives that can create new ideas and changes in society and culture.Nevertheless, there are those that do not share this view, which leads to an all-too-common clash of wishes – between parents and children, subordinates and superiors, students and elders, etc. Tom Wingfield conflicts with his mother, Amanda, in this way. Her only wish is that her children, Tom and Laura, fulfill the classic American Dream of hard work and success. However, Tom has dreams of being a writer, and Laura is too painfully shy to even l eave the house. Clearly there will be at least one person displeased at the end of the day.The Wingfields live lives of short fuses hidden under good intentions – Tom and Laura do not wish to disregard their mother entirely, but they have their own wishes that she does not respect. There are daily battles over who has the right to decide the lives of the family. Tom rightfully uncovers the truth that in order to achieve true happiness in self-actualization, one must choose the paths one takes alone. As stated above, some people truly put thought into their decisions, while others do not.This done not imply that the thought-out choice is the superior one. One can reflect upon an important decision for weeks, months, or years, and still make the wrong choice. If this is true, how is one supposed to make the proper choice? How does one settle on the fork leading to the happier life? The answer is blunt and cruel. Sometimes there is no â€Å"happier life. † Many situations present themselves with no clear better choice. Tom debates his ever-growing desire to desert Amanda and Laura and live the life he feels he would enjoy infinitely more.He convinces himself that this would be his happier life, and does leave in the end, but not without some unwanted baggage. Wherever he goes, he is haunted by guilt of leaving Laura behind. It is evident that even when one does all the right things, when one takes into account outcome and consequences, and still makes the decision alone, it is very possible that there is no silver lining. One must simply do one’s best to make the decisions one feels good about and live with them.

Henistbury Head

Henistbury Head is a headland on the coast of Bournemouth in England. It was made a SSSI (a site of special scientific interest) and contains an ancient Iron Age fortification and settlement called the Double Dykes. In this essay I will be explaining to you the problems that Henistbury Head encounters and the possible solutions. It attracts over 1 million visitors a year, who come to see the wide variety of exotic animals that come to Henistbury Head to breed, these exotic animals include: the Dartford Warbler, the Cetti's Warbler, the Song Thrush, the Skylark, the Kestrel, the Barn Owl, the Little Owl, the Otter, the Water Vole, Galloway Cattle, the Common Blue Butterfly, the Rabbit, Black- headed Gull and many more. Without this habitat to live in a lot of the local animals would die out because they rely on the woodland and grassland to live in and to find their food sources in. Also if this habitat were allowed to erode away the variety of plants that it harbours would all cease to exist in this area. Another point is the beach has a lot of beach houses along the coast, which each cost over i100,000 so it brings a lot of money to this particular area of Bournemouth. The Reasons why it was made an SSSI was because of its variety of wildlife that does not live in any other areas of this country and to allow it to erode away it would lose this status as the wildlife gradually ceases to exist. There are many methods of dealing with this case of erosion and the visitors and the residents all have different opinions on what should be done to save Henistbury Head. The residents in Bournemouth would like a sea wall built to protect their houses and to preserve the beach. This is a very costly method and the consequences of this would be that the noise and the damage from the construction workers could affect the wildlife and destroy the environment they were trying to protect. The visitors would like to leave the beach as it and to do this they would provide beach nourishment to the coast to prevent it from being eroded and spoiling it. The effects of this would be that the residents homes would be unprotected. The plants and wildlife live in a delicate environment and the effects of adding anything to the beach could be that it upsets the environmental balance and the plants and wildlife will be either reduced or will relocate themselves. The natural processes that Bournemouth council are trying to protect the Headland against is erosion and longshore drift. Erosion is where acid rain, bird droppings and the sea are eating away at the cliff and headland. The longshore drift on the west was protected against this by building a long groyne but this has trapped a lot of shingle and sand there leaving the east side of Henistbury Head vulnerable to erosion and longshore drift. The options that Bournemouth council have produced to prevent Henistbury Head from being eroded away are the following: Letting the headland erode away naturally and not waste any money (this will mean that the residents homes and the cost will be unprotected). The second option is to continue to nourish the beach with sand and shingle, by bringing them in from offshore (this is where you pump tonnes of shingle into the beaches,this will protect the coast but will not protect the headland and the residents homes). The third option is to build more gabions and groynes (gabions are cages filled with large rocks, these break the force of the waves and slow the movement of loose beach material, this is a very cost effective method and will protect the coast and the headland , groynes are long piles of rocks that stretch into the sea building this will protect the coast). The final option is to build a sea wall all the way along the beach at the east end of Henistbury Head (this is a long and thick concrete wall and it will protect the coast, the headland and the residents homes but it could cause the wildlife to leave Henistbury Head). The option that I would choose would be a compromise I would build gabions and groynes and I would continue to provide the beach with nourishment also I would shorten the length of the long groyne therefore allowing more shingle to flow freely. This would be a cost effective method as you do not have to pay a lot for these resources. The reasons I would use this instead of the other methods is because it will please both the residents and the visitors and would be very cheap to accomplice.

Assignment #1: Best Practices

January 4, 2013 BUS 5668: Cases in Applied Project Management Assignment #1: Best Practices From 1940 to present, Project Management has continuously advanced from line managers using a small set of processes that were considered nice to have to the formal assignment of one individual assigned as the Project Manager that utilized a formal methodology by which to manage the project. Often the term â€Å"best practices† is referenced within a defined methodology. Why must an organization capture best practices? What are the determining factors in base-lining a best practice? Can an organization have too many best practices?What are the impacts of establishing too many best practices that mandated by senior management for use on all projects? Provide one example of a Project Management best practice. (Video Lecture 2 and independent research) What are Best Practices? According to the Business Dictionary, And According to the Business Dictionary, â€Å"A Best Practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark (Business Dictionary). † Organizations that have had constant success have adapted a unique version of the best practice method that accommodates what they do.Many organizations use best practices to do the following (but not limited to): †¢ Develop an understanding of the necessary requirements †¢ Focusing on how to deliver the service / continue to deliver the service †¢ Improve the perception of the customer(s) †¢ Eliminate wasteful spending/investments †¢ Increase productivity and employee morale †¢ Improve Risk Management Using the best practices listed above along with other best practices the organization deem necessary, organizations can create a baseline to accommodate their organizations.A Base-line is defined as the current version of a project plan that guides project performance and against which the project m anager compares actual project performance. (Portny, el. ) When an organization is creating or enhancing a base-line, the organization has to take into consideration the following: †¢ How will the best practice benefit the organization †¢ Who will the best practice have the most impact on (customer, organization, stakeholders, etc. ) †¢ What is the return on investments for the organization by implementing the best practices.Although best practices is the ideal method to use when operating an organization, not using the best practices method as it is meant to be used is just as bad as not having a process in place to run the organization. Time and time again, many organizations lose site of what best practices really are because they set too many goals as best practices. As a result, the organization fails to improve and keep up with competitors due to losing sight because they have so many best practices they are trying to focus on. The idea behind the best ractices is to ensure the organization is operating on one accord throughout the organization. By implementing too many best practices may result in the disorganization within the organization. Everyone would not be on one accord which can lead to miscommunication and every department doing what they see fit. Having too many best practices is just as bad as not having any at all. By implementing too many best practices, the organization have a higher probability to failing due to no realistic opportunity of implementing all of the best practices.And the best practices implemented will not be fulfill 100% due to lack of resources because resources are spread thin due to the large amount of best practices. Also, every best practice may not be suitable for every department within the organization. By implementing best practices that will not be beneficial to department will become a waist of resources, spending, and as a result the project has a high probability of failing. An example of a Proj ect Management best practice would be the implementation of ITIL within the NASA organization.ITIL provides a practical, no-nonsense framework for identifying, planning, delivering and supporting IT services to the business. The NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) is ITIL aligned. As a member of the NASA Shared Services Center, I had the opportunity to work on the implementation of the Enterprise Service Desk (ESD). The ESD offers 24Ãâ€"7 technical support to the entire NASA Agency. This department was stood up on the premises of offering the best IT support at the lowest cost. The NSSC has been using this best practice since it’s start-up.I for one believe the ITIL best practice has brought much success to the NSSC. References: Last, F. M. (Year Published) Book. City, State: Publisher. Portny, Stanley E. (2008) Project Management: Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling Projects. New Jersey John wWley & Sons No author. (n. d. ) Business Dictionary. Retrieved on 01/09/2012. Ret rieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/best-practice. html#ixzz2HuDx20hu No author. (05. 10. 2012) ITIL. Retrieved on 01/09/2012. Retrieved from http://www. itil-officialsite. com/AboutITIL/WhatisITIL. aspx

A general view of God from a Christian perspective Essay

A general view of God from a Christian perspective - Essay Example I t is clear that these elements continue to haunt the religious When the Bible was compiled. In Parables, Jesus warns about the darkness that may corrupt Christianity. First and foremost is the idea that darkness is everywhere. Light must be created in order to fight the darkness. Similarly, God is all Omni-benevolent but the question of the test must be considered. If salvation was that easy, then all individuals would achieve salvation. The fact is that God himself says that humans will be tested with elements of hunger, warfare, plague in order to re-emphasize the idea of the test. This same notion corrupted Christianity. All these notions became a crucial element where finger pointing leads to power. Power corrupted Christianity because it allowed the elites to took control and dictate resources. In times of despair, individuals that were seeking the truth became the felons. As a matter of fact, many true Christians were persecuted because they stood out for the truth. The few a nd pure that stood against the Church or clergy were at once banished or killed because they were dangerous to the elite. The few those rose up against this notion were persecuted. 3. Violence is a key problem for our current society. Choose one example of violence, describe it and relate this issue to some aspect of a religious perspective. Violence is a huge issue in religion and society because it incites human emotion. In today’s society school violence has caught the attention of nearly everyone in the United States.

MANAGING IN A MIXED ECONOMY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

MANAGING IN A MIXED ECONOMY - Essay Example The LU provides transportation to over a billion individuals annually, a number almost equivalent to that, transported by the National Rail Network (NRN). LU’s land portfolio of more than 4,000 ha, a labour force of more than 19,000 individuals, and its coverage of most parts of London, Essex, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, all serve to show the immense significance of this transport system. The Transport for London (TfL) is a public institution currently tasked with the responsibility of managing LU and other modes of transport throughout London. The principal strategy of the TfL is to ensure excellent performance of London’s transportation network, making it distinctive and more efficient in comparison to other cities around the world, while providing London dwellers with ample access to transportation. The TfL also strives to raise the performance standards of the LU in regard to environmental protection, hence making the system a global leader not only in addres sing the challenges of urban transportation, but also in environment conservation. Significant changes towards the better have already been attained in the mentioned efforts, but there are still prevalent challenges, especially in upgrading the Tube to modern standards. Background Based on historical analysis of the London Underground, major development inhibitors have been present, and particularly under investment. Poor financial backing, prior to alteration of managerial structure, had rendered the LU outdated and unreliable. The principal challenge of the body responsible for managing the LU is, therefore, attempting to continually develop a safe and reliable transport service (Great Britain Parliament House of Commons 2010, p. 42). It is, however, imperative to note that while safety and reliability are crucial attributes of an effective transport service, they should not be the sole focus of management. Other features should be accorded equal attention, and these include, time taken during travelling, as well as, quality of services offered in the course of the journey. This is because; most passengers require a fast mode of transportation, especially in the contemporary economic environment where time is a crucial resource. Quality should not be overlooked, since; if customers are granted comfort and proper service during the travel, there is a high likelihood of using the LU other than alternative means of transport. Quality of transportation and proper care of passengers are, clearly, features that London Underground’s members of staff hold with utmost regard. This is evident from the staff’s ease of accessibility and constant willingness to help passengers whenever need arises. The extensive consideration of quality is also apparent from the installation of high-tech security and information systems, which increase customers’ convenience when using the LU. Additionally, there are numerous and regular investments to increase the T ube’s accessibility for passengers (Dunwoody 2008, p. 102). Nevertheless, the management and effective running of the LU is not devoid of challenges. The primary challenge is to sustain constant transportation of passengers, while still trying to transform the

Differeng approaches to Strategic HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Differeng approaches to Strategic HRM - Essay Example This implies that people (employees) form key components of an organisation development intervention. Thematic Analysis As presented in this case study, the Company "cockpit for you" is struggling with multiple problems, which it has to solve in order to achieve its short-term and long-term objectives. The thematic areas that have negative influence on the company should be critically considered by the management in formulating the strategic policies. This is core in organizational development because, if the influences emanating from the thematic areas are not addressed properly, the company risk loosing the targets it sets to achieve. In this regard, the areas include the following. First, restructuring of a company is not easy since the company has to spend a lot of money in consulting for the best option that it should adopt. Moreover, the situation becomes worse if the restructuring is hurriedly done without formulating and following the procedure (Armstrong 2006, p. 27). Consid ering the latest restructuring measures in the company, the modes of operation and employee relations changed, prompting the workers and management to adjust to the new production system. The alterations also led to changes in the company’s niche market, which affected the overall sales of the products in the market due to stiff competition. The little competition that the company experiences also influences the operations in the organization. This is because limited competition reduces the probability of engaging in creativity and innovation in the production and the delivery of services (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe 2006, p. 77). In fact, it is mainly through competitive business practices, which could enable the workers innovate new ways of manufacturing its products. Lack of healthy competition seemed to promote monopoly in the production of goods in the company and could lead to price fluctuation (Blyton & Turnbull 2006, p. 102). The other area that has negative influence on the organization is the fact that it has a bad reputation as an employer compared to the others operating in the region. For instance, it pays its workers poor salaries, making it less attractive to employees and job seekers. This problem of poor pay for the employees reduces their motivation, thereby interfering with the production of quality goods and low returns due to poor sales (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe 2006, p. 79). Currently, many people are attracted to quality products that guarantee them better utilities and value for their money. As pointed out in the case, the company is still very marked, and owner-initiative and creativity of the employees are not valued or even blocked. This aspect is very detrimental to the success of the organization because the practice limits the workers’ participation in decision making (Blyton & Turnbull 2006, p. 108). An employee whose ideas are valued would be motivated to propose for better means of production and service delivery, th us being able to contribute positively in an attempt to fulfil the company goals. In the organization, there was a corporate culture that the employees and the management identified with (Legge 2005, p. 105). Essentially, it is the organizational culture that defines the relationship among the workers, management and stakeholders and the attitude towards work (Cole 2006, p. 32). Since the existing corporate culture

Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proposal - Assignment Example These factors raised issues for the company with regard to Supply Chain Management (SCM) which further caused substantial decrease in stakeholders’ confidence. In this regard, the company will be provided with the opportunity of devising as well as implementing better policies and standards with the objective of improving business operations of its suppliers on a global context (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., â€Å"Ethical Sourcing†). Solution In order to mitigate the above described SCM related issue, Walmart decided to undergo a massive restructuring process. In this context, the suppliers of the company were required to be ISO 9000 certified in order to provide goods to the company adhering to the specified quality standards which would not only assure an effective holistic approach in its SCM practices, but shall also prove beneficial in revitalizing stakeholders’ confidence. Moreover, with the ISO certification of suppliers, the company also expected to vitalize its ability to assure that the goods procured are in accordance with the specified quality standards. ... All these initiatives have apparently aided the company and its suppliers to perform their business operations applying increased ethical concerns in terms of quality and transparency (Plambeck and Denend, â€Å"The Greening of Walmart’s Supply Chain†). Why did you pick this topic? SCM is determined to be an important element for retailing and other related companies to perform their business operations in an effective manner. Moreover, with the growing demand for superior quality of goods and/or services are observed among consumers in worldwide market segments. The case of Walmart in relation to the SCM issues has been adopted for identifying the importance of ISO 9000 certification among companies which presents a relatively challenging and unique doctrine to be studied. What is it about this topic that interests you? The topic is based on the notion which signifies that SCM practices, within the organizational context are determined to be an important element which is essential to procure quality goods or services in an efficient manner. It is worth mentioning in this context that with the development of technology and globalization effects, the market competition has intensified. In this respect, consumers are also recognized to be demanding for superior goods at competitive prices. This particular understanding can be apparently observed with reference to the SCM practiced within Walmart wherein the suppliers are required to be ISO certified in order to assure that the goods procured are in accordance with the specified quality standards. Moreover, this topic also seemed to be emphasizing on the importance of principles and standards for conducting SCM operations in an ethical manner within the global periphery. What

Discuss the effect of tourism on the United Kingdoms economy Essay

Discuss the effect of tourism on the United Kingdoms economy - Essay Example Support from the community is a very important element in tourism this it is an activity that entirely affects the community. Costs and benefits of tourism reach almost everyone in one way or another. Analysis of economic impact offers concrete estimates of the economic interdependencies and a better insight on the role and importance of tourism in a country’s economic development Tourism activities also entail economic costs, which involve government spending on infrastructure so as to improve services to tourists, direct costs incurred by tourism businesses, together with the cost of congestion and other related costs barred by individuals in the society. Even though the European and the UK economy have not been performing as compared to bother parts of the world since the end of global financial recession, the impact of tourism to the economy has relatively risen in the recent times. From the first instance, the question of the importance and effects of tourism to the economy seems as if it is straightforward to answer. Several researches have been carried out as GB Tourism survey, GB Day visit survey and the International Passenger survey to ascertain the impacts of tourism on a country’s economy. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), there has been a growth of economic importance of tourism to UK economy since 2012. Tourism industry comprises of 9% of the GDP and generates millions of job opportunities in the country. The industry performed better than other notable industries like retail, financial services and manufacturing. With such ability to create employment opportunities and resilience in demand, the significance of tourism as a tool for job creation and economic development is very clear since it contributed over 12% of all the jobs that were created in 2012. Reduction in punitive levels of taxes and an introduction of less restrictive visa regimes has also boosted the industry, therefore, contributing to

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Management - Assignment Example Starbucks purchases Fair Trade coffee. This arrangement helps local farmers by guaranteeing a minimal price of $1.26 per pound of wholesale coffee. It also provides them with technology transfers and access to financial assistance such as short term loans to finance the crops of Coffee. Starbucks believes in the value of implementing wellness programs to help out different stakeholder groups including customers, suppliers, and employees. Starbucks purchased 269 million pounds of coffee in 2010; 84% of its purchases came from C.A.F.E. Practices approved suppliers (Starbucks, 2011). The Starbucks stores are designed to save as much energy as possible through the acquisition of superior technology and innovative processes. Water conservation is another practice that Starbucks Cafe practices. The average American uses more than 6 times more water per year than the average African. The company supports social causes such as world hunger and the AIDS/HIV epidemic. The company refers to its employees as baristas. The baristas are supposed to help the company create the â€Å"Starbucks Experience.† The wastage that Starbucks stores produce is minimized through the implementation of its recycling program. The implementation of the firm’s recycling program is customized per store since it is dependent on the availability of existing recycling programs in the community. # 2--Week 3 Discussion Question 2 A company is constantly in the news due to its dominance of the retail marketplace is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the most successful retail store in the history of the United States. The company creates value by offering products at lower prices than the competition. The firm has a superb supply chain that allows the company to source products at lower costs. The company also uses bulk purchasing to achieve savings. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest employer with over 2.1 million employees worldwide (Walmart, 2011). The competitive advantage the company enjoy s is composed of a variety of factors which include: better customer service, lower prices, superb marketing, size of product offering, and superior locations. The firm offers over one million products to its customers. Wal-Mart is a multinational corporation that is publicly traded in the NYSE that operates in 28 countries. My employer does business in the United States solely. The core strategy used by Wal-Mart of beating the competition in terms of price is not aligned with the strategy the company I work for uses. My employer uses a differentiation strategy to attract customers. The products and services offered by my employer are unique, which is contrary to Wal-Mart’s strategy of offering common household products. An attribute or characteristics that both Wal-Mart and my employer share is a commitment towards customer service. A second characteristic that both companies share is the existence of an e-commerce operation. Wal-Mart has an online store that sell is product s to the entire global customer base. The e-commerce operation my employer uses differs in that the company focuses only on the domestic marketplace. # 3-- Week 3 Discussion Question 3 People eat outside their homes more often when the economy is doing well and their disposable income is higher. During bad economic times upper level restaurants are hurt more than cheap products. The industry leader in the fast food industry, McDonald’s, achieved global sales of $24 billion and $4.94 billion in net income

Huichol Indians Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Huichol Indians - Term Paper Example When the spaniards invaded this place, the Huichols took refuge in Sierra. While some scholars are of the view that Huichols have aboded this place ever since the beginning. The Huichols primarily had five tribes having diverse cultures CITATION Lat \l 1033 . B.Hearths and Diffusions After the invasion of spanish soliders which made Huichol indians to further move into the depths of the mountains, the â€Å"Franciscan missionaries† came with their agenda of converting the indians to christianity. For this sole purpose they raised â€Å"four churches†. The motive of these missionaries was lost in vain as the Huichol indians remained true to their ancestrol religion and the churches built are in ruins. Although it is believed that Huichol indians were divided into five tribes, yet the recent studies tell of only three tribes namely the huautuari, the tuapuritari and the tateikitari. CITATION Lat \l 1033 II. Evaluation of Habitats. A. Physical Geography Huichol indians are among the primitive cultures and religion. They are settled in and around the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas and Durango in western central Mexico. They live in isolation of mountains of Sierra Madre Occidental. CITATION Lat \l 1033 The Huichol Homeland CITATION Lat \l 1033 B. ... Chapalagana bridge 1995 CITATION Lat \l 1033 C. Climate/Natural Hazards Due to the high altitudes, the climate Huichol indians experience is very dry and severe. The high altitude climate is quite cold specially in winters while the lower mesas has moderate tropical weather. The Huichols mostly remain in their ranchos built on a suitable elevation from the ground which keeps them safe from the extreme temperatures. One of the main problems the Huichols face is the shortage of water on high altitudes. In summers they move to their ranches built at a little higher elevation as the climate around the river gets very hot and humid. D. Flora and Fauna The plants found in the Huichol region are quite diverse.The most important among the flora of this region is the divine cactus. Its common names are â€Å"Peyote†, â€Å"Buttons† and â€Å"Mescalito†. This small spine-less, crown-shaped cactus grows under bushes and is of a gray-green color. It has hallucinogenic powers and belongs to the family of â€Å"cactaceae†. CITATION Lat \l 1033 CITATION Lat \l 1033 Another common plant of this area is Lavendar Pebbles or Graptopetalum amethystinum. This plant grows slowly but steadily. CITATION Lat \l 1033 The area is abundant in pine-oak forests. This region has a variety of plants both of mountaineous regions as well as deserts. In the lower parts the subtropical genres include Acacia, Ficus, Agave and Bursera along with many such kinds. CITATION Lat \l 1033 The fauna of these regions include the various wildlife species including jaguar, pumas, white-taled deers, white boars, skunks, iguanas and rabbits. Yellow winged Cacique is also a native bird of this area along with Black-Throated Magpie jay. CITATION Lat \l 1033 III. Population Characteristics A.

How would woman be effected if Roe v. Wade was over turned Essay

How would woman be effected if Roe v. Wade was over turned - Essay Example According to the online dictionary, abortion refers to a premature or miscarriage, that does not result into giving birth. Abortion was legal in most states before 1880, when it was banned in most states except when the life of the woman was in danger, due to medical complications. Abortion was illegal up to 1973, during this time, anti-abortion movements were largely influenced by efforts to make sure women remained in their traditional roles and as a backlash on birth control movement. During the 1880s, abortion was legal in thirty states and illegal in some twenty states (Leslie, 2000). Banning of abortion was implemented under the Comstock laws, which prohibited allocation on birth control information. The banning of abortion at this time was influenced by fears that the population of new immigrants could surpass that of Native Americans. The technology available at that time was backward, including the medical industry. â€Å"Back alley† abortions blossomed even when it w as illegal. Access to abortion facilities depended on race, economic status and someone’s place of residence. Women, especially the poor were subjected to shame and fear due to criminalization of the act. Some of the poor methods of abortion which were performed mostly on poor women involved administration of strong chemicals and insertion of needles and other equipment into the vagina. Unsafe abortions led to contraction of infections and led to numerous deaths witnessed during that period. No exact figures are available to know the actual number of victims, however many women were treated of complications resulting from such botched abortions (Leslie, 2000). Even before abortion was legalized, some experienced and well trained physicians began offering abortion services, even with the risk of imprisonment and loss of their medical licenses. Women who wanted to undergo abortion obtained the information through word of mouth. Making abortion a crime did not reduce the number of abortions, it is estimated that the number of abortion in a year shot up to one and a half million every year. Between the year 1967 and 1973, some states began to liberalize the practice. As we can see, it is right to agree with Lesley Reagan that abortion has been a part of us since the eighteenth century, despite the moral and philosophical arguments it brings. The supreme case decision in Roe v. Wade, in 1973, paved way for women to perform safer and legal abortions with experienced medical doctors. Prior to this different states allowed abortions under different circumstances, for example, in 1967, the state of Colorado legalized abortion in the cases of incest , rape or if the pregnancy would put the physical health of the mother in danger. This law made away with all this restrictions. The Supreme Court ruled that the Texas law abolishing abortion except when the life of the mother was in danger, to be criminal. This was ruled on the basis that carrying out an abortion fal ls under the right to privacy. This piece of legislation removed restrictions on the first trimester of pregnancy placed by different states, only allowed restrictions during later stages of the pregnancy. This decision was celebrated, but some especially the Catholic Church and other conservative churches were against the decision. It is at this time that terms such as â€Å"pro-life† and â€Å"pro-choice† emerged. The terms mean basically imposing restrictions to be imposed to criminalize abortion, and removing

Electronic civil disobedience Essay Example for Free

Electronic civil disobedience Essay Civil disobedience has been a large part of societies and the past generations that have existed. With the further dawning of the information technology era, civil disobedience has taken another form—electronic civil disobedience (ECD). Though ECD takes a rather non-violent means in advancing the interests of certain groups and positing challenges to the status quo of several institutions, ECD has nevertheless remained a crucial force in shaping the image of mankind in general and will remain to be a contributing element in the coming years—and beyond. A look into electronic civil disobedience: comparisons and analyses In contrast to computer criminality, electronic civil disobedience is a means merely designed to â€Å"attack the institutions† whereas the former is more inclined to obtain profit from â€Å"actions that damage an individual†. This standing distinction contests the probable argument that there is no solid, or at least an ideal difference between the two and that both are the same means in putting down the strength of an institution or of an individual. However, while computer criminality is, by the name itself, a crime punishable by existing and applicable laws under the jurisdiction of certain states, resistance via electronic means—the most common of which is through cyberspace—is deemed to be a means to challenge the existing authority, for instance, in pushing forth necessary changes that are being sought after by individuals. This measure is, apparently, still within the borders of the law and are, hence, legal. Electronic civil disobedience (ECD) is oftentimes carried out in a manner that is not violent or, at the very least, in ways that do not involve direct physical contact (Electronic Civil Disobedience). Although there can be indirect physical consequences that can be attributed to the means and ends that are involved with ECD, a large bulk of the essence of ECD rests on its forefront—resistance through the maximum utility of the intangible resources available. These resources are largely comprised of electronic information and invisible systems in cyberspace that do not require physical contact among the individuals that seek to advance their interests in the face of another individual or an existing authority. Though by and large much of the past generations—and even a considerable number of the present generation of citizens—have been closely attached to the physical means of civil disobedience such as in the literal sense of â€Å"taking-up the streets†, a shift in the manifestation of civil disobedience is greatly felt in the electronic realm. Since information technology’s presence has increasingly grown over the past few decades and since its developments have been continuous and have been exponential in refinement, the impacts of electronic civil disobedience has also risen in levels proportional to the booming of the information technology industry. As recent developments in the field of cyberspace expand abruptly, so are the probable means in which ECD can make itself successful in achieving it’s goals or, at least, in making its presence and mission felt across territorial boundaries of states (Cleaver). Moreover, this growth in information technology (IT) has also started to break down the physical barriers as well as the invisible fences that hold back attempts at pushing forth civil resistance or disobedience. The physical institutions that seek to eradicate or lessen the probability of occurrence of these civil resistances have slowly diminished its grip on its capability to harness barriers and put up defensive mechanisms that strain the success of resistance from citizens. At the height of the development communication tools, effective communication has spread like wildfire from among various areas in the globe. Cellular phone technology has amassed for the people easier means to effectively transmit messages across wide distances, thereby instituting a smoother flow of information relay. Group organization and mobilization is held at a unifying pace that easily penetrates the state borders and geographical barriers. This leads us to the notion that the as the advent of electronic communication—the internet and cellular phone technology to name a few—the expected rise in the efficiency and effectiveness of group mobilization and organization in the face of electronic civil disobedience is within reach. However, the abuse of ECD as in the case of civil disobedience (CD) is always a possibility to the extent that legal measures have also to be taken by the proper authorities so as to dismantle probable grounds for violent and unlawful measures in furthering the interests of several groups. ECD, for the most part, can be a ploy utilized by extreme groups that do not only seek refuge in the non-violent methods encapsulated within the essence of ECD but also seek unlawful ends through violent actions that spring forth from the devices and advantages brought up by the electronic media. Terrorists, for example, can opt to start their large scale plans of wreaking havoc in a populated society by getting a good hold of the electronic resources available almost everywhere. The September bombings of the World Trade Center in New York has devastated a number of lives and even up to this day the damage done can still be felt not only by those who were directly affected but also by the millions of people who fear the havoc of terrorism, especially in contemporary times where ECD is not something new. It would be interesting to note on the delimiting strands that segregate those that are purely in the form of ECD and those that hid behind layers of terrorist ploys. For the most part, ECD remains today as a growing tool used as a means in contesting the status quo by oppositional forces. This brings us to the security issues posited by the ECD that confront the targeted institutions by modern-day activists. Although security measures have been reinforced throughout the years with the further advancement in technology, cyberspace remains an open territory for civil activism—and hackers. Though there may be inconclusive findings that seek to establish a connection or an alliance between hackers and ECD groups, there remains the possibility that an actual connivance may actually exist, only that the alliance is hidden beneath the rubrics of the intangible world of technology. It may be an extreme thought to dwell on such a possibility. Nevertheless one cannot entirely dismiss its factual occurrence. In the context of the general population that subscribes to the established groups that further ECD, certain identifying marks have to be made so as to pinpoint the possibility of having a hacker among the number of activists that attempt at penetrating the electronic defense mechanisms of institutions. However, the rapid growth of the electronic resources and its availability prove to be one hefty factor to surmount by the institutions. Activism is all the more fueled by this growth and, thus, the efforts of the institutions are to be doubled or thickened accordingly if ECD is to be diminished. Quite on the other hand, ECD may not be diminished at all, nor can it be totally dissolved especially when the generation we have of today is one that is teeming with the abundance of electronic wealth (Wehling). It must be further realized that such an (ever increasing) abundance in the electronic resources found in cyberspace provides a fertile starting point for extreme organizations that might utilize ECD as an initial step towards electronic violence and as a front for the extensive damage that can be instigated through system crashes and data hostages. The person adept at information technology and electronic systems will readily convey that the probable damage of system crashes as well as data hostages are devastating in the sense that they do not only shaken the virtual foundations of institutions but also destroy the intangible interior foundations that build the electronic core of the institutions. Reparations may be met, though, but the time to successfully recover or at least partially get back on track is yet another factor that must be considered. Hence, security measures are as equally significant as the protection of the interests of these institutions, if not even far more important. Conclusion The impacts of ECD have been felt in many ways. As the growth in cyberspace continues to expand and exceed the standards set forth by previous generations in their attempt to resist the institutional forces and further the specific aims for taking up civil disobedience, ECD continues to be a driving force in directing the path of the electronic world. The presence of ECD in contemporary times will eventually stretch through time for as long as there remains a continued expansion in the domain of cyberspace and for as long as the interests of people are not met and properly addressed.

The History Of The Bourdieus Sociology Sociology Essay

The History Of The Bourdieus Sociology Sociology Essay Pierre Bourdieu was born in France in 1930 and died in 2002. He is well known for his works in the field of Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy. He is best known for his theory of class distinction, which he theorised in his book Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Another theory he worked on was the theory of power and practice, where he dealt with subjects such as Symbolic power and habitus.  [1]   In Bourdieus view, agency and structure constantly sustain power, which is created within a culture and can become symbolic. This happens due to what he refers to as habitus. Habitus represents the norms and rules of society which are used to control peoples behaviour and way of thinking. Habitus is the way society becomes deposited in persons in the form of lasting dispositions, or trained capacities and structured propensities to think, feel and act in determinant ways, which then guide them (Navarro, 2006). Society is the one that creates habitus. The patterns developed can be transferred from a context to another and they change given different circumstances or a different period of time. Habitus is not fixed or permanent, and can be changed under unexpected situations or over a long historical period (Navarro, 2006). Free will and structures interact and give rise to habitus. There is no need for conscious thought or deliberate pursuit of coherence. In addition to habitus, Bourdieu talked about the concept of fields. These refer to several social or institutional networks where people can interact with others, thus showing their different kinds of capital and expressing their dispositions. Networks can be represented by relationships formed among people, relationships based on similarities such as: religion, education, culture. Power is not experienced in the same way in all environments; this means that the context a person is in has a big influence on habitus. Different contexts have an influence on the way people react to power. While a person could not be affected by power in one field, the same person could see it as a challenge in a different one. Bourdieu also talked about a concept he called capital. He elaborated on three types of capital, which go beyond material assets: cultural capital, symbolic capital and social capital. These concepts were presented in Bourdieus book Distinction where he argued that society maintains its order by following the rules of language, values, education, thinking or activities. These norms that people follow lead them to accept without thinking the differences present in society, the hierarchies made and the social inequality surrounding them. The three elements: habitus, capital and field play a central role in Bourdieus theory of Practice. These interact with each other forming the actions of people. A persons dispositions, or habitus, her capital and the fields in which she operates form her action repertoire. Social capital is one of the forms of capital mentioned by Bourdieu in his theories. It can refer to the networks of friends a person has, to the networks of the family or acquaintances or even of contacts. Social capital brings befits to a person by exerting preferential treatment towards in group members. Bourdieus economic capital refers to the material possessions of a person, for instance money and property. Having a low economic capital implies not having as many possessions or chances to afford high priced affairs. A high economic capital means a person owns more material possessions and is able to afford luxurious things. However, having a high economic capital does not mean a person is considered from a higher class. What Bourdieu suggests is that economic capital only combined with cultural capital forms the hierarchy of classes. Cultural capital plays an important role in the hierarchy of society. It is used by higher classes as a way to distinguish themselves from lower classes. It is a form of domination that is not based on economic domination. Instead, taste is the primary weapon of differentiation. Focusing on taste preferences instead of material assets became a method to hide inequality while still maintaining a well-defined line between lower and higher classes. Cultural capital is formed by the cultural knowledge and goods a person possesses. This form of capital includes artistic preferences and taste, educational background, aesthetic taste in fashion or furniture, as well as many others. Bourdieus theory of distinction states that cultural capital is represented by: cultivated disposition, which can be verbal facility, the way in which a person expresses herself in a conversation, but it can also be body posture, manners and general behaviour. Other representatives of cultural capital can be material objects that require specialised knowledge to appreciate, such as sculptures or old pieces of art which are not well-known by the general population. In addition to these, he argues that cultural capital is institutionalised, which refers to the educational background of a person. Attending a high ranked University is usually evidence of a higher level of cultural knowledge. Symbolic capital is closely related to cultural capital and symbolic forms and it refers to recognised legitimation by the society. The place a person occupies in society and the way society responds to that becomes symbolic capital. Being recognised as an influential or knowledgeable person offers one a high symbolic capital. It becomes a source of power which can be used by its holder. When this power is utilised by someone, that person exercised symbolic violence. Symbolic violence represents the imposition of a certain way of thinking upon another person. It imposes social order because it is embedded in peoples unconscious, making them follow the dominant or superior persons way of thinking. Bourdieu argues that social origin and cultural capital are the most important. He claims that although social and economic capital are indeed acquired as time passes, both of them depend on the social origins and cultural knowledge of a person. Another topic Bourdieu elaborated on was Social Illusion. He saw reality as being constituted from a number of roles people follow. Everyone engages and follows their own path in life, similar to how a character from a book follows the storyline. The rules and norms society follows add a sense of reality and help the formation of the social illusion. Like a fictional character, a human being has a beginning- his birth, and an end-his death. The beginning is associated with someones cause, reason to be there while the end reminds of his purpose, the role he managed to play. Bourdieu called this sequence of events biographical illusion. There are some attributes that contour the created illusion. The symbolic power of the sate supports these attributes by giving people dates of birth, citizen numbers, grouping them based on nationalities and sex. People often compare life to a story that is being written as time passes. They see it as a journey in which decisions guide the outcome of t he narration. Bourdieu constructed his theories based on real life circumstances that intrigued him. This means the theories can be tested by others as well, by applying them to a personal context. An example of social networks I am part of would constitute my participation in the Rotaract club. This allowed me to interact with other peers, have conversations in which we exchanged knowledge but which also allowed people to show their cultural capital. Being part of the club requires one to pass through a process of admission, which means that it is necessary for one to possess a certain amount of capital to enter. Once in, how you express your dispositions becomes one of the things other members notice first about you. The norms, or habitus, of the group can soon be observed as being different from the patterns developed in other circumstances. These patterns are assimilated by new members in an unconscious way and create a new way of thinking for that person. The objective experiences one has bec ome subjective, interpreted in different ways by everyone. This social network, or field, constitutes one part of my social capital. In addition to this network, being part of a class in high-school, maintaining a group of friends or even being part of my family is considered a part of my social capital. Similar to my capital, is the social capital of one of my friends. However, attending a different school, being part of a different family and having a different group of friends influences the amount of benefits he could gain from being part of a network. Our systems of dispositions might indeed be similar at a superficial level, given that we both come from the same class, in the same society. However, our acquired schemes of thought and perception differ at a deeper level. Institutional education as well as family education influences the most profound cognitive interactions. I received an education focused on science, which gave me a different way to view the world compared to him, whose education was based on art and music. Little differences come from our economic capital. Comparing all of our possessions would lead to the conclusion that the only difference is him owning some musical instruments. However, the value of these instruments, an acoustic and an electrical guitar, does not put him in a different societal class. The differences in hierarchy, as Bourdieu argued, come from the quality and amount of knowledge one possesses, which form our cultural capital. Taste in food, art, music and literature are good indicators of class. Appreciating exotic food is something in common for both me and my friend. The differences would surface when comparing artistic and musical knowledge. I, for instance, cannot read music; neither can I play any instruments. But, playing the guitar is not an indicator of higher glass. Uncommon, more difficult ones, like piano or violin, are the ones that make the true hierarchy distinctions. Yet, one cannot say that cultural and economic capital are not interconnected. For example, if cultural capital is institutionalized, meaning a high ranked university plays a role in defining the hierarchies, a high economic capital is also needed to be able to afford attending the said institution. Moreover, symbolic capital could also surface from this interaction. The majority of society views high ranking universities as something out of their touch, thus, they offer respect and power to people who got in. Having prestige and power usually means being part of more groups, having more interactions with people. This implies that ones social capital is higher. In conclusion, Bourdieus theories covered most of the components of society. These components interact and form subsystems which, glued together, give rise to the unified society. Social illusion gives people reason and a story to continue. With the use of all different forms of capital, people draw boundaries between them, differentiate themselves from the crowd. But still, society maintains the control through habitus, the norms everyone follows unconsciously. And given that humans are social creatures, they need to interact; Bourdieu presented the fields, which represents the subsystem that allows people to express themselves, to show their dispositions and continue playing their role.

Youth Drug Abuse Hong Kong

Youth Drug Abuse Hong Kong Youth problem is a wide-ranged and intertwined one among the social problems. With the development of information technology and economics, the teenagers are faced with more temptations than the older generations of their age, in other words, they have more choices for fun, like online games, Japanese cartoon and animation books and magazines, everyday updated fashionable accessories, hi-tech products and something can make the young generation feel like in the trend. However, out of some reasons, they are prone to be addicted with the novelties and then deviate from their normal life, such as the internet addiction, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and so on. Some of those youth problems are independent, but most of them are relevant and can elicit each other. Quite recent, I watched a documentary film named the Crimson Jade telling a story about a drug abuse schoolgirl, which arouse me to dig more about the young drug abuse group. Thus, in this paper, I especially choose the youth drug ab use problem as the topic. Drug abuse is regarded as a serious teenager problem in Hong Kong. The age of the individuals who is the first time taking drug is younger than past: since 2007, the reported drug abuser under 21 increased by 34 percent within 3 years (Qing shao nian du pin wen ti zhuan ze xiao zu bao gao : zhai yao, 2008); In the year of 2007, almost all reported young drug abuser (99 percent) once took the mentally damaging drugs, only 2 percent of them took the traditional drugs (mainly the heroin), and there were 80.2 percent of young abuser took the ketamine for the most part (Qing shao nian du pin wen ti zhuan ze xiao zu bao gao : zhai yao, 2008).The developing traits of the Hong Kong teenagers drug abuse:1) the age of abusers tends to be younger as time goes on ; 2) increasing females become the drug abusers (Luan, 2010), the drug addictive female under 21 increased by 25 percent than the same duration in the first half year of 2008. 3% of youth are easily tend to be involved in drug dealing a nd/or smuggling. The definition of the youth drug abuse According to the definition of deviant behavior, the drug abuse is one of forms of that. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the meaning of former first. After reviewing the textbook, it can be illustrated that the deviance involves the activities do not compliant with the social norms and are unreached the expectations of members from a specific society (Haralambos, 2008). Deviance in a sociological context describes actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime) as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g., rejecting folkways and norms). It is the preview of sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists to study how these norms are created, how they change over time and how they are enforced (Wikipedia, 2010). It can be illustrated that the crime, delinquency, different kinds of addictions are the forms of the deviant behaviors, and the drug abuse is one of the addictions. In terms of the definition of you th drug abuse, the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), no longer regarded drug abuse as a current medical diagnosis. Instead, DSM has adopted substance abuse (Wikipedia, 2010) as a blanket term to embrace drug abuse and other things. In my view, I think the youth drug abuse is young people who have their internal problems (mental and physical) and influenced by the external factors from their peers, families, neighhoods, and social trend and culture, are resulting in passive emotion, thereby tending to transfer or shirking the negative emotion temporarily through taking drugs without tackling the concrete problems. Additionally, according to Elises lecture, it was told that the alcohol abuse also belong to the drug abuse, for the alcohol is one of the chemicals can induce the mentally active abnormal syndrome. But in this paper, it mainly narrows down the topic to the usual understanding of the drugs like ketamine, heroin an d marijuana etc. The nature and origin of youth drug abuse The micro level 1) Individual factor: partial reasons are personality and the developmental physical function of the young drug abuse. The former is instinctively from the perspective of the psychology, such as sensation or novelty seeking, inhibition and antisocial traits. The people who are inclined to be the drug abuser showed several personality deficits in common: 1) Behavioral problem. 2) Emotional obsession. 3) Low self-esteem. 4) Low resistance to obstacles.5) Swaying will(Yang, 2008).the latter is physiology, for adolescence is the transition from child to teenagers whose physical functions are developing under flux, thus some deficit of the body might be aroused during that time (Luan, 2010). Analyses of many studies have concluded that genes influence 40 to 50 percent of the variation in antisocial behaviors with a population, and 60 to 65 percent of the variation in aggressive antisociality (Rhee Waldmam, 2002; Tackett, Krugeger, Iacono, McGue, 2005). Owing to the research of Coleman, the certain genes in some individuals can render them more prone to be the drug abusers (2009).In addition, Laura deemed that the addiction is a disease in the brain that can control of it (2008). The mezzo level 1) Family factors: the family integrity (whether the teenage lives with single parent or not), the communication pattern of the family members etc., especially the lacking of monitoring of a teenagers interpersonal relationship and whereabouts, regarded as the most influential predictor of the drug use of that age (Chilcoat and Anthony, 1996; Williams and Hine, 2002).Further more, the parents acknowledgement and the cognition on the drugs can not match the developmental understanding of their childrens. There were 30 percent of interviewed parents did not know or could not be sure about whether their children had taken drugs or not (Ming Pao, 2009). It is the fact that parents are lacking the basic knowledge on updated drug-taking development in youth; therefore they are not that sensitive and alert to the slight symptoms or unusual behaviors of their children, and their care for the children might put in the inappropriate place. 2) Peer factors: except the parenting influence, the peer group is the sources of affection, sympathy, understanding, moral guidance, a place for experimentation, a setting for achieving autonomy and independence from parents (Papalia, 2009). Adolescence is the transition stage of an individual, from which an individual gradually starts to live more independent and dedicate more time with peers. Therefore, the peers or friends choosing for the youth play a pivotal role in accepting influence from the people they hang out with. Some negative peer pressure might breed from the interaction among the association, for instance, a negative role model in a clique takes drugs and also escape the punishment from law might encourage his or her friends to try the drug, for complicated combination of the fluke mind and peer pressure, the rest member of the clique probably might imitate the negative one. From 2008 to the first half year of 2010, according to statistics results from the Narcotics Division, Security Bureau of Hong Kong, there was over 60 percent respondent to choose the Influenced by the peers, I want to fit in the peers group as the initial reason why they take the drugs for straight years(ND, 2010). Additionally, young people are inclined to those whose are similar to themselves in school achievement, adjustment, and prosocial or antisocial tendencies (Collins et al., 2000; B. B. Brown et al., 1993). 3) School and community risk factors: Friedman took the view that the teenagers who had poor academic performance and/or behavioral problems are prone to substance abuse at a high risk (Friedman, Bransfield, Kreisher, 1994). A strict disciplinary school can possibly restrict teenagers from the potential influence of the other factors. At school teachers evaluate students basically towards their academic performance instead of well-rounded perspective out limited human resources and effective and applicable methods. Students who have poor performance academically might be looked upon as the deviants and bad students at school. In my point of view, the school the whereabouts those students who have poor academic performance are labeled as the bad ones. Because self-concepts of individuals are largely stemmed from the responses of others, and they will tend to indentify themselves with that certain label (Haralambos, 2008); some young people are just potentially deviant once labeled as the concrete deviant, which will possibly trigger them give off the potential tendency into reality as well as the behaviors are going to be reinforced. From the perspective of labeling theory, Becker thought that the deviant behaviors resulted from those who had power could define others and make them label sticker. Here it can be seen that the school is the party with power who seems can be the judge, meanwhile, the students are compelled to receive the inappropriate judgment, which is unfair and ill-considered. As for Lemert the other advocator of the theory, he deemed that there were the primary deviation and the secondary deviation that publically labeled. But the former effected very little to whom were labeled for the first time, which means, it is slightly possible to elicit the being first labeled ones to do something deviant. Only the latter was the determinant cause for the concrete deviant to happen. If some students with poor academic performance receive the negatively labeling comments (they can be regarded as the negative punishment) again and again, there is no doubt that the self-identities are questioned and the potential deviant tendency will be possibly triggered. In terms of community, the living circumstance of teenagers is quite important. The accessibility to the drugs of the neighborhoods and the degree of awareness of forbidden drugs are the influential factors for the teenagers. I think the influences can be good or not, it can be imagined that if the young people with drug abusive tendency live in positively active neighborhoods, the possibility for them of transforming into the drug abuser is still quite low, therefore neighborhoods can play the vital roles as the positive reinforcement for the possible deviant behavior of the youth. The macro level 1) Culture and social factors: from the perspective of Marxism, it is acknowledged that the economic foundation decides the superstructure. Hong Kong is a world class cosmopolitan city with rapid speed life tempo, no matter which aspect is in the first class of the world. Hong Kong people can have the most updated electronic products, the comic books, and the so-called leisure style like taking some drugs, which are pretty attractive for the young people to give it a try. The teenagers of that age are easy to do something deviant impulsively and over-esteemed to think they can control themselves, which lead them to deem that taking drugs is not a big deal. The misconception of leisure modes in these entertainment mass media is likely to have deteriorative effects on the moral conscience of the young people. In addition, all kind forms of mass media like the TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, especially the barrier-free internet services create infinite accessibilities for the juveniles to the violence and pornography that are exactly one of the sources giving the chance to the youth to imitate the negative side of the humanity consciously or subconsciously, like instigating peers to try the drugs or even being the drug dealers. In the light of the exploratory study by Yung Lai fong, she concluded that the adverse influence of the unhealthy representations on newspapers/movies/VCDs was great. The comic books/magazines on sex and violence, in particular, appeared to have the most damaging effects on the healthy development of young people (Yung, L, Edith, 1998). There is no doubt that the mass media does have the far-reaching and perpetuating impacts on the development of the young people intellectually and morally, and on their attitudes and perspectives towards self and others as well. In conclusion, the three levels analysis for the origin and nature of the youth drug abuse are reciprocal to each other, one factor can not bring about the consequence of youth drug abuse recursively. The factors of different levels are considered as the social institutions, and they interact and have mutual impact to each other, in the specific condition, can turn the drug abusive tendency into reality. Intervention from different levels In my opinion, the social worker can be compared to the agent that is functioning as the bridge between the client and the other social institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to fully tap the functions of the agent to bridge well connections among those social institutions. From the macro level, in campus and off campus, social workers can promote and popularize the essential knowledge on drugs and its damage as well as the negative influences to abusers and their families, peers and the society. Especially, the agency can bring the advantages of mass media into full play by cooperating with them, and its social workers can held some activities in order to disseminate the general ideas on disadvantages and the irreversible damages to the youth, and advocate the appropriate way to report some pop stars who take drugs and favorable in teenagers but not advocate it as a novel lifestyles.E.g: In the mezzo and micro levels, social workers and the agency can filter down the target group, and then carry out the relevant intervention plans. When carrying out the intervention, social workers should be sensitive about the slight changes of the high risky youth, and the possible behavioral characteristics them are as follows: 1) Borrowing money from friends more often. 2) The abuser is looked dispirited and low-energy, sometimes having unusual excitements and meaninglessness behavior. 3) The abuser immediately turns to be depressive after behaving happily and talkatively (00).In terms of the specific approach, the social workers can adopt the CBT-MBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Motivational Therapy), according to previous experience, CBT-MBT has been evaluated primarily in cases of young people abusing marijuana, 10 out of 12 randomized clinical trails have supported the effectiveness of the approach, with the effects persisting for as long as 30 months after treatment (W aldron, Turner,2008).The social workers can also refer to practical skills during a ten-session CBT: 1) refusing offers to use drugs; 2) expanding the young persons networks; 3) avoiding high-risk drug use situations; 4) managing anger; 5) communicating with parents and peers; 6) dealing with depressed mood ;7) coping with craving (Scharffer, Chang, Henggeler, 2008). In my point of view, among those skills, the social workers should carry them out logically and progressively according to different situations and the major inducement of taking drugs of clients. For example, given that the clients are easily prone to be influenced by peers and less decisive, he or she took drugs largely because his or her so-called friends did. In consideration of this, firstly, the social worker can concentrate on the teaching the skill of refusing offers to use drugs; secondly, it is crucial to find out the behind reasons through skillful counseling. Maybe the client feels lacking the support from f amily or can not be understood by others etc. which possibly contribute to different solutions and methods to deal with clients situation. During the counseling process, finding the strength (Hepworth, 2009) of the client is especially important for social workers to make it a part of the intervention. It is the essential solution that encouraging the clients to believe in themselves in order to enhance the self-strength efficiency during the process. The social worker can assist the client to set short term goal and long run goal for the sake of strengthening the self-esteem of the client. When the goals are settled, the social can also put forward the monitoring plan including the weekly meeting and self-monitoring on the behalf of the client. In all, it is practical to evoke the positive sides of the clients like helping and taking care of others, the pursuit of life goal, the capacity of anti-stress and meet the challenges. Parents are the key to the successful intervention. For the social worker, they can hold the workshop, panel discussion and keep in tough with parents. Because of lacking daily communication and interaction with the children, most young drug abusers parents did not realize the changes of their children. The social workers held the workshop in order to create more opportunities for enhancing the interaction between those parents and children via interactive games and role-playing of using the videotapes to model positive and negative parent-child interaction, discussion etc. (Scharffer, Henggeler,2008). If the social worker finds the drug abuse /addiction case or is informed by the other parties, such as teachers, students and community members, it is necessary to make the referral in order to help the abuser efficiently and timely. After the rehabilitation, the case still requires to be followed in the long run, for there is usually existing the recrudesce of drug addiction in the following months. Information inclination: The cognition conducts the behavior, in the aspect of diversified intervention methods, that is to say, what kind of the perspectives towards the matters decides the information inclination. Showing the mass media materials like videotapes and newspapers can provide vivid examples of the physical and mental disadvantages and damages to the clients. Theories Labeling theory: Social learning theory: Julian Rotter moved away from theories based on psychosis and behaviorism, and developed a learning theory. In Social Learning and Clinical Psychology (1954), Rotter suggests that the effect of behavior has an impact on the motivation of people to engage in that specific behavior. This social learning theory suggests that behavior is influenced by these environmental factors or stimulus, and not psychological factors alone. Albert Bandura (1977) expanded on Rotters idea, as well as earlier work by Miller Dollard (1941), and is related to social learning theories of Vygotsky and Lave. Social learning suggests a combination of environmental (social) and psychological factors influence behaviors. This theory incorporates aspects of behavioral and cognitive learning. Behavioral learning assumes that peoples environment (surroundings) cause people to behave in certain ways. Cognitive learning presumes that psychological factors are important for influencing how one behaves. Push-pull Theory Differential Association theory Evidences/ supports of the youth substance abuser: Peer influence is the major cause of youth drug abuseAccording to the survey in 2004, it reported that the commonest drug suppliers were the peers of the teenagers with 51.8 percent, and there were only 10.4 percent by drug dealers and 8.2 percent to 10.8 percent by parents, family members and relatives respectively. When the young drug abusers encounter some problems or troubles they tend to seek for help from those who provided the drugs to them as their first choice rather than the parents, teachers and social workers. One interesting founding in the 2004 survey was that psychotropic substance abusers would rather to get help from their close friends first (26.8percent ) than seek help from parents first with 11.8 percent and seek help from social workers counted to 9.3 percent. The reason for first try of drugs: Knowledge deficit, misconceptions of substance use, academic problems, family problems and poor relationship with parents and peers have also driven them to have their first try (The 2004 Survey of Drug Use among Students, 2005; Boys, Marsden, Strang, 2001).

My Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy on Teaching Statement

Philosophy of Education Norms and values are a reflection of society’s standards of behavior. Since society evolves from each generational perspective, the â€Å"norm† is continuously changing. As a result, the rising adults have a grave influence on how the world will evolve into the next generation. What we teach our students today will reflect the success of our future. How we, as teachers, get our messages across will definitely influence the student’s ability to apply that knowledge. From my experiences and what I have encountered I intend to incorporate the Pragmatic and Idealistic philosophies into my classroom, based on my predictions on how to be a successful teacher. The Pragmatic approach to education involves placing the students as a number one priority. This type of classroom environment would give the child an opportunity to make decisions, which is a crucial part of living a successful life in today’s societies. I would provide a classroom with a helpful and productive atmosphere. This would transform the classroom into a community of learners. This would give the children hands on experience with a project that needed solutions and the idea of how important â€Å"team work† can help in solving difficult situations. Students in my eyes will absorb a greater amount of material if they are actively involved in its processes. I concede with the theories of social reconstructionism in that I truly feel that in order to make a group successful, each individual that is apart of that group must be successful. This idea promotes human growth and development with the incorporation of flexibility in a student’s educatio n. This flexibility will help the student deal with and be able to overcome conflicts within t... ...cation pole, and I believe that the Idealism approach should also be incorporated into the classroom. There is no right or definite way to do anything; this should be kept in mind while performing any task. I feel like focusing on children and being a positive influence does nothing but benefit the child and the future of our world. That after all is what teaching is about, providing the tools to keep the world running. I think sometimes the foundation of teaching is repressed in the minds of teachers, do to the overload of stipulations placed on them daily. Whom are we really hurting here? The children are the ones who suffer. If the children stay as the focus in each classroom and are positively influenced by the teacher then education, what it truly means, will be reached. I plan to incorporate all of this into my everyday classroom. I hope others do to.

Panic Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Panic We loaded up the car and headed out to Route 30. I had made this trip several times before, but this time it was one way. I had been excited to—as I saw it—get on with my life, but this day I was feeling less than enthusiastic. I figured it was the hassle of moving: this would be the second time my parents and I had transferred my things from home to a dorm room. This time my sister was along to lend a hand. We finally pulled up to the institutional-style brick building that was to be my home for the next three years. The August weather was typically hot and humid, but looking at the dormitory’s stark exterior, I suddenly felt a chill. As we entered the stuffy structure—it had no air conditioning—all my thoughts became focused on the many trips we would have to make up and down the three flights of stairs. Once a sufficient number of boxes were in the small room, I began to unpack while my father made the remaining trips to the car. As I arranged my new personal space, I forgot any reservations and actually became rather energized. My roommate had not yet arrived, and my sister and I joked and laughed while we hung photographs and relived the events they depicted. When the mysterious roommate finally made her entrance, the room fell silent. I have never been comfortable with new people, and we were from such different backgrounds that I could find no commonality to unite us immediately. It would simply take time, I had decided, and that was something of which I assumed we had plenty. Since I was almost done with my side of the room, and my roommate and her parents were not exactly chatty, my family and I decided to go out for dinner before they made the return trip. We went to a nearby restaurant, though we di... ... to the sink, but I could not bring myself to look in the mirror. I washed my face again, sipped some water from my cupped hand, and shakily returned to my room. At some point in my stupor, I had decided to call my mother at six o’clock, when I knew she would be waking up for work. I found my phone card and made another trip to the end of the hall, this time to the pay phone. I felt so low I could have been slithering across the floor. I had to tell her exactly what I had just been through, and that she had been right: I was not ready to go away again. I would have to return home with my tail between my legs and face something that I had always had trouble admitting: I needed help. I never wanted to spend another night like the one I had just endured. At the time, I still had no idea what had happened to me, but I will never forget that first and worst panic attack.

W.S. Merwin as an Influential Writer of Poetry and Prose :: W.S. Merwin Essays

W.S. Merwin as an Influential Writer of Poetry and Prose Emergence At the day's end all our footsteps are added up to see how near. W.S. Merwin W.S. Merwin is an award-winning author of a wide variety of both poetry and prose books. He has served as a tremendous influence to me and has helped guide me along my writing journey. He inspires my best writing and has helped to shape my stylistics. I seek to follow in the footsteps of perhaps one of the most well known and popular poets of this century. W.S. Merwin was born in New York City in 1927 and grew up in Union City, New Jersey, as well as Scranton, Pennsylvania (Merwin, Selected 279). From 1949 to 1951, Merwin was a world traveler, as he worked as a tutor in Portugal, France, and Majorca (Merwin, Selected 279). In addition to writing poetry, Merwin also wrote articles for The Nation as well as radio scripts for the BBC (Merwin, Selected 279). One of his most famous poetry books, The Carrier of Ladders, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1970 (Merwin, Selected 279). In addition to his books of poetry, he published three books of prose: The Miner's Pale Children, Houses and Travelers, and Unframed Originals. Merwin received many outstanding awards in his career including The Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets in 1974, and the Governor's Award for Literature of the State of Hawaii (Merwin, Selected 279). Merwin's writing style is unique from many other professional writers. "Merwin has been committed faithfully to the energies of fragmentation, erasure, and all those energies we identify as negative" ("Boston Review" 1). Because Merwin is able to use this technique so effectively, I attempt to follow in his footsteps and try some of it out on my own. Rick Jones and I used this idea in our collaborative poem, "pierced existence," in which we did not use proper capitalization or follow some of the most basic rules English rules. When I write in this style, I feel more relaxed because I do not have to be concerned with grammar and spelling. I am better able to concentrate on imagery and the use of words. Merwin's magisterial control of lyric syntax and narrative order give the reader no difficulty; they are able to understand his work since it flows free from form ("Boston Review" 1). "The consistency, the inclusive and transforming vitality of the work makes it the crowning achievement of Merwin's long and extremely diversified career" ("Boston Review" 1).

Issues in the Correctional Systems of the United States Essay

I have chosen to research the correctional system of the United States for many reasons. The first reason is that I believe this component of the legal system has the most problems facing it. Another reason is that this topic interests me and I would like to learn more about it. There are many important issues, challenges and problems within the United States correctional system that need to be addressed. I found it difficult to focus on just three issues. The first problem I will discuss in my paper will be the issue of the growing population in the prisons. Prisons are overcrowded and murderers who have served barely half of their sentence are being released because the state facility needs their beds for other inmates. The second issue that I will discuss is prisoners and drugs; including, drug addicted prisoners and drug treatment prisoners. The third issue that I will talk about also pertains to drugs and deals with the problem of drug trafficking in prisons. The first component of the United States correctional system that I have chose to discuss is the problem caused by overcrowded prisons. This is an important topic because overcrowded facilities are a huge problem in America and are very detrimental to society. Prisoners who have been convicted of murder, but have shown good behavior while in prison, are being released with not even serving half of their sentence. The parole board is releasing these prisoners because space is needed for other prisoners coming in. What if, that prisoner that was released early because of overcrowded prisons had killed a member of your family and might now go kill someone else? Wouldn’t that make you a little upset with our system? There are many reasons why prisons in the United States are so overcrowded. To understand overcrowdedness one must first understand how expensive it is to build and maintain these correctional facilities. In 1993 the average cost to keep just one inmate incarcerated for a year was over $14,000 (Gaines, 1999). State courts convicted 872,217 felons during 1995 and one-third of the convictions were for drug offenses. 26% of all convicted felons were sentenced to local jails, usually for less than a year, and 45% were sentenced to state prisons. The remaining 29% were sentenced to probation with no jail or prison time to serve (Currie, 1998). Felons sentenced to state prison in 1994 were sentenced to an average of about six years but were most likely to serve just two of those six years, under the current release policies (Bender, 1998). There are many reasons why prisons became so overcrowded between 1985 and 1998. These factors include a 12.3 average annual increase in the number of Hispanic inmates, a 91% rise in admissions, a decline in the annual release rates, and a sharp rise in violent offenders among white inmates therefore keeping them in prisons longer (Jacobs, 1995). A lot of the increases were due to drug convictions. From 1985 to 1992 there was a 33% increase in the number of blacks sent to state prisons for violent offenses compared to a 27% increase in the number of whites. A similar increase in both incarcerated blacks and whites occurred for property crimes. However, for drug crimes, 94% more blacks were sent to prison from 1988 to 1992, while only 35% more whites were incarcerated (Cose, 2000). The nations courts are sentencing and admitting more offenders into America’s prisons than the facilities can hold. At the beginning of 1995, 39 states were under court order to relieve overcrowding (Currie, 1998). The way to address overcrowding is to build more prisons and maybe try to rehabilitate these felons a bit more. The 1995 census found that state and federal officials built 213 new prisons – 168 state and federal facilities with more than 280,000 beds between 1990-1995 to keep up with the growing prison population (Jacobs, 1997). In 1995 18 correction agencies opened 70 new institutions, adding 69,921 beds at an average cost of $46,758 (Jacobs, 1997). Some states have trouble building prisons fast enough to meet court orders to correct conditions. Because building prisons and adding new beds is costly, states are looking for other ways to manage overcrowding, such as  early release programs, electronic monitoring, keeping prisoners in local jails, and having offenders pay restitution to their victims. Early release gives officials a way to allow prisoners to leave before their sentence is completed. In New York, â€Å"presumptive release† permits the parole board to release offenders on parole after they have served their minimum sentences if they have not caused any problems. Good time or merit time allows the reduction of the sentence time for everyday of good behavior or for participating in particular programs. Felons were sentenced to an average sentence of 71 months in state prisons in 1994 but actually served about 38 % of that sentence (Bender, 1998). The danger in releasing inmates to make more room for new admissions is that some prisoners are violent offenders and should not be let out yet. Another way to deal with overcrowded conditions is for the government to save money by allowing private businesses to perform some government functions (privatization). This policy has largely affected the corrections system, especially as state and federal government face an increasing number of prisoners and , as a result, a growing need to build more prisons. People that are for the privatization of prisons believe that private firms would both improve the quality of services and reduce the costs. A National Institute of Corrections survey in the mid 1980’s found that more than 30 types of services were provided by the private sector (Gaines, 1999). The services most frequently supplied by private enterprise are health services, community treatment centers, facility constructions, educational programs, drug treatment, staff training and counseling. Much of the growth in the prison population can be attributed to the increase in the number of people sent to prison for drugs. In an effort to control overcrowding petty drug offenders should be given treatment or lighter sentences. When I say petty drug offenders I mean drug users and not drug dealers that are a greater threat to society. Maybe if they get treatment they don’t become repeat offenders. Loading our prisons with non violent drug offenders means that today we are committing more non violent offenders to hard time than we are violent criminals, and there is less room left for  violent offenders who should be put away to make society safer. There is a major question whether prison actually helps these drug users. They can usually find drugs in prison and if not they obtain drugs when they get out. It would be better if drug users were put into mandatory treatment programs on top of doing community services. This would help the situation of prison overcrowding while at the same time help those people who are involved in these treatment programs. There is a major problem when drug addicted people are put into prison and cannot get help they help. Prisoners sentenced for drug offenses made up the single largest group of federal inmates, 60% (Currie, 1998). This is a problem and inmates who are convicted of drug offenses should be made to participate in these programs. Most of these drug treatment programs at federal institutions have been ineffective and poorly run. In 1995, according to the Criminal Institute, about 13.2% of inmates participated in drug programs (Jacobs, 1995). The New York Times reported that, although 1 in 6 inmates receive some kind of treatment, only about 2 % have the kind of service rehabilitation that changes the inmates behaviors for a lifetime (Jacobs, 1995). Most of the participants end up recidivists. The most effective programs take many months but reduce the re-arrest rate greatly. Drug treatment advocates say that drug treatment programs could be provided for much less than the amount spent to build more prisons. A lot of average Americans think people in prisons are all hardened criminals. In reality, the prisons are filled wall to wall with drug abusers and mentally ill that need treatment instead of incarceration. They can change with the right help. In stead of building new prisons, the government should spend half that money on treatment programs. These programs would benefit society more than new prisons would. The third major issue that I would like to talk about deals with the problem of drug trafficking in prisons. It is a major problem when inmates can easily obtain drugs in prison. Many inmates who are constantly in and out of prison, see prison as a vacation from the rough streets. (Cose, 2000). This is because prisoners get three meals a day, free room and board, and are  able to purchase drugs. Prisons should be drug free and inmates should not be able to get high. It is hard to regulate drugs in prisons because in order to do so you would have to search everyone going in, keep all packages out, and lock inmates in their cells for 24 hours a day. With more and more inmates in prison for possessing and dealing drugs there is already a market and it is hard to keep drugs out. There are also too many corrections officers that go to work everyday and do all the drug pushing, making it hard to find the dealers. To address this problem of drugs availability in prisons more states are staging surprise lock downs and raids to stem the amount of drugs. This has proved to work but it is hard to do all the time because it involves a lot of man power. Another way in which in authorities try to keep drugs out of prisons is to use undercover officers. By using undercover officers in prisons you have an opportunity to get to the main source of the drugs coming in. The only problem with working on the inside to uncover drug trafficking is that it is very dangerous. Both the undercover officers, and surprise raids and lock downs are good way to regulate the amount of drugs in prisons. These issues that I have discussed are the major problems in the correctional system of the United States. These issues have to be addressed rapidly to better our society as a whole. These problems are not going to go away overnight and we, as voters in a democratic society must elect people that are going to take action and deal with these problems. Bibliography Bender, David. Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime Greenhaven press, CA 1998. Cose, Ellis. Newsweek-â€Å"America’s Prison Generations†. November 13, 2000 Currie, Elliot. Crime and Punishment in America. Henry Holt and Company, NY 1998 Gaines, Ann. Prisons. Chelsea House, Philadelphia 1999. Jacobs, Nancy. Prisons and Jails: A Deterrent to Crime? Information Plus, Texas 1995.

Symbolism in “Country Lovers”

A proscribe Love Thebedi and Paulus Jennifer Boozer ENG 125 entree to Literature Instructor Kristina Stutler March 24, 2013 plain Lovers by Nadine Gordimer is a short explanation centered around the foundation of veto come between the two of import char typifyers Paulus and Thebedi. They met when they were kids, as Thebedi used to work on Paulus fathers farm. They used to sneak out and determine at the river bed. After Paulus went off to ex-serviceman discipline, Thebedi had his baby.When Paulus came back for the summer he perceive of her baby being light struggle and killed it so that no one would forever know that it was his baby. The falsehoods theme of command love is strengthened by Gordimers use of symbolismism, imagery, and topical anesthetic glossiness. Symbolism is a key fraction contri thoing to the reputations theme. One symbol that repeats itself in plain Lovers is the gilt hoop ear-rings that Paulus gives to Thebedi when they were preteen (as cited in Clugston, 2010). The earrings are a symbol for their love unneurotic.Even afterward Paulus killed their baby girl, Thebedi console wore them when she accused him of pouring liquid into the babys babble out (as cited in Clugston, 2010). Even in her psychoneurotic situation, she still wore those earring that Paulus gave to her. She wore them again when they went to trial. This leads me to believe that after all was said and done, she still love Paulus, flush though she knew they could never be together. Another symbol that is relevant to the theme is their baby. Their baby was living proof that they were in love with each other.After seeing the baby with his own eyes, Paulus seemed to have panicked anyone who looked at this child would know that it was not Njabulos. Njabulo was Thebedis maintain who was the opaque coffee-grounds colour that had always been called drab the same colour of Thebedis face (as cited in Clugston, 2010). They would know that the father of this c hild was a unclouded man. In their culture, it was socially unacceptable to have interracial relationships. Paulus felt he had to get rid of the baby, and he did. imagery also contributes to the theme of forbidden love.One daylight Thebedi and Paulus met at the riverbed. Gordimer noted that the girls that Paulus went to school with would drown in bikinis and they never made him tonus like Thebedi did when she came up the bank and sit beside him, the drops of water beading off her inglorious legs the only points of light in the earth-smelling blockheaded shade (as cited in Clugston, 2010). The image of Thebedi, a regular African American girl, devising Paulus feel like he had never felt before contributes to the theme of forbidden love. Local color is another literary element that strengthens the theme in Country Lovers.Local color is defined as erratic images, realistic dialog and true-to-life descriptions to full portray people and life in the region where the story will carry on (Clugston, 2010, ch 6. 1, para 1). In this story, local color is demonstrated in the first carve up when Gordimer discusses the relationship between the pitch-black and white children changes as they grow up. They play together up until they go to school but then after that, the white children do not play with them anymore even in the the holidays (as cited in Clugston, 2010). The white children are apparently oblivious to how society thinks they should act toward black children.It was not until after they went to school did they learn that they are superior to the black race. It is very important to use opposite literary elements to strengthen a story so that the subscribers attention can be grasped. It is beneficial to the reader when the author uses elements much(prenominal) as symbolism, imagery, and local color because it allows the reader to put his or herself inside the story and feel the forbidden love that Paulus and Thebedi experienced. References Clugston, R. W. (2010). pilgrimage into Literature. Retrieved from https//content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2/sections/ch00