Management and Samsung

Contents I. Introduction – Executive Summary:2 II. Critical Success Factors4 1. Wise R&D Strategy:4 2. Strong intellectual Capital:5 3. Self-weakness recognition5 4. Effective Supply Chain Management7 5. Effective Marketing Strategy:8 6. SAMSUNG’s culture and leadership:10 III. Conclusion14 References:15 I. Introduction – Executive Summary: Electronic products now are the necessary part in household and they provide the conveniences make living of people better. However, the awareness of people now progressively has improved, lead to the higher expectation in quality of products.It provides both opportunities and threats for electronics companies. SAMSUNG is the company which seized the opportunities to growth from small export business to world’s leading electronics company, which specializes in digital appliances and media, semiconductors, memory, and system integration. SAMSUNG was found on 1st of March, 1938 by Byung-Chull Lee in Taegu, Korea with only 30. 000 won. At the start, SAMSUNG focused primarily on trade export, agricultural products such as dried fish, vegetable and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing.Samsung Distribution ChannelWithin a decade, SAMSUNG owned flour mills and confectionary machines became a co-operation in 1951. From 1958, Samsung began to broaden into other businesses such as financial, media, chemicals and ship building during the 1970's before it specialized in electronics manufacturing and continued expand their business on global market in 1990. In 1997 the majority of Korean businesses got smaller in size and Samsung was no exception. They had to sell and dropped some businesses to reduce debt and cut employees down lowering personnel by 50,000.But they managed to control that situation and continue to grow after restructure old businesses and enter the new ones with the aim of becoming one of the world’s top five electronics companies. Adapt with the changing tech world, SAMSUNG gradually became the famous name in electronics markets and now over more than 60 years, SAMSUNG becomes market leader in electronics market when it has market share in almost countries in the world, especially in Asia, the largest market of SAMSUNG.For examining the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of the multinational corporation, SAMSUNG would be rather useful. It is essential to indicate the following Critical Success Factors of SAMSUNG that were in fact implemented to corporation’s strategy as main precedence in the long-term to become the leader in markets. ?Wise R Strategy ?Strong Intellectual Capital ?Self-Weakness Recognition ?Effective Supply Chain Management ?Effective Marketing Strategy ?SAMSUNG’s culture and leadership

Compare the first impressions of school we receive in ‘Hard Times’ and ‘To Sir with Love’ Essay

Charles Dickens set the play in the 1850’s during the industrial revolution in Lancashire. ‘Hard Times’ is set in a town called ‘Coaltown’ which is stricken with poverty and this is reflected in most of the town’s inhabitants-in their garb and in the way they look. There is a big rift between the rich and the poor and the rich like this arrangement. The school which the children go to is more like a military training camp, where the children are taught only facts: â€Å"Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts† â€Å"Facts alone are wanted in life† The children at this school are partitioned-boys on one side of the classroom and the girls on the other. The teachers are all male. ‘To Sir with Love’ is set in the East End of London during the 1960’s, this was a period of rebellion and change with teachers unable to punish pupils, and certain people took this opportunity to cause havoc, with the powerless teachers unable to do anything. The class in the play come from working, families and are all dressed scruffily. In Dickens Hard Times the pupils are not allowed to let their minds wonder, they are taught constantly. The classes were run by organisations and in some places there were up to a thousand pupils in one room, they are all taught at once, their age is irrelevant. The teachers are shown an amazing amount of respect and the children would never backchat or disobey any order they were given. Since there were so many children being taught the teachers addressed them by a number instead of name. The teachers in Hard Times, all dress in suites in an attempt to gain even more respect than they have-this is nearly impossible. To Sir with Love is a complete contrast the children have a choice of what to wear, even though they come from working class families, they still look like the children in Hard Times: â€Å"Those rough looking untidy children† The teachers first impression of the pupils is lazy, dirty scruffy kids, they talk in slang and at the start they act like kids always shouting and screaming: â€Å"The words bloody and bleeding were hardly ever absent from any remark† Both sexes interact constantly especially during break when they all start dancing in the hall. During classes the pupils annoy their teacher so much that he gives up teaching and throws all the text books in the bin- this is very symbolic because it is when he stops treating them as kids and starts treating them as adults. This is when the teaching moves on from teaching facts to telling them about life (e.g. how to behave, address each other, speak properly etc). The pupils and teachers in Hard Times have no personal relationship, in fact the teachers try too rid the pupils of any unwanted imagination or personality: â€Å"You are never to fancy† This basically translates to ‘you are not allowed to imagine or have your own opinions.’ According to the teachers there is only one way to live and they mould the pupils into their perfect image of person, leaving no room for argument. The relationship between pupil and teacher in ‘To Sir with Love’ changes as the play progresses, it starts off with the pupils ignoring whatever their teachers and not cooperating, this is only while he is trying to teach them facts, the main reason they shun him is because he acts and dresses like a gentleman (he is different to them). Everything changes when he throws the books away because they understand that he isn’t like their other teachers and is really like them-he has faced all the problems that they have faced-and with time they grow to respect him and almost care about him, just as he does them. Unique things happen for example the teacher gets taught about their lives and he gains an insight into why teenagers are the way they are . after he hears some of their problems he feels compassion for them. He treats them as individuals whereas in ‘Hard Times’ they are treated as objects and the teachers don’t really care about any of them . The language used in Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’ starts significantly with the title which on its own signifies a time of poverty, unemployment and a general struggle. The names of the teachers also have hidden meanings-Mr Choakumchild is one name which as soon as you say it the word ‘choke’ comes to mind-as in choking the ‘fancy’ out of his pupils. Mr Gradgrind’s name brings words like ‘hard work’ and ‘grinding’ or ‘crushing.’ As in crushing the imagination out of pupils. They speak very formal/standard English. The book often repeats that Mr. Gradgrind is â€Å"square†, this means he is dull and boring but also suggests that he is sharp, rigid and harsh, it is repeated so that you get the picture about him. As well as how â€Å"square† Mr Gradgrind is, you get the message that all that should be learnt is facts since it is shouted by the teachers so many times. The language used tells a lot about characters and how they behave/teach, for example Mr Choakumchild is said to have too much knowledge and so cannot teach as well as he could: â€Å"If he had only learned a little less how infinitely better he might have taught much more† In ‘To Sir with Love’ the characters use of language varies between each person. The teacher talks in polite, standard English. Whereas the pupils use an informal colloquial speech with an Anglo-Saxon dialect mixed in (Swearing!!). The teacher speaks with respect. He wants to help the pupils and tries to set a good example. He is well educated and wishes no harm to anybody. There are many things that are the same in both plays, yet there are also a lot of things that vary as well-the teachers all speak aristocratic whereas the pupils speak colloquially, also in both novels the teachers try to do their best to help their pupils even though they do it in many different ways.

Anthropology 101 Research Paper

Komron Sabbagh Prof. Rowe Anthropology 101 March 25, 2013 Elderly Human â€Å"Y† Chromosome The unearthing and examination of a tremendously infrequent African American â€Å"Y† chromosome goes back in time with regards to the most recent common ancestor for the â€Å"Y† chromosome ancestry to 338,000 years ago. This period exists even older than the age of the most eldest known structurally contemporary human fossils.University of Arizona geneticists have revealed the most ancient known hereditary subdivision of the human â€Å"Y† chromosome — the genetic factor which determines the male sex. The new differing pedigree, which was discovered in a male human being who presented his DNA to â€Å"Family Tree DNA†, a company which concentrates on DNA investigation to locate family roots, separated from the â€Å"Y† chromosome tree before the very first presence of physically current individuals in the record of fossils. These effects are p rinted in the American Journal of Human Genetics.Michael Hammer of the University of Arizona’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology stated that, â€Å"Our analysis indicates this lineage diverged from previously known Y chromosomes about 338,000 ago, a time when anatomically modern humans had not yet evolved. This pushes back the time the last common Y chromosome ancestor lived by almost 70 percent. † Dissimilar to the added human chromosomes, the common â€Å"Y† chromosome doesn’t barter heritable information with other chromosomes; this makes it a lot more straightforward and scientists can truly discover familial associations amid modern ancestries.If two â€Å"Y† chromosomes transmit an identical mutation, it is most likely since they divide a communal forefather at some particular period in the precedent. The further mutations which differ amongst two Y chromosomes, the farther back in history the mutual antecedent existed. Initially , a DNA sample acquired from an African American existing in South Carolina was succumbed to the National Geographic Genographic Project. When none of the hereditary indicators used to dispense ancestries to identified â€Å"Y† chromosome consortiums were found, the DNA sample was guided to â€Å"Family Tree DNA† for organizing.Fernando Mendez, who is a postdoctoral scholar in Hammer's laboratory, controlled the attempt to investigate the DNA sequence, which comprised of over 240,000 base pairs of the Y chromosome. Hammer claimed that â€Å"the most striking feature of this research is that a consumer genetic testing company identified a lineage that didn't fit anywhere on the existing Y chromosome tree, even though the tree had been constructed based on perhaps a half-million individuals or more. Nobody expected to find anything like this. At around 300,000 years ago; this was the period of time in which the Neanderthals are thought to have fragmented from the famili al human descent. It was not until more than 100,000 years in the future that functionally recent humans seem to be in the fossil record. They vary from the more antiquated forms by a more frivolously constructed skeleton; this includes a lesser face pushed underneath a tall forehead, the lack of a cranial ridge and slighter chins. Hammer stated that the recently exposed â€Å"Y† chromosome dissimilarity is tremendously occasional.Through the use of great databank explorations, his group ultimately was capable of discovering a comparable chromosome in the Mbo, which is a populace living in a petite region of western Cameroon in the sub-Saharan part of Africa. â€Å"This was surprising because previously the most diverged branches of the Y chromosome were found in traditional hunter-gatherer populations such as Pygmies and the click-speaking KhoeSan, who are considered to be the most diverged human populations living today.Instead, the sample matched the Y chromosome DNA of 1 1 men, who all came from a very small region of western Cameroon,† Hammer explains. â€Å"And the sequences of those individuals are variable, so it's not like they all descended from the same grandfather. † Hammer restraints against prevalent notions of â€Å"mitochondrial Eve† or â€Å"Y chromosome Adam† which propose that all of humanity was derived from precisely one couple of individuals that lived at a particular point in human biological evolution. There has been too much emphasis on this in the past,† Hammer says. â€Å"It is a misconception that the genealogy of a single genetic region reflects population divergence. Instead, our results suggest that there are pockets of genetically isolated communities that together preserve a great deal of human diversity. † Nevertheless, Hammer explains that, â€Å"It is likely that other divergent lineages will be found, whether in Africa or among African-Americans in the U. S. and that some of t hese may further increase the age of the Y chromosome ree. † He further clarifies: â€Å"There has been a lot of hype with people trying to trace their Y chromosome to different tribes, but this individual from South Carolina can say he did it. † The investigation originated by the mutual labors of a private business, the â€Å"Family Tree DNA,† the struggles of a resident scientist, Bonnie Schrack, and the research proficiencies at the UA. â€Å"Human Y Chromosome Much Older Than Previously Thought. † ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 04 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

Knowledge, Truth, Belief Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Knowledge, Truth, Belief - Assignment Example A properly basic belief should be justifiable. For example, I believe man cannot live without eating food. It is justifiable that man has always had desire for food and without food will get malnourished and eventually dies. Empirical knowledge recognises establishment of facts rather than speculations and goes beyond belief. On the contrary, Sellers assertion is not right since the myth of the given is more idealistic than mechanistic. 4. a) If your answer is yes, then exactly how do we explain the â€Å"mystery" of human perception? How do human infants, for example, manage to make the transition from experiencing the world as "a pure stream of consciousness" to being discriminating perceivers of the world around them? b) If your answer is no, then describe, in your own words, where you think Sellers approach takes a wrong turn when it comes to describing what we can, or (more accurately) cannot be said to know, on the basis of sense perception? No. Sellers approach does not meet empherical thresh hold. Perception may not be accurate sometimes and may lead to misjudgement. Perception too can be biased depending on ones interest, health and age. For example knowledge of time may be of no value to an infant which is the reverse of mid adulthood. Seller’s statement does not consider special cases, for example the mongolism that do not transition in their

Marketing Plan on Counterfeit Protection Company Essay

Marketing Plan on Counterfeit Protection Company - Essay Example s of Difference 9 1.11 Positioning 10 Marketing Program Strategy and Tactics 11 1.12Product Line 11 1.13Promotion 12 1.14Price 12 1.15Place 12 2.Implementation Plan 13 1. Introduction (The Challenge) 1.1. Organization and Services Counterfeit Shield’s main focus will be on prevention and locating sources of counterfeit items. This business to business services main goal is to seek out counterfeit items for a company that desires to do so. This in turn will increase their profit potential. Agents that work for the company will operate for fee, throughout the country and local area. As reported by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development it was said that over 400 Billion US was lost worldwide due to pirated goods and counterfeit items. This represents a huge market for some form of protection of designer goods for companies. A basic example for how the company will operate will be a company seeking to stop the counterfeiting of there products. They will come to us and report the problem. After the problem is logged and payment is received for the service or a planned commission is setup, an investigator will search out all the areas and online sources in which that product existences in a potential for counterfeiting. A comprehensive analysis will be done. After that, sources of onsite locations will be verified with logging all important information. A report will be drawn up from all this and will be either handed over to in house attorney for prosecution or given to the company for their handling of the matter. Situational Analysis This section of the marketing plan tries to examine the context and the developments in any company. The three major elements such as customers, companies and competitors will be analyzed in this section. Company... From this research it is clear that Counterfeit Shield’s main focus will be on prevention and locating sources of counterfeit items. This business to business services main goal is to seek out counterfeit items for a company that desires to do so. This in turn will increase their profit potential. Agents that work for the company will operate for fee, throughout the country and local area. As reported by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development it was said that over 400 Billion US was lost worldwide due to pirated goods and counterfeit items. This represents a huge market for some form of protection of designer goods for companies. A basic example for how the company will operate will be a company seeking to stop the counterfeiting of there products. They will come to us and report the problem. After the problem is logged and payment is received for the service or a planned commission is setup, an investigator will search out all the areas and online sources in which that product existences in a potential for counterfeiting. A comprehensive analysis will be done. After that, sources of onsite locations will be verified with logging all important information. A report will be drawn up from all this and will be either handed over to in house attorney for prosecution or given to the company for their handling of the matter. The main goal of Counterfeit Shield is to search for and attract those companies that want to protect their products from counterfeiting. The company’s sole objective will be to combat counterfeiting of the products for the companies approaching Counterfeit Shield.

Quantitative Reasoning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Quantitative Reasoning - Essay Example The following paragraphs will separate the results obtained after employing descriptive statistic tools to the pair of observations. These tools figure out the mean and the median percentage of smokers in the population, distinguished on the basis of gender. Mode has been ignored in this respect since it is irrelevant to figure out the maximum percentage to assess the average characteristics. The mean as well as the median percentage of smokers is lower for females than for males. An obvious implication from the same is that males are more inclined towards smoking than their female counterparts. Here mean is the weighted average implying approximately 19% and 27% of the female and male populations in any nation to be regular smokers, respectively. On the other hand, the median value indicates that among all nations taken collectively, in half of the cases, more than 18.9% of the females are found to smoke, in contrast to 24% among the males (Gravetter & Wallnau, 2008). Measures of dispersion indicate the degree to which the observations are scattered around the mean value. The higher the value of the measure, greater will be the dispersion about the mean and thus, the applicability of the mean value as a core feature of the population will be disturbed. Significance of standard deviation is almost equivalent to that of variance given that the former is the positive square root of the latter. The percentage of female smokers distributed among various groups in the entire population differs from the mean value so calculated, though it is lower than the degree of dispersion of the male smokers. The variance and standard deviation statistics yield that percentage of male smokers in some nations is much higher as well as lower than the mean percentage of male smokers so calculated. However, similar statistics for females rule out such extremeness. The adjoining diagram compares the percentage of male and female smokers in the entire

Arizona v. Gant (2009) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Arizona v. Gant (2009) - Essay Example The court ruled in favor of the defending and held that in the case of Arizona V. Gant the search conducted by police officials was wrong and it let to Gant’s deprivation of 4th Amendment Rights (Caselaw.lp.findlaw.com, 2015). The rationale behind the court’s ruling was that once the police have secured the suspects at the scene, the police officers cannot indulge in a search without a warrant. Furthermore the rationale was that the crime for which Gant was arrested was less severe in nature and did not require a search at all. The dissenting opinions were provided by Alito, Roberts, Kennedy and Breyer who argued that in this case the court was overruling its own solution that they opted for in the case of New York V. Belton. They argued that in that case the court allowed all officers to conduct a search in a suspect’s vehicle that has been stopped for violating traffic rules and same was the issue in Arizona V.

Market Entry and Exit Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market Entry and Exit - Coursework Example Body The factors that influence market entry timing include demand of the product and the technological advancements that are related to the product. Whenever a new product is being launched, questions regarding the success of the product suffice. These questions include: what is the main purpose of the product or what need will the product satisfy, what are the features of the product that differentiates it from other products that are already available in the market (Schmoch, 2006). These questions revolve around the economics topic of Demand and Supply. The analysis of launching the product that takes place before the product is actually launched, involves discussion about: the substitute and the complementary goods available in the market of the product, and what segment of the market will be attracted by the product and whose demand will the product satisfy. When a product or service is launched into a market, consumers do not start purchasing the product right away and the prod uct does not capturers the entire target market in a very short period of time. Consumers need time to learn about the product and gain confidence in the product. Each product has a learning curve; this learning curve shows how well consumers have understood the product and how many consumers have understood the options and needs that the product satisfies. ... found it difficult to carry these bottles everywhere in their hands, thus a need for a smaller size bottle existed, Coke realized this need and introduced 300ml bottles which satisfied the existing needs of the consumers. As soon as the product is available in the market and consumers have learned about the product and have started using the product, the producers understand what the concerns that consumers have regarding the product are and they change the product accordingly to make it more acceptable among the target market. Another key element that is attached with the timing of entry in the market is the competitors. Competitors start entering with the same kind of new product as soon as they understand the nature and design of the product, they make certain changes to the product to differentiate their products from the existing product and then they launch their own product in the market (Miles, 2011). How fast competitors will enter the market depends on the product itself. I f the technology used to create the product is easily available, is inexpensive and the cost of switching to this new technology is low, then competitors will easily enter the market with their competitive edition of the product. On the other hand, if the product requires very expensive technology, high amount of investment and the switching cost to a new technology is high, the competitors will experience difficulty in creating a new product and their entry will be delayed. As long as competitors do not enter the market, the producer of a new product can maximize profits and have enough time to implement hurdles to stop the competitors from entering the market. Once the competitors enter the market, the consumer choices increase. Thus the profitability of the producer that has first come

Statistics Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Statistics Coursework - Essay Example t in this study, there is a bias when it comes to the representation of gender in such a way that only 5 females were selected and participants were only restricted to university students ages between 18 and 25 years old. Devane et al (2004) noted in their study that health care researchers should consider carefully the inherent aspect to estimate the sample size of the study. This consideration is important to avoid possible errors in the study. Inappropriate techniques employed by researchers provide the risk of misinterpreting the findings due biased samples. The previous research study was restricted by time, sample size and volunteers, it is therefore necessary to use a large sample size population composed of 200 male and female populations (100 male and 100 female). The test population should be randomly selected. To equally distribute the test population and to avoid any biases, the population should include 50 female ranging from 18 to 49 years of age and 50 female population ages 50 years old and above as well as 50 male population ranging from 18 t0 49 years of age and 50 male population ages 50 years old and above. The conclusion of the research study will be greatly affected if there is a big difference in proportion than the one that is used in the power calculation. As the power increases, the chances to have an error will decrease. Hence, studies with bigger difference are statistically significant. In contrast, studies having smaller difference may not be statistically significant. In a typical manner, research design evaluations must have an 80% - 90% power, and this would mean that the data gathered and the statistical method that would be used allows one to conclude that the intervention employed by the researcher is effective. Moreover, it was noted that the larger the sample size, the larger is the power and the variation in the outcome measure will be less (Larsson 2001). The test population who will volunteer for the study are the locals

Analysis of Private Prisons Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Private Prisons - Research Paper Example These and many other factors cause an increase in the number of illegalities, increased crime rates and thereby overcrowding of prisons. With the increase in the number of offenders, there is a need to substitute government (public) prisons, hence, the need for private prisons (Shefer & Liebling, 2008). The second factor that led to the increase in privatization of prisons is capitalism. Previously, prisons were a form of social cleansing as it was a way of getting rid of extreme deviants regarded as a threat to social tranquility. However, capitalism saw the change of this view; people regard prisons as a business entity and, therefore, a means to make a living (Shefer & Liebling, 2008). Evidence shows that the government, through respective states, aggressively bids for the incarceration of offenders in private prisons. The reasons remain similar to the onset of privatization of prisons. The government wants to reduce overcrowding in prisons and cut the costs of running the penal j ustice system. The government also argues that hiring private contractors is cheaper than training state employees so as to make them proficient (Shefer & Liebling, 2008). ...The companies that run private prisons amass wealth and build political ties. With these powers, the companies influence politicians and other political entities to pass policies that support higher rates of incarceration. Secondly, these prisons somewhat handpick their inmates (Shefer & Liebling, 2008). This allows them to engage low-cost offenders while the backlog of high maintenance offenders goes back to the public sector. High maintenance can include patients suffering from costly diseases such as diabetes or those incapable of labor due to a disability (Reisig & Pratt, 2004). The privatization of prisons has a negative effect not only on the inmates but also society. Nurge (2004) reports that at the onset of privatization of prisons, there was a cordial relationship between the prison guards and the pris oners. The management of the prisons was also better or matched the standards of public prisons. However, in recent times, new statistics show that private prisons are facing the same negative issues as public ones. This is in regard to prisoners’ relationship with the guards and the adequacy of prison facilities (Shefer & Liebling, 2008). There are several possible explanations for this situation. Some researchers claim that previously, the prison guards in private prisons were free of the penal system corruption. With time, however, they got assimilated and developed the survival for the fittest technique common in public prisons. The guards now mistreat the inmates and engage in other forms of corruption detrimental to the safety of the inmates.

Social Psychology Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Social Psychology Paper - Essay Example One of its broadest stem is social psychology (Smith & Mackie, 2000). Since an individual has a great impact on oneself of the environment and surroundings, he is living in; therefore, the society or the environment plays a vital role on the performance and actions of the person. This study of how the human behavior comes under effect by the social power is social psychology. Scientific, systematic and methodical techniques are the ways that social psychology exercise in order to comprehend how real, anticipated and foreshadowed/hidden presence of other people plays an influential and convincing role on the moods, reactions, thoughts, psyche, behavior, and actions of an individual. The social psychologist observes and analyzes a number of aspects when studying the human behavior. They generally observe one’s behavior in crowd, his social viewpoint, the way a person responds without using speech, hyperactive behavior, traditional values, intolerance, and management skills. The thinking or the idea of a person and the way a person interrelates in a social gathering are the prime and vital components that come under use for understanding the social behavior. Psychologist conducts the studies of social psychology in order to know the pattern of boilerplate, how individuals react to situations, the likings, and disliking of people in various scenarios, and attraction of opposite sex towards each other (Smith & Mackie, 2000). The history of psychology tells that it was not until the nineteenth century that social psychology achieved recognition and popularity amongst the masses. After the Second World War, social psychology came under studies in detail. Twentieth century also experienced a boom in research related to social psychology. It was because of the studies that people gained the awareness of the activities and mindset of social beings. According to studies, it has come under observation that people often mix up social psychology with folk wisdom, pers onality psychology, and sociology (Smith & Mackie, 2000). The frames of reference that summarize the four distinctive attributes of social psychology as outline in Social Beings are the socio cultural, the evolutionary, the social learning, and the social cognitive (DeLamater & Myers, 2007). The education, apprentice, knowledge and experiences that people acquire from the philosophies and concept of culture, traditions, customs and norms comes under the limelight of socio cultural aspect of social psychology. The culture plays a vital and crucial role in an individual’s life as the norms and traditions of a culture is a huge influencer in the life of people as it helps in developing the persons’ self-image or the identity. The evolutionary characteristic defines that the genes, heredity, heritage, and legacy are the factors that helps in shaping the personality of an individual. Biological impact is another aspect that comes into focus when defining the evolutionary ch aracteristic, that it plays a vital and critical role in forming the person’s behavior (DeLamater & Myers, 2007). The social learning attribute of social psychology has a different school of thought. According to this attribute, development of a person’s behavior depends upon not only the inheritance, but also the perception, recognition, imitation and parody, which develops an understanding into a distinct, exclusive, and unique experiences

Community Nursing Hat 1 Essay Example for Free

Community Nursing Hat 1 Essay I chose as my community El Dorado County in the foothills of Northern California. I live in this community. We are a very healthy and active community with a large retirement group. I will go through the four assessments next. The Population Economic Status Assessment shows our population to be around 181,000. We are made up of 80% white Christian, with the next largest ethnic group being about 15% Mexican. The average household income is around $70,000 with 7.9% of people being at or below the poverty level. The Mexican population makes up the biggest percentage of the poor. El Dorado County’s median household income has been higher than the state average since 2000, indicating that its residents have more spending power than the average Californian (El Dorado Co). The unemployment rate is 11.8%. El Dorado County’s unemployment rate has been consistently lower than the California average since 1990. At any given time, there are 600+ homeless people in this community. Around 9000 people receive food stamps another 3000 receive cash aid. On an average, we have much fewer people on public assistance than the national average. According to the information I gathered in the Cultural Assessment Tool, the population in this community has slightly more females than males which is very typical in these rural areas. There are 80% white people living here with about a 15% Mexican population (El Dorado Co). 27% of the populous are affiliated with a church, mostly Catholic Christian, compared to the 50% in the USA (Religions). About 85% of the people are covered by health insurance, which is very high compared to the rest of California. Cancer is the leading cause of death, with heart disease being second. The birth rate is 10.1 per 1000. County birth rates are consistently below average compared to the state, which is attributed to the higher senior population of the county (El Dorado Co). There is a high prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse in this community, related to poor or ineffective coping skills in the populous. There is a  real powerful stigma against the homeless community here, which really could benefit from some community teaching and outreach. The Neighborhood Community Safety Assessment shows that the air and water quality is very good in this community. Carbon monoxide levels are below the US average. They do usually have a few bad air days a year due to fires. There is some residual mercury left over from the mining days, but in low levels (El Dorado Co). During the winter snow, flooding and the cold pose health hazards. During the summer, fires are a hazard to public safety. However, there is excellent fire and police response here in this community. Many rivers and lakes in this community pose a risk for drowning; however, there are very few documented drowning’s here per year. There is quite a bit of poison oak ivy here, and grass and hay fever irritants. Last, I will discuss the Disaster Assessment Planning in this community. Through my research, I found that this community does follow federal guidelines for disaster management (OES). There is a County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan that was adopted in 2007 (City of Placerville). This plan has four parts that cover administrative, an emergency operations center plan, a recovery plan, plans specific to a type of emergency (terrorism, multi-casualty incidents, hazard mitigation plan, etc.). This plan meets needs for rescue, medical care, food, shelter, clothing, temporary housing, and employment should an emergency arise. This community also uses the CDC’s Public Health Emergency Response Guide for emergency preparedness response. I found all this information on line, but it took considerable research and was not easy. In my research, I found that most residents in this community are not aware of any disaster preparedness plan, nor do they know where to find one. There needs to some community wide teaching on disaster preparedness, and where to find information regarding this. The following is my community genogram and diagnosis. Community Diagnosis Within the parameters assessed above, El Dorado County California is a healthy community. The areas that need improvements are discovering a way to help people respond in healthy ways to painful life events other than drugs alcohol, to create implement a plan to help the homeless community, to educate the public regarding the causes and preventative  measures for Cancer Coronary Artery Disease, and to educate the public regarding emergency disaster preparedness through community outreach programs. Community Diagnosis Within the parameters assessed above, El Dorado County California is a healthy community. The areas that need improvements are discovering a way to help people respond in healthy ways to painful life events other than drugs alcohol, to create implement a plan to help the homeless community, to educate the public regarding the causes and preventative measures for Cancer Coronary Artery Disease, and to educate the public regarding emergency disaster preparedness through community outreach programs. El Dorado County, California hhhh El Dorado County, California hhhh Population Economic Status Located in Northern California Population 181,058 Mostly white Next largest ethnic group Mexican Median household income 70,000 7.9% households at or below poverty level 11.8% unemployment rate 600+ homeless 9,000 receive food stamps 3,000 families receive cash aid Population Economic Status Located in Northern California Population 181,058 Mostly white Next largest ethnic group Mexican Median household income 70,000 7.9% households at or below poverty level 11.8% unemployment rate 600+ homeless 9,000 receive food stamps 3,000 families receive cash aid Cultural Assessment Slightly more females than males Mostly white Christians Subcultures small Mexican Asian Many know how to achieve good health-60% put forth effort 85% have health coverage Most know how where to obtain medical care High prevalence of alcohol drug abuse due to a variety of stressors Stigmas of homelessness Vast variety of outdoor recreational activities Cultural Assessment Slightly more females than males Mostly white Christians Subcultures small Mexican Asian Many know how to achieve good health-60% put forth effort 85% have health coverage Most know how where to obtain medical care High prevalence of alcohol drug abuse due to a variety of stressors Stigmas of homelessness Vast variety of outdoor recreational activities Neighborhood/ Community Safety Health dept very involved in providing health services, education information Very good air quality Very good water quality Potential for wildlife disease Vast amounts of rivers lakes potential for drowning Severe weather events potential Potential for fires due to vast forestry Excellent fire police response Domestic violence calls 10.5 per 1000 Neighborhood/ Community Safety Health dept very involved in providing health services, education information Very good air quality Very good water quality Potential for wildlife disease Vast amounts of rivers lakes potential for drowning Severe weather events potential Potential for fires due to vast forestry Excellent fire police response Domestic violence calls 10.5 per 1000 Disaster Assessment/Planning El Dorado County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan California Emergency Management Agency Federal Emergency Management Agency preparedness plan Following federal guidelines Rescue, medical care, food, shelter, clothing Temporary housing, food stamps, employment Public Health Emergency Response Guide by CDC for emergency preparedness and response Most residents unaware of any plan Disaster plan not readily available or easily found Disaster Assessment/Planning El Dorado County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan California Emergency Management Agency Federal Emergency Management Agency preparedness plan Following federal guidelines Rescue, medical care, food, shelter, clothing Temporary housing, food stamps, employment Public Health Emergency Response Guide by CDC for emergency preparedness and response Most residents unaware of any plan Disaster plan not readily available or easily found The community genogram shows a relatively healthy mostly white community. As a whole, the people here make a good living, with unemployment below the national average. A small percentage receives food stamps and public cash benefits, also below the national average. Most people have health coverage, and about 60% of the population is proactive with their health. The leading causes of death are cancer and then cardiac disease occurring in the high 80’s of age, due to the large retirement population. The public health department is very involved in providing health services here (CDHP). The air and water quality is good here, with pollution below the national average. There is some potential for bad weather and fires, however, our fire and police response are excellent here. There is a good disaster preparedness plan, however, it is difficult to find, and few know about it. There is a high incidence of alcohol and drug use here, with poor and inadequate coping skills to handle d ifficult life events. The homeless population is really looked down upon here. Within the parameters assessed above, El Dorado County is a healthy community. The areas that need improvement are discovering a way to help people respond in healthy ways to painful life events other than drugs alcohol, to create implement a plan to help the homeless community, to educate the public regarding the causes and preventative measures for Cancer Coronary Artery Disease, and to educate the public regarding emergency disaster preparedness through community outreach programs. Bibliography CDHP. Retrieved from http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/HealthyCommunityIndicators.aspx City of Placerville. Retrieved from http://www.cityofplacerville.org/ El Dorado County Economic and Demographic Profile. Retrieved from http://www.eldoradocounty.org/ Office of Emergency Services (OES). Retrieved from http://www.edcgov.us/Government/Sheriff/Divisions/Support/Office_of_Emergency_Services_

Hispanic Discrimination In The US

Hispanic Discrimination In The US Introduction Hispanics are considered a single minority group arising in the United States which certainly as the name suggests being a product of the Spanish. It is evident that Spanish environment is dominated in such territories hence the high level of discrimination against them the American people are afraid of such small tribes to being very strong communities not only in politics but also power and economic development which directly poses a threat towards their growth as a nation. There are those intense factors that have facilitated discrimination of this community in the US, for instance Media presentations, Linguistic point of view and residence legality. As a result of this, the type of discrimination being embraced by this small community includes lack of proper health care, victims of hatred and oppression, lack of proper rental-housing and lack of health insurance. Catalyzing factors in racial discrimination Media and Hispanic oppression In every issue arising facing the human kind, the media is always there as a facility of creating awareness to the general public. Media can therefore be a very sensitive channel of communication and public awareness. With media broadcasting all the live events occurring in the general public, politicians and prominent people, there are very high chances of transmitting cases of hater speeches from different speakers which can bring forth tension among different people as a reaction, either positively or negatively(Cummins and Gordon, 2006). News broadcasting is considered to be a rapid-fire technique of delivering the real world in terms of cultural, economical and political issues. Some media stations tend to employ animation technology to portray sarcasm regarding a certain community hence creating the same expression in many of the viewers who later practice such actions but now in the real world and ends up hurting one another socially. With the media being interested mostly in transmitting the bad news for instance cases of illegal immigration being emphasized more upon as compared to the legal migration of the small communities particularly the Hispanic community as asserted by Lee (1998). This therefore reveals the role of media and the kind of information the media people transmitting the general public, which counts for negativity in most of the cases. News paper articles with very eye catching headlines such as illegal migrants, foreign drug dealers and such information is usually taken seriously and the initial blame befalls the small communities, with Hispanic being among the suspected group due to lack of proper understanding and like of love for one another. According to Lester(1996), the media is always very effective in framing issues since the initial intent is to give the public what they would like to hear, all about hate for the one not related with, for example the small community being blamed for each and every form of negative issues ari sing. Residency Illegality assumption In the United States, approximately more than 42 million legally migrated residents are believed to have Latin origin as noted in a statistical abstract (2007). About 16 million of these residents, an approximate of 39 percent, are born as foreigners. According to US immigration statistics, certain fraction, about 11 million people, of this population are estimated to have illegally migrated with 8.7 million migrants being believed to be of Hispanic origin as supported by Therrien and Ramirez (2001). This therefore asserts that more than 85 percent of Hispanic migrants have legally obtained their US residency with majority of them having been born in the United States. This therefore justifies the Hispanic community living in the United States from being discriminated against and they should hold their grounds while fighting for their residency rights, since by balancing the legal versus illegal migrants it clearly points the great difference favoring the legal migrants and the mere fraction that represents the illegal migrants should not earn such level of discrimination against the whole community. According to Jorgensen (1996), the US politicians are the leading people passing such complaints against what they term to be illegal aliens. Reports have proven that Hispanic employees have really experienced very unfair job mistreatment from their employers both in public and private sectors. Despite their hard work in jobs, no credit or appreciation is accorded to them for instance wages raise, no chances for ideas sharing since their ideas are considered unworthy towards bringing forth development. (Jennifer, 2007) Language barrier In the United States, there is a very strong bond connecting language and racism. The main group tends to discriminate the minority groups which certainly reflect on the hatred towards the Hispanics by the United States majority group (or rather the whites) residents. For instance the use of mal mot wetback is a clear example of sarcasm characterization used to classify the Hispanics who cross the Rio Grande boundary to the United States illegally. Now, the problem comes in where all the Hispanics suffer this oppression having legally or illegally migrated to the United States, hence being considered a high level of misunderstanding where even the innocent have to suffer on the account of the illegal migrants. The minority groups that cannot speak the dominant language are restricted from participating in the dominant culture and this has brought forth a two-side culture of living with those speaking native language (English) oppressing the alien language speakers for instance the Hi spanic community. The English language community has realized the linguistic threat posed by the Spanish language speakers in the United States since they seem to multiply as time passes on. As a reaction to this linguistic threat, native language heritage has started a campaign towards supporting English as the immediate language that should be embraced by each and every resident in the united states, being an American, Asian, Spanish or black American. With respect to this, a form of US bilingual education has been highly documented and debated about as asserted by Rothstein (1998). To many people, this form of education was more of a confusion situation than a solution, since each and every ethnic group concentrated in learning in their own language, but the English language conquering the rest, hence the alien natives being forced to embrace the English learning since they could not meet the standards to bring forth the level of education needed to code with the American way of learning. Effect of this discrimination Victims of hatred In the united states, majority of federal hate crimes target crime victims with respect to ethnicity or basic race initiated programs, according to the UCR (Uniform Crime Reporting)program, there is a huge number of hate speech white victims as compared to the other groups. According to research carried by New Century Foundation organization, it is worthy to claim that hate crimes towards the minority groups are committed mostly by the black Americans as compared to the white Americans. Among the minority groups, the Hispanics are more prone to being victims of hate speech. Referring to practical examples, quoting a previous case of racial hatred that took place back in the year 1992 whereby an Asian American and being of Chinese descent was beaten to death by an angry mob believed to be white assailants as a result of unemployment level hence blaming Japanese and Chinese US invasion. Women discrimination Hispanic Women in the United States are more exposed to discriminations compared to their male counterparts particularly when it comes to the job and labor sector. Female Hispanics wages do lag behind as compared to their fellow men colleagues it is evident that in the united states of America, the wages to Hispanic women are much less as compared to the white men, women and Hispanic men of the same level. According to a research carried out on the month of March back in the year 1998, it was known that males embracing Hispanic ethnicity earned an average of $ 11.75 in an hour whereas women earned an average of $ 9.40 for the same work type. White Non- Hispanic males and females earned on average $ 15.75 and $ 11.29 respectively. This difference in wages was claimed to have been as a result of education level, work experience, occupation type, language and lastly discrimination against women. According to Oaxaca (1973), Hispanic women wages discrimination is as a result of difference s from each individuals characteristics subtracted from the total wage required to be paid hence coming up with a new calculation factor which is more of corruption and somehow reflects to discrimination also. Health care inequality The government had failed to provide better health facilities plus other requirements towards ones good health for instance poor services, in adequate insurance, complete lack of health insurance and reluctance towards health seek and care (Woolf, 2004). Systematic bias is also reflected much in the way inequality is handled in health care while delivering health services to the Americans where personally I feel that these people are yet to be treated like rest of the Americans else such discrimination will bring a bad reputation towards the Americans in the near future. Though there are developments of anti-racism organizations for instance the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, American-Arab anti-Discrimination committee, the National Italian American Foundation and the National congress of American Indians among others. Sabotaged health conditions and deaths rate In the US, there is a wide range of racial differences in delivering health services appropriately. The migrants are treated in a negative way as compared to the US white residents. With reference to an article published by the public health sector in the US, it is worthy to assert that more than 880,000 deaths could have been avoided back in the year 1991 to 2000, if proper health care had been given to the foreign residents, inclusive of Hispanics. These deaths occurred as a result of much sabotaged health facilities given to the non-natives, if these people had received the same level of health services as the white Americans, such loss could not have occurred. It is worthy to claim that currently in the United States of America, racial bias has also infected the health sector with the minority communities facing very harsh condition due to low level of response from the health officers, particularly the public health sector. Referring to a previous study carried by Hope and Eliza beth (1996) it is evident that lifetime effects of fascinating conditions like being psych comes as a result of lack of attendance from the medic al officers to the patients who end up suffering some brain and mental conditions that could have been prevented in one way or the other given the issue of community discrimination support was avoided at all cost. It is believed that the minority communities cannot receive some donations for instance blood, and other body organs transplant from the American people which shows the level of discrimination being faced by these people and the importance of immediate reforms being embraced pertaining the same. Majority of Americans from these minority communities face inadequate insurance, poor medical services, and very low level of medical centers. Patients are forced to queue in some specific medical institutions that they can afford to pay rather than trying to scramble in a health facility where they are not welcome. Housing discrimination Despite of earning low income, the living standards of the Hispanics cannot be justified by such income. The poor housing conditions have left this community to face housing discrimination where high charges are given but with very minimal maintenances being employed whereby tenants suffer roofs leakages and rats become part and parcel of the house living. Some landlords go to the level of refusing to refund security deposit in the case where a Hispanic tenant wants to move in into another house. Such landlords also violate the US landlord-tenant laws that protects both the tenant and the landlord, for instance the 1998 Congress- passed Fair Housing Act which was meant to eradicate housing discrimination, but the landlords seem to be very mean with the lust for money but less worried with the housing conditions and its influence on the tenants. Most of the landlords practiced the following unlawful housing discrimination: Employing other forms of lease or contract provisions when dealing with Hispanics as compared to non-Hispanics. Having minimum maintenance and repair practices to the houses rented by the Hispanics which was not the case for the natives. Having minimal laundry and exercise facilities to the Hispanics which was not the case for the rest of tenants. Forcing Hispanics to provide very high security deposits as compared to non-Hispanics. Having the Hispanics evicted from the houses due to late payment of rent. Religion discrimination Today in the United States, when interviewed on how they feel about the status of their religious belief, 19 percent of Americans claim to consider being minority whereas 78 percent do not consider themselves being minority. This explains that 19 percent of the Americans are being discriminated against with respect to their religious beliefs. This has enhanced the prejudice by the Native Americans against other races as supported by Lincoln (2006). With US having the white evangelicals representing the highest percentage in terms of religion, about 24% of them refer themselves as constituent of the minority religious group whereas an equivalent of 11% of protestants and 13 % of Catholics claiming the same. Conclusion From this research, it is evident that Hispanics are being ill treated by the white in United States of America, courtesy of various published reports and scenes as discussed in the body of this research paper. The level of discrimination against Hispanic community living in the US is very serious with immediate measures worthy to be employed to counter it. From job discrimination, housing, freedom of expression, educational rights, and other rights have been denied to the Spanish residents living in the United States. Studies have found that nearly three in every ten Hispanic workers feel they have been discriminated against in their employment. Some reports being referred to with racial slurs at work while one in four feel they are paid less and have reduced career advancement prospects than their Caucasian counterparts( Sebastian, 1995). It is therefore the high time that Civil right Act, under the federal law that covers discrimination towards a particular race, color or sex comes into real action and performance. It is worthy to claim that the Hispanics have been deprived from their human rights to enjoying their freedom of expression, speech and movement. The non-governmental organizations enhancing campaigns against racial discrimination should also continue without fear or threat from authority or other people whatsoever. The Hispanic community should recognize their rights and carry a strict campaign against being discriminated. The local government should protect these minority communities from racial discrimination as a posed method towards enhancing well-being of each and every citizen.

Eating Christmas in the Kalahari | Essay

Eating Christmas in the Kalahari | Essay Eating Christmas in the Kalahari Abstract Richard Borshay Lee was a social anthropologist that had lived with and studied the southern Tswana tribe. In â€Å"Eating Christmas in the Kalahari† Richard Borshay Lee introduces us to some very useful techniques in social science. What he decided to do was take part in an ox Christmas festivity. Mr. Lee felt he had to give a gift because the tribal community thought he was a miser, this was due to the fact the Mr. Lee had been there for quite some time and never shared his food. Being Christmas and both sides believing in this spiritual holiday, he felt obligated to share. Ultimately, his beliefs does not coincide with the !Kung people and we witness the power of socializing agents. Even though Mr. Lee had lived with and was engaged in every part of the !Kung people’s lives, he was still an outsider and alien to the society. It seems after Mr. Lee decided to attend the ox Christmas festival, he felt it would be a nice gesture to buy an ox to eat at the celebration. Among the !Kungs, the slaughtering of an ox is a custom. After choosing the ox to bring to the festival, the Bushmen started complaining and calling the ox old and skinny. To Mr. Lee, the ox looked big, fat and perfect for the Christmas celebration and the reaction of the !Kung Bushmen people leave him very insulted. His feelings and how he perceived the Bushmen’s reaction was likely founded on his own culture, where people are supposed to appreciate other people’s generosity no matter the outcome. But to the Bushmen, giving an ox was no more than what they usually do every day, and was nothing special. After consulting with cultural experts, Mr. Lee discovers the native’s viewpoint. In the !kung’s culture, things such as gifts and generosity are appreciated. However, it is not easily shown and always behind closed doors. Their cultural belief is that it will cause more harm to praise any individual even for a job well done. They believe by boosting someone’s ego it will eventually swell his pride to the point where he may kill someone. The !Kung’s survival is based on their awareness of the environment around them and how people act and think in the society. This I think would be a good thing as long as people were not taken for granted. Why did the !kung people’s insult bother Mr. Lee so extensively? I feel the anthropologist thought he had gone through so much to choose, and buy the ox for the !Kungs just to be ridiculed for his efforts. Lee finally received the message of what the !Kungs were trying to put out, and this was the concept that there is some motive behind every gift and somehow, someway the gift will be repaid. However, I must disagree with this concept and disagree with the !Kungs. This is supported by the fact, every day I see many charitable acts, and the people that are giving, have no intention of receiving praise or anything in return. There are many cultural rules about gift giving in our society. Gifts in our society are given in celebrations and special occasions. Usually in our society, the amount spent on the gift is based on the rareness or the size of the event taking place. Mr. Lee’s views brought on by his own cultural beliefs, left him feeling inadequate and insulted. But to the !Kungs, it was an everyday occurrence and reaction. To understand the !kungs is to understand and accept people of different cultures. This is dually noted in the above paragraphs. The !Kungs who live in the Kalahari were raised quite differently than someone who grew up in the society we live in today. In accepting gifts in our country, we always say thank you and how much we appreciate it. This praise gives us a feeling of arrogance knowing that the receiver really likes our gift. In different cultures there are different guidelines. The people of the !kung tribe think badly of individuals that show arrogance. To eliminate these characteristics in the children, they were raised to mock and make fun of others while doing things such as hunting and viable activities. And by telling Mr. Lee that his ox was skinny and old, they were ultimately doing him a tremendous favor according to their cultural beliefs. As in contrast to our beliefs that characteristics such as bulling and mocking is very wrong. However sometimes in our society we see arrogance as a negative quality but it is not always discouraged in the same manner. Agents of Socialization was a strong influence in the article that Mr. Lee wrote. The feeling of being insulted only came from his own inadequacies and the way he was taught in his society. His status while being among the tribe was less than in his own society and also contributed to his feelings. His cultural values were very different than that of the !Kung people, and in time he came to understand and accept their attitudes learned as a social group. He realized that even though it was a celebration known to people of his culture, it could also sustain a part of the !Kung tribe. This is a documentation of another instance of how different societies of people distinguish themselves from one another with certain customs and differences, and how they conduct themselves socially. References Scavetta, Charlene (February 22, 2009). Eating Christmas in the Kalahari, Richard Borshay Lee. . retrieved 9/23/2014, from Athropology 1001 Web Site: http://scavettacharlene.blogspot.com/2009/02/eating-christmas-in-kalahari-richard.html ThatPresence ( December 2005 ). Eating Christmas in the Kalahari . retrieved 9/23/2014, from StudyMode.com Web Site: http://www.studymode.com/essays/Eating-Christmas-In-The-Kalahari-74594.html Ontaneda, Ana (February 22, 2009). Eating Christmas in the Kalahari . retrieved 9/23/2014, from anthropology Web Site: http://unam0ur.blogspot.com/2009/02/ana-ontaneda-february-22-2009-ant-1001.html Research into Truancy: Causes and Effects Research into Truancy: Causes and Effects Introductory orientation Truancy is about learners who have not been attending school regularly as required by the school, parents and even the authorities. Truant behavior is a problem for the individual, the family, the school and society in general. Free and compulsory education is recognized as a basic entitlement under international standards, including the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). With the right to free education and the obligation corresponding to this right observed and enforced through a national emphasis on school attendance, The National Statistic Office (Malta) states that in the 2004/2005 scholastic year the figure for school absenteeism accounted for 7.7% of the total number of school days in the reference period or an overall absence rate of 9.2 absent days per pupil that for boys being 10.0 days per pupil and for girls 8.4 days per pupil. As a teacher this makes me fretful about students missing school as this can be associated with subsequent emotional and psychosocial problems in early adulthood and is a predictor of multiple problems (Fogelman and Hibbert, 1990). Truancy may have both short and long term effects on society. There is evidence that truancy is linked to delinquent behaviour and juvenile crime (Collins, 1998; Reid, 1999). According to Jones (1996), ‘Absenteeism is a sign of trouble that often leads to lower academic skills and grades, delinquency, and dropouts. Studies have shown that high school dropouts are twice as likely to be unemployed and on welfare, and overall, tend to be facing a more difficult life than their graduating counterparts. Jones (1996; p.128), All members who form part of any educational institution cannot allow these students to give up on themselves. We as a modern, fast developing society, we cannot afford to let them surrender. It is clearly far less expensive to educate them than pay for a lifetime of welfare and all of the deprivations that welfare represents. These are ominous issues, which imply that the number of students who skip school is rising and that school absenteeism is a new generations behaviour that is today a dramatic social phenomenon. This proposal drafts the intent to investigate and explore realities of how truancy manifests with Maltese youth and also explore the psychosocial world of truants in Maltese schools. Problem Analysis The Pre-Scientific Problem awareness As a supply teacher for these past five years, I have witnessed incidences of truancy in the period 2006 to 2009. One of the common truancy reducation measures used was to lock the school gates during lessons and breaks and open them after school hours (my personal exsperience). Despite the limited impact on truancy reducation, the approach of locking gates is still common and evident in some secondary schools. I found locked gates while visiting some of the schools. Gangsters, to control late coming and to stop learners from dodging classes, locked gates to prevent trespassing, sepecially. Exploring the problem Incidence and nature of truancy Malta Since 1946 education has been compulsory for all children between six to fourteen years and extended to the age of 16 by the Education Act (Malta) of 1971. Maltese law imposes a duty on parents to ensure that their children of compulsory school age receive appropriate education, whether through attendance at a state or independent school. If they fail to do so, without any reasonable excuse and if found guilty, they are liable to a fine not exceeding in previous currency one Maltese Lira (equivalent to â‚ ¬2.33) for each day during which the offence continues, unless the parent fails to give a good and sufficient explanation within three days from the date he or she receives a notice from the Director of Education (Malta Education Act 1988). From January 2001 up to December 2002 there were 8,903 arraignments before the local tribunals in connection with school absenteeism (Grech, 2002). This figure represents only the number of students who were absent from school without a valid reason on more than three occasions in the time frame of a month. It is a known fact that there are a number of students that systematically plan three days off from school each month, just for the sake that they use their monthly absence allowance and knowing that in this way their parents would not receive a citation. Surveys show that the overall absence rate between 25th September 2000 to 31st March 2001 stood at 10.5 days per pupil (NSO Malta, 2001). This figure reveals an increase of 5.2% over 1999/2000 scholastic year (NSO Malta, 2001). Thus it shows that during this period, 657,604 pupil days were lost to absenteeism and authorised absence due to sickness. Indeed, the Clark Report (2005) shows concern for the increase in unauthorised absenteeism with parental consent, particularly in state secondary schools which cater, in the main, for a student population coming from a working- class background. Family problems, psychological problems, illnesses, school phobia and bullying have, significantly, been indicated by the Clark focus group to be the topmost reasons contributing to school avoidance. Some Overseas Countries Most of the research conducted abroad seems to provide information regarding the nature and extent of truancy in secondary schools. Results of a study conducted at a school in London from 1985 to 1987 revealed that 70% of the sampled pupils admitted truanting during the three-year period (Stoll, 1990:22). In the study that involved nine secondary schools, 66% of the 765 fifth year pupils admitted truanting (ibid). Figures on truancy in 150 English secondary schools revealed that 31% of pupils in years 10 and 11 admitted that they played truant or skipped lessons (OKeefe Stoll, 1995:12). Gray and Jesson (1990:25) report about the major national survey results of truancy in English secondary schools. According to this study, 23% of all fifth year pupils were involved in truant behavior and they were less likely to stay on in full-time education. Furthermore, schools facing serious problems of truancy tend to be in the inner city rather than in other areas (ibid). on the other hand, Collins (1998:26) reports that absentee rates vary between schools in the London Education Authority. Munn and Johnstone (1992:4) found that out of a sample of 50 Scottish secondary schools, 18% of the pupils (11% in June and 7% in November) were classified as truants and were mostly form the senior years. These figures exclude truants within the school day, as â€Å"14 schools reported that they did not keep period attendance records† (ibid). Truancy has long been a subject for research in various parts of the USA. According to Nelson (1972:98), 64% of the 591 students surveyed identified themselves as class truants. Learners habitually play truant each day in Los Angeles, Pittsburg and Milwaukee (Black, 1996:33). Bos, Ruiters and Visscher (1992:393) found that the average rate of truancy in 36 schools in the four Dutch cities studied was 4.4% and that truancy increased with the level of the class in almost all schools. Some researchers further indicate that truancy does not necessarily mean missing the whole day of school but found that I could be in the form of missing a part of a day or particular lesson (Kilpartick, 1998:31; Reid, 1999:91). In a study conducted by Malan in South Africa (1972:144), 2,738 out of 69,908 pupils were identified by their teachers as truants. Masithela (Masithela, 1992:33) observed that learners tend to miss lessons during the first and second periods, as well as during the last give periods. The tendency of missing certain lessons towards the end of the school day shows that some form of â€Å"hidden truancy† is prevalent and that pupils can be marked present in the register but fail to attend all lessons (ibid:45). On the other hand, they may come late and be marked absent or be somewhere on the school premises not attending certain lessons or periods, but still be marked as being present on the class resisters. Factors associated with truancy Malta Truancy is about learners who have not been attending school regularly as required by the school, parents and even the authorities. Tyerman (1968) defines the term truant as the child who is absent from school purely on his or her own initiative. Gabb (1994) includes in his definition of truant, that a child who is absent with leave given by his or her parents, or who are actually kept at home by the parents. Hersov (cited in Gabb, 1994) goes still further, dividing from truants, ‘school phobics and ‘school refusers. King (2001) furthermore defines school refusal/school phobics as a difficulty to attend school due to emotional distress, especially anxiety and depression. Fenech (1991) (in an unpublished research) defines ‘absenteeism as ‘being away from lessons for any period of time and for reasons not considered as legitimate, with or without the parents knowledge (p.3). She goes on to include ‘physical presence without any attention being given to a lesson in progress [as well as] masked or selective truancy (ibid., p.3). Fenech (ad. lib.) refers to the latter as ‘skiving off specific lessons or disappearance after registration (p.3) remarking that a number of sources consider absenteeism and truancy synonymous. Sultana (1997), like Fenech (1991), defines absenteeism as ‘staying away from school for reasons not justified by the law (p. 355). However, she goes on to include other ‘less overt ways (ibid., p 355) such as what Willis (1977) calls participating in ‘informal mobility (ibid., p. 355). This includes not entering the class for lesson, intentionally staying in another class, leaving the class without permission, or staying in class without bothering to follow the lesson. Studies conducted abroad When seen from a psychological viewpoint, truancy may be symptomatic of learns who are insecure and have low academic achievement levels and low self-esteem. Lewis (1995:37) states that attendance difficulties my broadly result from a combination of â€Å"pull† and â€Å"push† factors. Pull factors are personal and social aspects that â€Å"pull† a learner out of school. The pull factors may be related to the psychological indices mentioned by Reid (2002:11), such as maladjustment, a lower general level of self-esteem and academic self concept, anxiety and lower career aspirations. Factors that â€Å"push† learners away from school include academic and classroom aspects such as inapproachability of the teaching staff, incomprehensible teaching style and inappropriate classroom management. Other factors relating to the school and the classroom include bullying, the curriculum, boring lessons (Reid, 1999:91), teachers humiliating remarks (Porteus, Clacherty, Mdiya, Pelo, Matsai, Qwabe and Donald 2000:11), poor record-keeping and school organization (Bimler Kirkland, 2001:90; Coldman, 1995:29). According to Pappas (1996:1), truancy is often symptomatic of family dysfunction, since the parents of truants tend to be permissive, undisciplined and unavailable. Some authors believe that truancy is associated with a poor socio-economic background, including poverty, poor housing and unemployment (Bell, Rosen and Dynlacht, 1994:204; Tyerman, 1958:222). Some researchers state that there is a link between truancy and delinquent behavior (Collins, 1998:38; Brown, 1998:298-299; Reid, 1999:25). Truancy differentiated from school phobia There is a need to distinguish between truancy and school phobia. The concept â€Å"school phobia† describes a learner who is unwilling to attend school and stays at home with the knowledge of parents (Wicks and Nelson, 2000:123). A learners problem often stats with a vague complaint or reluctance to attend school and progresses to total refusal to go to school. Blagg (1992:121) asserts that school phobia may be induced by fear-arousing aspects of school, such as fear of failure caused by anxiety about meeting the standards. Fear may also be related to worries about the health and welfare of parents (Blagg, 1992:123). In the other hand, a learner who plays truant misses the whole school day or lessons without the knowledge of parents or caregivers. Furthermore, a truant tends to be involved in various forms of anti social behavior (Blagg, 1992:121). Milner and Blyth (1999:18) acknowledge the difficulties involved in studying the prevalence and pattern of truancy and in comparing current and past school attendance or absence. The difficulties are partly compounded by the variations in the definition of truancy itself (Boyd, 1999:22; Gabb, 1997:2) and the multifaceted nature of truancy (Edward and Malcolm, 2001:1; Reid, 1999:17). The problems associated with studies on truancy should, however, not prevent further research from being conducted. Solutions should be found, or the cause at least eliminated, because truancy is regarded as a serious problem with socio-economic implications. A preliminary review of the literature reveals that truancy is a major problem form schools and society and a most powerful predictor of juvenile delinquent behavior (Van Petegem, 1994:272; Wiehe, 2000). Reid (2002:2) maintains that the amount of money spent on truancy reduction initiatives proves the extent of truancy. Statement of the problem Data on the extent and nature of truancy in schools are often based on information obtained from class registers. This information may be inadequate or almost incomplete and limits the understanding of the phenomenon, thus making it difficult to develop appropriate intervention strategies. More insight on how truancy manifests is needed to provide a base on which to suggest, plan and develop effective intervention strategies. Therefore, further research is needed to enable education officials, schools, parents and other professionals to manage learners with attendance difficulties more efficiently. This study serves to bridge the information gap regarding the nature of truancy and to provide a picture of the life world of truants in Secondary Schools. Aims of the Research The General Aim The aim would be to describe truancy in general as stated in the literature and to conduct an empirical study in order to determine how truancy behaviour manifests in secondary schools and what the life world of truants looks likes. The findings can then be used to inform and guide future practice. The Specific aim The aim of the study would be to gather information that will be used to guide the school (college) community namely the SMT, form teachers, subject teachers, guidance teachers and school councillors, youth workers in school and other stakeholders to help in the interventional approaches and procedures that can be used for reducing truancy. In order to realise the above aims, the following questions are set to direct the research: What is the extent and degree of truancy in terms of the frequency and number of learns involved? What are the patterns, type or nature of truancy? Where do truants go when not at school or in class? What measures are used to monitor and manage truancy? Research Method The study will comprise two methods, namely, a literature study and an empirical investigation. A study of the literature will derive information on studies about poor school attendance and procedures employed to mange or reduce truancy from books, research articles, journals and other resources. A quantitative research design will be used in the empirical investigation. This investigation aims to gather data by means of a questionnaire that will be given to learns in Form 1 and Form 2 in eight randomly selected schools, , incorporating two Junior Lyceums, two Area Secondary and two Church schools. A qualitative research design will be used with guidance teachers, counselors, youth workers, form teachers, Assistant Head of Schools and Heads of School currently working in schools. A focus group and interviews with Heads will help me to investigate what the School community is doing to combat truancy. Such data will be advantageous in that they are ‘the most adequate [tool] to capture how a person thinks of a particular domain (Goldsmiths Collage, n.d.). More over since a face to face rapport with the interviewee, it is induced to continue questioning the subject in order to confirm the hypothesis about his or her beliefs, seeking appraise any underlying meaning in the process. Demarcation of research Due to time constraints, the preset research is confined to then 8 randomly selected secondary schools in Malta. A list of all secondary schools was compiled to allow for the random selection of 8 schools, which will form part of this study. This sample was mainl cohosen on the basis of cost implicaitons and accessibility. Explanation of concepts In this section a number of concepts that are relevant to this research are defined. Truancy Reids (1999:1) asserts that the term ‘truancy is often misused and can be applied both generically and with a local meaning. In the different parts of Great Britain, truancy is known as ‘dodging, ‘skipping off, ‘mitching, ‘skiving, ‘bunking off and ‘going missing, respectively. Whitney (1994:49) defines truancy as ‘absence that has not been authorized by the school and where leave has not been given or approved. Another definition provided by Collins (1998:2), who states that truancy is about pupils who have been registed with a school but identified as not attending school when the law says they should. This definition includes absences from a particular lesson or lessons, known as ‘post-registation truancy (Gabbs, 1994:5; Stoll, 1990:23). Clark Report (2005) identify as truancy when a student is voluntarily absent or not attending school without their parents permission and often, awareness (Anglicare, Werribee Family Services 2000). Truancy is defined as unjustifiable or unexplained absence from school with attempts by the student to conceal the absenteeism. Usually the child avoids home when not at school and the parents are often unaware of the childs absence (Rollings, King, Tonge, Luk, Heyne, Ramsdell, Burdett Martin, 1999). The concept blanket truancy refers to absence from the whole school day, which is usually reflected on the class register, while post-registration truancy occurs when the learner is marked present but fails to turn up at a lesson or lessons (Stoll, 1990:23). In this research, the term ‘truancy is broadly defined as unauthorized absence from school. The definition is adopted with the assumption that absence with the knowledge and permission of the school and parents or guardians does not constitute truancy. Since the study seeks to explore the type of truancy as manifested at secondary schools, both concepts of truancy (blanket and post-registration) are relevant and will be investigated. A Truant A truant is a ‘child aged 6 17 years old who absents himself or herself form school without a legitimate reason and without permission of his or her parents or the school official (Schaefer and Millman, 1981: 335). For the purpose of this research, a truant refers to a learner who, after being registered at a school, absents himself or herself from school or lessons without a legitimate reson or permission from parents or the school official. The traditional or typical truant: Traditional truants tend to be isolated that come from an unsupportive home background, possibly with a tendency to be shy. It is likely that they will have a low self-concept, be introverted and be the citim of their social circumstances. The psychological truant: could be the school phobic (school refusal) case but more othen than this psychological truant miss school for psychological related factors such as illness, opsychomatric complaints, laziness, a fear of attending scholl for any reason (such as dislike of a teacher, a lesson, an impending confrontation or fear of bullying.) The Institutional truant: Institutional truants are more likely to indulge in ‘on the spur of the moment absences from lessons and to be selective about days or lessons to miss. Secondary School A school that admits or registers and educates learners in Form 1 Form 5 is known as a secondary school. Life World In this research, the term ‘life world refers to the psychological context this is made up of elements such as interpersonal aspects, the family, school and the broader community. According to this definition, the life world involves the personal and external world of the learner. The personal word refers to intrinsic factors. The external word is made up of the broader educational systems, the home environment and the community where the child spends his time when not at school. Relevant intervention strategies would be easier to suggest if the contextual issues related to the phenomenon under investigations are understood. Research Program The research comprises give chapters, as follows: CHAPTER 1 In this chapter, the background information in the seriousness and implication of truancy are discussed. The chapter also includes an analysis of the problem, the problem statement, aims of the study, description of the research method and definition of the concepts. CHAPTER 2 Chapter 2 entails a review of the literature on types of truancy and the causes of truancy or contributing factors in different countries, including in Malta. Different approaches that the various countries and schools use to manage truancy will also be discussed. CHAPTER 3 This chapter deals with research designs and methods. A discussion of the research problem, the aim of the empirical investigation, the research tool used in the study and the selection of the sample will be included. Details of the compilation and administration of questionnaires as well as an analysis of data will be presented. CHAPTER 4 In this chapter, the results of questionnaires will be presented. The results will be analyzed to find answers to the research questions. CHAPTER 5 The chapter entails a summary of the research finding, conclusions and recommendations. A summary of the results from the literature study and the limitation of the study will be included. Conclusion This chapter focuses on the background and analysis of the problem, as well as the aims of the study. An attempt will be made to explain the research method used, relevant concepts and planned programmes of the research. The next chapter will contain the review of the literature on the types of truancy, factors contributing to truancy behavior, the rate and extent of truancy and the strategies used to manage truancy. CHAPTER 2 TYPES OF TRUANCY, CAUSAL FACTORS AND APPROACHES USED IN THE MANAGEMENT AND REDUCTION OF TRUANCY Introduction According to Tyerman (1958:217), truancy has been a problem to all concerned with education since 1870s. Approximately 750 children were charged for truancy in England and Wales in 1954 (ibid: 220). This figure could have been an underestimation as it was based on learners who were referred to courts, and therefore represented mainly incorrigible truants (ibid). Furthermore, the figure gives a general picture of truanting children in one country only and without an indication whether it was absence from certain lessons or whole school day absence. Truancy is currently a problem in communities. In Clarks report concern was expressed about truancy among school children. Data presented in this report indicates that non-attendance exists, and has become an issue of increasing concern for schools, educational and student welfare organizations. Non-attendances viewed as being among one of the key problems facing some schools. There is increasing concern for the seemingly large number of ch ildren and young people, who are, for a range of reasons, missing out on the benefits of education and possibly on a better future (Dr. L. Galea, The Times 9th February, 2005). Non-attendance can be the beginning of countless problems for students who regularly miss out on school (Heyne, King, Tonge, Rollings, Pritchard Young,1999). The extent and nature of truancy are best understood in terms of whether it implies absence for the whole day or during a particular lesson. This chapter deals with how blanket and post-registration truancy manifest, the causal factors and various measures of reducing truancy in secondary schools. Blanket Truancy Perspectives in various countries England and Wales Normab (2001:49) states that 50,000 children play truant on a normal school day in England. The number of truants increases steadily with age and most truants are found at secondary school (ibid). This confirms past research findings about the existence of truancy in secondary school in some parts of England. Gray and Jesson (1990:25) gathered information on the incidence of truancy from the youth cohort survey of England and Wales. The result of their survey shows that 6% of final-year secondary school learners reported to have played truant for several days or weeks at a time. Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk (2003:50) state as follows: ‘In 1999, the Audit Commission noted that at least 40,000 of the 400,000 learners absent from school are truanting. Scotland In a study done at 50 Scottish secondary schools, it was found that 30% to 33% of learners had been playing truant at least once in the survey week (Munn and Johnston, 1992:38). These schools were requested to provide both the overall attendance rate and the numbers of learners (ibid). Australia Haddon (1996:110), citing a comprehensive study conducted in Victorian secondary schools in Australia, states that 40% to 60% of learners of compulsory school age reported that they engaged in truancy. Cohen and Ryan (1998:12) state that about 10,000 learners in Tasmania play truant at least one day a week. The Netherlands The research done at 36 schools in four Dutch cities indicates that the average level of truancy at all schools was 4.4% (Bos, Ruiters and Visscher, 1992:393). The average percentage of allowed absence was 4.7%, therefore suggesting that learners in most schools are just as often absent with a valid reason as without one. United States of America It appears that truancy is a problem in American schools, although at varying levels. According to Black (1996:33), approximately 2,500 and 4,000 learners play truant on a daily basis in Pittsburg and Mulwaukee, repectively, while 300,000 of the 1.6 million students in Los Angeles are habitual truants. This shows that some learners stay absent without permission every day and that a day never goes by with a recording of 100% attendance. Truancy is so much of a concern that the Department of Education has prepared a manual that gives schools some guidelines on how to reduce it (United States Department of Education, 1996). Malta From January 2001 up to December 2002 there were 8,903 arraignments before local tribunals in connection with school absenteeism (Grech, 2002). This figure represents only the number of students who were absent from school without a valid reason on more than three occasions in the space of a month. It is a known fact that there are a number of pupils that systematically take three days off from school each month just for the sake that they use up their monthly absence allowance and knowing that in this way their parents would not receive a citation. Survey results issued by the National Statistics Office Malta on December 16, 2002 showed that overall absence rate from schools between September 25, 2000 and March 31, 20001, stood at 10.5 days per pupil. That included both absenteeism and authorized absence (such as those due to sickness). During this period, 657,604 pupil days were list to absenteeism, accounting for 8.9 per cent of the total pupil days. This reveals an increase of 5. 2 per cent over the 1999/2000 scholastic year. Absences in government schools stood at 19.12 days per pupil whereas that of government dependent (church schools) and independent private schools was 5.76 days per pupil. The rate of truancy in terms of gender Some of the overseas researchers state that there is no difference in the levels of truancy reported for males and females (Gray and Jesson, 1990:26; Haddon, 1996: 110; Smith, M., 1996:226; Stoll, 1994:36; Whitney, 1994: 59). Recent research on truancy in the seven local education authorities reports that the numbers of learners in secondary school admitting truancy was almost equal for boys and girls (Malcolm et al., 2003:31). Coldman (1995:68) also states that the variation that exists in truancy levels of males and females is slight. It is, therefore, apparent that some research are in agreement with regard to the truancy levels of male and females learners. Earlier research that was conducted in South Africa suggests that more males than females tend to play truant Coldman (1995:68) warns against making assumptions and generalisations about the existence of gender differnce in truancy levels. He argues that observed findings might result from the fact that some schools have more males than females, particularly when one is dealing with a large sample. What the above studies suggest about truancy levels of males and females is that the difference might be slight, if it does exist. Furthermore, observed diffrenences may be incfluenced by other variables, such as the enrolled number of male and female learners in a sample. Truancy rate according to the geographical location of the school Serious truancy is said to be more prevalent in inner-city secondary schools in England (Gray and Jesson, 1990:36; Stoll, 1990:23). Munn and Johnstone (1992:4) also found that the Scottish school with the highest percentage of unauthorized absence was all in the inner city. Coldman (1995:69) asserts that claims that truancy is a problem mainly experienced in inner city schools are disputable, since another survey showed that the truancy level is high even in the suburban, rural and industrial areas of England. It may therefore be purely speculation, without much supporting evidence, to suggest that inner-city school experience higher levels of truancy. Hard evidence needs to be gathered, where possible, in order to verify the claim that inner-city experience higher rates of truancy. According to some researchers, truancy levels also appear to differ from school to school, since they may be more prevalent in schools than in others (Blackm 1996:33; Bos et al., 1992:385; Gray and Jesson, 1990:26; OKeefe and Stoll, 1995:12). It is therefore apparent that the levels of truancy seem to vary from country to country, and in some cases, also in terms of geographical locations within a city or town. The literature indicates that blanket truancy is common in many secondary school and that, in some cases, learners play truant on a daily basis. The levels of blanket truancy can also vary according to regional locations within the same country. In the next section, the evidence regarding the level of post-registration truancy drawn from the literature will be discussed. Post-registration Truancy Very little information is given in the literature about national trends of post-registration truancy in countries where research on truancy was conducted. Most of the studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United St

Huckleberry Finn - Critical Essay :: essays research papers

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the noblest, greatest, and most adventuresome novel in the world. Mark Twain definitely has a style of his own that depicts a realism in the novel about the society back in antebellum America. Mark Twain definitely characterizes the protagonist, the intelligent and sympathetic Huckleberry Finn, by the direct candid manner of writing as though through the actual voice of Huck. Every word, thought, and speech by Huck is so precise it reflects even the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. And this has lead to many conflicting battles by various readers since the first print of the novel, though inspiring some. Says John H. Wallace, outraged by Twain’s constant use of the degrading and white supremacist word ‘nigger’, "[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is] the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written" (Mark Twain Journal by Thadious Davis, Fall 1984 and Spring 1985). Yet, again to counter that is a quote by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway, "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn†¦it’s the best book we’ve had†¦There has been nothing as good since" (The Green Hills of Africa [Scribner’s. 1953] 22). The controversy behind the novel has been and will always remain the crux of any readers is still truly racism. Twain surely does use the word ‘nigger’ often, both as a referral to the slave Jim and any African-American that Huck comes across and as the epitome of insult and inferiority. However, the reader must also not fail to recognize that this style of racism, this malicious treatment of African-Americans, this degrading attitude towards them is all stylized of the pre-Civil War tradition. Racism is only mentioned in the novel as an object of natural course and a precision to the actual views of the setting then. Huckleberry Finn still stands as a powerful portray al of experience through the newfound eyes of an innocent boy. Huck only says and treats the African-American culture accordingly with the society that he was raised in. To say anything different would truly be out of place and setting of the era. Twain’s literary style in capturing the novel, Huck’s casual attitude and candid position, and Jim’s undoubted acceptance of the oppression by the names all signifies this. Twain’s literary style is that of a natural southern dialect intermingled with other dialects to represent the various attitudes of the Mississippian region; he does not intend to outrightly suggest Negro inferiority.