Injustice in the Adversarial System Essay

Donald Black discussed in his book The Behavior of Law, when a society begins to grow and become more complex so does its legal system. The United States uses a system that may no longer be fit for handling all the complex problems it is faced with. Society has come to learn through the justice system that truth is very hard to find. The nature of the adversarial process may prevent it from reaching the true goal of every legal system: justice. This writing argues that the system in place now is not the correct one for the stage society is in now. The adversarial process in place does not search for the core values of â€Å"Justice† and â€Å"Truth†; its inadequacies create errors in the legal system. The legal system should abolish its value of â€Å"winning at all cost† and the methods it uses to achieve this outcome. This paper will not only shed light on the flaws in the legal system, but present other structures that may be better suited for the present stage of society. Blueprint A few brief critiques of the adversarial process include that during a trial procedure both sides are given the opportunity to present facts to the jury or judge, this allows attorneys to withhold evidence and benefit the side they represent. This confuses the courts instead of elucidating the truth. Cases such as this should not be able to come to a guilty or not guilty verdict, because guilt cannot be proven with a degree of accuracy (Meadow, 1996). Stratification in law does lead to inequality and perpetuates injustice in society. The procedure that is used in our criminal justice system has the ability to lead to a false confession and create mistrust in the system. Bias in our legal system does lead to injustice. All of these factors do create injustice in our legal system by sending innocent people to prison and/or by letting convicted felons free. There are many theories in how to solve the problems with the adversarial process and the legal system in general, but society must change the way it reasons before anything can truly change. History of Common Law and the Adversarial Process To better understand the adversarial process it must first explain through its history and origins. Common law practice developed the adversarial process; England adopted common law and made its practice known throughout the world. Legislators began codifying the law, this later became common law. It was written so that it could be interpreted by the court system. When the courts make a decision in how that law is to be applied it is preserved, and able to be used as a guideline for other cases of the same nature. This proved to be a problem, decisions made by judges were based on the customs of the time period, which became rigid and did not easily allow for change (Cantor, 1997). The English form of common law prohibited representation in court however, during the eighteenth century some courts where beginning to allow legal representation in English common law. Eventually as time progressed, the role legal representation, lawyers, would grow and be more influential in society. The part the Lawyers played in the court system would eventually be the aspect that separated the adversarial process implemented today in the United States from the processes in England. Law became more and more complex so the use of lawyers or professionals of the law was essential in American law making. New research by Randolph N. Jonakait, New York Law School professor, suggests that the United States adopted an adversarial process that somewhat resembled the English model at the time. Besides the already mention use of lawyers, the U.S differed greatly from England, during the 18th century; America had prosecution with a public defender present in the court room compared to no legal representation for the accused in the English model. Also in New Jersey around the same time period, attorneys usually appeared for the prosecution and the defense which in England was rarely practiced. These findings demonstrate that the United States was a forerunner in the creation of the adversarial process that is present today (Jonakait, 2009). Search for Truth: Lawyers and Their Tactics One of the main concepts of the adversarial system is the oppositional presentation of facts. The belief behind this is it will discover all truths to the matter. This leads to the conclusion of the first flaw: that realistically everyone involved in the case is not in search of the truth. â€Å"Lawyers are more apt to hide the evidence that is not favorable to their side regardless of whether it would prove the innocence or guilt of the person on trial† (Schroeder, 2012). Clients hire lawyers to win; the economic state of the client is directly related to the skill level of the lawyer they can afford. Lawyers who are more expensive will use any tactics necessary to ensure a win. The search for truth is not a key value; it’s keeping your client pleased, being the defendant or the state. Attorneys are known to use questionable tactics so that they have the best possibility of winning their case. These tactics include: creating doubt in the jury of guilt or innocence, or even by hiding evidence from the jurors. The search for truth and the execution of justice cannot be fully performed if lawyers proceed to use unethical tactics. Solutions to the Hiding of Evidence A purposed solution to hiding evidence can be demonstrated with a value demonstrated from the inquisitorial system, everyone in the court room works together in search for the truth and justice. The judges, or investigative magistrate, are trained in their profession, taking specific schooling about law making them a vital resource to the legal system. While court is proceeding the judge is allowed to ask questions to keep a case in order. Using a system that does not glorify winning would help the hindering of evidence and other tactics being eradicated form the court room. Although, one flaw with this system is the judge is granted too much power and control over the proceeding, more justice is still found here searching for truth. Stratification in Law It is proven that â€Å"once arrested, black and minority defendants are fare worse in the criminal justice system than their white counter parts† (Westervely & Humphrey, 115, 2008). This is due to racial stratification in law and a bias based on race in convictions. Instrumentalist would say law is used to dominate groups, and is structured so that it can benefit certain groups by disadvantaging other groups, by allowing this to happen it perpetuates inequality (Bucher, 2012). Many minorities are unable to pay for legal representation; in this situation the courts provide representation for them. This disadvantages minority individuals in low social class because they lack resources to secure a good lawyer, while high social status clients are able to easily obtain skilled lawyers. This perpetuates stratification because upper class individuals can evade the penalties of the legal system, unlike lower class individuals who cannot afford strong legal representation (Vago, 2012). Marxist theorists would confirm that laws serve the interest of the upper class, and because they use them like a tool, keep the upper class in power. This reinforces inequality in society through the criminal justice system, because the upper class will always be able to have access to more resources they will also always use those resources against the lower class (Bucher, 2012). Process in Criminal Justice Is Justice Served? The pressure felt in a case created by media and the public eye have the ability to cause investigations to be sped up. The endangers the adversarial process to make mistakes and possibly out of convenience and pressure convict the first person they think committed the crime. Once police officers make an arrest they tend to not pursue any other possible leads until the person they have in custody is proven to be innocent. This hurts the search for truth because officers become close minded and search only for evidence to convict that individual. Another factor that can deter the search for truth is false confessions. False confessions, among other factors, are commonly created due to unethical interrogation tactics or confused eye witnesses testimony. â€Å"A confession is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence that can be presented in court† (Westervely & Humphrey, 36, 2008). Even if the confession is false, juries have been known to take into consideration testimony even when told not to. False confessions are usually given by suspects who are coerced, confused, have doubt in-self, or shame. All this can be attributed to the psychological games used by interrogators, intentional or unintentional (Gudjonsson, 1992). Can true justice be served when police use unethical tactics to get their confession? This is a question scholars who study ethics have pondered with for decades. Bias in Law There are many principles to consider when a jury is deciding a verdict. Racial beliefs, media and number of factors can influence a jury’s verdict (David F. Hall, 1984). Since each individual interprets the process of the trial differently it greatly influences the decision of case. The way society is socialized leads to certain bias to people of different races, genders, sexuality, and backgrounds. These factors greatly influence a cases outcome, even though lawyers are allowed to select their jury it is impossible to know each person individually (Albonetti and Hagan, 1982). In common law, legislature creates the laws that are written down and left for interpretation by the judges of the court, this is called statutory interpretation (Bucher, 2012). The strength of this system of law is the ability that law has to change; downfall is that it leaves room for bias in the interpretation of law. Some scholars suggest that law and the legal system is patriarchal. The feminist legal theory suggests that the legal system is male dominated and perpetuates gender discrimination (Bucher, 2012). Language can be biased in law; the United States suffers from this weakness. In the Declaration of Independence biased language is evident. â€Å"All Men Are Created Equal† a line from the Declaration of independence has brought forth discussion and conflict because of biases behind the words. Women have fought for their rights to be considered equal because society takes the patriarchal documents literal, progress is slowly made. Everything, including law, can be interpreted differently, making the judge’s job detrimental to the court process. The discretion of the authority in the court system, although important, also creates inconsistency in the legal system. African Americans account for 49.4 percent of the 1.3 million Americans in prison (Westervely & Humphrey, 2008). Two different theories can explain the bias in society that explains the high population of African Americans. These theories are the Individual Explanation Theory and the Structural Explanation Theory. Individual Explanation Theory This theory focuses on the behavior and traits of those involved in a trial. Racism is a factor in explaining why an innocent person is tried. This happens because the adversarial system does not focus on searching for the truth and allows the jury to makes a decision on beliefs and prejudices of a certain race. Stereotyping is also included when a jury convicts someone on account of preconceived notions of a group (Westervely & Humphrey, 2008). Structural Explanation Theory This theory provides two explanations for the bias. The first is the Blalocks Power-Threat Hypothesis. The hypothesis states that the increase in minority conviction is due to whites trying to keep power and control over minority races by disadvantaging them. The second explanation states that the treatment of minorities in the criminal justice system is a reflection of societal beliefs. â€Å"Equality in the criminal justice system is not possible until everything else is equal† (Westervely & Humphrey, 128, 2008). Plea-Bargains and its deficiencies Due to the amount of offenders that go through the U.S. court systems prosecutors are more likely to use plea-bargains to settle cases quickly. â€Å"It is estimated that roughly 90-95 percent of all criminal convictions are arrived through plea–bargains† (Vago, 118). This tactic can be linked to stratification and inequality, when a person on trial does not have the finances for a good lawyer the assumption is that they will lose. This makes a plea-bargain more appealing, as it is the best option to avoid a longer sentence (Kipnis, 1976). â€Å"The Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants summarized the state of representation as follows: â€Å"Overall, there is abundant evidence in this report that defense services for the poor are inadequately funded. As a result, millions of persons who have a constitutional right to counsel are denied effective legal representation†Ã¢â‚¬  (Mosteller, 2011). This is another factor to cause change in the legal system so that truth can properly be found. The ability to plea-guilty hinders the search for truth and justice. In the inquisitorial system guilty pleas and plea-bargaining are not allowed so that the system can properly search for the truth. It does not give the accused rights, unlike the United States. While in the United States the adversarial process gives the accused the ability to plead guilty for a lesser sentence which some would consider â€Å"soft† on crime. In the adversarial process after a confession is given, the investigation is typically over even if the individual is innocent. In the inquisitorial system a confession is not warranted since it is the duty of the court to come up with evidence and prove guilt (Berger, 1972). Injustice With all this bias in our legal system this gives room for errors in justice. â€Å"An error in justice is any departure from an optimal outcome of justice for a criminal case† (Frost, 2004). There are two types of errors that can be described: systematic and random. Systematic is when there is an error within the law that consistently creates injustice. When a law is in enacted and it oppresses a certain group consistently this is systematic injustice. Random errors are created while criminal justice officials are enforcing the law and the error is sporadic (Frost, 2004). Both of these can create errors of due process, which is when the rights of the accused are violated. The first error is miscarriage of justice; an example of this is when an innocent man is convicted of a crime. The second type of error of due process is error of impunity, when an error in the procedure of due process is committed and as a result guilty convict is set free. Both of these do create great mistrust in the legal system and deter people from getting involved within its legal processes (Sherman, 2002). This can lead to what Black was suggesting when he stated that law will shift back to a more primitive family based form of sanctions, because of mistrust in the authority that was supposed to protect them. Change With new understandings of societal factors (race, gender, sexuality) the adversarial system needs to be revised so that it aids the search for truth or it will be blinded by these factors. Society has grown complex and so has its problems with in the legal system. The courts must come up with different resolutions for crimes and convictions, not just a â€Å"one size fits all solution†. In essence the adjudication system is not wrong, but the misuse of evidence and human error leads to mistakes. One might ask should we change the adversarial system entirely or fix the many flaws within the system. The current process being used relies on the state (prosecutor) to determine if the court should or shouldn’t present the evidence accumulated from the crime, or if that would benefit the accused in some way. All evidence should be given to a neutral party, such as the court, and have the court system decide what should be done. This would remove the ability of the prosecutor to hide facts that could be essential to the investigation (Westervely & Humphrey, 2008). In an ideal system the court should base their decision after learning all the facts, without any evidence withheld from either side. There can be a mixture of different processes, which can better achieve justice in a complex society. For example, a different process would be needed to determine if a dangerous criminal is guilty than that of finding parental rights. Forms such as the inquisitorial investigation, mediation, private problem-solving, group negotiating processes could be used to search for truth. Conclusion The adversarial systems values do not match what the goals of the system should be. In the ideal system restorative and rehabilitation justice would be utilized to the fullest in order to help the people going through the criminal justice process learn and become productive members of society. Society’s beliefs are that of retribution and vengeance. Society as a whole wants to see criminals punished for crimes that they feel where committed upon them. To completely change the beliefs of the criminal justice system, society needs to change its values from retribution and vengeance, to a form of justice that will help society instead of looking for revenge. Values in the criminal justice system represent what that society believes in. The belief in winning shouldn’t be enforced, like the adversarial process has done, because it does not accomplish what the main goal of the criminal justice system is: to provide justice to the citizens of the country the system serves, along with the search for truth. The values of rehabilitation and restoration should be the foundation on which we build our new system. If this is done than our society will begin to help its self in creating a strong nation that is just and true. References Albonetti, Celesta and Hagan, John. Race, Class, and the Perception of Criminal Injustice in America. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 88, No. 2 (Sep., 1982), pp. 329-355 Berger, Moise. The Case Against Plea-Bargaining. American Bar Association Journal. Vol 62.pg621.(1972) Black, Donald. The Behavior of Law. The University of Michigan, Academic Press. 1976 Bucher, Jacob. Law and Society. Lectures. Baker University. 2012 Cantor, Norman F. Imagining the law: Common law and the foundations of the American legal system. HarperCollins Publishers (New York). 1997. David F. Hall et al., Post event Information and Changes in Recollection for a Natural Event, in Eyewitness Testimony: Psychological Perspectives124 (Gary L. Wells & Elizabeth F. Loftus eds., 1984) Frost, Brian. Errors of Justice: Nature, Sources, and Remedies. Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.2004. Gudjonsson, Gisli H. The psychology of interrogations, confessions and testimony. Wiley series in psychology of crime, policing and law. Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons. (1992). xii 362 pp. Humphrey, John A. & Westervely, Saundra D. Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justice. Rutgers State University Press. 2008 Jonakait, Randolph N. The Rise of the American Adversary System: American Before England. New York Law School. Widner Law Review. V14.2009. Kipnis, Kenneth. Criminal Justice and the Negotiated Plea. The University of Chicago Press. Ethics , Vol. 86, No. 2 (Jan., 1976), pp. 93-106 Meadow, Carrie M. The Trouble with the Adversarial System in a Postmodern, Multicultural World. William and Mary Law Review. V.38. 1996. Merrill B. Hintikka & Jaakko Hintikka, How Can Language Be Sexist?, in Discovering Reality, supra note 31, at 139. Mosteller, Robert P. Failures of the American Adversarial System to Protect the Innocent and Conceptual Advantages in the Inquisitorial Design for Investigative Fairness.2011. University of North Carolina School of Law. Sherman, Lawrence W. Trust and Confidence in Criminal Justice. NIJ Journal, March (2002): 23-31. Vago, Steven. Law and Society. Pearson Education, Practice Hall.2012.

1930s America-Feminist Void ? Essay

The 1920s have long been touted as an age of female enlightenment, as women set a course of equality and cracked the foundations of women’s sphere. Portraits were drawn of stereotypical ’20s femmes; crimson-lipped, bob-haired and befringed flappers peering down their ivory cigarette holders at restrictive Victorian mores; stalwart, placard-toting suffragettes proclaiming the need for female political activism; fresh-faced college coeds donning crisp shirtwaists to tap out office memos on shiny modern typewriters. American women contested traditional views of the female as moral guardian and domestic servant and challenged the nation to accept their egalitarian beliefs. But after the initial surge of support for women’s rights with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, feminist fervor diminished throughout the latter ’20s and all but disappeared during the Depression. And with that reduced support for women’s rights came a renewed promotion of the traditional belief that women belonged in the home — not in the workplace. Although the Equal Rights Amendment, which was first introduced to Congress in December, 1923, continued to be bandied about in Congressional committees, opinion magazines rarely gave the issue a positive mention, and it seemed far removed from public concern. The 1930s brought apple-sellers to city street corners and breadlines to urban charity houses. In a depressed economy, unemployment figures escalated and federal forces concentrated on bringing Americans back to work. Or, more accurately, bringing American men back to work. For society viewed working women as un-American money grubbers, stealing jobs from men who needed them to support their families. Those who were concerned with feminist issues were further divided on how to concentrate their efforts. Many believed that garnering the right to vote was all the legislative support they needed, so they turned their attention to other concerns, such as the peace and welfare improvement movements. Some demanded protective work legislation, while others remained adamant in pushing for equal treatment in the job market. And still others were swayed by the not-so-subtle proddings of government forces to forget the issue of feminist rights until economic hardship had ended. Gone were the â€Å"new women† of the ’20s: the ’30s women floundered in a decade devoid of significant gains in the struggle for sexual equality. The League of Women Voters exemplified the notion that the fight for women’s rights ended with the passage of the 19th Amendment. In 1931, the league’s president went so far as to claim that â€Å"nearly all discriminations have been removed. But others noted that women failed to vote in a bloc, and that many failed to even consider women’s issues when casting their ballots. Therefore, many issues concerning women or issues promoted by women reformers simply failed from lack of support. Ironically, the 1930s began with the tenth anniversary of woman’s suffrage, but any attention to the matter revealed that in those ten years, women had ha d little effect on the political world. Josephine McGowan writes in the Commonweal: The 19th Amendment has wrought no miracle in politics. It has neither brought about dire consequences foretold by the anti-suffragist nor yet produced the millennium of which the pioneers dreamed. McGowan noted that while women gained the right to vote, many were indifferent to their new privilege and remained uninformed on current issues. Politics was still considered a man’s concern, and most women did not have the motivation to challenge this view. Lacking now the central issue of suffrage to rally around, many feminists turned from lobbying for women’s rights to promote other reform efforts. Becoming locked into the â€Å"paradigm of morality† role, many women became staunch promoters of the peace movement. Others turned their attention to welfare issues, spurred by the same drive that encouraged prohibitionists of the past. While these efforts were laudable, this divergence had the effect of leading women away from the concept of equal rights into separate channels that would rival each other and diminish any chance of a unified woman’s movement. Such disparity did not bode well for the Equal Rights Amendment. Discussion passed through Senate and House committees, until 1936, when the House Subcommittee favored the ERA for the first time and endorsed the amendment. In 1938, the Senate judiciary Committee reported it onto the floor. During the 1940 presidential race, the ERA became an election issue for the first time when the Republican party offered its support to the cause. But opposition to the idea of equal rights far outweighed the meager support it received. Even among supporters, differing ideologies clashed. Senate hearings in 1931 revealed that the Women’s Party supported the amendment as a protection from the current discrimination against women in salary, hiring and education. Listing approximately 1,000 discriminatory state laws — including laws in 11 states which gave a husband control over his wife’s wages the party argued against those who the ERA would weaken protective legislation. Such legislation often restricted the number of hours a woman could work, or the type of labor she could perform, making her less competitive in the industrial workforce. Indeed, the split of female opinion on this issue would be divisive, as clear cut† feminists refused protective legislation on the principle that it impeded equal rights for men and women, while other women – perhaps recalling the exploitation of women workers in 19th century sweatshops asked for special legislation to protect women from unscrupulous employers. Support for male and female differentiation strengthened during the ’30s after a decade of decline. Even those women who did manage to break into the political spectrum failed to unite women in a common struggle for equal rights. Caroline O’Day, elected to Congress in 1932, opposed the ERA because of its feared impact on protective legislation. As a social worker and member of the Consumer League, she believed women needed a governmental shield from labor evils. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first woman senator popularly elected to her seat and won re-election in 1938, but though â€Å"she broke an important barrier . . . she accomplished little else. † President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, praised for seeking the advice of women in his administration, named Frances Perkins as the first woman cabinet member. But she herself asserted that married women ought not shirk their responsibilities to their families by seeking outside employment. McGowan further commented: In ten years, we have seen the political potentialities of women voters recognized by farseeing politicians who have rather grudgingly in many instances taken them into the councils of their parties, making them vice-chair of this or that local or state national committee; for the time has not yet arrived when men will voluntarily entrust to women the actual dispensation of party authority or patronage. Feminists who did manage to retain a sense of urgency in stirring enthusiasm and public support for equal rights had to face an antagonistic majority of their society, who felt that a woman put her talents to their best use in the domestic environs of her family. In the Atlantic, Albert Jay Nock pandered to feminine pride in agreeing that women could perform as well as their male counterparts and had demonstrated that fact for centuries. He then fell into the same tired truisms of emphasizing woman’s sphere, implying that the female must stand firm in her role as moral model. He stated, â€Å"Women can civilize a society and men cannot. † Nock’s article remains an interesting mirror of the popular opinion of the day. He upheld the stereotyping of men as children, unburdened by the responsibility of civilization. He expressed the stereotypical view that women needed to concentrate on applying their civilizing skills and avoid centering on the â€Å"over-stressed,† predominantly â€Å"male-oriented† instinct of workmanship. When women expended their energies demanding equal rights in the workplace, Nock argued, they allowed their more spiritual and artistic instincts to deteriorate. He seemed to look upon women in the workforce as acceptable, though unnecessary, additions. â€Å"One may easily see how our society, if it had to, might get on without women lawyers, physicians, stockbrokers, aviators, preachers, telephone operators, hijackers, buyers, cooks, dressmakers, bus conductors, architects. † He went on to assert that society could not survive, however, without women serving as a civilizing force. Nock, and the majority of the U. S. population, believed that women could civilize† not through roles as legislators, educators, administrators or preachers, but through the comforting domain of their immediate households. Only in molding their young ones and prodding their husbands toward responsible action could women serve their natural purpose. He stated: Our society cannot be civilized through women’s attainment of the ends that feminism has hitherto set before them, laudable and excellent as those are. It can be civilized by giving an intelligent direction to the interest and purchasing power of women. His feminine ideal of woman as intelligent consumer, while insulting to the many who found themselves struggling to produce as well, was well received in 1931. The key cause of this readiness to accept any excuse to remove women from their quest for equal rights stemmed from the increasing competition in the job market. Economic hardship forced many women into the working world, but the scarcity of jobs made men resent the added number of individuals struggling for positions. Throughout the 1930s, the sexist request that women refrain from entering the realm of the employed to solve the men’s unemployment problem came from labor unions, state and federal governments, and employers alike. Efforts were made to remove married women from the workforce. A 1932 American anti-nepotism law for government workers stated that only one spouse could work. While the law did not specifically state that the wife should be the one discharged, three out of every four who were dismissed under the law were female. Once again, prominent women only enforced these sexist tendencies. Mrs. Samuel Gompers proclaimed, â€Å"A home, no matter how small, is large enough to occupy [a wife’s] mind and time. She called women working outside the home â€Å"unnatural† and chided them (or taking jobs from men who needed them. The Women’s Bureau asserted that wives who held outside jobs were destroying the integrity of their families. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins supported the concept of family wages. Mary Dewson, who organized the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party in 1932, believed women possessed specific qualities best suited for the â€Å"sanctity and sec urity† of the home. Protective legislation further carried out such female restriction. Under the guise of looking out for the needs of women, these laws counteracted every effort made toward equal economic rights for men and women. It was almost always assumed that women had different needs arising from their actual or indeed, and this was even more harmful, their potential role as mother, which made the search for equality not only irrelevant but possibly dangerous. Alma Lutz addressed this problem in her Atlantic article, indicating that the very laws which initially seemed to benefit women were actually menaces. In â€Å"protecting† women, they regulated their work and questioned their right to work. She argued that women had proven themselves capable, competent workers, and should therefore enjoy legislation insuring equal pay for equal work, instead of laws that placed them in special classes. What the Lutz article addressed — and what few men and women were willing to admit -was the discriminatory nature of protective legislation. In accepting special privileges, Lutz maintained, women were forced to accept lower wages to remain competitive with men. The alternative was unemployment. Men, who viewed the flood of women in the marketplace with alarm, were the greatest advocates of special legislation for women, hoping that it would curb the hiring of women. Lutz pointed out, however, that such laws would eventually hurt men as well, as they in turn would be forced to accept reduced pay to compete with the women who worked for less. Because women were paid lower wages than men for the same work, employers tended to keep them when cutting down the payrolls. During the 1930s, the percentage of master’s degrees and doctorates earned by women dropped significantly. While female university education increased substantially, those who attended college found the formerly high quality comprehensive education replaced by classes that emphasized training for women’s roles in the household. Women’s magazines promoted the virtues of motherhood and homemaking, condemning those who became involved in areas outside women’s sphere. Without training or public support, the ’30s working woman faced numerous obstacles in fighting for a suitable job. The public failed to admit that women composed a large sector of the working class and could not be dismissed with the passage of a few laws. Most were not working for the thrill of a career, but to keep their families sheltered and fed. Lutz encouraged society to accept women in the workplace. Men’s wages in industrial sections frequently could not support a modern-sized family, and the increasing percentage of employed married women reflected that problem. Lutz reiterated that many women were no longer supported by their husbands and needed to work to survive the Depression. In some households, in fact, the wife left her husband in charge of caring for the home and children while she worked an outside job. But while the number of married women in the work force actually increased by 50 percent between 1930 and 1940 – despite the Depression -women found enormous obstacles blocking their entry into certain fields. Most women found work in factory and clerical jobs, as traditional barriers against women in professional fields loomed higher. Instead of â€Å"glamorous† professions, 36 percent of working wives entered domestic and personal services, while another 20 percent were in apparel and canning factories. Those who were in lower-level professions, such as elementary and high school teaching, found men displacing them for higher pay. In 1939, the median salary of a male teacher was $1,953 a year, while female teachers received only $1,394. So while large numbers of women worked during the Depression, their status actually decreased. The non-unionization of women was one cause. The American Federation of Labor was established for organized, skilled, craft workers, and most women still held unskilled factory jobs. In addition, most unions continued to view women as temporary workers. But most prevalent were sexist attitudes that blocked women from entering unions and allowing women workers to organize. Samuel Gompers claimed that the AFL was not prejudiced, â€Å"it just wouldn’t accept ‘any nonassimilable race. ‘† Lutz encouraged men to recognize the benefits of allowing women to join unions: If . . . en will encourage women to organize, if together they will work for equal pay for equal work, for an adequate wage for both, they will be able to maintain a higher wage standard.. It is strange that the American Federation of Labor does not see this. But the AFL did not see a need to include women, and neither did the broad majority of the U. S. population. Suffragists failed to inspire a new generation of women to use the 19th Amendm ent as a springboard to gaining equal rights. Most seemed to ignore the advances made by the ’20s modern women, as attention drifted to reviving the flagging economy. Instead of employment and benefits to male and female alike, women were shuttled back into the home, to be protected and sentimentalized over once again. Albert Jay Nock expressed the popular view: Hence feminism can no longer get up an argument on the thesis that women can do anything that men can do. All interest in that contention has died out; everybody has stopped thinking in those terms, and our militant feminists are reduced to pushing minor issues, to smoothing out relatively petty inequalities of legal status, and the like. Interest in feminist thought had waned, and few gave proper attention to those â€Å"petty inequalities of legal status† that needed to be ironed out. The ’30s, then, proved to be a decade devoid of equal rights support. After the 1920s fervor of change, the struggle for egalitarian ideals faltered. Some were satisfied with the effects of the 19th Amendment, some turned their attention to other matters of social justice, some felt women could be better aided by protective legislation, but most still believed that women belonged at home. Without making a concentrated push for equal rights, women were forced to accept specialized roles in the domestic sphere or reduced status in the â€Å"man’s world. † Lulled by messages of women’s sphere, the American women of the ’30s returned to their homes or accepted their low-status jobs with the unsettling notion that they were abandoning their proper responsibilities. Progressive ideals of equality, fine for contemplation during economic boom times, failed to proliferate during a period of economic turmoil.

3th Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

3th Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh Essay ? Sandy Hook Shooting: Is It Time to Change the Second Amendment? Sandy Hook Shooting Is It Time to Change the Second Amendment About 80 million Americans, representing half of U.S. homes, own more than 223 million guns. The debate about the Second Amendment has been fierce, but after the horrible atrocity that just happened in Newtown, Connecticut, the time has come to rethink the amendment and change it. The change of the amendment in terms of availability of weapons, and who has the right to possess them, would create a safer society and lower the gun homicide rate in the U. S. — a figure that currently makes the U.S. the highest in the world. The change would include a certain necessary procedure in order to get a license for possessing a gun. Moreover, this procedure should include medical checks, full criminal history, and a police interview to prove they actually need a gun. Atrocities like what happened today could theoretically be prevented if it were more difficult to come into possession of weapons in the U.S. At this moment, there is a widely accepted misconception about the history of the amendment and its purpose within American society. When the founding fathers implemented Second Amendment the main idea behind it was to provide citizens with a way to oppose possible tyrannical government. However, today it is widely believed that the Second Amendment is there to provide you with a way to protect yourself from other individuals. The debate is also present over whether the Second Amendment provides for collective or individual rights. However, in 2008, in the District of Columbia v. Heller case before the Supreme Court, the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. In a 2011 Gallup poll, only 26% of American citizens said they would support the handgun ban. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years. Americans have shifted to a more pro-gun view on gun laws, with record-low support for bans on handguns, assault rifle bans, and stricter gun laws in general. This remains true even as high-profile incidents of gun violence continue across the United States. The reasons for this ideological shift do not appear to be reactions to the crime situation, and are probably rather related to a widespread acceptance of guns by the  American public. It is widely believed that having the right to bear arms contributes to higher security. By enabling a great number of people to carry weapons, the society as a whole will not benefit from greater security. Moreover, it will become more unstable. The control of the weapons must be toughened and the right to possess and bear them restricted. The cases of shootings on American campuses and in schools are numerous and an argument that stricter gun control laws should be enforced stands strong. With medical and background checks, people who want to possess a gun won’t be stopped. However, the chance that someone with a mental disorder will have access to arsenal gets lower. The U.S. has the highest rate of gun ownership and of gun homicide in the developed world, it can definitely be argued that the amount of guns present the homicide rate will also be reduced. In 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed with the U.N. to set a timetable for the regulation of the arms trade between the states. The United States joined 152 other countries in support of the Arms Trade Treaty Resolution, which establishes the dates for the 2012 UN conference intended to further regulate gun trade around the world. Many in the U.S. have seen this treaty as an introduction to domestic firearm control, even though this is wrong. In order to change the Second Amendment, a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required and at this point chances of changing that happening are slim. Throughout the world there are different regulations about gun ownership. Great Britain banned private ownership of guns in 1997; Australia also followed the same path. A 1999 Harvard School of Public Health study revealed that, â€Å"Americans feel less safe as more people in their community begin to carry guns,† and that 90% believe that â€Å"regular† citizens should be prohibited from bringing guns into most public places, including stadiums, restaurants, hospitals, college campuses, and places of worshi p. We should not have the illusion that the world can overnight become a safe place where guns are not needed. These are dark times for those who demand sane regulation of gun ownership. The courts come and go. Public opinion and political power, like the common law, changes and evolves. Guns must not be accessible to all and they must be restricted. By restricting the gun availability, the possibility for situations like the Newtown massacre would be dramatically lowered. Even if we assume that one day a tyrannical government may come to power, under the current circumstances, with the U.S.  government in possession of tanks, airplanes and drones, one can argue that the light weapons held by the citizens would not be enough. The argument of the founding fathers therefore becomes obsolete and the amendment must be changed to ensure the greater safety of American citizens. Eleven years later, after the war for independence had been won, our Founders assembled once again to draw up a plan for governing the new nation. That plan would be ratified two years later as the Constitution of the United States of America. To understand the true meaning of the Second Amendment, it is important to understand the men who wrote and ratified it, and the issues they faced in creating the Constitution. During the debate over the ratification of the Constitution, there was significant concern that a  strong federal government would trample on the individual rights of citizens–as had happened under British rule. To protect the basic rights of Americans–rights which each person possesses and that are guaranteed, but not granted, by any government–the framers added the first ten amendments to the Constitution as a package. Those amendments have come to be known as the Bill of Rights. They represent the fundamental freedoms that are at the heart of ou r society, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The British people did not have a written constitution as we have in the United States. However, they did have a tradition of protecting individual rights from government. Those rights were set forth in a number of documents, including the Magna Carta and the English Declaration of Rights. The Founders who wrote the Bill of Rights drew many of their ideas from the traditions of English â€Å"common law,† which is the body of legal tradition and court decisions that acted as an unwritten constitution and as a balance to the power of English kings. The Founders believed in the basic rights of men as described in written legal documents and in unwritten legal traditions. One of these was the right of the common people to bear arms, which was specifically recognized in the English Declaration of Rights of 1689. However, the Founders also recognized that without a blueprint for what powers government could exercise, the rights of the people would always be subject to being violated. The Constitution, and particularly the Bill of Rights, was created to specifically describe the powers of government and the rights of individuals government was not allowed to infringe. 1. Does the Second Amendment Describe An Individual Right? Some people claim that there is no individual right to own firearms. However, anyone familiar with the principles upon which this country was founded will recognize this claim`s most glaring flaw: in America, rights–by definition–belong to individuals. The Founding Fathers created the Bill of Rights to protect the rights of individuals. The freedoms of religion, speech, association, and the rest all refer to individual liberties. The Second Amendment right to keep and bear  arms is no different. When the first Congress penned the Second Amendment in 1789, it took the wording, with some style changes, from a list of rights introduced by James Madison of Virginia. Congressman Madison had promised the Virginia ratifying convention that he would sponsor a Bill of Rights if the Constitution were ratified. The amendments he wrote would not change anything in the original Constitution. Madison repeatedly insisted that nothing in the original Constitution empowered the federal government to infringe on the rights of the people, specifically including the right of individuals to have guns. In constructing the Bill of Rights, Madison followed the recommendations of the state ratifying conventions. Though they ratified the Constitution, several of those conventions had recommended adding provisions about specific rights. Five conventions recommended adding a right to arms; by comparison, only three conventions mentioned free speech. Members of Congress had no doubt as to the amendment`s meaning. They and their contemporaries were firearm owners, hunters and in some cases gun collectors (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson exchanged letters about their collections). They had just finished winning their freedoms with gun in hand, and would, in their next session, pass legislation requiring most male citizens to buy and own at least one firearm and 30 rounds of ammunition. The only reason there is a controversy about the Second Amendment is that on this subject many highly vocal and influential 21st Century Americans reject what seemed elementary common sense–and basic principle–to our Founding Fathers. The words of the founders make clear they believed the individual right to own firearms was very important: Thomas Jefferson said, â€Å"No free man shall be debarred the use of arms.† Patrick Henry said, â€Å"The great object is, that every man be armed.† Richard Henry Lee wrote that, â€Å"to preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms.† Thomas Paine noted, â€Å"[A]rms . . . discourage and keep the invader and the  plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property.† Samuel Adams warned that: â€Å"The said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.† The Constitution and Bill of Rights repeatedly refer to the â€Å"rights† of the people and to the â€Å"powers† of government. The Supreme Court has recognized that the phrase â€Å"the people,† which is used in numerous parts of the Constitution, including the Preamble, the Second, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments, refers to people as individuals. In each case, rights belonging to â€Å"the people† are without question the rights of individuals. Dozens of essays have been written by the nation`s foremost authorities on the Constitution, supporting the traditional understanding of the right to arms as an individual right, protected by the Second Amendment. 2. Isn`t the â€Å"well regulated militia† the National Guard? Gun control supporters insist that â€Å"the right of the people† really means the â€Å"right of the state† to maintain the â€Å"militia,† and that this â€Å"militia† is the National Guard. This is not only inconsistent with the statements of America`s Founders and the concept of individual rights, it also wrongly defines the term â€Å"militia.† Centuries before the Second Amendment was drafted, European political writers used the term â€Å"well regulated militia† to refer to all the people, armed with their own firearms or swords, bows or spears, led by officers they chose. America`s Founders defined the militia the same way. Richard Henry Lee wrote, â€Å"A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . .† Making the same point, Tench Coxe wrote that the militia â€Å"are in fact the effective part of the people at large.† George Mason asked, â€Å"[W]ho are the militia? They consist now of the  whole people, except a few public officers.† The Militia Act of 1792, adopted the year after the Second Amendment was ratified, declared that the Militia of the United States (members of the militia who had to serve if called upon by the government) included all able-bodied adult males. The National Guard was not established until 1903. In 1920 it was designated one part of the â€Å"Militia of the United States.† The other part included other able-bodied adult men, plus some other men and women. However, in 1990, the Supreme Court held that the federal government possesses complete power over the National Guard. The Guard is the third part of the United States Army, along with the regular Army and Army Reserve. The Framers` independent â€Å"well regulated militia† remains as they intended, America`s armed citizenry. 3. Have the Courts or Congress ever studied the meaning of the Second Amendment? On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that the Second Amendment protects a right to possess firearms for individuals, and not just a right to have them as part of a militia or the National Guard. The Court also held that the Second Amendment is not meant to protect a â€Å"state’s right† to maintain a militia or National Guard. The decision struck down the District’s bans on handguns and on having any gun in usable condition as violations of the Second Amendment, and prohibited the District from denying a person a permit to carry a firearm within his home on without cause. Highlights of the majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas, can be found here: /Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=235&issue=010. The Court ruled that â€Å"[T]he operative clause [of the Second Amendment] codifies a ‘right of the people.† And went on to explain: â€Å"In all six other provisions of the Constitution that mention ‘the people,’ the term unambiguously refers to all members of the political community, not an unspecified subset. . . .’† Put plainly, the Heller decision says that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms for legal purposes, including for sporting use and for self-defense. In coming to this conclusion, the courts examined the meaning of the words in the Second Amendment, including the meaning of â€Å"arms† the phrase â€Å"to bear arms† and to â€Å"keep â€Å" arms. The court also carefully considered the meaning of â€Å"militia† and the relationship between the militia and the â€Å"right to keep and bear arms.† In the majority opinion, the court clearly rejected the idea of a â€Å"collective† or group right, that is, a right held by the states. The court found that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms. The full impact of the Heller decision is still not known. States and cities with restrictive gun laws are now facing challenges to their specific laws and future court cases will continue to define the how the Second Amendment protects individual rights and what types of gun laws will be allowed. Before the Heller decision, the most thorough examination of the Second Amendment and related issues ever undertaken by a court is the 2001 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in U.S. v. Emerson. In Emerson, the Appeals court devoted dozens of pages of its decision to studying the Second Amendment’s history and text. It began by examining the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Miller (1939), which individual rights opponents claim supports the notion of the Second Amendment protecting only a â€Å"collective right† of a state to maintain a militia. The Fifth Circuit disagreed. â€Å"We conclude that Miller does not support the collective rights or sophisticated collective rights approach to the Second Amendment.† The court then turned to the history and text of the Second Amendment. â€Å"There is no evidence in the text of the Second Amendment, or any other part of the Constitution, that the words ‘the people’ have a different connotation within the Second Amendment than when employed elsewhere in the Constitution. In fact, the text of the Constitution, as a whole, strongly suggests that the words ‘the people’ have precisely the same meaning within the Second Amendment as without. And as used throughout the Constitution, ‘the people’ have ‘rights’ and ‘powers,’ but federal and state governments only have ‘powers’ or ‘authority’, never ‘rights.’† The court concluded, â€Å"We have found no historical evidence that the Second Amendment was intended to convey militia power to the states, limit the federal government’s power to maintain a standing army, or applies only to members of a select militia while on active duty. All of the evidence indicates that the Second Amendment, like other parts of the Bill of Rights, applies to and protects individual Americans. We find that the history of the Second Amendment reinforces the plain meaning of its text, namely that it protects individual Americans in their right to keep and bear arms whether or not they are a member of a select militia or performing active military service or training.† Four times in American history, Congress has enacted legislation declaring its clear understanding of the Second Amendment`s meaning. Congress has never given any support for the newly minted argument that the amendment fails to protect any right of the people, and instead ensures a â€Å"collective right† of states to maintain militias. In 1866, 1941, 1986, and 2005, Congress passed laws to reaffirm this guarantee of personal freedom and to adopt specific safeguards to enforce it. The Freedmen’s Bureau Act of 1866 was enacted to protect the rights of freed slaves to keep and bear arms following the Civil War and at the outset of the chaotic Reconstruction period. The act declared protection for the â€Å"full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings concerning personal liberty, personal security, and . . . estate . . . including the constitutional right to bear arms. . . .† The Property Requisition Act of 1941 was intended to reassure Americans that preparations for war would not include repressive or tyrannical policies against firearms owners. It was passed shortly before the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, which led the United States into World War II. The act declared that it would not â€Å"authorize the requisitioning or require the registration of any firearms possessed by any individual for his personal protection or sport,† or â€Å"to impair or infringe in any manner the right of any individual to keep and bear arms. . . .† The two more recent laws sought to reverse excesses involving America’s legal system. In the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 1986, Congress reacted to overzealous enforcement policies under the federal firearms law: â€Å"The Congress finds that the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms under the second amendment to the United States Constitution; to security against illegal and unreasonable searches and seizures under the fourth amendment; against uncompensated taking of property, double jeopardy, and assurance of due process of law under the fifth amendment; and against unconstitutional exercise of authority under the ninth and tenth amendments; require additional legislation to correct existing firearms statutes and enforcement policies. . . .† And in 2005, as a result of lawsuits aiming to destroy America’s firearms industry, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to end this threat to the Second Amendment. The act begins with findings that go to the heart of the matter: â€Å"Congress finds the following: (1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. (2) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the rights of individuals, including those who are not members of a militia or engaged in military service or training, to keep and bear arms.† â€Å"Gun control† is the popular name for laws that regulate, limit or prohibit the purchase and possession of firearms. â€Å"Gun control† laws are usually  proposed on the grounds they will stop the criminal misuse of firearms, but they are almost never actually targeted at criminals. Supporters of â€Å"gun control† most commonly call for laws that restrict law-abiding people, the only ones who will obey them. Laws prohibiting the possession of a firearm are unlikely to stop a person willing to commit robbery, assault or murder. On the other hand, honest citizens who respect the law will submit to the gun control laws, even if the laws do not make them safer. 3th Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh. (2016, Oct 18).

Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

Response Paper - Essay Example The author stops in the middle of the woods and is unsure for sure whose land it is but thinks that he or she knows. (One can only assume that the narrator is a ‘he’ since it seems to be written from Frost’s own perspective). The person who owns it will assumedly not see the author stop his horse in the middle of the woods to watch it snow. He indicates that his horse probably thinks it is a bit odd to come to a halt in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of the night. The horse reacts almost as if to question if the author is sure that it is time to be stopping. It is quiet and peaceful as he or she sits there and watches. However, the author has to start back up. He states he has promises to keep and indicates that he has a long journey ahead of him before he or she may go to sleep though it is already in the darkest part of the night. Despite the author’s hesitance to leave the silence and peacefulness of the woods, he still must trudge on through th e snow to get to his destination. This particular poem by Frost appear to be a narrative because it tells the story of a certain event in the form of poetry. The way that this is able to be determined is pretty straightforward as it reads just like a little short story. The author writes it as if they are an eyewitness to what is going on at a particular instant in time. The poem does have a rhyming scheme. It is written as four stanzas that are almost completely identical. Every line is iambic and there are four syllables that are stressed. Within each stanza, the first, second and fourth lines all rhyme. Even though the third line does not rhyme, it sets up the rhyming pattern for the following stanza. The only part of the poem where this pattern is broken is in the last stanza where the first, second and third lines all rhyme and the fourth line is repetitive of the third line stating, â€Å"And miles to go before I sleep.† The mood of the poem is

Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Research Proposal Example This research will be based on the Psychological Theories of drug abuse. Within this theoretical framework, reinforcement and individual theories will be explored to establish that pushes students into drugs. The research will follow the exploratory design and will be based on mixed methodology. Data will be collected from students and teachers using both structured and unstructured questionnaires. Interviews will also be scheduled with key informants. The researcher believes that research findings will make invaluable contributions to the existing literature that links substance abuse to poor academic performance. Keywords: substance abuse and academic performance The Correlation between Cigarette Smoking and High School Achievement Substance use among teenagers has finally entered the unchartered territory where it is no longer possible to ignore its impacts. The increasing prevalence of teenagers abusing drugs in the United States has become a major public health issue. Subsequent addiction and loss of productivity among drug users have particularly elicited great interest in substance abuse. The importance of substance abuse in academic discourses stems from the correlation between substance abuse and academic performance. Therefore, substance use and abuse are focal issues that academic commentators must address with urgency. Peer pressure has been cited as the common motivators for teenagers to engage in drugs (Thorlindsson and Vilhjalmsson, 1991). Most teenagers feel pressured to take alcohol/drugs at social gathering in order to conform to social groups. Nevertheless, some teenagers use drugs and other substances as a means of dealing with their distress. In the same vein, other teenagers may use drugs to overcome personal limitations, such as low self-esteem or shyness (Morin et al., 2011). The first casualty of substance use and abuse is cognitive ability. Impaired cognition limits the performance capacity of substance users (Thorlindsson and Vilhjalm sson, 1991). It is against this backdrop that the proposed research purposes to establish how cigarette smoking among high school students affects their overall, academic performance. Significance of the Research Education has long been heralded as a means of social mobility. Accordingly, proponents of academic achievements link education attainment to a successful future. Nevertheless, the job market has become very competitive in the 21st century than ever before. This implies that students who fail to achieve high grades stand no chance of competing favorably in the job market. Within such a context, academic achievement tops the agenda for many discussions within government and academic circles. By studying the correlation between cigarette smoking and high school achievement, the proposed research underscores the role that education plays in personal development. The research will, firstly, establish the link between cigarette smoking and high school achievement. Secondly, the research will identify the prevalence of cigarette smoking among high school students and the factors that contribute to this prevalence. Thirdly, the research aims at establishing the effects of cigarette smoking on high school stude

Kudler Fine Foods Paper and Presentaion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kudler Fine Foods Paper and Presentaion - Essay Example And choosing the proper one for the business is depending on the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat, of the choice that possesses in the available and the unavailable resources. The paper has worked on to address the issues regarding the choice of expansion being a private company and a projection of SWOT of the proposed expansion plans. The overall concept of any expansion plan is to raise fund that is needed to expand the company internally or externally. This is so, because the fund is the life line of any venture at the runway. The very first option that the company has projected is the floating of Initial Public Offer to raise fund from the public. This option of Initial Public Offering (IPO), also known as "public offering", is the concept of issuing common stock or shares to the public for the first time. This concept is pretty handy for smaller, younger companies seeking capital to expand. In an IPO, the Kudler may obtain the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue; that is common or preferred, best offering price and time to bring it to market. Weakness: The cost of complying with regulatory requirements can be very high. Some of the additional costs include the generation of financial reporting documents, audit fees, investor relation departments and accounting oversight committees are unwanted by the public (INVESTOPEDIA, 2008). Threat: The actions of Kudler’s management will become increasingly scrutinised as investors constantly look for rising bottom line. This may lead Kudler to perform questionable practices in order to boost earnings. After this brief insight of the IPO based expansion; the second expansion plan is the Acquisition. It is also known as a takeover or is the buying of one company by another (Spaeder, 2004). Here, the companies cooperate in negotiations of purchasing of a smaller firm by a larger one. There is another form of acquisition, known as

How do you see the MBA degree contributing the applicants achievement Essay

How do you see the MBA degree contributing the applicants achievement of management progression in his or her organization - Essay Example This strategy is based on his real analysis of the market conditions. Having done his homework, he then implements the strategy in actual sense. He works hard and takes all the efforts to succeed. This in turn helps the organization to be successful and achieve its targets. The MBA degree imbibes the habits of success in the candidate's psyche, which he/she keeps on implementing where he/she goes. The candidate learns a lot about finance, which helps him understand the prevalent economic conditions of not only his organization but also the whole market. He also learns about professional organizational practices, which he implements in his organization. He learns about the general human behavior patterns and tackles his subordinates, his colleagues and bosses in proper manner without hurting anybody even in a slight manner. The candidate learns about leadership qualities and develops those qualities in him. He leads the organization by an example making it highly successful. He keeps all his colleagues and subordinates happy and creates ample opportunities for them. At the same time he also sees that his organization contributes towards the social causes. There are clear signs of confidence on the face of applicant who has finished his MBA. His attire is carefully selected and face cleaned is shaved and smile on it makes his presence pleasurable.

Feminism and Pop Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Feminism and Pop Culture - Research Paper Example The title of the song speaks well of women’s independence. Females do not always need to depend on men to accomplish their daily tasks. Unlike the old days, womenfolk can be trusted to handle financial issues at home. It is not only the men who can analyze where funds go and how to make worthwhile investments. They have become more open-minded about what they are capable of, as well as braver in trying out the possibilities of their chosen pursuits. By the 20th century, women in many countries had gained the right to vote and advanced their status in politics and education. In the 1980s, there were already women doctors, lawyers, and engineers, though few in number as compared to men. In fact, according to Discovery, â€Å"over half of college graduates are women in 1986†. Many of them also pursued higher education in law, business, and medicine. In fact, the first lines are already poignant regarding how times have changed in treating the so called â€Å"fairer sex†. For instance, in the line, â€Å" so we’re comin’ out of the kitchen†, it means that those days where wives are just locked up at home doing household chores are already history. Indeed, a number of women nowadays are breadwinners along with their husbands. For some, their husbands are the ones in charge of household chores. In a report on comparing women and men’s salaries from 1980 to 1986, it was found out that although men, in general, had higher salaries, women were able to enjoy more frequent promotions and higher percentages of pay increase. (Gerhart and Milkovich 2). It further explained that one of the main causes for their income progress was high performance ratings. However, the reason why many of them could receive promotion was because most were employed in lower levels, thus, making the chances for elevation bi gger. On the other hand, this is related to a recent article which was just published last November 13, 2011, in Mail Online. It says, â€Å"one woman in five now earns more than her husband or boyfriend† (Barrow). The study suggests that the percentage of females having higher salaries as compared to their partners will continue to increase. Though this statistics is based on United Kingdom population, this reflects the worldwide shift that

Personal art statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art - Personal Statement Example As time passed by, I realized that my work is the only means for me to contribute to the society I live in and I came to wonder what my work could do for people and how it could make their lives better. Whereas helping people as an artist is a great thing, it was not enough to meet my purpose of life. I have often wondered about the gap between art and real life, and I wish to make the lives of the people better through art. Art and Interior design are closely related and the latter helps me in bridging the gap between art and real life. In other words, my artistic life as an interior designer can help me accomplish my dream to make the lives of the people better. Thus, I have chosen the study of Interior design, because I believe that I can help people as an interior designer. Interior design is closely connected with fine art and I am greatly excited to learn it. In fact, learning interior design gives me more pleasure and satisfaction than that of fine art. However, I greatly believe that my fine art background helps me to be more creative and successful in interior design. My great interest in drawing has helped me in developing a positive mental framework towards interior design. Like most other kids, I used to draw and paint during my childhood.

Geopolitics in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Geopolitics in the Middle East - Essay Example Despite the struggles of the advocates of change, with the neo-conservatives envisioning an end for the, sort of chaotic Middle East society, the fight leads to a different scenario than what was expected. Peace is still so elusive, terrorist threats still exist, and instability is still greatly felt. We examined the reasons behind the pitfalls of this political blitzkrieg based on the articles written by Jeffrey Goldberg entitled "After Iraq" and the article "Parties of God: The Bush doctrine and the rise of Islamic Democracy" written by Ken Silverstein. Goldberg generally expressed the fact that the political agenda of the US and its allies are contrary to what Iraq's minority groups and even the rest of the countries in the region are looking for. Silverstein in the other hand expressed the fact that the Bush doctrine and the western democratic system do not fit the Islamic cultures and ways. While the US and the rest of its allies are eyeing to push their own vested interests in the Middle East campaign, the Middle Eastern nations affected by the current transitions in the other hand are looking at it in a different perspective. The war on Iraq was generally aimed at ousting Saddam Hussein, a dictatorial leader, for the major reason of removing a danger to social equality in the region, which Hussein had proven to be a threat, and instate a unified democratic government. . The plans may have been understood plainly by both the allies and Arab compatriots, like the Kurds, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and the rest, and laid open for them to work through, but beneath the shadows of their support, the Middle eastern countries, and minority regions within Iraq, are hoping to push through with their own agenda, for their own people, for their leader's interest. Take for example the case of the Kurds. In a personal interview by Jeffrey Goldberg with Abdul Rahman Mustafa, the Kurdish-Iraqi governor of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, considered as domains of the Kurds, it appeared that the Kurds really wanted independence from Iraq (Goldberg 79). The article of Goldberg speak further of other regions in the middle east that wanted to be governed based on their own cultural minority principles such as the "Shiites did not want to be ruled from Baghdad by a Sunni minority"(78), and other minority groups from Egypt, Israel, and other areas want their own sovereignty. In other words, the zeroing in was just superficial. The question is why The answer perhaps lies on the cultural differences between the east and the west, and the way these two civilizations are molded through time. We agree on Goldberg's idea that western democratic strategies don't seem to fit with the Middle Eastern cultures, which are highly diverse. Islam, which is the main religion in the Middle Eastern countries, is a diverse religion with differing principles across different minorities. While the west is generally Christian, although differing in minor teachings, have common core values that has high regard to peace and order. There is no Christian jihad, to cite a particular difference, while the Muslim jihad is primarily exploited by Muslim extremists and used to push their ideals and principles. In the western world, as a common knowledge, governance in civic

Nursing questions Essay Example for Free

Nursing questions Essay The nurse is performing her admission assessment of a patient. When grading arterial pulses, a 1+ pulse indicates: Above normal perfusion. Absent perfusion. Normal perfusion. Diminished perfusion. Murmurs that indicate heart disease are often accompanied by other symptoms such as: Dyspnea on exertion. Subcutaneous emphysema. Thoracic petechiae. Periorbital edema. Which pregnancy-related physiologic change would place the patient with a history of cardiac disease at the greatest risk of developing severe cardiac problems? Decrease heart rate Decreased cardiac output Increased plasma volume Increased blood pressure The priority nursing diagnosis for the patient with cardiomyopathy is: Anxiety related to risk of declining health status. Ineffective individual coping related to fear of debilitating illness Fluid volume excess related to altered compensatory mechanisms. Decreased cardiac output related to reduced myocardial contractility. A patient with thrombophlebitis reached her expected outcomes of care. Her affected leg appears pink and warm. Her pedal pulse is palpable and there is no edema present. Which step in the nursing process is described above? Planning  Implementation Analysis Evaluation An elderly patient may have sustained a basilar skull fracture after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk. The nurse knows that basilar skull factures: Are the least significant type of skull fracture. May have cause cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks from the nose or ears. Have no characteristic findings.  Are always surgically repaired.  Which of the following types of drugs might be given to control increased intracranial pressure (ICP)? Barbiturates Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors Anticholinergics Histamine receptor blockers The nurse is teaching family members of a patient with a concussion about the early signs of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Which of the following would she cite as an early sign of increased ICP? Decreased systolic blood pressure Headache and vomiting Inability to wake the patient with noxious stimuli Dilated pupils that don’t react to light Jessie James is diagnosed with retinal detachment. Which intervention is the most important for this patient? Admitting him to the hospital on strict bed rest Patching both of his eyes Referring him to an ophthalmologist Preparing him for surgery Dr. Bruce Owen, a chemist, sustained a chemical burn to one eye. Which intervention takes priority for a patient with a chemical burn of the eye? Patch the affected eye and call the ophthalmologist. Administer a cycloplegic agent to reduce ciliary spasm. Immediately instill a tropical anesthetic, then irrigate the eye with saline solution. Administer antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection The nurse is assessing a patient and notes a Brudzinski’s sign and Kernig’s sign. These are two classic signs of which of the following disorders? Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) Meningitis Seizure disorder Parkinson’s disease A patient is admitted to the hospital for a brain biopsy. The nurse knows that the most common type of primary brain tumor is: Meningioma. Angioma. Hemangioblastoma. Glioma. The nurse should instruct the patient with Parkinson’s disease to avoid which of the following? Walking in an indoor shopping mall Sitting on the deck on a cool summer evening Walking to the car on a cold winter day Sitting on the beach in the sun on a summer day Gary Jordan suffered a cerebrovascular accident that left her unable to comprehend speech and unable to speak. This type of aphasia is known as: Receptive aphasia Expressive aphasia Global aphasia Conduction aphasia Kelly Smith complains that her headaches are occurring more frequently despite medications. Patients with a history of headaches should be taught to avoid: Freshly prepared meats. Citrus fruits. Skim milk Chocolate Immediately following cerebral aneurysm rupture, the patient usually complains of: Photophobia Explosive headache Seizures Hemiparesis Which of the following is a cause of embolic brain injury? Persistent hypertension Subarachnoid hemorrhage Atrial fibrillation Skull fracture Although Ms. Priestly has a spinal cord injury, she can still have sexual intercourse. Discharge teaching should make her aware that: She must remove indwelling urinary catheter prior to intercourse. She can no longer achieve orgasm. Positioning may be awkward. She can still get pregnant. Ivy Hopkins, age 25, suffered a cervical fracture requiring immobilization with halo traction. When caring for the patient in halo traction, the nurse must: Keep a wrench taped to the halo vest for quick removal if cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary. Remove the brace once a day to allow the patient to rest. Encourage the patient to use a pillow under the ring. Remove the brace so that the patient can shower. The nurse asks a patient’s husband if he understands why his wife is receiving nimodipine (Nimotop), since she suffered a cerebral aneurysm rupture. Which response by the husband indicates that he understands the drug’s use? â€Å"Nimodipine replaces calcium.† â€Å"Nimodipine promotes growth of blood vessels in the brain.† â€Å"Nimodipine reduces the brain’s demand for oxygen.† â€Å"Nimodipine reduces vasospasm in the brain.† Many men who suffer spinal injuries continue to be sexually active. The teaching plan for a man with a spinal cord injury should include sexually concerns. Which of the following injuries would most likely prevent erection and ejaculation? C5 C7 T4 S4 Cathy Bates, age 36, is a homemaker who frequently forgets to take her carbamazepine (Tegretol). As a result, she has been experiencing seizures. How can the nurse best help the patient remember to take her medication? Tell her take her medication at bedtime. Instruct her to take her medication after one of her favorite television shows. Explain that she should take her medication with breakfast. Tell her to buy an alarm watch to remind her. Richard Barnes was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis. What response by the patient indicates that he understands the precautions necessary with this diagnosis? â€Å"I’m so depressed because I can’t have any visitors for a week.† â€Å"Thank goodness, I’ll only be in isolation for 24 hours.† â€Å"The nurse told me that my urine and stool are also sources of meningitis bacteria.† â€Å"The doctor is a good friend of mine and won’t keep me in isolation.† An early symptom associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) includes: Fatigue while talking Change in mental status Numbness of the hands and feet Spontaneous fractures When caring for a patient with esophageal varices, the nurse knows that bleeding in this disorder usually stems from: Esophageal perforation Pulmonary hypertension Portal hypertension Peptic ulcers Tiffany Black is diagnosed with type A hepatitis. What special precautions should the nurse take when caring for this patient? Put on a mask and gown before entering the patient’s room. Wear gloves and a gown when removing the patient’s bedpan. Prevent the droplet spread of the organism. Use caution when bringing food to the patient. Discharge instructions for a patient who has been operated on for colorectal cancer include irrigating the colostomy. The nurse knows her teaching is effective when the patient states he’ll contact the doctor if: He experiences abdominal cramping while the irrigant is infusing He has difficulty inserting the irrigation tube into the stoma He expels flatus while the return is running out.  He’s unable to complete the procedure in 1 hour.  The nurse explains to the patient who has an abdominal perineal resection that an indwelling urinary catheter must be kept in place for several days afterward because: It prevents urinary tract infection following surgery.  It prevents urine retention and resulting pressure on the perineal wound It minimizes the risk of wound contamination by the urine.  It determines whether the surgery caused bladder trauma .The first day after, surgery the nurse finds no measurable fecal drainage from a patient’s colostomy stoma. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention? Call the doctor immediately. Obtain an order to irrigate the stoma. Place the patient on bed rest and call the doctor. Continue the current plan of care. If a patient’s GI tract is functioning but he’s unable to take foods by mouth, the preferred method of feeding is: Total parenteral nutrition Peripheral parenteral nutrition Enteral nutrition Oral liquid supplements Which type of solution causes water to shift from the cells into the plasma? Hypertonic Hypotonic Isotonic Alkaline Particles move from an area of greater osmelarity to one of lesser osmolarity through: Active transport Osmosis Diffusion Filtration Which assessment finding indicates dehydration? Tenting of chest skin when pinched Rapid filling of hand veins A pulse that isn’t easily obliterated Neck vein distention Which nursing intervention would most likely lead to a hypo-osmolar state? Performing nasogastric tube irrigation with normal saline solution Weighing the patient daily Administering tap water enema until the return is clear Encouraging the patient with excessive perspiration to dink broth Which assessment finding would indicate an extracellular fluid volume deficit? Bradycardia A central venous pressure of 6 mm Hg Pitting edema An orthostatic blood pressure change A patient with metabolic acidosis has a preexisting problem with the kidneys. Which other organ helps regulate blood pH? Liver Pancreas Lungs heart The nurse considers the patient anuric if the patient; Voids during the nighttime hours Has a urine output of less than 100 ml in 24 hours Has a urine output of at least 100 ml in 2 hours Has pain and burning on urination Which nursing action is appropriate to prevent infection when obtaining a sterile urine specimen from an indwelling urinary catheter? Aspirate urine from the tubing port using a sterile syringe and needle Disconnect the catheter from the tubing and obtain urine Open the drainage bag and pour out some urine Wear sterile gloves when obtaining urine After undergoing a transurethral resection of the prostate to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy, a patient is retuned to the room with continuous bladder irrigation in place. One day later, the patient reports bladder pain. What should the nurse do first? Increase the I.V. flow rate Notify the doctor immediately Assess the irrigation catheter for patency and drainage Administer meperidine (Demerol) as prescribed A patient comes to the hospital complaining of sudden onset of sharp, severe pain originating in the lumbar region and radiating around the side and toward the bladder. The patient also reports nausea and vomiting and appears pale, diaphoretic, and anxious. The doctor tentatively diagnoses renal calculi and orders flat-plate abdominal X-rays. Renal calculi can form anywhere in the urinary tract. What is their most common formation site? Kidney Ureter Bladder Urethra A patient comes to the hospital complaining of severe pain in the right flank, nausea, and vomiting. The doctor tentatively diagnoses right ureter-olithiasis (renal calculi). When planning this patient’s care, the nurse should assign highest priority to which nursing diagnosis? Pain Risk of infection Altered urinary elimination Altered nutrition: less than body requirements The nurse is reviewing the report of a patient’s routine urinalysis. Which of the following values should the nurse consider abnormal? Specific gravity of 1.002 Urine pH of 3 Absence of protein Absence of glucose A patient with suspected renal insufficiency is scheduled for a comprehensive diagnostic work-up. After the nurse explains the diagnostic tests, the patient asks which part of the kidney â€Å"does the work.† Which answer is correct? The glomerulus Bowman’s capsule The nephron The tubular system During a shock state, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system exerts which of the following effects on renal function? Decreased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Decreased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, increased reabsorption of sodium and water Increased urine output, decreased reabsorption of sodium and water While assessing a patient who complained of lower abdominal pressure, the nurse notes a firm mass extending above the symphysis pubis. The nurse suspects: A urinary tract infection Renal calculi An enlarged kidney A distended bladder Gregg Lohan, age 75, is admitted to the medical-surgical floor with weakness and left-sided chest pain. The symptoms have been present for several weeks after a viral illness. Which assessment finding is most symptomatic of pericarditis? Pericardial friction rub Bilateral crackles auscultated at the lung bases Pain unrelieved by a change in position Third heart sound (S3) James King is admitted to the hospital with right-side-heart failure. When assessing him for jugular vein distention, the nurse should position him: Lying on his side with the head of the bed flat. Sitting upright. Flat on his back. Lying on his back with the head of the bed elevated 30 to 45 degrees. The nurse is interviewing a slightly overweight 43-year-old man with mild emphysema and borderline hypertension. He admits to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. When developing a teaching plan, which of the following should receive highest priority to help decrease respiratory complications? Weight reduction Decreasing salt intake Smoking cessation Decreasing caffeine intake What is the ratio of chest compressions to ventilations when one rescuer performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an adult? 15:1 15:2 12:1 12:2 When assessing a patient for fluid and electrolyte balance, the nurse is aware that the organs most important in maintaining this balance are the: Pituitary gland and pancreas Liver and gallbladder. Brain stem and heart. Lungs and kidneys.

.Northwest Airlines Essay Example for Free

.Northwest Airlines Essay 1).Northwest Airlines applied mathematical models to determine which customers in its database were currently responsible for most of its profitability and which customers were not currently profitable but had similar characteristics to the most profitable customers. Northwest Airlines utilized _____ to identify these customers. 2) Minute Maid sees research as the fundamental first step in any business decision, and it created proprietary methods for conducting research. At what level of the hierarchy of business decision makers does Minute Maid operate 3) Which of the following questions is considered first when discussing a management dilemma 4) The goal of ethics in research is to _____. 5) _____ occurs when the participants are told only part of the truth or when the truth is fully compromised. 6) The process of stating the basic dilemma and then developing other questions by progressively breaking down the original question into more specific ones is called the _____. 7) The fundamental weakness in the research process is _____. 8) Which type of management question asks what do we want to achieve 9) In the Southeast, the potato chip market share held by the Lays brand is 46. This is an example of _____. 10) An increase in hours of television viewing leads to increases in the sales of snack foods. This is an example of a _____. 11) To be categorized as a customer, an individual must have a history of shopping at the establishment at least twice before the start of the study with expenditures of more than 10. RES/351 Final Exam. This is an example of _____. 12) James is entering data on client gender. Because the values entered reflect male or female, this variable is _____. 13) Which variable in an experiment is the variable expected to be affected by the manipulation 14) Qualitative research seeks to _____ theory while quantitative research _____ it. 15) Which of the following is true of quantitative research 16) The use of a control group in experimentation _____. 17) What is the first step in conducting an experiment 18) Data originating from studies that are conducted by others and created for a purpose different from the purpose of the study for which the data are being reviewed are called _____ data. Res 351 final exam 19) The goal of a formal study is to _____. 20) A _____ scale is a scale that scores an object or property without making a direct comparison to another object or property. 21).What type of data is produced by simple category scales

The impact of the life course in health and social care

The impact of the life course in health and social care Drawing on the concepts you have studied in Block1, critically reflect on the ways in which your own life course has affected how you work in, or use, health and social care. In this essay I will look at the life course perspective, and how it has provided me with an essential tool to offer a more personalised service. I will describe how my own life course and ‘Biographical Disruption (Bury 1982) has changed the person I am beyond the expectations I had of my presumed journey, and how it has impacted on my practice. Where it has proved to be a strength or a weakness, and how it has made me more sensitive to people’s needs and behaviour. I will look at how my personal values have been shaped and influenced by my life course, and discuss possible ethical conflicts. I will start off explaining the concept of life course using the five principles discussed by Bengtson et al. (2005). Recognising the course that people’s lives take is relatively new to study and research. Until relatively recently the understanding of human development was based on the life cycle approach, one of the oldest accounts of how life’s and families are organised over time (Bengtson, et al 2005, p.9). The approach is based on the idea that people’s lives go through a series of relatively predictable and chronological stages and transitions from birth to death, providing insight in peoples changing roles and identities in relation to landmark occasions such as coming of age, marriage, childbirth and old age. From the 1960’s onwards the life cycle approach began to incorporate psychological elements, which considered the relationship between an individual’s inner world, and the social context in which they live. This idea of considering the whole of a person’s life as offering opportunities for development and change (Crawford and Walker p.2) is re ferred to in literature as life –span development (Sugarman, L. 1986, p.3) or the life-span perspective (Baltes, P. 1987, p.3). At the same time these approaches began to merge with the idea that age and ageing is not only related to a chronological stage in human development, but also to subjective experiences between the individuals own construction of their life course, and social constructions such as schools, labour markets and normative pathways. Ageing is a lifelong process, in general common to all of us, but throughout our journey from birth to death, events can be imposed upon us from which we may have to make decisions and choices that change the path of our life course. Timing is often unexpected and change may not happen at a time we would have chosen it to; this not only impacts upon our own life and future but on those we are linked with. understanding my own life course also supports me professionally working in social care, Crawford and Walker (2003, p.2) point out that social work practice involves interactions between people, which are influenced by each person’s life course, their e xperiences and perceptions about their own life, emphasising the quality of these personal relationships between service users, their families, carers and professionals. In order to understand the impact human development and life events have on individuals I need to have a critical, reflective understanding of how my own life course has shaped me, my behaviour and influenced my beliefs and values. This will enable me to engage with people better, respond more sensitively to people’s experiences and needs and explain why people don’t always act in ways that appear to be in their best interests (K319, Learning Guide 3, 2013). My self-perception and my values and beliefs are very much shaped by my own life courses’ significant events, experiences and transitions, such as growing up in a very large family in the seventies, being a divorced woman with young children and being a main carer for my terminally ill mum. Bengtson et al (2005) identifies five principles that are essential to the life course perspective. First there is the principle of linked lives, which emphasizes on the fact that people’s life courses are interdependent with others, especially relevant in the context of families. Having grown up in a very large family my life has been linked to my siblings and parents, so when my dad fell seriously ill, and never recovered enough to ever return to work, and he needed almost constant supervision and support. The impact on all the family was life changing, my siblings that still lived at home had to find jobs to help the household finances, and they all feel this event ended their childhood. I was 10 years old I was taken to live with my eldest brother and his family. This felt very strange and I remember feeling afraid I would not see my parents again. It was thought that I was too young to understand what was happening so I was never told how ill my dad was, I was never allowed to visit him in hospital, and he was there for a full year. I was just told to be good and not ma ke a fuss. I then stayed for short periods of time with my grown up siblings and extended family, this went on for many months , living a very transient existents and not staying in one place long enough to develop friendships with children my own age. Looking back from my adult self, I can now relate to my difficulties in developing long term relationships and poor self-esteem. On the positive side I was able to develop a lifelong close relationship with a maiden aunt which looking back I don’t feel would have happened if I had stayed in the family home over that period. Secondly there is the principle of historical time and place, â€Å"emphasising the importance of social and historical context in shaping individual lives† (Bengston et al, 2005 p11). This is discussed as how events such as wars, trauma, depression or a period of prosperity affects our lives, Impacting on the life courses of all generations living in that particular time and place. My dad’s illness in the seventies meant he could no longer work and provide for his family, so from being a provider he became cared for, which changed the whole dynamic of the family structure. He also had to rely on sickness benefit, which in the seventies welfare system was very difficult to get and the financial support was very low. This impacted on all the family. We were poor prior to his illness but this plunged us further into poverty. This had a negative effect on us all, but for me at a time when I was just about to start secondary school I felt the stigma of being subjectively po or. I spent many difficult days in school feeling marginalised and bullied by my peers, because I didn’t have nice clothes and had to have free school dinners, at that time children on free dinners had to queue in different lines, this compounded the feelings of inferiority. My mum did her best, and managed to get some part time work alongside her being the main carer for dad, and mother to her children. Looking back, I realise my mum must have been a very strong person to cope with the situation she found herself in, she instilled a strong work ethic into her children, believing hard work would bring rewards. She influenced me with her single minded determination, like Enid with her mother (k319, Learning Guide 3 Audio 3.1). With hindsight this period of my life forced me to become more independent as I had to fend for myself a lot, it also provide me with a valuable lesson in managing on very little money. This benefitted me when I was a single parent following a divorce I was able to budget with a small income. The next principle considers â€Å"the timing of significant life transitions and whether they fit well with cultural expectations of when things should happen† (K319, Learning Guide 3, Activity 3.1). I came into my career as a result of two biographical disruptions in my life. First I was divorced in my mid-twenties and needed to get work to support my children. Then my mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I became her carer. I was able to get part time paid work as a home care assistant through social care, I found I could transfer the skills I had used as a carer and the training I received helped me to support my mum better. I discovered I had very good people skills and enjoyed supporting older people to stay independent. Even later in my life I commenced my social work degree studies in contradiction to society’s view of what is ‘normal’. As with Mike, the case study in Learning Guide 3, Activity 3.5, I had concerns that studying as a mature stu dent would lead to ‘sub-normative’ feelings of being different but on reflection my life skills and experiences have enriched my learning experience. The fourth principle considers the control most people have over their own lives and â€Å"they make choice about what to do and have plans for the future† (K319, Learning Guide 3, Activity 3.1). Although I did not have any influence on my upbringing and not a large amount over my divorce. My experiences have provided me with the power and choice over my future which included a career in social care. I feel my life experience has made me aware of understanding everyone has past life events that impact on their current life. So when I am working with service users and planning for social work interventions, having an understanding of the potential of disruptions such as illness, and other life changes can be major turning point in their lives, and can help people see how they can become an opportunity for them to make changes (agency) in their lives. As in the story of Doireann and Iskender (K319 Learning Guide 3, Audio 3.7), where Iskender’s heart attack became a turnin g point in both his and Doireann’s life. Finally the fifth principle that affirms that ageing is relevant to both the young and old, and development is not exclusive to younger people and children. Our lives are fluid as we travel our life course and we continue to change and develop whatever age we are. My life is still developing and changing as I age, in the sense that I am developing my academic skills, and my experience of caring for my mum throughout her terminal illness and the impact this had on my life. The life cycle assumed that people would have a ‘normative life course’ (K319 Learning guide 3, Activity 3.5).That is to say people will have a life that is expected to be desirable and virtuous by society that is free from problems. Whereas a person with a â€Å"non-normative life course† is often considered to be judged and having to justify and explain their lifestyle. As a divorced woman in my mid-twenties, with two young children, which was not the normal status in the social groups I mixed in, this resulted in me feeling ‘different’ and stigmatised. I felt I had to explain my single status and felt I was seen as a threat to my married friends. I felt I had failed both myself and my children and was worried my children would feel as I did as a child, being bullied for not having a normal childhood. These feelings gave me insight into the lives of others with ‘non-normative’ life courses, whether due to their sexuality or life style c hoices.it has also made me question as a social care provider, does that service user feel as I did, and feel I am judging them therefore they have to explain themselves?. My own experiences of feeling ‘different’ has made me sensitive to the feelings and needs of those who society judges as non-normative, in comparison to people who follow the expected ‘norms’ and pathways we are expected to take. My own life course was in my early childhood a non- normative course, due to the biographical disruption of my dad falling ill and resulted in me having an unconventional childhood. As I grew into adulthood my life course was comparable to the life cycle in that it had proceeded in a socially accepted pattern within a presumed time span which Giele and Elder (1998) described as â€Å"a sequence of socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time.† My early adult life followed a life that was considered ‘normative’, I was following the cycle of â€Å"completing formal education, working, forming relationships, marrying and having children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (K319 Learning Guide 3, Activity 3.3).I did not predict that in my mid-twenties my life would suffer more biographical disruption that would have a huge impact on me, my family and lead into a future I would not have predicted. Bury (2012) describes biographical disruption to be a negative experience but I would disagree with that in relation to my own experience so far as a career in social care is concerned. If I had stayed married and my mum had not got ill, I am sure I would not have followed this path and likely I would have had a very different life now. However I had not consciously thought about entering into the social work profession, I presumed my entry into social care was the result of events that has steered me in the direction of this profession and opportunities that have presented themselves to me i.e. I was in the right place at the right time. Having read ‘Life experience: A neglected form of knowledge in social work education and practice, by Christie et al 1998,I am inclined to agree that my career choice has not been a coincidence but a choice I have made based on the knowledge I have acquired as a result of my life experiences. I am able to draw on my experiences as a knowledge base for my practice alongside the ever developing knowledge I am gaining from my studies. However, I do not â€Å"persist in viewing social work as the profession effective in bringing about social change† (Christie et al 1998). I feel my role is to support others in bringing about their own change, as I have been able to do. How ever I am mindful that the experiences I draw on in my practice are my personal experiences and are owned by me, and others experiences are exclusive to them. I am aware that my knowledge within in my work is limited to my own personal experiences and my personal feelings could influence my approach to service users and the decisions I make in my assessments of them. In conclusion the article from Christie and Weeks has in fact made me question my theory that I did not choose social work as a profession purposefully; perhaps my life experiences have directed rather than influenced my choice to be a social worker, †my own working class background, marriage difficulties, poverty, powerlessness, has influenced me strongly† (Christie el at 1998).This assignment has shown that our life course is an unpredictable path that we follow; it is constantly being reshaped from what we have imagined our life path to follow, by the events that take place around us. But although it presents us with many situations that are out of our control that impact upon us. The understanding of our life course gives us the strength to move forward in our lives, it also presents us with choice and power and positivity to look forward to the future. And as Winston Churchill says â€Å"the farther backwards you can look, the farther forward you are likely to seeâ €  (Churchill circa 1941) Word count 2601 References Baltes, P. (1987) in Crawford, K. and Walker, J. (2003) Social Work and Human Development, Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd. Bengtson, V. L., et al. (2005) ‘The lifecourse perspective on ageing: linked lives, timing and history’ in Katz, J., Peace, S. and Spurr, S. (ed) Adult Lives; A life course perspective, Bristol, Policy press/Milton Keynes, The Open University. Bury, M. (1982) ‘Chronic illness as biographical disruption’ in Katz, J. Peace, S. and Spurr’ S(eds)Adult Lives: A life course perspective, Bristol, Policy press/Milton Keynes, The Open University. Christie, A Weeks J (1998): Life experience: A neglected form of knowledge in social work education and practice: Social work in Action. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09503159808411477 (accessed 25 November 2013) Crawford, K. and Walker, J. (2003) Social Work and Human Development, Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd. Hareven, T. K. (1982) in Hutchinson, E. (2011) Dimensions of Human Behaviour ; The Changing Life Course, London, Sage Publications. Hutchinson, E. (2011) Dimensions of Human Behaviour; The Changing Life Course, London, Sage Publications. National Churchill Museum: Miscellaneous Wit and Wisdom http://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/wit-wisdom-quotes.html (assessed 25 November 2013) Phillips, D. (2006) ‘Quality of Life’ in in Katz, J., Peace, S. and Spurr, S. (ed) Adult Lives; A life course perspective, Bristol Policy press/Milton Keynes, The Open University. Sugarman, L. (1986) in Crawford, K. and Walker, J. (2003) Social Work and Human Development, Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd. The Open University, (2013), ‘Learning Guide 3.1 The life course perspective’, K319 Block 1 Approaches to adulthood and ageing, [online] available at http://www.learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=255389 (Accessed 23 November 2013) The Open University, (2013), ‘Learning Guide 3.5 ‘unusual life course’, K319 Block 1 Approaches to adulthood and ageing, [online] available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=255389 (Accessed 23 November 2013) The Open University (2013) ‘Learning Guide 3: Introduction’, K319 Block 1 [Online]. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=255389 (accessed 23 November 2013). The Open University (2013) ‘I Think I’m still working through it’ [Audio], ‘Learning Guide 3.3: Biographical Disruption’, K319 Block1 [Online]. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=255389section=3 (accessed 26 November 2013). Page 1 of 8