Imprint of Italian and Irish Americans on the American Culture Essay

On July 4th 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Carefully written on this scribe and on the foundation of this nation are the unalienable rights to â€Å"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.† (Declaration of Independence, n.d.) While some of the values and ideas of this document come from America’s motherland, England, the promised rights to the free world are shared by no other nation. For this reason, The American Dream is dreamt not only by natural born citizens of this nation, but by many people all around the world. Over twelve million immigrants during the late 1800s and early 1900s passed through Ellis Island, the first federal immigrant inspection station of the free world. Of the newcomers, a portion of them consisted of Italian Americans and Irish Americans. Throughout history, these groups have contributed to what is termed multiculturalism. Being the minority, these two groups have also experienced power-conflicts through their quests of assimilation. The two ethnic groups faced many challenges that helped create what is believed to be the melting pot to many ethnicities and racial groups. For The Journey While the American Dream is a common value, the aspirations of the idea come from different motives. In Italy, a strong, and unfair class structure created such severe conditions that led to 1/3 of the nation’s population to immigrate to the new world. While the majority of this fraction came permanently for a new life, some came temporarily to make enough money to return to Italy and buy land. Simply owning land in Italy automatically escalated Italians within the class structure. Many Italian Americans settled in Chicago Illinois, one of the largest growing cities in America at the time. Chicago offered much opportunity for work, as it was the ideal producer of steel and aider to America’s industrial growth. Back in Ireland,  the Irish had much more to deal with than just a harsh class structure. Under English rule, Irish religious practices were repressed along with many other basic freedoms the Irish came to experience in America. A poor economic situation due to chaos of rebellious battles led to much of Ireland’s population living an unsanitary lifestyle in mud huts well into the late 1800s. These living conditions led to diseases of more than half the population. When the Irish Americans first settled in Boston, they lived crammed into small, single-home houses with at least a couple more families. Many shared cellar, attic, and crawl spaces for living quarters (Youtube, 2011). Overall Assimilation Assimilation in reference to the Italians and the Irish is much more complex and has become an identity reference in itself. Being the weak minority has demanded the Italians and Irish to accept and disregard many of their own practices to satisfy the dominate. Unlike the Irish, many Italians did not stick together, but lived spread-out and separated from others. In fact, some tensions developed between some Italians groups based on what streets and neighborhood they lived on and in. Inside conflicts like this led to outside conflicts as Americans began to depict Italian Americans as a dark and devious group within press. Italian Americans worked hard to reverse this depiction and to adhere to the dominate rule of society. When Mussolini began to restore Italy to what many people believed that to the equivalent of the Roman Empire eras, Italian Americans felt sense of pride. Mussolini knowing that he needed the approval of Italians worked hard to earn their respect. The world viewed Mussolini as a strong leader, and this view reflected off of the proud Italian Americans. However, when Mussolini declared war on the U.S. by joining forces with other fascist leaders, Italian Americans began to receive much ridicule from the dominate social class again. Meanwhile, Irish Americans needed little effort to complete the process of assimilation. Having many of the same physical characteristics as the dominate groups of America, made it easier to focus on progression up the social ladder. The first generation, while working factory jobs like the Italian Americans, led a more togetherness of a lifestyle with one another in their group, which created a better support system. The support system created a stronger group and led to management positions. The second  generation focused heavily on education as much as the dominate class did. Higher education led to political offices within just the third generation of Irish Americans, which led to the Irish becoming part of the dominate group in America. A great example of this would be the Kennedy Family. Power-Conflicts Predicted to be the minority by the middle of the 21st century, the dominate white has been accused of trying to oppress the minority through tactics summarized by power-conflict theories. (Feagin & Feagin, 2011). When the Italians and Irish first immigrated to America, the first jobs they assumed were factory and railroad jobs. Running these factories were members of the dominate class. It is commonly believed that money is the result of success in America, just as the sum of money and success are equal to power. The contrast between the dominate and the minority was very much defined as there was not much of a middle class. It was without effort for the dominate factory runners and railroad heads to pay the minority the minimum for the dangerous work they provided, after all, the only thing factory workers had to provide was their labor while factory runners had the product of the factories. For a long time this was a recurring issue in terms of power-conflicts. This issue created so much unrest until the two groups gained support from within their own groups to develop labor unions. Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is a term that to this day produces many unsettled feelings of both unrest and excitement. America, regarded as the Melting Pot of many cultures is not even a fully multicultural nation, as this country has taken almost three hundred years to see the first African American president. While the Italians and the Irish have worked hard to assimilate to the ways of this nation, they have also brought their culture onto this nation as well. Christopher Columbus day is proudly recognized by Italians as he was always considered the son of Italy. His finding of the new world has been an amazing accomplishment for the Italians. When the Italians finally had a voice in congress, they pushed to make the day a federal holiday (Youtube, 2011). Meanwhile, the strong religion practice as Catholics has also prompted holidays in favor of the Irish, such as St. Patrick’s Day. Without  the push by these groups to recognize these days, America may have not done so otherwise. It is important that days that attribute much to other cultures be recognized by America to promote multiculturalism. For example another federal holiday that reminds America of equal rights among equal groups is Martin Luther King Day. Conclusion In the late 1800s and early 1900s Italian and Irish Americans came to American to take advantage of the opportunities. The Italians settled primarily in Chicago, while the Irish settled in Boston. The two groups worked hard to assimilate through the trials and tribulations of power-conflicts and the everlasting multiculturalism. While the groups assimilated well by becoming an American version of their ethnicity, they also left an imprint on the overall culture of America. When both groups achieved political offices, days that were influential to their groups became federal holidays. References Declatation of Independence. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charter/declatation_transcript.html Feagin, J. R., & Feagin, C. B. (2011). Racial and Ethnic Relations (9th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall. Library of Congress. (2014, May). Immigration†¦Irish. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationssandactivities/presentations/immigration/irish6.html Youtube. (2011, December). And they Came to Chicago: The Italian American Legacy. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqeikaWQCyo Youtube. (2011, July). The Irish in America Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0sZ_jWcyl

Case study of yellow auto company Essay

Kelly and two other westerners working in Japan on the JET program had a dispute with their Japanese supervisor over sick leave. This report aims to analyze the decisions and issues in the case study from a personality and values perspective. The key decisions identified are in relation to recruitment, contract and training. The JET program did not require the ALT candidates to have any knowledge of Japanese. The salaries received by the JET participants were  considered unfair by their Japanese colleagues. The contract received by the JET participants were ambiguous and imprecise. In addition, the Japanese employees in the host institution expected the foreigners to work like the Japanese rather than following the terms of their contract. The program provided pre-departure training for JET participants, but did not provide the same level of training for Japanese employees on how to work with foreigners. Based on Hofstede’s Framework, it is found that the weaknesses of the decisions were mainly due to the differences in values of Japanese and western cultures. Japan is a society with high power distance, extremely high uncertainty avoidance, strong collectivism, strong masculinity and a long-term vision, whereas western societies have almost the opposite values. The seniority-based salary system, lifetime employment, the expectation to conform to social norms, dedication to work, loyalty to the employers and a male-dominated workplace are all features of the Japanese management system that the JET participants were unaware of. It is recommended that the JET program reassess its recruitment policy to include Japanese as a compulsory requirement for candidates, and adjust the salary package to reflect the seniority-based culture. It is also recommended to draft a rigorous contract to avoid any ambiguity. In addition to making the pre-departure training compulsory, Japanese employees should receive the same level of cross-cultural training. Moreover, better Personality-Job fit and Person-Organization fit may be achieved if applicant’s personalities are taken into account in the recruitment process. ​- 7 – 1. INTRODUCTION Kelly, Mark, Andrea and Suzanne, all in their 20’s, were hired by the JET program to work in Japan. During their placement, there was a bitter dispute between them and Mr. Higashi, the supervisor of the foreign JET participants, over sick leave. This report aims to explore the critical  decisions and issues in this case from a personality and values perspective. Firstly, the critical decisions regarding recruitment, contract and training will be analyzed. Secondly, there will be a discussion of the issues in national culture, values and personality. Finally, recommendations will be provided to facilitate future improvement. 2. CRITICAL DECISIONS 2.1 Key Decision 1 – Recruitment The JET program made the decision of hiring native English speakers to assist in foreign language teaching in Japan. The positions of Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) and Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) both required the candidates to have a university degree and an interest in Japan. CIRs were required to have a functional knowledge of Japanese, but ALTs were not required to do so. The above recruitment decision recognized the importance of native-speakers in foreign language teaching and the educational background of the candidates, however, the lack of Japanese language requirement for ALTs was a fundamental flaw in the recruitment decision. This language barrier caused difficulty in communication between the Japanese employees and JET participants. In addition, Mr. Higashi had to act as an interpreter because he was the only person who could speak English. Kelly, Mark, Andrea and Suzanne were young and inexperienced, yet they were paid the same salary as Japanese supervisors in the host institution. According to Adhikari (2005) and Hofstede (1993), Japan has a unique culture in which employees’ salaries are based on seniority rather than position. It is therefore unsurprising that the Japanese employees, all worked for more than 20 years in their career, felt uncomfortable about the salary of the JET participants. 2.2 Key Decision 2 – Contract All the JET participants in the office had a standard North American contract which set out the working hours, number of vacation days and sick leave they were entitled to. However after Kelly, Mark and Suzanne fell ill, they were  forced to use 2 paid vacation days rather than sick leave, which caused a serious tension between the JETs and Mr. Higashi. The strength of the contract was that it stated a set of rules for the JET participants to follow, but the weakness was that it was not rigorously written. Shaules (2008) argues that western contracts are explicit and detailed, whereas Japanese contracts can be flexible and open to interpretation. This cultural difference is reflected in the contract received by the JET participants. The definitions of â€Å"paid leave†, â€Å"paid holidays† and â€Å"special holidays† were ambiguous and they seemed to be used interchangeably within the contract. Section 1 of Article 11 says that the JET participants are entitled to 20 paid holidays, but Section 3 of Article 12 says that the special holidays (including sick leave) are paid holidays. Depending on the interpretation of â€Å"paid holidays† and â€Å"special holidays†, these two clauses either contradict with each other or repeat themselves. Apart from the wording of the contract, the ability to honour the contract was also problematic. Although the JET participants acted within the terms of their contract, their Japanese colleagues still expected them to stay past 5pm on weekdays and work on Saturdays. The contract said that a doctor’s certificate was only required if the JET participants took three or more consecutive days of sick leave, but Mr. Higashi asked Kelly to bring in the note even though she only took 2 day’s sick leave. 2.3 Key Decision 3 – Training The Conference of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) provided the JET participants with lots of information about working and living in Japan, and offered pre-departure training sessions about life in Japan and its potential problems. The strength of the above decision was that it recognized the cultural differences of Japan and western countries and the challenges faced by those JET participants working in Japan. The weaknesses of the decision were that  it did not make the pre-departure training sessions compulsory, and it did not offer similar training sessions for Japanese employees on the cultural differences and problems of working with westerners. The consequences of the above weaknesses were that Kelly found herself in unfamiliar and difficult situations because she had no experience or knowledge of the Japanese workplace. Had she attended the training sessions, she would have been better prepared for the difficulties of working in another country. Similarly, due to poor knowledge and understanding, the Japanese colleagues disapproved the lack of commitment of the JET participants, and did not know how to deal with them in an effective and harmonious manner. If the Japanese employees had received training on working with westerners, they would have had a better working relationship with the JET participants. 3. ISSUES 3.1 National Cultures and Values The weaknesses of the key decisions discussed in Section 2 mainly rooted from the differences in national cultures and values. Hofstede’s (1980, 1983, 1991, 1993, 2001) Framework for Assessing Cultures provides a theoretical ground for cross cultural management and research. The framework identified five value dimensions of national culture: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and long/short-term orientation. The GLOBE Framework (House, et al., 2001; House, Javidan and Dorfman, 2002; Javidan, et al., 2005; Robbins and Judge, 2007) further extended Hofstede’s Framework to include assertiveness, in-group collectivism, performance orientation and humane orientation. Because the JET participants in the case study came from Canada, Great Britain and United States, the western cultures and values discussed below will refer to these specific countries. According to Hofstede’s (2001) findings, Japan has a higher power distance than western cultures, although the difference is not significant. However, Japan ranked notably higher in  uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, masculinity and long-term orientation. 3.1.1 Power Distance Japan has a seniority-based promotion and reward management system and a highly hierarchical society in general (Adhikari, 2005; Oishi, et al. 2005; Shaules; 2008). This is mainly influenced by the Confucian values which emphasize hierarchy and harmony. Mr. Higashi acted more like a father than a manager, because in a traditional Confucian family, the father is the head and always at the top of the hierarchy. Unaware of these Japanese values, the JET participants constantly challenged the authority of their supervisors. As a result, the Japanese employees working at the senior level were annoyed that these inexperienced young foreigners were hired to tell them how to do their jobs. Moreover, paying a manager-level salary to these young foreigners were also against the Japanese norm of a seniority-based salary system. 3.1.2 Uncertainty Avoidance Adhikari (2005), Brightman (2005) and Shaules (2008) all agree that Japanese culture expects everyone to conform to social norms and discourages individualism. This confirms the high uncertainty avoidance in Japanese society as claimed by Hofstede. Uncertainty avoidance was the reason why Mr. Higashi insisted to deal with the foreign JETS in the Japanese way. Because Mr. Higashi had lived all his life in Japan, the belief of conforming to social norms was deeply rooted in him. Shaules (2008) asserts that Japanese prefer to resolve conflicts in an indirect and mediated manner, whereas westerners tend to adopt a direct rule-based approach. This explains why the JET participants clearly referred to the contract and tried to resolve the sick leave issue with Mr. Higashi in a direct manner. On the other hand, even though Mr. Higashi was extremely agitated, he still chose to resolve the matter through the accountant rather than clarifying it there and then. 3.1.3 Collectivism Various literature (Adhikari, 2005; Brightman, 2005; Javidan et al., 2005; Lucier et al., 1992; Oishi et al., 2005; Shaules, 2008; Wang et al., 2005) claims that Japan is a highly collective society, which means that the needs of a group are always viewed as more important than individual needs, and  individuals are expected to sacrifice their own needs if there is a conflict between them. On the contrary, western societies tend to encourage individualism (Hofstede, 1991; Javidan et al., 2005). Scholars believe that the strong level of collectivism in Japan is due to the influence of Confucian values, which emphasize group orientation, relationships between individuals and showing respect (Fang, 2003, Wang et al., 2005; Yan, 2004). This explains why Japanese employees are so dedicated to their work and have great loyalty to their employers, whereas the JET participants prefer to use every single day of their holiday and fulfil their personal goals. 3.1.4 Masculinity Japan ranked No.1 in masculinity in Hofstede’s (2001) findings. Women often leave their work to look after the family after getting married, therefore, very few women work at the senior management level in Japan (Adhikari, 2005; Kei et al., 2010). This was the reason why all senior Japanese employees in the JET program were men. This also explains why Mr. Higashi kept asking Kelly to sign up to flower arranging classes or tea ceremony, as these were traditionally considered women’s activities. 3.1.5 Long-term Orientation Japan has a long-term oriented culture whereas western cultures tend to be short-term oriented (Lucier et al., 1992; Fang, 2003). One of the key characteristics of Japanese-style management is lifetime employment (Adhikari, 2005; Lucier et al., 1992). This was why the Japanese employees and supervisors all complained that the JET participants were never long enough to become part of the team, as they viewed the organization as a long-term family. On the other hand, Kelly had a short-term aim to make money, see the other part of the world and improve her Japanese. With this mismatch between the goals of the Japanese and western employees, neither of them could understand each other. 3.2 Personality The Big Five Model identified five factors of personality: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience (Robbins and Judge, 2007; Roccas et al., 2002). It was clear that the JET participants and the Japanese employees had very different personalities. For example, Mark is an introvert who prefers to work alone, whereas most  Japanese employees tend to be extroverts who enjoy social gatherings after work. Mr. Higashi and other Japanese employees are highly conscientious whereas the JET participants are less so. The JET participants have lower emotional stability because they tend to get angry and distressed easily. In order to increase employee job satisfaction and reduce turnover, Holland (1996) and Gardner et al. (2012) promote the theory of Personality-Job fit and Person-Organization fit. This means to fit an individual’s personality with the characteristics of the job and the organization. The JET program should learn from the issues identified in this report and aim to increase the Personality-Job fit and Person-Organization fit in its future recruitment process. 4. CONCLUSION This report analyzed the critical decisions and issues in the case study from a personality and values perspective. The analysis was mainly based on Hofstede’s Framework, together with the Big Five Model, GLOBE Framework and Holland’s Person-Job Fit theory. It has been identified that the weaknesses of the decisions were mainly due to the lack of mutual understanding in culture and values. Different personalities also affected the harmony of the work relationship in this case. The next section will list the recommended actions in order to overcome the weaknesses identified in the analysis. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS The JET program is advised to take the following actions: 1. to introduce Japanese language requirements for all JET participants; 2. to assess the applicants’ personality in order to increase Personality-Job fit and Person-Organization fit; 3. to revise the remuneration package of JET participants so that they receive less salary than the Japanese supervisors; 4. to appoint a lawyer experienced in employment contract to draft a detailed and rigorous contract; 5. to make pre-departure training and orientation a compulsory requirement for JET participants; 6. to provide cross-cultural training to Japanese employees; 7. to consider extending the  maximum term of the JET participants’ contract or even consider offering permanent positions. ​- 7 – REFERENCES Adhikari, D. R. (2005) National Factors and Employment Relations in Japan, Japan Institute of Labour Policy and Training, Tokyo. Available from [accessed: 30/10/2013]. Brightman, J.D. (2005) Asian Culture Brief Japan, National Technical Assistance Centre, 2(6), available from [accessed 31/10/2013] Fang, T. (2003) ‘A critique of Hofstede’s fifth national culture dimension’, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3(3), pp.347-368. Gardner, W.L., Reithel, B.J., Cogliser, C.C., Walumbwa, F.O. and Foley, R.T. (2012), ‘Matching personality and organizational culture: effects of recruitment strategy and the Five-Factor Model on Subjective Person-Organization Fit’, Management Communication Quarterly, 26(4), pp.585-622. Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Hofstede, G. (1983) ‘Dimensions of National Cultures in Fifty Countries and Three Regions’, In: J.B. Deregowski, S. Dziurawiec and R.C. Annis (eds.) Expiscations in Cross-cultural Psychology, pp. 335-355. Lisse: Swets and Zeitlinger. Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. London: McGraw-Hill. Hofstede, G. (1993) ‘Cultural Constraints in Management Theories’, Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), pp. 81-94. Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Holland, J.L. (1996) ‘’Exploring careers with a typology: What we have learned and some new directions’, American Psychologist, 51, pp.397-406. House, R., Javidan, M.,Hanges, P. and Dorfman, P. (2001) ‘Project GLOBE: An Introduction’, Applied Psychology: An international Review, 50(4), pp.489-505. House, R., Javidan, M. and Dorfman, P. (2002) â€Å"Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE†, Journal of World Business, 37, pp. 3-10. Javidan, M., Stahl., G.K., Brodbeck, F. and Wilderom, C.P.M. (2005) â€Å"Cross-border transfer of knowledge: Cultural lessons from Project GLOBE†, Academy of Management Executive, 19(2), pp. 59-76. Kei, K., Koichi, T. and Miwako, H. (2010) The survey of Japanese value orientation: analysis of trends over thirty-five years, NHK Broadcasting Studies, Japan. Lucier, C., Boucher, M. White, J. Cangemi, J. and Kowalski, C. (1992) ‘Exploring values of Japanese and American management systems’, Education, 112(4), pp. 487-498. Oishi, S., Hajm, J., Schimmack, U., Radhakrishan, P., Dzokoto, V. and Ahadi, S. (2005), ‘The measurement of values across cultures: a pairwise comparison approach’, Journal of Research and Personality, 39, pp.299-305. Robbins, S. P. and Judge, T. A. (2007) Organizational Behaviour, 12th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Roccas, S. Sagiv, L., Schwarts, S.H. and Knafo, A. (2002) ‘The Big Five personality factors and personal values’, PSPB, 28(6), pp.789-801. Shaules, J. (2008) ‘The deep culture of Japanese values’, tcworld, available from [accessed 30/10/2013]. Wang, J., Wang, G.G., Ruona, W.E.A. and Rojewski, J.W.(2005), ‘Confucian values and the implications for international HRD’, Human Resource Development International, 8(3), pp.311-326. Yan, J. (2004) ‘The influence of Confucian ideology on conflict in Chinese family business’, International Journal of Cross Culture Management, 4(1), pp. 5-17.

Noise Control/Radon

In the advent of technological advancements that we have today, we are not only given innovations that would make our lives easier, but also some risks and threats to our health and well-being. These health risks and threats can be considered as the negative side of these technological advancements, and these are usually in the form of pollution. Pollution on the other hand, can be classified into various types, usually depending on the aspect of the environment that they have a corresponding negative effect.These include air, water, and soil pollution. There are also some types of pollution which arises when there is an excessive amount of a naturally occurring substance or phenomenon, just like Radon Pollution and Noise Pollution. But between these two, it is the radon pollution that poses great risks, as it affects everyone in the country, with greater risks to those staying in their homes.Noise pollution is defined as â€Å"an unwanted, disturbing sound that causes a nuisance in the eye of the beholder (Nunez, 1998).† This is comprised by displeasing sounds created by human activity or by machines, and are known to disrupt the environment (Berglund & Lindvall, 1995). The leading cause of noise pollution today is from the transportation sources – the noise coming from the motor vehicles. In a person, the aspect greatly affected by noise pollution is the sense of hearing, which could lead to different responses from the affected one, including annoyance and other behavioral changes.Radon pollution on the other hand, is caused by naturally occurring processes. Even before man became aware of pollution and its effect on human health, Radon was already around the environment. It’s because Radon is a natural part of the atmosphere, and that it is continually being released by the earth, because it is the product of the radioactive decay of radioactive materials like Uranium and Thorium (Health Physics Society, 1997).The problem that results f rom this is when people build their homes on the Radon-releasing soil. Since it is a naturally occurring process, Radon will just continue to seep through the soil, supposedly going to the atmosphere. When homes are built however, the Radon tends to seep through the cracks in the basement, and will just be contained in our homes. Excessive Radon contents are known to cause respiratory problems like lung cancer, the second known cause for lung cancer deaths all over the country, next to smoking (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000).Radon pollution poses a greater health risk to the community, as compared to Noise pollution. This is because Radon release of the earth is a naturally occurring event, as compared to Noise creation. Having Radon in the environment is inevitable, that even our homes are not a safe place to stay if the matter is not taken seriously. Noise pollution is also relative to a person: what could be noisy to some people can be pleasing for others.Also, nois e pollution is slowly being suppressed by technology, like the hybrid cars being quieter as compared to normal-engine vehicles. But despite this, Radon pollution can be solved thru the people themselves. There are ways to protect homes from excessive Radon contents, like maintaining a sealed, well ventilated basement. Another is to regularly check the Radon contents in your home, a safety measure which is not costly and can be afforded by a normal household.As Radon pollution may continue to exist despite all the technological innovations present today, this doesn’t mean that people will forever be at risk because of it. Health risks can be averted by making sure that the people’s homes are protected from the seeping Radon gases. Spending a little for the family’s health would mean protecting them from fatal health risks.References:Berglund, B., & Lindvall, T. (1995). Community Noise.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.nonoise.org/library/whonoi se/whonoise.htmHealth Physics Society. (1997). Radon Fact Sheet.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.hps1.org/glossary/radon.htmNunez, D. G. (1998). Cause and Effects of Noise Pollution.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~sustain/global/sensem/S98/Nunez/Noise.htmlU. S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2000). Radionuclides (including Radon, Radium and Uranium).  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.epa.gov/ttn/uatw/hlthef/radionuc.html Noise Control/Radon In the advent of technological advancements that we have today, we are not only given innovations that would make our lives easier, but also some risks and threats to our health and well-being. These health risks and threats can be considered as the negative side of these technological advancements, and these are usually in the form of pollution. Pollution on the other hand, can be classified into various types, usually depending on the aspect of the environment that they have a corresponding negative effect.These include air, water, and soil pollution. There are also some types of pollution which arises when there is an excessive amount of a naturally occurring substance or phenomenon, just like Radon Pollution and Noise Pollution. But between these two, it is the radon pollution that poses great risks, as it affects everyone in the country, with greater risks to those staying in their homes.Noise pollution is defined as â€Å"an unwanted, disturbing sound that causes a nuisance in the eye of the beholder (Nunez, 1998).† This is comprised by displeasing sounds created by human activity or by machines, and are known to disrupt the environment (Berglund & Lindvall, 1995). The leading cause of noise pollution today is from the transportation sources – the noise coming from the motor vehicles. In a person, the aspect greatly affected by noise pollution is the sense of hearing, which could lead to different responses from the affected one, including annoyance and other behavioral changes.Radon pollution on the other hand, is caused by naturally occurring processes. Even before man became aware of pollution and its effect on human health, Radon was already around the environment. It’s because Radon is a natural part of the atmosphere, and that it is continually being released by the earth, because it is the product of the radioactive decay of radioactive materials like Uranium and Thorium (Health Physics Society, 1997).The problem that results f rom this is when people build their homes on the Radon-releasing soil. Since it is a naturally occurring process, Radon will just continue to seep through the soil, supposedly going to the atmosphere. When homes are built however, the Radon tends to seep through the cracks in the basement, and will just be contained in our homes. Excessive Radon contents are known to cause respiratory problems like lung cancer, the second known cause for lung cancer deaths all over the country, next to smoking (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000).Radon pollution poses a greater health risk to the community, as compared to Noise pollution. This is because Radon release of the earth is a naturally occurring event, as compared to Noise creation. Having Radon in the environment is inevitable, that even our homes are not a safe place to stay if the matter is not taken seriously. Noise pollution is also relative to a person: what could be noisy to some people can be pleasing for others.Also, nois e pollution is slowly being suppressed by technology, like the hybrid cars being quieter as compared to normal-engine vehicles. But despite this, Radon pollution can be solved thru the people themselves. There are ways to protect homes from excessive Radon contents, like maintaining a sealed, well ventilated basement. Another is to regularly check the Radon contents in your home, a safety measure which is not costly and can be afforded by a normal household.As Radon pollution may continue to exist despite all the technological innovations present today, this doesn’t mean that people will forever be at risk because of it. Health risks can be averted by making sure that the people’s homes are protected from the seeping Radon gases. Spending a little for the family’s health would mean protecting them from fatal health risks.References:Berglund, B., & Lindvall, T. (1995). Community Noise.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.nonoise.org/library/whonoi se/whonoise.htmHealth Physics Society. (1997). Radon Fact Sheet.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.hps1.org/glossary/radon.htmNunez, D. G. (1998). Cause and Effects of Noise Pollution.  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~sustain/global/sensem/S98/Nunez/Noise.htmlU. S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2000). Radionuclides (including Radon, Radium and Uranium).  Ã‚   Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.epa.gov/ttn/uatw/hlthef/radionuc.html

Autism and Special Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Autism and Special Education - Research Paper Example The paper is organized into several sections starting with the introduction, which provides an overview of the topic and purpose of review. The next section identifies positive behavior patters plans for autism. This will be followed by the section on PBS plans for special education teachers dealing with children with autism. The next section will identify and discuss evidence-based practices applied by special education teachers providing PBS interventions for children with autism. This will be followed by a section that presents related research studies. Finally, the paper will end with the discussion section that will identify the main implications for special education teachers providing PBS interventions for children with autism. As the report declares the success of the PBS program is based on several things. Some of these include administrative support, policy alignment, capacity and skills of support providers, consistency with overall vision, values, and mission of the system, collaboration among stakeholders, and availability of resources. All these factors can affect the implementation and success of the PBS intervention. Children with autism are unique in the sense that they are more vulnerable to acquiring challenging behaviors that could interfere with their development, learning, and functioning. Such challenging behavior can be categorized into disruptive behaviors or repetitive behaviors.

International and Members of the International Court Essay

International and Members of the International Court - Essay Example The provision for the law is such that any culpable individual cannot escape the wrath. It is therefore still better if the US wants to take the initiative of subjecting the suspects to a trial. The sentiment of the Saudi government through their minister for defence can be lawfully interpreted as giving the suspects a feeling that either they are not responsible for the alleged crimes or that in the event that they are, then the US government has moral and legal authority to adjudicate on the matter. There may be no established structures within the US and Saudi government which clearly indicates the channel that should be pursued in such a case, and that it entirely depends on the goodwill of the Saudi government to surrender the suspect which in this case are their citizens to be tried in a foreign land. The prosecution in pursuit of the American system become appreciated on grounds that they are the complainant, just on this fact, they have the moral authority to try the suspects using their jury. On the other hand, the Saudi government may be right as giving another country a leeway to try citizens of your country is an act of surrendering sovereignty to foreigners. In the light of sovereignty, the Saudi government are legally in order to avert possible extradition of her citizens for a trial through a system they cast sufficient doubt in. the fact is even accentuated by the fact that no legal extradition arrangement exists between the two countries. In the event of extradition, it is legally proper that there should be a formal and effective arrangement that provides for a course of action in the event that such is necessary (Stanbrook, Ivor, and Clive 97).

An overcome approach to the Melting Pot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An overcome approach to the Melting Pot - Essay Example Enlistment was next used after the United States entered World War I in 1917. The first peacetime call up came with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Active conscription ("the draft") ended in 1973. Currently, male U.S. citizens, if aged eighteen through twenty five, are required to register with the Selective Service System, whose mission is "to provide manpower to the armed forces in an emergency" including a "Health Care Personnel Delivery System"2 and "to run an Alternative Service Program for men classified as conscientious objectors during a draft." No one has been prosecuted for violating the conscription law in the USA since 1986.3 Conscription should be considered as a hypothetical panacea to cut down, for example, crime, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse rates decline; or to foster a more hard-working, respectful, disciplined, honorable and prepared for life youth4. Enlistment could surely help all of those immigrants in the States to get more, deeper and better integrated within the American society by helping their adoptive country to reinstate peace and freedom where needed by the time they give to the society something in reward for all they have already received. Mandatory military service is one of the oldest forms of national service and is common to both democratic and non-democratic countries. Such democratic countries as Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey require male and occasionally female citizens to participate in military service when they become 18 years old. These countries prove that conscription, when handled properly, can be an asset to the military, the society and the conscript. Furthermore,... An overcome approach to the â€Å"Melting Pot† After the introduction of a bill to reinstate the military draft by Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) on January 7, 2003, rumours went out on the real reach of this measure. A little over a year after, another bill, this time by Representative Tim Johnson, announced on October 5, 2004, that the House defeated a bill that would have reinstated the military draft. H.R. 163 was introduced by and would have required every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the United States, between the ages of 18 and 26 to perform a two-year period of national service, unless exempted, either as a member of an active or reserve component of the armed forces or in a civilian capacity that promotes national defence . Detractors of H.R. 163 argued that too many have already lost their lives at the battle field and the Vietnam issue became a recurrent double edged argument. However, it has to be understood and taken into account that the USA are involved in several campaigns all over the world to guarantee freedom and Human Rights where otherwise would be rotten to the core. In addition to this, the military draft should be assumed not as a punishment or backward movement, more proper of a reactionary society than of a leading and modern one, but as a different solution for daily concerns. Besides, military draft is another way to interpret the path to the achievement of the American Dream, overcoming the well worn â€Å"Melting Pot† topic: recruits and conscripts can enter the military branch of their liking, request to be trained in a specific field, and serve in the state of their choice.

Beauty Between Men and Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Beauty Between Men and Women - Essay Example Most of the time, debates occur because of the fact that there are instances when the recognition of each gender's special traits as a person is disregarded by the society during certain circumstances. This is primarily because of the fact that men and women are viewed differently by the human society. By the different legends, the accounts of creation, the different mythological stories, the shaping of the characteristics of both men and women becomes more vivid, thus making it possible for a person to receive a certain "mark" in their forehead as they grow up basing from their gender, even before they could even make a name for themselves. What are these marking differences all about' Men are primarily noted as the "strong" sector of the human society. They are viewed to be the primary ones to receive authority and thus imply power upon all others. Through the myths and legends [as mentioned earlier]; men were perceived to have a greater command over things compared to that of the women's capability of exercising authority over all. On the other hand, women were viewed as the weaker sector of humanity (Jervis, 2001, 17). They are referred to as the complimentary partner of men who are intended to give assistance to the men when they are to carry out their responsibilities over humankind. Because of the social philosophy based on the theory of essentialism, this traditional recognition of the role of men and women in the society became much easier to accept for so many years. (Jervis, 2001, 18) However, during the 1800's, the birth of liberalization gave way to the feminist movement of the female sector of the population. Things have really changed and the supposed unwavering capability of men to rule over others began to shiver because of primarily being disturbed by the different stresses that the said gender actually had to deal with in life. After all, men were faced with the many responsibilities that they have to complete for their families, their wives, their fellow citizens and their nation. Attending to these responsibilities mainly made some of the men's capability to handle multi-numbered responsibilities began to whither. Hence, the women, being known as the complimentary gender to that of the men, began to long for a more important role in the society as progressive individuals of the human civilization. The women then began to create movements that would actually carry their "banners of pride" towards recognition form the entire human society. The liberty from simply being a wife, being a mother or being a child has been achieved during the 1990's when women were allowed to run for positions for government administrative offices; when they were given the chance to take over high positions on business corporations; when they were allowed to consider becoming members of the military force.

The Pros and Cons of In-House Versus Outsourced R&D Activity for Essay

The Pros and Cons of In-House Versus Outsourced R&D Activity for Technology Firms - Essay Example R & D is the basis behind the creation of new inventions in technology firms, and it is an ongoing process that does not stop as companies are always looking to better the products they have on the market so as to avoid being overtaken by the competition. When dealing with R & D, there are two ways that a company can go about matters; one is through doing these activities in-house while the other is outsourcing these activities to other companies. In-house refers to doing these R & D activities internally (that is, within the company) through company employees while outsourcing refers to contracting out the activities to another company who then sell back their progress and discoveries to the company in the form of services rendered. Though outsourcing has become quite popular among companies over the years there are still some organizations that prefer to keep all their activities in-house, and both (that is, outsourcing and in-house) have pros and cons that a company needs to look at before determining which is one would best suit their company (Krugman, 2006). In terms of outsourcing, there are a couple of Pros that should be taken into consideration, the first being the avoidance of various regulations that may prove to be burdens ome to the company and are present in the country but not in others. These can regulations can refer to issues involving the workers where having the R & D performed in-house would mean that the organization has to concede to extra costs that are demanded by the various labor unions, for example, which may prove to be costly on the overall expenditure or may working conditions that may take a while to set up thus eating into much valued time in the process (Gordon etal 2009)The process of outsourcing allows a company to circumvent all these issues as they are no longer responsible for the workers performing the R & D activities and therefore do not have to deal with such regulations. Another Pro is the cost saving implications that outsourcing provides as in most cases it is much cheaper to outsource activities to another firm than to perform these activities in-house (Koulopoulos, 2006) This can be due to a number of reasons including the tax differences between the countries where by the taxes in the countries where the outsourced companies are based are not as high as those found locally and therefore, they are able to charge less than it would cost to set up the activities here. These savings on money can be used in other sectors of the company that may need it meaning that the company does not have to struggle for means of acquiring this finances thus churning out a win-win situation for all. In terms of Cons with regard to outsourcing, the major one would be the weakened ability of the company to protect its information from its rivals as a result of outsourcing these activities to a foreign based firm. Ensuring that any essential discoveries made remains strictly within the company’s database and is not leaked out to any of its competitors may be difficult as the company will not have a choice but to trust the company that they have outsourced their R & D activities to and hope that they are not susceptible to leakage as the issue

Urban studies- Theories of Poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Urban studies- Theories of Poverty - Essay Example The principle cause of this is the lack of proper socioeconomic structures that should be set up by leaders. Supporters of the fact that poverty is a consequence of structures argue that it is built in the political and economic structure in the capitalist society in the U.S. It is the political and economic structures that bring about poverty and not individual problems or the temporary weakness of the economy. As such, Linn (par 1-3) indicates that the issue of poverty in numerous cities in America has remained a stubborn element in spite of the prescription of varied public policies. Also, the situation has remained constant for a long time regardless of the many efforts that have been put to reduce the problem. Instead of helping to deal with the poverty problem, the economic, political and social factors have elevated the position instead. This paper will reveal how the poor have remained poor as a result of the political and economic structures, which are the main causes of pov erty as opposed to its linkage to pathology or accidents. The issue of urban poverty in the contemporary economic environment has been highlighted through the use of various media. It is widely portrayed as an element in the ghetto or barrio areas in the towns and has been connected with a number of causes and consequences in large-scale socioeconomic perspectives. In the US, the causes of urban poverty include inadequate human capital, discrimination in relation to race, and gender. However, the main cause lies in the economic and political structure such as the Federal Reserve. Slight changes can either elevate or prevent poverty such as change in oil prices that came as a shock between 1974 and 1994 in the U.S (Ni and Kresl 37). Within the economic field, the main reasons for the shift and increase in poverty levels include changes in technology and the organization within most manufacturing companies. In addition, there has been a relative growth in the

Real Estate Investment Trusts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Real Estate Investment Trusts - Research Paper Example The conceptual framework of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) in the UK has been characteristically shaped against the backdrop of an evolving unique property market investment paradigm vis--vis the diversity and complexity of non-property market investment vehicles that have hitherto dominated the UK investment scenario (Wyatt, 2007, p. 143). While still there is a considerable amount of confusion as to what REITS are able to accomplish on their own in a highly competitive strategically diverse highly risk-prone property investment market, there is an equally formidable quantum of hope on the part of the average property investor and the market analyst that the UK property market has the potential for growth and sustainability despite a global downturn and rising pessimism among investors in general. This conceptual framework underlies the very organizational structure of the REIT industry and thereby influences its evolving strategic shape. Though the average REIT is structured in the same way as a private or a public company according to the British law, there is a significant amount of variance in its capital structure and composition. For instance in the process of distribution of profits the REIT is obliged under the Finance Act of 2006 to withhold tax from profit distributions made to shareholders out of property-related investment profits. While REITS elect themselves to be rewarded with the privilege of being tax-exempted on profits made from certain property-related investments, they have little freedom by way of diversification of assets or portfolios.Real estate investment vehicles as initiated under REITS have been noted also for their strategic emphasis on tradable shares whose prices are determined by free market forces - demand and supply. Another inherent feature associated with them is the tax transparency. Indeed the latter characteristic influences both demand for and supply of such assets despite a negative corollary associated with such declarations. For instance the demand for such investment vehicles as that of properties could be attributed to a variety of causal factors ranging from constantly rising real returns to tax-exemptions. On the other hand supply factors include REITS' ability to divert and channel risk-prone investments away from potential collapse into an attractive investment proposition that fetches real returns.Although a number of investment vehicles exist in the non-property sector of the economy, there is very little strategic freedom for the average REIT to channel funds into diverse investments thus expecting a real but constantly growing return (Acharya and Dimson, 2007, p.176). While the company is a normal corporate entity with a listing on a stock exchange there is something unusual about its strategic focus , viz. the way and manner in which it conducts itself in distributing profits. Potential investors would have the assurance of getting some profits but nevertheless how much profit is determined by

Observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Observation - Essay Example I also observed that the center maintains a well manicured garden with beautiful flowers and lawn. This school is multiracial and it caters for children from different backgrounds. Overall, the standards maintained at this center are par excellence and everyone feels welcome to this particular center which is well secured. I also observed that the classroom level is ideal for the children. The children sit in groups of six and the furniture is arranged in a rectangular fashion such that the teacher can monitor each child at any given time. The teacher mainly uses teaching aids such as charts and pictures and other drawings to explain different things to the children who are still in the early stages of development. The teacher uses the chalk board to illustrate different things to the children. I also observed that the teacher uses different pictures to test the knowledge of the children if they know the symbols shown. The teacher relates well with the students and she is not selective despite the fact that the children come from different races. I was impressed to realise that the teacher knows all the students in her class. I also observed a lesson where the teacher wanted to test the knowledge of the children if they know different animals. She used picture aids in this lesson where she will lift a picture showing a certain animal. She would then randomly call any student to name the animal. This lesson was very eventful since all the students were excited and eager to participate. The children learnt a lot of things in this lesson and some of them would even describe where the animals shown on the pictures live. In my own view, I think the teacher is experienced for this job. It is quite challenging for other people to teach early child development classes but I discovered that the teacher greatly enjoyed her work. She interacted in a cordial manner with the students and she spoke to them in a motherly manner. The

Housing and environmental issues Essay Example for Free

Housing and environmental issues Essay Community development officer: CDOs should have: †¢ the ability to communicate with a wide range of people †¢ the ability to manage a budget †¢ sensitivity in dealing with multi-cultural issues, such as religion †¢ networking skills and a good memory for names and faces †¢ the ability to work on their own initiative †¢ Commitment to social inclusion issues. CDOs may work for a local authority; he must also involve public decision in multi cultural communities housed by the associations. Public involvement in regeneration is widely held to be a good thing. There are very few who write about or comment on regeneration, however it is defined who do not claim that public involvement is an important if not essential component of effective and successful regeneration. And to a great extent this has been the position in the UK and elsewhere for well over a century. However, there are very few studies that have set out to measure and to analyse the impact of public involvement. In other words, few researchers have attempted to see what difference it makes in practice to involve the public and whether any such differences are positive, in the sense of being both anticipated and desired. There are, nevertheless, many studies that shed some light on the processes of public involvement and draw conclusions about its impact in specific cases. The conclusion of many of these studies is that public involvement did not work very well in practice: it was embarked upon too late; insufficient resources were provided to make it effective; the local environment was not very conducive; and key decisions continued to be taken by people not living in the areas affected. The importance of involving the public in attempts to improve and regenerate neighbourhoods has been recognised for many years. However, the consensus around the value and potential benefits of greater public involvement has probably never been stronger, not least because government has put it at the centre of its plans to modernise both the delivery of public services and the very processes of government. A simple theory of public participation The political imperatives driving forward the agenda of public participation are well established, but three stand out at present. First is the belief that participation is intrinsically good and worthwhile, and hence more participation is desirable. Second is the growing acknowledgement that many major policy issues do not appear to be capable of obvious resolution – they can be termed ‘wicked problems’ for this reason (Rittel and Weber, 1973). An obvious consequence of this recognition is to take a more open approach to their resolution, in other words to allow a wider range of partners into the arena of policy debate and hence to share the burden of resolution. Finally, there is a clear belief that greater participation is needed to stem if not reverse the apparent decline in social capital charted by Putnam (2001) and his followers (see DeFilipis, 2001). A slightly broader set of factors can be derived from the wider academic literature where at least four distinct explanations of or justification for greater public participation in government generally are apparent. Instrumentalist conceptions point to the fact that individuals are the best judges of their own interests and hence by participating in policy debates and political discussions they are best able to articulate and advance these interests. The job of government then lies in the aggregation of individual interests and the balancing of conflicting positions into a plausible public interest. Communitarian conceptions take a different approach and advocate a more collective or social approach among the participating public, such that a negotiated view of the public interest is provided to rather than by government. Of course government may then have to perform further rounds of aggregation or even facilitate further rounds of negotiation or consensus building, but the public plays a more prominent part in the social construction of their own idea of public interest. In this conception there is some degree of aggregation but government is still left to aggregate, adjudicate or reconcile the possibly conflicting views of different communities or even coalitions of communities. Educative approaches suggest that public participation helps in developing a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of policy issues; of the ethical dilemmas and the need to make trade-offs for example between price and quality or between the achievement of short and long term priorities. Finally, expressive conceptions of participation emphasise the opportunity that political participation gives individuals to express their political identity. Through active campaigning, displaying posters, attending rallies, donating money or time, one is able to demonstrate to the world at large that fact that one is a feminist, a socialist, a conservative, a nationalist and so on. It is of course important also to bear in mind that political participation can involve much more than voting in periodic elections, or even campaigning in them. Attending meetings about issues of local or international concern and taking part in participatory events such as juries, consensus conferences or citizens juries are also important as is participation in ongoing campaigns or lobbies, again from local (save our school) to global (save our planet) issues. There is something of a paradox here, in that there is plentiful data available on formal political involvement in voting, but relatively little available on the more prosaic but nevertheless significant everyday acts of involvement, such as going to meetings or simply engaging socially and maybe politically with ones neighbours (Hoggett and Bishop, 1986). In recent years some regular and extensive surveys have begun to provide valuable data of this type, but it is still the case that many sophisticated models of community engagement, civic renewal and social capital, have been constructed on flimsy empirical foundations (Prime, Zimmeck Zurawa, 2002). But to develop a simple model of participation we need to consider in some more detail questions along each of the three main dimensions implied in the expression: public participation in planning or policy making. Robert D. Putnam That Western society has changed dramatically since the middle of the 20th century. There is less agreement about what caused the changes, and whether they have been beneficial. One barometer of change in Western society is the level of ‘social capital’ (a concept popularised by Robert D. Putnam), which results from high levels of investment by citizens in their community. Putnam’s investigation of American society, Bowling Alone (2000), considers the full range of changes affecting America (and all western societies): declining participation in institutional Christianity; less involvement in sport and recreational clubs, politics, charitable causes, and volunteer work; and a radical re-shaping of the family though divorce, a lower birth rate, and a disinclination to marry at all. These trends, Putnam argues, result in diminished social capital. Putnam’s analysis of America holds for the three Anglophone members of George W. Bush’s ‘coalition of the willing,’ America, Britain and Australia, and may explain why hawkish, right-wing governments are the people’s choice at the start of the 21st century, despite an unprecedented liberality and inclusiveness throughout the second half of the 20th century. Putnam notes a range of factors responsible for civic disengagement: suburban sprawl; the popularity of television and electronic media; changed work patterns, including the large-scale entry of women into the workforce; and generational changes resulting in the ‘replacement of an unusually civic generation by several generations [Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y] †¦ that are less embedded in community life’ (p. 275). In the United States, where voting is optional, these developments dilute democracy, and societies with low participation rates tend to become distrustful. Untrusting citizens call for tougher; ‘law and order’ focused governments, resulting in the election of increasingly right-wing political parties. Social capital: 1. Definition The concept and theory of social capital dates back to the origins of social science; however, recent scholarship has focused on social capital as a subject of social organization and a potential source of value that can be harnessed and converted for strategic and gainful purposes. According to Robert David Putnam, the central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all social networks and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other. Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a societys social interactions. Increasing evidence shows that social cohesion is critical for societies to prosper economically and for development to be sustainable. Social capital is not just the sum of the institutions that underpin a society; it is the glue that holds them together However, social capital may not always be beneficial. Horizontal networks of individual citizens and groups that enhance community productivity and cohesion are said to be positive social capital assets whereas self-serving exclusive gangs and hierarchical patronage systems that operate at cross purposes to communitarian interests can be thought of as negative social capital burdens on society. 2. History of the research on the concept Robert David Putnam, if not the first one to write on the issue, is considered as the major author on the concept of social capital. He is a U. S. political scientist and professor at Harvard University, and is well-known for his writings on civic engagement and civil society along with social capital. However, his work is concentrated on the United States only. His most famous (and controversial) work, Bowling Alone, argues that the United States has undergone an unprecedented collapse in civic, social, associational, and political life (social capital) since the 1960s, with serious negative consequences. Though he measured this decline in data of many varieties, his most striking point was that virtually every traditional civic, social, and fraternal organization had undergone a massive decline in membership. From his research, a working group has formed at Harvard University and is called Saguaro Seminar. Most definitions around the social capital concept, notably those used by the World Bank, come from Putnam’s work and this research. 3. Measuring social capital The Saguaro Seminar, in the continuation of Putnam’s work, has been elaborating various means to measure the level of social capital in different contexts. It says on its website that measurement of social capital is important for the three following reasons: (a) Measurement helps make the concept of social capital more tangible for people who find social capital difficult or abstract; (b) It increases our investment in social capital: in a performance-driven era, social capital will be relegated to second-tier status in the allocation of resources, unless organizations can show that their community-building efforts are showing results; and (c) Measurement helps funders and community organizations build more social capital. Everything that involves any human interaction can be asserted to create social capital, but the real question is does it build a significant amount of social capital, and if so, how much? Is a specific part of an organization’s effort worth continuing or should it be scrapped and revamped? Do mentoring programs, playgrounds, or sponsoring block parties lead more typically to greater social capital creation? Measuring social capital: Towards a theoretically informed measurement framework for researching social capital in family and community life. by Wendy Stone. Research paper no. 24, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2001, 38p, ISBN 0 642 39486 5 To inform the Institutes Families, Social Capital and Citizenship project, this paper contributes to the development of clear links between theorised and empirical understandings of social capital by: establishing a theoretically informed measurement framework for empirical investigation of social capital; and reviewing existing measures of social capital in light of this framework. The paper concludes with a statement of guiding principles for the measurement and empirical investigation of social capital in family and community life. Social Capital as Credit Social capital, or aggregate reputation, is a form of credit. Some formal transactions can be supported by social capital. Informal transactions are rarely underpinned by financial credit or legal agreement and instead rely entirely social capital. We all have our internal calculators keeping tacit track of who is doing wrong and who is doing right, the health of the relationships and adjusting our actuarial tables according to experience. While undertaking government activities environment problems should also be considered. As it has became a global issue we need to take care of everything. Globalisation and cultural identity It is fair to say that the impact of globalization in the cultural sphere has, most generally, been viewed in a pessimistic light. Typically, it has been associated with the destruction of cultural identities, victims of the accelerating encroachment of a homogenized, westernized, consumer culture. This view, the constituency for which extends from (some) academics to anti-globalization activists (Shepard and Hayduk 2002), tends to interpret globalization as a seamless extension of – indeed, as a euphemism for – western cultural imperialism. In this discussion which follows we approach this claim with a good deal of skepticism. we will not seek to deny the obvious power of globalized capitalism to distribute and promote its cultural goods in every corner. Nor will we take up the argument – now very commonly made by critics of the cultural imperialism thesis (Lull 2000; Thompson 1995; Tomlinson 1991) that a deeper cultural impact cannot be easily inferred from the presence of such goods. What we will try to argue is something more specific: that cultural identity, properly understood, is much more the product of globalization than its victim. Identity as Treasure To begin, let us sketch the implicit (for it is usually implicit) reasoning behind the assumption that globalization destroys identities. Once upon a time, before the era of globalization, there existed local, autonomous, distinct and well-defined, robust and culturally sustaining connections between geographical place and cultural experience. These connections constituted one’s – and one’s community’s – ‘cultural identity’. This identity was something people simply ‘had’ as an undisturbed existential possession, an inheritance, a benefit of traditional long dwelling, of continuity with the past. Identity, then, like language, was not just a description of cultural belonging; it was a sort of collective treasure of local communities. But it was also discovered to be something fragile that needed protecting and preserving that could be lost. Into this world of manifold, discrete, but to various degrees vulnerable, cultural identities there suddenly burst (apparently around the middle of the 1980s) the corrosive power of globalization. Globalization, so the story goes, has swept like a flood tide through the world’s diverse cultures, destroying stable localities, displacing peoples, bringing a market-driven, ‘branded’ homogenization of cultural experience, thus obliterating the differences between locality-defined cultures which had constituted our identities. Though globalization has been judged as involving a general process of loss of cultural diversity, some of course did better, some worse out of this process. Identity as Cultural Power Let us begin with identity, a concept which surely lies at the heart of our contemporary cultural imagination. It is not, in fact, difficult in the prolific literature of analysis of the concept to find positions which contest the story of identity as the victim of globalization. Identity and Institutional Modernity This brings the central claim that globalization actually proliferates rather than destroys identities. In this respect we depart somewhat from Castells’s position: in setting identity as a sort of autonomous cultural dynamic, surging up from the grassroots as an oppositional force to globalization, Castells really fails to see the rather compelling inner logic between the globalization process and the institutionalized construction of identities. This, in other way, lies in the nature of the institutions of modernity that globalization distributes. To put the matter simply: globalization is really the globalization of modernity, and modernity is the harbinger of identity. It is a common assumption that identity-formation is a universal feature of human experience. Castells seems implicitly to take this view when he writes: ‘Identity is people’s source of meaning and experience’ (1997: 6). But whilst it is true that the construction of meaning via cultural practices is a human universal, it does not follow that this invariably takes the form of identity construction as we currently understand it in the global-modern West. This form of ethnocentric assumption has been recently criticized both by anthropologists and media and cultural critics. Globalization and Modernity To appreciate this, it is necessary to take a more complex view of the globalization process than is often adopted – certainly in the polemical discourses of the anti-globalization movement, where globalization is essentially understood as the globalization of capitalism, achieved in its cultural aspect via a complicate western dominated media system. This more complex, multidimensional conceptualization, which views globalization as operating simultaneously and interrelated in the economic, technological-communicational, political and cultural spheres of human life, is in fact relatively un-contentious – at least in principle – within academic discourses. But the cultural implication, rather less easily swallowed by some, is that globalization involves not the simple enforced distribution of a particular western (say, liberal, secular, possessive-individualist, capitalist-consumerist) lifestyle, but a more complicated dissemination of the entire range of institutional features of cultural modernity. References Putnam, R (2001) Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community, Touchstone, London Tomlinson, J (1999) Globalisation and culture, Policy Press, Cambridge Social capital: http://www. jrc. es/home/report/english/articles/vol85/ICT4E856. htm http://www. envplan. com/ http://www. infed. org/thinkers/putnam. htm http://www. naturaledgeproject. net/NAON_ch11. aspx

A Revolutionary Road | Analysis

A Revolutionary Road | Analysis In a society that promotes conformity it is hard enough to come to find oneself as an individual and to find your own identity. In a society that sucks the best out of our personality. Maintaining your own identity has little chance when being around a false image of affluence. This place is known as the suburbs. The ideas of deception pulled in a lot of people that were raised around nice families that only had the American Dream in their mind. In Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates, Frank and April Wheeler are sucked into suburbia with the dream of raising their two kids in a safe and comfortable area. But, as the two quickly find out, suburbia is not all its cracked up to be. Soon, suburbia and the complimentary standard gender role poses a problem for the couple as their relationship begins to deteriorate over time. But, in order to understand the situation, you must first understand the times. The suburbs were created as an escape from the hectic and, sometimes, dangerous life in the city. As time went on, the suburbs became known as a middles class paradise with ties to a nearby big city. Along with the suburbs came the stereotypical suburban family. The father was the head of the family while his wife was completely under his rule. Her main job was to take care of the kids and cook for the tired man when he got home. This family was supposed to have everything together and be the picture perfect example of the achievement of the American Dream. This stereotypical view of the suburbs created a strong misconception that attracted many families to the area and created a place void of individualism. The fantasy of the American Dream in the 1950s formed a naive view of suburban life and its equivalent standard gender roles and rigid view of the ideal family structure. The American Dream in the 1950s produced an idealistic view of life in the suburbs. In Dwight D. Eisenhowers State of the Union address in 1954, he describes what is the beginning of suburbia when he says, The details of a program to enlarge and improve the opportunities for our people to acquire good homes will be presented to the Congress by special message on January 25. This program will include: Modernization of the home mortgage insurance program of the Federal Government (Eisenhower). This place, as endorsed by one of the most popular presidents of all time, was sugar-coated from its inception. When Eisenhower spoke, people listened. When he endorses a housing development that will improve the opportunities for anyone living there that can help them achieve the American Dream, the public was willing to jump on the bandwagon in a moments notice. So began the false advertisement of the suburbs that ensnared so many families with good intentions of bringing up a beautiful family in a place that was supposed to ease them along the way. In an article about the history of American families, the author describes how people derived their beliefs on the typical suburban family by saying, The Leave It to Beaver ideal of breadwinner father, full-time homemaker mother and dependent children was a fiction of the 1950s, she shows. Real families of that period were rife with conflict, repression and anxiety, frequently poor and much less idyllic than many assume; teen pregnancy rates in the 50s were higher than today (The Way). The false impression that a popular television show had on 1950s society contributed to the even greater fallacy that all suburban families had everything together. The reality is that the suburbs was a place stricken with the same basic problems that everyone else had and maybe even more. Many families were under the impression that everything was going fine because they had all the elements of a traditional suburban family: a breadwinning dad, a stay-at-home mom, and servile children. But, simply being able to claim these things does not make a family tantamount to the perfect family that they are perceived to be as evidenced by the conflict, repression, and anxiety. In Richard Portons article on the American Dream and the suburban nightmare, he describes the delusion that many families drowned in when he argues, Lewis Mumford maintained that the suburb served as an asylum for the preservation of illusion. He fumed that suburbia was not merely a child-centered environment; it was based on a childish view of the world' (Porton). Since the suburbs were associated with prosperity and happiness, they also became linked to the American Dream. When families entered this suburban paradise they immediately became seduced by the lore and awe of finally achieving that dream. Unfortunately, many never came out of that dream and continued to be deceived by this fantasy land that was almost juvenile at times. It is easy, now, to be o n the outside looking in and wonder how they fail to see that things crashing down around them. But since they were so deeply rooted in their dream world, it seemed that everything was going perfectly when, in reality, their personal life was a disaster. The American Dream provided the fuel that led to the conflagration that was the impractical view of suburbia. The American Dream in the suburbs formed absurd family roles that were usually stereotypical. In an article about the role of women in the 1950s, the author explains, Women who spent too much time outside the home, social commentators were quick to warn, were endangering their families, neglecting their husbands and especially their children. Life magazine, in a special issue devoted to the American woman, deplored the changing roles of married couples and placed most of the blame on the increasingly aggressive wife (Womens Roles). The fact that women had to be regulated shows how they were mistreated and forced to fit into a role that no one could be completely happy with. A woman who wanted pursue a career was viewed as overaggressive and held responsible for the breakdown of the family. Women were expected to sacrifice themselves for the family and become stay-at-home mothers all because that is what American society says a perfect mother should do. In the same article, the author says, The belief in a womans destined social role was reinforced by the popular media of the dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The magazines of the time were filled with images of dedicated housewives whose only pleasures were that their families were satisfied and their chores made easier (Womens Roles). From the start, women never really had a chance to become what they wanted or pursue a career. From an early age, it was drilled into them that they would become a mother and that they would look to their husband to bring home the bread and make important decisions. The American Dream stripped women of their ability to overcome the status quo by sending a relentless message that their purpose in life was to become a housewife and nothing more or less. In another article about the plight of the 1950s woman, the author says, When women started complaining of boredom, society invented the sowing and quilt making clubs. They would do anything to please their men because their life depended on them s o much. To disagree with her husband would have been the gravest of all errors. The men had almost total control over their wives (A Womans Role). Women who tried to establish themselves as an individual and stand up against societys twisted view of what a suburban family should look like were repeatedly shoved back into their rightful place. When women started getting out of line, men were quick to invent something to occupy their time and get their minds back on their tasks. Disagreeing with the man was an unforgiveable mistake that could have negative consequences in the future. In spite of their will to change, efforts to change the system were kept at bay by the scheming man who did not want to see his power diminished by a lowly, rebellious wife. Overall, the American Dream shaped an unjust role for women in suburban society. In Revolutionary Road, the foolish quest for the American Dream creates an unbalanced family with identity problems and, quite often, complete subjugation. As Frank finally convinces April that having an abortion would be a terrible mistake, she cries in his arms as he proudly thinks, And it seemed to him now that no single moment of his life had ever contained a better proof of manhood than that, if any proof were needed: holding that tamed, submissive girl and saying, Oh, my lovely; oh, my lovely, while she promised she would bear his child (Yates 52). The head of the family in the ideal suburban household was the father. This father was supposed to have everything in complete control and solve every problem that crossed his family. By conquering his wifes emotions and desires, Frank establishes himself as the rightful head of the family because that is what he thinks he is supposed to do. His actions were influenced by the ridiculous thinking of that time period and not because he truly believes that was how he should have handled the situation. When Frank tries to diagnose Aprils problems, he rants on and on about a story of a girl who wished to be a boy and says, I think we can assume, though, he said, just on the basis of common sense, that if the most little girls do have this thing about wanting to be boys, they probably get over it in time by observing and admiring and wanting to emulate their mothers- I mean you know, attract a man, establish a home, have children and so on' (Yates 245). Franks ignorant comments show the fallacy in the thinking of the 1950s. He says that their goal in life was to attract men and bear their children. Franks comments show the misunderstanding of suburban families because it is hard to believe that someones lifelong goals would be that shallow and without any other ambitions. Women probably wanted more than that but were sucked into believing that that was all they should want which eliminated them as an individual and l ed them to be controlled by men. After a fight with April, Frank leaves to go do yard work and thinks to himself, Even so, once the first puffing and dizziness was over, he began to like the muscular pull and the sweat of it, and the smell of the earth. At least it was a mans work. At least, squatting to rest on the wooded slope, he could look down and see his house the way a house ought to look on a fine spring day, safe on its carpet of green, the frail white sanctuary of a mans love, a mans wife and children (Yates 47). Under the influence of suburban folklore, Frank feels that he needs to establish his identity as a man by physically exerting himself and doing something that no woman could do. The sweat on his brow and the strain of a good days work are what make Frank feel like a man all because someone said that was how a man should act and how a man should feel. The immense workload gives Frank a feeling of masculinity that no woman can give him. Instead of solving his proble ms with April, he decides to do what a man was supposed to do in that situation instead of the right thinking to do. By and large, the ideal suburban family was so heavily influenced by the American Dream that they failed to find themselves and, instead, fell into a general role that they did not belong nor function well in. In Revolutionary Road, the American Dream has also created a warped and impractical view in the minds of suburban families. When April tries to convince Frank to move to Paris, she tries to pry him from his suburban way of thinking by arguing, Because you see I happen to think this is unrealistic. I think its unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working like a dog year after year at a job he cant stand, coming home to a house he cant stand in a place he cant stand either, to a wife whos equally unable to stand the same things, living among a bunch of frightened little my God, Frank, I dont have to tell you whats wrong with this environment Im practically quoting you. Just last night when the Campbells were here, remember what you said about the whole idea of suburbia being to keep reality at bay? You said everybody wanted to bring up their children in a bath of sentimentality. You said - (Yates 115). At this point, April finally sees the lies that they were sucked into when they first bought a home in the suburbs. She is trying to convince Frank who, although he has realized the same lies, is still having trouble letting go of a doctrine that he has held fast to for so long. She realizes that what she and Frank have been experiencing in the past few years is not reality and that they need to find a way to break free and Paris would be a great place to do so. In the same instance, April goes further to say, Thats how we both got committed to this enormous delusion- because thats what it is, an enormous, obscene delusion- this idea that people have to resign from real life and settle down when they have families. Its the great sentimental lie of the suburbs, and Ive been making you subscribe to it all this time (Yates 117). April continues to elaborate on the lies that were told to the couple when they entered the fabled suburbia. When they first got there, they were led to believe that starting a family was the end to real life. The whole time they had been living a lie that neither of them was willing to admit which caused a loss in crucial years of their lives that could have been spent establishing their family as a unique tight-knit group that was not influenced by the ignorance of the time period. When Frank and April go on a walk with John Givings, he fumes on and on about the self-deception of suburbia and the failures of society by stating, Its as if everybodyd made this tacit agreement to live in a state of total self-deception. The hell with reality! Lets have a whole bunch of cute little winding roads and cute little houses painted white and pink and baby blue; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and if old reality ever does pop out and say Boo well all get busy and pretend it never happened (Yates 68-69). John hits the nail on the head when he describes the fantasy that the people of the 1950s live in. He describes suburbia as a flowery place where everything looks t he same and everyone lives far away from reality. When confronted with reality, they act as if it never occurred and go back to the dream that they never want to wake up from never mind the fact that it is destroying them as a person. The American Dream in their lives has distorted their take on reality and led to them to believe that their way of life is real. By listening to the lies of the American Dream, suburban families were deceived into creating a dream world away from bona fide life that the rest of the world had to face every day. The desire for the American Dream in the mid-1900s created an immature outlook on suburban life and its corresponding gender roles and unyielding doctrine of the perfect family. Ever since its creation, suburbia has been sugarcoated to please potential home buyers and consequentially ensnared many families during the 1950s through its bold but enticing lies and the twisted view on what a real American family should look like. It produced absurd roles for a family that made it hard to function properly and took advantage of the wife by forcing her to subject to her husband. Furthermore, the suburbs distracted its residents from real life by giving them a false euphoria that rarely lasted long. Finally, it made many people give up their dreams and sacrifice their individuality in order to conform to its views. Its never beneficial to give up your identity which is why so many families have suffered and continue to suffer even today. Rather, it is always best to preserve the individual inside rather than change your beliefs and morals to fit society. Posttramatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Effects Posttramatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Effects A War Without End:  The Struggle of Posttramatic Stress Disorder Abstract This analysis is divided into two major parts. The first portion is dedicated to describing  posttramatic stress disorder, as well as the stress response and its contribution to developing PTSD. Along with describing PTSD is a reaction to a Frontline Documentary on veterans struggling with the  disorder. The second portion is an analysis of a personal friend that is currently undergoing treatment  for PTSD. Though the information of his treatment is true, information about his identity or personal  life will be altered. Part I. The issue of PTSD has gained a lot of attention with the United States fourteen year endeavor in  the middle east. The number of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD is quite  staggering. To better understand PTSD it is important to look at stress and trauma, and how these two  mechanisms manifest. Their manifestation is crucial to our understanding of PTSD. Stress Stress can best be exemplified as our natural physiological response to a treat. To say that stress  itself is a bad thing would imply that our survival is bad. The stress response is what has allowed our  species to adapt and reach our current status. So what is the stress response? It all starts at the hypothalamus which sits dorsal to the limbic system, the system that is  responsible for our stress response. The hypothalamus than triggers our endocrine system by relaying  electrical signals to the pituitary gland, also know as the master gland of the endocrine system. When  the stimulation of the pituitary is that of a perceived threat, adrenocorticotropic hormone is released  stimulating the adrenal glands (Cohen, 2013). The adrenal cortex responds by releasing cortisol, and  the adrenal medulla releases epinephrine. Cortisol is responsible for raising glucose levels by  stimulating the release of stored glycogen in the liver. Epinephrines response is what raises heart rate,  dilates blood vessels, and prepares us for the situation that of which caused the initial reaction. All of  what falls under this description of stress results from the sympathetic nervous system, and its effect on  what is known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ( HPA) axes (Siegel, et al. 2005). Trauma When people experience a traumatic event, in more cases than not, they attach an emotional  response to said event. Looking at traumas long term effects, we see that these responses can be acted  out through unpredictable behavior/emotion, flashbacks, unstable relationships, and even physical  pains (APA, 2013). Trauma can affect anyone at any age, and can result from events such as rape,  abuse, and as it is most prevalent to this topic, combat. When someone suffers from trauma, a nonthreatening  event can set off a stress response if triggered in some way (Comer, 2014). PTSD In a simplified explanation of posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD could be seen as an over  active stress response that follows a traumatic, or series of traumatic events. As is common with those  who see combat or the gruesome consequences of combat, PTSD has left psychological scars on the  veterans who return home after serving. A 2005 Frontline documentary depicted PTSD in a way that was both informative and  emotional. One point that stood out about the documentary was the culture of military life, especially in  the army and marines. The culture is basically this; Being violent and reactive is very much  encouraged, showing empathy is weakness, disobeying an order is cowardice, and showing signs of  psychological issues is as cowardice as it is weak. Because of this disturbing belief system it is really  not a topic to stay politically correct on. Let us start with the fact that violence and reactivity are  considered virtues of a soldier. Finding a peaceful resolution has never resulted from fighting fire with  fire. Attempts to find peace are crushed by the surge of reaction (Martin Luther King Jr., 1965), and for  a very obvious reason. When someone is reactive in a situation that does not readily call for it, more  times than not mistakes are made. In the case of Rob, this issue came center stage when he opened fire  on a civilian women after hearing reports of suicide bombers. She fell with a white flag in her hand  (Frontline, 2005). It is not Robs fault that this civilian died, but rather a consequence of war. He felt  that the threat of a suicide bombing was approaching, and instinctively tried to preserve his life, and the  men he fought along side. When he began to struggle with the event, the men around him labeled him a  coward. Robs story is not uncommon for those who have fought in this war. Turning to a soldier by the  name of Jeff, we see the consequences of not seeking help after a traumatic event. According to the  Frontline documentary, Jeff told his family of a haunting memory which seems to depict the  consequece of blindly following orders. Jeff was commanded to execute two unarmed prisoners of  war, and his obedience cost him his sanity. Jeffs mental decline was shown through his abuse and  excessive use of alcohol (Frontline, 2005). Jeff committed suicide roughly about a year after serving,  which alcohol could be seen as a contributing factor. The experiences of those interviewed in the Frontline Documentary provided great insight in  terms of PTSD, and with this insight the signs and symptoms can easily be spotted. With this  information a brief diagnostic assessment will be attempted, and as stated earlier, some of the  information about this particular individual has been altered. Part II. Background John is a white male in his mid-twenties. He was released from active duty in the Army July,  2013. John has been receiving psychiatric care for PTSD for a year and a half, and he claims that he has  been improving. His psychiatrist has him undergoing drug treatment to help with the symptoms. As is  common with those suffering from PTSD, John takes Lithium to help with his anxiety and feelings of  depression attributed to stress. As an adolescent John was diagnosed with ADHD, and had been  prescribed Adderall up until 10th grade. He has been back on Adderall for the past six month to help  with concentration, and also for the anti-anxiety benefits of taking a low dose stimulant. Behavior John is rather evasive when talking about his time in Afghanistan. When asked about his  experience, John seems to steer the conversation towards boot camp, seemingly as an attempt to keep  his mind off of his duty served in Afghanistan. The only thing that could be confirmed is that John had  seen combat on a number of occasions. At times his speech seems disorganized and forced. He looses  attention during conversation quite often, and has trouble holding eye contact. When John initially  returned to civilian status he began using methamphetamines for a short duration before seeking help.   John has also been trying to limit his consumption of alcohol since being releaved of duty, and though  he has stopped drinking every night, his troubles with alcohol have persisted. Summary Johns behaviors that of which can be observed fall in line with most of the behaviors of those  mentioned earlier in the Frontline Documentary. Drug abuse has been the most prevalent issue in Johns  life after serving, but he has shown signs of progress with his current treatment plan. References Comer, R. J. (2014). Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers.  Revised July 2014 Fulton, Germer, Siegel. (2005). Mindfulness and psychotherapy. New York: The Guilford Press. Cohen, B. J. (2013). The human body in health and disease. 12th Edition. Baltimore, MD:  Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Aronson, Raney (2014) A Soldier’s Heart [Video]. Retrieved February 2015 from  http://www/pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/view King, M. L. (1965). The three evils of society. (Speech). Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8d-IYSM-08