Leadership in the African American Community

Leadership in the African American community African American community had many problems, such as freedom, economic, education, transportation, being unemployment, lack of self defense; lack of power and †¦ therefore different leaderships and organizations were established to help African American. African American wanted to be free because they were USA citizen and they did not like someone call them nigger or free of slave. They wanted to have freedom of speech, vote,, human rights, self defense, they wanted to be free to go to school and be educated, and they did not like people look at them down because of their color.Black people were the last one got hire and the first one got fire when they applied for job. They had very bad situation because they could not find a job easily. That’s why most of them become unemployment and the rest who had job their salary were low. Black people had problem with transportation because most of them did not had a car so it was hard for them to apply for job. Black people wanted to go to school like white people, they wanted to show them they are smart and they can be educated too. They wanted to be educated so they can learn all the law and learn how to talk and have self defense when someone attack to them.Black people were lack of power because of their skin color. White people could be president or having good positions, and they treat Black people as slaves. Black people had to work in white people’s farms like a slaves, and always respect them and say, ‘‘YES SIR’’. Therefore different leadership and organization stand up to defend them in from of all of these problems for example Martin Luther King in her speech said he has a dream and talks about freedom and how Black and white should be equal, he said Black people should vote, and should be free and go to school.Ella baker also helped Martin Luther King in different way, she established different organization, and she mo ved to different states and having different conference with different people. There are other leadership and organization which help them out which I am going to talk about it later. Work cited Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement. The University of North Carolina. Press, in Chapel Hill and London 2003. The Video: FUNDI http://moodle. wolfware. ncsu. edu/file. php/33965/FUNDI. m4v Hodak, George. Martin Luther King Assassinated. †Ã‚  ABA Journal  97. 4 (2011): 72. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Brooks, Gwendolyn. â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr. †Ã‚  Storyworks  17. 4 (2010): 3. Primary Search. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Haskins, Jim. â€Å"Martin Luther King, Jr. †Ã‚  Cobblestone  31. 1 (2010): 28. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. â€Å"MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (Cover Story). †Ã‚  Scholastic Action  27. 7 (2004): 4. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Tutashinda, K. , and D. C. â€Å"The Grassroots Political Philo sophy Of Ella Baker: Oakland, California Applicability.   Journal Of Pan African Studies  3. 9 (2010): 25-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Baraka, Amiri. â€Å"Black Theater Movement & The Black Consciousness Movement. †Ã‚  Kola  24. 1 (2012): 104-119. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Stafford, Tim. â€Å"The First Black Liberation Movement. †Ã‚  Christianity Today  44. 8 (2000): 42. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. Taylor, Gardner. â€Å"Black Freedom Fighters. †Ã‚  Christian Century  112. 24 (1995): 777. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.

Cost and Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay

Have you pulled your car up to the gas pump lately and been shocked by the high prices of gasoline? The Auto industry has the technology necessary to address this concern. . It’s the hybrid car. Today, there are many different models out there in the market and most major manufacturers are involved in developing them. Hybrid cars will save the drivers a lot of money. The purpose of this paper is to identify the costs and show the benefits of this awesome vehicle. Identifying Costs. This section is designed to compare and contrast all the costs that we will see in the decision of purchasing a new hybrid car. It’ll include all monetary costs and all non-monetary costs. I will be comparing the costs of buying a new hybrid to other regular non-hybrid vehicles in order to better see the differences. A. Gasoline & Car Loan People are obsessed with spending less money on gas. Websites have even been created to help the penny-pinching consumer find the cheapest option close to home. Hybrid cars get really good MPG (miles per gallon). In my opinion, the best way to find out if switching over to a new hybrid car is a good idea is to compare the prices and costs. I’ll use my own car as an example, if I were to replace my paid-off 1999 Honda Accord, which only gets 25 mpg, with something more economical; I would consider a Toyota Prius or a Corolla. The following chart shows how much money I would save if I made the change. |2012 Auto |Miles per Gallon (MPG)|Monthly Gas |Sticker Price |Monthly Payment |Net Monthly | | | |Savings | | |Savings | |Toyota Prius |55 |$ 70. 71 |$21,275. 00 |$386. 56 |$(315. 85) | |Toyota Corolla |36 |$ 34. 72 |$14,005. 00 |$227. 83 |$(193. 10) | The table above, shows us how much more it is to save if purchasing a Prius over a Corolla (Hensley 2011). On the other hand we can see that the sticker price of a Toyota Prius is more expensive than the Corolla. The monthly payment above is calculated at a 5. 5% APR. However in the long run we will be saving so much more if we chose the Prius, because the money that we are saving on gas every month could be used to pay off the difference in the Sticker Price. With gas prices skyrocketing again like they did in 2008, this will be the best decision to make. The following chart will give us more insight on gas prices (Hensley 2011). [pic] B. Taxes Even though the final selling price is including taxes, there are many things to note about tax credits per hybrid car. There is no set tax credit, and it depends on what vehicle you buy, so remember not to only take into account the miles per gallon and price, but also the varying tax break incentives. The list of IRS-certified vehicles is not always the same; automakers keep producing hybrids that are qualified and adding them to the list, we need to make sure we look at the updated data. Also, another thing about hybrid tax credit is that they are reduced every year and eventually is eliminated, so make sure to check out the phase out dates that are determined by different manufacturers. Credit amounts begin to phase out for a given manufacturer once it has sold over 60,000 eligible vehicles. It is all depending on the year, for example if we go back to 2005, you can save anywhere from $500 all the way up to about $3,400 (Fuel Economy. gov). Sometimes, it can be a guessing game, but remember, we will be saving something and it adds up! Vehicles purchased after December 31, 2010 are not eligible for this credit (Fuel Economy. gov). C. Registration Fees and Other Monetary Costs The registration fee is the amount charged by the state to register a new car, assign a title (legal proof of ownership) and cover the cost of license plates. The dealer provides this service for you; saving you a trip to the DMV or registry but the money goes to the state. There are other fees that need to be paid when buying a new car such as: doc fees, taxing the trade-in, taxing rebates and dealer fees. However; when buying a Prius those fees will be the same as buying a regular car so further explanation is not necessary (Karim, Layton). D. Non-monetary costs The time it takes to go buy a car would be one non-monetary cost. Let’s say I was going to go buy today. Since I work 40-hours a week and get paid $9. 00/hr, I would have to get at least 10 hours, 5 hours off of work and 5 hours off my personal time. I could use this time to go to the dealership pick out the car and do all the loans and transactions necessary. Filling out all that paper work can take a lot of time, and since I am a college student I need time for school as well. Therefore my Non-monetary cost is 10 hours of my time from my work-time/personal time. Another cost would be the amount of gas that it takes to drive to the dealership and the time it takes me to travel there. If someone is accompanying me and helping me decide which car I want, I am also using their time which could be almost as much as my time. Benefits 1. Savings at the Pump All Hybrids get a better fuel economy than their counterparts. 2. Lower Insurance Rates Insurance rates can depend on many things such as your driving record, your age, and it can also depend on the model car you drive. Driving a Prius will lower your insurance rate from 5-10%! 3. Government Assistance The Federal Tax credit was also a great benefit although they stopped giving it at the end of 2010(Fuel Economy.gov). 4. Lower Emissions A fact that should be considered is that 97% of all vehicles in the U. S are dependent on Oil. Also with lower emissions it’ll help less Carbon Monoxide adding to Global Warming. In fact, Regular vehicles create 1/3 of the greenhouse effect (Karim, Layton). The key thing here is that the amount of pollution allowed does not depend on the mileage your car gets. But a car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. That pollution will have to be removed by the emissions control equipment on the car. So decreasing the fuel consumption of the car is one of the surest ways to decrease emissions (Karim, Layton). 5. Special Car-Pool Lanes In some states if you own a hybrid car, you are allowed to use a special car-pool lane regardless how many people are in the vehicle. After identifying all the monetary and non-monetary costs. We can see that the Sticker price is more expensive than purchasing a regular vehicle. However, in the long run with the gas mileage we will be receiving from this awesome hybrid technology it will payoff for everything that we’ve spent. It’s sort of an investment. If we add all the benefits, we can see that we are not only benefiting ourselves when we purchase a hybrid but we are helping the environment and our world (Fuel Economy. gov). More people are buying more hybrid cars everyday, the sales of hybrid cars increased 141% from 2004-2005 (Karim, Layton). In conclusion, I recommend everyone that if they are looking to buy a new vehicle, hybrid is the way to go. All the benefits we receive from it are totally worth it, and although the cost might be somewhat high in comparison to other cars, it’s worth it. Not only will we be saving gas driving to work, school and other places, but also we won’t take into as much consideration the price of gas next time we stop at the gas station! References Fuel Economy. gov. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. fueleconomy. gov/feg/hybrid_sbs_cars. shtml Hensley, R. , Knupfer, S. M. , & Krieger, A. (2011). The fast lane to the adoption of electric cars. Mckinsey Quarterly, (1), 10-14. Nice, Karim, and Julia Layton. â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work† 20 July 2000. HowStuffWorks. com. 04 April 2012.

Business Studies Essay

What does the nature of business mean ? Usually, when filling out some kind of form, â€Å"nature of business† refers to the type or general category of business or commerce you are describing. For example, if you worked at McDonald’s, the nature of your business is food services. â€Å"Nature of Business† means what type of business your are doing? like Wholesale, Retail or Service, Manufacturing, Marketing, etc. If you want more specific, then HBA wholesale, Car Service, Furniture manufacturing, health Drinks Marketing, etc. The nature of business, means what exactly your business is doing and what is the service/product you are offering. For example the nature of â€Å"Walmart† as a business is â€Å"Retail† and the nature of â€Å"Microsoft† is â€Å"Software. † Internal and External Influences on businesses The external environment includes those factors over which the business has little control, such as government policy, technology, economic conditions and social attitudes. The internal environment includes these factors over which the business has some degree of control, such as products, location, resources, management and business culture. External Influences on business  ·Economic  ·Financial  ·Markets  ·Competitive siuation Technological  ·Institutional  ·Political  ·Legal  ·Social  ·Geographic If you had a shop and everyone decided to go to another shop that would be an econmic disaster! If this continues for a month then the business would close, employees would be laid off, and landlords and suppliers will not be paid. Charasteristics of boom perios – Higer lever of employment -Inflation may increase – The level of spending by consumers increases as they have more confidence in the economy Characteristics of recessi on period – Unemployment levels rise – Inflation may remain stable or fall Wages are less likely to rise as employers – The level of spending usually decreases Internal influences on Business – Product – The types of good and services will affect the internal operations of a business, The product influence and the size of the business -Location -A good location is an asset and will lead to high levels of sales and profits and a bad location is a liability that adversely affects sales and products  ·Location Factors – Visibility, promixity to customers, promixity to suppliers and promiximity to support devices -Management- Resource management -Business culture Failure to SME failure  ·Failure to plan  ·lack of information  ·leaderhsip skills  ·inaccurate record keeping  ·new taxes  ·not enough sales  ·economic turndown  ·staff difficulties Success to SMEs  ·Entrepemtual abilities

Hindu and Judeo-Christian myths Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Hindu and Judeo-Christian myths - Research Paper Example In all of the creation myths, there is the birth of the world and the birth of humans. In many of the creation stories, there is also a deluge – this means that the creator thinks that He or She made a mistake in creating the humans, so sent them back to the chaos of the Flood. The waters of the flood may also be a source of new birth. The archetypal characters who may appear in the creationism myths include the creator, who makes order out of chaos, sometimes by using his own bodily fluids, sometimes by conjoining with an equal and opposite natural power; the trickster, who is the negative force; the first man and first woman; and the flood hero, who looks for a new beginning after the great flood (97). The Hindu myths and the Christian myths diverge significantly, however, in how creation began. How are the two creation stories from different regions of the world inter-related? Hindu Myths   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hinduism is an extension of Veda, which i s the source of many Hindu rites and speculation (Renou, 105). Since this religion, which essentially â€Å"fed† Hinduism, is the source of mythology, this is a religion which may be explored to determine the creationist myths of Hinduism. In Veda, there are gods which function as represented, much like in Greek mythology. Among the gods worshiped by the Vedas, was Arya, who was the god of war; Agni, the god of fire; and Soma, the god of plant and liquor (105).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the myths for how the world began, according to the Veda, is the creation of the world from the soul (Renou, 107). In this myth, there was a soul that was in the form of the person. Because this soul was alone, he desired a second, and his self was split into two pieces – a   husband and a wife. From this husband and wife’s copulation, humans were reproduced. She then became a cow, and he a bull, and they reproduced. She became a mare, he a stallion, w ho reproduced. And so forth, on down to the ants. Whatever was moist in the world was created from semen, and was called Soma. He created his superiors, the gods. Therefore, according to this myth, the world was populated from one soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Rg Veda has another telling of how life was created, and that was through primeval incest. In this story, which may be simply an anthropomorphic retelling of the earlier myth about the One who creates a Second, which is the myth told above, a father impregnates his daughter. According to this story, when the father shed his seed in his daughter, his seed was spilled upon the earth (Doniger O'Flaherty, 167). Doniger O’Flaherty states that the Brahmanas also had a version of creation, as did the Upanisads. In this version of creation, there is also incest. The incestuous father’s name in this myth is Prajapati. In this story, Prajapati approached his daughter, who was alternatively the sky or the dawn. She was in the form of a doe, he as a stag. The others did not approve of this, and Prajapati was pierced, and flew upward as a deer. The arrow was in three parts, and was known as the tripartite arrow. Prajapati also had a chance to spill his seed, and his seed spillage became a lake. Cattle sprang up from the seeds when the Marutttsss blew upon it. Doniger O’Flaherty states that this is one version, and other versions have the sons of Prajpati committing the incestuous act with their own sister. In these other versions, the Rudra is born from the seed, and, in some versions, the Rud

E-commerce security and fraud protection Term Paper

E-commerce security and fraud protection - Term Paper Example E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services by via electronic platforms such as the Internet and other computer-based networks (Schneider, 2011). It has grown to be a necessary tool for efficiency in business. However, this platform has been faced with a myriad of challenges with Moftah, Abdullah and Hawedi (2012) indicating that the problems relate to consumers’ protection in their transactions which call for trust and privacy across the different geographical locations. Mohapatra (2013) argues that e-commerce transactions have been constrained by security, with consumers wary of the privacy of their personal information and the use of credit cards to make online purchases. The increased use of mobile devices has even further complicated security provision in e-commerce. Thus, a secured system would be needed to enhance e-commerce growth. E-commerce is online, thus accessible to the general public. The increase in cyber crime has also seen an increase in security threats in e-commerce. According to Mohapatra (2013), amounts reported globally, largely from frauds and hacking in e-commerce, stand at over $ 388 billion per year. As such, e-commerce has suffered the resultant liabilities, loss of trust and additional cost for clean-up. This calls for an effective security systems that would protect consumers and merchants from such losses. According to Schneider (2011), such a system would be pegged on a complex interaction of several database management systems, applications development platforms, network infrastructure and systems software. This encompasses preservation of integrity, confidentiality and availability of computer and data resources, referred to as the security triad. Further to this, there would be need for non-repudiation, access control and privacy. Access Control Approaches The first way in which e-com merce has been secured and protected against fraud is through access control. Physically, access control would involve the restriction of an unauthorized person into a building, property or room. In a similar manner, e-commerce has applied several technologies that control access to Internet resources, including authorization, authentication and audit (Farshchi, Gharib and Ziyaee, 2011). The model in this case entails the subjects, these being entities that could perform an action on the system, and objects, these being entities to which access needs to be controlled. Both of these should be taken as software entities as opposed to human users since a human user would only have an impact on the system through software entities on which they have control. First, user IDs, passwords, biometrics and tokens have been used to authenticate an individual. As observed by Mohapatra (2013), authentication involves what the user knows such as a password, what a user possesses such as a token o r what the user is, such as biometric characteristic. The user ID/password approach verifies a user against a set of ID and password. This has however been noted to be the least secure technique in e-commerce because of the threat of guessing, eavesdropping, external disclosure, host compromise and replay attacks (Schneider, 2011). Thus, user IDs and passwords could be combined with physical tokens, creating a multiple factor authentication so as to

Islamic Women in the Socio-Political World Case Study

Islamic Women in the Socio-Political World - Case Study Example As the report stresses the society covered by the virtues and rules of Islamic religion can be observed and be seen to have a patriarchal form where male dominates the female. This is where we get to see the real and the original role of women in the Islamic society. This paper discusses that part of the teachings of the Q’uran is for women to be submissive to their husbands especially after marriage. It is also said that a woman has no right to talk with other male other than her husband or close relatives. Going over what is mandated and what is expected for women to do is against the Q’uran. However, this kind of belief and practices no matter how oppressive as seen by many feminists and critics continue to spread and obviously still being practiced to places where Islam resides. But going deeper to the subject of women’s oppressive role in the Islamic society, there can be no doubt that women for their part somehow influence male as they make decisions that affect political and economical status. It is interesting to know that the fact that they are submissive to their husbands, they can still affect these decisions, even if they are out of power. Power and influence the book The Heritage of Islam claims are not the same or co-terminous. The quoted line above gives us an inkling that women are significant in the society not because we are arguing about existence but because the effect of women’s influence to male’s decision-making that most of the times is indirectly done and indirectly observed. This situation has long been observed by women and therefore in answer to this need or rather call for change, they have also decided to take part in the different challenges that male have been facing since time immemorial. In the same book by Creevey, it can be understood that with the search for bigger roles in the society, this in now the very famous words we call 'women empowerment.' The goal of this paper is not merely to check what empowerment of women means, or what the process is. This is just however to simply reiterate the events and factors that affected Islamic women to come out of their shells being oppressed masked by the role of a wife to their husbands. The Heritage of women somehow gives us a glimpse of this abrupt change in the status and giving the Western African as an example, we could see how women tried to rise from the simple roles of just being a wife. Nowhere in West Africa do women control the political structures or dominate the political process. In all West African countries they are permitted to

Strategic Management Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Management Plan - Essay Example In reference to the reports and records from leading economist, they advocate that, any strategic plan should begin with the initiatives from the stakeholders (Mintzberg, 2007, p.37). In precision, strategic management is an activity under a high level of managerial practices whose basis is goals over tactics. This means that the management team must formulate goals which will out do its competitors’ strategies. By so doing, the organization will have the capability of maintaining a sustainable share in the competitive business environment. This is an article discussing the strategic management plan of PPQ Parts. It s location is in United States and it is leading in meeting its customers demand. The company has not set strong root in reference to its international business structure. The article analyzes the firm’s strategic plans for the next 4 years so as to meet the gaps in its structure. Among the company’s, four years strategic plans are:- 1. Increasing the number employees by from 5,000 to 10,000 (the 5,000 employees work in the branches within USA). 2. Increasing of equipment for international expansion will rise by 80% 3. Increasing the company’s world market share from 5% to 9% 4. Increasing the stock price from $10 to $22 5. Increasing annual profit share from 6% to 13% (the firm’s annually average profits is6%) 6. ... one its corporate value) Other short term goals of the company are reduction in expenditures, high level of security, creativity and innovation, among others. This will act as the subsidiaries of the long term goals (Mintzberg, 2007, p.37). Environmental scanning of current conditions This is an explanation of the ongoing activities in the economy world. It encompasses different items, which in one way or the other may deter the achievement of the goals. These situations may also favor the achievement of the goal. It is the duty of management together with the other stakeholder to ensure that all stabling blocks do not affect the objectives. This will only be met by coordination and communication between different parties in the organization. In reference to the environment, there are many factors affect the process of meeting long term plans. This is because the plans work on the basis assumptions, by putting some of the parameters as constants yet they are not definite. These varia bles include changes in the economy, prevailing competition, and political stability (Chandler, 2010, p. 45). Economy PPQ is a company in the United; the national has a stable economy, thus favoring the stability of the economy. This is as a result of the government’s measures in protecting the business environment of the country. For the strategic plan to realist, the management of the company should consider the possibilities of changes the value of money. This is because, within the four years, there may be differences like those experienced in the year 2008 (global recessions resulting from changes in the price of oil). The company should be ready to offer terms that increase the rate of stock turnover. Other strategies, which are applicable to these instances, are innovation and

Impact of Music Education and Issues Stopping its Implementation Essay

Impact of Music Education and Issues Stopping its Implementation - Essay Example Therefore, through this research I would like to find the answers to the following two questions:What are the effects of music on overall development of the brain including academics? Why is music education not taken seriously by educators and what are the reasons withholding them from implementing music education permanently?To answer the first question, there is a lot of secondary research available. Many experts and researchers in the field have already addressed the issue. Some researchers have conducted studies that show that there is a link between music and brain functioning. â€Å"Mozart effect† is a result of one such study. Studies have been conducted to identify specific effects such as effects of music on learning, reading skills, standardized tests, grade-point averages, etc. Therefore to answer this and prove my thesis that music has positive effects, I will depend primarily on secondary research. The sources that I will use are mentioned in the bibliography. Thi s is based on initial research and new resources will be added as after detailed research.Therefore I will concentrate more on primary research. This will involve conducting surveys and interviews of scholars in the field, both from music and education. The administration in educational institutions will be contacted and requested to take part and assist in the research so as to get to the bottom of the issue. If necessary, the participant’s privacy will be respected and their identity will be kept anonymous.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Economics - Essay Example Will has to invest to raise the amount of visitors entering his website. Will has to log of the amount of traffic the website receives on a daily basis and compare it to the sales generated each day. Three months is adequate trial period. Will has to spend money hiring an online expert to increase the online traffic the online store receives. After the trial period Will has several options. He can raise the price of his items by $5 each and test for a month if the demand for the products changes. It is possible that it might stay the same and that way the company can raise his overall profits. Another strategy which is my primary recommendations is to lower the prices of both types of products. According to the law of demand and supply when a manufacturer lowers the price of the product the demand increases. I would start with low price increase of $2 on the non-copyright material and $1 on the copyrighted material. The cheaper product can have a higher price reduction because there are no variable costs associated with them. In the case of copyright material there is a $5 royalty fee to consider. After a period of three months I would evaluate the results to then move forward with a more aggressive discounting strategy of final sales prices of $5 and $12. The most likely scenario is that if Will increases his online mar keting budget and reduces the price of the product the revenues of the company should reached the $100,000 revenue per year benchmark in a short period of time. The sky is the limit for this innovate product created by Mr.

Religion Analysis in texts of Machiavelli and Hobbes Essay

Religion Analysis in texts of Machiavelli and Hobbes - Essay Example This impetus towards change seems to draw both writers away from being champions of conventional religious concepts. However, whereas Hobbes still recognizes conventional moral concepts like the golden rule, Machiavelli advises the prince to get ahead, by all means necessary. Generally, Machiavelli observes that people are caught up in superficial concerns as a matter of ensuring the success of princely subterfuge, and also as a matter of demonstrating the importance of the perception of correction, whatever the actual state of affairs may be. The true prince may have committed any number of crimes and sins against religion, but as long as the people see them as benevolent and just in terms of reputation and public image, the subterfuge can continue. Machiavelli does not offer a warning against subterfuge. He does not call upon people to open up their eyes and look deeper into the inner, spiritual nature of things. As a political writer, he is unconcerned with this aspect of life and is more concerned that the true prince whom he is advising learns to be an effective leader in a way that ensures the success of his rule, at whatever cost and by all means necessary. â€Å"You must know there are two ways of contesting,† he writes to the prince, â₠¬Å"the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second.† (Machiavelli, p. 114). Obviously, aligning with the beast is not the most sound principle for a friend of religion to espouse. Machiavelli does address religion, but only in so far as he shows that people tend to be taken in by religious appearances, and are thus easily fooled, and portrays this state of affairs as being one that can be taken advantage of by the effective ruler.

Contract of Employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contract of Employment - Essay Example The intervening world wars in the first half of the 20th century put paid to any thought about advancement in the labour cause. The concept of modern day Employment Law Act began with the Equal Pay Act of 1970. It came into effect in 1972. The most prominent segment of this act was that it strengthened the efforts to bring about equality for women in the workplace (The Equal Pay Act 1970 (Amendment) Regulation 2003). Since1997 and the election of the Labour Government there have been many changes in the UK employment law. These include enhanced maternity and paternity rights, the introduction of a National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Directive which covers working time, rest breaks and the right to paid annual leave. Likewise, discrimination law has been tightened with protection from discrimination now available on the grounds of age, religion or belief and sexual orientation as well as gender, race and disability (Industrial relations under new Labour: an update). Today terms and conditions governing employer-employee relations are not as open as they ought to be and they are complex. They are lop-sided, not quite reasonable, geared to human resource development but simultaneously businesslike. The present day terms and conditions swear by natural justice, however there are disciplinary procedures, provides little scope for protection from unfair treatment, prefer counseling, and sets clear performance standards. Now terms and conditions are two different terminologies. The dictionary describes terms as "words used to define certain concept" and condition as "a stipulation" (Illustrated Oxford Dictionary). In the issue of labour, terms are concepts that describe the working relation the company has with the employee and conditions are stipulations that describe the reward or penalty for duty performed or misdemeanors committed. The United Kingdom has in place employment legislations that addresses human resources development issues and also makes it difficult for employers to carry out unfair dismissals. These legislations succinctly cover almost all nature of employment and human resource problems. However, employers hold the trump cards. Employer-employee problems Problems in employer-employee relations happen when management is primarily insensitive to human

Family Relation Portrayal in Korean Films Essay Example for Free

Family Relation Portrayal in Korean Films Essay It has been said of cinema that it is much lesser an art that it should be because it cannot afford the unpredictable. Therefore it seeks the security of successfully established formulas (Encyclopaedia Britannica 904). This may be the reason why Korean films, like most Asian films, tend to focus on domestic issues. The most important part of Korean life is family, and Koreans are proud of their excellent relationship among family members. Members of the family are tied to each other by very strong bonds. Over the years, however, the Korean family has undergone tremendous change in terms of structure and function. These changes in family structure and function are dramatically mirrored in Korean films. Korean films show viewers about how the Korean family has evolved over the last few years. In addition, Korean films reflect the rapid change that the structure and function of the Korean family is undergoing. Value for Family Family welfare is much more important to Koreans than individual needs (â€Å"South Korea – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette†). This may be the reason why Korean families are called a ‘small society’. The action of each family member becomes a reflection of the rest of the family. Koreans put into mind that family is the most important group for themselves and for their country (â€Å"Korean Family†). The Korean value for family is depicted in the film A Romantic Papa, a Korean film released in 1960. This is a story about an employee at an insurance company who is the head of a happy household which consists of his wife, two sons and three daughters. When his company began downsizing, however, he is forced into retirement. He does not tell his family about losing his job because of fear of disappointing them. His children learn the truth as they thought of a way of comforting their father. A Romantic Papa is a film which depicts the traditional Korean family. The film also shows that the father holds supreme power in the family. When the protagonist loses his job, he does not tell his family because he does not want to disappoint them. This goes to show the great value that Koreans place over their families. In an unconventional sort of way, the film also shows the father, who holds supreme power in the family, stepping down to relinquish his authority to the next generation. A Romantic Papa was adapted to the big screen from a popular radio drama. It was directed by Shin Sang-Okk and starred Choi Eun-Hee, Kim Jin-Kyu, Shin Seong-II, Kim Seung-Ho and Joo Jeung-Nyeo. (â€Å"100 Korean Films†). Mr. Park, which was also released in 1960, is another Korean film which depicts the traditional Korean family. The film is about a man who has provided for his children by repairing charcoal fireplaces. He disapproves of the fact that his eldest child is dating a hoodlum. He is also unhappy that his younger daughter is dating her co-worker. He, however, bestows his blessing upon his son when he expresses the desire to marry. His eldest daughter runs away and his son asks his permission to work in Thailand after marriage. The film ends with him accepting the man his eldest child wants to marry while granting permission to his son to go to Thailand. The film is Korea’s representative family melodrama. It reveals the conflict of values through the clash between the protagonist and his children. The film was directed by Kang Dae-Jin. It starred Kim Seung-Ho, Cho Mi-Ryeong, Kim Jin-Kyu and hwang Jeong-Sun. (â€Å"100 Korean Films†) The Extended Family The extended family was the social norm about 50 to 60 years ago in Korea (Bae). This is reflected in the film Festival which was released in Korea in 1996. Festival was directed by Im Kwon-Taek and stars Ahn Seong-Ki. A film about family, Festival is about a renowned writer who received word that his mother had passed away. The death of his mother elicited different emotional responses from various persons. As the funeral begins, so did conflict deepen among his family members. As the funeral progresses, their conflicts find gradual resolution. Festival is about filial piety, a Confucian ideal that places the virtue of caring for one’s parents among all else. Filial piety connotes being good to the parents and to take care of them. It connotes engaging in good conduct towards parents and towards society so as to bring a good name to the parents and ancestors. It also means performing the duties of a job well to obtain the material means to support the parents. The film The Birth of a Family also depicts extended family life. Released in 2006, the first part of the film is about Mi-ra and her trouble-making brother, Hyung-chul. After being discharged from the military, Hyung-chul goes missing. He comes back five years later with a middle-aged woman whom he introduces as his wife. Mi-ra allows them to stay with her at the family home until Mi-ra’s daughter Chae-hyun arrives and the three reach a breaking point. The second part of the film concerns a young woman called Sun-kyung whose relationship with her estranged mother is aggravated by the mother’s relationship with a married man. Her mother dies of cancer, however, and Sun Kyung must care for her half-brother Gyeong-suk. The third part of the film brings together the two story lines with the relationship of Chae-hyun and Gyeong-suk who is accepted in the end by Chae-hyun’s adopted family from the first part of the film (â€Å"The Birth of a Family†). The Birth of a Family was directed by Kim Tae-Yong. It starred Moon So-ri, Kong Hyo-jin, Jeong Yu-mi and Bong Tae-gyu. Extended family is also portrayed in the 1998 film A Quiet Family. This is the story of a family who buys a hotel in the mountains. At first, no one comes to check in at the hotel but after a while a guest checks in and dies. Two more guests arrive and suffer that same predicament, and soon the bodies start piling up. This movie is a comedy but effectively portrays the modern extended family and their relationship to each other (â€Å"The Quiet Family†). The Quiet Family was directed by Ji-woon Kim and starred In-hwan Park and Mun-hee Na. Single Parents, Divorce and Late Marriages It is said that the economic crisis in the late 1990s was the catalyst in changing the Korean family structure in an essential way. Before this, concepts such as single parents, divorce, late marriage and having children at a later age were unheard of to most Koreans. Today, however, this is no longer the case (Bae). Mirroring the theme of being a single parent is the film Mother which is a Korean film released in 2010. Mother is the story of a Hye-ja, a single mother who sells herbs and acupuncture treatments to support her mentally slow son. Her son, however, becomes involved in the murder of a schoolgirl and is thrown into jail. This is when Hye-ja’s quest to prove her son’s innocence begins (Harris). The film shows the hardships and difficulties of being a single parent and what a mother’s love can do for her beloved child. Mother was directed by Bong Joon-ho and starred Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin. The film stayed within the top 50 films on the United States box office. Being a single parent is also depicted in the film A Family which was released in Korea in 2004. A Family is about the extraordinary love between a father and his daughter. Pickpocket Jeong-eun comes back home to a father and an eight-year old brother after being in prison for two years. Her father Joo-suk loves her dearly but does not know how to express it. The film A Family is about troubled relationships and conflict between family members, but above all, it is a story about family in these modern times (â€Å"A Family†). A film that also depicts the hardships of being a single parent is The Way Home, a Korean film that was released in 2002. The Way Home is the story of a spoiled city boy whose single mother ships him off to his grandmother in a rural town. The grandmother is a hunchback and a mute who works hard without complaining. The boy disrespects his grandmother at first but learns a lesson about love and selflessness after seeing all the sacrifices she made for him. The film is a drama about the healing power of love. The unconditional love the grandmother gives to the boy is something that he is not used to. This eventually softens him. He also begins to see the downside to his selfishness (â€Å"The Way Home†). Single parenthood is also shown in Marathon, a 2005 film which deals with an autistic youth training to be a marathon runner. The story is primarily about the relationship between the boy and his mother. Because of his condition, his mother controls various aspects of his life in the name of ‘protection’. The film also tackles the realities of being mentally ill (â€Å"Marathon†). Marathon became the runaway box office smash of 2005. The film marked the directorial debut of Jeong Yun-Cheol and starred Cho Seung-Woo and Kim Mi-Sook. In 2007, the film Cherry Tomato tackled single parenthood by way of a grandfather caring for his granddaughter. When his son is released from prison and steals his savings and his bicycle-drawn cart is destroyed, he ends up trying to steal meat for his hungry granddaughter (â€Å"Cherry Tomato†). This film depicts the love a grandfather has for his granddaughter and the actions that he is capable of doing in the name of love. Cherry Tomato was directed by former television producer Jeong Yeong-bae and starred Sin Goo and Kim Hyang-ki. Meanwhile, the theme of divorce is exemplified in the film The Marriage Life which is a film released in Korea in 1992. The Marriage Life is about a couple who gets married for love despite objection from their family and friends. Their married life seems successful at first until endlessly busy nights made conversation almost nonexistent. Their marriage then begins to suffer. Their clashes began to become intense that they finally resort to divorce (â€Å"100 Korean Films†). Marriage Life was directed by Kim Yui-seok and starred Choi Min-Su and Shim Hye-Jin.

Relativism And Realism Debates

Relativism And Realism Debates Should psychology pursue the path of realism or relativism? Critically discuss the implications of the relativism realism debate for psychology. In the field of psychology, there is a debate amongst psychologists about which scientific approach to take when it comes to studying psychology. Whilst some psychologists prefer the realism approach, other psychologists prefer a different approach, relativism. The debate argues over which approach is the best theory for psychology to adopt; how research should be conducted, what assumptions can be made by psychologists, and which approach is the best way to gain knowledge about the world. So what is realism and what is relativism? Realism is what could be considered mainstream psychology, where knowledge about the world can be acquired through methodical and systematic experimentation. Fletcher (1996) states that realism is focused mainly on behaviour, and that empirical research is the cornerstone of the scientific method (pp. 409). This approach is widely used in psychology to study behaviour and to gain facts about the world, which can be used to build psychological theories (Cac ioppo, Semin Bertson, 2004, pp 215). Relativism, on the other hand, offers an alternative approach to realism. Relativism argues that the world is created by the human mind, and the realism approach is no more rational or trustworthy than ordinary thinking (Fletcher, 1996, pp. 410). Cacioppo, Semin and Bertson (2004) suggest that the relativism approach argues that theoreticians should recognize that all forms of theories are worthwhile and the key is to evaluate the relative informativeness of each theory (pp.219). This indicates that all theories are valid, but they are based upon the relative ideas and assumptions of the theoretician that put it forward. These relative ideas and assumptions of the theoretician are based on societal contexts which are part of the defining statement (Kagan, 1964, pp.131), meaning that what is stated is relative to the state of the individual and the context it is said in. But which approach should psychologists take and what does this mean for psy chology? The realism and relativism debate has been ongoing for a long time in the field of philosophy and more recently, psychology (Fletcher, 1996; Parker, 1998). In the field of philosophy, an empiricism approach has been widely abandoned in favour of a relativistic approach (Fletcher, 1996, pp. 410). However there is little consensus about which is the best approach to adopt by psychologists. There are arguments both for and against relativism and realism, and there are benefits to both approaches. This essay will look at both realism and relativism as philosophical approaches to psychology and which approach is more appropriate for the field. The realistic approach to psychology has been used in most psychological research that uses an experimental design. The assumption of the realism approach is that there is a real world that can be tested to establish facts; which experiments adopt to establish facts about behaviour. This, in a way, lends support for itself in psychology; by creating theories that can be tested, psychologists are able to predict behaviour, which is what some would say is the central aim of psychology (Gergen, 1973, pp. 317). Haig (2005) suggests that realism alone can offer an all-encompassing approach to psychology. It is argued by Haig (2005) that whilst there can be no proof that realism is a deficient philosophy for psychology, there is no need for other philosophical approaches to the field. However, it can be noted that this would be a very realist view; Haig (2005) needs proof that realism is deficient before it can be considered deficient. Whereas from a relativist point of view, proof would n ot be needed for realism to be considered a deficient philosophy, it would be relative to the context and person stating that it is deficient. This poses a problem; if realism is based on facts and wants proof that it does not provide an adequate philosophy, and relativism does not need facts or proof that realism is not an adequate philosophy, then a consensus of which approach is the most appropriate for psychology can never be made. One argument by Sankey (2004) suggests that the physical existence of the world provides evidence for a realist approach. It is suggested that the existence of the world around us does not depend on our thoughts, perceptions or experiences of it, it just exists. Whatever way we think about the world, or try to change parts of it (constructing buildings, growing crops, polluting the environment etc, pp.63), we did not create the world itself. It is argued that from this, human thoughts do not create the conception of reality, it is physically around us and this lends support to the realism approach. This would seem plausible, the fact that there are physical objects around us, that we can touch and interact with would suggest that there is a real world, and that we can acquire knowledge about that world. Sankey (2004) goes on to suggest that Mental representations are but a small part of a greater reality in which we find ourselves embedded. Any philosophy which seeks to ground our co nception of reality on our own mental representations commits the fundamental error of anthropocentrism, and should therefore be dismissed as fatally flawed, (pp.64). This suggests that by assuming that reality is evaluated exclusively through human representations of the world, relativism is flawed. It can also be noted that if relativists argue that all theories are worthwhile, then this argument by Sankey (2004) is perfectly reasonable in providing evidence for the realism approach. However, one thing that may go against this argument by Sankey (2004) is that there is no way of knowing whether everyone perceives the physical world around us in the same way or not. This means that the physical world as evidence for realism could be perceived in many different ways, suggesting that in fact a relativist approach is more appropriate for studying psychology. Whilst the realist approach lends support to the experimental side of psychology; enabling a psychologist to assume what they have found to be factual and free from representations, there is an increasing number of psychologists and psychological fields that are adopting a more relativist approach. These include social constructivism, discourse analysis and feminist psychology (Fletcher, 1996). But why adopt a relativist approach when a realism approach has been used so widely in the mainstream field of psychology? There are several arguments against using a realist philosophy for psychology. One argument that is highlighted by Fletcher (1996) is the idea that the empiricism approach to a lot of psychological research is based on a set of rules set out by psychologists that all experiments adhere to, for example significance levels (p.411). There is a question of why those particular values are deemed significant and why others are not, and what made those values significant. It can be supposed that somewhere along the line, humans decided what results could be considered significant and what results could not. This provides evidence for the relativism approach; everything is relative to the persons thoughts, assumptions and experiences. In this case results may only be significant to some people whilst the same set of results could be completely insignificant to others. However, because of the significance values used in the methodology employed by the realism approach, results that could seem significant to some people are deemed insignificant by the constraints of realist psychology. Rosnow and Rosethal (1989) criticise the methods of analysing data, stating that determining the particular level of significance of the data at which a null hypothesis will be rejected is essentially a personal decision, (pp.1277) which strengthens the argument that psychology is based on social constructs and is relative to the psychologist. The relativist argument that realis t methods are too dichotomous is also supported by Loftus (1996). Relativists have also rejected realist arguments that because we can physically touch and interact with our environment that this proves the world is real and that it can be tested in order to gain knowledge (e.g. Sankey, 2004). Edwards, Ashmore and Potter (1995) identified two arguments used against relativism, (being able to touch furniture and the reality of death) and argue that these are still socially constructed. Edwards, Ashmore and Potter (1995) suggest that a realist would hit a table and the resulting sound shows it is physical, and not socially constructed. The table, in the eyes of a realist, would be a real object that can be touched, physically in the real world. However, what Edwards, Ashmore and Potter (1995) argue is that the table, whilst displaying physical properties is still a socially constructed object. The person that hits the table experiences it as real, but only the part that is touched by the hand. In addition to this, how does anybody else watching the t able being hit know it is real (pp.29)? It is also argued that by hitting the table, it does not prove that tables continuing existence (pp.29), nor does it prove that everything else around that table and other objects in the world exists. This highlights a flaw in what realists would count as evidence that the world is real and free from human interpretations. Edwards, Ashmore and Potter (1995) also state that a realist would use death as evidence for a world that is free from human perceptions. It is said that a realist would ask how a relativist can question whether death is a reality or not. To dispute that death is a reality would seem immoral and it would be impossible to say that the death of something or someone is just a social construct. However, it is argued by Edwards, Ashmore and Potter (1995) that even death is socially constructed. It is suggested that when you look at death and everything that relates to it, for example, resurrection, the afterlife, survival of the spirit, the non-simultaneous criteria of brain death, the point when life support might as well be switched off, cryogenic suspension, the precise (how precise?) moment of death, (pp. 36), it becomes clear that there is a lot of social construction surrounding death. Along with the different ways it is possible to die, it is stated that everyone knows, these are c ategories which are as constructed as can be, (pp.36). This is a convincing argument for relativism; there are things in the world that appear to be reality, physical and factual. However, as shown in the case of death, there are more components to death than just the umbrella term which are clearly socially constructed. When someone dies, are they truly dead? What if they are, instead, reincarnated as something else? In a realist world, these questions would seem scientifically impossible to test which leads to the question of whether death can really be established as fact and a realistic truth. The way in which we would class someone as dead is only to the extent of our own knowledge, tools and assumptions, but this would mean death has to be classed as a social construct and not free of human interpretation. As presented, there is support for adopting a realist philosophy and there is support for adopting a relativist philosophy. So which approach is best for psychology? As previously stated, Fletcher (1996) highlights that realism has been overlooked in favour of a relativist approach in several areas of psychology, in particular, social constructivism, discourse analysis and feminist psychology. Within feminist psychology there has been an increasing use of relativist philosophy. A paper by Riger (1992) suggests that relativism is the most appropriate approach for studying women and feminism in psychology. It is suggested that gender is a socially constructed phenomenon; we are members of gender through our thoughts and actions rather than just having the gender of male and female. In addition to this, it is argued that the relations between men and women are a result of patterns of social organisation (pp.737). Therefore, it is suggested that psychology as a discipline should consider the social context of gender and womens activity, promoting the use of a relativist philosophy in this particular branch of psychology. Support for a relativist approach in psychology is provided by Hepburn (2000), who points out the advantages to using such a philosophy in feminist psychology. It is stated that relativism clears the way for addressing the many competing versions, contingencies, arguments and agendas that go with doing feminist research (pp.103). This suggests that the relativist assumption that all theories are valid, allows for the many different paths of research in feminist psychology to occur. Therefore, it also has to be considered whether a realist approach would be appropriate for feminist psychology. Gender differences in empiricist research do not take the social context and human perceptions of those gender differences, which could mean that psychologists who follow a realist approach to psychology may not know every reason for those gender differences. Therefore, it can be questioned whether or not empiricism really does gain factual knowledge about the world, if it does not take into account everything that could contribute to those facts. In this case, it would seem that for feminist psychology, realism would not be the most appropriate philosophy to adopt. In contrast, there are some that promote realism within feminist psychology. New (1998) defends realism as the most appropriate philosophy for feminist psychology to adopt. It is stated by New (1998) that despite realisms current resounding unpopularity among feminist theorists, they cannot do without it, (pp.366) suggesting that whilst relativism is popular within feminist psychology, there is also a need for realism. It is argued that realism is needed to understand the underlying concepts in the history of feminist psychology and to understand the knowledge that has already been obtained of feminist psychology, and this cannot be done without assuming that the relativist social constructions are also true. This could mean that in psychology, you cannot have relativism without realism. In order to understand the knowledge that is gained through a relativist approach it may mean that realism is also needed. In other words, if relativism argues that gender differences are a social co nstruction, then they have to assume that these social constructions are true and real. New (1998) adds to this by suggesting that when arguing the case for relativism, relativists have to regress to realism in order to articulate the case. In addition to this, Parker (1999) supports realism in other branches of psychology. In his paper against relativism in psychology, Parker (1999) points out that some psychologists believe realism warrants psychology as a real science. Therefore, this could mean that by adopting a realist approach psychology could be put in the same category as what are commonly called real sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology. This has implications for psychology as a science and not just for psychologists either. If psychology is classed as a real science, the results of psychological research may carry more weight in everyday life, where not everyone is aware of the debate between realism and relativism. Therefore, as presented with the example of feminist psychology, there is a strong case for both realism and relativism within psychology. This leaves the question of which approach to adopt for psychology up in the air; the debate seems to have no solid consensus of which approach to adopt. Even in the case of feminist psychology, which is suggested to have predominantly accepted the relativist approach, there are still some that argue for a realist philosophy (e.g. New, 1998). However, there may be other philosophical approaches more appropriate for psychology. For example, Cacioppo, Semin and Bertson (2004) evaluate instrumentalism as an approach for psychology. According to Cacioppo, Semin and Bertson (2004), the aim of instrumentalism is not to discover truth, but instead aims to construct intellectual structures that provide adequate predictions of what is observed (pp.217). Therefore, whilst not searching for the truth like realism or proving that instead everything that is th ought to be true is instead a social construction, like relativism, instrumentalism provides a way of predicting and describing what is observed rather than persistently debating whether what is observed is true or not. In a way, instrumentalism positions itself in between realism and relativism, it just utilises the observations without having to assume whether it is real or not. So, aside from realism and relativism, would this be a better approach for psychology? Instrumentalism would seem to be a compromise between the two approaches and so this could be the path psychology should pursue. As highlighted by New (1998), it seems relativism cannot be without realism and as highlighted by Edwards, Ashmore and Potter (1995) it is argued realism cannot be without relativism. Therefore, as the debate between realism and relativism can become blurred, it may be that instrumentalism is a more suitable approach to psychology. In conclusion, with no consensus between realists and relativis ts, it is unclear whether psychology should pursue the path of realism and relativism. As proposed by Cacioppo, Semin and Bertson (2004) an integrated approach between realism and instrumentalism may be the best approach for psychology. Word Count Excluding References : 2,847

Health Literacy in Australia

Health Literacy in Australia Health literacy was defined as â€Å"the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions† (IOM, 2004, p. 32).Inotherwords, it is the person’s ability obtain and understand healthcare information and make decisions based on those information whilst following those instructions during the treatment process. Health literacy can contextual where demands are made as well as skill which is brought upon by the participating parties according to the situation ((Rudd, Moeykens, Colton, 1999). According to the statistics almost 50 percent of the patient admitted that they are not familiar to basic information about healthcare. A successful treatment can be linked to be directly proportional to the health literacy and low level of this may lead to an unsuccessful treatment or the patient being wrongly diagnosed. As health literacy is directly related peoples health, those who have low level of health literacy are known to have poor health status than those having high level end experience a better life style regards to their overall health conditions. A good level of health literacy may allow people to make decisions that will allow them to make life changing decisions about their health Every day, people confront situations that involve life-changing decisions about their health. When people can obtain, communicate, process, and understand health information and services they are able to make decisions about health care. So, health literacy is more than just reading and having numeracy skills, but also includes elements such as cultural differences in society and health care provisions. â€Å"Limited health literacy occurs when those involved are not able to get and use the information and services. Lack of clear information and its importance, people get into situation that may not be ideally desirable. Moreover, people with low level of hea lth literacy are known to have a significant disadvantage to understand and execute medical treatments and prevent health care effectively which translates to their health. They have less or limited understanding about the medications, medical conditions and how to self-care. Health literacy level can be related to demography, economy and the way we communicate. It can be roughly categorized in terms of age, ethnicity, age and language. Among these categories people who have English as the second language seems to be the most affected with the low level of health literacy. As, we know that people responses to illness behaviors are culturally determined ( Smylie, Williams, Cooper, 2006).In Australia there exists a large number of migrant population and a large part of that comes from non-English speaking countries or who have English as a second language. These are further exaggerated their cultural barriers and economic challenges for accessing the services As it is rare to a obtain and access information about primary health care other than English which sometimes may be a cause of major concern as migrant people may not have the satisfactory level English to know the effects and methods required for the desired final results. Migrant people are found t o be affected by the health inequalities which are determined by the social determinants such where they were born, brought up, work and their age which are shaped through economy and resources. In Australia, people from various countries have migrated in search of their dreams and as they start journey most of them have a humble begging’s and the problem of health literacy arises for those who come as Asian countries and refugees as their origin being a non –English speaking and for most of them have not known at all but when they begin their life in Australia it is a different story as they have to come up with terms to know the language and access information in the language they have never known or access with makes their starting a very very hard. Migrant people come to Australia with limited English speaking abilities which can be a serious issue. A good health care needs patients and medical professionals to discuss the problem and how to address those issues. Studies have shown that communication is the major factor in creating misunderstanding in patient health conditions as well as being wrongly diagnosed which may cause a major problem towards the final outcome on the overall patient health. Another issue regarding the health literacy and is the delaying in seeking health care for themselves and their children. They have admitted that language as the major barrier in health care as they find difficult to explain the problem and understand the complex and sensitive health issues. As we now have established that the problems in health care is due to the failure to access, process and understand information about their health and the process. These problems are more significant in migrant peoples and people with low income which develops a level of inequality. Now, it is up to the clinicians to try to narrow this inequality and increase the overall health of these people whilst increasing their health literacy. Medical professionals need to innovative approaches in order to improve health literacy. They may opt to use evidence based strategies which address health literacy that may include interventions which is simplifying and improving information, using video or other targeted approaches to patient education, and improving patient–provider communication. They may adopt a user centered approach, use a universal precautions approach or targeting and tailoring communications as well as apply organizational changes. In a user centered approach health prof essionals may need to involver members of the target group in the design and testing process. They can also use proven designs that worked in the past. Using a universal precaution approach starts with a clear communication and should be the bottom line of every health information exchanges. As we know that medical professionals have a magic stick which can determine what is going on with a particular person simply just by looking so they need to use precautions which is true in the case of health literacy. For this very reason, health workers advocate in using a universal precautions approach to health communication as they, a high number of patients will have difficulty understanding health information. Parker and Kreps note that even though everyone will not be at the same health literacy level, it is always best to use the clearest language possible. Adopting universal precautions, health professionals must use clear communication with everyone, regardless of their perceived hea lth literacy skills. Having targeted and tailored approaches to communication clinician’s display would allow them with self-management and health related outcomes with patients having limited literacy. Targeted approaches are adapted when we need to meet the needs of specific groups such as people with limited literacy skills. Tailored programs and communication are based on individual and unique requirements. As the health literacy among the people improves their expectations also increases so hospitals need to assess their weaknesses and strengths to improve the quality of health care. Ref: Institute of Medicine (2009).Toward health equity and patient-centeredness: Integrating health literacy, disparities reduction, and quality improvement workshop summary.Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Rudd, R., Moeykens, B. Colton, TC. (1999) Health and literacy: A review of medical and public health literature. In J. Comings, B. Garners, C. Smith, eds. Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume I. New York, NY: Jossey-Bass. Rudd, R . E., Anderson, J . E., Oppenheimer, S., Nath , C. (2007). Health literacy: An update of public health and medical literature. In J. P. Comi ngs, B. Garner, C. Smith. (E ds.),Review of adult learning and literacy(vol . 7) (pp 175–204). Mahwa h, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Health Literacy: Information for Clinicians at University of  Washington Medical Center: http://depts.washington.edu/pfes/HealthLiteracy/HealthLiteracyUW.htm Smylie, J., Williams, L., Cooper, N. (2006). Culture-based  literacy and Aboriginal health. Canadian journal of public  health, 97, S21-S25.

Dracula :: Character Analysis, Renfield

While the character of Renfield is ostensively extraneous to the central plot of Dracula, he fulfils an important role in Stoker’s exploration of the central themes of the novel. This paper will examine how Renfield character is intertwined with the three central themes of invasion, blood and otherness. Firstly, through Renfield’s inner struggle we learn that he is ‘not his own master’ (Stoker, 211). The theme of invasion is revealed by the controlling and occupying powers of Count Dracula. Secondly, the recurring theme ‘the Blood is the Life’ (Stoker, 121), is portrayed throughout the novel and has been interpreted through Stoker’s character Renfield. Then finally, a look at the social construction of the ‘other’ in Dracula and how, through Renfield, who is ‘unlike the normal lunatic’ (Stoker, 52), the Count emerges as the ‘other’ of all ‘others’. Stoker has rendered the reader to see the Count as physically strong and powerful, through Jonathan Harker and his confinement and Lucy Westenra and her failing health. Although the reader does not understand all the omniscient powers and control that Count Dracula possesses over people, they are brought to light through Dr Steward’s accounts of his patient R.M. Renfield. The ‘strange and sudden change’ (Stoker, 86), that has happened in Renfield evokes the reader to contemplate the Count’s influence over people. Dr Steward suggests it is as though a ‘religious mania has seized’ Renfield (Stoker, 87), and is controlling him. The reader is aware that Renfield can feel the Counts presence and that there is a connection between them. This eventually leads Van Helsing to recognize the bond between Mina Harker and the Count, which helps them to find Dracula and finally kill him. Dracula’s invasion over Renfield also reveals a weakness i n the Counts power. Renfield, an obedient servant of Dracula, claims he is ‘here to do Your bidding, Master. I am Your slave’ (Stoker, 88). Renfield’s devotion is quickly reversed when he sees that the Count is taking life from Mina. It is his care for her that causes him to turn against Dracula and try to fight for her. Again Renfield’s actions mimic that of the other men as it becomes their goal to save Mina from the invasion running through her body. The key to this invasion is the blood. The central theme of blood in Dracula is paralleled through Renfield.

Gay and Lesbian Issues - The Nazi Extermination of Homosexuals Essays

Gay and Lesbian Issues - The Nazi Extermination of Homosexuals The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity ever committed. Millions upon millions of people were ruthlessly tortured and executed during the infamous reign of the Third Reich. The events and conditions surrounding Adolf Hitler’s rise to power have been extensively studied by historians, sociologists, political scientists, and psychologists in the hopes of preventing this state of merciless dictatorship from ever recurring. Due to the immensity of the Nazi campaign against those of the Jewish faith, that ethnic group is most often mentioned in association with the concentration camps and exterminations of the Third Reich. However, there were many other groups who were persecuted alongside the Jews. These groups include political dissidents, criminals, gypsies, the handicapped, Jehovah’s Witnesses, emigrants, and homosexuals (Heger 32). The plight of homosexuals is, perhaps, the most overlooked aspect of the Holocaust. Of all the concentration camps, Sachsenhaussen, just nort h of Berlin, was the most important in the imprisonment and execution of homosexuals. The conditions under which all prisoners here were forced to live were absolutely inhuman, but for homosexuals it was far worse. As the one group that was despised by both the Nazis and those who were imprisoned within concentration camps, gays were persecuted with the greatest enthusiasm, and because of the taboos surrounding their lifestyle, their tragedy was left unnoticed for nearly three decades. The persecution of homosexuals at Sachsenhaussen was a natural outgrowth of the Nazi idea of the â€Å"master race† and was made possible by manipulation of German law. Homosexuals, according to Nazi propaganda, ... ...he testimonies of gay survivors from Sachsenhaussen are to teach us anything, it is that they, like the Jews and every other group exterminated by the Nazis, were victims. Their tragedy has been compounded by society’s rejection of their plight. In order to truly abolish the dangerous views of Nazism, we must first learn to accept all people as human beings, no matter what their national origin, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation may be. This must be our goal if we are to prevent the atrocities of Sachsenhaussen from ever happening again. References Feig, Konnilyn G. Hitler’s Death Camps. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979. Heger, Heinz. The Men With the Pink Triangle. London: Gay Men’s Press, 1972. Plant, Richard. The Pink Triangle. New York: Henry Holt, 1986. Rector, Frank. The Nazi Extermination of Homosexuals. New York: Stein and Day, 1981.

How Does Social Networking Affect People’s Lives? Essay

Social networking is quickly becoming more and more popular. I am going to investigate exactly how and why it influences people lives. I’m going to specifically look at different age groups and see if there is any pattern in their lifestyle. I will find my information from books, articles, news stories, the internet and people’s experiences and opinions. I will interview a whole range of people so I can get more of a range of opinions from teenagers to OAP’s to see if there is a general feeling for different age groups. My essay will address many questions such as are people’s opinions affected by their age? Does it influence people’s lives in different ways because of their age? This topic interests me because it is becoming more and more popular with most people’s lives; I hope to find out why so many people use it and the reasons for it. This is also an interesting topic because it is currently in the news with bullying stories and school grades decreasing. My information will include data tables, graphs etc. I will base my study on these resources to allow me to draw conclusions from this question. This will then lead to producing a presentation to a large group of people. I hope to gain an extra qualification to combine with my others to make me more of an all rounded student. It will also give me some experience of partaking in presentations to a number of people which would help me if I go to university. I also want to find out whether social networking does influence people’s lives and how. The internet is a global network of computers that allow you to go on things like social networking sites, instant messaging sites, and factual sites and so on. The internet originally started with the name ARPAnet, it was created by the US government to use as a defence mechanism for the cold war in the 1960s. Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn developed TCP/IP, ’A Protocol for Packet Network Interconnection’ (in 1974), to connect different networks. The internet was consequently a ’network of networks’, although the Internet Protocol (IP) came to dominate networking. At the end of 1969, there were only four computers on ARPAnet, and they were all at US universities. This grew to 5,000 internet hosts in 1986, after which the number of users grew rapidly into the millions and then hundreds of millions. Social networking is an online community of people with a common interest who use a Web site or other technologies to communicate with each other and share information, resources, etc: a business-oriented social network. A simpler definition is a web site or online service that facilitates this communication. This includes Facebook, Twitter and MySpace along with lots of others. Instant messaging is basically text communication between two or more people. This uses the internet and is present on most social networking sites. Most common programmes include MSN, BBM and whats app. These both have their good and bad publicity. They let people communicate from around the world. On the other hand lots of cyber bullying stories are heavily linked to these services. Blogging is a list of journal entries posted on a Web page. Anybody who knows how to create and publish a Web page can publish their own blog. Some Web hosts have made it even easier by creating an interface where users can simply type a text entry and hit publish to publish their blog. This is an old type of social networking that has got took over by popular sites like Facebook. Video conferencing is a conference between two or more participants at different sites by using computer networks to transmit audio and video data. Each participant has a video camera, microphone, and speakers mounted on his or her computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the network and delivered to the other’s speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera appear in a window on the other participant’s monitor. Most popular programs used for this are Skype and imessenger. These services are present on Facebook via the messaging service. Advantages and Disadvantages There are many advantages and disadvantages about social networking. You can chat to your friends through the messaging services available on most sites. This makes it easier for people to communicate to people without costing any money through telephone calls or messages. This could range from friends in different countries, old school friends or family. However it does have its disadvantages like a lot of people tend to make fake accounts attempting to be someone else and end up being pedophiles. This can lead to people being harmed both physically and mentally which aren’t the reason why social networking has been made. It is usually used by teenagers that are taking part in important exams that could change the shape of their future lives. They use these services in their free time when some people say that they should be studying. People are always complaining that this leads to underachieving exam results which is a disadvantage and wasn’t why social networking was made. It is the opinion of some people that social networking is leading to the percentage of young people becoming obese to rise. They’re saying that the time that is spent on these sites could be used as exercise time rather than sitting down looking at the computer and eating or drinking while doing this. Social networking is known for its links to bullying and possible self-harming which in some cases has been suicide. This can be through the ease of free speech with most social networking sites through status updates, tweets and blogging. This makes it possible or anyone to see these things and be made aware of this. Bullying can also come from the messaging services available that allow you to write anything to anyone you’re friends with no restrictions on what you can write. On these sites whenever you want where you want. This is because you access these sites on your mobiles pretty much anywhere you go with the new mobile network technology. The technology allows you to access the sites through 3G and the new EE networking. These new technologies are very cost effective and affordable so this increases the amount of people that have these services available to them. These services have also been made very user friendly and easy to access. This make both social networking accessible to people that aren’t familiar with using computers. Mobile The growing ubiquity of cell phones, especially the rise of smartphones, has made social networking just a finger tap away. Fully 40% of cell phone owners use a social networking site on their phone, and 28% do so on a typical day. Young people, blacks, Hispanics, the highly educated and those with a higher annual household income are more likely to use SNS on their phones than other groups. Social impact Do social networking sites isolate people and truncate their relationships? Or are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? In November 2010, we examined SNS in a survey that explored people’s overall social networks and how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, community, and political engagement, and found: * Social networking sites are increasingly used to keep up with close social ties * The average user of a social networking site has more close ties and is half as likely to be socially isolated as the average American * Facebook users are more trusting than others * Facebook users have more close relationships   * Internet users get more support from their social ties and Facebook users get the most support * Facebook users are much more politically engaged than most people * Facebook revives â€Å"dormant† relationships * MySpace users are more likely to be open to opposing points of view Does Social Networking make us more unsociable? There is an argument that social networking is making people more unsociable. This can make social time very unsociable as people are checking there Facebook, twitter accounts etc. to some people they think that it limits conversation length and interest. This of course is an influence on people’s lives. Some people of course think it’s bad and some people like the fact. Does Age Matter? This leads me onto say that people’s age can affect the amount of time they go on social networking sites and how it influences them. The graphs above prove this point as it clearly states that younger people tend to go on social networking sites than older people. This gives me an indication that it could make generations more unsociable than others. For example if there are less old people using social networking then there are no distractions when in sociable events. I also see this very often when I am at social events. As a teenager myself I see it a lot with my age group constantly looking at their phone to check for updates on these sites. This does lead to less sociable conversation as people don’t spend as much time giving people eye contact and listening effectively. Politics Social networking sites have become an important additional arena for politics. They are a resource for political news, information, finding likeminded issue-oriented people, and a tool for voter outreach in the run-up to elections. During the 2012 campaign season, Pew Internet released a number of reports on the role of social networking sites on elections and the political process. Statistics A survey by SciJourner of 51 youth, ages 21 and under, finds that nearly a third say they are â€Å"addicted† to social networking, but only 8% of the teens and young adults surveyed feel that social networking affects their relationships with other people. The survey also showed that younger teens, ages 14 and 15, use the social networks Facebook and Bebo more than teens at the age of 17. Approximately equal number of males and female took the survey. Of those who responded, 37% are under 16. Most of the teens used Facebook, but 30% preferred Bebo and 20% were on both Bebo and Facebook. How much time are teens spending on social networks? For this survey we defined addicted as checking their Facebook or Bebo page more than 3 times a day. Around a third of the 51 teens fell into that category, spending 30 minutes to 5 hours per day on social networking. [1] http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-Social-Networking-full-detail.aspx 23/01/2013 Bibliography [1] http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-Social-Networking-fu

Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment Essay

The learning theory of attachment focuses of two concepts; operant and classical conditioning. Classical conditioning as an explanation for attachment describes the baby receiving food (and unconditioned stimulus) and producing an unconditioned response (happiness) and the mother feeding the baby will be the neutral stimulus. The baby will then experience the mother giving them food (and therefore happiness) a number of times and then learn to associate the mother (now a conditioned stimulus) with the feeling of happiness (a conditioned response) and thus an attachment will form. Operant conditioning describes attachment as a reinforced response. When a baby gets food it’s discomfort will become happiness and the baby will associate this feeling with food and therefore food will become the primary reinforcer. The person feeding the baby will also be associated with the happiness and therefore become the secondary reinforcer and an attachment will form. (evaluate) Even though the learning theory of attachment provides an adequate explanation of attachment it is flawed. Research evidence, such as that of Harlow’s monkey study, opposes the idea of learning theory as an explanation of attachment. Harlow’s monkey study involved giving a baby monkey the choice of either food or comfort (food was portrayed by a wire ‘monkey’ with a feeding bottle attached to it and comfort was portrayed by a wire ‘monkey’ covered in cloth). According to the learning theory of attachment the monkey should have spent most of his time on the food ‘monkey, however the opposite was true – the monkey spent the majority of his time on the comfort ‘monkey’. This decreases the validity of the learning theory of attachment as an explanation for attachment because the findings of Harlow’s monkey study opposed what it suggested. However, the monkey study was conducted on monkeys and it could be argued that this is not an accurate representation of human attachment. Humans are a lot more complex than animals and so therefore research on animals to study behaviour cannot be applied to human behaviour. Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment (12 marks) A GRADE (outline)

Property law consultant Essay

This is in reference to your query about legal advice with respect to your property which is currently occupied by three tenants apart from you. This letter explains in detail about each tenant rights, terms and conditions which are legally referenced and relevant to your tenants, residing in ground floor, middle floor and top floor. A view on UK property law, rights and obligations of landlord is provided to you for your understanding and also about your convenient decision making in the matters of your property and also how to deal with your tenants in legal framework. There is also a clear analysis about legal relationship that exists between you and your tenants. First of all, it is important to take a clear note on responsibility of landlord over the property. The said property of Georgian Town House has been taken for a lease period of 25 years and only a period of 9 years have been completed and there are still 16 more years for the expiry of lease period. Therefore, this gives out a fact that it is important to maintain the leased premises. It is a also a fact that you travel on a holiday spending most of your time within and outside UK making it necessary that premises have to be absolutely in tact even in your absence for the convenience of tenants as well to keep the premises out of dilapidation. UK property law clearly states that landlord must undertake repairs to the property whenever required in the structure of the property. The connections of gas, hot water, electrical appliances, common areas and furnitures have to be strictly administered by the landlord. This emphasizes that as a landlord, carrying out repairs wherever required is not only required by property law of UK whereas it is also an act of meeting the obligations and requirements of tenants. Three of your tenants stated that central stairwell which is commonly used by all of you is completely dilapidated and the tenants have been complaining demanding repairs, painting and to establish re-connections of lighting. Please understand that you as landlord have to meet and comply with the UK property laws and any violation to the laws would be seriously viewed inviting penalties. Now, moving on from your rights and obligations as landlord, the next would be a detailed discussion about each tenant and legal relationship that exist between you as landlord and your tenants. Groundfloor – Taxi cab A written agreement of â€Å"licence to occupy† which came into effect on 1. 5. 2008 and as per the agreement taxi cab firm must pay ? 10,000. The taxi cab presently pays a sum of ? 2500 for every three months. The legal relationship between taxi cab and you is that of a tenant and a landlord. Tax cab is responsile for paying the stated sum as rent regularly and tenant is also responsible for bills of gas, electricity, telephone as per the written agreement and further taxes must be regularly paid apart from water and sewerage charges. Taxi cab written agreement expires on 30. 4. 2011 as the agreement is for a period of three years. Therefore it is important to abide by the requests of repair or renovation as required by the taxi cab firm with the fact that lease agreement must be fully complied with meeting the all the requirements. Section 27 pf Tenant Act 1954 is not being discussed here for your reference. Taxi cab also requested you to repair the central stairwell and if this request is not approved by you, there is a scope that taxi cab might waive paying rent, or bring such other damage to the premises which would prove more expensive for repairs to be made. Middle floor which is occupied by a jeweller, who is also your cousin has not entered into any written agreement with you and that does not legally bind neither you nor jewellery to comply with any UK property laws. Oral agreement is not a valid option in the matters of disputes and also consider any decision. However as for now, jeweller is paying a rent of ? 400 per month and is carrying on business during week days. It is also a fact that oral agreement also carries certain rights and obligations both for business tenants and for the landlord, although these cannot be enforced in the courts as written agreements are more valid while filing cases of non-compliance of property laws or tenant laws. The nature of legal relationship between you and jeweller is that of a business tenant and a landlord. Further this tenant must maintain a rent book for the monthly rent paid to you and you are required to put your signature in the rent book whenever you receive rent. This tenant apart from being your cousin has every right and responsibility towards the central stairwell to carryout repairs whereas this must be done with a mutual consent from you. Further it is also a fact that this tenant is standing on the collective opinion of other two tenants that central stairwell must be repaired as it is creating problems for all the clients. Therefore, obliging to the request to repair the central stairwell is more advisable as it would invite more obligations both from business tenants and also from UK property law authorities if in case a complaint against you is launched for non-repair of central stairwell. The top floor is occupied by a commercial artist who also does not carry any written agreement of business tenancy. The tenant also facilitates the floor when there are parties arranged by you which means the tenant is absolutely cordial and compatible with you in the capacity of landlord. This tenant is also paying a small amount towards bills. Further this tenant is also of the opinion that central stairwell must be repaired. All of the business tenants are using the premises all through the business days which means central stairwell is a common area for carrying on respective activities. Another fact is only tax cab firm is a legal tenant with a legal relationship whereas other two business tenants viz. jeweller, commercial artist are not legal tenants due to the fact that there is no written agreement. The sum of rent paid by jewellery and commercial artist is very small whereas taxi cab firm is paying rent on lease. The opinion of all the three tenants is that since the central stairwell is used regularly, it is important to maintain the same in order to prevent any unforeseen occurrence of accidents or breakage. This was the main reason that tenants have approached you to repair the central stairwell. Taxi cab firm along with other two tenants in each floor are performing well in carrying on businesses and therefore, there is no problem of business loss or lack of funds. Further tenants have been very cooperative in paying rents regularly and also in meeting the other expenses as and when required. Some of the rights that can be exercised by you in the capacity of a landlord are viz. , increase of rent, conditions on usage of premises or any other matter pertaining to either rent or premises. Tenants complaints for repair of central stairwell would be valid only when there is a written notice to this effect under Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which states that notice that be given either verbally or in writing in order to provide sufficient time for landlord to carryout the required repairs. When landlord does not wish to carry out repairs, in such case, tenants have to show the proof of written notice to the court in order to receive a remedial claim. The landlord cannot ignore or overlook any legal responsibilities with regard to the repairs as stated in Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. As per the law, landlord is responsible for maintaining the roof, gutter, drains, pipes, walls, windows doors or any structure of the property. Section 11 clearly states that landlord must take the responsibility to maintain the repairs of the structure and also to keep the installations such as baths, sinks, sanitary pipes. Taking this section as a guide, central stairwell is within the premises of the property which is used by tenants regularly for business purpose. Therefore, the responsibility of repair rests with the landlord. Conclusively, keeping all of the above facts in view, there are two options at your end to maintain and repair the central stairwell. First is, to carryout necessary repairs to central stairwell and second is to assign the responsibility to one of the tenants whom you confide in to carryout necessary repairs to central stairwell and submit all the necessary bills of repairs to you. Further these expenses can be deducted from the monthly rent paid by all the three tenants. This would solve the problem and further all the tenants would be satisfied. Sincerely, Sd/- (B) Property law consultant References Housing in England – Tenancy Agreements Accessed 20 March 2009 http://www. adviceguide. org. uk/index/family_parent/housing/tenancy_agreements. htm LandLord and Tenant Act 1954 Accessed 20 March, 2009 http://72. 14. 235. 132/search? q=cache:QpO_V-_S0f8J:www. communities. gov. uk/documents/citiesandregions/pdf/131185. pdf+the+Landlord+and+Tenant+Act+1954. &cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in Landlord and Tenants Rights Accessed 20 March, 2009 http://www. insolvencyhelpline. co. uk/legal_issues_explained/landlords_and_tenants_rights. php Renting a home. The key to a quiet life Accessed 20 March, 2009 http://www. lawsociety. org. uk/choosingandusing/commonlegalproblems/rentingahome. page Section 27 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954: a tactical approach Accessed 20 March, 2009 http://www. practicalconveyancing. co. uk/content/view/7631/1121/ The rights of renters Accessed 20 March, 2009 http://www. consumerrightsexpert. co. uk/TheRightsOfRenters. html Tenancy agreement service Accessed 24 March, 2009 http://www. tenancyagreementservice. co. uk/verbal-tenancy-agreements. htm Landlords’ and Tenants’ repairing obligations Accessed 24 March, 2009 http://www. tenancyagreementservice. co. uk/repairing-obligations. htm#notice-of-repairs

Labeling and Discrimination Essay

Theory is the criminal process. It is the way people and actions are defined as criminal. The one definite thing that all â€Å"criminals† share is the negative social reaction as being labeled as ‘bad†. Law-abiding society often shuns the offender causing them to be stigmatized and stereotyped. The negative label applied to an offender often shapes their self-image and often leads them to live up to their newfound identity by committing acts that are more criminal. Edwin Lemert described this as being secondary deviance caused by primary deviance. The self-concept identifies two major theoretical perspectives. The first concept being that deviant labeling may subsequently influence deviance by altering a person’s self-worth. The role of self-dynamics and symbolic reaction amplifies negative expectations of society. The second concept focuses on social structure aspects of exclusion of offender’s by blocked access to structural opportunities. Matsudo, 1992) This ultimately becomes discrimination for people labeled by society as â€Å"criminals†. â€Å"Felon† is a label that is given to ex-offenders by society that confirms the degrading status that accompanies conviction. This is labeling. An offender is discriminated against because society views them as being â€Å"bad†. In short, a â€Å"felon† is a legal outlaw and social outcast. Not all the good that a person may have done previously suddenly matte rs and society assumes that there is nothing but despicable traits left in this person’s character. Their integrity is lost forever. Society assumes that â€Å"felons† cannot change and it becomes a struggle to be given a second chance to prove that people can, and do change, if the will to do so is there coupled with the tools needed to achieve a crime free life are also. The stigma attached to â€Å"felons† is so great that most opportunities for education, employment, and housing are not easy to obtain. These opportunities (tools) are often blocked because the offender has a criminal conviction. If society wants a lower crime rate then it seems that these opportunities should be available to individuals in this category. In order to rehabilitate individuals there must be a way for them to raise their self-image and seek out a crime free life. A sense of self-pride and achievement for many offenders could be the turning point in life needed for them. In turn, the crime rate would decrease. (Bodwitch, 1993, Freeman, 1991, Hagan, 1991, Link, 1982, Sullivan, 1989) These peoples are no less human or equal than any other except that they have made a mistake. Our society has somehow decided it to be acceptable to treat this group of people, and there are more than two million in the United States, as outcasts, undeserving of housing, employment, or education. Society has decided that â€Å"felons† should not only serve the sentence given as punishment for their crime, they should be punished for the rest of their lives. This seems very unfair and cruel. In my opinion, we as a nation should be not be discriminating against this group of people, but instead should be giving them equal opportunity to be educated so that they can obtain employment to support themselves and their families. They should have the same opportunity to live in adequate housing just as the rest of society does. This would be a step in the right direction to help increase the self- image that has been shattered by labeling and possibly deter any behavior by responding to this labeling by continued criminal activity as a means of defense, adaptation, or by attacking back at society. (Bernberg) Education is the first step to rehabilitating an offender. Many offenders do not even have a high school education. Some cannot read or write. In order to obtain gainful employment sufficient to support one’s self or a family, they must have at least a basic education. If not, some form of crime will be used to compensate for the lack of income provided by employment. In order to be employed by any company you must have a high school diploma or a GED certificate. Denying education is a form of discrimination to suppress a group of people from gainful employment. Employment is one of the hardest things for an offender to obtain. Employment applications ask for any convictions to be listed. If an offense is not listed on the application, it can be a reason for termination. Anyone that does choose not to disclose their convictions runs the risk of losing benefits from years of employment such as their retirement benefits and/or medical coverage. More often than not, if an offense is listed on the application it will be a disqualifying factor for consideration of the position. Even if the offense does not disqualify the applicant the mere fact that there are so many people looking for work that the applicant without any previous convictions will probably be placed ahead on the qualifying list for employment. Most employers view a â€Å"felon† just as the rest of society does. They do not want a person of this character working for them because they may view them as being dishonest, or they might even be frightened of the â€Å"felon†. This practice of asking for convictions on employment applications is also a form of discrimination. It greatly reduces the possibility of gainful employment for â€Å"criminals† by asking for this information. The past convictions of a person does not have any bearing on whether or not they are the best qualified applicant for the position offered by a company. If any person is denied employment and has no way to support himself or his family, that person will ultimately turn to some form of crime in order to do so. The offender will adapt and live up to societies expectations of them. If this type of discrimination stops, there is a possibility that more offenders will conform to the expectations of society and rehabilitate into productive citizens, thus, decreasing crime in our communities. Another area of discrimination for offenders is the housing market. Society does not want anyone with a â€Å"criminal† past living in their community among them. An offender can have a conviction that is over twenty years old and still be denied housing in many communities such as mobile home parks, apartment complexes s, private rentals, and even from some home loans. Some communities will not allow anyone with any type of criminal history to live there. A person could have had their offenses dismissed by the court and still be denied because of the accusation alone. Many of the government programs offered to help low-income people are not available to anyone with a felony. A â€Å"felon† is automatically disqualified from receiving any help from government programs. Offender’s often end up living in communities that are offered by â€Å"slum lords† in areas that have a bigger crime rate than in other areas. This practice of discrimination could lead to offenders falling back into committing criminal acts because other criminals surround them, thus, reinforcing a negative self-image possibly leading to a return to criminal activities. If society continues to accept the criminology theory it will continue to cause social problems for both the community and the offender†. Labeling is a stepping stone in the development of criminal careers. †(Benrburg) This social problem ruins people’s lives and creates a pattern of recidivism. The goal of society should be to try to find ways to decrease crime, not condone p ractices that will potentially increase crime. Everyone deserves a second chance in life to correct the mistakes that have made. If society was as quick to give a second chance, as it is to label and condemn someone for their mistakes, we could possibly rehabilitate a good number of offenders into productive citizens. Our nation could even possibly decrease the crime rate at the same time. None of the other practices of the criminal justice system seems to be working very well, maybe an approach of removing the barriers blocking education, employment, and housing might make a positive difference.