The chapel of Raemkai was originally built and decorated for an official named Neferiretnes, traces of whose name and titles can still be made out on the false door. The reuse of the tomb for Raemkai was not probably by royal decree and took place before the reign of Isesi (circa 2381BC). The fine relief decorating the tomb includes a large scene of the hunt in the steppes with lasso and dogs. In one scene an ibex is lassoed, in another, dogs attack a hyena and a Dorcas gazelle while a man leaning on his staff looks on and a hare and a reclining gazelle may be seen in the background.

This tomb chapel was originally dedicated to the official Neferiretenes, and only later adapted for Raemkai. Changes are most extensive on the False Door. Traces of erased original text are still recognizable on the lower lintel, enabling Egyptologists to decipher the titles “senior overseer of documents, royal property master, Neferiretenes.” Fragments of additional titles are preserved above the inner lower left figure: “priest of King …’s pyramid…, priest of King …’s pyramid …,” and “under-superintendent of priests of Re in every place of his.” A longer list above the outer lower figures reads: “senior district administrator of preeminent rank, personal document scribe of the king, senior overseer of documents, senior document inspector, Neferiretenes.” Raemkai’s name and titles have been inserted at the left end of the upper lintel, above the two upper figures and above the right lower inner figure.

When the tomb of Nefertiretenes was adapted for Raemkai’s use, only a few changes were made to the reliefs. The most important concerned the upper standing figures of the tomb owner on the False Door. Originally, both of these were noticeably obese, and their kilts were of calf-length. During the Old Kingdom it was the custom to include among the mostly idealizing images of a tomb owner at least one representation showing him as a mature heavy-set man. Such images emphasized the deceased’s success in life and his high social standing. For Raemkai, the full breasts and abdomens were removed, and the kilts were shortened. The prince was evidently of such a young age when he died that the mature representations common for elite men were deemed inappropriate.

The East Wall
Like the north wall, the east wall is close to the chapel entrance and thus to life on earth. East wall decorations tend to be especially concerned with the fruitfulness of the agricultural land, which guaranteed continued offerings for the tomb owner’s funerary cult. Depicted on this east wall are a presentation of animals and birds, a row of female personifications of agricultural estates, and the grain harvest. The figures face into the tomb and toward a large image of the deceased, which in turn faces the entry as if coming forward from the interior. The pictures on this wall should be viewed from right to left, the primary direction of writing in ancient Egypt.

In the second register from the bottom, twenty-two women carry baskets on their heads that are filled with goods. They are not servants but exquisitely adorned ladies wearing collars, bracelets, anklets, and elaborate wigs. The inscriptions in front of each provide the names of the agricultural villages or estates that the women personify. They are thus comparable to figures such as Roma or Britannia, which in western art represent respectively, the city of Rome and the country of Great Britain. The names of this tomb owner’s agricultural estates are, from right to left: carob grove, mouth of the blocked canal, Horus’s hour, indigent field, melon field, Hebnenet grove, truncated field, non …. fishers’ settlement, Inbebu, Shefet field, Isesi’s mound, field of the acquaintances, field of the unique incarnation, pondweed plot, eye of Iunmutef, isle of Sobek, Hudu, two pitchforks, Iawetet, preeminent is its maker, new field.

The right side of the wall is dominated by a figure of the tomb owner. Beside him, grasping his staff and right leg, are his two small sons. As Egyptian children do in many representations, they carry hoopoe birds in their hands. Whether these birds were pets or served some symbolical role is not known. The inscriptions associated with the large figure were not altered when the tomb was adapted for Raemkai. Only the titles and name of the original owner, Neferiretenes, were erased, and even among them, the easily adaptable epithet “honored by his lord,” located above the head, was left untouched. No attempt was made to insert Raemkai’s name and titles.

Seven male dancers and five female musicians are extant in the uppermost preserved register. The dancers raise their arms above their heads, and lift their proper right feet. They wear collars and courtly kilts with starched fronts. The women, adorned with collars and anklets, clap their hands to accompany the men’s dance. Singers and musicians playing flutes and harps may well have been depicted on the missing blocks above and to the left. The depiction of festivities involving lavish meals, music, and dancing introduced an atmosphere of exuberance into the tomb and thus contributed to the affirmation of life that was one of the main aims of all Egyptian funerary art.

The Nile marshes teemed with one of the richest bird populations on earth, both indigenous and migratory. The ancient Egyptians were keen observers of their animal world, and there are specific names for many of the bird species in the ancient Egyptian language. The images created by artists are so accurate that modern designations of species can often be determined. Large birds at right: gray crane, Demoiselle crane, young gray crane, gray crane. Upper line of birds, from right to left: gray goose, white-fronted goose, white goose, goose. Lower line of birds: gray goose, pair of Nile geese, coot, dove.

The demand for how businesses do their operations needs to change. As of right now, the business model suggests that we pursue profit by any entrepreneurial means and cut costs at any expense. For the most part businesses over the latter half of the twentieth century have based their idea of how to run a company off of Milton Friedman’s theories and classical neo-liberal economic thinking. I am suggesting however, that we take a different route for the rest of our time operating under capitalism and free market economics and take a look at other alternatives for the way in which we conduct ourselves in the business world. A business can be defined as a profit motivated organization that combines resources for the production and supply of goods and services. (AmosWEB). In more understandable terms, business can be understood as the way we function through a specific economic system. In our case, the United States operates with a mixed-market economy under capitalism, and our society abides. Society can be defined as a group of individuals who share a common belief system. (Shiraev & Levy). Our society as a whole loves capitalism. However, some unintended externalities have occurred because of the way we do business under the Friedman mentality. Friedman’s works tell us that in business, we should focus on the shareholder. In other words, put emphasis on the people who have shares in our business. More specifically, he states that we should simply focus on the economic and legal standpoints of a company to maximize profit margins. In terms of economics he meant does the firm create jobs? Does the firm provide services? Does the firm create products? In legal terms, he meant what does a company legally have to abide by when conducting their operations? I would like to tell you however that this mind frame has been going on for way too long and has got us in a place we should not be.

This theory is old and outdated. We need to change how we do things in the business world. I would also like to introduce to you the ideas of another author by the last name of Carroll. Carroll states that the Friedman point of view has only caused problems in the ever greater pursuit of profit. Our business model should be looked at this way. Think of business as a rectangle, and it is allowed to function and operate inside of a circle known as society. But these two shapes are encompassed by an even larger rectangle known as the biosphere or the ecosystem. With any action there will always be an externality, an effect on a third party. Now sure, most neo-liberal, classical economists will say business is good and provides positive externalities such as products and food. But I am here to tell you that most of the externalities of our business model are negative. Everything a person does in our society is based off of profit, their motivation is money and it can be reduced to being that simple. The way our food is mass produced in factories is a negative externality on our bodies and on the way we treat animals for example. Food companies for the most part do not care if their products are bad for us, they just want to pursue profit, and we allow them to in the name of capitalism and not being held socially responsible. Another example can be what we have done to cows across our nation.

We have pumped them full of a steroid known as Posterone that increases milk production by twenty percent; and if one farmer does it they all have to do it because of profits, money, and what our society deems as success otherwise they will go out of business. However, this externality is very bad because it is incredibly painful for the cows, it swells their udders to an unnatural size and they often times get infections and secrete puss from their udders. The FDA however allows a certain percentage of this puss to be in our milk however along with all milk drinkers now building up a level of Posterone in their bodies. This isn’t even the worst part of the cow dilemma either. To counteract this puss and infection, the farmers started putting antibiotics in their feed regularly. For generations now the cows have been fed this same antibiotic and for generations we have been drinking their milk, which henceforth makes us have this same antibiotic in our bodies as well. Bacteria evolve over time and this is an extremely negative externality for humans and cows. As of now we are ok with these practices of animal cruelty and not caring where or how we get our food. Other examples include toxic waste disposal, pollution, synthetic chemicals, habitat destruction, factory farming, animal experimentation, clear-cutting, strip-mining, sweatshops, dangerous products, and layoffs just to name a few. It is abundantly clear that our way of conducting business has far more negative externalities than positive ones and it is because we allow it to happen. We have to hold companies to a high level of social responsibility otherwise they will pursue profits at whatever costs and pursue self-interest above all. The answer to the question is yes, we should without a doubt hold businesses socially responsible for their actions. The Carroll idea states that we need to go above and beyond the Friedman view of only doing the economic and legal responsibilities of a company.

He would like to add ethical and voluntary components to this theory. This is the key part in what we have to demand of our businesses. In the ethical sense, he is referring to going beyond what you are legally required to do, you must do the morally correct behavior. Carroll states that businesses are morally obligated to care about their workers, community, environment, suppliers, and customers. They must care about their actions for the benefit of society and not self-interest. The voluntary part of the theory is really where action comes into play. To really be successful in this new method, companies must voluntarily do things to notably help out the world in which they exist. Things such as donations, community service, helping out institutions like schools, and run their business in a way that can actually clean up the world from the negative externality that we have created. In my opinion I would like to see a company really focus on the cleaning up aspect in ways such as sequestering carbon, to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and end our dependency upon fossil fuels. However, those are separate issues that can be achieved if we hold our business accountable for their actions and demand that they be socially responsible. So yes, they are morally obligated to do these things instead of pursue profit and self-interest because they are here for us in the first place, they are here for the rest of society to benefit from not be hurt because we allow them to exist. I completely, 100 percent support this new rational and I believe it must be put into effect immediately or the negative externalities will only worsen and hinder our health and the environment even further. We must hold businesses accountable for their actions and they must act socially responsible.

Works Cited
AmosWEB. Copyright 2000-2013 AmosWEB LLC. www.amosweb.com. April 20, 2013. Carroll, B. Archie. The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Business Horizons. July 1991.

Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its
Profits”. The New York Times. September 13, 1970. Shiraev, B. Eric & David, A. Levy. “Cross-Cultural Psychology”. Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Inc.

Whereas sources 4 and 6 suggest that Henry had given all power to Wolsey, source 5 contradicts this argument, describing how the king had overall power.

Source 4, an extract from Scarisbrick ‘Henry VIII,’ gives the impression that Henry gave all power to Wolsey, whilst he “hunted and jousted.” Cavendish then states how the king had “surrendered the cares of the state into the Cardinal’s hands.” This gives the impression that Wolsey had the powers of the king and was in charge of running the country efficiently. This is supported by source 6, where Henry asks Wolsey to watch some of the key nobility as well as “any others of whom you are superior.” This is clearly Henry giving Wolsey freedom to act as he wishes, thus suggesting power being given to Wolsey. Additional evidence of Wolsey’s power, especially over the nobility, can be seen in his work in the Star Chamber where he often imprisoned nobles. In one instance, Wolsey ordered Sir Paulet Angus [named needs to be verified] to follow him for five years in return for the humiliation suffered by Wolsey earlier on in his career. This presents the Cardinal as a powerful figure i8n the government, who could act freely from the king.

However in source 6, it should be remembered that Henry is giving Wolsey an instruction which although giving him freedom too, shows that Henry was in overall control. Also, the report from Cavendish in source 4, is possibly un-reliable as there is a link that Cavendish, being Wolsey’s “friend and servant,” may be biased towards his master. This may lead him to possibly exaggerate the powers actually bestowed by Wolsey. Additionally, source 4 offers no indication of the year that this occurred in, as it is possible that Wolsey’s power worked throughout the ten year period depending on certain events. For example, throughout the French Invasion of 1512 and 1513, when Henry led on occasion 30,000 soldiers into France, it is clear that Henry was in control.

Source 5 however, presents the king as ultimately the only direct source of power and suggests faction were competing for his approval. The author Lotherington describes how government was “dominated by…competing groups” but that overall the “source of all power was the king.” Lotherington argues that as Wolsey lacked the “intimate daily contact” enjoyed by others within the court this meant Wolsey was not all powerful. Also, the king also looked to his Privy Council and Gentlemen’s bedchamber for advice on issues, as well as Wolsey, which shows that Henry shared the power throughout the court. Saying this however, Wolsey had had more power than others (as seen in the Elthem Ordinances) where Wolsey halved the members of Henry’s gentlemen of the Bedchambers from twelve to six, and moved key advisors overseas. This suggests that although the power was shared, Wolsey could still decide who the king received advice from, which indirectly could be interpreted as Wolsey in total control. Also, although source 5 describes the power of the factions Lotherington also states how Wolsey “controlled the distribution of patronage” which was essential to gain power and status. This gives the impression that Wolsey had overall control of government, and could either air or hinder the careers of the “ambitious men.” Saying this however, once the amicable grant failed in 1525 Henry lost faith in Wolsey. This allowed the competing factions, many of whom opposed Wolsey due to his power, to undermine his authority which eventually led to his disapproval and eventually arrest for treason. This demonstrates how although Henry did grant Wolsey¬ significant power between 1515-25 he was also able to retake his power if he desired to do so. Thus, Wolsey was dependent on Henry, which cannot be considered in overall control.

In conclusion sources 4 and 6 on the face it supports the idea of power being surrendered to Wolsey, however as source 5 points out the ultimate source of power lay with the king. It is clear that Wolsey was most favored by the king from 1515-25 and was often left in charge of certain national issues. However, when the king chose to become involved, Wolsey was at his service.

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A Book Review on Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

            Since the history of China seemed to be more and more appealing to be studied as times go by, contemporary writers of modern generation deemed to account significant chronicles in which it covers the rich and colorful details of China’s history and development.  One of which was the best-selling novel of Dai Sijie entitled Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.

Though the novel was not certain whether it was a biographical narration or a true story for that matter, various stories found in it was believably factual and truthful.  With a glimpse of the Cultural Revolution in China and its aftermath, the book was easy to read yet remains informative and educational as it used the lighter approach of prose writing style for its young adult audience.

Historical Overview

            From Stalinism to Japanese Occupation Era in the 1940’s which shaped the Second World War situation in broader Asian including China, things have been rigid and offensive.  Communism spread rapidly even after Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist government’s union with his co-founders of United Nation in 1945.  Thus, the beginning of Peoples Republic of China emerged in 1949.

            The Great Leap Forward has declared in 1958 by the communist military leader Mao Tse-tung under Emperor Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist government.  It was merely a result of being a die-hard fanatic of Karl Marx and Leninism ideology although in 1960, communism has slightly shaken as the Union Soviet and China began to split-up.

It was in 1964 when the great Mao Tse-tung became the selfish emperor and dictator ruler of PRC or the Peoples Republic of China, and two years after, he announced the beginning of the Cultural Revolution that reshaped the whole nation of China.

            Mao Tse-tung’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution created immeasurable chaos in the society, economics, and politics in China which affected every part of the country, altered lives of its people, and damaged their livelihood, lifestyle, traditions, culture, education, views and even their dreams.  The most remarkable and widely spread action in this period was the re-education of the intellects, bourgeoisies, professionals, diplomats, academic leaders, including their children.

Re-education means forced exile of the aforementioned classification from the cities down to the countryside to learn farming, peasantry, mining, and any kinds of work that does not require mental and intellectual ability.  Such act of Mao was to simply suppress and destroy possible rivals and oppositions of his beliefs, principles and ideology.  As a result, the production and circulation of manuscript, texts and any readable materials except about Mao Tse-tung’s propaganda was strictly banned and outlawed during this period

            Mao Tse-tung passed away on September 9, 1976 followed by the declination of Cultural Revolution but the infamous ideology remained notable and marked the history until today’s era.  Cultural Revolution, though eventually died after its founder’s death was later disguised as Maoism by his followers and believers.

The Author and the Novel

            Dai Sijie was a natural born Chinese but he made a film-directing and scriptwriting niche in France after his devotion in studies being a scholar specializing in art history.  A victim of re-education himself as Dai Sijie was sent in Sichuan in 1971, he decided to write his first novel as a nearly autobiographical book that pictured some memorable points of his life.

The title mentioned the name of one of his favourite French authors, the well-known Honore de Balzac as he also believed in his thoughts and ideas.  Believably, it was also Balzac who formed Dai Sijie’s love in literature, arts, and poetry.  Dai Sijie was very fond of writing more about Chinese cultures and its history.

This novel became internationally acclaimed and famous that it became one of the favorites to be translated in different languages because originally, the Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress was written in French language as Balzac et La Petite Tailleuse Chinoise.  It was Ina Rilke who brightly translated the text from French to English language in 2000.

Book Summary

Somewhere in one of the mountainous province of China far from the city of Beijing and Shanghai, the story of Luo, Ma the narrator, and the little Chinese seamstress along with other characters could have evolved during the era where Mao Tse Tung’s regime is at its peak.  Just like any other members of middle-class families, Luo and the narrator were sent to a remote village located at the mountain called by the Jesuits Phoenix of the Sky.  They have surrendered their will as to what the socio-political environment urged them to do so and worked in the mines with the peasants of countryside rather than formally studying in the city.

            The presence of some villages including the tailor and his daughter created a spank to make the book more enjoyable to read as Luo had a titillating experience with this little Chinese seamstress.  Furthermore, his sexual fantasies turned to be more serious in a way that he recognized the feelings of love that slowly developed in him.  The said feelings of Luo motivated him to run after the little Chinese seamstress attention and to win her affection too.  Hence, Luo as soon as he discovered the girl’s ignorance being a no-read and no-write seamstress, made way to help her at least know the basics of learning such as reading and writing.

            Luo’s cleverness was used to push through his eagerness of teaching his girl to read.  Moreover, he used his friendship with the boy named in the novel as Four-Eyes as Luo discovered a pile of prohibited books, mostly classics of nineteenth century Western literature, hid in the safest luggage.

Along with the narrator, Luo asked Four-Eyes a copy of book by Balzac in exchange of a good deed.  However, because of their eagerness to read more, they successfully tricked Four-Eyes and shawl his forbidden collection knowing that it would be impossible for the books to be reported missing.

            The story was concluded with a sudden ending where the little Chinese seamstress chose to leave their village to pursue his learning outside of their town as he told Luo that she had learnt from Balzac that a woman’s beauty is a treasure beyond price (p.184).[1]

Analysis

            The representation of the little Chinese seamstress in a remote place in China that was once suppressed to be educated, and then motivated to use her charm and beauty afterwards in pursuit of his freedom and ambition came to be literal and figurative.  It was viewed literally because repression, liberation and equality that transcended in the story are the same with the long-run issue of every woman in real life.  And figuratively speaking, the little Chinese seamstress depicted the wholeness of China amidst Cultural Revolution where the people in this darkest period were being maltreated, misguided and suppressed especially those who were in the middle and upper classes of the society.

            Western literature classics prohibitions which connotes liberation of mind and beliefs denoted oppression of one’s identity as obstruction of one’s own free will and the right to growth and learn has been emerged in the story.

The mystified and dramatic exit of the little Chinese seamstress pointed out that the change of one’s lives still relies to one’s hand irregardless of the existing situation of the government or the society.  Another side could be viewed as a radical act of women in finding her balanced position on earth equal with her co-existents, specifically opposite gender as China remained patriarchal.

Conclusion

Though drastic events and disastrous sociopolitical evolution were caused by only few grievous personalities who ruled and shaped Contemporary China, there were also some stunning inside stories that formed, evolved, and surely shared the same impact in the history.

This is what the beautiful novel of Dai Sijie has offered to his audience as the sweet romance and comic love story of the protagonists has been detailed as well as the political situation which significantly important to understand the flow of the story.  Lastly, for whatever purpose that Dai Sijie wrote this superb story, whether to educate the young generation about the past of the Contemporary China under the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-tung’s administration, or just merely to entertain them, everyone should agree that both purposes have been served successfully.

R E F E R E N C E S

 “Cultural Revolution”. 2007. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia Web site.16 Nov. 2008.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_revolution>.

Joseph, William A. “The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”. China Political Links:

Wellesley College Web site. 16 Nov. 2008. <http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/

wj/ChinaLinks-New/cr.html>.

Sijie, Dai, and Rilke, Ina. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Paris: Random

House Publishing Company, 2000.

[1] Sijie, Dai, and Rilke, Ina. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Paris: Random House, 2000.

CONTEMPORARY CHINESE AMERICA

Contemporary Chinese America is an in-depth sociological anthropologic encounter of Chinese immigrants into America. Min Zhou (the author), takes the reader through a step by step analysis of the causes of immigration and the consequences both in China and America. The author seeks to explain China demographics tendencies, gender roles, assimilation, culture and culture change. In this investigative study, the author describes the hardships most of the immigrants had to endure in order to secure a niche in the American society. She also explains the role that the immigrants have played in shaping the current America through entrepreneurship, economics, culture studies and also technology.

According to the book the 1800 century witnessed a major influx of the Chinese in America who fled from poverty for the promise a more luxurious life in America. They provided affordable labor for the construction of the railroads, others become miners in the goldmines and others settled in San Francisco’s’ China town. Most of the immigrants are said to have come to America illegally and the story illustrates how they endured harsh conditions in the ships that ferried them to America ranging from starvation to communicable diseases that saw majority of them lose their lives.

In America, there were numerous anti Chinese riots, their homes were burned and they were threatened with death if they did not leave. The Chinese through hostility from the Americans were able to retain their culture. Children went to neighborhood schools but most cities had separate schools for the Asians which played a role in preserving their culture and language. Most immigrants lived and worked within the China towns and never got to learn English. They lived a secluded life and even honored China national holidays; they did not mix with the residents of America who did not welcome them.

World War II saw china and America become allies and for these reason, Chinese in America started being treated with a lot more respect. Acculturation was brought about in 1952, as laws that prohibited Chinese from buying homes outside china town were dropped. These also saw California formerly known as the gold mountain drop the law that prohibited Asians from marrying outside their race; they were also allowed to own land. As the restrictions were dropped, the Chinese were slowly but not fully assimilated into the American society. The china towns played a role in the retention of their ethnicity and culture. It is thought that this is because they saw very little difference in the measure of cultural values with respect to eccentricity against collectiveness. Their businesses were and still are solidly connected through intricate systems that stretch across oceans.

Zhou takes a critical analysis on gender roles of the immigrants’ families which changed with assimilation. At first the Chinese American community was dominantly male but later families (mostly native children) started to trickle in. Elderly men who were savvy in solving problems and offering solutions in conflict cases lost their powers due to limited fluency in English. Young children worked as laborers thus undermining the father’s duty of being the sole breadwinner for the family. Women adopted easily as they had more protection from abuse, they traded with their needle work and thus contributed in providing for the family. They changed from being mere housewives to cultured business women.

Generally the book is a written ethnography that places the immigrants on a world platform. The author tries to answer questions such as why they immigrated and how they came to be what they are today. The author highlights the contribution made by the immigrants to the American society. It is a book I would recommend for college human anthropology studies, as it paints America as a land of immigrants whose story is the history of America.

Reference

Zhou, M. (2009). Chinese America: immigration, ethnicity and community. Philadelphia: Temple University

 

Contemporary Cinema

            Steven Spielberg is undeniably one of the most remarkable and brilliant modern directors that took Hollywood by storm. His films vary from the most outrageous to the most sensible. He had directed and produced countless numbers of films and more often than not, it never fails to catch the attention of not just the audience but also varying award-giving bodies. This paper aims to review two of his notable films namely E.T The Extraterrestrial and the more recent Catch Me If You Can.

            In 1982, Reagan was the president and on the cover of Rolling Stones was E.T. The Extraterrestrial (Gillespie, 2007). During that time, Spielberg was known to be a master of out-of-this world movies and he did not disapprove his fans when the movie became a hit and one of the most remembered films of all time. The adventure began when Elliot (Henry Thomas) found E.T at their backyard. The film is a refreshing mix of sentiment and humor that is well executed by the director. Spielberg has proven once again that he is master at manipulating the minds and emotions of his audience (Morefield, 2002). The characters are well developed and the actors succeeded in portraying their roles (especially for Drew Barrymore who became an instant hit after the movie). This movie also signaled for another breakthrough for Spielberg when he was risky enough to shoot almost all the adult scenes from the waist down, almost not showing any faces; and in movie language, this means that someone is up to no good (Ward, 2002). This film obviously focused on fantasy and some may say an adaptation of Spielberg’s childhood dream (Morefield, 2002). During the time when teen romantic comedies were on the rage (think Pretty in Pink), E.T. set itself from the rest by lightyears by incorporating tones, lighting and a musical score that will give any one a run for their money. It is also very well executed because firstly, there were a number of considerable new angles and techniques that were introduced in the film.

            Whereas in the case of Catch Me If You Can, Leonardo DiCarpio plays the legendary con artist of the 1960’s Frank Abagnale Jr. (Taylor, 2002), the story is a million miles different from E.T. Mainly because it was based on a true story and obviously, it did not involve any form of fantasy-like world or “extraordinary strangers”. The theme of this film is set in the 1960’s wherein computers were of rare occurrence and so much easier to charm people. This is exactly the main plot of the story—how Abagnale was able to charm an awful lot beautiful bank tellers to get what he desperately wants. It was a sleek and lively interpretation of how an ordinary can guise himself to survive. It is worth noting that in this film, Spielberg was rather optimistic about his tone. The film generated an earthy feeling that in reality, suggests a sense of surrealism. The actor’s portrayal of their roles is also very realistic. Moreover, Spielberg used very fast camera movements to catch up with the emotions and pace of the movie.

            The abovementioned movies are very different from each other. E.T. is a story that is relatively on the sci-fi side whereas the other one was more of the realistic side. Spielberg is known for his marvelous camera tricks and a contemporary attack to his movies—and the audiences were not disappointed with these two films. One film is a fantasy that was rather interpreted in a very touching and loving way while the other one is a prompt try on reality. But, as the master that he is, Spielberg was once again able to manipulate human emotion in different degree and techniques. He used very unusual camera angles and was also able dig up a lot of different human emotion that we did not know that we are capable of. He also manipulated with a lot of colors to set the tone and aura of the two films.  In the end, he was able to create two very different films that is not only unforgettable but also shows that there are other emotions in the human domain.

References:

Gillespie, E. R. (2007). E.T. the Extraterrestrial [Electronic Version]. Retrieved December 11, 2007, from http://www.austin360.com/movies/content/shared/movies/reviews/E/ettheextraterrestrial.html

Morefield, D. (2002). E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: From Concept To Classic [Electronic Version]. Retrieved December 11, 2007, from http://www.zone-sf.com/et-filmbook.html

Taylor, C. (2002). “Catch Me If You Can”

Leonardo DiCaprio looks great in those ’60s threads, but Steven Spielberg’s story of a legendary hustler is sadly short on period zip, zowie and va-va-voom. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved December 11, 1007, from http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/review/2002/12/25/catch_me/

Ward, M. (2002). E.T The Extraterrestrial [Electronic Version]. Retrieved December 11, 2007, from http://www.popmatters.com/pm/film/reviews/35405/et/

 

Introduction

To enable us to discuss the concept of postmodernism as a culture and whether politics has found its way to it, it would be prudent for us to explain the concepts herein albeit keeping in mind that the term postmodernism has generated a lot of debate among social scientist and is still not well understood in the public realm. Another major issue is whether there is a clear cut line between postmodernism and modernism. It is true that the concept of postmodernism presumes the time that came before it: modernism. Beyond modernism there was pre-modernism. Well, this is history (Sheppard, 2000).

Modernism refers to the time in the western world history when the world underwent great innovations. These changes came to effect with the modification of the way man viewed his environment. Many historical factors played a major role in the recognition of a need to rethink the way of thinking and the subsequent events that followed it. The First World War was only a single part that led to modernism. Since the war had destructive effects throughout the world, many people then disembarked in adoption of new technology as a response. Another idea that led to modernism was the recurrent breakthrough in science and technology which brought changes in beliefs and conception of individuals. The dominance of the western ideologies for a long time in history now became questionable and faced threats of being reversed. New disciplines emerged to counteract the old traditional viewpoints (Cullenberg & Amariglio, 2001).

This essay will look at the contemporary cultural analysis of the postmodern culture as being without politics. It is an in-depth analysis of a postmodern sensibility through the key functions of the media among others such as situated, mediated by popular cultures, and its interrelatedness to politics. Postmodern culture has had a lot of effects in the current state of affairs. There have been several changes in the past half century with philosophy being the most altered in the science of man sphere. We are living in a postmodern world since we have come from the modern times where politics were the order of the day. In the postmodern era, there is a heavy reliance on information technology in not only human communication but other areas as well (Erickson, 2001).

Pre-modernism, modernism and postmodernism

Prior to the 17Th century, the Western societies thought that the supernatural being provided the foundation for proper and complete conduct, sagacity, man’s seemliness as well as certainty. The overarching reasoning was that the supernatural being was the only source of providence such that if someone was to be prudent and learn things, he or she would have to look upon it. It was believed that God was the only giver of all things: material or immaterial. This era encapsulates the pre-modernism (Hicks, 2004).

The following era was that of modernism. This period saw the emergence of the most influential thinker of all time. They shaped the way others comprehend the world by exercising rationality rather than the convention that relied in the unchallengeable unknown for direction and guidance of man. For instance, Descartes was overly concerned with ideological cynicism and the religious vagueness at the time. He decided to change the way of thinking and seek the unqualified definite comprehension about the social man. He thus ascertained that since he was skeptical he was thinking. Such skepticism eliminated God in the seeking of truth and installed man as an absolute decider of his destiny (Shawver, 2006).

This became the beginning of the European illumination. This epoch was marked with buoyancy as regards to human prospects and possibilities in which rationality was emphasized while religious principles were given a wide berth. This is only a single break from the dependence on the supernatural to the reality that human being was capable of reckoning and distinction. Alongside rationalism, the emergence of Romanticism (which heavily relied on human emotions), Marxism as well as Nazism among other idealistic systems wanted to shift away from believe in supernatural which was regarded as the foundation of perception and existence. However these views are currently being disputed by postmodernists.

The apprehension that followed the World Wars left modernism in poor shape. The assurance that human advancement and self-sufficiency would always provide solutions faded. The war between the axis and the axes almost became catastrophic to the very human existence. The schemes which had promised harmony based on reason became repressive of other ways of thinking especially capitalism. These schemes did not facilitate the yearning for a sustained explanation of human life. Then, the place of the supernatural had been long forgotten but a worldwide certainty and probity did not exist either (Bertens, 1997).

Jean- François Lyotard retorted as to whether authenticity would succeed the rationalistic ideals. He foresaw the emergence of postmodernism and further described it as a disbelief of the meta-narratives. In essence he meant that people were now fed up with modernism and its promises were in doubt. That is to say that postmodernism was a new way of thinking which was wary of the grand illustrative conjectures. Postmodernism too is unconvinced about the standpoints which fronts themselves as impartial, fair or balanced. Therefore postmodernism established itself as the only alternative that would integrate both pre-modernism and modernism. It ascertained itself as a new way of thinking since either way there had to be a break from tradition (Winfield, 2007).

Merold Westphal views modernism as being typified by the pursuit of complete conviction of man and totalism. Totalism is an all accepting ideology- a metanarrative. He says that the proponents of modernism endeavored to build some big fairy tales which excluded God authority on human pacification with itself, liberty and advancement. From these arguments it can be said that the ideals that modernism upheld were no longer relevant to the changing times and needs. Its failure had stemmed from the inability to give a justification of the clashes between its schools of thought. Its schemes were clashing and at the same time creating a moral vacuum. Mankind was no longer at a conciliatory mood with its way of thinking which was supposed to do away with the belief of a supernatural being.

To put things in perspective, let us separate and put the two notions of modernism and postmodernism side by side. Whereas modernism wanted to put together all the methods of explanations and thinking, postmodernism embraces the fact human activities and needs employ rationales as justifications to reach their attainment. It further postulates that truth is anything which seeks to advance man’s quests or exploits. In other words, postmodernism says that humanity will always find a justification for its deeds, good or bad. This means that even if an action can violate the rights of others or inconsistent with the common practice, the doer will all the time give a good reason for it (Council on Tall Buildings, 2002).

For this premise therefore, a political agenda is ever present in anything that man holds to be factual. This is true as far as human conduct is queer in all perspectives. For instance a thief can justify his deed of stealing may be by citing unemployment whereas a preacher can base his teachings on the reward of eternity as promised by the Bible. For all intents and purposes, this is postmodernism at play. Man can lay claim on either the supernatural influence or his own deliberation for the wrong and right he executes.

The second strand explicating postmodernism maintains that knowledge is partial. This assertion borrows heavily from the interpretive distrust allied to forward thinker who sought to uninstall modernism. The reality that often escapes our grasp is that everyone has an opinion and there cannot be a consensus on any matter however trivial it is. Postmodernism is clear on the impossibility of unadulterated detachment of our notions and reasoning from the social conditioning we have undergone over time. We are inseparable from our past. Man will always be informed by the prior exposure. This means that a wholesome suggestion of modernism to emancipate man is irrelevant (Greer, 2003).

Characteristics of postmodernism

The first attribute of postmodernism is its anti-dualistic position. Modernism, as is seen by postmodernists ended up classifying the world’s ideologies as being right and wrong. This barred other points of view from coming to light. Postmodernism recognizes and endorses pluralism together with multiplicity of viewpoints rather than the juxtaposition that preceded it. It yearns for a free thinking existence which avails the possibility of many positions on any matter in hand. It searches for the opportunity to speak for the marginalized and the subjugated under the modernistic society. In other words postmodernism wants to level the playing ground in which all thoughts can be incorporated (Bak, 2007).

Secondly, it explains that truth is an issue that regards outlook and circumstances instead of adopting an overarching principle than delineates others. This means that man is not capable of realizing veracity and should accept things as they seem to be. It further seeks to urge man not to look for explanations for the intricate and incomprehensible things like existence. It accepts that man’s judgment of phenomena is wrought in eternity and shrouded in mystery. If any inquiry into existence and the origin of man pieced together with his search for knowledge is to yield any fruits then the supernatural itself has to come into play. In short, we are trapped in our thinking and that our reasoning is cyclical and varies from person to person.

Similarly, postmodernism regards the written word of any genre as neither possessing an innate influence nor a cause in furthering its creator’s purpose and cannot explain the past. They instead put forward the creator’s foregone conclusions, ways of living and epochs. With this in mind, we should consider that any literary work represents the creator’s views and therefore should not be imposed on supplementing the current search for understanding as well as impartiality. Real truth is non-existent so is no authority supreme over another.

Lastly, it emphasizes the role that language plays in our philosophies and stresses its importance in directing human communication and interaction. It calls for a unification of language so that any expression, small or big, could find its way to acceptance. This is with a view of harmonizing ideas, ideal or otherwise. The postmodernists claim that language produces truth. Truth is shaped and not open. Many philosophers have attempted to define the truth in many fashions, with some conflicting (Greer, 2003).

So far postmodernism have been successful in critically assessing modernism. But questions abound as to whether one can take a single standpoint as supreme. Postmodernism in itself is not straight in its arguments. For instance it rejects the truth while not offering solutions. One can also say that in as far as postmodernism snubs the notion of the absolute truth, how can it refute a thing which does not exist. While it does not accept the meta-narratives’ ideologies, there is a possibility that it may be a form of a grandiose explication (Dear, 2000).

Social and political implications of the postmodern shift

The economic philosophy that came along with postmodernism displaced the ideals of Marxism and Socialism by setting up capitalism. Under Marxism, the ideologies of the owner of capital rule the order of the day. Other just owned nothing but their labor. The interaction is purely on the basis of ownership of resources. This creates the classification of a society into classes. Essentially the society has three classes: the ruling, the workers and the bourgeoisie. On the other hand, Socialism seeks to redistribute wealth from the hands of few individuals to the rest of the society. This system disregards any mobility and individual accomplishments. Consequently, it encourages laziness as hard work is not recognized and is limited by the overreaching arm of the government. Capitalism sought to move away from the two economic systems.

Capitalism base its premises on the idea that government control is basically unhealthy for market since it polices the prices and the contract terms as well as leveling the ground for non-deserving competitors. In the true spirit of capitalism, the market is supposed to regulate itself and therefore government’s intervention is unwarranted. The advent of capitalism brought immense changes to the society but on negative side, it created economic rifts. In the end there were two classes in the society: the haves and the have-nots. As a result of this, the socio-economic equity became unachievable (Shawver, 2006).

Further from the mainstream capitalism grew consumer and producer capitalism. Producer capitalism is principally rooted in the notion that whilst producers assemble all the factors of production, in is upon them to optimize the output by employing technology (the means by which they would combine the inputs). From the revenues, costs can be deducted to determine profits. From the realized gains, some will be retained to be reinvested in the business as component of current capital while the rest are paid to the shareholders. Consumer capitalism on the other hand refers to the idea that any consumer in the market would approach with the mindset that the money he or she allocate for expenditure can yield the highest possible utility. In essence, with a given budget what is the possible utility attainable? It emphasizes consumer rationality over the choices of the commodities to be purchased (Malpas, 2005).

Conclusion

Postmodern culture is in reaction to the modern politics in a manner which supersedes it in the view and actions on things surrounding us. Postmodernist have actually distance themselves from the modern way of operations and the olden days with regards to politics. Politics have not been highlighted in the postmodern world but there are several means through which politics are being portrayed. Postmodern culture has given the limelight of being the super in terms of culture and mode of operations and handling of upcoming issues. Technology has been the key in propelling the advancement in the postmodern culture. The postmodern culture also covers the economic concepts.

Politics in the postmodern culture has been decreasing since the end of the modern periods. This has been witnessed in current postmodern where there is no politics at all. Political associations have been in pursuit of the historical intervention so as to modify it but it has been a passive momentum. This is because the politics have been considered to be derailing the progress of the society since they tend to divert the society into a socialist type. There is also issue of the political group desiring to channel the past fantasies which is considered to be regressive institutionalization of the past. There is little which can be transferred from the past to the postmodern culture which is well equipped with the addiction images. Any attempts to convert the past into image optical illusion, typecast, or manuscript, will definitely eliminate all the intentions of real logic of expectations and of the joint development. This leaves the thoughts of expected transformation to fantasies of pure devastation or calamity and mysterious disasters from hallucination of terrorism, in regards to social heights and cancer on individual ranks. If there is any hint that postmodern culture is an occurrence of the past, then the intention of perceiving it as an ethical verdict should be considered as a class oversight (Eagleton & Barbeito, 2000).

Postmodernist have actually distance themselves from the modern way of operations and the old days with regards to politics. Politics have not been highlighted in the postmodern world but there are several means through which politics are being portrayed. Postmodern culture has given the limelight of being the super in terms of culture and mode of operations and handling of upcoming issues. Technology has been the key in propelling the advancement in the postmodern culture. The postmodern culture also covers the economic concepts.

Politics in the postmodern culture has been decreasing since the end of the modern periods. This has been witnessed in current postmodern where there is no politics at all. Political associations have been in pursuit of the historical intervention so as to modify it but it has been a passive momentum. This is because the politics have been considered to be derailing the progress of the society since they tend to divert the society into a socialist type. There is also issue of the political group desiring to channel the past fantasies which is considered to be regressive institutionalization of the past. There is little which can be transferred from the past to the postmodern culture which is well equipped with the addiction images. Any attempts to convert the past into image optical illusion, typecast, or manuscript, will definitely eliminate all the intentions of real logic of expectations and of the joint development. This leaves the thoughts of expected transformation to fantasies of pure devastation or calamity and mysterious disasters from hallucination of terrorism, in regards to social heights and cancer on individual ranks. If there is any hint that postmodern culture is an occurrence of the past, then the intention of perceiving it as an ethical verdict should be considered as a class oversight.

References

Bak, J.S., 2007. Post/modern Dracula: from Victorian themes to postmodern praxis. John S Bak

Bertens, H., 1997. International postmodernism: theory and literary practice. New York: John

Benjamins Publishing Company

Council on Tall Buildings., 2002. Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. New York: Routledge,

2002

Cullenberg, S., & Amariglio, J., 2001. Postmodernism, economics and knowledge

Economics as social theory. New York: Routledge

Dear, M.J., 2000. The postmodern urban condition. New York: Wiley-Blackwell

Eagleton, T., & Barbeito, M., 2000. Modernity, modernism, postmodernism. Santiago: Univ

Santiago de Compostela

Erickson, M.J., 2001. Truth or consequences: the promise & perils of postmodernism. London:

InterVarsity Press

Greer, R.C., 2003. Mapping postmodernism: a survey of Christian options. New York:

nterVarsity Press

Hicks, S.R.C., 2004. Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism And Socialism From Rousseau To

Foucault. Scholargy Publishing, Inc.

Malpas, S., 2005. The postmodern. New York: Routledge

Shawver, L., 2006. Nostalgic Postmodernism. London: Paralogic Press

Blackwell

Sheppard, R., 2000. Modernism-dada-postmodernism. Northwestern: Northwestern University

Press Publishing, Ltd.

Winfield, R.D., 2007. Modernity, religion, and the War on Terror. New Jersey: Ashgate

Contemporary Curriculum Issues

            Designing a curriculum is not known to be an easy task. Various issues coming from all sectors often find themselves integrated into the development of a curriculum in one way or another.  The sensitivity to curriculum planning of the different factors and indicators of quality instruction is of paramount importance to curriculum developers. They shape and reshape the configuration of every curricular program all for the purpose of providing the best efficient and effective delivery of instruction.

            History is replete with scenarios that illustrate the significant influences in curriculum development. In business for instance, the curriculum drivers such as competition and globalization has been repeatedly identified as among the more stable and critical factors in curriculum development. School has been known to respond according to the needs of the industry and the business environment that prevails during a certain period in history. Even modern schools have started to find themselves dynamically responding to every marketing indicator available.  Considering the relative setup of corporate success, schools are gradually shifting to more effective means of designing their curricula along industry competencies and other critical areas in the social, political, environmental, economic and technological aspects.

Social Issues

            Curriculum development experts are of the opinion that the pressing social issues play a part in the design and implementation of the curriculum. In general, problems that have started to plague the social environment are emerging along the areas of personal and professional values such as ethics, governance and the risks that pose dangers to relationships and conflicts in society. The continuing growth in the population figures demand a stronger ethical and governance imperatives for businessmen and managers. The cases of Enron in the year 2002, later the Worldcom, Tyco and Martha Stewart indicate a growing need to address business issues. After a thorough analysis, educators and businessmen agree that the culprit in the 21st century scams and illegal derivatives point to the issues of business ethics, governance, transparency and of course, the professional ethics of the various professions involved in the sector.

            When before the onset of the need for a stronger ethical component in the curriculum, ethics was a stand alone subject which students have to enroll separately from other subjects in the program offerings. However, the continuing issues that apparently afflicts the industry point to a different measure other than introducing ethics and governance issues as a separate discipline, but rather must be integrated in all disciplines within the curriculum. Experts agree that ethics is an application of values in every area of decision making and does not confine itself to just a small area to be learned and distinct from other disciplines. This leads us to conclude that even if ethics and governance issues remain as separate distinct subjects, nevertheless requires a subsequent integration and synthesis subject that incorporates all types of discipline towards the concluding semesters of the curriculum.  Hence, the application components can be in the form of case and feasibility studies, thesis, dissertations, researches and even technical papers required for submission and forming part of a reasonably substantive part of the final grade.

            The ethics and governance issues are value-centered and utilize as its basis the theory that values cannot be taught, and that they can only be caught. Teachers are models, and the hidden curriculum in the educational system demand that, in the ideal setup, teachers have to be models of what they teach and should be paragons and fine examples themselves of what they teach inside the classrooms.

Political Issues

            The political sector similarly represents a critical component player of curriculum development. Referring more specifically to the current political practices of government units, agencies and offices, the political system similarly represent a serious indicator of chaos and disarray in the whole universal system. Within this issue, the common sub-issues indicate the emerging new political ideologies that most people have started to embrace. While the communist ideology has effectively disappeared primarily for its obsolescence and inability to address even the basic social needs and in the scheme of things. People have a natural way to conduct their lives according to what they believe are fit for them. This factor is used as the democratic model of governments – as Lincoln epitomized in his Gettysburg Address. These political issues include graft, corruption, bureaucratic red tapes, nepotism, pork barrels, political expediencies and double talk and gobbledygook’s, checks and balance between the executive, legislative and judicial structures to name a few.

            In the curriculum development aspect, these issues, among others, are necessarily integrated in various subject disciplines for purposes of making the student aware of the issues he is destined to confront later in his career. Similarly, these issues are critical for their significant impact on the social relationships developing among nations, races, political beliefs themselves and the conduct of the related economic, environmental and technological factors affecting each.

            History, the constitution, the issue of public and fiscal and administrative management are among the needs for competencies of graduates destined to serve in the government. Ignorance along these issues is likely to redirect graduates towards adventurism and political expediencies that are now commonly experienced by unstable governments like Iraq, Korea, China, and countries from South America and Africa.

Economic Issues

            Capitalism continues to lord it over the economic landscape of most countries. Although this has a more stable basis of sustainability, capitalism creates a systemic anomaly in terms of the needed business values expected of entrepreneurs and managers. The current financial crisis spawn by the Wall Street mess is a classic example of what this economic issue has in terms of curriculum development. More than the issues of personal values, the crisis leaves a lasting legacy of how managers subordinate the social and the common good of society. This approach seems to be the neglect of our financial managers of the utilitarian concept of ethics. Financial managers have, for many years, amassing wealth and power through the political and financial systems. The natural tendencies and scheme of things as practiced would impact the social as well as the political structure of any unit. The resultant theory then creates a seamless socio-economic and political configuration that no longer illustrates and makes distinction between the social, economic and political identities of the issues for curriculum development.

            In the program offerings of universities and colleges, the curricular structure is sequenced as the general education component, the core and the professional subjects. The curriculum compendium serves as the die and cast of a learner. The logical and pre-requisite system within the curriculum is urgent issues confronting program developers. The implication is that, the economic component of the curriculum perhaps plays the substantive chord of student development that faculty members must research on, facilitate, monitor, evaluate and accordingly revise and overhaul.

            Further, economic issues demand from the student how all kinds of adversities are to be addressed as well as utilized to improve and enhance the social and political issues. This synergy is expected to develop a certain degree of competency-based programs that will serve as a formative paradigm for graduates.

Implications

            The educational system is left with no choice but to sustain the continuous process of developing curricular offering based on historical and emerging issues in the entire social, economic, political, technological and even environmental aspects. The dynamism required of curriculum planners is a minimum demand that must be equated with the need to address social issues, economic phenomena, political uncertainties, technological risks and environmental realities.

            The academe can learn from the strong management will of the corporate world in adopting the new drivers of the new social, economic and political order. In the same way that the corporate world can learn from the values, philosophy and social dimension of forming graduates that will balance the entire sustainable need of the entire human race.

            It is superfluous to say that the curriculum is the mold that determines the fate and destiny of generations to come. This in fact equally represents the critical responsibility that rests upon curriculum planners. It is therefore becoming mandatory that the process of curriculum development must invite and listen to the voices of all stakeholders, even students, in the noble process of molding the temper of the next generation.

List of References

Villa, R., Thosuand, J. (1995). Creating an inclusive school, Alexandria, Virginia, Association for  Supervision and Curriculum Development

Sarason, S. (1990).  The predictable failure of educational reform, San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.

Lewis, H. R. (2006) Excellence without a soul:How a great university forgot education. NEW York, Perseus Books

Glasser, W. (1990), The quality school: Managing students without coercion. New Yor, Harper and Row Publishers

Clark, R. (2002). Global awareness: thinking systematically about the world. New York. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

McManus, J. E. (1993). Financial Terrorism: Hijacking America under the Threat of Bankruptcy.

Appleton,Wisconsin, the John  Birch Company

 

FIN 534 – Homework Chapter 2 Directions: Answer the following five questions on a separate document. Explain how you reached the answer or show your work if a mathematical calculation is needed, or both. Submit your assignment using the assignment link in the course shell. Each question is worth five points apiece for a total of 25 points for this homework assignment. 1. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? c. If a firm is more profitable than average (e.g., Google), we would normally expect to see its stock price exceed its book value per share. 2. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? e. The statement of cash flows shows how much the firm’s cash–the total of currency, bank deposits, and short-term liquid securities (or cash equivalents)–increased or decreased during a given year. 3. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? e. If a company pays more in dividends than it generates in net income, its retained earnings as reported on the balance sheet will decline from the previous year’s balance.

4. Last year Roussakis Company’s operations provided a negative net cash flow, yet the cash shown on its balance sheet increased. Which of the following statements could explain the increase in cash, assuming the company’s financial statements were prepared under generally accepted accounting principles? d. The company sold some of its fixed assets. 5. Bartling Energy Systems recently reported $9,250 of sales, $5,750 of operating costs other than depreciation, and $700 of depreciation. The company had no amortization charges, it had $3,200 of outstanding bonds that carry a 5% interest rate, and its federal-plus-state income tax rate was 35%. In order to sustain its operations and thus generate sales and cash flows in the future, the firm was required to make $1,250 of capital expenditures on new fixed assets and to invest $300 in net operating working capital. By how much did the firm’s net income exceed its free cash flow? c. $746.00

Alfred Adler was an Austrian psychologist and philosopher who took a laid-back yet intellectual approach to his work. He was born in Vienna on February 7, 1870 and was the third child in a Jewish family. As a young boy he developed rickets, a disease which prevented him to walk until age four. A year later he almost died while fighting pneumonia; this is when he decided he wanted to be a doctor. His obvious ailments and competition with a successful older brother sparked Adler’s interest in birth order. He felt he needed to prove himself because he felt inferior to a sibling that had no physical disabilities.

Adler received his medical degree from the University of Vienna in 1895, where he became interested in social activism and met his Russian wife. They were married in 1897 and had four children, two of which became psychiatrists. Adler was very friendly with Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and the psychosexual theory. Freud named Adler the president of the Viennese Analytic Society after they met at a discussion group in 1907. Although they remained close for ten years their views differed tremendously; in the end of their friendship Adler couldn’t stand Freud’s obsession with sex and death. He also disliked how strict his theories were.

Adler was involved in World War I, serving as a physician in the Austrian Army and then worked in a children’s hospital. When the war was over he spent his time in clinics and even trainining teachers; shortly thereafter he accepted a position at the Long Island College of Medicine and moved to the United States with his family.

Like Freud, Alfred Adler believed that personality was developed very early on in life; they both thought that by the age of five we had not only laid the ground work but had built upon that foundation of our personality. Adler was the first theorist to introduce birth order and its influence on human development. Although he was a prestigious psychologist and philosopher, he is very different from the psychologists we’ve studied. He considered birth order to be a “heuristic” idea — he said it was a useful fiction and something that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. His work was from uptight, like the rigid and strictly scientific ideas of his peers. Adler was vastly influenced by a philosopher named Hans Vaihinger, who believed that since the ultimate truth we seek as humans is beyond us, we must come up with partial truths. These “useful constructs” work for the moment and are used as place-markers, which hopefully lead us to the whole truth. We can see Vaihinger’s influence in Adler’s work not only in his birth order theory but in others as well.

Many psychologists believe that children strive to fit into pre-determined or cookie-cutter type “niches” in a family — if you think about it, there is usually an athletic child, an intelligent or overachiever-type child, and so on. These personalities differ not only because they focus on the area they’re good at, but they “adopt different strategies in the universal quest for parental favor.” It’s always a competition with siblings, for their parents’ love, affection, and time. It seems, however, that parents treat their children differently depending on their birth order or the spot they’re in. Sometimes it’s even how the parent relates to the spot itself (www.parents.com) depending on their own birth order with their siblings.

There are different categories for birth order and, with anything, there are exceptions to the rule. The categories are first-born, middle child/second child, last born/youngest child, and only children. The exceptions include blended families, twins, gap children, and adoption. “As with everything in Adler’s system, birth order is to be understood in the context of the individuals own special circumstances.” (www.webspace.ship.edu) This means that because every family dynamic is so unique, not everyone fits into the pre-determined categories and subcategories might even develop as well.

The first-born child is an experiment for the new parents; life suddenly isn’t all about them as a couple anymore, all attention is focused on the baby. The first-born child begins as an only child but as the family settles in, the second “dethrones” the first. How does the first-born react? Sometimes they may battle the new baby for their position; they’re usually jealous that most of the attention is on the second child and they’re not used to sharing their parents with anyone. Some first-born children even start acting like babies; they figure if it works for the new child why wouldn’t it work for them? As they get older they start to feel that younger siblings get away with everything; they are most likely to become the problem child, which entails disobedience and rebellion towards authority. Parents are usually very cautious and extremely attentive with their first-born; this neurotic parental behavior has a major impact on the development of their child’s personality. This may cause the first-born child to become a perfectionist, someone who always tries to please their parents. They are usually reliable, structure, cautious, controlling, and over-achievers. Despite their sibling rivalry and fight for attention, they’re usually nurturing towards the younger children and show leader qualities. As first-born children transition into adulthood, their traits aren’t lost. Most identify themselves with the traits listed above, and most shine through in their careers.

The second/middle child has the first-born paving the way for them; because their older sibling is a “pace-setter” it is only natural for the second child to become competitive. One major issue with this competition is that even if they succeed in surpassing their older sibling, they struggle with feeling the race has no finish line. It is a life-long battle with second/middle children as well as their struggle with identity; since they’re not the oldest and they’re not the youngest they subconsciously wonder “Who am I?” (www.parents.com). Middle children, unlike the first-born, tend to focus more on pleasing their peers rather than their parents. They do this because their parents are too caught up with their “beloved first-born” or the baby of the family. Middle children tend to be people-pleasers and they thrive on friendship. They tend to be part of a large social circle and are usually the peacemakers wherever they go. Middle children can be rebellious, however, and a toned down version of this crosses over into adulthood; they don’t like being told what to do and won’t take any nonsense from anyone.

The last-born/youngest child is the most pampered and spoiled; partially because they have never been dethroned by another sibling and also because there is a social stigma relating to the baby of the family. The youngest child may feel inferior because everyone else in the family is older than them and this somehow makes them superior. Some children are inspired by this, however, and they are driven to become “better” than their siblings. The younger child always wants to do everything the oldest does, and this causes a rift between the two. Last-born children are usually free-spirited, uncomplicated, fun-loving people that are social and outgoing. They can be manipulative, especially with their parents because they think they can get or do whatever they want. Most last-born children are attention-seeking and self-centered. As adults, the last-born children are simplistic in nature and are very low-key. They don’t require as much security because they received a lot of it as children.

The only-child is a unique position in the family structure. They have no one to compete with, resulting in receiving all of their parents’ attention and resources for their entire lives. Only-children are sometimes referred to as “super first-born”; they possess the qualities and characteristics of the first-born but it’s amplified. The issue with parents only having one child is that everything is on them, support and expectations. They usually have a hard time transitioning to a school setting, they’re so used to being the center of attention at home and now they have to share that with their peers. Only-children tend to be mature for their age with a very advanced sense of humor. They tend to understand sarcasm easily because they’re around adults all of them time, their vocabulary is extensive as a result. Only-children are also diligent perfectionists and show leader qualities. As adults they “may not necessarily shed their need to be model human beings” (www.parents.com) and their need for everything to be perfect sticks with them throughout their lives.

So what are the exceptions to this birth order structure? Blended families is the first, which entails divorce, remarriage, and the combining of step-children. Dr. Leman, a psychologist who has focused his studies on birth order for over 40 years, states, “Blended families don’t blend, they collide.” This happens because the first-born of one family might not be the
oldest anymore; when they are dethroned by the opposite family’s first-born they start to lash out. The youngest might not be the baby anymore, which results in the child feeling torn and confused. These children will not tailor or change their personalities as a result of this change, but if there is an infant involved they will adapt to the new family dynamic and their personality will follow suit. Twins are the second exception; they are considered “families within families” (www.parents.com) and are perceived as a single unit. A twin will either act like the first born or like the baby, they won’t show qualities of a middle child. The third exception is gap children; if there is a gap of five or more years in between children a new structure of birth order will form within that family. The fourth exception is adoption; age is a key factor in this situation. If a 2 year old is adopted into a family with a 5 year old sibling, the adopted child will take the “baby” role even though they are biologically a first-born child. However, if an 8 year old is adopted into a family with a 12 year old sibling, both will act like a first born. “You take your birth order with you, you don’t give up being first-born at this age.” (www.parents.com)

Gender also plays a role in the traditional birth order structure. If there are three or more siblings and only one is a boy, they tend to spend most of the time around women even outside of the family. Eventually he may try to prove himself and boast his masculinity. When there is a family of three or more siblings and only one is a girl, the boys may be over-protective of their only sister. This may result in two extremes; either the girl will become very feminine or she will compete with her brothers and become a tomboy. When all children are boys, the mother may dress the child in a more feminine manner because she had always wanted a girl. The same goes for the opposite, when all children are girls the mother may dress them in a more masculine manner. The child will either embrace what the parents have set for them or they will rebel.

There is one burning question in regards to birth order and human development: Who really influences the formation of a child’s personality? Studies show that siblings have an impact, peers and friends most definitely have an impact, but it is the parents or parental figures that have the most influence in this matter. According child and family therapist Meri Wallace, who has written a book called Birth Order Blues, this is because “the first year of life [entails] bonding with the primary caretaker” and this “impacts self-confidence, trust, and the ability to interact with another person.” The memories and love shared between a child and their parent leaves an impression that inevitably shapes their behavior and temperament. “Children who feel loved and secure are less likely to rebel and cause trouble than children who feel inferior.” (www.livestrong.com) Because a child’s birth order may affect their self esteem and how they view themselves, it is important for parents to know they shouldn’t compare their children; they should help their children see themselves as unique and special.

Alfred Adler’s theory has been praised and criticized; those who studied his work liked that he was very straight-forward and used a simple structure. He was very laid-back and “common-sensical”, which led his theory to be “both comfortable and highly influential.” (www.webspace.ship.edu) On the other hand, many criticized and argued whether his theory was truly scientific. He didn’t utilize anything that was measurable and didn’t include scientific variables; he used basic concepts that didn’t meet scientific standards. Adler believed that people are determined by their goals, values, and choices; he stressed that a person created their own personality. Others argue that his theory only pertains to certain people and isn’t general enough to apply it to a wider range. “All of his concepts are useful constructs, not absolute truths, and science is just a matter of creating increasingly useful constructs.” (www.webspace.ship.edu)

Alfred Adler passed away on May 28, 1937 at the age of 67; he was lecturing at Aberdeen University and suffered from a heart attack. Although his theory on birth order may not apply to every family unit, it is a rough guideline that makes sense. Adler made a lasting impact on the psychological and even social world; his work is not only interesting, it’s relatable to those that studied his theories.

Despite the important contributions of Gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis, psychology was dominated by behaviorism until World War II, particularly in the United States. With the end of the war interest in psychology increased and many people were attracted to careers in the field. Sophisticated instruments and electronic equipment became available, and a wider range of problems could be examined. This expanded program of research made it evident that earlier theoretical approaches were too restrictive.

This viewpoint was strengthened by the development of computers in the 1950s. Properly programmed computers were able to perform tasks such as playing chess and proving mathematical theorems that previously could be done only by human beings. It became apparent that the computer offered psychologists a powerful tool with which to theorize about psychological processes. A series of brilliant papers, published in the late 1950s by Herbert Simon and his colleagues indicated how psychological phenomena could be simulated using the computer (French & Colman, 1995). Many old psychological issues were recast in terms of information processing systems. The human being could now be viewed as a processor of information. The sense provide an input channel for information; mental operations are applied to the input; the transformed input creates a mental structure that is stored in memory; that structure interacts with others in memory to generate a response (French & Colman, 1995). The power of the computer permitted psychologists to theorize about complex mental processes and investigate the implications of the theory by simulating it on a computer. If the response stage of the computer simulation agreed with the observed behavior of actual people, the psychologists could have some confidence in the theory.

The information processing approach provided a richer and more dynamic approach to psychology than S-R theory with its intervening variables. Similarly, the information processing approach permitted some of the speculations of Gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis to be formulated in a precise fashion as programs in a computer; in this way, earlier ideas about the nature of the mind could be made concrete and checked against actual data.

Another factor that led to a changing viewpoint in psychology in the 1950s was the development of modern linguistics. Prior to that time, linguists were primarily concerned with a description of a language; now they began to theorize about the mental structures required to comprehend and to speak a language. Work in this area was pioneered by Noam Chomsky, whose book Syntactic Structures (1957) provided the basis for an active collaboration between psychologists and linguists. A rapid development of the field of psycholinguistics followed, providing the first significant psychological analyses of language.

At the same time, important advances were occurring in neuropsychology. A number of discoveries about the brain and the nervous system established clear relationships between neurobiological events and mental processes. It became increasingly difficult to assert as some of the early behaviorists had that a science of psychology could be established without links to neurophysiology. In the last decade, advances in biomedical technology have contributed to an explosion of research on neuropsychological correlates of normal and abnormal thought and behavior. In 1981, Roger Sperry demonstrated the interconnections of the brain and the links between certain regions of the brain and the basic thought and behavioral processes (French & Colman, 1995).

The development of information processing models, psycholinguistics and neuropsychology has produced a psychology that is highly cognitive in orientation. There is no agreed –on definition of cognitive psychology but its principal concern is the scientific analysis of mental processes and mental structures. Cognitive psychology is not exclusively concerned with thought and knowledge. Its early concerns with the representation of knowledge and human thought led to the label cognitive psychology but the approach has been expanded to all areas of psychology including motivation, perception, psychopathology and social psychology. It gained from behaviorism the emphasis on objectivity and reproducibility of findings; it seemed that psychologists are once again theorizing about the mind but this time with new and more powerful tools. Understanding how the mind works is a challenge that deserves the best intellectual effort we can put forth.

The modern cognitive psychology is in part a return to the cognitive roots of psychology and in part a reaction to the narrowness of behaviorism and the S-R view. Like the nineteenth century version the modern study of cognition is concerned with mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding and problem solving. Unlike the nineteenth century version however, modern cognitivism is not based on introspection. Thus the modern study of cognition is based of the assumptions that only by studying mental processes can we fully understand what organisms do and we can study mental processes in an objective fashion by focusing on specific behaviors but interpreting them in terms of underlying mental processes (French & Colman, 1995).

Positive psychology emerged in 2000 through the prodding of Dr. Martin Seligman, he argued that psychology has been half-baked, this means that psychology have exhausted everything about psychological problems and have discovered the most effective treatments for this problems, however the discipline has left out the study of happiness, courage, wisdom and all the positive attributes of human personality and functioning. Positive psychology is therefore the scientific study of optimal human functioning and the building of a field that focuses on human strength and virtue (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). This recent perspective argues that if we have build knowledge on the what, why and how of mental illness, is it not more sensible to develop a scientific discipline that studies the what, why and how of happiness, freedom, courage, resilience, friendship etc. which prevents mental illness from afflicting the individual (Schmuck & Sheldon, 2001). Positive psychology differs from the previous perspectives for it is specifically concerned with goodness. Previous theories have tried to understand mental processes and human behavior, positive psychology on the other hand does not concern itself with the debate of what psychology should be; mind or behavior, but rather seek to discover and understand positive emotions, behaviors and mental processes (Keyes & Haidt, 2003). It is an applied psychology for it attempts to discover the emotions, thoughts and behavior that prevent people from becoming mentally ill.

I would identify myself as a scholar practitioner who adheres to the cognitive, behaviorist and positive perspectives. It has always been my belief that human behavior is the most obvious manifestation of what a person feels and thinks. Sometimes, people do not share what it is they are going through but one can always observe it in their behavior. For example, an effective worker who always finishes her tasks before the deadline and works extra hours wholeheartedly has been coming to the office late several times a week, in this case one would notice that her being late is not congruent with her job attitude, thus another factor must be causing her tardiness. Thus, in order to find out what her problems are, one has to look for more clues in her behavior and mental processes. Cognitivism states that behavior is brought about by mental processes, thus the incongruence of her tardiness and work output must be based on some internal difficulty, such as cognitive dissonance, wherein she enjoys her job but has issues with the management, being tardy was an attempt to diffuse her internal conflict, an attempt to appease her mind on being able to express her displeasure with the management (Mathews & MacLeod, 1994). Positive psychology therefore would tell us that resiliency would have prevented this worker from being emotionally affected by the way management is treating her as well as the presence of a support group would help her deal with her difficulties. Thus, for me, in order to completely understand man, an integration of the three perspectives is necessary.

References

French, C. & Colman, A. (1995). Cognitive Psychology. New York: Longman.

Keyes, C. & Haidt, J. (2003). Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well lived.

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Mathews, A. & MacLeod, C. (1994). Cognitive approaches to emotion and emotional disorders.

Annual Review of Psychology, 45, 25-50.

Schmuck, P. & Sheldon, K. (2001). Life goals and well-being: Towards a positive psychology

of human striving. Seattle, WA: Hogrefe & Huber.

Seligman, M.  & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American

Psychologist, 55, 5–14.

Around the world, violence against women is an everyday occurrence. Up to 70 percent of women experience violence in their lifetime. In Columbia, one woman is reportedly killed by her partner or former partner every six days. In the Congo, 1,100 rapes are reported each month. In China, there have been over 250 million births that have been prevented between the years of 1980 and 2000. Over 140 million women and girls worldwide have been affected by the consequences of female genital mutilation. There is an estimate of 24 people per minute that are victims of rape.

Women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria, according to World Bank data. The statistics can go on and on because gender based violence is real, alarming and needs to be addressed. The definition of gender based violence is “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

” Throughout this paper, we will be focusing on four main topics of gender-based violence. The areas of female genital mutilation, rape, girls killed in China, and honour killings will all be addressed. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Around the world over 140 million girls and women are currently living with the consequences of these procedures. The average age to have FGM carried out is between infancy and 15, especially, between the ages of 7 and 10.

Female Genital Mutilation is categorized into four major surgeries. Type one is considered a, clitoridectomy, which is the partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris). Type two is considered an excision, which is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are “the lips” that surround the vagina).

Type three is Infibulation, the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris. Type four consists of all other surgeries and all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e. g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area. A traditional circumciser commonly performs the surgery and generally knives, scissors, razorblades, or shards of glass to make the cuts.

FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and “beautiful” after removal of body parts that are considered “male” or “unclean”. FGM is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. FGM is said to have no health benefits and only causes harm in many different ways. Many long-term consequences can include recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, cysts, infertility, and an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths.

The World Health Organization is taking the necessary steps to see this practice eradicated across the globe. In 2008 WHO together with 9 other United Nations partners, issued a new statement on the elimination of FGM to support increased advocacy for the abandonment of FGM. Female Genital Mutilation is a prime example of gender-based violence that is performed all around the world and affects millions of women. Another major gender-based violence concern is rape. Globally, women under the age of 24 suffer the most from this violent act.

The Justice Department has estimated that one in five women will be raped or sexually assaulted in their college years and only a small five percent or less of these will be reported. Women are afraid to speak up about rape because they do not think they will receive a sympathetic response. In Liberia, South Africa, and India rape is a huge problem. In 2011, Liberia reported that 68% of all reported cases were rape related and many of these were adolescents under 15. In South America it is estimated that a women has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read.

One in three of the 4,000 women questioned by the Committee of Information said that they had been raped. School aged boys were also questioned for a survey and reported that “Jackrolling”, a gang rape term, was fun. It is estimated that 500,000 rapes are committed on a yearly basis in South Africa. It is sad to think about all of the situations that go unheard and unreported. South Africa also has one of the highest rates of child and baby rape globally. In India, it is estimated that a women is raped every 20 minutes.

Knowing this statistic, it is sad that India has one of the lowest conviction rates of rapists. One incident raised awareness in India when a woman was gang raped on a city bus and died due to her injuries. Months following, more rapes similar to this were committed. Shockingly, very little action has been taken to convict these rapists or even look for them. The rape problem in India is continuing and is quite unnoticed. Women need to be encouraged to speak out when these crimes are committed. As a society, we can work to spread the word about ending rape and other sexual assaults.

By talking to women about the importance of speaking up and encouraging people to be aware of their surroundings I think that we can decrease the prevalence of rape. Rape occurs around the world because of men taking advantage of women. There is a lot of evidence stating that men feel superior to women and that it is acceptable for a man to force a women to have intercourse whether she agrees to or not. In the past, many cultures believed that wives were the properties of their husbands and that one of the rights that marriage gave to husbands and men was sex.

Another common type of gender based violence around the world and especially in Asia is killing girls at birth. Some people do not want to know whether they are having a baby boy or girl before birth, while secretly hoping for one of them. The nurse comes in with a little pink blanket and you have overwhelming joy about the birth of your new baby girl. Having a child is usually a beautiful thing. Sadly, this is not the case in all parts of the world. In parts of Asia, mainly China and India, baby girls are not wanted. There was a growing ratio of women to men which forced the state to take action. In China they have a “one-child” policy.

This means that the state forces sterilizations and abortions if a family is pregnant with two children. This being said, some parents do the deeds themselves. If a family already has a girl, they do not want another one. If they find out they have another one they will most likely get an abortion or wait until the child is born and then kill it. In some Asian cultures men are valued much more than women so the family’s want boys. Boys have been most desired for a long time because they were better for work on the farm. Today, men are most desired because once a women gets married she “belongs” to her husband.

“Baby girls are stuck in sacks and thrown in rivers, down wells, and even dumped upside-down in buckets of water” says Kristen Walker, Vice President of New Wave of Feminists. “The United Nations estimates that about 200 million girls are missing from the world due to this rampant genocide—now commonly called ‘gendercide,’” Walker says. If this continues there will be a disturbing realization when men realize that there are not women left. This practice has gone too far. In a documentary called, It’s A Girl, an Indian woman calmly explains how she killed eight of her new born babies because they are girls.

If a women did this in America she would get life in prison, but in parts of Asia it is a normal practice. It is not abnormal for parents to kill as many girls as they can until they get the baby boy that they so much desire. The killing of 200 million baby girls is going to have lasting devastating effects on their population. One last form of gender-based violence is an Honour killing. An Honour killing is an extreme form of honour based violence in which a girl acts against family ‘honour’ and is killed by the family to store ‘honour’ which has supposedly been lost through her behavior.

Honour killings may involve both sexes, but are primarily done against women, because the burden of upholding morality of a family usually falls on women. Behaviors that may provoke a family to kill their daughter are the daughter’s choice of a sexual or marital partner, her education and employment, the way the she chooses to dress, her behavior and contact with the opposite sex, her sexuality, and her general conformity to the family and community’s culture and expectations.

If a woman chooses to sway from her family’s cultural normal in these categories, her family believes she is polluting her domestic group as well as herself. This causes her family to turn to murder in order to restore their honour in the eyes of their culture. These killings may happen to girls of any age, but most victims are in their late teens and twenties, a lot of the times around the age of the first marriage. The United Nations Population Fund says that internationally there are a total of 5,000 honour killings each year.

These killings are mostly associated with the Middle East and South Asia, but also have been recorded in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. India and Pakistan have recorded rates of honour killings around 1000 per year. These killings have also been shown to happen in North America, Canada, and Australia within immigrant populations, but this phenomenon is more recent and at an early state of recognition so these records are much less organized. It is not unusual for people to quickly question why a family would kill their own daughter.

Some families that participate in honour killings would agree that the act horrendous. But when a community is bonded social ties are incredibly important, so even if a family has no desire to murder their child, pressure persuades them to choose murder over social exclusion and harassment from their community. Social pressure has the ability to force an unwilling parent to sacrifice his or her daughter for the sake of the greater good of the rest of the family. These forms of gender based violence are practiced all around the world and are quite common in many cultures.

It is horrific to think about the violence that women suffer through on a daily basis. FGM, Rape, Babies girls dying, and Honour Killings are just four of the many gender based violence acts that are being practiced today. The facts we have presented are startling, but they only scratch the surface of the gravity of what is truly going on in the world. Awareness is the first step to seeing these practices stop, and it is our part to take a stand against the violence.

The following paper will examine the concept of learning as well as how this concept of learning is related to cognition. Through this examination there will be a description of the theory of operant conditioning, a comparison and contrasting view of positive and negative reinforcement, and a determination of which type of reinforcement is most effective. Following this determination there will be a given scenario where the application of operant conditioning shapes behavior. Within this scenario will be a reinforcement schedule to achieve a selected behavior. Theory of Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning, coined and defined by B. F. Skinner in 1937 as “behavior controlled by its consequences” is in practice, not that different from instrumental learning and what most people would call habit (Staddon & Cerutti, 2003 p. 116). According to Dragoi and Staddon (1999), “theories of operant learning have traditionally emphasized static principles” (p. 20). These principles are laws for a stable equilibria that are widely independent of the organism’s previous history. In the case of operant conditioning, the matching law is the best example; “the proportion of responses to one choice alternative matches the proportion of reinforcements delivered by it” (Dragoi & Staddon, 1999 p. 20). This essentially says that for every choice a subject makes, whether it be right or wrong, the reinforcement should be of equal value no matter if it is negative or positive reinforcement. Positive or Negative Reinforcement

The following paragraphs will compare and contrast positive and negative reinforcements. To be clear “a reinforcer is anything that increases the probability of a response’s recurring” (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009 p. 75). In reference to Olson and Hergenhahn (2009), Skinner never mentioned what was a better reinforcer, positive or negative, he only mentioned that something can be ascertained as reinforcing by its effect on behavior. It should also be noted that a negative reinforcement should not be confused with punishment, which does not provide a long-term effect in behavior. Both positive and negative reinforcers can be divided into two groups, primary and secondary. Primary positive reinforcement is something that is natural and related to the survival of the subject such as food, water, warmth. A secondary positive reinforcement is any neutral stimuli that is related to the primary and takes on the primary’s characteristics (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009). Essentially, a positive reinforcer is added to a situation by a subject’s response and will increase the likely-hood of that response happening again. A primary negative reinforcement is something that is naturally harmful to the subject such as loud sounds or electrical shock. A secondary negative reinforcement is any neutral stimuli that is related to the primary and takes on the characteristics of the primary negative reinforcement (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009). Basically, this means that the removal of negative stimuli by the correct response will increase the probability of that same response’s reoccurrence. According to Kahnt et al (2009), “it is challenging to disentangle the degree to which positive and negative reinforcements contribute to learning” (p. 1333). The determination of which reinforcement works better would depend solely on the individually and what works best form them. Perhaps for the sake of this paper, both types of reinforcements could be used simultaneously to achieve a desired behavior even faster than with just one or the other. This leads to the scenario in which behavior is shaped through the process of operant conditioning, as well as the schedule of reinforcement that will be put in place. Operant Conditioning Scenario

The following scenario involves a wife Marcia and her husband Stan. Stan is a stay at home dad in charge of cooking and cleaning. Marcia works all day and comes home to no food and messy house, so naturally she nags her husband about the mess and no dinner. Marcia decides to nag her husband every day during and after work until he learns to clean up around the house. She texts him all day and gets on his case in the evening. She uses a fixed interval reinforcement schedule only because she is not around during the day to stop the nagging and can only do so once she arrives home and sees the work is done. It takes a couple of days for Stan to realize that he just needs to pick up a little and do the dishes for his wife to stop and eventually he is doing the work every day without the nagging from his wife and they are both happier for it. Conclusion

As read above, operant conditioning is a way to train an organism without punishment. Operant conditioning focuses on behavior and the way to achieving a desired behavior. There was also a look into positive and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is like a reward for desired behavior. Negative reinforcement should not be confused with a punishment. In fact, as mentioned earlier, negative reinforcement is a stimuli that is uncomfortable or slightly harmful to an organism. It is introduced to the subject before the desired behavior and then removed when the desired behavior has been reached.

References
Dragoi, V., & Staddon, J. R. (1999). The dynamics of operant conditioning. Psychological Review, 106(1), 20-61.
Kahnt, T., Park, S., Cohen, M., Beck, A., Heinz, A., & Wrase, J. (2009). Dorsal striatal-midbrain connectivity in humans predicts how reinforcements are used to guide decisions. Journal Of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(7), 1332-1345. Olson, M. H. & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Staddon, J. E. R., & Cerutti, D. T. (2003). Operant conditioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 115-44.

Robert V. Remini’s book, The Jacksonian Era, contains valuable information during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Some of the important themes that are discussed during Jackson’s presidency are slavery, the Bank War, the robed election, and some of Jackson’s past. Remini opens the book up in “A Hero For An Age” by discussing the battle of New Orleans and the importance of the engagement to the War of 1812. The American people soon realized what an accomplishment Jackson had achieved and in return gave their thanksgiving for him and his men’s victory. Remini discusses how after the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson or “Old Hickory” would be know as the “Hero of New Orleans.” The victory at New Orleans ultimately gave Jackson the presidency; no one could deny him of this.

The section continues with providing background information over Jackson and his growth as a child. Remini seemed to do this often and sometimes it seemed that every time he introduces a new character he took the time to pause and give a full biography. An example of this took place in the first chapter when introducing Jackson, which is understandable, but then it became repetitive with Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay. In both cases Remini almost gave a full biography in three-pages of each character and taking away from the main point of the section, which was if Jackson was qualified for taking the seat in the White House.

Jackson’s lack of education and experience in politics didn’t stop Calhoun and Van Buren with uniting in order to support Jackson for the 1828 election. Their organization led to the development of the Democratic Party. Both knew Jackson symbolized more than another candidate. Jackson past accomplishments turned him into a hero and someone who was the “man of the people,” who saved a nation from being over taken by Great Britain.

Towards the end of the first section Remini talked about the day of the inauguration and how spectacular it was. The way he described the inauguration with how spectacular and something that the people would never forget showed how liked Jackson was. Jackson was very committed to the idea of a democracy. His idea of democracy did not consist of a system of College Electors, where a small group of men could change the outcome of an election. Remini does a good job explaining how Jackson planned on changing the process and how he would go about amending the constitution in December 1829. What Jackson wanted for democracy was a majority rule During Jackson’s presidency there was a struggle to recharter the Second bank of the United States. Jackson’s hatred towards to BUS derived from bad early experiences as a young man. He believed that the BUS threatened individual liberty. The Bank War summed up was a power struggle between Jackson and Nicholas Biddle. Remini makes the point on whether or not the nation would be able to survive as a private democracy. His main point towards the end of the section was that the Bank War helped develop democracy within the country and Remini does a great job at explaining the situation his “The Jacksonian Era.”

One of the more important developments Remini discusses and that was part of the Jacksonian era “was the powerful urge to reform and improve society and the conditions developing from an increasingly industrial and materialistic nation.” All of the problems of the past soon faded away with the coming of the Mexican War and what it brought with it, manifest destiny. One of things that were enjoyable about the book was that Remini talked in-depth of Jackson’s goals. Jackson had a vision of an empire that would cover all of Spanish North America and he would take the initiative by seizing Florida, subduing the Indians along the southern border, and led to the negotiation of other territories.

Before Jackson’s death he had given warning to the dangers of slavery and what the consequences would be if the union broke under pressure. That it would take “oceans of blood and hundreds of millions of money to repair.” And shortly after two decades Jackson’s prediction came to life and solved with a horrifying civil war.

——————————————–
[ 1 ]. Ibid 18
[ 2 ]. Ibid 18
[ 3 ]. Ibid 21
[ 4 ]. Ibid 32
[ 5 ]. Ibid 39
[ 6 ]. Ibid 42
[ 7 ]. Ibid 73
[ 8 ]. Ibid 109
[ 9 ]. Ibid 121

In defining political legitimacy, theorists Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Emma Goldman each put forth a distinct set of values that frame their view on a government’s right to rule. Hobbes, a strong proponent to the right of self-preservation, claims that the protection of life is the only criterion required for a government to be legitimate.

On the other hand, John Locke believes that governments should not only preserve life, but also allow for individual liberties and protection of private property, while Emma Goldman maintains the belief that governments use coercion to take away freedoms and therefore should never, under any circumstances, be considered legitimate.

Locke’s argument on political legitimacy, that more than just one value is needed to make a legitimate government, is compelling because his criterion protects more than just the life of citizens, it allows for individual’s to have their own liberties free from an oppressive sovereign and prevents the dangers posed by absolute freedom. This paper will set up the lines of government for each theorist and explain why Locke’s perspective on a representative government with separation of powers is more compelling than Goldman’s absence of government and Hobbes’ belief in a sovereign rule.

Throughout his work entitled Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes argues that the right to self-preservation takes precedence above individual liberties. In the state of nature, man is given the right to do whatever he deems necessary to preserve his own life. Man can therefore commit injury to another man or his property if he thinks it is best to maintain his own life. This state of nature, being naturally quarrelsome, leads to distrust and competition, and encourages dangerous acts and widespread fear.

There are no limits on the injuries or vengeance that can occur within this state and as a result, citizens find themselves in need of protection from the violence of others. The Hobbesian covenant thus creates government, by placing all power in the hands of a sovereign, to quell their fears and provide for their protection, thus establishing a state of peace. In establishing a covenant and a government, Hobbes provides the natural law that “a man be willing, when others are so too, as far-forth, as for peace, and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things,” (Hobbes 80).

This means that in order to protect himself, and finding others that desire their own protection above other things, man will give up all of his rights to a sovereign rule. Hobbes argues that failure to relinquish all rights to one ruler will place the covenant back into a state of nature. The sovereign, having been given all rights of the covenant has absolute power and can dictate all laws and grant or withhold all freedoms. He is not to abide by any laws himself, if so he becomes subject to the commonwealth that he rules, therefore forfeiting his absolute power.

The covenant however, is not obligated to obey the sovereign in the event that his rule threatens their right to self- preservation. This right being primary in Hobbes’ view is the only thing which individuals ought to place above all other obligations, whether those duties are to their sovereign or fellow man. If it happens that the sovereign is in any way interfering with the right to self-preservation, a value held above all obligations and liberties of the commonwealth, members of the covenant may defy his commands and thrust themselves back into a state of war.

This however, does not dissolve the commonwealth; it only removes an individual from the commonwealth. By dissolving government and the common wealth, the sovereign’s removal from power places the covenant into that same state of nature from which they came and they then must establish a new commonwealth and sovereign power. Therefore, the only way a sovereign power can be removed is upon death, though this often results in the succession of another sovereign, either by the predecessor’s choice or by election.

Whereas Thomas Hobbes believes that an absolute sovereign government is the only form of legitimacy, Emma Goldman differs by claiming that no government is legitimate because they take away freedoms. Goldman puts forth the theory that individuals, given absolute freedom, have the ability to govern themselves and coexist peacefully in social harmony supplied by the solidarity of interests. The threat of violence and fear stem from the coercive actions used by any and all ruling governments.

It is the belief that governments prevent us from doing what we want and force us to do things we don’t want to, Goldman says, that allow governments to “rest on violence, and are therefore wrong and harmful,” (Goldman 17). These governments harm individuals by “stealing in the form of taxes, [and] killing in the form of war and capital punishment,” (Goldman 20). Since anarchism claims that violence by government harms citizens, governments cannot provide protection for citizens.

Because of her insistence that governments, being coercive and harmful, are never legitimate, Goldman fails to even consider the origins of government and the limits of their powers such as Hobbes and Locke have. She asserts that coercive governments use the threat of force and violence against citizens to control them, leading governments to pursue “the absolute subordination of the individual,” thus limiting all freedoms and liberties that in a free state, the individual would have access to, (Goldman 19).

The subordination of the people by government, degrading the population to mundane obedience, creates an environment that is colorless and spiritless. Instead of adhering to the control of corrupt institutions, Goldman urges individuals to break the coercive hold of governments, defy all authority and pursue the freedoms they would acquire within a state social harmony exempt from authoritative rule.

Locke, holding the belief that Hobbes’ rights of the sovereign would lead to tyranny, and that Goldman’s value of absolute freedom would produce a weak and chaotic society without laws, makes a case for government that combines the best of Goldman and Hobbesian theories. Locke’s view on political legitimacy allows for a government with separate powers, so as not to become tyrannical, and for liberties provided to citizens under government rule to encourage freedom and equality. Under Locke’s state of nature, all man is made equal by the decree of God.

Each man must preserve himself, but also under God’s power, has a duty to maintain peace amongst the whole of mankind. This view of equality, over Hobbes’ factor of diffidence, as a main quality in the state of nature thus leads to a more dispersed and equal government, as opposed to Hobbes’ government in which all power is placed in one ruler. In a Lockian government, power is divided into the legislative and the executive, this separation of power keeps one person from having complete control over

another, and the legislative and executive, according to Locke “have rules also of appointing and conveying the right to those who are to have any share in the public authority,” (Locke 101). This means that all legislative and executive bodies of governing are bound by the own laws which they make, so as not to become corrupt, tyrannical and illegitimate. Locke, in agreeing with Hobbes, realizes that governments should be established for the protection of the people; however he also notes that protecting an individual’s life should not be their only function.

The primary values Locke gives of life, liberty and property, claim that governments have a duty to not only protect the life of an individual, but protect their property and provide them with liberties as well. He agrees with Goldman that the freedom of the individual is an important value not to be overlooked, and maintains the provision that legitimate governments must provide and protect citizen’s rights. Nevertheless, Locke does not go so far as to guarantee the absolute freedom that Goldman presents.

He predicts that complete freedoms will lead society on a dangerous path and that laws are put in place to police self-interests and prevent man from causing harm to one another. Locke also refutes the Hobbesian notion that only the sovereign has the power to dictate which liberties to provide and which to withhold. He asserts that individuals must be given fundamental rights which no authority has the power take away. Regarding property rights, Locke produces the “Labor Theory of Value” in which common property, when mixed with labor, becomes the private property of those who labored on it.

Governments cannot allocate this property otherwise and it must be entrusted to its rightful owner. On the dissolution of government, Locke advances the right of the populace to establish new institutions of government if the former has become corrupt and oppressive. Locke approaches the dissolution of governments by arguing that individuals have the right to rebel against governments that are found to be illegitimate. He claims that governments are illegitimate when they “are altered without the consent and contrary to the common interest of the people,” (Locke 109).

He asserts that in this event, individuals are obligated to rebel and create a new governing body that responds to their wishes, thus giving rights of directing the government to its creators and maintaining that the commonwealth is guaranteed some amount of power over its government. Locke’s concept of political legitimacy is compelling because it allows for cooperation between the public and government which prevents the possibility of tyranny that is derived from Hobbes’ theory.

His theory of legitimacy also protects life, property and the liberties of people while preventing any dangers to the public that can be drawn from Goldman’s theory that no government is better than some government. At length, Locke’s theory, which successfully combines the values of separate authoritative powers, government protections, and individual liberties, establishes a society in which there is a fair and equal relationship between the commonwealth and its ruling institution.

Can global environmental politics help address local developmental concerns?

Introduction

            Global environmental politics forms the best platform for addressing the global and local developmental issues.  This is mainly due to the recent realization of the interconnected nature of the global environment and the inability to solely address the resultant problems.  Sustainability as a concept has dawned globally with great emphasis that reveals the precarious nature of the globe’s resources under the current consumerism patterns.  Notably, all aspects of the local and international development are entirely dependent on the environmental resources a notion that has called for inclusive research and better management of global ecosystems through global policies and regulations (Chasek, 2006, pp. 85-90).

            Global environmental politics is the relationship between the global political forces and the environmental changes as a result of exploitation and consumption of its components.  Local developmental issues are the grassroots problems assimilated from economic activities that must exploit the environment resources for progress to be realized.  Notably, the latter is largely shaped by global politics which have taken a center stage in dictating the orientation of local policies which are totally inclined towards sustainable utilization of the natural resources.

Overview of the paper

            This paper explores the rise of global environmental politics as a mode of addressing the emergent developmental problems.  Using examples, the paper examines various problems that have warranted international consideration as the only mode of addressing them.  To add to that, the paper explores the implication of various global policies and agreements that have been established as well as the localized capacities and will to articulate use them.  With reference to specific development problems, the paper explores the emergent conflicts at the global and local arena with emphasis on environmental justice.  The essay also provides strong counterarguments that briefly explore the opposing school of thought.

Background of environmental politics and developmental concerns

            Notably, environmental politics has a strong historical connotation anchored in communities’ management of their resources.  The management of the resources was however much simplistic and therefore viewed from a local point of view that turned to be very ineffective (Miller, 1995, pp. 54-57).  However, the current global environmental politics has been linked to the onset of industrial revolution which formed the basis of the present day complex problems.  Particularly, it was during the last quarter of the 20th century when international politics took a center stage through conventions like Rio Summit, agreements, protocols like Kyoto, and regional cooperation like EU were established to address these problems.  Presently, global environmental politics defines exploration and harvesting of the resources, processing particulars and consumption of final products.  All the local developmental issues have been defined and operationalization policies that guide them outlined.  Mukund (1997, pp. 71-73) indicates that most of the current resources exploitation and consumerism patterns can be solved effectively but laments that there lacks the necessary goodwill.

International institutions and emergent systems

(a)    United Nation Convention on Human Environment (UNCED)

            This was one of the first responses to complexities of the emergent developmental issues.  The convention was held in Stockholm in 1972 and served as the initial platform for the present global environmental politics (Gareth, Brown and Chasek, 2000, 45-47).  During this convention, the UN member states agreed to entrench the necessary framework as the major international authority in all issues dealing with environment.  In the convention, the developed nations presented industrial related problems like water pollution and human industrial-systems biological problems.  On the other hand, the developing countries indicated underdevelopment mainly borne of poor technological and financial capacity to install effective systems.  Therefore, the United Nations Environmental Program was established with an overall mandate projected at addressing all the developmental issues and environmentally related problems.  It was from this meeting that proliferation of international cooperation, emergence of inter-governmental cooperation for multilateral cooperation policy making sprouted. Therefore, the global politics took a different turn where decisions making aspects started drifting from the local administration grip to the international stetting (Wagner, 2007, pp. 611-615).

(b)   Earth summit (United Nations Conventions on Environment and development)

            Following the establishment of UNEP, it became clear that developmental issues posted one of the mammoth local and international problems.  By this time, controversies reigned between economists and environmentalists on the cut line between the two in terms of resources ownership, exploitation, and waste management.  Dauvergne (2005, pp. 88-91) argues that the quagmire still remains a major issue of concern especially in the third world countries.  With poor comprehension of interlink between environment and development, most of the resources were exploited without intra and intergenerational equity consideration.  However, the problem was resolved with revelation of the following underlying issues;

The natural resources are infinite and not finite
The environment is the source of all natural resources used for economic purposes
Lack of resilience enhancing mechanism would reduce the overall ability of the resources to serve mankind.
Resources should be utilized in a sustainable mode for inter and intra-generational equity.
Of greater effect from this meeting was the ability to present the world development issues as they were and provide workable solutions.  According to miller (1995, pp. 102-104), the developed countries shouldered more blame for the fast deterioration of natural environment due to their consumerism patterns.  With the global cooperation and the need for harmony and development being the core icon for most of the countries that were stabilizing from the Second World War and colonization, the extended administration was of great importance.  Therefore, the convention called for establishment of entities that have stronger authority of ensuring that all the development issues were addressed.

l  Agenda 21 and developmental issues solution

            As Lipschutz (2004, pp. 112-114) notes, Rio Summit’s main outcome was Agenda 21 which is considered to be one of the most comprehensive policies to have ever been produced by UN.  Lipschutz continues to say that after realizing the need for exploiting the resources in a sustainable mode, the international community shifted their outlook that saw the prior divisions especially between the developed and the developing countries ebb out with speed.  AS indicated earlier, the meeting dissected all the problems of the globe with sincerity and thoroughness and derived the most professional decisions in addressing present and future problems of the globe.  It did set the stage for the formation of later agreements and conventions that would emphasis its components were applied locally by the member states.

(c)     Basel Convention on Control of Trans boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal

            This convention took place in 1992 and sought to address issues related to waste management.  By this period and presently too, the globe was faced with increasing piles of wastes that were poorly disposed due to lack of effective legislations that would effectively address it.  Following her intensive research on movement of Trans-boundary movement of hazardous chemicals in the environment, Rachael Carson revealed how localized activities affect not only the neighboring ecosystems but also those at far distances (Ronnie, 2004, pp. 74-76).  Therefore, the convention established the binding principles that called for treatment and recycling of all the wastes before it was released into the environment.  The convention also established a ban for shifting hazardous wastes from one region to another by the member states.  This convention has been built upon by the later systems where massive upgrading has seen emergence of the hybrid Environmental Management Systems and ISO organizations.

(d)   United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto protocol

            Global warming and climate change are two terms that have sank into the international community, states, institutions, and individual with mixed reactions due to the shocking revelation of its effects.  This convention was a progress derivation of the Rio Summit recommendation of Agenda 21.  The Conference was established to address the major causes of global warming.  It established a secretariat that saw the later formation and operationalization of the Kyoto Protocol.  It also identified the major causes of global warming and the extended effects that gave the desire to raise the overall authority in controlling the dangerous phenomena.

            Therefore, Kyoto Protocol followed in 1997 after an intensive period of research into the green house gases, their dynamics and link to global warming and climate change.  The protocol has formed one of the most important fulcrums that cut across the developed and developing countries with authority (Gareth et al, 2000, pp. 64-65).  It gave an operationalization framework that seeks to reduce green house gases to the levels that are harmless to human beings and the natural systems.  Particularly, the protocol is guided by the principle of commitment, implementation, minimization, accounting, and compliance of the system by the member countries.  Collectively, it requires that developed countries reduce their green hose gases production levels of 1990s with 5.2% by the period 2008-2012.  Of greater significance is the protocol’s provision for compliance path and incentives that are sensitive of the development stages of different states.

            Other important conventions on the play at the global environmental politics include the convention on biological diversity, Ramser convention on wetlands of international importance, and the law of the sea.  Arguably, since the provision of agenda 21, environmental management has shifted from global to regional emphasis where pressure for compliance is becoming more intrinsic (Ronald, 2000, pp. 19-20).

Localized developmental issues

l   Lack of adequate market for goods and products

            Poor market systems have been cited as a major obstacle to development especially for the developing countries.  Chapter two of Agenda 21 called for secure, equitable, open, and non discriminatory trading system where tariff and non-tariff barriers are eliminated.  This system allows for better flow of goods and services globally and promotes healthy competition.  This issue has been seen by many of the developing countries to be the missing link for their goods to access international markets.  Clifford and Clifford (2007, pp. 196-200) argues that though it might not be the major cause of amalgamation by most of the present economic groupings, the call by the Rio Summit and emphasis on its benefits played a vital role in convincing states to merge.  Through cooperation, it becomes easy to access technology and improve production systems via specialization.

            Globally, the environmental politics have taken a turn where ethical stewardship is demanded for admission into an economic block.  In EU, it is a requirement that all the goods and services accessing the market to the member states employ the most effective and environmentally friendly systems in their production systems.  In the year 2007, China products were denied access to the EU market due to its environmentally unfriendly production processes.  Besides, EU and Australia have established effective green labels for compliance by the local products a system which has seen drastic rise in utility and demand of the same goods (Porter and Reinhardt, F.L. 2007, pp. 24-25).

            Besides, international politics have over the years called for use of cost effective systems in production of goods and services to enhance quality in order to be able to compete in the global arena.  Agenda 21 and Kyoto protocol have indicated that adequate financial systems should be established and macroeconomic approaches established to reduce reliance on the local market by the smaller economies.

l   Pollution of the ecosystems

            According to Lipschutz (2004, pp. 120-125), pollution has been a developmental issue since historical times and can only be resolved via international global politics.  Air pollution has been the major cause of climate change a phenomena that has extended natural and human negative effects globally.  Pollution has been linked with major upper respiratory problems to the people.  It has also been cited as one of the major cause of Ozone layer depletion system in the atmosphere.  To add to that, it is the major cause of global warming and climate change.  Though analysts have tried to argue on a different note to justify emissions, it has resulted to excess thawing of the polar icecaps.  Kyoto protocol has called for reduction of the green house gases into the atmosphere a system which has been taken with great emphasis by countries like Australia, EU members and Netherlands. Notably, the protocol has established effective systems for encouraging countries to comply like carbon trading and green projects.

            United Nations Environmental Program, Basel Convention, Ramser convention, and the Convention on Biological diversity have over the years called for proper waste management and concerns for the quality that enhances the ability of the resource to continuously regenerate and remain abundant for later generations.  Convention on biological diversity acknowledges that the most important aspect for enhancing biodiversity conservation is through maintenance of their ecosystems (Ronnie, 2004, pp. 74-76).  Many countries have appreciated the importance of tourism and embraced the international ideals of in situ and ex-situ conservation.

l  Waste management

            Since the onset of industrialization wastes releases into the ecosystems has been a thorn in the fresh.  However, international politics have played a major role in enhancing the use of modern technology in treatment of this waste.  Previously, waste management was considered as part of the major externalities that could be avoided.  However, regional cooperation like EU have been strongly emphatic on the need to use the main principles of waste management as indicated by the Basel convention.  Companies operating in any of the member states like Coca Cola are required to ensure that they reduce their materials that result to major wastes especially at the source. Besides, they are also required to recycle most of the recyclable wastes and reuse it back in the production systems. It is also a requirement that they treat their wastes before disposing it off to the environment.

l   Desertification and declining forest cover

            As indicated earlier, developmental issues cannot be addressed in isolation and therefore require cooperation between states in addressing the problem holistically.  Desertification is a multidimensional problem that affects development very negatively.  It reduces the agricultural communities’ capacity to effectively manage their economic activities.  Globally, the most affected areas include the Sahara, the drier Australian desert regions, and Thar Desert areas in the Middle East.  Provision of drought resistant species, training in modern ranching techniques, and alternative economic activities has been established to assist these communities.  Of greater importance is the emphasis on irrigation systems and harnessing of solar energy from these regions to increase their overall productivity (Ronnie, 2004, pp. 74-76).  Besides, major afforestation systems as provided for by the Kyoto protocol have been established in major highlands and buffer sections to counter the deserts’ progress.

Counterarguments

            Though global environmental politics have played a major role in addressing the developmental issues, analysts have continuously questioned the persistence similar problems locally.  In deed, some of them argue that the world seem to be getting worse.  Besides, others especially those drawn from the developing countries have indicated that the global environmental politics is a system that aims at perpetuating extended rule by the developed countries globally.  Though these arguments have some elements of truth, it is clear that they are one sided in that the present development issues are no longer imaginary but proven through effective scientific research.  To add to that, the views are far fetched in that many of the countries have accepted to take responsibilities regarding their former activities that may have compromised the later development ability of various states.  Impartiality is however very emphatic with the Kyoto protocol that classifies various states and their emissions reduction requirements depending on the levels of industrialization (Eva et al, 2009, pp. 79-85).

Summary and conclusion

            The Future of the global environmental politics in addressing the major developmental issues remains the most viable option due to its ability cut across the major eco-political and social-cultural demands of the different states.  These politics not only point out the problems, but provide the respective frameworks to guide the initiatives of addressing them.  However, the emerging misunderstanding especially with regard to regional conflicts and international nuclear weapons proliferation forms a major setback that seeks to widen the gap between various countries and regions.  To add to that, economic recession has revived the notion of the differences between the North ; South and West and East a system that can kill the long sought coope4ration and harmony in addressing the local problems with global solutions.  All countries should therefore operate in harmony and seek to reach others by establishing similar platforms for operations that not only resolve their problems, but deletes the sense of sabotage completely.

Reference list

Clapp, J. 2001. Toxic Exports: The Transfer of Hazardous Wastes from Rich to Poor Countries. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press

Clifford, I. ; Clifford, M. 2008. Environmental politics: An evaluation of global and regional conventions and agreements application effects.  Journal of Environmental Management, 102(45):196-205

Chasek, P., Downie, D., Brown, W. ; Gareth, P. 2006. Washington: West view Press.

Gareth, P., Brown, W. ; Chasek, P. 2000. Global Environmental Politics. New York: Sage.

Porter, M.E. and Reinhardt, F.L. 2007. ‘A Strategic Approach to Climate Change’, Harvard Business Review, 85(10),22-26

Eva, L., Teresia, R. ; Joakim, N. 2009. Closing the Legitimacy Gap in Global Environmental Governance?: Lessons from the Emerging CDM Market . Journal of Environmental politics, 9(2): 74-100

Miller, M. 1995. The Third World in Global Environmental Politics. Bonn: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Muse, P. 2005. Global environmental politics. Geneva: MIT Press

Mukund, G. 1997. Global environmental politics: India and the North-South politics of global environmental issues. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dauvergne, P. 2005. Handbook of global environmental politics. Los Angeles: University of California.

Ronald, B. 2000. Earth Report 2000: Revisiting the True State of the Planet. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Ronnie, D. L. 2004.  Global Environmental Politics: Power, Perspectives, and Practice. London: CQ Press.

Wagner, M. (2007) ‘Integration of Environmental Management with Other Managerial Functions of the Firm: Empirical Effects on Drivers of Economic Performance’, Long Range Planning, 40: 611-628

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When you think of welfare what comes to your mind? For most people they think its money that helps those people who are struggling to get by and need help. In today’s society there are more people who use their welfare money to buy drugs instead of diapers for their infant children. Checking people for drugs that receive pubic assistance would not only save money, but then those people may have a better chance when they continue into the workforce. Others think that drug testing people who receive assistance is discrimination and a violation of privacy. In the state of Arizona welfare recipients are asked three questions about drug use. If they answer yes to any of the following questions then they are sent to drug testing. If they test positive for drugs then they lose their benefits for a year. This is a good way to start looking into drug testing welfare recipients; you’re not spending a bunch of money doing random testing you are only testing those that answer yes to certain questions as they have started doing in the state of Arizona. According to Chris Gentilviso As of April 11, 2013 it was reported that North Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, Washington, Virginia, New Hampshire, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas have all proposed various drug testing bills.

The Associated Press reports that the Minnesota House was immersed in a long winding debate on how to finance the states upcoming health and human services budget. Of all the 87-amendments that are on the table drug testing for welfare is one of them many people are hoping passes. Doing the drug testing is not meant to hurt anyone; it’s just eliminating those people who are using their welfare money in the wrong purposes. Drug testing these people on welfare can be thought of as “win-win” situation because it can help those who are dependent on drugs get out of it. The purpose in welfare money is to help people better themselves and get their life back. Simple way to look at it, if you don’t want to be drug tested then don’t take and or apply for welfare. Many people don’t like the idea of people being drug tested. As Alan Greenbelt states in his article “Should Welfare Recipients Get Drug Testing” Kelly, who has served in the Kansas state House since 2005 says “I get a lot of constituents who mention their frustrations with neighbors they know are receiving some sort of public assistance,” she says. “They don’t feel the money’s being used right when they know that drugs are being used in the house, and I would concur with that.” Why not just test everyone then. It wouldn’t be that hard to do, start with making it a requirement to get a driver’s license you have to take a drug test and every time you renew it you have to take another.

The taxpayers that are paying for the welfare benefits deserve to know that the people receiving the benefits are not using their own limited funds or the public funds being provided to them for drugs. It’s harsh to say but simple as if you want to do illegal drugs, then don’t ask your community for financial support. If you want help to get off drugs that’s a whole different story versus people abusing the welfare benefits by using that money for drugs. Welfare is not a right it’s a privilege to have. In the workforce most areas not, you need to pass a drug test. If you can’t pass, you don’t get the job. If you might lose your welfare benefits because you failed the test you may think twice and reach for help. If they can drug test people in the military, police officers, teachers and other people involved in public safety, why not have the people we put into office be drug tested also so we are all reassured they are not under the influence when voting for importing things for our government. Just because some people are in a position of power does not mean they should be automatically trusted.

A good purpose of drug testing people on welfare is not to hurt them or make them suffer it’s mainly to help them get their life back together. In today’s economy the welfare system can be easily abused, but there are also plenty of people that receive benefits and don’t abuse it.

The people that don’t support random drug testing have probably seen the poverty some people have to live through but never have experienced what it was like. The saying you don’t know someone until you have walked in their shoes. Government assistance is good for those people who don’t abuse it and are willing to follow the rules no matter how silly or degrading they may seem. Random drug testing is not meant to hurt people or make them feel degraded it’s only to eliminate those who abuse the assistance and help others who really need the help. I support random drug testing and believe there is nothing wrong with the government wanting to do so.  People who receive welfare benefits should not only be drug tested but if they cannot get a job then they should be required to help with some community service to show their appreciation. If you can’t find a job or keep a job you should only be allowed to receive benefits for a limited length of time. If a person is receiving benefits they should be clean of drugs, and that person should be willing to do service work. I’m not talking about the elderly or ill who are physically not capable of getting a job, I’m talking about those people who sit at home all day and are perfectly capable of getting a job if they wanted to better themselves.

It will only better the community and solve many problems the government has by random drug testing people who are taking advantage of the system.

Do you ever hear about the problems with “the scientific method” well if never heard about it you might want to stay tuned. For many scientists, the effect is especially troubling because of what it exposes about the scientific process. If replication is what separates the rigor of science from the squishiness of pseudoscience, where do we put all these rigorously validated findings that can no longer be proved? Which results should we believe? Francis Bacon, the early-modern philosopher and pioneer of the scientific method, once declared that experiments were essential, because they allowed us to “put nature to the question. But it appears that nature often gives us different answers. Now a man named Gary Garber says the term “scientific method,” he explains, isn’t even something scientists themselves came up with. It was invented by historians and philosophers of science during the last century to make sense of how science works. Unfortunately, he says, the term is usually interpreted to mean there is only one, step-by-step approach to science. In fact there is many ways to find the answer to something and people can find or choose a way to find the answer they are looking for. If you don’t believe you might want to know that Physicists are scientists who study how particles such as electrons, ions and protons behave. Geologists, scientists who study the history of Earth as recorded in rocks, won’t necessarily do experiments and both of these two types of scientists that might not follow the method at all most of the time. Even thou that some teachers tell and show why scientific method is important by doing labs and writhing about what happens in the labs is not always showing or expanding about the scientific method. Now you know about the problems will you stay tune to find out what I think about the scientific method?

I feel the scientific method can be a myth or a real process that might have problems that scientist might have to fix because by me reading article I have to say that I believe that it has problems some times that doesn’t make sense. But if you still don’t believe try finding what happens to water if you compress it more and more and more… (It can’t just disappear); with the science method. Also I would like to help to prove the method is real or help fix the method’s problems. I agree with the author’s writing because base on what the author wrote is or may be fun to experiment with the scientific method in different labs to test if it is true. I found interesting that the upside is scientists also recognize something that few students do: Mistakes and unexpected results can be blessings in disguise. Also I found interesting that three times a year, Lollie Garay and her middle school students at the Redd School in Houston storm onto a southern Texas beach and there, this science teacher and her class collect seawater samples to understand how human actions affect local water.

Contemporary Diversity Issues: Communication Patterns in Africa

Introduction

            Sociolinguists take the community in which these languages serve as a means of communication. Social development in Africa has not proceeded at an equal pace. As a result, the roles that languages may play within a larger community, such as the modern country, are bound to be unequal. Some languages expand; become Lingua francas, while others shrink and possibly die out, language death is seen as a great bad event by linguists because a valuable source for studying linguistic structures disappears. The sociolinguist looks upon this with more equality—in times of social change, this is a normal happening. Languages die out when they can no longer serve their community as an enough tool of social interaction. Another language takes the place of the dying language and grows in size and importance (Mansour, 1993 p.11).

            South African society is characterized by so much diversity. The society is multiracial, multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual. Indeed, the diversity present in contemporary South Africa is evidently nowhere manifested more clearly than in the case of language. In addition to Africans and English, which during the apartheid era served as the country’s main and official languages, nine native African Languages and five Indian languages are spoken. The picture is further changed by the presence of a number of immigrant languages, languages used primarily or exclusively for religious purposes, and various kinds of nonstandard and koine languages (Rosenthal, 2000 p.255).

Discussion

Education and Bilingualism (2-Language Spoken)

            Despite this high degree of linguistic diversity, which is far from uncommon in “developing societies, South Africa, nonetheless, also shares a number of linguistic characteristics with the world’s developed” nations. The country’s linguistic diversity includes a language of wider communication, English, which is spoken throughout the country and by members of virtually all of the different ethnolinguistic or the ethnic language groups. There is a high level and degree of bilingualism and even multilingualism (many languages), reflecting the educational level of the population as well as the extensive intergroup contact that continues, in spite of the legacy of apartheid (a time period of language development), to characterize South African society (see Kasdiula & Anthorussen, 1998). Moreover, although still far too low to be acceptable, and certainly not equal toward certain groups at the expense of others, the literacy rate in South Africa is categorized into third world standards, if not by Western ones (we, e.g., French, 192; National Education Policy Investigation. 1993b; cited in Rosenthal, 2000 p.257). Although, it is obviously not possible to provide a complete survey of the linguistic situation in contemporary South Africa here, it is appropriate for this diversity to be briefly discussed at this point (Mowlana, 1997 p.135). There are also a number of immigrant languages currently m use in South Africa including Tamil, Hindi, Tengu, Gujarati, and Urdu, which are all spoken in the Indian community, Chinese and a variety of languages used by European immigrant groups (Krupnick and Cress, 2005 p.18). With our overview of the South African linguistic situation completed, we can now turn to an analysis of the historical development of language policies in South African education (Mowlana, 1997 p.136).

Historical Relationships of Communication Mediums

            Afrikaans and English served historically as the two official languages of the Republic of South Africa, both before and during the apartheid era, and were constitutionally guaranteed equality of treatment in the country Afrikaans, a Germanic language derived Largely from Dutch, is the native Language of the majority of White South Africans. It is also the native language of the majority of so-called ‘Colored” South Africans, though the Afrikaans that is generally spoken by members of this group is quite distinct from Standard Afrikaans. English is spoken as a first language by significant numbers of South Africans, the overwhelming majority of whom are Whites (though the Indian English-speaking community is also significant). Both languages are widely understood and spoken as second languages throughout southern Africa, and there is a high degree of bilingualism in the two official languages among educated South Africans (Mowlana, 1997 p.135). The relationship between these two languages historically has been that Afrikaans is far more established as a home language in South Africa, whereas English is important as a second, socially, economically, and internationally useful language. At the same time, the affective or attitudinal status of Afrikaans and English, especially among the Black population, differs significantly. Whereas Afrikaans has historically been seen as the language of the oppressor, and remains to some extent closely identified with the Afrikaner establishment and with policies of apartheid (as the 1976 Soweto uprising made clear; see Reagan. 1985, 1987a; cited in Rosenthal, 2000 p.256). English has in recent years been generally seen as the language of liberation.” Despite this characterization of the two languages; however, it should be stressed that both views have been under increasing attack in recent years as far too simplistic (Reagan. 1986a. 1956b; Webb. 1992; cited in Rosenthal, 2000 p.256). Although not used as native Languages in South Africa, Arabic, Hebrew, and Sanskrit are also used in specific religious contexts. In short, South Africa Is linguistically, as well as in many other ways, a highly complex society in which language, ethnicity, race, and ideology interacts in interesting and unusual ways.

Communication and Language Struggle in Africa

            The taalstryd, or “language struggle”, has been a central point of disagreement and debate throughout the history of South Africa, especially in the educational sphere. Under the apartheid regime, the language-medium question was most controversial in Black education where the policy of initial mother tongue instruction was widely denounced as an attempt to retribalize Black South Africans (Mowlana, 1997 p.137). To some extent, though, it must be remembered that the mother tongue policy was in fact a reflection of the historical language struggle that took place in the White community of South Africa in the 19th and early 20th centuries; that struggle deeply influenced both White perceptions and government policy with regard to language policies in education. This earlier language struggle had focused in part on the rights of Afrikaners to educate their children in their mother tongue, in the face of ongoing efforts of Anglicization.

            Although the tensions between English and Afrikaans were never eliminated, government policies of what might be termed active official bilingualism, coupled with English  and Afrikaans speakers attending their own-medium schools, mitigated what tensions existed. Language remained a highly controversial issue in Black education throughout the apartheid era (Alexander. 1990; Hartshorne, 1987; Marivate, 1993: Reagan, 1984. 1986a, 1986c). Somewhat ironically, it was the Afrikaner government that supported mother tongue schooling for Blacks, whereas Blacks themselves, for the most part, opposed such schooling (Vanelisti, 2003 p.247). It is this irony that provides, at least in part. a key to understanding the apartheid-era, indeed, much of the post apartheid debate on language policy in South African education. The apartheid era consistently favored mother tongue schooling for Blacks (and, in fact, for almost all children in the country. but for arguably quite different reasons than those used to defend mother tongue instruction for White children (Vanelisti, 2003 p.247). It is clear that mother tongue programs for Blacks not only were consistent with the ideology of apartheid, but also functioned as one of the pillars of apartheid in perpetuating both racial and ethnolinguistic divisions in South African society (see Reagan, 198*). Mother tongue schooling for Blacks was employed from the passage of the Bantu Education Act of 1953 to the end of the apartheid era to support the social and educational goals of Verwaerdian-style apartheid (Mansour, 1993 p.13). The apartheid regime used such programs to reinforce ethnic and tribal identity among Black schoolchildren, seeking to ‘divide and conquer” by encouraging ethnolinguistic division within the Black community.

Conclusion

            This was clearly the case in South Africa, and though few Black was taken in by the rhetoric of pluralism, the same cannot be said for much of the South African educational establishment, which began utilizing the language of multiculturalism and cultural pluralism toward the end of the apartheid era. The real problem that now confronts educators and language planners alike in the South African context is how the realities of cultural and linguistic diversity can be dealt with in an equitable and just manner.

References

Krupnick, G. A., & Cress, J. W. (2005). Plant Conservation: A Natural History Approach. University of Chicago Press.

Mansour, G. (1993). Multilingualism and Nation Building. Multilingual Matters.

Mowlana, H. (1997). Global Information and World Communication: New Frontiers in International and World Communication. SAGE.

Vangelisti, A. L. (2003). Handbook of Family Communication. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

 

What allows you to huddle around a TV, get immersed in the screen, and get an adrenaline pump? I’ll tell you what it is, it’s playing video games that many claim to be “too violent” * Within the span of a couple of decades, video games have evolved from simple pixels moving across a screen to virtually lifelike images and simulation * Video games have quickly become one of the most influential and profitable sources of entertainment worldwide. * If you look at many children and young adults today, you can see that almost all their leisure time falls within time spent playing video games or watching television.

* However, some controversy also follows this technology as many people claim it harms society more than it benefits it. * Video games accomplish a lot of things such as providing leisure, promoting certain products, or even as an aid for education. The question at hand is whether violent video games lead to violence in the lives of people today, to which our answer is no. We believe video games do not lead to violence, as much as watching Superman does not make people think they can fly. * It has been argued that in many cases people who play violent video games commit violent acts which get them in trouble with the law.

However, this can be disproved because the amount of juvenile crime is the lowest it has ever been in the past thirty years. * This is true despite the fact that the violence in video games in recent years are much more life-like than it was in the past. * There have been some school shootings in the past involving adolescents and younger adults which some people say violent video games were deemed to be the cause. Although this seems reasonable since these kids did play violent video games, it is not true because the majority of the younger population today are avid video game players.

* According to the US department of justice the amount of violence in the United States had significantly decreased from 1995-2005 and this was the same time period in which violent video games were beginning to become more popular. According to The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, in 2010 49% of the top 70 video games all involved violence and malice behavior. * Violence in video games do not lead to violence because it is the violent people themselves who will be drawn to playing the violent video games.

* When asked about what he thought of studies that show violent video games lead to violence Professor Henry Jenkins responds, “most studies found a correlation, not a causal relationship, which means the research could simply show that aggressive people like aggressive entertainment. * That’s why the vague term “links” is used here. If there is a consensus emerging around this research, it is that violent video games may be one risk factor – when coupled with other more immediate, real-world influences — which can contribute to anti-social behavior”(Jenkins 1).

* Many people jump to conclusions and immediately assume that violent video games directly lead to violence which is simply not the case. * Video games immerse players into the virtual world by portraying realistic visual images and interactivity that they cannot experience elsewhere. * Today, video games provide graphics and simulation that closely imitate real life with consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that continue to be very popular among people worldwide. * However, even though these games can be very similar to real life, there are key differences that help disprove that these games lead to violence.

* It is common knowledge that in real life one cannot resurrect in place after dying or survive after failing ridiculous tasks such as falling off buildings, so one can easily distinguish that some things that occur in video games do not apply to real life. * If this was not the case, then the same rule would apply to certain television shows and fictional stories, and schools would have to ban the use of fictional stories in schools since they lead to violence. * There are many other factors that influence how violent a person is beyond violent video games. *