Comparison between FAIR and AIM

Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) and Accuracy In Media (AIM), are two of the most active media watch groups, who seeks to influence and encourage members of the media to deliver fair and objective information to the people, without injecting biases and personal opinions. FAIR considers themselves as a national media watch group who â€Å"offers well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship† ever since they started with the cause in 1986 (F.A.I.R., 2007). On the other hand, AIM sees themselves as a grassroots citizens’ watchdog, which â€Å"critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage† (A.I.M., 2007). Simply put, they are both against the misinformation that the media sometimes deliver to the people because of personal reasons, like biases, opinions and more. But scrutinizing this two properly, the question would then be on who is able to convince more people regarding the slanted news and information of some media practitioners and agencies. Looking closely on FAIR’s characteristics, they say that they seek both the opinion of the journalists and the activists. They present the side of the journalist, whenever they have presented a bit of a biased article or information. They give the journalist a chance to defend themselves and be able to explain further why they have resorted to writing such article. They also present the side of the activists and the critics who notices the mistakes and the points where the journalists went out of line. This is to provide a point of argument for the people, who usually wouldn’t realize that they are receiving biased commentaries from the people they would often think to deliver an unbiased report of the facts. Because of this, FAIR keeps the line open between the journalists and the activists. Through them, they can keep a constant dialogue so that they could be able to work things out for them. This then leaves a room for improvement for the journalists, especially if they consider what the activists say. With the help from FAIR, they would know whether what they are doing is right or wrong. Through constant communication, they are able to sharpen their senses to bring about truthful, unbiased pieces of information for the public. Another characteristic of FAIR is that they are encouraging the people to ask for the person responsible to change their ways, say, the media who gave biased information to the public. They are having a part where they propose a possible solution to a problem and then ask the people to act in order to solve that problem by following what they have suggested. An example would be asking them to call the person involve by giving that person’s contact number. They would encourage the people to ask for an explanation why that media practitioner made such a biased comment regarding a certain topic. AIM on the other hand, sees that the media needs a watch dog, which is why they exist. They said that the news media don’t seem to always give out the right information, wherein they could be misleading the people or giving out biased information shadowed by their personal opinions. But looking closely at AIM’s works, they are more on the political opinions of the media. They are more into scrutinizing that these people should not reflect their political belief in what they are writing. This has become a distinguishing characteristic, since most of their discussions are on whether some media personnel are for the democratic or the liberal side. In addition to that, they tackle on some publications that they see to â€Å"stir people’s minds† with what they publish. They say that these publications exist to deliver straight, hard hitting facts and information, and not to promote a certain belief or side they represent or endorse. In comparing the effectiveness of both FAIR and AIM, it can be seen that both of them are getting feedbacks from people, saying that what they are doing are really helping out in delivering the appropriate, unbiased information. This means that both of them prove that they are effective. But comparing them FAIR is able to communicate more with the people with regards to the wrong-doings of the media. This is because of the wide range of topics and information that FAIR gives and they are not as much as shadowed by the political stand of the media, as compared to that of AIM. In an article in the New York Times last July 3, 2007, writer Sheryl Stolberg has somewhat infused her thoughts in what she has written. The article was about President Bush deciding to commute the sentence of I. Lewis Libby Jr. who has committed a crime by lying to the FBI regarding an Iraq war issue (Stolberg, 2007). With Stolberg saying that the President seem to find the 30-month imprisonment for Libby as harsh, and that the case was a test of will, she was clearly sympathizing with what President Bush is feeling, whether what she said was factual or not. She mentioned that President Bush was forced to give the decision, a statement clearly implying of her, injecting her own opinions. This article was taken by some media watch group negatively, saying that Sheryl Stolberg was violating the media ethics of delivering a truthful, unbiased news and information to the people. What she did was an act of showing her biases, which she was siding and sympathizing with President Bush. As a media practitioner, doing as such reduces her credibility to give truthful, untainted information to the people. Conclusion Democracy includes the people’s freedom to freely speak their minds, the freedom to voice out their opinions whenever they want. But democracies freedoms also have limitations. This is applicable to media, where in order to get a true grasp of a story, the media practitioner, journalists or reporters should be able to give the unbiased face of the story. In order to do so, they must set aside their own opinions and interests in order to give the appropriate information to the people. The media’s role in democracy is the freedom of all people to access information. This information must be untainted with the media people’s opinions or biases, in order not to mislead the recipient of these pieces of information, which are the masses. References: A.I.M. (2007). What is Accuracy In Media(AIM)?  Ã‚   Retrieved July 4, 2007, from http://www.aim.org/static/19_0_7_0_C F.A.I.R. (2007). Media Views.  Ã‚   Retrieved July 4, 2007, from http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=11 Stolberg, S. G. (2007, July 3, 2007). For President, Libby Case Was a Test of Will The New York Times.      

Classical Economics Essay

The neo-classical economics movement has been touted as the replacement to classical economics movement as it appeared to have been presented as an improvement to the beliefs and ideologies of that of the classical economics movement. Not many people agree with this fact as it stands though. While some think that the neo-classical movement represents an evolution of economic theory from the early and probably flawed version which was the classical economic theory to a more advanced, sophisticated and improved theory, others believe that the neo-classical movement represents the birth of an entirely new discipline that had decided to abandon a lot of the questions and issues that the classical economic movement had been riddled with instead of trying to find a better approach to arriving at reasonable solutions for those issues. As a result of these contrasting views, it is necessary to delve into the origins of both movements, carry out a thorough analysis of the modus operandi and arrive at a reasonable conclusion by taking a subjective stance on the matter. In doing this, some of the issues that will be addressed include: the specific issues that the neo-classical economic movement and the classical economic movement really address, how much overlap there is between the named set of issues, the kinds of analytical methods used in both economic movements, and whether the neo-classical analytical method is more effective at accomplishing its own goals as well as that of the classical economic methods (even better than the classical economists themselves). Classical Economics The birth of the classical economics movement is largely attributed to Adam Smith as a result of his 1776 publication titled The Wealth of Nations, although Jean-Baptiste Say, David Ricardo, Robert Thomas Malthus and John Stuart Mill (over a period of about hundred years) are all seen as the major contributors to the development of the movement (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Adam Smith laid emphasis on the fact that a perfect economy is self-regulatory in the sense that the needs of the population present in that economy are automatically satisfied. He coined the term ‘invisible hand’ as a mechanism that is responsible for the propelling of the populace to pursue their individual self-interests which indirectly promotes the general improvement of the society (Evans & Phillips, 2006). This emphasis served as the basic foundation of the classical economic movement. David Ricardo on the other hand, stressed that profits and wages were drastically affected by increase in the price of rent. The increase in rent according to Ricardo was as a result of the increasing population which is a consequence of the fixed availability of land (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Reverend Robert Thomas Malthus in his suggestion averred that unemployment in a market economy is caused by the economy being frugal with spending. However, he was more famous for his population theory that explains that food production increased at an arithmetical progression while population increased at a geometrical progression (Evans & Phillips, 2006). This implies that with time, the population will soon outgrow food supply and the limited amount of available which will result in diminishing returns to labor (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The diminishing returns to labor in turn leads to a radical reduction in the standard of living as a result of the low wages that workers are paid. John Stuart Mill’s proposition took into consideration, the fact that resource allocation and income distribution, which happened to be the two major roles of the market system were distinctive from each other and that the market may not be efficient enough to perform both roles therefore, the involvement of the society is required to compliment the inefficiencies (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The term ‘classical economists’, was first used by the father of communism, Karl Marx to describe the group of economists that shared the same beliefs regarding the labor theories of value. At a time when capitalism was gaining grounds at the expense of feudalism, and when the industrial revolution was rapidly restructuring the society, it was necessary to re-examine and re-define the status quo by ensuring that the nation’s economic interests as a whole lies in and is determined by market forces instead of the autocratic and individualistic determinants that were formerly widespread (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Since then, various classical economists, such as Samuelson Paul, Hollander Samuel, John Hicks, Kaldor Nicholas, and Luigi Pasinetti, have thoroughly studied how the wealth of a nation grows and how policies need to be implemented so that the nation’s wealth continually grows. In doing this, the aforementioned economists (Samuelson et al. ) basically presented various recognized models so as to define their own analysis of classical economics. A major contribution of the classical economists was the development of the labor theories of value whereby the market values of commodities are associated to the various labor efforts that is needed to produce them. These theories of value were largely attributed to William Petty, Adam Smith, and David Ricardo who were acclaimed to have developed them so as to suitably look into economic dynamics. In order to properly make the representation of the regularities found in prices easy, the classical economists brought about a basic distinction between market price which is largely affected by many short-lived influences which are not easily put forward at the theoretical level and natural prices of commodities which are responsible for taking into consideration, the continual forces that are operating at a given point in time (Evans & Phillips, 2006). As far as the labor theories of value are concerned (as seen especially by Adam Smith), when an individual purchases a commodity, the real value of that commodity as far as the individual is concerned, is the practical sum total of the exertion that the individual underwent in purchasing the commodity. In other words, the actual value of a commodity (from the consumer’s angle) lies in the labor that is expended in the acquisition process of the commodity. Also, the value of a commodity from a producer’s angle is the total stress or trouble that has been experienced in order to arrive at the finished product. This also implies that the actual value of a commodity (from the manufacturer’s perspective) lies in the labor that is expended in the production process of the commodity. The labor described above depicts that which does not involve a pleasurable experience in the sense that the individual (consumer or producer) does not conveniently or pleasantly go through the experience of acquiring or manufacturing the commodity. In this case, labor is seen as opposing to utility. As a result of this, the natural price of a commodity is determined by the summation of profits, wages and interests (from Adam Smith’s proposition), although this view differs between the classical economic thinkers’ community because David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and Robert Thomas Malthus all had varying concepts (though similar to an extent) about labor value of theory. The classical economic movement also addressed the issue of comparative advantage, especially David Ricardo. The principle of comparative advantage suggests that each nation should specialize in the production of the particular commodities that it can efficiently produce (Evans & Phillips, 2006). It should then seek to import every other commodity it needs. The implication of this is that the total output of the nations of the world would be more than if the nations decided to be more self-sufficient. This theory served as the foundation of the theory of international trade and immensely influenced the free-trade doctrine aspect of classical economic thought (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Classical economists also addressed the issue of the theory of distribution which proposed that the national product is divided between laborers, capital owners, and landlords. These three social classes share national products in the form of wages, profits, and rents, i. e. wages in the case of laborers, profits in the case of capital owners, and rents in the case of landlords (Evans & Phillips, 2006). It is therefore possible for one of the above-mentioned social class to achieve a superior allocation of the national product over the other social classes. There is hardly any common characteristic between the above mentioned issues that were addressed by the classical economists. The theory of comparative advantage is not related to the theory of distribution as well as the labor theories of value. Therefore, the issues cannot be said to be overlapping. The analytical method utilized by classical economists involves the historical-deductive method (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The economists that belong to the classical economic movement actually observe real life situations and then from their observations, they propose solutions to economic problems. The solutions arrive largely as a result of the fact that the observer has noticed a pattern and can then deduce a likelihood of such pattern occurring again based on the tendency of the pattern to repeat itself as had already been observed. A typical example of the historical-deductive analysis employed by classical economists is the input-output analysis. The technique behind this method involves viewing the raw materials of a production process as an input while the semi-finished or finished product is seen as the output (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Such semi-finished or finished product may be used as an input to another process which will result in a different output. In other words, the output of one industry is the input if another industry and this happens over and again when the economy is concerned as a whole. Neoclassical Economics The â€Å"Marginalist Revolution† was responsible for the introduction of the neoclassical economic movement. It was as a result of the theories of William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger and Marie-Esprit-Leon Walras. Jevons reflected this theory in his 1871 publication titled Theory of Political Economy, Menger in his 1871 publication titled Principles of Economics, and Walras in his 1874 publication titled Elements of Pure Economics (Evans & Phillips, 2006). William Jevons’ concept of utility was largely influenced by the utilitarian principles of John Stuart Mill and that of Jeremy Bentham because of the integration of their hedonic conception in his works (Evans & Phillips, 2006). However, his view was different from those of Mill and Bentham on the grounds that value depends on utility among other things. He opined that the contentment or satisfaction derived from goods and services will always tend to reduce at the margin. For instance, the more cups ice cream an individual takes, the less pleasure such an individual derives from the last cup of ice cream until finally, the individual stops taking the ice cream. This principle is otherwise explained as the theory of diminishing returns. He also modeled his theories after mathematical principles found in mechanics thereby incorporating mathematics into economics. Carl Menger on the other hand, failed to agree with Jevons’ notion and did not embrace the hedonic conception that Jevons added in his own works. Instead, he tried to explain diminishing marginal utility in terms of an individual prioritization of the possible usefulness or uses of a commodity (Evans & Phillips, 2006). In other words, Menger posits that consumers will always act in a way that ensures that their satisfaction is maximized in all inclinations. In other words, consumers will always apportion their money in such a way that the last component of a good or service that they purchased generates no more satisfaction than the last component of another good or service that they purchased (Evans & Phillips, 2006). He also failed to embrace the incorporation of mathematics into economics as observed in the case of Jevons. Walras conversely was more focused on the market interactions within an economy and also had similar views with Menger on the concept of diminishing marginal returns. He was of the opinion that as small as the change in a consumer’s preference for a particular commodity might be, it would always affect the producer’s predilection to adjust production of such a commodity. For instance, a shift in the consumer’s preference from land phones to mobile phones results in the reduction in the price of land phones and a corresponding increase in the price of mobile phones. The producer or manufacturer as the case may be would shift production to mobile phones which will lead to increase in market supply thereby setting a new price equilibrium between both commodities. Although the trio of Jevons, Menger, and Walras were responsible for the originating the Marginalist concept of economics which birthed neoclassical economics, their works were not so popular until it they were popularized by Francis Edgeworth, Alfred Marshall, Philip Henry Wicksteed and Lionel Robbins (Evans & Phillips, 2006). These set of economists were called the consolidators while Jevons, Menger, and Walras were known as the revolutionaries. Although not very common, a few economists have been referred to as the main proto-marginalists. These less-notable economists include Antoine Augustin Cournot (1838), Jules Dupuit (1844), Johann von Thunen (1850) and Heinrich Gossen (1854) (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Their era preceded that of the revolutionaries, but it was not until when Jevons, Menger and Walras published their own works that the Marginalist concept came into the economics public enlightenment. Also, the popularity of the Marginalist theory did not end with the consolidators; there was this group of economists known as the Revivalists who further incorporated the Marginalist theories into their own work, thereby leading to further popularization of the concept (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The economists that belong to the ‘Revivalist movement’ include: John Hicks (1939, 1934), Harold Hotelling (1938), Oskar Lange (1942), Maurice Allais (1943), and Paul Samuelson (1947) (Evans & Phillips, 2006). In one way or the other, all the above mentioned economists had a major role to play in the origin of the neoclassical economic movement. Another peculiarity of the neoclassical community of economics is that there appears to be factions or different ‘schools of thought’. This was as a result of the independent nature of the pioneers. That is, Jevons was writing in England, Menger from Austria, and Walras from France. They were not aware of each other as at that time and as a result; different schools of thought developed thereby presenting the neoclassical economic movement as an embodiment of different schools. These schools include the Lausanne School, Vienna School, Paretian School, Cambridge School, to mention but a few (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The neoclassical movement as a whole tends to address the issue of marginal utility. Marginal utility refers to the ‘utility’ that is derived from an increase in the consumption of a particular good or service. It could also refer to the ‘utility’ lost from a decrease in the consumption of a particular good or service. It results in the concept of diminishing marginal utility previously described, that is, more utility is obtained during the first consumption of the unit of a particular commodity than is obtained during the second consumption and this occurs in subsequent consumptions. It is basically what the Marginalist revolution was about. While consumers of a commodity strive to maximize the utility derived from the commodity, the producers or manufacturers of the community also tend to maximize profit in the process. Apart from maximizing utility and profits, the neoclassical economic movement also addressed the issue of rational preferences. Every human behavior is guided by a rational reasoning. This implies that an individual will always tend to select that which appears to be appropriate as far as satisfying his or her needs is concerned. As a result, such an individual develops a preference for that good or service that would suitably be of benefit to them by comparing the costs and benefits of their actions. Another issue that was addressed by the neoclassical economists was the question of how people act on the â€Å"basis of full and relevant information† (Evans & Phillips, 2006). It was proposed that an individual acted independently on this basis because the more relevant information such an individual had on a particular product, the better the chances of maximizing utility. From the mentioned issues, it is evident that there is a kind of overlap between them. For instance, an individual that has a relevant information on a particular good or service is then provided with the choice of comparing the costs and benefits of acquiring such product or service. After comparing the costs and benefits, the individual chooses to either develop a preference for that product or some other favorable product in order to maximize utility. The analytical method utilized by neoclassical economists involves the hypothetical-deductive methods (Evans & Phillips, 2006). This method is more mathematical in nature thus leading to the neoclassical economists being accused of â€Å"mathematicalizing† economics. In order to observe the economic system for the sake of analysis, neoclassical economists strive to develop various tools that will aid them in analyzing the system. These tools are developed with from mathematical models and are then used to hypothetically deduce an explanation or solution to the defined problem. A typical example of this method of analysis is the marginal revenue that is usually used to calculate the extra income that will be gained from selling an additional unit of a particular commodity. Mathematically, it is described as the rate of change of total revenue per change in the number of units sold and can be expressed as From the relation above, TR is the total revenue, P is the price of the commodity and Q is the quantity demanded. When the price does not change with quantity, then meaning that the marginal revenue is equal to the price of the commodity (Evans & Phillips, 2006). To address the main purpose of this essay, which is to know whether neoclassical economics represents an evolution of economic theory from an early, flawed version (Classical Economics) to a more advanced, improved theory or rather represents the birth of a new discipline that decided to abandon many of the questions and issues that had troubled Classical Economics instead of trying to offer a better way to address them, it can be inferred from the above discussion of both economic theories that contrary to the popular views of people that neoclassical economic theory evolved from classical economic theory so as to amend its flaws, the opposite (not reverse) is the case, that is, the neoclassical economic theory actually evolved from the classical economic theory but it addressed a complete set of totally different issues. The reason for this assumption is evident. The classical economic theories as earlier discussed mainly addressed the issues concerning the labor theories of value, theories of distribution, and that of comparative advantage while the neoclassical economic theories essentially address the issue of marginal utility, rational preferences, and the predilection of individuals to act on the basis of full and relevant information. Placing these issues side-by-side, one would observe that they are quite different and do not seem to overlap. This means that as much as it is that the neoclassical economists evolved from the classical economists, their views are entirely different and do not seem to correlate. For instance, the theories of distribution which emphasize that national the national product is divided between the laborer, capital owner and the landlord, is not in any way applicable to any of the issues attended to by the neoclassical economists. Similarly, the theory of marginal utility as an issue addressed by the neoclassical economists is not applicable in either the labor theory of value, comparative advantage principle or the theory of distribution. What this spells out is that the neoclassical economic movement represents the birth of an entirely new discipline that has decided to abandon many of the questions and issues that had troubled classical economics instead of trying to offer a better way to address them. Instead of improving on the issue of labor theory of value, it chose to adopt a totally new issue which it termed theory of marginal utility thereby creating difficulties when it comes to finding a correlation between both economic movements. Also, when considering the analytical tools employed by both economic movements, it is apparent that there are conflicting issues as well which further buttress the point that is being made here. While the neoclassical economists are hypothetically or mathematically inclined, the classical economists are historically inclined. Generally speaking, most scholars who have studied both methods of analyzing the economy would stick with the classical because it is believed that economics as a social science is more accurately gauged by the historical approach than mere mathematical models which failed to address the issues surrounding the great depression in the 1920s when it occurred. Subjectively speaking therefore, the neoclassical economic movement does not improve on classical economics as claimed by many but instead, it addressed a brand new project. Finally, given the methods of economic analysis employed by both, it is evident that the neoclassical analytical method is not as effective at addressing its goals as much as the classical analytical method is at addressing its own goals which still points out the point that has been made by this essay. References Evans, B. , & Phillips, S. (2006). Comprehensive History of Economics (4th ed. ). Pretoria: Brayton Publishers.

The influence of british eurosceptic tabloids on Public opinion. An Dissertation

The influence of british eurosceptic tabloids on Public opinion. An investigation into the coverage of the single currency - Dissertation Example The elites of Europe were found to be largely supportive about the European integration. They were also able to gather a mass quiescence to some extent, if not the support regarding this agenda from the public (Alarcon, 2004, p.30). Thus for many years, there was relatively little importance that was attributed towards public opinion. This was in accordance with the thinking of neo-functionalist ideologies which viewed the elite behavior as its key towards European integration. It was observed that as the EU continued to become more and more integrated there grew a questioning tendency in the general public (Hansen, 2008, p.5).This was the beginning of euroscepticism. Euroscepticism and its positive and negative features The phenomenon called euroscepticism had crept into mainstream politics in the early years of the 1990’s (Kuzio, 2010, p. 5).Historically, the term appeared to have resurfaced in Britain where the term began to be used synonymously with words like awkwardness or otherness which were regarded to be the oppositionist group against Britain’s participation within the Continental European integration project for political and economic togetherness in the 1960’s (Harmsen & Spiering, 2005, p.13). ... Similarly, the term skeptic has been interpreted as ‘an attitude of doubt or a disposition of disbelief’ (Hansen, 2008, p.7). There would be some argument that euroscepticism is rather a negative signal as a gap that lies between the desire of the political elite along with the European public. It would also argue that as it many normative implications regarding the democratic credentials in the European integration agenda when a large and growing proportion of the EU general public did not buy into the concept, it carried a negative perspective. However, it must be mentioned that there are positive attributes too in the concept of euroscepticism in the sense that it exhibits an increased awareness, mass interest and critical capacity regarding the public. The term also helps to act as a reminder to the political elite that the group would not be able to govern without having popular consent from the mass. Some would even argue stating that euroscepticism is in fact â₠¬Ëœhealthy’ as it invites a closer evaluation of the policy choices that were open to Europe and thus helped to increase the participation of the ordinary public in the policy making process of the EU (Hansen, 2008, p.7). Though Britain did become a member of the EU in 1973, it has been constantly applying for petitions to withdraw its membership form the circle. This was prompted largely by the ideologies pertaining to euro skepticism (1973: Britain joins the EEC, 2012). The political scenario in Britain can be held for propagating euro skepticism. This is demonstrated by their refusal to share power unlike their other counterparts in the continental European integration projects (Harmsen & Spiering, 2005,

You choose the topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

You choose the topic - Research Paper Example Rare earth elements are not rare as suggested by the name but are abundant in the earth’s crust even more than some metals (see table 1). However, they are dispersed and their concentration on the earth’s crust is very low and therefore they cannot be easily exploited. In addition, each rare earth deposit is unique and contains different ore bodies which contains several rare earth elements in varying proportions. Rare earth elements do not occur naturally in elemental state as most metallic elements but are found in a large number of minerals types including halides, oxides, carbonate, phosphate and silicate (Eriksson and Olsson 5). In this project we want to address beneficiation as one of the aspects of chemical process of obtaining rare earths form the naturally occurring ores. Beneficiation is the second step of mining after the ore is removed from the ground. Beneficiation process is divided into two steps i.e. physical beneficiation and chemical beneficiation. Chemical beneficiation is applied after the physical beneficiation. Depending on the composition of the ore, different chemical techniques can be applied to separate the rare earth elements from other minerals contained in the ore. There are various types of ore bodies which include; monazite, euxenite, gadolinite, xenotime, bastnasite, and Elliot lake uranium (Gupta and Krishnamurthy149). Different ore bodies have different compositions and hence different chemical beneficiation processes. There are two different chemical beneficiation ways of obtaining rare earth elements from monazite ore. This difference comes from the fact that either sulphuric acid or hydroxide can be used to first attack the ore (Gupta and Krishnamurthy 149). Acid treatment. In this treatment (see fig.1), concentrated sulphuric acid is used to heat the monazite sand up to a temperature of between 120 and 150Â °C ( Bongaerts 67). Both thorium and

What were the legal and ethical ramifications of the mid 1980's Research Paper

What were the legal and ethical ramifications of the mid 1980's insider trading scandal - Research Paper Example The stock trading of an organization as well as other securities, which include bonds or stock options, by people who have significant inside information about a company is called the insider trading. It is considered to be legal by most countries, but only in the case that it does not harm the company and its profit making in any way. The insider traders are mostly the officers, key employees, directors and other shareholders who may gain such authentic information. But this very term, insider trading, also have negative connotations. In the United States, it is incumbent upon the inside traders to publicly declare their trade transactions to the regulatory authority within the given time of business days. However, when the same thing is done based on material nonpublic information while an insider is carrying a duty, it becomes a fraud and a breach of trust. This illegal insider trading, which as a result raises the cost of capital for security issuers lead to a large decline in ec onomic growth. There are ethics officers, who are commonly known as business conduct officers, hired by organizations to protect their interests (Geisst, 2006). â€Å"Wall Street insider trading scandal 1980†: This practice has started since the mid-1980s due to constant series of financial frauds, corruption and many abuse scandals which surrounded the US defense industry. To protect and promote the ethical business practices the Defense Industry Initiative (DII) was formed, which set an initial standard for ethics management in companies. One such famous case of an insider trading scandal is that of â€Å"the Wall Street insider trading scandal of the mid-1980s†. Its primary player was Dennis Levine who was a managing director at Drexel Burnham Lambert (Newsweek, 1986). The initial charge was filed by the US Attorney Rudy Giuliani which finally led the investigators to arrest Ivan Boesky. Levine built a whole network of professionals in many Wall Street firms who wer e engaged in insider trading. He maintained an account with a fake name in the Swiss banks subsidiaries in Bahamas because it has some of the hardest bank secrecy laws as compared to anywhere in the world. He did this to be safe from detection. He then had to shift his business in May 1980 to â€Å"Bank Leu† which earned him around $10.6 million (Stewart, 1991). But at Bank Leu, the officials there realized Levine’s insider trading activities and banked on him themselves. But they did this collaborative action through Merrill Lynch, which detected a suspicion about trading activities in two other brokers’ personal accounts in May 1985. This started an internal investigation which reached Bank Leu, where due to the bank’s secrecy they had to forward the matter to the SEC â€Å"U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission†. It was decided by the bank officials that Levine should give his reasons for such an insider trading, but due to their destroying mos t of the sensitive documents relevant to Levine’s activity, they were charged with obstruction of justice (Dentzer, 1986). The Bank Leu officials decided to cooperate with the SEC because they noticed a huge gap between the actual managed accounts’ statements and the omnibus records. The stock trading was taken to be distinct from normal banking transactions and hence the bank named Levine guilty as the allegations were proved against him, thus his fraudulent activities led to his arrest. There was a tremendous amount of evidence against Levine related to securities fraud, obstructing justice, tax evasion and a charge of perjury as well. Levine decided to coordinate with the government in order to disclose the names of others who were involved alongside him (Levine and Hofer, 1991). This coordination with the government helped him to have a reduced sentence of two years in prison with a $362,000 fine (Time Magazine, 1987). He also agreed to pay the penalty for these il legal profits as well and also approved of

CONTRACT COST CONSIDERATIONS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CONTRACT COST CONSIDERATIONS - Research Paper Example The three are firm-fixed price, cost-plus-fixed fee and cost-plus-incentive fee. Therefore, this paper will look at the advantages and disadvantages of these three contract pricing systems before outlining and discussing them in a specific NAICS case-study. Firms seeking contracts in different spheres of operations as classified by NAICS adopt different contracting or pricing schemes that are in line with their needs and capabilities and also by putting into considerations the needs of clients. In this way, it can be deduced that numerous factors, either in single or in multiple, influence the selection of the appropriate and most efficient pricing mechanisms in contract projects. However, in adopting an appropriate contract mechanism to employ, firms are always advised to take into account the responsibility of certain and specific risks that the projects might have. Three major contract pricing systems are used by contracting firms. The three include fixed price system, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-plus-incentive fee. Therefore, discussion in this research paper will involve looking at the three contract pricing systems in terms of advantages and disadvantages and how they apply to a specific NAICS firm. The first contract pricing mechanism is the firm-fixed-price contract. This type of contract provides a price that in most cases is not subject to any change or adjustment (Stewart, Wyskida and Johannes, 1995). Favor for this type of contract has usually been based on the contractor’s experience in performing the contract. This type of contract provides maximum incentive for the contractor to have control over the costs and also be able to perform effectively. In such arrangement, there is always minimization of administrative burden on both the contracting parties. It has been found firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract is most favored by contractors keen on

An examination of assessment tools in relation to Watson's theory of Research Paper

An examination of assessment tools in relation to Watson's theory of human caring - Research Paper Example Caring Tools that expand the abilities of nurses to assess and evaluate clients in the various stages of health, illness and stress are particularly an important part of the knowledge that nurses should have and ultimately impact on the quality of healthcare. Besides this, Watson’s theory of human caring enables nurses to integrate mind-body-spirit dimensions of assessment tools hence delivering better services to patients. The advent of evidence-based practice means that the use of assessment tools is influenced by the data available on them in terms of cost, length, ease of use and suited populations. When using such data, it is also important to evaluate its validity to ensure that the correct assessment tools are utilized. This study will investigate all these aspects focusing on three assessment tools; Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, Health Self-Determination Index (HSDI) and the Spiritual Perspective Scale. The impact of these tools on assessment phase and quality care pro vided by nurses will be evaluated followed by their application to homeless individuals. Assessment Tools Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) This is an assessment tool that was developed to measure the pervasive/silent maladaptive cognitive vulnerability exhibited by depressed individuals (Antony and Barlow, 2010). It is based on the view that such depressed individuals bear negative attitudes with regard to life and this can be analyzed through determining the views of an individual to self, world and future. This is what is usually referred to as the cognitive triad that can be used to tell apart depressed from non-depressed individuals based on their pessimism. The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale is a self-report 7-point likert scale that measures the occurrence of attitudes that portray underlying dysfunctions and how intense such attitudes are (Weissman and Beck, 1978 cited in Graaf et al., 2009). The original Dysfunction Attitude Scale was based on 100 items but was later simplif ied into DAS-A and DAS-B parallel forms that contain 40 items only. The result of this is that the DAS test is an inexpensive, easy to perform and relatively short undertaking. Graaf et al. (2009) performed DAS on populations whose demographic factors significantly correlated with depression including the unemployed individuals, individuals who were occupationally disabled and individuals with low levels of education. The dysfunctional attitudes measured among such populations include attitudinal approval, entitlement and achievement which perfectly interrelate with the mind-body-spirit dimensions as put forward by Watson hence resulting in a better assessment by nurses translating to better treatment. In terms of reliability and validity of the evidence, Graaf et al. (2009) and many other researchers have performed psychometric experimental studies on DAS and generated reliable and valid results. This is demonstrated through correlation analyses and actual distinction between indiv iduals with and without depression hence the DAS is safe for application in clinical practice. DAS is particularly important as a tool for nurses during the assessment stage as it allows the nurse to get a grip of the major underlying factors behind depressed individuals and as a result aid in the proper interventional measures for example through pharmacopsychotherapy that will deal with both biomedical aspects and psychological aspects of illness. Perceived Stress Scale Cohen, Kamarck and Marmelstein (1983, cited in Peters, 2007) designed a measurement of the level to which individuals perceived their life situations as being stressful in terms of unpredictability, overload and inability to control. It uses 14 items in a likert scale with responses ranked as â€Å"never† to â€Å"very often.† Seven of the items in the scale are positive and through the test the level of self-perceived stress can be

Business Policy and Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Business Policy and Strategic Management - Essay Example Starbucks will have to re-think the assumptions on which they based their pre-recession strategies: environmental and industry factors have changed. Strategic surveillance Starbucks follows a differentiation strategy where its basic aim is to produce a brand image within the eyes of its customer through the unique taste of coffee and the exclusivity of all its other products. Currently, Starbuck’s competitors are being favored by a global economy that is slowly recovering from a recession. How the effect of the recession will play out in the long run is difficult to project now, therefore Starbucks must increase its vigilance especially with regards to its day to day activities and their overall impact on its corporate strategy. Special alert control A special alert control is the thorough, and often rapid, reconsideration of the firm’s strategy because of a sudden, unexpected event (Pearce II and Robinson, â€Å"Chapter 13: Strategic Control† Slide 13-10). The economic and financial recession of 2008 greatly affected Starbuck’s key market segments in America and Europe. Surprisingly, the Asian markets were fairly more stable and have continued to grow.

My Best Friend Essay Example for Free

My Best Friend Essay â€Å"Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow; don’t walk behind me, I may not lead; Just walk beside me, and be my friend†. I’m going to describe someone who means the world to me and also has a huge impact in my life. I have one such good friend who walks beside me and who extends her hand, when I am about to slip and fall. She is my greatest asset in life, which I treasure more than anything else in this world. She is my best friend. My best friend is Mahliet Mersha. We come from the same neighborhood. Our houses are situated close to each other’s. Both Mahliet and I are of same age and belong to more or less same economic background. In fact, what has cemented our friendship deep is that our families have been close to each other for a long time. My father and Mahliet’s father were good friends back in Ethiopia. Another reason, which probably helped us to become good friends, is that we have grown together. We have spent our childhood days playing, fighting, learning, and enjoying together. Mahliet and I generally go to school together but I will be leaving Mahliet because it’s going to be my final year. Mahliet has many excellent qualities of heart and mind. Her simplicity, smartness, neatness, intelligence, straightforwardness, cool temperament, pleasant behavior, gentle ways, dutifulness, etc. have made her one of the most liked and popular students in the school. Mahliet’s sweet temperament is her greatest quality. She never hurts others or speaks ill of others. She has an amazing personality. She also helps me more than anybody. She tries to do all she can to make me come up to her level. She never goes to any movies or party without me. I do the same for her. My best friend has been through a lot she is currently living with me sometimes and also living with my other friend Helen. I’ve helped Mahliet from day one; she was having problems at home and not living a healthy life. Whenever I am sick, she is the first to come and see me. There is no function in my home without her presence. All these have combined to make our friendship deep and lasting. The best trait that I admire and like most in my friend is her disciplined life. She gets up on time, does her homework always, attends school regularly, respects her teachers and elders and never indulges in unhealthy ways such as, smoking, taking alcohol, idling away time, skipping classes etc. Her principle of ‘duty first- enjoyment second’ is something that I find difficult to follow, yet try to imitate. She corrects me whenever I commit any mistake. For me she is a source of inspiration, support and also a role model to imitate. I am ever grateful to the almighty for having given me such a good friend. I cherish it as my greatest treasure. I am sure our friendship will grow deeper and deeper in the years to come. I wish everyone had such friends in life. I know I can always count on Mahliet whenever I need her and she also feels the same way. My best friend brings joy to me.

Niccolo Machiavelli Essay Example for Free

Niccolo Machiavelli Essay Niccolo Machiavelli was a political philosopher of the Renaissance. He lived from 1496-1527. Niccolo Machiavelli was also a very famous painter in his time. He painted many famous paintings that are seen in museums, books, and many other places. He was also involved in government throughout his life. Niccolo Machiavelli was a painter, political philosopher, Italian historian, an statesman for influenced many political leaders in Europe. Niccolo Machiavelli led a very political life. In 1494, Niccolo Machiavelli became an important diplomat. He spent most of his time over the years writing history, political philosophy, and plays. The Renaissance was a time of political conflict. Niccolo took part in diplomatic missions through France, Germany, and Italy. In later years, he was forced to retirement of the political business. Machiavelli was known as the â€Å"father of modern political theory†. Niccolo Machiavelli had many political writings. Many of Machiavelli’s writings reflected political issues. He wrote about the world around him and his life in the Renaissance. He witnessed many changes in the environment and wrote about them. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote one political treatise titled The Prince. The Prince was written during a time of tragedy in the Renaissance. Many things Machiavelli wrote about had to deal with politics and violence. The Prince was written in 1513. Although it was written then, it was published however until 1532 and Machiavelli’s death. The theme of this book is about preservation of authority and the establishment of it. Because of The Prince, Machiavelli is considered one of the greatest early modern analyzers of the political power. In 1498, Machiavelli served as a civil servant in Florence. Later in 1512, Machiavelli was imprisoned and the republic failed. Machiavelli had many jobs over his lifetime. He was the head of the second chancery in 1498. Niccolo was also the secretary of council and he studied political tactics. He also studied the strength of a nation with only one prince. In 1509, Machiavelli led a small army to free Pisa. Later in his life, for 5 years he worked as a historiographer. Niccolo Machiavelli had hard times in his life. He lost his place in politics and very much wanted it back. When he wrote The Prince, he wrote it to try and regain favoritism by Medici. In the end, Medici didn’t agree with what Machiavelli said in The Prince and ended up rejecting Machiavelli’s proposal to have that job back. Machiavelli also wrote a book titled â€Å"Discourses On Livy†. The book was on Machiavelli’s full political philosophy. Niccolo also wrote a biography on the Life of Castruccio Castracani. He wrote many plays and also many poems. His most famous poem was The Mandrake. The Mandrake was written in 1524. Machiavelli also wrote the History of Florence in 1525. The History of Florence tells about chronicles of the city. Machiavelli also wrote the Art of the War in 1521. That book describes mercenary troops and their lives. Niccolo Machiavelli was a very productive leader. Over all of his tragedies that happened in his life, he still overcame all of it. He worked very hard producing plays that have become very famous over the years. He wrote The Prince, which is a very well populated piece today. Not only did Machiavelli produce plays but he also wrote poems and biographies for people. Many of his quotes that he resighted in The Prince are still remembered today and used greatly. He was also a very significant political leader and went very far in government.

Statistics Essays | Analysis of Data

Statistics Essays | Analysis of Data Consider and discuss the required approach to analysis of the data set provided. As part of this explore also how you would test the hypothesis below and explain the reasons for your decisions. Hypothesis 1: Male children are taller than female children. Null hypothesis; There is no difference in height between male children and female children. Hypothesis 2: Taller children are heavier. Null hypothesis: There is no relationship between how tall children are and how much they weigh. Analysis of data set The data set is a list of 30 childrens gender, age, height, the data weight, upper and lower limb lengths, eye colour, like of chocolate or not andIQ. There are two main things to consider before and the data. These are the types of data and the quality of the data as a sample. Types of data could be nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio.Nominal is also know as categorical. Coolican (1990) gives more details of all of these and his definitions have been used to decide the types of data in the data set. It is also helpful to distinguish between continuous numbers, which could be measured to any number of decimal places an discrete numbers such as integers which have finite jumps like 1,2 etc. Gender This variable can only distinguish between male or female.There is no order to this and so the data is nominal. Age This variable can take integer values. It could be measured to decimal places, but is generally only recorded as integer. It is ratio data because, for example, it would be meaningful to say that a 20 year old person is twice as old as a 10 year old. In this data set, the ages range from 120 months to 156months. This needs to be consistent with the population being tested. Height This variable can take values to decimal places if necessary. Again it is ratio data because, for example, it would be meaningful to say that a person who is 180 cm tall is 1.5 times as tall as someone 120cmtall. In this sample it is measured to the nearest cm. Weight Like height, this variable could take be measured to decimal places and is ratio data. In this sample it is measured to the nearest kg. Upper and lower limb lengths Again this variable is like height and weight and is ratio data. Eye colour This variable can take a limited number of values which are eye colours. The order is not meaningful. This data is therefore nominal(categorical). Like of chocolate or not As with eye colour, this variable can take a limited number of values which are the sample members preferences. In distinguishing merely between liking and disliking, the order is not meaningful. This data is therefore nominal (categorical). IQ IQ is a scale measurement found by testing each sample member. As such it is not a ratio scale because it would not be meaningful to say, for example, that someone with a score of 125 is 25% more intelligent than someone with a score of 100. There is another level of data mentioned by Cooligan into which none of the data set variables fit. That is Ordinal Data. This means that the data have an order or rank which makes sense. An example would be if 10students tried a test and you recorded who finished quickest, 2ndquickest etc, but not the actual time. The data is intended to be a sample from a population about which we can make inferences. For example in the hypothesis tests we want toknow whether they are indicative of population differences. The results can only be inferred on the population from which it is drawn it would not be valid otherwise. Details of sampling methods were found in Bland (2000). To accomplish the required objectives, the sample has to be representative of the defined population. It would also be more accurate if the sample is stratified by known factors like gender and age. This means that, for example, the proportion of males in the sample is the same as the proportion in the population. Sample size is another consideration. In this case it is 30.Whether this is adequate for the hypotheses being tested is examined below. Hypothesis 1: Male children are taller than female children. Swift (2001) gives a very readable account of the hypothesis testing process and the structure of the test. The first step is to set up the hypotheses: The Null hypothesis is that there is no difference in height between male children and female children. If the alternative was as Coolican describes it as we do not predict in which direction the results will go then it would have been a two-tailed test. In this case the alternative is that males are taller it is therefore a specific direction and so a one-tailed test is required. To test the hypothesis we need to set up a test statistic and then either match it against a pre-determined critical value or calculate the probability of achieving the sample value based on the assumption that the null hypothesis is true. The most commonly used significance level is 0.05. Accordingto Swift (2001) the significance level must be decided before the data is known. This is to stop researchers adjusting the significance level to get the result that they want rather than accepting or rejecting objectively. If the test statistic probability is less than 0.05 we would reject the null hypothesis that there is no difference between males and females in favour of males being heavier on the one sided basis. However it is possible for the test statistic to be in the rejection zone when in fact the null hypothesis is true. This is called a TypeI error. It is also possible for the test statistic to be in the acceptance zone when the alternative hypothesis is true (in other words the null hypothesis is false). This is called a Type II error. Power is 1 -probability of a Type II error and is therefore the probability of correctly rejecting a false null hypothesis. Whereas the Type I error is set at the desired level, the Type II error depends on the actual value of the alternative hypothesis. Coolican (1990) sets out the possible outcomes in the following table:

Instrumental Reasoning Essays -- Philosophy

Can Instrumental Reasoning Stand Alone? I. Introduction There is something appealing about ordinary instrumental or means-end reasoning. One begins with a want, a goal or a desire and considers available options as means to its satisfaction or achievement. If, among the available options, one is the best or only way to satisfy the desire or achieve the goal, one has a reason to select it. If two or more options both seem to lead to the goal, they may still differ in other ways, e.g., in the probability with which they lead to the goal – in which case (if that was the only difference) one would have reason to choose the option which led to the goal with higher probability. To consider things in the simplest form possible, consider a being with only a single desire. Suppose that this being wants nothing but to break a street-lamp. Even in so simple a case, we can begin to say what he ought to do. Any number of things may be effective. If he has no other goals – not even going unapprehended so that he can do it again with some other street-lamp – he may use a rifle, a pistol, throw rocks at it, climb the lamp-post to bash it with his fist, etc. But we can say that there are some things that, in terms of his goal, he ought not to do, for example, that he ought not to try breaking it (because he won’t succeed) by throwing feathers at it, one by one. It looks as though, even in this deliberately simplified case, means-end reasoning, combined with some knowledge of the world, is enough to tell us something about what he ought to do. This is not, to be sure, a moral ‘ought,’ but we seem to have generated a normative conclusion, an ought-judgment of a modest sort, without appealing to any mysterious non-natural properties ... ...h a person? Perhaps, a real example of an existentialist chooser would say that there is not even a reason for committing oneself rather than not; one just does (or does not). [15] This is not being offered as a solution to the central problem that Korsgaard has raised. I am, as stated earlier, only assuming that there is some solution. Rather, I am trying to show that, given the existence of some solution to that problem, though we need some further normative principle, it does not have to be one that picks out certain ends for us. In short, we can do almost what could have been done had the defenders of the autonomy of instrumental reasoning been correct. (In fact, I think we can do quite a bit more than we could if they had been correct – but that’s a topic for another paper.) [16] And I do not in any case have non-dialectical proofs that they are mistaken.

Abusive Relationships and Domestic Violence :: Violence Against Women Essays

Domestic violence describes a situation where one person in a relationship is using violence to control and dominate another person. Domestic violence victims and their batterers cut across all socioeconomic, demographic, and professional lines. It is an epidemic that is emphasized particularly with the female gender. While physical assault is often times the most common form of abuse, it is important to acknowledge that other forms of abuse are just as detrimental. Often times, fear and isolation are particularly powerful in preventing women from leaving a violent relationship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Domestic violence is a common crime in America, especially amongst the female gender. Studies indicate that nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or intimately abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives (Commonwealth Fund Survey, 1998). Domestic Violence towards women is a problem in the United States that is usually over looked and almost always not noticed by Society today. Violence is defined by the Riverside Webster's Dictionary (p.755) as: 1. Physical force employed so as to damage or injure. 2. As an instance of violent action. If this is the case than why is it that so many women are beaten by loved ones each year and little or nothing is done to correct this violent and hostile situation?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The battered woman is pictured by most people as a small, fragile, haggard person who might once have been pretty. She has several small children and is frequently assumed that she is poor and from a minority group. She is accustomed to living in violence, and her fearfulness and passivity are emphasized above all. Although some battered women do fit this description, research proves it to be false stereotype(Walker p.18). In fact most battered women have highly lucrative jobs such as doctors or lawyers, Corporation executives and nurses. Battered women are found in all racial, religious and ethical backgrounds as well as age groups and educational levels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statistical information on domestic abuse commonly notates that women in intimate relationships are amongst the greatest risk. Statistics also revealed that domestic abuse is the leading cause of harm amongst females of all races that usually involve a weapon. "Approximately one in four attacks involved the use of a gun or knife,† according to a studies. Young, black and Hispanic women were especially vulnerable, as were poor single women with low education levels who lived in inner cities.

Children in Society Essay

As children grow up, they are influenced more and more by the sphere outside their homes, and by their friends, parent’s friends, teachers, and people they meet and interact with in the outside world. Hence this essay shall be focussing onhow family influences children and young people, and the effect of parental and family influences on the personality development of children and young people. Furthermore, current social and equal opportunity issues which may influence the development of children in a multi-cultural society in Great Britain will be explored. The roles and responsibilities of Social Services, Health Care Trust, Private Sector, and Child Care Agencies as multi-disciplinary and interagency working together will be analysed. Lastly, this essay will reflect on my personal experiences in my work placement, in relation to diversity; and confidentiality will be maintained all through the learning outcomes. ‘Family’ can be defined differently as there is no typical family model across society (Lamanna et al, 2006). However, United Nations (1948) stated that ‘the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state’. As family patterns change over time, Crawford (1999) asserted thatsociety’s definition of ‘family’ is rapidly expanding and has come to include single parents, biracial couples, blended families, unrelated individuals living cooperatively, and homosexual couples, and so forth. For instance, the Nuer ‘ghost’ marriage in Sudan is different from what is considered as typical family setting in the west as described by Maybin and Woodhead, whichstated that a dead husband continued to be the father of the children born to other lovers by the widow (Maybin and Woodhead 2007). This form of family emphasizes the social connection between children and parent rather than biological ones.McDaniel et al (2005) has a different view about what a family is‘We define family as any group of people related biologically, emotionally, or legally’.From a West African cultural point of view, a family consists of the father, mother, children and extended relatives, which are referred to as the nuclear family (Widmer and Jallinoja 2008). People who live together in the village setting may not have a biological connectionor emotional links but are regarded as a family, as long as they co-exist in the same geographical location. From all these view points, children and young people’s lives are modelled, influenced and dependent upon which family structure they find themselves. Maybin and Woodhead (2007) argued that there is no such thing as a‘universal’ family, just as there is no such thing as an ideal family. According to Piaget as cited by Shaffer and Kipp (2010)children and young people learn from their parents, and they are influenced by family structure and culture, including their genetic makeup, which influences their personality. For instance,introverted, outgoing, clever, sporty, or anxiety might be a copied trait from parents (Sue, 2006). Stark and Buzawa (2009) stated that the family is a child’s first role model: not only do they set examples for children and guide them in how to make good choices, sometimes they end up sending the wrong signals to children and young people. For instance, checking the records of a child from a lone parent who was showing antisocial behaviour at work placement, suggested that the reason why the child has been violent towards other children in the Nursery was because he had witnessed a violent relationship between his parents. Conversely,Chief Judge Judith Kaye as cited by Wilson (2005) argued that â€Å"Exposing a child to domestic violence is not presumptively neglectful†. Not every child exposed to domestic violence is at risk of being violent in many instances.Yet this is an influence that may influence children and young people(Wilson (2005). However, Munger (2008) stated that a lot of researchers have suggested that parents don’t actually have much influence on their children’s behaviour. Munger (2008)further stated that some studies have suggested that mothers have an unbalanced influence on children, and that an authoritative parenting style leads to the best results. The effects of family stru cture on children may be dependent on the gender of the child as described by Hastings (2005) which stated that girls tend to be more helpful, sympathetic, and passionate, while boys are more friendly, engaged, and assertive without being aggressive. All these behaviours are natural traits found in children irrespective of their background (Hastings 2005). Nevertheless, from my work experience, children from violent homes have exhibited some form of aggression towards their peers irrespective of gender. Hence Hastings (2005) opinion on narrowing children behavioural influence to gender may be arguable, in that boys from my work placement experience display more antisocial behaviour than girls. The impact of social influences and diversity can have a huge effect on children and young people, especially those living in social housing, being in a lone parent family and those from the ethnic minority group (Shaw, 2010). For some children, the risk of poverty is a greater influence as a result of their circumstances. Maybin and Woodhead, (2007) asserted that the greatest risk of poverty is for those children and young people who live in a family where no one is in work. For instance, placement observations suggested that children from affluent background tend to attend the best schools than those that are not; hence aspirations from that parent are higher, which in turn affects school performance. Furthermore, indirect discrimination from top academic institutions such as Oxford University is a typical example of social exclusion at the entry stage (Stewart et al,2005).The impact is that choices are limited, which may well affect future job opportunities(Tomlinson, 2009). Within large families, the rate of joblessness in large families is higher than for parents in smaller families. This is largely due to a lack of affordable childcare (Lupton and Tunstall, 2008). As a result of this, children may be excluded from early education where by affecting their life choices. For instance, work records suggested that large families can often struggle to meet the costs of school uniform and equipment, and are also at particular at risk of going into debt. Work records also suggested that young people aged over 16 who do not get family support are much more likely to be poor and as adults to remain dependent on benefits or low paid work. Wilson(2011) stated thatyoung people receive less stable benefit and have a lower minimum wage than older adults, and young people, who receive less income support, are ineligible for tax credits, and are restricted to a lower level of housing benefit making them vulnerable to poverty as young adults (Lupton and Tunstall, 2008). There is a shortage of affordable housing due to high rents in the private sector and a lack of investment in maintaining a good standard of social housing (Shaw, 2004). For instance, children’s information in my work placement suggested that, children who live in bad housing are more likely to suffer from poor health and to suffer from disability or long term illness (Shaw, 2004).Additionally, Power et al, (2011) identified that Social Worker had warned the government on the re-housing of paedophiles in East London estates. The effect of this is that, parents tend not to allow their children to play outside, which could affect peer interaction and create further damage to community cohesion. Statistics in Britain show that children living in poor housing often have poor educational attainment (Hills et al, 2009). They are more likely to have been excluded from school and to leave school with no GCSEs. For instance, Placement data shows that children from poor housing estates, who visit our setting regularly, are often without GCSEs. However, my work settings has adopted a ‘mentoring’ strategy to motivate young people in this category to believe in themselves, and monitoring of this approach has helped a number of young people to resume attending school. The safety and welfare of children is the responsibility of the local authority, working in partnership with other public organisations, the voluntary sector, and service users and carers (Department of Health, 2006). All local authority ser vices have an impact on the lives of children and families, and local authorities have a particular responsibility towards those children and families most at risk of social exclusion. For instance, Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB) in collaboration with my work placement, liaise to support young unemployed young residents with voluntary work placements to help them gain practical work experience, qualification and training in a range of settings. These local authorities also have responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children who are excluded from school, or who have not obtained a school place, for example children in Pupil Referral Units or being educated by the authority’s home tutor service.As a result of (GLLaB) participation in helping young people, a lot of young people from the Greenwich Borough have been employed at the Olympic site inStrafford(Brown, 2006). However, Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB, 2011) In addition to advice, helps lone parents to access childcare, give information about benefits and tax credits and render support with job searches, CVs and interview techniques to promote opportunity in the borough. Where possible, they also organise paid work experience placements, including a range of training opportunities. Yet, some lone parents often feel isolated and lack confidence. Placement experience shows that they may also experience poor physical and mental health issues and be socially excluded. More needs to be done to help lone parents to overcome the psychological barriers that prevent them from getting back into work. According to Power et al, (2011) the school play active part in bringing families and children from different ethnic and cultural back-ground together, including helping children from disadvantaged background to learn. Power et al (2011) also mentioned that parents of children with special educational needs were positive about how their children’s need has been responded to by the schools, including autism, dyslexia and behaviour issues. For instance, my work placement wasable to support and help a young autistic child from the ethnic minority group who was going through exclusion because there was no trained Special Education Need Coordinator (SENCO) in the nursery.M embers of staff were not able to provide proper care for the child as he was stereotyped as aggressive, and was not interacting with other children. In order to help the child, the nursery had to train a staff member in the area of special need; this approach eventually supported the child andincluded the involvement of other professionals like the Speech and Language Therapist. The child now communicates better than before and is gradually coming out of language delay. Class room experience on this course has demonstrated student integration, as we have a diverse student, ranging from black, white and Asians. Class tutors have been able to peer us together during class work and assignments and different ideas from the group have increased my awareness of how diversity can harness experiences from different back grounds and culture which helps to stimulate learning. According to Halpern (2005) which stated that language difficulties from children and young people that do not have English as their first language could be frustrating from the teacher-learner point of view. I have encountered a situation in the work placement where child â€Å"B†(as he will be addressed in this analysis for data protection reason) was not able to communicate because he is from Africa, he did not play and interact with other children as everything he saw in the nursery seemed strange to him. As a result of his situation, he was losing out of daily task and activities, which in turn affected his mental, spiritual and physical development. To support the child, the nursery had to include a one-on-one teaching in to his care plan, and adopted the visual form of teaching by using pictorial reinforcement to support his learning. Child â€Å"B† is now able to communicate because teachers and care givers did not discriminate and neglect him. The child’s parents also benefited from the nursery’s’ holistic approach to supporting them to enrol for (Esol) so that they can learn and carry on speaking in English to the child at home, although they w ere not discouraged from speaking their original language. The Community Cohesion Programme is an activity my work placement organizes on annual basis to create an awareness of our diverse community, in order to encourage integration, respect and to showour diverse community. Before the event, young people were asked to make a drawing of their country flags andmake a list of food and clothing. During the programme, young people were encouraged to dress in their own native attires, and it also includedperforming cultural dances, and a display of their native foods. Consequent to this, work place records have suggested a reduction of post-code, gang related problems, as young people living in that part of south East London are nowfriendlier. This is in support of the government initiatives in building the ‘big society’ that could accommodate all, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender and creed (Cabinet office, 2010). In conclusion, this essay has addressed parental and family influences on the personality development of children and young people. Current social and equal opportunity issues, which may influence the development of children in a multi-cultural society in Great Britain has been addressed. The roles and responsibilities of Social Services, Health Care Trust, and Private Sector, Child Care Agencies as multi-disciplinary and interagency working together has been analysed. Reflection upon personal learning in work placement in terms of promoting diversity and equality has been examined. I have also disagreed with some theories that asserted that sex gender did not have an impact in influencing the attitudes of children and young people. Therefore, organisations, schools and institutions should do more in promoting equality and diversity in order to enjoy the benefit of shared ideas, experiences and foster community cohesion in our modern day Britain. As a professional, stereotyping children and young people based on their ethnicity, gender and culture will be discouraged by reinforcing and promoting equality, diversity and fairness at school among children, young people and colleagues. Reference List Ajegbo, K. Kiwan, D & Sharma, S (2007) Diversity and Curriculum Review, DfES, London. Anisman-Reiner, V.(2007)Adult Children of Divorce: Children Who Are Over 18 When Parents Separate Are Equally Affected. (Online) Available at: http://victoria-anisman-reiner.suite101.com/adult-children-of-divorce-a19930. (Accessed: 01February 2012). Brown, K (2006) Exploring the evidence base for Integrated Children’s Services.Edinburgh. Sage Publications. Buonfino, A. Thomson, L (2007) Belonging in Contemporary Britain, Commission on Integration and Cohesion, London. Cabinet Office (2010) Building the Big Society. (Online) Available at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/building-big-society.pdf. (Accessed: 08 March 2012). Crawford, J.M. (1999)‘Co-parent adoptions by same-sex couples: From loophole to law. Families in Society’: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 80, 271-278. Davis,R, Vasagar J, Meltzer T. (2011) Oxford University diversity row: ‘Grades aren’t enough’. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/12/oxford-university-diversity-row-students. (Assessed: 24 March 2012). Department of Health (2005) Improving emergency care in England. [Online] Available at:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/AnnualReports/Browsable/DH_5342101. (Assessed: 10 February 2012). Department of Health (2006)Working Together to Safeguard Children: A Guide to Inter-agency Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children. London. The Stationary Office. Hastings P. (2005)Parents’ influence on kids’ behaviour: Not much. Available at:http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/05/parents_influence_on_kids_beha.php. (Accessed: 10 March 2012). Halpern, D. (2005)Social Capital. Cambridge. Policy Press. Hills, J, Sefton Stewart K. (2009) Towards a More Equal Society? Poverty, inequality. Bristol. The Policy Press. Lamanna, M, A. Riedmann, A, C. Riedmann, A. (2006)Marriages and Families. Belmont. Thomson. Levinson, W, Kao A, Kuby A, Thisted R.(2005) ‘Not All Patients Want to Participate in Decision Making’. Journal of General Internal Medicine. Volume 20, issue 6, pages 531-535. Lupton, R, Tunstall R, (2008) ‘Neighbourhood Regeneration through Mixed Communities: A Social Justice Dilemma’. Journal of Education Policy. Vol. 23, no2.pp105- 117. Maybin, J. and Woodhead, M (2007)Childhoods in Context. Milton Keynes. John Willey and Sons Ltd. McDaniel, S.H, Cambell, T. L, Hepworth, J, & Lorenz, A. (2005). Family-oriented primary care

How Women Are Portrayed in Media Essay

Common female stereotypes found in the media have a powerful influence over how society views women and how women view themselves. What is the media portrayal of women today and how does this impact how young girls perceive themselves? With programs such as The Bachelor and Flavor of Love showing a dozen women competing for the attention of one man, often using their sexuality, magazine ads displaying a half-naked female body to sell a fragrance or cosmetic product, and television commercials highlighting a woman’s thigh and butt to sell sneakers, it may be difficult for society not to be influenced by the overwhelming message to objectify women. Negative Female Stereotypes Female stereotypes in the media tend to undervalue women as a whole, and diminish them to sexual objects and passive human beings. According to research done by Children Now, a national organization trying to make children a public priority, 38% of female characters found in video games are wearing revealing clothing, 23% are showing cleavage. Magazine ads show a dismembered female body, with parts, instead of the whole, a practice that according to media activist, Jean Kilbourne, turns women into objects. Disney movies, from Beauty and The Beast to Aladdin show slender, unrealistically curvaceous, and quite vulnerable young women, who are dependent on male figures for strength and survival, not their own sense of empowerment. Media stereotyping of women as objects and helpless beings creates very low expectation for society’s girls. When a woman is in a position of power, such as the rare female boss portrayed in The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, or Disclosure with Demi Moore, she tends to be a cold-hearted, detached career woman with sociopathic tendencies. This sends the message that a powerful woman sacrifices a healthy relationship, family, and possibly even her sanity to be extremely successful at her career. For the young girl who dreams to run a company, or become a famous journalist, astronaut, or scientist, the media does not provide enough models for her to look to for encouragement and inspiration. Positive Female Stereotypes Despite the many negative female stereotypes found in movies, television, and advertisements, there are positive examples of intelligent, empowered young girls and women as well. These characters can serve as role models for girls  who are looking for female characters to exemplify. Lisa Simpson from the popular cartoon sitcom, The Simpsons is a classic example of a positive female stereotype. An intelligent and gifted girl, this character thinks for herself and sticks to her ideals, traits that young girls should be able to find in the media. In the TV series Doctor Who, The Eleventh Doctor is accompanied by two female characters, Amy Pond and River Song, through space and time. They portray themselves as highly intelligent and display emotionally strong traits such as the ability to overcome traumatic events, strong sense of self-preservation, resourcefulness and faith in their own strength. Dora the Explorer is an inquisitive, adventurous young seven-year old girl, who is not only a positive female character, but one of the few minority heroes or heroines of children’s television. A conscious effort on the part of the media can offer much to the dreams and self-worth of society’s girls How the Media’s Portrayal of Women Impacts Girls The media’s portrayal of women affects the self-image of girls dramatically. Concepts of beauty and personality are found in movies, magazines, and video games; as long as there are enough positive examples, young girls can be free to be themselves. When there are not, the pressure is to be thin, physically attractive, and pleasing in order to be likable and popular. According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, studies have found that the media’s focus on body image and submissive female stereotypes has affected children’s thinking. For example, in television comedies it was found that thin women were both praised more and less likely to be made fun of by male characters. In commercials directed at young girls, half mentioned physical attractiveness. As a result of these and other similar trends, both boys and girls describe female characters as â€Å"domestic, interested in boys, and concerned with appearances.† Both young girls and teenagers are increasingly concerned with their weight and unhappy with their bodies. Stereotypes in the media inevitably affect our culture, especially the young. As Susan Fiske, professor of Psychology at Princeton University and researcher of stereotyping and discrimination, says, â€Å"stereotyping exerts control or power over people, pressuring them to conform; therefore, stereotyping maintains the status quo.† To help combat the influence of negative female stereotypes in the media, and therefore  help not only girls, but all of society transcend these limiting expectations, it is important to expose our children to positive role models and to let young girls know just how amazing they are and always will be. Sources: â€Å"Media and Girls.† (Media Awareness Network). â€Å"Sex and Relationships in the Media.† (Media Awareness Network). Durik, Amanda and Janet Shibley Hyde. â€Å"Psychology of Women and Gender in the 21st Century.† (University of Wisconsin). â€Å"Media’s Effect on Girls: Body Image and Gender Identity.† (National Institute on Media and the Family). The role of media is crucial to the issue of violence against women, both in terms of how media cover (and often distort) the issue, and how media may be used as a tool to help activists and governments raise awareness and implement programs on this issue, according to Rina Jimenez David, a long-time journalist and women’s rights activist from the Philippines. Rina, who was interviewed by Marà ­a Suà ¡rez on FIRE’s first Internet Broadcast at the Beijing +5 women’s conference in New York writes a column called â€Å"At Large† for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and is an activist and national chair of a women’s political p arty called â€Å"Philipinas Advance.† â€Å"Many women have said that the media coverage (of rape or other violence) was like a second assault all over again, because of their insensitivity in using pictures, publishing names, and other violations of privacy,† said Rina. â€Å"And the way they portray violence reinforces stereotypes, when they focus on the appearance of the victims, especially if they are young, attractive, or are questioning the way they were dressed.† FIRE is producing live daily Webcasts June 4-9 in New York during the UN Special Session of the Beijing +5 Conference on Women, which has attracted over 10,000 women activists, journalists and government delegates. The daily programs in Spanish and English focus on the role of media in relation to each of the 12 critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action. The first program focused on violence against women. In addition to describing how media tend to portray women who are victims of violence, Rina talked about her efforts as an activist to raise awareness of this issue among journalists, especially those of the younger generation. Specifically, Rina described a series of workshops conducted by the Center for Media Freedom and  Responsibility in the Philippines. The 3-day session included a gender sensitivity workshop, and also talks by women activists on issues of concern to women, including one by Rina about violence against women. â€Å"I believe we really reached about 400 journalists,† said Rina, â€Å"because at the end we asked them about the impact, and the men especially had their eyes opened to the situation of women, and said they were going to try and be more sensitive.† Rina noted that the young journalists seemed to be the most receptive to these ideas. During the live FIRE Webcast, Rina also noted how critical it was to have violence against women recognized as a violation of women’s human rights at the U.N. World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. The Beijing Platform for Action, now being discussed at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly recognizes more forms of violence. â€Å"In the past it was only military rape and state torture (that were recognized), whereas the Beijing Platform for Action was a landmark by including domestic violence, rape, and sexual harassment.† Before 1995, such violations against women â€Å"were often not recognized due to culture or tradition.† Rina described new laws and actions related to violence against women in countries in the Asian Pacific region, which have been enacted since the IV World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995, when governments committed themselves to implementing the Platform for Action . For example, in Japan, there was not even a term for â€Å"sexual harassment† in the language, whereas recently legislation was passed there to prohibit this violation of women’s human rights. Likewise, Rina noted that in the Philippines there is a new sexual harassment law, although it is somewhat narrow, and a domestic violence bill is pending in Parliament. Rina noted that a big accomplishment of the UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 was to have â€Å"fundamental rights† of a person recognized, regardless of country or culture, which opened the door for the recognition of women’s rights as universal human rights. â€Å"It was only recently those women’s rights as human rights were recognized,† said Rina, whereas in the past many of these rights such as violence against women â€Å"were violated with impunity under the guise of culture and religion.† Women in media in the Philippines: from stereotype to liberation. Abstract PIP: The success of women in the Philippine print and electronic media is contrasted with the negative image in which they are presented in mass media such as television, radio, comics, tabloids and magazines. Philippine women began entering journalism early in the century, becoming established in the female oriented press by the 1960s. As the repression of the Marcos regime intensified, women journalists excelled in writing vanguard pieces, using allusion, allegory, indirection or metaphor, interviewing prisoners, founding alternative newspapers and even initiating the successful boycott of the 3 major crony papers when Aquino was killed. The participation of women in television journalism is parallel, but more limited due to the nature of the medium. Women’s cultural role as multi-track organizers of family, finance and work is credited for this success. Dozens of names with titles and paper names are cited, as well as tabulated in an appendix. In contrast, women’s image in the popular publications and electronic media is that of sex object, victim, ideal submissive wife-mother, or gracious lady shows little evidence of improving. This deleterious, backward and inaccurate image is likely due to all-male ownership, management and profit motive of these popular, vernacular mass media. — The pressure on women to look and behave in certain ways is deeply ingrained into our culture. It is often easy to overlook the impact that culture has on how we feel about ourselves and bodies. Watching TV, reading magazines, newspapers, or surfing the internet it is all we see are airbrushed images of perfect bodies of women. Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women and their body parts sell everything from food to cars. As humans we absorb relentless message that beauty is the norm and the standards of beauty are being imposed on women. April 30, Monday — â€Å"Muslim Women in the New York Times 1980-2011: Liberalism, Feminism and Racism,† is a conference looking at examples of articles, photography and headlines in The New York Times that portray Muslim women in stereotypical and negative ways. Research will be presented by professors, doctoral students and recent graduates of the University of California, Davis. A complete conference schedule is available at:  http://sjoseph.ucdavis.edu/media-project/muslim-women-in-the-new-york-times-1980-2011-liberalism-feminism-and-racism. This event is free and open to the public. UC Davis Conference Center, Ballroom A (across from the Mondavi Center) on the UC Davis campus. Suad Joseph, founding director of the UC Davis Middle East/South Asia Studies Program and a professor of anthropology and women and gender studies, graduate students and recent graduates counted by hand and used computer-generated word counts of key words used in articles about Arab and Muslim Americans. They found systematic misrepresentation of Arabs, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and Islam. The misrepresentation focused on Muslim women and the â€Å"veil.† The conference is co-sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Anthropology, Middle East/South Asia Studies Program and the Women and Gender Studies Program. The project is funded by the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, UC Berkeley. The center was founded in 2001 to better apply technologies to research throughout the UC system. Funding also was provided by the University of California Center for New Racial Studies (a multicampus, interdisciplinary program). The portrayal of women in Asian scary movies — The shift away from the â€Å"submissive, helpless, damsel in distress† character in scary movies is beginning to take place across the globe as well. Trencansky talks about how women are beginning to be portrayed as stronger more dominant characters that aggressively fight against whoever is haunting them instead of waiting for a man to save her. Two Asian movies, Shutter (which was adapted into an American film) and Alone embody dominant female characters, just like in Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. Shutter was about a couple who notice that strange images keep appearing in the pictures that they take; the main female character determinedly goes on a discovery to find out what these strange images mean and comes to discover that it is actually the image of a ghost. After a lot of digging, she finds out that the ghost who is haunting them is a girl that her husband and some of his friends had harassed and murdered a few years ago. This woman is a portrayal of the â€Å"Final Girl† who actively solves the problem and prevents  this ghost from further haunting them. She is clearly a female who has â€Å"refused her assigned subordinate role† (68) by leaving her husband after she realizes what he has done and he is sent away to a mental institute. The woman who is haunting them, however, embodies a more submissive role as she is subject to harassment by three strong men. She comes back to haunt them because of this, proving that ghosts are psychologically disturbed. Women and the media in South Asia. Abstract PIP: This article gives a brief overview of women’s access to journalism and communication training, status of women in the media, their needs for development of skills, and portrayal of women in the media, in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. 5 authors from those countries contributed sections subdivided into each of these subheadings. In India, women have access to training, but their positions in the media are limited. They are often falsely stereotyped, sensationalized or exploited, or totally absent. In Sri Lanka, however, women are closer to being equal to men, in terms of training, hiring and employment, although they tend to work in women’s periodicals. Women are shown in most of the advertisements, and are generally portrayed as perpetually in pursuit of glamour, food, clothes and cosmetics. Media in Nepal are comparatively new; for example, television is only 1 year old. Therefore, opportunities for women are few, and men dominate the hierarchy. Women are portrayed in the media negatively or sensationally, and used extensively in commercials. Women’s position in Pakistan is limited in the cities by purdah and in rural areas by the feudal heritage, in which women are chattel. A minority of women are enrolled in journalism schools employed in the media: those are excelling. Women are often idealized, abused or caricatured as interested only in consumption. Women have recently entered the journalism profession in Bangladesh, now totalling 24 women. Mores do not permit women to work at night or on outside assignments. The media are liberal in Bangladesh, airing news about dowry abuse and female oppression openly. In most of the countries, women tend to work only until marriage, or afterward are limited by domestic duties. — The Unrealistic Portrayal of Women in the Media: Beauty and Body There are many levels of influence in our society and media plays a major role in dispensing influential images to us. Media comes in many forms, television, radio, newspapers, movies, and advertisements. The media is so intertwined in our lives that we do not truly comprehend on a conscious level how much influence it really has over us. Some of the images and messages we see and hear can be both positive and negative. More often than not, we are exposed to images that are so unrealistic and unattainable by the average person that we become discontented with our lives and ourselves. Images of luxury homes, cars, glamorous clothes, and glamorous body images make us more self-conscious of how we live and how we look. Based on the above observations and the information I have researched on this topic, the media has an incredible influence over the perceptions we have of ourselves. Historically, women have been more susceptible to stereotyping and marginalization than men. The history o f a woman’s ‘usefulness’ basically began with being a sexual plaything, a mother, and a caretaker. Prior to the 20th century, men saw women as people without a voice, caretakers of the family, or just objects of sexual desire. Although we have recognized the many talents of women through the decades of the past century, we still have much further to evolve in our thinking. I believe most women would like to be thought of as equals in our society, but we are too preoccupied with them being sexual objects. Advertisements have women selling everything from food to cars. We continue to see that women are the focus of most advertisements and the biggest selling point for the product being sold. At the same time, men continue to be the strong, handsome leader in both our families and our society as portrayed in the media images. Although there have been many strides, the stereotypes have remained consistent whereas the women are the sexual objects and the men are the decision makers in our society. There has been a consistent theme throughout the centuries where women have been thought of as the ‘lesser’ sex. They have always been thought to have lesser intelligence than men do. It was only in the early 1900’s that women were able to have a voice in our political elections with the right to vote. Unfortunately, the marginalization of women continues but is being exploited through a different venue – the media. The images portrayed in the past 30  years especially have been promoting the use of diets, exercise, and cosmetics for women to look and feel young. Aging, especially for women, has become a negative in our society. The media has perpetuated a society of unattainable goals for most women. The media industry as a whole is a multibillion dollar industry, and the fact that women are constantly being told that they need to look better, feeds into the bottom line of these industries selling the perfect image. It is a lose-lose situation for the American female. While women spend endless dollars on trying to perfect themselves, the companies that create the fantasy of the ideal female body, just keep getting richer. I believe women should be accepted for whom and what they are without trying to fit into some ideal that a male dominated corporation has created to expand their profit margins. Unfortunately, we as a society have bought into what the media have been selling and there seems to be no turning back. By focusing on the issues that have arisen from these media images and damage it has caused our female population, in particular our youth, it helps us learn about ourselves as a society and as a human race. This helps us to understand our expectations for one another, in a society where looks and image have become the most important part of the human existence. In learning about ourselves and examining these expectations, we examine the flaws within the society we have developed. We are all responsible for the effect that the media has on our young people, because not enough is being done to deter the false images that are being portrayed. Women more often than men are expected to live up to these media images of perfection. There are more diet ads for women than men both on television and in magazines. Celebrities are even contributing to the false images we see and hear by participating in makeup and diet advertising. We need to be more aware of the media messages being absorbed by our society with regard to body image. Unfortunately, as long as people are buying, the corporations will continue to sell their ideal body images to the public. We need to take a hard look at the fact that we, as a society, are enabling these corporations to dictate the ideal female image by buying into their perceptions. This leads to a female youth that is dissatisfied with her body, has low self-esteem, and in some cases develop eating disorders. We continue to walk a very dangerous path in our culture, where the female youth are the most vulnerable in defining their self-image and self-worth. These images of thinness continue to represent what the masses prefer to see when viewing television and magazine advertisements. This is what the advertisers claim sells products and so far it seems to work. If we could start thinking about what is reality as a collective society, then maybe we can also accept that reality without constantly trying to change it. These types of media images only perpetuate more insecurity as opposed to positive images about oneself. We need to accept people for how they look, no matter what they look like without trying to live up to some unrealistic image in the media. — Portrayal or Betrayal? How the media depicts women and girls NEW YORK – When Jan Floyd-Douglass decided to buy a new car, she bypassed suitable models from many different companies – and then wrote to tell them why. â€Å"I wrote to eight manufacturers saying, ‘I love your car but I didn’t buy it because I don’t like your advertisements because they demean women,'† said Ms. Floyd-Douglass. She told the story during a panel discussion titled â€Å"Portrayal or Betrayal: How the Media Depicts Women and Girls,† which was held 3 March 2010 at the UN offices of the Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ­ International Community. The event was one of dozens of side events planned in conjunction with the annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, held 1-12 March 2010, which this year examined progress made for women since the 1995 Beijing conference. As a contribution to this theme, the panel sought to consider how images in the media – whether television, movies, or advertising – affect the way women are perceived and treated. Ms. Floyd-Douglass was joined by Michael Karlberg, an associate professor of communications at Western Washington University, and Sarah Kasule of the Mother’s Union in Uganda. The panel was moderated by Baroness Joyce Could, chair of the UK Women’s National Commission. Baroness Gould opened by noting that several recent studies have shown that images that objectify or demean women are now more widely used in the media than ever. Moreover, she said, those studies show that such â€Å"sexualized† images have an unhealthy impact on the psychological development of young girls – and on young boys. â€Å"It gives a very disturbing perception to girls and young women,† she said. â€Å"For girls, it is about being told they need to be more attractive to men. And for boys, it is about looking upon girls as sexual objects.† Dr. Karlberg  said this trend in the media is a result of both individual choices and institutional forces. â€Å"On one hand,† he said, â€Å"people everywhere are choosing to consume media that feeds base appetites that we have inherited from our animal nature. On the other hand, media institutions have been constructed in ways that purposefully stimulate, reinforce, and exploit these base appetites.† The result, he said, is a â€Å"feedback cycle† that has created a media environment that is â€Å"unjust, unhealthy, and unsustainable.† Dr. Karlberg said efforts to address the problem must consider the structure of media institutions. â€Å"The assumption is that the media is just another commodity,† he said. â€Å"But the media is not just another commodity. It is a process that facilitates democratic deliberations. It is a process that creates culture.† Part of the problem, he said, is that the media’s real product is not content but the delivery of an audience to advertisers. The result is that the media strives to manufacture audiences in the cheapest way possible. Media junk food â€Å"The cheapest way to manufacture audience is through a high sex, high violence, high conflict content. It doesn’t take talent or research or investigative journalism. Yet it stimulates the appetites, much the same way that a high salt, high sugar, and high fat junk food diet does.† Dr. Karlberg, who is a Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ­, also discussed efforts the Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ­ community has undertaken to offer moral education for children and young people, which he said can help to counter the ill effects of exposure to sexualized or violent images. â€Å"Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ­s, like people everywhere, are struggling to raise and educate children,† he said. â€Å"They are trying to do this in a way that cultivates their inherent nobility, that releases their spiritual potential, and that helps them recognize the deep sources of purpose, meaning, and happiness in life. â€Å"Such spiritual education can be a very important factor in making children less susceptible to messages in their media environment. It is also a very important factor in making children more likely to make thoughtful choices about media consumption as they grow older,† said Dr. Karlberg. Ms. Floyd-Douglass said she considered her effort to write to various automobile manufacturers that use sexualized images of women in their advertising as one among many weapons in the battle against the problem of such images. Like the other panellists, she noted that such  images are so commonplace as to seem innocuous. Parents, she said, should explain the existence of such images to their children – and make efforts to counter their harmful effects. â€Å"We have to question stereotypes in the media. We have to laugh at them. â€Å"My message is, if we don’t actually do anything about this, we are complicit in it,† she said. Ms. Kasule said the problem is not confined to western countries. â€Å"In the African context, much of the time, the way women are depicted in the media is quite negative,† she said. â€Å"They are depicted as symbols of sex. Or as something to do with making men comfortable, or giving care.† There are some counter trends to the problem, she added. She described a national television project in Uganda that gives free air time for women to talk about things that matter to them and noted that educational levels for women and girls are rising. â€Å"There are many programs for girls to read and write. This is important because they will be able to access information, to access media reports, and then they can respond,† said Ms. Kasule. Media Portrayal of Women is Harmful BY CAITLIN CARTER The media’s portrayal of women and men is harmful to everyone, and college students are not exempt. Women are the more obvious victims of the misuse of sexuality. Advertisements on television, the Internet, and in magazines all over America use female sexuality to sell their products. Breasts, legs, and alluring faces sell beer, furniture, energy drinks, and even the woman’s sexuality itself. Women in sitcoms and reality television shows, such as â€Å"America’s Next Top Model,† represent a body type that very few women possess. According to the documentary â€Å"Killing Us Softly,† the average person spends three years of their life watching television commercials. Still, many people view themselves as unaffected. We see the effects every day. Recently, Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer underwent a â€Å"makeover,† from average child to sexed-up preteen. Have you noticed that within our lifetime, music videos have become more and more like cheap porn? Young adults reading Cosmopolitan or Seventeen may think they’re just learning about work-outs and skin care, but the subliminal message remains: meet this standard, or constantly be less than what you should be. This urgency is clearly evident in the ever-rising rates of eating disorders, and the level  of naivety and interest in them. Tons of feminists give lectures, write books, and make movies on the effect of female sexuality on women, but the topic of how the male sex in the media effects men is often blatantly ignored. Of course, the presence of women in the media is dominant, but this does not mean that sexualized men do not exist, nor that men don’t feel the pressure. Ever heard a friend voice a deep concern over his scrawniness? Have you been to Goolrick and seen the hordes of men lifting weights on any given day? Men see the huge Abercrombie ads, with almost naked, sweaty, built men – and they also see women drooling over them; just as women see men with Sports Illustrated calendars. As college students, many feel the pressure to look better than their best every time they go out on the weekend, and even when they’re only going to class, or to the Nest for a late-night snack. Although the media seems to be spiralling out of control, there is one thing that we can control: how much we internalize the messages it feeds us. Generate conversations with your family, your friends, co-workers or classmates. By simply raising the awareness of ourselves and others, we can realize that the image of the â€Å"ideal† woman or man is nearly impossible to achieve. If no one is immune to this never-ending craze for perfection and if everyone feels the pressures and angst to fit the desired role, is it really right for us to judge one another on the very issues we worry about ourselves? We can build each other up higher than these images can tear us down- a compliment goes a long way. Caitlin Carter is a junior. — Women And Negative Stereotypes: An End Before A Start By Divya Bhargava 06 July, 2009 Countercurrents.org We may be reluctant to believe that discrimination against individuals because of their sex, race, age, sexual orientation or health status still exist in institutions in most countries. We also may not want to accept the fact that sexual violence is common in all culture, that women are victims of rape, battering and sexual harassment each day, despite legislation  prohibiting such violence, common policing, workplace policies, counselling and training programs exist. Yet this is the reality for most women. The fact that individuals are likely to think of man when they hear a word surgeon illustrates how we all hold beliefs, attitudes, the stereotype that influence our perception of the world around us. Which sex do you associate with elementary school teacher? With model? With engineer? Most individuals still indicates that elementary school teachers are female, models are female, and engineers are male. Individuals also mark the occupation if they believe the sex of the person performing this job is typical. Stereotypes refer to individuals cognitions that typically do not correspond to reality. A stereotype is a picture in the head not an accurate mirror of the real world. Stereotypes occur when individuals are classifieds by others as having something in common because they are members of a particular group or category of people. Gender stereotypes are a psychological process which illustrates structured sets of beliefs about the personal attributes of men and women. An awareness of the contents of gender role stereotypes begins in the preschool years and is rather well-developed by the time children enter first grade. Parents are among the more important socializing agents for children in shaping values, beliefs and behaviours related to gender. Furthermore knowing the sex of the baby conjures up all kinds of personality characteristics and physical attributes even when these factors are not present in the child. Parents communicate their stereotypes to children in numerous ways. Boys are given building blocks, sports equipment and model vehicles. Girls, on the other hand, are encouraged to play with dolls, dolls houses and miniature household appliances. Cultural images of women:- Culture ideas, symbols, norms and values play a significant role in the creation of women images and the differentiation of gender roles. The purpose of the present article is to understand the images of femininity in Indian society from ancient to modern times. India, a heterogeneous society, presents conflicting women images. The normative model image of Indian womanhood has displayed remarkable consistency. Images of women have not remained static and have undergone numerous changes. However, certain basic models have widespread acceptance. Various cultural images of women:- Pativrata- unconditional devotion to husband, Glorified Motherhood, Bharat  Mata Image. First at the societal plane, the perception of different categories of women is distinctly shaped/conditioned by the popularly accepted female images/stereotypes. Secondly, at the interpersonal level within the family situation, these images frequently impinge in a variety of ways. Indian girls grow up with deep rooted sense of fear and insecurity which not only restricts their social mobility in the mundane day to day life but also often psychologically cripples them to face the hardships of life in general and resist gender based discrimination in particular. These gender dichotomies, flowing almost directly from the popular images fostered most significantly, these images in most Indian families. Thirdly, and perhaps most significantly, these images leave a deep imprint upon women’s self-perception. Women in Advertisement:- Advertising has been a prime target of attack and scrutiny. The basic explanation for the critical focus on sex role portrayal in advertising lies in the close relationship, which exists between advertising, the consumer goods industry and the crucial economic role of women as consumers. Generally it is shown in advertisement a woman’s goal in life is to attract and attain a man:-women are shown in advertising as always young and attractive. They are frequently depicted as sexual objects. Women in advertisements are restricted to the home and isolated from other women outside home, man is her favourite companion. Domesticity is the second role of two dimensional image of femininity in advertising. Sex Stereotyping in the Media:- Far more dangerous than the overtly obscene advertisements are the sexual stereotypes that are found in different media. The Indian version of sex stereotyping would have all women behaving like mythological sita and savitri- docile, submissive, sacrificing, sentimental, superstitious, and incapable of rational action, their primary duty being wives, companions and devoted mothers. Films are the largest disseminators of stereotyped images. They have a package formula for women: the latter are shown as traditional, truly Indian women, who are devoted, son producing wives etc. so far women’s protests and criticisms have not had much effect on the commercial Hindi film industry. Television also perpetuates sex stereotypes. In it’s a  woman’s world all that has happened is that the traditional sitas and savitris have given way gracefully to an alien creature who is new role model for the Indian woman who has the best of both worlds, is economically independent, progressive, ambitious and very very feminine. What is being peddled here is grotesque caricatured western lifestyle which is quite far removed from the average Indian woman’s struggle to survive totally negating and never questioning her reality. Even though 60% of women are involved in agriculture, radio programmes for the rural areas are only directed to men. Women’s programmes almost never discuss technology, banking facilities, new laws or any such issues. Consequences of Negative Stereotype and sexism for the individual:- Society suppresses the choices of males and females through cultural tyranny. The socialization process forces males and females into behavioural modes, personality characteristics, and occupational roles deemed appropriate by society. Most important, these constraints bring about system that is biased in favour of males. Men have the opportunity to develop their talents while women may only within a severely limited range. The consequences are as follows:- Relative Powerlessness of Women, Limited Range of Occupations for Women, Loss of Academic Potential for Women, Lack of Respect for Women’s Abilities, Low Self-esteem among Women, Trials of the Aging Women. Women Studies:- Research interests in women have not only gained momentum since, 1970, but the stance and areas of researches have also significantly changed. Women’s position has worsened considerably in almost every sphere with the exception of some gains in education and employment for middle class women. What is worst, there has been growing violence against women. Women’s studies can be classified into 5 broad categories:- Studies on Women’s Problems, Studies on Changing Status of Women, Studies on Different Aspects of Women’s Life, Studies on Women’s Organization and Movements in India, Studies on Conceptual, Ideological and Methodological Issue Involved in Research on Women. Given the various waves of women’s studies, it would be in order to demonstrate the specific concerned of researchers in social, economic and political dimensions. In the social dimension, a large numbers of factors  were emphasized as the cause of women’s subordination a nd low status in society. The marriage and family found utmost attention, for; the private sphere has been considered as one of the root causes of women’s problems. The abhorrent customs that attracted attention of scholars are infanticide, prostitution, purdah, dowry and divorce. These studies examined the legislations made towards eradication of these evils and highlighted their shortcomings in tackling the problems. Education of women is another popular theme, studies directed towards the status of rural women’s education- both formal and non-formal, revealed very disturbing trends. The illiteracy is more rampant among women than among men. The women have been prey to various constraints in pursuing their education, for, many girls act as surrogate mothers, share household responsibilities at an early age, assume other sex roles, and confront parent’s apathy or reluctance resulting in drop out of many girls from schools. While it was expected that education will give more employment to women, it is creating more unemployment among married women graduates as compared to women as a whole. Without providing any alternative, women’s education was found eroding the traditional parental ties. Health problems of women are another area which attracted attention of scholars. The studies reported the poor health condition of women due to poor access to health services and lack of nutritional diet. In the economic dimension, three themes have attracted attention of scholars; women’s employment, their participation in development, and impact of technology on them. In the political dimension it has been summarized that women suffer from powerlessness. Women laws in India:- 1. Constitution of India 1950 2. Penal Laws 3. Family Laws 4. Labour Laws 5. Human Rights and Women Legal Aid 6. Domestic Violence Act 2005 7. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 8. Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 9. Hindu Succession Act 1956 and Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 10. Special Marriage Act 1955 11. Child Marriage Act 1929 12. Hindu’s Widow Remarriage Act 1865 13. Custody of child- Hindu, Muslim, Parsi and Christian Laws 14. Adoption of child- Hindu, Muslim, Parsi and Christian Laws 15. Maintence- Hindu, Muslim, Parsi and Christian Laws 16. Guardianship- Hindu, Muslim, Parsi and Christian Laws Conclusion:- In summary, then, the preceding analysis of some of the selected socio-demographic, legal, educational, economic, political and socio-cultural indicators on the situation of women reveals that even after four decades of assiduous effort women’s condition continues to be miserable and they still confront immense problems in all these domains of life. However, recent international and national spectacular developments have turned the attitude of society towards women and women’s perception of their own situation. Consequent upon these efforts and development, a spate of women’s studies in different directions were made which inter alia raised new question on Women Question. References:- Studies By:- 1 .Ashmore, 1998 2. Deaux and Kite, 1993 3. Doyle and Paludi, 1998 4. Heyman and Legare, 2004 5. Indian Past, 10.7.1988 6. Forum Against Oppression Of Women In The Media Committee, New Delhi 7. Women’s Organization In Bombay (1985), Patna Conference (1988) 8. Krithi (1985) 9. Bhasin K. and Agarwal B. eds. 1984 10. Quotation in the Feminine Gender by Bibekananda Das and L.N. Dash (pg. 154-159) 11. Neera Desai – Women Studies in India Divya Bhargava is a law student in Bangalore