Racial Discrimination - 1052 Words

Racism has been an international catastrophe for many centuries. With all of the advances in modern society and human behavior, racism is still a crisis that many people have to deal with. It can occur in any place or at any time, including in the workplace. Racial discrimination arises when someone is treated differently based on their actual or perceived race. Many people believe that if one were to be in the vicinity of a respected workplace that they would be respected by all co-workers and employers; this is in no way true. A big amount of minority employees are affected by racial discrimination in the workplace whether it’s from their employers or their fellow co-workers. Racial discrimination is something that is always going to†¦show more content†¦There are many instances where employers/employees are not even aware that they are discriminating against someone. Although they might not be aware of it, when employers hand out hiring tests and have hiring practi ces that single out people, that is considered racial discrimination as well. Racial discrimination in the workplace does not only occur between the employer and the employee, it could happen between employees and other fellow employees. There have been numerous instances where employees of color are treated with disrespect from other co-workers. They associate African-American co-workers with racial slurs and can be very rude to them as well. With all of these negative interactions occurring, there are still many instances where the problem is either dealt with poorly or not even dealt with at all; and that is something that needs to change. As I stated before, there are many problems associated with racial discrimination in the workplace that are left unattended. Those problems are associated with many solutions as well. For example, if a company starts up an anonymous racial discrimination complaint service, it would most likely make a lot of minorities feel a lot more comfortable in the workplace. Whenever a racial situation comes across in the workplace, employees can anonymously report the situation without being judged by fellow co-workers orShow MoreRelatedOvert Racial Discrimination and Institutional Racial Discrimination635 Words   |  3 PagesPrior to the 1960s, discrimination was viewed as a creature of prejudice (Feagin Feagin, 1988). What this means is that the problem of discrimination was viewed as one motivated primarily by individuals (or groups of individuals) on the basis of prejudice or hatred. Implicit in this prejudice-causes-discrimination-model (Feagin Feagin, p. XX) was the assumption that the solution to discrimination was one of simply eliminating prejudice. Thus, the elimination of prejudicial behavior wouldRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesRacial discrimination is one of many terms used to express the suppression of a race or many races, but more specifically, it refers to the ill-treatment a person or group receives as a result of differences in their ra ce, color, descent, national, ethnic origin or immigrant status. (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2016). Racial discrimination can be perpetrated by individuals within society, and corporate institutions such as schools, the work force and the government, all of which we have seenRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination1637 Words   |  7 Pagesreferencing the topic of racism and racial discrimination in today’s society, one of the biggest questions that still remain unanswered is as such: Why does racial discrimination still exist? What factors take place within the human mind that might cause feelings of hatred and bigotry? What can result from an individual using racially discriminating language? From times predating even the most notable case of as much, pre-Civil War United States American slavery, discrimination has existed in many differentRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Racial Profiling1524 Words   |  7 Pages In our society today, racial discrimination and inequality continues to be an issue. Regardless of the advancements we make in our society in terms of race, discrimination is something that can not simply be erased. The conflict with discrimination is evident when we look at the issue of racial profiling. Racial profiling refers to the treatment of an individual based on their race or ethnicity (Statistics of Racial Profiling 1). It is often a tool being used by law enforcement when deciding toRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination859 Words   |  4 Pageshundred percent accurate. A racial comment would be that African Americans are dangerous coming from the fact that there are more African American in prison that any other demographic. In today’s America, racism is practiced in every sort of way from subtle, aversive, to even â€Å"reverse† racism and, many more. the most common way to racially discriminate against a group is through visual processing, ho wever, what causes this to be the most common mean of discrimination, could it be that this is howRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Gender Discrimination962 Words   |  4 Pagesincreasingly being seen, especially on social media. It s a single word which people are using instead of the longer phrases disability discrimination or disability prejudice. Racial discrimination and gender discrimination have their own single words - racism and sexism - and so those ideas can be expressed a little more easily. Disability discrimination is often complicated and misunderstood. At one end of the scale, buildings with steps instead of ramps may be said to be ableist. Less obviousRead MoreRacial Oppression And Racial Discrimination997 Words   |  4 PagesHuman begins since the beginning of time have understood the concept of racial solidarity but yet decides to ignore it. Racial oppression is a direct consequence of a superior race. Racial oppression is the act of power that causes the sta te of being to feel heavily exploited. There are two types of racial oppression that are not commonly well known of, institutionalized and internalized. Institutionalized oppression is expressed when a group of people based on their race has a different chance ofRead MoreA Brief Note On Discrimination And Racial Discrimination1532 Words   |  7 PagesDiscrimination made its way to planet earth way before it could be documented. Racial discrimination happens all over the world both consciously and unconsciously, destroying lives every day. Racial discrimination can best be described as, when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. There are many forms of racial discrimination even if we don’t want to face it. Among the mostRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Its Effects On American Culture970 Words   |  4 PagesIf there is one thing I have noticed dur ing my, admittedly, short sixteen years, it is the racial discrimination and obvious bigotry of the those who are not white. Stereotypes and detrimental comments are slung every which way. Others, rely on subtle jabs while some are oblivious to the offense of the people they are around. It seems to me, that people do not seem to care. I have listened to countless conversations where people would nonchalantly insult their own culture and heritage as if theyRead MoreRacial Discrimination Essay2245 Words   |  9 Pages The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes, consequences and remedies of racial discrimination in the labor market. Understanding racial discrimination in the labor market is of critical importance because of the sever wage differentials between different races in the market. Most of the economic research on racial discrimination focuses on black and white males. Hence this paper will also be focusing on wage and employment differentials between black and white males. I will start by discussing

Benefits Of A Single Rent Check - 1498 Words

Giving Up Shacking Up Before Hitching Up Marriage used to be essential to a couple sharing a life together. Now, it is becoming increasingly common for couples to live together before marrying. Sharing a single rent check, shyness about making a life-long commitment, or just the popularity of cohabiting celebrity couples, such as Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, are all reasons moving in together before marriage is clearly more popular than ever. While generally viewed as the perfect opportunity for couples to ensure they are a good match before becoming â€Å"marriage-official,† cohabiting may actually increase relationship instability, negatively affects health, and even has negative impacts on children. The goal of cohabiting for most†¦show more content†¦Expectations at this point in a relationship often differ, and as Linda Waite reports, even if one partner expects the relationship to be permanent, the other often does not (2000). With differing expectations, la ck of communication understandably leads to misunderstandings and eventually arguments. The negative atmosphere fostered in a cohabitation relationship not only comes from lower levels of communication, but also confusion over roles in the relationship such as finances and household chores. Unlike a marriage relationship, cohabiting couples have no assurance that their partner will be around indefinitely. Because of this, these couples often carry out their tasks individually instead of dividing the work, resulting in two people getting in each other’s way and general disorder in the relationship. The instability and increased negative interaction caused by cohabitation both contribute to higher divorce rates among couples who cohabited before marrying. Macklin’s studies have shown that married couples who lived together before getting married disagree more often over finances, household duties, and even recreational activities. Not only this, but couples in this situa tion are typically less dependent on their spouses and a higher percentage of these couples seek marriage counseling than couples who did not live together before marriage (1978). The higher divorce rates among married couples who previously

Group Discussions Higher Learning Institutions

Question: Discuss about theGroup Discussionsfor Higher Learning Institutions.. Answer: Introduction Higher Learning institutions have a wide variety of methods that can be used to determine the level of productivity of each and every student. One of these ways is group discussions. As much as group discussion may have proven to be beneficial, time conscious and more resourceful in the past, modern students may have a contrasting opinion regarding the same (Burns, 2014 p. 34). Reasons such as the potential of reducing the students attitude and self-belief in great performances are just but a few of some of the quoted facts. This study provides further details. Major Body To begin with, it has been proved that one of the major challenges facing the student fraternity as far as group works are concerned is the fact that at one point in time, students may encounter negative experiences in their respective groups and this may end up affecting their future expectations and obligation of great performance. The worst feeling that could catch up with a student is the fact that he feels that he is the reason of his poor performance in school. In most cases, students hate failing but if they fail, they would rather have it blamed on someone else (Burns, 2014 p. 34). Second to note, there are particular topics and sub topics that even when discussed by students, do not outline the requirements and objectives of the learning course. In other words, students would prefer thematic discussions rather than open ended ones as this may end up sending them on a whole new wrong turn of achieving success. Additionally, there are specific topics in all the learning course s that have short and concise facts that when given the opportunity to discuss among students, will more likely achieve the same results that would have been achieved through personal works. (Burke, 2013 p.56). Reliable sources of information reveal the fact that no matter the direction of the group discussions, the value of the teacher is still as invaluable as it were in normal theoretical classes. In reality, this is a poor approach to tackling education studies in the sense that it is out to exhaust the capabilities of students without paying attention to their respective growth and development processes. Additionally, students feel that teachers may have taken a safer approach to this matter by making group work a unidirectional objective rather than a multi-dimensional idea. Diversification of learning objectives would do a great justice here (Burke, 2013 p.56). In addition to the above, fourth to note is the fact that instructors have by far been attempting to rub into the mentality of students that group discussions are good for their growth and development in academic studies yet no one in particular has been able to say how. The fact that teachers are patronizing students gives th em the impression that instructors are all about satisfying their course objectives without considering the level of comprehension of different concepts (Hillyard, 2010 p. 38). It is only reasonable that if the instructors so much insist that group discussions are beneficial, they should simply share the knowledge with students. Away from the positive impacts of group discussions, it comes out clear that students may end up resenting group works due to unequal distribution of workloads among different groups (Kurtz, 2013 p. 34). In higher learning institutions, students that are bright enough end up getting in the company of each other while the slow learners are left to scramble and scratch for group mates. Instructors may decide to assign the bright students complex or task that may take longer to complete and assign the simple tasks to the slow learners. In a whole new perspective, a particular portion of students have the opinion that group discussions have a positive impact in easing the understanding of some of the complex topics of a particular course. Through sharing of information from the teachers to the students, it becomes obvious that chances of exchanging a wide collection of reliable concepts shoot a long way above the expected rate. Renowned sociologist and professor of Harvard University Dan iel Goleman has the opinion that learning is supposed to be dimensional process where the teacher as well as learners are open to taking ideas from each other so as to improve mastering of basic courses concepts. Back to the idea of attitude and positive progressive learning, research has proved that for a student to excel in his studies, he is obliged to establish the right type of mindset during all learning sessions as this will increase his chances of mastering the concepts ideally. In cases where the students have no idea what the learning objectives might be, the capability of fostering a great positive mindset goes lower. To be able to secure a constant positive mentality, it takes the power of the personal belief of the student to trust that there is more to success other than just the success of studies. During group discussions, other lazy students would like to leave all the researching activities to hardworking students. In the long run, the group ends up being dysfunctional owing to the fact that there are specific stakeholders that are not contended with the services that the lazy and ghost participants of the organization might be offering (Olson, 2015 p. 34). In such a case, i t is without doubt that the quality of the outcome that the group will present by the end of the discussion session would be totally sub-standard. This would be a negative way to end the learning period. As far as the management of the assigned work goes, at isolated occasions the instructor might be out of the picture either legitimately or for whichever reason but the bottom line still remains that in his absence, the student leader or representative will be forced to complete from wherever he stopped. In relation to this, other students think that the class representative may be working hand in hand with the instructor so that he can receive extra points especially in most difficult courses (Watkins, 2015 p. 54). Moreover, it is only fair to establish a fair and level learning ground to all students regardless of the differences in between. Conclusion In conclusion, to this point of the study, it has successfully been established that group discussions have both demerits and benefits depending with the perspective of the researcher. For instance, in an instructors point of view, he only sees that he is encouraging the learners to embrace other new methods of learning. On the other end, student feel like group discussions are a safe way that lecturers use to avoid the concepts of complex topics of the various courses of each learning session. To sum it all up, the objectives of group discussions need to be revisited. Bibliography Burke, W. (2015). Organization Development. UK: FT Press Hillyard, C. (2010). University Students attitudes about learning in small groups after participation. New York: Active Learning Publishers. Kurtz, S. (2013). Learning Communication skills in Medicine. New York: AMACOM Olson, M. (2015). An Introduction to Theories of Learning. New York: Psychology Press Watkins, K. (2015). Informal and Incidental Learning at the workplace. Routledge: Routledge Publishers.

Judy Bradys I Want a Wife Essay Essay Example

Judy Bradys I Want a Wife Essay Essay In Judy Brady’s â€Å"I Want a Wife† she talks about the undertakings of a coveted married woman. There are certain things and responsibilities required for a homemaker to make. Brady describes all the helpful things done for a hubby and kids without even recognizing all the duty and what she is making. No 1 of all time acknowledges that things done by a married woman can be done by person who was non a married woman. but alternatively a adult male. Judy realizes she supports her hubby so he can travel back to school. She keeps the house clean. She has to be sensitive to the demands of a adult male in general. There have been many surveies about gender functions in a matrimony. We will write a custom essay sample on Judy Bradys I Want a Wife Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Judy Bradys I Want a Wife Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Judy Bradys I Want a Wife Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The married woman seems to make a batch. Women feel sometimes they do excessively much. Married twosomes should be able to work together. Sometime when the married woman does everything it puts a restraint on the matrimony. A matrimony non merely needs to last. but thrive. In a matrimony a hubby and married woman should be able portion the same functions as needed. Society has a sensed impression of this. Everything today in a matrimony should be able to be shifted back and Forth as needed. This is all grounds that a matrimony should be between two people who are willing to portion all household duties. It is a married couple’s duty to take control of any major jobs they may hold prior to marriage if possible. Research has shown that when work forces change functions in the household. there are many challenges for them. There seems to be many issues and jobs when the adult male in the household shows the male parent engagement Fineman ( 17 ) . For many old ages society did non cognize much about the changing of gender functions in a household. The hubby should be able to make anything when needed. Statisticss show that the effects of a fathers’ engagement with their kids can sometimes do angry reactions Kefalas ( 845 ) . This can take to disassociate at times. Based on the grounds that bridal struggle adversely influences physiology and wellness. negative impact does impact the hubby besides. The stronger impact of relationship negativeness contributes to the reduced matrimony benefit for work forces besides. Evidence bearing on two accounts for this differential impact of struggle is reviewed. The relational-interdependence position. proposed by Kiecolt-Glaser and Newton ( 473 ) . holds that work forces can be affected by matrimonial struggle because of their more independent self-representations. Work forces do see physiological and psychological responsiveness to marital strife at times. but typically they do busy the more powerful places relative to their married womans. Monin ( 5-6 ) . Research workers have said that gender functions are interesting. In the past. clear gender functions for hubby and married woman had been understood within the context of the matrimony. Today there are fewer clearly defined theoretical accounts for modern-day matrimony gender functions and how these functions ought to be lived out. It must be admitted that in some instances. a deficiency of clear gender functions weakens the matrimony. However. when a hubby and a married woman have the freedom to convey to a matrimony his or her whole ego. and non merely populate a traditional gender function. the American matrimony has been strengthened by feminist theory. It was said old ages ago there is one sort of matrimony that has non been tried and that is a contract made by equal parties to take an equal life. with equal restraints and privileges on either side. â€Å"Treckel says. so far we have had work forces matrimony and nil more† . Treckel ( 1995 ) . Change is non easy. but alteration is go oning. Through instruction. hopefully more people will see the benefits offered to modern-day matrimony by these alterations. A existent common concern among research workers is that work forces allow the married woman take attention of everything. Society has heard gags about â€Å"who wears the bloomerss in the household. † Yet. leading in the place is no riant affair. During the last few decennaries our civilization has redefined the significance and duties of adult male and adult female in society and in the place Martin ( 421 ) . Many work forces are confused and insecure. Many do non cognize how to move in the place. Turning up. they lacked a good theoretical account for leading at place and have no mental image of what it means to take a household. Consequently. they do non take efficaciously. or they do non even seek. Increasingly. many work forces are going passive in the place. They have decided that the easiest thing to make is nil. The simplest thing-with the smallest risk-is to remain on the fencing with both pess steadfastly planted in mid-air and allow the married woman do it. When a adult male is married to a strong married woman who will take over. he frequently lets her bash merely that Nock ( 2 ) . By supplying these surveies there is still a job today in society that work forces themselves think the married woman in a matrimony should take control. They figure they work so the married woman can keep down the garrison. Mentally there is no existent scientific grounds that states why a adult male feels this manner in his head. If there are traveling to be responsible parties in a matrimony it should be both. It takes two to run a family and makes things run swimmingly Christian ( 34 ) . Research workers said by speaking to people. adult females would non accomplish equal chances at work until their work forces folk contributed more to looking after the place. Gender inequalities in all countries are rooted in societal constructions. They are besides in 1s attitude. It is hard to see how adult females will of all time hold the same chances in the labour market if equality at place is non achieved Yu ( 651-668 ) . In a big group of work forces and adult females were asked about mundane jobs. such as the wash. cleansing. cooking nutrient. shopping. looking after ill relations and transporting out fixs. But work forces merely made a important part by repairing defective points around the house. At least two-thirds of adult females said it was normally them who carried out the other undertakings. lifting to eighty five per centum for making the wash. More than half of work forces and even more adult females. seven out of 10. agreed that work forces should draw their weight more. Similar proportions besides believed that work forces should besides be more involved in looking after kids. About three in four grownups said it was right for both work forces and adult females to work to convey in money. Kalmijn ( 26 ) . But merely eight per centum believed that female parents of the under-fives should be in full-time occupations. About half thought that pre-school childs were likely to lose out if their female parents worked and that household life suffered when adult females had full-time occupations. This month. it emerged that female parents who stay at place to look after kids under five were in the minority for the first clip Yapp ( 56 ) . By reading the surveies about matrimony and work forces drawing their weight. twosomes must be able to trust on each other to turn to undertakings and duties. Many twosomes early on enter the matrimony with the belief that the other will automatically cognize what is expected. The Trouble is. both likely clasp different sentiments as to the outlooks of the other. It is hard for twosomes to draw their weight when they do non cognize what the other individual may be believing. This is like get downing a new occupation without cognizing anything about the occupation. It does non count who cleans around the house. how fundss are handled. or how the food markets are obtained. discourse what is to be expected in the beginning. In decision Judy Brady’s â€Å"I Want a Wife† told a narrative of a coveted married woman. The coveted married woman in her narrative seemed to be the caput of the house. This was unfortunate due to her hubby. In Brady’s oculus a hubby should be the caput of the family. Most adult females in a matrimony merely want things to be shared every bit. All Brady is stating is that work forces need to make their portion. In life every twenty-four hours we experience gender issues. This is experienced from place to work. This gender has become a label. Womans and work forces experience gender side effects every twenty-four hours. Gender relates to society. Expectations in a matrimony demand to be between two married people and non one sided.

The Sandbox Essays - Edward Albee, Theatre Of The Absurd

The Sandbox Canndice Green English 102 November 29, 1999 In reading Edward Albee's The Sandbox directly out of the text, it seemed to be a trite and dull play. I was left with feeling after I read the play in the book, that if anything this boring could get published so could I some time in the future. Yet, to see it performed live by my fellow classmates, it revealed much of the dynamics of that family. In being able to see it performed among my classmates; my actual opinion of the play did modify. I was able to be more open and understanding to the message and the actual motivation of the play. My original opinion of this play was that if was of a family that was too busy to care about the needs of the elderly grandmother. It had managed to rap itself so tightly in the daily bind not to care about any actual member of the family that could be sick or aging. A family that had established itself to a point that having to contend with the grandmother throws the entire situation off. In seeing the play performed live I grew to understand that my original assumption was precise yet, there was more going on than I read. It is a family that is dealing with having to cope with an elderly parent. The roles of parenting have changed the child has now become the parent. It about a family has to cope and re-adjust their lives to manage the new person. Also a problem with dealing with the elderly is dealing with the fact that they are closer to death. The realities that the Mom would be losing her own mother soon, which leaves some harsh feelings. Death is an actual theme that I could tell throughout the play. The play confronts being alive and how to behave with the awareness of death. It calls the reader and the people who will view the play live, not to live in fear of death that it is such a natural next step of life. It is has some streaks of optimism, because the play makes the assumption that it is possible to communicate with other people. That in the end the natural element that makes life a workable situation is to be able to talk to each other. The play is a good example of a family dealing with change and transition. It is a family that is adjusting to the change of a loved one. The play allows the reader from dark humored perspective understand the pain an anger of old aged. It would be the definition of the song the Little of Lady from Pasadena how as we get older we do slow down but grow. I found the play to be a good look at the current trends in society. That this society has a problem with how to treat the elderly, how to respect the wealth of knowledge that they have. This society has a function to serve the young and when the elderly hit a certain point they have used the potential and a discarded. The play reflects modern trends on the elderly and the perspective of how they are dealt with. Physics

Nannie Doss, Serial Killer Profile and Biography

Nannie Doss, Serial Killer Profile and Biography Nannie Doss was a serial killer who earned the monikers The Giggling Nanny,† The Giggling Granny, and The Jolly Black Widow after going on a killing spree that began in the 1920s and ended in 1954. Doss was easy to entertain. Her favorite pastimes included reading romance novels and poisoning members of her family to death. Childhood Years Nannie Doss was born Nancy Hazle on Nov. 4, 1905, in Blue Mountain, Alabama, to James and Lou Hazle. Much of Doss childhood was spent avoiding the wrath of her father who ruled the family with an abusive iron fist. If they were needed to work on the farm, James Hazle gave little thought to pulling the children out of school. With education being a low priority in the Hazle family, there were no objections when Nannie decided to leave school for good after completing the sixth grade. Head Injury When Nannie was 7 years old, she was on a train that suddenly stopped, causing her to fall forward and hit her head. After the incident, she suffered for years with migraine headaches, blackouts, and depression. Teenage Years From early on James Hazle refused to allow his daughters to do anything to enhance their appearance. Pretty dresses and makeup were not allowed nor were friendships with boys. It was not until Doss got her first job in 1921 that she had any real social interaction with the opposite sex. At the age of 16, instead of attending school and worrying about prom night, Doss was working in a linen factory and spending her spare time with her head buried in her favorite pastime, reading romance magazines, especially the lonely hearts club section. The One Who Got Away: Charley Braggs While working at the factory Doss met Charley Braggs who worked at the same factory and took care of his unmarried mother. The two began dating and within five months they were married and Doss moved in with Braggs and his mother. If what she hoped by marrying was to escape the oppressive environment she grew up in, she must have been disappointed. Her mother-in-law turned out to be extremely controlling and manipulative. Motherhood The Braggs had their first child in 1923 and three more followed over the next three years. Doss life had become a prison of raising children, taking care of her demanding mother-in-law, and putting up with Charley who was an abusive, adulterous drunk. To cope, she began drinking at night and managed to get out to local bars for her own adulterous fun. Their marriage was doomed. The Death of Two Children and a Mother-In-Law In 1927, soon after the birth of their fourth child, the Braggs two middle children died by what doctors labeled as food poisoning. Suspecting that Doss had poisoned the children, Braggs took off with the oldest child, Melvina, but oddly enough left the newborn, Florine, and his mother behind. Not long after he left his mother died. Doss remained in the Bragg home until a year later when her husband returned with Melvina and his new girlfriend. The two divorced and Doss left with her two daughters and moved back to her parents home. Charley Braggs ended up being the only husband that Nannie did not poison to death. Husband #2 - Frank Harrelson Alone again, Doss returned to her childhood passions  of reading romance magazines and the lonely hearts column, only this time she began corresponding with some of the men who advertised there. It was through the classified column that she met her second husband, Robert Harrelson. Doss, 24, and Harrelson, 23, met and married and the couple, along with Melvina and Florine, lived together in Jacksonville. Once again Doss would find out that she had not married a man with the character of her romance novel men. Quite the opposite. Harrelson turned out to be a drunk and in debt. His favorite pastime was to get into bar fights. But somehow the marriage lasted until Harrelsons death, 16 years later. Doss Becomes a Grandmother, But Not for Long In 1943, Doss oldest daughter, Melvina, had her first child, a son named Robert and then another in 1945. But the second child, a healthy girl, died soon after being born for unexplained reasons. Later Melvina recalled, while she was in and out of consciousness after her difficult delivery, seeing her mother stick a hatpin into the head of the infant, but no proof of the incident was ever found. On July 7, 1945, Doss was taking care of Melvinas son Robert, after she and her daughter had a fight over Doss disapproval of Melvinas new boyfriend. That night, while in Doss care, Robert died of what doctors said was asphyxia from unknown causes. Within a few months, Doss collected $500 on an insurance policy she had taken out  on  the boy. Frank Harrelson Dies On September 15, 1945, Frank Harrelson became ill and died. Doss would later tell the story of Frank coming home drunk and raping her. The next day, acting on revenge, she poured rat poison into his corn whiskey jar, then watched as Harrelson died a painful and miserable death. Husband #3 - Arlie Lanning Figuring it had worked once to snag a husband, Doss returned to the classified ads to find her next true love. It worked and within two days of meeting each other, Doss and Arlie Lanning were married. Just like her late husband, Lanning was an alcoholic, but not a violent one. This time it was Doss who would take off for weeks and sometimes months at a time. In 1950, after two and a half years of marriage, Lanning became ill and died. At the time it was believed that he died of a heart attack brought on by the flu that was going around. He showed all the symptoms - fever, vomiting, stomach pains. With his history of drinking, doctors believed his body simply succumbed to it and an autopsy was not performed. Lannings house was left to his sister and within two months the house burned down before the sister had taken ownership. Doss moved in temporarily with her mother-in-law, but when she received an insurance check to cover the damages of the burned house, she took off. Doss wanted to be with her sister, Dovie, who was dying of cancer. Just before she was set to move to her sisters home, her mother-in-law died in her sleep. Not surprisingly, Dovie soon died too, while in Doss care. Husband #4 - Richard L. Morton This time Doss decided that, instead of limiting her search for a husband through the classified ads, she would try joining a singles club. She joined the Diamond Circle Club which is where she met her fourth husband, Richard L. Morton of Emporia, Kansas. The two married in October 1952 and made their home in Kansas. Unlike her previous husbands, Morton was not an alcoholic, but he did turn out to be adulterous. When Doss learned that her new husband was seeing his old girlfriend on the side, he didnt have long to live. Besides, she already had her sights on a new man from Kansas named Samuel Doss. But before she could take care of Richard, her father died and her mother Louisa came for a visit. Within days her mother was dead after complaining of severe stomach cramps. Husband Morton succumbed to the same fate three months later. Husband #5 - Samuel Doss After the death of Morton, Nannie moved to Oklahoma and soon became Mrs. Samuel Doss. Sam Doss was a Nazarene minister who was dealing with the death of his wife and nine of his children who were killed by a tornado that had engulfed Madison County, Arkansas. Doss was a good and decent man, unlike other men that had been in Nannies life. He was not a drunk, womanizer or a wife abuser. He was instead a decent church-going man who fell head over heels for Nannie. Unfortunately Samuel Doss had one major flaw that would be his demise. He was painfully frugal and boring. He led a regimented life and expected the same of his new bride. No romance novels or love stories on television were permitted and bedtime was at 9:30 p.m. every night. He also kept tight control over the money and gave very little to his new wife. This did not sit right with Nannie, so she returned to Alabama, but soon came back after Samuel agreed to sign her to his checking account. With the couple reunited and Doss having access to the money, she acted the role of the caring doting wife. She convinced Samuel to take out two life insurance policies, leaving her as the only benefactor. Almost before the ink dried, Samuel was in the hospital complaining of stomach problems. He managed to survive almost two weeks and recovered enough to return home. On his first night home from the hospital, Doss served him a nice home cooked meal and hours later Samuel was dead. Samuel Doss doctors were alarmed at his sudden passing and ordered an autopsy. It turned out his organs were full of arsenic and all fingers were pointing at Nannie Doss as the culprit. Police brought Doss in for questioning and she confessed to killing four of her husbands, her mother, her sister Dovie, her grandson Robert and Arlie Lannings mother. 15 Minutes of Fame Despite being a horrific murderer, Doss seemed to enjoy the limelight of her arrest and often joked about her dead husbands and the method she used to kill them, such as the sweet potato pie that she laced with arsenic. Those in the courtroom passing judgment on her failed to see the humor. On May 17, 1955, Doss, who was 50 years old, confessed to murdering Samuel and in return, she was given a life sentence. In 1963, after spending eight years in prison, she died of leukemia in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Prosecutors never pursued charging Doss for any additional murders. Most believe, however, that Nannie Doss might have killed up to 11 people.

Politics of development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Politics of development - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of population growth on development, and to show that overpopulation is closely linked to gender politics. Thomas Malthus, a British demographer and political economist, developed a theory of overpopulation warning humanity of the dangers of swelling numbers. In his work, An Essay on the Principle of Population (1999), Malthus argued about the negative effects of population growth. He claimed that the multiplication of humanity over time would lead to disease and famine by making natural resources scarcer, and provisions and remedies more costly. Malthus argued that because of the relative growth of different classes within society (primarily English society) and an increase in poverty, the moral order of society would be tested. Malthus used two overlapping axioms to explain his ideas. He argued that it was easier for populations to grow than for natural resources to support this growth; population, for Malthus, increased in a geometric progression, while resources increased in an arithmetic progression. However, he maintained, there is a strong tendency in society towards population growth. This tendency upsets the balance between the number of people and the amount of food available to feed them. This situation worsens poverty and increased the worries of the poor. As a result development is hindered. The Malthusian model explains, just by simple supply and demand logic, that when population increases, the labor market becomes more competitive. This drives wages down. As the proportion of food per person decreases, the price of food also increases. Therefore, overpopulation hurts both poverty alleviation and overall development of society. There were two solutions to this problem according to Malthus: positive checks and preventive checks. Positive checks were natural and historical speed breakers to population growth and came in the form of war, global pandemics, and famines. These checks had

Innovation and Enterpreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Innovation and Enterpreneurship - Essay Example They are also the advantages that a business gains in having an entrepreneur who has the ability to run the business effectively. They include; business growth, competition, company success, among others which are all roles that innovation and entrepreneurship play in a business. The work has also identified barriers that affect the implementation of innovations in a business. These include lack of enough funding, fear of risk taking, and lack of proper and adequate measures. These are the factors that hinder growth of a business. The work also focuses on factors that facilitate or negatively affect entrepreneurial management towards innovation outcomes. These are the factors that help the business to get to the outcomes of the innovations. It also gives a case study on Architas Company and later gives recommendations on possible methods of fighting the challenges faced by organizations towards innovation achievement. Introduction The rising harsh economic conditions have led to a hi gh competition in the business industry. All those people who have ventured in to the business industry are looking possible means to do away with the rise in competition, in the market. Several businesses providing same services to customers exist in today’s market, and it is only the strategically placed and stable businesses that will stand a chance to succeed in the market. Their success will depend on the innovative measures the business takes to beat the competition and the high demand for services provided to the customers. It is these measures that will enable the business to provide services that are rare to other business owners. The work that follows, presents the roles and values of innovation and entrepreneurship in a business, barriers to effective innovations and entrepreneurship, and possible solutions to the problems. Background information Innovation is the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service to create value or cause customers to pay for it (Dodgson and David, 2010). Any idea invented by a business for satisfaction of customer’s need must satisfy the customer for it to become innovative. Innovation involves a number of activities; imagination of a viable idea that will extract value from the resources, application of possible information, and the process of converting the ideas into useful products. Innovation becomes useful when the company applies the ideas to meet the needs and demands of the customer (Dodgson and David, 2010). It is the ideas successfully applied in organizational outcomes and processes. Entrepreneurship is the process of recognizing and seizing opportunities, converting them into workable or marketable ideas by adding value to them through time, money effort or skills. It is assuming the risks in the implementation of these ideas and the realization of the benefits from these efforts to beat the high competition in the market (Kuratko, 2009: 4). Entrepreneurship is the process of creating increment of wealth through innovative practices and ideas that aim at meeting the demands of the customer in the market. It is the process that leads to the provision of better services and goods according to the line which the business ventures (Kuratko, 2009: 5). Entrepreneurship is an ideological process of change, creation, and vision, which requires application of passion and energy in the creation of ideas and solutions. Roles of innovation and entrepreneurship in the economy Innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand, in any business. The viability of a business in implementing its innovative ideas depends on its entrepreneurial ability, that is, whether it has the best human and material resource needed for meeting the goal. Entrepreneurship and innovation play an

Comment Paper on Death of a Salesman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comment Paper on Death of a Salesman - Essay Example Miller’s own early life was eerily similar to that of what the reader is made aware of Willy Loman’s life. For instance, Miller grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood in New York City; the son of Polish Jewish immigrants. Miller’s own father was a successful businessman in a textile mill; which eventually employed 400 individuals. This successful lifestyle enabled the family to enjoy the luxuries of having a new car at a time when cars were still a novelty, attending private schools, and enjoying the occasional vacation. However, the good times would not last as the crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression shattered the family’s bliss. Miller’s father, out of work and out of options sold their home and moved to Gravesend, New York. It was during this time that young Arthur Miller was forced to take a bread route ever morning before school; delivering bread via his bicycle as a means to keep the family afloat. Although it is easy to say that such an experience doubtless had an effect on how Arthur Miller viewed the plight of the average man, this author would go a step further and claim that the hard times and difficult experiences that young Arthur Miller endured during the great depression and his family’s subsequent fall from wealth are autobiographically sketched in his play â€Å"Death of a Salesman†. If one adopts this autobiographical approach to â€Å"Death of a Salesman†, many of the intrinsic lessons and interplay that exists between the family members and Willy Loman help to show the fleeting nature of success and the cold, cruel reality of pervasive failure that crushes the spirit of the entire family. As a means of showing this dichotomy, Willy Loman states, â€Å"Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it† (Miller 15). Rather than simply relating to the reader how difficult success is to achieve, Miller works to add a nuanced level of understanding which shows that even if success is achieved – what merit does it have in and of itself? The fleeting nature of success as defined by Loman in the above passage profoundly reflects the eventualities that effected Arthur Miller’s own young life with respect to the brief success enjoyed and then snatched away by the Great Depression. Further, strong elements of the Depression Era mentality peak through at various points of Arthur Miller’s play. When speaking with his wife Linda, Willy blurts out, â€Å"Once in my life I’d like to own something that isn’t broken already† (Miller 73). The rage and frustration at being perennially stuck with second best, having to live on the fringes of society, living with inferior products as a result of being poor is seen as a central theme throughout the play. More than merely representing poverty and hardship as the life of a salesman, this form of life alteration to deal wit h the gnawing pangs of poverty shows an author who is all too familiar with such an eventuality. Further, due to the aforementioned fact that Miller himself had to take a bread right prior to school every morning shows the extent to which the author had to sacrifice of himself as a means of helping to keep his own family sheltered, clothed, fed, and warm during a similarly trying time. However, more than being allegorical of the plight of the poor, the author

Role Of Music In Sonnys Blues

Role Of Music In Sonnys Blues The story Sonnys Blues is written by James Baldwin in 1846 and raises the problem of the misconception between two brothers. Their conflict grounded on the problem of racial discrimination in the African-American society. Influenced by the oppression, both bothers developed different views on life, which served as a problem for their common understanding. The narrator has adjusted to the white society still feeling the pressure, but not willing to change it. On the contrary to his brother, Sonny tries to find the way out and to state himself a worthy person of approval and respect. Sonny tries to avoid his pain and sufferings with the immersion into Jazz music, resided to his race. Describing Sonnys lifeline from his brothers perspective, depicting a fair representation of Sonnys relationship with music, and evaluating the authors method for creating a specific frame of mind in readers, it will be possible to create a holistic picture of Sonnys struggle on the way to salvation. The knowledge of Sonnys life comes only through the narrator. The only one evident point in Sonnys character is his hope that he can become a musician. His close minded brother, who seems to be the strict father for Sonny, rather than his supporting brother, expresses his disapproval of Sonnys wish. Suffer the consequences of his criticism Sonny agrees to live with Isabels family, only because they have a piano at home. Even though everybody admits that Sonny was at that piano playing for his life (p.101), nobody really hears and understands him. When he realizes that his efforts to create something from his music failed and he could not meet the expectations of the family, sadness devours him and he runs away. Later in the story, the brother narrates that Sonny starts to use drugs. Next, police arrests him for it and send to prison. Sonny kicks his drug habit and returns to live with his brother. After so many years and events influenced his life, he still continues to develop himse lf as a musician. As a matter of a fact, music plays a very significant role throughout the whole story written by James Baldwin. Basically, it is possible to notice how Sonny is dedicated to music and to jazz in particular. Additionally, the role of music is irreplaceable in defining and describing the major characters, as well as the culture of Harlem as a whole. Seeing Sonnys eternal eagerness to music, it is reasonable to assume that music is the only drug for Sonny, his only way of expressing his hopes and dulling his pain, incomparable even to his drug addiction. Sonnys devotion to Jazz is even able to change the upstanding mind of his brother by the end of the story. Comparing to his brother, who is afraid of the disorder and cannot face pain and uncertainty of the way Sonny lives, Sonny has a radically different perception of the world. Due to Sonnys artistic nature, tenacity and willing to struggle, his brother finally begins to understand not only the value of jazz and blues music, but also himself and his relationship with Sonny. In the club he starts to appreciate Sonny in a way he never did, as a real musician (p.107). Rather than trying to make Sonny fit into his world, he is now in Sonnys world. Or, rather: his kingdom. Here it was not even a question that his veins bore royal blood (p.107). The name of the story is Sonnys Blues, which contradicts with the genre of music, which Sonny is dedicated to. Sonny finds his strengths and motivation in jazz music. Basically, this music genre is based on informal order and format, which gives the musicians a lot of space for genuine expression of their souls. On the other hand, the actual name of the story seems to reflect Sonnys story of life. As a fact, blues is a music genre, which mostly expresses melancholic feelings, as well as it is infused with deep sadness and tragedy. Consequently, by naming the story Sonnys Blues the author defines Sonnys life with a genre, which is full of grief and sorrow, disappointments and frustration. The method which the author uses to frame the flow of the story is very representative, and leads the readers to a specific atmosphere and directs them towards a specific frame of mind. Creating a complete representation of Sonnys struggle on the way to salvation, it was essential to unfold the major aspects of Sonnys story and to describe his relationships with music and its meaning in Sonnys life. Additionally, by analyzing the name of the story it was possible to assemble the right atmosphere the author was trying to create for the readers. Thus, the author has chosen music, for it is communal function to tell the stories of a community of people. Music evokes feelings in performers and in listeners, helping them to cure from the failure in their lives or to at least feel comfortable in the company of others who are similarly afflicted.

Data Analysis

To analyze the time series data, a statistical software (STATA) was used. In time series data analysis important required condition is stationarity of the data set. To test whether the time series is stationary or not, the two tests are used; the ADF (Augmented Dickey Fuller) test and Zivot and Andrews test for unit root. Both of these tests have same null hypothesis that the series is non-stationary (unit root process). For ADF unit root test we need lag length for the given time series variables. The lag length is selected by using information criteria (HQIC, AIC, SBIC) mentioned in section [2.2]. We performed the unit root tests with both trend and constant. It is important because the graphs of the time series variables gives an indication, whether we will include the trend term in the model or not. We can check the t value as well for inclusion of trend term in the model. The graph of immigration, unemployment and inflation shows that these series have time trend, but GDP growth rate series has no trend. The Table 4 summarizes the results of ADF test at levels. The given table consists of test statistics value and p-value. In case of variable GROWTH, the hypothesis was rejected and we can say that GDP growth rate is stationary at levels. The remaining variables IMMIG, UNEMP and INF are non-stationary at levels. All these three variables are non-stationary, when ADF test is performed with trend and intercept in the model. Table 4: Augmented Dickey-Fuller Test for Unit Root at levelsVariables With intercept With trend and intercept Test statistics Z(t) P-value Test statistics P-valueIMMIG -0.838 0.8077 -2.825 0.1881UNEMP -1.398 0.5833 -2.503 0.3265GROWTH -5.671 0.0000 -5.587 0.0000INF -1.313 0.6231 -3.163 0.1032Since the series (IMMIG, UNEMP and INF) are not-stationary at levels, we take first difference for these three series. After taking the first differenced for IMMIG, UNEMP and INF series, the ADF test are then performed, as shown in table 5. Now these three variables are stationary at the first difference and they are said to be integrated of first order. Table 5: Augmented Dickey-Fuller Test for Unit Root at first differenceVariables With intercept With trend and intercept Test statistics Z(t) P-value Test statistics P-valueIMMIG -6.516 0.0000 -6.520 0.0000UNEMP -4.582 0.0001 -4.523 0.0014INF -7.967 0.0000 -7.891 0.0000 The results obtained from Zivot and Andrews test of unit are shown table 6. GDP growth rate has same results like in previous tests which is stationary at level with constant and trend and without trend. Unemployment rate and immigration are non-stationary series with or without trend. The inflation rate is stationary without trend but non-stationary when including trend term in the model. Zivot and Andrews test was reformed after taking first difference of the three non-stationary time series. The unemployment, immigration and inflation rate have a strong evidence to reject the null hypothesis of unit root at first difference.Table 6. Zivot and Andrew unit root test for structural break (at levels)Variables With intercept With trend and intercept Test statistics Z(t) Break Year Test statistics Z(t) Break YearIMMIG -4.167 2006 -3.698 2002UNEMP -5.313 1992 -3.841 1997GROWTH -6.001*** 1994 -5.180*** 2005INF -5.025** 1992 -3.830 1977Note: significant at 10% level, **significant at 5% level, *** significant at 1% level Table 7. Zivot and Andrew unit root test for structural break (at first difference)Variables With intercept With trend and intercept Test statistics Z(t) Test statistics Z(t)D. IMMIG -7.032*** -6.413***D.UNEMP -5.600*** -4.632**D.INF -7.092*** -6.896*** Note: *significant at 10% level, **significant at 5% level, *** significant at 1% level The empirical results of vector autoregressive model are investigated in the form of Granger causality test and Impulse response function. In this thesis, the time series variables used on levels to perform VAR model, because GDP growth rate is stationary on level and the remaining three variables (IMMIG, UNEMP and INF) are stationary at first difference. As mentioned in section [2.1], various studies have indicated that vector auto regressive model can be estimated on levels of variables.The information criterion is used to select the lag length for a vector autoregressive model with four time series variables. The three information criterion (HQIC, AIC, SBIC) gives same lag length, which is two. But we preferred SBIC for selecting the lag length. After computing the results of vector autoregressive model, there is need to test for autocorrelation of residuals and stability of the model. The LM Test for Residual Autocorrelation is used to test for autocorrelation. The results of the test shows that there is no evidence of autocorrelation found between the residuals. The resulting VAR model gives all eigenvalues less than one and these eigenvalues lies inside the unit circle shown in appendix [A4], which confirms that estimated VAR model is stable.The Granger causality test is performed by using the results of VAR model. Table 8 shows the results of Granger-causality. The null and alternative hypotheses is used for immigration variable are H_0: Immigration does not Granger cause unemployment rateH_1: Immigration granger causes the unemployment rate H_0: Immigration does not granger cause GDP growth rate H_1: Immigration granger causes the GDP growth rate ? H?_0: Immigration does not Granger cause inflation rate H_1: Immigration granger causes the inflation rateIn first column of table 8 the null hypothesis is shown and degree of freedom is in 2nd column. The next two columns give test statistics value and p-value. We set the level of significance to be at 5%. The degree of freedom for all pairs is used 2, because the estimated VAR model has lag length 2. The results obtained from granger causality test for first null hypothesis have p-value 0.194, which is a clear evidence that we cannot reject null hypothesis. It showed that immigration does not granger cause unemployment rate. For hypothesis about effect of immigration on GDP growth rate, the p-value is 0.35, which means again that we cannot reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the immigration does not granger cause GDP growth rate. The same results found in case of immigration and inflation rate hypothesis, where the p-value is 0.186. It is found that immigrations do not granger cause inflation rate. In these three cases we cannot reject the null hypothesis. Table 8: Engle-Granger test for Causality:Null Hypothesis df Chi-sq Prob > chi-sq decision IMMIG does not granger cause UNEMP 2 3.2787 0.194 Do not reject H0IMMIG does not granger cause GROWTH 2 2.1011 0.350 Do not reject H0IMMIG does not granger cause INF 2 3.3626 0.186 Do not reject H0The impulse response function obtained from vector autoregressive model results are presented in figures (6-9). The impulse response function in the figure (7) shows the response of unemployment rate after a shock in the immigration. At first two steps, the resulting effect is negative, but after two steps it has a positively increasing trend till the fourth step. At the fourth step it has a maximum value near 2 and after fourth step it goes down, which eventually disappeared at sixth step. The impulse response function in this case build an idea that immigrations have positive short run relationship with unemployment.The figure (8) displays the response of growth rate to a shock in immigrations. It shows the negative relation in first three years. After the third year, it tends towards positive side and after sixth year it fades away. In figure (9) the response of inflation rate to a shock in immigration show that in first three years it has positive value. But after third years, it is going towards negative side till sixth year and after sixth year it has no effect. It shows that in first years immigration and inflation have positive significance short run relationship and after this period it has negative relation till sixth year. Figure 6: Graph of Impulse Response Function Figure 7: Response of UNEMP to a shock in IMMIG Figure 8: Response of GROWTH to a shock in IMMG Figure 9: Response of INF to a shock in IMMG ? ConclusionsThe main objective of this thesis is to investigate the effect of immigration on macro-economic variables in Sweden. In this study unemployment rate, GDP growth rate and inflation rate are considered as the economic variables. The annual data for period 1970-2014 is used to examine the relationship between these variables in Sweden. We estimated VAR model for a short run relationship. The estimated VAR model satisfied the stability condition and by using Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test for autocorrelation, it was made sure that there is no autocorrelation between the residuals at any lag order 2. The granger causality analysis performed by using the results of VAR model. The granger causality results shows that the immigration does not effect the unemployment rate, growth rate and inflation rate in Sweden during the study period. It is concluded that immigration has no short run relationship with these three macro-economic variables. The results obtained from impulse response function shows that the immigration has short run positive relationship with the unemployment rate after first few years. On the other hand, the immigration have negative effect on growth rate in first three periods, but after these periods, the reverse effect has been observed. There is a positive relationship found in first two years between immigration and inflation rate. But after two years it has negative relationship between immigration and inflation rate. The impulse response function results shows that immigration affect these economic variables for five to six periods and after that it have no such effect. This indicates that in the beginning the immigrants does not participate in the economic growth. One probable cause of this could be the exposure to a new language in Sweden, which produces language barriers. Which also verifies that the GDP growth rate becomes static relative to the immigrations after few years, since language barrier is a temporary effect. However, considering more economic variables which could be affected by the immigration may lead to more findings in Sweden's economic growth. Moreover, increasing the sample size of the study variables could yield more improved results. Data Analysis According to Parahoo (2006, p.375), data analysis is â€Å"an integrated part of the research design†, which is a way of appreciating the data before presenting them in an understandable manner. While Authors(De Vos, 2005:333; Neuman, 2006:16) describes data analysis as a way in which the data was captured, analysed, and the statistical procedures used in order to bring meaning and measure to it. For the purpose of this mix method, study both qualitative and quantitative data collected from the field will be analysed. Content analysis will be used to analyze the data that will be gathered from focus group interviews. The process of analysing the qualitative data will start immediately after the focus group discussions is concluded. Therefore, the aim of this study is to follow the process outlined by Babbie and Mouton (2010:493, 494, 495); Creswell and Plano Clark (2007:129); Schurink, Fouchà © & De Vos (2011:403-404); Singh (2007:82); Welman, Kruger and Mitchell (2005:211) to achieved the following: managed or organised data so as to make it easily retrievable and managed; analysed, described, and classified data; represented and visualised data so as to be able to present and place them in the form of themes and statements. The Data will also be validated and interpreted (Alasuutari et al., 2008:362, 363; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007:35; Flick, 2008:16; Schurink, Fouchà © & De Vos, 2011:417). According to Moore & McCabe (2005), this is the type of research whereby data gathered is categorized in themes and sub-themes, will be able to be comparable. This will help us to reduce and simplify the data collection processes, while at the same time producing results to assist in the measurement of using quantitative techniques. Another aim of the content analysis in this research is to assist us to structure the qualitative data collected in a way that satisfies the accomplishment of research objectives. However, human error can be highly involved in the content analysis process, since there is the risk for researchers to misinterpret the data gathered, thereby generating false and unreliable conclusions (Krippendorff & Bock, 2008).Thus, in additional to content analysis, the Statistical weighted mean will be used to answer the research questions. Most of the response options in the questionnaire instrument will be weighted as shown below:Table xx: Likert Scale of SignificanceStrongly Agree Agree Undecided/ Neutral Strongly Disagree DisagreeSA A U/N SD D5 Points 4 Points 3 Points 2 Points 1 PointThe acceptance point for the items will be 2.50. Nworgu, (1991), purports that the t-test is testing hypothesis about the differences between means when the sample size is small. Therefore, we will be using, the t-test statistical analysis to test the three null hypotheses used in this study. On the other hand, if the calculated t-value is greater than the critical value of t, the null hypothesis will be rejected and the alternative, which is â€Å"significance† will be accepted. By extension if the calculated t-value is lesser than the critical t-value, the null hypothesis (Research questions) will be accepted and the alternative rejected. However, the null hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 (5 %) level of significance. This means 5 chances of being in error out of every 100 cases. Therefore, any chances of error will be very low.The statistical weight mean will be supported and complemented by the use of IBM SPSS Statistics 19 (Singh, 2007:83). According to some authors(Babbie& Mouton, 2010:459; Fouchà © & Bratley, 2011:251) the researcher will be using descriptive methods to describe, analyse, and summarise numerical data into major characteristics of the study without distorting or losing too much of valuable information, so that it is simple, manageable, and more understandable and to facilitate eventual processing of data, the researcher will also be analysed quantitative data according to different themes of the measuring instrument (Delport & Roestenburg, 2011:196). Most importantly data will be presented and displayed in the form of table/s and graphic/s. (Fouchà © & Bratley, 2011:257).

Colleges and graduate schools

Gaining admission to colleges and graduate schools has become far more difficult, as the competition has increased dramatically over the past few years. Even perfect SAT, GRE, and other standardized test scores are no longer enough grant you the edge you need to be sure of acceptance.The admission essay service we provide is your surest way of getting noticed by the admissions committees at even the most prestigious schools. Our writers are highly experienced and have succeeded in giving the winning edge to hundreds of persons accepted into Ivy League institutions. We will craft your essay to your best advantage, guaranteed.Scholarship EssayWinning a scholarship out of a pool of the best applicants in any given year means your scholarship essay must be of stellar quality. Our highly trained and creative writers are perfectly attuned to the spoken and unspoken requirements of scholarship boards in all disciplines.In fact, many of our writers have themselves sat on scholarship boards a nd know what it takes to get you the coveted prize. We will maximize the effect of your accomplishments, taking care to correlate them with the board’s requirements so that you’ll definitely be seen as the most outstanding candidate.Personal StatementMany of the personal statements currently being drafted by applicants leave admissions committees bored with their unimaginative content. Our service bypasses those banal and formulaic methods by infusing your statement with rich variety and bold creativity.While we accurately portray your academic and extra-curricular activities, we also dig deeper to the major implications of these facts, in order to maximize the effect of your accomplishments. With our help, your statement will be at once profound, interesting and demonstrative of the great intellectual and creative capacity that will win the attention of the toughest admissions board.

Microsoft to improve buying experience at retail. (Thats shopping to you and me.) - Emphasis

Microsoft to improve buying experience at retail. (Thats shopping to you and me.) Microsoft to improve buying experience at retail. (Thats shopping to you and me.) Microsoft has announced its to open its own shops, in a clear bid to grab a slice of the Apple retail action. Apple trades on its image as the quintessence of cool: all innovative design and sleek lines. Microsoft may face an uphill battle in this respect, at least if its press release announcing the move is anything to go by. It quotes Kevin Turner, Microsofts chief operating officer, as saying: Were working hard to transform the PC and Microsoft buying experience at retail by improving the articulation and demonstration of the Microsoft innovation and value proposition so that its clear, simple and straightforward for consumers everywhere. What? you may ask. Good question. I was going to offer a translation, but Im afraid its stumped me. Some clear, simple and straightforward language might be a good start, Mr Turner.

Wish War Veterans a Happy Veterans Day

Wish War Veterans a Happy Veterans Day The eleventh day of November is a special day. In the United States, the day is called Veterans Day. In some other parts of the world, it is called Remembrance Day, a day to honor military folk, who served during war.This day draws the nations attention to the sacrifices made by its war heroes. Americans express their collective pride for the armed forces. Mark TwainIn the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.Arthur Koestler The most persistent sound, which reverberates through mens history is the beating of war drums.Dan LipinskiOn this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.John DoolittleAmericas veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world. Veterans Day Background On November 11, 1918, the First World War officially ended. A year later, American President Woodrow Wilson formerly instituted Armistice Day to honor the brave hearts, who were martyred during the war. However, Second World War veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama had a different vision. In 1945, Weeks announced that 11 November should honor all war veterans. Hence two years later, the first Veterans Day was observed, paying tribute to all those who served the military during war. Veterans Day is now a federal holiday across America. Veterans Day Celebrations in America On this day, military veterans are awarded medals and honors for their selfless hard work. At 11 a.m., the ceremony begins with the official wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns, followed by a colorful parade by various veterans service organizations, and speeches made by dignitaries. Elsewhere, states conduct their own parades, honoring brave military personnel, who served during wartime and peacetime. Gary HartI think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.Douglas MacArthurIn my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.Michel de MontaigneValor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. Celebrating Courage Under Fire Writer George Orwell made a moving comment on civilians attitude to the military when he said, People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. Author Mark Twain also brought out the tragedy of being in a war. Twain wrote, Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.Remember these famous Veterans Day quotes when you offer your opinion during a conversation on war, peace, and the military. War is certainly not a game for the men and women who have to show courage under fire. Remember Your War Heroes If you love poetry, spare a moment to read Tommy, a classic poem by Rudyard Kipling. The poem talks about the publics hypocritical attitude to the common soldier, typified by Tommy Atkins. Towards the end of the poem, Kipling writes, Its Tommy this, and Tommy that,And chuck him out the brute,But its Savior of his Country,When the guns begin to shoot. Kipling may have been describing military life in Britain, but the poem has universal significance. Around the world, we fail to give our military heroes their due. As you read some Veterans Day quotations from poems, you will gain insight into the lives and motivations of those serving in the military. Byron PulsiferTo be free and to have a choice and a voice means that veterans have been quieted through death.Henry Ward BeecherAre they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism?Jeff MillerThe willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.

Your Painter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Your Painter - Essay Example Now the unit price of the commodity rises to P2 from P1 and at that price the quantity of that commodity declines to Q2 (This follows from the generally accepted law of demand that a rise in price of a commodity will mostly result in the decline in the demand of the same) (Mankiw, 2008). If ?P denotes the change in price or rise in the same then ?P = P1 – P2; similarly if ?Q refers to the change in the quantity demanded or decline in the same then ?Q = Q1- Q2. Now if Ed refers to the price elasticity of demand then Ed = (?Q/Q1)/ (?P/P1). In the given economic problem, on the quantity demanded side, Q1 = 35 gallons of paint, Q2 = 20 gallons a month. On the other hand the price of the paint was initially $3.00/gallon that is P1 = $3.00 and the price of the paint raised to $3.50/gallon, hence P2 = $3.50. Following the paragraph above, ?Q = (35 - 20) gallons = 15 gallons. Similarly ?P = $(3 – 3.5) = - $0.5. If now we put all these data into the equation that we have mention ed for price elasticity of demand we will find – Ed= (?Q/Q1)/ (?P/P1) = ?Q/Q1 X P1/?P = 15/35 X 3/-0.5 = - 3/7 X 6 = - 2.57 (approximated) Here the price elasticity of demand has been determined at – 2.57, that is less than – 1. Following the price elasticity of demand we classify goods as elastic or inelastic. If the price elasticity of demand is 0 then any rise in the price will not affect the quantity consumption of the commodity.

Research paper - Same Sex-Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research paper - Same Sex-Marriage - Essay Example Then voices are raised in all quarters and the media also plays its undue role in projecting it out of proportion. Thus, one marriage that involves individuals from the same gender becomes an issue that seems to be made a mountain out of a molehill. The society needs to be quite broad-minded when someone suggests something positive in the direction of same gender couples that choose to marry. The reason for the same is that gays and lesbians are being continuously discriminated against in being refused the right to marry legally. Thus this brings to light just about everything from retirement programs, health care, parenting rights to social security benefits as well as the significant medical decisions. Same sex marriages come about due to one form of stagnation within the people’s minds and the role of one and all within the domains of the same sex marriage debate is significant nonetheless. Though the government might not approve of a marriage between members of the same sex, they just should not impose a law on their sense of ethics related with these very individuals. Since gay marriages are not at all at peril to the public welfare and one’s day-to-day life is not affected by the same, the right to marry anyone one so decided to choose for him or herself should thus be in accordance with the rights the United States of America states that are both "self-evident" as well as "inalienable" in its Declaration of Independence that was brought into notice of one and all a few years back. (Allen, 2006) The problem continues for some people who are of the view that since homosexual parenting can be harmful for children, thus allowing such marriages to be carried out in the first place must be declined and the state must do something that would disallow the people from doing the same. They also say that as homosexual unions are not built around lifetime commitments and also that they are not good environments to

The Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing Decisions Essay - 1

The Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing Decisions - Essay Example Even though Starbucks has positioned itself as a high end coffee shop, it still depends on its consumers to uphold the image. ‘Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption’ (Perner, n.d). Thus for the purpose of this paper, consumer behavior will be studied through an interview with five selected people and the result of the interview will help generate an understanding of the current image and positioning of Starbucks among its buyers. Findings of the Interview Through the interview with the five people who had at some point of their lives bought Starbucks, it was found that Starbucks is a brand that many people aspire for. The interviewees for this report belong to the medium income group. Mostly people visit Starbucks on a weekly basis or even on a once biweekly basis. The consumers studied for this report where people who loved coffee and had it almost daily. Most of them have coffee machines at home or a local coffee shop where they go daily. Starbucks is not a daily option for these people since it is a premium brand where products are priced high as compared to the competition. In the time of recession, the price of the product plays a great factor in the buying decision. However, the people interviewed love Starbucks and wished they could go there more often. They visit Starbucks when they want to relax and have a good time. When asked to define the personality of Starbucks as a person, animal or tree; varied interesting responses were received that included a brown grizzly loving bear, a brownie, a warm lover and even Oprah Winfrey for her loving nature and bright smile. Even though the consumers loved the brand, most said that they would be apprehensive if the brand introduced a contrary product such as its own iPad or mobile phone. One of the customers however said, why not. He said that Starbucks has also been successful at developing new products and given its success in developing new products, it can also be successful in making iPads. According to him, if Google can launch the Andriod, Starbucks can also launch a totally different product. A few of the consumers said that if the product was related to food or coffee such as coffee soap, they would be willing to consider buying the product. Discussion The findings of the interview match with the current knowledge that has been gathered through reviewing literature available on Starbucks and by understanding it in light of the marketing theories available. Starbuck is one of the most preferred brands in terms of coffee because of the positioning of the brand. The consumers prefer the image of Starbucks as it sells the best coffee in the country according to the consumers. Along with the good taste of Starbucks’ products, the consumers love the customer service of the shop. They even compare the customer service to a warm lover who attracts people through the love it instills in the customers. One important thing that the consumer survey helped us to find was the impact of recession on the buying behavior of the consumer. Since recession has impacted everyone, people are more conscious of where they spend their

Hong Kong Education Essay Example for Free

Hong Kong Education Essay The pre-school education voucher scheme was launched by the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in September 2007. The scheme was meant to introduce reforms in education in efforts to promote good early childhood education as the foundation for a child’s lifelong learning (Education Department, 2000). Based on this scheme, every parent who has a child aged between 3 and 6 years should be given a voucher worth $13,000 every year (HKU Faculty of Education, 2008). Out of the $13,000, $10,000 can be used by the parents to pay tuition fees in the kindergartens. The remaining $ 3000 should then be used for the professional development of the teachers in pre-school institutions. The pre-school education voucher should be used under certain conditions. These conditions are, that the voucher should not be used for generating profit, pre-school institutions such as kindergartens must make sure their accounts are open for inspection, the school must attain the set Education Bureau benchmarks within 5 years based on the pre-school quality of education, and tuition fees need to be under $24,000 for half day and $42,000 for full day programs per student, per annum. Due to the restrictions that accompany the pre-school education voucher scheme in Hong Kong, stakeholders in the education sector have shown concern for the impact of the imposed restrictions. This has resulted to a debate that has involved the government and the stakeholders. Since its introduction in the 2007/2008 years, the voucher scheme has been very important for parents with children attending kindergartens. The scheme has provided parents with direct fee subsidy and this has eased their financial burden. It is estimated that a total of 820 kindergartens which represents 85 per cent of the total number of kindergartens in Hong Kong have joined the scheme. In addition, 117,000 pupils are enjoying the benefits from the pre-school education voucher scheme fee subsidy. Since 1997, pre-school institutions in Hong Kong experienced reforms that considered internal effectiveness in schools to be important (Vickers, 2003). According to the Hong Kong government, the implementation of the voucher scheme is an indication of its commitment and support to pre-school education. In addition, the schemes are a positive response to the demands that have been made by the kindergarten principals and teachers. This has become possible through the financial support that the schemes provide for the professional development of the teachers and the principals. It is very important to note that the primary objective of the pre-school education voucher scheme in Hong Kong is to provide parents with direct fee subsidy. It is estimated that over 80 percent of the total number of kindergarten teachers have managed to obtain the Certificate of Early Childhood Education(C (ECE)). Some teachers have enrolled in the courses or have managed to obtain qualifications equivalent to (C (ECE)). To evaluate whether the voucher scheme has been successful in achieving its objectives, the Education Bureau (EDB) in Hong Kong continues to conduct Quality Review studies. By May 2009, the Education Bureau is estimated to have conducted survey on more than 320 kindergartens. The government of Hong Kong acknowledges that pre school teachers experience pressure at work and they need to develop in their profession. The scheme is considered to be one of the ways through which the teachers’ professional development can be promoted. Impact of the Pre-school education voucher scheme on teacher’s professional development Teachers at pre-school institutions have shown their full commitment and dedication to education in Hong Kong . One of the ways through which the pre-school education voucher scheme has impacted positively on the teacher’s professional development is by trying to reduce the workload of the teachers and the principals. Since one of the primary objectives of the scheme is to promote professional development of the teachers, the Education Bureau has continued to enhance communication between the school administration, teachers and other stakeholders in the sector (Andrew, 2008). This has resulted to efficient and continuous implementation of programs that are aimed at improving the teachers’ professional development. The quality review mechanism that has been adopted by the Education Bureau ensures that school self evaluation is done to encourage continuous improvement in education and the teachers professional development. Teachers have been concerned about the pressure at work that results from the quality review done by the Education Bureau as well as the work load at school. However, the quality reviews that are supported due to the implementation of the pre-school education voucher scheme have promoted professional collaboration between teachers. Pre-school education in Hong Kong has for a long time been provided by the private sector and non-profit making institutions. This demands that all pre-school institutions such as kindergartens to be well placed in a manner that the market forces are used to determine the teachers’ salaries at discretion. The launch of the pre-school voucher schemes has increased financial resources for the kindergartens and schools’ management activities (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, 2007). In addition, these resources have been used to finance efforts that aim at providing a working environment that attracts and retains qualified and well performing teachers. The financial resources injected by the voucher scheme have also been very vital in facilitating the payment of good salaries to the teachers. These benefits have acted as a motivation for the teachers to improve their skills and abilities hence their professional development (The Education Bureau, 2009). The Hong Kong government has reaffirmed its commitment in promoting high quality education at the pre-school level by encouraging schools or kindergartens to provide the teachers with qualification allowances. Research studies that have been conducted to determine the impact of pre-school voucher schemes in Hong Kong show that over 52 per cent of parents, principals and teachers agree that the scheme is a fair policy that promotes excellence in early childhood education. The teachers satisfaction with the scheme has been due to the opportunities the schemes have offered to them to improve their professional skills. Teachers consider the voucher scheme to have a positive influence on the schools and their staff. By improving the quality of education offered at the kindergarten, it has become necessary for teachers qualifications to be improved. This has played an important role in the teachers’ professional development. A large number of parents with children in pre-school institutions assert that the schemes have promoted the qualifications of the teachers as well as the improvement made on the school facilities. The schemes have encouraged teachers to pursue higher education or to undertake more education courses. At the pre-school level, extra curricular activities are very critical for children development and learning (Sweeting, 1990). Teachers compliment learning in class by extra curriculum activities. By participating in the coordination and implementation of extra curricular programs in school, the teachers’ ability to lead and teach is improved. The voucher scheme has increased financial resources to be spent for the extra curricular activities in school. By being involved in the activities, the teachers’ professional ability to use the activities in educating the children is improved. By September 2008, about 30% of teachers at the pre-school level had enrolled and attained good qualifications after enrolling for (C (ECE)) courses which are recommended and supported by the Education Bureau. The pre-school principals who are also teachers have had an opportunity to pursue higher education . For example, about 61 per cent or a large number of principals have been enrolled to undertake the Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education (B Ed (ECE). A program to certify the qualification of the principals were put into place in January 2008 . By March 2009, about 300 principals who served in the pre-schools had taken a certification course. For continuous professional development in the teachers, many kindergartens have adopted teacher development subsidy (TDC) to offer the teachers’ school based training programs. The pre-school education voucher scheme provides support services that are offered to develop language skills, cognitive abilities and physical development in children. Teachers gain from this by being engaged in creating a good learning environment, proper children learning, portfolio planning as well as curriculum planning and organization. Being engaged in these activities has been vital in improving the professional skills of the teachers when it comes to planning for good learning at school (Bray and Koo, 2005). The Hong Kong Education Bureau participates in promoting the teachers professional development under the voucher scheme by commissioning a professional training course for their principals. By improving the principals’ leadership and management skills, the teachers are able to get good guidance and effective leadership that relate to the teacher’s work (Ranson, 2003). The principal training course is characterized by an offshore programme and provides an on-spot consultative visit to the principal who participates in the course. About 130 principals are estimated to join the training programme. The principals have given positive feedback about the benefits of the programmes. To support the implementation of the pre-school curriculum revised guide, the Education Bureau organizes professional development programmes which relate to school based curriculum knowledge, leadership, curriculum management and pedagogical knowledge in various areas of learning. This effort has promoted the professional development of the teachers through capacity building. Transparency in pre-school institutions has been promoted by the requirements set by the Education Bureau when it comes to the management of the financial resources . The resources provided by the scheme promote the smooth running of the schools, good remuneration for the teachers and provide a good learning environment. These have gone a long way to increase accountability of the principals and the teachers and this has motivated teachers to embrace good values that are important in professional development. Some of the questions that have been raised about pre-school voucher schemes in Hong Kong is whether the schemes can minimize the overall work pressure on the teachers and improve the staff ratio. The pre –school education voucher schemes have promoted professional upgrading for both the principals and the teachers. For those who serve at PEVs-NPM-KGs, a teacher development subsidy is provided in each voucher. The subsidy is utilized for teacher training and development courses. Furthermore, the teachers and the principals who serve in non PEVs-NMP-KGs can claim a reimbursement from the Education Bureau to cater for up to 50 percent of the fees for a degree or diploma course that has been approved in early childhood education. By the year 2011/2012, all teachers serving at pre-school level are expected to have obtained a certificate in Early Childhood Education (LegCo panel on education, 2009). This together with the demand by the scheme that all kindergarten principals who are appointed from 2009 to have a BEd (ECE) have encouraged teachers to pursue higher education. In addition, the requirement for principals to have a one year post qualification experience and a certification course has encouraged principals and teachers to get engaged in professional development activities and programs. All kindergartens under the scheme have put into place measures that ensure there is continuous professional development by providing school based training programmes under the teacher development subsidy program. Areas of school work that are covered include children’s’ development, learning and teaching, management and organization, and children and school culture support. The quality reviews carried out by the Education Bureau assists the teachers to invest their energy and time in professional development as a way of promoting sustainable school improvement. For example, local non-profit making schools starting 2012-2013 will be able to redeem the education voucher if they are able to meet the prescribed standards of the Quality Review framework (Education Department, 2007). The requirements specified in the Education ordinance (Cap 279) ensures that teachers’ professional development can occur when they meet the set educational standards. The first batch pf 130 Quality Review planned visits began in the 2007-2008 school year (Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, 2008b) and an increase in ratio of graduate teachers in 2008/2009 has raised the professional standards and status of the teachers. The Quality Review Framework promotes transparency and accountability in schools which promotes a culture that is good for professional development of teachers. The Hong Kong government is committed and dedicated to the improvements made in education and the professional development of teachers. The development and implementation of the Pre-school Education Voucher Scheme in Hong Kong is one of the ways through which the government has managed to improve the quality of education and to promote professional development in teachers and principals. High quality education at the pre-school level can be attributed to the pre-school education voucher scheme, classroom inspection and quality reviews in schools. In conclusion, the pre-school education voucher scheme has been promoted through the 2007/08 school year Training Activity, Teacher Development plan for 2008/09 school year, Four-year Teacher Development plan and the professional upgrading of Kindergarten principals and teachers.

The English contract Offer and Acceptance :: essays papers

The English contract Offer and Acceptance General principles There are three basic essentials to the creation of contract which will be recognised and enforced by the courts. These are: contractual intention, agreement and consideration. The Definition of Offer. This is an expression of willingness to contract made with the intention (actual or apparent) that it shall become binding on the offeror as soon as the person to whom it is addressed accepts it. An offer can be made to one person or a group of persons or to the world at large. The offeror is bound to fulfil the terms of his offer once it is accepted. The offer may be made in writing, by words or conduct. Unilateral – some offers are purely one sided, made without the offeror’s having any idea whether they will ever be taken up and accepted, and thereby be transformed into a contract. For example when an advertisement where a person is rewarding another one if he finds his pet (which was lost). In this case the person who is making such an offer is not sure whether this offer will be ever accepted. Bilateral – The majority of offers are Bilateral. While it is not always true, most people make an offer to one named offeree or a small group of parties. Most contracts are made with both parties present on a face-to-face basis. Invitation to treat An invitation to treat made by one party to another is not an offer. An invitation to treat is made at a preliminary stage in the making of an agreement, where one party seeks to ascertain whether the other would be willing to enter into a contract and, if so, upon what terms. To distinguish between an offer and an invitation to treat it is necessary to look at the intention of the person making it. It is not an offer unless it was made with the intention that it should be binding as soon as the person to whom it was addressed communicates hi assent. Some examples of invitations to treat are: Display of goods in shops ï‚ · Advertisement (which can be of bilateral transaction or unilateral contract) ï‚ · Ticket cases ï‚ · Auction sales ï‚ · Tenders ï‚ · Subject to contract Duration and termination of offer An offer continues in existence, capable of acceptance until it is brought to an end. It occurs in six ways ï‚ · Revocation ï‚ · Rejection by the offeree ï‚ · Lapse of time ï‚ · Occurrence of a terminating conditions

Role of Youth

[pic] Prepared by: Jennifer Corriero Date of Release:January 2004 Lead Organization: TakingITGlobal Special Thanks: Advisors: Professor David Wheeler, PhD Joseph Amati, Masters Student Ellen Ratchye, Research Analyst, Fallon; Shelley Smith and Robert Bernard, DCODE Technology Support: Martin Kuplens-Ewart Data analysis and research support: Jacob Bleakley, Noor Alibhai, Hugh Switzer Final Edit: Huss Banai and Michael FurdykTable of Contents: |1 |Executive Summary |3 | | | | | |2 |Introduction |5 | | | | | |2. 1 |Demographic Force |5 | |2. |Democracy on the Rise |5 | |2. 3 |Culture of Leadership |6 | |2. 4 |A Shift in Power Dynamics |7 | |2. 5 |TakingITGlobal Online Community and Vision |8 | |2. |Youth as Key Stakeholders |9 | |2. 7 |Youth as Engaged Citizens |10 | |2. 8 |From Student to Teacher |10 | |2. 9 |Young Employees as a Source of Innovation |11 | |2. 10 |The Interactive Consumer |12 | |2. 1 |The Need for a Holistic Perspective on Youth |13 | | | | | |3 |Role of Youth S urvey: Key Objectives |14 | | | | | |4 |Role of Youth Survey: Methodology |15 | | | | | |4. |Promotion of Survey |16 | |4. 2 |Analysis of Survey Results |17 | |4. |Demographic Profile of Respondents |20 | | | | | |5 |Defining Youth |22 | | | | | |6 |Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Youth |26 | | | | | |7 |Issues of Importance to Youth |29 | | | | | |8 |Participation in Decision-Making |31 | | | | | |9 |Factors Influencing the Changing Roles of the Youth |34 | | | | | |10 |Youth as Agents of Change |37 | | | | | |11 |Conclusion |40 | | | | | |12 |General References |42 | 1. Executive SummaryThis report is the outcome of a larger process, building on months of reading and research of secondary materials, years of personal experiences meeting with and understanding the issues and perspectives of young people around the world. This research seeks to demonstrate that globally, young people today have more power and potential to create change than any previous generation of y outh. It seeks to discover the ways in which young people define themselves, how they are perceived by society, how they are best engaged in decision-making, and the role of technology in facilitating the shifting role of youth. This report is based on a survey designed by Jennifer Corriero, based on five prevalent categories: Defining Youth, Perceptions and Attitudes towards Youth, Youth Participation in Decision-Making, The Role of Technology, and Youth as Change Agents.Conducted in partnership with an international NGO, TakingITGlobal (TIG), the electronic survey was promoted and filled out by over 1,400 respondents, after which qualitative and quantitative questions were separated, organized, grouped, and analyzed, with the assistance of a number of individuals. Finally, this report was created to communicate the values and trends underlying the statistics and statements of respondents from around the world. The question of how youth is defined resulted in an interesting array o f suggestions. Age led with over half of the responses, followed by suggestions that youth represents personality characteristics or outlooks on life. A young female in India suggests that youth are those who are vivacious, full of energy† – people who â€Å"want to make a mark in life†. The idea of youth being a life stage between dependant and independent was another major grouping of responses, suggesting that youth are â€Å"starting to enjoy freedom for the first time†, according to a young man from Zimbabwe. As the perceptions and attitudes towards youth were investigated, it was discovered that the majority of youth (62. 3%) have a lot of reasons for hope for the future. In regions such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, a stronger sense of optimism could perhaps be attributed to the need for a positive outlook to survive in many of the developing countries in those regions.Consumer culture was consistently felt around the world to have too much influence of today’s youth, according to 76% of respondents. Education was seen as meaningful and important by 89% of survey participants, with 62. 2% feeling that youth are not equipped with the skills they require for jobs. Education, employment, friends, music and various social issues were stated as the top areas of concern and interest of youth within their communities. Sustainability only made it into the top 10 in Africa and Asia, suggesting that the rest of the world has yet to make sustainable living a priority, or even something that people are aware and confronted with as an important issue.Employment was in the top 3 in every region, and was first in South America, with many young people expressing concerns about ensuring that they have the necessary skills and experiences to be employed in their field of interest at a sustainable wage. As youth participation in decision-making was explored, it was discovered that the highest area of youth participation takes plac e within local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with national NGOs close behind. Youth were least involved with national governments, which in most countries have yet to engage in meaningful strategies to encourage or facilitate youth participation, evidenced by the low voter turnout rates amongst youth, especially in North America.As Jesse Ventura, governor of Minnesota put it once on CNN â€Å"Youth don’t vote because they say politicians don’t care about their issues. Politicians don’t care about their issues because youth don’t vote! † It appears that NGOs have the best relationships with youth and thus are best positioned to meaningfully engage youth in various political processes. Respondents were very positive about the role of technology in transforming the role of youth in society and organizations. The majority see technology as an enabler for information to be shared and meaningful communication to be had. A variety of concerns wer e also brought up such as the digital divide, and how technology helps those who have access to it.Many examples were highlighted discussing the various ways that young people have made a meaningful impact in their communities and how they would change or improve the world, their countries and the role of youth in their communities. Overall, the sample of youth in this survey uncovered an optimistic, forward-looking generation encompassing young of age and youth-minded individuals. They are comfortable with and enabled by technological progress and change, interested in engaging in local and global decision-making, and they are already having significant impacts in their communities, countries, regions, and around the world. They want to be educated, they recognize gaps in their skills, and in many cases they can clearly identify the needs of not just themselves but of their peers.The sample was respectful of the wisdom of the elders that have led them to where they are, but also re ady and willing for the challenges that await them as they mature and discover the complexities of our global ecosystem. 2. Introduction Young people growing up today have far more power and potential to create change than any previous generation of youth growing up. Much of this shift is a direct result of the information revolution and access to opportunities that have been provided to people of all ages, especially to those growing up in the information age. This report will discuss prevalent demographic and political trends, the nature of youth in today’s global information society, and will provide reflections on the changing roles and responsibilities of youth in this new setting.A discussion concerning youth as stakeholders will look at how traditional perceptions of the role of youth as passive citizens, students, employees, and consumers are actively challenged and questioned today. An empirical narrative providing background on my experiences most relevant to this t rend, moreover, will be shared to provide personal context to this research. Lastly, the results and key findings from a survey conducted on the Role of Youth will be shared. 2. 1 Demographic Force Young people are also an ever-growing demographic force. According to UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), there are more than one billion people between the ages of 15 and 24 on the planet. [i] In the developing world, where 80 percent of young people can be found, youth comprise up to 70 percent of some nations’ populations. ii] In the United States of America, the baby boom generations of the 1940s 1950s made possible the subsequent echo boom (those born between 1977 and 1997), of which today’s young people are a substantial part – 80+ million strong[iii]. 2. 2 Democracy on the Rise The transformation of many authoritarian states to democracies (as shown in figure 1 below) has further improved and provided the essential conditions and environment for young peopl e to explore their interests, express themselves, take action on issues they care about, and access information. [pic][iv] As a result of the Internet, population growth, and rise of democratic societies, a new paradigm in the role of young people is beginning to emerge, resulting in the recognition of youth as citizens, students, employees and consumers.As many as 620 million people have access to the World Wide Web and related information and communications technologies (ICTs) worldwide, with the majority of Internet users based in the non-English-speaking countries. [v] English comprises 36. 5 percent (230. 6 million) of the world online population language, while the non-English-speaking world represents 63. 9 percent (403. 5 million). [vi] According to 2000 statistics from Forrester Research, 56 percent of 16-22 year-olds are online in the United States. They spend an average of 9 hours online, 38 percent more than the average wired adult and are involved in a wider variety of online activities compared to adults – 20 percent more. vii] The same survey found the majority of Internet users in the United States to be in the 18-49 age-group (63 percent), with only 37 percent of users in the 50+ age-group. [viii] 2. 3 Culture of Leadership The culture of leadership for much of the twentieth century was influenced, and modeled after, centralized structures of governance and rigid forms of authority. The onset of the Industrial Revolution unleashed a series of uncontested norms and universally-accepted orthodoxies that associated centralized management systems and constant decision-making with effective leadership. The social consequences of mass production and centralized management of many industries reduced the traditional family into solitary unit of production.As observed by one of the foremost theorists of management theory, Peter F. Drucker, the massive standardization of production methods and operating procedures (‘machine bureaucracy†™) also served to loosen the some conventional familial characteristics, ultimately culminating into the â€Å"crisis of the family†: On the farm and in the artisan's workshop husband, wife, and children worked together. The factory, almost for the first time in history, took worker and work out of the home and moved them into the workplace, leaving family members behind — whether spouses of adult factory workers or, especially in the early stages, parents of child factory workers. [ix]This centralized view of management in latter half of the past century, however, gradually conceded to more diffused and informal structures of governance; as more theorists and practitioners arrived at the common conclusion that â€Å"the better a business firm [organization] is organized, the more naturally decision rights gravitate to the spot where the best information is available about the specific decision that has to be made. †[x] The emergence, and mainstream influence of, the Internet in the past decade, moreover, has had a profound impact on the way a given society manages its daily affairs – socially, politically, and economically – bringing with it new, and never-before-heard-of industries, such as biotechnology and IT telecommunications.Whereas we may make the case that the rigid structures of the industrial age had a number of indirect negative impacts on families as a result of its emphasis on standardization and mass production, many believe that the information age, with its focus on integration and wide-scale distribution of information, has served the family by highlighting the importance of local communities and inter-cultural communication. [xi] Under the centralized form of governance, and prior to the Information Revolution, those with the most power and experience effectively possessed a monopoly over access to sources of information, and, therefore, tended to act as leaders within their communities. The â€Å"decisi on rights† of the younger and more inexperienced people were virtually non-existent and often viewed as being connected to those of women and the less advantaged in the society.In many ways, this paradigm still persists today in the sense that young people are seen by many as having passive roles in society, such as the student who is there to learn rather than teach, the young employee who needs to do what he/she is told rather than provide a source of creative and innovative input, the consumer who is viewed as a target to influence rather than to truly support, the child who needs to learn how to ‘grow up’, and the citizen who is disengaged because he/she either cannot vote or is part of a population whose voice matters little. In addition, because young people (defined as those between the ages of 13-30) are at the frontlines of change from being dependent on older generations to being independent, they have been especially vulnerable to external influences an d often lack a sense of empowerment because they suffer from the lack of essential resources, and limited involvement in decision-making. 2. 4 A Shift in Power DynamicsThe emergence of the Internet and other ICTs (Information & Communication Technologies) has been a catalyst for change, especially within the context of shifting traditional power dynamics. Increasingly, leadership is based on effective networks of collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Transforming leadership strategies from what they were during much of the past century has, to state it mildly, a challenge for most organizations and companies. More inclusive methods of governance, be it in the corporate world or the bureaucracy of the state, have been implemented in order to encourage, or project the image of, socially responsible behaviour. [xii] This transition, however, has almost been a foreign concept to youth growing up in the digital age.The advent of the Internet offered an opportunity to young people – most of whom are much well-versed in using computers and digital devices than their parents’ generation – to develop new virtual interests, relatively unknown and foreign to previous generations. This new medium no longer involved complex and rigid forms of management and communication that were associated with previous power-centric models of governance. The diffusion of the hierarchies and power structures also meant the decentralization of information and the formation of simple, and easily-managed, networks of people, accessible at the click of the mouse worldwide. In this new environment, sources of influence do not simply come from the top, but are inspired or affected by the views, ideas and perspectives of many stakeholders who are affected by the decisions being made.Governments and other formal decision-making bodies have been challenged to hold higher levels of transparency and accountability in order to gain institutional trust. Companies are increasingly interested in what their employees, customers and general public think about their business practices and increasingly aspire to become more socially responsible in order to address the needs and concerns of their stakeholders. [xiii] Instantaneous access to information and online resources has enabled the ‘common person’ make a contribution to organizations and society at large, while being able to demand a greater level of participation and involvement in decision-making.More than ever, young people growing up with technology have the opportunity to empower themselves using their unprecedented access to real-time information and knowledge sources that can be attained through ever-expanding social networks, new alliances, businesses, protests and advocacy campaigns, and websites expressing divergent views and perspectives. 2. 5 TakingITGlobal Online Community and Vision The TakingITGlobal. org Online Community provides: †¢ A pathway to support local action †¢ A platform for the voices of young people to be heard †¢ A framework for understand global challenges and issues †¢ A connection to resources and opportunities †¢ A network of interesting, dynamic and diverse young people †¢ A virtual space to showcase cross-cultural perspectives and expressions.In addition to engaging members of the online community, TakingITGlobal supports the needs of youth-led initiatives, educators and international organizations through its thematic, educational and organizational engagement strategies. TakingITGlobal’s 2010 Vision includes the following: †¢ To realize the potential of at least 5 million young people as leaders for the benefit of their local and global communities. †¢ To bridge the ‘continuity gap' enhancing the effectiveness of youth action by connecting all major youth activities, events, programs and initiatives in a global network. †¢ To mainstream recognition that young people are key stake holders in all national and international policy making. †¢ To produce the world’s most comprehensive and powerful knowledge resource – pushing the boundaries of online community and technology as a tool for social empowerment. To instigate significant evolution in the present concepts of school-education by increasing global connection, meaningful use of ICT’s (information, communication technologies) and inspiring student engagement. †¢ To demonstrate innovation, excellence, creativity and professionalism in the management of a new style of international organization that is entrepreneurial, technology-enhanced, and youth-driven. 2. 6 Youth Are Becoming More Engaged as Key Stakeholders When key stakeholders are brought together to share a vision for the future, it is critical to recognize that although most young people are unable to formally represent a business, government or non-profit institution as a key stakeholder, they do have the largest sta ke in the future and can often help to revive and refresh various perspectives being shared. Youth participation often requires changes in the way adults perceive and deal with adolescents, since the rights of young people and their capacities to make decisions for themselves are often unrecognized and undervalued. †[xiv] Increasingly, institutions are recognizing the importance of bringing the voices of young people to the forefront. On a global level, there are numerous summits that have brought together various leaders and decision-makers and have included young people as a key stakeholder or ‘major group’. For example, as a participant at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, I was part of what the United Nations considers to be a ‘Major Group’ within the overall process of the summit along with women, indigenous people, farmers, business etc.According to Agenda 21, involving each of the major group s in the decision-making process was recognized as being a â€Å"fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development†[xv] The Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development states that the process is inclusive of youth: 34. We are in agreement that this must be an inclusive process, involving all the major groups and Governments that participated in the historic Johannesburg 170. Promote and support youth participation in programmes and activities relating to sustainable development through, for example, supporting local youth councils or their equivalent, and by encouraging their establishment where they do not By promoting, supporting and involving youth as a major group, a statement is made about the importance of recognizing youth as key stakeholders.At the recent World Summit on the Information Society Preparatory Meetings which have been held in Geneva, Switzerland, the Youth Caucus is one of the strongest and most active groups, participating in the process alongside government, industry and other NGO groupings. 2. 7 Youth as Engaged Citizens On a national level, one of the basic conditions of a healthy democracy is having a population that votes. However, those under 18 are unable to participate – and not effectively inspired to vote once they’re able to, which has been leading to a large decline in youth voter turnout. In the US, only 60% of eligible voters under 25 have registered, and only 24% of those eligible to vote and over 20 say they â€Å"always vote† during elections. At the same time, many young people are civically engaged in many other ways – 40% of U. S. outh 14-24 have volunteered, 38% have participated in a boycott, and 44% have done some type of fundraising for charity, all within the last year. [xvi] There is a need to increase awareness and trust in political process, while also validating and supporting other forms of civic participation. There are a growing number of re gional, national, and local youth councils and networks sprouting up due to interest, support, and demand. Increasingly, different youth councils are strengthening their efforts through forging more partnerships and raising their profile. An example of this is the European Youth Forum, ‘a platform organization, it is the representative body for its members towards the institutions and partners active in the youth field.The 89 member organizations of the European Youth Forum represent a wide range of interests: student organizations, political organizations, organizations concerned with environmental protection, minorities, young rural organizations, conscripts organizations and many more. The European Youth Forum has member organizations including both national youth organizations and international youth organizations, drawn from throughout the European continent. The highest decision-making body is the General Assembly, which elects a Bureau made up of volunteers every two ye ars. The Bureau meets monthly to assess political priorities, implement its work plan and advises the Secretariat in its work. ’[xvii] Increasingly, youth councils are being formed and strengthened in order to provide opportunities for young people to have a stronger voice. 2. 8 From Student to TeacherDue to the rapid revolution in Information and Communication Technologies over the last decade, young people growing up as these technologies evolved have become innately comfortable using them, and have become neighborhood authorities on computer technologies. As the education system began to introduce computers in the classroom, young people were often frustrated as they were forced to re-learn skills they already had developed, such as BASIC programming and keyboarding. Over time, students’ expertise with technology has become accepted by teachers, and a variety of programs, such as Generation YES, have been developed to harness the skills and enthusiasm of students fo r technology to assist teachers in more meaningfully integrating it into the classroom. Young people are also learning from a wide variety of sources, and are increasingly deriving knowledge from their peers and non-school sources.As Don Tapscott cites in his 1998 book â€Å"Growing Up Digital†, many young people growing up in the late 80’s and early 90’s have learned basic skills from educational software like â€Å"Reader Rabbit† and video games. Thanks to online communication tools like ICQ, students are able to collaborate in real-time with their friends and peers across town or across the ocean, and share knowledge and ideas with each other. All told, this amounts to quite a challenge for the average teacher to cope with – a variety of students all with varying levels of technology access and external influences – as early as junior kindergarten! Of course, to meet the needs of these wired students as they progressed through the school system, Universities began to experiment with online course delivery and some now offer complete degree programs using a combination of ICTs.The role of a teacher has also evolved in these situations to more of a mentor and coach as needed, versus needing to hand-hold students through courses, enabling them to provide maximum value in supporting the course content versus needing to focus on content delivery. This generation of youth also enjoys sharing opinions – and teachers can’t escape! Websites like RateYourTeacher. com and RateMyProfessor. com showcase the ratings of teachers by thousands of students, opening up the previously untouchable teacher relationship to transparent feedback and criticism by ‘consumer’ students. 2. 9 Young Employees as a Source of Innovation There are a variety of implications for human resource departments in companies and organizations as they begin to hire and integrate new talent into their workforce.Because there is a lar ge population of youth who are entering the workforce and who carry a range of unique skills and perspectives (especially technology-related), the existing strategies that attempt to attract, retain and develop the next generation of talent need to adapt to a different set of needs, expectations and opportunities. Young employees, especially those doing internships, can provide an incredible source of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and creative potential. In an organization where having many years of experience is valued, young people can be an overlooked, untapped resource. In the context of trying to solve problems in new ways, it is important to engage those who have not yet been institutionalized and are unfamiliar with the way that things have always been done.It is critical for organizations to develop new strategies that can allow them to more meaningfully involve young people in both problem-solving and decision-making processes, in order to respond to the complex and ev olving organizational challenges being faced. As it was mentioned above, the onset of the Information Revolution, coupled with the period of massive decentralization across-industries, had a profound impact on the way young people identify with the work environment. In the knowledge-based industries, rigid and strict structures of the past are largely associated with inefficiency, and are largely thought of as counterproductive to personal development.Having grown up with this mindset, young peoples’ perceptions toward decision-making and effective problem-solving are mainly derived from their experiences in the digital world, where interaction and inclusion of perspectives are essential, if not required, for achieving common goals. Therefore, in dealing with this new technologically-empowered demographic, new knowledge-based industries will have to reinvent many of the old approaches toward this new generation. This, in fact, means that they (industries) would have to appeal to their knowledge-workers â€Å"by satisfying their values, and by giving them social recognition and social power† which they have grown accustomed to. [xviii] 2. 10 The Interactive ConsumerDue to the nature of the Internet as a medium which allows for and is based upon networks and interactions, young consumers have the opportunity to be creators of media and content rather than simply consume what is produced for them. â€Å"Broadcast technology, like television, is hierarchical. It depends upon a top-down distribution system. Someone somewhere decides what will be broadcast and our role is limited to what we choose or do not choose to watch. There is no direct feedback from the viewer to the broadcaster†¦The internet depends upon a distributed, or shared, delivery system rather than a hierarchical one. The distributed, or shared, power is at the heart of the culture of interaction. [xix]† (p79)Due to the nature of the medium that young people are enabled by, they are able to demand a greater level of information, interactivity and involvement when it comes to products, services and the overall customer experience. Shopping comparison websites such as MySimon. com and BuyBuddy. com allow for intelligent and informed purchasing decisions to be made based on product-reviews and price comparisons. As a result, consumers are more empowered and can make more informed purchasing decisions. The Internet has provided other opportunities for consumers to be empowered by providing a vehicle for complaints to be expressed to large numbers of people. An example of this includes websites that are developed to discuss how a particular company ‘sucks’. Many URL’s have been purchased that say CompanyNameSucks. om and provide an avenue for disgruntled customers to share their complaints and concerns. Over half (55%) of survey respondents report boycotting a company or product at some point in their life, with 38 percent saying they h ave used their stick as a consumer in the past 12 months. And boycotting — buying a product or service because they like the social or political values of the company which produces it — is only slightly less prevalent. Just under half (45%) report having done so at some point in their life, while 35 percent have used the consumer carrot in the past 12 months. [xx] Bad experiences for unhappy customers can quickly become devastating experiences for a company’s image.This demonstrates that consumers have the opportunity to become more engaged and influential through the opportunities for interaction that the Internet provides. Because 85% of teens in Canada have Internet access and are online for over 9 hours per week[xxi], young people are especially in a position to become empowered consumers, as they frequently and simultaneously combine the process of learning, working, and play/entertainment, allowing them to constantly observe and share opinions and best pr actices. 2. 11 The Need for a Holistic Perspective on Youth as Stakeholders While looking through various reports, studies, books and other secondary sources – all of which offer a variety of insights related to the interests, needs and experiences of young people, a clear research gap became evident.Much of the research that exists on young people does not involve a global perspective, and often focuses on youth in the context of consumers in order to support business decisions, or youth who are ‘at risk’ and are a segment of the population vulnerable to a variety of social problems. Rarely are youth examined in the context of having the potential to be agents of change, problem-solvers, or leaders of the information society. In addition, major studies do not involve youth in the process of survey design, which can affect the potential bias of the research. In trying to examine if and how the role of young people has changed as a result of technology, the need f or a unique study involving youth leaders and influencers from around the world who have access to technology became clear. 3. Role of Youth Survey: ObjectivesIn order to gain a deeper understanding of how the role of young people is currently perceived and how it has changed over the last 100 years, a survey was designed to explore the following: Defining Youth ? How is ‘youth’ defined? Are notions of ‘youth’ associated with positive or negative connotations? What are key differences between the perceptions of youth vs. perceptions of adults? Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Youth ? Is this generation of youth perceived to be enabled and engaged or disadvantaged and disengaged? Are they optimistic or pessimistic about the future? What other perceptions and attitudes towards youth exist and are there regional differences? Participation in Decision-Making ? How important is it for young people to be involved in decision-making?What is the current perceived level of youth participation in decision-making on local, national and global levels? The Role of Technology ? Has technology played a role in transforming the role of youth in society at large and within different organizations and institutions? What impact has technology had in transforming the role of youth? Youth As Change Agents ? Are there interesting examples of young people having a meaningful impact in their communities? If so, what factors appear to enable this to take place? What are the hopes and ideals held by today’s generation of youth leaders? What recommendations can be offered in terms of the conditions that must exist for youth to become leaders? 4. Role of Youth Survey: MethodologyThe following is an Overview of the Survey Questions: Demographic Information: for people to fill out their gender, date of birth, city, country, educational background, employment status, volunteer status and Internet usage. Defining Youth: open-ended questions about what images and phrases come to mind when they hear the word ‘youth’ and ‘adult’ and a question asking how youth is defined. Key Issues and Interests: participants were asked to identify the key issues and interests of youth in their community. They had to select from drop-down lists and rank the top 3 in order of priority. Words included: Arts, Business/Entrepreneurship, Community, Education, Employment,Environment, Friends, Fundraising, Globalization, Health, HIV and AIDS, Human Rights, Leadership, Media, Music, Peace, Political Action, Religion, Romance, Sports, Sustainable Development, Technology, Travel, Volunteering, War. Attitudinal Characteristics: respondents were asked to rate 14 statements related to whether or not people agreed or disagreed with statements about youth on a scale of 1-5. Statements explored whether or not youth are perceived to be motivated, connected to opportunities, knowledgeable, inspired, informed, skilled, interested in being involved , focused, influenced by consumer culture, supported or lacking support from adults, optimistic or pessimistic.Additional questions about education and age were asked. Role of Youth – Today: participants were asked to give their opinion on the role of youth in their community. They had to select from drop-down lists and rank the top 3 in order of priority. Words included: Students, Workers, Members, Mentors, Trend-Setters, Activists, Citizens, Victims, Leaders, Criminals, Technologists, Volunteers, Artists, Role Models, Soldiers, Children, Innovators, Peace-keepers, Consumers, Trouble-makers, Employees, Entrepreneurs Participation in Decision-Making: a question about the importance of being able to participate in decision-king was asked (on a scale of 1-5).The second part of this question asked how involved young people are in decision-making on local, national and global levels for Business, Government and Non-Profit Organizations. Meaningful Impact: participants were asked to identify an example of how a youth within their community was effective at having a meaningful impact. Role of Youth – Historically: respondents were asked to identify whether or not the role of youth has changed over the past 100 years, and if so, has it been positive or negative. The response was based on a scale of 1-5. They then explained their response. Impact of Technology: respondents were asked to identify whether or not technology impacted youth in their community, and if so, if the impact has been positive or negative.They were given a scale of 1-5 and were then asked to explain their answer. Creating Change: A series of open-ended questions were asked about how survey respondents would create change in the world, their country, and the role of youth in their community, along with what conditions need to exist for youth to become leaders 4. 1 Promotion of Survey On December 23, 2002, the survey was sent out to over 15,000 people from over 190 countries. There wer e a variety of ways in which the survey was promoted. An automated, personalized e-mail was sent out to all members of the TakingITGlobal online community (which included over 13,000 people from over 190 countries at the time).The e-mail explained that as a ‘valued member of TakingITGlobal’, they were invited to participate in an ‘online survey to help determine their view on the role of youth in society’. The e-mail stated that it would take approximately 10 minutes to complete and that all of the information shared would be kept confidential and anonymous (meaning that their name would not be used without their permission). Although the survey was completely voluntary, an incentive for participating included having their name entered into a draw to win TIG t-shirts and mouse pads. In addition, each survey respondent would receive a free electronic copy of the final results once compiled.All survey participants were given until January 21st 2003 (approxima tely 4 weeks) to fill out the survey. In order to avoid an overwhelming amount of replies to the e-mail, the letter was signed from TakingITGlobal’s Research Team as opposed to coming from a specific individual. A modified version of the e-mail invitation to participate in the Role of Youth Survey was created and sent out to all of the organizations listed in the TakingITGlobal organizations database (over 1,000), along with youth mailing lists for various organizations and youth caucuses, and other personal networks. People were invited to pass the information along and invite others to participate in the survey.In order to maintain high levels of integrity, survey participants did not need to become a member of TakingITGlobal in order to fill out the survey, and did not need to fill out their name. If they were interested in receiving a copy of the final results, they were invited to provide their e-mail address. It is important to note that due to the nature of how the sur vey was promoted, all survey respondents have access to the Internet and are connected to existing networks that attract youth who are engaged. Thus, there exists some bias in the sample of survey respondents. In addition, there was no age restriction in order to participate which means that people of all ages were invited to fill out the survey, which was done for the purposes of comparison between different age groups.The views, opinions and perspectives that have emerged as a result of the survey findings are not a representation of international youth in its entirety, but rather, a reflection from a targeted sample of engaged youth who have some access to the Internet and are able to read and write English. With this in mind, based on the goals and objectives of this study, it is an appropriate audience to survey as the focus is on trying to better understand the views and perspectives of youth who have access to technology. If there were greater resources available for this stu dy, an offline component would exist and the survey would also be made available in multiple languages. This may be something to consider as a follow-up opportunity in the future.Once the survey responses were sent in through the online survey application, Martin Kuplens-Ewart exported the compiled responses into various files for analysis. The quantitative responses were sent in SPSS format for graphs and frequency tables to be generated. The extensive qualitative responses were formatted and printed in charts and tables. 4. 2 Analysis of Survey Results The process of analyzing the survey data was far more extensive, complex, lengthy and overwhelming than what was initially expected. A variety of people were involved as part of the research team in order to assist in the initial process of compiling, reviewing and making sense of various sections of the survey.A special thanks goes to Noor Alibhai, Jacob Bleakley, Hugh Switzer and Huss Banai who were all part of the research team a t TakingITGlobal. Much of their involvement was in the initial phase of reviewing the thousands of responses which were given for the various qualitative questions. They helped sort responses into various categories and tallied up similar responses in order to generate graphs which provide a glimpse at the nature of the responses. Once initial pie charts were generated, the results were discussed as a team and I was able to continue further analysis. The following is an overall break-down of the data analysis process: ? Phase 1 – PowerPoint Presentation Including Initial GraphsThe program used to analyze the quantitative survey results was the SPSS Educational Version. After an initial tutorial session with Joseph Amati who has a lot of experience in working with SPSS, a 44 page PowerPoint presentation was put together with support from Noor, which included graphs for each of the survey questions. The deck of slides was presented to advisors for feedback. The key learning was that all the labels which included N/A or 0 as the description needed to either be removed or modified. In most cases, the information provided by this column was one that reduced the quality and overall effectiveness of the graphs. This decision meant that all the graphs needed to be regenerated.Various other lessons were learned including analysis of frequency tables. ? Phase 2 – Regional and Age Break-Down of Graphs After a great deal of experimentation and technical support from Martin at TIG, appropriate labels were modified and new forms of categorization was implemented within the survey file to allow the data to be sorted by region and age. Graphs were regenerated for each of the questions in order to include the appropriate break-down. All of the new graphs compiled were put together in a Final Results word document. Since Microsoft Word and SPSS are not entirely compatible, a lot of time was wasted in regenerating and reformatting new graphs for the final results d ocument.In addition, certain graphs involved greater levels of complexity. Those questions which asked survey respondents to rank words on order of priority involved three sets of data which had to be added up in Excel prior to being able to generate the graph. Appropriate steps were taken to generate these graphs for global and regional responses. ? Phase 3 – Qualitative Results Initial Categorization of Responses ? In total, the survey involved over 10 open-ended qualitative questions which each had their set of over 1,000 responses per question. The overwhelming amount of data collected through these questions involved extensive hours of interpretation and results compilation.The first phase of this process involved a team of researchers from TakingITGlobal tackling a specific question and developing different categories for the responses based on frequent responses. The categories established are quite subjective and as different people were involved in the process, certa in categories were modified. Initially, a larger ‘other or inapplicable’ section existed for the various categories. A second review of questions involved breaking-down the ‘other’ responses into further sub-categories in attempt to further identify key patterns and occurrences. In addition to categorizing responses and generating pie graphs in Excel to reflect the overall responses, a series of summaries were created for each of the qualitative questions.Each summary included a description of the category identified and a general overview of the responses that were placed in the category. Beneath the description included a few selected quotes which offered a general idea of the types of responses included within the identified category. A variety of challenges were encountered throughout this process, including the fact that many responses could have easily been placed in multiple categories. To adequately deal with this challenge, in the final tally, they were often placed in both categories and the total number increased. In the final graphs, the ‘other’ category has been removed from the pie chart in order to leave room for smaller categories which emerged from the initial other category.Rather than view the final pie charts as conclusive or statistically accurate, it is important to see them from the perspective of general categories of responses from highest to lowest frequency. ? Phase 4 – Advice, Suggestions and Feedback from Advisors The compiled graphs for quantitative results and qualitative survey results summary pages became the first version of the Final Results document which was 60 pages. This document was then shared with a variety of advisors including Robert Bernard and Shelly Smith from DCODE, a strategy and market research firm based in Toronto. A variety of suggestions and recommendation were provided by D*CODE in order to strengthen the overall impact of the survey results. Many lessons were learned through the feedback shared.Some of the advice was integrated; however after then speaking to my academic advisor, I was able to distinguish which changes were most appropriate to make for the purposes of my final report. One of the suggestions made included grouping the age categories differently in order to have fewer categories. The suggested age groupings include 14-19, 20-24, 25-30 and 31+. This proposed grouping addresses a few issues. Since there is a very small sample under the age of 14, it eliminates their responses from the results. Since youth is defined as up to the age of 31 and there are a smaller number of respondents over the age of 31, it helps to create one category of ‘adult’ or the purposes of comparison. This change was not made due to time constraints and in order to avoid over-simplifying the results. Another suggestion included removing the ‘neutral’ responses from graphs and clumping the ‘somewhat’ and ‘v ery’ categories together. Although this would have helped to provide clearer contrast between how the responses were weighted, it would have also reduced opportunities of noticing situations where many people were ‘neutral’, which is an observation in itself. In reviewing the charts which identify the top issues and concerns of youth, D*CODE suggested that it would be helpful to have them listed from the highest to lowest priority.Additional tables were created which identify the top 10 issues in each region in order of highest to lowest. In addition, percentages were added on existing bar graphs. Another major distinction was made between what was necessary to include in the results compared to the discussion about the results. The results of the survey are presented in the order that the questions were asked. Each graph includes a brief description. The discussion of the results is categorized in a way that makes the most overall sense, especially in terms of t he flow. In addition, only the most interesting patterns, trends and observations are highlighted in the discussion about the results. ? Phase 5 – In-Depth Reflection and Analysis of Qualitative ResponsesThe amount of qualitative responses meant that several ‘passes’ at reviewing the data were necessary. Members of the research team who were initially involved with analyzing particular questions were involved in a discussion about the results and each had an opportunity to present their findings to one another in front of an audience of other TakingITGlobal staff members. As a group, general patterns and trends were discussed and further areas of exploration were identified. After that, I spent quite some time re-reading and reviewing all of the raw qualitative results along with survey summaries. I tried to extract patterns and conclusions from the categories f responses, to better explain the impact of the data. A variety of new charts and summaries were develo ped for questions based on an additional review through the various responses to qualitative questions. These were then shared with a few other groups of people for feedback. ? Phase 6 – Written Descriptions for All Graphs Presented in Final Results After evaluating the many graphs included in the report, I looked through the data in greater detail and produced written descriptions to accompany the graphs, both to provide additional information and insight, but also to help the reader more quickly discover the wealth of data each chart had to communicate.Throughout this process, certain graphs were regenerated in order to further improve the quality of labels, the ability to view responses from both age and regional break-downs, and to include percentages where appropriate on selected graphs. ? Phase 7 – Review Final Results for Key Findings ? With the final compilation of updated graphs, descriptions and survey response summaries, a comprehensive overview of the Final Results document took place. With the editing assistance of Hussein Banai and Michael Furdyk, this final report was created. 4. 3 Demographic Profile of Survey Respondents Region: The Role of Youth Survey involved a total sample of 1443 respondents from 126 countries. The majority of respondents reside in North America (29. %) and Africa (27. 4%). There were 16. 9% of respondents from Asia and the Middle East, 14. 3% of respondents from Europe, 7. 1% from Oceania and 4. 3% from South and Central America. Gender: A higher number of respondents were male (58. 7%) compared to female (38. 7%). There were notably more female respondents compared to male respondents in North America and Oceania, whereas in Africa, there were a greater number of male participants. This may be because it is less culturally appropriate for women to have access to computers in Africa. Age: A larger number of survey respondents were under the age of 30 (75%) compared to those who are age 30 and over (25%).Thi s is likely because the survey was about youth and was promoted throughout many networks that are specifically intended to connect youth. The average age (mean) of the sample was 26 years old. Employment Status: The majority of survey respondents are currently employed (63. 7%), while 36. 4% are unemployed. Many of those who identified themselves as unemployed are in the under 25 age-group, while those with a job are mainly in the 26 and up age category. Volunteer Status: There was a relatively even number of respondents who identify themselves as volunteers (53%) compared to non-volunteers (47%). There were more volunteers in the under 30 age category compared to the 31 and up age category.Educational Status and Background: Only 40% of the respondents identify themselves as students compared to 59% of respondents who are not currently students. The are a higher number of respondents who identify themselves as students in the 16-20 age category. The survey sample is fairly educated in the sense that they are literate, they are able to speak and write in English (many also speak other languages fluently), and a large number of respondents have completed primary and secondary education. 55. 2% of respondents have completed or are attending University or College and 20. 9% of respondents have completed or are pursing Post Graduate Studies.Online Activity: All survey respondents have basic access to the Internet, whether it be through an Internet cafe, library, school, work or home computer. 46% of the respondents stated that they are online between 1-10 hours per week. 22. 9% of respondents are online between 11-20 hours and 24. 5% are online for more than 21 hours each week. When asked what they do online, they key reoccurring themes involved communication, research & information searching (including working on projects and employment), music, games & entertainment. The following is a summary of the major online activities respondents are involved in: †¢ Co mmunication: Almost every response made reference to checking e-mail, if not instant messaging and/or chat room use. †¢ Research and information:Most users identified reading various newspapers, searching background information on their interests and using online information resources to aid completion of their work and/or homework as frequent uses. †¢ Work – on projects, employment: Work was often cited as NGO involvement, general employment and the development and maintenance of personal web-pages. †¢ Music, games and entertainment: On-line time is shared among downloading music, playing games and generally related to any other media/entertainment purposes. 5. Defining Youth In looking at how the concept ‘youth’ is defined, there are different notions and interpretations that can be grouped into three major areas.The most common conceptions present youth in the context of having bountiful energy, a sense of leadership, curiosity and vision for th e future. â€Å"Period of the life when we are still dreaming;† said a 30-year-old male, Skopje, Macedonia. Just over half of the survey respondents expressed that ‘youth’ is defined by the age of a person; with most of the respondents in the 13-30 age-group. The next major interpretation of how youth are defined was expressed through various personality characteristics and outlooks on life. â€Å"Vivacious, full of energy, want to make a mark in life, impulsive and one who are not scared to take risks;† said a 19-year-old female, Pune, India. Many descriptions shared by survey respondents clearly define ‘youth’ in a positive and idealistic light.The third major category defining youth focuses on the particular life stage that people are situated in while in transition from being dependents to being independent. â€Å"A person who is starting to enjoy freedom for the first time†¦;† said a 26-year-old male, Harare, Zimbabwe. A key t heme that is frequently repeated throughout this stage of transition is the freedom and lack of constraints that exist compared to older adults who are weighed down by greater responsibilities and societal pressures. Societal institutions develop various mechanisms to train and nurture the development of young people who are at a life stage that allows them to be open-minded, free-spirited, creative and imaginative.There exists a clear correlation between the social conditioning of young people who need to prepare to become adults and the aspirations of adults to re-connect with their ‘youthful creative energy’ in an age where creativity and innovation are highly valued and a scarce resource in large bureaucratic institutions. However, there is both a strong contrast and a connection that exists between notions of ‘youth’ and ‘adult’. A common thread is that both involve age as part of the definition. The following chart highlights the contrast that exists between the most frequent expressions that emerged in response to the questions ‘What words, images and phrases come to mind when you hear the word ‘youth’ and then asked the same question for ‘adult’: Associations with the word ‘Youth’ |Associations with the word ‘Adult’ | |Lack wisdom, need guidance |Caregivers, Standard Setters | |Dreamers, Visionary, Hope for the Future |Critical, Dream-Killers, Few Idealists | |Freedom, Experimentation, Playfulness |Burdened, Busy, Responsibilities | |Open-Minded, Flexible, Innovative |Rigid-Thinking, Stuck, Conservative | |Rebellious, Free-spirited |Professional and traditional | |Innocence, Naive, Potential |Greedy,Corrupt, Selfish | |Disadvantaged, Vulnerable, Unheard Voice |Decision-Makers, Positions of Authority | In reflecting on the nature of the responses to this question, it is important to note that the overall perceptions of ‘adults’ are negative com pared to perceptions of ‘youth. ’ This bias may exist as a result of the sample size which involved 75% of people under the age of 30. It is possible if more adults were surveyed, especially those adults who are less involved and connected to youth networks, there may have been more negative categories for youth. It is also important to keep in mind that certain words and phrases can have both a positive and negative interpretation.For example, depending on the context of the situation, being rebellious can be seen as something that involves creating trouble or struggling towards positive change. Being a dreamer may imply that one has a strong sense of imagination while at the same time, having the potential of being caught up in a fantasy which is never actualized. A variety of the characteristics which describe adults involve ideals which youth often aspire towards attaining such as being a decision-maker or someone in a position of authority. These are perceived atti tudes however there may be more instances where adults feel powerless and that they are not in a position to make decisions. This may help to explain the sense that people have of ‘adults’ being busy and burdened with responsibilities.Overall, there appears to be an interesting generational relationship and potential communication gap that exists which involves both tension and aspiration. The survey results suggest that ‘youth’ can be a great source of energy, vision, hope and potential, while at the same time being vulnerable, voiceless and rebellious. The results also demonstrate that although ‘adults’ can be conservative, critical and rigid in their thinking, ultimately, they are relied on as care-givers, decision-makers and sources of knowledge and authority. The challenge for youth is to find their voice and become empowered without losing their sense of spirit and optimism.The challenge for adults is in finding ways to handle increasing amounts of responsibility and power in a way that doesn’t exclude, ignore or disengage youth, while also reconnecting their own sense of youth. While exploring and more deeply understanding the role of young people in the context of today’s society, it is important to note that generational barriers have existed and persisted throughout the course of history. It is possible that this generation of youth will have greater opportunities to empower themselves to have a voice as a result of the many forums which are emerging, however it is also clear that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to allow for positive intergenerational partnership.When we asked the survey respondents to identify the role that they saw youth having within their communities, the most common response across all regions was youth having the role of the student. This makes sense for a variety of reasons. Those participating in the survey are either currently students or have g raduated and feel that since a great deal of time as a young person is spent on learning, whether it be in school or in other contexts such as the home or workplace, it is appropriate that the role Role of Youth The role of youth in realising the dreams of Dr. Kalam â€Å"Dream, dream, dream, your dreams will transform into thoughts, thoughts lead to honest work, work results in action and you will succeed† has been rightly said by Dr. Abul Pakir Jainul Abideen Abdul Kalam. Dreams can be accomplished by youth as they have commitment to action. To quote Jean Ingelow â€Å"Youth! Youth! How buoyant are the hopes; they turn, Like marigolds, towards the sunny side†.Students’ life is meant for studies to become true and responsible citizens, formidable leaders and esteemed legislators as India entails such intellectually alert and adroit disciples. A nation of disciplined youth can travel in the path of progress. They play a crucial mantle in the endeavours for equality and justice. They must assimilate from the very beginning- the lessons of self-help, self-reliance and self-sacrifice. Youth should be jawans and take up arms against the corrupted people and spill the beans o n to the public so as no person ever never has the nerve to indulge in any illegal activities.As sizeable part of Indians are unscholarly and backward who are unknown regarding the new-fangled evolutions, the allegiance falls on us to empower and bring perception to them with latest trends, technologies and scientific inventions. As Shankaracharya says, â€Å"The springs of patriotism are deep rooted in Indians†, we should show it beyond the desire. â€Å"Janani janma bhoomischa swargad api gariyasi† said lord Sri Rama to Lakshmana when the latter, attracted by the opulence of Lanka, expressed an ardent desire to settle down there. Your mother land, great or not, are forsooth greater than a paradise. † Hence, we should comprehend that our mother land is the only place where we can reach maximum glory and recognition. We should also look for jobs within the country and strive for its progress. We must play a paramount role in safeguarding our country by involving ourselves in politics. We are the best judges as we have mentally matured minds to differentiate between good and bad which is prevailing in the society.India being the country of many races, languages, religions and beliefs we should have unity. Thus, said Mark Twain â€Å"India is the cradle of human race, the birth place of human speech, the mother of human history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition†. But despite of this diversity the social structure there has been an unstable unity and affinity which had bound the people of this vast country into a well-knit nation throughout its chequered history.The requisite of maintaining this unity in diversity and national integration is all the more indispensable. We should make people inculcate the ideal â€Å"One flag, one nation, one land, one hand, one heart, evermore! † which eventually leads the country to the pinnacle of success. Women constitute the most pivotal role for the upliftment of our country. The strength of our country depends on them. â€Å"Next to God we are indebted to women first for life itself and then for making it worth living. We should accept equal participation of women in all fields to make the country economically amiable. We should all create a nation which is one of the best places to live in and which brings smiles to the billion faces and also to realize the dreams of our former President, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, a dynamic and versatile person. Therefore, always be ready to walk in the unexplored path as to succeed in life everyone must understand and master three mighty forces- desire, belief and expectation.