Freud’s theory of Psychosexual Development Essay

I will begin my essay by outlining Freud’s theory of Psychosexual Development and I will then go on to evaluate how far this help us to understand a client’s presenting issue. Freud’s theory of psychosexual development begins with the belief that human beings are purely driven by biology, in the form of the libido or sexual energy. The driving force of the libido is divided into five stages, he argues, and our early experiences during childhood are responsible for the development of a healthy personality, or if any individual were to experience trauma during these stages then it would result in disruption in the child’s personal development and the child may become stuck in this stage, resulting in neurosis. This five stages of sexual libido are: The Oral Stage – from birth to about 18 months – is where the child directs all its attention to the mouth in the form of sucking, eating and drinking. If stuck in this stage the client may still like to use their mouth a lot, resulting in the client presenting with overeating, drinking, smoking or talking The Anal Stage – from about 18 months to three years – is where the child directs their attention to the elimination of waste, and of the feelings experienced by the expelling of waste. This is also the stage where the child first experiences an element of control over themselves, as to where they excrete or and indeed whether or not they excrete their waste product. The child learns that he can use his bodily functions to elicit attention from his carer by excreting on the floor rather than in the potty. Clients stuck in the anal stage may be either anally retentive or expulsive in personality. Those that are anally retentive individuals are controlling and like to have everything in order – they may suffer from OCD and have quick outbursts of anger. Anally expulsive individuals tend to be untidy and disorganised. The Phallic Stage – from about three to five years – is where children become aware of their genital regions. This is the stage where the child starts to become aware of the differences between male and female genitalia, and their energy is spent undressing themselves, and perhaps others, in order to explore these differences. It is also the stage  of manipulating the genitals and the discovery of pleasure in doing so. It is during this stage that the Oedipus conflict arises; the belief that a boy has incestuous cravings for his mother and views his father as a rival for this affection. The boy also fears his father, as his father is bigger than him in all ways including his penis. Freud argued that the boy feels castration anxiety at this stage as a result of repressed sexual desire for his mother. If the boy has the correct parenting at this stage, then the boy identifies with the father and comes to have harmless affection for the mother. The Electra complex is the female counterpart. It is based on the view that each girl wants to possess her father and replace her mother. A phallic fixation can lead to an individual with a narcissistic, homosexual, egotistical or overly sexualised personality that may lead to serial marriage, polygamy or polyandry. The phallic fixation tends to use sex to discharge emotional tension and will often have sexual relationships that are superficial and lacking in love and affection The Latency Stage – from five years to adolescence. In this stage, sexual motivated needs subside as the child focuses their attention on developing other skills needed for their survival. A child stuck in this stage may have issues forming sexual relationships and have trouble expressing themselves sexually, leaving themselves and or their partners sexually unfulfilled. The Genital Stage – from adolescence to adulthood. During the onset of adolescence, the child moves from self-love or narcissistic love to diverting this love to others. It is argued by psychotherapists that are advocates of this theory that individuals disrupted during the ‘Genital stage’ may result in sexual disorders such as fetishes and paedophilia. According to Freud, only symptoms can be modified, and not the behaviour of the client – this can be done in two ways: 1. Lessening of the intensity of the unconscious urges, by bringing them to the consciousness or by strengthening the defences against them. An example of lessening the client’s behaviour is by encouraging a client to leave a job where aggressive urges were continually being aroused by an oppressive boss. 2. Alternatively the client can act out their urges in a more acceptable and symbolic way. An example being that anal urges can be expressed through pottery, as an alternative to faecal play. Feminists would argue that Freud’s theory concentrates on male sexual development, and provides little in understanding female sexuality. Freud’s work has also  been criticised for over emphasising sex drive and little else in order to assess a client’s presenting issue. Carl Jung and Fromm, two students of Freud, agreed with this statement, but used Freud’s work to develop their own theories, which I outline below. Carl Jung (1875 -1961) believed that that the libido was not just sexual energy, but instead generalised psychic energy. The purpose of this psychic energy was to motivate the individ ual in a number of ways, including spiritually, intellectually, and creatively. It was an individual’s source for seeking pleasure as well as reducing conflict. Jung placed greater emphasis on the unconscious than Freud; he argued that the psyche was composed of three components. Firstly, he believed that the ego is conscious, because people are aware of their own thoughts, memories and emotions. The unconscious mind, Jung believed, was split into two parts (the remaining two components): The personal unconscious, which is the same as Freud’s belief, in that it consists of repressed memories. Jung explained an important feature of the personal unconscious called ‘complexes’. A complex is a collection of thoughts, feelings, attitudes and memories, which focus on a single concept. The more elements attached to the ‘complex’ the greater its influence on the individual. The second deeper level is the Collective consciousness. This level of unconscious is shared with other members of the human species, comprising of latent memories from our ancestral and evolutionary past (‘The form of the world into which a person is born is already inborn in him, as a virtual image’ Jung, 1953). Jung called the ancestral memories and images ‘archetypes’. For Jung, our primitive past becomes the basis of the human psyche, directing and influencing present behaviour. Important archetypes include: the persona, or our social mask, just like an actor in a play; Anima/Animus, or our male and female sides – this comes from living side by side with the opposite sex for centuries; the shadow, similar to Freud’s ID, comprised of our animal urges or survival and reproduction. Jung argued that the psychological development of both sexes was undermined as the development of western society has led to the devaluation of feminine qualities over the predominance of the persona, leading to insecurity. Jung agreed with Freud that a person’s past and childhood experiences determined future behaviour, but he also believed that we are shaped by our future aspirations too. Erich Fromm (1900 – 1980) differed with the Freudian  emphasis on unconscious drives. Fromm argues that a person’s drives were not purely biological – he believed that man had free choice to decide on whatever action he felt appropriate and therefore gui ded their own destiny. Fromm saw conflict arising within the individual, when they had to weigh up the freedom of choice with the fear of uncertainty, when making these decisions. As a sociologist and psychologist, his theories integrated both psychology and Marxist Historical Materialism. Fromm argued that each socioeconomic class fosters a particular character, governed by ideas and concepts that justify and maintain the socioeconomic system. Fromm believed that the unique character of human existence gives rises to eight basic needs. Firstly Unity, as human beings have lost their original oneness with nature, they need to relate in order to overcome their isolation. Secondly their relatedness with others, care, respect and knowledge. Thirdly humans need to transcend their own nature, as well as their passivity and randomness of existence, which can be accomplished either positively, by loving and creating, or negatively, through hatred and destruction. Fourthly the individual also requires a sense of rootedness or belonging, in order to gain a feeling of security, and sense of identity. Fifthly the sense of identity which is expressed non-productively as conformity to a group and productively as an individual. Sixthly is need is for orientation understanding the wor ld and our place in it. Seventhly is excitation and stimulation or actively striving for a goal rather than simply responding. Eighthly is effectiveness the need to feel accomplished. This Orientation can be achieved either through assimilation (relating to things) or socialisation (relating to people). Fromm identified several character Orientations in Western Society. Authoritarianism – when an individual cannot come to terms with this freedom, he could avoid his responsibilities by withdrawing beneath the protection of someone or something else. Examples of this include God, a specific political leader of party, an institution of even one’s carer. Receptive Orientation – this is common in a society which encourages exploitation of the individual, who then seeks solace in affection and related comforts, such as eating, where the individual can only take and not give. Exploitative Orientation – the defence being the aggressive possession of goods, usually those of others. Examples being the plundering of goods in historical times, or in more modern times, those  nations that seek the territories and chattels of others. Productive Orientation – which donates love and tolerance towards others, and an acceptance of their freedom, with the ability to use this orientation to their advantage, without harming others. Hoarding Orientation – the ‘I want – I need’ society, based on material wealth. If one owns objects, then the individual can be seen, at least in his eyes, as clever and powerful. These individuals are threatened by the outside world and cannot share. Marketing Orientation – this is people copying or being influenced by the media and advertising by wearing the latest fashions. Individual personal qualities are redundant over what looks good. The individual sees themselves as a commodity to be bought and sold. Fromm added two further states: Necrophilous character- attracted to death Biophilous character – drawn to life. According to Fromm, gaining independence from one’s parents leads to a profound sense of loneliness and isolation, which the individual attempts to escape by establishing some type of bond with society through social conformity and submission to authority. By relating both Jung and Fromm’s work to our clients, they have made us aware of the client’s wider world or heritage into which he or she is born. Jung would argue that a Muslim woman may have low self-esteem and isolate herself from others, but these presenting issues are more down to the client’s collective consciousness than their childhood. In this case, Jung helps us as therapist to understand that the client’s neurosis may not arise from bad parenting, but from something primal based upon evolution within the individual. Fromm’s Socio- economic theories also provide us with insight of the client’s wider world, and how neurosis can arise due to external economic forces that dr ive the client’s neurosis in an exploitative and materialistic society that values things over the human existence. Both would argue that it is our environment rather than biology that constrains us, in the form of society and culture. For Jung and Fromm, in order to understand the client’s presenting issue, we must also understand their culture and the way in which they relate to the economic society into which they are born. An alternative view to Freud’s psychosexual development is that of the Behaviourist approach. Behaviourists believe that what is learned can be unlearned. Skinner built upon the work  of Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiments (1927) and his use of dogs as subjects, and the Little Albert experiments of Watson and Rayner (1920). To further these experiments, Skinner (1938) designed a Puzzle box and, by using rats, he showed that by using both positive and negative reinforcements, he could change the behaviour of the rats, as their behaviour is affected by consequences. He called this Operant Conditioning to which he identified three responses: Neutral Operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behaviour repeated. Reinforces: responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated – this can be ether positive or negative Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the probability of a behaviour being repeated. Punishment weakens behaviour. Skinner concluded that there was a Law of Effect, and that by using reinforcement, behaviour tends to be repeated, while behaviour which is not reinforced tends to die out. As human beings, we often respond to verbal Operants by taking advice, listening to the warnings of others and by obeying given rules and laws. This helps us understand the development of children, as the feelings associated with behaviour are controlled by conditioning. If the child has been positively rewarded, then the child is more likely to repeat those behaviours happily and willingly, feeling that they are doing what they want to be doing. If on the other hand the child avoids these behaviours due to negative reinforcement, they will be inclined to feel that their freedoms are being repressed, resulting in feelings of negativity, which could led to depression or anxiety. The work of Skinner, Pavlov, Watson and Rayner has led to the development of different treatments, such as C ognitive behavioural therapy and talking therapy that will help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave, commonly used to treat anxiety, depression and phobias but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems. In conclusion, Freud’s work on psychosexual development does help us in part to understand a client’s presenting issue, by understanding that their behaviour may very well stem from how their parents handled the child’s psychosexual development. By accepting this assertion, it also helps us to understand that what we, as society, view as very disturbing or deviant behaviour can arise from childhood trauma. This allows the therapist, and society, to be more  compassionate to such clients. An example of this is that Freud stated that homosexuality is neither a sinful nor a criminal act, but rather a condition that arose from childhood biological and psychological factors, and was just a ‘variation of the sexual function’, and because of this is could not be treated by punishment or therapy, but should just be accepted. Freud’s work, as already discussed, is limited in understanding the client’s total world, however we must understand th at Freud’s work was the first of its kind in understanding human psychological development, and was written at a time when most adults probably were sexually repressed, as well as viewing homosexuality as sinful. The later work of others, including Jung and Fromm, built upon his work, to help us understand the client’s presenting issue in a wider context. They widened our worldly view of the client by demonstrating how neurosis of the individual may also arise due to internal factors of the collective consciousness, arising from cultural and social heritage, or by external factors, such as how the client relates to the economic environment into which they are born. The work of the behaviourists also helps us to understand that any negative social conditioning also plays its part in understanding the client’s presenting issue. As a final note, we must remember that it is the job of the therapist to use the work of others as a tool to understanding the client’s own world in order to get enough understanding of the client’s perspective in relation to their own presenting issue. This understanding helps facilitate the client in coming to their own conclusions as to how best to tackle their own presenting issue, either by managing their condition from the Freudian perspective, or helping them change their own perspective and/or behaviour, as argued by the behaviourists. Bibliography What Freud Really Said – David Stafford-Clark (1996) 1935 – Freud’s letter response to a mother asking him to treat her homosexual son. (1935) Handbook of Individual Therapy – Edited by Windy Dryden (1990) Counselling for Toads – Robert De Board (1998) McLeod, S.A (2008)

Ethics of War based on religion Essay

If you ask anyone, they will give you their opinion, their view on war. Whether they believe its right, its wrong, or if they think it is all based on the situation at hand. Wars have been going on since the beginning and they are still going on today, but are they being fought for a purpose? Are they being fought due to a situation that has arisen? This essay will discuss two ethical frameworks and how they apply to the same issue. The ethical issue that will be discussed throughout this essay is that of ‘War’, and the frameworks that surround it are Situation Ethics and the Duty-Based Ethics. Situation ethics is when a choice is made based on the circumstances at hand. In situation ethics there is no right or wrong answer as each circumstance has different outcomes. â€Å"Situation ethics rejects prefabricated decisions and prescriptive rules’. It teaches that ethical decisions should follow flexible guidelines rather than absolute rules, and be taken on a case by case basis.†   This ethical framework provides so much discussion as each situation that evolves will have a reaction, and the challenge is to choose the least harmful or problematic option; it all depends on the situation. The situation ethics surrounding war is if it’s right to fight against a country. There was recently a situation whether or not it was right for the USA to invade Syria for using chemical weapons. The outcome was that the USA did not end up going to war, as it would cause more damage then what has already happened. Although  Barack Obama, the president of the USA, did apprehend the chemical weapons so cases like this did not happen again. Duty-based ethics is when someone does the right thing even though it may cause more harm then good. There are people out there who criticize men and women from the defence forces for being ‘killers’, but this is not the case, these men and women put their lives on the line so they can fight for freedom, for those who can’t. Duty-based ethics teaches that some acts are right or wrong because of the sorts of things they are, and people have a duty to act accordingly, regardless of the good or bad consequences that may be produced. â€Å"Some kinds of action are wrong or right in themselves, regardless of the consequences.†. A soldier would have to face duty-based ethics on a regular bases throughout a war, as it is their job to fight and protect people against harm. Ben Roberts-Smith is a prime example, as he put himself on the line by drawing away the enemy, just so the rest of his unit would survive. That is just one example of many different types of duty -based ethics that would be faced throughout a war. Although situation ethics and duty-based ethics are quite different they both apply to the ethical issue of war. Each framework discussed in the essay applies to war, but situation ethics seems to be the weaker of the two as it is based on what the person thinks the best outcome will be in that situation rather then, duty-based ethics which is what the right thing is to do at that moment in time. Duty-based ethics is definitely the one that relates best to the issue of war, as it is a soldier’s job to do what is right, at the moment the issue arises. Throughout this essay the ethical issue of war was discussed based on the ethical frameworks that surround it, which are situation ethics and duty-based ethics. The framework that proves to be the more applicable comparison to the issue of war is duty-based ethics, because they are decisions made based on the right thing to do. Bibliography BBC. â€Å"Duty-Based Ethics.† BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. . BBC. â€Å"Situation Ethics.† BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. . Whittaker, Matt. Soldier in Afghanistan. 2011. Afghanistan. Http://static.guim.co.uk/. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .

Homeless Women Bettering Themselves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Homeless Women Bettering Themselves - Essay Example However, the silver lining on the cloud is that the homeless women are not averse to leading a settled life as is usually thought of them and many of them do evince the potential to better their life and circumstances, if they get a chance to do so. Plight of Homeless Women The life of the homeless women certainly tends to be utterly tough and loaded with insecurity. For homeless women tend to be quiet a vulnerable segment of the society and the anti-social elements like criminals, rapists, muggers, drug pushers and pimps do find it easier to take advantage of the homeless women, simply owing to their augmented vulnerability (Wenzel, 2006). However, the thing that needs to be considered is that the homeless women do not prefer to remain vulnerable by choice, at least not all of them. There exist sufficient examples of homeless women who managed to make something of themselves, once they were given a chance to do so (Wenzel, 2006). The media stories almost on a regular basis do celebr ate the ingenuity and initiative of the homeless women who took a step forward and bettered their lives. Homeless Women- Success Stories For instance, Kayla Kinker from Covington happened to be a homeless woman. The good thing about Kayla was that she had panache for education, irrespective of being homeless. Certainly life was tough for Kayla, shifting across unstable habitations and doing without the basic utilities and civic amenities (The River City News, 2013). She even did not know as to when she will come across her next meal. However, things changed for Kayla as she moved to a shelter for the homeless that facilitated her with a more stable and comfortable living environment (The River City News, 2013). It was then that Kayla was required to decide as to whether she should continue with her education or should withdraw to work full time to help her family (The River City News, 2013). Luckily Kayla took the initiative and decided that she would be of much use to her family an d the community if she continues with her education. Consequently Kayla managed to graduate from High School with honors and after finishing her degree from Berea College, is on her way to becoming a physician (The River City News, 2013). Yet, Kayla, irrespective of being homeless, not only managed to help herself, but her goal is to start a community health center, so as to payback the community that helped her in her time of need (The River City News, 2013). Yet, Kayla does not happen to be the only successful homeless women around. Equally amazing is the experience and the story of AnnMarie Walsh, who managed to accrue thousands of followers on Twitter by simply sharing her story of homelessness (Torres, 2012). AnnMarie became homeless after she ended up with a divorce and lost her job (Torres, 2012). The sad thing is that AnnMarie also suffered from some other mental and health issues (Torres, 2012). Being alone and homeless on the Chicago roads, AnnMarie turned to Twitter for s eeking solace and comfort. And the Twitter initiative taken by AnnMarie Walsh accrued to this 41 year old homeless woman almost 4,800 regular followers to whom she twitted her experience of being homeless and the problems faced by her on a regular basis (Torres, 2012). To do so, AnnMarie uses the computer facilities at

Change at Faslane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Change at Faslane - Essay Example According to the study conducted Faslane was entirely operating under the watch of the Ministry of Defense and the Royal Navy. Due to need for minimizing its expenditure and cut costs, but retain its at the top of the base’s interest, Faslane introduced strategic change that witnessed the company decide to establish a partnering program with an independent entity that would help reduce the cost of expenditure and at the same time provide the most effective services to their client. As a matter of course, Faslane collaborated with Babcock, a subsidiary branch of Babcock International. The UK’s Ministry of Defense signed a five-year contract with Babcock Marine in 2002. This evolutional change came in the face of John Howie’s charge that had to make sure that Babcock meets the set targets and delivers a total savings cost of $76 million without negatively affecting any activities or services provided to the UK Navy. The strategic change that Faslane incorporated me asures that managed their strategies with absolute efficiency since it was necessary for Babcock to cut costs as the cut costs would come to them in form of profits. Furthermore, introduction of Babcock Marine would positively transform Faslnane because Babcock would make sure delivery of their services was effective and of high quality at a lower cost. In addition, Faslane is a huge firm with a large number of employees depicting that the cost of running its operations and the cost of maintaining its staff is always high. Therefore, when Babcock Marine Company came on board, Faslane relieved part of its expenditure in view of cutting costs by seconding to Babcock close to 300 Royal Navy personnel together with over 1’700 civil servants posts (The Stationery Office, 2010:7). It also left the remaining number of civil servants within the site, the police, Royal Marines, and sailors under the management of Babcock Marine. With reduced number of employees, Faslane had transforme d and approached an easier system of managing the company operations at a cost effective procedure. Furthermore, the strategy Faslane used to manage change was competent since its transformation styles resulted in the company’s transition of mindset under John Howie’s directive leadership model. This is because; collaborating with Babcock would ensure that Babcock changed the mindset of all the previous employees present at the site. As elaborated, these employees were mostly civilians who worked at the site for quite a long time and had established empires. This deterred them from seeing the importance of delivering service to the Royal Navy, which is their customer (Gapes, 2010:114). Hence, for Babcock to achieve its set goals and objectives, it was necessary to change the mindset of these employees who guarded the submarines as well as the ships. Changing the mindset would incorporate means of delivering service at the lowest possible expenditure. This means that, e ven if Babcock did not wish to renew its contract upon expiry, Faslane employees would still have the knowhow of cutting costs and ensuring effectiveness at the same time. Thus, strategic management of change at Faslane is long-term figurative due to John Howie’s educating and coaching system. Previously, if there were any changes at Faslane, they would take 56 days for them to reach

Leadership and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and Change - Essay Example With the mail-order being a success, Branson used the money earned from this company to buy a record store and to leverage it into a chain (Branson, 2009). Over time, he has managed to add 360 acquisitions to Virgin Music Group including airlines, trains, books, healthcare, wines, comics, fitness clubs, financial services and space travel among others (Bowerman & Wart, 2011). One major reason behind the success of Virgin group of companies is Branson’s unique leadership, charisma and effective timing (Fox, 2004). These qualities have enabled him to anticipate, and manage change effectively in his business empire. Though he is remarkably reserved and shy in person (Fox, 2004), Branson has the ability to change failures to his advantage, which enables him to gain publicity (Fabrikant, 1997). This daring nature has being the motivation behind his successful empire. Implementation of change Branson’s effective implementation of change can be illustrated by Kotter’s e ight steps change model. As the virgin empire started to expand in 1990s, Virgin megastores, and Virgin Records were doing well (Grant, 2005). However, Virgin Atlantic was not doing well, and it needed huge investments in order to break from being a small time operator to medium sized carrier (Branson, 2002); which is in accordance with Kotter’s model that requires establishment of a sense of contingence to affect change (Sabri, Gupta & Beitler, 2007). According to Grant (2005), Branson’s ingenious ideas to wade through these circumstances were to float the company, and raise the required expansion capital via the city and shareholders. However, immediately after this decision, it became apparent to Branson that this decision was at odds with the kinds of risks shareholders were prepared to stand (Grant, 2005). Surprisingly, in creating a guiding coalition in accordance with Kotter’s change model, Branson decided to sell Virgin records, and bought back Virgin At lantic. It was through such strategic decisions that Virgin Atlantic has become a successful business empire today. Branson approach in his career is that of influence, and has the ability to create a common purpose among his followers; his approach is to make people achieve things that they did not know they had the ability to achieve (Daft, 2002). Therefore, Branson develops a vision and strategy to implement the specific changes, and communicates the same to his employees; these are among the steps in Kotter’s change model (Sabri, Gupta & Beitler, 2007). He establishes the change, creates the guiding principles, develops the vision and the strategies to lead to the required change, or to attain his goals. Usually, every organizational change has a range of consequences, and one of the consequences of floatation of Virgin Atlantic was change in internal environment, and an organizational culture in which employees have to thrive in (Cox, 2009). One of the remarkable cultura l changes under Branson was making employees to have decentralized chains of commands, in ensuring that they are not answerable to one leader. Empowering employees for action is one of the steps in Kotter’s change model (Sabri, Gupta & Beitler, 2007). Branson in his organizational culture ensured employees were answerable to shareholders (Grant, 2005). Grant further noted that Richard Branson’s principles and approach to handling change enables transitions to

The Economics of Education & Financing Education Adequately Essay

The Economics of Education & Financing Education Adequately - Essay Example This paper explores the evidences that increasing social problems may lead to large increases in the annual cost of public elementary and secondary education in Fentress County Tennessee. The paper also determines the current expenditures per pupil in Fentress County, three surrounding counties, and the state per pupil expenditure average. Response to question one. Increasing social problems could cause massive increases in the annual cost of public secondary and elementary education. Social problem involves social issues that may plague the system of education. For example, emotional, ethical, gender, economic, and cultural issues are some of the social problems in education. The major effect of these problems on education has always been to increasing the cost of education (Brimley, Rulon, Garfield, et.al. 2008). For instance, economic issues increase the cost of education by making the government give out financial support to families with low income, give scholarships, and run th e education programs. This leads to a high cost of maintaining education in the secondary and elementary levels of education. According to the Fentress County Tennessee, the average cost of educating a child placed in a public school was more than six thousand dollars ($7,436) for one year (Brimley, Rulon, Garfield, et.al. 2008). Of this annual amount, a huge percentage of funds are typically allocated to activities of teaching. This is an area where the effects of social problems are realized. The cost due to behavioral problems is approximately 65% or about $ 4,833. Even though, the other sections of the school like supervision and administration could also be affected by social problems, the annual figure of the teaching portion of education, in this case, was used in the calculation. As per a research conducted by the Public Agenda research group in Fentress County Tennessee, 45% of school teachers reported that they normally spend a significant part of their time to manage the behaviour of their classroom thus making them to spend a little time in teaching (Brimley, Rulon, Garfield, et.al. 2008). This implies that, for every ten teachers, four of them spent over 55% of their principal classroom time on dealing with social problems of the learners. In terms of finances, the impact cost of a statistic like this one is 55% of $4,833 which is equal to $ 2,658. This is the amount of finances that is wasted on the management of social issues for every child per year. A study conducted on a number of schools in Fentress County Tennessee, having different school size, reported a massive education cost due to managing social problems in the school (Brimley, Rulon, Garfield, et.al. 2008). From this study, a table (Table1) was drawn to display the cost impact of social problems on education. Table 1: Cost impact of social problems management in Fentress County District schools. School Size Cost impact of social problems management on education based on the percent o f time spent. 25% 30% 50% 250 $328,563 $394,275 $657,125 400 $525,700 $630,840 $1,051,400 500 $657,125 $788,550 $1,314,250 650 $854,263 $1,025,115 $1,708,525 800 $1,051,400 $1261,680 $2,102,800 1000 $1,314,250 $1,577,100 $2,628,500 The table (Table1) shows out the cost effect of managing the behaviour of students in the classroom. When observed keenly as a percent of the time lost out of approximately 180 days (a school year), the figures are disturbing. Number of school days lost due to social problems m

To what extent is migrant integration determined by formal and Essay

To what extent is migrant integration determined by formal and substantial citizenship - Essay Example Prior to an analysis of the subject, it is critical to describe the key terms in the paper. Literature defines migrant integration as the extent to which migrants are like the rest of the population. This may be seen through social economic indications like education, employment, housing and health. Alternatively, it may be manifested through cultural indicators like language, values, lifestyles and allegiances. Citizenship is the relationship one has between himself or herself and the state; it is political, civil, social, economic, cultural and symbolic. Formal citizenship focuses strictly on rights and duties that arise from one’s membership status within the state. Substantial citizenship refers to the economic, moral, and social resources to exercise rights .The phenomenon encompasses the lived experiences and the extent to which these rights are exercised. It is subjective and dwells on the social exchanges and interactions of people. These definitions thus indicate that having citizenship rights and putting into practice those rights enable social integration. If a migrant has access to citizens’ rights, they are more likely to bond with members of that community and demonstrate allegiance to it. Whether migrant integration is determined by formal and substantial citizenship Openness and inclusiveness as a precondition of migrant integration As mentioned in the introduction, formal citizenship encompasses the resources required to exercise citizenship rights. One dimension of these resources is the social dimension. A society’s value system can determine how effectively a migrant integrates with the larger society. If upon citizenship acquisition, they find that their society tolerates cultural diversity, then they are likely to deliberately choose integration (Berry, 1997). It should be noted that integration may be considered as one of four dimensions of migrant acculturation. Foreigners have the choice to assimilate, where they ab andon all their former cultures and adopt the ones in their host country. Conversely, they may choose to separate, where they hold onto their original cultures and ignore that of the dominant community. They may integrate by maintaining cultural ties in their native communities and adopting cultures from the receiving community. Alternatively, individuals in this group may lose ties with their former culture and also fail to adopt the culture of the dominant group; as such, they will become marginalised. Therefore, the degree of integration of immigrants in this sense can only occur if a society has values that encourage multiculturalism. The attitudes prevalent in the receiving country must be positive towards these groups. A person may have formal rights as a citizen but when they meet social characteristics that do not enable realisation of these rights then they will not integrate into society. Berry (1997) notes that sometimes these attitudes may stem from the physical features of the group or other characteristics. As such, even though Koreans may have acquired formal

Frank Lyod Wright and Louis Sullivan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frank Lyod Wright and Louis Sullivan - Essay Example Louis Sullivan, one of the great architects of the last half of the 19th century, was a brilliant artist with both practical office experience and a year at the famed cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before entering a partnership with Dankmar Adler in 1879. Credited with being the first to give an appropriate form to the steel skyscraper, he was a precursor of American modernism and managed to produce the only forward-looking design of the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago.1 Unfortunately and unfairly, this designer of dozens of lauded buildings, who helped reshape the manner of building structure and aesthetics, is primarily known today for one thing-his role as Frank Lloyd Wright's Sullivan's famous motto of "form follows function" influenced Wright immensely and was a major reason why Wright considered Sullivan his only influence. That the relationship was mutual is demonstrated by the events of 1889. In that year Wright married Catherine Lee Clark Tobin, and Sullivan loaned him the enormous sum of $5,000 to buy property in Oak Park, Illinois and build a house.4 His willingness to help Wright illustrates the mutual respect between the employer and employee at this time. Although one of his early works, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park can be considered a workshop, used by the architect to begin developing some intriguing concepts. The initial construction phase of 1889 "exhibits features that portend the mature Wright's philosophy of architecture: the emphasis on pure geometric forms, the broad, sheltering roof, the use of natural materials and the unity of building and site".5 These features blurred the distinctions between inside and outside, and marked a growing integration of landscape and construction. In addition, the interior was focused around the fireplace and astonishingly open in design, with none of the Victorian hierarchy of divided spaces evident. Wright continued designing houses in Oak Park on the side, and this conflict of interest led to Sullivan firing him in 1893.6 Never one to stop working, Wright simply opened his own office and specialized in domestic architecture. By 1902 he designed his first Prairie house, a style defined by horizontal orientation, rows of small windows, low-pitched roofs featuring overhanging eaves and an open interior plan with a central fireplace.7 With its definitive wood and stucco exterior, it also works in conjunction with the suburban setting. Its cruciform plan is designed so that the movement from one wing to the next is diagonal, and these 45 degree angles are featured in other parts of the house.8 This epoch construction, completely distinct from Sullivan's verticality, would not have been possible had he not been fired. Decades of both personal and professional trouble followed, but Wright weathered the strenuous difficulties and re-emerged in the 1950's. His most famous project from this final stage is undoubtedly the Wright, Frank Lloyd, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of 1956-1959. Completed after his death and considered Wright's "great swansong",9 it is an exercise in pushing concrete to the limits of plasticity. After entering the inverted swirl, visitors move to the top via elevators and proceed "downward at a leisurely pace on the gentle slope of a continuous ramp".10 This final monument vividly illustrates how far Wright progressed from the early stages of his career. However, the first Wright building to feature an internal spiral ramp was the V. C. Morris Gift Shop of 1949, designed concurrently to the Guggenheim project.11 Inside are display cases and shelves that follow

A Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

A Journal opinion article - Essay Example This has been the driver of social sites like facebook and twitter. The two issues are commanding a large market and therefore very important in economic development. Many would agree that people want to feel happy. This is quite paradoxical in the economic perspective. Philosophers agree that money is not the sole reason to happiness but rather it is just a means to fulfillment. Through research, it has been noted that the relationship between income in monetary terms and happiness or a feeling of fulfillment is quite complex. This seems partly affected by the fact that availability of money enables one to afford recreational facilities, holidays, retreats which are deemed to enhance a feeling of happiness. Some opine that having money doesn’t guarantee a feeling of happiness. Therefore this has remained a subject to many economic researchers who try to relate economics and community, or economics and sociology (Frey & Stutzer 63) In many countries today, job creation remains the priority agenda to development. But how does this stimulate economic growth and development? For instance, having a majority of citizens unemployed fuels society vices like robbery, drug abuse, rape, due to being idle and frustration. From these findings, it’s right to say that job creation is a key aspect to a country’s economic development. This touches on Improvement of other economic drivers as well. This may include industrialization. Job creation seems to be directly proportional to economic growth. Having a huge number of employees being paid by the government translates to high wage bill. The government will spent more amount of money to settle the salaries and wages. This means more taxes to the citizens so as to raise the money. How job creation and happiness are related is a paradox and complex. The effect of economic growth in relation to happiness differs from one country to another. Nevertheless, we can broadly categorize these into developed and dev eloping countries. In developed countries, majority of its citizens can comfortably afford basic needs like clothing, housing, food, medical care. However, this is a problem to citizens in developing countries. They barely afford three meals a day, good shelter, decent clothing, medical care and basic education. This may be a crucial parameter in determination of happiness. The two categories of citizens perceive economic growth and happiness differently (Frey & Stutzer 78) In developing countries, challenges faced also include pollution, depletion of non-renewable natural resources and generally, environmental degradation. This seems to fuel and accelerate the incidence of disease. Epidemiological studies and findings show that there is higher disease prevalence in these countries. High deaths may be recorded and this translates to disillusion and unhappiness. From the scenario, the affected people will incur more expenditure in pursuit of medical services and treatment. Cash flow will be altered at family level, cumulatively affecting the economic landscape of the entire community. Therefore the wellbeing of a person or group of people affects the economic development of the entire niche. The aspect of social wellbeing and economic growth tend to intertwine. Politics is a major factor to economics. Political stability or instability determines the investment patterns of a country. Leadership plays a role in public policy which may favor economic growth or derail it. Unstable governments leadership systems tend to repel

Psychology and Personality Essay Example for Free

Psychology and Personality Essay The study of personality has a broad and varied history in psychology with an abundance of theoretical traditions. The major theories include dispositional trait perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviorist, and social learning perspective. However, many researchers and psychologists do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and instead take an eclectic approach. Research in this area is empirically driven, such as dimensional models, based on multivariate statistics, such as factor analysis, or emphasizes theory development, such as that of the psychodynamic theory. There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal psychology or clinical psychology. Personality Paper Personality is connected with Darwins Theory of Evolution. It generally explains why there are personality differences between individuals.[ Schacter, Daniel; Gilbert, Daniel; Wegner, Daniel (2011).] Personality also refers to the pattern of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments, and behaviors consistently exhibited over time that strongly influences ones expectations, self-perceptions, values, and attitudes. It also predicts human reactions to other people, problems, and stress.[ Winnie, J.F. Gittinger, J.W. (1973)][ Krauskopf, C.J. Saunders, D.R, (1994)] There is still no universal consensus on the definition of personality in psychology. Gordon Allport described two major ways to study personality: the nomothetic and the idiographic. Nomothetic psychology seeks general laws that can be applied to many different people, such as the principle of self-actualization or the trait of extraversion. Idiographic psychology is an attempt to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual. The study of personality has a broad and varied history in psychology with an abundance of theoretical traditions. The major theories include dispositional trait perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviorist, and social learning perspective. However, many researchers and psychologists do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and instead take an eclectic approach. Research in this area is empirically driven, such as dimensional models, based on multivariate statistics, such as factor analysis, or emphasizes theory development, such as that of the psychodynamic theory. There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal psychology or clinical psychology. Perspectives of Personality Many of the ideas developed by historical and modern personality theorists stem from the basic philosophical assumptions they hold. The study of personality is not a purely empirical discipline, as it brings in elements of art, science, and philosophy to draw general conclusions. Freedom versus determinism This idea seeks to answer whether humans have control over their own behavior and understand the motives behind it or our behavior is causally determined by forces beyond our control. Behavior is categorized as being unconscious, environmental, or biological by various theories. [Engler, Barbara (2008)]. Heredity versus environment Personality is thought to be determined largely by genetics and biology, by environment and experiences, or by some combination resulting thereof. Contemporary research suggests that most personality traits are based on the joint influence of genetics and environment. One of the forerunners in this arena is C. Robert Cloninger, who pioneered the Temperament and Character model.[ Engler, Barbara (2008).] Uniqueness versus universality This is the argument discussing the extent of each humans individuality Uniqueness or similarity in nature Universality. Gordon Allport, Abraham Maslow, and Carl Rogers were all advocates of the uniqueness of individuals. Behaviorists and cognitive theorists, in contrast, emphasize the importance of universal principles, such as reinforcement and self-efficacy.[ Engler, Barbara (2008).] Optimistic versus pessimistic Personality theories differ with regard to whether humans are integral in the changing of their own personalities. Theories that place a great deal of emphasis on learning are often more optimistic than those that do not. [Engler, Barbara (2008)]. Three Theories of Personality Development The study of personality is based on the essential insight that all people are similar in some ways, yet different in others.[ Phares, E.J.; Chaplin, W.F. (1997).] There have been many different definitions of personality proposed. However, many contemporary psychologists agree on the following definition: Personality is that pattern of characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguishes one person from another and that persists over time and situations. [Phares, E.J.; Chaplin, W.F. (1997)]. Trait theories According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, personality traits are enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts. Theorists generally assume that a) traits are relatively stable over time, b) traits differ among individuals, and c) traits influence behavior. They consistently are used in order to help define people as a whole. Traits are relatively constant; they do not usually change. Traits are also bipolar; they vary along a continuum between one extreme and the other (e.g. friendly vs. unfriendly).[ Feist, Jess Feist, Gregory J. (2009).] Behaviorist theories Behaviorists explain personality in terms of the effects external stimuli have on behavior. The approaches used to analyze the behavioral aspect of personality are known as behavioral theories or learning-conditioning theories. These approaches were a radical shift away from Freudian philosophy. One of the major tenets of this concentration of personality psychology is a strong emphasis on scientific thinking and experimentation. Humanistic theories Humanistic psychology emphasizes that people have free will and that this plays an active role in determining how they behave. Humanistic therapy typically relies on the client for information of the past and its effect on the present, therefore the client dictates the type of guidance the therapist may initiate. This allows for an individualized approach to therapy. Personality Tests There are two major types of personality tests, projective and objective. Projective tests assume personality is primarily unconscious and assess an individual by how he or she responds to an ambiguous stimulus, such as an ink blot. Projective tests have been in use for about 60 years and continue to be used today. Objective tests assume personality is consciously accessible and measure it by self-report questionnaires. Research on psychological assessment has generally found objective tests are more valid and reliable than projective tests. Critics have pointed to the Forer effect to suggest some of these appear to be more accurate and discriminating than they really are. Issues within Testing Issues with these tests include, false reporting because there is no way to tell if an individual is answering a question honestly or accurately. Conclusion There are many theories on how a person develops a certain type of personality. A person’s personality is what defines them in all aspects of their life. People believe that you are molded into what you are today, but theories have proven that some people lead by example and some learn by example. If anyone is curious as to what type of personality they have, there are my types of assessments available to take that can tell you.

Analysis of Institutional theory and Stakeholder theory to ASES

Analysis of Institutional theory and Stakeholder theory to ASES The increase in the environmental degradation caused by carbon emission and climate change has necessitated the governments to pass several laws to ensure that business organisations integrate the environmental issues in the management policy. To satisfy the stakeholders, many large and medium organisations have integrated the environmental issues in the management policy in order to enhance overall corporate image. (Kumar, Chandra, Bhagaban, 2007). However, the issue is different with related to accounting profession. There is heated debate in the accounting literatures on the efficacy of integrating environmental accounting in the organisational practices. While there are camps that argued that accountants cannot close their eyes on environmental issues given the importance accorded to environmental issues. There are supporting camps that argued that there is need to integrate the environmental accounting in the management control in order to achieve the organisational change. (Env ironmental Protection Agency, 1996). The supporting camp argued that integrating the environmental accounting in the traditional accounting is a process that can result to organisational change. This could also result in effectiveness of organisational performances and in increase in the efficiencies of management operations. However, the opposing camp revealed that there cannot be organisational changes with the response of environmental demand. (Larrinaga-Gonealel, Bebbington, 2001). The objective of this paper is to analyses the issues whether environmental accounting should be integrated in the organisational policy in order to achieve organisational changes. To enhance greater understanding of this study, the paper is structured in two-fold. The part A analyses the issues whether environmental accounting should be integrated in the organisational policy in order to achieve organisational changes. The second part of the paper outlines four theoretical paradigms studied in Organizational Context of Management Accounting Outline of the issues in the case study with management control and management accountability. To provide greater understanding of the environmental accounting with relation to management control and management accountability, it is essential to outline the issues in the case study. From the case study, it was identified that the intention of Spanish government was to reduce environmental emission after joining the European Union (EU) in 1986. Thus, ASES, which was a large company that generates electricity utilities in Spain tried to integrate environmental concern in the management issues. However, there was conflicting issues on the spectrum of the efficacy of management application of accounting techniques to the environmental issues. Typically, the supporting camp was the Director of Environmental Affair (DEA), who believed that ASES could achieve management accountability with the ability to control costs and increase performances if environmental accounting could be integrated in the accounting system of the organisation. The DEA believed that the integration of environmental accounting in the environmental issues could achieve management control that will make ASES to enhance efficient in organisational resources. Contrary to DEA initiations the ASESs accounting department was not convinced that there should be inclusion of environmental aspect in accounting statement of ASES. The two theoretical perspectives, the institutional theory and stakeholder theory could illustrate these opposing views between Department of Environmental Management, and ASESs Accounting department. (Larrinaga-Gonealel, Bebbington, 2001). The paper compares and contrasts the two theoretical perspectives to enhance greater understanding of the issues in case study. Compare and Contrast of the Institutional theory and Stakeholder theory Management accountability is essential in order to ensure transparency of information. The measures to ensure quantitative performance are true test of management accountability. To achieve management performances, the institutional theory beliefs that effective management performances need to integrate environmental accounting report in the financial statements of organisation in order to conform to institutional practices. Similar with Stakeholder theory that beliefs that organisation needs to satisfy the stakeholders in complying with legal framework with reporting the financial data to the stakeholders. With increase in the intensification of environmental sustainability, some stakeholders are demanding organisations to supply environmental accounting in the accounting report. Typically, shareholders, and other stakeholders believe that it is their right to receive information on the conduct of organisation with regard environment accounting. (Rowe, Wehrmeyer, 2001). Despite the common perceptions of institutional theory and stakeholders theory with relation to environmental accounting. The two theoretical paradigms separate themselves from the point that institutional theory believes that organisation could only gain legitimacy and be shaped by the institutional environment. On the other hand, stakeholder theory only beliefs that the interests of the stakeholders are the ultimate important of organisation, and outcome of an organisation depends on the firms satisfy its stakeholders. (Husillos,Alvarez-Gil, 2008, AFAANZ 2010). Thus, the two theoretical perspectives provide greater understanding in analysing the issues in the case study. Analysis of the institutional theory and stakeholder theory with relation to interpret the issues in the Case study. The Conventional approach has been generally criticised as being insufficient in explaining the rational behind the organisational motive with regard to organisational environmental values. With increase in the needs for environmental accounting, the Institutional Theory has been argued to provide greater understanding on the environmental value of an organisation. (Qian, Burritt, 2008). The institutional theory draws a greater understanding on how organisation reacts to the needs of environmental accounting. Typically, the institutional theory refers to the habits, norms and customs that guide the organisations. In the contemporary business environment, organisations act in accordance with set out norms and rules in order to survive in an environment an organisation is operating. With the intensification of environment sustainability, organisations need to relate to the routing methods of environmental policy in order to secure legitimacy. The institutional theory explains the proce ss by which organisations could secure legitimacy through conforming to the norms and rules lay down by the institutional environment. (Rowe, Wehrmeyer, 2001). On the other hand, stakeholder theory suggests that organisations have a variety of stakeholders and that a moral, social and legal obligation is owed to these stakeholders to satisfy their interests (AFAANZ 2010, p.3). The stakeholder theory reveals that managers need to take into legitimate interests of the groups or individuals who can affect the activities of an organisation. These groups or individuals are being termed as stakeholders. With intensification of climate change and carbon emission, stakeholders are increasingly holding management responsible for the management decision with relevant to environmental decision. Stakeholder theory further explains that stakeholders are increasingly demanding that organisations need to inculcate environmental accounting in the management control. Typically, stakeholders shape the management control in order to enhance performance systems. Likewise other functions in an organisation, the institutional theory argued that accounting roles in an organisation need to contribute to the environmental management through the application of environmental accounting. (AFAANZ, 2010, Rowe, Wehrmeyer, 2001). It is essential to realise one of the norm and values that ASES organisation recognised was to abide by the environmental conformity by implementing green. Although, the ASES tried to satisfy the stakeholders by implementing the green initiatives, however, there were divergences of interests among the stakeholders of the ASES organisation that make the argument of stakeholder theory not to be valid within ASES because ASES failed to satisfy the interest of all stakeholders. Although, ASES attempted to implement norm and values as being discussed by institutional theory, however, there are certain cases where ASES did not implement environmental sound behaviour. This was revealed with the disinterest of some stakeholders within the organisation who did not belief in integrating environmental accounting policy in the accounting systems of the organisation. To enhance greater understanding of the interpretation of the Case, it is essential to examine the method the interpretation of the Case differs between each theoretical perspective. How does interpretation of the Case differ between each theoretical perspective The interpretation of each of the theoretical perspective in the case is different. The method the Director of Environmental Affairs and Director of Accounting Affair interpreted the institutional theory are different. For instance, Director of Environmental Affairs believed that ASES should implement organisational changes because there was poor management practice with relation to the environmental management. The major reason was the inability of ASES to provide non-financial data of generating plant that provides the electricity. A Director of Environmental Affairs believed that there was need to identify environmental costs and investments, and the creation of environmental accounting was essential to enhance operational improvement. However, Director of Accounting Affair believed that implementation of institutional theory was not important in the accounting system, and environmental accounting could not be integrated in the accounting system. In the interpretation of the Stakeholder theory, the interest of two important stakeholders in the case (Director of Accounting Affair and Director of Environmental Affairs) was not satisfied equally. The Director of Environmental Affairs believed that accounting was deemed to play an important role generally in managements control of the organization; the role of accounting in the greening process was seen as being crucial for achieving some progress on strategic environmental goals. ( Larrinaga-Gonealel, Bebbington, p.278). Despite the argument presented by the Director of Environmental Affairs, the issues were not totally being accepted by Director of Accounting affair. The ASES could not integrate environment accounting in accounting system because of the different method the two stakeholders in the organisation interpreted the norm and belief of ASES with relation to environment. Conclusion The paper provides the institutional theory and stakeholder theory to discuss the conflict of interest that have emanated within ASES organisation. As being discussed by institutional theory, the rules and norm of organisation with relation to environment was being followed by ASES organisation in order to achieve organisational changes. Nevertheless, there was divergence of interest in integration of environment accounting in the accounting system. Typically, the ASES found it difficult to satisfy the all the stakeholders as being indicated by stakeholder theory with relation to integration of environment accounting in the accounting system. PART B Introduction In the management accounting practice, there are unique methodologies and theoretical perspectives that could be employed to gather empirical data in order to address a problem. This part B of this paper examines the paradigms in the Organisational context of management accounting. There are several methodological assumptions in the Organisational context of management accounting. This paper presents four of them. Methodological Assumption in Organisational context of management accounting These methodological assumptions are as follows: Positivistic paradigm: In the positivist paradigm, the object of study is independent of researchers; knowledge is discovered and verified through direct observations or measurements of phenomena; facts are established by taking apart in phenomenon to examine its component.(Krauss, 2005, p.759). The management accounting employs positivistic paradigm as a concrete structure, which include the objective reality and knowledge gain from data. These information processors are employed to achieve organisational efficiency and the goals of an organisation. Typically, the management accounting employs the positivistic paradigm to achieve efficient low cost and efficient operations. The positivistic approach employs key variables to retrieve meaning through the interpretation of ex post fact. Qualitative Research paradigm: The qualitative paradigms approach employs the process of conducting research through personal subjective approach where the research instrument employed is unstructured interview. Essentially, the Qualitative Research paradigm employs combination of case study, interview, observation and participation to gain insight into phenomenon. However, the qualitative paradigms are incapable of understanding the subjective experience. Quantitative Research paradigm: The quantitative paradigm employed the research instrument such as survey and questionnaires to collect data as well as using statistical techniques to explain and predicts relationship in management accounting. The quantitative paradigm argued that to studying phenomenon, there is need to employ objective approach that is independent of individual thought and individual perception. Hermeneutic paradigm: The Hermeneutic paradigm explains that human experience is a tool in studying the phenomenon. The use of imaginative variation helps in illuminating research during data analysis, and this helps in interpreting and understands the outcomes of the empirical study. In the accounting context, hermeneutic approach employs individual judgment to understand the social world. In the implementation of organisation research, hermeneutic paradigm provides the framework to understand text and the decision making process. Typically, the use of hermeneutic approach is to employ the combination of variety of data, and personal experience and judgement to gain insight into the phenomenon. (Kosmala,2005, Williams, 1998, Neill, 2006). The theory is very important when studying accounting. The next section provides the importance of theoretical lens in accounting. The importance of theoretical lens when studying accounting. In accounting, there are different perspectives on the importance of theoretical lens. Irvine and Deo (2006) pointed out that the use of theory was very important when accounting researcher is employing qualitative techniques to compile data. The theory provides the method of interpreting qualitative data. Likewise, sociology discipline that employs social phenomenon to interpret data, accounting has also employed the use of social context in accounting practice. Several accounting research employed the use of qualitative method to interpret data, and to make qualitative technique in accounting to be more credible, the importance of social theory has been proposed into the qualitative technique. The importance of social theory in the qualitative research is that an accounting student will be able to interpret data through subjective lens, and this helps in explaining the method the accounting and society are interwoven. (Irvine, Deo, 2006). However, some group of researchers believed that social theory is insufficient in explaining the important of theory in accounting, and the importance of theory in accounting depends on the level a researcher view the world. (Tomkins, and Groves,1983). Thus, the accounting theory has been proposed. The importance of accounting theory is seen to systematically create new knowledge by which the general framework of accounting practice could be guided. In addition, the accounting theory provides the rules and practice on the method to record and report issues. Typically, accounting theory make use of accounting concepts, accounting principles, and accounting techniques to identify, measure and communicate economic information in order to make informed decision in accounting practice. The accounting theory helps to interpret message in preparing the financial report, and this could enhance decision-making. (Victoria University, 2008). Despite the importance of accounting theory in studying accounting, there is criticism that revealed that accounting theory is too general and there is inconsistence in the practice of accounting theory. However, Cohen and Holder-Webb (2006) proposed the agency theory to overcome the shortcomings of other theories. The author argued that the agency theory is the most popular theory in accounting research. The importance of agency theory is that students will be able to understand its basic proposition. The analysis of agency theory reveals the separation of ownership and control, and the agency theory teaches accounting students the method of dealing with the real world. It is essential to realise that agency theory relates with economic theories that deal with transaction cost economics that has been mostly employed in accounting study. Thus, agency theory helps managers to make rational decision when the issues of contract and opportunism arise. Typically, many of the students studying accounting will be involved in drafting contract and accounting document when their organisations intend to enter into contract agreements with other firms. The importance of Agency theory will equip students with issues relating to contract agreement between firms. Conclusion This part examines the different paradigms employed when study accounting. The paper revealed that Positivistic paradigm, qualitative Research paradigms, quantitative Research paradigms, and Hermeneutic paradigm are very useful in organisational context in management accounting. Although all of these paradigms may have their shortcomings however, each of the paradigms is useful in studying organisational context in management accounting. The paper also provides the importance of theory in studying accounting. From the discussion of the paper, it is revealed that theory is a centrepiece by which accounting study could be applicable to the social and practical phenomenon. Although, the paper identifies social theory, accounting theory and agency theory as important when studying accounting, however, the paper argues that agency theory is more applicable to accounting based on the method the agency theory makes accounting students to understand the real world.

Book Report on Wreck! :: essays research papers

First Entry – Suggestion Number 1 – Page 50 This fiction book is called â€Å"Wreck† and was written by Allan Bailie. The main characters are Ian Foster and Reene Thompson, they are two normal teenagers. Reene was told to baby-sit Ian while his parents are away. During this period a cyclone hits Albatross Beach and they barely survive it. Soon they seek shelter in a rusty old freighter on the beach. After, the cyclone erupts again and sets the boat out to sea. While on the boat they experience many strange happenings and realise they are not alone. Second Entry – Suggestion Number 6 – Page 80 I believe the writer was trying to keep suspense and did this by not giving any extra info and by putting in a few false alarms to keep you on your toes. The writer is also very descriptive which adds greats atmosphere and further suspense. I think the writer has a good imagination to be able to write in such a way. Another skill the author has is, he knows when and when not to be descriptive, that helps because a whole page description on something that has no relevance at all is not necessary Third Entry – Suggestion Number 5 – Page 100 Ian is shy and doesn’t seem very confident in the book; Ian explains it’s probably because of his dad who’s always putting him down because he can’t do something right. There isn’t mush about his interest in the book because the author keeps to the story line most of the time. Ian is afraid that he isn’t to his father’s expectations and that his father hates him. His experiences throughout the book make him a stronger person and I think he’s better for it. Reene also helps shape Ian into a better person. She is responsible, outspoken and strong-willed, Ian picks ups picks up a bit of it. Ian comes out to have a stronger mind, isn’t as reliant on others and isn’t afraid to voice his opinions. Fourth Entry – Suggestion Number 8 – Page 120 To me the ending wasn’t much of a surprise because they were on a boat with an unknown monster, they defeat the monster and are rescued which wasn’t much of an ending. This of course doesn’t mean the book is boring, just predictable. There are also many little things that happen along the way to keep this book interesting enough to keep reading.

A Clockwork Orange Essay: A Modernistic Work :: Clockwork Orange Essays

A Clockwork Orange as a Modernistic Work      Ã‚  Ã‚   A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, published in 1962, technically falls after the period deemed as 'Modernism', yet it embodies all of the features that were characteristic of that literary era.   Burgess's novel is a futuristic look at a Totalitarian government.    A Clockwork Orange abandons normal 'language' (which Modernists believed couldn't always convey meaning anyway) and is written in 'Nadsat' (which means teenager).   It is a slang that is spoken by the teenagers at the time.   Burgess   uses approximately two-hundred and fifty 'nadsat' words (most of which have Russian roots) to convey his story.   This gives the reader a sense of intimacy with Alex and his 'droogs' (friends) due to the fact that the adults in the novel can't understand what they are govoreeting (saying).  Ã‚   There is also a disruption of the linear flow of narrative aside from this private language; Alex ('Our Humble Narrator') tells the story in a remembering type sequence, but often interjects with thoughts or questions posed directly at the reader.    Aside from the strange language that is found on the pages of this novel, one of the most obvious modernistic features is Burgess's ability to shock. There are many different scenes that are quite disturbing and violent. Alex's propensity to rape young girls (ten years old), and his absolute joy in the sight of blood and pain. ' ...while I ripped away at this and that and the other...and real good horrorshow [good] groodies [breasts] they were that then exhibited their pink glazzies [eyes], O my brothers, while I untrussed [undresses] and got ready for the plunge.   Plunging I could slooshy [hear] the cries of agony' ( Burgess 23).  Ã‚   This ties in with the fact that, as readers, we tend to follow the actions of Alex and his droogs and it is easy to get caught up in all this violent action and loose sight of the real meaning of Burgess's novel.  Ã‚   Burgess writes this novel from and to the "ID".   Alex and his droogs embody all animal or primal instincts and the tale that has been set before the reader has little respect for realism. We are presented with a world in which the teenagers rule the nights, keeping all real people in their houses.   A world where there are milk bars (moloko kordova) in which fifteen year olds can be served with milk that was laden with drugs.

Sustainable Health Education Essay -- Health

The concept of sustainability derives from principles grounded in developing and maintaining a harmonious environment, society, and economy. Regardless of the discipline, these three areas must be the focus of concentration, as they are not mutually exclusive of one another. Above all, education must be recognized as the chief factor in achieving sustainability. Dr. Rosalyn McKeown’s Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit is based on the notion that success depends on a community’s willingness and ability to integrate education with sustainable efforts. Given the length of Dr. McKeown’s toolkit, it is virtually impossible for this writer to diffuse every detailed point. However, one is able to dissect key concepts deemed appropriate to teaching sustainability in the context of health education. Health Education is the â€Å"comprising of consciously constructed opportunities for learning, involving some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, including improving knowledge, and developing life skills which are conducive to individual and community health† (Kirch, 2008). The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics infers that health education specialists promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health. Considering these points, health education, in a philosophical sense, is rooted in the fundamental concept of sustainability. There are many factors which contribute to health education sustainability. Given the broad spectrum of health education, and all that the discipline entails, educators should focus efforts to assisting communities in making healthy choices and addressing major risk factors. At the forefront should be an emphasis on physical activity, healthy food consumption, ... ...cco use. Concrete goals and objectives must be met and mastered in the pursuit of sustainable development. Forming strong partnerships to use and allocate resources is crucial to success. Policies must be created before training can ensue. Health educators left with the task of achieving sustainable development should not micro-manage the process. Above all, community members must understand and appreciate how personal health impacts the environment, economy, and society at large. Works Cited Kirch, Wilhelm. (2008). The Encyclopedia of Public Health. New York, NY: Springer Science and Business Media, LLC. McKeown, Rosalyn. (2002). Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.esdtoolkit.org/default.htm The Health Education Specialist: A Companion Guide for Professional Excellence (6th ed.). (2010). Whitehall, PA.

Early Childhood Education and Childcare Essay

Summary â€Å"Why Universal Childcare? † is a great title for an article such as this one. The question enters the reader into a vast pool of potential answers to the question. First off, what does universal childcare mean? For me, I believe that universal childcare means all around childcare, not only in a general sense, but all over the map childcare. Most people don’t see a problem with childcare in Canada, but it seems as if there are some issues pertaining to the system of childcare in Canada. â€Å"In a country of close to five million children of 0-12 years of age, Canada now has fewer than 900,000 regulated childcare spaces. The percentage of children for whom a space is available increased only to 17. 5 percent about a 10 percent increase over the past fifteen years†. (Prentice, 2009, p. 1). A frequent problem most organizations/programs run into is often funding the programs. Without funding, the programs usually suffer and do not meet the maximum amount of care and quality that it should be able to meet. Along with this, the childhood educators/childcare providers may be undertrained. â€Å"The quality of the care is frequently troubling: limited public financing forces programs to operate as cheaply as possible, and requirements for programs are low. The early childhood educators who provide the care are underpaid and often undertrained. Overall, Canada’s early childhood education and care situation suffers from chronic neglect. † (Prentice, 2009, p. 1). Another reason why this situation may come across as shocking to most people, is because Canada is an extremely wealthy country, so you could expect Canada to have a very strong childcare programs. Childcare programs are always changing, they have changed drastically in the last few years, most programs are now looking for ways to interpret ways of learning and more social support for children. â€Å"ECEC (Early Childcare Education and Care) is about an integrated and coherent approach to policy. It is about providing care that includes all children and all children regardless of employment or socio-economic status. † (Prentice, 2009, p. 4). Integrating social support and learning into these childcare programs will expand the knowledge and adaptability of children when entering their later childhood educations. The history of childcare helps explain why today childcare programs are poorly put together. â€Å"The origins of childcare were in philanthropy and benevolence. From the mid- nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, most of what we know today as childcare programs were provided by educational, philanthropic, or religious organizations, often led by prominent women. † (Prentice, 2009, p. 71). Women were the ones who normally ran the childcare centers, but as we see today, women are entering the paid workforce. The governments did not play a role back then, hence they did not play a part in the responsibility. Today, we count on the government to help fund and organize these programs, which is still a  developing task. After World War II, the federal government stopped funding childcare. This lead out into outbursts which lead to : The Day of Nurseries Act, which became Canada’s first provincial legislation. This lead to the number of childcare programs expanding. We saw a leading change in childcare happen in 2006, when the Harper Conservatives made childcare one of their five leading promises. â€Å"In the 2006 election the Harper Conservatives made childcare one of their five leading promises†. (Prentice, 2009, p. 84. ). Unfortunately, what was promised to parents never happened. Childcare disappeared in importance. How were parents supposed to trust anyone with their ‘childcare money’? â€Å"Following the cancellation of the national childcare plan, childcare space expansion showed the smallest increase in regulated child care in some years: an increase of only 26,661 spaces since 2006. † (Prentice, 2009, p. 86). The author is trying to show the reader the importance of history, and how the little things contribute to how childcare as a whole has developed over the years. Also, the importance of funding programs for childcare.

A Gathering Of Old Men: Importance Of Standing Up For Oneself

â€Å"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today†. This quote by H. G. Wells is seen in the novel A Gathering of Old Men. The novel, taking place in the 1970s, was in a time in which African-Americans still suffered heavy discrimination. After years of taking this abuse, when an incident comes in which a white man lays dead at the hands of a black man, which would eventually call for a lynching, the discriminated unite. They show that despite their tortured past, they still possess their bravery, power, and pride.This dramatic novel by Ernest J. Gaines, A Gathering of Old Men, written in a critical tone employs the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism to express the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself. In the book, a character named Mathu is one who does not falter in up keeping his pride. From the very beginning, he never let anyone insult him because of his African-American heritage. He always stands up for himself, even facing a white man, and never faltered, even when he was sent to jail.Because of this attitude, Mathu was respected even by some white men like Mapes who â€Å"knowed Mathu had never backed down from anybody, either. Maybe that’s why he liked him† (Gaines 84). Mathu was like a strong rock, the attempts of others at making him submit were but pebbles against his overpowering pride and dignity. A character that Mathu attempted to instill some lessons on becoming a man was Charlie. Charlie, despite his mild character was a large man towering at 6feet 7inches and weighing 275 pounds.Beau Boutan, Charlie’s boss and some others often ridiculed him with names like â€Å"Big Charlie† and â€Å"nigger boy† because of his mild character (Gaines 187). Charlie however, after observing Mathu’s strong pride and refusal to let anyone step over that pride, eventually gained some courage to stand up for himself. After he killed Beau and ran away, he came back and was ready to atone for his deed. Gaines used this event in the novel to show that even though people might be insulted and beat down, they can still gain enough courage to stand up for themselves.When Charlie did stand up for himself, and became, in his eyes, a man, that eventually led to his death. Gaines’s killing off of Charlie after he started standing up for himself was alluding to the idea that when people make a stand, they must be careful not to overdo it, like Charlie did, or there might be unfavorable results. Another character of interest is Candy. Candy is the owner of the place in which all the men gather, and the organizer of the gathering. At first, Candy seems to be genuinely worried about the people in Marshall, saying â€Å"’No I won’t let them harm my people’†¦ ‘I will protect my people.’† (Gaines 19).However, as the story progresses Gaines shows that Candy’s motives may not have been as good-natured as firs tly suggested. It’s eventually revealed she does not care much for the other men gathered in Mathu’s yard, but only for Mathu himself. While she showed little emotion when the other men were called up to Mapes and hit, she was quick to react when Mathu was called. Gaines also showed Candy’s true nature in the event when Clatoo wanted to talk to the men inside Mathu’s house, without Candy.At this point, Candy threatened to have all the men who followed Clatoo kicked out of the Marshall place, their only home. Gaines portrayed Candy in this way to show in this time, the idea of oppressing people still existed in the minds of even those who seemed good-natured. Finally, Gaines creates a complex character out of Mapes. Mapes is a character who experiences a change during the story. When he first arrives at the site of Beau’s death, and the gathering of the old men, he acts with the same mindset of the Cajuns in that time.His first response to the scene is violence. He attempts to gain information from the old men by hitting them. Eventually, when he realizes violence will produce no results, he lets them tell their stories. The prominent change in Mapes is shown at the time Luke Will and his crew arrive with the intent of hanging Beau’s killer. Mapes attempts to protect Charlie and the rest of the men, saying â€Å"’Go home, Luke Will’† after Luke Will demanded he hands Charlie over to him (Gaines 195).When Luke Will ignored Mapes and started a shoot out between his crew and the old men, Mapes resigned control of the situation to the old men and Charlie. Gaines used this to show that the mindset of people can change for the better. In the instance that Mapes trusted the old men and Charlie with the situation, he recognized them not as people of a lesser racer, but respectable and trustable men, showing that old men’s attempt at standing for themselves was able to change a man.Gaines also employs the use of flashbacks in the novel. The main role the flashbacks play is to show the hardships and discrimination the African-Americans faced in that time. When Uncle Billy, one of the old men who gathered to finally stand up for himself after many years, was asked by Mapes the sheriff his reason for killing Beau, as all the old men claimed to have killed Beau, he recalled an event that happened years before. â€Å"’What they did to my boy’†¦ ‘The way they beat him.They beat him till they beat him crazy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Gaines 80). Gaines introduced this flashback to show the brutality suffered by the blacks at that time, and that it spared no one, not even a child. Another flashback was by Johnny Paul, who remembered back to a time when they had all lived as a community, till Beau and his tractor came to plow it all up. Johnny Paul was referring to this time when he confused Mapes by saying â€Å"’But you still don’t see. Yes, sir, wh at you see is the weeds, but you don’t see what we don’t see. ’† (Gaines 89).Johnny Paul was talking about how the weeds and rotting houses had replaced what was once a place of happiness, and brotherhood among the black families living there. Gaines uses this flashback to show what was taken from the African-Americans in the novel, to better explain their need to stand up for themselves. Tucker, one of the old men, goes into a flashback of his own. He remembers a time his brother and two mules, beat a white man and a tractor. The white man and his friends however said Tucker’s brother had cheated, and beat him with canes.Gaines adds this flashback to portray the obvious distinction between whites and blacks in that time. African-Americans were thought to be less of people than the Cajuns, so for this lesser person, Tucker’s brother Silas, to beat the supposedly superior white man was unthinkable. Like Tucker said, â€Å"’†¦and b ecause he didn’t lose like a nigger is supposed to lose, they beat him’† (Gaines 97). In that situation a scared Tucker didn’t stand up for his brother, and they beat him to his death.Gaines uses this flashback to show the results of the old men being walked over by the Cajuns, and doing nothing about it. Gable also reminisces about his unfortunate past. He remembers the Cajuns sentencing his sixteen year old son to the electric chair, â€Å"on the word of a poor white trash† (Gaines 101). He remembers the indifference the Cajuns displayed in killing his son, watching his death, and leaving as though it was a â€Å"card game† (102). Through this flashback, Gaines shows again how the cruelty of the Cajuns didn’t spare any ages.He also shows how little the word of a black man counted over that of a white man or woman. When his son was being sent to electric chair, Gable couldn’t do anything but beg the Cajuns. Gaines then ties thi s back to the importance of the men standing up to their tormentors, hinting such events could possibly have been avoided if they had stood up to their oppressors. Finally, Gaines utilizes symbolism in his novel to express the theme. Throughout the novel, a constant symbol that repeatedly came up was the tractor.The tractor was what Beau Boutan was riding when he came after Charlie. The tractor was also what drove many of the African-Americans on the plantation out of work and away from their homes. Finally, the tractor was what the Cajun, Felix Boutan, rode when he was beat by Tucker’s brother, Silas, which led to Silas being beat to death. The tractor symbolizes one of the main tortures of the African-American community in Marshall. It drove them out of work, drove them out of their homes, and eventually led to their death, in the case of Charlie and Silas.Gaines added the tractor and all it symbolized to be another motivator to the old men to make a stand. Another symbol w as the shotguns that the old men had. The shotguns’ empty shells in the beginning symbolized the weakness and ineffectiveness the old men had at the start of the story. In letting themselves to be walked over, and offering no resistance, they were as useless as the shotguns with empty shells they held in their hands. However, as the story progressed, when it came time to fight, the men had fully loaded shells and were ready for war.This symbolizes the change they went through. From being old useless men with no impact, they were able to make a difference, and have an impact. By standing up for themselves, they displayed their power and pride, which eventually even affected Luke Will, who â€Å"looked worried, real worried† when he realized their conviction (Gaines 205). Concluding, with the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism, Ernest J. Gaines expressed the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself throughout the book.This theme was expressed through the characters Mathu, who always stood up for himself, Charlie, who learned to, and Candy and Mapes who were characters that were a motivator to the old men standing up for themselves. Gaines used the flashbacks to better portray the importance of the African-Americans in the area standing up for themselves, and he used symbolism to show one of the major torments of the people, and the change the old men went through. By standing up for themselves, the old men not only displayed their power and pride, but also seized hold of their future for themselves and their generations to come. A Gathering of Old Men: Importance of standing up for oneself â€Å"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today†. This quote by H. G. Wells is seen in the novel A Gathering of Old Men. The novel, taking place in the 1970s, was in a time in which African-Americans still suffered heavy discrimination. After years of taking this abuse, when an incident comes in which a white man lays dead at the hands of a black man, which would eventually call for a lynching, the discriminated unite. They show that despite their tortured past, they still possess their bravery, power, and pride.This dramatic novel by Ernest J. Gaines, A Gathering of Old Men, written in a critical tone employs the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism to express the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself. In the book, a character named Mathu is one who does not falter in up keeping his pride. From the very beginning, he never let anyone insult him because of his African-American heritage. He always stands up for himself, even facing a white man, and never faltered, even when he was sent to jail.Because of this attitude, Mathu was respected even by some white men like Mapes who â€Å"knowed Mathu had never backed down from anybody, either. Maybe that’s why he liked him† (Gaines 84). Mathu was like a strong rock, the attempts of others at making him submit were but pebbles against his overpowering pride and dignity. A character that Mathu attempted to instill some lessons on becoming a man was Charlie. Charlie, despite his mild character was a large man towering at 6feet 7inches and weighing 275 pounds.Beau Boutan, Charlie’s boss and some others often ridiculed him with names like â€Å"Big Charlie† and â€Å"nigger boy† because of his mild character (Gaines 187). Charlie however, after observing Mathu’s strong pride and refusal to let anyone step over that pride, eventually gained some courage to stand up for himself. After he killed Beau and ran away, he came back and was ready to atone for his deed. Gaines used this event in the novel to show that even though people might be insulted and beat down, they can still gain enough courage to stand up for themselves.When Charlie did stand up for himself, and became, in his eyes, a man, that eventually led to his death. Gaines’s killing off of Charlie after he started standing up for himself was alluding to the idea that when people make a stand, they must be careful not to overdo it, like Charlie did, or there might be unfavorable results. Another character of interest is Candy. Candy is the owner of the place in which all the men gather, and the organizer of the gathering. At first, Candy seems to be genuinely worried about the people in Marshall, saying â€Å"’No I won’t let them harm my people’†¦ ‘I will protect my people.’† (Gaines 19).However, as the story progresses Gaines shows that Candy’s motives may not have been as good-natured as firs tly suggested. It’s eventually revealed she does not care much for the other men gathered in Mathu’s yard, but only for Mathu himself. While she showed little emotion when the other men were called up to Mapes and hit, she was quick to react when Mathu was called. Gaines also showed Candy’s true nature in the event when Clatoo wanted to talk to the men inside Mathu’s house, without Candy.At this point, Candy threatened to have all the men who followed Clatoo kicked out of the Marshall place, their only home. Gaines portrayed Candy in this way to show in this time, the idea of oppressing people still existed in the minds of even those who seemed good-natured. Finally, Gaines creates a complex character out of Mapes. Mapes is a character who experiences a change during the story. When he first arrives at the site of Beau’s death, and the gathering of the old men, he acts with the same mindset of the Cajuns in that time.His first response to the scene is violence. He attempts to gain information from the old men by hitting them. Eventually, when he realizes violence will produce no results, he lets them tell their stories. The prominent change in Mapes is shown at the time Luke Will and his crew arrive with the intent of hanging Beau’s killer. Mapes attempts to protect Charlie and the rest of the men, saying â€Å"’Go home, Luke Will’† after Luke Will demanded he hands Charlie over to him (Gaines 195).When Luke Will ignored Mapes and started a shoot out between his crew and the old men, Mapes resigned control of the situation to the old men and Charlie. Gaines used this to show that the mindset of people can change for the better. In the instance that Mapes trusted the old men and Charlie with the situation, he recognized them not as people of a lesser racer, but respectable and trustable men, showing that old men’s attempt at standing for themselves was able to change a man.Gaines also employs the use of flashbacks in the novel. The main role the flashbacks play is to show the hardships and discrimination the African-Americans faced in that time. When Uncle Billy, one of the old men who gathered to finally stand up for himself after many years, was asked by Mapes the sheriff his reason for killing Beau, as all the old men claimed to have killed Beau, he recalled an event that happened years before. â€Å"’What they did to my boy’†¦ ‘The way they beat him.They beat him till they beat him crazy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Gaines 80). Gaines introduced this flashback to show the brutality suffered by the blacks at that time, and that it spared no one, not even a child. Another flashback was by Johnny Paul, who remembered back to a time when they had all lived as a community, till Beau and his tractor came to plow it all up. Johnny Paul was referring to this time when he confused Mapes by saying â€Å"’But you still don’t see. Yes, sir, wh at you see is the weeds, but you don’t see what we don’t see. ’† (Gaines 89).Johnny Paul was talking about how the weeds and rotting houses had replaced what was once a place of happiness, and brotherhood among the black families living there. Gaines uses this flashback to show what was taken from the African-Americans in the novel, to better explain their need to stand up for themselves. Tucker, one of the old men, goes into a flashback of his own. He remembers a time his brother and two mules, beat a white man and a tractor. The white man and his friends however said Tucker’s brother had cheated, and beat him with canes.Gaines adds this flashback to portray the obvious distinction between whites and blacks in that time. African-Americans were thought to be less of people than the Cajuns, so for this lesser person, Tucker’s brother Silas, to beat the supposedly superior white man was unthinkable. Like Tucker said, â€Å"’†¦and b ecause he didn’t lose like a nigger is supposed to lose, they beat him’† (Gaines 97). In that situation a scared Tucker didn’t stand up for his brother, and they beat him to his death.Gaines uses this flashback to show the results of the old men being walked over by the Cajuns, and doing nothing about it. Gable also reminisces about his unfortunate past. He remembers the Cajuns sentencing his sixteen year old son to the electric chair, â€Å"on the word of a poor white trash† (Gaines 101). He remembers the indifference the Cajuns displayed in killing his son, watching his death, and leaving as though it was a â€Å"card game† (102). Through this flashback, Gaines shows again how the cruelty of the Cajuns didn’t spare any ages.He also shows how little the word of a black man counted over that of a white man or woman. When his son was being sent to electric chair, Gable couldn’t do anything but beg the Cajuns. Gaines then ties thi s back to the importance of the men standing up to their tormentors, hinting such events could possibly have been avoided if they had stood up to their oppressors. Finally, Gaines utilizes symbolism in his novel to express the theme. Throughout the novel, a constant symbol that repeatedly came up was the tractor.The tractor was what Beau Boutan was riding when he came after Charlie. The tractor was also what drove many of the African-Americans on the plantation out of work and away from their homes. Finally, the tractor was what the Cajun, Felix Boutan, rode when he was beat by Tucker’s brother, Silas, which led to Silas being beat to death. The tractor symbolizes one of the main tortures of the African-American community in Marshall. It drove them out of work, drove them out of their homes, and eventually led to their death, in the case of Charlie and Silas.Gaines added the tractor and all it symbolized to be another motivator to the old men to make a stand. Another symbol w as the shotguns that the old men had. The shotguns’ empty shells in the beginning symbolized the weakness and ineffectiveness the old men had at the start of the story. In letting themselves to be walked over, and offering no resistance, they were as useless as the shotguns with empty shells they held in their hands. However, as the story progressed, when it came time to fight, the men had fully loaded shells and were ready for war.This symbolizes the change they went through. From being old useless men with no impact, they were able to make a difference, and have an impact. By standing up for themselves, they displayed their power and pride, which eventually even affected Luke Will, who â€Å"looked worried, real worried† when he realized their conviction (Gaines 205). Concluding, with the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism, Ernest J. Gaines expressed the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself throughout the book.This theme was expressed through the characters Mathu, who always stood up for himself, Charlie, who learned to, and Candy and Mapes who were characters that were a motivator to the old men standing up for themselves. Gaines used the flashbacks to better portray the importance of the African-Americans in the area standing up for themselves, and he used symbolism to show one of the major torments of the people, and the change the old men went through. By standing up for themselves, the old men not only displayed their power and pride, but also seized hold of their future for themselves and their generations to come.