Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. Essay

1. Stakeholders 1.1. The five-year girl and the injured: – as because of this incident a five year girl lost her life and nothing is more precious that life. 1.2. Customers: – because people were resting their futures in the hands of this number fever promotion campaign. 1.3. Victoria Angelo, her family and families like hers: – these people who didn’t have enough money to eat were buying Pepsi in the hope of changing their whole life. The rich company Pepsi was making money by making these people believe that they might win a lot of money. Instead of using their scarce resources for something more real, these people spent it on Pepsi building up dreams of getting rich and leading a good life. 1.4. Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc.:- as the campaign was launched by Pepsi-cola, it is responsible for the outcomes like deaths, lawsuits, injured etc. 1.5. Pepsi-Cola International: – as Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. is a part of the multinational firm with branches all over the world, this incident might negatively effect the sales in other countries. 1.6. PepsiCo Inc.:- as it owns 19% of the company. 1.7. Insurance companies: – The insurance companies are affected by this incident as a lot of the Pepsi-cola cars, trucks and wagons were destroyed by the angry public and these companies might have to pay for it. 1.8. Competitors especially Coca-Cola:- as a result of this incident coca-cola might be able to snatch away a huge chunk of the market from Pepsi. 1.9. Government: – It has to make sure that companies follow the laws and  they have to protect the innocent consumers. The government has to make sure illegal and unethical activities do not happen. It has to make sure that the laws are implemented without any exceptions. 1.10. Judicial system in Philippines: – as it is responsible for making sure that no violations of laws and regulations happen and people who do it are dealt with in the proper manner. 1.11. Company Employees: – they might lose their jobs as a result of the riots and losses that Pepsi had to face. 1.12. People who ran the computer or made the computer program:- as they have a significant role to play in the misprinting of the numbers. 1.13. Banks and financial institutions: – although not very clear from the case Pepsi-cola might haven taken loans form other banks. 1.14. Share and Stockholders: – although not very clear from the case, the value of the shares and stock of Pepsi-cola Company might have fallen. 2. Ethical Issues 2.1. Trust: – A climate of trust provides improved communication, greater predictability, dependability and confidence among the customer’s, employees and the company. The people trusted Pepsi to pay them the money if they would win. But Pepsi dining do that hence breaking customer trust, something once broken is very difficult to regain. 2.2. Egoism: – the company was just thinking about its own interests when it launched the campaign. It didn’t consider the poor people who might be lured by this number fever and spend the little money they had on Pepsi-cola instead of saving it and using for food, medicines, education etc, hence harming the innocent customers. 2.3. Deception: – With the winning numbers pre-selected by computer and only  ten 1-million-peso prizes available, the chance of anyone becoming a peso millionaire was one in 28.8 million. But Pepsi drinkers didn’t know that. The few winners got saturation media coverage, and entire families spent inordinate time and effort collecting bottle caps. 2.4. Theft: – these people who didn’t have enough money to eat were buying Pepsi in the hope of changing their whole life. The rich company Pepsi was making money by making these people believe that they might win a lot of money. Instead of using their scarce resources for something more real, these people spent it on Pepsi building up dreams of getting rich and leading a good life. When Pepsi refused to pay the rightful winners their rightful money, the company robbed these people of their dreams, hopes and financial resources. 3. The shaping of Public happiness a. There was maybe a little collaboration of private welfare and public good. The company was giving out prises valuing up to 1 million to people. Although the company intended to gain more market share through this action, it also helped people get more money and live a better life. On the other hand it was also private welfare as only a handful people really profited from this action. Only these few were able to lead a better life and the majority was left out b. Yes I think it is an appropriate good as one cannot always do stuff for the public good. It is not always possible to do good for all on a large scale. You need a lot of resources, power to carry out actions on such a large scale. Instead it would be better to help groups, families and individual. This is relatively easier to do and consequently a lot of people will benefit from such actions. c. What should have been differently i. Truth: – the company should have told the truth in the advertisements, that the chance to win the game is extremely small. This would help  especially the poor people in making the more sensible and invert their money in things what they really need. ii. Trust: – the company should have tried to regain trust of the people by explaining to them that the mistake was not on purpose and that they never intended to hurt people’s feelings. iii. Consequences: – The Company should have also tried to explain to the people that if Pepsi would pay the $18 billion to the people, then the company would go broke and would have to close. This would result in thousands of people loosing their jobs. iv. Government: – it should make sure that people understand such campaigns and don’t get seduced by such empty promises through better control over what the companies exactly advertise and what they do. d. Yes Pepsi was justified in not paying the full 1 million pesos: Doing that would mean that Pepsi would have to pay a total of more than $18 billion, a sum that would definitely lead to the company getting bankrupt. As a result of this thousands of people would lose their jobs not only in Philippines but also in other parts of the world where Pepsi operates as the Whole Pepsi organisation would be affected by this huge loss. The share and stock holder might lose a lot of money as a result of this loss at Pepsi. Thus it is a very complicated and damaging chain reaction that would be set of into action if Pepsi paid the money. Pepsi made a mistake in printing the numbers, something it did not intend to do. It kept its promise of giving out the 1 million to people who had the numbers but now you can’t expect the company to pay $18 billion because of an honest mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. e. Europe: – The response would have been different as the people in Europe are not that poor and live a good life. They are not that desperate. They are also well educated and understand such campaigns. South America and Africa: – the response might have been similar to that in  Philippines as the people are poor and are desperate to have money. Most of the people are not well educated and hence don’t really understand such campaigns. Asia: – the response here might be not that aggressive as in Philippine as the people are well educated and although also being poor they live in highly developing countries for example India ,China etc, that are constantly attractive huge investments from around the world. Multinational companies are building huge factories here and are outsourcing their functions in these countries. As such the people are not that desperate. f. The firms offer was OK, it could have offered some more money, but whatever it might have offered it would have never been enough for the people. The company had to think about all its shareholders and paying the full amount would have damaged lot of them for example Insurance companies, Company Employees, Banks and financial institutions, Share and Stockholders etc. It was in the best interest of everyone for the company to pay 500 pesos and not the full 1 million. 4. What would I do? Likely the ethical principles violated have to do with trust that they would keep their word, (pay for winners) even if it weren’t profitable. I don’t think the ads said anything about conditions of payment are only if they ‘choose the correct, low probability number to ensure low payoff’. It seems also that they need their customers, particularly since Coke customers will not be affected by Pepsi-Philippines decision not to pay off. I would make sure that the advertisements would mention the risks and possibilities of winning. The people would be aware of the fact that it is very difficult to win. This would help a person not to invest all his hopes and resources in something that is itself a dream. I would also try to explain to the people that if Pepsi would pay the $18 billion to the people, then the company would go broke and would have to close. This would result in thousands of people loosing their jobs. I would try to maintain the good will of the customers. The projected $ loss from loss in reputation may be worse than paying the prizes. Simply from a business and ethical perspective, I would have done something very quickly to maintain the good will of the customers once I knew of the mistake. I would have tried to regain trust of the people by explaining to them that the mistake was not on purpose and that the company never intended to hurt people’s feelings. Maybe in Hong Kong the results would have been less radical or violent. However that wouldn’t mean that the company wasn’t just as wrong for their short-sightedness and carelessness. Their carelessness led to violence and death. Something should have been done differently. Yes. 5. Application of to case 5.1. Personal Traits:- Business decisions are made by individuals or by committees, thus the ethics of business in reality is the ethics of the individuals making up the business. A series of factors influence a persons ethics: personal values, stage of moral development and moral approbation. The extent to which a decision maker’s behaviour reflects personal values depends to some extent on the decision maker’s ego strength, field dependence and locus of control. There the Pepsi-cola company is a big player with a lot of power which can lead to high ego strength and locus of control. This might cause the company to go its own way and set wrong standards and use questionable methods. Stages of development depict the type of rationale used to select options. Moral approbation characterizes the internal need for approval something that is scarcely present in big companies. Each of these traits either supports ethical or unethical behaviour. 5.2. Stakeholders :- A stakeholder is someone who has a stake in an organization or a program. Stakeholders either affect the organization/program or are affected by it. Stakeholders include people who staff a program (e.g., management, staff); people who are affected by a program (e.g., clients, their families, and the  community); people who contribute to a program in other ways (e.g., contributors, funding agencies and foundations, volunteers, partner organizations, board members, etc.); and people with a vested interest in the program (e.g., politicians, neighbors, etc.), competitors, suppliers etc. The company did not take into consideration the effects of this campaign on particularly its consumers. The Stakeholders influence decisions in both ethical and unethical directions. 5.3. Organizational Culture and Traits It might be referred to as the common set of assumptions, beliefs and values that has developed within the organisation to cope with the external and internal environment and that is passed on to new members to guide their actions within these environments. It provides a sense of identity among members and promotes a commitment of the members to something larger than self. It also provides for stability of the organisational social system and rationale and direction for behaviour. While organisational culture serves as the overall glue of the organisation specific aspects of its culture are influenced by the organisational traits for e.g. organisational climate and organisational goals etc. 3.4. Dimensions of Decision Making The Decision Processes help to explain the types of ethical decision making behaviour that occur in business. Managers indicate there are specific actions that they will not countenance – thus, the minimum performance rule. Once a set of decision alternatives has been established, each one is evaluated on the bases of the Decision dimensions like economic, political, technological, social and ethical issues. These issues are responsible at the end about the ethical nature of the decision. 3.5. Moral Intensity The degree of moral intensity influences the decision maker’s decisions. A person with a high moral intensity is tend to consider moral and ethical  issues more deeply than a person who’s moral intensity lies very low. 3.6. Minimum Performance Level/ Total Benefit Test The decision maker applies a minimum performance rule to each of the decisions that specifies the minimum acceptable performance level for each of the decision dimensions. Any alternative that creates a conflict of interest will be dropped from consideration. The minimum performance level might be less than the desired level and when considered by itself would lead to rejection of the alternative. Decisions Alternatives that survive the Minimum Performance Level rule test may then be subjected to the second phase, total benefit yielding the overall value of each alternative. After the benefit for each decision variable has being considered has been derived, one would expect that the decision maker would select the alternative with the highest benefit. 6. Lessons Critical for organizations that are striving to gain or maintain a competitive advantage and that are in the process of re-structuring for the new century. Decision-making is an important factor for growing organizational memory with newly created knowledge and a broader base of perspectives to use in subsequent decision-making situations. Given a particular decision context and a decision maker with a set of personal values, it may be very difficult to see all sides of the issue. Individual, managerial and organisational success all depend on making the right decisions at the right times.1 However, decision-making is just one component of the problem-solving process. Unless a problem has been defined and its root causes identified, managers are unlikely to be able to make an appropriate decision about how to solve it. Effective managers know how to gather and evaluate information that clarifies a problem. They know the value of generating more than one action alternative and weighing all the implications of a plan before deciding to implement it. A major responsibility for all managers is to maintain a constant lookout for actual or potential problems. Managers do this by keeping channels of communication open and monitoring. When a problem involves others, they need to feel understood and accepted; they must have confidence that the problem can be resolved; they must trust management to see the problem as a learning experience and not as an excuse to punish someone. Whether blameworthy or not, the use of the cloak of social responsibility, and the nonsense spoken in its name by influential and prestigious businessmen, does clearly harm the foundations of a free society. I have been impressed time and again by the schizophrenic character of many businessmen. They are capable of being extremely far-sighted and clear-headed in matters that are internal to their businesses. They are incredibly short-sighted and muddle-headed in matters that are outside their businesses but affect the possible survival of business in general. But the doctrine of â€Å"social responsibility† taken seriously would extend the scope of the political mechanism to every human activity. It does not differ in philosophy from the most explicitly collective doctrine. It differs only by professing to believe that collectivist ends can be attained without collectivist means. The social responsibility of business is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that teenage criminal and deviant behaviour results from parents failing to socialise their children correctly Essay

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that teenage criminal and deviant behaviour results from parents failing to socialise their children correctly (12 marks) Most criminologists would agree that the majority of criminal and/or deviant behaviour both stems and/or develops during either childhood or the early years of adolescence. Therefore, many how deduced that the adequacy of socialising in the home by parents is likely to have an effect and possible even result in teenage criminal and deviant behaviour. This essay will therefore discuss how far sociologists would agree that teenage criminal and deviant behaviour results from parents failing to socialise their children correctly. According to functionalists, one of the key roles of parents is to appropriately socialise children to become good citizens of society. However, in conjunction to this, it has also been theorised that failure to appropriately socialise a child at home may lead to criminal and/or deviant behaviour later on in life. This may be that the parents them self’s display criminal and/or deviant behaviour, which that child them copy’s and learns. The new right approach for example theorises that children from a parentally deprived home are more likely to look for guidance and comfort elsewhere and are more prone to crime. They are therefore more likely to find role models in such situations who they aspire to grow up like. The Marxist theory of alienation however is another factor that sociologists have recognised. Marxist theorise that young, impressionable adolescences often feel pressurised by those in power who often use the law to benefit themselves and are therefore forced in to demeaning work. Due to this, many turn to crime in order to be able to control what they do but also get certain objects that they may not have been able to receive should they have stayed on the other side of the law, objects which the rich and powerful are usually the only ones to receive. Therefore, Marxists would agree that while failure to properly socialise children is an important factor in why teenagers turn to crime and delinquency, the oppression of the bourgeois is just as far reaching. In regards to teenage behaviour, labelling is a common factor found right across the board. Whether it is in school, in peer groups, in the neighbourhood or even in the home, labelling can eventually lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a child is labelled as a delinquent early on in life, it is extremely likely that that child will eventually become to believe it they are told it enough. They will therefore begin in act as they have been labelled and become criminal and/or deviant. Many sociologist would agree that labelling is a major factor in why teenager criminally and/or deviantly. Another factor is peer pressure within a sub-culture. Sub-cultures are a common day thing in many environments, especially in school. Most of them in areas of material and capital deprivation have developed a laddish sub-culture, where you must be tough and hard in order to be popular where as those who do well in academics are often viewed as uncool and nerdy. Therefore, many teenagers are pressured in to behaving criminally and or/deviantly by the threat of being socially outcast and labelled as uncool by their peers. Therefore, many sociologists would agree that peer pressure within a sub-culture does affect the criminal and/or deviant behaviour of teenagers today, possibly more so than poor socialisation in some situations. In this essay, I have explained four different factors that can affect how deviant and/or criminal teenagers behave in today’s society. However, although poor parenting may result in teenager criminal and deviant behaviour, other factors such as the Marxist theory of alienation, labelling and peer pressure within a sub-culture affect teenagers just as much as poor socialisation by parents.

Research Paper Legalizing weed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Paper Legalizing weed - Essay Example Sacco and Finklea note the status of marijuana claiming it is â€Å"the most commonly used illicit drug across the world† with about 18.9 million people in the US from age 12 and above admitting using marijuana in the past month (1). It is therefore apparent that criminalization of marijuana has not discouraged use given the increased number of people admitting usage. Based on the ongoing trend the discussion has been whether marijuana use should be legalized since criminalization has not resulted in a reduction in usage. In view of the changing public perceptions on marijuana use and possession this assay argues that smoking marijuana should be made legal for adults especially due to the potential benefits that such a move might have on the individual’s health, a country’s economy and reduction in usage of alcohol and hard drugs. The shift in public towards acceptance of marijuana use has also come with a number of states in the US legalizing the use especially for medical purposes. Among these states are Washington and Colorado which have legalized the use and possession of marijuana while twenty other states limited its legality to medical use leading to the opinion that more sates should also follow the same route and that the federal government will also follow with repealing other draconian laws that have criminalized marijuana use. This is especially so when compared with laws prohibiting alcohol consumption where the federal government tried to stop consumption of alcohol for fourteen years but failed. The law prohibiting marijuana use has achieved the same result as that prohibiting alcohol consumption the only difference being laws prohibiting marijuana have been in effect for a longer period. However, Duke warns that increased public opinion in support of marijuana use does not mean there will be a move by the federal government to legalize use

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Current Entrepreneurship - Research Paper Example Academic programs have been instituted, which equips scholars just with the management knowledge, who eventually assume daily operations in business corporations. An entrepreneur is an initiator, while entrepreneurship accommodates any private or public organization, or individual, with the potential to respond to ever changing demands, utilizes new technologies and produces additional value from the assets at disposal, also entailing the need to motivate the continual phenomena of natural entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs seek to utilize their ideas by introducing new means of meeting demands, or changing existing means of commodity delivery in order to add value. Primarily, an entrepreneur carries out varying activities including adopting innovative means of addressing socially related problems; seeking to challenge traditional manner of working; incorporating ideas, people, and resources so as to integrate change; spotting business opportunities and optimizing on resources which are under utilised and taking uncertainties and risks; as well as responding to an issue with clarity over the outcome right in mind. Entrepreneurship involves people who have new ideas, consistently accompanied by a purposeful search of resources and assets. Entrepreneurs engage in discovery as well as they exploit opportunities with an aim of creating value through meeting the needs which were previously unmet; they also strive for better ways of delivering current commodities (products and services). In order for entrepreneurship to be successful, effort tem is thus required. This may start with a leader who is a dynamic individual, and wants to institute change in the current business processes. In entrepreneurship, skills and... This research aims to evaluate and present entrepreneurship that involves people who have new ideas, consistently accompanied by a purposeful search of resources and assets. Entrepreneurs engage in discovery as well as they exploit opportunities with an aim of creating value through meeting the needs which were previously unmet; they also strive for better ways of delivering current commodities (products and services). In order for entrepreneurship to be successful, effort tem is thus required. This may start with a leader who is a dynamic individual, and wants to institute change in the current business processes. The scope of entrepreneurship therefore covers the goals set - which run the organization, as well as the entrepreneurial approach of achieving such goals. In economic development, the role of entrepreneurship entails more than just accumulating per capital income and output; it entails initiation and constitution of change in the business structure, the economy as well as society. The referred change is followed by growth of premise and increased income, which permits more wealth to be shared amongst various participants. Entrepreneurship has been acknowledged as a major tool to help bridge the gap between science and the business market although entrepreneurs faced challenges of lack of managerial skills necessary for running their businesses. Although entrepreneurs face a lot of difficulties, entrepreneurship holds the most effective means of commercializing innovations, forming new enterprises, as well as introducing new commodities to the market.

Using examples, explain the extent to which local planning authorities Essay

Using examples, explain the extent to which local planning authorities can and do meet the requirements for producing locally distinct plans, that satisfy both - Essay Example Market forces determined the use of land and what if anything was built upon it rather than the wishes of local communities and the central government. If landowners found that their land was most profitably used for agricultural purposes then it would remain as agricultural land, if it made the more money being used for residential or retail properties it would serve such purposes.1 The forerunners of local planning authorities began to emerge with the Town and Country Planning Act of 1925, despite the majority of planning decisions usually being left to individual local authorities to be enforced. The usefulness of the early local planning authorities was restricted by the harsher economic conditions that dominated much of the inter-war period. The active use of town and country planning by the equivalent of local planning authorities was thus limited in use except by local authority building council houses.2 Local planning authorities began to come into their own with the expansion of council house construction, local communities wanted more housing and central government decided it also wanted greater levels of social housing nationally. Council housing schemes were not a post-war innovation, as they had originally began in the 1920s. However council house construction due to a shortage of public funds had been restricted. After 1945 the Atlee government sanctioned and funded the building of millions of council houses as a vital component of post-war reconstruction, that also increased the availability of socially provided affordable housing.3 The era of post-war reconstruction was the raison d’Ã ªtre for the largest programmes of publicly funded construction in Britain, and the extensive use of local planning authorities to complete those projects. Unprecedented levels of public expenditure were needed due to the sheer scale of reconstruction required as a consequence of wartime bomb damage. Town planning and local planning authorities were

How Convincing Is Porters Model of National Competitive Advantage in Essay - 6

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Logical Fallacies; Argument Structure Assignment

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You have the rights to their current 3 books, do you shoot each film Essay

You have the rights to their current 3 books, do you shoot each film individually or do you shoot all at once to make certain for continuity Discuss Strength a - Essay Example It is a well known fact that "time is money", and since time is saved in this method of filming the series or several of its movies together, it can be said that money is also saved. Furthermore, it is important to remember that in order to execute and commence the production and work on a movie, it is necessary to assemble the crew, and working on a few movies one after another avoids having to find new crew, or contacting the old movies crew to see if theyre available, or even around. Actors tend to be on the move, whether theyre beginners looking for a break, or famous celebrity actors who film movies all over the world, and may be out of the country, working on another movie. Hence, the availability of the crew and actors is very problematic, and can be avoided by filming several movies together. Moreover, filming a series saves some costs. Equipment, settings and backgrounds, as well as arrangements and payments for locations can all be used for more than one movie, especially if its a trilogy or some other sequel series, which presents a continuing plot. These can reach great amounts of money, and using them for all the movies and all at once would result in a substantial reduction in costs, meaning more profits and fewer expenses. First and foremost, it isnt known in advance whether the movie will succeed or fail. Investing resources in each movie can reach millions of dollars and more, therefore investing in a few movies means risking dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars, and if done, there is no guarantee of success. Should the series fail at the box office, the huge amounts of money poured on producing and executing the film will all be lost. Some claim that if the movie, transformed from a book or a series on television, already has a large fan base, the potential of fans going to watch the movie is greater than the risk of losing the money

Marketing mix and tool Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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Current issue in global business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current issue in global business - Essay Example In 2008, one of the most severe financial crises since the Great Depression struck. Banks had been lending money recklessly for several years and this led to a serious asset bubble. To make things worse, many of the people who borrowed money were completely unable to pay off their debts as they became due. Banks and businesses collapsed. Millions of people were laid off. Credit dried up, making it very hard to borrow money and allow companies to begin the rebuilding process. Throughout these problems, corporate taxes remained high in most developed countries. In Canada, they were reduced somewhat, with an eye towards encouraging business opportunities (Vieira). Elsewhere, however, they remain high and continue to limit the amount of jobs that can be created and the economic re-bound that is desperately required to restore western economies to a level comparable to pre-2008. This is an issue for everyone who cares about global stability and economic growth. The backbone of our economi es are our corporations, be they small family-owned businesses are huge multi-national companies. We need to work hard to create environments in which they can thrive and hire employees. There are those who would wish to raise corporate tax rates and effectively stifle growth. ... They wish to see Ireland's advantage wiped out completely. Ireland has been forced to accept a massive bailout from the EU and so far has managed to keep its tax rate, a point of national pride, but only after great duress was brought to bear on its government by countries such as France, which have a high corporate tax rate and don't like Ireland's competitive tax advantage (EU Business). When countries squabble like this, it is businesses that lose out. This kind of instability is anathema to good business. They have a very difficult time planning long-term when they are not sure what the tax rate will be a few years down the line. Stability is key in these kinds of situations. Some say that lowering corporate tax rates is the wrong policy. It involves giving extra cash to those who need it less. They suggest it makes more sense to give money to education programs and needy families. But they miss the point. Lowering corporate taxes jump-starts business. It allows companies to hire more people. Businesses form the cornerstone of the economy. We should not punish them with high taxes. Of all countries in the world, it is most surprising to learn that the United States has one of the highest tax rates in the world. Despite the fact that it is often seen as a champion of business, it makes life very difficult for them. Even Republicans see fit to attack business when they talk about putatively lowering taxes. A recent article discusses the opinion of Eric Cantor, the majority Republican leader in the House: As a first step toward that wider overhaul, Mr. Cantor said he supports allowing U.S. multinational corporations to bring nearly $1.2 trillion in profits derived from foreign operations onshore at a temporary lower tax rate, in a bid to

Prison and Facilities Offering Rehabilitation Essay Example for Free

Prison and Facilities Offering Rehabilitation Essay Prisoner Rehabilitation is when a criminal offender has been reformed of their criminal behavior. Many correctional facilities offer several different types of rehabilitation programs to the offenders that are housed within the facility; unfortunately with many states seeing budget cuts these types of rehabilitation programs are being cut. With the amount of facilities offering rehabilitation programs are dwindling and the amount of prisoners increasing this could lead to major problems in the future. Prisoner rehabilitation is a way to try and ensure that upon the offenders release that society is safe from the offender’s criminal ways. Some correctional facilities offer rehabilitation programs like drug and alcohol rehab, religion, and anger management and that is just a few (Foster, 2006). First discussed back in the Twentieth Century although it is believed to of been used before than. Rehabilitation has never been the soul reason for the incarceration of a person. Prison official were not able to give a defined and clear method of rehabilitation (Foster, 2006). Scientific penology was a major role in defining and conducting structured thoughts and scientific studies that can be utilized through rehabilitation (Foster, 2006). Rehabilitation programs have an effect on prisoners, prisons, and society in general in different ways. Prison inmates who have these types of programs available it gives them something constructive to do with their time; when you are incarcerated believe it or not but all you have is time to kill. These types of rehabilitation programs can have a positive impact on the inmate’s lives and in turn on society. If an inmate can complete rehabilitation program while incarcerated and change their lifestyle when released it benefits not only the inmate but also helps society. These programs can help offenders by building their self worth so that they can believe they deserve better than a prison life and let them know that there is something more out there other than the prison life. Some say that these types of programs don’t work and in some cases they don’t but in some they  do work and can give an inmate a real chance to survive outside of the prison walls without reverting back to their criminal ways. The major problem that I see with the rehabilitation programs would be the fact that they are being cut and facilities that offer these programs are being closed. I have a very close family friend that is mandated to go through rehabilitation program from the courts yet they are sent to a facility where the rehabilitation program is not even offered due to budget cuts. The budget cuts and closing of facilities are only going to add to the over crowding population of inmates within the corrections facilities. So my recommendation is that these types of programs need to be offered at every prison and should but be affected by budget cuts. Reference: Foster, B. (2006). Corrections: The fundamentals. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Industrialized Building System (IBS) | Literature Review

Industrialized Building System (IBS) | Literature Review CHAPTER 2:Â  LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The objectives of this chapter will identify and study into the details and provide the literature review of Industrialized Building System (IBS). In this literature review of building system will also be covered in this chapter. The contents will focus on definitions of IBS, characteristic of building in Malaysia with application of IBS, advantages of IBS and disadvantages of IBS. The 5 types of widely used IBS in Malaysia project will be study in this chapter. In addition, the comparison of suggestion method which use of IBS in different building in Malaysia will be carried out in this chapter. Besides that, the systematic solution by applying IBS in current Malaysia projects which able to reduce waste during construction project life cycle which able to create and heading toward friendly or eco environment compare to conventional method will be carried out in this chapter. 2.1.1 Definition of IBS According to Dietz (1971), in the early literature defined IBS as the whole process of all the subsystems and components make full utilized of industrial production, transport and assembly technology. The IBS system is actually apply in construction industry is mainly to reduce input and generate more output by maximize or fully utilized the production, transportation and assembly during construction stage which indirectly save up a lot of time and costs for the process of above. (Dietz 1971) Meanwhile according Warszawski (1999), IBS defined as a set of interrelated elements, to take collective action that the designated and performance of the building. In additional, IBS is defined as a process of investment in facilities, technology and equipment, to minimize the amount of labour in the site, to improve the quality of building and to increase the speed of construction. From here we noticed that not only time and cost is being save up but indeed quality also can be improve by applying IBS. (Warszawski 1999). According to Parid (1997), IBS defined as a industrialized production technology used by the system, whether in component production or assembly of building. (Parid 1997) The interpretation from Esa et al (1998), IBS as continuous use of the system, so that the manufacturing use end-user to reduce waste of resources and enhance the value of each building craftsmen. (Esa etal 1998) According to CIDB, IBS is a construction process that transferring the substantial activities from site to factory where the building components are manufacture in factory then delivery to site and assembled at site. This is the process that involve prefabricated the elements of building in factory by using machine or formwork and on-site installation. 2.1.2 Classification of IBS In early stages, Badir (1998) proposed four types in Malaysia with Badir-Razali classification. These building systems which is conventional system, cast in situ system, composite building system and the prefabricated system is shown in Figure 2.1. Each building system is composed of representatives of the respective construction methods, thus further through its construction characteristics of the technology, features and geometry. (Badir 1998) Figure 2.1 : Types of building system according to Badir-Razali classification in Malaysia (Badir 1998) IBS also can be classified according to several aspects: According to structural system According to material According to relative weight of component 2.1.3 Classification according to structural system Panel system The loads are distributes by the large floor and wall panel where the building loads is support by wall in panel system. This system is suitable for those building are required large wall and this system is not suitable to building with large span. Frame system In frame system, the building loads are support by column and beam. The walls used is required light and easy to fix and concrete panels are introduces as flooring element. Box system The box systems is include those systems that make use of three-dimensional modules or boxes for fabrication of habitable units that are able of withstanding load from various directions due to their internal stability. 2.1.4 Classification according to material Timber The prefabrication of timber consists of two types which are ready-cut plus shop fabrication of joints (column and beam) and structural panels only consists of walls and floors without column and beam. Steel All the steel elements are prefabricated in factory then only transport to site to joints by welding or bolting at site. The large proportion of the strength to the weight allows a long-span or high-rise building. Reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete has high degree of availability, durability, low material cost and fire resistance. There are two basic trends in development of reinforced concrete IBS components which are precast frame members such as columns and beams and panelised components such as walls and floors. Brick and block Brick and block for IBS are prefabricate and lay in factory then only transported to site and last erected at site. With this will ease the construction works at site. 2.1.5 Classification according to relative weight of component IBS components can be classified according to relative weight. Majzub explained that the relative weight of components should be used as a basis for building classification because the factor of weight has significant impact on the transportability of components and has influence on the production method of the components and their erection method at site. Table 1 is shown the building systems classification according to relative weight of component. (Majzub, 1977) Table 1: Classification according to relative weight of components (Majzub, 1977) 2.1.6 Types of IBS and apply to building in Malaysia Based on CIDB (2003) the classification of IBS in Malaysia is broken down into five categories, which is a precast concrete frame panel and box system, steel formwork system, steel framing system, block work system and timber frame system . IBS is a construction process that use of technology, products, components and on-site installation of building system. From the structural classification five of IBS display section, which are mainly classified according to some modifications, the main groups in Malaysia by CIDB. (CIDB 2003) 2.1.6.1 Precast Concrete Framing, Panel and box system Precast concrete components are the most common prefabricated elements in Malaysia. The precast concrete elements are the concrete product that manufactured in a controlled environment and being transported to the construction site for installation. There are precast concrete for columns, slabs, lightweight precast concrete, permanent concrete formwork, and beams. Besides that, it also consists of 3-D components such as staircases, toilet, balconies, lift chamber and etc. High degree of flexibility is one of the advantages of the system in regards of larger of larger clear span between column, resulting in wider open space and freedom of greater areas. Precast concrete wall system consisting og precast floor and load-bearing walls of building. The load-bearing walls and slabs are transfer to construction site for erected. The system is preferred simple and easy flexibility with due to the restriction of removal of load bearing will making it a lesser degree of flexibility. The carefully good coordination and design between builders and designer, the erection process is very fast, and the number of wet trade in the field can be reduced significantly. 2.1.6.2 Steel Formwork Systems This is the system formwork which is designed by manufacturer to replace a conventional timber formwork. The steel formwork is manufactured in the plant and then assembled on construction site. The steel reinforcement and service conduit will be installed on site before the steel formworks are installed. the installation is very easy by using simple support system. It can be described as a mould which the wet concrete can be poured into the mould and form the required shape, these steel formwork systems are subjected to quality control. This type of IBS method is considered as the low level in the construction industry. The steel formwork system that used in beams, permanent steel formworks, tunnel forms and column moulding forms. 2.1.6.3 Steel Framing Systems Steel is a strong rigid materials, suitable for a high degree of flexibility across the structure of long term construction and rehabilitation of the architectural details of the framework construction. The components of steel framing system are rolled into standardized sizes. The component are then manufactured which involves cutting, drilling, shot blasting, welding and painting. Steel frames are erected, welding and the tightening of bolt after they are fabricated. The steel framing systems has been a popular choice, and is widely used in fast track construction project, the system commonly used with precast concrete slab, steel columns and beams. 2.1.6.4 Prefabricated Timber Framing System In the early 1970s, single storey low cost terrace houses mostly built of pure timber frame and wood which sitting on three feet high plastered brick walls and taking advantages of simple raft foundation due to the high weight superstructure. These prefabricated timber framing systems is using the timber in the construction industry for the building. Usually the timber framing system are consists of timber building frames and timber roof trusses. Steel plate is being used during prefabrication of timber to join members of truss. All members needs to be treated with anti pest chemical. 2.1.6.5 Block Work Systems The time consuming traditional brick laying tasks are generally simplified by using block work systems. Interlocking concrete masonry units (CMU) and lightweight concrete blocks are involved in block work system. Fabricated and cured of the components take place in the plant. The elements are normally used as bricks in structures and interlocking concrete block pavement 2.1.7 Advantages of IBS for public housing There are many advantages of implementing IBS. according to CIDB (2003), compares to conventional method. Following are brief descriptions on a number of advantages where using IBS for the public housing:- Advantages Description Reduce construction time IBS will requires less construction time Because both the site work and the fabrication of element can take place concurrently work at site only the erection of IBS components. So, this leads to earlier occupation of the building. Save cost Reducing on-site workers significantly labor cost for contractors. (Wisam 2005). Minimizing cost of transferring waste materials due to quality control and reducing waste material. (Noraini 2009). Exemption of the Construction Levy for housing developers who utilize IBS components exceeding than 70%. (CIDB 2005). Provides earlier occupation of the building, thus reducing interest payment or capital outlays (Peng, 1986 cited in Mian, A.T.E, 2006). Saving in labour Because the IBS components are produced in factory and higher degree of using machine so will reduce of labour dependency of labour and cut down the cost of labour. According to Abraham Warszawski (1999), the labour savings in prefabricated elements may amount to about 80% of their conventional requirement. So, will reduced the total foreign workers need in the construction industry. Optimized use of materials Higher degree of precision and accuracy in the production can be achieve by using machine to produce IBS components and consequently reduce material wastage. So, the wastage at site will be reduced if using the IBS. High quality and better finishes Quality control is an ever-increasing requirement in all construction. Controlled environment in factor, superior material selection and high mechanized technology lead to high quality controlled products. (Din 1984). High aesthetic end products through the processes of controlled prefabrication and simplified installations has maintained and ensured the quality of work in the construction industry (CIDB-(2), 2003 cited in Mian, A.T.E, 2006). Better quality control since production in factory is under heltered environment. Better quality will reduce the maintenance expenses because prefabricated components require less repair and preventive maintenance. Construction operation less affected by weather The fabrication of IBS components will not be effected by climate changes it is done in factory and only erection of the components take place on site Faster project completion due to rapid progress under all weather construction. Flexibility Different systems may use different prefabrication construction methods. IBS will provide more flexibility in the deign of precast element. By the flexibility in Architectural design (Warszawski, 1999). Increase site safety and neatness This method neater and safer site condition can be obtain thru this method. Promote safe and systematic factory working environment as minimal workers, materials and construction waste is requires on site. (CIDB 2003). Construction process can be less thru using IBS components especially for the wet work at site. 2.1.8 Disadvantages of IBS for public Housing Although there are a lot of advantages of IBS, however there are limitations for this system to be use too. Nothing in this world is perfect, so as using IBS. disadvantages of IBS are as follows:- Disadvantages description High initial capital cost The initial capital cost of IBS is usually higher than conventional method. The initial cost is includes the casting beds, cost of constructing the factory and support machinery. This method only can be achieved when undertaking large demand for housing project. Problem of joints These methods are very sensitive to the errors and sloppy work. Water leakage between joints is often the major problem when IBS is being used. This problem is clearer in Malaysia where raining occur rapidly throughout the year. Sophisticated plants and skilled operators The prefabrication system relies heavily on sophisticated plant, when skilled operators are required to the fabrication process coordinate and maintain. The entire project would be on a stand still if any of the section breakdown. Site accessibility One of the most important factors of the implementation of IBS is the site accessibility. IBS requires sufficient site accessibility to transport IBS components from factory to the site. According to Warszawski (1999), the transportations cost of prefabricated elements from plant to their construction site, amount to 3% to 5% of their total cost for distances not exceeding 50kn to 100km. Large working area Building construction using IBS required a large working area for the tower crane, factory, storage and trailers for the IBS components. Most construction in order areas are often congested and fail to provide the area required.

Experience of Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose in Pregnancy

Experience of Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose in Pregnancy Lived Experience of Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose among Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Abstract Key words:Self-monitoring of blood glucose, gestational diabetes mellitus INTRODUCTION Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as impaired glucose tolerance first identified during pregnancy. It is diagnosed using a 75g or 100 g oral glucose tolerance test according to clinical practice guidelines. The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus among pregnant women is increasing worldwide because of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise. Prepregnancy overweight and gestational weight gain are the strongest predictors of GDM (Savona-Venturaet al.,2013). Previous studies showed that 5.0-12.9% of pregnant women have GDM (Cho, 2013). Pregnant women who have gestational diabetes mellitus are more likely to develop adverse pregnancy and child birth outcomes. Common maternalhealth complications are hypertensivedisorder (3.0-50.0%), preterm labour (2.0-14%), spontaneous abortion (3.5-25.3%), polyhydramnios (5.0-28.0%, and postpartum hemorrhage (6.0-10.5%). Neonatal complications include macrosomic infant (12.0-17.0%), congenital malformations (6.5-20.0%), shoulder dystocia (9.5-23.3%), birth injury (4.5-13.3%), respiratory distress syndrome (1.5-21.4%), hypoglycemia (20.0-68.5%), hyperbiliruninemia (5.3-48.3%), and admission in neonatal care unit (15.0-20.6%) (Wang, 2013).These maternal and neonatal sequalae develop due to prolonged hyperglycemia. High levels of blood glucose can damage endothelial cells causing hypertensive disorder and its complications. Infants of pregnant women with GDM are also exposed to high maternal blood glucose levels (Webb, 2013). It is suggested that controlling blood glucose within the recommended range (70-120 mg/dl) will decrease these complications. GDM in pregnant women can be treated by medical nutrition therapy, insulin injection, and self-monitoring of blood glucose (American Diabetes Association, 2013). Testing of capillary blood for glucose levels is recommended as a diabetes self-management strategy.Pregnant women with GDM need to be advised and taught to collect blood sample from their fingertip and use a glucometer to measure blood glucose levels. Little is known about their perception and lived experience of self-monitoring of blood glucose. Understanding their perception and meaning regarding diabetes management will be useful to promote self-care, improve glycaemic control, and decrease maternal and neonatal health complications. METHODS Objectives of the study The objectives of this study were to describe perceptions and meaning of lived experience in self-monitoring of blood glucose and utilization of blood glucose levels for glycaemic control among pregnant women who have gestational diabetes mellitus. Research design This descriptive phenomenological study was designed to gain more understanding about lived experienced of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus in self-monitoring of blood glucose. Specific qualitative research methods used in this study included bracketing the researcher perspectives, analyzing, intuiting, and describing perception and meaning of participants’ lived experience (Creswell, 2013; Touhyet al., 2013). Study setting This study was conducted in the antenatal care units, diabetes clinics, and obstetric wards of two government hospitals in southern Thailand which are the referral centers providing advanced management of pregnancy complicated with GDM. Ethical consideration The research project and data collection procedures were approved by Institutional Review Boards and ethics committees of the Faculty of Nursing and Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, and selected hospitals in southern Thailand. Participants Potential participants were approached and asked for participation by staff nurses. Informed consent was obtained by the researcher teams. Thirty pregnant women diagnosed with GDM during 24-30 week gestation were recruited for the study. Data collection Data were collected using in-depth interviews following semi-structured interview guides. Digital audio recording was used. The participants were asked to be interviewed at the antenatal clinic, diabetes clinic, or obstetric ward. Two interviews were conducted. Each interview took 30-45 minutes. Data were collected until saturation. Interview data were transcribed to prepare for coding and analyzing. Data analysis Qualitative data were analyzed followingColaizzi’s method and included seven steps: 1) Reading and re-reading descriptions, 2) extracting significant statements, 3) formulating the meaning of lived experiences in various contexts, 4) categorizing the meaning into clusters of themes, 5) describing the phenomenon being studied, 6) validating the finding with participants, and 7) incorporating informants’ view in the findings (Creswell, 2013). FINDINGS The mean age of participants was 32.5 (22-39 years). Seventeen women were Buddhists and thirteen women were Muslims. Their educational levels were high school (6/30), vocational level (14/30), and bachelor degree (10/30). Most of them were multiparous (22/30) and were employed (18/30). Eight women had previous GDM and experience of self-monitoring of blood glucose. The findings showed three emerged themes regarding perception and meaning of self-monitoring of blood glucose among pregnant women with GDM: being worried about diabetes, trying to control it, and having patience for their child. Being worried about diabetes comprised two dimensions: wondering about the impact of diabetes on the child, and concern about maternal health. After being informed that they had GDM, having high levels of blood glucose, they first thought abouthow diabetes would affect their pregnancy, particularly the effect on their child. They believed that their infant would be harmed or malformed, or have diabetes. The participants’ perceptions regarding GDM impact on child health were as follows. Another dimension of being afraid of diabetes was concern over maternal health. Pregnant women having GDM were also concerned about complications during pregnancy such as abortion, preterm labour, and having diabetes after childbirth. They shared their understanding as these words. The second theme was â€Å"trying to control it†. They gave two dimensions of trying to control diabetes that included: 1) learning to test blood glucose, and 2) being aware of what to eat. Learning to test blood glucose. After being diagnosed with GDM, diabetes nurse educators advised them about how to collect blood from the finger and use the glucometer to test blood glucose levels. Pregnant women needed to learn these new skills of self-monitoring of blood sugar. They shared their experiences as follows. Being aware of what to eat. Pregnant women with GDM paid more attention to take some healthy foods as recommended by doctors, nurses and dietitians. They learned to choose food type, portion size, and appropriate time to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks between meals. They provided additional data as follows. The third theme was â€Å"having patience for their child†. Pregnant women with GDM expressed the meaning of their experiences of self-monitoring of blood glucose in two dimensions: 1) overcoming food desires, and tolerating the fingerprick pain. The first meaning of having patience for the child was â€Å"overcoming food desires†. The women shared their experience of how they faced controlling their blood glucose. They had a struggle related to hunger due to cutting down on some favorite foods such as sweetened drinks, desserts and fruits. Sometimes they could not tolerate their food desire, they then decided to eat what they wanted. This response supports the idea. The second dimension of having patience for their child was â€Å"tolerating the fingerprick pain†. After being diagnosed with GDM, they were advised to test their blood glucose by pricking the fingertip to collect capillary blood to measure blood glucose levels with a glucometer for 8 to 12 weeks. They experienced mild intensity of pain that they had to cope with in order to achieve good glycaemic control. The women shared their tolerance with fingertip pain as follows. DISCUSSION After being diagnosed with GDM, pregnant Thai women were worried about the impact of diabetes on their child and their own health. They were afraid that their child might have diabetes or other health problems, or even die. A previous study also found that women with GDM experienced fear about the wellbeing of their babies and themselves (Stankiewiczet al., 2014). For maternal health, most of them were worried about becoming diabetic later in life. The research evidence revealed that women who had a history of GDM were at risk to develop prediabetes, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome. Among women with GDM, 5-14% were subsequently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus during the postpartum period and 7-29% had impaired glucose tolerance (Bihanet al., 2014). Pregnant women with GDM needed to learn to measure their blood glucose levels by self-monitoring technique. They expressed their experience as â€Å"learning to test blood glucose† because it was a new activity with which they had no skill and were not familiar. After being advised by diabetes nurse educators, they could collect a blood sample from the fingertip and test it with the glucometer. This result was supported the finding that women who have GDM can manage to control their blood glucose after they cope with emotional strain (Huiet al., 2014; Stankiewiczet al., 2014). In addition, the women had learned to control their blood glucose by â€Å"being aware of what to eat†. After receiving knowledge about diabetes medical nutrition therapy from a dietitian and nurse educator, they shared their understanding of prior dietary pattern that needed to be changed, such as reducing the consumption of sweetened drink and desserts, or fruit with high glycemic index. They had learned about the kind of foods for diabetes and portion sizes. They perceived that awareness of dietary behaviors was necessary to control their blood glucose levels. A previous study also reported that pregnant women with GDM changed their health behavior after being informed of their health problems andthe way to improve their health (Bandyopadhyayet al., 2011; Hjelmet al., 2012). Lastly, pregnant women with GDM shared their experiences that they were â€Å"patient for their child†. They had to overcome their food desires and cope with pain from fingertip pricking during blood testing. Normally, they had their favorite foods such as Thai fruits and desserts. After becoming pregnant with GDM, they had to adapt their food habits in order to achieve good glycemic control. Sometimes, they would like to eat something that they wanted but they were concerned about its impact on their child. Eventually, they decided not to eat that food or took only a small amount. However, some women could not resign their food desire and chose to take food to eat it for their satisfaction. After they fulfilled their need, they tried to practise as recommended. This was her voice â€Å"In the afternoon, I felt thirsty. I tried to drink some water but it did not satisfy me. I continued to seek some sweetened drink that I like. I could not stop my desire, then I decided to tak e it. After that my blood sugar was as high as 215 mg/dl. I have learned what food raises my blood sugar. So I tried to face my feeling and overcome it for my child wellbeing and my health too.† Another experience of having patience for the child was â€Å"tolerating fingerprick pain†. Pregnant women with GDM were advised to self-monitor their blood glucose 2 to 3 times a day, before or after meals, for 8 to 12 weeks until they gave birth. They had to cope with mild intensity of pain. They expressed their responses that they could do it in order to prevent health problems of their child and themselves. This supports the finding that perception that GDM affects behaviors related to maternal and child health and influences the adoption of a healthy lifestyle (Poth Carolan, 2013). Limitations of the study Lived experienced of self-monitoring of blood glucose in this study was obtained from the perspectives among pregnant women with gestational diabetes. It might not fit with the meaning and perception of individuals who have experience the management of type 1 or type 2 diabetes over a longer time. Conclusions Pregnant women being diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus had lived experienced characterized by two main themes: being afraid of the effect of high blood glucose on their own healthand the impacts on their child, and trying to control blood sugar by being aware of what to eat, overcoming the food desires, responding to satiety, and tolerating to skin pricking. Understanding of the women’s perception is useful to promote diabetes self-management.

Fate and Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay -- Midsummer Nights

Fate and Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream       There are many instances in A Midsummer Night's Dream where love is coerced from or foisted upon unwilling persons. This romantic bondage comes from both man-made edicts and the other-worldly enchantment of love potions. Tinkering with the natural progression of love has consequences. These human and fairy-led machinations, which are brought to light under the pale, watery moon, are an affront to nature. Shakespeare knows that all must be restored to its place under fate's thumb when the party of dreamers awaken.    Both the play's humans and fairies try to shape love into forms that are advantageous not to the lovers, but to the leaders. Egeus insists that Hermia submit to Demetrius or die; Hippolyta must ...

Is the Body Ownable :: Philosophy Papers

Is the Body Ownable The way Jennifer Church approaches the issue of body ownership in â€Å"Ownership and the Body†, it sounds as though that we own our bodies is a given fact, and the controversy is over what follows from this and why it is important to have a discussion of this fact. I, however, intend to argue that it is a bad move to allow for the idea of self-ownership (or any sort of ownership of subjects), that it is more likely to perpetuate problems than to solve them to think in this way, and that the belief in the possibility of body/self-ownership is rooted primarily in linguistic ambiguities (â€Å"property† vs. â€Å"properties†, different senses of â€Å"mine†, etc.). Mine We will begin with the seemingly innocuous assertion, â€Å"my body is mine†. 1[1]This is a truism only if â€Å"mine† is not construed as â€Å"being that which I own†. I do not own my mother, my boss, or my sneeze. In some cases, â€Å"mine† only means that something pertains to me, not that it necessarily belongs to me in the sense in which a product of my labour might. Surely a slave who says, â€Å"my master,† is not trying to reverse the relationship (a relationship which is, by my account, illegitimate to begin with). Now, Church does want to allow, in a sense, for me to be able to own my mother. She certainly would allow my mother, initially, to own me.2[2] One can make a claim, by her account, to some degree of ownership of another person based on the extent to which that person has become part of one’s self.3[3] Her example for this is the right that one’s close friends and relatives have to make decisions for one who is incapacitated. I do not see how the concern of close ones can be taken as a form of ownership. While we hope that it is our closest friends and family who will look out for us when we are unable to look out for ourselves, in no way are they granted the rights that one would have over property.4[4] I take ownership to include unrestricted private use of an object. Of course my definition excludes the possibility of owning a Is the Body Ownable :: Philosophy Papers Is the Body Ownable The way Jennifer Church approaches the issue of body ownership in â€Å"Ownership and the Body†, it sounds as though that we own our bodies is a given fact, and the controversy is over what follows from this and why it is important to have a discussion of this fact. I, however, intend to argue that it is a bad move to allow for the idea of self-ownership (or any sort of ownership of subjects), that it is more likely to perpetuate problems than to solve them to think in this way, and that the belief in the possibility of body/self-ownership is rooted primarily in linguistic ambiguities (â€Å"property† vs. â€Å"properties†, different senses of â€Å"mine†, etc.). Mine We will begin with the seemingly innocuous assertion, â€Å"my body is mine†. 1[1]This is a truism only if â€Å"mine† is not construed as â€Å"being that which I own†. I do not own my mother, my boss, or my sneeze. In some cases, â€Å"mine† only means that something pertains to me, not that it necessarily belongs to me in the sense in which a product of my labour might. Surely a slave who says, â€Å"my master,† is not trying to reverse the relationship (a relationship which is, by my account, illegitimate to begin with). Now, Church does want to allow, in a sense, for me to be able to own my mother. She certainly would allow my mother, initially, to own me.2[2] One can make a claim, by her account, to some degree of ownership of another person based on the extent to which that person has become part of one’s self.3[3] Her example for this is the right that one’s close friends and relatives have to make decisions for one who is incapacitated. I do not see how the concern of close ones can be taken as a form of ownership. While we hope that it is our closest friends and family who will look out for us when we are unable to look out for ourselves, in no way are they granted the rights that one would have over property.4[4] I take ownership to include unrestricted private use of an object. Of course my definition excludes the possibility of owning a

Balkans, History On Geographic :: essays research papers

The Balkan Peninsula has many physical features, but there are three main ones, they are the fact that it is a peninsula, its mountains, and its rivers. Within the Balkan Peninsula there are a good majority of ethnicities. There will be a majority of instances that the geography has helped or hindered certain peoples in the Balkans history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mountains had a few of different effects on the early people living in the Balkan Peninsula. The mountains of this area, helped certain ethnic groups, and hurt others. The mountain made certain divisions among the land and caused the region to be split up into small units where distinct ethnic groups have been able to sustain themselves. These small units are not much bigger than the British Isles or the state of Texas, and homes a little over a dozen of prominent ethnic groups. The mountains are also considered a physical obstacle, because they obstruct regional combination, whether it be political, economic, or cultural. And the last effect it had on these people is that of the land. The land near the bottom of these mountains is a lot better then that of the top of it, so the groups that have been beaten in battle usually would take refuge up at the top, or it would be a punishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rivers in the Balkan Peninsula are basically short so there only use is from local inhabitants. If anything these rivers are a menace, because they cannot carry water traffic and they cut ravines which then in turn block travel along the coast. The one exception of this is the Danube river, which enters from the west, passes through the Hungarian plain, then flows to the south of the Slavic states, and finally exits out of Romania and into the Black sea on the east. Though this is a great help it also can also go the other way, due to the fact that in the summer the water becomes low and there are marshes that obstruct access to the rivers banks. This can slow trade and communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to certain theories there were multiple Indo-European groups that invaded the Balkans by using and introducing horses. They had to use horses due to the terrain. During the Rome’s rule many different ethnic groups periodically invaded the Balkans. The ethnic groups such as the Slavs who arrived in the third century and conquered the Bulgar had time to develop their culture, customs, and religions due to the mountains, which isolated them from many other peoples of the area.

Life Cycle of a Frog

True Love? When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to clasp the female underneath in an embrace called amplexus. He literally climbs on her back, reaches his arms around her â€Å"waist†, either just in front of the hind legs, just behind the front legs, or even around the head. Amplexus can last several days! Usually, it occurs in the water, though some species, like the bufos on the right mate on land or even in trees! (photo courtesy of Emile Vandecasteele) While in some cases, complicated courting behavior occurs before mating, many species of frogs are known for attempting to mate with anything that moves which isn't small enough to eat! Spawn (egg-mass) While in the amplexus position, the male frog fertilizes the eggs as they get are laid. Frogs tend to lay eggs single eggs in masses, whereas toads usually lay eggs in long chains. Some frogs leave after this point, but others stick around to watch over the little ones. Some have very unusual ways of caring for their young. You'll learn about some of those later in this tour!. Egg Frogs and Toads tend to lay many many eggs because there are many hazards between fertalization and full grown frogness! Those eggs that die tend to turn white or opaque. The lucky ones that actually manage to hatch still start out on a journey of many perils. Life starts right as the central yolk splits in two. It then divides into four, then eight, etc. – until it looks a bit like a rasberry inside a jello cup. Soon, the embryo starts to look more and more like a tadpole, getting longer and moving about in it's egg. Usually, about 6-21 days (average! ) after being fertilized, the egg will hatch. Most eggs are found in calm or static waters, to prevent getting too rumbled about in infancy! Some frogs, like the Coast foam-nest treefrog, actually mate in treebranches overlooking static bonds and streams. Their egg masses form large cocoon-like foamy masses. The foam sometimes cakes dry in the sun, protecting the inside moisture. When the rain comes along, after developement of 7 to 9 days, the foam drips down, dropping tiny tadpoles into the river or pond below. Tadpole Shortly after hatching, the tadpole still feeds on the remaining yolk, which is actually in its gut! The tadpole at this point consists of poorly developed gills, a mouth, and a tail. It's really fragile at this point. They usually will stick themselves to floating weeds or grasses in the water using little sticky organs between its' mouth and belly area. Then, 7 to 10 days after the tadpole has hatched, it will begin to swim around and feed on algae. After about 4 weeks, the gills start getting grown over by skin, until they eventually disappear. The tadpoles get teeny tiny teeth which help them grate food turning it into soupy oxygenated particles. They have long coiled guts that help them digest as much nutrients from their meadger diets as possible. By the fourth week, tadpoles can actually be fairly social creatures. Some even interact and school like fish! Tadpole with legs After about 6 to 9 weeks, little tiny legs start to sprout. The head becomes more distinct and the body elongates. By now the diet may grow to include larger items like dead insects and even plants. The arms will begin to bulge where they will eventually pop out, elbow first. After about 9 weeks, the tadpole looks more like a teeny frog with a really long tail. It is now well on it's way to being almost fullgrown! Young Frog, or Froglet By 12 weeks, the tadpole has only a teeny tail stub and looks like a miniature version of the adult frog. Soon, it will leave the water, only to return again to laymore eggs and start the process all over again! Frog By between 12 to 16 weeks, depending on water and food supply, the frog has completed the full growth cycle. Some frogs that live in higher altitudes or in colder places might take a whole winter to go through the tadpole stage†¦ others may have unique development stages that vary from your â€Å"traditional† tadpole-in-the-water type life cycle: some of these are described later in this tour. Now these frogs will start the whole process again†¦ finding mates and creating new froggies.

Debbie Spring’s “The Kayak” Essay

The story ‘The Kayak’ interprets the life of a 16 year old girl, Theresa, who is still yet a baby. Her desire of becoming a woman remains unfulfilled un till she meets a boy named Jamie. When I read the story, so much sympathy for Theresa arose inside me. I feel closest to Theresa in comparison with the other two characters. When I was reading this story I was thinking about the level of patience Theresa has towards life, after what she has been through. Theresa is very insecure, dependant and helpless. As you read this story, you will come to see why Theresa is insecure. â€Å"This is my special place. Out here, I feel secure† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 33) Theresa’s special place is in water where she feels secure but on land, it is the total opposite. Another reason that proves my point is â€Å"I’m not used to talking to a guy, I never had a boyfriend, who would be interested in me?† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 36). This shows that Theresa had low self-esteem, caused by the condition of life has bestowed upon her by taking away the power from her legs. Theresa is so used to her insecurity that no matter what the circumstances are, her insecurity will pop up and take control. â€Å"Jamie puts his hand on my shoulder ‘Would you like to join me and my friends at a campfire tonight?’ ‘I don’t need pity’ I retort.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 37). Theresa thinks that nothing good can happen to her because of her past. When something is happening well, she will feel as if it too good to be true and thus ignore or hide from it. That is why Theresa’s insecurity is one of the most noticed character traits in the story. Along with insecurity, readers also perceive dependence as one of Theresa’s character traits. She feels incomplete on land and nothing is in her control, but yet as she gets closer into the ware pieces of puzzle seem to come into place to complete her. â€Å"The blue boat is an extension of my legs, I can do anything, I can go anywhere, totally independent, totally in control of myself.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak  .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 33). In the water Theresa is woman, a heroine who can save the life of others, while on land she can barely take care of her own self. † ‘Thanks for saving my skin’ Jamie says. ‘Next time, wear a lifejacket.’ Jamie doesn’t’t flinch. ‘You’re right. That was dumb.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 36). In various parts of the story, you can observe that no matter how Theresa wanted to rid herself from being dependent on her parents all the time, the trap doesn’t’t let her free. â€Å"My arms ache, I don’t want to go back to shore. Nobody lets me grow up. My parents treat me like a baby. I’m 16 years old, to old to pampered, already a woman.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 33). Theresa would love nothing more than being able to feel land, what she feels on water. Helplessness is another character trait of Theresa. Helplessness is the worst you can feel because you want to do something under any situation whatsoever, but you just are not able to do so. Theresa does feel helpless in the story a lot. â€Å"Half the kayak is on land, the rest in the water, I feel trapped, like a beached whale.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 36). After reading this sentence, I felt the depth of her pain and how it tortures her everyday, yet being able to do nothing to help her self. â€Å"I see my parents waving from shore. My father runs in the ware to help. Everything happens really fast, he takes control.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 36). She feels so helpless because she is not able to walk, so her father has to come funning to help her. Another place in the story she feels helpless is â€Å"My eyes water. Through tears, I see two images of me. The helpless child on land and the independent woman on water.† (Spring, Debbie Language and writing 9 -The Kayak .International1 Thomson Publishing, 1999, 37). That sentence shows that not only the readers conceive her helpless but she does also. I think that the author Debbie Spring did a pretty good job in expressing Theresa’s characteristics. This story ‘The Kayak’ also sprinkles around most aspects of life along with hinting out a big moral. It has some many  interesting lessons, a person can conceive such as the relationship between a parent and a child, how to overcome you biggest pains in life, in being able to let go and moving on, to see the bright side of life, seeing the glass half full and etc. I think that Theresa is a really brave and emotional character. Debbie Spring made us see everything by Theresa’s perspective, the way she feels by using first person narrator. I think if she would have done it otherwise, such as 2nd or 3rd person narrator to tell the same story, it wouldn’t’t have been as interesting as this on.

Critical and Creative Thinking in Short Essays Essay

Describe a situation of public interest in which critical and/or creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations. Recent racial unrest has been a hot topic in the public interest arena. With the death of a young man as a result of an encounter with law enforcement is difficult enough to deal with. Add to that dynamic that the young man was black and the officer was white, and the dynamic instantly intensifies. That moment becomes and instant opportunity where critical and/or creative thought should be considered instead of a knee jerk reaction since there was nothing in place prior. My addressing this does not have anything to do with the result of the riots, but everything to do with the reactions from both sides of the dilemma. Both sides needed to consider what actually happened, how the entire event took place and ended, as well as what the next step should be in anticipation of every scenario possible. There are enough brilliant minds in law enforcement as well as in the community that feel defied, to bridge whatever differences that may have been occurring prior to the event. If the community and the department that is in place to serve and protect them would pause long enough for what is in the best interest of all, they likely would have opted on an approach similar to a Community Policing approach where both sides were involved with changing the minds, actions, and directions of the entire community. Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. What role does each play in critically assessing situations? Free will, by definition, is having the ability or power to act without regard to limitations and at the individuals own discretion. Now, to define the word truth, it would be that it is anything that is true  in accordance with fact or reality and is also a fact or belief that is accepted as true. Next is knowledge which is defined as facts, information, or skills learned by a person or group of people. This can be done through experiences or an education. Simply, it is having the awareness or familiarity that is gained by experience of a fact or situation. Lastly, is the word opinion. This relates to a view or judgment formed by an individual or a group about something or anything and it is not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Often it is an estimation of the quality of worth of someone or something that is the beliefs or views of a large number or majority of people about a particular thing. It essentially is an estimation of the quality or worth of someone or something. Each of these has a role and each plays in critically assessing situations. For instance, ‘free will’ allows for a decision to be made based solely on how an individual feels about what is being addressed. They can form their own belief or judgment and choose how they feel about it, how it affects them, without the concern on how it will make others feel about them. Now relating to ‘truth’, all of the information that is known and to be true is presented and a determination of how one feels about it or allows it to affect them is their choice. ‘Knowledge’ allows a person to form an immediate attitude or estimation about any topic because personal experiences or obtained information creates an influence or reaction immediately. The word ‘opinion’ has almost as much of an opportunity to make an immediate impression. This is mostly based on knowledge that may have been obtained but not personally experienced. Identify three hindrances to the critical thinking process. Determine methods for overcoming these hindrances. Identify a time in which you experienced a hindrance in critical thinking. Describe a method you could use to overcome the hindrances. To define  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœhindrances’ before identifying how it effects the critical thinking process, I would say it is a resistance to change, conformity, and/or self-deception. I will address how to overcome these in the order that they listed. First, to overcome resistance to change, a person must be open-minded and welcoming to things that are new. This does not mean that they must be immediately accepted, just considered. Secondly, to overcome conformity, it simply needs for a person to think for themselves and not be concerned about what other people believe or even if they share your view. Lastly, to overcome self-deception, we must be honest with ourselves, our inner selves. Once we obtain as much information about a person, subject, or topic, we base our findings on what we now know or feel about it. A time when I was personally faced with any of the hindrances listed, was when I assumed the new position with this startup company. It is very different from any other position that I have held. Although I do not have a vast knowledge of everything that goes on in the company, I bring an incredible amount of experiences. Here, I have experienced many coworkers at my level of management that insist that they know what is in the best interest of the company on any given situation. Although they ask for opinions, they often go with their own. Everyone is just supposed to be on board and there are some that act like lemmings and simply follow along. To not ‘make waves’, I often allowed this to continue, although I felt strongly that the input I had was not only valid, but equally important. To combat the resistance to change, I openly considered what the final decision was going to be and honestly weighed it against my input. I then decided that conforming was not necessarily in the best interest of the company, so I composed an approach to share what I had to offer and compared it to what was being considered. During establishing how I was going to present it, I was able to share this with vigor and assurance because I was honest with myself when weighing both mine and their options. Identify a message in advertising. Describe how you perceive the message of the advertisement. Try to determine the reality of the advertisement. Distinguish between your perception and the reality of the message. I am a Harley Davidson fan, I own one and I ride it often despite the weather conditions. Very often, other motorcycle companies will do what they can to mimic the style and grace of the Harley Davidson. This is to convince potential buyers that they are just as good  if not better, and less expensive. Although some parts of their advertisement may be true, there are many parts of it that are not. What they often end up doing is over emphasizing quality as well as quantity. It is not that it cannot be obtained, it is just that it can only be obtained for a nominal fee. Again, it is the fine print that most people overlook that actually reveals the truth. I have been deluded myself because of how convincing they campaign is, that I have pondered at least looking at their offer. With the advent of ‘pausing’ your television, I do so at the end of the commercial and read the fine print. More times than not, it reveals the condition that the motorcycle comes in and it is never what you see being driven around by the actor(s). Critical and creative thinking occurs in everyone’s life whether they realize it or not. It would be in the best interest of everyone if they realized the importance of learning to be a more critical and creative thinker. This way, they can feel better about the outcome or realize that the decision was theirs and not someone else’s. It is easier to learn from your own mistakes.

Does Social Inequality Exist in Jamaica

Introduction â€Å"Social Inequality allows for the exclusion of individuals and the formation of prejudices and discrimination. Carefully analyze and discuss the validity of this statement based on current events in the Jamaican society. † Social Inequality is the existence of socially created inequalities; it occurs when ideology and power combine to make one group of people feel inferior to another. From a sociological perspective people are able to assess both opportunities and constraints that characterize their lives as it relates to age, sex, gender, race and class and based on this, many ills that the world faces today are derived from some person’s blatant disregard for differences. A prejudice is a preconceived belief toward a particular group while discrimination is a behavior (an action), with reference to unequal treatment of people because they are members of a particular group. Some theories suggest that racism is a characteristic of an abnormal minority of the population and that this abnormality is psychological. This prejudice may lead to racial discrimination. We may be familiar with this form of discrimination being more prevalent in recent times (Apartheid, Hitler vs. Jews) than now. In answering the question this report will outline the causes of social inequality and show that Social Inequality is prevalent in all societies including Jamaica. Race & Ethnicity Within sociology, the term ethnic, race, minority, and dominant group have very specific meanings, different from the meanings the terms have in common, their usage. These concepts are important in the development of a sociological perspective on race and ethnicity. Race A race is a group of people treated as separate in society on the basis of certain characteristics, some of which may be biological, that have been assigned social importance. Because of presumed biologically or culturally inferior characteristics, a race is typically singled out for its uniqueness and unfortunately succumbs to unfair treatment. Therefore it is not biological characteristics per se that defines racial groups, but how groups ave been treated historically and socially over the years. Societies assign people racial categories such as Black, White, and so on. Not by science, logic or fact, but by opinion and social experiences. In other words, how racial groups are defined is a social process. This is what is meant when we acknowledge that race is â€Å"socially constructed†. The use of biological differences to judge an individual seems some what arbitrary. F or example we differentiate people based on skin color and not other characteristics such as personality traits or culture. Jamaica is made up of several races, but the majority is dark skinned. Most people interact with their own kind and do not get the opportunity to interface with others of a different race. However, for the ones who do, they may say that we are not a racist society but would more likely discriminate based on a persons’ socio-economic status. This may be true but there remains the irony that individuals with high socio-economic statuses are usually the light skinned (Caucasian, Indian, Chinese). Ethnicity This refers to a social category of people who share a common culture, for example a common language or dialect; a common religion; and common norms, practices, customs and history. Ethnic groups have a consciousness of their common cultural bond. Jamaicans, Americans, Trinidadians, Japanese, Mexican Americans and so forth, are examples of ethnic groups. However ethnic groups are also found in other societies, such as Pashtuns in Afghanistan or Shiites and Sunnie in Iraq whose ethnicity is based on religious differences. An ethnic group does not exist simply because of the common national or cultural origins of the group. These groups develop because of their unique historical, cultural origins or social experiences. These experiences become the basis of the group’s ethnic identity. PREJUDICE A prejudice is a preconceived belief, opinion, or judgment toward a group of people or a single person because of race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, disability, political beliefs , religion, line of work or other personal characteristics. It also means a priori beliefs (without knowledge of the facts) and includes â€Å"any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence. Although positive and negative prejudice both exist, when used negatively, â€Å"prejudice† implies fear and antipathy toward such a group or person. †¢Cognitive Prejudice refers to what people believe to be true: for example, in adherence to a particular metaphysical or methodological philosophy at the expense of other philosophies which may offer a more complete theoretic al explanation. †¢Affective Prejudice refers to what people like and dislike: for example, in attitudes toward members of particular classes such as race, ethnicity, national origin, or creed. Conative Prejudice refers to how people are inclined to behave. It is regarded as an attitude because people do not act on their feelings. An example of conative prejudice may be found in expressions of what should be done if the opportunity presents itself. These three types of prejudice are correlated, but all need not be present in a particular individual. Someone may believe that a particular group possesses low levels of intelligence, but harbor no ill feeling towards that group. A group may be disliked because of intense competition for jobs, but still recognize no differences between groups. DISCRIMINATION Discrimination is a sociological term referring to the treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category. The United Nations explains: â€Å"Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection. Discriminatory laws such as redlining have existed in many countries. In some countries, controversial attempts such as racial quotas have been used to redress negative effects of discrimination Farley also put discrimination into three categories: Personal / Individual Discrimination is directed toward a specific individual and refers to any act that leads to unequal treatment because of the individual's real or perceived group membership. †¢Legal Discrimination refers to â€Å"unequal treatment, on the grounds of group membership, that is upheld by law. Apartheid is an example of legal discrimination, as are also various post-Civil war laws in the souther n United States that legally disadvantaged Negros with respect to property rights, employment rights and he exercise of constitutional rights. †¢Institutional Discrimination refers to unequal treatment that is entrenched in basic social institutions resulting in advantaging one group over another. The Indian caste system and European feudal system are historical examples of institutional discrimination. As with prejudice generally, these three types of discrimination are correlated and may be found to varying degrees in individuals and society at large. Many forms of discrimination based upon prejudice are outwardly acceptable in most societies. What is Gender? Gender is a social classification that divides individuals into one of three categories (masculine, feminine, androgyny) as defined by behaviour, cultural and/or physiological traits learnt and expressed. The Difference between Gender and Sex Sex is a biological classification the divides individuals into categories (Male, Female, Hermaphrodite) as defined by their Chromosome make-up, reproductive organs, external genitals, hormonal states, internal genitals and secondary sex characteristics. Therefore sex is fundamentally different from gender on the basis that sex is determined by sex from birth and gender is determined by socialization after birth. Gender: Functional History The gender roles in society today are as a result of thousands of years of social evolution going back to the beginnings of society. Lets us take a look at how gender evolved into what it is today. The first type of society that existed, hunter/gatherer societies, men and women shared equal roles as the food gatherers in society. Women secured the more stable sources of food such as ground provisions grains and fruits while men secured the less stable sources of food from hunting game. This is due to the fact that hunting is a physically intensive activity and thus more naturally suited for the men in society however both sources of food were important to the welfare of the society and therefore both men and women had comparable roles. However while comparable, these roles would go on to influence society through the ages as the gathering of food tended to be relatively close to the settlement and the hunting of food would be further away. We see therefore that women were socialized to stay close to home and men were socialized to journey away from the home. This comparable role relationship remained similar in pastoral and horticultural societies however a huge shift came when people began to form agrarian societies. Men took the role of primary food gatherers in society freeing women from the task of food gathering. Thus women adopted alternative roles in the home to occupy their time. This however elevated the role of men in society while at the same time decreasing the roles of women. Men became more educated and took on more complex jobs within society. Women became the nurturers and home-makers of society. Thus the sexual division on labour became institutionalized ( Lengerman and Wallace, 1985) In industrial society women were reintegrated in the workplace however they were typically low paying unskilled jobs and their male counterparts were typically paid more for the same work. The role of women in society was slowly increasing at this point. Gender: Functional Analysis of Jamaican Society Traditionally in Jamaican society women are seen to be the home-makers and men the bread winners. This is due to the fact that the two genders play a complimentary role to each other (Talcott Parsons 141, 1964; orig 1951). In other words a complex Co-dependency between each gender that fulfils the economic social companionship, and social placement needs of a family unit thus holding and shaping society and. Each gender is socialized from birth to fulfil their respective roles. Boys are socialized to be competitive and aggressive through sports and aggressive role-models and yard work thereby allowing them to compete and survive in the working world as part of the labour force when they become Men. Girls are socialized to be sensitive and caring through dolls and house chores so that once they become Women they are better able to run the household and rear children. In a family unit these roles compliment each other and act as a stabilizing force for the unit and by extension for society. These stabilizing forces are perpetuated through various schemes of social control. Individuals who fail to show appropriate levels of masculinity or femininity are ridiculed and ostracised by society, this produces guilt and fear of rejection in the individual and serves to reinforce gender classes. Gender: Functional Analysis – Critical Comments The functionalistic view of gender is unable to proper explain many occurrences of modern society. With the post-industrial society we see that women are increasingly taking on more complex roles in society due to the reduction in the amount of physical labour needed to perform complex tasks through industrialization, the ability to control contraception, the feminist movement and poverty level (women in poorer household work out of necessity). Indeed most households now reply on a two person income. This however has left women with the dual roles of home-maker and breadwinners. This is a very daunting task as such many women remain single to avoid such a scenario. Alternatively since women have become a large part of the labour force we see that in couples, men have now either partly or in rare cases fully taken over the tasks of nurturing and caring for a child so as to fill the void created by the absence of the mother Traditionally androgyny was a socially ostracised gender however lately there has been a blurring of the roles separating the genders. We see this in ‘the sensitive new age guy', ‘the metro sexual', in women with short hair (short hair was traditionally a masculine feature), in male bleaching and male earrings (both of which were initially feminine traits). Gender Discrimination Though gender discrimination and sexism refers to beliefs and attitudes in relation to the gender of a person, such beliefs and attitudes are of a social nature and do not, normally, carry any legal consequences. Sex discrimination, on the other hand, may have legal consequences. Though what constitutes sex discrimination varies between countries, the essence is that it is an adverse action taken by one person against another person that would not have occurred had the person been of another sex. Discrimination of that nature in certain enumerated circumstances is illegal in many countries. Currently, discrimination based on sex is defined as adverse action against another person, that would not have occurred had the person been of another sex. This is considered a form of prejudice and is illegal in certain enumerated circumstances in most countries. Sexual discrimination can arise in different contexts. For instance an employee may be discriminated against by being asked discriminatory questions during a job interview, or because an employer did not hire, promote or wrongfully terminated an employee based on his or her gender, or employers pay unequally based on gender. In an educational setting there could be claims that a student was excluded from an educational institution, program, opportunity, loan, student group, or scholarship due to his or her gender. In the housing setting there could be claims that a person was refused negotiations on seeking a house, contracting/leasing a house or getting a loan based on his or her gender. Another setting where there have been claims of gender discrimination is banking; for example if one is refused credit or is offered unequal loan terms based on one’s gender. In todays Jamaican society, it is debatable as to whether ones sex influences their position or status in life. A feminist Shulamith Firestone believed that women were disadvantaged by their biology, due bto the fact that they bear children and as s result they become dependent on the male species for survival. This dependence ion men produced unequal power relationships. Local journalist Peter Espeute, believes that boys face challenges due to inequality from as early as Primary school level. He disputes that girls are usually seated at the front of the class, while the boys sit at the back where they idle and play instead of learning. He also states that the entrance test given to children to decide what High school they go to is given at the wrong stage in their life cycle. It is a fact that at age eleven (11), girls are mentally more developed that boys, therefore the girls would outperform the boys, get the scholarships and be placed at the â€Å"best† schools. A study done by Kevin Harper of Howard University show that gender biases occur even in doctor offices. Doctors are deemed upper class statuses in Jamaica, and see themselves as â€Å"the almighty healers† (Payne-Jackson 1997). The study revealed that doctors were more apologetic to male patients who were kept waiting. More so males of high statuses. Female patients tended to be treated more like children needing instructions. Another example of gender bias may be seen in the workplace. In Corporate Jamaica, males in high positions (CEO,GM, etc. ) are paid higher wages than their female counterparts. As you go down the scale you will find that the salaries are usually level. However in some institutions such as factories and industrial complexes, because of the nature of the job, men are favoured. Even if females are among them, night shifts and overtime are usually approved for the men. The United Nations had concluded that women often experience a â€Å"glass ceiling† and that there are no societies in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men. The term â€Å"glass ceiling† is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement in employment based on discrimination, especially sex discrimination. Social Class The term social class refers to a system of social stratification which is based on individual achievements, resulting from the unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige. A hierarchical distinction is made between individuals or groups of people within the society. Social stratification is regarded as structured inequality based on the characteristics of the society and usually persists over a long period of time. It is usually universal and often occurs on the basis of access to the scarce factors of production: it also occurs on the basis of other factors, such as race, gender, age, religion and caste. Social stratification is usually prevalent in most societies. Usually a person’s status is either ascribed or achieved. An ascribed status is usually fixed at birth and depicted by ones sex or race. An achieved status is depicted by ones achievements throughout their lifetime, usually occupational. An open society usually fosters social mobility between the different social classes. Social mobility is the movement of individuals between, or up or down the different class structures over time owing to improvements in their fortunes. Social mobility is usually achieved through the following avenues: 1. Education, the attainment of higher tertiary education leads to more expertise and usually higher income paying jobs. 2. Hard work 3. Marriage, an individual marries into a rich family 4. Family status, the name of a rich family member usually opens doors for that individual 5. Talents and skills 6. Physical attributes, e. g. Miss World, usually marries into a powerful or rich family 7. Luck A closed system does not foster social mobility. Social positions are ascribed at birth and the system is very rigid with clearly defined structures. The caste system in India is a very good example of a closed system of stratification. In this system an individual is born in caste and this determines their occupation, education, social interaction and power. No amount of hard work and achievement can change their status or caste over time. The best example of the open system is the class system. This is found in most modern industrial societies around the world. One’s class in this system is largely determined by ones occupation, education, income, wealth and power. There are four classes in this system. They are the upper-class, the middle class, the service class and the underclass. The upper class is usually made up of the top ten percent (10%) of the wealthy people in the society. This class is also broken down into two classes: the upper and the lower class. ?The upper- upper class is made up of people who normally have â€Å"old money† and are set apart by their wealth and power. These persons have been born and raised with wealth; mostly consists of old â€Å"noble† or prestigious families. The Royal Family of England would be a prime example of the upper – upper class. The lower- upper class is made up of people who have extraordinary large income, which is achieved through occupational means. These people are usually referred to as having â€Å"new money†. These individuals have become rich within their own lifetimes. This class consists of people who own large companies or are CEO’s of large companies. It also consists of entrepreneurs, mo vie stars, top athletes, as well as some prominent professionals). The middle class is divided into three different groups. They are the upper -middle class, the service- class and the lower- middle class. The upper middle class is usually made up of people who have prestigious occupations, such as doctors, lawyers, politicians and entertainers. These people usually earn very high incomes and live in prominent neighborhoods and are able to send their off springs to colleges and universities abroad. These people usually accumulate lots of wealth overtime. ?The service- class is made up of highly trained people who are usually managers at their place of work. These people usually have secured careers and earn very good incomes on the job. Business consultants, teachers, and small business operators are good examples of persons who fall within this class. ?The lower- middle class is reserved for people who earn an average income and enjoy a decent standard of living. These people work in mainly less prestigious white collar jobs and include Sales Representatives, Supervisors, Bank clerks and Office clerks. Most of these people have not acquired a tertiary level education. The working class is usually those people who live from paycheck to paycheck and are called blue collar workers. These people usually earn what is known as â€Å"minimum wage† and are normally the first set of workers to be affected in times of recession. The underclass is those people who fall below the poverty line. They are usually temporarily employed or unemployed and are usually dependent on the state for survival. Conclusion As our motto rightly states â€Å"Out of Many One People†, we are diverse in race, ethnicity, and socialization. Based on our research which included a questionnaire (Appendices), we can clearly state that Social Inequality exists worldwide and Jamaica is no exception. The questionnaire was issued to twenty persons which included two Rastafarians, Two Chinese, three Mixed race individuals, one Caucasian and the rest were Negros. Half were male and the other half females. The results were as follows:- Age discrimination was felt by one young man (22 years old) who was a bus driver by profession. He expressed that persons were not willing to take his bus when they saw that he was the driver. The Rastafarians who were ironically from the lower class said they faced discrimination from every aspect (class, beliefs). Most of the females stated that men are preferred for jobs in the corporate world. One lady in particular related an experience of being in an interview and was told that she did well but they want to hire a male, as too many women were in the office. The only white man that did the questionnaire expressed that he felt discriminated just because of his colour; he was not comfortable going out alone because some people thought that he had something to offer them and were constantly begging. Therefore the question is answered Social Inequality does lead to people forming prejudices which may influence their actions toward person of a particular group or groups.