“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost Essay

Robert Frost’s poetry is always simple and direct, yet strangely deep. Everyone can read into his poem but with different kind of expression. Frost has been discovering the world. He likes to explore relationships between individuals and between people and nature. One of his famous poems, ‘Mending Wall’, reveals his feelings and ideas about community, life and imagination. In New Hampshire, where Frost’s house was, there was a stonewall. This stonewall was the inspiration for the poem â€Å"Mending Wall†. It was here that Frost used to repair this wall with his neighbor Napoleon Guay, who always says: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† In his poem ‘Mending Wall’, the persona and the neighbor are mending a wall that separates their properties. The most interesting statement in this poem: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors† (line 25) is a paradox, which attracts our attention and lead us to further discussion on Frost’s intention to write this poem. Every winter, the wall fell down and every spring, the persona and the neighbor met together to mend it. It has somehow become an entertainment for them, as stated in line 21, â€Å"Oh, just another kind of outdoor game†. Later, the persona found that there were no reasons to mend the wall at all, and this arises to the central theme of the poem. The persona kept on questioning the reasons for mending since they do not keep any animals. In the poem, it says: Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows, Before I built a wall I’d ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offense.(Line 31-34) If a wall needs repair every year, it is not a good fence. Yet, it does make good neighbors because it brings the men together every spring. Maybe the neighbor’s father had this very same intention too. The two characters meet and know more about each other when they work on the wall together. This  explanation is quite ironic because the wall is meant to isolate them, but is also a common ground that connects them. And the persona’s words also possess some kind of irony in it because though he was somehow criticizing the neighbor for mending the wall, he was doing it too. As Rober Poirier claims that ‘The real significance of the famous poem ‘Mending Wall’ is that it suggests how much for Frost freedom is contingent upon some degree of restriction.’ If the persona is actually Frost himself, he is then subject to a restriction for what he wants to do. He has no choices. He suffers because he has to rebuild the wall with his neighbor every yea r. But the point is, if the neighbor could not feel that they were in the dark, there would be no possibility of light for both of them. In order to change the whole situation, the neighbor needs to think it over what’s the mean of having the wall between them. But still, the persona has very limited control to the situation. About Community†¦ â€Å"Mending Wall is about the opposite impulse which is to fence yourself in, to form relationships that are really exclusive.† (Richard’s book, p.7) ‘Mending wall’ is a poem about the world. It is about our community. The wall represents what we as individuals are blocking out. Frost questioned why the neighbor insists upon blocking their properties, though there are only trees inside. Maybe the man was just trying to keep out people, or even the world in order to feel more secure. The neighbor and the persona know that they have to rely on each other. But at the same time they are building walls to protect themselves. Here, the Chinese proverb â€Å"A wicked heart is unwanted, but a defensive heart is vital† can very well support their behavior. In line 21 â€Å"Oh, just another kind of outdoor game†, it suggested that since the outdoors game involves some kinds of rules, it also can applies to the situation that people must know the rules in the community and play the game properly. It is ‘the wall’ in our mind that acts as part of the rule in our  game and that ‘wall’ that has been taken for granted. Frost wants to break down the barriers set up by man and to make the community live in harmony. The barriers, which are represented by the ‘wall’ in the poem, are what kept people from questioning or even contemplating things out in every day’s life. These barriers are often subconsciously put up and strengthened by people in a society and they control one’s thought. Frost reminds us to free our thoughts from barriers and to help us eventually attain freedom. In line 20, the persona said, â€Å"We wear our fingers rough with handling them†. He asks his neighbor not to mend the wall anymore since it makes no reason for doing that. He wants to live in harmony. However, the neighbor says, â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† He thinks the wall keeps people honest but the only thing he is hiding behind the wall might be – fear.He gave himself an excuse that distance could guarantee everything. But â€Å"distance† can be easily been misinterpreted, as Mark Van Doren says: â€Å"Distance is a good thing, and so is admitted difference, even when it sounds like hostility. For there can be a harmony of separate sounds that seem to be at war with another, but one sound is like no sound at all, or else it is like death.† (33) To keep a distance doesn’t really mean to have to build a wall between the two. The wall here seems not quite necessary for the persona and the neighbor. In a community, a wall can act both positively and negatively. Negatively, it can act as a barrier that put off communication, trust and unity. Positively, it can guarantee security and privacy in nowadays’ society. In the past centuries people kept on building walls, both concrete and abstract ones. The former protects both their property and privacy, while the latter blocks away their trust and communications with others. One very good example of the building of wall that blocks people apart was the Berlin Wall in Germany (1961-1989). After the Second World War in 1945, Germany was divided into two sectors called the FRG (the west Germany) and the GDR (the east Germany). For 28 years, the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. At least 100 people were killed at the Berlin Wall. So, what’s  the wall for? Is it really good to have a wall? For those years when the wall was there, relationship of people had not been improved but only hatred and grief had grown. About Life†¦ Robert Frost has written many poems about life. His poems contain topics on life choice, obstacles and gaps between people, such as The Road not taken, The Gift Outright and Come in. Reading his poems is just like â€Å"sucking the marrow of life†. He is a philosopher, but his ideas are lying behind his poems, not in them-but buried well in it, for us to guess at if we please. In ‘Mending Wall’, a barrier is discussed. It can be both psychological and physical. The father of the neighbor reinforced and insured a lack of communication so it resulted in the ignorance in the next generation. The neighbor is a perfect example of the product of these barriers. He does not really know why the wall is there, he never questions his father’s words and understands that the wall is really keeping him and his neighbor from having a better friendship. Frost describes the neighbor as follows: like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me.(Line 40-41) The darkness is the ignorance that he has while mending the fence. This shows that the neighbor has limitation of thoughts. The wall restricts people’s sight and mental power without widening their insights that is why the neighbor is described as â€Å"an old-stone savage armed†. Their farm contains only trees, which would be enough for a boundary. There is no physical need for the wall, so there is no apparent reason for going through the trouble of fixing it every year. The neighbor repeats saying â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors† although he does not know why the wall is necessary nor does he know why it will make them better neighbors. Frost is criticizing the ignorance of the neighbor here. However, it is ironic that  self-righteous persona obsessively committed to the â€Å"wall building† himself. Maybe the main theme of the poem: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors† does not only mean a good fence helps to make good neighbors because it can separate clearly their possession and one cannot interfere with others. It can vice versa be explained in the way the ‘good neighbor’ can helps to make ‘good fences’ because both of them will be responsible and willing to make their shared possession looks nice r. The poem suggests something about no matter how or where we live, the place will become smaller and more enclosed if we forget to explore beyond our own boundaries. When we go beyond our walls, we can be more comfortable by knowing others. The persona thought that the wall is not necessary. He is perhaps non-traditional, non-confrontational and desires to have a true relationship without boundaries that can divide mankind. Line 23 illustrates that: â€Å"There where it is we do not need the wall†. However, there might be a difference in perception about the wall affairs. The persona might think that it is a â€Å"wall building† but the neighbor thinks that it is just â€Å"fence mending†. To Frost himself, he thinks that a wall between men is terrible. From the first line in his poem, the â€Å"something† that made the wall fell might be ‘the power of love’. It reinforced the idea of â€Å"We must love one another or perish†. That ‘power of love’ doesn’t love the wall, for it is blocking people from loving one another. â€Å"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.† A wall is exactly the thing that prevents people from putting these words into action. The feeling of love is one of the basic needs for one’s life as this feeling influence very much our behaviors. A wall is a wall. No matter how hard the neighbor tries to fix it, it would not change its original implication and effect, that is, to block out people. Just as a German painter claims that: â€Å"We are not trying to make the wall beautiful because in fact it’s absolutely impossible. 80 persons have being killed trying to jump over the Berlin wall to escape to West Berlin, so you can cover that wall with hundred of kilos of color, but it will stay  the same†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Thierry Noir) About Imagination†¦ Imagination is the forming of a picture in mind in a creative way. It is human’s internal thinking. Imagination is always needed for creating a poem and when analyzing it. It gives us dream and a sight of the future. The more a person is civilized and educated, the more imaginative their minds will be. Every person (but more on poets and artist) possesses these qualities. Imagination is needed to work out the abstract ideas in our lives. Without imagination, we won’t be able to understand our lives because life itself is very abstract. In the poem, the persona made an imagination that â€Å"Something there is that doesn’t love a wall† (line1). That ‘something’ is an imagined agent who caused the wall to fall every year. It was left as a mystery. Frost led us to think who or what that ‘something’ is, and why it has caused the wall to fall, and later, bring to the argument of â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† The theme of the poem is that the persona thinks that no wall is necessary between his neighbor and his property. In the poem, the persona thinks that the neighbor seems to use the wall just for keeping the cones of the pine trees away from the apple trees. Frost made use of metonymy in line 24-26 to describe his feeling: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. It means the persona is growing apple orchard while the neighbor is growing pine trees. Since they are only trees and not animals, they would not be able to get across to the other side to disturb each other. Frost mentioned this to reinforce his feeling of mending the wall is foolish. If imagination is applied in interpreting this part of the poem, I think these lines could also mean that the persona was comparing himself to an apple orchard, he is nice and he can bear fruit, and the fruit is sweet. The apple here may symbolize the persona’s thoughts and ideas, which is quite right and brilliant. The neighbor is compared to a tall, unbendable pine tree, which symbolize that he was stubborn and reluctant to change. The neighbor does not have individual thoughts and critical thinking, he only believes whatsoever his father told him about. Imagination makes impossible become possible. It also turns meaninglessness into meaning. In reading poetry, it should be open for interpretation instead of having one possible answer. It is people’s emotional state of mind that cannot be concrete or visualized. Poetry is dead because the poem is dead; it’s different imaginations and interpretations, which makes poetry alive. Robert Frost’s poem is easy to understand. It covers a large area of topics. The poem is easy and simple. Yet, if you drill more into it, you may discover that it contains many morals that enlighten you and help you to live a better life. As Mark Van Doren has said: He is a poet who can be understood anywhere by readers versed in matters more ancient and universal than the customs of one country, whatever that country is. (32) His intention of writing this poem is to reveal the strong message about love and unity, as in the song â€Å"The Internationale† has stated: Let no one build walls to divide us Wall of hatred nor walls of stone Come greet the dawn and stand beside us We’ll live together or we’ll die alone†¦

Family seperation Essay

Although in this scene they annoy the teacher Linda doesn’t dream of swearing at the teacher and finds it hard to call the teacher a name, she stutters and comes out with â€Å"you big worm† but in Edwards scene in a polite manner he swears at the teacher have all the courage this is ironic. The problem of staging various locations: Me and my group acted out pg 47 which showed different locations. Mrs Johnstone begins with talking about children including her son she is narrating this. And then once she has finished the scene cuts and goes straight into Mrs Lyons teaching Edward to dance. Because these scenes where so close together as a group we decided that for this to be effective we would have the whole scene with a blackout with only a spotlight on Mrs Johnstone and Mickey first. Then After Mrs Johnstone and Mickey finish talking we would immediately change the spotlight to Mrs Lyons and Edward. By doing this make the scene a lot more effective than having to walk on and off stage moving props ect. The three scenes we chose where: In the hospital Where Mrs Johnstone has just had the two boys and Mrs Lyons takes one of them.   When Mickey is arrested. Mickey is told by Mrs Lyons about Linda and Edward. These scenes are essential because if these scenes didn’t occur then the whole plot would never have happened. These scenes affect the main characters and are what the novel is about. The First scene: The scene begins with Mrs Johnstone holding her new born children, talking to a nurse that comes in this builds up. Mrs Lyons enters and takes one of the twin boys. If this scene didn’t happen then the two boys would never had been separated and Mickey would never have been arrested and suffered from his depression. This scene is what makes the story and without it the story would have never happened and also the final scene which two is quite important. The second scene: This is the beginning of Mickey’s reason for depression. The scene starts with Mickey and Sam committing a robbery and Mickey is arrested. He becomes mentally ill and is unable to do things for himself. He becomes addicted to his anti-depression tablets. After all this Linda cant cope and turns to Edward whom both seem to get very close, Mickey learns of this and the build up of the final scene. With out this scene the final scene would not have happened. The final scene: This scene is where Mrs Lyons tells Mickey of Linda and Edwards’s betrayal, at first Mickey doesn’t believe it but Mrs Lyons takes it a step further and proves it. This is a twist because in the play you see Mrs Lyons feelings towards her son and you think that they have a strong bond and a good mother and son relationship. But from this scene you can clearly see there’s some kind of jealousy. Mickey can’t take anymore and has suffered enough already so he takes the gun which the robbery had been committed and heads for the court room. This is where the final scene takes place. This is an extremely important because this is the final scene without this scene; the ending to the play would not be so effective because of what Mrs Lyons and Mrs Johnstone where discussing about. The ending to the play is all to do with superstition. In this exercise we looked at the issues of unemployment, prison, betrayal, drug addiction and gun crime. These are just some of the things that the character of Mickey has to go through in the play nut in the role-plays/ narration we wanted to show the stories from the other people’s perspective. Unemployment: I learnt that by not having qualifications it is not so easy to get a job. Also as an individual I saw that people aren’t so sociable and forthcoming when it comes to jobs and unemployment, when acting this out the woman at the job centre was prejudice against them, she was very rude and conceited. If I was that person looking for a job, I would be very depressed and feel very useless because of the little options I had. In the play Mickey should show his depression through his body language, he should be walking backwards and forwards to show he’s thinking and nervous. By doing a lot of movement shows thought and frustration. Always putting his hand on his face and leaning on things to show he needs support. His tone of voice should be slow to show depression. Prison: I learnt that most of the people that are in prison are all working class or lower class people. By this I could see that these people turn to crime in a desperate attempt to have some money, or to have some kind of food or clothing. Once the prisoner is let free they have a much lesser chance of earning money and the whole thing is just repeated. If I was the child of my mother and Father I know that they would feel embarrassed and ashamed of me and so I wouldn’t be able to face them. I think that I would ashamed to. In this situation Mickey should feels scared and frightened and helpless. He would do this thought facial expressions, looking around a lot and perhaps crying too. Betrayal: In the play there’s a number of times where Mickey is be trade. By this I learnt that betrayal is mostly lying and doing things behind people’s backs. In the play Mickey is be trade by Linda and Edward, and by his mother. If someone was betraying me I would feel very hurt and angry, I think I would also shout a lot. Mickey’s movement and gestures would be very big and exaggerated. He should show his anger through facial expressions and movement. Drug addiction: I could see how easy drug addiction is. It revolves a lot around your past and comes from the issues I’m talking about (unemployment, prison, betrayal, gun crime). Most people turn to drugs because they have nothing else to turn to and this also can be done through pier pressure. If I was a family member I would do all I can to help them through this. Mickey’s movement should be slow, and not much movement at all. He should be still and day dream a lot. Gun Crime: From this I learnt that crime was committed by mostly males who where unable to cope and had money problems, they where also teens, and young adults and some middle aged. And a lot of the time the crime would be committed where there was a store of money. If I was the mother of my child who had committed a crime I would be irritated, and express myself through my tone I would do a lot of shouting too. I would feel that it was my fault in the way I had brought up my child. Mickey should be very nervous and walk around a lot, he should speak quickly and be very helpless and his voice should be slurred. I think blood brothers is a tragic comedy according to the definitions. I feel that it is a tragic comedy because both aspects exist. There’s a lot of comedy in the play like when the class room scene happens. Edward is very superior and the way he back chats the teacher is shocking yet amusing. Even though in Mickey’s scene there lower class they still didn’t dare swear at the teacher and the only thing Linda can come out with is â€Å"you big worm†. Also the scene where Mickey and Edward meet for the first time. There both very curious and the way they deal with it is funny. Even though their physical difference is very clear there’s a lot that they don’t realise they have in common they contrast greatly. The tragedy more or less comes at the end. And by the play being a tragic comedy is much more realistic and enjoyable to watch.

Answering questions

2-A. Recently, a comedian on a television show remarked that he thought it was funny that people turn the car radio off when they are looking for a house number in a strange neighborhood. What theory of attention is this comedian adhering to? The comedian based his remarks on the theory of divided attention. This theory states that attention can be divided into two separate states, wherein one can attend to two things or stimuli at the same time, without sacrificing the quality of attention given to either of the two stimuli (Reisberg, 2001). Thus to the comedian, one can continue listening to the radio and at the same time look for the house number, and it perfectly makes sense to him that a person can do both of it since it does not really require an intense concentration. However, a case in point is that looking for a house number in a long row of houses may be quite a challenging task, one that requires concentration and selective attention. Yes, it can be said that keeping the radio on would not make any difference but to those who prefer to look closely and to be able to do so safely would naturally turn their radios off. Just imagine yourself driving slowly in a street you are unfamiliar with and keeping the radio on would mask the noise of incoming traffic or even pedestrians. Besides, when a person is involved in one task, like looking for a house, then one instinctively attends to it and disregards the other sounds, sights and disturbances in the immediate environment. Divided attention is very real, we engage it once in a while especially if we multi-task but we could do so in a limited period, for example think of how you can possibly manage to entertain questions from an officemate at your table and at the same time talk to someone on the phone, you could do both for a maximum of 2 minutes, but eventually one stimuli takes greater attention and we must give our full attention to it. On the other hand, with training, anybody can make use of divided attention, but its contributions and benefits in engaging in it remains to be seen since much research has to be done in this area. 2-B. Based on what you have learned about perception and attention, do you think it’s safe for people to talk on cellular phones while they are driving? Learning about how we perceive the world around us gives us a better way of understanding how intricate the human mind is and how even a faculty that we often take for granted can have a profound impact in our daily lives. Perception refers to a complex process of how we receive a stimuli, how our brain process the stimuli, and how our mind tells us what to do and how to react to the stimuli (Reisberg, 2001). It can be said that a disruption of any of the lines of our perception may have adverse consequences; sometimes it can be bizarre, like when a person cannot recognize the face of love one but instead are able to say that they look like a family member. Taking our study of perception into our daily activities, a debated issue like â€Å"is it safe to talk on the cell phone while driving† is better explained. I still believe that it is not safe to talk on the cellular phones while driving. Driving already entails a number of processes and is quite demanding of our attention, like when you are in the freeway, one has to be conscious of incoming traffic, cars at you back, the speed limit of the highway, and even looking out for possible mishaps in the road, on top of which, the driver must be conscious of the cars fuel level, brake fluid and tire conditions. So how could anybody be able to talk on the phone while driving? Talking on the phone also demands attention; we have to perceive and process what the other person is saying, and to even think of the appropriate response to what they are saying. Theories on perception have stated that our mind works overtime just to process and be able to respond to external stimuli, and that each part of the brain is involve in different ways just to come up with the correct processing of information (Reisberg, 2001), like being able to recognize faces of family members. Perceptual illusions demonstrate that what we see may not be true or real, hence while driving we may not be able to accurately tell how far we are from the car ahead of us or how near we are to the railings without our full concentration. Reports have shown that many people die on the road or in car accidents than any disease. Perceptual overload occurs when we drive and talk on the phone, based on previous researches (Reisberg, 2001), perceptual overload makes us incorrectly perceive our surroundings and hence we may see what is not there, or we may not see what is really there. When we overload our senses it would mean that one part of the brain or our faculties might be sacrificed to compensate for the attention we give to another stimulus. And in an activity like driving which in itself is a high-risk behavior, we need complete control of our faculties, thus talking on the cell phone is not advisable. 2-C. Write a 200 word summary and critical analysis on Rayner’s article. Discuss what the article is basically about, its strong and weak points, how convincing (or unconvincing) you find its arguments, and how it might be followed up (e.g., if you think the article suggests any promising, new ideas for future research, describe what they are and how they might best be pursued.) The article â€Å"Eye Movements in Reading: Recent Developments† by Keith Rayner (1993) presents the latest development in the study of eye movement in the reading process. The strength of the article is that it gives a background of what has been discovered so far in the field of study, the article argues that studying eye movement is important for it help build theory and also used to infer perceptual and cognitive processes during reading thus the objective of the article. It also presents a number of theories that have used new methods in studying eye movement. What was weak about the article was that it was not able to connect how the new methods of studying would contrite to a better understanding of the cognitive processes that occur during reading. The article basically was not convincing when the author says that much remains to be seen when researchers realize how interesting a research data eye movement can be. The article does not arouse this interest and simply goes on to say that eye movement is a natural consequence of reading, which contradicts his claims earlier in the introduction part. The article was also too technical for the average reader even if the reader is interested in eye movement. References Rayner, K. (1993). Eye movements in reading: Recent developments. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2 (3): 81-85 Reisberg, D. (2001). Cognition: Exploring the science of the Mind, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.                  

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Electrica lab report about flip flops Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Reverse logistics acceptance into the world Research Paper

Reverse logistics acceptance into the world - Research Paper Example In addition, variant finished goods or even the associated information gathered from the locale of consumption to the eventual section of the purpose or even recapturing value and also proper disposal is undertaken and controlled by reverse logistic department. The chain process and increased requirement in terms of roles validate the requirement for a senior level executive position to manage the process. Other inherent activities in the reverse logistics include roles like entailed remanufacturing or even refurbishing activities which stringently require supervised reverse logistics operations and must be checked by a superior person from the company or military (Greve & Davis, 2012). The empirical evidences are mainly quantitative or qualitative portions that indicate the essence of the superior’s personnel in the process of reverse logistics. According to (Rogers & Tibben-Lembke, 2009), international market has been exposed to various manufacturers who have adopted various mechanisms to capture the trust of the clients. Trust from consumers helps in raising the image of the company and thus ensuring that it continuously produces. The global market has one main factor of competition as a key segment to keep on operating in the market; production of quality products. Most companies may error in terms of design process of their products, and that forms the basic reason for recalling of certain products in foreign markets. The management of the process of recall is a tough process and demands supervisions and provisions of various conditions. Most of the warranties offered must checked if the clients complied with them all. Some products malfunction due client’s negligence. The relevance of designing superior reverse logistics personnel lies in the vital supervision of the analysis of the warranty process and facilita tion of the transportation process. Reverse

The employment effects of the minimum wage Term Paper

The employment effects of the minimum wage - Term Paper Example Beneath the antagonistic claims on both sides bordering on sound political and philosophical principles are assumptions loosely hinged on individual interpretations of the time series of increasing inequalities. Indeed, there are no doubts that the magnitude of the inequality gap widened further over the past decade alone. Nonetheless, questions abound as to whether the statutory minimum wage settings do have any profound effect on the same. This short paper endeavors to highlight the controversy of the current debate and subsequently ascertain with facts the effects of the Minimum Wage on employment. Supportive Evidence: Decent Pay and the Job Loses The employment effect of the minimum wage is by far one of the topics in economics mostly researched and deliberated upon with an effectual outcome of scholarly arguments and counterarguments that boarder more on the authenticity of data used. A statutory minimum wage, by definition, refers to a legal binding remuneration threshold at wh ich employers may buy labor services from prospective workers or workers may sell their labor services to prospective employers (O'Sullivan and Sheffin 130). Although such laws are effective in many jurisdictions, scholars offer varied opinions on the theoretical models that have stood the tests of time, though challenged by a myriad of data collections that continues to this day. Legally sanctioned statutory minimum wage at predetermined levels bears a strong social appeal in manipulating market labor prices to ameliorate the social income iniquity for the vulnerable members of the workforce, particularly the unskilled workers. For many, a fair distribution of the national cake can only be achieved by some political manipulation of the wage structure; a policy argument judged against the sticky poverty statistics (Eatwell, Milgate and Newman 476). Indeed, given that proliferation of industrial working environments where employers pay little attention to workers’ wellbeing, t he establishment of minimum wage legislation is well in order. Entrepreneurial ventures such as the multinational corporations operating in the developing countries have long been blamed for unfair bargaining power over their workers. Clearly, the institutionalization of minimum wage laws in such countries goes a long way in ensuring that workers get at least some decent pay commensurate to the labor services they offer. Even though the above objective is widely popular with the public as a morally justifiable political course, for economists, statutory minimum wage legislations represent a challenge of price distortion within the labor markets, yet with questionable attainment of the intent stated above. From inception, minimum wage laws have received less support from economists than from the enthusiastic public poor/lower cadre workers/unskilled workers who gullibly feel they stand to benefit over their employers. Despite decades of economic research augmented by scientific princ iples, the employment effect of minimum wage legislation remains a contentious policy. A classic exposition of the minimum wage's inability to substantially reduce the income inequality gap by

Contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Contract law - Essay Example â€Å"When at the desire of the promisor, the promise or any other person has done or abstained from doing, or does or abstains from doing, or promises to do or abstain from doing something, such an act or abstinence or promise is called a consideration for the promise.† â€Å"A contract is an agreement enforceable at law made between two or more persons, by which rights are acquired by one or more to acts or forbearance on the part of the other or others.† (Quoted in ReportBD.com) In the case under study, the contract between Helena and the London Theatre is unilateral one in nature, where though there is a consensus ad idem i.e. both the offerer i.e. London Theatre agrees to sell its product, and the offeree i.e. Helena agrees to pay  £500 as a consideration against the tickets offered by the theatre, yet as the theatre has offered its product to a large number of people, the contract between Helena and the theatre is unilateral one in nature. Unilateral Contract: â€Å"Unilateral contract† according to legal-dictionary, â€Å"is a contract in which only one party makes an express promise, or undertakes a performance without first securing a reciprocal agreement from the other party.† (Quoted in http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/unilateral+contract) The same is applied in the case under study, where the London Theatre has made an express promise without first securing a reciprocal agreement from the public and masses. Helena has tried to enter into the contract with the theatre according to the terms and conditions described in the advertisement made by the theatre. In addition, Helena has made her performance in a prescribed mode as well as within the time period determined by the theatre. Moreover, the offer has been made to the world at large; so it is a general offer. Hence, in the case above-mentioned, both the parties to the contract observe the situation as the court verdict announced by the court of law in the

Air Pollution a Silent Killer to Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Air Pollution a Silent Killer to Children - Essay Example The control group was made up of children who died from causes associated with respiratory complications. The controls were pair matched to the cases in respect to gender, year of birth, and year of death after they had been selected randomly from the set of possible controls for each case. The results were that, cancer cases had considerable higher rate of 87.3% of occurrence for those residing in urban municipalities than that of controls of 80.5%. They further revealed that, the crude odds ratios were considerably higher than 1.0 for the groups with high levels of nitrogen dioxide exposure in their residential municipality. This implies that, there was a considerable trend toward an increased risk of childhood leukemia with rising nitrogen dioxide concentrations. The findings of this study are consistent with previous studies as reflected in the problem statement. This study offers further evidence of a relationship between exposure to traffic exhaust emissions and the risk of childhood leukemia. The findings of this study call further investigation of the role of traffic air pollution in childhood leukemia.

Ayatollah Khomeini and Gamal Abdul-Nasser Essay

Ayatollah Khomeini and Gamal Abdul-Nasser - Essay Example However, this assertion is contested. This is because at the time of the revolution, Iran was experiencing un-employment rate of approximately 30%1. Unemployment is one of the indicators of poor development and economic growth. Based on this fact, the assertion that Iran was politically and economically stable is false, and does not hold any ground. On the other hand, the revolution in Egypt occurred when the country was experiencing a series of poor political and economic governance. Despite the differences in these revolutions, and the two leaders, Gamal Abdul Nasser and Ayatollah Khomeini shared a lot of similarities as well as differences in their leadership structure and system2. One major similarity is that the two leaders were charismatic, and they sought to eliminate any form of opposition to their leadership. For instance, Nasser ordered a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that was opposing his leadership, while Ayatollah Khomeini sought to kill any political supporters of the Shah. This paper takes a stand that both Ayatollah Khomeini and Gamal Abdul-Nasser were charismatic leaders, who influenced their societies and people, despite their undemocratic systems of governance. Gamal Abdul Nasser was the second Egyptian president, and he began his presidency in the year 1956, to the time he died, which was in 1970. He played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Egyptian monarch in the year 1952, and as a result, he was rewarded with a post, as a deputy prime minister3. This is an indication that Gamal Abdul Nasser was an important leader to the revolutionaries, and he was held in high esteem. Furthermore, the power and authority that Gamal Abdul Nasser had is depicted when he managed to arrest President Muhammad Naguib, and place him under house arrest.

Product Design and Process Selection - Services Essay Example for Free

Product Design and Process Selection Services Essay 1. Identify the operations management problems that Dr. Barr is having at the clinic. Dr, Barr is experiencing several operations problems due to a change in what customers are requesting compared to the services the clinic was designed to offer. The increase in specialized services and the addition of grooming requires a different layout. Not only have the space requirements changed but some non-contact services are being performed in contact areas. Customers are requesting a mix of services but the clinic has not thought about service â€Å"packages†. Finally, the staff is not trained for the new service mix. 2. How would you define the â€Å"service bundle† currently being offered? How is this different from the initial purpose of the clinic? Customers are now requesting a bundle of grooming, examining, and sometimes minor surgical services. The business was originally designed to offer examining and surgical services. Not only do the new demands require additional services but also customers see these as a package. The clinic needs to offer the demanded bundle more seamlessly. 3.Identify the high-contact and low-contact segments of the operation. How should each be managed? The high contact segments include reception and customer waiting. The low contact segments are examining, surgery, and grooming. However, grooming is currently being performed in a high contact area. High contact segments must be performed while the customer is present and in contact. Low contact segments can be performed while the customer is not there, and do not need customer contact. In fact, as the grooming operations demonstrate, customer contact with low contact segments can decrease performance. 4.What should Dr. Barr have done differently to avoid the problems she is currently experiencing? What should she do now? Dr. Barr should have studied the impact of a change in the mix of services offered before she started accepting a significantly different mix. Now she needs to either reject business that is outside of her original plans (probably not what she wants to do) or redesign the clinic to better handle the current mix. The redesign should include a new facilities layout, employee training, and probably attention to the service â€Å"packages† offered.

Female Representation in Parliament: Research into the Conservative Party

Female Representation in Parliament: Research into the Conservative Party Female representation in parliament and the Conservative Party and how they engage with women’s issues. Through a recent gendered analysis of the Conservative Party, it has come to fruition that women are still being underrepresented in politics and women’s issues are not being heard. Such research has demonstrated that this may be due to the selection process being biased and political office remaining a masculine field. Women are still representing ‘fewer than one in five MP’s in the UK’ (Russell et al, 2000 :17) and make up just 21.8% of the world’s parliamentarians (Forke & Rickne, 2016). The female absence from politics has suggested that society might be getting its leaders from an excessively narrow area of human talent and that female preferences are underrepresented in political judgments’ (Murray, 2014). Due to this lack of female representation, a number issues such as childcare, women’s pensions and care of the elderly are not being properly addressed. At present, there is a distinct limit in the amount of of research conducted into gender in the conservative party and the House of Commons but a fair portion of the preexisting literature surrounding it all points to gendered inequalities based on old forms of gender norms in parliament. In the following research report I will explain why females are so under represented in parliament and the gender inequality that comes with it as well as explaining what effects the male built establishment in the party has on governmental policies such as childcare. Methodology This analysis uses secondary data that has been collected from the UK data service. The data was originally used by Paul Webb and Sarah Childs (See Webb & Childs, 2009) for ‘an extensive gendered analysis of the contemporary UK Conservative Party’ (Webb & Childs, 2009). The data was collected over the duration of three years in order to assess how far the Conservative Party was assimilating women and their concerns and if women’s issues were being taken seriously (Webb & Childs, 2009). The full dataset consists of 27 face –to- face semi-structured interviews with Conservative Peers and 19 Conservative MP’s. Focus groups were also conducted with 7 groups of floating and unbiased individuals and then six groups of party members. Through the analysis of secondary data I will be assessing the accounts given by several members and nonmembers of the parliamentary group through the dissection of qualitative interviews of two male and female Conservative peers and two male and female Conservative MP’s. Qualitative interviews are particularly useful as a form of research because they ‘access individual’s attitudes and values- things that cannot necessarily be observed in a formal questionnaire’ (Silverman, 2004, 182). In using 4 female and 4 male interview transcripts I was able to access the difference of opinion of why they believe females are being under represented in the Conservative party and the House of Commons and how they think women’s issues could be better dealt with. I also analysed four focus groups, two of which are Conservative Party sympathisers and two of which are groups of party members. Focus groups are particularly useful as a form of secondary research because ‘in focus groups participants are able to bring to the fore issues in relation to a topic that they deem to be important and significant [†¦] because the moderator has to relinquish a certain amount of control to the participants, the issues that concern them can surface’ (Bryman, 2012, 338). I have used focus group data because the data that occurs from the participants interacting with one another can be useful in determining the specific issues related to the topic in question (Bryman, 2012). However, there are certain limitations to this type of research, focus groups produce an extensive amount of data, which can sometimes be difficult to analyse on top of being excessively time consuming. Therefore, developing a strategy to analyse the data which incorporated both what people say and their pattern of interaction can prove to be quite problematic (Bryman, 2012).   Another limitation of focus groups is that sometimes the poor quality of recordings causes them to become inaudible, which affects the transcription and therefore subsequently the data produced, rendering it unreliable (Bryman, 2012). There are also certain limitations to qualitative interviews as interviews do not tell us ‘directly about peoples experiences’ and ‘few researchers believe that in the course of the interview, you are able to get into someone’s head’ (Silverman, 2015, 83). The following report uses thematic analysis from the study of qualitative interviews and focus groups and explores the under representation of women in the Conservative Party and political office, with reference to gender equality in the conservative party and also seeks to explain why women’s exclusion from politics may be due to particular women’s issues such as childcare and care of the elderly which has not been properly addressed by the government. Findings Under representation of women in the Conservative Party Through my analysis of the research data, it came to attention that it has generally been thought that women are severely underrepresented in parliament and in the Conservative party (Russel et al, 2000). Many of the interviewee’s agreed upon the fact that the selection process is still deemed ‘prejudiced and sexist’ and is still run by middle- aged men which makes it harder for females to maneuver. (Russell et al, 2000). For example, women now only represent 9% of the parliamentary party and out of 48 candidates that applied to the Conservative Party, it was found that only seven women out of those candidates were interviewed by the selection panel. This is due, as one male Conservative MP claimed, to the selection panels having certain bigoted views towards females: â€Å"The selection panels are based of white older men who consist of pig headed old guys who turn up wearing Second World War underpants with the attitude that goes with it’. (Male Conservative MP) This can be backed up by Theresa May, a female member of the Conservative party, who in a party conference said ‘looking at its elected representatives you will see a predominantly white male party. Given that we now see an ethnically diverse society, where women play a major role, the conservative party doesn’t look like the people its claiming to represent’. (Theresa May, Party Conference, 2002). This can be further shown when the male MP expressed his amazement at the lack of females in parliament and claimed that even in countries like Rwanda and Pakistan, which are notoriously patriarchal societies, they have more women representatives in their government than Britain does. It has been accepted that in order to get more votes, the Conservative Party needs to obtain more women into the party and therefore makes the selection process more accessible. However, one female conservative peer claims: â€Å"It’s still harder for women to get selected even in spite of the party saying ‘we’d like a woman’†.   (Female Conservative Peer) Females were often subjected to criticism for their personal lives, if they were example said to be divorced. One female MP claimed that women therefore had to ‘cuddle up’ to the selection committee; â€Å"Whose instinct is to prefer a pinstripe identikit candidate with who they wish to spend Friday evenings† (Female Conservative MP) In other literature, it has been suggested that some women have been made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the House of Commons due to the masculine feel of it (Russel et al, 2000). This is further shown in the data studied as a male Conservative MP talks about the aggressive nature of politics and women who feel uncomfortable in the House of Commons are so because women are generally less confrontational than men. The House of Commons is thus seen as less feminized and an unattractive place for women to work in. One Male MP even admitted to the party being unable to change itself and if women weren’t happy with the way things were, then they would have to adapt and change themselves in order to fit in. Gender Equality in the Conservative Party and House of Commons Through the analysis of the focus groups, the theme of equality was an issue that was raised often. Interestingly, both the men and the females agreed upon the fact that: â€Å"I think for any women wanting to get ahead on her own abilities she’s got to be probably twice as qualified as a lot of men† (Focus Group, Male Conservative Member) The participants generally felt that in order for a woman to get ahead they would have to be very self- assured and confident if they wanted to ascertain positions they wanted. In most of the female focus groups it was widely discussed that women were bullied in the House of Commons and that they had to put up with a lot of ‘sexist rubbish’, claiming that the men were always likely to back each other up, but constantly looking for a way to put down the women. The theme of equality is an issue that has been raised in previous literature, as Dillard (2005) claimed that ‘women experience some disadvantage based on their sex or gender roles’ (page number) and Krook & Childs (2010) also claimed that due to inequality, women therefore ‘rarely assume leadership roles and now make up a minority of all top party officials’ (Krook & Childs, 2010, 6). It was also discussed on one floating voter focus group how politicians are out of touch with things like gender equality with one male in the group claiming that he is disappointed by the progress that women have made in terms of equality, and said: â€Å"Politicians often point to a rare example of two successful female politicians to prove that its possible, but in reality it isn’t as easy as that† (Male, Floating Voter Focus Group). When asked what the Conservative Party and the house of Commons should do to get more support of female voters and get more women into parliament, one woman from the floating voter focus group claimed that even if the party did attempt to appeal more to women, it wouldn’t matter because the female voters would know that it was insincere; Interviewer : â€Å" Do you think theres anything the conservative party should be doing to appeal more to women?† Female Respondent: â€Å"If they do we know it’s a lip service. That’s the problem. They think its like we need to speak to women to do whatever it takes, but they shouldn’t even be asking this it should be innate† (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group). Many of the females from the focus groups seemed to think that the ‘glass ceiling’ effect was still in play, with one woman from the floating voter focus group claiming; â€Å"People are saying theres no more sexism but if you actually examine the percentage of people in the highly paid, powerful jobs, the glass ceiling is there and in fact its getting worse†( Female, Floating Voter Focus Group). This is further shown in the literature, in the written report by Webb and Childs after they concluded their research analysis where they found that while ‘42% of women strongly agree that government should make sure that women have an equal chance to succeed, onlu 25% of men do† (Webb & Childs, 2011, 17). Showing that gender inequality is still prevalent in some political parties. How the Conservative Party and the House of Commons engages with womens issues of childcare and the care of the elderly. Through analysing the data, an important theme present was how the Conservative Party engages with women’s issues such as childcare. It was widely discussed how politics is an inhospitable environment for woman who have children and other responsibilities. â€Å"The way politics works often puts off quite a lot of women. Its not very friendly to somebody who has obligations to the family† (Male Conservative MP). This can be seen in reports from other literature of meetings taking place in the House of Commons until very late at night, subsequently making it difficult for women to be there due to family commitments (Russel et al, 2000). Some of the female interviewees all claimed that the unwelcoming environment made it difficult for younger women to get into politics because they are heavily burdened with the responsibility of a full on job and looking after their children. It was discussed how woman are finding it increasingly difficult to juggle both their careers and their personal life, with some interviewees suggesting that the reason why female candidates weren’t selected into the party was due to women being perceived as unable to fully commit to their careers like their male counterparts, one female peer claimed; â€Å"the reason why you end up with middle class white males is because they have previously run a business but women have to think about children† (Female Conservative Peer). This is recognized in other literature as Hymowitz (2005) argues that there has been the general perception that if a woman has a child then she cant be devoted to her job as she could be. Bryson and Heppell (2010) claim that the party has been previously criticized for assuming that women can continue with their roles at home and at work which has put them under huge strain and they have been unable to perform to the best of their ability. They further claim that ‘instead of having it all as liberal feminism seemed to promise, women are instead doing it all† (Bryson & Heppell, 2010, 46). Some female interviewees also complained of being asked how they could cope in the party if they were to have children. Through gender norms it has been believed that the care of the child is up to the mother, but many of the female interviewees expressed their outrage at this policy as one member of the Conservative Party member focus group said: â€Å"women should be able to have the choice to go out to work or staying and rearing children† Female Conservative Party Member, Focus Group. In terms of how the government is concerned with the issue of childcare, many of the female interviewees claimed that the state isn’t putting enough funding into childcare so woman are unable to juggle both their careers and their personal life. One female of the floating voter focus group claimed; â€Å"The child care facilities in London are shocking, they are far too expensive and you need to earn 30,000 to breakeven with childcare†. (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group.) This has meant that many single mothers have had to go onto benefits, because even if they were to secure employment, they still wouldn’t be able to support themselves because of the expensive rate of childcare facilities. There was a strong agreement that childcare shouldn’t be down to the responsibility of the woman, with one woman from the floating voter focus group claiming: â€Å"it shouldn’t be seen as solely the womans responsibility because two people have a child so its both their responsibility and that’s when the whole equality thing sort of breaks down and womens issue become an issue†. (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group.) One floating voter focus group interviewee claimed that womens pensions have subsequently been affected by childcare which is an area that the government has not paid much attention to, claiming that: â€Å"Women are digging in and out of employment in a way much more often than men because your busy with family responsibilities† (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group) As well as the responsibility of the children being put onto women, it is also believed that the care of the elderly is invariably part of their domain too. One female MP claimed that; â€Å"An awful lot of women are tearing their hair out and trying to balance everything, doing two jobs, looking after their children, their home, their elderly relatives. If all those women were actually working to the full extent of their capabilities then the boost to the economy would be significant, statistically significant† (Female Conservative MP). Thus meaning that due to women being under represented in government, there are few voices out there to help put forward the issues that women are facing, such as balancing their careers with their responsibility to their children and other family relatives. Although it was agreed upon that there would be many benefits of having more females in parliament and in the Conservative party as one male MP claimed that woman would have a better understanding of child care policies which could be put in place. The action has not been put in place which leaves women in a very vulnerable position, especially as there is not enough women to defend them on these grounds. Conclusion Overall this research report has demonstrated clearly that both female representation within the Conservative Party and the party’s lack of progressive engagement with women’s issues are clear demonstrations of how unrepresentative British government’s make-up and enforcement currently is. The thematic analysis of Webb and Childs data has allowed an exploration into key political issues that have arguably not been given due academic and political research. It has been shown to be apparent that members of both genders within the Conservative Party acknowledge the inherent unrepresentative nature of the party and that there is little more than plain acceptance of the cultural norms in place to main its patriarchic contour. Given women have often come to feel uncomfortable within the Conservative party, this has transcended into female political participation generally and leaves many holding little desire to engage with politics due to the scarce attention and impact devoted to women’s issues. The above in combination leaves the Conservative party to continue to be perceived as archaic in its views and this in turn prevents women from seeing positive political change or even seeking to lead such change themselves.    Bibliography Transcripts used: M2 Conservative Peer M7 Conservative Peer M8 Conservative MP M9 Conservative MP W5 Conservative Peer W6 Conservative Peer W8 Conservative MP W9 Conservative MP Focus Group 1. Conservative Members Focus Group 2 Conservative Members Floating Voter Focus Group 1 Floating Voter Focus Group 2 Bryman, A. (2012)  Social research methods. 4th edn. New York: Oxford University Press Bryson V & Heppell   T. (2010) ‘Conservatism and Feminism; The Case of the British Conservative Party’. Journal of Political Ideologies. Campbell, S, Childs S & Lovenduski J. (2006)   ‘Womens Equality Guarantees and the Conservative Party’. The Political Quarterly. Childs S, Krook M. (2010). ‘Women, Gender and Politics. A reader’ Oxford University Press. Childs S, Webb P. (2012). ‘Sex, Gender and the Conservative Party. From Iron Lady to Kitten Heels’. Palgrave Macmillan. Chiu & Monroe (2010). Gender Equality in the Academy, the pipeline problem. Cambridge University Press.Volume 43, issue 2. Dillard, A. (2005) ‘Adventures in Conservative Feminism’ Society, March/April Forke & Rickne (2016). The Glass Ceiling in Politics; Formalisation and Empirical Tests. Comparative Political studies. Hymowitz,  C (  2005). Women Internalize Stereotypes of Themselves as Weaker Leaders.  The Wall Street Journal Online. Accessed online, 2nd   May  http://www.careerjournal.com May, T. (2002). Conservative Party Conference Speech. Accessed online, 4th May. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/oct/07/conservatives2002.conservatives1 Murray, R. (2014). Quotas for men: Reframing gender quotas as a means of improving representation for all. American Political Science Review, 108, 520-532 Russel, M. Lovenduski, J, Stephenson M. (2000). ‘Womens Political Participation in the UK’. The British Council, The Constitution Unit. Accessed online, 1st May . http://www.ucl.ac.uk/political-science/publications/unit-publications/89.pdf Silverman, D. (2015).   Interpreting Qualitative Data. Fifth Edition. Sage Publications.

Racism In Contemporary Britain

Racism In Contemporary Britain The existence of races in a given society presupposes the presence of racism, for without racism, physical characteristics are devoid of social significance (Van den Berghe, 1978, p.11). This represents a tension, explored within this essay, between the inability to categorise human beings into separate races on the basis of physical difference (Peoples and Bailey, 2011) and the fact that such categorisation occurs, based on the misconception that socially constructed concepts of racial difference are an objective reality (Barak et al., 2010). As the existence of race relies fundamentally upon its construction within society (Marger, 2011), it appears, within this essay, as race. In examining the existence of racism in contemporary Britain, a number of definitions will be explored, however, a commonality among them is their dependence on the definition of race, demonstrating, I would argue, the equally, socially, constructed, nature of racism (Capdevila and Callaghan, 2007). By examining Immigration and Asylum policy, this essay will analyse how differing definitions of racism, explain its continued existence, within a seemingly tolerant society (Wemyss, 2009). It also considers how immigrants and asylum seekers are perceived and treated within society, because in addition to occurring at policy level, racism is a lived experience (Lentin, 2011). I do not consider the definitions examined, namely biological, new, institutional and cultural racism, to be an exhaustive list and recognise that considering its existence from other constructs, may give a different picture of contemporary Britain, further demonstrating the need for a critical approach to concepts of racism and its existence within society (Zamudio et al., 2011). I will conclude by exploring whether accurately defining racism, impacts its prevalence, or whether pursuing the eradication of negative life chances, for minority ethnic groups, is not more beneficial than the categorisation of discri mination. Although it is now commonly recognised that there are no biological differences, by which races can be categorised (Nanda and Warms, 2010), this concept continues to create the foundation for biological racism and associates such difference with a behavioural hierarchy in terms of morals and intellect (Smedley and Smedley, 2005). This concept of hierarchy, I would argue, is integral to racism, in that the self is constructed as superior and the other as inferior (Rivers, 2008). Having proven the non-existence of race, this form of racism could be considered outdated and irrelevant, however, I would argue that its prevalence is still apparent within scientific discourse and public opinion (Lentin, 2011). In recent political debate, for example, around reducing the spread of HIV within the UK, by providing free treatment to foreign nationals (HAUK Select Committee, 2011), objectors have argued that this will increase immigration, out of a desire for free medical treatment (Department o f Health, 2005). Whilst I would not deny the greater prevalence of HIV in some parts of the world, and therefore some ethnic groups, associating this with the motivation for immigration, within such ethnic groups, being to take advantage of free resources, I would argue, has biologically racist undertones. In addition, there is no evidence that the provision of free HIV treatment would create such health tourism (NAT., 2008). With racism being legislated against (Race Relations Act, 1976), racist undertones are now more common than overt racism, when taking a biologically racist perspective (Jiwani and Richardson, 2011) and the denial of racism within Immigration and Asylum policy, arguing that its not racist to impose limits on immigration (Conservative Party, 2005), is unsurprising. Whilst immigration rules, by their nature, discriminate between those who have, and do not have, the right to remain in the UK, I would argue that this discrimination is only biologically racist, if decisions are made on the basis of physical difference. As such, it could be argued that the Conservative discourse is justified, in that some criterion are required for immigration control, but that such rules do not refer to particular racial groups having characteristics determining their suitability for immigration (Sriskandarajah, 2006). Whilst this argument does not necessarily prove the lack of racism within Immigration Po licy, it demonstrates how one definition of racism, in this case biological, can be used to deny its existence, whereas, as this essay will demonstrate, constructing alternative definitions highlights greater prevalence of racism within Immigration and Asylum policy. A combination of factors, including legislation, scientific rationale behind the non-existence of race and eugenics movements, have resulted in traditional forms of racism being constructed as socially unacceptable, causing a reduction, although not eradication, in overt, racist behaviour and a denial of racist intent (Romm, 2010). If my understanding of racism, therefore, were restricted to a biological definition, I might argue that its existence within contemporary Britain has reduced. By redefining racism, however, in the light of its social unacceptability, to subtler, indirect forms, the existence of racism, I would argue, in both Immigration and Asylum policy and wider British society, can still be seen. This subtler definition, known as New Racism (Collins and Solomos, 2010), argues that the same belief in racial superiority underpins many current discourses, but that new language is used to represent these traditional beliefs, for example, substituting race with immigrant or asylum seeker (Kimber, 2010). Returning to the Conservative Manifesto (2005), if no inference of racism exists within policy proposals, then why is there a need for rhetoric which defends a non-racist position? The powerful use of language is evident in this kind of discourse, because in addition to denying racist intent, arguments are constructed, such that, accusations of racism are deemed irrational, making any covert or indirect forms of racism difficult to challenge (Goodman and Burke, 2011). In Conservative leader, Michael Howards election campaign (2005), for example, the need for stricter immigration control is argued to be based on common sense, rather than racist principles. Mr. Howard categorises immigrants as good and bad, with those being different and not encompassing British values, deemed bad (Btihaj, 2006). Being a child of immigrants, he classifies himself a good immigrant, for whom racism is unacceptable because he is one of them, however, Michael is white, and therefore does not look different and his immigrant Father is Romanian, a Christian, European country whose values and cultures are more in line with Britishness than perhaps, non-white, non-Christian countries, making conforming to the image of good immigrant, much easier for him (Capdevila and Callaghan, 2007). In this way, I would argue that, although new language is used, racist beliefs underpin this discourse, in describing acceptable immigrants as white, with similar culture and values, and conversely less acceptable immigrants, as non-white individuals, refusing to conform to our culture and values. A biological definition would deny racism within this speech, whereas, a new racism definition highlights underlying racist discourse, which may result in the implementation of racist immigration policies. I would argue that this further demonstrates the contested and constructed nature of racism, which can be made to exist, or not, on the basis of its definition. This coded use of language can also be seen in wider public attitudes, within the UK. Where terms like lazy, stupid and unprincipled were historically used to describe racial groups, they are now connected with immigrants and asylum seekers (Craig, 2007). Similarly, Finney and Peach (2006) found that although discriminatory views have shifted from race to immigrants and asylum seekers, similar language, and reasons for feelings of animosity, are used in describing both groups. A biologically racist perspective, could argue that attitudes toward ethnic minorities have improved within the UK, but I would argue that, considering a new racism definition, although language and focus have changed, racist attitudes still prevail within contemporary British society. Another perspective in understanding racism, is to consider how policies, decision making and institutional practices create and define racism, rather than individual belief systems. This institutional definition of racism, argues that, policies are constructed to both subordinate, and maintain control over, particular racial groups (Carmichael and Hamilton, 1969). In this way, racism is the creation of inferiority through the implementation of organisational policies and procedures (Better, 2008) and is rooted in the processes of established and respected forces within society, which I would argue makes them less likely to be challenged than individual acts of racism (Carmichael and Hamilton, 1969). Institutional racism can occur unintentionally, by unwitting prejudice and racial stereotyping creating policies and cultural practices which disadvantage ethnic minorities (Macpherson, 1999). The complexity of institutional racism is that, organisations cannot make decisions or policies , without the presence of individuals and therefore questions whether an institution can be racist, or whether racism results from the influence of individuals within that institution (Roush, 2008). The UK Border Agency, in working predominantly with immigrants and asylum seekers, in my view, holds significant potential for institutional racism. Whether such racism is intentional is contested, but irrespectively, I would argue that, some immigration policies disproportionately disadvantage certain ethnic minorities. Recent changes to work permit policies, for example, mean that restaurants employing chefs from outside the EU, must find applicants with at least 5 years experience and graduate-level qualifications, paying them at least  £28,260 a year (Home Office, 2011). Although this policy is applied to all restaurants and its implementation aims to prioritise jobs for British citizens, I would argue that restaurants providing cuisine originating outside Europe, are likely to be disproportionately impacted by this policy and that such businesses are likely to be owned by, and employing individuals of, ethnic minorities (Khaleeli, 2012). In this way, whether intentionally or n ot, I would argue that these immigration changes are institutionally racist, in that their negative impact, upon ethnic minorities, is unjustifiably disproportionate. This again demonstrates, I would argue, how the definition of racism taken, can significantly impact its perceived existence within contemporary British society. A biological definition, for example, would argue that decisions are not being made on the basis of physical difference, as all individuals are receiving the same treatment, and therefore the policy is not racist. Similarly, new racism, by examining the language used, could still conclude that the intention of this policy, is not to favour any particular racial group. The difference, I would argue, with institutional racism, is that intent is less important than impact and therefore, racism can be deemed to exist if the outcomes for ethnic minorities are disproportionately worse than the general population, which in regard to this policy, I would argue, could be the case. The final perspective being explored, cultural racism, is argued by some to simply be an extension of new racism (Jacobson, 2008). Within immigration and asylum discourse, however, I would argue, the language of culture so frequently replaces that of race, as to make a distinct exploration of cultural racism beneficial (Diller, 2010). Cultural racism relates to the belief that less dominant cultures are dysfunctional, maladaptive or even deviant, emphasising individual failings, rather than a societal failure to accommodate difference (Williams, 2007). Although it could be argued that this moves too far from a valid definition of racism, this depends upon how race is defined and if there are no biological differences by which races can be categorised, then the socially constructed differences which create racism, may also be cultural differences (Pon, 2009). In this way cultural racism is both the negatively, differential treatment on the basis of cultural difference (Hill, 2008) and the denial of opportunity to express ones culture (Ford, 2005). Muslims are frequently constructed, for example, as a homogenous group, when in reality the diversity of individuals classifying themselves as Muslim, is too vast to validate a single identity (Al-Azmeh, 2007). Despite this, the term Muslim has become a way of describing ethnicity, both in politics and public opinion (Wilson, 2007). This process of homogenisation, I would argue, has caused ideas of fundamentalism, and terrorist intent, to be attributed to the Muslim identity, constructing them, in some respects, as an enemy of British society (Todorov and Brown, 2010). This is not only a discriminatory and inaccurate portrayal of a diverse group, but also culturally racist in the way such beliefs are played out in the implementation of policy and treatment of Muslims within British society (Qasmiyeh, 2010). This can be seen in proposed legislative changes, following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, where Prime Minister, Tony Blair, argued a need for increased ability to exclu de and remove those suspected of terrorism and those seeking to abuse the asylum system (Hansard, 2001). In addition, in describing the attacks, Mr. Blair highlighted the terrorists motivation as a religious obligation set out in the Islamic Holy text, the Koran (ibid). This demonstrates, I would argue, an underlying discourse associating both Muslims and asylum seekers with terrorism (Huysmans and Alessandra, 2008). Further political statements in the subsequent decade, I would argue, cemented this construction of Muslims as the enemy (Pantazis and Pemberton, 2009). In 2006, for example, a report on countering terrorism (Cabinet Office, 2006) concluded that the most prominent threat came from Islamist extremists. Furthermore John Denham, as Home Office minister, suggested that behind a minority group of terrorists, sat a wider Islamic community, who considered terrorism to be a legitimate response to current concerns (Denham, 2007). A consequence of this negative construction of Muslims, I would argue, is the discriminatory treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers who identify as Muslim (Pantazis and Pemberton, 2009). Risk-profiling computers, for example, determining on entry to the UK who should be scanned, searched and questioned, have been found to focus upon Muslim-specific behaviours, categorising practising Muslims as high risk (Webber, 2012). This is a clear demonstration, I would argue, of cultural racism, in determining negatively, differential treatment on the basis of cultural identity, further highlighting how the existence of racism, is very much dependent upon the way in which it is defined. Biological racism, for example, would argue that the range of ethnic diversity within Islam, indicates that any discriminatory treatment toward Muslims, cannot be racist, as underlying, discriminatory, motivations are not based upon biological difference. Similarly, although much of the discrimination explor ed, occurs at an institutional level, Institutional Racism is based on the impact of policies and practices upon racial, not cultural or religious, groups and so would not consider the matters explored to prove the existence of racism, within contemporary British society. Having considered varying definitions of racism, I would conclude that its existence, within contemporary British society, is complex and can be argued to be both prevalent and a thing of the past (Rattansi, 2007). By taking a biological perspective, this essay has considered that, although racist undertones may exist in some immigration and asylum discourse, its prevalence within British society is decreasing (Day, 2011). Alternatively, by taking an institutional view, where it is not intent but impact which is measured, the existence of racism has been highlighted, through some UK policies and institutions disproportionately, disadvantaging ethnic minorities. Similarly, by considering racism from the perspective of new language being used in place of traditionally racist terms, the prevalence of racism increases significantly, specifically, as this essay had demonstrated, within Immigration and Asylum policy. Finally, by extending this new racism definition to the replacement of ra cialised language, with that of culture, this essay has demonstrated how specific groups continue to experience significant levels of racism within British society, both in terms of policy construction and public attitude (Allen, 2010). Reflecting upon these various constructions of racism, I would argue that its perceived existence is highly dependent upon the definition used. Whilst this analysis has examined the existence of racism, it could be said that it does not explain its existence. Why is it that some groups consider it appropriate to negatively treat others, on the basis of their race? I would argue that the answer to this, is power. With biological racism, it is seen in the superiority and inferiority of racial groups, on the premise that biological difference creates a natural hierarchy. With new racism, it is seen in powerful discourses which paint racist ideologies as rational and in the best interests of Britain, whilst in reality maintaining the authoritative position of the powerful (Capedevila and Callaghan, 2007). With institutional racism, it is seen in those with the power to create policy and organisational procedures, constructing these to maximise the benefits for themselves and maintain their position of authority. Finally, with cultural racism, it is seen in the view that inferior and less developed cultures should be discarded an d individuals from such cultural groups assimilated into the dominant culture, accepting the superiority of these cultural norms. In light of this, I would argue, that if the existence of racism is determined by its definition and the purpose of racism is to maintain power, then a critical understanding of the constructed nature of racism, is paramount in assessing the discourses and policy proposals of those with such power. This reflection has also caused me to question the extent to which an academic pursuit of categorising behaviours, policies and ideologies as racist, is beneficial and if instead, it is deflecting the focus from challenging negative discrimination, faced by certain groups, irrespective of their experience fitting our socially constructed definition of racism. In conclusion, however, I would argue that, as racism is now considered both legally and morally wrong, if it can be accurately defined and its existence proved and highlighted, then work can be achieved towards its eradication (Cole, 2009).

Organizational Culture Profiles Essay -- Sociology, Culture

The purpose of this paper was to construct organizational culture profiles using the â€Å"Now† and â€Å"Preferred† average scores from the Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument (OCAI) to get a pictogram of how the current culture for the Medicaid Integrity Group (MIG) matches the preferred culture. Organizational culture is not just any thoughts, values, and actions, but rather the unifying patterns that are shared, learned, combined at the group level, and internalized individual members. The findings of the OCAI provides a clear picture of the MIG’s operating culture in terms of behaviors that is believed, expected, or implicitly required and indicated items that could be changed to alter the current classification of the organization from a hierarchy culture to a clan culture. Conversely, the hierarchy focuses on rules, policies, procedures, efficiency, and control is the direct opposite of the clan that stresses family, loyalty, commitment, cohes ion, and morale. Organizational Culture Profiles In many organizations, one typically finds that corporate culture affects everyone. Culture is important because it can influence human behavior, can be difficult to change, and its near invisibility makes it hard to address directly. The MIG’s current and preferred culture shown in the OCAI in Appendix A focuses on some core attributes of the organization. The OCAI is a key component to help the MIG understand and conceptualize its organizational culture, its nature, determinants and predictions, as well as the relationships among culture's diverse set of variables. Organizational culture is widely considered one of the most significant factors in bringing about organizational ch... ...a pictogram of how the current culture for the MIG matches the preferred culture. First, from the perspective of where the organization’s current culture is and secondly, from the perspective of where organization’s culture should be. The MIG’s present culture indicates it experience hierarchy culture but would like to start working more like a clan culture. The organization’s profile indicated a large difference between the current and preferred situation, which means changes are desirable. Organizational culture is just one of the many pieces that make up the puzzle of public sector organizations. As such, it should not be considered the answer to all organizational problems, nor should it be applied to all organizational aspects. The organizational culture profiles can be a starting point to solve problems, but also a way to create problematic solutions. Organizational Culture Profiles Essay -- Sociology, Culture The purpose of this paper was to construct organizational culture profiles using the â€Å"Now† and â€Å"Preferred† average scores from the Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument (OCAI) to get a pictogram of how the current culture for the Medicaid Integrity Group (MIG) matches the preferred culture. Organizational culture is not just any thoughts, values, and actions, but rather the unifying patterns that are shared, learned, combined at the group level, and internalized individual members. The findings of the OCAI provides a clear picture of the MIG’s operating culture in terms of behaviors that is believed, expected, or implicitly required and indicated items that could be changed to alter the current classification of the organization from a hierarchy culture to a clan culture. Conversely, the hierarchy focuses on rules, policies, procedures, efficiency, and control is the direct opposite of the clan that stresses family, loyalty, commitment, cohes ion, and morale. Organizational Culture Profiles In many organizations, one typically finds that corporate culture affects everyone. Culture is important because it can influence human behavior, can be difficult to change, and its near invisibility makes it hard to address directly. The MIG’s current and preferred culture shown in the OCAI in Appendix A focuses on some core attributes of the organization. The OCAI is a key component to help the MIG understand and conceptualize its organizational culture, its nature, determinants and predictions, as well as the relationships among culture's diverse set of variables. Organizational culture is widely considered one of the most significant factors in bringing about organizational ch... ...a pictogram of how the current culture for the MIG matches the preferred culture. First, from the perspective of where the organization’s current culture is and secondly, from the perspective of where organization’s culture should be. The MIG’s present culture indicates it experience hierarchy culture but would like to start working more like a clan culture. The organization’s profile indicated a large difference between the current and preferred situation, which means changes are desirable. Organizational culture is just one of the many pieces that make up the puzzle of public sector organizations. As such, it should not be considered the answer to all organizational problems, nor should it be applied to all organizational aspects. The organizational culture profiles can be a starting point to solve problems, but also a way to create problematic solutions.

Essay on the Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice

The Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice    Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a good-looking, self-absorbed aristocrat, Fitzwilliam Darcy experiences a change in his personality and character.   Falling in love was what Darcy needed in order to dispose of his existent views on marriage and money.   Although Mr. Darcy was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lower social status than he.   However, the love of Elizabeth Bennet changed his behavior forever.    Darcy's arrogance shines through at the beginning of the novel in his first appearance at the Meryton ball.   Speaking of Elizabeth Bennet, he so snobbishly set forth that she was, "...tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" (230).   His feelings of superiority to the people of the town lend Mr. Darcy to be judged as a man with a repulsive and atrocious personality.   The women, who had found him dashingly handsome at first appearance, deemed him a man unworthy of marriage because he offered no positive qualities other than wealth and physical attractiveness.   Not only did Darcy refuse a dance with Elizabeth, but he made it apparent that no woman in the room met his standards of a suitable woman stating that, "...there is not another woman in this room, whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with" (229).   Mr. Darcy is concerned only with the wealth and social standing of the people in the beginning of the novel and will not even communicate with the p eople of the town as they are lower than him and undeserving of his presence.   However, as the novel continues on, Darcy becomes more and more accepting of the Bennet family, which he had formerly thought of as nothing ... ...ce.   Ed. Donald Gray.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Hennelly, Jr., Mark M. "Pride and Prejudice." Jane Austen: New Perspectives. ed. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1983. Jane Austen Info Page. Henry Churchyard. U of Texas, Austin. 23 Nov. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo/html>. Monaghan, David.   Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision.   New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Poplawski, Paul.   A Jane Austen Encyclopedia.   Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. Reidhead, Julia, ed. Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 7, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Ward, David Allen. "Pride and Prejudice." Explicator. 51.1: (1992). Wright, Andrew H. "Feeling and Complexity in Pride and Prejudice." Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966. 410-420. Essay on the Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice The Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice    Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a good-looking, self-absorbed aristocrat, Fitzwilliam Darcy experiences a change in his personality and character.   Falling in love was what Darcy needed in order to dispose of his existent views on marriage and money.   Although Mr. Darcy was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lower social status than he.   However, the love of Elizabeth Bennet changed his behavior forever.    Darcy's arrogance shines through at the beginning of the novel in his first appearance at the Meryton ball.   Speaking of Elizabeth Bennet, he so snobbishly set forth that she was, "...tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" (230).   His feelings of superiority to the people of the town lend Mr. Darcy to be judged as a man with a repulsive and atrocious personality.   The women, who had found him dashingly handsome at first appearance, deemed him a man unworthy of marriage because he offered no positive qualities other than wealth and physical attractiveness.   Not only did Darcy refuse a dance with Elizabeth, but he made it apparent that no woman in the room met his standards of a suitable woman stating that, "...there is not another woman in this room, whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with" (229).   Mr. Darcy is concerned only with the wealth and social standing of the people in the beginning of the novel and will not even communicate with the p eople of the town as they are lower than him and undeserving of his presence.   However, as the novel continues on, Darcy becomes more and more accepting of the Bennet family, which he had formerly thought of as nothing ... ...ce.   Ed. Donald Gray.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Hennelly, Jr., Mark M. "Pride and Prejudice." Jane Austen: New Perspectives. ed. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1983. Jane Austen Info Page. Henry Churchyard. U of Texas, Austin. 23 Nov. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo/html>. Monaghan, David.   Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision.   New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Poplawski, Paul.   A Jane Austen Encyclopedia.   Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. Reidhead, Julia, ed. Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 7, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Ward, David Allen. "Pride and Prejudice." Explicator. 51.1: (1992). Wright, Andrew H. "Feeling and Complexity in Pride and Prejudice." Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966. 410-420.