Understanding Political Process Theory

Understanding Political Process Theory Also known as political opportunity theory, political process theory offers an explanation of the conditions, mindset, and actions that make a social movement successful in achieving its goals. According to this theory, political opportunities for change must first be present before a movement can achieve its objectives. Following that, the movement ultimately attempts to make change through the existing political structure and processes. Overview Political process theory (PPT) is considered the core theory of social movements and how they mobilize (work to create change). It was developed by  sociologists in the U.S. during the 1970s and 80s, in response to the Civil Rights, anti-war, and student movements of the 1960s. Sociologist Douglas McAdam, now a professor at Stanford University, is credited with first developing this theory via his study of the Black Civil Rights movement (see his book  Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970, published in 1982). Prior to the development of this theory, social scientists viewed members of social movements as irrational and crazed and framed them as deviants rather than political actors. Developed through careful research, political process theory disrupted that view and exposed its troubling elitist, racist, and patriarchal roots. Resource mobilization theory similarly offers an alternative view to this classical one. Since McAdam published his book outlining the theory, revisions to it have been made by him and other sociologists, so today it differs from McAdams original articulation.  As sociologist Neal Caren describes in his entry on the theory in the  Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, political process theory outlines five key components that determine the success or failure of a social movement: political opportunities, mobilizing structures, framing processes,  protest cycles, and contentious repertoires. Political opportunities  are the most important aspect of PPT, because according to the theory, without them, success for a social movement is impossible. Political opportunitiesor opportunities for intervention and change within the existing political systemexist when the system experiences vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities in the system can arise for a variety of reasons but hinge on a crisis of legitimacy wherein the populace no longer supports the social and economic conditions fostered or maintained by the system. Opportunities might be driven by  the broadening of political enfranchisement to those previously excluded (like women and people of color, historically speaking), divisions among leaders, increasing diversity within political bodies and the electorate, and a loosening of repressive structures that previously kept people from demanding change.Mobilizing structures  refer to the  already existing organizations (political or otherwise) that are present among the c ommunity that wants change. These organizations serve as mobilizing structures for a social movement by providing membership, leadership, and communication and social networks to the budding movement. Examples include churches, community and nonprofit organizations, and student groups and schools, to name a few. Framing processes are carried out by leaders of an organization in order to allow the group or movement to  clearly and persuasively describe the existing problems, articulate why change is necessary, what changes are desired, and how one can go about achieving them. Framing processes foster the ideological buy-in among movement members, members of the political establishment, and the public at large that is necessary for a social movement to seize political opportunities and make change. McAdam and colleagues describe framing as conscious strategic efforts by groups of people to fashion shared understandings of the world and of themselves that legitimate and motivate collective action (see Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framing  [1996]).Protest cycles  are another important aspect of social movement success according to PPT. A protest cycle is a prolonged  period of time when opposition to the politi cal system and acts of protest are in a heightened state. Within this theoretical perspective, protests are important expressions of the views and demands of the mobilizing structures connected to the movement and are vehicles to express the ideological frames connected to the framing process. As such, protests serve to strengthen solidarity within the movement, to raise awareness among the general public about the issues targeted by the movement, and also serve to help recruit new members. The fifth and final aspect of PPT is contentious repertoires, which refers to the set of means through which the movement makes its claims. These typically include strikes, demonstrations (protests), and  petitions. According to PPT, when all of these elements are present, it is possible that a social movement will be able to make changes within the existing political system that will reflect the desired outcome. Key Figures There are many sociologists who study social movements, but key figures who helped create and refine PPT include Charles Tilly,  Peter Eisinger, Sidney Tarrow, David Snow, David Meyer, and Douglas McAdam. Recommended Reading To learn more about PPT see the following resources: From Mobilization to Revolution  (1978), by Charles Tilly.Political Process Theory,  Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, by Neal Caren (2007).Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency,  (1982) by Douglas McAdam.Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framing  (1996), by Douglas McAdam and colleagues. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

Ways Reporters Can Avoid Conflicts of Interest

Ways Reporters Can Avoid Conflicts of Interest Hard-news reporters should approach stories objectively, setting their own prejudices and preconceptions aside in order to discover the truth about whatever theyre covering. An important part of objectivity is avoiding conflicts of interest that might influence a reporters work. Examples of Conflict of Interest Avoiding conflict of interest is sometimes easier said than done. Heres an example: Lets say you cover city hall, and over time you get to know the mayor well because hes a big part of your beat. You may even grow to like him and secretly wish for him to be successful as the towns chief executive. Theres nothing wrong with that per se, but if your feelings begin to color your coverage of the mayor, or renders you unable to write about him critically when necessary, then clearly theres a conflict of interest - one that must be resolved. Why must reporters be mindful of this? Because sources often try to influence journalists in order to get more positive coverage. For example, after interviewing the CEO of a major airline for a profile, I got a call from one of the airlines public relations people. She asked how the article was going, then offered me two round-trip tickets to London, courtesy of the airline. Its hard to say no to free airline tickets, but of course, I had to refuse. Accepting them would have been a big-time conflict of interest, one that might have affected the way I wrote the story. In short, avoiding conflicts of interest requires a conscious effort on the part of a reporter, day in and day out. How to Avoid Conflicts of Interest Here are six ways to avoid such conflicts: Dont Accept Freebies or Gifts From Sources. People will often try to curry favor with reporters by offering them gifts of various sorts. But taking such freebies opens the reporter up to the charge that he can be bought.Dont Donate Money to Political or Activist Groups. Many news organizations have rules against this for obvious reasons - it telegraphs where the reporter stands politically and erodes the confidence readers have in the reporter as an impartial observer. Even opinion journalists can get into trouble for giving money to political groups or candidates, as Keith Olbermann did in 2010.Dont Engage in Political Activity. This goes along with No. 2. Dont attend rallies, wave signs or otherwise publicly lend your support to groups or causes that have a political bent. Non-political charitable work is fine.Dont Get Too Chummy With the People You Cover. Its important to establish a good working relationship with the sources on your beat. But theres a fine line between a working relationship and a true friendship. If you become best friends with a source youre not likely to cover that source objectively. The best way to avoid such pitfalls? Dont socialize with sources outside of work. Dont Cover Friends or Family Members. If you have a friend or relative who is in the public spotlight - lets say your sister is a member of the city council - you must recuse yourself from covering that person as a reporter. Readers simply wont believe that youll be as tough on that person as you are on everyone else - and theyll probably be right.Avoid Financial Conflicts. If you cover a prominent local company as part of your beat, you shouldnt own any of that companys stock. More broadly, if you cover a certain industry, say, drug companies or computer software makers, then you shouldnt own stock in those kinds of companies.

Healthcare research report---Analysis Plan Paper

Healthcare report---Analysis Plan - Research Paper Example Graphical techniques to be used under this analysis are boxplots and histograms which will assist in identification of outliers that maybe included or omitted in the data. Numerical techniques to be used include frequencies and percentages shall be used to plot the data distribution. 2. Descriptive Analysis. This type of analysis will show how the data looks like and the relationship between different variables in the data set. It will be used to present the quantitative aspect of the data in a simpler and a manageable form. Majorly, this technique will provide a summary of the entire data and it shall be approached from a univariate perspective. Univariate Analysis will involve a deeper examination across the variables in the data; one at a time. Under this analysis, the distribution, central tendency and dispersion of variables will be considered. a. Distribution. This is a summary of frequency of all the observations in a variable. Thus, each observation will be listed alongside the number people in every category so as to present a chart of the frequency distribution. Additionally, a histogram will be plotted to show a visual distribution. b. Central tendency. This section of analysis will consider the mean, mode and median for every variable. The mean will be used to describe the average value of observations in each variable. The median shall be used to estimate the middle value in every variable whereas the mode will show the most occurring value or observation in each variable. c. Dispersion. This is the spread of values around the mean, mode and median. Range and standard deviation shall be used under this category. The range will show the gap that exists between the maximum and the minimum values in every variable. Additionally, the standard deviation will show the average distance of all the data points

Development of Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Development of Christianity - Essay Example The fourth part examines vibrant churches that declined while the fifth tackles churches in Moscow. Part six explains the dismember ship of Western Christianity with the current part portraying protestant as emerging as a result of views different from Latin Christianity rather than reforming impulses. To begin with Christianity development, MacCulloch presents Christianity development as a messy political affair shooting up through the moments of human acceptance and apprehension of God through the message of Christ Jesus. This representation occurs when writing a clear discussion on the development of Chalcedonian and Nicene in the fourth and fifth centuries resulting in Dyophysite and miaphysite camps which could give rise to any creedal Christian pause. Thus, Christianity history development presented not having a triumphalist stance. The writer in the first part plainly and loudly contextualizes the Christianity within Hellenistic and Jewish worlds. MacCulloch moves with the history of Christianity in connection to the Jews up to the New Testament and links the Jews to Jesus and the New Testament. The writer elevates Jesus above other Jews by asserting the uniqueness in Jesus calling God Abba (MacCulloch, 2010, p.81). Then proceeds to discuss a meeting arranged at Yavneh by a number of rabbis after the fall of Jerusalem. The assertion by MacCulloch remains that the meeting by rabbis saw the founding of rabbinic Judaism as an event of historiographical fiction arising in the late antiquity (MacCulloch, 2010, p.107). Similarly, (Mangina, 2010, p. 22) explains Christianity and the doctrine of faith until the conclusion that the Apocalypse concerns the God of the gospel who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who seeks to transform life to predictable comfortable ways. In the discussion, the author digs deeply into the development of Christianity but  fails to conclude many chapters and leaves the readers with instruction to do further research and reading. This implies lack of full knowledge by the author.

Victor Joseph Essay Example for Free

Victor Joseph Essay Not everybody can conclude or can judge what the real characteristic of a person is unless you get to know him better. We can never blame ourselves from keeping our eyes blind on the things that we don’t want to see, but in the end, what we need is a little touch of acceptance and moving on with our life without living in the past, can somehow set us free. As the main character of Smoke Signals, at first, I see Victor Joseph as a young man, who is full of grievance with his father. All his life, all he knows is that his father is alcoholic, abusive and he left him and his mother without returning. One famous line is this â€Å"Thomas you dont even know my father. Did you know that my father was the one that set your parents house on fire? Did you know that my father beat my mother? Did you know that my father beat me too†?. Victor’s language is vulgar as he utters, â€Å"You gotta look mean or people wont respect you† (Alexie, 1998) he seems to be a full grown man with full of hatred. One flashback scene in the story gave me a different view about Victor’s Father. It was when Victor’s father died. The climax begins to reveal when Victor decided to go to a trip to get the remains of Arnold. When Thomas Builds-the-Fire a young man from an Indian reservation met Victor Joseph and told him that his father has saved his life, it turns out to be a different kind of story. It’s such a twist about the characteristic of Victor’s father, Arnold, that puts Victor in great denial. Thomas and Arnold spent good times together as he always remembers him as a thoughtful person who always gives him a nice breakfast and will never forget how he saved his life. As the story ends, Victor lived his life without the guidance of his father and left him bad memories that he will never forget. Hence, we should learn to forgive and give chance to others because in every mistake, there is a corresponding will to make something good behind it. Alexie, S. 1998 Smoke Signals: A Screenplay. Hyperion, 179 pages

Freedom for Women in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman

Freedom for Women in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin are two feminist works in which liberation is the overlying theme. Both of the main characters achieve freedom from their husbands' oppression in these short stories; however, freedom is only achieved through insanity in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and death in 'The Story of an Hour.' The women in these stories are viewed as very powerful, as they do whatever it takes to free themselves from the oppressive holds of their husbands. Their strength proves these two short stories very influential works of feminism. Oppression is chief in the achievement of liberation in both short stories. Both of the narrators are oppressed by their husbands, and though they want to be happy, it is impossible due to the way they are treated by their spouses. In ?The Yellow Wallpaper,? John, the nameless narrator?s husband, confines his wife to a room with barred windows and hideous yellow wallpaper because she is ill. He does not allow her to exert herself physically or mentally, prevents her from seeing her friends and family and keeps her under intense scrutiny. While isolated in this room, she begins to go mad, believing that the wallpaper is somehow watching her, and eventually she believes she is a prisoner inside it. The narrator proves that her husband is oppressive when she reveals how afraid she is of him. She says, ?There comes John, and I must put this away?he hates to have me write a word? (Gillman 41). Likewise, in Kate Chopin?s ?The Story of an Hour? it is perceived that the main character Louise Mallard is oppre... ...reedom proves to be the overlying theme in ?The Story of an Hour? and death is the way in which freedom is achieved in the short story. ?The Yellow Wallpaper? and ?The Story of an Hour? are two feminist works that highlight the importance of freedom for women in the oppressive world of men. Freedom is not achieved normally in either of the short stories, but is gained through insanity and death. These two stories prove that women?s liberation is an extremely important issue, and the means by which these women gained their freedom is remarkable. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. (1894). 31 Apr. 2003. http://www.4literature.net/Kate_Chopin/Story_of_an_Hour/> Gillman, Charlotte Perkins. ?The Yellow Wallpaper.? The Yellow Wallpaper and Selected Stories of Charlotte Perkins Gillman. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1994. PID 0230

Hrm Learning Log Essay

The first lecture that we had was basically explaining the module and gave a brief outline of what we are going to be studying throughout the year. We then went on to discuss this in the seminar. Obviously there was not much work done for this week as we were just taking everything in and coming to grips with what the module entailed. Lecture number two started off with a series of quotes with people defining organisational behaviour. I consider the ‘organisational behaviour is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management but since it concerns the behaviour of people within organisations it is also one of the most central’ as one of the most accurate and appropriate ways to describe organisational behaviour. The other two quotes were by no means inaccurate, but they were a bit brief and wouldn’t really explain much if you were trying to tell somebody what organisational behaviour was. This then brought us to the organisational iceberg, this is an interesting and key point. I have found a diagram from the internet to illustrate the iceberg I found this model very fascinating and the quote about what sinks a ship is very clever, because so much that goes on in an organisation is not seen. It is simply that an informal organisation is a ‘looser’ structured flexible organisation with informal relationships and a formal organisation would be an opposite one with a planned structure with a hierarchy. Hugh put some definitions of organisational behaviour up and I read them and found that they were both fairly strong definitions although one was a lot more detailed than the other. The next lecture was very much defining what an organisation is, different types of organisations and how we define them. This was a fairly big lecture and there was quite a lot to take in I thought. What is an organisation? I agree with the definition of JD Mooney that organisation is the form of every human association for the attainment of a common purpose, as well as Huczynski & Buchanans ‘entity’ view because they are short yet strong and easy to understand and I feel that I would definitely be more likely to remember these definitions than Robbins’ definition for example, which sounds a bit more intricate. The next lecture brought us to something similar, giving us the chance to reflect on the organisational iceberg, and still defining organisational structure. I researched into tall and flat organisational structures this week and found this diagram on the internet which helps demonstrate how different organisations have different structures, and there is no better or worse structure, because each organisation requires a different structure. I found centralisation and decentralisation quite challenging, so I looked up the meanings to begin with on the internet. I found that centralisation is described as the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location or group. Alternatively, decentralisation was defined as the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and citizen. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy, sociology and economics. These definitions helped me understand the table in the lecture slides easier. The matrix structure was also covered in this lecture. This seemed a more complex structure where a lot of individuals are mixed together and each person may have to work under several managers at a time. For this week’s lecture we were given a SEMCO case study and some organisational charts to look at. We spoke about trying to define work and then got into small groups and came up with our own definition of work. It was very interesting how everyone’s opinions and definitions of work were so different. Although nearly everyone agreed that we work for money and for example in our group, we said that if you are not paid, for instance voluntary work, it is simply a hobby. We then went on to organisation theory and classical management. This focuses on then total design of the total organisation. This is different to scientific management because that focuses on the design and management of individual jobs. This was quite a difficult lecture to fully comprehend with again a lot of information to take in. Through research I found that Henri Fayol was the main classical theorist and he proposed the functions such as technical; commercial; financial; accounting; security and managerial. He believed the latter to be slightly different to all the rest. In our lecture it said that management is a process of planning, organisation, command, coordination and control. I found that Fayol was very influential to the modern concepts of management and proposed his own theory, called fayolism. I also discovered that there is a set of 14 principles of management that he devised and I found this quite thought-provoking. The lecture also told us about Taylorism, which is a scientific management theory. We then went on to Hawthorne studies, which I had previously learnt about in sociology at A level so I was fairly familiar with. Then it went on explaining that there is more to the work than just the pay, there needs to be a strong sense of belonging. I agree with this because I feel in today’s society too many people are driven by money and instead of opting for being happy in life, they would rather have more money. I feel that the media makes people feel that they should put money before a sense of belonging and I don’t think that is right. In this week’s seminar we went back to organisational structures and charts. Our group discussed that the needs of all organisations are very different so there will always be different structures suiting different organisations. Bureaucratic structures were brought up and we spoke about how they were suitable for larger organisations rather than smaller ones, also how they tend to stick to a tall rather than flat structure. I found other structures such as a divisional structure, where they group organisational functions into different divisions. I then looked back over earlier lectures about defining work, and the extrinsic purposes which are essential yet do not reap the same intrinsic rewards where workers should have a considerably high level of job satisfaction. The occupational structure- this is shaped by several factors like bureaucracy, technology and the economy. Watson’s patterns are key points for the subject of occupations and the structure of work because he points out the key elements. Mobility is seen as a key part of occupational structure and there are factors which positively and negatively affect mobility. The next lectures brought us to organisational culture; there was a good quote to start the lecture saying that â€Å"The ideologies, beliefs and deep-set values which occur in all firms†¦. and which are the prescriptions for the ways in which people should work in those organisations. † This got me thinking about organisation culture and what it was about. Organisational culture frequently refers to the collective patterns of behaviour, beliefs and values within an organisation. I also found a different definition of organisation culture saying that ‘organisation culture is a set of values, often taken for granted, that help people in an organisation understand which actions are considered acceptable and which actions are considered unacceptable. ’ Often these values are shaped in the course of stories. I feel that culture is significantly hard to define and measure. We covered socialisation in this lecture and it is quoted as ‘getting ones hands dirty’. I found that Socialization is the main way humans start to obtain the skills needed to carry out their task of being a member of society. The largely basic look of culture is set up at the individual level. Through both learning and teaching is the how cultural and social characteristics achieve permanence. I believe that the best quote of this lecture was that ‘to change an organisation in any significant or lasting way you need to change the values and beliefs that lie at the core. ’ This brings us to the iceberg and the onion. The onion illustrates that the core is shielded by many layers, and you have to change everything right down to the bottom to make a significant change for the organisation. Through my research I found some different information as to what was in our lectures on the several different types of culture, such as person cultures and task cultures. Person cultures are basically an organisational structure in a business which is constantly changing and has no permanent foundation, no real formal role and no sole objective. Where all the people involved believe themselves to be superior to the organisation, because of this some of these organisations struggle to cope, but can do because of the certain expertise each different individual possesses. On the other hand, task cultures are often found in a matrix type organisation, where employees tend to have similar roles and responsibilities, they solve problems as and it is often described as a business based around the high skills of an employee. More organisational cultures are power cultures, and role cultures. Power cultures I think are the most interesting because they are more or less based around one ultimate source, which everything revolves around and depends on. These are often found in small organisations and have little bureaucracy and a small number of rules. Role cultures is similar to that of a tall structure that I have spoken about earlier where there is a basic hierarchy of roles and power. In the seminar this week we spoke about different retailers and what kind of organisation structures they had. I found this seminar very enjoyable because we found out from each other in depth about what sort of organisations each company were and decided what frame they would be in and whether we would prefer to be in one or another. The next lecture was mostly on change, I found this fairly weird because there were not many things I could relate to or understand so I just had to try and take as much in as possible. Although it brought us to again this man Charles Handy. He said that â€Å"Less than half the workforce in the industrial world will be holding conventional full-time jobs in organisations by the beginning of the 21st century. Those full-timers, or insiders, will be the new minority. † This has obviously been proved correct to some extent, so Handy was right. Because of technology fewer and fewer people are needed from day to day in the industrial sector, because machines are replacing them. Today we again talked about the paradigm and how organisations all have different values and missions and how they go about them. I think the most powerful part of this lecture is the part where it says the only permanent thing is change. This is such a good quote because no matter change will never ever end, it can’t. Yet everything else can. This is another one of those quotes that gets you thinking. I liked the 7-S framework part because it helps me remember all the very important reasons of change. This week’s lecture was on organisational change. This was different to previous lectures because I didn’t feel there was much we could talk about. I researched more into organisational cultures again and found information on strong cultures and weak cultures. A strong culture is one where staff responds to stimulus because of their position to organisational values. In a strong culture, it is believed that the people do what they are told to do, because they think that is the right way to do things. In a weak culture things are fairly different. They do it their own way and things would be pretty much the opposite. Research suggests that organisations with a strong culture will achieve the companies’ goals a lot easier than a weak culture; they will also have higher levels of employee satisfaction, motivation and loyalty. We came on to leadership today, and spoke about management. It started with a man I was familiar with Max Weber again because of A level sociology so I was intrigued to how he linked in with this element. We then came on to Fayol’s 14 principles of management. I decided to research into these 14 principles out of curiosity and it is proved that Fayols principles still have a big relevance to contemporary management, so do his 6 functions that I mentioned earlier, however most people these days like to only talk about 4 of the 6 functions that Fayol originally proposed and they have been slightly tweaked into; planning; leading; organising and controlling. Taylorism popped up this week and we discussed the difference between the bosses and the workers, as Taylor says the bosses think as the workers do. Then onto other theorists such as Drucker, he proposed the five basic operations of a manager. I very much agree with these five operations because at my workplace it seems that the managers are trying to set objectives, organise, measure, motivate and develop people. I think that managers are different to leaders. Yes some managers are leaders, but they are two completely different things in my eyes. As it says in the lecture slides managers plan, organise, direct etc, leaders envision, inspire, influence, leaders effect people more emotionally than managers do. We also spoke about how hard it is to describe leadership, who would we call a leader? How do we become a leader? These are all questions that I do not know the answer to. Yukl says that â€Å"Most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over people†¦.. to guide, structure and facilitate activities and relationships in a group or organisation’ I don’t think that this is as good of a description as â€Å"Leadership is a process of giving purpose (meaningful direction) to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose. By Jacob and Jacques because they seem to hit the nail on the head because I believe leadership is all about giving a meaningful purpose to effort and be willing to do anything to achieve your goal. I still very much agree with Yukls view on leadership because what he says is true but I don’t feel it would give me anythin g that I can learn or think about whereas Jacob and Jacques’ I can. There were a lot of quotes in today’s lecture, some I felt more powerful than others. They have taught me a lot about leadership, one being that it there is not a definition. I even googled it and there wasn’t one. Another being leadership is what you make of it, from what I think will be different to what the next guy thinks, so I can understand why it raises so many controversies and discussions. I can understand why it proved virtually impossible to identify the particular traits that separate leaders from non-leaders. I believe that leadership is based on many things, personality being the main one. Many people would think you have to be at the top of the hierarchy to be branded a leader, for instance they would think of a manager of a leader. But a leader can be anyone, some people just possess a trait that makes them a natural born leader, for example a footballer that steps on the pitch and instantly tells everyone what to do, they all listen to him without question. Even though he may not be captain, he is the leader. In today’s lecture we looked at technology, a new topic. Technology has played a massive part in how businesses operate as of recent years, I didn’t find this as interesting as the previous few weeks but there were still things I wanted to look up on. We also touched on leadership again this week. This week brings us onto personality. This lecture was one of the tougher ones because there was a lot of material I have never heard of before. I agree with everything Robertson and Smith have put forward because for instance if there was no variety in the tasks, or if there was no feedback given or no significance of the tasks, then the employees job satisfaction would surely be lower, and I think it would be a hard job to try and make someone completely satisfied with their job in every aspect because nearly everybody isnt happy with atleast one aspect of their job. Our lecture this week was on motivation, learning about motivation was quite enjoyable. I find the american and chinese needs hierarcies quite interesting and how they differ. The american hierarchy has self-actualisation in individual development at the top whereas the chinese hierarchy has self-actualisation in service to society. This goes back to the collectivist and individualist cultures. I have found a slightly more detailed diagram of a hierarchy here: Another big difference is that the sense of belonging is in the middle of the american hierarchy and it is right at the bottom of the chinese one, maybe because the chinese people see society as a whole more important. I also find Hertzbergs two factor theory quite interesting because of what he thinks motivates and de-motivates intrinsically and extrinsically. Today we looked at perception. I was quite amazed at how the mind perceives things and it sees what it wants to see instead of what it actually might be. The quote â€Å"You see, that’s the problem with you Jerry. You think we’re arguing, I think we’re finally communicating! † defines what perception is really about. You think you are doing one thing, yet you are doing another. Throughout this year my favourite topic has definitely been leadership. I feel genuinely interested in this subject because it is so intriguing and there are so many talking points about it. I think one of the most meaningful and intelligent quotes I have ever heard has come from the leadership topic, managers do things right, leaders do the right thing. It has made believe that being a leader is such a good thing. Most people probably think managers are leaders, but they are really nothing alike what so ever, when you look into it in detail you realise. I particularly like how Bennis describes both Managers and leaders, saying that Managers ask how and when, leaders and what and why. Managers rely on people, leaders inspire trust. Managers focus on systems and structure, leaders focus on people, and so on. It is strange how they seem so true yet every one is the completely different. This proves surely that there is a real big difference between a leader and a manager. I was quite amazed at the perception topic though because it enlightened me slightly on how our minds actually work. Like the non-standard shaped polygon, I would never think it is one of those, yet that is what it is. Also the x’s and o’s in alternating rows is clever. One of the least exciting topics I would say is organisational change. It was challenging yet quite boring and I didn’t really enjoy the content in the lectures or the seminars around this time. One of the more tricky subjects I found was motivation. Although it was more interesting than most of the others, it was one of the hardest to understand and I found it hard to relate to this lecture because it didn’t seem like there was much relevance to business in it. It is definitely an area I will need to revise more for my exam. I have also found writing this learning log challenging as I have never done anything like this before. But it is different I guess.

Down the River Essay

Edward Abbey’s essay Down the River reveals his strong belief that the existence of life revolves around nature itself. Abbey conveys these views through syntax, imagery, and his choice of structure. Abbey’s varying detail and syntax in the first half of the passage conveys an amazement toward nature. He states while gazing at the lion that there was a â€Å"mutual curiosity: [he] felt more wonder than fear†. His unexpected reaction to the mountain lion when they shared â€Å"mutual curiosity† implies that man is not alone in this journey towards knowledge, and there is a deep connection between man and nature. He varies the syntax from short to complex sentences with distinct differences in clauses. He states that later on they â€Å"see no mountain lions,† and the following sentence in a series presents all of the other wildlife that has been observed in great detail instead of the lion. He describes these plants and animals with enthusiasm and also calls Aravaipa â€Å"full of life† and extremely â€Å"beautiful†. The impression is that even though the lion that drew the explorer in is nowhere to be seen, there is still a vast amount of beauty in the desert. The structure is meant to contrast the two types of nature, urban nature and nature in Aravaipa. We see an immediate switch in tone when Abby says, â€Å"We stumble homeward over the stones, and through the anklebone-chilling water. † Abbey displays a hint of bitterness towards his home that is so bad even the journey to get there is torturous. He discusses the stars and how they seem to fade when he leaving the desert, as if the world he is used to has no stars, no beauty, no life. Abby then states that the memories of the beautiful desert are enough to keep him satisfied for days to survive the â€Å"urban life†. Nature is so rich in details and relationships and so wonderful and mysterious that it is impossible to completely understand it. This incomprehensibility can provide an unlimited source of learning that will eventually redeem us from a lifeless urban existence.

Free Essays on Ravers

Background Name of culture, country: Our project is on a sub-culture group called Ravers. The dictionary defines the word â€Å"rave† as a gathering or party where people, mostly teenagers and twenty some-things, come together to listen to music and dance. Ravers aren’t from any one country in particular. However the first modern raves started in and around London in the late 1980’s. Since then they have grown throughout Europe, United States, Canada, and Japan. Raves are now held in pretty much every city or town, whether it be heavily populated or in the middle of cornfields. Geographic location, climate: As mentioned above, geographic location varies. Raves are held in just about every major city in the United States especially in California, New York, and Florida, as well as Canada, UK, and Japan. Raves are usually held in an abandoned warehouse, a club, a beach, a field, an aircraft hangar or a sports arena. Pretty much anywhere you could fit a massive sound system and a lot of people. Climate varies in all of these locations because they are spread all across the world. Depending on the time of year, climate will vary from location to location. Economy: Ravers don’t really have a set economic system because it is a sub-culture. You don’t have to be poor or rich to be a raver. Raves attract all kinds of people. They can cost anywhere from $5 - $50. Usually the number of people at a rave is unimportant, it can range from 50 people to 25,000 people. The cost of attendance is unimportant too because there are some good raves and some bad raves at both cost spectrums. It has been said that the higher the price is, the more commercial the even and lower the quality. Government/Political Factors: There is no one set government for ravers. The people in charge of raves are most often ravers themselves or ex-ravers. They are given the tile called promoters. However, there are three different types of r... Free Essays on Ravers Free Essays on Ravers Background Name of culture, country: Our project is on a sub-culture group called Ravers. The dictionary defines the word â€Å"rave† as a gathering or party where people, mostly teenagers and twenty some-things, come together to listen to music and dance. Ravers aren’t from any one country in particular. However the first modern raves started in and around London in the late 1980’s. Since then they have grown throughout Europe, United States, Canada, and Japan. Raves are now held in pretty much every city or town, whether it be heavily populated or in the middle of cornfields. Geographic location, climate: As mentioned above, geographic location varies. Raves are held in just about every major city in the United States especially in California, New York, and Florida, as well as Canada, UK, and Japan. Raves are usually held in an abandoned warehouse, a club, a beach, a field, an aircraft hangar or a sports arena. Pretty much anywhere you could fit a massive sound system and a lot of people. Climate varies in all of these locations because they are spread all across the world. Depending on the time of year, climate will vary from location to location. Economy: Ravers don’t really have a set economic system because it is a sub-culture. You don’t have to be poor or rich to be a raver. Raves attract all kinds of people. They can cost anywhere from $5 - $50. Usually the number of people at a rave is unimportant, it can range from 50 people to 25,000 people. The cost of attendance is unimportant too because there are some good raves and some bad raves at both cost spectrums. It has been said that the higher the price is, the more commercial the even and lower the quality. Government/Political Factors: There is no one set government for ravers. The people in charge of raves are most often ravers themselves or ex-ravers. They are given the tile called promoters. However, there are three different types of r... Free Essays on Ravers Degeneration X: The Artifacts and Lexicon of the Rave Subculture The dizzying laser lights flashed in synchronicity with the pulsating bass of the music that bounced off the psychedelic warehouse walls. As my boyfriend and I mentally attempted to organize the chaos surrounding us, we pushed our way through the crowd of spasmodic lunatics who contorted their bodies in time with the music and lights. We located a couch in a room covered with cartoonesque, hyper-graphic graffiti. An androgynous man sat himself at my feet and began massaging my thighs, while a girl with her eyes rolled back into her head demanded that my boyfriend give her a massage. Just then the deejay laid his head in my lap, told me he was in love with me, and placed a bitter pill on my tongue. This certainly was the most bizarre method of earning three graduate credit hours I could imagine. So began my two-year ethnography on the American rave subculture. The scene described above was my initiation into the underground subculture where rave kids, typically under twenty-one years old, are given secret invitations to attend private warehouse parties with dancing, drugs, and thousands of their closest friends. Because of my youthful and unorthodox appearance, I was invited to join the then-highly-exclusive underground scene and attended numerous raves in several major cities in North Carolina. Although my chosen subculture was not typically examined by academia, I conducted an academic ethnography of what Maton (1993) describes as a "group whose world views, values and practices diverge from mainstream North American and social science cultures" (747). As a result, I received three graduate credit hours for "supervised research in ethnography" and conducted what may be the only academic ethnography on raves. The American rave subculture is an alternative, underground nightclub movement promoting techno music, synthetic drugs, and teen angst: the discos of the 1990s....

How to Make Bubbles That Dont Pop

How to Make Bubbles That Don't Pop If youre tired of bubbles that pop as soon as you blow them, try this recipe for unbreakable bubbles! Now, its still possible to break these bubbles, but they are much stronger than regular soap bubbles. Examples of bubbles that truly wont pop include plastic bubbles, which are essentially small balloons. This recipe makes bubbles using a sugar polymer to accomplish much the same result. Unbreakable Bubble Recipe 3 cups of water1 cup liquid dishwashing detergent (Joy is a good choice)1/2 cup white corn syrup Simply stir the ingredients together to make the bubble solution. You can use dark corn syrup just as easily as white corn syrup, but the solution will be colored. Also, you can add food coloring or glow paint to color the bubbles. You can substitute another type of sticky syrup. Expect changes in color and odor. Heres another easy bubble recipe: 3 cups water1 cup dishwashing liquid1/2 cup glycerin Getting the Biggest, Strongest Bubbles If you blow bubbles and they dont seem strong enough, you can add more glycerin and/or corn syrup. The best amount of glycerin or corn syrup depends on the dish soap you use, so the recipe is a starting point. Feel free to adjust the ingredient measurements. If you use ultra dishwashing liquid, youll probably need to add more syrup or glycerin. If you are having trouble getting big bubbles, you might want to use distilled water rather than tap water. Also, bubble recipes benefit from sitting for several hours or overnight before use. Glowing Bubbles If you break open a yellow highlighter and allow the ink to soak into the water, the resulting bubble solution and bubbles will glow under a black light. Another option is to use tonic water in place of regular water. The tonic water bubbles will glow pale blue under a black light. For brighter glowing bubbles, you can add glow pigment to the bubble mixture. However, the pigment becomes suspended in the solution rather dissolves, so the bubbles wont last as long or get as large. Coloring Bubbles Bubbles consist of a thin liquid film over a gas (air). Because the liquid layer is so thin, its hard to color bubbles. You can add food coloring or dye, but dont expect the color to be really noticeable. Also, the pigment molecules are large and will weaken the bubbles so they wont be as big or last as long. Its possible to color bubbles, but you may not like the results. Your best bet is to substitute a water-based dye in place of water in the bubble recipe. Blow colored bubbles outdoors because they will stain surfaces and clothing. Bubble Clean Up As you might guess, bubbles made using corn syrup  are sticky. They will clean up with warm water, but its best to blow bubbles outdoors or in a bathroom or kitchen so you wont have to un-stick your carpet or upholstery. The bubbles wash out of clothing.

Examine the impact of the new media on Parliaments and MPs Essay

Examine the impact of the new media on Parliaments and MPs - Essay Example ment should make sure they do whatever it takes to protect a free and independent media as its presence is vital for a functioning democracy as well as good governance (Girard 2002). It is for this reason that make parliament strive to establish a culture through legislation which protects the media. Generally, the aim of this essay is to investigate the effect of new information and communications technologies (ICTs), mostly the internet, upon parliamentary democracy in Britain. This study views three important aspects which the internet puts on parliamentary democracy such as, the practices, principles and rules related to the use of the internet in a parliamentary context. It is hoped that, perception on the development of and issues of e-democracy can be established. To facilitate the media’s operation, Parliament should ensure freedom of expression, rights to information in addition to freedom of the press. According to Rogers (1995) it is important for parliamentarians to participate in debates on how to bring about a balance between the freedom of speech and standards of responsibility on top of decency and quality. In Britain for example, BBC have had a powerful effect on the rising technologies. Earlier, internet domain was delegated to an individual. Domain requests had to be emailed, manually screened and then forwarded to the UK naming committee before processing. Membership was restricted to a certain group of people who were part of a peering arrangement. The naming committee could object to a name and if small number objected then the name was refused. In mid 1990s growth of internet and the introduction of the WWW pushed request for domain name registrations grew to levels that were not manageable. Automation tools were provid ed which formalised the naming process. A good professional relationship should be created between the parliamentarians and journalists for them to fulfil their duties. This relationship is based on mutual respect as well