Feminism and Social Work Essays

Feminism and Social Work Essays Feminism and Social Work Essay Feminism and Social Work Essay citing Bunch ( 1980 ) , defined feminism asâ€Å"transformational political relations that aims at the dismantlement of allpermanent power hierarchies in which one class of worlds dominatesor controls another class of humans† ( 372 ) . â€Å"In the feminist andempowerment traditions, the personal is political, and individualchange and societal alteration are seen as interdependent† ( Deitz 2000,372 ) . Feminism contends it is non equal to merely include adult females inthe world’s political and power systems, as these were designed by andfor work forces and hence favour a extremely masculinised mechanism forresponding to issues and necessitate adult females working within these systems todo the same ( Scott 1988, Moylan 2003 ) . Simply including adult females is notenough ; society must give women’s experiences equal clip andconsideration, finally recasting the very significances of the subjects it considers ( Scott 1988 ) . Rather, feminism argues adult females must be engagedin both the system development and decision-making procedures that shapeour society ( Moylan 2003 ) .Consequently, one country where feminism has peculiarly challengedtraditional positions is in the country of gender functions. For illustration, Dominelli and McLeod ( 1989 ) examine the manner in which societal problemsare defined, recognizing gender as peculiarly of import inunderstanding client groups, and emphasis classless relationshipsbetween healers and clients. Gender is besides an importantconsideration of societal work due to the patriarchal society that stilldominates most of our universe. This power model remainders on a footing ofhegemonic maleness ( Cohn and Enloe 2003 ) . Connell ( 1995 ) createdthe term ‘hegemonic masculinity’ to depict the valued definition ofmanhood in a society. He argues that whilst there are multiplepossible malenesss in a civilization, merely one or a fe w are most valuedor considered ideal ( Connell 1995 ) . This gender definition isconstructed both in relation to muliebrity and to other, subordinatedmasculinities, and is used to warrant both men’s domination of adult females, and the hegemonically masculine man’s power over other work forces ( Cohn andWeber 1999 ) .Whilst adult females are progressively being included in universe systems, thesystems themselves still were designed for and run by and for work forces. Therefore, adult females who participate within the system must make so from maleparadigm, even if it is sometimes at odds with their ain preferencesfor how to travel about covering with a state of affairs ( Cohn and Enloe 2003 ) .Feminism historically is a â€Å"critique of male domination, the belief thatgender order was socially constructed and could non be changed† ( Cott1989,205 ) . Masculinity is frequently defined as what is non feminine, andfemininity as what is non masculine, although under standing thedynamics of one requires sing both the workings of the other andthe relationship and convergence between the two ( Cohn and Enloe 2003 ) . Masculine definitions are frequently based on strength, domination andviolence, whilst feminine on failing, nurturing, compassion andpassitivity ( Rabrenovic and Roskos 2001 ) . The consequence is pressure onmen adhering to a hegemonic definition of maleness to see signifiers ofaddressing struggle other than a physical or masculine response asfeminine and a menace to their manhood ( Moylan 2003 ) .The popular construct of gender holds that maleness and muliebrity are unchanging looks based on the chromosomal male and femalebodies ( Butler 1990 ) . â€Å"Gender is assumed to be ‘hard-wired, ’ at leastin part† ( Hawkesworth 1997 ) . Masculine actions and desires for work forces andfeminine actions and desires for adult females entirely are normal, thesemasculine and feminine traits are non a affair of pick, and allindividuals can be classified as one or the other ( Hawkesworth 1997 ) . However, whilst our society work forces are considered strong and dominant, andwomen passive and nurturing, â€Å"the significances of male and female bodiesdiffer from one civilization to another, and alteration ( even in our ownculture ) over time† ( Connell 1993, 75 ) . For illustration, there have beenâ€Å"periods in Western history when the modern convention that mensuppress shows of emotion did non use at all, when work forces wereeffusive to their male friends and demonstrative about their feelings† ( Connell 1993, 75 ) . â€Å"Masculinities and feminities are constructed oraccomplished in societal procedures such as kid raising, emotional andsexual relationships, work and politics† ( Connell 1993, 75 ) .Feminism, nevertheless, contends gender is a constructed by each civilization, and as a societal pattern involves the incorporation of specificsymbols, which support or distort human potency ( Hawkesworth 1997 ) . Gender is created through â€Å"discursively constrained performative Acts of the Apostless, †and the repeat of these Acts of the Apostless over clip creates gender for theindividual in society ( Butler 1990, x ) . Peoples learn to â€Å"act† likewomen or work forces are supposed to ; adult females are taught to act in a femininemanner, work forces are taught to move in a masculine mode. This is oftenreinforced by authorization figures, such as societal workers. Barnes ( 2003 ) cites a figure of surveies which find societal workers frequently assume theâ€Å"disciplinary gaze† of impressions of â€Å"what and how to be adult female, †perpetuating traditional gender functions ( 149 ) . â€Å"Armed with stiff codesof gender appropriate behaviours, societal workers frequently sought toregulate and mediate women’s interactions with the societal, economic, and political world† ( Barns 2003, 149 ) .Feminism and societal work portion a figure of similarities. Both believeâ€Å"in the built-in worth and self-respect of all individuals, the value of processover merchandise, the grasp of unity-diversity, the importance ofconsidering the person-in- environment, and a committedness to personalempowerment and active engagement in society as a agency to bringabout meaningful societal change† ( Baretti 2001, 266-267 ) . Similarly, both feminism and societal work address multiple attacks to handlingsituations, disputing the institutionalised subjugation common in manypower constructions and back uping â€Å"the reconceptualization andredistribution of that power† ( Baretti 2001, 267 ) .It follows that one impact of feminism on societal work practise is theconsideration of issues from a societal instead than personalperspective. For illustration, this might include sing a domesticviolence state of affairs non from the position that the household isdysfunctional, but from the position o f the society that created thefamily. The psychology-based focal point of clinical societal work â€Å"oftenleads to individualising societal jobs, instead than to sing themas the consequence of dealingss of power, chiefly subjugation and abuse† ( Deitz 2000, 369 ) . As such, persons sing such difficultiesare â€Å"taught† that their peculiar experiences are inappropriate, instead than turn toing the systems that created the troubles in thefirst topographic point ( Deitz 2000, 369 ) .Dominelli and McLeod ( 1989 ) re-evaluate societal work pattern from afeminist position, sing the maps of societal work such astherapy, community interaction, and policy doing non from apathological point of view but from one of defined functions endorsed bysocietal conditions. As such, they contend that working from afeminist position allows the societal worker to turn to the causes ofsocial issues, instead than the symptoms played out in individual’slives ( Dominelli and McLeod 19 89 ) .One country of difference in societal work practise between those operatingfrom a feminist model and a traditional model is the construct ofdistance. Traditionally, the â€Å"patriarchal prejudice against relationalityand connection† is intended to take to â€Å"connection without injury, lovewithout power maltreatment, touching without sexual maltreatment in psychotherapy† ( Deitz 2000, 377 ) . Unfortunately, in practise it frequently consequences inâ€Å"power over† relationships where those having services feel â€Å"lessthan† those supplying them. â€Å"Healing happens when person feels seen, heard, held, and empowered, non when 1 is interpreted, held at adistance, and pathologized† ( Deitz 2000, 377 ) . Deitz ( 2000 ) finds thatsocial workers frequently institutionalize a â€Å"power over† stance fromprofessional preparation and discourse that constructs the individualities ofclients as somehow disordered, dysfunctional or impaire d. â€Å"Whetherbetween parents and kids ; doctors and patients ; societal workersand consumers of services ; White persons and Blacks ; or straight persons andlesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals, power overrelationships give the dominant spouses or group the right to definethe significances of subordinates’ experiences ( including their opposition ) and therefore their chances for self-affirmation† ( Deitz 2000,373 ) .This creates professional relationships that ignore theenvironmental, historical, and societal contexts of the job, discountpeople’s strengths and resiliency in appraisal and intercession, andlead â€Å"to the objectification of people as diagnosings, instead than toempowerment† ( Deitz 2000, 370 ) . â€Å"The keys to empowerment in feministmicro pattern are reconnection and transmutation through politicalactivity ; subsisters of subjugation and maltreatment experience reconnectionthrough relationships based on mutualness, coaction, andtrustworthiness† ( Deitz 2000, 376 ) .Theories from societal work, psychological science, and peculiarly developmentalpsychology describe authorization as chiefly a procedure, with thepersonal transmutation of the single going empowered at itsfoundation ( Carr 2003, 8 ) . Barriers to empowerment and jobs ofdisenfranchisement caused by impotence are chiefly political, instead than psychological. Powerlessness is defined as the inabilityto efficaciously manage one’s emotions, cognition, accomplishments, or resources ; it is â€Å"derived from the absence of external supports and the existenceof ontological â€Å"power blocks† that become incorporated into a person’sdevelopment† ( Carr 2003, 13 ) . As such, many subsisters besides work toreconnect to others in their communities, frequently seeking politicalactivity that â€Å"emphasizes the authorization of others, such as byorganizing Take Back the Night Marches or speak-outs , volunteering forcrisis hot lines, seeking legislative alterations, or going socialworkers or human service professionals† ( Deitz 2000, 376 ) .For illustration, feminist work with maltreatment subsisters â€Å"emphasizes therelationship between maltreatment and oppressive societal dealingss ( Deitz 2000,374 ) . On the other manus, the dominant clinical societal work attack tooppression and maltreatment relocates the job of subjugation in victims.Psychological theories are typically employed, which â€Å"locates pathologyin persons, instead than in oppressive relationships and systems, and considers the long-run effects of subjugation to be symptoms ofindividual pathology† ( Deitz 2000, 374 ) . Unfortunately, whilst manysocial workers have been exposed to or even personally supportoperating from a womens rightist model, the systems in which they workprevent them from actively using feminist penetration in their dailypractise. Research Plan This research seeks to analyze the prevalence and impact of traditionaland womens rightist practician concepts from the position of thoseserved. Specifically, a focal point group survey will be conducted with agroup of college pupils, all of whom are presently analyzing socialwork and hence have some construct sing societal work pattern, womens rightist and traditional worldviews. In add-on, all pupils in thefocus group will hold experienced domestic force and have beenprovided the services of a societal worker in some signifier during theirteenage old ages.Three countries of treatment will be undertaken by the group. These willbe provided to single group participants in composing several daysbefore the group in order for pupils to hold clip to see whatthey would wish to portion sing their sentiments and ain experiences. The first group activity will affect making definitions ofâ€Å"masculine† and â€Å"feminine† from the position of a typical socialworker based on the students’ teenage experiences. Students will thenbe asked to discourse where, if at all, they personally feel they andtheir household members who were involved in the domestic violencesituation ( s ) â€Å"fit† sing these preconceived definitions. It isanticipated some pupils will hold been uncomfortable with societalconstraints they or their household experienced as adolescents. As all arestudying societal work, they are besides anticipated to do moreconnections between social power issues, hegemonic gender functions, andtheir influence on domestic force than a focal point group without suchbackground. The 3rd country of treatment will center on how thestudents’ perceptual experiences of their societal worker ( s ) apprehension of genderroles influenced their and their households response of adequateservice.The research worker will both tape record and take notes on the groupdiscussions. Datas gathered from the group will so be compiled andanalysed. In add-on, pupils from the focal point group will be given theoption to compose a response to the group activity, if they so desire. These will be farther included in the group informations. Methodology Data aggregation involved four agencies. Prior to the group get downing, each participant was given a questionnaire ( see Appendix 3 ) to gatherbasic demographic information. The questionnaire besides asked for abrief sum-up of their opprobrious state of affairs. Sing informations aggregation ofthe group proceedings, as described above the focal point group session wastape-recorded and the research worker took notes to supplement the recordingof group treatment. The recorded Sessionss were so transcribed intoprint signifier, with research notes added in at the chronologicallyappropriate points of the written text to supply a more completewritten overview of the focal point group treatment. In add-on, groupparticipants had an option to compose a response the group to be includedin the group informations. Four participants wrote responses, which wereconsidered with the group informations following analysis of the focal point groupdiscussion. Participants were provided with the three co untries of groupdiscussion several yearss prior to the existent focal point group meeting. Theywere non given any waies or counsel sing the optionalwritten responses to the group activity.Data analysis foremost involved dividing and coding group informations. Responsesto the first subject of treatment were divided into three classs: those stand foring a traditional worldview, those stand foring afeminist worldview, and those that did non clearly represent eitherworldview. From these groupings, overall findings sing theworldviews typically experienced by the group participants weresummarised. This was so farther compared with the definitions oftraditional gender functions identified by the group.Datas from the 2nd subject of treatment were besides broken down intothose stand foring a traditional worldview, those stand foring afeminist worldview, and those that did non clearly represent eitherworldview. It was of import to so observe participant perceptual experiences andemotional res ponses to these cryptographies, and in which worldview groupingthey and their households were reported to experience best served andempowered.Datas from the specific treatment sing service were so similarlyanalysed, and combined with old findings to show a image ofthe impact of traditional versus feminist worldviews on societal workpractise, underscoring work with adolescent domestic force subsisters andtheir apprehension of gender functions in society.It was anticipated at the decision of such research, a position could beasserted as to whether feminist position has a important impact onthe practise of societal work as it is presently undertaken and whetherthis impact, if any, leads to improved service.As the focal point group involved a comparatively little figure of participants ( nine sum ) and informations from their interactions were primarilyqualitative in nature, it was decided non to execute any complexstatistical analysis on focal point group informations. It was felt that such typesof analysis would neither uncover findings that could be consideredstatistically important nor supply a more accurate understanding ofthe issues under consideration than a more qualitative analyticalapproach. In consideration of infinite and relevancy parts of thediscussion were used to back up decisions in the findings andanalysis subdivisions of this thesis, whilst an overall drumhead ofthe most relevant parts of the treatment are included in Appendix2. Execution OF PROJECT Nine pupils run intoing the standard laid out in the research planagreed to take part in the focal point group. They were primarilyorganised by one group participant, who had discovered other domesticviolence subsisters through schoolroom treatments and throughparticipation in a survivors’ group in the local community. All ninestudents were presently analyzing societal work or had taken at least onesocial work class as portion of a related class of survey, such aseducation or condemnable justness. There were six adult females and three work forces, runing in age from 19 to 27. Racially, seven wereCaucasian, one was Black, and one was Asiatic. All present as comingfrom upper working category to middle category backgrounds. All hadexperienced domestic force as adolescents, doing their experiencesfairly recent and hence supplying a comparatively current word picture ofsocial work practise. Five pupils ( three adult females, two work forces ) had beenremoved from their biological parents at some point during theirteenage old ages. All had been involved in intercessions into the familyby a societal worker stand foring either a authorities administration, or inthe instance of one adult female, a local church.Some of the participants antecedently knew each other and were somewhataware of each other’s experiences, which should be considered in groupanalysis. Five on a regular basis participated in a survivors’ support group inthe community. One adult male and one adult female were cousins. In add-on, twoof the work forces had known each other as adolescents from intercession throughthe school system.Jennifer, a 24 year-old Caucasian adult female, was chosen to be themoderator, as she had been the 1 who had assisted the research worker byarranging for most of the participants to go involved in thestudy. The group so moved about instantly into treatment of thetopics provided. The group had been provided a whiteboard for its usage, which Jennifer impl emented to organize single remarks and thoughts. It is surmised that the easy mode with which the group undertook thediscussion was based on the fact that they were all pupils andtherefore used to holding survey groups, group treatments, and the similar, and that all of them had at least publically shared their experiencespreviously, either as portion of a schoolroom treatment or survivors’group, or both, and were hence more comfy in prosecuting in suchdiscussion than might be typical for a focal point group covering with suchexperiences. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS The first determination of this research is that the bulk of socialworkers in service or domestic force subsisters to non consistentlyemploy feminist concepts in practise, despite the likeliness ofhaving been exposed to such concepts. This manifested itself inthree important ways. First, households were overpowering dealt withas persons with jobs. That is, the maltreater was described asmaking hapless picks or holding some type of pathological issues that ledto his or her determination to mistreat ( in one participant’s household, bothparents were opprobrious ) . As such, the maltreater was described from apsychoanalytical point of view by the societal worker ( s ) , and his or herbehaviour labelled as separately aberrant.The subsisters of the domestic force state of affairss, peculiarly themothers, as the bulk of maltreaters from the groups’ experiences weremale household members or fellows of the female parent, were besides reported tobe systematically dealt with from an single position. In thissense, their behavior was besides reported to be categorised by thesocial workers involved as unhealthy, pathological, and coming fromsome kind of unsolved personal issues, such as low self-pride. Inthe instance of merely one participant did the societal workers involved ineither intercession or therapy systematically relate the domesticviolence state of affairs to broader issues of subjugation, social powerstructures and the related hegemonic gender functions, or patriarchal normsof society. It is of note that this participant received service froma progressive women-helping-women administration, instead than atraditional government-organised societal work programme.Group participants besides repeatedly described their household situationsas unhealthy, and they surely were, but from the position thatboth the maltreater and abused were responding or exposing emotioninappropriately, instead than that the motive or norming behind thebehaviour was at mistake . For illustration, Trent described his female parent asdrawn to violent, alcoholic work forces. â€Å"She ever seemed to travel for theseguys that didn’t cognize how to show anything except by interrupting material, shouting, striking, you know.† His farther descriptions of his mothers’boyfriends indicated an premise that if these work forces had been raisedwith or taught proper agencies of covering with their defeats andemotions, the maltreatment to him and his female parent would hold been lessened oreliminated. This thought was supported by at least one societal worker, whosuggested reding for Trent, his female parent, and the so boyfriend asone possible manner of turn toing the opprobrious state of affairs.Several participants did convey womens rightist theory and thought into groupdiscussion, indicating out, for illustration, that laterality or aggression bymen in any signifier was unhealthy, and oppugning why it was merely seen asunhealthy by most of the societal workers they had encountered, and byothers they knew in the community, when physical force was actuallyinvolved.There was a related treatment, albeit brief, about the unwillingnessof neighbors, relations, and others in the community, such as membersof the same church, to step in in the domestic force state of affairs. Participants indicated their perceptual experience that whilst this was frequently dueto a fright of acquiring involved or cognizing how to assist the state of affairs, there were repeated happenings in everyone’s experience where anunwillingness to step in derived from others’ deductions that theman of the house had some right to take the manner in which thehousehold operated, or that he had a right to train his married woman /girlfriend and kids as he saw tantrum. Wendy reports hearing an auntstate â€Å"Well, its his household, their childs, she wants to remain with him, †and dismiss the on-going force as therefore an acceptable familyl ifestyle, or at least one in which none of the remainder of the familyshould be expected to step in. Participants so acknowledged thisand several other systemic state of affairss that perpetuated their maltreatment, such as reluctance of authorization figures to go on oppugning wheninitially told nil was incorrect, and involuntariness of constabularies tointervene repeatedly.Similarly, sing gender functions, treatment indicated a belief bymost participants that their societal workers believed a traditionalstereotype of what was appropriate behavior for a adult male and a adult female, andthat these behaviors were different. There were studies of acceptanceof physical response as an appropriate masculine reaction, but thelevel of physical response non being considered appropriate. Maleparticipants were encouraged to speak about their experiences, butreport neer being given permission to show fright, or an emotionalresponse such as shouting. One male participant reported get downing t o cryas portion of a group experience, and being discouraged instead thanencouraged to go on, whilst female members of the group were allowedto and even supported in such emotional look. There were similarreports of assorted hegemonically feminine looks, such as weeping, fright, and fostering behaviors, being supported and encouraged bysocial workers for male household members but non female, every bit good as anacceptance or premise of failing on the portion of grownup females whochose to stay in an opprobrious state of affairs.The treatment so moved to the consequence of traditional and feministperspective on societal work service. Participants overwhelminglyreported experiencing better served when societal workers sought to empowerthem and their households. This did normally affect practise of methodsderived from a feminist position, such as the usage of brooding journalingand support groups, every bit good as encouragement from the societal workers tothe female parent that she c ould, so, survive and prosper outside thedomestic force state of affairs, that she did hold the interior militias toaddress the state of affairs and travel to a healthier life style, and thatsocietal force per unit area to be with a adult male, either as a romantic spouse or asa father / father-figure for kids was non necessary for asuccessful life. Participants besides report experiencing personally empoweredby such encouragement, and hence able to back up their female parents inattempts to go forth relationships.From their ain survey in societal work theory, focal point group participantswere able to briefly discourse the branchings of the patriarchalsocietal power construction on a woman’s determination to remain in a violentsituation. One issue brought up included the perceptual experience that societywill view a adult female as a failure and unwanted if she does non hold aromantic relationship with a adult male in her life. A figure of womenparticipants in the group repo rted experiencing similar force per unit area to maintaina romantic relationship with a adult male in their life, irrespective of theirother committednesss or involvements, and an outlook that they would notbe successful adult females if they did non finally acquire married and havechildren. When questioned by other participants, the three maleparticipants reported non experiencing such force per unit areas. Another issue raisedwas the mothers’ perceptual experience that they needed a male parent figure tosuccessfully raise kids, peculiarly boys. This was perpetuatedin the life experiences of group participants even though the menoccupying these functions were viewed by the male participants asdestructive, instead than constructive, influences. Issues of supportin training kids and pull offing family operations were alsoindicated, as was the fiscal support provided by the batterer. Thegroup indicated all these issues were social, instead than single, and deficiency of address ing of them affected the effectivity of the socialservices they had received.Overall, the participants were by and large positive about at least onesocial worker with whom they had a relationship during their teenageyears. Participants typically felt experiencing most bucked up and bestserved by those societal workers who did non present themselves as beingdistant or above the participants and their households, and who did notoverly underscore their family’s issues from a position of individualdysfunction. These findings indicated that a feminist interactiveconstruct, which avoids â€Å"power over† methods and practise is perceivedto be most effectual by domestic force subsisters. Recommendation It is recommended from findings of this survey that societal workersare foremost provided greater exposure to and preparation in feminist methodsand theory as it relates to their practical, daily practise. Forexample, all participants reported some positive experiences inresponse to reflective methods such as brooding journaling andsurvivor support groups. Considerations of ways to more greatlyinclude such methods in typical practise are hence indicated.Of greater concern are the systems in which societal workers operate. Whilst most of the societal workers in these focal point group participants’experiences had some acquaintance with feminist theory or methods, asindicated by their accent on authorization or usage of specificstrategies, there is something within the government-sponsored socialservices construction that prohibits practise genuinely based on feministtenets. A crisp contrast was provided by the immature adult female served at aprogressive, private service, where womens rightist theory was the obviousframework on which service was based. She was by far the most positiveabout her experiences and workers, and reported penetrations, understandingand authorization to alter non systematically reported by other focusgroup participants.It hence recommended that more research be pursued as to whatfactors constrain societal workers from working from a more feministframework. Issues such as clip ( many societal workers have far morepeople to see and function than they would wish to hold, or frequently feelthey can function efficaciously ) , deficiency of material resources such asappropriate infinite, deficiency of effectual preparation, or disheartenment insuch respects from supervisors or others in power. Specificallyidentifying relevant factors could so organize a model forprogressing with alteration in societal work practise within a typicalgovernment service administration.It is further recommended that single societal workers consider whatconst raints they personally work under, and what restraints they placeupon themselves as a consequence of the greater power constructions of oursociety. Becoming aware of personal prejudice sing traditional genderroles, for illustration, would help the single societal worker inproviding a more empowering and less conscripting environment indealing with those they serve. The participants in the focal point group, for illustration, agreed they were given issues to believe about by the groupinteraction, and that greater consideration of force per unit areas to conform insociety and the false power of males would be points that, throughanalysis, could better their societal work practise. Similarly, going more aware of the far-reaching influences of patriarchyand accepted subjugation of adult females in our society would besides supply afoundation from which societal workers can both educate their clients andmove them and others towards political action to rectify such systemicissues. Decision In decision, whilst womens rightist theory and concepts have made avaluable impact on societal work practise, those being served believethey would be better served by a greater inclusion and trust on suchpractises. Social workers may personally or professionally espousefeminist model, but are less likely to use it in practise. Thisdeprives both them and their clients of the most good service. Social workers need to go more focussed on associating the experiencesof persons to the broader power constructions in our society, anddealing with their experiences in the context of these structuresrather than as single or pathological troubles. Socialworkers, peculiarly in domestic force state of affairss, need to becognisant of the consequence of hegemonic gender functions on perpetuating suchviolence, every bit good as their ain witting or unconscious subscription tosuch functions. In short, feminism has made a valuable impact on socialwork practise, but could still be employed even more ef ficaciously to notonly turn to the jobs of persons, but to work towardseliminating the patriarchal systems of subjugation in our society thatmake state of affairss such as domestic force so common topographic point. Mentions Barns, A. 2003. Social Work, Young Women, and Femininity. Affilia, Vol. 18, No. 2, Summer 2003, pp. 148-164.Barretti, M. 2001. Social Work, Women, and Feminism: A Review of Social WorkJournals, 1988-1997. Affilia, Vol. 16, No. 3, Fall 2001, pp. 266-294.Bell, P. and MacLeod, J. 1988. Bridging the Gap: Feminist DevelopmentWork in Glasgow. Feminist Review, No. 28, Spring 1988, pp. 136-143.Bem, S.L. 1995. Leveling Gender Polarization and CompulsoryHeterosexuality: Should We Turn the Volume Down or Up? The Journal ofSex Research, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 329-334.Butler, J. 1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge: London.Carlson, B. 1997. A Stress and Coping Approach to Intervention withAbused Women. Family Relations, Vol. 46, No. 3, July 1997, pp. 291-298.Carr, E.S. 2003. Rethinking Empowerment Theory Using a Feminist Lenss: The Importance of Process. Affilia, Vol. 18, No. 1, Spring 2003, pp.8-20.Cohn, C. , Weber, C. 1999. Missions, Men and Masculinities. Inter national Feminist Journal of Politics, 1999, pp. 460-475.Connell, R. 1995. Masculinities. Polity Press: Cambridge.Connell, R.W. 1993. Work force and the Women s Movement. Social Policy, Summer 1993, Vol. 23, Issue 4, pp. 72-79.Cott, N.F. 1989. Remark on Karen Offen’s â€Å"Defining Feminism: AComparative Historical Approach.† Signs, Vol. 15, No. 1, Autumn 1989, pp. 203-205.Dietz, C. 2000. Reacting to Oppression and Abuse: A FeministChallenge to Clinical Social Work. Affilia, Vol. 15, No. 3, Fall 2000, pp. 369-389.Dominelli, L. and McLeod, E. 1989. Feminist Social Work. Macmillan Education: London.Hammer, J. and Statham, D. 1999. Womans and societal work: Towards a woman-centered pattern ( 2nd ed. ) . Macmillan: London.Hawkesworth, M. 1997. Confusing Gender. Signs, Vol. 22, No. 3, Spring 1997, pp. 649-685.Marchant, H. 1986. Gender, systems believing and extremist societal work.In H. Marchant and B. Wearing ( Eds. ) , Gender reclaimed: Womans in socialwork, Hale and Irem onger: Sydney, Australia, pp. 14-32.Moylan, P. 2003. Teaching Peace: The Challenge of GenderedAssumptions. Peace and Change, Vol. 28, No. 4, October 2003, pp.570-574.Rabrenovic, G. and Roskos, L. 2001. Introduction: Civil Society, Feminism, and the Gendered Politics of War and Peace. NWSA Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, Summer, pp. 40-54.Scott, J.W. 1988. Gender and the Politics of History. Columbia University Press, New York.Tickner, A.J. 1999. Why Women Can’t Run the World: InternationalPolitics Harmonizing to Francis Fukuyama. International Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 3–11.

SAT Writing Vs. ACT English - Complete Comparison

SAT Writing Vs. ACT English - Complete Comparison SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you wondering about the difference between the ACT English and SAT Writing sections? Do you want to know how the two sections are similar? Are you trying to figure out which section would be better for you? (Or maybe you just love reading my guides?) In this article, we will compare and contrast the ACT English and SAT Writing sections. We'll compare their formats and content. Reading this post can inform your studying and help you decide whether the ACT or SAT would be a better match for you and your abilities. For a more thorough breakdown of each individual section, check out the articles about what's actually tested on ACT EnglishandSAT Writing. We'll be covering a few major points of comparison. Within test content, we'll discuss differences in the essay, multiple choice format, and multiple choice content. We'll end with advice on how you can decide which test is better for you. Essay? ACT English=No Essay You do not have to write an essay for the ACT English section. However, there is an essaythat comes in the last sectionof the ACT Plus Writing test. This essay score is NOT included in the calculation for your composite score. You can choose whether to register for the ACT (no essay) or the ACT Plus Writing. Keep in mind that some colleges require you to take the ACT Plus Writing. SAT Writing=Essay You do have to write an essay for SAT Writing. The essay will always be the first section of the SAT, and it accounts for roughly 30% of your overall SAT Writing score. The SAT Writing essay is a 25 minute persuasive essay. Even though many schools don't require SAT Writing, you have no choice in whether to take the essay or not. For more information about the SAT essay, learn about the different types of essay prompts and how to train the SAT essay. Multiple Choice Formats ACT English There is one section. You have 45 minutes to answer 75 questions. This amounts to just 36 seconds per question! SAT Writing There are two multiple choice sections. There is one 25 minute section with 35 questions and one 10 minute section with 14 questions, for a total of 49 questions. This amounts to 43 seconds per question. You may have to take an additional writing section, but then one of the writing sections will be experimental and won't have an effect on your score. Make sure to put in maximum effort on all sections because you won't know which section is the experimental one. So you're saying there's a chance!!! Types of Multiple Choice Questions ACT English In the one ACT English section, there are five passages, each of which is accompanied by multiple choice questions. Even though each passage has many questions associated with it, most questions are independent of one another and test different grammar skills. Here's what the questions look like. Mostquestions correspond to a numbered portion underlined in the passage. Some of these questions are explicitly asked and some expect you to find the best change for the underlined portion of the passage. Also, there are questions thatcorrespond to a numeral in a box in the passage. Here is an example of each type of question: SAT Writing There are three types of questions on the SAT Writing. Each question type is grouped together and the order is always the same. Improving Sentences Improving Sentences is the first question type. There are 25 total sentence improvement questions. In these questions, a portion of a sentence will be underlined and you have to decide which answer choice is the best improvement of the underlined portion. Answer choice A will be identical to the original. Here is an example: Identifying Sentence Errors The next question type is identifying sentence errors. These questions always follow sentence improvement on the 25 minute writing section, the only section in which you can find them. There are 18 total identify the error questions. In these questions, you have to choose which portion of the sentence is incorrect. Answer choice E will always be "No error". In case you were wondering, the answer is B. Paragraph Improvement The last question type is paragraph improvement. The paragraph improvement questions are always the last questions on the 25 minute writing section, the only section in which you can find them. There are 6 total paragraph improvement questions. In paragraph improvement, there are questions pertaining to improving individual sentences within a passage and questions about improving the passage as a whole. Key Similarities in Multiple Choice Content Even though the ACT English and SAT Writing sections look very different, they're more similar than not in terms of what they test at their core. You Need to Know Grammar!!! Both ACT English and SAT Writing test your knowledge of grammar and specific grammatical rules. All three question types on SAT Writing have questions related to grammar. To review the specific grammar rules thatare tested, check out these articles on grammar for the ACT and SAT. Here are examples from the ACT English and SAT Writing sections that test proper pronoun usage: ACT English SAT Writing Explanation: In the ACT example, "they" is an unclear pronoun. Every pronoun must have a clear antecedent. The correct answer is G. In the SAT example, B is incorrect because the pronoun refers to "workers". Because the antecedent is plural, you must use the plural pronoun "their" instead of the singular pronoun "his or her". You can see how the same grammar rule is tested in both tests, even though the format is different. This is typically true across most of the grammar rules tested on both tests. Writing Style Questions Beyond grammar, ACT English and SAT Writing also have questions related to writing style. Often, these questions will test your ability to make a sentence more concise or less awkward. There are SAT Writing style questions on both the sentence improvement and paragraph improvement subsections. Here are examples of style questions from both ACT English and SAT Writing: ACT English Explanation: Due to the word "maybe", "might possibly" is unnecessary and redundant. The correct answer is J. SAT Writing Explanation: "That" is unnecesary. To make the sentence more concise and less awkward, the correct answer is C. Pleasure reading Organization Questions Both the SAT and ACT have questions related to sentence organization. Often, you will be asked where a sentence should be placed to most logically fit in a passage. In SAT Writing, the organization questions are in the paragraph improvement subsection. Here are examples of organization questions on ACT English and SAT Writing: ACT English SAT Writing Key Differences in Multiple Choice Content Despite these similarities, SAT Writing and ACT English are also different in clear ways.How you feel about each of the below can help predict which section you're likely to do better in. The SAT Focuses More on a Few Specific Grammar Rules The SAT Writing section tends to repeatedly test a limited number of grammatical rules. Perhaps the rule tested most often on SAT Writing is subject-verb agreement. Check out this question related to subject-verb agreement from an actual SAT: Explanation: In this sentence, the subject is "Prime Minister", a singular noun. However, the verb "have argued" is plural. In order for the subject and verb to agree, "have argued" should be changed to "has argued". The answer is C. In contrast, the ACT doesn't emphasize subject-verb agreement as much in its questions. More ACT Questions Related to Vocabulary and Idioms While the ACT does not test you on the hard vocabulary words that you find on the more difficult SAT sentence completion questions, there are ACT English questions that require you to know how to correctly use certain words. Also, there are a number of ACT questions that test you on your knowledge of idioms. Idioms are phrases that don't correspond with a specific rule. Idiom questions can be difficult because you need to be familiar with the exact phrases that appear on the test. Questions related to word choice and idioms also appear on the SAT Writing section, but there are more of these questions on ACT English. Here is an ACT English question that could test your vocabulary: Explanation: Here, the answer is J. Peril means danger, making the word "dangerous" redundant and thus unnecessary. This question would be very difficult if you didn't know the meaning of the word "peril". This is an example of an ACT English question about a prepositional idiom: Explanation: The correct phrase is "sat across from" so the answer is D. ACT English will test your knowledge of particular phrases and knowing which preposition to use in a given phrase. The ACT Tests More On Punctuation Roughly 10-15% of ACT English deals with punctuation. Rules regarding commas, apostrophes, semicolons, colons, parentheses and dashes can be tested on the ACT. Punctuation questions are rare on the SAT. This is an ACT English punctuation question: Explanation:The correct answer is A. The comma correctly separates an independent from a dependent clause. Answer choice B would create a sentence fragment. Answer choice C incorrectly uses a semicolon, which should separate two independent clauses. Answer choice D is a comma splice. These types of questions are very common, which makes clear that the ACT believes understanding punctuation usage is important for mastery of writing. Most of the questions related to punctuation on the SAT Writing have to do with run-on sentences. You should know the general rule that a semicolon can correctly separate two complete thoughts whereas a comma cannot. Who doesn't love punctuation? More ACT Questions Involve Reading Comprehension ACT English has two types of questions thattest your reading comprehension: strategy and organization questions. Strategy questions ask you to determine the effect of adding, deleting, or revising sentences from a passage. Other strategy questions ask you to judge the relevance of statements within the context a specific passage. Organization questions test how well you can organize ideas and sentences within a passage. Here is an example of an ACT English strategy question: Explanation:In order to get this question right, you have to understand the purpose of the sentence given its placement within the passage. Here, the author is providing evidence showing that people can be friendly on the subway. The correct answer is H. Paragraph improvement questions in SAT Writing also contain strategy and organization questions, but there are far fewer of these types of questions on the SAT. The ACT English Sentence Is More Likely to be Correct More ACT English questions have a correct "NO CHANGE" answer than SAT Writing questions have a correct "No error" answer. Generally, only about 10% of the SAT Writing identify the error questions can correctly be answered with "no error". Similarly, only about 10% of sentence improvement questions can correctly be answered by not changing the sentence at all (answer choice A). Meanwhile, on the ACT English section, the correct answers tend to be distributed roughly evenly between all answer choices. This can help influence your guessing strategy when you have no idea what the answer is. Which Is Better For You The million dollar question is figuring out whether you'll do better in SAT Writing or ACT English. If you're having major problems with this section on either test, then it might be holding your composite score down. Ifyou change to the other test and it's a better fit, you might be able to raise your composite score. General Tips Since SAT Writing relies more on knowledge of a few specific grammatical rules, those who are able to learn and understand those rules may prefer the SAT. We'll be covering more of the rules that appear more often on the SAT in an upcoming article. In my opinion, possessing an intuitive grasp of English, meaning knowing what â€Å"sounds right† may be more beneficial for ACT English.The SAT Writing intentionally makes sentences sound awkward, even when they’re correct, just to test your knowledge of grammatical rules.If English is not your first language, you may prefer SAT Writing because it relies more on specific rules and less on an intuitive grasp of English. If you’re particularly strong at reading comprehension, you may prefer ACT English because there are more questions which test your reading comprehension skills. Practice Both and Compare Your Results Instead of speculating or assuming, you can take a practice SAT Writing section and a practice ACT English section and compare your results. You may find that you score significantly higher percentile wise on one of them. Keep in mind that this is only one section of each test, and that you will also need to weigh whether you're better at SAT Math vs ACT Math, and SAT Reading vs ACT Reading. Furthermore, the ACT has a Science section to consider. Be strict about evaluating your performance. What's Next? Are you still struggling to decide if you should take the SAT or ACT? Read this article to help you make the decision. Also, find out how to improve your SAT Writing score. Better yet, learn how to get a perfect SAT Writing score. Did you know that ACT Writing is changing? Learn about the new enhanced ACT Writing test. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Contemporary issues in management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Contemporary issues in management - Essay Example In many settings, the growth of the society was only beneficial to those who could understand the position of the society when dealing with issues that matter. The only way of benefiting any society is if a company can understand its wants and offer the right product to deal with the issues in place. The contemporary issues dealt with at all levels of management aim at showing the weaknesses and avenues of gaining strength. This report will explore these issues in Apple Inc and create an analysis of issues taking place after examining a wide berth of literature on the topic. An important thing that managers appreciate is the fact that historical perceptions of theory work towards meeting the growing needs of the management processes across the world. The early management pioneers needed to show the world that respect and dignity were essential only if they implemented what was ideal for the employees provided they allowed people to enjoy the process as a whole. An examination of the classical, behavioural, and quantitative perspectives of managing employees within the workplace shows that things are changing in the workplace and reveal the important contemporary issues in the management perspectives chosen by modern-day multinational companies. The classical view sees performance as a means of achieving better results by using what is proven to work as a way of promoting productivity. The behavioural aspect examines the way employers treat their employees while at work. Many argue that the growth of any company has to deal with the increasing of product ivity to match the intended performance levels. The quantitative approach looks at cumulative impacts of the processes used and their impact on productivity. The focus will be on understanding corporate management issues based on an examination of a single company. The examination of contemporary management issues will be easily done by looking at one of the most renowned

Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leonardo Da Vinci - Research Paper Example His extensive art work has been split up and most of it is wasted as it was on paper. Like his vast variety of themes and genres, he used different medium for his artistic works. However, no matter which medium he uses, the quality of work remains the same. He used oil paints, pen, tempera etc. on walls, paper, poplar and gesso proving that art is not reliant on a single medium. The sfumato technique admired me the most. Leonardo’s expertise in this technique gave lifelong charm to his artistic works. It creates a smoky or cloudy look which may not be incorporated in other artists’ work that well (Leonardo & Goldscheider, 1959 pp. 173-177). The most important thing is the reputation and overwhelming distinction given to Leonardo’s work. Mona Lisa is one of the first art works that appear in people’s mind when they think about art. Having heard about Leonardo’s artistic abilities, I chose writing on his art work. His placement of objects, color choices, expertise of giving prominence to one object and making less prominent the other, his ideas and knowledge of color art provides a deeper insight of his work. His art cannot be categorized in purely impressionism, art nouvea or any other. The distinct qualities of his works can be identified by simply analyzing two extremely different pieces of his art like ‘Vitruvian Man’ and ‘last

Street Scene Essay Example for Free

Street Scene Essay In the painting Street Scene, Pink Sky, Paris, there are several elements that make the painting a unique piece of art reflecting the contemporary feeling of the expressionistic and post impressionistic movements of the early twentieth century. James Wilson Morrice expresses these movements completely in this painting, which is a masterwork of form, color and balance. In this painting, the first thing the eye goes to s the upper right hand part of the painting. Here there is a series of four buildings that are well lit and in shades of yellow and gold. The roofs are in shades of charcoal and burnt umber. One notices that the buildings grow progressively smaller as thy move down the street. Next, you notice the people. There appear to be three women and a man. The man appears all in black, black overcoat and black hat. Next to him, facing him is a woman in a red dress and hat in brown and umber. She is wearing gloves. One’s eyes then drift to the front left of the painting where the other two women are walking by the cafe. One appears to have brown hair and be wearing a white dress with a matching white hat. The hat has a pink flower on it. The woman next to her, to her left, is wearing a dress of yellow-brown, and a black hat. She also has brown hair. To the extreme left, there is another building that appears to be a series of shops. This building has a dilapidated feel to it and is not as brightly lit as the buildings across the street. It presents a very stark contrast. The eyes then drift to the sky. It is a cacophony of steely blues and pinky mauves. It looks like an evening storm sky, but it is just the settling dusk. One can feel the hurry of the people to get home after a day of social gatherings or work. Finally, one gets to the bottom of the painting. Here one sees the edge of tables and chairs as one sits and contemplates as the world goes by. It is at if the viewer is at a cross street. Looking down one street as they watch people pass by on another. That brings the viewer to another element of the painting—mainly, the street. It is vacant save for the people. There is not a carriage, horse, car, or anything on the street. Everyone is on foot. Though they are walking, there is no sense of urgency in their movements. It is as if everyone is out for a Sunday stroll and the viewer is there watching as they drink their coffee and eat their croissant. This feels like a fairly typical street scene. The final element of the painting is just to the left of center. It is a cluster of trees and shrubbery. It ties the light and dark elements of the painting together, as the trees have dark greens and blacks combine with light greens and yellow-greens to make a unifying element that brings all the elements together. The elements are arranged as if one is looking on a street and down a street at the same time. It is almost like a â€Å"T† intersection. The paining has a balance to it that takes the shape of a triangle. The lighter shaded elements are on the right side, and the darker shaded elements are on the left side. The browns, creams, umbers, and ocher colors confine themselves to the left. The golds reds, and blacks confine themselves to the right. The trees tie the light and dark elements together and blend them into a coherent style and picture of everyday life on a Paris street. The trees also provide a much needed balance. If it were not for the trees, there would be a harshness to the painting that would make it unbalanced and off-center. Morrice picks mostly muted shades for his painting, even the ocres and golds have a slightly muted quality about them. The colors blend one into another, giving the painting a much needed fluidity. Morrice also arranges his larger elements to the back of the painting, forcing your eyes into the aforementioned triangle of the sky and the people. These are his main elements, and the ones your eyes go to after the brightness of the building. He wants the viewer to see the sky and the people and see both as time stopped, a moment that is captured forever. As mentioned before, the people are unhurried, and the sky is unhurried, which are the two elements that are the most important in this picture. Stylistically, the painting is a wonderful example of twentieth century post-impressionism. While it lacks the subtlety of Monet, it generates the same feelings that the impressionists do—that is the sense that you are there, leaving you to interpret the details. That is the very nature of impressionism. The viewer is given an idea, and they have to fill in the details. Post-impressionism at its soul is a revamping of the style without the subtle colors. Where Monet used pales and shades to make his point, Morrice uses muted bolds to bring the viewer to the scene. There is more a sense of making the impression more realistic instead of making it stylistic. This generates the move to the more bold moves of Picasso and his followers. Morrice’s work is in the vein of Cezanne. The use of color and element is similar in form and function, and the overall sense of the move to realism is there. Cezanne and Morrice both fit into the same mold, simply because they are both scene painters that use people as a focal point. The main difference is that Cezanne tends to use darker colors while Morrice uses brighter tones. They both tend to mute their tones, though Cezanne tends to do it more effectively than Morrice. Morrice borrows heavily from Cezanne. He uses blocks of color and focuses on sky, and the traditional views of the plane of the painting become obsolete. Additionally, the conventions between foreground and background begin to become ambiguous. There is also a spatial ambiguity to the painting, as the sky becomes a patchwork of color, flowing seamlessly one into another. Even in the two women walking down the street seem to blend into each other, the only differences seem to be in the distinction of their faces. The woman in brown seems to almost blend into the shops in the background. The woman in white appears to blend seamlessly into the scene. Faces are the only distinctions between people and background. There is only a bit of street and the black hat and face that even distinguishes her as an individual. The blocks of yellow are the only things that distinguish that there are four buildings. This is very much in the style of Cezanne. Even the trees and shrubbery seem to be in a block of color. Though the greens, blacks, and yellow-greens seem to blend, the eye can easily pick out the distinct shades and can see the summer look of the trees against the dusky sky. Looking at the style of both Morrice and Cezanne, one sees incredible talent and gracious style. The overall impressionistic feel that we get from both painters is evident. As both move towards the twentieth century, there is a shift from the previous impressionistic movement to the post impressionistic movement. The movement also shifts to the use of color in blocks to give movement and a sense of fluidity to the painting. Additionally, the focus on sky and people shows a movement away from the still lives and landscapes of the past to a movement of expressing people as the object and main idea of the painting. Thought the movement was not a long-lasting one, it left an impression on the art world that has affected painters and artists for years. The use of texture and color and form and function blend together flawlessly to create a new and exciting use of elements that added to the art world and still give us much to talk about today. The fact that we are able to draw comparisons to the present and the past shows us the relevance of the new art forms and how they still relate to today’s art world. We as art historians cannot forget the contributions of the past as they will and do affect our futures. References Adams, L (1997). A history of western art. Madison, WI: Brown and Benchmark. Art Gallery of Ontario, (2009). James Wilson Morrice, Street Scene, Pink Sky, Paris. Retrieved March 15, 2009, from Art Gallery of Ontario Web site: http://www. ago. net/ago103760 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (2009). Art History. Retrieved March 15, 2009, from Art History Web site: http://www. unc. edu/depts/wcwebs/handouts/arthistory. html

Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind Essay -- Hope i

Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind Throughout the novel, A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind, Cedric Jennings is a minority student in a poor, inner city school, trying to fight his way up to the top. He has a greater hope for himself than the overwhelming majority of the other students at Ballou High. Cedric faces many challenges to eventually make his way to Brown University. According to Labaree, Cedric is exercising the goal of social mobility, meaning that he works against the competition to get into a high-ranking college and hopefully a well-paying job. Although personally Cedric is trying to obtain this goal, I am having difficulty placing what purpose of education that Ballou High is trying to fulfill. Cedric is an unusual student to walk the halls of Ballou High. Unlike most of his peers, he actually wants to make something of himself; he does his homework, he studies and he works on extra credit projects. The majority of the kids at Ballou barely come to class, much less make any attempt at learning. Since this is the overall attitude of the school, Cedric must exercise social mobility and do whatever he can to better himself as an individual. He is not necessarily competing against the students at Ballou (because he by far surpasses them), but he is in competition with all the other students from better schools throughout the area. During the summer that Cedric spends at MIT, he is truly awakened to the fact that he was extremely far behind the other students from urban areas. The director of the program expresses his frustration with the MIT program- "When he first arrived... He had grand plans to find poor black and Hispanic kids from urban America-... He saw that he had been drea... ...uality. In fact there is a severe inequality in only preparing the top few students for society. Therefore, it is hard to decide what goal of Labaree's that Ballou High embodies. The bottom line is that some students value social mobility and the rest of the school values nothing. In conclusion, although Cedric is able to exercise social mobility, his school does not prepare him for the outside world at all. It is only through his own resolve that he is able to make it in the competitive, academic world. The only good that Ballou probably brought to Cedric was the notion to work even harder so that he did not end up like his fellow peers, with no goals, going nowhere, and valuing nothing. It is this value of nothing that severely hinders our nation's public school systems. Works Cited Suskind, Ron. A Hope in the Unseen. Broadway Books, New York. 1998. Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind Essay -- Hope i Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind Throughout the novel, A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind, Cedric Jennings is a minority student in a poor, inner city school, trying to fight his way up to the top. He has a greater hope for himself than the overwhelming majority of the other students at Ballou High. Cedric faces many challenges to eventually make his way to Brown University. According to Labaree, Cedric is exercising the goal of social mobility, meaning that he works against the competition to get into a high-ranking college and hopefully a well-paying job. Although personally Cedric is trying to obtain this goal, I am having difficulty placing what purpose of education that Ballou High is trying to fulfill. Cedric is an unusual student to walk the halls of Ballou High. Unlike most of his peers, he actually wants to make something of himself; he does his homework, he studies and he works on extra credit projects. The majority of the kids at Ballou barely come to class, much less make any attempt at learning. Since this is the overall attitude of the school, Cedric must exercise social mobility and do whatever he can to better himself as an individual. He is not necessarily competing against the students at Ballou (because he by far surpasses them), but he is in competition with all the other students from better schools throughout the area. During the summer that Cedric spends at MIT, he is truly awakened to the fact that he was extremely far behind the other students from urban areas. The director of the program expresses his frustration with the MIT program- "When he first arrived... He had grand plans to find poor black and Hispanic kids from urban America-... He saw that he had been drea... ...uality. In fact there is a severe inequality in only preparing the top few students for society. Therefore, it is hard to decide what goal of Labaree's that Ballou High embodies. The bottom line is that some students value social mobility and the rest of the school values nothing. In conclusion, although Cedric is able to exercise social mobility, his school does not prepare him for the outside world at all. It is only through his own resolve that he is able to make it in the competitive, academic world. The only good that Ballou probably brought to Cedric was the notion to work even harder so that he did not end up like his fellow peers, with no goals, going nowhere, and valuing nothing. It is this value of nothing that severely hinders our nation's public school systems. Works Cited Suskind, Ron. A Hope in the Unseen. Broadway Books, New York. 1998.

Photosynthesis – Limiting Factors

[pic] Photosynthesis Outline Terms and Vocabulary Autotroph Photosynthesis Photon Pigment Chloroplast Reaction Center Electron Donor Molecule Electron Transport System Ferredoxin NADPH RuBP PGA Cuticle Stomata Rubisco Photorespiration C4 Pathway Concepts 1. What are two Adaptations of plant leaves for capturing light? 2. Describe the properties of Light Energy in terms of energy and wavelength. 3. Why are Pigments important for Photosynthesis? 4. What two types of reactions take place during photosynthesis? 5. Summarize the results of Light dependent Reactions. . Summarize the results of Light-Independent Reactions. 7. Where are the pigments for the light-dependent reactions located in the leaf? 8. What is the function of a photosystem? 9. What is the function of water in the light-dependent reactions? 10. Describe the similarities and differences of Photosystems I & II 11. What are the limiting factors to photosynthesis? 12. Describe adaptations that allow the leaf to retain water. 13. Explain how photorespiration reduces production of glucose. Look at the graphs below. A |[pic] |B |[pic] | |C |[pic] |D |[pic] | 1. Which graph best shows the effect of increasing light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis? 2. 3. Which graph best shows the effect of increasing carbon dioxide concentration on the rate of photosynthesis? 4. Which graph best shows the effect of increasing temperature if light and carbon dioxide are not limiting (i. e. he levels of light and carbon dioxide are high). If you plot the rate of photosynthesis against the levels of these three limiting factors you get graphs like the ones below. [pic] Limiting Factor In biology, agricultural science, physiology, and ecology, a limiting factor is one that controls a process, such as organism growth or species population size or distribution. The concept is based upon Liebig's Law of the Minimum put forth by German geochemist, Justus von Liebig, in 1840. It can be easy to conceive how a limiting resou rce (say, food) controls a process (say, growth) by running low or running out.However, some biological and ecological processes are controlled by too much of a factor (such as heat) rather than too little. Or, processes may be controlled by complex interactions of factors (Shelford, 1952). At any given moment, the rate of a physiological process is limited by the one factor which is in the shortest supply. (Toole pg 273) – The factor which is nearest its minimum value determines the rate of the reaction. – Changing the levels of this factor will change the rate of the reaction. Changing the levels of the other factors will have no effect on the rate of the reaction. Example [pic] [pic] 1. Up to A1, A2 and A3 the concentrations of CO2 is the limiting factor for the respective light intensities. 2. Low Light Intensity: beyond A1 light intensity is the limiting factor because increasing the light intensity (medium value) increases the rate of photosynthesis. 3. Medium Li ght Intensity: beyond A2 light intensity is the limiting factor because increasing the light intensity (high value) increases the rate of photosynthesis. . High Light Intensity: beyond A3 the limiting factor could be light intensity, chlorophyll content, temperature or the enzyme system. It cannot be CO2 concentration because increase in CO2 concentration does not lead to an increase in photosynthesis. [pic] 1. Up to A1, A2 and A3 the light intensity is the limiting factor for the respective CO2 concentrations. 2. Low CO2 concentration: beyond A1 CO2 concentration is the limiting factor because increasing the CO2 concentration (medium value) increases the rate of photosynthesis. . Medium CO2 concentration: beyond A2 CO2 concentration is the limiting factor because increasing the CO2 concentration (high value) increases the rate of photosynthesis. 4. High CO2 concentration: beyond A3 the limiting factor could be CO2 concentration, chlorophyll content, temperature or the enzyme system . It cannot be light intensity because increase in light intensity does not increase photosynthesis. [pic] In commercial greenhouses horticulturists try to maximise productivity by maximising the rate of photosynthesis.How do they achieve this? – Clear glass maximizes light intensity – Extra lighting in winter – Glass traps heat energy from solar radiation – Heaters raise night time temperature – Gas and oil heaters put extra carbon dioxide into the air. [pic] Photosynthesis and productivity †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   carbon gain by the plant (biomass) is dependent on the balance between carbon uptake by photosynthesis and carbon loss by respiration †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   factors influencing productivity include – light, – CO2, – temperature, – environmental factors: light:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   at low fluence levels, there is a net loss of CO2 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   light compensation point is where CO2 uptake and exchange equal zero (equivalent to an office or room) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   as fluence rate increases above compensation point, so does photosynthesis (C3 plants) until light saturation is reached (1/4 to ? full sun) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   light saturation occurs because CO2 is limiting †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   C4 plants don’t achieve light saturation as rapidly as C3 plants CO2: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CO2 content in atmosphere is about 0. 035% by volume (well below CO2 saturation point in plants) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   at higher fluence rates when CO2 is not imiting, photosynthesis increases †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   some commercial growers practice CO2-enrichment to increase yield and biomass   temperature: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   temperature response is influenced by temperature dependence of enzymes and chemical reactions †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   cardinal points are used to describe te mperature minimum maximum, and optimum of a reaction †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   many reaction rates tend to decline sharply following optimum due to enzyme denaturation †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   for photosynthesis, temperature response curves represent the average of many different enzymes, but are dominated by rubisco (C3 plants) and PEPcase (C4 plants) water:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   water stress causes a decline in photosynthesis †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   water stress triggers stomatal closure and subsequent decrease in CO2 levels †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   turgor pressure reduces leaf expansion decreasing photosynthetic surface area †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   even mild water stress causes decrease in net photosynthesis nutrients, pathology, and pollutants: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   photosynthetic capacity is especially sensitive to nitrogen †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   rubisco accounts for ;50% of total leaf nitrogen †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   pathogen stress reduces photosynthetic capacity †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   environmental pollutants (sulpher dioxide, ozone, heavy metals) also reduce capacity eaf factors: Question:   Which has a higher photosynthetic rate – a pine tree needle or a maple tree leaf? Why might needles be favored over leaves on pine trees? †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   productivity of plants is impacted by leaf canopy †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   canopy is determined by age, morphology, angle and spacing of individual leaves †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   in older plants, lower leaves may be shaded and fall below light compensation point (negative carbon gain) and are a burden to the plant †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   many annuals undergo sequential senescence to avoid the burden †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   some leaves change with the angle of the sun [pic] pic] [pic] ———————– A plant in the dark does not photosyn thesize. [pic] Increasing the amount of light increases the amount of photosynthesis. [pic] Even if a plant in the dark is well watered and given increasing amounts of carbon dioxide it will not photosynthesize. Only a change in light intensity will alter the rate. Light is the limiting factor.

Helping People in Need a Supererogation or an Obligation

Helping people in need a supererogation or an obligation People in poor nations are starving to death when we are enjoying our delicious meal with our friends and family. There are various governmental aid-projects and privately run charities which are responsible for delivering donations from the relatively wealthy nations to the nations in need. I believe it is a morally right thing to help the people in need, but not every one of us would make donations regularly.Peter Singer uses the drowning child example to make people rethink about this current scenario. He believes that it is our obligation to help the people in poor developing countries. There are objections to his stance, but before considering and discussing from both sides, I am now going to describe and explain the Singer's drowning child example first. Imagine a child is drowning in a shallow pond and saving the child’s life means jumping into the pond and thereby getting one’s clothes wet and muddy. Would you still save the child?All of those having a rational mind will say yes. In spite of the bad consequence of fouling the clothes, saving the child’s life is morally what we ought to do as the importance of the child’s life so far outweighs the little cost of getting one’s clothes wet and muddy. It is within our power to prevent the child’s death without sacrificing something that is of even greater importance. Thus, this is what we ought to do and it is our obligation to prevent something this bad from happening (Singer, 1997).Even when there are other people near the pond who are equally qualified of saving the child but are doing nothing but simply passing by, would you still jump in and save the child? Similarly, all of those being asked said yes. It simply does not make any moral difference to the situation. Undoubtedly, not saving the child in this situation might make one feeling less guilty but everyone thinks that we ought to save the child. We agree that this is our moral obligation and it would be wrong not doing so (Singer, 1997). Then what if the child were being far away, maybe even in another country?Would people still hold the same stance? The answer is yes. Distance and nationality do not make not saving the child just. Whichever child or even adult, if saving his life is what we are able to do without having something of great significance to us being sacrifice, we ought to do that. This is morally what we ought to do without violating other things that are of similar or higher moral importance (Singer, 1972). The situation of the drowning child example is actually synonymous with those hungry children and adults suffering from famine or other disasters, both natural or man-made.If we agree that saving the child that are drowning in a pond is morally what we ought to do and not doing so is unjust, then why should we think otherwise when it comes to helping the people who are suffering in poor developing countries? Why does making regular donations to nations in need not our moral obligation whereas saving the child drowning in a pond is? We have agreed that distance and nationality does not matter in this moral stance. Moreover, the problem of being too far away from the sufferers and we might not be able to come to their aid in time has been overcome by the effort of charities.What is it that stop us from making regular donations? There are explanations to this bipolar situation, giving reasons to help better understanding the causes leading to this global scenario. First of all, saving the drowning child is helping out directly, while making a donation is not. The donation will be distributed to the people in need through the government or some privately run charities. Some of the donation will be used for administrative cost or get swallowed up in corruption.People will never know how much of their donation can really be given to those in need. As corruption is usually a prevalent problem in many of the developing countries, people sometimes have the worry that their donation might not serve to their right purposes but only be ended up in greedy hands. This worry is reasonable but actually most of the donations can get to serve their proper purposes (Giving What We Can, 2012). Although not all of the sum can be used for aid, the part of it that gets to its destination still can make the best of its worth.The aid organizations may not be one-hundred percent efficient, but they can help to solve the problem of distance, serving as an agent for delivery. There are many people around the world who are compassionate about the plight of the others. Charities and governmental organizations collect the aids and help distributing them to the areas in need. I think this is by far the most efficient way of giving out a helping hand. The cost for administration is inevitable and the part of donations spent on it could be seen as for supporting these organizations to keep runnin g.Furthermore, in my point of view, there are always ways to minimize corruption. We can donate money to aid projects that do not involve valuable goods or specifically make donations to programs which serves to tackle the corruption problem in where it is prevailing. The probability of wasting a proportion of the donations should not mean aiding being useless. Those that can get though may make a significant change that we could not imagine. The second explanation is about the psychological difference between the drowning child example and the reality.We feel more related to the sufferers when we could see them. The feeling of guilt for not helping is lesser when we could not see or witness the sufferings (Singer, 1972). Although it makes one feels less guilty without the sight of suffering presenting nearby, it does not make helping those further away a lower priority morally. As we have discussed that distance is not a considering factor in deciding whether it is our obligation t o help or not, both of those from our own country and from the other countries deserve our help.Moreover, in this age of the prosperous development of media technology, charities and governmental aid agencies can effectively show the current situation of the emaciated children to the public. Therefore, it does not sound very plausible to me saying that people not making donations is because of the lack of awareness of the issue. According to Peter Singer, a moral philosopher, if we are able to prevent something very bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything morally significant, we ought, morally, to do it (Singer, 1972).Some people object this position. I am going to summarize those objections. For one of the reasons is that this is simply too extreme as most people do not judge those who are ignorant of the others' suffering. People usually criticize those who violate some moral norms, for example: murdering, sex assault,etc. Some writers, including Sidgwick and Urms on, Stated that if the moral code that we set is too hard too uphold, there will be a general breakdown in the moral system (Singer, 1972).The moral code that we are currently using mainly includes not invading the others' privileges, for example: stealing, killing, etc and other things that could help keeping the society safe and sound. Helping the poor nations is not necessary for the wealthy nations. Thus, people usually do not see it as what they must do. This is regrettable but understandable. If making regular donations to those in need is being made to be an obligation and a moral code, it might be too hard for everyone to follow. Eventually, people might choose not to follow anything from the moral code (Singer, 1972).Singer argues that if the conduct is good, why should we categorize it into morally obligatory or morally optional? If morality means doing something good, then shouldn't a good conduct be in the moral code? Moreover, drawing a line to divide conducts into the aforementioned categories is by no means easy. It is hard to define the standard to be used for distinguishing conducts into two kinds. Helping the people in need in other countries is always be defined as a generous and selfless gesture. However, Singer thinks otherwise. He thinks that â€Å"our traditional moral categories are upset†.He objects the traditional distinction that is drawn between duty and charity by using the current standard. It is our moral obligation to prevent as much sufferings as possible in the meantime not sacrificing something else of comparable moral importance (Singer, 1972). How does a man act is actually influenced by the general societal values and the people around him. When a man making a donation or joining voluntary services to help those in need is being praised for his generosity, he would think that what he has done is a supererogation.Actually, coming to the others' aid to prevent suffering without sacrificing as much is an obligation tha t people usually overlook. This situation is for long being shaped by the general social atmosphere and this is what being upsetting. The moral attitude of people is shaped by each other and also the society. Admittedly, helping those is need is always greatly encouraged. However, this is by no means enough. Preventing as much sufferings as possible without causing sacrifices as significant is morally obligatory and not doing so should be seen as unjust (Singer, 1972).I agree with Singer that if it is within one's ability to help, saving other people from suffering seems to be just and morally right, while otherwise seems wrong. Although there might be concerns that what we have given might not be able to serve their greatest worth, I believe that the part of aids that get to the hands of those in need is able to make a significant change in their lives. There are worries that helping those poor developing countries might worsen the current situation. Firstly, those countries usuall y have a higher birth-rate.The aids that we give now would only support them to have a even greater population that the countries themselves are not able to feed (Giving What We Can, 2012). This might leads to a greater demand in foreign help and eventually turns into an ever-expanding cycle. This worry is understandable but there are always other alternatives to help in this kind of situation. For fear of the problem of overpopulation, donations could be made to organizations that help in promoting and enhancing birth-control in the developing countries.Moreover, the reason behind the scene of them having a high birth-rate is the high mortality rate of children. They need a large family size to ensure having enough manpower to take care of the family, to work and to earn. If their lives were not this hard, the birth-rate would presumably decline (Giving What We Can, 2012). The other worry is that the developing countries might become more and more dependent on the aids (Giving What We Can, 2012). This worry is again not necessary as there are many aid projects that are actually aiming at helping those developing nations to be self-supportive.People in some of the poor nations are taught to grow crops for supporting themselves and for selling to make money. Donations could be made to support this kind of projects. Moreover, helping those in need does not necessarily means lengthening their life expectancy but might be about improving their living quality (Giving What We Can, 2012). One example is performing a simple eye operation to cure their eye diseases so that they could see the world more clearly. It is our obligation to help the others in need when it is within our own power without sacrificing something of higher importance.Death and sufferings are things that should be prevented. This is what we ought to do. With the gap between the rich and the poor growing everyday, our moral attitude towards giving out aids should be revised. Helping should not be s een as a supererogation but an moral obligation. References: Giving What We Can. (2012). Myths About Aids, from http://www. givingwhatwecan. org/why-give/myths-about-aid Singer, Peter. (1972). Famine, Affluence, and Morality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1(1), 230-234. Singer, Peter. (1997). The Drowning Child and the Expanding Circle. News Internationalist, 1.

The End of the Cold War and the New Threats to Global Security The WritePass Journal

The End of the Cold War and the New Threats to Global Security 1.Introduction The End of the Cold War and the New Threats to Global Security 1.Introduction Changing perceptions of military force and war2.1 New sources of security threat 2.2 Changing notions of war in a global world Meeting the new security challenges: a revised agenda for peace ConclusionBibliography: Related 1.Introduction The end of the Cold War marked a new beginning for the international security agenda, and the demise of the simple bipolarity brought forward a revised agenda for human rights, international peace and cooperation and stability. The end of the Cold War triggered the rise of new threats and challenges to international security, and the advance of globalization led to the redistribution of power in the international system (Baylis Smith, 2007; Brown, 2005). In the context of globalization, the capacity of the state was undermined and as a result state-to-state relations dramatically changed (Strange, 2002). Classic wars were gradually transformed into â€Å"modern wars† (Kaldor, 1999; Smith, 2006; Shaw, 2005). In this different political environment, the security challenges were no longer existent on a state-to-state level, because of the growing importance of sub-state actors. This essay will focus on the reorganization of the international system after the end of the Cold War, and will discuss the new challenges to global security, posed by the demise of the bipolar regime. The essay will support the view that with the end of the Cold War, the world became a more dangerous place, because of the multiplicity of actors on the international scene and the changed perceptions of military force, war and security. Changing perceptions of military force and war The end of the Cold War brought forward the change of the perceptions of military force in several different aspects. The impact of these changed perceptions upon the international security agenda has been undisputed, and will be discussed in detail. For clarity, the author has chosen to focus only on the most important security-related transformations following the Cold War the new sources of threat such as nuclear weapons and terrorism, and the changing notions of war in the context of globalization. Their features will be discussed in the context of the changed dynamics of the international system. 2.1 New sources of security threat The end of the Cold War led to new security challenges, because of changing notions of military force and the new sources of security threat (Smith, 2006; Shaw, 2005). The first one is related to the rise of nuclear power. With the demise of the USSR, the simple bipolarity of the Cold War world was replaced by a multipolar world, where the centrality of power was no longer clearly defined (Brown, 2005; Jackson Sorensen, 2003). The rise of the Asian economic powers, the advance of nuclear and biological weapons in countries such as Iran, Israel and Iraq challenged the stability of the mutual deterrence principle, comfortably sustained during the Cold War (Hammes, 2005). Another source of security threat after the Cold War was related to terrorism, and the rise of sub-state actors (Smith, 2006). The War on terror, embedded in the Bush doctrine, was a clear demonstration of the changing nature of war, and the elusive image of the new enemy (Shaw, 2005). After 9/11 it became clear that terrorism was not a war against an enemy, but against tactics (Baylis Smith, 2007). Its manifestations and capacity to destroy were as much the result of political construction, as of historically embedded perceptions about the East and the West and their manipulation by mass media and policy-makers. After the end of the Cold War non-state actors such as Al Qaeda and Hamas, became a new source of security threat because of their ability to operate internationally but at the same time to exist inside the state (Shaw, 2005). Also, the controversies, around states labelled as rogue and unable to comply with the international standards for peace and democracy such as Afghan istan, Iraq, North Korea, Libya and Syria necessitated new means for meeting the challenges to threat and security. They will be discussed in section 3. 2.2 Changing notions of war in a global world Here it is important to mention globalization as a factor, which led to re-examination of the capacity of the state to observe human security and human rights (Strange, 2002). In the context of a borderless world, the international human rights agenda is inevitably revisited, and the main carriers of legal standards are no longer represented solely by state actors, but by the global civil society, comprising of International non-governmental organizations (INGOs). Because of these inevitable transformations, the very perception of security, threat and war changed in several important aspects. As Mary Kaldor famously observes, the end of the Cold War saw the rise of the modern wars, which lack time and space, because they are based on non-quantifiable demands often related to ideology, ethnicity, religion and the social construction of history (1999). The old wars were pushed away by new types of threats and conflicts, such as organized crime, and religious and civil wars. The early 1 990s saw the bloody demise of former Yugoslavia, and a series of conflicts in Rwanda, Congo, Sudan and Somalia, triggered by the redefinition of political borders, the struggle over economic resources and ethnic and religious factionalism. In the context of globalization, the modern wars are interstate conflicts, executed by sub-state actors. In this sense, it is important to mention that the growing presence of the sub-state actors has posed new challenges to the classic perceptions of security, because of non-tangible variables such as perceptions, as opposed to old-time military ambitions related to territorial invasion and economic gain. Meeting the new security challenges: a revised agenda for peace In order to meet the new security challenges, identified earlier, the international community had to devise a new agenda in the post-Cold war era. First, humanitarian intervention became important, and triggered as an effect of the revised agenda, where the security of foreign nationals, whose human rights have been violated by their home state became important (Jackson Sorensen, 2003). Despite the ongoing political debate about the legality and legitimacy of humanitarian intervention, a norm of intervention was authorized by the UN Security Council in the 1990s, which was followed by operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1996 and Kosovo in 1999 (Baylis Smith, 2007). Despite the criticisms that humanitarian intervention might stop the immediate killing of civilians but is not a reliable strategy for long-term piece, it reveals a shifted emphasis from military to human security in the years following the end of the Cold War. In this relation, another trend in dealing with conflicts became prominent – the imposition of economic sanctions for the purpose of exerting political, rather than military pressure upo n non-compliant states and communities. The posts of such wars of containment are the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, the role of the global civil society and the growing influence of INGOs as advocates of peace and human rights deserve a mention. The importance of international non-governmental organizations in global policy-making has been undisputed because of the more complicated security agenda in the post-Cold War era. Also, because of the multiplicity of actors in the international system, and the new security needs, states and intergovernmental organizations are unable to deal with international crises without the development programmes and research, provided by the INGOs. Although their political success remains disputed, their role as independent observers and proponents of policy change is growing. Conclusion This essay has attempted to show the changing nature of the international system after the end of the Cold War. Today the international community faces different security threats based on a new perception of military force. Terrorism and the spread of nuclear power have shunned classic state-to-state conflicts, and as a result a new security agenda for peace and cooperation has been embraced. In the era of globalization, the transition towards collective security as a model of global governance, remains a challenge but also a prerequisite for peace. Bibliography: Baylis, J. Smith, S. (2007) eds, The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press Brown, C., (2005) Understanding International Relations, Palgrave: Macmillan, Ch. 6, pp. 106-123 Clausewitz, C. (1977) ‘What is War?’, On War, Princeton: Princeton University Press Hammes, T.X (2005) ‘War evolves into the fourth generation’, Contemporary Security Policy, Vol.26, No.2pp.189–221. Jervis, R. (1991/1992) ‘The Future of World Politics: Will It Resemble the Past?’ International Security 16, no. 3 Jackson, R. Sorensen, G. (2003) Introduction to International Relations, Oxford: Oxford University Press Kaldor, M. (1999) New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era. Cambridge: Polity Press Shaw, M. (2005) The New Western Way of War: Risk Transfer war and its Crisis in Iraq Cambridge: Polity Press Smith, R. (2006) The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World London: Penguin Strange, S. (2002) The Declining Authority of States, in The Global Transformations Reader: an Introduction to the Globalization Debate, 2nd edition, Held and MacGrew (eds) Cambridge: Polity Press, pp.127-134 Van Creveld, M. (1991) The Transformation Of War NY: Free Press

How to Style Profanity

How to Style Profanity How to Style Profanity How to Style Profanity By Mark Nichol Some time ago, I wrote about the suitability of profanity in prose. My conclusion was that, depending on the context, it’s up to the producer to decide whether to publish profanity and the reader whether to accept or reject it. But if you, the producer, decide to allow profanity, know that there are degrees of deployment. The simplest approach, of course, is to treat profane and obscene words and phrases just like any other. As I mentioned earlier, many people (myself included) find humor in judiciously employed cussing intended to evoke amusement, and nothing beats a string of expletives to convey passion of one kind or another. Understandably, however, this acceptance is not universal, and publishers must be sensitive to their readership. General-interest magazines and websites and the like, especially those with paid subscriptions and/or with a reputation to establish or uphold, are unlikely to allow such terms to parade across the page or the screen like rowdy revelers. Publications with niche audiences consisting of people who unabashedly use profanity in speech and writing, and hear it without flinching, are going to have a more relaxed attitude about provocative language. But what if yours doesn’t belong in that category? You, and your writers, can refrain from including profanity in your narrative, but what about reporting what another party wrote or said when the statement includes naughty words? In lighthearted contexts, writers and editors can bowdlerize comments with euphemistically droll descriptions along the lines of â€Å"Smith suggested that Jones engage in an anatomically impossible activity† or â€Å"She spoke, to say the least, in a manner inconsistent with what one would expect of a person standing among blue-haired ladies in the lobby of a church immediately after the service.† Coy references to utterances of â€Å"expletives† or â€Å"invective,† or to â€Å"colorful language,† also get the point across. But if one would rather tiptoe closer to verisimilitude, one might print a word with a nonalphabetical character in place of one or more letters, as many people do to circumvent profanity filters in the commenting function on websites. (Sh!t, for example, provides an orthographical fig leaf and additional emphasis in one stroke.) Some publications have a more restrictive policy: Print the first letter only, followed by a dash (or two hyphens) or a couple of asterisks: s, or s**. (The paired characters collectively represent, rather than correspond one to one to, the missing letters.) One might also employ what has been variously labeled a grawlix (the term was coined, among other similarly jocular vocabulary, by comics cartoonist Mort Walker) and an obscenicon (the creation of Language Log blogger Benjamin Zimmer). However, an ostentatious representation like @#*! this approach is said to have been invented by Rudolph Dirks, the creator of the pioneering comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids is best reserved solely for humorous use; alternatively, in a feature article or a column, a writer might simply refer to an f-bomb or the s-word rather than apply the news section’s substitution policy. Another necessary component of a publication’s rules about the use of profanity and obscenity is a word list that explicitly draws the line: Which words (like mild oaths) are acceptable in print, and which (sexual and scatological terms, for example) are not? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureEmail EtiquetteA Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases