Depends Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Depends - Research Paper Example In 1949, Rich DeVos and Jay Andel became distributors and in 1958, they began to teach others on how to build their own businesses as network marketers to fulfill their dreams. They then broadened their product line and set up a company called American Way Association, which later came to be known as Amway. Before the end of 20th century, more than 3three million people in over eighty countries belonged to the Amway network (Ziglar & Hayes, 2001, pg 56). Network marketing is a network of people who have access to a range of products that are distributed through that network. The people can buy these products for personal use or sell them to others, thereby expanding the network by inviting others to join the network and over time, the volume of goods being distributed increase. Along the way, a portion of the profits on these products are paid to distributors, the down-line gives regular income in reality. The industry has experienced an image problem in the past because there were not systems and professional codes of conduct, and some operators used pyramid selling disguised as network marketing ((Griffiths, et al , 2008, Pg 1). Network marketing is emerging over the world as a viable and credible method of reaching buyers, which is cost effective as compared to the traditional retailing methods. Today almost everything in the world can be sold through network marketing including health supplements (Christen et al, 2007, pg 2). The emergence of internet has made it possible for network marketing to emerge as the mainstream marketing. The industry is becoming mature with professional marketing. It is an excellent way of entering into business enabling each person to enjoy fruits of their labor and solid passive income stream and residual income. Previously people viewed it as a side job that gives extra income, but now it gives opportunity to establish a business that will continue to be the main source of income. The industry is emerging as one

Metabical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Metabical Analysis Essay All other Weight-Loss Options in Exhibit 2 are more expensive that the target $30/ month out of pocket cost. No other weight loss option offers cost containment cards. No other product combines two mechanisms for weight loss: Metabical combines two pharmacologic mechanisms to produce weight loss: Fat blocker, meditonan and appetite suppressant, calosera. Due to the dual mechanism, the medications can be dosed in lower levels and therefore have a better safety profile and fewer side effects than either of the medications that have similar mechanisms, Meridia (prescription appetite suppressant phentermine) or Xenical (originally prescription fat blocker, now over the counter in a lower dose with fewer side effects, Alli) Metabical is dosed once daily, which leads to better patient compliance than over the counter Alli, which must be taken with each meal in order to block fat absorption. Metabical is FDA approved, which demonstrates efficacy and relative safety as compared to over the counter or herbal remedies. Metabical is dispensed by prescription only, which allows physicians to have more control and awareness of what their patients are taking, and to coordinate the use of Metabical with other prescription drugs in a group of patients (moderately obese), who are prone to obesity related disease states, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, and joint injuries. Metabical is the only prescription weight loss medication with an indication for moderate obesity (BMI 28-30). Other prescription weight loss preparations are indicated for morbidly obese patients with BMI 30. * As a prescription drug, physicians are also able to combine Metabical with nutrition counseling or behavior modification support.

The Management Of Tourism Distribution Channel

The Management Of Tourism Distribution Channel After the tourism organization have decided in selecting the distribution channel, the tourism organization such as hotel must implement and manage the distribution that being choose in order to gain revenue. Therefore in distribution channel management it includes selecting and motivating individual channel members and also evaluated their performance. For the hotel to generate higher revenue, they must work together with the intermediaries such as tour operator and travel agencies in term of sharing the information of the product. In order to effectively evaluate the effectiveness of involving only retail travel agencies instead of a combination of travel agencies and tour operators, one must first examine what represent a tour operator and a travel agency. Therefore Hilton Hotel selected certain tour operator and travel agencies to selling their room based on their brand position their ability to reach the customer such as Ping Anchorage Travel Tours to promoting and selling the room for Hilton Hotel. The Ping Anchorage is establish in 1990 and was the Malaysia professional tour operator that promote the nature, people, culture and heritage of Malaysia. Till now the organization has been operate 21 years in the tourism industry as the tour operator. The offices located in four different countries which are Kuala Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kota Bharu. The organizations have modern mini coaches, tour coaches and speedboats services to give convenience to the consumer to travel to the destination. These are to ensure providing the better services and ensure a great holiday to the consumer. The organization was recommended by the international travel guidebook such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Stefan Loose, Insight Guide, Japan Gio Glode Trotter, Thomas Cook. In addition the organization cooperated with all the hotels, resorts, and local operators. The organizations have recognized as the Malaysia best tour operator that win the Prestigious Malaysia Tourism Award in 2000 u ntil 2009 such as Malaysia Best Tour Innovative 2009, The Best Domestic Tour Operator 2003, Malaysia Best Tour Program of Adventure Nature 2006, Malaysia Best Tour Program of Special Interest/Merit 2006 and The Best Inbound Tour Operator 2004. Hilton Hotel choosing Ping Anchorage based on the organization reputation because the organization is familiar with the local market conditions and culture customs. This will give advantages to the Hilton Hotel to create a customer relationship and brand trust in the mind of the consumer. Therefore it will make Hilton Hotel to concentrate on the quality services. With the reputation and image of the Ping Anchorage it can help to promote and selling the room of the Hilton Hotel toward consumer. The services and product the organization provided were the hotel online reservation, online transaction, comment through online and information of the tourism product such as accommodations, transportation and entertainment. Therefore with the services provided by the Ping Anchorage the consumer can check the room rate of the Hilton Hotel by browser through the organization web site. In order to make sure the Ping Anchorage keeps selling and promotes the Hilton Hotel, the hotel continually motivate it member to perform their roles. There are incentive that commonly used by Hilton Hotel to motivated their intermediaries such as Ping Anchorage such as commission which Hilton will pay up to 10 percent commission toward Ping Anchorage on all general public and other commissionable rates for selling the room. Other than that the Hilton Hotel also provided Ping Anchorage with the reduces-prices holidays. It is for the organization to stay at the hotel itself and give them an information and knowledge of the product and services that the hotel sell to the consumer. In addition it will help the Ping Anchorage to create the package that suitable for the hotel. Hilton Hotel also has giving approval right to the Ping Anchorage to use the hotel information in term of hotel history, facilities and services to promote in their website. In return it can promote the hotel to the consumer. Furthermore act of beyond Ping Anchorage authority is strictly prohibited for the organization to use. Mkumbo J. P. (2010) stated that distribution channel performance is evaluated using mainly two criteria which were the business volume the distribution member and the profit margin made by the distribution member of distribution channel. Hilton Hotel evaluates the Ping Anchorage through the promotion that the organizations generate to increase the sales of the hotel booking. In addition Hilton Hotel evaluates Ping Anchorage performance as the intermediaries are basically with the award that the organization gets throughout the year. With the achievement of the organization it creates the brand trust for the Hilton Hotel to colorations with Ping Anchorage. Meanwhile Hotel Hilton also has their own website in order to consumer to booking the room. These for the consumer to deal directly to the Hilton Hotel without interfere with travel agencies and tour operator. Therefore internet has changed channel relationships between some types of customers, principals and intermediaries, and this process is continuing to evolve. Internet is cutting into the traditional intermediariesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ business. Using ICT Hilton Hotel can develop and tighten supply chain relationships which reduce costs and bring higher quality travel products to the consumer. Other than that Hotel Hilton also can employ various price policies and loyalty programs that yield a higher price transparency and more user-friendly interfaces. With the evolving the reservation through the internet reservation system (IRS) it will help Hilton Hotel to increase their percentage of people booking the room via internet. Using the IRS the Hilton Hotel can replacing the weaker member which is tour operator and travel agencies that can harm the effectiveness of the distribution system. By using the Hilton Hotel website perhaps it gives customer the opportunity to provided feedback regarding services quality of Hilton Hotel. Pearce G.D. (2009) evaluate that consideration of the strategy in evaluates and analysis can assist distribution member in term old deciding the best distribution channel for their organization. hence it help to determine and assist the distribution member about which channels might be expanded, reduced, added, abandoned, or improved. Identify the relationship between the member of tourism distribution channel such as travel retailers and operator, accommodation, airlines, and national tourist organization in the marketing of tourist destination (local or broad). In the distribution channel there are relationship arise between members of distribution channel such as travel retailers and operator, accommodation, airlines, and national tourist organization in the marketing of tourist destination. In this study, the authors examine the ways to increasing their effectiveness in marketing market Pan-Amazon ecotourism destinations based on the roles and function of travel agencies and tour operator because travel agencies and tour operators have a role in the marketing tours package between supplier, tourism destination and consumer. Tour operator is normally can be define as creating inclusive holidays which are combining the travel, accommodation, food, beverage, activities, entertainment and sightseeing. In addition some tour operators are specializing in certain particular product or destination. In tourism industry tour operator is focusing on huge volume of sales, offering attractive tour package and creating all-inclusive prices to generate high sales with low cost margins. Other than that travel agency is a business that sells a wide range of tourism related products and services to end-user customers on behalf of third party travel suppliers. Travel agencies are without their own product, and modify the packages offered by producers to the needs of the consumer. There were arguing that arise saying that they are independent agencies. They retail to consumers on an individual basis. Thus, they are considered intermediaries in the hospitality distribution channel and are responsible for bringing customers to a product. Meanwhile the author stated that ecotourism destination can be defined as sustaining and conservation of natural environment and culture heritage. This study investigates the function of Uakari Lodge in tourism distribution channels websites in order to measure how it ranks in these distribution channels, as well as to identify key competitors to Mamiraua In this study it indicated that among the intermediaries such as travel agencies and tour operator that selling and promoting the ecotourism in Brazil, Mamiraua was the destination that have a higher rating in the ecotourism destination that visited by the tourist. This is due to the destination is basically international agencies and operators recognize as the profitable destination. Whereby Mamiraua demonstrates a good market image against other competitors such Peru and Ecuador in term of ecotourism destination. In addition in term of price competitive advantages also Mamiraua destination were enable for the travel agencies and tour operators to create and providing the tour package which tourist can visited the mountain, sea, jungle destination and used facilities at the lower prices compare to other destination. Throughout the study it indicated that tourist went through travel agencies and tour operator was slightly higher rather than tourist that travel through backpackers or travel alone. This because by refereeing through the data in year 2009 about 56 percent of tourist travel through agencies but only 11 percent travel through backpackers because of the lack of knowledge about the ecotourism destination. Therefore it can be stated that with regard to the efforts to attract the traveler, the behavior of the distribution channels has been more passive rather that active to marketing the Mamiraua as ecotourism destination. Whereby traveler looks for travel agencies and tour operator compare by searching through the internet to get the information about Mamiraua. With the finding, it giving the information for the Uakari Lodge which is the only place for accommodation to identify the behavior of the traveler and investigated the need for more advance web-based marketing and sales strategy in order to traveler to identify that Mamirau as ecotourism destination and stay at the Uakari Lodge. In this study also it indicated that the increased participation of travel agiencies and tour operator was not just due to the increased number of traveler that went to Mamiraua, but also increased the total number of travel agencies and tour operator that came to marketing the Mamiraua as ecotourism destination. This increase in the number of tourism distribution channels indicates a good positioning of Mamiraua in the ecotourism destination. Although there are increasing of participation of the travel agencies and tour operator, some issues occur whereby only 11 travel agencies and tour operator are sending the traveler to Ukari Lodge to stay overnight. Because working with a large number of travel agencies and tour operators limit the capabilities of the Ukari Lodge to establish closer ties with all the travel agencies and tour operator in the distribution channel. Therefore it is important for the customer to understand the relationship between the destination marker and the travel agencies and tour operator so that the Uakari Lodge is sold toward traveler in line of marketing Mamiraua ecotourism destination. Furthermore it is important to monitor the level of visitor satisfaction in order improving the strategic of increasing the number of distribution channel that can related to marketing the Mamiraua as ecotourism destination. Therefore the emerging of the internet can reacts as the alternative intermediaries. By using the internet it enables direct communication between the tourism supplier and the consumer. Therefore it can be as a medium to reduce the conflict that arises. Therefore internet can changed the distribution channel relationships between some types of customers, principals and intermediaries. For the tourism supplier by using the internet it can be as method to reduce the distribution cost of deliver the product and services toward the consumer. Before emerging the ICT as the alternative intermediaries, tourism supplier are burden by the high cost of intermediariesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ commission and the cost of GDS that being charge to the tourism supplier. However, using the Internet for marketing applications is not without costs. There can be significant hardware, software and human resource costs attached to developing and operating a direct to- customer distribution strategy. The process of cutting out the intermediary is called disintermediation, and accommodation providers clearly favor this approach. However, the role of the intermediary is well established the major tour operators and travel agents organize travel and accommodation for millions of tourists every year. Intermediaries are obviously aware of the threat posed by the Internet, but they also embrace the Internet as a tool for communicating with their own customers. Kazandzhieva (2010) noted there are advantages and disadvantage of ICT in the distribution channel. For the disadvantages of using the internet as a trade the author have stated several disadvantages which is lower security services level. The consumer fell afraid to giving their profile and credit card number to the travel agencies to make the transaction. Other than that the services that provided by the agencies are intangible product and the consumer rely on the services and information that provided through the internet. The consumer also always misunderstood with the low price that promote through internet. For Example the consumer Air Asia buying and booking the airlines ticket via internet. Meanwhile consumer is lack of protection against unconscientiously actions because every country there is different in national legislation. In addition most of the consumer prefer to shop and purchasing the product via intermediaries that are well establish and recognized on the market. T his because consumer already know the services and the quality that provided by the establish travel agencies. About the advantages using the internet toward the travel agencies stated by the researcher were the using the electronic commerce it can help to optimizing the travel agencies activities by creating different approaches to electronic purchase and sale to giving the consumer convenience to purchasing the tourism product. By using the internet the tour operator can promote their product and price through the internet. Therefore it makes the consumer known about the new package that being created by the travel agencies. In addition using the internet it can direct the intermediaries such as travel agencies toward modern operation, type of tourism, and destination when the necessity of the consulting and information services. Introduction Tourism industry is very competitive businesses which generate increase of demand and supply in tourism product. Many individual, enterprise and government indentify the opportunity of tourism to generate income. As the result of many tourism suppliers in the market it creates a competition among them. Therefore tourism supplier needs to take an effective and efficient strategic approach to distribute their product and services in order to survive in tourism industry. The distribution channel can be defined as the entire of cooperating organization that helps to ensure the consumer can use a product. Jafari (0000) define as linkages between actual and potential tourist and the supplier by using the distribution channel system. The system maybe categorize either direct system which is from producer to the seller which is consumer can by directly airlines ticket through the counter or indirect from consumer through an intermediaries which by using travel agenciesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ or wholesalers to purchase the holiday package. Therefore tourism services supplier can choose either this two distribution system to selling their product to the consumer. Therefore the distribution channel concept is easily to understand but in the real world it was extremely complicated for the large organization. The function of distribution is to assist the consumer to search for the information regarding the product and to make purchasing of the product simple. Meanwhile in distribution channel travel agents, tour wholesalers, and specialist act as the intermediaries. For example travel agent and tour operator serve the consumer to choose the travel product such as accommodation, transportation, restaurant and entertainment. By providing the serve, they basically get the revenue by charging the commission from the booking of the hotel. For example accommodation like hotel companies need distribution channel to reach their entire potential consumer in order to fill their room reservation. In distribution channel the relationship between distribution members is complex, especially for the organization likes hotel that depending to the travel agencies and tour operator to generate their sales. Hence the information communication technology (ICT) takes part as important roles in distribution system because ICT is a medium that will evolve the distribution channel in term of development of computerized system. But the theories of distribution are the same despite it using the ICT as intermediaries. The evolution of ICT and electronic commerce continue to improve in distribution channel of hospitality and tourism industry. It depends on the size of the business and market segmentation. Meanwhile accommodation such as hotel needs to use intermediaries to obtain advance booking to generate occupancy. But with the high cost of distribution force the distribution member to look for alternatives such as develop their own website to marketing their product and services. Therefore it will make the distribution member not depending on the intermediaries. With emerging of the ICT such as internet it has become an important toll in the distribution channel and help hotels to reduce their distribution cost. Nevertheless the roles of travel agencies and tour operator as the intermediaries are remain important for the distribution members to generate sales and promote their product. Conclusion As conclusion the tourism distribution channel is an operating structure, system or link of various combination of travel organization. These travel organizations create a travel package and make arrangement for the consumer. It has two purposes to make sure their consumer obtains information they need in choosing a trip and to make the necessary reservation after they made a choice. Tourism distribution channel can be categories in two type of channel which is direct and indirect. There are three types of travel intermediaries which are travel agents, tour operator and specialty intermediaries. The roles of travel agencies are to organize tour package which sold to consumer through retail agents. It is not directly sells to the consumer. There are the three distribution channel are product supplier to consumer channel, product to supplier to travel agent to consumer channel and the product supplier to tour operator. Meanwhile the distribution system is an important component of the marketing mix. The chosen system of distribution will affect the parts of the marketing mix such as the product, the promotion strategy and the pricing policy. In distribution channel management it includes selecting and motivating individual channel members and also evaluated their performance. The Ping Anchorage is tour operators which have establish 21 years in the industries. It located in four different countries which are Kuala Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kota Bharu. In order to make sure the travel agent continues to generate sales for the hotel Hilton, the hotel giving 10 percent commission to the Ping Anchorage. Beside that Hilton Hotel evaluate Ping Anchorage the promotion that the organizations generate to increase the sales of the hotel booking. Hotel Hilton also has their own website in order to consumer to booking the room. Using ICT Hilton Hotel can develop and tighten supply chain relationship s which reduce costs and bring higher quality travel products to the consumer. Therefore the internet reservation system (IRS) it will help Hilton Hotel to increase their percentage of people booking the room via internet Throughout marketing the Pan-Amazon ecotourism destinations is basically based on the roles and function of travel agencies and tour operator. It related to the relationship between the members of tourism distribution channel in the marketing of tourist destination. Recommendation Buhalis (2000) acknowledge that the distribution member should keep the record of different channel which being use for the purpose of evaluating and measuring channel performance since distribution decisions are critical for tourism industry because its influence the entire marketing mix because it reduces the cost and increasing the revenue toward the distribution member such as hotel. In addition tourism distribution channels difference according to product, industry structure and countries. Therefore with the consideration it can make a huge difference in the hotel competitive advantages. Fu and Zhang (2010) noted in order to determine the effective and efficient of the distribution channel that used by the distribution member they should implement the distributors star rating system. Under this strategic approach the tourism organization can recognize which tour operator or travel agencies that perform well in generating sales and promoting the distribution member. With this the distribution member can rely only on the intermediaries that achieve the higher star rating. The authors also acknowledged that in order ensuring the relationship between distribution member and the intermediaries, the distribution member should pay regular visits to the intermediaries such as travel agencies and tour operator in order to strengthen the bond giving the support between them. Therefore it ensure that the distribution member realize the issues that occur and can give consultation when dealing the encounter the problem rather than ignore their intermediaries. Distribution member like hotel should implement the variety of promotions using the ICT to across the border of country because many consumers get the information about accommodation via internet. Social media sites are growing fast and being used to distribute the tourism product and services. In addition the most popular sites that addressing attention of consumer audiences are Facebook and Twitter. The distribution member should make used of the twitter to post special offer, information, suggestion, links and advices to the consumer. With this strategy it can increase the selling the product of the distribution member and delivery the information to the consumer. With the emerging of the mobile technology it can play important role in distribution channel for tourism and travel industry. This is because many corporate travelers are likely to be carrying their mobile which is Smartphone that will enable them to gaining access information regarding visitor attractions, restaurant, transportation and accommodations. Therefore with existing of the mobile technology it allowed hotel to create mobile specifies sites with booking capabilities which create a new channel to distribution the product and services.

Rodriguez and Mexico :: essays research papers

Rodriguez characterizes Mexico as a country with a culture of tragedy and America as a country with a culture of comedy. However, America is comedic in the Greek sense-in the sense that America is not comedic at all. Rodriguez feels that Mexico, in being the place of tragedy, is better off. America, on the other hand, has to face the burden of optimism, and the subsequent let-downs. Thus, in a sense, he characterizes them in ways that oppose what he truly thinks of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico is described as tragic-those who are of Mexican descent are often very traditional in thought. Rodriguez’s father held the traditional beliefs that old men are wise, that life is disheartening, and near one’s death is the point where one must look back on their life. However, he also feels that Mexico is a happier place, with sweeter children and more lavish funerals. Perhaps he views Mexico as the tragic place because it represents a lost heritage to him. He, who in his middle age, finds himself agreeing with the Mexican ideals, nevertheless finds himself affected by living in America. Instead of being raised with the ideas of Mexican culture, he was raised with Protestant optimism characteristic of California. He was forced to abandon the way of life of his ancestors, even if only partially. America-more specifically, California, conquered the Mexican ways, and in so doing, lost the opportunity to reconcile the Catholic South and the Protest ant North. Thus, Mexico emerged as the tragic hero and California as the laughing victor. California is comedic because it is a place where it is possible to start anew, to defy the traditional.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rodriguez views California as a reconciliation between comedy and tragedy. It is both the place where many Mexicans immigrated to and the place where Americans move to escape the constraints of society. Mexicans hoped to experience the comedy of California-where it is possible to change your sex, divorce, and become famous. Even Rodriguez’s parents moved to California, and live in a house with many telephones and televisions.

The Truth On Empowerment

1. Empowerment has been criticized since it leaves no one in particular accountable. The goal of empowerment is to provide power to the individual. Each individual is trusted to make his or her own decisions regarding his or her life and work. In this way the individual is also provided with the opportunity to take responsibility for his or her own situation in life and work. Empowerment of course has many levels. Politically, it means that each group of individuals within a society is given the same power and rights as all others. All sectors of society are for example allowed to vote, voice their opinions and follow political channels for change without the need to fear unreasonable persecution or other repercussions. In work, empowerment means that all individuals are allowed to apply for jobs where the likelihood of being accepted for employment depends on nothing except their qualification level. In life, empowerment means that each individual has the same rights to do the same things in society, i.e. enter public places, make use of public transportation, and the like. In terms of accountability, I do not believe that the criticism leveled against empowerment is valid. Instead of only a single entity being accountable for the actions within the whole of society, every individual is now required to take his or her own responsibility for his or her own life and actions. Individual accountability means that responsibility for individual actions lies with the individual. Collective actions are accounted for by groups of people. In this way accountability cannot be required only of leaders or other empowered individuals. Empowerment has the advantage of placing accountability at the location of every person taking certain actions. Indeed, this results in a more responsible society where fewer crimes are committed. Individuals know that certain actions will lead to certain consequences, and this knowledge leads to the accountability necessary to ensure a stable society (Dewettinck, Singh, & Buyens, 2003). 2. â€Å"We practice empowerment because we don't expect our employees to leave their brains at the door.† In the current workplace situation, a business is held to function much better when individuals are given the opportunity to develop to their full potential. Workplace empowerment then means not only empowering individuals to enter any workplace for which they adequately qualify, but also that they function as intelligent beings within this situation. Employees are given the power to think critically about the tasks they are assigned, in order to do these tasks to the best of their ability (Dewettinck, Singh, & Buyens, 2003). Employees are therefore expected to think for themselves. This allows for much more creativity within the company. Leaders who empower their employees have the advantage of a large amount of creative energy to provide solutions to difficult problems. Sharing the power in this way therefore means that the collective company ultimately possesses greater collective power in the business world. Furthermore empowerment within a company means that individuals are recognized for their ability to think individually and creatively. A possible drawback of this approach is that all employees may not be ready to use their individual thinking skills in order to provide the company with creative energy. Indeed, empowering individuals who are not ready could mean disaster for such a company, as incorrect, unmonitored decisions and actions could be very detrimental. It is therefore probably a good idea to first monitor all decisions for which an individual is newly empowered (St. John's University, 1993). Basically, empowerment within a company can greatly enhance its decision-making and creative power. Such empowerment has to be handled with great care, however. Individuals need to be monitored for their readiness to take responsibility within the company. 3. Leadership Style(s)that are related to the statement â€Å"Empowerment has been criticized since it leaves no one in particular accountable†. There are mainly two leadership styles that may criticize empowerment for its apparent lack of particular accountability. These include the directing and coaching style of leadership. With all three of these, the ultimate responsibility lies directly with the leader, although the level of employee responsibility varies (Dewettinck, Singh, & Buyens, 2003). Directing leadership entails a high level of directing and low supportive behavior. All employee actions are directly supervised by the leader, and the leader also takes responsibility for all the decisions. Low supportive behavior then means that the leader determines the tasks necessary, and seldom listens to input from employees. Employees are expected to do what they are told without critically examining decisions. Accountability is then directly with the leader, as employees are in a state of receiving orders and carrying them out without question. In coaching leadership, there is a high level of both directive and supportive behavior. As in the directing style, the leader makes all decisions. However, this process contrasts with the first style, as employees are more actively included: decisions are explained, while the work is continually monitored. Feedback is also given on a continual basis, and employees are expected to learn from their work. All final decisions and responsibilities are with the leader, although employees are allowed to provide input (Chimaera Consulting Ltd, 1999). The argument against empowerment here is then that too many decision makers within a company could defeat the purpose of a company to act as a single entity. There would be no overall leadership paradigm, where a single entity could take the responsibility for any problems. Empowerment in this way would then undermine the collective purpose of the company to conduct their business in a single-minded and focused manner. 4. Leadership Style(s) that are related to the statement â€Å"WE practice empowerment since we don't expect our employees to leave their brains at the door†. Leadership styles that support the above statements include the delegating and supporting leadership styles. The paradigm behind these styles of leadership is, as mentioned above, to make full use of the inherent and creative brainpower of each employee for the benefit of the company. While the overall directive and responsibility for unity still lies with top management, leadership is seen to a great degree as a partnership rather than an unequal power relationship. The delegating style of leadership entails low directive as well as low supportive behavior. The leader provides each employee with tasks. The employee is then expected to carry these out individually, with responsibility, and with the minimum supervision. In this style, the ability of individuals to make critical decisions and carry out tasks unsupervised is recognized. Individuals are therefore empowered to make most decisions, because this leadership style recognizes their ability to do so. Low support means that monitoring is absent to a great degree, while employees are expected to implement their own thinking skills without necessarily first consulting the leader. Problems could arise when incorrect decisions are implemented. Nevertheless, the responsibility for such results then lie with the individual who made the decision, and not with the leader (Chimaera Consulting Ltd., 1999). The supporting leadership style entails low directive, but high supporting behavior. This means that employees are still empowered to make their own, self-reliant decisions, but that they are encouraged and given feedback while doing so. The risk of faulty decision making is lower, as supporting leaders take a more active role than delegating ones. Other behaviors included in this paradigm are collaborating and appreciating actions. Individuals are therefore empowered and recognized for their brain power, but also monitored and led more actively. 5. Situational Leadership and Empowerment. Situational leadership is seen as the new leadership style in order to optimize business practice and revenue. Not only employees, but also leaders, are empowered under this paradigm. Situational leadership means to incorporated whichever leadership style is most appropriate for particular situations. This is done by monitoring the development level of employees. Situational leaders recognized that not all employees may be ready at all times to receive full empowerment, and leadership styles are adjusted accordingly. It is furthermore recognized that development may cease or even regress, and once again leadership flexibility is of the highest importance (Chimaera Consulting Ltd., 1999). In terms of empowerment, situational leadership does not see this as the most important element of business. Although empowerment does play a powerful role, leaders recognize the changing nature of humanity, and adjust their leadership style accordingly. Employee development therefore plays a more important role than empowerment itself. Empowerment is only bestowed when employees are ready for it. Furthermore, the level of empowerment is carefully monitored in order to fit the development of the employee involved. If an employee is for example very developed in his or her assigned job situation, the delegation leadership style would be used. For employees just entering their profession on the other hand, a leadership style with a low empowerment level such as directive leadership would be used. Situational leadership therefore incorporates all of the leadership styles as it suits each particular situation. Flexibility rather than empowerment is the most important element in situational leadership. This requires continual monitoring of each employee situation within the company. Through situational leadership then, each employee is monitored for the maximum benefit of both employees and management.

buy custom George Eliot essay

buy custom George Eliot essay The word silly in George Eliots essay Silly Novels by Lady Novelists is, as she herself puts it, impertinent in all its variants: provocative, assuming, intrusive, etc. If there is any- quite likely- initial angry response to it, then it is also likely that such a response will turn to a kind of sympathetic permission once the real identity of George Eliot is revealed. But once one reads her contextual definition of this term, then one is bound to pay attention, to discard any such anger or sympathy, and consider the likeliness of silly lady novelists. Eliot uses silly to refer to the mediocre enlightenment of certain women novelists as reflected in their writings. It is a mediocre enlightenment in the sense that while the writers are educated, or undereducated, and they seek to prove this smartness, their intellectual exposure, as symbols for their trampling of the stereotypes against them, deep down they seem to be stuck in those very archaic notions of themselves and their writings reveal and confirm them. The feminine silliness of certain womens literary forms is the fact that they confirm the common prejudice and stereotypes against their [the womens] solid education. The heroines of such Silly Novels reflect the gender stereotypes against women in the Victorian society. The heroine is mostly pious and beautiful, wealthy and stylish, and if she starts from a humble beginning, meaning poor background, she will get rich in the end by securing herself a rich husband (Shelton). The female characters worry themselves over ball dresses and bonnets, giggling over sweet love-confidences acrid gossip (Eliot). For instance, the heroine in Compensation is mostly described as possessing a remarkable original mind, and can read Hebrew, Sanskrit and Greek, while also managing to maintain her beautiful small head (Shelton). In the end, while these stories are meant to flaunt how intelligent these writers are, they instead betray their ignorance. They imply that knowledge is unattainable to women. Instead they romanticize it as a people who are deprived of it. These women are said to be educated to the level of absurdity (Shelton). That is, their attainment of knowledge has only been superficial, perhaps only for show-off, but it does little to change their perceptions of themselves: the acquisition does not pass into culture (Eliot). In this paper I will attempt to trace Eliots theory as reflected in Joyce Carol Oates Black Water, with the aim of confirming her [Eliots] arguments. Discussion Oates Black Water, believed to have been inspired by the Chappaquiddick incident, tells of Kellys reflection on her life in the last minutes before she dies. Kelly and her lover, a senator, are in a car when the senator, who is driving, loses control and the car is forced into a river. The senator, fearing for his political career, leaves Kelly in the car drowning. And as Kelly faces imminent death, she looks back at her life, at her life with her lover, the senator (Seal). Oates does not prefer to be seen as sexist. Her part in exploring feminist discourse is mostly to attempt to assess how male definitions of women make and unmake them. Her female characters are normally threatened from all directions of the worlds in which they live, surrounded by violence explicitly linked to contexts socially realistic and founded in the chaos in which they find themselves growing up (Kirubahar 110). As in many of hr works, in Black Water, Oates explores the woman and how the world views her, and how as a result of that view, she becomes a victim to it. Kelly becomes a victim of a mans ambition. Oates does not go into possibilities; that perhaps if the senator had only tried to save Kelly, then perhaps she would have survived. But then the reader wonders if perhaps Kelly would have survived had the senator made the move to save her. But this going ahead of ourselves. It is important to assess how Oates explores both gender and finally, to what extent her approach falls within Eliots Silly Novel. In this story we come into contact with two modes of invasion: the masculine and the feminine. The masculine invasion is crudely assertive (Seal). It is blunt, unreserved and unapologetic. Kelly recalls many times how the senator, for instance, forces his tongue into her mouth. In fact, it is the senators driving, his crude turns and unchecked accelerations that finally force the car off the road and into the water. The feminine invasion, on the other hand, is represented by the metaphor of the water. Kellys invasion is formally connected by the way that her narration of her recollected life lap at and finally immerse her whole consciousness, as well as the way that water laps at her body and finally immerses it (Seal). Oates choice of making the male character a politician is intentional. Politics is the stereotypical symbol for a mans assertiveness: a politician ever makes himself a part of ones life, thrusts himself into other peoples existence so as to claim their attention and support (Seal). We encounter Kellys assertiveness in the exchange that she and the senator have when he refers to a man as the political animal. She takes note of the word man and asks him why women cant be referred to as political animals. At this, the senator attempts to pacify her assertive boldness in this debate by admitting, rather sympathetically, that some women could, except they [women] find politics boring. When Kelly shows no signs of relenting the senator kisses her forcefully in an attempt to conclude the talk. She kisses him back boldly as if it is her due. There are two explicitly notable instances of boldness on the part of Kelly here. And in both instances, Oates comments on the unusuality of it. But these instances of boldness on Kellys part are both questionable. The first boldness is ambiguous; is Kelly bold in her approach to the argument or on her take that women should also be considered as political animals? Either way, this boldness is sort of nullified under the spell of the senators kiss. First, if she is bold in the challenge that she presents the senator with, that is, arguing for the sake of winning the argument, then she fails in that bid when she falls for the senators kiss. But it is also notable that if she is arguing for arguments sake, then this is akin to Eliots argument on women flaunting their intelligence; mental pocket mirror (Eliot) just so those who witness it can praise it and make the women feel proud of themselves, rather than to influence an ending. Two, it is obvious that her take does not change the senators mind on what he has just said. Of course, it is not expected that the senator will suddenly be changed by Kellys opinion. But it should be expected that if Kelly believes what she is saying as much as Oates would like us to believe, then she should be able to take her stand firmly and make the senator and the readers see that confidence and that she means what she is saying. Innstead, it all crumbles when she gives in to the senators kiss, which is an intentional move by the senator to end the debate. In other words, Kellys boldness is overshadowed by the stronger assertiveness of the senator. Kelly is being invaded by the senator and shes taking it all in like it just the most natural thing for her to do (Seal). Oates would like us to believe that Kellys readiness to take this kiss is a good thing. But it is not. Or atleast, the distinction between Kelly knowing what she wants and going for it, and simply being vulnerable to the senators assertiveness is not so clear. Furthermore, the little dignity that the reader may carve out of this behavior on Kellys part is killed by Oates insistence to mention its unusuality and account for it. Oates takes it upon herself to remind us that Kelly is not usually as bold. Whatever Oates wishes that this revelation provokes in the readers not so clear; should it provoke sympathy or admiration? Oates wishes that the reader admire the boldness of Kelly as that of an enlightened woman. Yet she insists on emphasizing Kellys feminine piety that the society expects of women. But this raises an important question. If this boldness is unusual of Kelly, then what is usual of her? Oates takes note of minute details: fragmentary thought and micro-sensations that should be read as warning of Kellys coming death. Not only is Kelly being invaded by the senator, but also by Oates herself. Kelly is positioned in such a way that invading her seems natural for anyone who is willing. Even Oates her admits that this invasiveness upon Kelly is there. By distinguishing what a novelist can reach in a characters mind and what he/she cannot reach, Oates exposes her intentional, conscious attempt to invade Kellys mind. The ultimate question that this story seems to ask is which one between the senators and Kellys invasion is worse. Oates does not wish to take any clear sides here. Although she unambigouosly blames the senator for the accident, she seems to give the reader the task of going back a little bit and try to pick out how Kelly may also have decided her wn fate. Here are the senatorss irresponsibility as wel as Kellys naivete. Seal sees this as blaming the victim. But perhaps the most appropriate argument would be blaming the woman. I see this as Oates attempt, just as the whole book shows, to look at the woman as an independent entity responsible for herself, rather than as an appendage or accessory to the needs of the men, so that their misfortunes are blamed on the men. Yet Kelly seems to do just that, blame the senator for her death. Conclusion Through Kelly, Oates reveals- may be not generally, but in this specific work- her double standard understanding of womens enlightenment and how it can be put to work. Kelly is intelligent enough. But that intelligence does little to alter her feminine gullibility to passion. Many have argued used Oates underlying sensibility to feminism in most of her fiction to defend her as a feminist. According to Marilyn C. Wesley, Oates works strongly challenge chauvinistic gender ideology. However, a few things in this story interrogate this argument (eNotes). Oates admires Kellys boldness. Yet she also fears others will see it as immoral of Kelly, and as such offers an absolution. By being conscious of this mistaken immorality, Oates herself falls in the bandwagon that is societys psychology on the expected piety of women. Buy custom George Eliot essay

The taming of the shrew - critical response essays

The taming of the shrew - critical response essays It is the intention of this Critical essay to consider the play The taming of the shrew By William Shakespeare. I will firstly offer a brief summary of events and then go on to consider the portrayal of Pertruchio and in particular the way in which he uses and manipulates language in order to meet the demands of any given situation. The play is technically a play within a play. In the outer framework we find a lord tricking a drunkard called Christopher Sly into believing that he is a rich lord with a beautiful wife (Page). A group of players then enter to perform for Sly and his wife. In the play we find Hortensio and Lucentio battling out their wits to win the sweet Bianca. Biancas father Baptista declines both until his elder daughter Kate is married. The only problem is that Kate is renowned for being a shrew. Pertruchio is a scholar who is visiting Padua. He wishes to find a rich wife. Hortensio is still after Bianca and hopes that Pertruchio will fall in love with Kate and then Bianca will be open to his proposals. Hortensio leads Pertruchio to Kate. Pertruchio marries Kate after finding out that her father has money. Pertruchio tames his shrewish wife into being obedient. Kate soon realises that she must agree with Pertruchio on everything, no matter how ridiculous. In Kates obedience speech she reflects what page told Sly in the beginning. Is Kate for real or is it all an act? It is significant that Pertruchio is portrayed as a man whose sole interest is money. Financial gain is his only concern in his martial plans. Pertruchio proves this when he states: Then tell me, if I get your daughters love, what dowry shall I have her to wive? The above section illustrates that Pertruchio is only after money because he has not even met Kate and he is asking how much he will get to marry her. He obviously does not care how she looks or acts as he just interested in ...

Visual Arts in Pre

Visual Arts in Pre Pre-historic Greek artworks have influenced cultures and arts in many countries around the globe, especially in the sculptural and architectural arts. Right from the Roman Empire in the West to the Far East including Japan, ancient Greek artworks are a source of inspiration (O’Kelly 1982, p. 88).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Arts in Pre-historic Greek Artworks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Greek architecture left a lasting impression in the architectural design of public buildings. Contemporary buildings and the ancient Roman arts copied a lot of things from the Greek. This paper compares the Parthenon, a well known surviving building of ancient Greek with the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, which is a piece of contemporary architectural artwork. The Parthenon building on the Acropolis, in 5th BC to replace an old temple destroyed during an invasion (Beard 2010, p.12). The temple bu ilding in Athens and it acted as a sign of Athenian dominance in the Greek Peninsula. The War Memorial Opera House located in San Francisco on Van Ness Avenue opposite the City Hall opened its gate to the public in 1932 (Couret 1998, para. 2). The building was among the last main American building built in the Beaux-arts style. This style of art borrowed a lot from the ancient Greek and Roman architectures. The Parthenon (Neils 2005, p. 3) Advertising Looking for essay on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The War Memorial Opera House (SFWMPAC Online n.d, n.p) The Parthenon building to served as a temple for one of the goddesses of Athens. It was built to offer thanks to Athena the goddess for their success and victory in the war. In fact, the name originated from a cultic statue housed in one of the rooms, in the temple. The building later invaded and turned into a church in honor of the Virgin Mary. On the other hand, the War Memorial Opera House was built to commemorate the people who died during the World War I. It also served to host the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center since 1932 when it opened its doors (‘Parthenon, Lovell Minnick and Fisher Lynch Conclude Acquisition of H.D. Vest Financial Services’ 2011, para. 2). Classical Doric order or style, which, is normally calm and sturdy was used in building both buildings (Michos 2002, para. 7). The Parthenon, credited as one of the perfect Doric temple ever built in the world while the War memorial Opera House constructed using paired columns, an application of Doric order (‘The Webby Awards 2001(R) Will Take the Stage at San Franciscos War Memorial Opera House’ 2001, n.p). Doric style applied the directly standing columns on flat pavements known as stylobates and alternated metopes a feature common with the two architectural works under consideration. Ionic columns were also clearly used in both buildings. The materials used to make the two pieces of architecture were different mainly because of the different in their respective location. Wooden roofs, marble tiles and marble statues made up the Parthenon’s interior. Other materials used in the building were ivory and gold, and it stood on a limestone rock. Coffered ceiling; large aluminum and glass paneled chandelier made up the War Memorial Opera house’s interior. Sculptures are a common occurrence in the two buildings despite the difference in age (Clark 1997, para 5).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Arts in Pre-historic Greek Artworks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An explosion destroyed the Parthenon, but the War Memorial Opera house in San Francisco continues to stand. It maintains a lasting impression of the ancient Greek architectural designs, and buildings (Kaldor 2010, p 23). Technologically, the building has advanced, but it refuses to let go of its ancient world’s ‘theater feeling’. Until late 20th century, the Parthenon laid destroyed, but the Greek government set out to revive the ancient building. Now it is meant to become a museum, but unfortunately, the original design cannot be recovered. Only an impression of it is possible. References Beard, M., 2010. The Parthenon, Profile Books. Clark, A., 1997. After the quake: Andrew Clark attends the re-opening of San Franciscos refurbished War Memorial Opera House Financial Times, pp. 08-08. Couret, C., 1998. San Franciscos historic opera house re-opens, The American City County, 113(9), pp. 28-28. Kaldor, A., 2010. Great opera houses: masterpiece of architecture Masterpieces of Architecture Series. Antique Collectors’ Club, the University of Michigan. Michos, I., 2002. The enduring question about the Parthenon, Financial Times, , pp. 06-06.Advertising Looking for essay on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Neils, J., 2005. The Parthenon: from antiquity to the present. Cambridge University Press. O’Kelly, M., 1982. Newgrange: Archaeology, Art and Legend, London: Thames and Hudson. Parthenon, Lovell Minnick and Fisher Lynch Conclude Acquisition of H.D. Vest Financial Services, 2011. Entertainment Close Up, , pp. n/a. The Webby Awards 2001(R) Will Take the Stage at San Franciscos War Memorial Opera House, 2001. United States, New York: PR Newswire Association LLC. SFWMPAC Online, n.d., San Francisco War Memorial Performing Center. Web.

Gustav Klimt's The Kiss, The Kiss by August Rodin and The Kiss by Research Paper

Gustav Klimt's The Kiss, The Kiss by August Rodin and The Kiss by Konstatin Brancusi - Research Paper Example Although there is a similarity in their works of art, the artists have used diverse mediums to portray their thoughts. In this piece we look into each work of art on how the artist brought his idea into reality, the medium used and the feelings or thoughts these artists portray. Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is particularly an interesting peace of work. Such is evident on how the artists composed the portrait in a perfect style which is shown in the manner in which the colours are used. (Patrick L. Frank, Sarah Preble 2010) The canvas itself is a perfect square that holds Klimt’s expression of a couple embracing and sharing a passionate moment while entwined together. Klimt produced this magnificent work of art at the age of 45 in which he used oil paints and gold leaf. At that point of life he still leaved with his mother and two sisters. The artist is noted to have a sexual appetite that was expressed in his works such as The Kiss. ( Partsch, Susanna 1989) Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is designed in a manner in which contrast and colour shadowing creates an appealing tone on the painting. The use of dull oil paints on various parts of the painting such as the background, hand the use of gold leaf in most parts of it creates a bright picture. The golden aspect of the painting is used to show of how the couple is entwined in a single robe to show how they feelings that they have for each other is mutual. Auguste Rodin in his bid to make his thought known utilizes his magnificent skill of sculpting to produce an amazing sculpture. This work of art borrows its idea from the tale of a noblewoman who fell in love with her husband younger brother. However this hidden affair that sparked when the two fell in love while reading a book is discovered and the couple is killed by the woman’s husband. It is noted that in the sculpture that the lovers' lips do not touch. This thus is used to suggesting that two lovers were interrupted and their affair ended even before they had the chance to share a passionate kiss. This sculpture created by Rodin is in marble to show that the artists considered marble as the best medium for his work of art. It must have been the ease that comes from sculpting and shaping marble that must have influenced Rodin’s choice. (Patrick L. Frank, Sarah Preble 2010) Konstatin Brancusi work of art is a marble sculpturing that depicts two lovers kissing with their lips in full contact unlike in Auguste’s sculpture. The work of art is purely in marble to show Konstantin’s favour of marble to other elements used in sculpturing. This must have been the case considering that Konstantin was a student of Rodin thus the choice of using marble in his works of art. This work of art must have been a personal replication of what Rodin had done in the 1880s as he sculpted his in 1908. Konstantins work is a composition of well outlined geometrical lines unlike in other artists’ works.( Brezianu, B. Geist, S. 1965) His abstract style while creating the sculpture must have earned him the title of â€Å"a modern sculpture patriarch†. This shows that the works done by him are the pioneers of today’s’ sculptures. In this three works of art although they share the same name they seem to portray different feelings and thoughts that the artists had when they produced their respective works. In Gustav’s work w e identify that the artist aimed at portraying the feeling of how he was fascinated by eroticism thus his painting of a woman kneeling and the man holding her trying to kiss her. The painting shows of how Gustav tried to bring the woman having the status of a protagonist. He desired to expose women not just as an object of desire but something that is considerable

Labour Economics, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Labour Economics, - Essay Example Discussion and Analysis Theoretical Models of Economics of Education The most frequently used model for the assessment of education economics is the schooling model. The model perceives education as a form of investment by which the people who are taking the services get themselves trained with certain skills that in future help them to work and earn wages. For example, workers who had not taken specialised training for making pins would not be able to deliver the products and earn money. On the other hand, the person who has technical training would be able to work for some organisation that would add to his living. Hence it is extremely essential to acquire skills. In the same way, both of a high school pass-out and a graduate would be able to earn money, but the former would have less specialised education and thus would always earn less than the graduate unless he upgrades himself with the necessary education. Thus the return out of higher education is definitely positive and it adds value to the earning capacity of a person in the later stages of life. The second most popular theory regarding the economics of education is the signalling model. This theory states that when a person completes his education it signals for the labour market that he is capable of doing work efficiently and therefore the person can be employed. It determined the employability of the person. The Marxist approach to education is somewhat different from the approaches discussed above. According to Marx, skill development and education were two different phenomena. The capitalist society would encourage the development of skills so that more and more workers get specialised skills and help to increase in the total productivity. This would only benefit the capitalists by increasing their profits. Instead Marx emphasises on education and states that proper education would liberate the individual from the exploitation of the bourgeois and would make the economy a socialist one (Carneir o and Heckman, 2003, p. 4). The following graph describes the relationship between the age of a person and the return on investment. The opportunity cost of funds is constant over the entire period of time. It must also be noted that there is a trade of between the time that a person engages himself for education and the time that is spent for earning some income. In the figure we find that the marginal rate of return on investment decreases over the life of the person. At the preschool level the return is the highest it is the lowest at the post school level where the curve becomes asymmetric. Hence if the person is engaged more in higher education, then he has to bear a lot of opportunity cost because the time that the person spends in educating himself could have been used for earning a livelihood. Instead the person has to bear an expense. Empirical Approaches and Difficulties in Measuring Rate of Return on Education Most of the empirical researches have proved that in all cases of high enrolment in particular countries, the growth rate has increased. Thus a positive correlation is found to exist in the level of education, rates of educated and the growth rate of the economy (Boser, 2011, p. 8). There is also a noticeable corollary along with this. The countries that have shown the least difference in the male and female

Pain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Pain - Essay Example the site, intensity, and direction of the cause of the pain, allowing physicians and nurses to more adequately assess the disease process, and take the steps necessary to relieve the patient’s pain. Geriatric patients undergo pain, and which may pose particular challenges in nursing care. The physical, psychological, and social impact of geriatric pain will be highlighted in this study, and the particular issues of pain assessment and management will be explained as related to nursing care.   There is no single definition of pain, as pain can manifest itself in many ways to different patients. Pain may occur in varying levels of severity, and in various parts of the physical anatomy. Many times, pain may also have mental components that must be assessed. Pain often causes distress, and alleviation of patient distress is a primary goal. Measurement of pain and implementing interventions to relieve not only the pain, but also the source of the pain, is an integral part of the caretaker’s role (Glasper, McEwing and Richardson 2009). The aim of this discussion is to provide a definition of pain that is applicable to the care setting, in which consideration is given to the elements of pain that are subjective and complex. Pain is to be evaluated as a multidimensional experience with psychological, physical, emotional, cultural and spiritual ramifications that are each significant and must be considered in order to provide high quality nursing care to patient’s e xperiences diverse types and levels of pain. A balanced approach to nursing considers the entire scope of pain when assessing a patient or providing treatment.   Almost all nurses will need to interact with geriatric patients at some point in their career. In fact, according to the American Journal of Nursing, contemporary nurses will care for more patients in the age range 65 and older than any other type of patient (â€Å"Nursing Care of Older Adults†). In order to achieve an understanding of

The Eye Above the Well Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Eye Above the Well - Movie Review Example His ability to enjoy the beauty and creation bestowed by the Almighty, amidst misery labels him a paradoxical happy-go-lucky, go-getter fatalist! The documentary film is a figurative description of the Third World countries. The film is set in the Indian state of Kerala and the story essentially brings to the forefront, the trauma and horrifying experiences that the Third Worlds countries have been undergoing. The man suspended from the tree, above a well is the representative of these countries and the well represents the profound misery they have been subject to. However, what is refreshingly different is the man's attempt to reach out and taste the drop of honey on a blade of grass. This is symbolic of the attempt of the Third World and the citizens of these countries, who, amidst poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease and ignorance try to attain the innocent bliss of living each day and of enjoying God's creation, nature, beauty and the very meaning of life. They search and find happiness in the little things that their lives offer, without fretting. The film also brings to light the cultural richness and heritage of one such country-India.

Lab report paraphrase Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paraphrase - Lab Report Example In addition to that, the same outputs must conclude in each of the NAND and BOR circuits. The properties were tested at the time of functional simulation, and proven during the hardware testing when the light on the FPGA board was programmed to turn on given there was an output of 1. The timing delay was also tested through the timing simulation. The outcome of the waveform was that it worked successfully the way it was supposed to. The design of the three circuits was made as an RTL schematic and each of the circuits had specific settings as it’s shown in figure 1.1. The second step was to transfer the three circuit’s design through USB to the FPGA for them to be tested as to whether they work properly or not. For Y1, Y2, and Y3 (as shown in Figure 1.2), 16 possibility variables were included. The graph as represented in Figure 1.3 is called the functional simulation. The functional simulation graph reveals the output results of the given variables of the functions. This simulation occurs in such a way that bumps in the graph represents the function when it equates to 1, while the straight lines represents the function when it equates to 0. Inclusively, the graph proves the assertion that NAND and BOR circuits have the same outcome (i.e. Give the same output). As shown in Figure 1.4, the function variables are represented in a timely interval and there variations with time. As a result the representation information that is accrued from the circuit can be obtained accordingly within the graph. Following the same logic as per the functional simulation, the bumps in the graph represents the function when it equates to 1, while the straight lines represents the function when it equates to 0. Of importance to note is that the graph also reveals propagation delay that occurs each time variables go through the logic gates in the timing simulation. By thoroughly following the steps as in the lab manual provided, the three

Effects of social media on the real estate industry Essay

Effects of social media on the real estate industry - Essay Example Social media also represents enormous changes perspective for businesses. For most individuals, buying a home is a thing done once after ten years at most. Selling of real estates is the kind of business benefiting from constant streams of new prospects (Crowston, K., & Wigand, 1999). Social media enables real estate agents to build the reputation of their business. This enables them in attracting new clients. Moreover, social media enables them in networking in the real estate industry (Wigand, 2003).Social media makes it easy to reach out to more individuals but it does not assure that these individuals will purchase from you (Huertas, 2012). A business needs to work on still setting up its social media framework. After doing so, the business needs to work more until it gets the needed results. Knowing how to use social media needs a period of engaging more on hands giving a business the idea of how social media can assist it in succeeding given the problems faced by the business.I n conclusion, social media has made it informal and quicker for real estate agents to connect with their clients. It has given them a way of engaging individuals in their precise area and allowing them to inform their clients.Additionally, social media helps real estate agents to constantly post new releases and engage daily by responding timeously to their clients and potential buyers. It is clearly seen that social media has enabled real estate agents to build good relationships with prospective home buyers.

The Eye Above the Well Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Eye Above the Well - Movie Review Example His ability to enjoy the beauty and creation bestowed by the Almighty, amidst misery labels him a paradoxical happy-go-lucky, go-getter fatalist! The documentary film is a figurative description of the Third World countries. The film is set in the Indian state of Kerala and the story essentially brings to the forefront, the trauma and horrifying experiences that the Third Worlds countries have been undergoing. The man suspended from the tree, above a well is the representative of these countries and the well represents the profound misery they have been subject to. However, what is refreshingly different is the man's attempt to reach out and taste the drop of honey on a blade of grass. This is symbolic of the attempt of the Third World and the citizens of these countries, who, amidst poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease and ignorance try to attain the innocent bliss of living each day and of enjoying God's creation, nature, beauty and the very meaning of life. They search and find happiness in the little things that their lives offer, without fretting. The film also brings to light the cultural richness and heritage of one such country-India.

Effects of social media on the real estate industry Essay

Effects of social media on the real estate industry - Essay Example Social media also represents enormous changes perspective for businesses. For most individuals, buying a home is a thing done once after ten years at most. Selling of real estates is the kind of business benefiting from constant streams of new prospects (Crowston, K., & Wigand, 1999). Social media enables real estate agents to build the reputation of their business. This enables them in attracting new clients. Moreover, social media enables them in networking in the real estate industry (Wigand, 2003).Social media makes it easy to reach out to more individuals but it does not assure that these individuals will purchase from you (Huertas, 2012). A business needs to work on still setting up its social media framework. After doing so, the business needs to work more until it gets the needed results. Knowing how to use social media needs a period of engaging more on hands giving a business the idea of how social media can assist it in succeeding given the problems faced by the business.I n conclusion, social media has made it informal and quicker for real estate agents to connect with their clients. It has given them a way of engaging individuals in their precise area and allowing them to inform their clients.Additionally, social media helps real estate agents to constantly post new releases and engage daily by responding timeously to their clients and potential buyers. It is clearly seen that social media has enabled real estate agents to build good relationships with prospective home buyers.

Child of Divorce Essay Example for Free

Child of Divorce Essay Divorce is becoming a norm in the society nowadays. This refers to the complete termination of marriage between the couple who demands for it. Through the dissolution of the bonds of matrimony, both parties are allowed to marry again (Gallagher, 1996). However, opposing views are prevailing regarding divorce. For those who are in favor of it, divorce can be regarded as the only legitimate remedy when happiness and affection are no longer provided in the marriage (Scanzoni 1965). For those who are against it, divorce causes psychological problems and damage to social cohesion (Diefenbach, 2007). Divorce is not just the story of the couple parting ways but it is more of a story of the children who are products of a divorced marriage. â€Å"Human children need parents longer than any other species and are totally dependent on parents for food, shelter, and protection for the first several years of life. This dependency spawns a fear of abandonment. In divorce, one of the parents leaves. When one parent leaves, the children feel rejected. The loss children feel at divorce is similar to that experienced when a parent dies. Divorce might actually be harder on children because it lacks the concrete cause and finality of death (Bryner, 2001). † This causes most of the children of divorce to be more aggressive, impulsive and develop antisocial behavior compared to children from intact families (Hetherington, 1999). Others also exhibit lower academic performance (Kelly, 1998). However, some children manage to develop without these deleterious effects of divorce. As a matter of fact, these children are found to have less stereotyped sex behavior, greater maturity and greater independence (Emery, 1995). The developmental stage of the child when the divorce of his parents occurs is predictive of the child’s behavior and reaction towards the situation. An infant or a toddler will not react at all to his parents’ divorce because he can’t still comprehend the situation. However, a preschooler will tend to blame himself as the culprit of his parents’ divorce. Because he feels guilty and fears that the remaining parent may also leave him, he becomes more possessive of his parent (Roseby, 1998). For a young school-aged child, the divorce of his parents gives him a sense of responsibility. He feels that he should bring his parents together again and think of strategies that will make his parents interact in any way (Lansky, 1996). On the other hand, older school-aged children tend to blame one parent and take the side of the other parent. They become anxious and worrisome of the situation which makes them prone to illnesses such as headaches, sleeping disorders, chest pains, diabetes and asthma (Kimball, 1994). The reaction is more deleterious with adolescents who entirely mask their reactions. They switch to other outlets such as peers, sex, alcohol and drugs because they hate being bothered by their parents’ lives (Thompson, 1998). I have a friend named Diane. Fourteen years ago, her parents separated by divorce. Back then, she was only turning three and didn’t know anything about the chaotic situation between her parents. She was left to the custody of her mother while her father was just obliged by the court to provide some financial assistance. Everything went well with this arrangement until she entered primary school where she had greater monetary needs. Unfortunately, her father had another family and was compelled to reduce the money sent to her. This was the reason why her mother was obligated to work in order to support her. Because her mother became busy in her work, Diane was always left with her grandmother whenever she was off from school. It was only through her grandmother that everything regarding her family became clear. She hated the fact that her own mother concealed their broken family from her and would always say that her father is just working in a far away place. She realized that she will never have his father back and that her fantasies of having a complete family would never be real. That time, she began to skip classes in school and whenever she would attend a lecture, she never participates in the recitation. She also failed our exams. I was really worried about the big change in her behavior because she used to be the top student of our class. I just learned about her family problem when she never attended classes for a week and her mother came to our school looking for her. One of our classmates revealed that Diane eloped with her boyfriend. I can’t forget the face of Diane’s mother crying and blaming herself for what had happened to her daughter. After that, I never saw Diane again. The last news I heard about her was that she is living with her mother again. She broke up with her boyfriend but gave birth to a baby boy, who, like her, is a child of divorce. Diane’s story is just one of the millions of stories which we can get from the life of a child from a broken family. In her case, the effects of divorce were appalling because of the lack of effective communication. It would have been better if both her parents explained to her the situation and the reasons why they should have divorce. When Diane learned that her parents were already divorced, she was very frustrated because she fantasized of having a complete family when her father returns from work. She also felt betrayal because her mother never told her what’s real. These extreme negative emotions changed her attitude and made her rebel against the situation. Also, Diane’s mother was very preoccupied in her work that’s why she was not able to keep an eye on the performance of her daughter in school. If only she did, maybe she was able to help Diane solve her emotional problems at an early stage. After all, divorce can really cause a big scar but it doesn’t really have to. References: Bryner, C. L. (2001). Children of Divorce. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Practice;14:201–10. Diefenbach, H. and Opp, K. D. (2007). When and Why Do People Think There Should Be a Divorce? http://rss. sagepub. com/cgi/content/abstract/19/4/485. Emery, R. E. and Coiro, M. J. (1995). Divorce: consequences for children. Pediatric Review;16:306 –10. Gallagher, M. (1996). The Abolition of Marriage. Regnery Publishing. Hetherington, E. M. and Stanley-Hagan M. (1999). The adjustment of children with divorced parents: a risk andresiliency perspective. Journal of Child Psychology; 40:129–40. Kelly, J. B. (1998). Marital conflict, divorce, and children’s adjustment. Child Adolescent Psychiatry;7:259 –71. Kimball, G. (1994). How to survive your parents’ divorce: kids’ advice to kids. Chico, California: Equality Press. Lansky, V. (1996). Divorce book for parents helping your child cope with divorce and its aftermath. Minnetonka, MN: Book Peddlers. Roseby, V. and Johnston J. R. (1998). Common developmental threats in high-conflict divorcing families. Child Adolescent Psychiatry;7:295–309. Scanzoni, J. (1965). A Reinquiry into Marital Disorganization. Journal of Marriage and the Family 27: 483–91. Thompson, P. (1998). Adolescents from families of divorce: vulnerability to physiological and psychological disturbances. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Service;36(3):34 –9.

Positivist Approach to Sociological Research

Positivist Approach to Sociological Research Scientific methodology in sociology, the study of the social world, is most often associated with what is known as the positivist approach. In this essay, to determine whether or not it is indeed possible to apply scientific methods to the study of the social world, I will analyse the strengths and weaknesses of positivist sociology. â€Å"As developed by Auguste Comte, positivism is a way of thinking based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works.† (Johnson p231) This established knowledge was then to be used to affect the course of social change and it would help improve humanity. Comte’s work was in part a reaction to the ‘anarchy’ that besieged France in the wake of the revolution. Comte sincerely believed that scientific rationality could temper the raw human emotions that had lead to such chaos. Sociology, in his definition (and others), literally the science of society, co uld apply such scientific rationalism, empiricism and positivism to social life, thus improving it and preventing continued anarchy. â€Å"Comte believed that social life is governed by underlying laws and principles that can be discovered through the use of methods most often associated with the physical sciences.† (Johnson p231) One would identify the methods of positivism thus; 1) careful observation measurement; 2) quantification; 3) formalisation of concepts precision in definition; 4) operationalisation of theoretical questions 5) mathematisation (connects with all of the previous features; 6) logic and systemisation of theory 7) symmetry of explanation prediction; 8) objectivity understood as value neutrality. Positivism, â€Å"Is above all a philosophy of science. As such, it stands squarely within the empiricist tradition. Metaphysical speculation is rejected in favour of positive knowledge based upon systematic observation and experiment. The methods of science can give us knowledge of the laws of coexistence.† (Marshall p510) However, as shall hopefully be shown later, these scientific methods can not show us anything about the inner ‘essences’ or ‘nature’ of things. Broadly speaking structuralism is, â€Å"Used loosely in sociology to refer to any approach which regards social structure (apparent or otherwise) as having priority over social action.† (Johnson p646) Positivism and structuralism are generally highly complementary, positivism effectively being the scientific methodology of structuralism. This can be observed in the works of Comte, Marx, Durkheim and the Vienna circle. Later theorists such as Parsons can also be described as both str ucturalist and positivist although in Parson’s case he does consider certain interpretivist sensibilities. Marx, Durkheim, Comte, the Vienna circle and many others all saw sociology as a science and all believed that social structure was the core component of society. â€Å"Perhaps one of the most important traits in naturalistic or positivistic sociology is the belief that social phenomena are patterned and are subject to deterministic laws much as are the laws governing the natural sciences. Sociological theory then becomes a quest for laws similar to the law of gravity or the law of material density in physics† (Poloma p3) The main difference between the social and natural worlds is that the subject of study in the social world is humanity. People, in basic terms, have a consciousness where as the subjects of the natural sciences, rocks or atoms or chemicals, do not. People are aware of themselves and their surroundings in a way that rocks, for example, are not. This, clearly, is a potential problem for positivist sociology. However, this problem is resolved, in positivist science, by arguing that the self-consciousness of human beings (the ability to think, act and feel) is not a significant factor in our ability to understand social behaviour. This, according to positivists, is because peoples behaviour is, at its genesis, always a reaction to some form of stimulation. This stimulation can be from their socialisation (as we shall see in Parsons work), or it can be something more direct like the need to earn a living or a confrontation with another human. This produces one of the criticisms of positiv ist sociology, as we shall see, action and the meaning placed on that action becomes unimportant for study, only the cause of the action, the stimuli, has any sociological value for positivists. The positivist view of sociology, of its aims, of its methods, is certainly a contentious one. Two of the first sociologists to question these methods, and the first that can be labelled as interpretivist, were Weber and Simmel. â€Å"Weber argues that sociology is not concerned with totalising explanations; only individuals have an ontological reality, society does not exist in that real sense, and so sociological explanations must be in terms of individual events and processes.† (Craib 1997 p51) Rickert’s term of Geisteswissenschaften (literally the sciences of the spirit/mind) greatly influenced Weber’s conception of what sociology should be. The ontological reality which Weber speaks of is that humans are very different from other natural beings. We have free will, an inner life, use symbols, possess language, live in culture and act meaningfully. This ontological reality ensures that humanity cannot be studied using positivist scientific methodology, or any other conventional scientific methodology, sociology must use other methods. While the natural sciences wish to explain natural events, sociology, as understood by Weber, Rickert or Simmel, wishes to understand social action. Social scientists should endeavour to understand social action in very much the same way as one attempts to understand other people, by communicating, through empathy, and through argument. These views are also associated with, and expanded upon, by the philosopher Peter Winch. (Winch 1958) â€Å"Sociology differs from the natural sciences in that it does not deal with a pre given universe of objects. People attribute meaning to their social world and act accordingly.† (Baert p97) Weber, in his Methodology of The Social Sciences, points out that all knowledge of cultural reality is always from a particular point of view. The philosophical idea that there is no truth, only human opinion is prevalent in this argument. Simmel emphasises and expands upon this point, â€Å"In the last resort the content of any science doesn’t rest on simple objective facts, but always involves an interpretation and shaping of them according to categories and rules that are a priori of the science concerned.† (Stones p74) Any scientific conclusion, be it in the field of physics or sociology, has to be interpreted by its author, then represented by that same author and then reinterpreted by those that read it. In these interpretations any ‘truth’ or ‘law ’ is surrendered to human opinion, human meaning, human understanding. This criticism of positivist sociology is probably best illustrated by a discussion of a classic positivist sociological text, Emile Durkheim’s suicide study. In his study, Durkheim analysed the differential distribution of the occurrence of suicide by country and region. Durkheim professed to have found suicidogenic currents (Durkheim 1963) in society; the pressures to commit suicide, the laws of suicide. Through a positivist, scientific methodology, Durkheim identified the pressures to commit suicide were greater in regions where the Protestant faith was dominant, and weaker where Catholicism dominated. Durkheim’s account posits an external force (suicidogenic currents) as the cause of suicide cause and effect. (Durkheim 1963) However why suicide occurs tends not to be the issue. To say that suicide is caused, not entirely obviously but in part, by the following of the Protestant faith is to assume that the term suicide is a simple one, a fixed one, with no room for differing meanings. This view is wrong. What is of importance is how a suicide comes to be defined as such by the coroner’s court. One must remember that a sui cide is not an objective fact, but a interpretation, an interpretation that can be influenced by the coroner’s own personal feelings. If a ruling of suicide is likely to cause the deceased’s family pain and suffering, as is likely if they are Catholics, then the coroner may be inclined, where ever possible, to not record a suicide verdict, but an accidental death instead This alerts us to the problematic nature of Durkheim’s, and positivist sociology in general, reliance on statistics. For Durkheim takes those statistics as giving a ‘true’ picture of the incidence of suicide. But do they? Are they rather a representation of the interpretation of suicide as opposed to cold hard objective fact? Interactions/ interpretive work on suicide states that suicide statistics are a construction involving police, courts and coroners. Thus for a death to be counted as a suicide involves a complex social process concerning meaning and interpretation, two unquantifiable characteristics of humanity. Thus suicide is not just the effect of a societal cause, but an interpretation of events, thus not a positivist, scientific event. Therefore if sociologists wish a knowledge of social life, they cannot explain social actors’ action in terms of cause and effect. Rather, they must seek out what the social actors themselves say they are up to, wha t they mean. â€Å"Comte’s view shifted in later life, under the influence of Cloitilde de Vaux. He came to see that science alone could not be a binding force for social cohesion as he had earlier supposed. He argued that the intellect must become the servant of the heart, and advocated a new ‘religion of humanity.’† (Marshall p509) Comte, the originator of the positivist sociological methodology shifted his emphasis away from positivism in his later work, thus exposing the inherent problems and weaknesses at its methodological core. â€Å"Positivism has had relatively little influence in contemporary sociology for several reasons. Current views argue that positivism encourages a misleading emphasis on superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be observed.† (Johnson p231) For example, we cannot observe human motives or the meaning that people give to behaviour and other aspects of social life, but this does not me an that meaning and motive are nonexistent or irrelevant. The best way to illustrate the above points is to set them within the context of a positivist sociological study, in this case Parson’s work on personality. For society to function, it is logical according to Parsons to deduce that the individual members of society have to agree with society’s rule. â€Å"For Parsons, the social system is†¦made up of the interactions of individuals. Of special concern is†¦ that such interactions are not random but mediated by common standards of evaluation. Most important among these are moral standards which may be called norms.† (Hamilton p155) When people in society interact the interactions themselves, the emotions that seemingly control them, the goals that the individual actors (people) are hoping to obtain, they are all in fact controlled by the norms of society. â€Å"The concept of order is located predominantly at the level of the social system itself and the cultural system becomes a mechanism of the functioning of the social system.† (Hamilton p146) These norms are adopted and agreed by each member of the society for Parsons and this is his consensus theory. Imp ortantly Parsons’ theory suggests that the power of societal expectations, the power of norms, is more pervasive than merely being a moral standard that mediates interaction and personal relationships. They are in fact the organisational foci of personality, of people themselves. â€Å"Socialisation is the process by which we learn to become members of society, both by internalising the norms and values of society, and also learning to perform our social roles (as worker, friend, citizen and so forth.)† (Marshall p624) The family, for instance, is controlled by the same norms as society because it is that society, just it is a smaller component of it. The subsystems of society are analogous to body parts in the Parsonian model, they are all essential, each provide their own unique function and all interrelate, interpenetrate and are dependent upon one another. Analogous to the human body where each body part has a specific function to perform, and all of those parts work in unison to keep the structure going, so society is organised. Immersion within these subsystems, such as the family leads to internalisations of norms and objects, and this in turn creates personality. Because personality is internalised from society, â€Å"The foci of organisation of both types of system lies in†¦the value systems.† (Parsons p357) The values of society are the values of people, or personality. People are not just guided by the norms of society, but their very personalities are organised by the very same norms and principles and morals, according to Parsons. Thus peoples actions are quantifiable, reducible to a law since they are mediated by common standards. As gravity is a constant, so are the norms of a society and therefore of personality. The positivist law here is that personality, every action of a human is controlled by the same standards of evaluation as society. The person’s personality is derived directly from society, it is society. Thus a scientific study of society is possible because there is cause and effect, there is a reaction to stimuli. Socialisation is the stimulation that people react to. For Parsons, laws can be discerned from humanity because people will react in predictable ways, mediated by norms, to the stimulation of events and socialisation. Thus sociology can be scientific, empirical and positivist. A major problem with Parson’s work is that it reduces human personality to being produced and organised solely by societal expectations and norms. This societal determinism fails to acknowledge or explain where certain feelings, motives and actions originate. Goffman argues that â€Å"it is . . . against something that the self can emerge. . . Without something to belong to, we have no stable self, and yet total commitment and attachment to any social unit implies a kind of selflessness. Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wider social unit; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways in which we resist the pull.† (Goffman 196 p305) A favourite example of this for Goffman was that of mental patients in asylums. The total institution of an asylum probably forces more strict adherence to societal expectation than most other social situations by using methods such as drug induced control and disciplinary measures such as EST. Yet in the se institutions, despite being forced to play the role of the mental patient, to conform to societal expectation), patients still resisted those expectations. The hoarding of banned materials being an example of this. The motivation to do this does not come from internalisation of norms, as the correct way to behave is to not horde banned items. It comes from a need to keep ones own identity, to satisfy needs and drives and wants. These needs drives and wants are absent from the Parsonian model and a full understanding or explanation of society and social actions needs to take them into account. â€Å"The maintenance of this surface of agreement, this veneer of consensus, is facilitated by each participant concealing his own wants behind statements which assert values to which everyone present feels obliged to give lip service.† (Goffman 1990 p20-21) The norms and laws that Parsons believes to control personality and society, are revealed by Goffman as only being a veneer. Furthermore Goffman states that other feelings and motives in fact influence social action, not just norms. If, as Goffman claims, the so called common standards of evaluation that Parsons identifies are in fact a veneer that hides other motives and feelings, then the actions of humanity are not as easily quantifiable, reducible to a scientific, positivist law, as Parsons first shows. Freud’s metapsychology deals with the general structure of mental life. For Freud there were three psychic structures. The first, the id, contains, â€Å"those basic drives we have by virtue of being human, of which sexuality is the most important.† (Craib 1989 p3) The Id is often equated to by Freud as being like an infant, demanding immediate satisfaction irrespective of societal expectations. The Id makes up the greatest part of the unconscious and it is in this unconscious realm of basic biologically influenced drives that the motivational forces that Parson’s can not identity come from. The Id influences personality. It is important to remember that, as opposed to biological instincts driving us to act like a shark would, a mindless automaton, â€Å"the unconscious is composed not of biological instincts but of the mental representations we attach to these instincts.† (Craib 1989 p4) Thus each individual creates their own mental representation for the ir drives thus meaning that every persons internal world has a different geography. This clearly poses problems for the positivist approach to personality and society and social action, as represented by Parsons here, for if reaction to stimulation is not predictable because each person acts differently, then universal scientific laws can not be established. The second structure of personality according to Freud, the ego or the ‘I’ is the central organiser of mental life. The third, the superego is thought of as the conscience. â€Å"The superego is the internalisation of external control which demands the renuncification of instinctual satisfaction in order that society might be formed and maintained.† (Craib 1989 p21) The superego is the part of personality that Parson’s identifies the part that internalises norms. The basic drives of the id demand immediate satisfaction, immediate gratification of those drives, these demands are contrary to the superego norms and morality, and the conflict has to be resolved by the ego. Our consciousness, predominantly consisting of the ego and superego, protects us from our own id impulses that, if they were followed, would leave it impossible for us to exist within society. Freud stated that â€Å"Civilisation depends upon repression†¦If we tried to gratify all our d esires, sexual or otherwise, as and when they arose, society, civilisation and culture would vanish over night.† (Craib 1984 p195) For Freud the ‘I’, is the resolution of the conflict between the id biologically directed drives, and the superego’s societal restraints. Therefore personality is the site of the, hopefully, resolved conflict between the normative mind evaluated by common standards as Parsons identifies, and the basic id drives. These Id drives, as I shall show, influence personality thus influence social action and society. This being the case then Parsons’ explanation for personality is insufficient and so is the positivist claim for the scientific study of society. The positivist tenants of careful observation and measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions; mathematisation; logic and systemisation of theory; symmetry of explanation prediction and objecti vity cannot be applied to individualistic Id drives and impulses. â€Å"The desire to kill anyone who frustrates us thus becomes unconscious, but none the less remains.† (Craib 1989 p24) Evidence for these desires for Freud appears in slips, where the unconscious desire can ‘slip’ into conscious conversation. â€Å"Freud quotes the husband who supposedly said, ‘If one of us two die, I shall move to Paris.† (Craib 1989 p24) One can not scientifically measure how these unconscious desires influence and effect social action, especially since it can be so hard to identify them as existing in the first place. â€Å"A feature of human life is that an instinct such as the sexual instinct is not directed at any one object, but has to be socially channelled, in our society usually towards members of the opposite sex.† (Craib 1989 p4) â€Å"Human beings are restrained by social organisation from a free and good expression of their drives. Through its oppression, society forces people into neuroses and psychoses.† (Craib 1989 p19) For Freud the very problems that he and other psychoanalysts dealt with were in fact often as the result of the repression of id drives by the superego and societal repression. As such the very existence of neuroses and psychoses can be seen as evidence to the fact that this conflict does indeed exist, that the resolution of this conflict does indeed produce the ‘I’ with all its faults and problems. To fully understand society, sociology needs to be aware of societal pressures, the Parson’s personality through positivism, but also nee ds to recognise the other meanings and emotions that cannot be quantified, cannot be analysed scientifically. Sociology needs to use interpretivism and positivism together. In terms of this example, Parsons positivist models needs to be considered at great length and detail as he does indeed identify a huge force in shaping society, that of norms and how they do penetrate into the psyche and personality. However, a study that only concentrates on the positivist methodology misses the crucial aspects of personality that Goffman and Freud identify, and that is not in the interest of any sociologist. â€Å"Positivism may be dead in that there is no longer an identifiable community of philosophers who give its simpler characteristics unqualified support, but it lives on philosophically, developed until it transmutes into conventionalism or realism. And even if in its simpler philosophical forms it is dead, the spirit of those earlier formulations continues to haunt sociology.† (Halfpenny p120) In conclusion positivism’s attempt at scientific sociological methodology, though fallacious is admirable and certainly many of the aspects of positivism should be considered desirable. As quoted elsewhere, â€Å"positivism is a way of thinking based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works.† (Johnson p231) The desire for reliable, valid knowledge is of course a relevant and important sociological aim and some of the tools that positivism uses to try to reach such knowledge are useful and wort hwhile. Careful observation, measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions; logic and systemisation of theory; symmetry of explanation and prediction and objectivity, if all of these tenants of positivism can at least be attempted in a sociological study then that sociological study will indeed be the better for it. However, sociological study needs to recognise, as Comte himself did, that these aims, in their fullest, are unobtainable and that those aims are not ends in themselves, rather a very rough guide to sociological methodology. As I have hopefully shown above, sociological analysis needs positivism, needs scientific methodology, but a carefully tempered and monitored positivism. The aim of sociology is understanding and that understanding should not be limited by methodology, especially a methodology that is inherently flawed. Positivism shows us how to analyse data, data that is essential to soc iological understand, but that data must not be treated uncritically thus a synthesis of positivism and interpretivism is recommended. To study the social world using a strict scientific methodology is impossible, that does not, of course, mean that scientific methodology is not a useful and critical tool in sociological study. Bibliography Baert, P, 1998. Social theory in the twentieth century. Polity press Craib, I, 1984. Modern social theory. Wheatsheaf books Ltd Craib, I, 1989. Psychoanalysis and social theory the limits of sociology Wheatsheaf Craib, I, 1997. Classical social theory pub by Oxford university press Durkheim, E, 1963. Suicide, a study in sociology. Routledge Goffman, E, 1961 Asylums. Doubleday Anchor Goffman, E, 1990. The presentation of the self in everyday life. Penguin Halfpenny, P, 1986. Positivism and sociology. Routledge Johnson, G 2000 The dictionary of sociology Blackwell Hamilton, P, 1992. Talcott Parsons critical assessments. Routledge Marshall, G 1998. Oxford dictionary of sociology. Oxford university press Parsons, T, The structure of social action Free Press 1949 Poloma, M, 1979. Contemporary sociological theory. MacMillan Stones, R, 1998. Key sociological thinkers. Palgrave Winch, P, 1958. The Idea Of a Social Science. Routledge