Steinberg Analysis

The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the private toll of Global Competition (83-92) The model family is only a myth, nothing more. There is no such thing as a perfect family where there is no problem, no disputes and fights. As I read through â€Å"The Accordion Family', I actually feel as if the model family can only break family down and cause more disappointment in reality. In the accordion family, the kids come back to live, usually temporarily, with their parents because of financial problems or they are trying to pursue an interest that requires he help of their family.Well then, society might view the kid who is trying to pursue his own interest with the help of his family as a slob and that he/she is ruining his family by staying around doing nothing. But the only reason society would even be thinking that is because they are comparing it to a model set forth 5 decades ago. They are still basing that today's â€Å"perfect† family will still be ex actly the same as it was back then. I think that as the social, political, and economic situation of a culture and society change, the standard for a â€Å"perfect† family also change.I also put the word perfect in quotation mark, as I want to show that the word perfect has high amount of flexibility. There is no one defining perfection. The model family was a model that was set forth in the 1950 where economy was booming; optimism is high in the air. This is not the case for the 21st century, we have only recover from the great recession and maybe due to the circumstances that is provided, a family where everyone stick together, pit their effort and wealth together is actually the best solution right now.Also the model family is created for the American Culture, but hat about the Chinese culture, the Indian Culture, and the Middle Eastern Culture. Some of these cultures have the parents and the children and the children's spouse and the children's children all living togethe r. This is their definition of a perfect family. Maybe the accordion family, the boomerang kid is Just another model of the perfect family that is used by another culture. Chapter 1 â€Å"Quality Time Redefined† (93-99) I think the hidden implication of the model family is that the family supposes to spend time together.Such as playing board games after dinner, attending church on Sunday, and simply interact with each other Just that much more. The only problem with this is that these all seem to be forced. Playing board games after dinner would kind of be like playing video game together after dinner speaking on today's term. Well the model family is suppose to be the perfect happy family, but how can a family be happy if one or more member of the family is force to do stuff they do not want to be doing.Let's say I want to play Madden 08 but my mom wanted to play Dance Dance Revolution, then whatever game we play, one of us will be stuck playing a game that we did not wanted to play. I believe that a family usually knows each other well enough to know what each other's interests are. Then when there is an activity that comes up where every single-family member's interest is met, they can all Just go and enjoy the event together. I don't agree that the advancement in technology is lowering the quality of family time. If anything I think it is improving the quality of family time in a different way.Usually when my family spends family time together, it always ends in an argument or dispute because there is always someone in the group that do not want to be doing whatever we are doing. So as a matter of fact for my family, the traditional way of spending family time is actually decreasing the quality of family time. When my family Just all gathered together in a big room and do our own stuff, we all tend to go to bed happier and with out an argument. We were able to do what we wanted to do and we are still able to be around each other.On the other hand we would have been around each other but we would not have been able to do what we wanted to do. Also I think that the title of this article is completely correct on what quality time should be. I honestly believe that quality mime should be redefined. We are a nation that is constantly changing socially, politically, and technologically. The reason that families spend time playing board game 5 decades ago were because they do not have the technology we have to do other stuff together. The model of the perfect family is a model that needs to be updated for the people of the current era.Chapter 2†³Learning Power: The Myth of Education and Empowerment†(103-109) Education is a powerful tool. With it we can change those around us, modify the culture of others and push our self further than those around us. Also the education hat we have give us a sense of authority over other there we are defined by what we learn and where we go for school. Because education is highly value, th e demands for education has rise which in turn raise the price for an education with it. Since Education can be used to change the way a culture think, it can be used to control the way that a population will be.The myth of empowerment is that with education it can shaped us to be more educated and more qualified to make decisions. But the other side of the story is that with education will are only focus on a single point, the acts and the material that we have learned is so embedded in our mind that we are not flexible to changes and new ideas. In this 21st century, there has been a new rise to what determines our identity and that is education, but the myth dispute whether what we know and learn in school defines the kind of people we are.The myth of education and empowerment also say that it is a chance to provide people with a chance for equality and a decent life. The motto is that you will get rewarded for the hard work you do. This is the American dream that everyone is afte r; if you have the education, you have the empowerment to do what is beyond what you are currently doing. Chapter 2 â€Å"Idiot Nation† (121-136) To answer the chapter's first question, â€Å"NO, I do not feel like I live in a nation of idiots. † Maybe the reason I feel this way is because I'm on a campus surrounded by some of the most educated and informed people I will meet in my life. DRP.Moor's repeated used of sarcasm shows that he is angry and irritated with how uninformed the American public is. I think he is Justify in how quickly people believe what they hear especially from someone with authority. The myth said that those with higher education usually feel more empowerment to make opinion and other also perceived them with more empowerment to make opinion. This is true with a terrible side effect as DRP. Moore show here. DRP. Moore demonstrates that the public will blindly follow those with higher education even though those with higher education may not be e ducated in the field they are making an opinion about.Also those with higher education want to maintain their status of empowerment therefore they are not willing to admit when their position are in the dark. Even when they do not know what is going on they will try their best to BBS their way out of it. The myth of the education is a caving effect. The uneducated blindly follow the educated that makes uneducated opinion for the uneducated to follow. Then when the next generation come up the uneducated are making opinion that is not correct. DRP. Moore in his example demonstrated someone with prestigious education that is leading the nation, George W. Bush. George W.Bush went to Harvard and Yale therefore he must be educated, right? Well according to the myth, George W. Bush is one of the most educated and empowered to make decision, but DRP. Moore showed that even though George W. Bush had an upper education, his education might have only been Seibel because of his families influen ce. This shows that Just because someone has education does not necessarily empower him or her to make decisions. Just because someone has education does not necessarily make his or her opinion more valid. America believes that education is power, yet they do nothing to fix up the condition that their future is studying in.The myth said that America believe that a proper education is one of the most important aspect of a good future, but it is ironic how they are not even willing to turn their attention to fix up the most important tool to a DOD future. This in a way goes to show how educated the â€Å"educated† leader we have leading us is really are. The educated leader that we have in our society does not solve the problems, instead they let the problem pile up and then point finger at the one that is actually trying to make a difference. Maybe this sense of empowerment is just severely overrated.Chapter 2 â€Å"l Just Want Be Average† (151-162) The myth of educatio n and empowerment is that if we work hard, we will have a fair chance at the life that we are working hard for. If we work hard, our hard work will be repaid back to us. Well in Mike Rose's situation that is not the case, his education did not even start out by being fair. He was given an identity base on how he scored on a test and it was not even his test ironically. The myth of education and empowerment is false as not everyone get a fair chance at life despite how hard they work.The myth of empowerment is what leads to the abuse of the power of education. Education can be use to empower people with the ability to make decision or it can be a formula that is entrench into people's mind so that they are following a guideline that they are taught when they are young. This was happening in Mike Rose's vocational school. The education system did not give the kids a chance to do well in life and school. The kids are taught life skill so that when they come out they will be better to s erve society.And when it comes time to teach what really matter, it seems as if education has Just abandon them and left them behind. The myth of education and empowerment is the belief that everyone has an equal chance to empower himself or herself and further their ability to go beyond what they are currently capable of doing. Yet this is not true as the education system is the exact opposite of that. The education system tries to create ridges so that there will be those to work the lower end Jobs and those to work the managerial position. It seems as if the idea that education is fair is only a myth.Education is also the idea that it empowers us to make educated decision. Well that is Just simply Just a myth, as in Mike Rose's case, our educated leader would hire â€Å"empowered† teachers to teach the vocational class; the teachers usually would Just not care. ON the other hand McFarland, someone who is â€Å"unqualified† to teach is actually making an attempt to e ducate the kids. This really shakes the foundation that education empowered us the ability to do stuff. I think that instead of education empowering us to make decision and do stuff, it should be our action and our intent that be our empowerment.Chapter 2 â€Å"Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work† (163-179) The myth of education is that it should provide a fair chance for everyone to be accomplish in life. The idea is that if we simply work hard, we will be rewarded with for our hard work. This is not true in the American system and I can speak from personal experience. As Anyone demonstrated all of these school are separated into class by their possessed wealth, not by their capability and potential. As soon as the child of a poor family steps into school, his education will be to teach him to serve and obey order.This is not a fair chance for the child to be accomplish in life. It ironic how education is supposable to be the only way for those who are at the bott om to become those who are at the top, but in reality education is a way to push them further down and entrench a guideline so deep in their minds they will never come out of their pit. Education also empowers people to make the best decision. The teachers in the lower end school are empowered to make decision. But it seems as if their decision re harmful to those who the decision are being made for.This bring into question, are those who are educated really empower to make decision. Education is a powerful tool, but I believe that it's entanglement with empowerment corrupt the pure intent that education should truly be. When people see education as a way to power themselves with authority, then education is not use in the way it should be. This can be prove the opposite too. People with education want to maintain their authority so they use education to squash those who they believe should stay at the low end to serve them.

Service Management and Customer Relation †Service Quality Essay – Hilton Hotels

Service Management and Customer Relation – Service Quality Essay Hilton is a global hotel chain which has much success in their many hotels across the world. Their service is exceptional thanks to their employees and their ability to relate to their customers. The Hilton airport hotel in Copenhagen is a good service operation because of its clear site-map and direction. This amazing location gives you a perfect way to store your baggage in the last minutes and lets you escape the early morning drive to the airport, because it takes two minute walk to the airport.The market segment is those who stay overnight waiting for a plane and those who spend quality time there, either as a businessman or a tourist. The service quality is good when the expectations of the market segment are met. For this, the enterprise needs to provide both professional and leisure activities, such as high-class services, professional meeting rooms, spa, gym and extravagant restaurants. The delivery syst em refers to the correspondence between the employees and the customers during their stay in a hotel.It is the most important way to provide high quality service, because it combines the customer, the technology and the procedure of deliverance. Hilton maintains high-quality service through their well-trained and carefully chosen employees and it shows via the high number of satisfied customers. Hilton’s image reflects elegance and class, yet they are able to cater to different needs. The quality has become part of the Hilton’s image due to the hard working employees and the memorable experience it is able to provide.The quality is further enhanced thanks to the high level of attention paid to the sustainability of the hotel in general. High expectations have become part of Hilton’s image as well and this is part of what makes the service of excellent quality. Service quality is part of what the culture of Hilton stands for. Integrity, teamwork and leadership ar e the main values of Hilton and these bind together to be able to provide high quality service, due to the constant attention and training of their employees and their welfare, so that they can be comfortable in providing top-notch quality.Hilton teaches their employees how to act in different situations and this allows it to become such a high standard. The Hilton Airport Hotel in Copenhagen is only one of many hotels in the popular chain, but in unison they all display the same level of high quality in their service and staff and this makes Hilton a favorable destination and a high-quality business.

Advantages of living in a vilage Essay

There are several advantages to living in villages. To Begin with, generally villages have healthy ‎and pleasant weather, which makes people feel healthy and gives them a lot of energy. Also, ‎the food of rural people is more natural and healthier. Living in a good condition lead to ‎physical and mental health. In contrast, owing to various pollutions, which exist in cities, a vast ‎number of urban people suffer from health problems such as heart disease or breathing ‎problems.‎ see more:life in the countryside essay Moreover, the cost of living in villages is lower compared to cities. Since village life is plain and ‎simple, there is no willing to luxury in this lifestyle and many people who live in villages ‎prepare their own needs. For instance, rural people have a limited number of clothes, all of ‎them are quite simple, and mostly they sew their clothes. In addition to basic needs, some ‎expenses in cities are meaningless in villages, such as daily transportation cost. Another point is ‎that high cost of living in cities compels the people to face too much stress.‎ Last but not least, villages offer a relaxed and joyful atmosphere which most urban people are ‎deprived of. Rural lifestyle is a reflection of living in nature. The beauty of the nature Is ‎completely visible in villages. In addition, the people who live in villages participate in local ‎festivals and celebration that are simple and fun. Relationships in villages are close. Thus, rural ‎people are care for each other. All of these make the village people live happier.‎ There are several advantages to living in villages. To Begin with, generally villages have healthy ‎and pleasant weather, which makes people feel healthy and gives them a lot of energy. Also, ‎the food of rural people is more natural and healthier. Living in a good condition lead to ‎physical and mental health. In contrast, owing to various pollutions, which exist in cities, a vast ‎number of urban people suffer from health problems such as heart disease or breathing ‎problems.‎ Moreover, the cost of living in villages is lower compared to cities. Since village life is plain and ‎simple, there is no willing to luxury in this lifestyle and many people who live in villages ‎prepare their own needs. For instance, rural people have a limited number of clothes, all of ‎them are quite simple, and mostly they sew their clothes. In addition to basic needs, some ‎expenses in cities are meaningless in villages, such as daily transportation cost. Another point is ‎that high cost of living in cities compels the people to face too much stress.‎ Last but not least, villages offer a relaxed and joyful atmosphere which most urban people are ‎deprived of. Rural lifestyle is a reflection of living in nature. The beauty of the nature Is ‎completely visible in villages. In addition, the people who live in villages participate in local ‎festivals and celebration that are simple and fun. Relationships in villages are close. Thus, rural ‎people are care for each other. All of these make the village people live happier.‎

Nonprofit-Business Partnerships as a Means of Implementing CSR Essay

Nonprofit-Business Partnerships as a Means of Implementing CSR - Essay Example As a result, there is always the danger that an organization’s CSR model might either focus too profoundly on one cause or interest group while alienating another. It therefore follows that organizations are actively looking for alternative methods of implementing CSR into their business plans. Partnerships between business firms and non-profit organizations is one method of implementing CSR with little difficulty and without the problems associated with the cost and challenges implicit in implementing CSR so that it is integrated into existing business plans. Partnerships between business firms and non-profit organizations or causes are increasingly becoming methods by which business entities are implementing CSR (Seitanidi & Crane, 2009). This paper explores and analyses the nature of nonprofit business partnerships and explains why it can be a successful and effective method for businesses to implement CSR. The first part of this paper examines and analyses traditional CRS models within the corporate governance constructs of a company. The second part of this paper analyses the conceptual basis of nonprofit business partnerships and demonstrated how it can be used to successfully use by a company to discharge its CSR agenda and thus represent the successful implementation of CSR. Traditional CSR as a Part of Corporate Governance Shareholder maximisation theory dictates that business organizations exist for the mere purpose of maximising profits for the benefit of their shareholders. However, corporate scandals and collapses have turned attention toward the issue of satisfactory corporate governance, accountability, transparency and trust. Although maximising shareholder value remains a significant objective for businesses worldwide, an intensification of social activism and renewed expectations have turned attention toward the manner in which corporations conduct their respective businesses (Jamali, Safieddine & Rabbath, 2008). Stakeholder theory has been making gains in corporate governance reflecting the perception that corporations are no longer viewed solely as â€Å"mere contributors to the global economy†, instead, corporations are expected to: Reconcile and skilfully balance multiple bottom lines and manage the interests of multiple stakeholders (Jamali, Safieddine & Rabbath, 2008, p. 444). Increasingly, corporations are compelled to adopt corporate governance strategies that implement accountability, ethics, fairness and transparency in all of their business operations. While implementing CSR in corporate governance strategies, corporations are expected to generate profits (Jamali et. al., 2008). Freeman (1984) argued that corporations and all business entities regardless of size and value are required to ensure that business decisions are consistent with the interests of various stakeholders both inside the business and outside of the business. Thus stakeholder theory of corporate governance is just as relevant, if not more so, than shareholder value maximization theory. The emphasis on stakeholder theory marks a dramatic shift in corporate governance models. Previously, corporate governance was viewed as a technique utilized for specifying the regulations of a corporation’s business decisions relative to how the internal organs of the business operatio

Concert Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Concert Response Paper - Essay Example It was a new and different page for Ryan Montbleau, not only a songwriter but a purely awesome performer. The fan’s thirst for a good performance was well quenched with a set of ten songs with a touch of rock, soul, folk and psychedelic. The performance accommodated Ryan’s first single, â€Å"Pacing like a prince. The rapport of Montbleau and his band members that has come a long way since the establishment of the band and over their many tours was all over the stage. It served as a reunion for the band members and entailed both solo and group performances with Ryan Montbleau as the lead singer and performer. Vocals from old time lyrics were blended by a perfect guitarist to bring love theme on an RnB and blues mood 1. As the album progressed towards the end an all-around texture was brought out creating a sweet-sour feeling from the guitar and vocal performance of ‘Together’. ‘Pacing like a prince’ with the thrilling guitar tunes was an RnB genre and theme which was inspired by the ‘Purple rain’ movie. The arrangement of songs, nine of them being the bands old songs had a perfect flow coating the performance with a multi-faceted texture. The soft rock texture in the music played was attributed to the stimulating guitar plucking by a long experienced guitarist blended with some old-time lyrics 1. The event’s was well chosen with the time and age group. Paradise rock Club was a convenient venue for the performance accommodating the band’s huge fan base. The Club also has a perfect history in live performances. The organization of the show only allowed in a fan base of eighteen years of age and above. This was a morally upright move n venture due to the venue and also the time. The event took place as from 9pm thus welcoming and being considerate to the working generation. The time was perfect for a good emotional and relaxing performance after a long day’s

A New House Desicion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A New House Desicion - Essay Example In the case of purchasing a new house, an individual might have to give up the benefit of a vacation trip to Switzerland. When an individual is deciding about purchasing a house, he does not only forgo the benefits of purchasing another good or services, he/she even forgo the cost attached to purchasing a good or service over the cost of good and service he/she has planned to purchase. This is called the cost benefit analysis that an individual has to conduct in order to make a purchase decision. While conducting cost benefit analysis, an individual compares the cost and benefits of purchasing a particular good or service in comparison to the costs and benefits associated with the forgone goods and services (Stretton, 1999, p.206) In the real world individuals are not presented with a situation where they have to choose either one side of the paradigm. For example while purchasing a house, an individual might have an option of purchasing the one located in a low cost area and might h ave another option where the house is located just on the street. Individuals use the concept of marginal changes or in other words alterations that are incremental and meager in nature as stated by the economists. For example: an individual might be under the process of deciding whether to buy a new home or to obtain a home on rent, the decision of whether going for the purchase or rent depends on the marginal costs and benefits that are attached with the decision. Another economic concept that comes into play, while an individual makes the decision of purchasing a new house is the concept of incentives.... People make decision after conducting a cost and benefit analysis for various decisions and they might change their decision over time with changes in the costs and benefits associated with a decision. For example: if an individual obtains an apartment or a home on rent, he might go for purchase of a new home if the cost of renting the house exceeds the benefits of obtaining a house on rental conditions. Due to increase in rents, demand for ownership f houses will elevate, which will increase the demand of new houses and the supply of new houses will increase. Marginal Costs Several marginal costs and benefits are associated with an individual’s decision of purchasing a new home. These costs and benefits need to weigh properly in order to reach a decision that is backed by utmost rationality. The first marginal cost that an individual has to experience is amortization while making the decision to purchase a new home (Arnold, 2010, p.505). If an individual is currently living i n a home that he had obtained on rental basis and in order to purchase a new home requires certain portion of the amount of money the individual is paying as rent for repayments, the different between these amounts is recognized as a marginal cost. This case is mostly experienced by individual as purchase of house is much expensive than obtaining a house on rental basis (Grant, 2000, p.29). Other than the amount of money paid as amortization, individuals even need to take into consideration, the payment of insurance bills that are associated with the purchase of a new home. Another form of marginal cost that an individual might have to pay is the amount of time that an individual spends in traveling from school or work to his or

OSI Layer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

OSI Layer - Assignment Example However, other similar system programs are not included in the scope of OSI model; however they perceive an end user's typing into a Layer 1 demand (Holmes, 2011; RingofSaturn, 2011). In other words, the application layer works as an interface between users and network. Thus, it allows the users to access network operational services. In addition, this layer holds a multiplicity of required processes: (Microsoft, 2011)   5 PRESENTATION LAYER 6 The presentation layer offers a range of encoding and encryption processes that are applied to the data received from application layer. The purpose of these processes is to make sure that information received from the application layer of one system will be understandable to the application layer of another system. In addition, it works as a translator of the network since it translates the data to be accessible to the system’s application layer. ... In this scenario, the complexity and size of a network transport protocol completely depends upon the kind of service which is presented to it by the network layer. In addition, for a trustworthy network layer with virtual circuit potential, a negligible transport layer is necessary. On the other hand, if the network layer is untrustworthy and/or simply facilitates datagram transitions method, the transport protocol should encompass widespread error discovery and recovery methods.  Moreover, the transport layer is responsible for carrying out following tasks: 8 NETWORK LAYER 9 Network layer offers freedom from data transfer technology and routing concerns, masks peculiarities of data transport medium from higher layers and offers switching and routing processes to create, uphold, and end network layer links and transfer data among various users. In this scenario, the network layer is mainly responsible for controlling the processes of the subnet, and making a decision that which ph ysical path the data should be based upon, main concerns of service, and other aspects. In addition, network layer of OSI model carries out following tasks: (Fairhurst, 2001; Fairhurst, The Internetwork Protocol (IP), 2008; Microsoft, 2011) 9 DATA LINK LAYER 10 The data link layer is the place where logical data and information (for example network IP addresses) are actually interpreted into the electrical pulses that move over the physical layer. In addition, ATM, Frame Relay and DSL follow Data Link layer mechanisms. Additionally, the OSI model data link layer offers error-free communication of data frames from one node to another network node over the physical layer, permitting layers above it to suppose virtually error-free data and network

Difficult time for the catholic church in USA Essay

Difficult time for the catholic church in USA - Essay Example A number of analysts have pointed out that the reason why the church is losing followers is because it has remained faithful to the Biblical concept of secular life which has seen it go against the new social norms in the contemporary society. Contemporary issues such as homosexuality, contraception, divorce, single parenthood and abortion have seen the church lose many followers. Others feel that the church has failed to adopt relevant religious strategies of preaching to satisfy the contemporary society. The teachings of the church must meet the social demands of the people in the society today. In fact, the reason why the Catholic church continues to lose its followers is because it has failed to adjust its teaching to suit the emerging demands of society. It is an indisputable fact that the Catholic Church has been hit by a follower crisis in the 21st century losing most of its members and priest. According to the Week (2010, Para. 1), a US magazine, a National Catholic Reporter termed the Catholics loss of members as the â€Å"largest national crisis in centuries.† The US Catholic National reporter presented a statistical countdown of the loss that US alone has experienced since the year 1960. In a 2009 study, the church lost 400 thousand followers, 9 thousand priest and over 1000 parishes closed in 2008. Resultantly, over 3,400 churches are served by visiting priests as the population of priest decline to an insufficient figure. Currently, the catholic population adds up to the 1.1 billion which is much lower than the Muslim population which is now at 1.5 billion. On the other hand, the population of the protestant churches is growing as more people consider the protestant believe as more concrete and satisfactory than the catholic believe. This kind of population decline of Catholic followers has sent signals to the catholic leaders, among them the Pope, to rethink on the reason why the church is in a state of crisis. The reason why the Catholic C hurch continues to lose its followers seems to be a mystery that is yet to be unveiled. In a recent speech about the â€Å"exodus† from the Catholic Church, Pope Francis termed this trend as the â€Å"the mystery of those who leave the church† to express the worry of the church on the current crisis (Pullella, 2013, Para. 4). In his speech, he recognized the need for the church to walk with the people and to address the social problems that the people are experiencing in the contemporary society. One reason he identified as a cause of the exodus is because the people feel that the church has remained rigid in implementing its own formulas (Para. 5). In a world that is changing, rigidity is the only thing that a church that addresses the problems of the people can afford. Pope Francis recognized that the church has to address the secular issues that are threatening the survival of the church to maintain the loyalty of the people. The implication of the statement of the Pope is that to a great extent the church has failed to conform to the societal needs, hence losing its followers to secularism. The emergence of controversial social issues has seen the Catholic Church lose more of its members. One of the social issues that have generated a lot of heat in the social spheres is same sex marriages that many people today see as a necessary right. Kissling (2013, Pp. 5-6) points out that the Catholic Chur

Global warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global warming - Research Paper Example Scientists predicted that the average temperatures to be experienced in the U.S. could increase by 3 to 9 degrees by the end of the century if global warming is not reduced (Simpson, 2008). Causes of Global Warming Global warming is caused when carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases pile up in the atmosphere like a thick blanket, traps the sun's heat and cause the planet to warm up. Naturally, global warming is caused by the release of methane gas from the arctic tundra and wetlands. Methane being a green house gas, traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere. On the other hand, the man-made causes include air pollution and overpopulation population. Burning of fossil fuels causes pollution in the earth’s atmosphere. Silver (2008) states that coal and oil, are examples of fossil fuels that cause air pollution. When these fuels are burnt, they emit carbon dioxide, which is a green house gas. In addition, during the mining of coal or oil, methane is also dug out as i t is naturally in the ground. High human and animal populations naturally imply the need for more food and transport. Because of these two, more fossil fuels are used which means that more greenhouse gases are released in the atmosphere. With a high population, more agricultural activities are done with the aim of increasing the food supply to the growing population. Methane is produced by manure, which is mainly used in agriculture. The increasing populations also use more cars implying an increase in the use of fuels and resultant pollution. According to Silver (2008), carbon dioxide contributes to global warming. The rising level of carbon dioxide from animals’ breaths worsens the situation. Also, Humans are destroying forests without planting more trees. Trees are valuable in the conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen. The trend is worsening the global warming experienced in the earth. Global warming cause for serious concern The Union of Concerned Scientists (2010) concl uded that these effects can cause serious destructions. The effects include reduced snow accumulation due to melting glaciers, severe droughts causing more deaths and water shortage, rising sea levels leading to coastal flooding. A warmer temperature in the sea causes stronger hurricanes, which cause serious damage of property in Southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The wild fires experiences may lead to more loss of trees in the environment. Some plant destruction may lead to the extinction of some animal species because of the global warming. Warmer temperatures causing bad things to happen The increased heat and the warm condition are causing many damages in different parts of the world today. Simpson (2008) notes that the hotter conditions are causing a rise in the water levels in the sea. The melting of glaciers and ice in Antarctica and the greensands is causing the rise. The snow accumulation has reduced and the winter season are taking shorter time. Due to the rise in wate r levels, hurricanes and floods have been experienced by different countries. The extreme heat condition has also caused deaths in India and Europe. Wildfires have also been experienced in some states in America, and floods have caused a lot of damage to property and peoples lives. Global warming and hurricanes The strength of hurricanes is increased by global warming. The hurricanes are getting stronger and dangerous than before. The warm oceans and tropical storms make the hurricane become more powerful than it used to be. The change in

Social Work Assessment and Intervention on Marta Ruiz Essay Example for Free

Social Work Assessment and Intervention on Marta Ruiz Essay The patient’s name is Marta Ruiz, 52 years old, female, clinically diagnosed as HIV Symptomatic with a CD4 count of 600+ with a detectable but not high viral load. She has been a person living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) for five years. She resides at Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City after migrating from the Dominican Republic and is living on assistance provided by DASIS. She requested assistance from this social worker on a crisis precipitated by a fear of contagion transferred sexually by her to a lover named Ruben, with whom she has recently resumed intimate relations with after being separated for many years. This paper presents stigma as seen in this case, its effects on social systems and proposed social work interventions for the client. Stigma and Its Effects HIV stigma is defined as â€Å"prejudice, discounting, discrediting and discrimination directed at people perceived to have HIV or AIDS which may be enacted or felt† (Green and Platt, as cited in Emlet, 2006). What is apparent in this case is a form of felt or internalized stigma characterized by Marta’s feelings of shame, guilt, and fear of enacted stigma. Marta has not yet experienced stigma deliberated upon her by society because she has placed herself in â€Å"protective silence† in order to shield herself from what she views as terrible repercussions once she tells the truth about her condition. This is a type of stigma management used by PLHA. She treats her disease as something shameful, because of a preconditioned belief prevalent in her home country that AIDS is a disease contracted by loose women, drug addicts and homosexuals. Moreover, she has an overwhelming fear of rejection and abandonment that could eventually result from a disclosure of her disease. This type of stigma has resulted to self-discriminating behavior and poorly-made decisions that led to several effects, including a possible contagion transfer: Non-disclosure, feelings of denial. As a way of managing stigma, Marta chose to be silent about her condition and did not reveal it to anyone except with her medical providers. This reflects feelings of denial which eventually had negative effects in terms of the quality of her judgments and decision-making. Physical isolation. Fearing anticipated stigma, Marta subjected herself to physical isolation. She left her brother’s home in New York to live alone in a one-bedroom apartment in Jackson Heights. This is a type of avoidance behavior common among PLHA (Delahanty et. al. , as cited in Emlet, 2006). Depression and stoppage of social activities. Stigma also led Marta to discontinue social activities like music and dance which she regularly engaged in previous to her HIV diagnosis. She also experienced increasing levels of stress and depression accompanying her illness. Failure to acquire social support. Stigma also resulted to an absence of social support from family or friends, without which, Marta lacked the emotional backup to handle the problems and circumstances related to her condition. Possible contagion transfer. Perhaps the most damning effect of stigma in this case is the possibility of HIV/AIDS infection from Marta to her lover Ruben because of the former’s decision not to disclose her disease. Effects of HIV/AIDS on Social Systems Various social systems are affected by HIV/AIDS (Emlet, 2006). The individual, family and community have experienced or are likely to experience the impact of Marta’s case in different ways. Individual. Aside from degenerating health, HIV/AIDS had a negative impact on Marta’s psychosocial well-being. Because of practiced avoidance behaviors, she suffered stress, depression and loneliness. All this stems from fear of societal rejection that she believes would naturally come down on her as a result of her HIV status. This led her to isolate herself from her family and abandon some of her previous social engagements. It also led to poor self-confidence, emotional vulnerability and poor self-efficacy. It is important to note this because empirical literature seems to suggest that above all factors, personal characteristics and beliefs predict successful adherence interventions among PLHA. Family. Marta’s nondisclosure has created no visible effects on her family system as of yet because her family does not know of her condition. However, by physically separating herself from her immediate family in New York, she has effectively cut all lines of communication and support from her family in the Dominican Republic. Judging on a description she made of her family, it is likely that if she reveals her condition to her family, the reality of rejection will come in. While this may be true, and granting that her family seems predisposed to discriminate and stigmatize her, PLHA can derive so much emotional support from family. If she continues to keep her condition secret from her family, managing her disease would be difficult, considering that she has no strong social support systems in New York. This has grave implications on how social workers can address social support concerns among PLHA. Social support has been repeatedly associated with psychological well-being and mental health, positive states of mind, coping with the disease-related stress and quality of life (Catz, Gore-Felton,McClure, as cited in Emlet, 2006). Community. Marta’s case, along with all HIV/AIDS cases, continue to become a community concern especially because much of the stigma that befall PLHA come from a collective fear of the disease due to ignorance or lack of HIV/AIDS awareness or education. This is the premise why anti-stigmatization campaigns have been directed on the community level because lately, discriminatory practices against PLHA are often unleashed by entire groups, not by individuals. Addressing the spread of HIV/AIDS is a community challenge, too. Stigma and discrimination have been identified internationally as major barriers to HIV control and prevention (UNAIDS, 2003). Because of stigma, people refuse to undergo testing and take part in prevention and awareness campaigns. In Marta’s case, poor education and complicity toward unprotected sexual behaviors led to a nondisclosure of HIV status and eventually, the possibility of infection. This is the type of situation HIV/AIDS education campaigns and advocacy is trying to prevent. Proposed Interventions There are more than one possible modes of intervention for the social worker to handle Marta’s case as far as crisis management and her adherence to treatments. Her current predicament can possibly affect how she views and regards management of her disease and must be resolved. From the crisis report, it could be gleaned that Marta demonstrates a willingness to participate in treatments and programs that may be instrumental in helping her cope with the disease. She is currently enrolled in a DASIS program that assists her in terms of housing and basic needs which she also supplements with employment as a house cleaner. It could be safely assumed that she is undergoing medication under a treatment regimen possibly set for her by health care providers. Case management does not need be used in Marta’s case but the social worker can still do follow-ups on treatments and medical therapies recommended. Interventions must ensure that Marta sustains a positive view of future treatments in light of the immediate emotional crisis she is experiencing. The forms of intervention that find application in Marta’s case are: (1) individual counseling or therapy; and (2) social support. Individual counseling and therapy is the most immediate form of intervention needed to resolve Marta’s immediate crisis. Marta has demonstrated incapacity to formulate good judgments and decisions, possible due to a confused state of mind. One initially marvels at how a 52-year old woman could yield sexually to a man who has suddenly resurfaced in her life knowing full well that she has a sexually contagious disease. Her near-hysterical behavior after her sexual encounter with her former lover is indicative of a â€Å"weakness† she describes that might be a result of past experiences and beliefs. Individual therapy will be advisable in Marta’s case because it allows her to discuss confidentially and on a personal level, unresolved issues she currently face such as guilt, anger, fear, and remorse. During counseling sessions and therapy, she may be able to overcome her fear of disclosure, the greatest obstacle in her case. Therapy must be done in order to resolve these issues on an ongoing basis. Another intervention appropriate for Marta is social support. Her lack of social support systems is one of the salient features in her psychosocial evaluation. Since she was diagnosed five years ago, Marta has distanced herself from close associations and has lived in isolation. She is a PLHA with virtually no stable emotional foothold to start from. The only immediate family she has in New York is a brother with whom she finds difficulty in reaching out to, because of mistrust in a sister-in-law she views as hostile. However, she still maintains a few woman acquaintances which could be helpful to her. The social worker can assist Marta by introducing her to self-help groups which would be a great venue for her to feel acceptance. These groups provide an opportunity for PLHA to share experiences with others of like situation and condition. By participating in self-help groups, PLHA meet their own needs as well as others’. It will make feel Marta belong to a community which is ready to accept her and treat her normally. These new relationships will be crucial in helping Marta overcome fear and allow her to be comfortable with disclosing her HIV status to others. Barriers to Intervention In helping Marta come to terms with her disease and sustain her adherence to much-needed treatment regimen and therapy, factors such as transference and counter-transference pose a probability of affecting her relationship with the social worker. Transference is the conscious and unconscious â€Å"reproduction of emotions relating to repressed experiences, especially of childhood, and the substitution of another person for the original object of the repressed impulses† (Racker, 2001). This phenomenon may lead to the patient’s mistrust of the worker because of a minor resemblance to a person associated with the emotion. In Marta’s case, the worker must avoid exhibiting a dominant or authoritative stance because this might cause her non-cooperation. As a girl living amongst nine overly dominant brothers with violent tendencies, she might unconsciously transfer her feelings of fear to the worker and this may be an obstacle to her counseling or therapy. She might also associate a female worker with her sister-in-law, Betty, who she mistrusts above all. The social worker must take this into consideration because any transference on Betty will make her feel doubtful of the worker’s ability to maintain confidentiality. In this regard, transference can become a barrier to effective intervention. On the other hand, counter-transference, or the â€Å"redirection of a therapists feelings toward a client, or a therapists emotional entanglement with a client† can influence with the development of a functional working relationship. The social worker must not allow herself or himself to be swayed or pitted against whatever emotion the client is trying to elicit in him or her. Instead, any attempts on counter-transference must be examined and discussed so that the client can objectively view his own motivations, fears and desires.

Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives on Family

Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives on Family Introduction The functionalist and the conflict perspectives are two major approaches of sociological analysis. These perspectives can apply on different aspects to help us understand the society, for instance, deviance and social control, culture and socialization and so forth. In this paper, I will first focus on the particular features of these perspectives, then mainly focus on family and social stratification and comment on the insight or criticism of functionalist and conflict perspectives in understanding these areas in the society. Functionalist-the conception of society Firstly, let focus on the particular features of Functionalism, this approach is inspired by Emile Durkheim idea of society and his sociology is often referred as structural functionalism. (Dillon 2011, p. 79) The Functionalism suggested that the society is compared to a biological organism that can assumed as a system or structure made up of many integrated parts, the society seen as a structure will key institutions fulfil different functions for the survive and continuation of the society, it is named as functional pre- requisites. (Liu 2014, p. 6) Functionalist-the nature of society Also, the functionalists assumes the nature of society is characterized by order and stability, without collective conscience or shared values and beliefs, achieving social order is impossible, they believes in value consensus, which are members of society agreeing upon shared belief about right and wrong can help the society to run smoothly and is the best for the society as a whole.(Liu 2014, p. 5) And if members of society have shared values, therefore they also have similar identities, this helps cooperation and avoids conflict. According to Liu (2014), conflict is possible, but considered as dysfunctional from temporary disturbances in the system, and order would be restored as society develops. (Liu 2014, p. 5) The chief form of social conflict that Durkheim addressed was a crime. Durkheim saw crime as a factor in public health, an integral part of all healthy societies. (Durkheim 1938, p. 67) Functionalist-the relationship between individuals and the society Besides the nature of society, functionalist also had theorized about the relationship between individuals and the society. Functionalists believe that individuals are shaped by the society to perform different roles and have different norms that need to follow in accordance with their social statues that ensure the smooth running of society. Members of society have values consensus that I mentioned in the above paragraph, social order is based on this consensus and cooperation among members. Conflict perspectives-the conception of society The next perspective that we need to discuss is conflict perspectives, conflict perspectives are inspired by Karl Marx and mostly related to his theory. Marxism, similar with functionalists also has emphasis on the importance of the social structure. The society is made up of distinct groups that have different interest, values and belief. However C. Wright Mills, the founder of modern conflict theory, have a different view on this aspect with functionalists. In Millss view, social structures are created through conflict between people with differing interests and resources. Individuals and resources, in turn, are influenced by these structures and by the unequal distribution ofpowerand resources in the society. (Knapp 1994, p. 228-246) Conflict perspectives-the nature of society Unlike functionalists who believe people cooperate to maintain the social order and the stability, conflict perspectives suggested that the nature of society is characterized by conflicts, because of the struggles among group of scarce resources. The existence of separate interests mean there is always having possible for conflicts. (Liu 2014, p. 8) The conflict perspective believes rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak. Conflict theorists, for example, Karl Marx uses two class models to analyse the capitalist society. As the economic system is the base structure of society in Marx’s view, the capital class who owned the means of production exploited the working class who had to sell their labor by paying them less in wages than the wealth they could produce. The capitalists became richer through control the mean of the production. (Liu 2014, p. 9-10) Conflict perspectives-the relationship between individuals and the society We can observe that conflict perspective also have assumption of the relationship between individuals and the society. Similar with Functionalism, Conflict perspective believes individuals are shaped by the society and the positions of their social groups. However, conflict perspectives put effort to focus on the conflict side. Different social groups come into conflict and thus cannot have consensus with others. In capitalist society, the social order is known as â€Å"ruling class ideology† to support the status quo. It distorts the true nature of society and creating a mistaken belief about society which is â€Å"false class consciousness†. (Liu 2014, p. 11) After the discussion on the particular features of Functionalism and Conflict Perspectives, then we should focus on the usefulness of the two perspectives in understanding two essential areas in society, family and social stratification. However, let have a short introduction of these perspectives’ assumption first. The assumption of functionalism in family Broadly speaking, the functionalism has focused on the functions of the family in society and for its members. It looks at how the family as an institution to maintain the social order and stability, and the significance of the family for its individual members. George Peter Murdock, one of the major contributors to the field of anthropology and a functionalist in the field of Sociology has proposed that all families have four significant functions: sexual, economic, reproductive, and educational. These functions are important and fulfil needs in all societies. He proposes that the best institution to perform these functions is the family. The family is the primary point of socialization to provide children with values and norms. Family also stabilizes adult personalities. A family unit provides emotional security for each person in the relationship. (Haralambos Holborn, 2000, p. 509) We can observed that the insight of the functionalism is it can point out the essential features of family can provide positive role for people can become stable and maintain social order. However, Murdock’s approach was criticized as too mechanical with a classification system. Objections were also raised that his methodology was biased, because he has studied about 250 societies, from small hunting communities to industrial societies, but he used Western standards in comparative analysis of all different cultures. Also, Structural- functionalist perspectives emphasized the positive and functional aspects of the modern family, neglecting its dysfunctional aspects, which including conflict and violence that take place in the family, for instance, over 30% to 40% homicides in Hong Kong took place within family. (Liu 2014, p.13) The assumption of conflict perspectives in family Meanwhile, conflict perspectives, especially the Marxist have a different understanding in the family aspects. As we know that, in Marxist perspectives, the economy is the base structure that support several of the superstructure; Family is one of the superstructure was providing support to the economic base. Thus, the family institution helps fuel the capitalist economy with an abundance of labour. For instance, family can be an institution of nurturing children to be the next generation of workers, hence capitalist class can recruit them cheaply. Women also as a reserve army of labour can be cheap additional source of labour that helps to keep wages down. At the cultural level, the institution of family helps socializing individuals into accepting existing economic and political arrangements. It functions to implant the ideology of the capitalist class into the consciousness of the populace. (Liu 2014, p.150) Although the Marxist perspective points to the intriguing connection between the family and economy, and provide an alternative view, it has also received much criticism. One of the biggest criticisms is Marxist too simplified to explain the negative sides of the family, focus on the exploitation and inequality within family ignores the supports one can get from the family. Also, the various features of the family are regarded as no more the features and requirements of the economic base; family is only the institution solely develops to support the capitalist society. It is kind of reductionist explanatory framework that is too simplistic. (Liu 2014, p. 17) The assumption of functionalism in social stratification Functionalists consider that social stratification has important consequences for the operation of society. Davis and Moore argue that this system is both functional and inevitable. Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore (1945) gave an argument for social stratification as a solution to a problem by any societies. They argue that the most difficult jobs in any society have the highest incomes in order to motivate individuals to fill the roles needed by the division of labour. Thus inequality serves social stability (Davis and Wilbert, 1970, p. 242-249) In other words, social stratification can have a ‘placing and motivating’ function for individuals in the social structure.(Liu 2014, p. 9) The social stratification system allocates each individual to jobs and rewards them according to the functional importance of the job. This thesis implies that societies become more productive as they approach meritocracy. However, too much focus on meritocracy can erode the social structure of kinship and community. In addition, it might encourage some categories of individuals to look down upon others. Also, Tumin (1953) has critiqued that the differential rewards are more possibly a result of differences in power rather than of functional importance. The rationalization of existing system of stratification and inequality by an appeal to the inevitability of stratification and inequality is fallacious. (Liu 2014, p. 11) The assumption of conflict perspectives in social stratification Rather than functionalists believe the social stratification had the positive role in the society, the Marxists believe the stratification in term of class is more divisive than integrative. Marxists use Two-class model, owners and non-owners of the means of production to determine the class stratification. The class conflict between the capitalist class and the working class would soon fall into either the bipolar class positions of capitalist or worker. The extreme polarization of the two classes would lead working class to realize the conflict and their class interest; they would eventually organize themselves into a potent social-political force to protect its class interest and fight back, at the end leading to a revolution that bring a new economic conditions, the end of the capitalist system and later to communism in which all classes and states are abolished.(Liu 2014, p. 14) Although the Marxism has it insight of the social stratification, there is still some criticism of it. For instance, it is a dispute over the bi-polar class structure, the class structure of society is difficult to depict; two-class model is too simplistic. In fact, in modern society, there is a new class rising, which is middle class that have professionals who manage but not own the means of production cannot easily categorize into the two-class model. Moreover, Marx’s prophecy of class struggle and revolution took place in the pre-industrial societies, but we can observe that Russia, China and Vietnam both are not industrial societies or a great capitalist society, but happen the revelation of the communist revolution. The revolution of worker is fewer in the rapidly industrializing western rather Asia. It is not like Marx’s theory suggested. Also, Marx predicted the inevitability of the worker revolution in capitalist societies. However there are several of factors can account for the absence of the revolution predicted by Marx, for instance, more extensive worker organisation, the demands of workers have been institutionalised through the creation of trade union and more extensive legal protection, capitalists provide better conditions of work through law enforcement and security systems contain workers frustrations. Through the welfare provision and improve the conditions for workers can made compromises between two classes. (Liu 2014, p.16) Conclusion To conclude, we can observe that both two perspectives had their insight and criticisms. Because of the societies are rapidly changing in nowadays, hence it is hardly suitable to apply in the every different societies. Work Cited Davis, Kingsley and Wilbert E. Moore. Some Principles of Stratification.American Sociological Review,10 (2), 242-9. 1970. Dillon, Michele.Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-first Century (2nd Edition). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print. Durkheim, E.The Rules of Sociological Method.Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1938. Liu, Garland. Lecture notes: Topic 4 (Sociological perspectives). The Open University of Hong Kong, 2014. Print. Liu, Garland. Lecture notes: Topic 5 (Family, social change and women’s role). The Open University of Hong Kong, 2014. Print. Liu, Garland. Lecture notes: Topic 6 (Social stratification). The Open University of Hong Kong, 2014. Print. Knapp, P.One World – Many Worlds: Contemporary Sociological Theory(2nd Ed.). Harpercollins College Div, 1994.