Elizabeth Keckley

English 248 12 December 2009 Elizabeth Keckley: Is She a Pioneer of Womanism? Keckley was born a slave in Virginia. She was an excellent seamstress and dressmaker. Using her skill and contacts she bought her freedom in 1855. After she was freed, she made her way to Washington, D. C. Elizabeth Keckley (1818-1907), seamstress and dressmaker to the wives of many political movers and shakers of that day. Her client list included Varina Davis, of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Mary Todd Lincoln, of President Abraham Lincoln. She sewed and tailored dresses for the daughters and ladies of the most prominent families. As her reputation mounted, she came to the attention of Mary Todd Lincoln, and soon became her dressmaker. Keckley’s soon became a companion to Mary Todd. When Mary Todd fell under financial strain after the assassination of her husband, Keckley helped Mary Todd auction off her clothing in New York. This effort proved to be futile and only served to bring negative attention to Mary Todd. In another attempt to generate funds for Todd as well as her, Keckley published her diaries in 1868: Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. [pic] Mary Todd hated her portrayal in the book, to the point where her oldest son had it removed from publication. Because of the controversy, Keckley was treated like an outcast and her business declined. Throughout her experiences Keckley maintained an air of dignity and self respected. When Keckley and Mary Todd went their separate ways, Keckley did not deign to speak ill of Mary Todd. This was indicative of the strength of character that Keckley possessed. According to the African American Registry, â€Å"From 1892 to 1893, she left Washington to teach domestic science at Wilberforce University in Ohio. She returned soon after to spend the rest of her days at the Home for Destitute Women and Children in Washington, which she had helped to establish. She died there from a stroke May 26, 1907. †(1) There is a body of thought that subscribes to the idea that African American women have developed mindset to cope and prosper in American society. This mindset has been named Womanism. Womanism should in no way be confused with Feminism. Feminism is the belief that women are equal to and some ways superior to men. Because of this feminist proscribe to the notion the women station in American society should be equalized by any means short of violence. In her book Sisters in the Wilderness, Delores Williams defines womanism in the following way: â€Å"Womanist theology is a prophetic voice concerned about the well-being of the entire African American community, male and female, adults and children. Womanist theology attempts to help black women see, affirm, and have confidence in the importance of their experience and faith for determining the character of the Christian religion in the African American community. Womanist theology challenges all oppressive forces impeding black women's struggle for survival and for the development of a positive, productive quality of life conducive to women’s and the family’s freedom and well-being. Womanist theology opposes all oppression based on race, sex, class, sexual preference, physical ability, and caste† (67). 2) Throughout her life Keckley was a subscriber of Womanism. Keckley opposed three aspects of oppression-sexual, race and caste. Keckley proved to be an advocate for her family life as well as others. Keckley at all times strived to be a productive member of American and African American society. Born a slave and female, it was inevitable that Keckley would face sexual oppression at some time. It can be argued that perhaps the Keck ley’s mistress sensed her husband’s interest in Keckley. Because of this Keckley received undeserved beatings. â€Å"My words seem to exasperate him. He seized the rope, caught me roughly, and tried to tie me. I resisted with all my strength, but he was the stronger of the two and, after a hard struggle, succeeded in binding my hands and tearing my dress from my back. Then he picked up a rawhide, and began to ply it freely over my shoulder. With steady hand and practiced eye he would raise the instrument of torture and nerve himself for a blow and with fearful force the rawhide descended upon the quivering flesh. It cut the skin, raised great welts, and the blood trickled down my back† (20-21). This particular beating was requesting by the mistress. Keckley was never given a reason for it. The tearing off the dress is a form of sexual humiliation. Even slave women had a sense of self-respect about nudity â€Å"Oh God! I can feel the torture-now the terrible, excruciating agony of those moments. I did not scream; I was too proud to let my tormentor know what I was suffering. I closed my lips firmly, that not even a groan might escape from them, and I stood like a statute while the keen lash cut into my flesh† (20-21). This may have also been the first time that Keckley shows some type of resistance to her oppressor. Not allowing her tormentors to know how much she was suffering could only cause more suffering. Knowing that a lifetime of slavery would lead to only more unjustified persecution served as an impetus for Keckley to escape slavery. It is amazing that Keckley persevered to leave slavery considering that even her parents thought that only death would set them free. Her father wrote â€Å"†¦In glory there weel meet to part no more forever. So dear wife I hope to meet you In paradase to prase god forever†(15). Casting off her bonds of slavery and sexual repression was the first big step in Keckley becoming a paradigm of womanism. While Keckley was still in slavery she married a man whom she thought was a freeman. She found out later that was not the case. †Mr. Keckley-let me speak kindly of his faults-proved dissipated, and a burden instead of a helpmate. More than all, I learned that he was a slave instead of a free man, as he represented himself to be. With the simple explanation that I lived with him for eight years, I will charity draw around him a mantle of silence† (32). It is rumored that Mr. Keckley was an alcoholic. Keckley refused to have a child of her free will while still a slave. †¦for I could not bear the thought of bringing children into slavery† (29). (3) In explaining how Keckley believed in the development of a positive, productive quality of life conducive to women Xiomara Santamarina writes â€Å"The author was a popular dressmaker, and according to her, work was not simply about the material conditions of production but, more importantly, about the emotions of res pect and attachment the production process entailed†(4). Keckleys ability as a dressmaker turned out to be not only an economic tool but indeed the means by which she achieved status as a socialite on the D. C. scene. The respect afforded Keckley by Washingtonians was seldom given any African Americans at the time. Keckley was well known in religious circles as well as the social scene. She was a devout member of the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church. . Alice Walker wrote about womanism as â€Å"challenging inherited traditions for their collusion with androcentric patriarchy as well as a catalyst in overcoming oppressive situations through revolutionary acts of rebellion†(5). It is fitting that a new concept of thought has been attributed to African American women. After all what other segment of American society has dealt with the drawbacks of enslavement, racism, sexual abuse, classism and sexism? The African American woman’s journey to find their place in America has taken them through waters uncharted and untraveled by anyone else. There should be no surprise when their rudder is lifted from the turbulent water for inspection it is of a unique design. Strong, true, dependable, righteous without being self-righteous and always challenging what is to progress to what can be. This rudder may be defined as womanism. Elizabeth Keckley was indeed a pioneer of womanism. Works Cited (1)Reference: Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly: The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave. Jennifer Fleischner, New York: Broadway Books. 2003 (2)Sisters in the Wilderness: Delores S. Williams. Orbis, 287 pp (3)Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. Elizabeth Keckley, New York: G. W. Carleton. 268 pp. 1868 (4)Xiomara Santamarina Feminist Studies 28, no. 3 (fall 2002) In Search of Our (5)Mother’s Garden: Womanist Prose, Alice Walker

Pop Music Magazine Comparison

The magazines that are being compared are two different styles of magazines. One is a pop band magazine and the other is rock. The people in these magazines stereotype the word â€Å"HAMMER† it shows the long hair and shouting into the microphone. The other magazine stereotypes nice clothes and nice hair. The people who read this magazine are emulators they look up to these people and will go at and wear what they wear. They act how they act. The aim of the magazine is to persuade the readers to go out and buy their CDs. The large hammer font connotes heavy metal and banging. They use hooks to try and get the buyers attention like ‘free CD' or ‘free posters'. The use of language is completely different, one says ‘SCREW THE CRITICS' and the other is ‘BLUE ARE BACK' This shows one that is abusive and the other is more formal. There is a close up on blue then there is a long shot of Gareth Gates. The Brat Awards. The institution is â€Å"The Brat Awards†. Presenters where Rob Carpenter and Ashley Curtis, Rob Carpenter represented himself as a typical presenter. He was slick and cool he kept the show moving he was very confident. The audience where famous people they were drunk. Rage against the vending machine too cool to come up and collect their award. The genre was rock. If I was too improve the award ceremony I would have a different location. Pop Band Comparison. The ‘Big Brovas' are attracting a teenage audience. They connote ‘gangsters', ‘ghettos' and ‘rude boys'. They are doing this to attract a certain type audience e.g. ‘townies'. The institution of ‘Big Brovas' is Top Of The Pops. They represent themselves as rude boys when they are probably not at all like in real life. Compared to the ‘Darkness' they are a lot in my opinion because the ‘Darkness' uses high-pitched voices. The tight trousers they wear connote this. ‘Big Brovas' convent swaying and bopping up and down. The ‘Darkness' convent jumping up and down and a lot of movement. The ‘Darkness† institution is Top Of The Pops. Their audience would be older than teenagers. They represent themselves as scruffy people e.g. ripped vests long hair and tight trousers. Pop Music The name of the act is ‘Girls Aloud'. They are a group of young women who came from the institution of pop stars. The name of the song is life got cold. They use white clothes and white make-up to connotes the word cold. They are a pop band whose audience is mainly young girls. They represent themselves as very nicely dressed attractive women. The name of the act is ‘Good Charlotte'. The song name is ‘The Anthem'. The audience is gothic people, he attracts an audience with a rebellious look. The institution is Top Of The Pops. The genre is punk and rock. The act is ‘Lemar'. The song is ‘dance'. Lemar is a male pop singer. His image is clean cut and nicely dressed. The audience varies. The institution is pop stars. Radio Advert. Client's Name: Woolworth Writer: Steven Briesner Duration: Unknown Music Bed: Whistling from Ed, Edd n Eddy SFX: Door Slamming SFX: Footsteps Male Voice: Perfect boys you've just recorded your first number one. Now lets show the people out there this brilliant song. Music: Loud Whistling MVO: That's Brilliant. MVO2: Your Right and it's available now at Woolworth's. MVO3: At the great price of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.49 MVO4: Woolworth's we're worth it. Popular Music This magazine aims to entertain people as David Bowie is a singer from the older generation older people who look at this may laugh from fond memories of their youth the magazine does this well with the main feature of David Bowie. The genre of this magazine is heavy metal/rock this was the fashion when David Bowie was a popular singer. This magazine would be for people with special interests in this sort of music. The font and style of writing tells the audience what sort of genre this is has a black background and a man with white make-up on which signals a genre of the gothic nature. It hooks are things that are on in today's magazine like ‘Brand new collectors record section' I don't think they use hooks very well in this magazine because it isn't really anything good in the offer. the only main colours used is black and white, the white make-up connotes the gothic genre. The main feature is a close-up (c.u) of David Bowie. He is stereotyping the typical grunger who is always in a depressive state. The ideology of the magazine is they believe in sucide and stuff many famous gothic stars have been known to go into a depressive state and commit suicide.

An Analysis of Hughes and Gullos Article on Joyful Learning and Assessment in Kindergarten

An Analysis of Hughes and Gullo's Article on Joyful Learning and Assessment in Kindergarten Joyful Learning and Assessment in Kindergarten, Hughes and Gullo Hughes and Gullo begin their article by painting a picture for us of the increase in prekindergarten enrollment numbers. More and more three and four year olds are being enrolled in kindergarten preparedness programs, such as pre-k or More at Four. They also point out the sharp increase in state mandated age cut-offs for kindergarten enrollment. These changes are both illustrative of how kindergarten academic standards have jumped up significantly in the past few years. Hughes and Gullo tell us that kindergarteners are now primarily taught through academically oriented teacher-directed instruction rather than developmentally appropriate methods of learning. They explain that these dramatic changes in the way kindergartners are taught are believed to be because of the inappropriate assessment tools used to gauge kindergartner’s academic progress. These developmentally inappropriate tools of assessment such as standardized testing and worksheets can be traded in for more appro priate means of assessment for kindergartners. Hughes and Gullo use the rest of their article to explain different characteristics of assessment and how we can adjust our means of assessment to promote individual development amongst kindergarteners. Hughes and Gullo define assessment to further expand our understanding of the issue- â€Å"the progress of a child’s learning over time.† Testing children at the end of a unit undermines this definition of assessment. The authors tell us that learning is a continuum and that assessment be used to help teachers identify where children are individually on that learning continuum. This can be done by learning and recognizing children’s learning sequences and using frequent â€Å"embedded† assessments to gauge their mastery of classroom concepts. The authors of the article go on to explain to us that assessment is a comprehensive process- one simple test or type of assessment will not measure the many areas of learning that need to be measured to determine comprehension. In the final section of the article, Hughes and Gullo tell us that assessment should be integrated into the process of the activities being assessed. By doing this, teachers can use assessme nt to change lessons to suit the individual needs of children, and teachers can see firsthand how effective or ineffective their curriculum is. Hughes and Gullo give an example of a teacher that uses assessment to plan activities based on her student’s interests, experiences, and skills. Hughes and Gullo end their article with a powerful statement: appropriate assessment can lead to joyful learning and joyful teaching.

Sustainability issues of using [material X] Essay

Sustainability issues of using [material X] - Essay Example Although some of these resources such as trees, wildlife, and soil fertility can possibly be restore through improved conservation measures, some of the resources that are provided by nature are irreversible and they consumption reduces their availability (Lee, & Ofori-boateng, 2013). For instance, oil and fossil resources are non-renewable natural resources that get depleted with time. Even the recycling of other minerals and resources in the surrounding is likely to suffer from lack of adequate energy for the recycling process. For this reason, it is important to note that the sustainability of other resource and natural endowment heavily depend on the sustainability and the existence of energy that is extracted from the fossil deposits. Although the energy conservation organizations are encouraging a shift in the energy sector with renewable energy sources being preferred as the replacement of the traditional non-renewable energy sources such as oil and petroleum products, this pr oposed shifting would only be possible with sustainability of fossil deposits (Sullivan, 2009). The overreliance on fossil and particularly oil product as the primary source of energy and fuel has adversely affected the capacity of these resources and thus raising questions about their ability to sustain the faster growing global population over the next decade. Despite the economic value and contribution to the economic growth and development in general, oil and petroleum resources are likely to be fully exhausted with the ores running dry. It is therefore important for cheaper and sustainable alternative be explored to relieve oil and petroleum resources from this over-exploitation. The sustainability of the fast growing human population is determined the adequate food production, a factor that also need energy resources to be realized. Unlike in the last century when there was production boom in the agricultural sector given that the dumped vast petroleum resources to support agr icultural productivity (such as petroleum driven pesticides and chemicals), today, there is global hunger and starvation (Lee, & Ofori-boateng, 2013). The produces from these farms are then channeled and transported to other destinations for feed the hungry through the use of fossil fuel powered engines such as trains, ships, trucks, and planes. This implies that there is relationship between the sustainability of the oil production and food products that are the primary the source of sustainability for the human general in the coming days. The excessive use of these resource have posed more problem to the world; including global warming that further threaten the exploitation of oil and petroleum products (Vincenzo & Nicola, 2010). Therefore, the sustainability of the oil products depends on how effective these resources are exploited and run. Given the importance of these oil and petroleum products to the economy, emphasis should be given to these non-renewable products. Issues of Relying on Oil Products Although oil and petroleum products account for over 80% of the global energy sources, the future of these energy products raises a lot of questions (Sullivan, 2009). The use of these products is associated with a number of environmental sustainability issues such as pollution. Pollution is the major concern on the consumption of these valuable products that have a number

E-businese system about Chinese supermarket in UK Assignment

E-businese system about Chinese supermarket in UK - Assignment Example Part A 1. Introduction of the E-Business System and Organisation The Chinese grocer chin, Huaxing Chinese Supermarket uses on e-commerce and e-marketing work system that makes to successfully make significant contributions to achieving the organization’s goals and objectives. The company implements the e-commerce business system. Under the system, the company uses an online website, http://www.huaxing.co.uk/, to increase revenues generated from the company’s physical store revenues. In the e-commerce and e-marketing business system, the current and future customers visit the company’s online website (Daft, 2011). The company’s fixed office phone is 01316629892. The company sells the usual supermarket products. Further, the company’s website informs the current and future customers that some of the Huaxing products are imported from different countries. One of the grocery chain food supply group is the Japan-based grocery chain suppliers group. Anoth er food supplier group includes all companies located in Korea. Another grocery chain food supply group is the China -based grocery chain suppliers group. Another food supplier group includes all companies located in South Korea. The other suppliers of the Chinese store fall under the Thailand supplier group (Shajahan, 2007). Furthermore, the company, Huaxing Chinese Supermarket in the United Kingdom, also advertises the many benefits of taking advantage of the company’s e-commerce and e-marketing business online shopping environment (Ferrell, 2010). The company can advertise the friendly personality of all online store and physical store sales personnel. One of the attractions of the company’s online website is permitting the customers to order the delivery of the grocery and other supermarket items to the buyers’ preferred addresses (Gupta, 2011). The customers can save time ordering their supermarket goods online compared to visiting the Huaxing Chinese Super market in the United Kingdom physical store. Moreover, the Huaxing Chinese Supermarket in the United Kingdom website work system includes offering the customer several choices. The website contains pictures of the company’s top selling items. With the work system’s online website pictures, the current and future customers can vividly pick out which products to check out online. With the pictures, the e-commerce and e-marketing customers can seemingly have the same feeling as the person who personally drops by the Huaxing Chinese Supermarket in the United Kingdom to see how each fruit or vegetable classification or name looks like (Bagad, 2009). Work System Snapshot of Huaxing Supermarket (U.K.) *www.huaxing .com.uk offers online supermarket shopping (e-commerce and e-marketing) Customers of Huaxing Supermarket (U.K.) *People who buy supermarket products *Wholesalers and retailers of supermarket products Products *Grocery Items *Other supermarket products Business Proce ss * Current and future customers log on to http://www.huaxing.co.uk/ *Customers pick out their preferred supermarket product choices from the available website picture choices. *Customer enters the order and pays using credit cards. * Huaxing finds the supermarket products ordered by the customers. *Huaxing delivery department delivers food choices to the e-commerce & e-marketing customers. *If the products are not in the warehouse, the delivery departme

The Themes of the Body and Physical Experience Characterise Classic Essay

The Themes of the Body and Physical Experience Characterise Classic Urban Theory - Essay Example As the report declares as the techniques became more and more refined, the labor force was divided on the basis of the knowledge and skill individuals were able to acquire. The faster they adapted to the changing conditions, the better the pay they received. â€Å"The nineteenth century demanded the functional specialization of man and his work; this specialization makes one individual incomparable to another †¦, however, this specialization makes each man the more directly dependent upon the supplementary activities of all others†. This paper discusses that the influx of the factory enabled corporate heads to enact surveillance strategies, if for no other reason than to negotiate pay with workers or to keep track of wages earned. This surveillance further served to dictate the impersonal ordering of the clock into working hours and off-time hours, creating a means by which individuals could only identify themselves with part of a crowd rather than a subjective being. This led to feelings of alienation as the individual perceived themselves as different from, yet the same as, their co-workers on the factory floor, yet had no room in which to explore or express this difference. Explorations of art, literature and science into this mechanized realm produced the idea of the phantasmagorical. Phantasmagorical is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions. J.C. Powys defines it as the â€Å"incongruous imagery in surreal art and literature†.

Sustainability And Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sustainability And Business - Research Paper Example The article to be discussed is a 2010 study by B. E. Wright and S. K. Pandey entitled Transformational Leadership in the Public Sector: Does Structure Matter and has an â€Å"Organizational Communication† classification. Article Critique: Transformational Leadership in the Public Sector: Does Structure Matter? By Bradley E. Wright and Sanjay K Pandey Introduction The study by Wright and Pandey was intended to determine why there was a discrepancy between theoretical models on mainstream leadership which showed that transformational leaders are â€Å"expected to be both less common and less effective in public sector organizations† (p. 75) than in the private sector because of strong â€Å"bureaucratic control mechanisms† which apparently leave the public sector without a need for strong leadership. Wright and Pandey noted that this theory has not been supported by meta analyses which had found that â€Å"transformational leadership is as common and effective in public organizations† (2010, p. 75). The authors had considered a number of reasons why there would be a difference between theory and the empirical work on the topic. One of those reasons for example was that perhaps government organizations themselves were not as bureaucratic as theorists presumed although Wright and Pandey (2010) were not convinced on this idea. They decided to test the organizational and contextual influences on the emergence and effectiveness of transformational leadership. The study itself was to test how the culture of the public sector organizations might â€Å"hinder the emergence of transformational leadership† (Wright & Pandey, 2010, p.76). The background to the hypothesis The author’s provided an extensive literature review that covered concepts such as what transformational leadership was; the attributes transformational leaders would have and how the behavior of these leaders impacted employee performance and satisfaction, in govern ment agencies and non-profits. The second part of the review was written to support the author’s idea that there were not a lot of studies that considered organizational structure and its impact on leadership. This led them to test their hypothesis that: â€Å"The more hierarchical an organization's authority structure, the lower the reported practice of transformational leadership behaviors. [H.sub.2] The weaker the lateral/upward communication in an organization, the lower the reported practice of transformational leadership behaviors. [H.sub.3a,b] The greater organizational formalization (measured as [3a] procurement red tape and [3b] human resource red tape), the lower the reported practice of transformational leadership behaviors† [H.sub.4] The more an organization's structure impedes the establishment of extrinsic reward-performance contingencies (here measured as human resource red tape), the higher the reported practice of transformational leadership behaviors. [H.sub.5] The use of organizational performance measures will decrease the reported transformational leadership behaviors† (Wright & Pandey, 2010, p.79). The Method The data was collected as part of the Phase 4 of the national Administrative Studies Project (NASP-IV) and comprised of a survey given to senior managers who had local government jurisdictions with populations over 50,000. This included general managers, as well as functional managers in a variety of departments including Finance, Public Works and Economic Development. International City/County Management Association (ICMA) compiled a list according to study criteria set by the authors. Then because email addresses could not be supplied because of

Health Organization Case Study in the USA Essay

Health Organization Case Study in the USA - Essay Example As Mensik et al. (2011) provide continuous focus has been on enhancing further insurance coverage, augmented by government insurance of public sector employees. There has been need for enhanced public-private sector partnership in tackling the critical issue through development of prevailing health care organizations. Factors influencing this strategy have concentrated on the need to address nurse staffing, network/ organizational growth, resource management, and ultimately patient satisfaction. Each of these remains a critical issue especially given the fact that the U.S. is still ranked low in terms of quality health care amongst the industrialized nations. Banner Health is a non-profit health organization based in Phoenix, Arizona operating a network of 23 hospitals, in addition to specialized facilities. A large organization by national standards, it caters for the provision of health services, i.e. hospital care, emergency care, outpatient surgery centers, rehab services, labs, hospice, home/ long-term care and pharmacies (Mensik et al., 2011). Recent inclusion of primary care physician clinics i.e. Banner Medical Group and Banner Arizona Medical Clinic further cements the entities stake within the American health sector. In addition, the entity operates a Medicare Advantage insurance plan (Banner MediSun) as part of its larger strategy of greater medical coverage of the American populace.

The world history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The world history - Assignment Example The children get along with each other and enjoy playing different games across the play area. Additionally, the children can follow caregiver’s instructions such as directions and change of positions (Riddall-Leech, 2005). Even though they belong to different ethnicities, the children have a height of approximately 36 inches, and the circumference of their chests and heads are almost equal. They appear healthy because they have well-developed bodies. All the children can walk and even run around the play area without losing balance. They are extremely curious as evidenced in their constant exploration of the toys in the play area. They are always moving around the play area looking for interesting games. Another sign of motor development is the throwing, pulling and pushing of toys. Additionally, they exhibit tripod grasp because they can hold objects with the index finger, the thumb and middle finger (HÃ ¸iseth, Keitsch & Holm Hopperstad, 2014). Finally, they can climb structures and trace objects. The children exhibit various categories of Parten’s social participation including the unoccupied behavior, parallel activity, onlooker, and associative play. One of the children does not engage in playing, but he spends most of his time observing the environment. Another watches as other play and stands close to see whatever is going on. Finally, one of the children plays with another and even exchanges play items. All the children exhibit basic self-help skills such as holding objects and working independently. The toddlers play independently, hold objects with one hand, and move objects without the assistance of the caregiver. The most conspicuous sign of cognitive development is the fact that the children can follow simple instructions from their caregivers. Additionally, they can also solve problems such as moving from one point to another by either running or

Jean Baudrillards concept of the orders of simulacra Essay Example for Free

Jean Baudrillards concept of the orders of simulacra Essay A commodity appears at first sight, a very trivial thing, and easily understood. Its analysis shows that it is in reality, a very queer thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties (Marx). It has long been a condition of western culture to act for the accumulation of material objects. This is in part due to the capitalist nature of the world within which we live. Marx identifies in The Critique of Capitalism the emergence of two new classes of people, namely capitalists and labourers. The term capitalist describes any person who has personal ownership of capital, which consists of raw materials, instruments of labour and means of subsistence (Marx). In contrast a labourer has only the value of his labour (life activity), which he exchanges with the capitalist for a wage and as such the worker sinks to the level of commodity (Marx). Because the labourer produces for the capitalist a commodity of greater value than that of his wages and in addition those wages are paid back to the capitalist in return for subsistence, therefore social control in exerted over the working class, whilst providing the capitalist with excess commodity. The labourer consentingly becomes a slave to the system on which he depends. In addition Marx states that as the relation between capitalist and labourer (manufacturer and consumer) develops, so competition between rival capitalists becomes apparent. In effect the capitalist is forced to capture more of the market by selling goods more cheaply by the consolidation and exploitation of labour power e.g. by machinery. Such a strategy ultimately limits the demand for labour and so new industries must be developed for exploitation. These new industries are necessary because capital exists only in relation to its ability to command labour and social control and as such they reciprocally condition the existence of each other (Marx). These forced increases in demand and therefore production are evident in the contemporary world market. Important to the development of Capitalism is the use of money which abstracts labour and commodity values to a common unit for the purpose of trade. In effect the labourer discovers that the product of his activity is not the object of his activity (Marx) thus a level of abstraction occurs, which was consistent with the modernist values of the time. Karl Marx and early capitalism were mainly concerned with production which remains important but it was Situationist, Guy Debord, who gave the first insights into late capitalism and the theories that best apply to todays world economics and culture of commodities. Debord, in his book The Society of the Spectacle, bases his examination of commodities around consumption, media, information and technology. As such Debord suggests that in societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation. By this he means to describe the world and its products as mere appearances, where the real meanings and values of commodities are translated into signs. Essentially it is a world vision that has been objectified (Debord). Debord explains the phenomenon of the spectacle as resulting from the ever increasing production of capitalism. Because competition between capitalists inevitably leads to an excess of produce, so consumer demand must be increased. Such an increase is controllable by the spectacle as the real consumer becomes a consumer of illusions, (Debord) so he can be manipulated to believe he must consume beyond the basic necessity for survival e.g. leisure products. Therefore the spectacles form and content are identically the total justification of the existing systems conditions and goals (Debord). The spectacle is mediated in society as information or propaganda, as advertisement or direct entertainment consumption, (Debord). The effects of the mediated spectacle tend to lead the consumer to an experience of alienation as the consumers want for commodities is dictated to serve and maintain capitalism. In addition the spectacle constantly reinforces itself, for example the television, which is in itself a product of the spectacle that is then used by the capitalist to implement the advertisement of other spectacles. Essentially the spectacle is the nightmare of imprisoned modern society (Debord) and explains the transition from the degradation of being into having to having into appearing (Debord). Jean Baudrillard took Marxs Critique of Capitalism and Debords The Society of the Spectacle to their conclusions with his own theory of simulation and simulacra. Similar to the idea of the spectacle, Baudrillard describes a world where the subject of everything has been replaced by a semiological value that has become more important than the original, real meaning of the object. This object he calls a simulacra. In Simulacra and Simulation Baudrillard adds extra complexity to these ideas by establishing a hierarchy of simulation, which he gives four orders. In the first order the object is a copy of an original and so can be linked to a basic reality, for example a photograph of an actual event. The second order of simulation misrepresents the original subject; in the example the photography has been digitally manipulated in Photoshop to present a non-occurrence. In the third order a reality is recreated from a simulation of an original reality, when in fact, through the process of simulacra, the original has been lost, e.g. a scene is recreated from the digitally manipulated photograph of the original event. Finally, the forth order of simulation is the combined process of the first, second and third order to such an extent that the object bears no relation to reality or the original, for example the photograph has become a virtual reality. In this instance the link between reality and the signifying systems is almost impossible to ascertain, thus creating a hyper-reality. It is the use of one simulacra as a basis for the formation of another simulacra that shows the first signs of relevance to post modernity. Consequently, in post modernism, everything is understood in relation to everything that has come before, which in design manifests itself in referencing. Post modernism is also concerned with the fact that there is no right or wrong and essentially that no real truth exists. It is of course possible for a sign to make a transition through all four of the orders of simulation, constantly abstracting meaning and widening the gap between simulation and reality. However due to the complexity of repeated abstraction and signification it becomes necessary for an amount of speculation and simplification to occur when examining transitional examples. If we take, for example, the now famous emblem of automotive company Rolls Royce, it becomes apparent the extent to which a symbolic object can be re-simulated, each time loosing a part of its original meaning. Spirit of Ecstasy, designed by sculptor Charles Sykes and mass produced in 1911, is a cast metal emblem representing the figurine of a girl with arms outstretched to hold the folds of her gown blowing in the breeze. To the present day this emblem has been displayed on the bonnets of Rolls Royce cars and is the first order of simulation in terms of it being a representation of a real person from which the sculpture has been modelled. The object also references the figure heads of classic sailing ships in an attempt to convey the automotive product as an elegant, quite and reliable vehicle, which were the mediated associations with the brand during the early development of the company. In this instance the object enters the third order of simulation as a real event (model posing for sculptor) is created from an existing symbolic object (sailing boat figure heads) in order to be recreated as a new symbolic object (Spirit of Ecstasy emblem). At this point it is important to note that this example as an investigation could examine many more stages of referencing prior to the signs use as figure heads, though this could prove too difficult and inaccurate, again reinforcing the existence of a hyper-reality. The tea pot, designed by Michael Graves in 1985 for Alessi, brings the symbol to its conclusion. The tea pot employs a plastic emblem of a bird that is attached to the spout of the kettle and creates a whistling noise when the water is boiled. This creates a pun between the whistling of a kettle and the singing of bird but more importantly, its similar visual appearance (i.e. the wings of the bird and the outstretched arms and gown of the girl) makes a reference of Rolls Royce cars. Because during the late 20th century the values associated with Rolls Royce have matured to convey the brand as one of top class and status, so it are these value that are associated with Graves tea pot, supposed to the original associations that Rolls Royce was referencing from classic sailing ships. Therefore the product has clearly entered the forth order of simulation is it holds no relation to the original meaning that the original object as sign attempted to represent. Also, by referencing past signs, it can be described as a post modern object. Like Debord, Baudrillard agreed that simulation was important to the survival of capitalism as it, through mediation, can control the level of consumption within society. Baudrillard used the term valorisation to describe the process through which symbolic objects attain value. An excellent example of valorisation is Pokemon cards, which are essentially printed illustrations on card and so their use value is very low. However, via mediation, Pokemon cards have been given a simulated symbolic value that has made them desirable and powerful as a commodity. As well as design, Baudrillards theory of simulation and simulacra has also proved influential in film making, for example in The Matrix, directed by the Wachowski brothers. The Matrix is set in the future at a time when the real world has been reduced to a desert waste land by a war between humanity and machines; after the invention of artificial intelligence. Because the machines are dependant on solar power, the humans have caused the equivalent of a nuclear winter by blocking out sunlight. This has caused the machines to retaliate by imprisoning humans in gel filled pods so that energy can be extracted from them in the form of heat. In order to control the humans in this procedure a computer simulated world called the matrix exists, that all of the imprisoned humans are connected to, living their lives in what they believe is the late 20th century, oblivious to the fact that their real bodies are in stasis in the real world. The film therefore acts as a metaphor for contemporary western cultures. Firstly the matrix is an existence of the fourth order of simulation in that it is a system of mere signs that are completely detached from reality, i.e. hyper-reality. Just as in contemporary cultures, the people who live in the matrix are unaware that they are controlled by a system through simulation. You are a slave, neo, like everyone else you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch, a prison for your mind What is the matrix? Control. The matrix is a computer generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this (he holds up a copper battery) (Morpheus talking to Neo, The Matrix). In addition the film suggests that the prisoners of the Matrix are also dependant upon it, to the extent that they will fight to protect it. Baudrillards idea of mediasation appears in the film when it is suggested that there was a machine spawning a whole race of machines (Morpheus talking to Neo, The Matrix), thus the social control of the machines (mediation of signs) increasingly exert themselves with every new generation. Interestingly The Matrix seems to offer a solution to simulation and social control by the system, which is one of enlightenment. Once Neo understands the systems and can see the signs (computer code) of the matrix for what they really are, then he can choose to follow a different set of rules thus gaining control of his environment. As well as a theological basis on Baudrillard, The Matrix tends to convey the story via symbolic references and thus is post modern by nature. For example the follow the white rabbit scene employs a tattoo of a white rabbit, which is referenced from Alice in Wonderland in order to convey the uncertainty in discovering the truth of an alternate reality. In the same scene Neo also opens a copy Baudrillards Simulacra and Simulation in effect reinforcing links to that element of the film. In conclusion, I have identified the main themes surrounding Baudrillards orders of simulacra and simulation, shown how they relate to modern and post modern design and have given contemporary examples of their use in product design and film making. I believe that such an understanding of simulation has served well to better understanding referencing in post modernity. References Debord, G., (1977) The Society of the Spectacle, Black Red Poster, M., (1998) Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings, Polity Press Tucker, R. C., (1978) The Marx Engels Reader Second Edition, Norton Company Bibliography Hebdige, D., (1994) Hiding in the Light, Routledge http://www.geneseo.edu/~bicket/panop/baudrillard.ht http://www.artisanitorium.thehydden.com/nonfiction/film/matrix.htm http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/master_frame.html

Case study: Relational Aggression

Case study: Relational Aggression Adolescents today face many challenges with regard to both academics and peer groups. Unfortunately, one aspect of peer relations is aggression, and many times we often only think of physical aggression. However, relational aggression can also characterize the peer interactions of adolescents, and thus it has gained more attention in research. Relational aggression can be defined as a purposeful act that an individual carries out intentionally in order to inflict harm upon another individual through a social relationship (Bowie, 2007). The present literature review will discuss some of the research that has demonstrated how relational aggression contributes uniquely and negatively to social-psychological adjustment problems in youth (Crick, Ostrov, Werner, 2006; Prinstein, Boergers, Vernberg, 2001; Reynolds Repetti, 2010; Rose Swenson, 2009). The protective factors identified by research that appear to mitigate the negative effects of relational aggression will also be discussed. Being popular (Rose Swenson, 2009), having a close friend (Prinstein et al., 2001), and having a positive academic self-concept (Taylor, Davis-Kean, Malanchuk, 2007) have all been found to act as protective factors in the face of relational aggression. Lastly, relational aggression in the context of school will be examined. Given that relational aggression makes unique contributions to social-psychological adjustment problems in the absence of such protective factors, it would be valuable to explore whether or not relational aggression also has unique negative effects on academic engagement and achievement. This could have important implications for prevention and intervention efforts, as well as educational policy and classroom management strategies. Since the conception of research on relational aggression, researchers have found that engaging in relational aggression can have negative effects on various social-psychological adjustment outcomes for adolescents. A study by Crick et al. (2006) targeted a sample of 224 children, who were part of a larger longitudinal study, as they progressed from third to fourth grade in order to examine how relationally aggressive behavior affected childrens social-psychological adjustment over time. The authors hypothesized that relationally and physically aggressive children would exhibit increased levels of both internalizing and externalizing difficulties. They also expected that relational aggression would create distinct psychopathological symptoms from those that are associated with physical aggression. Participants completed a self-report measure about physical and relational aggression, as well as prosocial behavior. Participants teachers filled out a survey to assess childrens social-ps ychological adjustment. Results indicated that relational aggression is indeed a significant indicator of childrens risk for future social-psychological adjustment problems, and that the outcomes of relational aggression are unique compared to those of physical aggression. The authors call for additional, similar studies to improve prevention and intervention programs that address both physical and relational aggression in boys and girls. Similarly, a study by Prinstein et al. (2001) examined the association among relational and overt forms of aggression and adolescents internalizing and externalizing symptoms and behavior in a sample of 566 adolescents in a New England high school. The authors hypothesized that relational aggression would be distinctively associated with depressive symptoms, loneliness, self-esteem, and externalizing behavior. Another significant hypothesis was that having a close friendship would buffer adolescents from the negative social-psychological adjustment outcomes that are associated with relational aggression victimization. Several self-report questionnaires were administered to the participants that respectively measured overt and relational aggression and victimization, depressive symptoms, loneliness, self-esteem, externalizing symptoms, and close friend social support. Results demonstrated that adolescents make a distinction between overt and relational forms of aggression and victimiz ation. Relational aggression was found to have its own unique effects on victims, including higher levels of depressive symptoms, higher levels of loneliness, and lower global self-worth. The hypothesis was supported that having a close friend did act as a buffer against negative psychological adjustment problems associated with relational aggression. A study by Reynolds and Repetti (2010) gathered descriptive information from 114 girls in a Los Angeles public high school about the forms, frequency, perceived motives and functions, and types of emotions felt when relationally aggressing or when being victimized. An online survey was utilized that elicited scale ratings and descriptive responses from the participants about their experiences as both perpetrators and victims of relational aggression. The results showed that every participant reported being involved as both a perpetrator and a victim in each form of relational aggression at least once in the past year. The most frequent form reported was talking behind another girls back, while the next most frequent behaviors were spreading rumors about a girl and intentionally ignoring her. The most frequently reported function was trying to get back at someone. Additionally, the participants reported that ignoring, as compared to rumors and exclusion, was related to the strongest n egative feelings experienced at the time of the incident, like sadness. Ignoring emerged as a unique form of relational aggression in this study, which merits further investigation. Implications of this and similar studies demonstrate that intervention and prevention efforts should focus on the most frequently reported behaviors by adolescents. Due to the evidence suggesting that relational aggression has unique, negative effects on social-psychological adjustment in children and adolescents, it is important to look at what protective factors might exist for children and adolescents that buffer these negative effects. In addition to the finding that a close friend can buffer the negative effects of relational aggression (Prinstein et al., 2001), other protective factors have been identified through research. For example, a study by Rose and Swenson (2009) looked specifically at perceived popular adolescents who relationally aggress and whether or not their participation in relational aggression leads to emotional adjustment problems. The authors studied a sample of 439 students in seventh and ninth grade in the United States. It was hypothesized that perceived popularity would moderate the association between relational aggression and internalizing symptoms. Peer nomination surveys were used to assess peer status and aggres sion, and the Childrens Depression Inventory was used to assess internalizing symptoms. Results demonstrated that perceived popular adolescents who relationally aggress do not experience emotional adjustment problems, but youth who were perceived as less popular did experience elevated internalizing symptoms. This finding suggests that popularity acts as a buffer against the negative effects of relationally aggressive behavior. For this reason, the authors discuss future directions in research that could examine which other variables protect popular, relationally aggressive peers from experiencing internalizing symptoms. Similarly, Cillessen and Mayeux (2007) also investigated peer status and aggression, however they did so around the transitions from elementary to middle school, and from middle school to high school. They looked at how these constructs are related to adolescents academic and social expectations in their new school system. The total sample size was 2,434 with students from fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth grade. The authors hypothesized first that pre-transition expectations and post-transition perceptions of academic and social functioning would be moderately correlated. Secondly, they hypothesized that both social preference and perceived popularity would be positively correlated with social expectations, and thirdly, that both overt and relational aggression would be positively associated with social expectations. Participants completed a sociometric assessment that measured social preference, perceived popularity, overt aggression, and relational aggression. Participants also comp leted a set of self-report questionnaires that measured pre-transition expectations and post-transition perceptions of academic and social functioning. Results demonstrated that their first hypothesis was correct. They also found that popular adolescents had more positive expectations of transitions, and also rated themselves as doing better socially after the transition. Relational aggression was negatively correlated with the academic functioning of sixth grade girls. No other main effects were found for relational aggression. Consequently, the authors called for more research on relational aggression in the social and academic lives of students, especially for girls. Relational aggression can have impacts on the development of friendships as well, as demonstrated by Sijtsema et al. (2010) in their longitudinal study. They examined how aggression in different forms and functions (instrumental, reactive, overt, relational) impacts friendship development in a sample of 337 participants, ages 12 to 14 years. The authors hypothesized that instrumental, relational, and overt forms of aggression would be associated with making friends who are equally aggressive. They also hypothesized that reactive aggression would predict a high number of unidirectional friendship nominations in which the aggressor nominates others, but is never nominated by others. Additionally, the authors hypothesized that social influence effects will appear uniquely in relational aggression contexts. Various questionnaires were administered to the participants to gather information about friendship networks, previous acquaintances, and occurrences of instrumental, reactive, overt, and relational aggression. Results demonstrated that all four conceptualizations of aggression had unique and meaningful effects on friendship selection and social influence during early adolescence. Of particular interest was that relationally aggressive adolescents selected similarly aggressive friends, and that relational aggression was subject to social influence. Therefore, it was found that relational aggression uniquely affects early adolescent friendships, regardless of the function of the relationally aggressive behavior. Given that relational aggression can occur in school contexts because that is where peer groups are situated, it is important to examine various aspects of the schooling experience in order to better understand why relational aggression occurs. Accordingly, Totura, et al. (2009) conducted a study that used an ecological framework to examine how middle school students (N = 2,506) perceptions of their family and school contexts moderated their involvement in and the effects of bullying and victimization. The authors hypothesized that students with internalizing and/or externalizing problems would be less likely to be categorized as bullies and/or victims if they had a stable family context, and if their school had high levels of support and monitoring. They hypothesized that students would be more likely to be identified as bullies and/or victims if their school and family contexts were characterized by low levels of support, monitoring, and school belongingness. The investigators used student and teacher surveys to measure bullying and victimization, internalizing and externalizing problems, family functioning, school bonding, adult monitoring at school, aggressiveness of the school climate, and academic performance. Results of this study demonstrated that there are many relations among emotionality, bullying, and students perceptions, as well as some significant gender differences. One result particularly important result is that bullies and bully/victims exhibited lower academic achievement and were less bonded with school. This points to a potential area of research that explores whether or not increasing childrens academic engagement, achievement and bonding with school can actually decrease relational aggression. Another important implication of this study is that it demonstrates how important students perceptions of their environment are and the impact that their perceptions can have on their experiences with bullying and victimization. Furthermore, Taylor et al. (2007) explored how self-esteem and self-concept may influence aggression in a school setting. The authors used a diverse sample of 842 children, which was part of a larger longitudinal study, in middle schools in an East coast state. The authors hypothesized first that students with negative academic self-concepts would be more likely to aggress in school than children with more positive academic self-concepts. Their second hypothesis was that students whose high academic self-concept is threatened would be more likely to aggress at school. The study utilized interviews and self-report questionnaires from both the participants and the participants primary care givers to measure the constructs of aggression, self-esteem, academic self-concept, and academic performance. Results supported the authors first hypothesis in that low academic self-concept was correlated with increased aggression in school. However, their second hypothesis was not supported. These findings are significant because they demonstrate that if we can increase childrens academic self-concepts, perhaps aggression would decrease. All of the studies mentioned above have made significant contributions to the study of relational aggression, specifically with regard to the social-psychological effects of relational aggression, protective factors, how relational aggression impacts friendship development, and how school contexts can impact relational aggression. These studies all have some analogous strengths and limitations that can point us to future directions in research. Longitudinal methods were used in the study by Crick et al. (2006), as well as the study by Sijtsema et al. (2010), demonstrating definite strengths for these two studies. However, Crick and his colleagues did mention that a limitation of their study was that the interval was only one year, and so future studies would benefit from having longer time intervals to see how relational aggression affects children through different developmental periods. Sijtsema et al. (2010) acknowledged that a limitation of their study was that peer relations wer e examined with respect to school grade, so aggression that occurs outside of school might not have been captured in the study. Both studies by Prinstein et al. (2001), and Totura et al. (2009) addressed the fact that their cross-sectional designs were an inherent limitation. Specifically, Totura et al. (2009) stated that the cross-sectional nature of their study prohibits researchers from determining which came first, internalizing and externalizing difficulties or bullying/victimization. In this way, future longitudinal studies would be exceptionally beneficial to the field so that we can further examine what factors lead to engaging in relational aggression. Similar to the study by Totura et al. (2009), the study conducted by Rose and Swenson (2009) discussed a limitation of their study that the results cannot speak to causation, only to correlation. Their study did have two important strengths in their sample size and their use of validated measures of depression and anxiety. The study by Totura et al. (2009) also had a very large sample size at N = 2,506. The study by Prinstein et al. (2001) used a very ethnically diverse sample. Future studies would benefit from also making every effort to obtain a diverse sample in order to best understand relational aggression in adolescents. Additionally, future studies would benefit from including school transitions and perceptions, like Cillessen and Mayeux (2007) did in their study. A limitation of their study was their exclusive use of self-report measures, which will be discussed later in this literature review. The authors did acknowledge, though, that future research would benefit from including more objective measures of social and academic outcomes. Lastly, a strength of the (2010) study by Reynolds and Repetti was that the investigators collected novel, descriptive data through an online survey that informed them of the unique experiences of relational aggression among high school girls. A limitation of this study was its relatively small sample size (N = 114), and the fact that the stud y only addressed girls. All of these studies (Crick et al., 2006; Prinstein et al., 2001; Reynolds Repetti, 2010; Sijtsema et al., 2010; Taylor et al., 2007; Totura et al., 2009; Cillessen Mayeux, 2007; Rose Swenson, 2009) actually used self-report questionnaires as at least part of their methodology. Self-report methodologies are certainly valuable, however future research would benefit from the use of different methodologies as well, as suggested by Cillessen and Mayeux (2007), in order to ensure that we understand relational aggression from multiple perspectives. Crick et al. (2006) also used teacher reports in order to assess the childrens social-psychological adjustment. Equivalently, Totura et al. (2009) used teacher surveys in addition to student surveys to measure bullying and victimization, and internalizing and externalizing symptomology, in addition to other various constructs. Rose and Swenson (2009) used peer nomination surveys in order to assess peer status and aggression, and this was in a ddition to the self-report measure used to assess internalizing symptoms. Taylor et al. (2007), in addition to having the adolescents complete self-report questionnaires and having their primary caregivers complete surveys, also interviewed the adolescents themselves. The use of interviews could provide valuable in-depth information about the experiences that children and adolescents have with relational aggression. Another methodology that has not yet been utilized in past research is focus groups. This could involve having six to eight adolescents talk about their experiences with relational aggression. Methodologies like focus groups and interviews would be extremely valuable when used in addition to self-report, peer-report, teacher-report and/or parent-report surveys. In this way, researchers would be able to gather information from a variety of sources in order to understand relational aggression. Few studies have addressed how relational aggression might impact the academic achievement and engagement of adolescents. Exceptions to this include the study by Totura et al. (2009) that investigated how middle school students perceptions of their family and school contexts moderate their involvement in and the effects of bullying and victimization. Importantly, the authors defined bullying as engaging in the following behaviors: kicking/pushing/hitting, name calling, teasing, socially isolating others, and spreading false rumors (Totura et al., 2009, p. 579). In this way, the authors do capture important aspects of relational aggression. The results of this study have important implications for future studies that look at how relational aggression impacts academic achievement and engagement. Moreover, Taylor et al. (2007) investigated how self-esteem and academic self-concept influence aggression in a school setting. However, a limitation of this study is that the researchers opera tionalized aggression as acts of aggression that resulted in formal school discipline, although they acknowledged the various forms of aggression and the fact that not all aggression results in formal discipline. It must be addressed, though, that acts of relational aggression might not have been captured to the full extent in this study. Nevertheless, the methodology used and the results found in this study provide support for promising directions in the research of a possible link between relational aggression and academic achievement. Overall, the studies mentioned above utilize similar methodologies in order to address various aspects of relational aggression. The studies above investigated how relational aggression affects social-psychological adjustment adolescents, what protective factors exist to buffer adolescents from the negative effects of relational aggression, how engaging in relational aggression affects friendship development, and lastly how a few school-related constructs affect ones experience with relational aggression. The purpose of this literature review was to provide an analysis of what research has been done with regard to relational aggression. Because it has been shown that relational aggression has unique, negative effects on the social-psychological adjustment of adolescents, it is imperative that we examine what other negative effects might be a result of engaging in relational aggression, either as a perpetrator or as a victim. Specifically, research on how relational aggression impacts academic engagement in the classroom, and consequently academic achievement, would be very valuable. School bonding and school spirit are other constructs that could be explored. If a negative association is found between relational aggression and academic engagement, this could have implications for educational policy and school behavioral management systems. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to explore whether or not increasing the academic self-concept of an adolescent would cause a subsequent decrease in their engagement in relational aggression. Future studies would benefit form utilizing multiple methodologies, including interviews or focus groups in order to gain a deeper understanding about what it is like to experience relational aggression. The area of how relational aggression might impact academic engagement has yet to really be explored, and so studies in this area would be indispensable in informing research and also practices in the field.

Immigration to the United States Essay -- Immigrants USA Borders Essay

Immigration to the United States Works Cited Not Included Immigration to the United States has been happening since the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in 1492. America is one of the most diverse nations in the world, attracting people from every corner of the globe in hopes of a better way of life. America in the past has relied on migrant workers to balance the economies growth when internal resources have been exhausted; moreover, the agriculture business has depended on the seasonal employment of migrant workers from Mexico to meet the labor demand. Programs have been created in the past granting work contracts for the flood of Mexican labor into the United States, and new work programs are being analyzed to suffice the needs of the agriculture business today. During World War II America was pushed to exhaustion trying to reach the labor efforts needed to support the war. Looking for a way to relieve the tension, the federal government came to an agreement with the Mexican government to allow contract workers in to come to the United States to assist the agriculture business in the Southwest. From 1942 to 1964 the Bracero work program supplemented the America workforce. Almost 4.5 million flooded America, a vast majority of these workers were allocated to three states: California, Arizona, and Texas. Four terms where met between Mexico and America federal government, these four terms laid out the ground rules for the program until its fall in 1964. These four terms are stated as: 1. Mexican contract workers would not engage in U.S. military service. 2. Mexicans entering the U.S. under provisions of the agreement would not be subjected to discriminatory acts. 3. Workers would be guaranteed transportation, ... ...ct), is even more expansive because, though it would not permit the guest workers to become immigrants, it would not be limited to agriculture†(Guthrie). This provision would combat illegal immigration, by offering the opportunity of documented workers in the United States. Illegal immigration into the United States is becoming more of an issue, and harder to control. A program that allows the government to oversee and regulate immigration is necessary in the near future. America can not eliminate illegal immigration, but it could regulate it. A major issue with immigration work, is that all the money made by the immigrants is not invested into America’s economy, but sent back to the families in Mexico. A program would not eliminate negative impacts of illegal immigration; moreover, it would control the problems, enabling the government to regulate immigration. Immigration to the United States Essay -- Immigrants USA Borders Essay Immigration to the United States Works Cited Not Included Immigration to the United States has been happening since the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in 1492. America is one of the most diverse nations in the world, attracting people from every corner of the globe in hopes of a better way of life. America in the past has relied on migrant workers to balance the economies growth when internal resources have been exhausted; moreover, the agriculture business has depended on the seasonal employment of migrant workers from Mexico to meet the labor demand. Programs have been created in the past granting work contracts for the flood of Mexican labor into the United States, and new work programs are being analyzed to suffice the needs of the agriculture business today. During World War II America was pushed to exhaustion trying to reach the labor efforts needed to support the war. Looking for a way to relieve the tension, the federal government came to an agreement with the Mexican government to allow contract workers in to come to the United States to assist the agriculture business in the Southwest. From 1942 to 1964 the Bracero work program supplemented the America workforce. Almost 4.5 million flooded America, a vast majority of these workers were allocated to three states: California, Arizona, and Texas. Four terms where met between Mexico and America federal government, these four terms laid out the ground rules for the program until its fall in 1964. These four terms are stated as: 1. Mexican contract workers would not engage in U.S. military service. 2. Mexicans entering the U.S. under provisions of the agreement would not be subjected to discriminatory acts. 3. Workers would be guaranteed transportation, ... ...ct), is even more expansive because, though it would not permit the guest workers to become immigrants, it would not be limited to agriculture†(Guthrie). This provision would combat illegal immigration, by offering the opportunity of documented workers in the United States. Illegal immigration into the United States is becoming more of an issue, and harder to control. A program that allows the government to oversee and regulate immigration is necessary in the near future. America can not eliminate illegal immigration, but it could regulate it. A major issue with immigration work, is that all the money made by the immigrants is not invested into America’s economy, but sent back to the families in Mexico. A program would not eliminate negative impacts of illegal immigration; moreover, it would control the problems, enabling the government to regulate immigration.

The Story of an Hour Essay -- English Literature

The Story of an Hour In 1894, Kate Chopin wrote, "The Story of an Hour." In this fictional tale the author describes the experience of Louise Mallard, a woman with heart trouble, immediately after receiving news of her husbands death. Unlike the expected reaction, Louise actually has a moment of relief realizing the freedoms she now has, which were taken from her by an unhappy marriage. All the events of the story take place within an hour in Louise's home. In the final minutes of the hour, Mrs. Mallard is shocked to see that her husband walks through the front door alive and well, which causes her to have a heart attack and die. While her family believes she had a heart attack because she was overjoyed, the author leads us to conclude the heart attack was actually caused by her realization that the freedoms she looked forward too were no longer a reality. Kate Chopin's description of what the main character feels and sees shows us how this is possible. The story is very well written as it flows from one paragraph to another each presenting a new idea or information for the reader. The story begins by informing us that Louise's husband, Brently Mallard, was killed in a railroad disaster. Being that Louise has a heart condition, her family was concerned with how she would react to the bad news. Her sister, Josephine, broke the news to her. She immediately cried as expected but the interesting part of the story is when she goes into her room and locks the door. While Mrs. Mallard is slouched in a chair her experience doesn't feel that tragic at all. The mood is rather peaceful and relaxing. The reader is reminded more of a sunny day than a gloomy sky. At this point it is almost confusing but Kate Chopin... ...the prisoner is put in handcuffs and taken back to his cell where he is reminded he will be for life. Imagine the mental strain that would cause the prisoner. I believe Mrs. Mallard's situation to be very similar. This is why after careful review of the text I am convinced that Louise's reaction to seeing her husband was still alive, was complete disappointment rather than joy. It was all her newfound hopes and dreams of a future of happiness destroyed due to the fact she would still be a wife. Just as Josephine was wrong about what Louise was going through in the bedroom, the doctors were wrong by saying she died of "a joy that kills."(315) WORKS CITED Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Literature and Society: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. Eds. Pamela J. Annas and Robert C. Rosen. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. 313-316.

The No Child Left Behind Act Essay -- American Government, Politics

Initiated in 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 intended to prevent the academic failures of educational institutions and individual students, as well as bridge achievement gaps between students. This act supports the basic standards of education reform across America; desiring to improve the learning outcomes of America’s youth. No Child Left Behind has left many to criticize the outcomes of the Act itself. Questions have risen concerning the effectiveness of NCLB, as well as the implications to America’s youth. Thesis The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 should be revised to allow better accountability of student success, accountability of schools progress, and better flexibility for teachers. About â€Å"No Child Left Behind† Signed into law in 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 had ample bipartisan support. Implementing the belief that setting high achievement goals in education would yield an increase in student success nationwide, the act requires all states to build assessments for all grade levels concerning the basic skills of reading and math. This in turn provides assurances of federal funding for the public schools who participate fully in this practice. The goal of the act is to have every child achieve their grade level in math and reading by 2014. It was based off the Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. ESEA established the Title I programs, which became the first federal education aid to support children of poor urban/rural areas (Ed.Gov). Accountability of Student Success â€Å"Accountability for improved student achievement lies at the heart of the ESEA debate (Jennings, 2010).† According to Jennings,we must relook how student progress in English language arts and math sho... ...positions. Teachers should be rewarded by success, not penalized by single sided test results. In conclusion, the initial intentions of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) were to close the achievement gap between low achieving students and schools and their counterparts; but have fallen short in many important aspects along the way. Teachers have become de-sensitized to the reasons they initially desired to be educators and have lost their vision of how to implement instruction due to standards of NCLB and the consequences for not meeting those mandated goals. Likewise, students must perform, many times, above their level in order to be labeled â€Å"adequate† by the federal government and their schools. In some cases, there is a disproportionate burden placed on schools, teachers, and students, all for the sake of what is federally deemed as average achievement.

Social Control Theory vs. Conflict Theory

The Social Bond theory was written and proposed by Travis Hirschi in 1969. Social Bond theory, that later developed into Social Control Theory, has historically been an interesting way of approaching social problems and how we in turn explain them. Before one can apply the Social Bond theory, they must first have a firm understanding of its definition, which can be accurately described by Hirschi (1969) as, â€Å"Elements of social bonding include attachment to families, commitment to social norms and institutions (school, employment), involvement in activities, and the belief that these things are important† (p. 6). This theory is rooted and derived from the General Theory of Crime. Hirschi’s (1969) social bond theory emphasizes the fact that there is an absence of social attachments among juvenile delinquents. Since family, friends, and other members of our social networks affect our lives in many ways, we in turn are direct descendents of their actions. One of the most critical times in our lives is our adolescence. During this critical time we need strong positive social ties to represent society in the best way possible. On the other hand, if the ties we share in our lives are negative and criminal-like habits, it most likely that negative results will occur. The basic difference between the General Theory of Crime and Hirschi’s (1969) Social Bond Theory is the focus on peers and peer groups of individuals. The four basic elements of social bond theory are attachment, commitment, involvement in conventional versus deviant or criminal activities, and lastly the common value system within an individual’s society or subgroup. Attachment is described as the level of values and or norms that an individual holds in society. Attachment is especially important when it come to the person’s parental figures. This theory suggests that conventional figures, such as parents, when bonded make a huge impact in the deterrent of criminal acts. Attachment to other peers tend to be just as supportive as parental ties, just as long as these ties are positive and do not deviate from the social norms of society. References The Huffington Post (2011) NASDAQ Hackers reportly penetrate computer network multiple times Retrieved on February 4, 2011 at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/05/nasdaq-hackers-reportedly_n_819068.html Wall Street Journal (2011) Hackers penetrate NASDAQ Computer Retrieved on February 5, 2011 at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704709304576124502351634690.html http://criminology.wikia.com/wiki/Social_Bond_Theory

Nyorican Dream

NyThe Nuyorican Dream is a documentary about the construction of identity and how family, race, class, and sexuality can collapse on top of you. It follows the daily struggles of a migrant lower-class Puerto Rican family living in New York. The Nuyorican Dream is an ambitious and often heartbreaking case. Nuyorican are of second generation who are born and live in New York City. The difference between Nuyorican and Puerto Ricans is the country they are born in and that Nuyorican barely speak Spanish.This film follows three generations of mother Marta Torres’s, forty-six, family. In the year 1940’s – 60s Puerto Ricans suffered of a lot of poverty. You could barely find jobs and if you did the payments could not provide enough money to support your family. Millions migrated to New York City in search for a better life, mainly economically. Marta Torre’s decides to come to Brooklyn, New York around the 1960’s with her family. She comes to aim for a bet ter life,but it doesn’t result how she wished it could of.She is a mother of five kids who only her eldest son Roberto graduated from college and has job as a teacher and administrator in a public school. Her other kids can be considered to be less successful. Eldest sister Tati is addicted to heroin and crack but tries to quit and leave it back so she moves to Florida with her husband but still remains hooked to this addiction. Didn’t finish her education and now is hard for her to find jobs. Has a daughter who is five years old.She struggles through for money and ends up losing her apartment so she moves back to Brooklyn. After years of trying she becomes drug free. Then we have Betty who is 26 years old and is also addicted to heroin and crack. She didn’t finish her education either and got pregnant of 3 kids whom she lost custody for. Marta gets the custody of these three innocent kids. You probably asking yourself why she kept having children after the firs t one if she couldn’t afford to and wasn’t responsible. Well Betty says,† It just happens and I don’t believe in abortion†.Millie the young of the Torres family, thirteen years old, attends school and hopes to get out of the life she is in. Danny, twenty-three younger brother, spend most of his time behind bars due to robbery and drugs. When he thinks he is finish with a life of crime he find himself back in jail till he is thirty. This family was from all corners facing problems and was not what Marta had expected for her kids. Marta brought her kids here mostly to give them a better education and opportunities because Puerto Rico in her time was phasing poverty and political issues.The status of Puerto Ricans based on this film wasn’t as good as what you would imagine. All these migrants came for the American Dreams but in order to have success in it they have to go through many obstacles. Puerto Ricans use both Spanish and English put toget her for is known to us Spanglish. Puerto Ricans are not the only group of Latinos which phase these problems. We have for example Mexicans, Dominicans and Colombians who come to New York City in search of a better life for their kids but they have struggles as well.Many kids don’t take advantage of the opportunities and get peer pressure or hang out with the wrong crew and get to drugs and cutting school. This film taught me that we should always take advantage of the opportunities we get in life and in having a good education. In order to be successful in the United States you will always need education. We should be satisfied and grateful with what we have, because there are others who don’t have half of what we have. We should always be proud of our background because although it has poverty it has beautiful natural resources.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born into a pre-determined life. His father was a minister, so he was already set to become a minister. However, Emerson didn’t believe in organized religion. This was the reason that he became a transcendentalist and wrote his essay â€Å"Self Reliance†. In 1817, Emerson attended Harvard College where he first began to formulate his ideas that were portrayed in his most famous essay. In his essay, Emerson uses two main strategies to persuade his readers. These strategies were anecdotal stories and reasons supported by evidence. Throughout his essay, Emerson uses anecdotes as his main strategy for persuasion. For example, he tells an anecdote about when he was a child. When he was a child, he expressed his true beliefs to a close adult. When asked how he knows that his beliefs aren’t from the devil, Emerson responds by saying, â€Å"They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the Devil’s child, I will live then from the Devil. † In this response he is saying even if his beliefs are from the Devil, it doesn’t matter. This is what he believes in and nothing can change that. This idea was Emerson’s main virtue that he lived by and wanted others to live by: trust thyself. Emerson’s anecdotes prove to be a very effective way to persuade his readers to believe in his ideas. The anecdotes in this essay are so effective because the reader is able to connect with him, and place themselves in his shoes. The anecdotes are also effective because they are a portal into Emerson’s life. Instead of just listing facts and statistics, Emerson chooses to tell stories about his life. This allows his readers to connect with him on a personal level and the readers develop a stronger emotional connection with Emerson. Another strategy that Emerson uses is reasons supported by evidence. This strategy is also effective because it gives the reader a reason why they should trust themselves, and then supports the reason with evidence to show why the reason is true. For example, he says that if people don’t trust themselves, then they will feel guilty and ashamed. This is the reason Emerson gives of why people need to trust themselves, and then he supports the reason with evidence by saying that it is a waste of time to want what thers want and â€Å"envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide†. He also says that to be truly happy, a man must accept himself for better and for worse. This evidence supports the reason that people should be happy with themselves the way they are. Emerson’s strategy of reasons supported by evidence is very effective because it gives the reader concrete evidence. The evidence supports the reason, and the reason supports the overall claim. The reasons and evidence are logical appeals which appeal to the reader’s good sense; this also makes the strategy effective. It is hard to argue when Emerson gives many concrete reasons to support his claim and then backs it up with even more evidence. Although Emerson’s essay â€Å"Self Reliance† has many good strategies and qualities, it also has some weaknesses. The essay is aimed at a small audience, educated white males. If he were to open the essay up to a broader audience, he would be able to spread his idea more effectively. For example if women were also targeted in the essay, then Emerson’s ideas would be spread to almost twice as many people. Another weakness in the essay is the overall claim. He says that people should trust themselves. This claim has no qualifiers; therefore Emerson is saying that people should trust themselves, always. This is not always true. Yet another weakness in the essay is that Emerson uses mostly anecdotal evidence. Although the anecdotes prove to be effective, the evidence inside of them is not all that concrete. The claims he makes in these anecdotes are not as strong as they could be if he had more of a variety of strategies to support his claims. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay â€Å"Self Reliance† tells its readers to trust themselves. He says that every heart vibrates to this iron string. Emerson uses many strategies in his essay; however the two main strategies are anecdotes and reasons supported by evidence. Both of these strategies prove to be very effective on the reader. The anecdotes allow the reader to connect with Emerson, and have strong emotional appeals on the reader. While the reasons supported by evidence apply the reader’s logic and give concrete examples that support his claim. â€Å"Self-Reliance† is a well written essay that persuades its readers to listen and trust themselves.

Environmental Hero: Von Hernandez Essay

What do you do for the Earth? An environmental hero is someone who aims to take good care of his environment and makes a great impression for the benefit of its generation and the generations to come. Heroism comes from someone who is ordinary, but actually does something more than someone who is capable. It is a deed that is selfless that seeks to involve themselves with others’ problems. Anyone could actually be an environmental hero as long as they have the desire to learn how to align their goals in order to help protect and prevent further damages to the environment caused by mankind, despite the circumstances. Moreover, an environmental hero is someone who goes out of his or her way to fight for what is right, no matter what the odds are. They are the ones who continue to empower others by advocating the issues faced, helping people around them to be aware of their concerns. Von Hernandez, current director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2003, was recognized for his achievements in combating the environmental problems of the Philippines. He has been active in fighting for environmental rights since 1995 when he started working with Greenpeace International as coordinator for the environmental group’s toxics campaign in Asia. In the same year, Hernandez launched a campaign which revealed plans to set up waste incinerators to deal with the garbage problem coming from the rapidly growing cities in Metro Manila. In this campaign, the economic loopholes aside from the environmental and health hazards from the process of incineration were exposed. As a result of this fight against the burning of waste, in 1999, Hernandez helped make history as the Philippines became the first country in the world to ban waste incineration nationwide. He is responsible for the Philippines Clean Air Act of 1999 which is banning waste incinerators that causes air pollution and human health problems. Furthermore, he is also responsible for Waste Management Act which requires the implementation of segregating garbage properly nationwide. Waste disposal is a burgeoning problem in the Philippines especially in Metro Manila. EcoWaste cited from the National Solid Waste Management Commission that out of the 35,000 tons of waste the Philippines produces each day; 8,400 tons come from Metro Manila, accounting for one-fourth of the country’s daily output of solid waste. Currently, only nine have a solid waste management plan out of the 17 cities in Metro Manila and only about a third of the biodegradable wastes from the nine cities are being recycled into compost due to space constraints. The continuing and growing problem regarding waste in Metro Manila led to the government’s attempt to adopt the incineration process in 1995, but fortunately, Hernandez along with his allies in the environmental movement made efforts to stop the plan. Hernandez and company disseminated to the local communities the hazardous effects that waste incinerators will bring, which include the largest source of hormone-disrupting dioxins, one of the most toxic chemicals known to science. Additionally, the burning of waste also brings ash contained with heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic and cadmium that could pollute groundwater for generations. Studies also show that these chemicals are linked to human health problems such as birth defects, cancer, respiratory ailments and reproductive dysfunction among people who live near incineration plants. In support to this, a recent report reveals that dioxins in the breast milk of Filipino women who resides near and work in the Payatas dumpsite to be extremely high as compared to the normal limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO). In his fight against incineration, Hernandez helped the issue to be brought into the national electoral issue in 1998. He helped in organizing mass protests, testified in hearings, arranged numerous lectures and a national public education campaign in the media to increase awareness of the public regarding the devastating health impacts of waste incineration and to bring to light other proven alternatives to burning waste. Hernandez gained widespread support for the campaign, including the support of the Catholic Church. Due to his ceaseless activism, he was continually attacked in the press by incineration industry lobbyists and government officials who supported incineration in order to protect their interests. However, despite the attacks and the immense support of international financial institutions like the Asian Development bank, the World Bank and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation to continue to promote incineration projects in the Philippines, Hernandez remains standing still because of his love for the environment. Aside from his fight to ban incineration, he also leads in promoting clean and green alternatives to waste incineration such as composting and recycling. Hernandez is also involved in various environmental initiatives and coalitions both at the national and international levels including the Global Anti-Incineration Alliance (GAIA), Waste Not Asia, Lakbay Kalikasan, the Ecowaste Coalition, the Sagip Pasig Movement, and the People’s Task Force for Bases Clean-up. Von Hernandez is, indeed, a hero that people should look up to. He changed the perspective of society in order to live in greener atmosphere. Because of him, laws were implemented that aims to promote a healthier place for people. By speaking his mind, he saved thousands of lives from the exposure of harmful chemicals. Even though he has received threats from the opposing parties, he continues to do what he thinks is right. He is concerned for issues usually unnoticed by the public. Truly, his strong character deserves to be applauded and recognized as a model for the green revolutionary era. References: EcoWaste statement on garbage along Roxas Blvd. in wake of Typhoon Gener | Community Bulletin Board | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere. (2012, August 2). GMANetwork.com – Online home of the Kapuso Network. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/267953/cbb/ecowaste-statement-on-garbage-along-roxas-blvd-in-wake-of-typhoon-gener Goldman Prize. (n.d.). Goldman Prize For Excellence in Protecting the Environment. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from http://www.goldmanprize.org/2003/asia Mariano, Dan.(2007, Oct 26).Filipino Environment Hero. The Manila Times, A4. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2518&dat=20071026&id=0pQ1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=9ScMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2468,18851050

Trade union movement in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Trade union movement in Britain - Essay Example The power of trade unions in countries around the world is not equal. In certain countries, such as Britain, the role of trade unions in promoting the rights of employees has been critical. Current paper presents the current state of trade union movement in Britain. In addition, the strategies that trade union movement in Britain employs to increase its influence are explained and evaluated. Through the literature published in regard to this subject it has been revealed that the current power of trade unions in Britain is limited, compared to the past. Radical changes in these unions’ policies and practices are required so that the power of trade union movement in Britain to return to high levels. 2. Trade union movement in Britain 2.1 Definitions In order to understand the various aspects of trade union movement in Britain it is necessary to present the definitions of certain terms, as these terms are closely related to the issues under discussion. The trade union has been de scribed as ‘a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives’ (Sinha 2004, p.1). Through a similar point of view, a trade union reflects ‘a combination aiming to regulate the relations between workmen and masters†¦.’ (1913 Trade Union Act, in Jackson, 1982, p.69). Different approaches have been also used for describing trade unions. For instance, reference can be made to the definition of trade union as developed by Flanders in 1975: ‘unions should act in order to challenge capitalism’ (Gardner and Palmer 1997, p.86). The above definition, being influenced by Marx’s views on employment relations, focuses on the relationship between employment and politics and not so much on the rights of employees in the workplace. Reference should be also made to the definition of worker. According to the Employment Rights Act 1996 a worker is an individual that meets the fol lowing three requirements: ‘a) works under a contract, b) to carry out personal services and c) for the other party of the contract’ (Gennard and Judge 2005, p.102). In the context of another definition, an employee is considered to be ‘the person that works for another under the terms of compensation’ (Twomey 2009, p.78). The compensation of employees can be monetary or of other form (Twomey 2009). 2.2 Current state of trade union movement in Britain As in all countries where a trade union movement exists, in Britain also, the trade union movement focuses on ‘the protection of jobs and of wages’ (Padhi 2008, p.543). Moreover, trade unions have the power to check whether working conditions are kept at a specific level, in terms of quality and safety (Padhi 2008). The existence of trade unions is based on the following fact: the position of employees is less advantageous compared to that of their employers (Weiss 2008, p.357). This means that em ployees are not equally powerful with their employers when having to negotiate for their rights (Weiss 2008). This fact has led to the introduction of trade unions, as a means for increasing the power of employees towards their employers (Weiss 2008). The current status of trade union movement in UK can be characterized as rather discouraging. In fact, through the decades the failures of the efforts of union leaders to secure the support of Labour government towards the trade union movement, as analyzed below, have led to the decrease of the unions’