Interview-Family Influence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interview-Family Influence - Assignment Example The family had to move from place to place every two years and this demanded them to be resilient and easily adjust to their environment as well as the people around them. Growing up in a military family, John Doe was exposed to a lot of friends wherein most of them also belong to military families. He had White and Black American as well as Asian friends and others from cultural groups, too. â€Å"I was raised without prejudice to anyone† (Doe, 2013), the young man said quite contentedly and smiled. He added that his parents never discouraged him to play with other children from a different race. However, when he was bullied or if he met trouble-makers, his parents suggested for him to just stay away from them. Doe’s parents expressed these information verbally to him and his siblings early on perhaps because they know they were expected to meet different kinds of people. Moreover, as any parent does, the Doe couple also warned the children not to speak with strangers for their safety. Explaining was the basic manner the parents used to inform their children about the facts of life. Although the Doe children were taught not to have any prejudice to anyone, they were also taught to be careful with the people they do not know. As experts often say, children are more receptive in learning from what parents show more than what they say. In Doe’s case, his parents’ teachings were indeed fortified by what he saw them do. Whenever there were occasions to celebrate, the family often invited visitors from various ethnic groups. Sometimes, simple dinners with other families of different cultures were planned in order to accommodate new friends and know them better. The children were also encouraged to play together and this enhanced their socialization skills. The greatest effects of this in Doe’s life are perhaps his resiliency in adopting to new environment and people as well as good socialization skills. When sent to a public high s chool, Doe learned more about other races and he came to understand further what prejudice and racism are. However, due to his strong influence from his parents, he maintained his respect toward other races. He never covertly or overtly felt prejudice toward any race despite the new information he was assimilating because he never witnessed anyone from his family exemplify so. The family never discussed about racism, feminism or homosexuality because perhaps the parents wanted the children to have high tolerance toward other races and sexualities. Although communication seems to be open in the family when it comes to a lot of matters, there were also things that seemed uneasy for the family to discuss and this was evident in Doe’s saying, â€Å"†¦but my mom found some things very hard to discuss where my dad it was his way and that was that† (Doe, 2013). The man’s refusal to further comment on the issue was respected. Doe admits that his family primarily in fluenced how he perceives other people of different races or gender inclinations. He says he does not care much if a person is Black or Asian, gay or straight. However, he has this take on every child; that they all deserve to have parents of both sexes. He further says that children get the â€Å"bad rap due to the race they are† and in a similar manner, children who have unique parents, meaning two females or two males, receive the same treatment. Although Doe does not inflict such kind of bullying toward other people, he claims

Ways of Seeing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ways of Seeing - Essay Example This paper outlines that ways of seeing has seven essays that have been divided into two major forms. This includes; four essays that use words, images, and the remaining three that uses only images to illustrate given information or an idea. This book /video categorically illustrates that ‘seeing comes before words’. The way the child looks and recognizes before he or she can speak is an example that justifies the illustration that states that seeing comes before words. In another scenario, ways of seeing establishes the place in the surrounding world. We usually see the sun set in the evening and justify that the earth is turning away and this shows that explanation behind the scenario never quite fits the vista within our eyes. According to Fuery and Kelli, the key of dreams painting presentation shows how a gap exists between words and seeing.   From this essay it is clear that various scenarios have been portrayed in this book in regards to ways of seeing. The method of seeing however, encounters changes on an image perception. As established by various scholars, an image either can be recreated or reproduced to represent a set of appearance hence; suggesting that we use the word since all images are man-made. In regards to valuation of an image, it is therefore known that an image gives a value in response to its representation. In regards to the national gallery, the firm has reproduced several Leonardo’s cartoons like the Virgin and Child with St Anne and St.  

Neoclassical era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Neoclassical era - Essay Example The other representative characteristic of the visual art of the period was the sculpture forms. An example of neoclassical architecture is the ‘national gallery of art’ in Washington DC and the ‘Lincoln memorial’ buildings. These buildings are considered representative of the neoclassical era because of their emphasis on walls and maintenance of separate identities to each of their parts (Bietoletti 82). The buildings appear to have been inspired by classical architecture from ancient Greece or Rome, and further get characterized by their tall columns that rise to the building’s full height and domed roofs. Examples of neoclassical music include ‘the soldier’s tale’ and ‘the firebird’ both composed by Igor Stravinsky, a famous neoclassical composer and musician. His music is representative of the era because it aimed at reviving earlier music forms such as those during the romantic and baroque period. The music avoided the complex forms and exaggerated gestures of the music witnessed during the late romantic period. The music focused on reintroducing a tonal center and a melodic element to bring out a clear form. The neoclassical era coincided with the age of enlightment. Artists during the period looked to draw inspiration from looking back at the art forms of classical times by emphasizing more on the classical ideals of rational control and order (Bietoletti 42). The attention paid to the past art forms ensured that these artists undertook a conservative approach in their

The Paradoxical Twins Acme and Omega Electronics Essay Example for Free

The Paradoxical Twins Acme and Omega Electronics Essay From reading this case study I found that Acme and Omega have problems that need to be looked at. Both firms produce similar products and offer similar services. In this assignment I am going to analyse the forms of control used in Acme and Omega. I will also try and comment on both firms effectiveness. I will try to be thorough as possible. I will first begin to give brief background information on both companies and then try to compare them to one another and try to comment on their effectiveness to the full. To end it I will give my conclusion. From looking into Acme I gained knowledge that its president John Tyler is a very tough going individual. He is portrayed to be an autocratic individual. I say this because he tends to communicate in one way, for example what he says goes. He makes all the decisions and gives out all instructions and orders, expecting them to be obeyed, without question. An employee/ manager categories the president as one man band. He feels that John Tyler should try and give more information rather than giving orders. He also does not take suggestions from people. To me it looks as if there is a slight communication problem. There are times when I wished I had little more information about what is going on. This shows Acme employees are kept in the dark Mushroom management Keep the troop in the dark and pile on the _ _ _ _(work). The managers also feel that they need a little more freedom at work. This shows that John Tyler may be pressurising them constantly. To back up my point some of the managers voiced the desire to have a little more latitude in their jobs The president also is made to look like a tough person and runs the firm well in terms of high standards and good production levels. Managers feel that he runs a tight ship. This shows that he wants everything correct and dead on. This on the other hand shows that Acme has good control and is well structured. Acme is a flat and formal structured organisation, this is an advantage as it is easier to spot problems i.e. communication problem, shows how different sections of the firm relate to each other, it shows who is in charge, who makes and carries the decisions and shows individuals where there positions in the firm is. Having a flat structure makes it quicker to solve problems, less roumous and gossip. Tyler seems like a very confident and strong minded person We have been able to beat Omega regularly for the most profitable contracts thereby, increasing our profits. John Tylers attitude resembles F.W Taylor (1911) views. He believed that these 5 principles increased production: 1. A clear division of tasks and responsibilities between management and workers 2. Use of Scientific methods to determine the best way of doing a job. Read more:Â  The Paradoxical Twins ACME and Omega Electronics 3. Scientific selection of the person to do the newly job. 4. The training of the selected worker to perform the job in the way specified. 5. Enthusiastic co-operation with the workers to ensure that the work was performed in accordance with scientific management principles and this was secured by use of economic incentives. John Tyler carries out methods and procedures the classical way. From reading inside Omega I found that the president Jim Rawls did not believe in organisational charts/ structures. Organisation charts just put artificial barriers between specialists who should be working together. Although I think that Omega is a matrix organisation. I feel that not having an organisational structure does not clearly show what position the employee has in the firm, therefore causes problems within the work force as workers will work in any department. This means that the individual may feel that s/he does not have full responsibilities. The worker also would not have a clear job description, this may effect the firms effectiveness. To back up my point of workers not having a clear job description a worker said When I first got here I wasnt sure what I was supposed to do. One day I worked with some mechanical engineers the next day I helped the shipping department design some packing cartons. This overall can cause low working standards and low morale- low production output. Jim Rawls felt that having an organisational chart would create problems between specialists. I also deduced that Omega had no clear form of communication. I say this because he does not allow written memos, he expressed the plant is small if people want to communicate they can just drop by and talk things over. Employees of Omega complained that this was a waste of time. To me passing round is time consuming and gives workers excuse of talking to one another, this slows down production and performance. Also messages can be misleading if someone passes the wrong message out. This can also cause problems as workers will not get the correct information. Most decisions at Omega were made by the management team. Acme has an organisation structure therefore communication is good although there are improvements that need to be made like the way John Tyler communicates with his managers. Whereas Omega has no structure therefore is causing problems within the firm. Ames president is a person who wants everything perfect. He believes his firms greater effectiveness to his mangers is to run a tight ship. This I think is because his firm would have: * Good control * Good communication * Dept functions * Well structured and organised * Has simple reporting relationship * Concentration on skills. This shows Acmes president has a firm grip whereas Omegas president does not, he seems to be more laid back. Acmes president is autocratic leader as he does what he wants and does not take other workers/ mangers opinions or suggestions into consideration. The advantage of an autocratic style is known as efficient and it is essential in some circumstances. Autocratic leadership produces quicker decisions, however the autocratic style creates frustrations and resentment. Whereas Omegas president is a democratic leader, as he seeks the opinions and suggestions of workers. This shows that he shows interest in his workers. Although he sometimes spends too much of his time informing workers of information. Omegas decisions are made by management team whereas Acmes decisions are made by the president. Acmes president demands rather than speak politely demanded that Mechanical Engineering begins building those damn chassis. On the other hand Jim Rawls spends too much of his time listening to suggestion Jim spends too much time and mine making sure everyone understands what were doing and listening to suggestions. From reading the part where both firms are trying to reach the deadline of completing the units on time and successfully I can comment on both firms. I think Acme did well because of the way they communicated. For example John Tyler sent out a memo to all departments stating the critical time constraints of this job and how he expected that everyone would perform as efficiently as they had in the past. This showed that Tyler was controlling his employees. Although John Tyler put a lot of pressure on his employees. Because Acme had a structure, this allowed them to be well organised, therefore helped and keep everything in control. Whilst trying to complete the units John Tyler and the Head of Industrial Engineering fell into a dilemma. dont bother me with method details now. The Head of Industrial then replies if my boss think our output is needed, to hell with him!. This shows that they both cant work well and communicate with each other. This to me seems like both of these individuals are not working together very professionally. The foreman also didnt listen to the method engineers therefore this slowed down Acme from completing the units. When the units were completed John Tyler should have checked more than just one component as this was not very professional. Acmes president needs to consider taking his workers opinions and suggestions. He should try to talk to them rather than demanding on what he wants. From looking at the way Omega was preparing to complete the units for the photocop ier Jim Rawls gave good advise compared to Tyler. Jim Rawls did not pressure his workers but told his workers what to prepare for. He outlined what the job involved and discussed what was to be started on. Omegas workers seemed to be very organised and methodical, they worked well and communicated well with each other compared to Acmes workers. For example when they decide to check the blue prints all of the engineers agreed after checking and rechecking the blue prints. To back up that they worked well together as a team people from Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering spent Monday night redesigning the cable. This relates to R. Likert 1961. He believed that the structure of an organisation should be formed around effective work groups rather than individuals. He proposed the concept of the overlapping group membership structure. This involved a linking pin process in which the superior member of one group was subordinate member of group above. Likert argued that the benefits of such an organisations design include improved communication increased co- operation and more team commitment and faster decision making. Overall I think Acme got the contract due to many reasons, for example Acme had a structure therefore made it look like Acme has good control. Acme also may have been given the final contract because of there past, as they achieved grater net profit than Omega Acme was consistently more effective than Omega and regularly achieved greater net profit. Acmes annual sales was also higher than Omegas. Acmes president was also a very confident and demanding man therefore it makes the firm look strong Tyler was very confident that had the demand not been so great, its competitor would not have survived. In the end Acme reduced there costs by 20% therefore the photocopier manufacture gave them the contact as it would have been more cheaper to buy units. Omega could have used the same tactics/methods but this may not have been the only thing that could have given them the contract. Things that I could suggest that may have given them the contact would be if they were a larger firm with a clear structure to show that they have some sort of control.

Feminist Theories on Rape

Feminist Theories on Rape Feminist theory provides more than just a discourse on the interactions of the male and female, within the public and private sphere. In fact feminist theory has considered the core problems in the legal and political systems, resulting in a discourse on the inherent inequalities of these systems that favor men over women. Therefore this discussion will consider two key areas of feminist theory which are; equality of rights; and the equality in the law. In order to understand the contributions that feminism has made to political and legal theory the inequalities and injustices that feminists are aiming to eliminate must be considered. The main area of feminist theory that this discussion will consider is liberalist and Western feminism; however it is important to note that there are non-liberalist and Eastern theories of feminism but to explore these feminisms is beyond the scope of this essay. This essay will discuss the theory provided by theorists such as MacKinnon, Scales and Sta nley. It will consider radical feminism and the concept of rape; and the next section will discuss the use of womens bodies either through rape law or visual norms as a way to control women. It will then consider the case study of feminist theory and the blurred distinction between the public and the private in general and then consider whether the approach taken by radical feminists goes too far and reduces the accountability of feminist theory. The following section will consider an alternative approach within feminist theory to ensure that equality and accountability is brought into the theory and then the approach to legal, social and political problems such as the states approach to rape as a means of control is taken seriously. Finally this discussion will conclude in answering the title question – does radical feminism theory offer an explanation and solution to womens inherent inequality in the political and legal systems, in areas such as rape? Feminist Theory: MacKinnon approaches feminism from a standpoint that the laws that evoke equality between men and women are not enough, because they rely on the sameness principle between men and women and tries to compensate women by saying that men and women should be treated the same. However this is not enough because of the physical and biological differences which causes a problem, because the social construction of these differences that have caused an inherent inequality between men and women in the current social, cultural, political and legal system. Mackinnon also indicates the current theoretical approaches to equality and rights are not sufficient enough because they fail to recognize that the legal and judicial system is entrenched in a male domination. Hence trying to make women the same as men, rather than recognizing that men and women are different but should have basic rights that protect this difference. MacKinnon also supports leveling the playing field by giving women advantage s over men in order to counter the male dominated system. In short MacKinnon argues that the creating of laws to make women equal to men will not compete with the inherent inequalities in Western legal systems, in fact these laws will entrench the inequalities further and support the power men have in society. Scales also endorses the problems with the inherent social inequalities between men and women. She therefore sets forth the inequality approach in order to combat the structural injustices that face women in the legal system. The central area that Scales explores is the notion of stereotypes which illustrate the structural inequalities between men and women. One such set of stereotypes are the images of the breadwinner and the housewife – the breadwinner, traditionally, is the husband who can successfully have a career and a family because he is not the primary carer. On the other hand, the wife stays at home and commits to childrearing and domestic duties, she can be in employment but not have a successful career because of the responsibilities she has at home. Hence this results in a scenario akin to the case of Phillips v Martin Marietta Corp â€Å"where the company hired males with preschool-aged children but would not hire women in that category†. The other key factor of the inequality approach in addition to recognizing that there are inherent structural differences between men women, it also recognizes the extent of injustice that the system affords to women. Scales takes MacKinnons basic theory and expands it into an approach that can be adopted into legal theory and thinking in order to eliminate the structural inequalities between men and women in the legal system. Therefore making equality more achievable for women as well as leveling the playing field for women by balancing out the inherent power men have over women in the legal system. If one also considers the work of Stanley who argues that the academics of feminist theory s hould be made accountable and not fall foul of academic standards or just use the mainstream methods that are inherently biased. This form of accountable methodology will create a serious and challenging feminist theory of politics and law, which will not be scrutinized as zealous ranting or settling for the biased methods of the male hierarchy: The intellectual location from which debates and arguments are assembled and presented constitutes a point of view – and the point of view critic is inevitably different from that of the proponent†¦ Recognizing this is important, because a point of view is both unavoidable and also indicates the existence of perspective: a particular way of seeing which highlights and brings into focus some thing as salient. Therefore as Stanley points out it is not only important to create a distinct feminist theory that is based upon a methodology that is accountable and not a part of the male hierarchy, as this is the only way to ensure that a feminist theory that will ensure substantive equality. Radical Feminisms Approach to the Body and Men: The general approach of radical feminism to rape is that it is a form of control and the approach of the justice system to rape and the victimization of the victim when testifying. The key factor that radical feminists argue is that this is indicative of an unequal society, where rape and other factors of male violence are examples of re-enforcing the patriarchal system. Rich argues that rape and violence against women are central to the control of women and their bodies, especially when the advancement of women in the public sphere is de-stabilizing this power base: Patriarchy is†¦ a familial-social, ideological, political system in which men – by force, direct pressure or through ritual, law and language, customs, etiquette, education, and division of labour, determine what part women shall or shall not play, and in which the female is everywhere subsumed under the male. It does not necessarily imply that no woman has power, or all women in a given culture may not have certain powers. When considering other feminist theories there is an indicator that there is inherent discrimination in the legal, social and political system. Helena Kennedy in her expose of the English legal systems approach to women in rape trials seems to re-enforce this notion, where a respectable women, i.e. subservient wife or vulnerable career woman can be raped but the aggressive, assertive, sexually active woman will be exposed and not be seen as a victim: A no may be taken forgranted when a respectable woman is attacked by a total stranger in a dimly lit s treet, but since a vast majority of rapes are committed by men known to the victim, consent in rape trails has always been an issue that makes men nervous†¦ Getting women to submit is an acceptable part of the sexual game plan†¦ That women who dressed sexily were contributory negligent or that women who did not want sex just had to keep their legs shut. Therefore the inherent discrimination pervades even violent crime against women, which has been also the case in respect to domestic violence where the justice system would shrug it off as private disputes. The problem with radical feminism is not its findings but the lack to use acceptable academic research from an objective method; it does in fact portray the reality of inequality and control. The action of rape is not about sex but control and power and the more that women threaten the patriarchal system the approach to rape and domestic violence seems to be dismissed; unless the victim falls inline with the ideal picture of a good girl. Campaigning in recent years have brought these problems to the forefront but there are problems with the attitudes of police to rape victims that may not have the purest sexual background then there is little action taken. This is closely tied to the approach of modern media and its onslaught of enslaving women to body image and the perfect Hollyw ood body, as well as the slow progress in respect to sexual harassment in the workplace, i.e. all are tied to patriarchal control of women. There is a problem with academics and policy makers approach to radical feminist theory is that it is considered to ignore the traditional approaches to academic research and theory; therefore as Stanley suggests there needs to be an accountable approach to feminist theory, which will be discussed later in this discussion. The following sections will investigate how the theory of radical feminism that pressure and control of patriarchy over women can be seen as inextricably tied to womens sexuality. Feminist Theory and Womens Bodies: Carla Rice states that [w]henever we as women look at ourselves through the lens of culture, we†¦ end up engaged in a war with our bodies, one that we cannot win. Society has inhibited our bodies and we have absorbed into our skin and bones (1999, 317) Rice introduces an interesting connection between womens bodies and culture; however the modern restraints on women and the body are not new, i.e. history has restrained the body in differing ways. The modern restraint is the attaining the body of the supermodel and not looking older than thirty years old; whereas in history it was being the chaste and innocent daughter and then the dutiful wife and nurturing mother. After the 1960s and the civil rights movements women became a dominating force of change in the workplace and educational arenas, no longer did women have to get married after high school and start a family; rather the avenues of higher education and careers beckoned women from this form of dominance in culture. In order to remedy these advertisements no longer held the 1950s perfect mother image; rather it was replaced by underfed models, such as Twiggy. This escalated to the modern era of fighting natural processes of aging and the hatred of differing body shapes. This has led to women starving themselves, damaging their body by binging and purging, paying thousands of dollars to have their skin stretched, fat pumped and bones broken and replaced. The modern era has heralded freedom in the sense of the mind; however culture has enslaved women using their body again, i.e. the reproductive functions were the prison of the past, superficial beauty is the prison of today. This imprisoning of the mind by using the body is a very old weapon used by the dominating male hierarchical system in fear that women can no longer be so easily controlled. If one considers cultures, such as the Middle East, being too fat or having a big nose is not a thing of consequence; because women are still imprisoned by their reproductive functions. The male dominated system of the West has been forced to alter cultural images and notions to further dominate women; therefore culture has had to alter by forcing women into a new box, i.e. an underfed, tall, big busted woman. The war waged on womens bodies is first a conflict over shape and size, over the terrain of our bodies, played in a deeply entrenched cultural taboos and a powerful dictate against women taking up space and claiming room of our own. This statement of Rices sums up the conflict between the advancement of women and the restraints constructed by the male dominated culture, which has to adapt to the advancement of women in the late 20th and 21st Century. Rice is correct in her evaluation of the male dominated culture adapting to imprison women from declaring their own rights and space. Case Study – Women in the Public Private Spheres: â€Å"Occupational segregation is being reproduced by cyclical practices which are the outcome of past conventions regarding proper relations between the sexes†¦ Occupational segregation is itself a source of stability and conventional gender identities will be reinforced by work in sex-typed occupations. The orthodox division of labour between men and women in the public and private spheres will also be reaffirmed by jobs that offer the opportunity to combine domestic – with paid work – that is, flexible conditions of working, part-time hours and so on†. The situation of creating the level playing field has not been achieved by legal policies of equal opportunities, because the higher paid jobs usually require a large amount of commitment and inflexible working hours. This makes it very hard for mothers to enter these professions. In the case of mothers the barrier to higher employment in the professions of law, accountancy, the stock market and business is the hours are not always nine to five; because a crisis or a client may need advice at anytime. Therefore women in these professions are usually kept to the lower levels, because the fact that they may have a family will impede the commitment these employers expect from a partner or CEO. This is not necessarily the case with the actual possible employees, because the traditional role of mother and housewife is no longer the key driver for the identity of women. It is this perception that is prevalent within liberalist democracies where the structure is entrenched with male dominat ed thinking. Therefore it is this mode of thinking that needs to be changed, which means that the adoption of policies that relay equal-opportunities is not enough. This has been emphasized through the theory of thinkers, such as MacKinnon and Kymlicka. Both these thinkers advise that rights need to be afforded to disadvantaged groups that ensure that the balance the playing field against the dominant group(s) in society. Therefore this introduces policies such as quotas, whereby a certain percentage of women and other disadvantage groups must be represented at all levels of employment. For example within political parties throughout Europe and in certain sectors of Canada a quota system is used, in order to get a representative amount of women into politics. However this has been rejected by the UK and certain sectors of Canadian polity as reverse discrimination. Rejecting the quota systems and labelling them as reverse discrimination illustrates how the current political and legal structures are only playing lip-service to the principles of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination. Institutions of business and government in the who argue against so-called reverse discrimination have failed to recognize that women are more than their traditional role of housewife and mother, because their entrenchment in traditional liberal theory views the labour market as supply and demand; where traditionally the largest supply of cheap labour is found to be women, whereby this labour is traditionally unskilled or related to the caring and domestic sectors. However in the recent years the number of women university graduates has rapidly increased, therefore provides a wealth of skilled female labour. The number of women in the skilled sectors has increased, but the higher one gets in the hierarchy there are fewer women, because of the concept of the glass ceiling for women. This barrier is not recognized in the institutions by equal opportunity policy or within the law be cause it is so entrenched into the social structure of the present legal and political system that is invisible, hence being called the glass ceiling. Feminism has provided a discourse that has gone farther than just making women equal to men, because in making the law gender-blind it fails to recognize the inherent power of men over women in the legal system, as well as the inherent structural inequalities. Not all feminists take the approach of MacKinnon and Scales, however their theories do recognize that there is a structural inequality of power between men and women. There is definitely a feminist political and legal theory which has recognized the structural inequalities between men and women and has tried to eliminate these inequalities through various different approaches. However feminism has provided a very important analysis of the legal system and theory by recognizing that power is inherent in the ruling group; where the only way to balance this power is to identify and eliminate the inequalities that afford the ruling group power. This is also applicable to class, caste and race inequalities and if an approach can be made in legal theory to ensure that there is a redistribution of historical burdens and benefits to disadvantaged classes then there would be an effective law of equality. Therefore feminism has provided a new dimension to liberalist legal theory is; a re-evalu ation of its structure; and a consideration of its inherent power and inequalities. This argument ties closely into the arguments presented by Stanley. Stanley argues that there is a need for accountable feminist methodology to ensure that this feminist theory is challenging the academic norms; as well as freestanding as an academic school of knowledge. Alternative Approach Necessary for Equality and Reduce Violence against Women: Nozicks Entitlement Theory Inequality is a reality for women at all levels of life, in the home, in the labor market and as a citizen of the state. The laws of liberal democratic states have set up value neutral laws that are based in an androgynous view of the sexes; however this is not the reality of situation, because the state, family and labor market is based on systemic discrimination of women, i.e. men have created the system and have inherently based the position of women, at best as second class citizens and at worst as the property of men. This has made the theory of re-distribution key to creating equality economically, socially and politically for women. Therefore this discussion will consider the theories of re-distribution and then apply them to womens social and political situations, which then should cause changes in womens social image and therefore create a situation of equality in the family. It will do this by considering Nozicks entitlement theory and adapt it in respect to feminism to cre ate an inherently indiscriminate state and a more objective approach by the justice system to rape. The core thinking of Nozick is the entitlement theory whereby there are three principles which are; the transfer principle; the acquisition principle; and the rectification principle. It must be stressed that Nozicks liberalism is entrenched in the theory of natural and core rights as set out originally be Locke. Therefore all men are created equally as derived from the state of nature but in order to create a civil society men contracted for a just system of governance with essential human rights. This is the traditional theory of the relationship between the market and the state; however this value-neutral approach fails to create equality for women. The problem of inherent inequality is because such a theory based on the free market would view re-distributive actions by the government as unjust. The main problem for this thinking is the original premise whereby Nozick assumes all p eople began as equals, because the present Western society has been created primarily by white men, therefore for there to be equality. Inequalities within the home and views on womens sexuality have been the focus for theorists that emphasize the need for a level playing field. However, on the other hand, the focus on labour market inequalities arguably may be deteriorating within the UK, due to the introduction of legislation from the early seventies to the nineties, this legislation; whereby two of the key concepts were equal pay for equal jobs and the freedom from discrimination regardless of race, religion, gender or creed. For women there was also the introduction of maternity rights, making it impossible to dismiss women or not hire women solely on the grounds of pregnancy (actual or future). This has been strengthened in the last few years with carers leave for children under five and the introduction of flexible working for parents. Therefore the current legal atmosphere promotes equality in the workplace, especially between the genders. The law in general follows from the Human Rights Act 1998; however thes e equal rights are based on treating men and women the same and do not combat the inequities that are inherent in the system, which are illustrated by the fact that there are problems with sexual harassment and the prosecution of such acts. In fact in some jurisdictions such as Canada there was no legal action of sexual harassment until 1989 with the case of Janzen v Platy Enterprises. If there are problems in defining and prosecuting sexual harassment because of the traditional views of women this illustrates the problem with the Therefore it is necessary for this systemic discrimination to be tackled by re-distributive justice, which feminists such as Mackinnon purport. Therefore inequality is the key term that needs to be discussed when contemplating the validity of re-distributing resources. Re-distribution can be done by either handing out state benefits of money, housing or material items or by providing more opportunities to those that are in disadvantaged positions. Nozick and Rawls are examples of two extremes in liberalist thought; Nozick represents the true laissez-faire liberals whereby redistribution is against equal opportunities and the only way to present a just government is to follow free-market principles. Rawls, on the other hand, argues that re-distribution can be fair as long as it is just, but would not suggest quota systems or the socialist democratic state of the Scandinavian nations. This section will end by comparing the two theorists. There are other theorists such as Kymlicka who argue that re-distribution is the only manner of ensuring that inherent inequalities are eradicated in the political system. Such lines of argume nts come from feminist thinkers, such as MacKinnon. Therefore this approach would tackle rape and the current approach of the court as an example of this inherent inequality, ensuring that rape is treated seriously and a matter under an objective court rather than a court that is biased against women, using their sexual backgrounds against them when all there should be is a question of consent. Accountability: Stanleys accountable feminist knowledge and how this approach might address methodical problems of gender, these are the problems that radical feminism hold and many ward of unwarranted ranting, rather than a theoretical argument. Gender is not an a priori characteristic of social life or of people or of the content of documents; it is not in these as a by definition component of them, but instead a construction, one capable of being construed differently in different times and places, by different commentators, using different (or in deed the same) evidences. Stanleys approach to feminist knowledge is very important because it sheds the inherent methodologies of society, which are entrenched with biases of the male dominated society. In addition Stanley argues that gender is not an a priori characteristic rather it is the construction of society and dominated by male dominated methodologies, i.e. ones sex refers to the simple a priori characteristic whether one is male or female; whereas gender is the construction of how this sex should function in society, such as the Victorian and 1950s image of the male (husband) is the breadwinner and the female (wife) is the nurturer and housewife. This is a very important distinction because for too long have all academic disciplines mistaken gender and ones sex for one in the same thing. What Stanley is proposing will take a closer look at how gender is constructed and whether a feminist methodology will ensure that equality and substantive justice will be meted out fairly. One such example is the use of quantitative and hard scientific methods; whereby the only manner to ensure equality is from a value neutral approach, i.e. men and women are considered androgynous and without sex; therefore creating a system of equality. On the other hand, a more modern approach denies this value neutral approach as an example of inherently sexist methodology because it does not combat the differences between the sexes; as well as t he value neutral approach being steeped in gender stereotypes that does not truly combat the male dominated academic biases of methodology. Stanley uses the work of Rich to create and exposition of this approach and focuses on the differences in perspective, i.e. no scientific method can truly be value neutral as they are being conducted by humans and humans are inherently biased: The intellectual location from which debates and arguments are assembled and presented constitutes a point of view – and the point of view critic is inevitably different from that of the proponent†¦ Recognizing this is important, because a point of view is both unavoidable and also indicates the existence of perspective: a particular way of seeing which highlights and brings into focus some thing as salient. Stanley, therefore, proposes that in order to combat these biased perspectives, where the male dominated perspective is inherent in the societal structure, there needs to an accountable feminist methodology that will provide a feminist perspective that will provide a realistic and challenging opponent to the inherent male dominated perspective. Accountability is the key because it allows for the methodology to be considered as an equal to the current academic methodologies, without accountability it will be dismissed as mere zealous ranting as opposed to a new academic method. As Stanley argues: A real debate about feminist methodology has not yet happened†¦ in particular because of the use of binaries†¦ What is needed now is an actual, real, debate, involving an exchange of ideas and the thoughtful interrogation of alternative approaches. Conclusion: At the moment because the state and economic situation is only playing lip service to equality this re-enforces the inequality in the family, work and justice system where the good girl gets justice the wife who is not only a career women, but also a cleaner, caretaker, nanny and a personal servant to her husband. Therefore the argument of radical feminism is not too far from the truth; however its methods and accountability raises questions and it gets regarded as biased and un-objective. In order for this attitude in society to change feminist theory needs to be incorporated in the state and the economy further, with re-distributive justice; the reason why feminist theorists have only been partially successful is that either the theory has no accountable basis or it is falling prey to mainstream academic methods. In order to do this feminist theory must incorporate an accountable feminist methodology, in order for feminist theory to be held as a valid theory of the state and econom ics with valid aims to create equality through realistic systemic change. By bringing true systemic change it will cause a change in social views and policy, which will bring true equality to the family home, womens sexuality and in the workplace and most importantly in the justice system for victims of rape .

Cognitive Psychology and Modern Policing Essays -- Psychology Criminal

The intention of this essay is to explore the area surrounding how cognitive psychology has affected or disaffected policing practices and the positive or negative outcomes of it. To do this, a deeper understanding of the terms cognitive and psychology, along with their interactive relationship had to be expounded. The scope of cognitive psychology is vast in relation to the public and police, particularly due to the fact that it is an individual process with many external mitigating factors. Therefore I have attempted to narrow the field and concentrate on a couple of specific examples of the use of cognitive psychology, while attempting to explain the theories behind the processes. What is psychology? In basic terms it is simply the study of the mind, but that very general description has a much wider application as the psychology of today differs from that of two centuries ago. Psychology as a discipline dates back to the nineteenth century when a philosopher named William Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at a German university. What Wundt and his co-workers attempted to do was to investigate the mind through introspection, which was observing and analysing the structure of the subjects conscious mental processes, (Thoughts, images and feelings), under controlled conditions. Today's psychology has dramatically changed and is now focused on how ones behaviour changes as a result of experience. Cognitive means to learn, to observe, to experience. When applied to psychology it is further broken down into how that particular learning observations and experience directs a person's development. Factors such as physical, emotional, educational and behavioural cognitive (copycat learning) are influenced by parents... ...orary Psychology (Dec 2001) APA review of Books Volume 46, No 6 Gleitman (1992) Basic Psychology (third edition): WW Norton & Co Harrison, P. (1983) Inside the Inner City; Penguin Books Hollin. C, Koppen. P, Penrod. S (2003) Psychology, Crime and Law (journal); Volume 9, No 2: Brunner Routledge King. R, Winchup. E, (2000) Doing Research on Crime and Justice: Oxford University Press McLaughlin and Muncie (2001) The Sage Dictionary of Criminology: Sage Publications Maguire. M, Morgan. R, Reiner. R (1994) Oxford Handbook of Criminology: Oxford Press Roger, Hopkins, Burke (1998) Zero Tolerance Policing: Perpetuity Press Rose, D (1992) A Climate of Fear: Bloomsbury Press S.E.G. Lea (1984) Instinct, Environment and Behaviour: New essential Psychology Talor, Peplau, Sears (1994) Social Psychology (eighth edition): Prentice-Hall

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There are various ways in which we can organise our thinking. These can be helpful when we are trying to improve our memory or when trying to recall things from the past. The three ways I am about to explain are all similar in the way we organise our thinking, and can be a powerful aid to our memory. Each point is backed up with evidence to support this. One of the ways we organise our thinking is by using mental images. By forming a mental image, we are thinking about something by constructing a mental picture of it in our mind.There are various ways of constructing mental images which can lead to better recall when trying to remember things. The mental image will give us a cue when we come to recalling the information. We will have spent time and effort studying the information previously and formed an image which we will have fixed in our memory. This will then help us to recall the information more easily. One technique for improving memory would be by using Mnemonics, which are based on the construction of mental images.An example of a mnemonic would be ‘Never Eat Shredded Wheat’ which would help us to remember ‘North, East, South and West’ in the right order. Another technique for improving memory would be the key word technique. The key word technique is useful when trying to learn a foreign language. To form the key word, you would find an English word or words that sound like the foreign word. Then you would make a mental image of the key word, along with the English translation, and this would be the key word technique.To prove that this technique is successful, Michael Raugh and Richard Atkinson (1975) carried out an experiment on two groups of participants using the key word technique. The participants were asked to memorise sixty Spanish words, but only one group were taught to use the key word technique. The participants using the key word technique scored much higher than the participants that did not use it. Another way we can organise our thinking is by forming concepts. A concept formation is a way of organising our thoughts by putting them into categories.One example of this would be ‘food’ which is a concept that has sub-concepts, such as fruit, meat and vegetables. We could then divide these sub-concepts into further sub-concepts; for example, fruit would be divided into pears, grapes, bananas, apples, etc. The use of concepts can improve memory by helping us when recalling information by putting them into categories. Take a practical situation for example, such as finding an item in a messy drawer. Trying to extract the item from the drawer would prove difficult and would take quite some time to find.However if this drawer was organised into different sections, then it would be a lot easier to find what you are looking for. We develop the same system when using concepts to organise our thinking when recalling information, thus improving our memory. An experiment to prove how con cepts can improve our recall was developed by Weston Bousfield (1953). Participants were asked to learn sixty words that could be placed into four categories. The words were mixed up, but the participants seemed to remember the words more easily when knowing they could be grouped with other words in the same category.So taking the word cat, they would remember the words dog, mouse and rabbit. In similar experiments, by being given the category headings, most participants find that this gives them a cue to access more words. Finally, we can organise our thinking by using schemas. A schema is a mental framework of knowledge about certain situations, objects, people, places and even yourself. Schemas are developed as a result of your experiences of the world and how you think about certain things. For example, if you were to think of the word ‘hospital’, your schema would include a list of everything you associate with a hospital.For example, hospital beds, the smell of cl eaning fluids, ambulance sirens, doctors and nurses, etc. Schemas can help provide a cue to prompt our memory when coming to recalling information. We will have stored the information in a specific category so that it can be recalled more easily. One example of this is shown in an experiment carried out by John Bransford and Marcia Johnson (1972). Participants were read a passage which described in detail the process of washing clothes, however they were not told that the title was ‘washing clothes’.Many of the participants found that they had difficulty in understanding the passage and were unable to recall the details. However once the participants were given the title to the passage, this provided the schema which helped them to recall the information more easily. Although schemas are an efficient way of helping us to organise our thinking by providing a cue when recalling information, they can also distort our recall and lead us astray. Evidence to prove this was ca rried out in a study by William Brewer (1981) to prove the distorting effects of schemas on memory.The participants were taken into an office and asked to wait for 35 seconds. They were then taken into another room and asked to recall the contents that they had seen in the office. Participants recalled the items that are fitting with a typical office schema; however they had failed to notice other objects in the room such as a brick and a pair of pliers, even recalling items such as a telephone which were not in the office. This study shows that we often adjust our recalled information so that it is in fitting with our existing schemas.In some cases this could have a detrimental effect, especially if you have witnessed a crime and need to be called to give an eye witness testimony. When coming to recalling events that happened in the past, there is a chance that the gaps in your memory will be unconsciously filled by inferences. In conclusion, mental images can improve our memory by forming a mental image in our mind, concepts by organising our thoughts and putting them into categories and schemas by developing a mental framework of our knowledge of our experiences.Each of these ways can give us a cue when we come to recalling information, thus improving our memory. However, although these ideas of organising our thinking may help us to improve our memory, they can also distort our recall and lead us astray.Word count = 1,095 References Spoors, P. , Dyer, E. , Finlay, L. and Marsh, G. (2011) starting with psychology, Milton Keynes, The Open University.