Impact of Christianity in Australia Essay

* The proportion of Christians in the Australian population continues to decline. * Internationally, the proportion of Christians in developing countries is tending to increase, whereas the proportion of Christians in developed countries generally is decreasing. * This paper first provides a brief overview of the current Australian demographic data and trends in relation to Christian denominations and other religious groups over the past 100 years. * Based on Christianity’s past contribution to Australian society, it then posits a framework for a way forward to contribute to the current and future issues and problems confronting Christianity in Australian society. * Christianity had a significant impact on education and public morality in Australia whin the years of 1788-1900. In relation to public morality, I discuss the significance that the Christian church had on Australian society in the 1800’s by the establishing of the Temperance movement as well as several other actions involving education. * While Christianity played a crucial part in all aspects of Australian society throughout the pre-federation years 1788 to 1900, it had a significant impact on education and public morality. * The influence of Christianity in education was evident through the establishment of a separate education system and, in public morality the formation of the temperance movement as well as other actions. * Education was greatly influenced by Christianity during 1788 through to 1900. Settlers concerned to leave religious divisions in Britain believed that ties between church and state should be eradicated and that churches be supported by their own followers. * Subsequently, with numerous denominations supporting this idea, concerns were partly met by the granting of financial aid to the major religious groups, including the Church of England. * Individuals churches used this aid to maximise its religious and educational influence. * Governor Bourke later extended the state financial aid and attempted to introduce government schools based on the national system in his native Ireland. * However, non-Anglican Protestants, who had formed in 1835 a society for promoting schools where the Bible would be a basis for general education, insisted on its wider use in the proposed national schools than was permitted in the Irish system. * Catholics supported the Governor’s proposal which further angered the Protestants. The successive alliance between the Anglicans and the Protestant denominations favourably brought about an anti-Catholic move to condemn concessions to a religious minority at the expense of national school systems based on the religious teachings of the Bible. * In the past, Christianity has made a sustained and valuable contribution to Australian communities. * To focus on the changing religious demographics in Australia may be discouraging for many Christians, but Christianity again can make a valuable contribution to contemporary societies – if its attention is focussed on the community and not on itself. * This paper proposes that Christians learn from the past and, rather than introspectively focussing on maintaining the two first positions described above, accept the third position and engage with existing communities by utilising communal practical life-style Christian principles. * Perhaps from this new perspective, Christianity will become relevant and re-invigorate the traditional (Christian) Australian values as Described by Linder (2006), values of justice and a fair go, self-sacrifice for the good of the community, mateship based on selflessness, and neighbor love.

Qualifications or Experiences Is Important? Essay

Linh: Today, we’ll talk about the topic: experience and qualifications. And there’s a statement that: â€Å"Experience and ability are more important than qualifications†. Do you agree or not agree? Let’s discuss it with two members in my group. Hi, Tam! What do you think? Tam: Um, I think qualifications are more important. Because if we have no paper qualification, we’ll have a lot of difficuties when we begin to work or apply for a job. Because we don’t have basic knowledge and chance to get insight into a specific field that we’ll work. So, many people say that: â€Å"University is a key to open a new window to our future.† And every year, students who finish school, they often enter a university and try their best to achieve. Because it is not easy to pass exams. Therefore, the way that we go will longer and hard when going to college. Linh: Yes, I do agree with your opinion, but you know, university is not the only wa to go in life. In reality, many people achieve their goals but have no qualifications. They sucess because of their effort and their ability. You know, they always want to have knowledge as much as possible. They study at university and experience themselves on part-time job in their free time. And it brings so much experience. So, although they don’t succeed on their studying, they still accumulate much experience and ability for themselves. In the end, they become a professional in field which they are working. How about you, Ngoc? Ngoc: yes, I agree with Linh and Tam. Students who graduate at university doesn’t always reflect true their ability. Because a person’s true ablility have to show by passing interview when he or she applies for a job. But most interviews is not only acquired test about knowledge that he learned at college but also practice or experience in life. Because, at university, he is learned theory than practice. Do you think so? Linh: Yes,right! Tam: Ok, I agree. Linh: So, my group go to conclusion is that experience and ability are as important as university qualifications. They are always necessary for everyone. Thank you for your listening!

Buddhist Nuns in Tibet

Our work aims to research Buddhist nunnery in Tibet. We are going to give information about Tibet in general and about peculiarities of Tibetan religion. We are going to pursue a case study of ordination to a nunnery. Buddhism is one of the world religions. Its believers live through in India, China, South-East Asia, Tibet and other countries. In old times inhabitants of Tibet didn’t practice Buddhism. Their folk religion called â€Å"mi-chos†, which meant the law of men. In after years it transformed to â€Å"bon-chos† – Bon religion. There some people who practice it in Modern Tibet and a handful of handful of Moslems..Nowadays Tibet is a poor Chinese province. It makes modern Tibetan Autonomous Republic. Besides of TAR Tibetan people live in the Chamdo region of Szechwan; some are found in Tsinghai and Kansu (Chang-tu Hu 66). Population carries on animal husbandry. Most of Tibetans consider themselves Buddhists Tibetan Buddhism is differs from the other national forms of this religion. It adapted to everyday life of inhabitants. As Guiseppe Tucci stated, â€Å"the entire spiritual life of the Tibetan is defined by a permanent attitude of defense, by a constant effort to appease and propitiate the powers whom he fears† (187).Tibetan Buddhism is heavily influenced by belief in supernatural. Tucci observed, that religion of Buddha in Tibet shot with a certain ambiguity: on the one side the fear of capricious spirits that was inherited by Lamaism from the country's original religions and, on the other, the conviction that man possesses the means to control these dark vengeful forces demanding propitiation. Magic, ritual, acts of piety, liberality towards monasteries and teachers, exorcism, liturgical technique, all come to his aid. And the human victim he was at the outset, at the mercy of a thousand invisible forces, is able to become their master.(73-74) On this basis scientists state there is a detached Tibetan form of Buddh ism. They called it Lamaism. Lamas were privileged class in Tibetan society. They operate in many sectors of daily life, and the monasteries are important social and economic centers of society. Basic concepts of Buddhism (karma, nirvana, transmigration, and reincarnation) are the same in Lamaism. There were three religious sects in Tibet: Nyingmapa, Kargyu, Sakya, and Gelugpa. The last one is known as the â€Å"Yellow School,† because monks wear yellow hats during ceremonies.It emerged in China since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and became the most influential school in Tibet since the 17th century. Gelugpa sect governed over the country until the Chinese re-exerted control over Tibet when head of â€Å"Yellow School† Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959. The Panchen Lama, who resided at Shigatse, has been elevated by the Chinese government to the position vacated by the Dalai Lama. Followers of the Panchen Lama used to claim that his spiritual powers rival those of the D alai Lama. Both of them were reincarnations of their predecessors.When either dies the priesthood have to decide in which newly born child he has been reincarnated. The reincarnation can happen anywhere, even in a peasant family, but such a family automatically becomes a member of the noble class. Our study of Tibetan nunnery will be incomplete without defining the role of monasteries. Monastery system is the basis of Lamaism. There were 6000 of Buddhist monasteries in Tibet until the Chinese invaded in 1950. Nowadays only six of them are restored (Kerr 37). Monasteries as landowners were authority under units of villages. Many of them used to house five thousand monks.Percentage of the monks composes from 20 to 33-1/3 percent of male population. According to Havnevik Hanna, there were also 27,000 nuns in 1959 (37). In Buddhist countries nuns are called by many different terms —bhik? un? i, don chee, sikkhamat, dasasilmata, jomo, mae chi, tila shin. According to Tibetan tradi tion celibate female Buddhist practitioners are known as ‘ani’. Karma Lekshe Tsomo states in her book, that many women in Tibet became ‘anis’ because nunnery provides an opportunity to get an education (201). Knowledge turned out to be an important theme in the history of many monastic communities.Owing to the isolation from the rest of the world, there was a lack of scientific knowledge in Tibet. Alexandra David-Neel notes, that many Tibetans believed that the earth was flat (26-29). The first radio station in Tibet started operating on January 1, 1959 (Chang-tu Hu 251). There were no primary schools prior to 1950. After the defeat of revolt against Chinese authority in the late fifties Tibetan diaspora began. In the sixties many young people from western countries began heading to the East searching for religious and philosophic alternatives to replace inadequacies they felt in their own cultures.Communication innovations of the eighties established close r connections among people. That’s why desire for knowledge and education affected even remote nunnery high up in the Himalayas. Karma Lekshe Tsomo narrates what was the monastery education to be: The monks and nuns had been recruited with promises of a life of study. Instead, they had to work day in and day out on the ‘gonpa's’ (settlement) construction. At night, they were too tired to concentrate on the lamas' teachings in Tibetan, an unfamiliar language†¦.In this culture, women only left home if they had specific, compelling reasons to do so. For many women, the quest for religious learning and an aversion to hard labor do not constitute compelling reasons. (204) If there is no senior monk in the monastery nuns live in the villages with their parents and work with them. They could gather together only several days on month to read few ‘pechas’ (religious texts). Those, who are not ordained just have to take five precepts: not to kill, steal, lie, commit sexual misconduct, or take intoxicants. Beijing notes that it’s not easy to be a teacher.To be appointed as a teacher of nuns, a monk must fulfill sixteen qualifications : respectability (not having incurred a defeat or partial defeat and being conscientious in that he has forsaken unwholesome deeds such as killing animals); steadfastness (twenty years of standing as a monk); learning (knowledge of the three collections of the scriptures); and thirteen qualities of helpfulness (the twelve explained in the first chapter of this work in the discussion of the qualifications of the monastic preceptor, plus not having previously been appointed as a nuns' teacher and then removed from that position).A monk with these qualifications is appointed to be the nuns' teacher within the boundary of his monastic community; qualified fellow monks perform the appropriate ceremony during the confession ceremony of the fifteenth of the lunar month (132). At first to be accepted as a monk it was enough to take refuge in front of the Buddha. Then special rules were instituted. To be a monk or a nun became a matter of maintaining regulations.Aspirant needs to assume vows. To enter the Buddhist community novice have to pass a long way. According to Beijing, vows of personal are of seven categories when distinguished according to the person: the [vows of the] monk (bhik? u), the nun (bhik? uni), the male novice (srama? era), the female novice (srama? erika), the layman practitioner (upasaka), the laywoman practitioner (upasi?ka), and the postulant nun (sik? amana) (122). In the original procedure for conferring monastic ordination, the aspirant became a monk without any complex ritual. The present-day procedure confers ordination with a considerable amount of ritual. Beijing recorded several ways in which persons became instantaneously ordained as monks and nuns. For example by accepting the eight severe precepts:To receive ordination from monks; to await announce ment of the proper date for the fortnightly confession from monks; to participate in the rainy season retreat near a place where monks are also in retreat; to attend the ceremony of lifting of restrictions (imposed during the rainy season retreat) in an assembly of both monks and nuns; to serve respectfully both monks and nuns if one has transgressed any of these eight precepts ; not to reveal the corrupted morals of monks; not to reproach a monk; to behave respectfully (prostrating and so forth) toward the community of monks, including prostrating before a newly ordained monk.(89) The ceremonies that confer the lay practitioner vows or the novice vows on a woman are essentially the same as those for a man, except for the aspirant being referred to as â€Å"the woman known as†¦ ,† instead of â€Å"the man known as†¦ ,† and the additional questions posed to the woman. The precepts of the postulant nun may be assumed at the age of eighteen in the case of one wh o has not been married and at the age of ten in the case of a woman who has been married. This ordination is conferred by a group of twelve nuns through a two-part ceremony including proposal.A female novice must receive the postulant nun's vows and observe them for two years before she can receive full ordination as a nun. The aspirant nun should give the vow for strict observance of celibacy. Beijing mentions that a woman cannot receive this vow if she has any of the following five obstacles: having both the male and female organ or having neither; menstruating continuously or having no menstruation; having no feeling in the vagina; and having been a nun before (178). The bestowal of this vow constitutes the intermediate part of the nun's ordination.In the first part, her request to become a nun is forwarded to the abbess with a report on whether she is free from obstacles to her ordination (not having received permission from family or husband, being pregnant, etc. ). The second part of the ceremony consists of her request for the vows of strict observance of celibacy, which is forwarded to the abbess along with a report confirming that she will abide by such a vow (determined from further questioning), and the final agreement by the abbess which signals the conferral of the vow.In the third part, she is fully ordained by a group of both monks and nuns. An extensive explanation of the rules for nuns concludes the ceremony. Then the full ordination is bestowed in the presence of group of nuns augmented by a group of ordaining monks. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the preceptor instructs the new nun on the twelve points of discipline, which include the eight defeating offenses, the eight severe precepts, and other rules.However, it should be mentioned that the traditions for the ordinations of the postulant and fully ordained nun were never introduced in Tibet. Once became a nun, female practitioner of Buddhism must observe three hundred and sixty-four ru les: not to commit the eight defeating offenses that constitute root downfalls, twenty partially defeating acts, thirty-three downfalls involving forfeiture, one hundred and eighty downfalls requiring confession alone, eleven downfalls to be individually confessed, and one hundred and twelve minor infractions.In Buddhism, vows are viewed in many ways, depending on the context of the discussion, but generally the ethical systems are designated as three sets of vows, as two sets of vows, or as one all-inclusive vow. The three sets of vows spoken of throughout all divisions of the Buddhist scriptures are those of personal liberation (pratimok? a), of meditative absorption (dhyana), and of the uncontaminated (anasrava) vows. These are essentially identical to the three forms of training on the Buddhist path: the development of morality, meditation, and wisdom.In fact, in order to gain the different types of enlightenment of their systems, proclaimers (Rravaka), solitary sages (pratyekab uddha), and bodhisattvas must forsake disturbing emotions and other obstacles on their paths by cultivating an uncontaminated discriminative awareness which is developed by training in wisdom. This discriminative awareness is grounded in mental quiescence achieved by training in meditation, and mental quiescence is developed on the basis of training in pure morality.The proclaimers' system speaks of two sets of ethics, each with three vows: the vows of a lay practitioner, novice, and monk (or nun); and the vows of body, speech, and mind. The three vows in the scriptures of the Universal Way (mahayana) refer to the processes of refraining from the unwholesome, of aiming at acquiring good qualities, and of working for the benefit of all living beings. These are also known as the three trainings, or ethics, of the bodhisattva. The tantras speak of four sets of ethics, each with three vows.The first set includes the commitments of awakening mind, the vows related to the creation phase, and those related to the completion phase. The second set includes the pledges of the Buddha's body, speech, and mind. The third set, as taught by the great adept Vitapada, consists in not conforming to the practice of accepting what is good and rejecting what is bad with respect to any physical, verbal, or mental action. The fourth set includes the vows of personal liberation, the bodhisattva commitments, and the pledges of the awareness holder (vidyadhara).The tantras also speak of two types of ethics: the common pledges received during the vase initiation of the five awarenesses (of the vase) and the stages of the initiation prior to these; and the uncommon ones received at the time of the irreversible vajra-master initiation. According to a different explanation, the two types of ethics in the tantras refer to the vows related to the creation phase and those related to the completion phase, also known as the outer and inner vows.Moreover, when the tantric adept assumes all the v ows of personal liberation, the bodhisattva commitments, and the tantric pledges, he or she maintains these ethics in both their outer and inner aspects. Works Cited Beijing, Chos ‘byung. The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet. Delhi: Sri Satguru, 1986. David-Neel, Alexandra. â€Å"Edge of Tibet†, AATA 44:1 (January 1944): 26-29. Chang-tu Hu. China: Its People, Its Society, Its Culture. New Haven, CT: HRAF Press, 1960. Havnevik, Hanna. Tibetan Buddhist Nuns.History, Cultural Norms and Social Reality. Oslo: Norwegian University Press, 1989. Kerr, Blake. Sky burial : an eyewitness account of China's brutal crackdown in Tibet. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1997. Shen, Tsung-lien and Liu, Shen-chi. Tibet and the Tibetans. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977. Tucci, Guiseppe. The Religions of Tibet. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1980. Tsomo, Karma Lekshe. Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming against the Stream. Richmond: Curzon Press Limited, 2000.

Museum paper- art history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Museum paper- art history - Essay Example These types of images were giving way to more humanist styles in forms of expression as images were depicted in a more optical style. These changes can be seen when comparing pottery currently on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, such as the Panathenaic prize vase and the Amphora Depicting Oedipus and the Sphinx of Thebes. There are numerous similarities between these two objects, but with approximately 100 years between manufacture, stylistic differences are also evident. Both objects are classified as amphora, which was a type of two-handled urn that was often used to carry wine or water. These types of vessels were often decorated with scenes from heroic stories and mythology as in the image of Oedipus talking with the Sphinx in the later example (Skaar, 2006). This ceramic amphora was made in the red figure style in the city of Athens sometime between 450-440 BC by the Achilles painter. It stands approximately 13 inches high and is approximately 6  ½ inches in diameter at its widest point near the center (Bostom Museum). Despite the tradition, though, the earlier example seems to be more of a commemorative piece as it depicts five stylized runners and is marked with the words â€Å"of the prizes from Athens† (Boston Museum). This amphora is also ceramic and created in Athens, but is made in what is called the black figure style approximately 100 years earlier between 530-520 BC by the Euphiletos Painter. It stands approximately 24 inches tall and measures approximately 16 inches around at its widest point near the top (Boston Museum). Both vases have some damage as a result of time. The Prize vase shows some signs of damage and attempts at restoration while some of the pigment for the Oedipus amphora has worn away leaving some of the story of the vase up to science and history. The museum’s assessment of these pieces seems largely correct.

Stories on Gender and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stories on Gender and Society - Essay Example These three ‘Ks’ involved ‘kitchen, kids and kin’. Women had to care of house, children and family. The most intolerable thing was constant observations and control to not permit any deviations from women’s side. The most suffering group of females was women of middle class society as they could not protect their freedom due to their position or money. The horrid Cult mostly influenced women’s self-determination, the lack of which caused male-female inequality in family, social and professional spheres. Therefore, husbands decided what was the best for wives, society justified women’s morality and employers gave women lower positions and less salary. This paper will discuss the three stories where all these three spheres heavily injured women’s self-determination but all the three heroines attempted to get rid of the Cult norms and to free themselves. The stories to be discussed are: ‘The Yellow Wall Paper’ by Charlotte Gilman, ‘A Rose for Emily’ by William Faulkner and ‘Hills Like White Elephants’ by Ernest Hemingway. ‘The Yellow Wall Paper’ is a story of ‘ill-nervous’ woman whose husband is a doctor and he is quite confident in what treatment is the best for his wife: ‘He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction.’ (chapter I). The heroine’s freedom is restricted by an old house room furnished by the yellow wall papers. Her husband even refuses her to change the room when she hates these yellow wall papers: ‘[then]he took me in his arms and called me a blessed little goose, and said he would go down cellar, if I wished, and have it whitewashed into the bargain.’ (chapter I) He even forbids her to write although writing is her passion: ‘There comes John, and I must put this away,—he hates to have me write a word.’ (chapter I) Having thrown into loneliness and idleness in the yellow papered room the woman begins hating her husband’s ‘good care’ and

Personal Savings and Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Savings and Insurance - Essay Example at the very primitive reason behind an individual’s or a family’s savings is financial security which guarantees safety for the basic necessities for living. There is also a need of financial security for unexpected emergencies, illness or unemployment. This trend of saving for safety needs is very evident in families with income which is neither very large nor very small. Families with large income do not need to save for safety needs and families with small income do not have any extra sums to save for safety needs. Individuals with smaller families prefer to save money for improving their lifestyles and like to spend on luxury items like vacation trips, nicer car and purchasing property. This trend is observed in people having no children. These luxury items tend to change the lifestyle of the individuals as a whole and give a substantial return to the individuals for their savings according to their perspective. This tendency is present in all individuals but is mostly observed in family heads with larger incomes. Such individuals give priority to saving money for their relationships and consider saving for children’s education, gifts for relatives etc their responsibility. When the individuals have fulfilled all the basic and primitive needs of their life, they move forward towards the higher objectives and for the fulfillment of those higher objectives they require savings. This trend is observed in older people with comparatively larger incomes who want to spend their money in charity and some of them also want to set up businesses of their own. The tendency is to achieve the goals which they set up for themselves at earlier ages of their lives. 6. The improving economic conditions nationally and internationally and recovery from recession is encouraging people to spend more and save a smaller proportion of the income because the economy is doing very well and they can rely on their spending and previous investments for financials security. 8.

Knowledgement Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Knowledgement Management - Research Paper Example 1). The meaning of the term knowledge was qualified by Baker, Baker, Thorne, & Dutnell (1997), â€Å"knowledge is present in ideas, judgments, talents, root causes, relationships, perspectives and concepts. Knowledge can be related to customers, products, processes, culture, skills, experiences and know-how† (cited in Kalpic & Bernus, 2006, p. 44). KM is therefore important to the success of the organization because through the collective shared efforts of various stakeholders, the potentials and resources of the organizations are maximized. Core competencies and strengths are capitalized to enable the organization to address risks, threats and changes in external environmental factors that would impinge on the firm’s operations. Accordingly, not only are the organizational objectives achieved; but more so, the relevant contribution of the organization’s stakeholders are thereby percieved as instrumental for the firm’s success and therefore, make each cont ributor better motivated to share their inputs towards a greater good. As noted from Kalpic & Bernus’ (2006) discourse, â€Å"Rouggles (1998), for example, found that the four most common KM projects conducted by organizations were creating/implementing an intranet, knowledge repositories, decision support tools, or groupware to support collaboration† (p. 49). The creation and implementation of an intranet is deemed crucial for organizations to access and connect volumes and diverse information through different departments and functions within the organization. This is an example of KM due to the interplay of inputs, processes and systems that need to be identified, analyzed and connected, as required. Decision-support tools are also examples of KM programs were organizational policies and procedures identify and authorize authorities to decide on significant aspects, alternatives, and options that each personnel, department, or group makes on a daily basis. The design and implementation of

Assignment for Multimedia and Internet Development Essay

Assignment for Multimedia and Internet Development - Essay Example It is my concept to produce a simple yet interesting website that does not need fancy colors to decorate on. My motto is "matter over manner". It is better to have meaningful yet simple website than to have a very decorative but lousy website. The software that I used was Macromedia Dreamweaver. To be able to have an interactive design, I made Macromedia Flash Buttons that act as my navigation buttons. The navigation buttons that I have made are placed on the left side. This left pane is placed permanently that whenever you click the navigation bars, it will never move. I also included a time and date pane with an updated time that shows seconds. For more interactive design, I included QuickTime applications that will play the music videos that I got from the internet. I coded it properly with right positions in the website so that it will not be disturbing to look at if people will view my website. I also put a banner that shows the logo and the wonderful picture of my favorite band , U2. For the photographs, the software that I used was PhotoShow. On the over-all design, I put graphic interchange format or GIF pictures so that there will be lots of animation. At the end of the page, I made a "Contact Us" pane so that if ever m website will be posted, people will be able to reach me through direct link. Also it will be a big help that I put it because I may be able to receive feedback. It is very important in communication the element of feedback because through feedback, there will be a continues flow of communication. In simple terms, there will be interaction. I think when crating a website, we should give such panes because there will be interactive communication among us and the viewers. Also in that reason, the viewers may enjoy viewing our websites. Storyboard U2 Homepage I. Index or Home Page A. Website Banner (U2 Logo and Picture) B. Left Unmovable Pane 1. Navigation Bars (Macromedia Flash Buttons) a. Home b. Gallery c. Album d. Songs e. Videos f. Contact Us C. Content 1. U2 Biography (Heading 1) a. Content b. Photograph of U2 with photo swapping c. Content d. Photograph of U2 e. Names of the band Members (Heading 2) II. Gallery A. PhotoShow application III. Album A. Photo Album (Heading 1) B. Photographs with scroll functions IV. Songs A. U2 Song (Heading 1) B. Animated GIF's C. Song Clips 1. With or Without You (mp3) 2. I still haven't Found What I am Looking For (mp3) 3. Where the Street have No Name (mp3) V. Videos A. U2 Video Clips (Heading 1) B. Animated GIF C. QuickTime Supported Logo D. Video Clips a. One b. Desire c. Vertigo d. With or Without You VI. Contact Us A. Thank you for visiting our site (Heading 2) B. Contact Us (Heading 1) C. Animated GIF D. Fill-in Space E. Buttons 1. Submit 2. Clear Website Review The main emphasis of the website is my fondness of the band U2. I decided to choose the software Macromedia Dreamweaver so that I can incorporate Macromedia Flash Applications. My goal here is to make an evaluative and persuasive website that will entail my viewer's interest in knowing me. By using Macromedia application, the task was not that hard to perform but of course, there are certain incapacities that I may not be able to do. There is also alternative software applications is doing this website but I guess, the most valuable would be

How does the culture of a selectrace affect the value of sacramentals Essay - 1

How does the culture of a selectrace affect the value of sacramentals to the Church and individual spirituality - Essay Example f both culture and religion in the human society affect the human individuals in the communities around the globe and how each other intend to affect the systems of understanding and life-guidance that is provided by both aspects of directive human living. Through this discussion, it is expected that a presented indication as to how human living and human perception toward modern Catechism and religious consideration have been changed through the years of human advancement due to the implicative elements that culture itself suggests to the human communities worldwide. This part of the paper shall show a definitive pathway that would lead to the readers understanding of what religion and culture is and what roles are they playing g in the lives of human individuals living in certain communities around the globe. In this section of the reading, a defining factor on the differentiated approach of cultural preferences shall be presented in connection with the changes that it proposes on the recognition of the importance of Catechism in the society. This section shall tackle about the developments happening in the human society then and at present and how these developments affect the acceptance of people towards the guidelines and rules that are presented to them by religion through catechism. For this section of the reading, the researcher shall present the modern approaches to catholic catechism that reflects the effect of social culture towards the establishment of rules and ways of living suggested by modern religion. Through the basic discussions, this section shall summarize all the necessary points that are importantly needed for the proving of the major options of realizing how culture and religion go hand in hand or on the other hand, stand against each other, in presenting modern human lifestyle guidelines. Religion and culture are two primary foundations of the present systems of human society. Basically though, these two primary entities of the human

Cultural and Cross Cultural Psychology Essay Example for Free

Cultural and Cross Cultural Psychology Essay Cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology is no more new, as it has had its momentum picked up for the past few decades. Developmental psychology is something of the same kind and it was a buzzword in between at the turn of the century. The question is how is it possible to study humans development though we intend to study. Human development is also reflected from the repeated efforts and interests on culture analysis in getting to know the interpretation of signals, code words and gestures. When it comes to testing, research and analysis in psychology related subjects it is quite difficult to understand the significant relation between the test samples and the findings. As there is never a reliable empirical formula. Cross cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural condition. Its primary aims are to investigate a) systematic relations between behavioral variables and ethnic-cultural variables, and generalizations of psychological principles. Cross cultural psychology is the science by virtue of the scientific principles and methods it employs. Cross cultural psychology is not primarily concerned with the comparative study of culture, that si the enduring characteristics that mark a culture apart from other countries. (Leonore Loeb Adler, Uwe P. Gieglen, Florence L. Denmark. Cross cultural topics in psychology – Second edition) â€Å"Cross-cultural psychology is the empirical study of members of various culture groups who have had different experience that lead to predictable and significant differences in behavior. In the majority of such studies, the groups under study speak different languages and are governed by different political units† (British, Lonner, Thorndike, 1973, p. 5 – John W. Berry, Ype H. Pootinga, Marshall H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen. Cross cultural psychology Research and Applications – Second edition, p. 1) â€Å"Cultural Psycology is the study of the cultures role in the mental life of human beings† (Cole, 1996, p. 1- John W. Berry, Ype H. Pootinga, Marshall H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen. Cross cultural psychology Research and Applications – Second edition, p. 1) Cultural psychology is the study to examine ethnic and cultural sources of psychological diversity in emotional, social cognition and human development. (Richard A. Shweder, Maria A. Sullivan. Cultural Psychology: Who needs it? 1993 – Internet edition Cultural psychology is nothing but the practices, customs and beliefs we follow differs from place to place and ethnicity to ethnicity. It is the study of various cultural practices, customary traditions and beliefs that influence a particular sector of people, who decides to improve their society by improvising the existing practices and trying to reason few satisfactory logic to get convinced with the practices. The degree of variance is sometimes measurable and sometimes not. The most interesting part is to analyze how and to what extent the traditions, customs, practices and beliefs developed in a region based on something are made use in favor of personal purposes. Whereas cross-cultural psychology is the effort to establish a connection between psychology that is being framed on the basis of the customs and traditions practiced. It simply deals with the different set of experiences and different set of environment which shows a significant influence on the behavior of the person in a place. The cultural psychology stops with the traditions, customs, beliefs and practices in a system whereas cross-cultural psychology is deep about analyzing the effect of these cultural practices in the behavior and thought process of an individual in the system. For eg, the traditional practice of Sati (burning a woman alive after her husbands death) was followed in India. Learning the practice and the origin of Sati and analyzing its logic, superstitious beliefs is the cultural psychology. Cross cultural psychology tends to explain why women in India are able to accept the practice and get convinced when it is not possible with the other women in the rest of the world. Critical thinking in the cross cultural psychology Cross cultural psychology is interesting to deal with, but actually speaking is highly uninteresting when it comes to experiment and research. It is difficult to format a methodology and bring it in practice, even if brought into practice it is not all that easy to interpret the results of the psychological tests and tasks. How can researchers make out the differences between the results obtained for the same tests from different groups though the questions are same and the groups are different based on the brought up and experience. Is it possible to exhibit a connection between the psychology and the culture with just the interpretation of the results of the tests conducted, and the fact being no one knows to what extent the interpretation falls right. The difference in the thinking may occur due to the difference in the culture influenced thought process, still it is difficult as there is no concrete or empirical formula formulated to decide on it. There is no assurance that the difference in thought process is because of the cultural difference, as there could also be reasons such as bewildered nature of the question, the puzzling nature of the tests, the mood and ignorance of the people and the literacy rate and understanding power of an individual. It does not stop with cross cultural psychology as developmental psychology also faced the similar kind of problem in formatting the research to get to know the exact demand of the scientists and the researchers from the test samples. In addition to that few man made minor errors in the research and process leads to an unexpected and unwanted finding and the errors are sometimes left undetected too. The methodology associated with cross cultural research When it comes to methodology of cross cultural psychology, it involves the qualitative methodology to analyze the practices, customs and habits of different cultures, on the other hand it requires quantitative methodology to compare, analyze and juxtapose the difference in psychology of different individuals influenced by the cultures and practices they follow. Psychological and cultural psychology experiments always require the need of qualitative analysis, as the cross cultural psychology is all about analyzing a huge mass of test sample quantitative analysis also comes into picture, perhaps the problem is sometimes the methods are treated mutually exclusive and the results are not compatible all the time. In addition to this, there is a report that researchers employ artificial and unfamiliar methods leading to ambiguous results. The issue is research is done based on the questions answered by individuals in a society rather than the collective answer from a society, that makes the major difference and inconvenience. Conclusion Though the subject is interesting, it is poignant to know the investigation methods have not taken the right direction. Conventional methods and sampling techniques are most desired all the times, perhaps when it comes to bringing out the difference between two cultures and the influence on the thought process of an individual because of the culture, it is advisable not to stop with these conventional techniques, as even previous literature works, media interviews, assumptions can be taken into significant consideration. Apart from all these standard quantitative techniques should be given the appropriate attention too, the results from the conventional sampling techniques and the standard quantitative techniques can be compared and related. This way a convincing analysis can be expected. Reference: Richard A Shweder. Thinking through cultures – Expeditions in cultural psychology John W. Berry, Ype H. Pootinga, Marshall H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen . Cross cultural psychology Research and Applications – Second edition James W. Stigler, Richard A. Shweder, Gilbert Herdt. Cultural Psychology- Essays on comparative human development. Lumei Hui. (2003)Theoretical and Methodological Problems in Cross-Cultural Psychology. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior John W. Berry, Ype H. Pootinga, Marshall H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen. Cross cultural psychology Research and Applications – Second edition

Evaluation Of The Claim Rousseaus Social Contract Philosophy Essay

Evaluation Of The Claim Rousseaus Social Contract Philosophy Essay This essay will begin from the premise that, far from advocating a collectivist contract of society and sacrificing the individual to such state, Rousseaus Social Contract establishes protective measures for the individual through the conception of the general will. Firstly, an exploration of the content and main features of Rousseaus Social Contract will be undertaken, before a critical evaluation of its relation to the protection of the individual in society will be offered, principally through the notion of the general will. This essay will then reject opponents claims that this inevitably leads to individual freedom being sacrificed to the community, as will it reject the argument that Rousseaus contractarianism is either illiberal or totalitarian. It will conclude by defending the perception of Rousseaus Social Contract as an advocate an egalitarian liberal society. The will of the General Will The evaluation at hand presupposes that Rousseaus Social Contract champions collectivism, or communitarianism, and in doing so rejects liberalism which places at its heart the autonomy of the individual. The thesis of such an argument is that through various measures, society as a collective usurps the ability for an individual to maintain independence or free will in the social contract. Yet this examination disregards both the historical context of Rousseau and the underlying purpose of Rousseaus work, which was to provide an explanation of the conditions in which, man being individualist by nature and simultaneously wanting the protection and advantages of living in a civil society, both of these can be achieved without the need for a loss of liberty. Rejecting this collectivist position, which will be countered in greater depth later on in this essay, it is important to explore the content and main features of Rousseaus Social Contract, to remind us that a liberal political theory needs to concern itself not only with the identity of liberty, but also with identifying the conditions under which that liberty can be sustained (Hampsher-Monk 1995: 275). Thus, the Social Contracts central concern is to create a climate in which popular sovereignty is realisable, and Rousseaus lineage of work therein is logically concerned with strengthening the case for and to counter any potential challenges to it (V. Gourevitch 2003: xxiii). Popular sovereignty, for Rousseau, was the very basis for the protection of individuals: the Sovereign, being formed wholly of the individuals who compose it, neither has nor can have any interest contrary to theirs. (Social Contract I: 7.5) Inherent in Rousseaus conception of sovereignty is the general will, which governs the relations of all men, enforcing popular sovereignty and forming the foundation of Rousseaus theory: Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will, and, in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole. (Social Contract I: 6.9) Simply put, the general will is the common good of all men, and yet this concept is precisely what provides protection of the individual, since Rousseaus conception is such that the individual and the collective are so entwined that they cannot be separated without returning to the state of nature. Yet, Rousseau does concede that particular (or private) wills of the individual do exist in so far that each individual, as a man, may have a particular will contrary or dissimilar to the general will which he has as a citizen (SC I: 7.7). This presents a quandary: natural liberty and particular wills are one and the same by definition, but the very purpose of the Social Contract, to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, united himself all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before (SC I: 6.4) proposes that a solution to reconcile the two must necessarily be presented. This is presented two-fold: firstly, Rousseau claims that the general will be naturally discoverable, by taking away the pluses and minuses of particular wills, which innately cancel each other out, leaving only the general will as the sum of the differences (SC 2: 3.2); secondly, for whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole body. This means nothing less than that he will be forced to be free; for this is the condition which, by giving each citizen to his country, secures him against all personal dependence. (SC I: 7.8) The latter account has frequently been the origin of the so-called totalitarian thesis, a popular assessment of Rousseau but which has been convincingly rejected by recent study and will be similarly critiqued later in this essay. Thus, Rousseau acknowledges, by virtue of admitting that particular wills do exist, that in the social compact, man does sacrifice his natural, absolute liberty. Yet, as will be argued, rather than sacrificing individual freedom altogether, the social compact offers something that cannot be attained in the state of nature civil liberty; ultimately, this is far more favourable, and a truer, more secure, representation of individual autonomy. Rousseau outlines that self-love (amour de soi), reason and freedom are all fundamental features of human nature, and we have a basic interest in ensuring protection of our person and the goods we need to survive and live well (Cohen 2010: 11). Similar to other social contract theorists such as Hobbes and Locke, Rousseaus state of nature, that is to say the natural state of things before the social contract is conceived, offers absolute liberty on one hand, but no protection for rights on the other. Protection of rights offered in civil society, including the protection of property, is non-existent in this state; the social contract is Rousseaus response to those calling for the reconciliation of liberty and the protection of rights without sacrificing liberty of the individual, and here Rousseau differs from his contemporaries in that he advocates a different conception of sovereignty. Liberty in the social contract is exchanged, but this is not to say it is sacrificed, as Rawls states: We gain the same rights over others as they gain over us, and this we have done by agreeing to an exchange of rights for reasons rooted in our fundamental interests, including the interest in our freedom. (Rawls 2008: 221) Thus, the general will, being the will the community, appears at first to be antithetical to the interests of individuals. It is an abstract theory, but nevertheless exudes clarity of purpose, even if Rousseau does not definitively express how the general will is found. As has been touched upon, society, being inescapable without returning man back to his origins as a primitive being, is such that the community and the individual are permanently coexisting and interdependent. The general will the will of the community is thus to Rousseau a reflection of the common good, since all rational persons have in their very nature a concern for their self-preservation and freedom; they would thus be harming themselves to will something for the community (in which they are inextricably linked) that is distinctly separate from their own particular will. Consequently, the common good reflects an equal concern with the well-being of each person, and as a result an equal concern for individual a utonomy, since all people share the very same conception of the common good (Cohen 2010: 15); the public interest and common liberty are synonymous withpersonal interest and liberty.'(Boucher 2009: 278) The Legislator The Social Contract offers various measures through which the general will is made discoverable, or else enforced, as briefly mentioned above. Whilst forcing man to be free seems adversative to liberal political theory (which this essay argues that Rousseau follows), the institutions that Rousseau describes within The Social Contract are analogous to popular sovereignty and hence compatible with individual autonomy as we have seen. These include the institutions of a legislator, or law-giver, civil religion and censorship. Rousseau acknowledges that man does not necessarily know what he wants, or is best for him and so needs the guidance of wisdom and experience in the form of these institutions to aid the formation of the social contract. In particular, there is a need for a legislator to [lead] to the union of understanding and will in the social body (SC 2: 6.10). This legislator would do so by reason of his genius, [and]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ no less by reason his office, which is neith er magistracy, nor Sovereignty (SC 2: 7.4). Thus Rousseau depicts a figure who is distinct from the sovereignty of the people and hence neither superior (a master) nor inferior to the community: he works in the interest of discovering the general will (by means of persuasion), and thus by deduction solely motivated by the protection of liberty and freedom of the individual. Of course, by separating the legislator from the people, Rousseau is opening himself to claims of elitism, which are potentially at odds with the egalitarian free community of equals (Cohen 2010: 10) that is the outcome of his conception of the general will. However, he counters these criticisms by making clear that he who holds command over laws ought notà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to have it over men; or else his laws would be the ministers of his passions and would often merely serve to perpetuate his injustices. (SC 2: 7.4) This Montesquieu-esque separation of powers (who, along with Diderot, preceded Rousseau in coining the term general will and who evidently influenced Rousseaus thought) safeguards the sovereignty of the people, and whilst the legislator is applicable to the community at large, Rousseau expresses its worth to individual autonomy rather than the collective authority: If we ask in what precisely consists the greatest good of all, which should be the end of every system of legislation, we shall find it reduce itself to two main objects, liberty and equality (SC 2: 11.1) Rousseaus civil concept of liberty It has been established that the social contract contrasts two necessities of human nature: the need for security and political authority (embodied in the social contract as the need for a political community) and the need for individual autonomy and liberty. Yet there must inevitably be a concession. One of the towering liberal philosophers of the twentieth century, Isaiah Berlin, famously drew a distinction between two concepts of liberty, those of positive and negative liberty (Berlin 1958), and this is pertinent in its applicability in Rousseaus Social Contract. Whilst negative (absolute) liberty allows the individual full autonomy in the absence of external forces (coercive or otherwise), Rousseau concedes that to reconcile the two necessities a different conception of liberty is needed, and this Berlin called positive liberty: the freedom to, as opposed to freedom from, act with individual autonomy, protected by certain measures acting as safeguards. This, to Rousseau, was civi l liberty: What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and an unlimited right to everything he tries to get and succeeds in getting; what he gains is civil liberty and the proprietorship of all he possesses. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we must clearly distinguish natural liberty, which is bounded only by the strength of the individual, from civil liberty, which is limited by the general will; and possession, which is merely the effect of force or the right of the first occupier, from property, which can be founded only on a positive title. (SC 1: 8.2) This is an important distinction to make, but not one that this essay believes forces a dilution of liberty. Berlin (1958) draws these two distinct concepts to further his argument that the only true form of liberty is that in a negative sense. Nonetheless, liberalism to a modern scholar associates itself with the protection of individual rights, such as those of proprietorship; this has been engrained in liberal theory, which arguably finds its origin in Rousseaus Social Contract. To Rousseau, the liberty that is afforded to man in the state of nature (being the liberty that Berlin favours) is detrimental to the human condition. On the other hand, under the social contract, man gains an equivalent for everything he loses (SC 1: 6.8). From this we might take that liberty under the social contract is a zero-sum gain; liberty is exchanged, but not lost. However, the benefit of civil liberty is that man gains an increase in force for the preservation of what he has. (SC 1: 6.8). Roussea u develops upon this by commenting that the right of first occupier, which in the state of nature is so weak (SC 1: 9.2), is respected by individuals and the community alike: possessors, being regarded as depositaries of public property, and having their rights respected by all the members of the Stateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, have, by a cession which benefits both the public and still more themselves, acquired, so to speak, all that they gave up. (SC 1: 9.6) We might, over and above all this add, to what man acquires in the civil state, moral liberty, which alone makes him truly the master of himself; for the mere impulse of appetite is slavery, while obedience to a law which we prescribe to ourselves is liberty (SC 1: 8.3). This is a striking statement, and of course not one that Berlin, among others, accepts. Berlin states that to coerce a man is to deprive him of freedom (Berlin 1958: 6). Yet Rousseaus social contract is not coercive in this sense. Man does not accept the general will through the persuasion of authority, but because it is rational to do so as the general will is equally a manifestation of ones own true will. Rousseau does not deprive the individual of free will: far from it, he expects that in the social contract man will choose the general will with this very same free will of the individual. By man developing his moral faculties through the conception of the civil state, Rousseau claims that justice triumphs over in stinct, intelligence over stupidity and irrationality (SC 1: 8.1). Thus, in forming a civil community (state), man develops an appreciation of the liberty of other individuals within that community, which is mutually protective; the moral intelligence that man formulates is of greater benefit to individual freedom and autonomy than his very same (absolute) liberty in the state of nature. Communitarianism and illiberalism It is clear to see that myriad critics, among them Berlin, reject Rousseaus contracts protection of liberty, instead arguing that his strong conception of political community intrinsically works to oppose this. Berlins extraordinary claim that Rousseau was one of the most sinister and formidable enemies of liberty in the whole history of modern thought (Berlin 2002: 4) certainly has great impact, a surprisingly ferocious attack on a theorist who had at his heart a desire to protect the freedom of human condition in society. Thus it is necessary to delve into Berlins criticism further to understand his reasoning. Berlin saw Rousseaus conjecture being particularly dangerous to liberty. In Berlins view, Rousseau had associated freedom with self-determination, yet self-determination with obedience to the general will. The notion of the general will, being quite separate from individual (particular) wills, went against Berlins conception of liberalism, for it alleged the existence of a common interest encompassing the interests of all men: an absolute, single set of rules for all, which Berlin saw as being a divergence from the pluralist tradition of liberalism. Rousseau also went some way to disguising mans true nature, as Berlin saw it, by conceiving man as a citizen being, rather than a lone, individual creature an unrealistic transformation of human interest. Furthermore, Rousseau was said to have changed the concept of mans will from what he actually desires empirically, to a will that he ought, or should, desire, but may not through the nature of the human condition (Berlin 2002). Emphasis ed by his strong Calvinist influence, we could also add to this Rousseaus deeply-rooted sense of morality, a sense of right and wrong, and what it means to live a good (and bad) life, which we can take Berlin to object to on the basis of its limitation on individual choice and self-determination.

Macbeth: Macbeth - A Tragic Hero :: essays research papers

Macbeth: Macbeth - A Tragic Hero "(Sometimes a tragic hero is created, not through his own villainy), but rather through some flaw in him, he being one of those who are in high station and good fortune, like Oedipus and Thyestes and the famous men of such families as those." (Poetics, Aristotle). Every great tragedy is dominated by a protagonist who has within himself a tragic flaw, too much or too little of one of Aristotle's twelve virtues. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, a great Scottish general and thane of Glamis, has just won an important battle, when he is told by three witches that he will become thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. After Macbeth is given Cawdor by King Duncan, he takes the witches words for truth and conspires against Duncan with his wife. When Duncan comes to Macbeth's castle that night, Macbeth kills him and takes the crown for himself after Duncan's sons flee from Scotland. Then Macbeth reigns for a while, has several people killed, and is eventually slain by Macduff when he and Malcolm return leading the armies of England. Often people read the play and automatically conclude that Macbeth's tragic flaw is his ambition; that he is compelled to commit so many acts of violence by his lust for power. However, by carefully examining the first act, one can determine the defect in Macbeth's character that creates his ambition; his true tragic flaw. Macbeth's tragic flaw is not his ambition as most people believe, but rather his trust in the words of the witches and in his wife's decisions. At the beginning of the play Macbeth has no designs on the throne, and he does not start plotting until his wife comes up with a plan. When first faced with the witches' words, Macbeth expresses astonishment and disbelief rather than welcoming them when he says, "...to be King stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor...."(1.3.73-75). When confronted with the witches' proclamation that he is to be king, Macbeth responds as a loyal subject would; not as a man with secret aspirations in his heart. He has no reason to hide his true feelings at this point so therefore it can be assumed that Macbeth has not yet truly considered killing the king. Even after the first of the witches' predictions comes true, Macbeth does not plot against the king but instead decides to leave it to chance. "(Aside) If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir."(1.3.143-144). Macbeth has already been granted the title of thane of Cawdor, but still he

Physical Development of Children in Middle Childhood Essays -- Child D

This topic considers what the physical development of children in ‘middle childhood (6-10)’ is, and how their physical needs in the learning environment can be accommodated. The key elements taken into consideration would be the development of motor skills for the selected age group and the influences of the specified group. The benefits of physical activity and the consequences of prolonged inactivity, how a student’s development can be facilitated or restricted through development in other areas with the use of physical activity and issues of health and well being in the learning environment to accommodate or support the physical needs and development of the students in the specified age group. Accounts and ideas by specialists in the field of physical development and the specified group have been documented to show how these factors can work together. These elements are necessary to understand how a child’s environment and developmental levels enable them to learn effectively The fine motor skills development in students’ within the middle childhood age range gradually improves throughout their learning period. Throughout their ‘middle childhood’ students’ writing becomes smaller, neater and more consistent with fewer spelling and grammatical errors and drawings contain more detail and are â€Å"supported by physiological maturation and cognitive advances† (McDevitt & Ormond, 2010, Pg 161). Their ability to try and succeed at fine motor skills such; arts and crafts, knitting and beading projects increase. It is imperative to increase children’s writing tasks from shapes, letters and numbers to words, sentences and sums to improve both fine motor skills and cognitive abilities. Physical development can affect other area... ...reat Britain: Oneworld Publicatons Lucas, R.W. (2005). People Strategies for Trainers. 176 Tips and Techniques for dealing with DIFFICULT Classroom Situations. USA: AMACOM American Management Association McDevitt, T.M & Ormrod, J.E. (2010). Child Development and Education. USA: S4 Carlisle Publishing Services McInerney, D.M. & McInerney, V. (2002). Educational Psychology Constructing Learning. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Catherine Godfrey Shilton, T. & Naughton, G. National Physical Activity Program Committee, National Heart Foundation of Australia. Physical activity and children A Statement of Importance and Call to Action from the Heart Foundation. (2001). Retrieved from http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2001/nhf/call_to_action.asp Early Childhood Education (2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_childhood_education Physical Development of Children in Middle Childhood Essays -- Child D This topic considers what the physical development of children in ‘middle childhood (6-10)’ is, and how their physical needs in the learning environment can be accommodated. The key elements taken into consideration would be the development of motor skills for the selected age group and the influences of the specified group. The benefits of physical activity and the consequences of prolonged inactivity, how a student’s development can be facilitated or restricted through development in other areas with the use of physical activity and issues of health and well being in the learning environment to accommodate or support the physical needs and development of the students in the specified age group. Accounts and ideas by specialists in the field of physical development and the specified group have been documented to show how these factors can work together. These elements are necessary to understand how a child’s environment and developmental levels enable them to learn effectively The fine motor skills development in students’ within the middle childhood age range gradually improves throughout their learning period. Throughout their ‘middle childhood’ students’ writing becomes smaller, neater and more consistent with fewer spelling and grammatical errors and drawings contain more detail and are â€Å"supported by physiological maturation and cognitive advances† (McDevitt & Ormond, 2010, Pg 161). Their ability to try and succeed at fine motor skills such; arts and crafts, knitting and beading projects increase. It is imperative to increase children’s writing tasks from shapes, letters and numbers to words, sentences and sums to improve both fine motor skills and cognitive abilities. Physical development can affect other area... ...reat Britain: Oneworld Publicatons Lucas, R.W. (2005). People Strategies for Trainers. 176 Tips and Techniques for dealing with DIFFICULT Classroom Situations. USA: AMACOM American Management Association McDevitt, T.M & Ormrod, J.E. (2010). Child Development and Education. USA: S4 Carlisle Publishing Services McInerney, D.M. & McInerney, V. (2002). Educational Psychology Constructing Learning. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Catherine Godfrey Shilton, T. & Naughton, G. National Physical Activity Program Committee, National Heart Foundation of Australia. Physical activity and children A Statement of Importance and Call to Action from the Heart Foundation. (2001). Retrieved from http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2001/nhf/call_to_action.asp Early Childhood Education (2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_childhood_education

Johnny Got His Gun Essay -- essays research papers

dignity because he could no longer interact with other humans. It was the author’s idea of the worst case scenario that could have occurred to a soldier who was injured. The description of his injuries gave the reader a picture of what it would be like to have lived with no legs, arms, or a face. It was a gruesome thought that helped personalize the story by making the reader feel bad for the main character. At this time many perceived fighting in a war to be noble but for most of the soldiers it was anything but noble. Many times television shows, movies, and books had glamorized war, but that was not the truth. This book showed the harsh reality of war that most people didn’t know existed at the time. War is something that no man should ever hope for, but young men were told that it was glorious to fight for your country. The reality was that they put their lives on the line every day to fight for their country. It may have been heroic but definitely not glamorous to kill another human. In some cases, soldiers who were in wars had severe mental problems when they would return home from war because of the brutality they saw. When Joe finally became conscience of his surroundings he realized what had happened to him. Due to his injuries Joe was isolated from the rest of the world. This made it so that he didn’t even know if he was awake or sleeping. He kept having flashbacks to the war and to his life previous to the war. Then when he realized that his life was over he wanted to end it but he had no power to. He told others through morse code but they denied him death. The life that Joe Bonham led after his injuries was in no way glamorous but instead the worst possible way to live When I originally started reading this book I thought that war was a necessary part of our society to keep other countries in order, but now I realize that war serves no purpose whatsoever. It is just a waste of resources and life that could be better used. I still believe that we should have an army to protect us but I now feel that we should use more restraint when sending in military force. In most cases it is not necessary to shed blood in other countries. I believe that our army should only be used in extreme cases when there is no other solution. In most cases it would be possible to resolve a problem without fighting but it is easier to just... ...ke the reader suffer, but to create recognition of the psychosis involved in co-existing with war. Johnny Got His Gun is not a wholeheartedly pacifist novel. Like many social protest works of the 30s, it ends with a call to arms against the masters of war: "If you tell us to make the world safe for democracy we will take you seriously and by god and by Christ we will make it so." The novel embodies the blunt, defiant anti-militarist spirit of Eugene Debs, Socialist Party writer Mary Marcy and Gen. Smedley ("War is a racket!") Butler, the much-decorated WWI general who later changed his mind about war. Shortly after the publication of Johnny Got His Gun, this spirit waned as support for the new war effort enveloped the majority of the Left. (In 1947, Trumbo would become one of the "Hollywood 10" who defied the House Committee on Un-American Activities and were jailed and blacklisted for their stand.) Then a generation later, along with that spirit, the novel resurfaced unexpectedly. They keep each other alive. Trumbo, who died in 1976, would have appreciated how quickly the hoopla for the Gulf War evaporated. His book played a part in that. Watch for

Police in a Democratic Society Essay

Police operation in a democratic society is characterized by several features, such as the allowance of the exercise of discretion while in the performance of official duties (Fairchild). Indeed, the use of discretion is a common feature in the exercise of powers by different practitioners in the field of criminal justice (Fairchild). The role of discretion in the criminal justice system is more critical than in any other discipline because it is here that the power of the state is aligned against the individual (Fairchild). For example, individuals face the possibility of loss of life, liberty and property as a consequence of conviction or mere accusation of the commission of a crime (Fairchild). Among the practitioners who are given discretion in the criminal justice system are correctional staff, police officers, and court-related personnel (Jones & Kerbs, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In particular, police discretion as a concept and a policy has developed largely because of the realization that the administration of justice is far from perfect (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). The imperfection lies in the failure of the criminal justice system to meet four necessary elements in the dispensation of perfect justice (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). These elements concern the absolute ability to apprehend law violators, identify law violators, identify the intent of law violators, and punish law violators (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). The dispensation of justice depends primarily on the actions of those individuals to whom it was entrusted, such as police officers, prosecutors and judges (Jones & Kerbs, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Discretion in the criminal justice system is not being employed by police officers alone. Other officers, such as court-related personnel, probation and parole officers, and correctional staff are also allowed to exercise discretion in the performance of their duties (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). The exercise of discretion by officers from different departments and jurisdictions of the law enforcement community all interrelate to the effective administration of justice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Among court-related personnel, prosecutors and judges are the ones who use discretion the most (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). For example, prosecutorial discretion is exercised during plea negotiations or plea-bargaining (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). Prosecutors also exercise discretion in choosing the cases that should be presented before a grand jury (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). On the other hand, judges exercise discretion in handing down their decisions and rulings (Jones & Kerbs, 2007). Meanwhile, correctional personnel exercise discretion in coordinating programs in the supervision of offenders. In particular, discretion is exercised in the treatment of certain infractions and the decision to write disciplinary reports (Jones & Kerbs, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police discretion, while it is very helpful in maintaining balance in the enforcement of laws, should be controlled in order to remove issues such as racism and discrimination that have been controversial in the past decades (Pepinsky, 1984). One example of a problem involving the exercise of police discretion is the perceived difference in police treatment of women vis-à  -vis men, and whites vis-à  -vis blacks (The New York Times Company, 2004). According to a Boston Globe study of police records, it is posited that women and whites are more likely to receive earnings rather than tickets, compared to their men and black counterparts, when they get stopped for identical traffic offenses (The New York Times Company, 2004). However, some police officers justify their decision to simply issue warnings on their belief that they are effective teaching tools to the public, compared to the issuance of tickets (The New York Times Company, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Discrepancies in the treatment of offenders, such as the one reported above, and consequently the negative perception on the abuse of discretion by police officers, can be accomplished by having clear rules that would identify good from bad discretion (Pepinsky, 1984). References Fairchild, E. S. Enforcement of Police and Law Enforcement Policy. Organiational   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Structure and Control of Discretion in Police Operations, 442-449. Jones, M. & Kerbs, J. J. (2007). Probation and Parole Officers and Discretionary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Decision-Making: Responses to Technical and Criminal Violations. [Electronic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   version]. Federal Probation 71(1), 9-16. Pepinsky, H. E. (1984). Better Living through Police Discretion. Law and Contemporary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problems 47(4), 249-267. The New York Times Company. (2004). Retrieved November 11, 2007, from     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/tickets/072103.shtml

Consumer Perception Towards Online Shopping in India Essay

1.1 INTRODUCTION The numbers of internet users are increasing because of the accessibilities of technology, the availability of information, and the ability to interact through the Internet increase and evolve. The obvious capabilities of the Internet include road for gathering information, purchasing a product, or rendering a service. These advances in Internet technology allow for the expansion of shopping options beyond traditional methods that may be more time consuming. Issues with having to physically gather information with offline shopping methods are alleviated, and customers are better able to efficiently use their time. For instance, instead of having to physically visit different stores to compare prices or rely on circular pamphlets in newspapers, a consumer is able to search and retrieve needed information through the Internet. The Internet explosion has opened the doors to a new electronic world. Consumers are now able to use the Internet for a variety of purposes such as research, communication, online banking, and even shopping. With such advantages, the Internet is rapidly becoming the main method of communication and of conducting business conveniently. With a growing number of households turning towards the Internet and the world of e-commerce to shop, invest, make payments, and do online banking, new technological advancement will have to come about to make these transactions secure. Electronic retailing or online shopping, is shopping on the internet without the consumer having to visit a physical store. With the increased use of the internet, the scope for the online shopping is growing. A In 2012, 9.6 million Australians aged over 15 years will make online shopping purchases, according to the latest research by PwC and Frost & Sullivan (2012). Over the next 12 months, 88% of online shoppers in Australia are expecting to maintain or increase their online expenditure, indicating that there is solid momentum in online shopping uptake. This continual rapid growth in Australia and offshore is driving structural changes in the traditional retail model. US online population will increase nearly 50%, from 1471.5 million in 2001 to 210.8 million by 2006 (Cumulative Annual Growth Rate of 8.2%) and online retail sales will grow from US$47.8 billion in 2002 to  $130.3 billion in 2006. Similarly WIPO (2007) cited that about 10% of the world’s population in 2002 wa s online, representing more than 605 million users. In India also the internet user base has grown to an impressive number from 87.1 million by December 2012 from 78.7 million users in October 2012, who accessed Internet through dongles and tablet PCs according to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB (Dec 2012). According to them India is expected to have close to 165 million mobile Internet users by March 2015, up from 87.1 million in December 2012 as more people are accessing the web through mobile devices and dongles. Nearly 60% of online users in India visited a retail site in November 2011, with the number of online shoppers increasing 18% in the past year said com Score in a research report. According to the report on visitation to the top retail and coupon sites in India, coupon sites are rapidly gaining in popularity, with 16.5% of the Indian online population visiting the category in November, led by Snapdeal.com and Mydala.com. In November, 27.2 million online users in India, aged 15 and older, accessed the retail category from a home or work computer, an increase of 18% from the previous year, as consumers continue to turn to the web to shop for and purchase items and retailers continue to increase their online visibility through active marketing campaigns. (www.moneylife.in, Feb 28th, 2013). There are many advantages of doing online shopping like there is no geographical boundary-a consumer in Delhi can shop for something which an e-store in Punjab is offering, there is no time restrictions- the shopping is 24Ãâ€"7, the payment is online-there is no need to even handle the cash. Despite the advantages of online shopping all the consumers are not participating in online transaction. Many business firms are more and more businesses continue to establish an online presence, they are finding that some consumers are still reluctant to shift in that same direction. For various consumers there are still concerns with security and passing  personal data over the Internet. There is a disparity between the number of consumers who visit a site and the number of actual purchases being made. Despite the millions of people who use the Internet everyday and visit various shopping sites, the number of consumers who do not abandon their shopping carts but actually complete a purchase averages to only about three percent. This leaves a large portion of the Internet population as non-participants in online transactions as compared to those who fully complete transactions online and make purchases. Instead, these non-participants may abandon the purchase completely or fulfill the transaction in an offline setting. As such, it is important for online businesses or offline businesses interested in venturing into the online market to understand their consumers’ perceptions, online and offline, and what factors influence their shopping decisions. With better understanding of what factors play into consumer decision making in making transactions online or offline, retailers and businesses can be better gear themselves to serving their customers in either of the shopping venue s. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To know the demographic profile of the customers and its impact if any on the online buying. To know the factors affecting the perception of Indian online buyers. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This part includes the Review of previous studies, articles and conceptual framework for the related studies. More analysis is not sufficient to present real framework of the study. So review of related materials should be deal with to give the research a clear vision, past study and knowledge provides foundation to the present day. Review of literature includes the following topics: 2.1 Conceptual Framework 2.2 Reviews from Previous Studies 2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK As Internet usage is increasing, so is online shopping particularly in those countries whose Marketing infrastructures are well developed. Customers can shop at anytime and have access to products not available in their geographic region. Moreover, they are now able to access the Internet, not only from their personal computers, but also from advanced electronic devices such as Palm Pilots and mobile phones. The growth of Internet technology in India has enormous potential as it reduces the costs of product and service delivery and extends geographical boundaries in bringing buyers and sellers together. Also, due to an increase in high-speed Internet access connections, lower connection costs, and increasing consumer competence, e-commerce activity will continue to grow as the availability and ease with which the Internet provides consumers the ability to handle needed tasks increasingly develops. However, not all consumers are turning to the Internet for shopping. While the number of Internet users who have made a purchase at one time is more than half in the United States, this does not explain the disparity between the number of visits websites recorded and the number of actual purchases made online. This research mainly talks about the factors that affect the consumers’ online shopping behavior of consumer. It is not sure that all the people who visit websites do make online purchase. This will also focus on the point that what is the consumes perception towards online shopping and their intention to make purchase are not only affected by the ease of internet, usefulness and enjoyment but also affected by the also by exogenous factors like consumer traits, situational factors, product characteristics, previous online shopping experiences, and trust in online shopping. The other thing that the research will focus is that do the demographic factors make any influence on the online shopping. This research will focus  on the point that do these demographic factors like age, gender, income level etc really make any influence on the buying behavior of the consumers. Not only on the demographic factor that this research will focus on, will also try to find whether there is any relationship between the customers and the website quality. Do these online shopping websites quality make any influence on the buying intention of the buyers? 2.2 REVIEWS FROM PREVIOUS RESEARCH UPADHYAY.P AND KAUR J (2006),†Analysis of Online Shopping Behaviour of Customer in Kota City†. This study has focused on factors which online Indian buyers keep in mind while shopping online. The objective of the study was to create an awareness of e-commerce and make people interested in internet commerce. According to the study, they found that the most preferred product of online buying is travelling tickets and clothing remains the least preferred choice of online shoppers and most of the consumers who have experienced online shopping are very satisfied ZIA UL HAQ (2009) in her research on â€Å"Perception towards online shopping: an empirical study of Indian consumers† said that the perception of online shoppers is independent of their age and gender but not independent of their qualification & gender and income & gender. According to the researcher consumers’ perceptions of the customer service, commitment and web security of online purchasing exhibit significant relationships with their online buying intention. Web security was the major concerning factor to influence the online shopping. They have a fear that their important documents passwords can be hacked due to online shopping, so the major concern of consumers is about the web security. She also says that Marketers need to realize that the online marketing environment affects the way consumers view and develop relationships. During her study she found that Indian consumers considered that their online purchasing will be influenced by good quality website. Thus it is believed that overall website quality does help in enhancing the consumers to buy online. Also commitment is the important factor that affects online buying and most of the consumers are concerned about on-time delivery of their products. The results of this study show  that there is a significant association between commitment and online shopping. CORPUS CHRISTI(2009) in his research on â€Å"The perception of consumer on online shopping† has provided some of glimpse about the consumers mind as what factors are perceived differently by consumers who prefer online shopping and those who prefer offline shopping. According to him there are five factors which that the two group consumers perceived differently. These factors are (1) perceived risk with online shopping, (2) past experience with online shopping, (3)perceived benefits of online shopping, (4) perceived ease of online shopping, and (5) perceived uncertainty of online shopping. Through these factors the business firms should be aware of their online consumers’ perception and of what preference for online and offline shopping avenues. Focusing on these factors the researcher thinks that the firms can don necessary work to attract and retain more and more customers. In his research after all the finding he says that Being aware of what perceptions drive consu mers to pick and prefer one avenue of shopping to another allows businesses to better cater to consumers, thus helping them attract and retain customers. RASTOGI.A.K (2010), â€Å"A study of Indian Online Consumers and their Buying Behaviour† made an attempt to study the buying behaviour of Indian online consumers in his research. According to his study about 44% students use Internet in India and overall 72% of young people access Internet on regular basis. The findings of the study shows that ratio of male consumers is very high in online shopping and most of the respondents pay in cash on delivery. This research shows that online shopping has very bright future in India. . Perception towards online shopping is getting better in India. With the use of internet, consumers can shop anywhere, anything and anytime with easy and safe payment options. Consumers can do comparison shopping between products, as well as, online stores. VAGGELIS SAPRIKIS, ADAMANTIA CHOULIARA AND MARO VLACHOPOULOU (2010) conducted the research on â€Å"Perceptions towards Online Shopping: Analyzing the Greek University Students’ Attitude† observed the significant differences between  the two groups of respondents that is online shopping adaptors and online shopping non adaptors. From their research they concluded that adopters had higher expectations from online shopping on issues relating to privacy policy and risk. Also they identified between adopters and non-adopters regarding their particular perceptions on advantages and problems of online shopping. MEHRDAD SALEHI(JAN 2012) in her study on â€Å"Consumer Buying Behavior towards Online Shopping Stores in Malaysia† has focused on nine independent variables namely appearance, quick loading, security, sitemap, validity, promotion, attractiveness, believability, and originality that influence the buying behavior on consumers while doing online shopping. During her research she found that first five factors influence consumers towards online shopping and security is the factor that contributes most towards online shopping. According to her the last four factors (promotion, attractiveness, believability, and originality) don’t significantly influence online shopping intention which indicate that advertisement doesn’t have an important effect on online shopping. Security and validity of website were the one that influences the online consumers. Also attractiveness had the minimum influence on online shopping intention. KANWAL GURLEEN( MAY 2012) in his study on â€Å"Consumer Buying Behavior towards Online Shopping, the case of punjab† stated that Price consciousness, Convenience and Variety, Easy Payment options and Challenges of Online Shopping are the four major factors that have significant influence on the perception of the online consumer toward online shopping. As that of the other researchers on this topic, he also found the same problem that the consumers are not able to trust the websites as they have to give their credit card details. Some of the websites the customers don’t feel trustworthy. Also the online purchases take a longer time in shipments and deliveries. The researcher found that the psychology of an Indian consumer is still the same of checking the product physically before purchasing it, which creates a mental hurdle for online shopping. DAHIYA RICHA (2012), from her research on â€Å"Impact of demographic factors of consumers on online shopping behavior: A study of consumers in India† found that gender impacts frequency of on-line shopping positively and Family Size impacts overall spend on on-line shopping. Her study somewhat suggested that Indian Consumers have perceived online shopping in a positive manner which suggest that online shopping in the country is growing. Despite this the frequency of online shopping is very less. She has also suggested the organizations that to formulate their plans and strategies in the country regarding the online shopping they must use relevant variables and factors which the research has identified. The organizations can prioritize the consumer implicit and explicit requirements in online shopping environment. The results can also be used by various organizations to identify their target customer segments. MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN MOSHREF JAVADI1,HOSSEIN REZAEI DOLATABADI1, MOJTABA NOURBAKHSH1, AMIR POURSAEEDI1& AHMAD REZA ASADOLLAHI (SEPTEMBER 10, 2012) conducted the research on,† An Analysis of Factors Affecting on Online Shopping Behavior of Consumers† where the examined the factors affecting on online shopping behavior of consumers. They created many hypothesis and these hypothesis testing indicated that financial risk and non-delivery risk has negative effect on the attitude towards online shopping behavior. Which suggest that e-retailers should make their websites safer and assure customers for the delivery of their products. According to them if there has been positive effect attitude toward online shopping on online shopping behavior of consumers it would indicate that considering attitude variables make a substantial contribution in online shopping. Also, subjective norms have positive effect on shopping behavior. This means the more people suggest e-buying to each other, the more this buying method will be popular among people. This makes necessary the use of word of mouth marketing for retailers. Domain specific innovativeness has positive effect on online shopping behavior. This means that marketing specialists should target this society in their marketing strategy formulation for better effectiveness of their marketing program. This means that marketing specialists should target this society in their marketing strategy formulation for better  effectiveness of their marketing program. CHAO CHAO CHUANG & DR. FU-LING HU (NOVEMBER, 2012) in their research on,† An empirical analysis of the relationship between website characteristics and consumer online buying behavior† concluded that the website security, website design, website reliability and website customer service are the four main factors which affect consumer perceptions of their online purchasing experiences. Online buyers have different viewpoints of these four factors. Website design has the highest rating score, followed by website customer service. Website reliability is ranked third, and the lowest is website security. Also they suggested that with online shopping, consumers can browse the entire product-assortment with competitive prices. In order to consolidate this advantage, E-retailers should choose more famous products or brands to market online. Branded products and services are usually thought by customers as having better qualities. They said that the online shopping company should induce the regular online buyers as they shop most frequently and they should make the desired products available and the purchase transaction easy and also obtain the competitive prices in order to retain their regular customers and increase their loyalty towards the company. As trial customers are interested in browsing on the website maybe they see online shopping as enjoyment and look for the potential entertainment arising from the online shopping experience. The purchase of goods may be incidental to the experience of Internet shopping. If trial online buyers initially have pleasing online shopping experience, they are more likely to continue subsequent shopping behavior: they will browse more, make more unplanned purchasing, and look for more stimulating products. In the face of severe competition and continually increasing customer expectations, e-commerce companies must understand how to identify, help and retain their profitable existing customers. E-retailer should emphasize the enjoyable aspect of online shopping in their promotions for trial online buyers and then create the competitive advantage. CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The data for the study was gathered through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part of the questionnaire included questions about their demographic profile like age, Education, income, living area and gender. The second part consisted of questions measuring all the variables which are used to measure the online shopping. All the questions were utilizing on a Likert scale ranging from 1= strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Research Design has been classified into the following subsections: SAMPLE SIZE- Till the date of the submission of this interim report, about 100 questionnaires was distributed through e-mail and social networking sites SAMPLING PROCEDURE- The respondents were selected by the random sampling. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE This _primary_ (first hand, or collected by the researcher, i.e., myself, in the present study) and data was used for the analysis. A questionnaire has been designed to collect the required information. The questionnaires were filled by the respondents through the internet (through emails and social networking sites). [A sample of the questionnaire is showcased in Annexure] ANALYSIS Descriptive statistical research technique has been used in the study and statistical packages like SPSS and Microsoft Excel have been used for the analysis. TOOLS USED: CHI -SQUARE TEST: A chi-square test is used when you want to see if there is  a relationship between two categorical variables. In SPSS, the chisq option is used on the statistics subcommand of the crosstabs command to obtain the test statistic and its associated p-value. FACTOR ANALYSIS: FACTOR ANALYSIS: Factor analysis attempts to identify underlying variables, or factors, that explain the pattern of correlations within a set of observed variables. Factor analysis is often used in data reduction to identify a small number of factors that explain most of the variance observed in a much larger number of manifest variables. Factor analysis can also be used to generate hypotheses regarding causal mechanisms or to screen variables for subsequent analysis

Challenging Behaviour Essay

In this assignment my aim is to choose 3 ideas from chapters 1-3 of the textbook ‘Understanding Management’ (Cameron and Bridge, 2012), discuss why these ideas are important and finally describe how I have started to use them in everyday life this includes aspects of my work, leisure and home life. My 3 chosen ideas are SMART objectives, time management skills, and stress management. My first topic is the ‘SMART objectives’. ‘SMART’ is an acronym so each of the 5 letters have a specific meaning. Sometimes in the workplace it is easy to try and impose targets that seem out of reach. If targets are not clear it can sometimes be hard to measure whether a target has been met. In order to make it easier to manage the workforce’s performance clear and concise objectives must be set out. By using the SMART checklist employers can ensure that they have set relevant objectives. The letters ‘SMART’ stand for; ‘S’ – Specific – an employee/team member needs to be clear on his/her goal. ‘M’ – Measureable – means of measuring = means of control. ‘A’ – Achievable – the goal needs to be in reach otherwise a team will not try very hard. ‘R’ – Relevant – the objectives need to add up to the overall goal of which the manager is responsible. ‘T’ – Time defined. – In order to check progress time needs to be specified. (Cameron and Bridge, 2012) I have started to use this checklist in my work especially, as it gives a clear view on day to day goals. As a self-employed construction worker I need to be ‘Specific’ of what needs doing on a particular task. For example, before starting a job I need to specify the height, width of a wall with the client before work commences. Without these preferences the work that I carried out would be pointless as the client would most likely be disappointed. ‘Measure’ the overall progress of a task to be more efficient next time. For example, note down in a ‘works diary’ how long a particular job has taken to finish and use it as a bench mark for next time. Without a way of measuring progress a team would be insufficient. Liaise with my workforce and set ‘Achievable’ goals for the day’s work. Set targets that are in reach so as not to dishearten them. A disheartened workforce would shortfall the progression. ‘Relevance’ of the tools needed to carry out the work. At the end of each working day I like to plan ahead and make sure that I have all the relevant tools ready for the next day. Without these the work cannot be carried out therefore delaying our commitments with the client and generally causing stress and turmoil within the workforce. ‘Time defined’, the time I have to complete a job as I am often working to a tight schedule. For example some customers need certain work carried out/finished by a certain time due to their commitments. For example, recently a client wanted his garden feature completed in time before he was admitted to hospital for an operation. Time was of importance due to the clients commitments. My second idea is ‘Time management’ (Cameron and Bridge 2012). Time management is when you make a conscious decision on how to manage your time efficiently to ensure that you are able to complete each task you undergo with maximum effectiveness and efficiency. One way of improving your time management is to implement the ‘3 Es’ when you’re planning a task or an activity. The ‘3 Es’ have definitely been used in my own leisure/ hobby of taking on a course. The first ‘E’ (economy) has helped me in my essay work of firstly writing a plan. This has evidently helped in the time it will take in the actual essay writing because I have a guide. ‘Efficiently’ – I have kept my course work on a ‘PDF’ on my computer for me to access them more efficiently, this will save time when I need to access them quickly. I will use ‘Effectiveness’ to use my time wisely, for example not to start an essay 12a.m when my concentration is at its lowest. Stress Management (Cameron and Bridge, 2012) is my last idea. Stress can come from a number of different places. Stress is what occurs when someone is under a lot of pressure and their health is affected due to not being able to cope with certain pressures. Life is never simple therefore we will all feel a certain amount of stress at times this is normal however if there is a lot of stress for a prolonged amount of time this is when problems may arise. Prolonged stress can affect how well you are able to concentrate; it may impair your judgement and could also affect the standards of work. One of the first and simplest ways to manage your stress is to be aware of it. In the text ‘Understanding Management’ (Cameron and Bridges, 2012) there is a checklist that allows you to assess your own stress levels. This made me aware of certain things that may have been causing me undue stress in the workplace. After assessing my situation and considering what could be done to help relieve this I have started to do a few things differently when I am at work. A number of these things involve good planning. A day/workforce that has a plan will have no problems which will feedback no stress on the boss/manager (me). My last thoughts are on the importance of what I have learned from ‘Understanding Management’ (Cameron and Bridge, 2012). I feel that using the above strategies has evolved my way of thinking for the better in my work, leisure and home life therefore producing a more effective and professional approach to management. ********************************** Word count – 973 Reference list Cameron S. and Bridge K. (2012) Understanding Management, Milton Keynes, the Open University. TMA01 Task 2 On experiencing essay writing for the first time since secondary school, I felt the task a bit stressful and daunting. The most enjoyable and easiest task was reading chapters 1-3 ‘Understanding management’ in assignment booklet and note taking. I enjoyed it in school and enjoyed it now. The most difficult task was remembering to reference and where to reference. I often wondered if I was doing it enough or too much. This was down to no practice and lost touch with academic life. Another problem area was conclusion writing. 2. In the future I could research more on conclusion writing and reference writing to make this area a little easier. Also question my tutor. Word Count – 115