Formal and Informal Organisations Management

Introduction This essay is based on Formal and Informal organisations and the details and difference between the two. Recommendations and conclusions are also drawn based on the information presented. Formal and Informal Organisations The fundamental concepts of formal and informal organisations are regarded with the nature and processes in the workplace. A formal organization is the actual framework of the organization including its organizational chart and its chain of command which determines accountability.However, within the informal organization, otherwise known as the ‘grapevine’ in a business, is the familiar working relationships that are established in the business place and contributes significantly to work culture. (Reingold, 2007) The real purpose of an organizational chart is to effectively outline the structure of the formal organization. It shows who is accountable to whom, from the top management to middle management and front line employees. It also sho ws the horizontalrelationships of the different functional and operational divisions and department personnel.This chart consists of the functional framework and is important in the workplace to establish stability, clarity in work relationships and reporting standards between supervisors and subordinates. (Parker, 2002) Although top management in some businesses does not take into account, the actuality of informal organizations when trying to determine culture, it does have an essential influence on work dynamism. Workers interact with each other at different intervals and in different situations such as lunch, in the break room, and even after work.These encounters can greatly influence the level of the sense of belongingness each employee experiences or feels in the working environment. If it is that these encounters are generally negative, the quality of work ethics and morale will be very poor. (Reingold, 2007) Understanding the direct reporting relationships outlined in the o rganizational chart is often less important than knowing the ‘go-to people’ in the company. For ambitious employees, this may mean looking beyondimmediate coworkers and managers and finding helpful mentors and internal coaches that want to help them succeed.Information communication networks are also useful tools in learning how the company works just beyond what is conveyed from top management. It is important to note that when front line employees get prompted into management positions they often forget the significance in striking a balance between the formal structure and informal networks within the business. Disciplined structure and clear reporting relationships are important. However, management also has a lot to gain by remembering that informal networks are real and is of much use.Managers can maximize insight on how employees feel towards their jobs and how functional terms are operating through familiar conversations. While formal relationships are key to ac complishing organizational and departmental goals and objectives they are sometimes restrictive to open interactions. (Parker M. , 2003) An example of a formal organization would be the Jamaica National Building Society which has clear concise goals written and duly communicated. It is a registered financial institution that provides service to the public in a very organized and structured manner both in physical space and information management.An example of an informal organization would be a study group where interactions are familiar and there is no legal framework or organizational structure that governs the operations of the group. In businesses, employees are both part of the formal organization as well as the informal. A sales clerk in a marketing company is part of the formal structure of the business and is given a job description and specification but can also be part of an informal organization within the same business such as a partner group.Recommendation Individuals i n an organization normally work according to the structure prescribed by formality. However, at the same time, they develop other relationships in the organization, which may be deeply grounded on personal rather than work related principles. Both formal and informal organisations exist in all businesses and can impact their operations in negative and positive ways. My preference and recommendations with regards to choosing between the two would be the formal organization as it has many advantages.It constitutes the fundamental structure of the delegation of work and responsibilities. Without a structure it would be very difficult for employees to agree between themselves and their roles and functions and such problems multiply in large amounts with the increase in size of the organization. In addition to this, formal organisations generate clarity of what support and input each employee can expect form others and in turn what is expected of him/her by others. Extreme discipline is promoted in the business and so employees have respect for each other.In formal organisations it is easier to review and revise the organization with changing requirements. It provides a framework or structure for laying down pay scales and taking other decisions linked to organizational levels. It also helps in other human resources development activities such as recruitment, promotions, career planning and development and manpower planning. Conclusion Formal organisations are characterized by a chain of command and empowered individuals to enforce agreed upon rules. Rotary clubs and boy scouts are examples of formal organisations.They both have a charter stating their place and function in society. On the other hand, an informal organization is one where the participants have no empowered central leader who has the power to enforce rules on the group. References Parker, A. (2002). Myths about Informal Networks. Sloan Management Review , 345-350. Parker, M. (2003). The Psychologica l Foundations of Business Administration. The Early Siciology of Management and Organisations , 216-235. Reingold, J. (2007). Hidden Workplace. Comments on organisation , 706-811.

Lab 1: Introduction to Science

Data Interpretation Table 1: Water Quality vs. Fish Population Dissolved Oxygen| 0| 2| 4| 6| 8| 10| 12| 14| 16| 18| Number of Fish Observed| 0| 1| 3| 10| 12| 13| 15| 10| 12| 13| 1. What patterns do you observe based on the information in Table 1? -The more dissolved oxygen in the water, the more fish is observed in that area of water. 2. Develop a hypothesis relating to the amount of dissolved oxygen measured in the water sample and the number of fish observed in the body of water. -If there is more dissolved oxygen in the water, there will be more fish present in the area the water sample is taking from. . What would your experimental approach be to test this hypothesis? -I would test the dissolved oxygen in different areas of water, keep track of the fish in those areas and compare the results. 4. What are the independent and dependent variables? -Independent- Dissolved Oxygen -Dependent- Fish 5. What would be your control? -No Control 6. What type of graph would be appropriate for this data set? Why? -A line graph will be appropriate because it supports the hypothesis and provide clear results. 7. Graph the data from Table 1: Water Quality vs. Fish Population (found at the beginning of this exercise).You may use Excel, then â€Å"Insert† the graph, or use another drawing program. You may also draw it neatly by hand and scan your drawing. If you choose this option, you must insert the scanned jpg image here. 8. Interpret the data from the graph made in Question 7. -The graph above shows the fish population on the Y (axis) and the dissolved oxygen on the X (axis). The fish population increases in the above graph due to more dissolved oxygen that is found in the body of water. For example: There is 0 dissolved oxygen (ppm) in the water, so there is 0 fish observed.Exercise 2: Testable Observations- Determine which of the following observations (A-J) could lead to a testable hypothesis. For those that are testable: Write a hypothesis and null hypothesis W hat would be your experimental approach? What are the dependent and independent variables? What is your control? How will you collect your data? How will you present your data (charts, graphs, types)? How will you analyze your data? 1. When a plant is placed on a window sill, it grows three inches faster per day than when it is placed on a coffee table in the middle of the living room. . The teller at the bank with brown hair and brown eyes and is taller than the other tellers. 3. When Sally eats healthy foods and exercises regularly, her blood pressure is 10 points lower than when she does not exercise and eats unhealthy foods. 4. The Italian restaurant across the street closes at 9 pm but the one two blocks away closes at 10 pm. 5. For the past two days the clouds have come out at 3 pm and it has started raining at 3:15 pm. 6. George did not sleep at all the night following the start of daylight savings. Exercise 3: ConversionFor each of the following, convert each value into the designated units. 1. 46,756,790 mg = 46,756,790 kg 2. 5. 6 hours = 20,160 seconds 3. 13. 5 cm = 5. 31 inches 4. 47  °C = 116. 6  °F Exercise 4: Accuracy and Precision – 1. During gym class, four students decided to see if they could beat the norm of 45 sit-ups in a minute. The first student did 64 sit-ups, the second did 69, the third did 65, and the fourth did 67. 2. The average score for the 5th grade math test is 89. 5. The top 4th graders took the test and scored 89, 93, 91 and 87. 2.Yesterday the temperature was 89  °F, tomorrow it’s supposed to be 88 °F and the next day it’s supposed to be 90 °F, even though the average for September is only 75 °F degrees! 3. Four friends decided to go out and play horseshoes. They took a picture of their results shown to the right: 4. A local grocery store was holding a contest to see who could most closely guess the number of pennies that they had inside a large jar. The first six people guessed the numbers 7 35, 209, 390, 300, 1005 and 689. The grocery clerk said the jar actually contains 568 pennies. Exercise 5: Significant Digits and Scientific NotationPart 1: Determine the number of significant digits in each number and write out the specific significant digits. 1. 405000 6 or 3 2. 0. 0098 2 3. 39. 999999 8 4. 13. 00 4 5. 80,000,089 8 6. 55,430. 00 7 7. 0. 000033 2 8. 620. 03080 8 Part 2: Write the numbers below in scientific notation, incorporating what you know about significant digits. 1. 70,000,000,000 7 x 1010 2. 0. 000000048 4. 8 x10-8 3. 67,890,000 6. 789 x107 4. 70,500 7. 05 x 104 5. 450,900,800 4. 509008 x 108 6. 0. 009045 9. 0450 x 10-3 7. 0. 023 2. 3 x 10-2

Why some countries have developed and are not and have not Essay

Why some countries have developed and are not and have not - Essay Example In practice, economic development focuses on starting of economic operation in a region, expansion as well as retention and starting of new business within a region. Countries across the world can be divided into two groups developed and developing countries. United Nations does not give any definition for developed or developing country. But there are some parameters which are used to divide the countries into two different groups. The topic ‘why some countries are developed and why some are not’ is a widely discussed topic among the economists around the world. Scholars have expressed divergent views about the reasons for development and underdevelopment. We should not forget the fact that there is no single factor for development or underdevelopment but it is interplay of various factors. There is a huge disparity in the living standards in the developed and developing countries. It is estimated that around one billion people i.e. one fifth of the world population earns less than $1.00 a day. UN World Development Report 1998 says the aggregate Gross Domestic Products of the worlds 48 poorest countries is less than combined assets of world’s three richest people. According to Forbes Magazines, combined net worth of 358 billionaires is equal to the aggregate income of the bottom 45% of the world’s population. It is also estimated that due to starvation or preventable infections disease around 35,000 children under the age of five die every day. The problems of poverty, growing inequality and hunger are becoming worse despite huge global economic growth over the past 50 years. So it is very important to analyze reasons for development and underdevelopment. Research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, as well as predicting the different aspects of study. To analyze the causes for development and under development is slightly difficult as the scholars have given different reasons for it.

How do young people from ethnic minorities negotiate their identities Essay

How do young people from ethnic minorities negotiate their identities in relation to their media representations - Essay Example In Richard Dyer’s essay The White Man’s Muscle, he talks about stereotypes that have been enforced connecting as far back as the Greek era, and that now dominate film and television basically promoting the superiority of white masculinity. Body hair is animalistic; hair ­lessness connotes striving above nature. The climax of Gli amori di Ercole has Hercules fighting a giant ape, who has previously behaved in a King Kong-ish way towards Herculess beloved Dejanira, stroking her hair and when she screams making as if to rape her; close-ups contrast Herculess smooth, hairless muscles with the hairy limbs of this racist archetype. (Dyer) Here Dyer points out how the uppermost echelon of masculinity is equated with shaven white muscle, through its very contrast to that of hair apes, who are historically associated with blackness. He acknowledges the racist aspects of this archetype, but also gives notice to the private boys’ club-like tradition that has formed from this prejudice. This same ideal of exclusion is expressed in Gamy Robson’s Millwall Football Club: Masculinity, Race and Belonging in which the author points out how Millwall Football Club is a devout fan base-community that excludes those who aren’t born within it and those of different races. In western culture, muscular bodies are associated with much leisure time, discipline, and affluence. Dyer also makes the Christian connection that a muscular body connotes pointing out the ideal of finding salvation or purity through the experience of pain. He points out that historically body building culture has been an equal opportunity medi um when he says, Bodybuilding as an activity has a relatively good track record in terms of racial equality. From the 1950s on, non-white men - and especially those of African descent - became major figures in bodybuilding competitions. Yet the dominant images of the built body remain

The Paradox of Brand Boratistan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Paradox of Brand Boratistan - Essay Example spective, as the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity, so many people see Cohen’s movie as actually brining wanted attention to the country. It is the overall assumption of the current report that in the movie, the character Borat mostly represented Kazahkstan in terms of very negative stereotypes that hurt the country’s national image, especially during a time in which this image was nascent. In other words, before this nation can be known for something positive, it is already in a mud-bath of bad publicity depicting the country’s men as pigs and women as abused and ignorant. Overall, Borat as a character represents very negative stereotypes. The movie doesn’t spend much time in the fictional Kazakhstan of wherever it was filmed, but what time is spent there, early in the movie, hits some very hard notes of satire for this very brief period. The audience sees Kazakhstan as a place where donkeys pull half-trucks around unpaved towns, where the men are unafraid to involve their own family in pornography, and where there is no discernable place of culture or development. Then, the movie goes into the infamous and offensive scene of the Kazakhstan parade, in which the â€Å"Jew egg† hatches and the villagers celebrate in a ritual of merry and explicit anti-Semitism. This is not incisive, cutting sarcasm; the weapon is more of a cudgel. And the target, unfortunately, is Kazakhstan. The national image of the country is invariably negative, and, as one Kazakhstan resident complains on the internet, â€Å"Unfortunately, in todays world where every thing is about image, when somebody with influence spills mud on you it sticks. I havent watched Borat but read about him everywhere. I think this character is irrevocably damaging Kazakhstans reputation as a country where abuse of women is common and all men are macho fools† (National, 2009). From another perspective, however, one could argue that Borat is a fictional character, protected by free speech,

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 75

Summary - Essay Example They tend not to exaggerate any of their stories in an effort to look better and never put any effort into attempts to imitate others. Genuine leadership is not an imitation of what other leaders have done or are trying to do; it is the end product of our being freely and fully ourselves. Life is short, and we should try and spend time doing the things that we love though it might not always be easy and trouble free to do this. Before there can ever be a me and you, there must be a me. When one learns how to tell their own story, they are able to perceive the stories of other individuals in such a manner that they are able to cause for there be to an us in the place of a me. When make advances towards stepping into who you innately truly are, people start perceiving you as being real and build levels of both confidence and trust in you that no amount of PR or spin could ever possibly manufacture. People mostly tend to respond to a person if they are authentically and down rightly themselves. The development of the relationship with ourselves takes time. An integral part of living authentically is, learning how to trust or internal compasses and has absolute clarity on who we genuinely are. We should try and return to our life’s main passion and focus on being who we genuinely are. Our attempts to find our place in the world are not a onetime affair; they are an ongoing process that carries on throughout our lives. It is imperative at times for us to learn how to grant ourselves the permission to change our direction. We all have the capacity and power to change the roles we play in both our professional and personal lives. This should be encouraged to happen even if it seems to be challenging and upsets the status

Argument paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Argument paper - Essay Example With the increased cases of crime in society, people have lived in so much fear as they fear any impending attacks and bombings, which lead to many people dying. Through the increase in the number of criminals, imprisonment is not only enough to deter the criminals and that is the reason why the judiciary enforced the death penalty and enacted it as a way of eliminating permanently the criminals and reducing their numbers. Many of those who get out of prison after long years of imprisonment often commit other bigger crimes and hence, it would be better if they were killed, because they end up killing even more people. Therefore there is need to protect the innocent and wipe away the perpetrators of crimes to humanity. The best way is through the death penalty, as other forms of imprisonment are not deterrent enough. In addition, death penalty will enable people to be more careful and appreciate the right to life for every citizen. Additionally, the sanctity of life will be maintained , as they will strive to preserve their own lives and avoid capital punishment. Therefore, it is a punishment for those who take away the lives of others, since the same measure needs to be taken against them, and i.e. they are to be killed too (Mandery and Mandery, 2011). Furthermore, various huge taxes are used to finance prisons and feed murderers in prisons, which are not fair at all since the money needs to be channelled to improve the lives of the poor who are at the mercy of the criminals. In carrying out life imprisonment, the society has to bear high costs with regard to maintaining prisoners with long imprisonment terms for crimes that prompt capital punishment. There is no doubt that the up-front costs of death sentence are relatively low, however, the alternative fronts significant maintenance costs over time (Guernsey, 2009). The financial and economic costs of maintaining a prisoner serving life are astronomical to the tune of $50000 a year, which is more than

Action Plan for Homeland Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Action Plan for Homeland Security - Essay Example For a leader who is determined and courageous, his/her prevention strategies on attacks and disasters entail the strengthening of information sharing and collaboration capabilities. This will entail a robust investigative capacity to address all terror-linked issues and enhancing public awareness on reporting terror-related matters. There is need to establish the permanent commission that comprises of fire chiefs, police chiefs, mayors, local public health officials, and local emergency managers by the Department of Homeland Security to restructure the local-federal partnership with an aim of strengthening domestic security and safety. Create a safe and resilient cyber setting and promoting cyber-security innovation and knowledge (Shoemaker, & Conklin, 2011). There is a probability that a weapon of mass destruction will be utilized in a terrorist attack anywhere in the world by the end of 2016 (Graham, 2013). To ensure the safety of American people, the water systems will be protected from natural disasters and terrorist attacks through web-based monitoring of the distribution system water quality and regular water quality sampling combined with the analysis in the distribution system. Reducing vulnerability to terrorist attacks as well as other related disasters by strengthening capabilities that offer protection to public transport systems, ports, high-traffic borders, and other high priority critical infrastructure. The efforts to prevent terrorism will be centered on a layered risk-based approach to the security of the cargo and passenger systems of transportation, borders, and ports of entry. In the event of an electromagnetic pulse, money needs to be provided to the Department of Homeland Security by the federal government in order to offer protection to the electrical grid system. Office of Homeland Security to be given budgetary control over all federal programs associated with the nation’s domestic protection. Besides that, for those leaders who  are visionary and forward-looking, the Office of Homeland Security needs to be structured in a way that it works directly with mayors in support of their leadership responsibilities.

The news is a window on the world Essay Example for Free

The news is a window on the world Essay Using information from the items and elsewhere, assess the sociological arguments against the view that the news is a window on the world. It is perhaps correct to state that TV News has probably become the most common source of information that we rely on to gain knowledge about life outside our day to day experiences. News broadcasts are conscientiously handled to give a sense of seriousness and reliability; however some critics have suggested that it is a manufactured and manipulated product involving a high degree of selectiveness and bias. If so, is it possible for TV News to be still seen as a window on the world? Instead of being an impulsive reaction to world events, many reports are planned well in advance. According to Schlesinger (1978), the news diary enables journalists and broadcasters to plan their coverage, and select and book relevant experts. It also allows them to purchase news items from press agencies and also receive press releases from pressure groups, government agencies, private companies and individuals, all of whom wish to publicise their activities which could mean that the needs of these advertisers are made central when decisions about the content of the media are finalised. This happened when there were suspicions that the link between smoking and lung cancer was slow to be reported because of the importance of tobacco companies advertising. The time of a news broadcast and who is thought to be watching, or the readership profile of a paper, will also influence the selection of news. It is assumed that at lunchtime TV programme is likely to be aimed at women or pensioners, and early evening programming is likely to be aimed at schoolchildren as those are the groups of people most likely to be watching television at that particular time of day. These institutions have a public image which they need to maintain in order to attract their audience and it is what is wanted and expected. The News of the World, for example, thrives on over-reported sex and scandal which must be catering to some audience in demand of this type of news. News producers are desperate to be the first to break the news and will go to great measures to get what they need in order to sell. Accepting evidence from sources without appropriately checking its reliability can lead to a biased view in favour of the official side of the argument. Financial considerations and resources available can also influence the news. The point at which the news companys financial year-end falls can affect how, and even whether, costly news items are covered. ITN had spent most of their 1991 overseas budget covering the Gulf War when news of the protests in Tiananmen Square broke and so were unable to capture some of the most memorable images of the decade. For this reason and the availability of space and time, sometimes stories are included or excluded simply because they need to be formed into a logical and consistent bulletin containing a number of items that will take exactly the same amount of time to put across each day. We do our best to give a clear picture of what is going on. In that sense the news is a window on the world, explains an anonymous journalist in 2000, Of course we cant include every detail, or interview every person involved, we try to cover stories in a way that will interest and inform them. Journalists work is often referred to as gate keeping, where they must make decisions by using a number of news values identified by Galtung and Ruge (1973) to determine what is and is not newsworthy. According to these sociologists, events that are dramatic and negative in their consequences, events that can be considered extraordinary, personalised or concerning important figures become newsworthy and cross the gate to become news. Gatekeepers have the power to control what is seen in the news thus curtaining the window on the world and not allowing us to see the depth and broad variety of news from all around. The Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) has carried out content analysis for many years which involves detailed analysis of the language and visual images used by the media. Along with the traditional Marxists, they argue that all of the news selection is deliberate and the result of conscious manipulation. They have found that the media constantly reflects the familiar theory of the powerful in society, whilst marginalising the view of others. It may indicate a white, male, middle-class viewpoint, as many people in the media are drawn from these social backgrounds. There is a hierarchy of credibility whereby only certain groups are asked for their opinion, as they are seen to be more reliable and their remarks more valid. Protesters tactics are more likely to be reported than their views, experts and establishment figures are more popularly heard than ordinary people. This can be displayed as only a small fraction of the window overlooking the great big world. As a final approach to this question, in contrast to all the conclusions made about media being manipulated in accordance with powerful authorities, the pluralist view, argue that the news reflects the full diversity of viewpoints in society and that certain views will dominate in each situation, whereby the bias is usually inconsistent. The work of the GUMG shows that the media do not just reflect public opinion but that they also provide an agenda for the public, so that people think about issues in a way that benefits the ruling class and help maintain the capitalist system. In this respect the media are a powerful ideological influence and so news cannot be a window on the world if what we are looking through, is a blurred reality.

Wall Street Women Essay Example for Free

Wall Street Women Essay The book Wall Street Women is book talking about the first generation women who have been able to establish themselves as professional in Wall Street. It goes back to the 1960’s when women began their careers and were faced by blatant discrimination and challenges in their advancement, they created and formed formal and informal associations with an aim of bolstering each other’s careers. This historical ethnography by Melissa S. Fisher borrows from fieldwork, archival research and extensive interviews with successful women of the first generation in Wall Street. She goes on to describe their professional and political associations most common being the Women’s Campaign Fund and the Financial Women’s Association of New York which were groups formed to promote the election of pro-choice women. Melissa S. Fisher charts the evolution of women’s careers and how they have grown both politically and economically. She looks at the changes in their perspectives and the cultural climate in Wall Street as well as the 2008 financial collapse. In Wall Street most of the pioneering subjects never participated in the women’s movement that had been happening in the 1960’s and 1970’s. She argues that these women did produce a â€Å"market feminism† which was in line with the liberal feminist ideas on meritocracy and gender equity with the logic of the market. This is a book that has been well researched and thoroughly documented and it’s a portrait of pioneer women by providing context for understanding the emergent discourse of feminizing markets. Fisher saw an opportunity to carve out a niche within the academic literature to examine career movements and the underlying motivation for women in Wall Street. She began by interviewing a group of 20 women who were in senior level management in 1993. She went on to keep in touch with them to throughout the financial crisis and kept track of their careers and identified their frustrations and challenges as well as ultimately locating their trajectories within a cultural framework. The results of this research ended up in a book Wall Street Women. Discussion Wall Street Women looks into what it’s really like to make a career in the boardrooms of the incorrigible boys club of high finance. Fisher is a scholar at New York University in the department of Social and Cultural Analysis and traces fifty years of the personal and professional lives of the first generation women who make it as executives on Wall Street. The females in this book served in the top most units of major investment banks and brokerage firms as well as ran their own boutique management firms. She did a decade worth of research with interviews conducted in offices in London and New York. All this female professionals were picked from fundraisers and networks during events at the Upper East Side manses and they were followed up even after the financial crisis. She displays how women who made it on Wall Street deftly deployed their supposedly innate risk-averse qualities to be able to stay at the top of their game. This means that women had to deploy their female innate qualities to be able to stay afloat for a long term. Since the 1990’s female executives have cast and portrayed themselves as prudent â€Å"mothers making family purchases† this is directly opposite to the hot-blooded male investors on Wall Street. These same traits that made these women would be â€Å"saviors of the economy†. According to Fisher this is a function strategy and not part of a biological function. Some people believe that women are more conservative and risk-averse than their male counterparts. Some also believe that if women had filled more top leadership roles the financial crisis and recession would not have come out that way. They believe that things would have unfolded differently. According to Wall Street Women it shows like women have different intrinsic qualities and are capable of handling issues different. According to Fisher this is not purely biological rather its psychological asp ect. Its more on the socialization nature of women rather, women are brought up to inhabit and possess some of this characters and qualities. There could be a connection between being a woman and being risk-averse. The bottom line however is that it never about the women; it’s always about the powers that are in play. Systems of power play a big role in influencing socialization and how people run things. People need to realize that some of these ideas are culturally constructed and can be changed if people became more culturally conscious on issues being raised. Wall Street Women does not reveal the names of the women or the names of their firms. However, the book does give us the pleasure of hearing conversations that take place behind closed doors in corporate boardrooms and offices. These women in Wall Street dish and talk about the guys in their offices and companies they really dish. The women in book share their fears on what men think of them and they are unnervingly nervous. One of the female executives is worried about the lay-off post crash due to the recession and is worried that she is becoming a â€Å"a bag lady†. This is a really odd concern by a multimillionaire. In the same scenario we get a younger employee who wants to take a maternity leave being told by her female boss â€Å"As far as I’m concerned, you have screwed up your job†. There is an aspect of homo sociality in the book, where employers in most sectors tend to hire other who act and look like them. This only means one thing that even at that time fewer women got hired in Wall Street. This scenario has led to fewer women being promoted and moving up the ladder. One wonders if recognizing this as a phenomenon in the business world is going to help change things and if it’s an innate practice how can society help change it. Fisher shows us that is really hard to completely take over power over culture. Some of these practices are ingrained in peoples mind and they believe in them. These are broader economic systems and it will require a large number of women in the sector to be able to pressure them to a point of rupture. To change some ideologies and stereotypes against women there is need for more women to rise and become professionals so that they can become part of the change mechanism. By rising and proving to the world that its possible for some belief systems to be brought down women will be able to influence some of the issues that are facing them. The groups of female executives in Wall Street Women are an example of what women can become when they believe in themselves and when they raise to the occasion and work towards empowering themselves. Women need to be their own champions when it comes to matters changing how society views them. Having a few women at the top and running things does not change things. As seen in Wall Street Women things in the business world on matters involving women did not change much even when this few women worked their way to the top and ran successful businesses. Today the world hasn’t accepted the fact that women can take control of things and handle bu siness well even when a few have risen to the occasion and done so. Some of the policies in the workplace do not accommodate women. However, there some policies being implemented for the good of women but when it comes to real practice the story is not the same. One example is with flexible time, men are not the ones who are supposed to take flex time. Even with some of these policies in place culture and cultural beliefs still come into play. Sometimes and actual shift may not take place because there is a stronger cultural hold that is informal and is prevailing over formal rule. Most of the women in the book Wall Street Women started their business careers back in the early 1970’s and were beneficiaries of the post war affluence that democratized and reigned college enrollment. They were also boosted by the civil rights-era laws that banned hiring discrimination laws that mostly locked women out of the corporate and business world. Wall Street was becoming more diverse. Wall Street had become more meritocratic as well as relatively diverse with a great number of middle-class strivers without the luster of a distinguished family pedigree and joined investment banks and brokerage firms. These women did not have MBA’s and insider connections, a common path that cut through the banking industry research divisions as well as back office support when they joined Wall Street. The brokers had all the unrepentant brashness and frat boy chumminess but they still went on and depended on number crunchers. When the deal making became more complex and harder the need for more research grew and became more important. Fisher says, â€Å"Joined investment bankers and traders in the ‘front office’†. These women had to go down on the ground to do the research on investment and study markets for themselves. They never allowed whatever they lacked disrupt them or make them miss in their goal to success. For this women change came slowly, with time they learnt the ropes and got to know how to overcome challenges. Wall Street was not smooth sailing they had to stand and learn the trick behind all those deals and business transactions. Back in the 1970’s there were less than 100 professional women working on Wall Street. They had to negotiate work attire when there were no models that they could draw from and they had constant headaches for those who didn’t want to look like secretaries. Some of the female investors even donned suits and ties just like their men colleagues in the business. â€Å"I feel like I am Jane Goodall†, was marveled by one woman recalling the dynamics of a male-run board meeting. The first professional group of women in Wall Street was the Financial Women’s Association was formed in 1956. By all accounts the women group was very conservative and in 1978 they voted against advocating the Equal Rights Amendment. They worked to advance themselves on Wall Street as they felt they couldn’t be overtly political. They became more relaxed in their fight for equality in the work place as well as the business world. The Financial Women Association and an offshoot the Women’s Campaign Fund played a central and important role in another movement that funded an early generation of women politicians. By the 1990’s the group of female investors that Fisher was studying presented the first organized group of rich women who weren’t heiresses and widows. They had made their way to the top and on the way had made a lot of money to help the stay there. These women would go on to bankroll a new wave of pro-choice female candidates. They started influencing other sectors apart from the business world in Wall Street. In this part Fisher goes on to explain a little known bit of history. These women furthered the careers of women like the former Texas Governor Ann Richards as well as Senators Olympia Snowe a Republican from Maine and Barbara Boxer a Democrat from California. Back then there was an advocacy for corporate diversity and affirmative action ideas that did not seem to sit well with the women in Wall Street in Fishers book. Congress had mandated a twelve week of unpaid maternity leave in the year 1993. One wonders now that they were the bosses in these companies, how generous should they be to younger women? â€Å"We expected so little in the way of a combination of work and family,† one of the women said. â€Å" I was shocked at the entitlement of the younger women†. By the time the bottom went down out of the market most of the female investors in Fishers book were coming into retirement. The financial recession did not only raise discomforting questions and it saw women both old and young get purged into Wall Street ranks. Currently the financial sector has the biggest gender gap wage compared to other profession. The statistics stand at 55 ¢ to 62 ¢ for every $1 made by men, compared to 77 ¢ on average. On their own many of the women regretted their laser like focus when it came to individual advancement and they sought to stay clear of what had happened. One of the female investors laments â€Å"Wall Street as a casino is not the Wall Street we all entered†. Conclusion The book shows the extent to which women think they are feminist. While there is a group of women out there who are marching in the streets championing for the rights of women, there others who have entered the Wall Street and been there for some decades and are working on enacting the feminism. Most of the women who were interviewed by Melissa Fisher for her book Wall Street Women show us a group of women who take the advocacy into a higher level and moved in to change things. Women not only need to advocate for their rights and what they belief but they also need to empower themselves, believe in themselves and work towards setting the pace. Wall Street Women is a representation of what women can do when they believe in themselves. The women in this book came from different background and possessed diverse capabilities but their belief in success allowed them to enter what was believed to be a â€Å"male world† and take over by storm. Although they never got the chance to run and change things as they wished and believed, they got a chance to stand and represent women and show that it can be done. The women never had the pedigree qualities that some heiresses and widows of wealthy men in the business world but they have been able to take over and forge the way to their success as well as encourage others. If women can be able to support and empower each other as seen in the way this female executives supported the pro-life politicians there is a possibility that women will be able to bring the change they believe in. these women faced blatant discrimination and barriers to advancement, they created formal and informal associations to push and support each other’s careers. Work Cited Fisher, S. M. Wall Street Women. Duke University Press. 2012. Print. Wall Street Women. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Women-Melissa-Fisher/dp/0822353458. Fisher, M. Wall Street Women. Retrieved from: http://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/PubMaterials/978-0-8223-5345-4_601.pdf. Analysis of Wall Street Women. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-26/book-review-wall-street-women-by-melissa-s-dot-fisher. Melissa Fisher: Wall Street Woman. Retrieved from: http://www.nyu.edu/global/global-academic-centers/washington-dc/nyu-washingtondc-events/melissa-s-fisher-wall-street-women.html

Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales English Literature Essay

Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales English Literature Essay Life in England wasnt always easy in the early fourteenth century. On the surface, it looked as if nothing was going on but everyday life; however, In Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales, it is revealed that you cant always believe what is on the outside. A group of travelers gather together at Tabard Inn to begin a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In the General Prologue, the readers are introduced to each of these characters. The stories which range from animal fables to epics about love and comedies of sexual comeuppance (Chaucer) are important factors in the story. During the pilgrimage, each traveler has to tell two stories on the way to Canterbury, and on the way back. Chaucer wrote the story around the late thirteen hundreds, but it was meant for a private reader because of its controversial stories. He died before he could finish the tale. He used the pilgrimage to create literary works that could last over a hundred years. Chaucers precise description of the harsh reality of soc iety includes controversial topics like the corruption of church, sexuality, and abuse of power; but regardless to say, Chaucers story helps unravel some of the corruption in society. In England, life was not easy for everyone. There was famine, poverty, corruption in politicians and people of high status. By the late fourteenth century, the Catholic Church, which governed England, Ireland, and the entire continent of Europe, had become extremely wealthy. It cost a lot of money to build and decorate the lavish cathedrals. The leaders of lay society were less patient with the special privileges of the clergy; laymen of all ranks questioned the vast wealth of the church wealth that was not all that much greater than before, but which seemed more irritating; and many genuinely religious people, lay and clerical both, criticized the spiritual failures of the church (Muhlberger). Due to expenses caused by war, and many deaths by the Black Plague, many people have lost patience with the church because of how it seemed like the church and its clergymen seem to have a more luxurious life compared to others. This triggered many stories and tales about how the church was g reedy and selfish. The religious figures Chaucer represents in The Canterbury Tales all deviate in one way or another from what was traditionally expected of them (Spark Notes Editors). The characters themselves are just the stereotypical representations of how religious figures acted during this time. The Monk, Prioress, and the Friar were religious figures, but in the general prologue, it is revealed that they are not who they seem to be. For example, the Prioress (a nun who is head of her convent) was described as modest and quiet, she aspires to have exquisite taste, and dressed very lavish and lived a life that most nuns do not. Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde with rosted flesh, or milk and wastel-breed (Chaucer 5), in translation it says that she gave roasted mean or milk and bread to her dogs. During this century, there was a lot of famine and poverty. Many people could even afford milk and bread, so the fact that the Prioress can give her food generously to animals instead of sharing with others is an ironic representation of a nun who are usually kind and sharing. Another example of the representation is of the Monk. Most monks devote there life to work and prayer, and lived in monasteries, but the Monk on the pilgrimage didnt care for this rule. He enjoys hunting and eating as his pastimes instead of prayer and fasting. It is ironic because Monks are typically known for the quite calm nature, and love of life and gods creatures, and in this case the Monk enjoys hunting down the creatures he is supposed to love. Chaucers stereotypical representation of the characters doesnt represent everyone of the profession, just the ones on the pilgrimage. As stated earlier, it was a common stereotype that religious figures often abused their power for greed; in which some cases took advantage of the position they hold to cease opportunities for personal gain. It is human nature to want to have dominance over others and control over their lives. Some people just want power to be understood and treated better. Like the Wife of Bath, who used her story to send a message to the other men in the journey. The wife of bath told a story of a Knight who rapes a young maiden because he felt that he had the power to do so because of his authority. He was sentenced to death but the Wife gave him one chance to make amends, Thou standes yet, in swich array that of thy lyf yet hastow no suretee. I grante thee lyf, if thou kanst tellen me what thing is it that women moost desiren (Chaucer 182). A year later, he returns to the castle with an old hag who had given him the answer in exchange for any request she wanted. He told the Wife of Bath that what women wanted most was to have control over their husbands and lovers. The queen decreed that the knight was to be pardoned, but he was in horror because he was forced to marry the Hag. Over the next few days , the wife of the knight confronts him as to why he is acting repulsed by her. The women tells the knight that beauty is only skin deep, and that even though you are at of a high status in social hierarchy, it doesnt make you better then the peasants on the lower level. In essence, the Hag can represent the Wife of bath who is telling the story, because later on she turns into a beautiful maiden when the knight surrenders himself to her control. She wants to be considered beautiful and have power over her husbands, where as she has had five marrages already. The Wife of Baths story shows the significance of sexuality during this time, because back then it was common to not treat females right, it was a male dominated world. But her story shows that in some cases, bad men can change, and that women can have influence upon their lovers. Now not every male can be converted like the knight in the Wife of Baths tale, because in reality not all mens pride allows them to let their lovers dominate them. Although sex paid an important role in society, whereas being a male means that you have more dominance and power than others, it doesnt mean that all men use their powers wisely. Many of the religious figures in the Canterbury tales often abused their power, which can add on to the assumption that the Church of England was corrupted. The Friars and Summoners took advantage of the jobs they had. The Friars were traveling priest who spread religion in a wide, diverse area, along with collecting money for the church. In the story, the Friar was said to have taken advantage of people who wanted to atone for their sins. He would travel from town to town and demanded bribes when peasants and lords wanted to have penance for the sins they have committed. He would also take advantage of women. The friar can be seen as a symbol of corruption, because he uses his power as a man of god to gain money for himself, instead of fulfilling his duties for the lord. During the Pilgrimage, the Friar and Summoner often got into arguments because they did the same thing, take advantage of others and collected money. This clearly is an act of corruption, in our viewpoint it looks as if the church is the cause of the problem, but thats not always the case. It is the actions of an individual that creates the conflicts in society, not the group the person is associated with. Chaucer used the Canterbury tales to show how the church was assumed to be corrupted because of how people took advantage of their power. People took advantage of social status and people without knowledge to make money for personal gain. These people who have grown wealthy had stained the church during the time. During the Fourteenth century, the roles of sexuality led to several factors. Whether you were male or not determined how others treated you and what you were able to do, thus creating a need for power in the more neglected side as stated in the Wife of Baths tale. This abuse of power feeds those who prefer to advance their own selfish ambitions rather than help others for the good of man, which inevitably caused many to believe in the corruption of the church. Chaucers Canterbury tales helped readers see the darker part of society, whereas those do whatever they can to survive and for happiness, neglected who they affect in the process. Works Cited Page Chaucer, Geoffrey. Canterbury Tales. Alfred A. Knope, INC., 1958. 607. Print. Halliday, F.E. A Concise History of England. New York: Viking Press, 1965. Print. Muhlberger, Steven. Religious Conflict in Fourteenth-Century England. The Orb. Steven Muhlberger, n.d. Web. 15 Dec 2010. . SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on The Canterbury Tales. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.

A Social Injustice: the effects of social inequalities in foster care a

As an adult, people that I encounter in my everyday life often wonder how I got to be the person that I am today – an understanding, open-minded individual who does not look down upon anyone that is less fortunate than I am and who does not look to â€Å"more† fortunate individuals as role models. When I am asked how I got to be so understanding, I answer giving credit to my parents’ value system they instilled in me as well as acknowledging their duties as public servants in the City of New York. My father was a police officer who worked in a number of precincts in some of the worst, crime ridden areas of Brooklyn and my mother worked for the Department of Social Services in Child Welfare and the Bureau of Public Assistance, initially as a case-worker, in Brooklyn as well. It was because of their experiences in the â€Å"field† and interacting with those less fortunate then we were that I gained a certain level of knowledge and understanding of the unfor tunate mishaps of people of my culture and the inequalities inflicted upon the black community. Yet the most influential aspects of my knowledge came from the exposure my mother had through working for the City of New York’s child welfare system and the unfair treatments that her clients endured. As a result I will discuss the affects of social, economic and racial inequalities suffered by her clients and the impact it has had on their children’s education. During my studies in this class, we have discussed many issues in society that affects children apart of education systems across America. After reading through our assigned texts so far, I have had time to reflect upon and add to the opinions discussed in class as far as access, gender, opportunity and particularly inequalities in today’s society and how they affect our children today. The main text that influenced most of my opinions so far is David Nasaw’s book â€Å"Schooled to Order† – which discusses the history of the public school system here in America. As shown through my reaction papers and discussions in class, I felt Nasaw’s theories and opinions were reflective of the elitist, biased and prejudiced attitudes towards the working poor. I believed that people in our society today believe that unless you come from a certain lineage, pedigree, or mass amounts of money that the individual lacks a certain level of class and therefore would no t be successful adul... ...y own observance, many of these children learn from an early age to give up hope in growing up to improve their lives through education, and sometimes do not want to strive to achieve better. My mother and I both agree that until racial, economic and social inequalities are put into balance, that this city as well as many other areas around the country minority citizens will seem to always struggle and suffer from unfair treatments. She said that it is no coincidence that most of the city’s worst schools, hospitals, and emergency services seem to largely be in heavily minority populated areas and she feels that the biggest inequality in New York is race. Admittedly, this paper has been the most difficult for me to prepare in that of the topics we discussed in class, I feel that inequalities is the main category for society’s problems in which it incorporates accessibility, opportunity, gender, and mostly race. Our education system has been set-up mainly to separate the elite from the masses, and the fact that blacks have been apart of this country’s history, unfortunately have always been the last on the social list and I believe that until it changes, they will remain that way.

The Accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu :: European Europe History

The Accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu Up until the mid 17th century, it was evident that France was by no means a major player in the field of European affairs. Spain was still the most powerful state as it held a dominant monopoly over European commerce and economics. However, by 1648, this power would shift, and France would come into it's own in terms of political and economic influence. The transfer of power was aided by a weakening of the Spanish Empire, along with the establishment of an increasingly strong French state. This establishment of France would begin to occur prior to the religious wars, and would be spearheaded by a strengthening of the centralized government through the development of royal absolutism. The most significant contributor to this movement was Cardinal Armand du Plessis de Richelieu, political advisor to the king, Louis XIII, and head of the French Roman Catholic Church. The Cardinal's capable leadership, ambition and strong will fortified France's move from a second rate country to a Europ ean powerhouse. During his reign as first minister, Richelieu would accomplish numerous tasks, and establish himself as a symbol of power and leadership in France. Born in Paris in 1585, Armand du Plessis de Richelieu is considered by many to have been "the most important single figure in the building of French absolutism" . Despite his role in distinguishing France on the European map, some of the Cardinal's greatest personal accomplishments lie before his reign as first minister. To best understand these accomplishments, in particular how a "middle ranking ecclesiast" of little influence would become the most successful of the King's political advisors, it is best to look into his personal background. Probably the Cardinal's greatest assets in his rise to the top were his strong ambition and will. These characteristics can be traced back to his father, Francois Richelieu, whose own ambition and military accomplishment helped gain him the reigning King's, Henry III, favor. This rise in favor, along with the establishment of important family connections, would allow Francois to "tap into royal ecclesiastical patronage" . Armand eventually benef ited from this by gaining the title of Bishop of Lucon. Unfortunately, before Richelieu's father could create any form of financial establishment, he died, and left the family in debt. However, the message he left his sons, in particular Armand, was not one of failure, but rather one of what could be accomplished when one was willing and ambitious. The Accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu :: European Europe History The Accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu Up until the mid 17th century, it was evident that France was by no means a major player in the field of European affairs. Spain was still the most powerful state as it held a dominant monopoly over European commerce and economics. However, by 1648, this power would shift, and France would come into it's own in terms of political and economic influence. The transfer of power was aided by a weakening of the Spanish Empire, along with the establishment of an increasingly strong French state. This establishment of France would begin to occur prior to the religious wars, and would be spearheaded by a strengthening of the centralized government through the development of royal absolutism. The most significant contributor to this movement was Cardinal Armand du Plessis de Richelieu, political advisor to the king, Louis XIII, and head of the French Roman Catholic Church. The Cardinal's capable leadership, ambition and strong will fortified France's move from a second rate country to a Europ ean powerhouse. During his reign as first minister, Richelieu would accomplish numerous tasks, and establish himself as a symbol of power and leadership in France. Born in Paris in 1585, Armand du Plessis de Richelieu is considered by many to have been "the most important single figure in the building of French absolutism" . Despite his role in distinguishing France on the European map, some of the Cardinal's greatest personal accomplishments lie before his reign as first minister. To best understand these accomplishments, in particular how a "middle ranking ecclesiast" of little influence would become the most successful of the King's political advisors, it is best to look into his personal background. Probably the Cardinal's greatest assets in his rise to the top were his strong ambition and will. These characteristics can be traced back to his father, Francois Richelieu, whose own ambition and military accomplishment helped gain him the reigning King's, Henry III, favor. This rise in favor, along with the establishment of important family connections, would allow Francois to "tap into royal ecclesiastical patronage" . Armand eventually benef ited from this by gaining the title of Bishop of Lucon. Unfortunately, before Richelieu's father could create any form of financial establishment, he died, and left the family in debt. However, the message he left his sons, in particular Armand, was not one of failure, but rather one of what could be accomplished when one was willing and ambitious.

Thousand Splendid Suns Comparison

It seems that War has found a home in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan have seen three decades of Anti-Soviet Jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny. They have lived through unimaginable horrors and now, their incredible stories of hope and oppression are being told. In A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra, the women are oppressed by their husbands and society. Mariam is passive and compliant while Zunaira is defiant and angry, yet both suffer the same pain and isolation. Initially, their suffering increases because their anger at being oppressed and tortured is deflected towards the wrong people, people who actually care for them. Through their difficult journeys, their eyes are opened up to the power and beauty of a loving relationship. The loss or gain of such a relationship is the defining factor of whether or not each character finds peace and self-worth. The women in both novels transition from a state of being hopeful to complete desolation due to the oppression in their lives. Initially, Mariam from A Thousand Splendid Suns expresses much hope about attaining a bright future. She wants to pursue an education as she says, â€Å"I mean a real school†¦like in a classroom, like my father's other kids† (Hosseini, 17). Mariam firmly believes that she can shed her shameful status of a bastard's child, and as she gets older, she takes strides to make this vision into a reality. Moreover, Mariam is constantly inundated with her mother's pessimistic ideals about life, but she believes that â€Å"You're [Mother] are afraid that I might find the happiness you never had. And you don't want me to be happy. You don't want a good life for me† (Hosseini, 28). As a result, at first, Mariam is a strong figure with a lively spirit who is able to combat much negativity in her life and continue to dream and hope of a better future. Perhaps, her naivety fosters these hopes and dreams as well. Later, Mariam's husband, Rasheed successfully crushes her strong spirit. During one of his fierce outbursts, â€Å"he shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold pebbles into it†¦but he kept pushing the pebbles in, his upper lip curled into a sneer† (Hosseini, 104). Mariam is tortured psychologically, physically and her lively spirit is broken. She completely isolates herself from the outside world, and quietly suffers inside her house as â€Å"†¦Mariam was afraid† (Hosseini, 98). She is passive and compliant in the abusive relationship because she abandons all hope, and tries 1 to endure everything that falls upon her. Oppression crushes Mariam's inner strength and she becomes a walking dead person, confined to her own home. Furthermore, Zunaira from The Swallows of Kabul undergoes a similar transition from a state of hopefulness to desolation. At the beginning, Zunaira is a hopeful person. Her husband, Mohsen, says, â€Å"Her zeal was unmatched, save by the praises heaped upon her. She was a brilliant girl and her beauty lifted every heart† (Khadra, 73). She is extremely passionate about empowering the women in Afghanistan, that she even pursues a career as a magistrate to set an example to rest of her countrymen. Zunaira embodies hope, and positive change in a country devastated by war. Like Mariam, Zunaira's hopeful spirit sets her up on a high pedestal to fall from. Then, Zunaira is oppressed by the Taliban. She is writhing with anger and hatred when she says, â€Å"†¦the most detestable fact of [my] existence, to the constraint with anger and hatred that even in [my] dreams [I] refuse to accept: the forfeiture of [my] rights† (Khadra, 99). Anger and hatred threatens to rip Zunaira apart because she feels that the Taliban have stripped her off her dignity and humiliated her beyond endurance. Pride is important to Zunaira. Thus, she struggles to control her anger in public when she views the bitter state of her country, how the Taliban have destroyed her pride, hopes and dreams. Unlike Mariam, Zunaira is defiant and angry. Zunaira actually attains her goal of becoming a magistrate, and thus, she experiences a greater sensation of loss. Mariam and Zunaira combat the oppression in different ways but they suffer the same pain and isolation. Oppression induces a negative change in both characters. In addition, the women have coping mechanisms to deal with the sorrow in their lives. Their ability to cope is affected by family members. Mariam remembers her mother's story, â€Å"where each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the World. That all the sighs drifted up in the sky, gathered in the clouds, and then broke into tiny pieces†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hosseini, 91). Mariam is submissive in her abusive relationship because her mother has taught her by example, that Afghani women solely have to endure the pain and suffering in their lives. She makes no attempts to change her situation in her marriage because she lives by her mother's teachings. Perhaps, if Mariam were to stand up for herself or stir up chaos during one of Rasheed's beatings, Rasheed would not turn to violence against her so easily. Also, Mariam could have searched for alternatives to escape Rasheed before the Taliban implemented the harsh laws. Over the years, Mariam becomes increasingly helpless and miserable under Rasheed's rule, as she follows the model of her mother's teachings. Also, she deflects her anger and sorrow 2 towards the wrong people, people who actually care for her. Laila, Rasheed's younger wife tries to extend a friendship towards Mariam multiple times, but Mariam pushes Laila away. She screams at Laila, â€Å"†¦I have no use for your company†¦You will leave me be and I will return the favour. That's how we will get on. Those are the rules† (Hosseini, 226). As Mariam pushes Laila farther away, she only becomes a greater target of Rasheed's abuse because Rasheed tends to beat Mariam when he is angry with Laila. During a beating, Rasheed â€Å"held a belt in his hand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and Mariam becomes absolutely petrified, but Laila tries to stand up for Mariam. United, Mariam and Laila are able to stand up to Rasheed and reduce the frequency and severity of Rasheed's beatings. By rebuffing Laila, Mariam only increases her own pain and suffering. The character's coping mechanisms seem to only destroy any remaining strands of courage and hope within them. Similarly, in The Swallows of Kabul, Zunaira tries to find a way to cope with the oppression in her life. At the beginning, she tries to forget her own pain and suffering to be strong for her husband. Mohsen, her husband, insists on taking a stroll in the streets of Kabul, and Zunaira refuses to go because she does not want to wear the Burqa. To Zunaira, the Burqa epitomizes the mistreatment and oppression of women in Afghanistan. In the end, Zunaira agrees to go with Mohsen when she says, â€Å"Let's go out. I'd rather run a thousand risks than to see you so demoralized† (Khadra, 79). Zunaira sacrifices some of her core values to make Mohsen happy, who is her only support system in this World. Though she does not want to lose Mohsen, her ability to cope with the oppression is hindered when she views firsthand the Taliban's brutality. Similarly, Zunaira's ability to cope with oppression is negatively impacted by the actions of her family members. Both women's hopes are crushed, but, Mariam becomes more compliant while a fire is ignited within Zunaira, which threatens to rip her apart. Also, Zunaira shuns her loved one out of her life. When Zunaira refuses to talk to Mohsen and remove her Burqa after the stroll in Kabul, he recounts, â€Å"her anger is so intense that her veil trembles before her agitated breathing and she says, ‘I don't ever want to see you again, Mohsen Ramat'† (Khadra, 129). At first, Zunaira uses her husband to cope, but later, she targets her fury towards him because she wants him to experience her great feeling of loss. Mohsen is a man, and Zunaira believes that a man will never allow a woman to attain her freedom. Like Mariam, she ends up deteriorating her life further because Mohsen accidentally dies during one of their fights. Thus, Zunaira loses another member of her family to the Taliban. Zunaira is angry, but her actions cause her loved ones to 3 suffer too, unlike Mariam who bottles up her fury and grieves alone. In the end, Mariam and Zunaira's coping mechanisms only accelerate their feelings of pain and isolation. Finally, the women in both novels undergo a period of self-realization by losing or gaining a loving relationship. Mariam is able to acquire a new found sense of inner strength. Laila and Mariam forge a special sisterly bond that Mariam can turn to for support and strength. Mariam says, â€Å"But, perhaps there were kinder years waiting still. A new life, a life which she would find the blessings that Nana had said a harami like her would never see† (Hosseini, 256). Her sisterly bond induces a positive change in Mariam as she starts to hope again. Mariam's spirit is rejuvenated, and she finds a newly acquired strength to defeat her oppressor, Rasheed. She frees herself off her primary oppressor for she finds the courage to kill Rasheed. She finds a state of inner peace at last. Also, Mariam finds a new purpose in life. Before Mariam is to be executed, she thinks, â€Å"A Weed. And yet she was leaving the World as a woman who had loved and been loved back†¦a person of consequence at last. No. It was not so bad†¦that she should die this way† (Hosseini, 370). Mariam is resented by her mother, father and husband, but her relationship with Laila and Aziza, Laila's daughter, redefine her outlook on life. Their love fills a hollow spot within Mariam, and it lessens the pain of living under oppression for decades. As Mariam has loved, she is finally able to shed her status of a arami and gain a new sense of selfworth. She sees the beauty in a loving relationship, and she finally does find peace and selfworth in her life. In The Swallows of Kabul, Zunaira makes an important self-discovery as well. By severing her ties to Mohsen, she attains a form of inner strength. When the Jailer, Atiq, tries to convince her to run away from the jail, she says, â €Å"I can't wait to get out of here, but not in the way you propose† (Khadra, 164). She accepts her fate and is prepared to die. With Mohsen's accidental death, Zunaira severs all ties to the physical world. She rids herself of all duties and obligations and deserts all of her hopes and dreams. She feels like a free spirit, symbolized by the removal of her Burqa. Her lightness renews her inner strength and now, she feels she can overcome any obstacle in her path, even dying. Though Zunaira attains a sense of inner peace by severing ties to loved ones, Mariam achieves this by finding the beauty in a loving relationship. Like Mariam, Zunaira is willing to die because their newly gained inner strength gives them the power to vanquish all obstacles in their path. Also, her loss of a loving relationship changes her perspective on life. She says to the Jailer, â€Å"We've already been killed, all of us, it happened so 4 long ago, we've forgotten it† (Khadra, 164). Zunaira realizes that she has lost everything to the Taliban, her family, her dignity, her hopes and dreams. When she sees that she has nothing worth living for anymore, she feels there is nothing more she can lose in this World, and thus, she thinks about life differently. The author does not elaborate about Zunaira's life after she is freed from the jail, but probably she dies in the near future because she does not have a home to return to. Similarly, Mariam and Zunaira are able to see the power and beauty of a loving relationship. Zunaira leaves behind her pride, and need to feel empowered while Mariam actually gains a new sense of self-worth. For Zunaira, leaving behind all the things attached to her relationship with Mohsen gives her peace. So, each character takes different routes to find peace and self-worth. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra are both set in war-torn Afghanistan. The women are oppressed by their husbands and society. Then, the coping mechanisms they utilize only increase their pain and suffering. Finally, Mariam and Zunaira make an important self-discovery where they either gain or lose the power and beauty of a loving relationship to find peace and self-worth. Overall, Mariam and Zunaira seem to reverse their roles from the beginning to the end. Mariam is passive at first, but she becomes quite aggressive at the end. While, Zunaira follows the opposite path to achieve inner peace. Millions of women are oppressed around the World, and it seems that love is the critical factor to breaking the cycle of oppression.

The Core of Religion, Art, and Faith

The Core of Religion, Art, and Faith When reading both the texts of Georges Bataille and Soren Kierkegaard, the reader is taken on an exploration of humanity. Although approached differently, this humanity is shown to be intimately intertwined with religion by both authors. Bataille studiously delves into the mind of the prehistoric man through his cave art in an attempt to understand and define what it means to be human. The art of this prehistoric man is the art of a consciousness at war with what it is and what it will become.It depicts a duality of identities. On one side the animalistic identity at one with nature and on the other side a creative rational identity that uses nature. This dual-meaning shown in the cave paintings lifts them to more than mere art. It is the visual first step in the transition from the simple to the complex. The cave art served as more than a creative outlet for our human ancestors. It held more of a ritualistic importance. They respected and loved t he animals they hunted but also degradingly used them as an instrument for personal survival.Bataille points out that it was in the ritual act of drawing the animal that the hunter created a spiritual connection. â€Å"Everything points to the fact that the carvings or the paintings did not have meaning as permanent figures of a sanctuary in which rituals were celebrated. It seems that the execution of the paintings–or the carving–was itself part of these rituals. . . The nascent[developing] image ensured the approach of the beast and the communication of the hunter with the hunted. † (75)The animals on the cave walls possessed a divine strength in the eyes of prehistoric man and as a result the hunt, and the drawing of the hunt, were a religious experience. Perhaps even the first religious experiences. As a product of the previously mentioned duality present in prehistoric man, the hunter used art as a corporeal representation of their remorse towards their des ired prey. â€Å"†¦ for the men of primitive times. . . the act of killing could also be shameful. Many primitive men ask for forgiveness beforehand for the evil that they are about to do to the animal they are pursuing. . For primitive human beings, the animal is not a thing. And this characterizes very broadly all of primitive humanity, for whom ordinary animality is rather divine. † (Bataille 54-55) To Bataille, â€Å"†¦ the world of understanding is to religion as the clarity of day is to the horror of the night. † (122) Religion is an experience undefinable through direct words. This â€Å"horror of the night† is all that is not understood; it is the undefinable, the intangible, the experience that lacks rationality and is based instead on feeling.It is how we explain and give meaning; it is the answer to the unanswerable questions that man has. Religion and art are intertwined in that they are both chaotic tools used by man to gain order over the chaotic horrors of the night. Kierkegaard, on the other hand, arrives at religion through the avenues of faith. To Kierkegaard, the man Abraham in the Bible is the perfect model of religious faith, the very first case in history of a man of pure faith, or as he calls it, a knight of faith.Faith is similar to Bataille’s idea of art and religion in that it can not be clearly defined through words. Faith is an experience; it is the idea that a single individual can have a one-on-one relationship with God that transcends the ethical. Abraham was faced with the dilemma of sacrificing his only son Isaac. Ethically and morally this would be labeled as murder, but through faith it is an absolute duty. This absolute duty is not something that can be shared, it is a private struggle, it is a solitary path to follows God’s command without remorse or doubt..It is only moments before the murder and sacrifice of Isaac that God stops Abraham and directs him to a ram instead. Through faith, ethics and morality become an entirely different thing. â€Å"He who loves God without faith reflects upon himself; he who loves God in faith reflects upon God. † (Kierkegaard 37) God’s will is the only correct way; what he asks is what will be done even if it goes against what society says is right. The man of the world, or ethical man, follows a different code of conduct. He is moral through and through and has a universal duty to others.He follows the laws and commandments of God for the good of everybody around him. His actions are dictated by cultural norms and given meaning by religious institutions. He is understood and buoyed by his peers. This is precisely the opposite of the knight of faith. Abraham has to do what is ethically wrong to do what is absolutely right in the eyes of God. Both art and faith are passionate pathways connecting with the divine. They give humanity a structure in that they give meaning to our emotions and guidance to our actions . Faith is a marvel, and yet no human being is excluded from it; for that which unites all human life is passion, and faith is passion. † (Kierkegaard 67) Faith was Abrahams way of expressing the inexpressible duty he felt toward God, just as art was the expression of prehistoric man inexpressible connection with the animal. Work Cited Bataille, Georges. The Cradle of Humanity, Prehistoric Art, and Culture. Brooklyn, New York: Zone Books, 2005. Kierkegaard, Soren. Fear and Trembling/Repetition. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1983.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 10

The next morning Elena got up and dressed quietly in the motel room, grateful for the extra space. Damon was gone, but she had expected that. He usually got his breakfast early while they were on the road, preying on waitresses at all-night truck stops or early-morning diners. She was going to discuss that with him someday, she thought as she put the packet of ground coffee in the little two-cup percolator the motel provided. It smelled good. But more urgently, she needed to talk to someone about what had happened last night. Stefan was her first choice, of course, but she'd found that out of body experiences weren't just to be had for the asking. What she needed to do was call Bonnie and Meredith. She had to talk to them – it was her right – but now, of all times, she couldn't. Intuitively, she felt that any contact between her and Fell's Church might be bad. And Matt had never checked in. Not once. She had no idea where he was on the road, but he had better be in Sedona on time, that was all. He had deliberately cut off all communication between them. Fine. As long as he showed up when he had promised. But†¦Elena still needed to talk. To express herself. Of course! She was an idiot! She still had her faithful companion that never said a word, and never kept her waiting. Pouring herself a cup of scalding black coffee on the way, Elena dug her diary out of the bottom of her duffel bag and opened it to a fresh, clean page. There was nothing like a fresh page and an ink pen that ran smoothly to start her writing. Fifteen minutes later there was a rattle at one window and a minute later Damon was stepping through. He had several paper bags with him and Elena felt unaccountably pleased and homey. She had provided coffee, which was rather good even if it came with dried cream substitute, and Damon had supplied†¦ â€Å"Gasoline,† he said triumphantly, raising his eyebrows significantly at her as he set the bags on the table. â€Å"Just in case they try to use plants against us. No, thanks,† he added, seeing she was standing with a full cup of coffee held in his direction. â€Å"I had a garage mechanic while I was buying this. I'll just go wash my hands.† And he disappeared, walking right past Elena. Walking right past her, without a glance, even though she was wearing her only clean pair of clothes left: jeans and a subtly colored top that looked white at first glance and only in the brightest light revealed that it was ethereally rainbow-shaded. Without a single look, Elena thought, feeling a strange sensation that somehow her life had just lapped itself. She started to throw the coffee away but then decided she needed it herself and drank it in a few scalding gulps. Then she went and stood by her diary, reading over the last two or three pages. â€Å"Are you ready to go?† Damon was shouting over the sound of running water in the bathroom. â€Å"Yes – in just a minute.† Elena read the diary pages from the previous entry, and began skimming the one before that. â€Å"We might as well go straight west from here,† Damon shouted. â€Å"We can make it in one day. They'll think it's a feint for one particular gate and search all the small ones. Meanwhile we'll go on heading for the Kimon Gate and be days ahead of anyone tracking us. It's perfect.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Elena said, reading. â€Å"We ought to be able to meet Mutt tomorrow – maybe even this evening, depending on what kind of trouble they cause.† â€Å"Uh-huh.† â€Å"But first I wanted to ask you: do you think it's a coincidence that our window is broken? Because I always put wards on them at night and I'm sure – † He passed a hand over his forehead. â€Å"I'm sure that I must have done that last night, as well. But something got through and broke the window and got away without a trace. That was why I bought all the the gasoline. If they try something with trees, I'll blast them all back to Stonehenge.† And half the innocent residents of the state, Elena thought grimly. But she was in a state of such shock that not much could make an impression on top of it. â€Å"What are you doing now?† Damon was clearly ready to get up and going. â€Å"Getting rid of something I don't need,† Elena said, and flushed the toilet, watching the torn-up bits of her diary swirl round and round before disappearing. â€Å"I wouldn't worry about the window, though,† she said, coming back into the bedroom and slipping her shoes on. â€Å"And don't get up for a minute, Damon. I've got to talk to you about something.† â€Å"Oh, come on. It can wait until we're on the road, can't it?† â€Å"No, it can't, because we've got to pay for that window. You broke it last night, Damon. But you don't remember doing it, do you?† Damon stared at her. She could tell that his first temptation was to laugh. His second temptation, to which he gave in, was to think that she was nuts. â€Å"I'm serious,† she said, once he had gotten up and started to pace toward the window with a distinct look of wanting to be a crow flying out of it. â€Å"Don't you dare go anywhere, Damon, because there's more.† â€Å"More stuff I did that I don't remember?† Damon lounged against the wall in one of his old, arrogant poses. â€Å"Maybe I smashed a few guitars, kept the radio on until four A.M.?† â€Å"No. Not necessarily things from – last night,† Elena said, looking away. She couldn't look at him. â€Å"Other things, from other days – â€Å" â€Å"Like maybe I've been trying to sabotage this trip all along,† he said, his voice laconic. He eyed the ceiling and sighed heavily. â€Å"Maybe I've done it just to be alone with you – â€Å" â€Å"Shut up, Damon!† Where had that come from? Well, she knew that, of course. From her feelings about last night. The problem was that she also had to get some other things settled – seriously, if he would take them. Come to think of it, that might be a better way to go about this. â€Å"Do you think that your feelings about Stefan – well, have changed at all recently?† Elena asked. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Do you think† – oh, this was so difficult looking into black eyes the color of endless space. Especially when last night they had been full of myriads of stars – â€Å"do you think that you've come to think of him differently? To honor his wishes more than you used to do?† Now Damon was openly examining her, just as she was examining him. â€Å"Are you serious?† he said. â€Å"Completely,† she said, and, with a supreme effort, she sent her tears back where they were supposed to go. â€Å"Something did happen last night,† he said. He was looking intently at her face. â€Å"Didn't it?† â€Å"Something happened, yes,† Elena said. â€Å"It was – it was more of a – † She had to let out her breath, and with that almost everything went. â€Å"Shinichi! Shinichi, che bastardo! Imbroglione! That thief! I'm going to kill him slowly!† Suddenly Damon was everywhere. He was beside her, his hands on her shoulders; the next minute he was shouting imprecations out the window, then he was back, holding both her hands. But only one word mattered to Elena. Shinichi. The kitsune with his black, scarlet-tipped hair, who had made them give up so much just for the location of Stefan's cell. â€Å"Mascalzone! Maleducato – † Elena lost track of Damon's cursing again. So it was true. Last night had been completely stolen from Damon, taken from his mind as simply and completely as the interval when she had used Wings of Redemption and Wings of Purification on him. The latter he had agreed to. But last night – and what other things had the fox been taking? To cut out an entire evening and night – and this evening and night in particular, implied that†¦ â€Å"He never shut down the connection between my mind and his. He still can reach inside me any time he chooses.† Damon had finally stopped swearing, and stopped moving. He was sitting on the couch opposite the bed with his hands drooping between his knees. He looked singularly forlorn. â€Å"Elena, you have to tell me. What did he take from me last night? Please!† Damon looked as if he might fall on his knees in front of her, without melodrama. â€Å"If – if – it was what I think – â€Å" Elena smiled, although tears were still running down her face. â€Å"It wasn't – what anyone would think, exactly, I suppose,† she said. â€Å"But – !† â€Å"Let's just say that this time – was mine,† Elena said. â€Å"If he's stolen anything else from you, or if he tries to do it in the future, then he's fair game. But this†¦will be my secret.† Until maybe someday you break into your huge boulder of secrets, she thought. â€Å"Until I tear it out of him, along with his tongue and his tail!† snarled Damon, and it was truly the snarl of an animal. Elena was glad it wasn't directed at her. â€Å"Don't worry,† Damon added in a voice so chilling that it was almost more frightening than the animal fury. â€Å"I will find him, no matter where he tries to hide. And I will take it from him. I might just take his entire little furry hide off with it. I'll make you a pair of mittens out of it, how's that?† Elena tried to smile and did a pretty good job. She was just coming to terms with what had happened herself, although she didn't believe for a minute that Damon would really leave her alone on the subject until he forced the memory back out of Shinichi. She realized that on some level she was punishing Damon for what Shinichi had done, and that was wrong. I promise no one will know about last night, she told herself. Not until Damon does. I won't even tell Bonnie and Meredith. This made things a lot harder on her, and therefore probably more equitable. As they were cleaning up the debris from Damon's most recent fit of fury, he suddenly reached up to brush a stray tear from Elena's cheek. â€Å"Thank you – † Elena began. Then she stopped. Damon was touching his fingers to his lips. He looked at her, startled and a little disappointed. Then he shrugged. â€Å"Still unicorn bait,† he said. â€Å"Did I say that last night?† Elena hesitated, then decided that his words didn't fall within the crucial time limits of secrecy. â€Å"Yes, you did. But – you won't give me away, will you?† she added, suddenly anxious. â€Å"I've promised my friends not to say anything.† Damon was staring at her. â€Å"Why should I say anything about anybody? Unless you're talking about the little redheaded one?† â€Å"I told you; I'm not saying anything. Except that obviously Caroline isn't a virgin. Well, with all the ruckus about her being pregnant – â€Å" â€Å"But you remember,† Damon interjected, â€Å"I came to Fell's Church before Stefan did; I just lurked in the shadows longer. The way you talked – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, I know. We liked boys and boys liked us, and we already had reputations. So we just talked any way we felt like talking. Some of it may have been true, but a lot of it you could take two ways – and then of course you know how boys talk – â€Å" Damon knew. He nodded. â€Å"Well and so pretty soon everyone was talking about us as if we'd done everything with everyone. They even wrote stuff about it in the paper and the yearbook and on the bathroom walls. But we had a little poem, too, and sometimes we even wrote it with our signatures on it. How did it go?† Elena cast her mind back a year, two years, more. Then she recited: â€Å"Just because you heard it, doesn't make it true. Just because you read it, doesn't make it so. The next time that you hear it, it may be about you. Don't think that you can change their minds, just 'cause you know – you know!† As Elena finished, she looked at Damon, suddenly feeling the urgent need to get to Stefan. â€Å"We're almost there,† she said. â€Å"Let's hurry.†

Theroies of Child Development

Professor:Linda Derscheid, Ph. D. Office:Wirtz 160Fax: 753-1321 Office Phone:753-6341 with voice mail or 753-1543 (receptionist); Helpdesk: 815-753-8100 E-mail: [email  protected] edu; Blackboard: http://webcourses. niu. edu n development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Wadsworth, B. J. (2004). Piaget's theory of cognitive and affective development (5th ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. READINGS:Other assigned readings will be placed on Blackboard e-reserve from the NIU library. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Analysis of the major theories of chilfor syllabus and assignments; computer help email: [email  protected] du Office Hours:Open: M noon-1 p. m. ; Adv. : TTh. 1 2 p. m. & Fri. 11-noon or by appointment REQUIRED TEXTS (These are typed in APA 6 style except they need to be double spaced): Salkind, N. J. (2004). An introduction to theories of humad development and their implications in working with young children. PRQ: FCNS 230, FCNS 280, and at least junior standing. OBJECTIVES: 1. St udents will be able to identify and compare and contrast (in-depth) theories of child development. (Activities: 1, 2, 4, & 5) 2.Students will apply some of the knowledge acquired about theoretical approaches to practical issues in child development using technology. (Activities: 1, 2, 4, & 5) 3. Students will evaluate the contributions and limitations of the major theories of child development. (Activities: 1, 2, 4, & 5) Family and Child Studies (FCS) B. S. Program Obj: Graduates of the FCS program will be prepared for successful professional careers serving children, families, & individuals throughout the lifespan by demonstrating: 1) use of self-understanding for personal & professional development (Obj. ); 2) use of a variety of theoretical & scientific approaches used to study & work with children, individuals, & families (Obj. 1-3); 3) application of methods for affecting change in family and social systems through empowering intervention strategies (Obj. 2); 4) application of professional expertise regarding human development & family relationships when disseminating knowledge to children, individuals, & families (Obj. 2); 5) professional communication skills & use of technology (Obj. 1,2); and 6) integration of knowledge & skills to work with individuals & families of diverse backgrounds (Obj. ). Early Childhood Studies Conceptual Framework: The ECS program is part of the NIU Community of Learners, which builds upon knowledge, practice, and reflection to build exemplary Early Childhood Professionals. EVALUATION: (Grades are based on the 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% scale. ) Undergraduate students 4 Exams (10% each) =200 pts. (50%) 2 Short Papers (10% each) =100 pts. (25%) Quizzes & Question Sets 100 pts. (25%) 400 pts. (100%) Note: Incompletes given at the end of the semester, will only be given if the form has been signed by you and your instructor by the last class period.See your NIU student handbook for approved reasons. Note: Both undergrad and grad students ’ assignments and grades are posted under the same Blackboard posting, so all points will be displayed. Just figure your points according to the above points. 1. Exams: The exams will involve multiple choice questions that will cover the readings, lectures, and class discussions. The exams will be worth 200 points. Quizzes (5) will be given after 1 or 2 theories have been discussed. These will be given at the beginning of class. If you are late; you will miss the quiz. No Make-Ups for quizzes.Leave only when exam is completed; during exams and quizzes, no hats with brims may be worn; no cell phones or other technology equipment; no cheating. Students are expected to arrive for exams and quizzes on time. No student will be allowed to take an exam if s/he arrives after the first student has completed the exam and left the room. If quizzes are given in class, you must be present when quizzes are distributed in order to be eligible to take a quiz. All exams and quizzes must be re turned to the instructor before the student leaves class. A student who removes an exam from the classroom will be given an F for that exam.Bring a #2 pencil. Also refer to #5 and Grading Criteria below. Make-up Exams: Make-up exams will be allowed only when prior notice is given with an approved excuse with proof. Make-up exams are scheduled on Friday afternoons at 1:30 in WZ 118. 2. Short Papers (2, see the due dates on the class calendar): In these papers (4-6 text pages in length), you will be required to integrate, apply, and communicate the appropriate theories. All papers must be typed and written in APA style (with cover page, citations in your text, including citing all theoretical constructs (see end of this syllabus for citation info. , & reference page). Turn in & submit on Blackboard’s Assignments button. Re-do of these papers are available for those achieving a 70% or better. 3. Question Sets (5 Take Home Mini-Exams for study guides): These will be available on Blackboard. Type in your paraphrased responses to each question with the text page number and submit via Blackboard through the Assignments button by 9:15 a. m. Tuesday morning. Late question sets & those with quotes will be given a 0. Typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation will be factored into your points (1 pt. /error after 2). So proof read!!!Think of these as study guides for yourself, so be thorough and accurate. Check the chapter lecture outline that is on Blackboard for helpful tips if you can’t find the info in the textbook/s. 4. Class Policies: a. Class Participation: Participation is encouraged and appreciated! Each week you will be assigned readings from the text and/or articles. You are expected to have read or skimmed these assigned readings before class in order for you to participate meaningfully in class discussions and small group exercises. It is important we have a safe atmosphere for discussion and learning.Unprofessional class conduct that impedes oth er class members’ learning (e. g. , eating, talking, whispering, shuffling, reading or writing in a newspaper, cell phone use, sleeping, etc. ) while others (including the professor) are talking or watching videos will result in the lowering of one grade (Refer to the Student Judicial Code). Two tardies will count as one absence. Attendance counts only if attending the whole class period. More than 2 weeks missing class will lower your final grade at least one grade. Students must ask the professor’s permission before any guests can attend class. b. Americans with Disabilities Act.Any student who, because of a documented disability, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the professor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations. c. All written assignments must be completed. A missing written assignment will result in lowering your final class letter grade by double the original points. Keep a hard copy of all written assignments when you submit them. Save your files in multiple places. d. Professional behavior. You are in college or graduate school because you plan to be a professional (or are enhancing your professional status).Part of what you are here for is to learn/enhance your professional skills. If at work you don’t show up, or come in late, or exhibit grossly unprofessional behavior, you will be fired. Please use this class, and all your classes, as places in which to learn and practice professional behaviors! Then on your own time and when work is done, party hearty! e. Do not bring electronic devises to class. If your beeper/pager goes off or your cell phone rings during class, you will be asked to leave and you will be considered absent for that class period. Refer to the Judicial Code for details. ) If a pager or cell phone is required for your job, please inform the professor PRIOR to class. In this instance, the pager/cell should be on vibrate mode. Any cell phone t hat is out &/or used during a quiz or exam will be confiscated and you will receive an F on that quiz or exam. f. Confidentiality: Students are expected to be professional. One of the issues that you will face when you enter the workforce is the issue of confidentiality. All written work is confidential. During discussions, personal information may be shared with the class.It is expected that what is said in the context of class discussions will be given the confidentiality it deserves. Because some of the topics discussed may touch on personal issues, you are encouraged to regulate how much you decide to share based on your comfort level. Should issues arise as a result of class discussions, please inform the professor. Names of children will not be used in class discussions. g. Contacting your professor: You have several ways to contact me. I check email several times a day every week day and at least once on weekends.There is never an excuse for not being able to contact me. I am available before and after class, by email and phone. Common sense says if you leave me a message and I do not respond within 24 hours, contact me again. I will never accept that a student did not know something, do something, etc. because he or she could not find me. If students need something from me, it is the student’s responsibility to locate the professor. It is not the professor’s responsibility to find students and ask if they need something! Students are professionals and can take responsibility for themselves and their needs.Contact me only after checking your syllabus & assignments first! Do not email me about grades after posting because grades cannot be discussed via email. SHORT PAPERS’ GUIDELINES: There will be two short papers. The 1st paper will include analyses using a social and emotional theories; the 2nd paper will include analyses using cognitive and learning development theories. This paper should tie together observations from your exper iences with appropriate theoretical content from the class sessions. You will be given a choice of paper topics, which will be handed out later.Your papers will be graded with A–F (on a % basis). All papers must be TYPED. They should each be 4-6 text pages (not including title and reference pages) long with citations included, double-spaced in APA 5 style with title and reference pages. Turn in one hard copy & also submit on Blackboard using the assignment button. Any paper with more than 7 typos past 2 per page will be failed. After 3 grammatical errors, 20 pts will be deducted. A paper longer than 6 text pages will drop a letter grade. In other words, take the time to proof read and follow directions! GRADING CRITERIA: A† PaperYour ideas are well organized and presented clearly. Thorough and appropriate course content is used accurately to analyze and discuss the assigned topic. Relevant examples are included. â€Å"B† PaperThe course material may be either acc urately or thoroughly presented. The interrelationships between the course content and the paper topic and examples are either not clear or not integrated clearly. â€Å"C† PaperOverall, the coverage is not integrated and incomplete or inaccurate. Selection of material from one area is not based upon what materials were chosen from other areas.This paper tends to be basically a simple repetition of readings and/or class discussions and/or personal experiences with little integration. There is little analysis, and/or there are some inaccuracies. â€Å"D† PaperThe course content is presented in an incomplete and isolated manner, with basic misunderstandings of course material. Examples, if presented, are fragments. â€Å"F† PaperThe paper is irrelevant to the course or demonstrates plagiarism. Note:Late papers will not be accepted unless arrangements for an extension are negotiated between student and professor prior to the due date.Reminder: Students guilty of or assisting others in either cheating or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or exam may receive a grade of â€Å"F† for the course and may be suspended or dismissed from the university. Refer to the University Undergraduate or Graduate Catalog and the Student Judicial Code. Early rough drafts are strongly encouraged. Bring to class, email or fax them to me for early feedback. FCNS 432-Fall, 2009 TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE & ASSIGNMENTS DateTopic/sAssignment/s Aug. 25Intro. & Overview of terms & Theories of DevelopmentChap. 1 & 2 (w/o pp. 34-38) Sept. 1Sigmund Freud's PsychoanalysisChap. 5 Sept. Life Stages Approach: Erikson's Psychosocial Chap. 6 Perspective Ques. Set #1 Due 9/8 Sept. 15 Exam 1 over Chap. 1, 2, 5, & 6 minus pp. 34-38Ethology w/ AttachmentChap. 4 Sept. 22Sociobiology & Ecological TheoryChap. 4 & Chap. 2 pp. 34-38; Reading #1 Short Paper #1 Due 9/22 Sept. 29 Exam 2 over Chap. 2 (pp. 34-38), & 4 Behavioral Model: Basic Assumptions & CCChap. 7 Oct. 6Behavioral Analy sis – Operant ConditioningChap. 7 Ques. Set #2 Due 10/6 Oct. 13 Social Learning Theory Chap. 8 Oct. 20Exam 3 over Chap. 7 & 8; PiagetChap. 9 Oct. 27Cognitive-Developmental Approach-PiagetChap. 9; Wadsworth Chap 1-2 Ques. Set # 3 Due 10/27Nov. 3Cog. -Dev. – PiagetWadsworth Chap. 3-6 Nov. 10Vygotsky Chap. 10 Nov. 17Information Processing Reading #2 – Reserve Ques. Set # 4 Due 11/17 Nov. 24 NeoPiagetians & Theories of Moral DevelopmentReadings #3 Short Paper #2 Due –11/24 Dec. 1Theories of Moral Dev. ; Eval. of Dev’al TheoriesWadsworth (ends of Chap 3-6 & pp. 160-161) & Chap. 11 Quest. Set #5 Due 12/1 Dec. 10FINAL EXAM: Thursday Dec. 10 at 10-11:50 a. m. over content since exam 3 E-Reserve Readings found on our Blackboard site: #1. Thomas, R. M. (2005). Ecological psychology, (Ch. 11). #2. Thomas, R. M. (2005). Computer analogues and the self, (Ch. ). #3. Thomas, R. M. (2005). Kohlberg’s moral developmental model, (Ch. 14). FCNS 432 References (APA 6 references are double-spaced) Aldridge, J. , Sexton, D. , Goldman, R. , & Werner, M. (1997). Examining contributions of child development theories to early childhood education. College Student Journal, 31(4), 453-459. Baddeley, A. D. , & Hitch, G. J. (2000). Development of working memory: Should the Pascual-Leone and the Baddeley and Hitch model be merged? Journal of Experimental Child Psypchology, 77 (2), 128-137. Barnett, D. , Butler, C. M. , & Vondra, J. I. (1999).Atypical patterns of early attachment: Discussion and future directions. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 64(3), 172- 192. Blair, C. , Peters, R. , & Lawrence, F. (2003). Family dynamics and child outcomes in early intervention: The role of developmental theory in the specification of effects. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18(4), 446-446. Boom, J. , Brugman, D. , & van der Heijden, P. G. M. (2001). Hierarchical structure of moral stages assessed by a sorting task. Child Developme nt, 72(2), 535-548. Bowen, N. K. (2005). Histories of developmental task attainment in aggressive children and their elationship to behavior in middle childhood. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 13(2), 113-124. Chen, Z. , & Siegler, R. S. (2000). Across the great divide: Bridging the gap between understanding of toddlers’ and older children’s thinking. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 65(2), 1-96. DeVries, R. (2000). Vygotsky, Piaget, and education: A reciprocal assimilation of theories and educational practices. New Ideas in Psychology, 18(2-3), 187-213. DeVries, R. , Edmiaston, R. , Zan, B. , & Hildebrandt, C. (2002). What is constructivist education? Definition and principles of teaching. In R.DeVries, B. Zan, C. Hildebrandt, R. Edmiaston, & C. Sales (Eds. ), Developing constructivist early childhood curriculum: Practical principles and activities. (pp. 35-51). New York: Teachers College Press. Dilg, M. (1999). Why I am a mu lticulturalist: The power of stories told and untold. In M. Dilg (Ed. ), Race and culture in the classroom: Teaching and learning through multicultural education. (pp. 99-107). New York: Teachers College Press. Draghi-Lorenz, R. , Reddy, V. , & Costall, A. (2001). Rethinking the development of â€Å"nonbasic† emotions: A critical review of existing theories. Developmental Review, 21(3), 263-304.Edwards, S. (2005). Constructivism does not only happen in the individual: Sociocultural theory and early childhood education. Early Child Development and Care, 175(1), 37-47. Ethridge, E. , & King, J. R. (2005). Calendar math in preschool and primary classrooms: Questioning the curriculum. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(5), 291-296. Fischer, K. W. & Pare-Blagoev, J. (2000). From individual differences to dynamic pathways of development. Child Development, 71(4), 850-853. Gelman, R. (2000). Domain specificity and variability in cognitive development. Child Development, 71(4), 85 4-856. Gilbert, J. L.Getting help from Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky: Developing infant-toddler curriculum. U. of Kentucky. 12 pages. Accession No: ED457968. Golbeck, S. L. (2001). Socioeconomic differences in children’s early cognitive development and their readiness for schooling. In S. L. Golbeck (Ed. ), Psychological perspectives on early childhood education: Reframing dilemmas in research and practice. (pp. 37-63). NJ: LEA. Griffin, S. (2004). Building number sense with Number Worlds: A mathematics program for young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(1), 173-173. Harwood, R. L. , Miller, J. G. , & Irizarry, N.L. (1995). Culture and attachment: Perceptions of the child in context. NY: The Guilford Press. Hodapp, R. M. (2001). Advancing findings, theories, and methods concerning children with disabilities. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Devleopment, 66(3), 115-126. Lally, J. R, Lerner, C. , & Luire-Hurvitz, E. (2001). National survey reveals gaps in the public’s and parents’ knowledge about early childhood development. Young Children, 56(2), 49-53. Martin, A. , & Oliva, J. C. (2001). Teaching children about money: Applications of social learning and cognitive learning developmental theories.Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences: From Research to Practice, 93(2), 26-29. Parent, S. , Normandeau, S. , & Larivee, S. (2000). A quest for the Holy Grail in the new millennium: In search of a unified theory of cognitive development. Child Development, 71(4), 860-861. Piaget, J. (1993). Development and learning. In M. Gauvain & M. Cole (Eds. ), Readings on the development of children (pp. 25-33). NY: W. H. Freeman and Company. Piaget, J. ; Smith, L. (Trans. ). (2000). Commentary on Vygotsky’s criticisms of language and thought of the child and judgement and reasoning in the child. New Ideas in Psychology, 18(2-3), 241-259.Raines, S. C. (1997). Developmental appropriateness curriculum revisited and challenge d. In J. P. Isenberg & M. R. Jalongo (Eds. ), Major trends and issues in early childhood education: Challenges, controversies and insights. (pp. 75-89). New York: Teachers College Press. Rothbaum, F. Pott, M. , Azuma, H. , and others. (2000). Trade-offs in the study of culture and development: Theories, methods, and values. Child Development, 71(5), 1159-1161. Smetana, J. G. (1999). The role of parents in moral development: A social domain analysis. Journal of Moral Education, 28(3), 311-321. Suizzo, M. A. (2000).The social-emotional and cultural contexts of cognitive development: Neo- Piagetian perspectives. Child Development, 71(4), 846-849. Vondra, J. I. , Hommerding, K. D. , & Shaw, D. S. (1999). Stability and change in infant attachment in a low-income sample. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Devlepment, 64(3), 119-144. Williams, M. M. (2000). Models of character education: Perspectives and developmental issues. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Dev elopment, 39(1), 32-40. Wolfgang, C. H. (2000-2001, winter). Another view on â€Å"Reinforcement in Developmentally Appropriate Early Childhood Classrooms. Childhoood Education, 77(2), 64-67. Note: To cite within your text, remember there are 3 ways: (a) a quote (only 3 per short paper), then put author's or authors' last name/s, year, page # in ( )s, e. g. , â€Å"†¦ † (Salkind, 2004, p. 34); (b) paraphrase, then put author's or author's last name/s and year in ( )s, e. g. , †¦ (Vondra, Hammerding, & Shaw, 1999); and (c) paraphrase after saying, According to Martin and Oliva (2001), †¦. If you use 4 or more words in a row from an author you must quote them and use example â€Å"a† above for proper citation; otherwise, you are plagiarizing =; F for a grade.Not citing any theoretical construct is also plagiarizing even if you paraphrase/put in your own words. These theoretical ideas/concepts/constructs are not yours originally! It is best to cite each se ntence that contains an idea that is not yours. One citation at the end of a paragraph with lots of sentences with ideas that are not yours is not enough! Each idea must be attributed to a source, if it is not a general idea. If all the ideas in a paragraph come from 1 source, you can wrap the paragraph by citing at the beginning of the paragraph (or end of the 1st sentence) and then at the end of the paragraph.Note: All papers must include a typed cover/title page & a reference page when appropriate using APA style. All papers will be graded on accuracy and thoroughness of responses. Note: Your grade will be lowered at least one grade for late work. Note: Come to class with your rough drafts or email them to me so that your questions about accuracy of your responses can be answered. Save your work in multiple places, e. g. , jump drive, email it, etc. Note: All papers are considered late if missed the time for submission on Blackboard, usually 15 minutes before class or at the begi nning of class. STUDENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORMI, _____________________________________________ have been given the syllabus for FCNS 432, (please print entire name) Theories of Child Development for fall 2009. My signature affirms that I have read and that I understand all policies, procedures, and expectations, associated with this class. My signature also affirms that I have been given an opportunity to discuss questions regarding the syllabus and class outline during the first class session, and that I understand that it is my responsibility to seek the professor’s assistance if I have further questions. (student’s signature)(date)