Sociology and Social Integration

Refresher on Lecture 1Student Name: _____________________ 1. Peter Berger described using the sociological perspective as seeing the ______ in the _______. a. good; worst tragedies b. new; old c. specific; general d. general; particular 2. According to Emile Durkheim, a category of people with a higher suicide rate typically has: a. more clinical depression. b. less money, power, and other resources. c. lower social integration. d. greater self-esteem. 3. The pioneering sociologist who studied patterns of suicide in Europe was: a. Robert K. Merton. b. Auguste Comte. . Emile Durkheim. d. Karl Marx. 4. C. Wright Mills claimed that the â€Å"sociological imagination† transformed: a. common sense into laws of society. b. people into supporters of the status quo. c. personal problems into public issues. d. scientific research into common sense. 5. _____ is a way of understanding the world based on science. a. Theology b. Positivism c. Metaphysics d. Free willRefresher:   CultureName.1. The intangible world of ideas created by members of a society is referred to as: a. high culture. b. material culture. c. norms. d. nonmaterial culture. 2. The term _____ refers to a shared way of life, and the term ____ refers to a political entity. a. culture; society b. country; nation c. nation; culture d. culture; nation 3. Sociologists define a symbol as: a. anything that carries meaning to people who share a culture. b. any material cultural trait. c. any gesture that conveys insult to others. d. social patterns that cause culture shock. 4. __________ are rules about everyday, casual living; __________ are rules with great moral significance. a. Mores; folkways b. Folkways; mores c. Proscriptive norms; prescriptive norms d. Prescriptive norms; proscriptive norms 5. The fact that some married men and married women are sexually unfaithful to their spouses is an example of _____ culture, while the fact that most adults say they support the idea of sexual fidelity is an example of _____ culture. a. high; low b. low; high c. ideal; real d. real; idealRefresher on Lecture 3. Sociological Investigation Marks: Student Name: 1. Sociologists use the term â€Å"empirical evidence† to refer to: a. information that is based on a society’s traditions. b. information that squares with common sense. c. information we can verify with our senses. d. information that most people agree is true. 2. Imagine that you were going to measure the age of a number of respondents taking part in a survey. As you record the data, you are using the concept â€Å"age† as: a. a theory. b. a hypothesis. c. a variable. d. an axiom. 3. In the process of measurement, reliability refers to: a. whether you are really measuring what you want to measure. b. how dependable the researcher is. c. whether or not everyone agrees with the study’s results. d. whether repeating the measurement yields consistent results. 4. An apparent, although false, association between two variables that is caused by some third variable is called: a. a spurious correlation. . an unproven correlation. c. an unreliable correlation. d. an invalid correlation. 5. The ideal of objectivity means that a researcher: a. must not care personally about the topic being studied. b. must try to adopt a stance of personal neutrality toward the outcome of the research. c. must study issues that have no value to society as a whole. d. must carry out research that will encourage desirable social change.Refresher: SocializationStudent Name: 1. What concept refers to the lifelong social experience by which human beings develop their potential and learn culture? a. socialization b. personality c. human nature d. ehaviorism 2. In the nature versus nurture debate, sociologists claim that: a. nature is far more important than nurture. b. nurture is far more important than nature. c. nature and nurture have equal importance. d. neither nature nor nurture creates the essence of our humanity. 3. Our basic drives or needs as humans are reflected in Freud's concept of: a. superego. b. ego. c. id. d. generalized other. 4. According to G. H. Mead, children learn to take the role of the other as they model themselves on important people in their lives, such as parents. Mead referred to these people as: a. role models. b. looking-glass models. c. ignificant others. d. the generalized other. 5. When people model themselves after the members of peer groups they would like to join, they are engaging in: a. group conformity. b. future directedness. c. anticipatory socialization. d. group rejection.Refresher: Lecture on social interactions in everyday lifeStudent Name: 1. At a given time you occupy a number of statuses. These statuses make up your: a. master status. b. role set. c. achieved statuses. d. status set. 2. What concept refers to a social position that is received at birth or involuntarily assumed later in life? a. passive role b. master status c. ascribed status . achieved status 3. Julie is a police officer who finds that, wherever she goes in her small town, people seem to think of her as a cop. Julie is experiencing the effects of which of the following? a. role exit b. master status c. ascribed status d. status conflict 4. Shawna is an excellent artist but, as a mother, finds she cannot devote enough time to her family. She is experiencing: a. role conflict. b. role strain. c. role ambiguity. d. role exit. 5. The Thomas theorem states that: a. a role is as a role does. b. people rise to their level of incompetence. c. situations defined as real are real in their consequences. . people know the world only through their language.Refresher: Lecture on DevianceStudent Name: 1. â€Å"Crime† differs from â€Å"deviance† in that crime: a. is always more serious. b. is usually less serious. c. refers to a violation of norms enacted into law. d. involves a larger share of the population. 2. Every society tries to regulate the behavior of individuals; this general process is called ______. a. neighborhood watch b. self control c. social control d. the legal system 3. The value of psychological theories of deviance is limited because: a. very few people experience an â€Å"unsuccessful socialization. † b. here has been very little research of this kind. c. there is no way to distinguish â€Å"normal† from â€Å"abnormal† people. d. most people who commit crimes have normal personalities. 4. Using the terms of Robert Merton's strain theory, which of the following terms would correctly describe a gangster like Al Capone who made a lot of money breaking the law? a. innovator b. ritualist c. retreatist d. rebel 5. Edwin Sutherland’s differential association theory links deviance to: a. how others respond to the behavior in question. b. the amount of contact a person has with others who encourage or discourage conventional behavior. . how well a person can contain deviant impulses. d. how others respond to the race, ethnicity, gender, and class of the individual.Refresher: Lecture on Groups and Social OrganizationsStudent Name: 1. the McDonald's organization explains: a. that â€Å"fast food† is really not served very efficiently. b. that the McDonald’s idea never caught on abroad. c. why so many small businesses do not succeed. d. that the guiding principles of McDonald’s have come to dominate our social life. 2. Charles Cooley referred to a small social group whose members share personal and enduring relationships as: a. an instrumental group. . an expressive group. c. a primary group. d. a secondary group. 3. A secondary group is a social group that: a. we experience late in life. b. is impersonal and engages in some specific activity. c. engages in many, very important activities. d. is generally much smaller than a primary group. 4. What is the term for group leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks? a. democratic leadership b. authoritarian leadership c. expressive leadership d. instrumental leadership 5. Which type of social group commands a member's esteem and loyalty? a. an in-group b. an out-group c. a reference group d. social networkRefresher: Lecture on Race and EthnicityStudent Name: 1. Which of the following concepts refers to a shared cultural heritage? a. race b. minority c. ethnicity d. stereotype 2. Conflict theory states that prejudice is: a. used by powerful people to justify oppressing others. b. built in to culture itself. c. common among immigrants. d. common among certain people with rigid personalities. 3. In the United States, minorities typically have less: a. income. b. occupational prestige. c. schooling. d. All of the above are correct. 4. You would be expressing a â€Å"stereotype† if you: a. ade any generalization about people. b. stated an exaggerated description and applied it to everyone in some category. c. held an opinion about someone based on personal experience. d. treated everybody in an unkind way. 5. Scapegoat theory states that prejudice is created by: a. culture beliefs. b. high levels of immigration. c. frustration among disadvantaged people. d. people with rigid personalities.Refresher: Lecture on Social StratificationStudent: 1. Using the sociological perspective, we see that social stratification: a. gives some people more privileges and opportunities than others. . places everyone at birth on a level playing field. c. ensures that hard work will lead people to become wealthy. d. means that what people get out of life is pretty much what they put into it. 2. Read the four statements below. Which one of these statements about stratification is NOT true? a. Social stratification is a trait of society. b. Social stratification is universal and also variable. c. A family’s social standing typically changes a great deal from generation to generation. d. Social stratification is a matter of inequality and also beliefs about why people should be unequal. 3. What concept describes a person who moves from one occupation to another that provides about the same level of rewards? a. upward social mobility b. downward social mobility c. horizontal social mobility d. This is not social mobility at all. 4. A caste system is defined as: a. social stratification based on ascription or birth. b. social stratification based on personal achievement. c. a meritocracy. d. any social system in which categories of people are unequal. 5. The concept â€Å"meritocracy† refers to social stratification: a. with no social mobility. b. in which people â€Å"know their place. † c. based entirely on personal merit.

Impact of Gay Marriage on Children Essay

Take a look at the picture of a gay and a lesbian couple (see Figure 1). Long ago people would have raised their eyebrows and glared at such obvious display of affection between two men and two women. They would have scurried away and cursed them who engaged in activities that compromise morality. They would have felt anger to know that a man would even think of marrying another man or a woman to another woman. But years later, this picture has become normal. Wherever people go, they see gay and lesbian couples. They are everywhere. And the government has also come to accept this phenomenon, although there are still debates whether gay marriage, or same-sex marriage, should be legalized and accepted. Gay marriage has been one of the critical issues still not resolved and still plagued lots of people today. There are debates and protests whether this should be legalized or accepted in the society. Many are strongly against gay marriage because of their various beliefs about marriage itself. On the other hand, many are also for gay marriage because they think that marriage is all about equality and freedom to choose and decide. However, we must look at what gay marriage does to the children, because they are also adversely affected by this. This paper will show that gay marriage (the term will be used interchangeably with same-sex marriage in this paper), has a negative impact on children. In 1989, Denmark granted â€Å"registered partnership† to same-sex couples; Norway, in 1993; Sweden, in 1994; and Iceland, in 1996. Other countries in Europe, such as France, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium also did the same (Lee Badgett 2). Meezan and Rauch reported that gay marriage (or same-sex marriage) is a reality in the United States and other parts of the world. They added that for the advocates of same-sex marriage, it is a civil rights issue. For the opponents, it is a matter of morality. Both sides are correct, but most importantly, it is a family-policy issue which has not been regarded with the right amount of attention in the American scene (97). The most important question to be considered is: How will same-sex marriage affect the well-being of children? The statistics showed significant trends. In 2007, Craft reported that in 1976 alone, there were about 300,000 to 500,000 gay and lesbian parents. In Bahamas alone, the number of homosexuals is increasing. Many of these, who keep their homosexuality secret, have positions in companies and in governments. The Rainbow Alliance of The Bahamas showed that gay individuals makes up five percent while bisexuals make up 29 percent of The Bahamas population (see Chart 1). Additionally, there are about eight to 10 million children living in gay and lesbian households. It is estimated that the number of gay and lesbian people who are interested to adopt children is nearly two million. The highest concentration of adopted children living with homosexual parents could be found in California. These children tend to be younger. Gates, Lee Badgett, Chambers and Macomber estimated that there were about 65,000 adopted children living in a gay or lesbian household. Moreover, out of the estimated 3. 1 million gay and lesbian households in U. S. , 1. 6 percent includes an adopted child under the age of 18 (7) (see Table 1). In the Frequently Asked Questions article by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) marriage is all about love, commitment, sharing and compromise. It should not be denied to couples just because of their sex; marriage is a personal choice. However, many believed that the purpose of marriage is procreation; producing children is the natural end of marriage (Cline). Since gay marriage is unnatural (it can’t produce children), Cline said that it would violate this very idea. It would undermine marriage because it is a moral institution for promoting and protecting procreation. Although this paper posits that gay marriage has positive impact on children, it is still important to look at both views about the same-sex marriage in order to make light of the things which are significant for the welfare of the children. Impact on Children Why should the children be considered when it comes to same-sex marriage? Children are helpless, according to Kurts. They rely upon adults. They need the society to provide them with institutions that keep them safe from chaos. Additionally, they cannot articulate their needs and cannot even vote. But, they are society. They are the future of the world. These are just some of the reasons why children’s well-being must be supported and encouraged. Baskerville is right in saying that the impact of gay marriage on children wasn’t paid much attention because the focus was on the debate over gay marriage. It is important to recognize the needs of the children because they deserve to grow in an environment where they have two legally recognized parents (Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health). Their relationship with their parents, the Committee furthered, must be stable and recognized. This must apply to all, whether the parents are of the opposite or of same sex. For those who advocate gay marriage, they said that gay marriage will have positive impact on the children. In an article by Sara Miles, she argued that banning gay marriage will deny children justice since marriage is good for kids. It is true that marriage is good for kids. Most of the literature about marriage would indicate that marriage brings positive outcomes for the children as it provides them with warm, close relationships with their parents. Advocates of gay marriage believe that these reasons must be taken into consideration and let someone marry whoever he wants to marry. Cline reported that those who oppose gay marriage will do anything to keep it from being legalized. However, there will come a time when gay marriage will be legal and recognized. In fact, there were actions taken in other countries to make this possible. With the rise of the issue of gay marriage in America, other areas were also considered, such as adoption of children. Baskerville quoted what Democratic state Sen. Therese Murphy. She believed that almost half of all adopted children in Massachusetts live in households with homosexually-behaving adults. Baskerville added that allowing gay couples to â€Å"have† children, or to give them the right to adopt, is nearly the same as granting them the right to claim the children of a couple. The question here is whether the biological parents will agree to be separated from their children. This is made easy by the government’s initiative to give other people’s children to gay or lesbian couples. The government also has the power to take back the children from their biological parents even though the parents did not do something that would make the government take back the children. This is because the government now had the incentive and the means to take children from their parents with no due process. Baskerville reported that the 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) gives financial incentives to the states to remove children from their original parents. As a result, CAPTA became instrumental in tearing children away from their parents. Additionally, the federal funds went to the foster-care providers. Even now, there are still children removed from their families despite the fact that foster homes were more abusive than the children’s original families. This problem existed for a long time until the government thought of another program. The government provided another program to solve the problem created by CAPTA, which is the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act. It provided more financial assistance to transfer children from foster care to adoption. This expanded the client base of stakeholders who had vested financial interest in available children. Gay marriage, it seemed, made this even worse. Baskerville reported that through having kids adopted by gay couples, the government officials can take advantage of the adoption. These government officials can very well benefit through the funds that are set for the Act. Rekers provided three reasons on why Arkansas has prohibited homosexually-behaving adults from being given license to be foster parents. First: The inherent nature and structure of households with a homosexually-behaving adult uniquely endangers foster children by exposing them to a substantial level of harmful stresses that are over and above usual stress levels in heterosexual foster homes. (Rekers 2) This means that those children entering foster care usually have high incidence of psychological disorder. Rekers explained that if homosexual parents adopted those children, they (the children) are likely to be at risk of psychological harm and maladjustment. This happens when the children are exposed in greater stress brought upon them by the mere presence of a homosexual in a foster home. Moreover, Rekers believed that the children are affected in such a way that they are at risk of depression or psychological disorders (2). Second, Rekers reasoned out the relationships between homosexually-behaving adults tend to be less stable and short-lived, unlike the relationship between a married man and woman. Therefore, this would not be appropriate for children because they will be easily influenced. Furthermore, Rekers believed that suicidal attempt, substance abuse, psychological disorders and breakups happen most often with homosexual partners. Thus, they are incapable of providing a secure and stable home that foster children needed. And if children are to be adopted by these homosexually-behaving adults, it would mean that children will be removed and transfer to another home. Sometimes the transition is traumatic for these children. Third, the household structure of foster-parents consisting of one or more homosexually-behaving members denies children their needs for adjustment that can be found in heterosexual foster homes. Rekers backed this third reason by explaining that unlike heterosexual households, a household with homosexually-behaving adults lack the concrete role of a mother and a father, which is necessary for the growth and development of children. Additionally, homosexual households lack the role of a mother and a father in raising children. Also, the children have no chance to witness a husband/wife relationship, which the society thinks is socially stable and healthier for the children. Rekers said that the children who live with a married man and woman are better adjusted compared to those who live in households with homosexually-behaving adults. Children in foster care must be placed with heterosexual married couple because this will provide them with their needed benefits and leads to better child adjustment. A study presented by Jacobs in her article showed that nearly all 50 studies done on the children of gay and lesbian couples (between six and 14 million in the United States) showed no significant difference between children raised by heterosexual or homosexual couples. However, those who oppose gay marriage argued that most of the studies done were small, there were methodological flaws, and mostly were politically biased. Jacobs reported a study which showed that there’s no significant difference whether a child is raised by a gay or lesbian parents. In short, a child with gay or lesbian parents does not necessarily make him different from his peers. However, Jacobs presented some interesting findings from other researches regarding these differences. She mentioned that in 2001, Judith Stacey, a sociologist, and her colleague, Timothy Biblarz, found out that there are, in fact, some differences. They said that although gay and lesbian parenting is not harmful for children, those who have gay parents differ in some ways from those who have heterosexual parents. For instance, a study headed by Susan Golombok concluded that having homosexual parents does not encourage their children to become homosexuals. However, the daughters of lesbians were more open to the idea of being attracted to the same gender than the daughters of heterosexual mothers. Another finding was that out of the 25 children of lesbians, six of them had had relationship with someone of the same gender. The 21 children of heterosexual mothers did not have a relationship with the same gender. Kurts countered that gays have special case because the difficulties and challenges they experience are not from â€Å"discrimination† of marriage. The challenges and difficulties are due to the problem of sexual difference. He added that marriage is just a consolation for the challenges that are usual in situations faced by gays. Although gays are much tolerated in the United States, using marriage for the wrong purpose will not change the situations of gays. Instead, it will be the end of marriage, and the protection it provides for the children who are helpless. Gay marriage will also have an effect on heterosexual marriage. Supporting gay marriage, according to Gallagher (qtd. in Darby), would mean that the courts will not fully support the views of those who advocate heterosexual marriage. Moreover, if heterosexual marriage is confirmed as a special institution that must be protected and upheld, the number of fatherless children will decrease. Heterosexual marriage will prevent the incidences of children born outside marriage. Kotulski (qtd. in Darby) contradicted this by saying that there will still be fatherless children. There will be factors that would continue to break families, such as poverty and violence. Other Effects Pawelski et. al have noted some other effects of same-sex marriage to children. These effects, as noted, were experienced at different levels. In the psychosocial level, gay and lesbian individuals usually undergo peer rejection, harassment, depression or isolation. In fact, Pawelski et. al reported that almost half (47%) of gay and lesbian teens have thought about committing suicide while 36% actually attempted. Oftentimes, these individuals experience rejection from their loved ones, maltreatment in schools, homelessness, and violence. As adults, they experience discrimination, marginalization and violence. Various debates over the issue of same-sex marriage intensified the unstable environment for the homosexuals in the society. Lack of support and acceptance for them and their children will have effects on their physical and psychosocial health and safety. The children of gay or lesbian couples may, in the same way, experience marginalization and discrimination by those who do not approve of gay or lesbian parenting. More often, these children do not know how or where to find support. Even alliances in schools that admit straight gays can make the situation worse. Pawelski et. al reported that children are brought into long-term partnerships with gay and lesbian parents through surrogacy, adoption and alternative insemination. Their study also delved into the attitudes and behavior, personality and adjustment of parents when it comes to parenting. The authors found out that there were only few differences recorded regarding the comparison between lesbian and heterosexual mothers’ psychological adjustment, self-esteem and attitudes about child rearing. Lesbian mothers, the study showed, passed the psychological assessments and interviews. Furthermore, the study showed that the attitudes of lesbian mothers did not differ much from those of heterosexual mothers. In the same way, gay fathers did not differ much from nongay fathers. In fact, there are more similarities than differences. However, there is concern over the effect of the parent’s sexual orientation on the children because this might lead to embarrassment and thus keep the children from interacting with their peers. It was found out that the children of divorced lesbian mothers experienced more teasing from peers during childhood than the children of divorced heterosexual mothers. It is of interest that Pawelski et. al mentioned that the children who grew up with gay or lesbian parents were more tolerant of diversity and more nurturing than those children with heterosexual parents. Pawelski et. al mentioned another study which showed that children of heterosexual parents considered themselves more aggressive. Their parents and teachers regarded them as more domineering, bossy and negative. On the other hand, the children of lesbian parents considered themselves as more lovable. Their parents and teachers regarded them as more responsive, affectionate and protective of other younger children. Another study showed that the self-esteem, aggressiveness and sociability of children with lesbian parents and those with heterosexual parents have similarities. There were also studies conducted which showed that children of lesbian parents who were satisfied with their relationships have fewer behavioral problems and were better adjusted. There was also a study by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health wherein the population consisted of 12105 adolescents in the United States. The authors found out that 44 adolescents, ranging from 12 to 18 years old, who were living with two women, were similar to others who have heterosexual parents when it comes to measures of anxiety, depression, self-esteem and school success. There were also similarities regarding family relationships, care from others, neighborhood integration, regardless of whether the children come from opposite-gender or same-gender families (Pawelski et. al). Since the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts back in 2004, researches today showed that it may have positive impact in strengthening the ties between couples, their children and extended families. It is interesting to note, however, that a large number of young people in America seemed to support gay and lesbian issues. Olander, Kirby and Schmitt mentioned a survey done by the Council for Excellence in Government (CEG) and CIRCLE which asked young people from 15 to 25 years old their perspective about the rights of homosexuals. The survey found out that youths supported gay and lesbian issues such as protection in housing, employment and hate crime, legal partnerships or civic unions and the ability to adopt children (2). There are others who view gay marriage on a positive note. Carpenter believed that gay marriage helps children. He said that gay parenting nowadays is very common in the United States, and that there are children in every gay and lesbian household. He did not seem to agree that children are better raised by a married man and woman. He furthered that gay marriage will not take away children from their biological parents. Although there is no reported shortage of children, the number of married couples is not enough to raise these children. And this is the reason why singles and unmarried couples are allowed sub-optimal parenting. Carpenter thought that this arrangement is better than foster care where the effects on children are unfavorable. Brinkmann countered Carpenter’s views. She believed that if a child is exposed to both sexes in a household, it will have positive effects on his developmental needs. She explained that this aids them in forming their sexual identity. Since the breakdown of marriage in the country had negative effects especially on children, it must be considered that a heterosexual marriage will provide the children stability with regards to family relationships. Brinkmann furthered that without heterosexual marriage, the society will disintegrate. Times have changed and more changes will manifest in the future. Amidst these changes, the welfare of children who are affected by gay marriage must be the utmost consideration. This means that supporting heterosexual marriage will be beneficial for these children. The government and families must make sure that every step of the way, these children will be encouraged and supported. Their needs must be met in order for them to grow as responsible citizens in our society.

Learning Analysis

I wanted to apply for a job maintaining databases; however, the company I was applying for used a different program which I needed to learn before being considered for the application. Although I had no assurance of being hired, I bought the program and the book and resolved to learn the program on my own. Whether I get the job or not, I have learned something new to add to my rà ©sumà ©. In my Human Resources Management class, we were taught that the best way to gather information about the prospective applicant is to look at their rà ©sumà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s and that it is often the most used preselection tool. A rà ©sumà © that is complete and presents current information about one’s qualifications and skills will get the most points during selection (Newell & Scarborough, 2002). Moreover, it is also important that when a skill or expertise is listed on a rà ©sumà © it is actually verifiable and that one could demonstrate it if needed.This meant that if I really wanted that job, I should be able to master this program or be able to work with it before I submit that application letter. I approached the task with a sense of urgency since the deadline for the application was in a week. I recalled that in the recruitment process, it is important to have a time frame of the recruitment activities as sometimes the need for an applicant to the position is immediate (Newell & Scarborough, 2002), since the time frame for the application process was in a week, I figured the company must really be in a hurry to fill the job vacancy.A vacancy in the company can be brought about by external turnovers, where the employee voluntarily leave the company, or an internal turnover, where the employee is promoted to a higher position (Mathis & Jackson, 2006). Database administrators usually work alone and it is a very specific job that its job description is basically about how to enter and update information in the company’s database and based on this, I deduced t he former employee of the company I was setting my eyes on resigned. Voluntary resignations often occur because of the need for better paying jobs, job dissatisfaction, disagreement with the management and a whole lot more. However, it would be too much of me to think so far ahead about the reasons why the former database administrator left; it’s the case of counting the rotten eggs even before finding the hen.I was in the middle of my thoughts when I realized that I was not yet working on the program. So I proceeded to install the program on my computer and scanned the guidebook to familiarize myself with the icons and the layout of the interface. Setting up the program on my computer was easy; I followed the instructions carefully and installed the software tutor to help me. Then, I had the book of instructions and proceeded to punch out some commands and clicked on the icons on the screen in front of me. Then after 10 minutes, I realized I was not learning anything!I could not make heads or tails about what the program was about really, and it was like a tangle of senseless letters and numbers. Besides, my head was spinning from straining my eyes at the monitor and then looking at the guide book and asking help from the program tutor. In this predicament, I found myself looking back at the human resource management theories that I took up this semester at the university. HR concepts and theories are actually valuable instruments that would help organizations become productive (Ulrich& Brockbank, 2005)I remembered that motivating people to learn something new or to have them attend skills training is one of the most difficult tasks that an HR manager have to face. Research had found that employees willingly attend trainings and workshops since it would free them from their daily work routines, however, whether they learn anything from it or not has not been established (Kraiger & Ford, 2006). Although, researchers agree that an employee who have posit ive attitudes towards the training program would likely benefit more from the training while a negative attitude towards the training sessions would mean that the possibility of learning has already been blocked. Designing an effective training program should be based on motivation theories and adult learning.Motivation theories indicate that in order for the individual to accomplish a task, the goal itself should be one that the individual values (Mathis & Jackson, 2006). This would mean that the training should be one that is related to the work tasks of the employee and that it could be perceived as an opportunity for growth and development. Training activities should also be designed to provide opportunities for the participants to succeed and feel that they are competent, thus, if the skills training is about making performance evaluation instruments then the participants could be asked to make their own instrument and input can be given in how to make performance evaluations w hich would either validate the participants skills or teach them new ones.The needs theory of motivation also says that trainings should answer a need; this means that the employee will perceive the training as personally important to him/her if it satisfies a need. The need for growth, for achievement, for competence and for affiliation is answered by training programs. When an employee is required to attend a training workshop, it tells him that the company wants him to become better at his job, that they care about his personal quest for professional growth, and that the company is looking after their employees (Pfeffer &  Veiga, 1999). Aside from motivation, a key factor in effective training programs is adult learning theories.The effectiveness of trainings and workshops is measured by the amount of skills transferred from the training to the actual job (Kraiger & Aguinis, 2001). However, literature says that training effectiveness in terms of learning transfer has not been a dequately studied due to the difficulty of monitoring learning in the workplace. Adult learning theories suggests that adults learn experientially, that is by doing and applying what is being taught (Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2005). Thus, if the skills being taught are customer service courtesy, it would be more effective if the skill is taught using role playing techniques and applying it to real life situations than if it was just taught using lectures.Moreover, learning happens in a continuum, one being effective learning and remembering and the other is end is forgetting and decay. Thus, trainings should be given periodically, it should not be a one-shot deal where you would expect that everything is learned and that it should not be repeated (Salas,  Cannon ­Bowers,  Rhodenizer  &  Bowers, 1999), however it makes no sense to train employees on something that they do not need or one that is not relevant to their jobs. After, this musings and theoretical exercise, I went back to my database program and begun learning it in a different approach.First off, I delegated a time for my learning schedule that is on the same time everyday, then I chose between the guide book or the tutor to help me since using both would be confusing and exhausting. From what I learned on adult learning, the training session should be interactive, one that I can work on and see concrete results or outputs, so settled for the tutor and ditched the guidebook. Second, on my first session, I read the introductory part of the program and had the tutorial run to give an overview of the program, because the HR texts said one must first understand what the training is for and where it could be used to make the person’s job easier or more meaningful.The tutorial was interactive so I got to associate the different commands with its specific functions and I remembered it easily because I could visualize the icon, no wonder programs have icons, it makes the manipulation of the program simpler. After several tutorials I then proceeded to work on the program on my own, I printed the sample exercises and then proceeded to work on the database using the exercises and if I could not make sense of it, I then asked the tutor for help.The best thing about the activities was that it worked on an actual data, although it was fictitious, I had something to work with and could treat them as real. What was gratifying was that every time I was able to complete an exercise and produce the output exactly as it was presented in the training program, I felt I accomplished something and I was sure that I was really learning. At present, I am still on the third chapter but it has been a good run, and that job application seems to be on the positive side since many of those who applied are also not familiar with the program.ReferencesKraiger, K. & Ford, J. K. (2006). The expanding role of workplace training: Themes and trendsinfluencing training research and practice.   In L. L. Koppes (Ed.), Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology.   Mahwah, NJ:   Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Kraiger, K. & Aguinis, H. (2001). Training effectiveness: Assessing training needs, motivation,and accomplishments.   In M. London (Ed.), How people evaluate others in organizations:   Person perception and interpersonal judgment in I/O psychology.Mathis, R. & Jackson, J. (2006). Human resource management 11th   ed. Boston:Thomson/Southwestern.Newell, H. & Scarborough, H. (2002). HRM in Context – A Case Study Approach. London:Palgrave.Nkomo, S.,   Fottler, M. & McAfee, R. (2005). Applications in human resource management:Cases, Exercises, and Skill Builders 5th   ed. Boston: Thomson/Southwestern.Pfeffer,  J.,  &  Veiga,  J.F.  Ã‚  (1999).  Ã‚  Putting  people   first  for  organizational  success.   Academy  ofManagement  Executive,  13,  37 ­48.Salas,  E.,  Cannon ­Bowers,  J.,  Rhodeniz er,  L.,  &  Bowers,  C.  (1999).  Training  inorganizations:  Myths,  misconceptions,  and  mistaken  assumptions.  Research  in  Personneland  Human  Resources  Management,  17, 123 ­161.Ulrich, D.& Brockbank, W. (2005). The HR Value Proposition. Boston: Harvard BusinessSchool Press.

My nursing theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

My nursing theory - Essay Example The primary purpose of the interaction between humans and the environment is adaptation. Humans’ exposure to stressors (stimuli within the environment) triggers the development of coping mechanisms, which enable them to adapt to the changing environment. Each individual has two major subsystems; the regulator and cognator internal processing subsystems, which help them, cope with stimuli from both the external and internal environment. The regulator subsystem functions through the autonomic nervous system (perception and neural pathways, endocrine system) whereby the mechanism prepares individuals for dealing with environmental stimuli. On the other hand, the cognator mechanism comprises of perceptual/information processing, emotions, judgment and learning. The process of perception bridges or connects the two mechanisms. Roy asserts that nursing’s primary goal is to facilitate a patient’s development of health, which she defined as the process of becoming and be ing a whole and integrated person (Roy, 1980). Fundamental to all human beings, is their need to cling to their concept of a Higher Power. For some, acknowledging the existence of an existential being that possesses supernatural powers, which one cannot research quantitatively or qualitatively defines their conceptualization of God (Higher Power). Conversely, others negate the existence of a God, as they instead chose to focus on universal moral principles, which are not culture specific and promote equal and humane treatment of all; for example, they believe that it is wrong to kill or steal as it compromises another person’s quality of life. My personal nursing philosophy is primarily centered on acknowledging the existence of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity influences the differences in individual’s conceptualization of God. As such, it is crucial for nursing professionals to respect each patient’s

Leading in a changing world Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leading in a changing world - Article Example A manager may adopt Laissez faire style of leading and guidance, in which the members enjoy equal privileges and decision making leverage (Bass, 2009, 145). These two terms are often used in a co relational manner, on others in a contrasting manner, and on others in a complementing manner. Management pertains to the organizing of the activities, personnel or other decisions pertinent to the scope of organization. Leadership on other hand may include these qualities but its referential context is relatively broader and it pertains to decision making, leading, guiding and administrating over the necessary functions. Managers may not be the sole decision makers, while leaders are. The role of guiding and motivation may be performed by the managers in an unannounced way, while the leaders do so in a completely declaratory manner (Tripathi, 2008, 302). Other styles that may be adopted by a manager are relatively strict and may qualify for authoritative style of leadership. There are number of considerations attached to such form of management style. The first and foremost is the potential of alienation creation between the manager and his subordinates. The second element is the potential build up of fear within the hearts of sub ordinates. The excessively authoritative style of leadership at times takes out te element of incentives from the subordinates mind and physical behavior. This enables providing the subordinates the sense of security and ownership within the organization and in turn enables achieving the desired results. It leads to working of the entire unit as a team that is directed along single line of strategy. The other advantages served in this style of management are the removal of any gulf that may arise as a result of gap between the top management and the file members of the organization. A manager may also

Women Should Be able to fight in Combat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women Should Be able to fight in Combat - Essay Example One of the key arguments against the women participating into the direct combats was that their presence might result into disruption of the cohesion of the teams as male soldiers may not be able to fully trust the female soldiers as their back-up during the battles. Various studies have clearly demonstrated the fact that physical strength of the women may not be the impediments in their joining the forces in the direct combats. It has been argued that with right training and focus, the physical strength of the women soldiers and their performance can easily be enhanced with right kind of training imparted on them in military academies. (Szivak, et al., 2013). Though somes studies also pointed out towards the lower aerobic abilities ofwomen along with other factors such as slower road-march speed and lifting capabilitis. (Kirkwood, 2013)However, research also suggests that these weaknesses can be improvedwith right kind of training offered. One of the reasons as to why women are being ignored from the jobs of fighting into direct combat is that of sexism. However, this issue can also be overcome if it is viewed from the same perspective as that of the racisim. Male soldiers need to treat the issue of sexism in same range as that of the racism in order to uphold the highest standards of dignity and pride in working for army. (Brook, 2013). It is critical to note however, that the stereotype thinking in army may needs to be changed in order to allow women a breathing space in terms fighting alongside male soldiers in combats. In order to achieve this, top military officials may need to be proactive and bring in radical changes in the way training is imparted to females at the initial phase of their training. (Sanders, 2005). As discussed above, it is relatively a myth that the physical conditions of the women can actually restrict their participation into the battlefields. The average lung power of women is relatively greater than the

TRAINING MANUAL Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TRAINING MANUAL - Coursework Example This training manual indicates some important aspects that our organization should emulate in order to improve its performance. As indicated by the CEO, the workforce in her organization is under strife. One of the causes of this conflict is lack of diversity. As she notes, the front-line supervisors are white males. This implies that there is diversification since the organization does not allow introduction of new ideas from other races. Another notable issue is age discrimination. The age of stream-line managers makes innovation difficult. This is based on the fact that young employees are productive in nature and have the ability to come up with new ways of doing things. By hiring managers and supervisors from one religion background, it is an indication that the organization is discriminative on the ground of religion Currently, the US population stands at approximately 319 million people. Being the third most populous country in the world, US population is made up of various races which includes white, Hispanic, black and Asians. The white race forms the major part of the population standing at 224 million people which is equivalent to 73% of the whole population. Latino and Hispanic Americans takes 48% of the population. Asian Americans take approximately 5.3% of the population while multiracial Americans are approximately 2.6%. The current trend indicates that the US population will increase at a very high rate based not only in the increase on food production but also due to quality health services that have reduced the rate of child mortality. Notably, the US Asian population has indicated an increasing trend as compared to Asians. For example, in 2013, US Hispanic stood at 54 million people a 2.1% increment from 2012. Despite the reduction in the number of immigrants between 2007 and 2009, the number of foreigners arriving

Corporate Goverance Concept Worksheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate Goverance Concept Worksheet - Essay Example The companies have different expectation that can lead to conflicts because of their interests and gains (Minnow & Monk, 2002). The equity issue involves division of company’s ownership. This helps in the companies gain from the increase in profits and wide market. This means that both companies will gain from the investment (Minnow & Monk, 2002). McBride finance services company has an intention to remain in control of the company even after selling majority shares to Beltway investment company. A clear illustration of this is that the chief executive has influence in the selection of the board of directors. As Beltway gives the company freedom to select the directors, Mc Bride ensures that it influences the selection. The board comprises of the people it can influence to make decisions favoring McBride company. The scenario creates conflict of interest, which was not brought out during negotiations. The conflict of interest will create a hostile working relationship between the two companies. The reason behind this is the win-lose situation created by the company. Beltway wants a fair selection of the board (Tricker, 2009). Control involves running of the company activities and who is in charge. The control of the company should be in the best way possible. The selection of the board should be on merit not on other hidden agendas. Fair selection and freedom to managers will help in running the company affairs to achieving its objectives and goals to the maximum (Tricker, 2009). Beltway company did not identify Mc Bride’s intention in its issue. Mc Bride company does not intend to let Beltway know the real, financial position. The company does this through tampering with financial documents. The company also does not comply with Sarbanes-Oxley act of corporate responsibility of financial reporting (Greene, Silverman & Becker, 2003). The company aims at using internal controls to hide

Discuss how certain advertising strategies can be used to fool or Essay

Discuss how certain advertising strategies can be used to fool or manipulate consumers - Essay Example Some others try to attain the maximum attention through incessant talk. Such people are always the life of the party, where they catch the glimpse of all those around them. When a group of people is gathered in a room, the attention of all people is towards the one who talks more. There is nothing wrong with talking itself. However, utilizing â€Å"the gift of gab† alone is not enough to develop a pleasing personality. However, there are a lot of people who draw the attention of others not just by loose talking but informing, enlightening and persuading through their talk. There are some who are shy and reluctant to speak as they would make any mistake. Such people develop low-self esteem thinking that they do not have anything sufficient to contribute to the conversation. People who want to draw attention to themselves dress provocatively, exhibit incongruously seductive, and behave in a flirtatious manner. In order to get the maximum attention they shift their emotions rapid ly while interacting with another person. Moreover, while talking with somebody, such persons behave very dramatically as though presenting in front of an audience. However, they appear to have lack of genuineness. To be the center of attraction, they want continuous reassurance and support form others about each of their activity. And so, they are always overly concerned about their physical appearance and the way how others are looking at them. The most important weakness of such people is that they are easily influenced by others. They are highly sensitive to criticism and cannot withstand any disapproval from others. To obtain the attraction of all, they are ready to do anything and thus make rash decisions. They are always self-centered and seldom show concern for others. They are weak in maintaining a relationship and are bogus or shallow while dealing with others. Even further, they threaten or attempt to commit suicide to get the attention of the society. On the other hand, Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) is a condition referred as dramatic personality disorders. Such disorders are the negative impacts out of a person’s psychological imbalances. People who suffer from such disorder face with extreme and unsound emotions and distorted self-images. As Sperry points out, people having histrionic personality disorder depend on the comments of others and not believe their own feeling of self-worth (131). They always have an irresistible desire to be noticed, and often behave noticeably or inappropriately to grab the attention of others. The literal meaning of histrionic refers to dramatic or theatrical. The histrionic personality is commonly seen in women and in men, and the symptoms are evident by early adulthood. In almost all cases, the people with such disorder seem to have excellent social skills and talents; but they are more likely to use these skills to influence others in order that they could be the center of attention. They feel much uncomfortable unless they are noticed by all others. Even though the exact reason for Histrionic Personality Disorder is not found out, health care professionals suggest that both inherited and learned elements play vital roles in the development of such disorder. Besides environment, factors evolved with a child can create an atmosphere for the child to develop a disorder (Sperry, 131). Lack of sufficient criticism and punishment as a child, and other positive support elements are often an important factor

Dante Inferno (by Anthony Esolen) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dante Inferno (by Anthony Esolen) - Essay Example Hence, it is interesting to ask the question, â€Å"If Dante had written the Inferno today, who would he have placed as sinners in the different rings of hell?† Who would qualify, indeed? If there was anyone who epitomized lust, it is Hugh Hefner. As the founder of Playboy Magazine, Hefner bragged that â€Å"I have slept with thousands of women, and they all still like me† (Hylton, â€Å"What Ive Learned: Hugh Hefner†). Indeed, being someone who was able to—and at 83 years old still able to—get scores of famous and sexy women to pose nude for a magazine, to expose everything that they have kept hidden and to go to bed with him, with multiple partners at the same time, Hefner is someone who can be expected to appear in the second circle of hell—if it is made a reality. Hefner believes that â€Å"Sex is the driving force on the planet. We should embrace it, not see it as the enemy† (Hylton, â€Å"What Ive Learned: Hugh Hefner†). And he made people believe in this too, with Playboy being one, if not the, of the most popular magazines that caters to men’s sexual fantasies and fetishes. Not only has he lived the life of a lustful, but he has also encouraged others to follow suit. He even admitted the fact that he masturbates when he is alone, although, he says that this rarely ever happens (Hylton, â€Å"What Ive Learned: Hugh Hefner†). The fact that he admitted this even makes masturbation sound cool as it is coming from Hugh Hefner, who is idolized by a multitude of men. It can undeniably be said that Hefner is someone who is a slave to his desires and to carnal pleasure. Indeed, he is a â€Å"carnal malefactor† to the very core of his being. And thus, it is undoubtedly appropriate for him to be flogged by a violent storm, together with the rest of the lustful. â€Å"The infernal hurricane that never rests; Hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine; Whirling them round, and smiting,

Mark Haddon Essay Example for Free

Mark Haddon Essay Throughout the novel, the chapter headings are labelled in prime numbers instead of the normal cardinals, which is an important fact. This helps us to understand the character behind the surface. At the start of chapter 2 (headed 3), he says he knows all the prime numbers up to 7,507. This tells us that he is very good at maths and enjoys puzzles. People with Aspergers syndrome are usually very intelligent, but find it difficult to express, since they easily get confused if somebody asks too many questions. At the start of chapter 7, Christopher says this is a murder mystery novel, which would indicate that there will be some detective terminology (a particular lexical register) used later on in the book. He also says that his hero is Sherlock Holmes (who incidentally solved a case called the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time where the title of the book comes from), who has the ability to detach his mind from anything not related to the problem, which is exactly what Christopher does. He could be detached when he does not do what he is told. In terms of semantics, Christopher only refers to the denotations of words, since he finds it difficult to understand connotations. The reader knows the literal meanings of the words, but also, they create certain negative connotations. When Christopher talks or writes, he does not take the connotations of the words into account. In the book, there are no metaphors, similes or any linguistic devices, as he tells us at the start of chapter 5, this will not be a funny book, because I cannot tell jokes, because I do not understand them. His lack of a sense of humour could be demonstrated by his total lack of understanding when Siobhan laughed. He does appear to feel anger when he tears the paper. He doesnt use euphemisms, because he cannot see the point in evading the truth (incidentally, he doesnt tell lies). For example, on page thirteen, he says and people will be burnt to death, even if they live in tunnels. Here, it is possible to detect a hint of pessimism. The choice of words that the author uses is not typical of the teenage social peer group. For example, he doesnt say wicked since this would be a metaphor. This also enforces Christophers social isolation. Christopher does not use any of the more common spoken English techniques, for example; contractions, But I could not be certain about this. The contraction would be couldnt. The language that Mark Haddon uses throughout the book is very formal. There are very few conjunctions since the book is written from Christophers point of view, and Christopher thinks very logically, in a structured, simple way. In conclusion, it can be seen that the opening chapters of this novel manage to seamlessly meld together the symptoms of Aspergers syndrome, with narrative devices. The use of numbers and illustrations, allow the reader to enter a world which although strange to us is a familiar and usual one of the main character. The language structures, such as the use of short sentences echo the thinking methods of Christopher, and the authors use of unemotional and denotative vocabulary is an excellent way to demonstrate Christophers own lack of complex emotions. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Shakespeares King Lear Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares King Lear Essay In Shakespeares King Lear, Nature and Fortune governs the lives of all characters. Every character has his or her turning point where they either travel to the top or bottom of the wheel of fortune. In Act 5, scene 3, lines 153-179, Edgar appears in full Armour and challenges Edmund to a trial by combat after Albany accuses Edmund of treason. This takes place after the French forces was defeated by the English and after King Lear was sent to jail with Cordelia. During this passage, Edgar accuses Edmund of wicked deeds Edmund has committed throughout the play. Edgar fights Edmund and leaves him wounded; and this serves as a turning point for both Edgar and Edmund. For both characters, this fight is a symbol of the wheel of fortune, as Edgar climbs back up to the top while Edmund falls to the bottom. This passage serves as the turning point for Edmund because after this passage, he is wounded, and approaches death. For the first time in the play, Edmund shows signs of regret and goodness, he repents for his wicked deeds by doing some good before his death, that is, he tells the others about where he sent Cordelia and Lear. As for Edgar, his fortune changes because he transforms from a homeless beggar to an armored knight, challenging Edmund and regaining his titles and honor. The theme of order and chaos also dominates this passage. This was because, Edgar, the rightful inheritor of Gloucester was robbed of his titles and honor. And in this passage, he leaves the life of a beggar and comes back to reclaim his titles and honor. In Lines 156-158, Edgar shows his nobility and status as a knight, Behold, it is my privilege, the privilege of mine honors, my oath, and my profession. He finally reclaims his honor and status after losing his titles and rights to Edmund. Moreover, to show that Edgar has reclaimed his noble status, one may look at Edgars speech, his speech has changed, becoming more refined and fit for a noble then compared to when he was a beggar. Edgars nobility is again emphasized in lines 171-172, But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike, and that thy tongue some say of breeding breathes. This passage is an restoration of order because Edgar; a noble by blood who was stripped away from his titles, now gains back his titles and honor which were rightfully his according to the chain of being. Again, to show that this passage not only serves as a turning point for the characters, but also a restoration of order. Edmund was defeated and his plots were revealed, which lead to his titles being stripped away and given back to the proper owner, Edgar. As mentioned above, the passage showed the wheel of fortune turning. This is simply because Edmunds fortune is finally fading. Up to now, nobody has publicly accused Edmund for the treachery he has committed. In fact, he escaped blame from many deceitful acts up to now. However, the wheel has turned and Edmunds treacherous deeds are revealed publicly in this passage, lines 161-165, False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father, Conspirant gainst this high illustrious prince, And from th extremest upward of thy head To the descent and dust below thy foot . This is a sign that Edmunds luck and success may finally come to an end, as he is being challenged for the first time. In conclusion, this passage is important because it acts as an turning point in the story, where the wheel of fortune begin to turn, stripping away luck from one to another. This passage is also a turning point for the characters, as Edgar begins to regain what is rightfully his and bring order back to the kingdom while Edmunds luck being to fade, heading towards the bottom of the wheel.

Legal Sources of the UK Constitution and Human Rights Law

Legal Sources of the UK Constitution and Human Rights Law 1. The UK constitution is described as an unwritten one. Explain with reference to the legal sources of the UK constitution and appropriate examples, why it is called unwritten, and consider whether the distinction between a written and unwritten constitution is legally significant. The word constitution has many different meanings, however only two of them are applicable to constitutional law. Firstly, constitution could mean a written document which contains the rules and principles according to which a country is run. Secondly, the word constitution could refer to: the body of rules and arrangements concerning the government of the country.[1] The second definition does not impose any requirement of writing. It should be stressed that although some states do not have a written constitution every country in the world, including the UK, has a constitution in the second sense of the word. Over the centuries the attitude towards the British/English constitution ranged from admiration to sever criticism. Thomas Paine went even further, he ruled out a possibility that an English constitution could exist.[2] The British constitution has been sometimes described as ‘political.’ Griffith believes the word ’political’ can be used to refer to a wide range of qualities, e.g. the UK constitution assumes equality of all citizens and many important rules are not legal rules. He also stressed that operation of the constitution is closely linked to Parliament and Parliamentary elections, this leads to a conclusion that the British constitution must be analysed in the political context.[3] The UK constitution draws on a wide range of sources: statutes, common law, the royal prerogative, international treaties and agreements, conventions and academic texts written by legal experts. As an expression of Parliament’s will statutes are the most important source of law, some of them have a particular constitutional significance, e.g. the Magna Carta 1215, the Act of Settlement 1701, the Representation of the People Act 1983 and the Human Rights Act 1998. Another written source of law is case-law. Although judges should merely interpret the law, and not get involved into a law making process, many crucial legal principles have been established in the course of legal proceedings, for example in British Railways Board v Pickin[4] Lord Reid said that the courts have no power to overrule Acts of Parliament on any grounds. International treaties and agreements, such as for instance the Treaty of Rome 1957, have also become a source of English law; similarly, texts written b y legal experts may acquire exceptional legal significance, e.g. Diceys An Introduction to the Study of Law of the Constitution. The unwritten sources of the UK constitution are the royal prerogative and conventions. The royal prerogative stems from the powers which used to be exercised exclusively by the monarch and which are now exercised by the ministers on the Queens behalf. The examples of the royal prerogative are the power to declare war, the control over the appointment of ministers and the right to dissolve Parliament. The legal nature of conventions is somewhat different, they are non-legal norms which should be obeyed by those to whom they apply; although conventions cannot be enforced by the courts they are usually respected. As the above discussion illustrates, a large part of the constitution is written. However, due to lack of a separate document which could be called a constitution this fact is often disregarded and the UK constitution is said to be unwritten. The unwritten character of the UK constitution, or rather the existence of unwritten rules, has serious legal implications. The first point to note is that Parliament can pass and revoke the law as it sees fit. Until recently the British constitution did not guarantee any rights; although an Act, called the Bill of Rights, was enacted as early as 1688 it dealt exclusively with issues related to Parliament and Crown. This meant that, in theory, Parliament could pass any legislation it considered appropriate even if it infringed rights of UK citizens. Prior to the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 the only limitation on the Parliamentary sovereignty in cases involving of human rights violation would have been the rule of law. However, effectiveness of the rule would have been limited if the courts, wanting to avoid interference with Parliamentary decisions, refused to enforce it. This should be juxtaposed with countries which have written constitutions and where rights of ordinary citizens are protected by specially drafted provisions. In addition to being uncodified the UK constitution is flexible and unitary (provided devolution is not taken into account) but it is not entrenched. The result is that while written constitutions are rigid the UK constitution is flexible, an advantage of flexibility is that any necessary changes can be introduced quickly and relatively easily. On the other however, lack of entrenchment leaves a lot of power in the hands of a small group of people. Moreover, unwritten constitutions always involve a degree of vagueness, the situation is made worse by the fact that norms which are not written cannot be enforced by the courts. These problems do not arise if the constitution is written, yet it does not follow that all the relevant law can be found in the constitution. Munro argued: â€Å"It ( ) also suggested, wrongly that in countries such as the United States, all the rules and arrangements concerning government had been reduced to writing in a single document. In practice, this is never the case.†[5] Both written and unwritten constitutions rely on the legal precedent, they are formed and modified by judicial interpretations of the law and political practices. The UK constitution is said to be unwritten however as has been shown above it is not, strictly speaking, true. The constitution relies on a wide range of sources and most of them can be found in writing. It has already been mentioned that the constitution can be described as political, yet following developments such incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights, membership of the European Union and changes which took place post-1997, more and more constitutional rules are being codified. Thus, according to Munro the UK constitution is becoming ’legal.’[6] It is, therefore, submitted that the gap between the unwritten British constitution and the written constitutions in other countries is gradually becoming narrower. The new EU constitution may close this gap entirely. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition, 1999. ARTICLES Griffith, John, The political constitution, (1979) 42 MLR 1. CASES British Railways Board v Pickin [1974] AC 765, [1974] 1 All ER 609. STATUTES, TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS 1215Magna Carta 1688Bill of Rights 1701Act of Settlement 1950 European Convention on Human Rights 1957Treaty of Rome 1983Representation of the People Act 1998Human Rights Act 2. Explain the doctrine of ministerial responsibility to Parliament. Consider whether it should be constitutionally necessary for Ministers to defend their decisions in judicial review claims before a court, as well as answering to Parliament for those decisions. Ministerial responsibility can be either collective or individual, since it is a convention it is unwritten and unenforceable in the courts of law. The operation of the doctrine can be described as follows: â€Å"Ministers are responsible for the general conduct of government, including the exercise of many powers legally vested in the Monarch; and ultimately, through Parliament and parties, to the electorate†[7] The convention of ministerial responsibility has a historical origin, it is a product of tradition and a multitude of historical events. In the nineteenth century ministerial departments used to be very small and the ministers’ workload was limited, in this circumstances it was not unreasonable to expect ministers to be responsible for all their civil servants; this explains how the doctrine of individual ministerial responsibility was born. Collective ministerial responsibility can be traced back to the ministers’ relationship with the Monarch, in the past the sovereign played a role of the Prime Minister and ministers were expected to answer to him. A minister who fails in the performance of his duties has four options: he can explain the situation to Parliament, apologise to Parliament, choose to take action or, in extreme cases, resign. The convention of individual ministerial responsibility has often been found problematic, it is not always clear when, and for what reasons, ministers should resign. It is debatable whether they should resign due to problems in their departments or only if they fail to accomplish tasks for which they are personally responsible. In the past ministers could not be excused from responsibility for their own civil servants, however following the Crichel Down affair (1954) the convention no longer seems to be so severe. It can even be argued that as ministers begun to refuse to resign there has been a shift towards the other extreme. In 1983 James Prior did not hand in his resignation over the Maze Prison escapes. In his view the fallings of the prison system resulted from an inadequate policy.[8] Th e Scott report also had an effect of limiting ministerial responsibility, it concluded that ministers should continue to answer to Parliament but they should no longer be personally responsible for the mistakes of their subordinates. The Nolan Report on the other hand deepened the extent of ministerial responsibility, it stated that ministers should avoid conflicts of interests and bear in mind the impact which their private lives may have on their ministerial positions.[9] The past few years have seen an increasing drive towards accountability, transparency and codification. Thus, in 1992 a decision was taken to publish the previously confidential Questions of procedure for ministers. The Questions, which are now known as Ministerial Code: A Code of Conduct and Guidance on Procedures for Ministers, provided guidance for ministers and played a role of a partly codified convention. In 1995 the Code was amended and the new version instructed ministers not to intentionally misinform Parliament. Appointment of Select Committees also had an impact on ministerial responsibility, the Committees can conduct their own enquiries, question ministers and interview witnesses. At the same time, however, complaints have been made regarding the availability of witnesses and access to documents. The doctrine of collective ministerial responsibility is based on three main principles: the confidence principle, the unanimity principle and the confidentiality principle. The fist principle presumes support of the House of Commons as long as the Government does not receive a vote of no confidence. The second principle imposes an obligation on ministers to vote unanimously while the confidentiality principle demands that any discussions which take place in Cabinet remain confidential. A good example of a breach of the convention of collective responsibility is Clare Short’s disapproval for the war in Iraq. Judicial review can be described as a process of challenging decisions of public bodies, public bodies include the executive but not Parliament. Judicial review proceeding are conducted by the Divisional Court of the Queens Bench. It should not be confused with an appeal procedure, judicial review involves an assessment of the legality of a decision. There are three grounds on which the court can declare a decision ‘unlawful:’ illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety. Illegality arises when the law has been misunderstood or misinterpreted and therefore applied incorrectly, irrationality applies to cases where the judgement appears unreasonable or unfairness, while procedural impropriety refers to cases involving bias. Following the judgement in R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment, ex parte Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council[10] even discretionary ministerial powers can now be challenged in the process of judicial review. Nevertheless, review of ministerial powers will not be possible in cases involving political decisions, national security or government policy. In R v Director of GCHQ ex parte Hodges[11] one of the judges said: I apprehend for myself that the majority of their lordships were of the view that once it had been established by evidence that a decision had been made on behalf of Government in the interests of national security the whole ambit of that decision was one which the courts can neither enquire nor intervene. It is undisputable that the GCHQ case is a groundbreaking decision, instead of concentrating on the source of the power the courts have been encouraged to focus on its nature. Many forms of scrutiny of the ministerial power are already in place, ministers answer to Parliament, they are subject to judicial review and in cases of serious misconduct they may be investigated by the Select Committees. As regards the breach of conventions the sanctions are political rather than legal, this means that conventions may be ignored and courts are unable to compel the executive to obey them. Yet, ministers may be subjected to political pressure, Clare Short resigned two months after her Iraq war announcement while Sir Thomas Dugdale resigned over the Crichel Down affair. In the later case the process of Parliamentary scrutiny was as a result of pressure exerted by backbenches. In these circumstances, it does not seem necessary for the ministers to answer to Parliament as well as be subjected to judicial review. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition, 1999. ARTICLES Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Individual ministerial responsibility issues and examples, Research Paper 04/31, (2004). Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Collective responsibility of Ministers an outline of the issues, Research Paper 04/82, (2004). CASES R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment, ex parte Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council [1991] 1 AC 521. R v Director of GCHQ ex parte Hodges (1988) QBD. 3. Explain whether devolution has had any impact on the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament. Devolution is delegation of centrally held power to regional governments. In the 1980s New Labour advocated devolution in order to win votes in Scotland and Wales, however the actual process of transferring power did not gain momentum until the 1990s. Devolution featured in the New Labours election manifesto and it was only when New Labour won the general election that changes begun to take place. Yet, the reasons behind devolution were not only political but also economic. In the 1980s England was going through a period of high unemployment and although the economic situation in England was critical it was even worse in Scotland and Wales. There was also a feeling of discontent caused by an unequal distribution of EU funds and unfair economic policies which favoured England. Dissatisfaction with British rule was even more visible in Ireland where it frequently led to violence. The 1916 rebellion in Dublin, known as the Easter Rising, was followed by the two year civil war. Eventuall y, the persistence of Sinn Fein forced the British Government to negotiate and Ireland was divided into two parts. Britain retained a much smaller northern part which is now known as the Republic of Northern Ireland.[12] Both academics and politicians distinguish three different types of devolution: administrative, legal and financial.[13] As the name implies, administrative devolution involves delegation of power to manage parts of the administrative system. The central government retains control over related matters of greater importance, for instance even if a regional body is put in charge of healthcare and/or education, as it is the case in Scotland, privatisation decisions must be taken by Westminster. Financial devolution involves granting of power to rise taxes, change the taxation rate or make decisions concerning distribution of public funds. Similarly, legislative devolution refers to the transfer of rights to pass legislation. Devolution is often said to be asymmetrical this means that power is not distributed evenly, e.g. although the structure of the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly are similar the later cannot legislate on policing and criminal matters.[14] These a rrangements have far-reaching consequences for Westminster, firstly it can be argued that following the break-up of the colonial system Parliament exercises its powers over a smaller geographical area.[15] Devolution, along with the membership of the European Union, create an impression that the remaining Parliamentary influence outside England is largely superficial. Secondly, the fact that devolution is asymmetrical could lead to calls for additional rights in order to redress the balance, the White Paper considering an extension of legislative powers of the National Assembly of Wales is already being considered.[16] According to Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, a classic work by Dicey, sovereignty means that Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and further, that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.[17] In view of the above discussed developments can it still be argued that Westminster has not suffered any loss of sovereignty? Theoretically, there is no conflict between sovereignty and the process of devolution, in the memorandum to the Procedure Committee, the Leader of the House, Margaret Beckett said: None of the devolution legislation affects the House’s ability to pass legislation on any matter. For all public bills, the Government would expect that a convention would be adopted that Westminster would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters without the consent of the devolved body.[18] Finally, Munro explains that being sovereign Parliament is free to impose limitations on its own power.[19] Despite what has been said above there is also evidence to the contrary, devolution produced a paradoxical effect known as the West Lothian Question. It means that although Scottish MPs can seat in the British Parliament and decide on issues related exclusively to England English MPs have no influence on similar Scottish issues which have been devolved. This situation has been severally criticised on many occasions and led to calls for an English Parliament.[20] Parliament tackled these problems by further devolution but this time power was devolved to the English regions, e.g. the Regional Agencies Act 1998 established development agencies[21] while in 2000 the newly established Greater London Authority saw its own elected Mayor and the London Assembly. In November 2005 the Government issued a Consultation Paper which proposes extending the responsibilities of the London Assembly and the London Major.[22] These developments have already limited, and will continue to limit, the power s traditionally held by the legislature and the executive. Although, in theory, Parliament could choose to withdraw the devolved powers at any time a total withdrawal is unlikely to be possible in practice. Westminster would have to consider both political and social implications of such actions and it is likely that the response of the public would range from widespread discontent to outright violence. Riots would be likely to break out in Northern Ireland where, as mentioned at the beginning of this paper, violent resistance to English rule has taken place in the past. In 1972 Edward Heath re-established direct rule over Northern Ireland, he was criticised by both unionists and nationalists. The sense of national identity in Northern Ireland remains very strong while in Scotland objections to a withdrawal of devolved powers would probably be raised on nationalist, and particularly economic, grounds. Consequently, it is difficult to deny that devolution undermined sovereignty of Westminster Parliament; arguments to the contrary have limited , and purely theoretical, validity. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, (1999), Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition. ARTICLES CONSULTATION PAPERS A Consultation Paper, The Greater London Authority: The Government’s proposals for additional powers and responsibilities for the Mayor and Assembly, (2005). Leeke Matthew, Chris Sear and Oonagh Gay, An Introduction to Devolution in the UK, Research Paper 03/84, (2003). Wood, Edward, The Procedural Consequences of Devolution, Research Paper 99/85, (1999). WHITE PAPERS STATUTES 1998Regional Agencies Act 2005Government White Paper: Better Governance For Wales INTERNET SOURCES Campaign for an English Parliament, http://thecep.org.uk/devolution.shtml [Accessed on 4 August 2006]. 4. Explain how the Human Rights Act 1998 has changed the approach to the protection of human rights in the law of England and Wales. Has the change been for the better or for the worse? Enactment of the Human Rights Act was one of the many objectives which featured in the New Labour’s 1997 election manifesto, the proposal to implement the Act was also part of a much broader programme of constitutional reforms. The statute, which entered into force in 2000, implements the European Convention on Human Rights. According to Lord Lester of Herne Hill the Human Rights Act 1998: â€Å"declares basic rights and freedoms inherent in our common humanity, and the ethical values of a modern democratic society governed under the rule of law a society in which individual and minority rights must be protected against the tyranny of majorities and the abuse of public powers, especially where excessive means are used to pursue legitimate ends. The Act provides an ethical framework to guide law- makers, judges, and individual men and women.†[23] However, as will be shown below the changes brought on by the Act have not always been considered positive. Prior to its entry into force the Act received a lot of negative media coverage, concerns were raised about widespread abuses of the immigration procedures as well as the welfare system. There were also fears that the Act would force judges to disregard Acts of Parliament and by doing so undermine the doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy. Yet, as the subsequent events have shown most of these concerns proved misplaced. The unease about statutory interpretation was mainly due to section 3 which provides that, whenever possible, legislation must be enforced consistently with the Convention. Section 4 adds that in cases where such interpretation is not possible the court may issue a declaration of incompatibility. The declaration does not overrule any provisions but merely states that the law does not comply with the European Convention of Human Rights. The Act lead to an increased protection for the rights of individuals, e.g. in Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones v Hello![24] the Court of Appeal recognised the right to privacy. Another notable example of human rights protection is the decision in Mendoza v Ghaidan,[25] in this case the protected Rent Act tenant passed away. The court was asked to consider whether, for the purposes of the law of succession, the surviving homosexual partner should have the same rights as he would have had if the couple was heterosexual. The case is significant for several reasons: firstly, the court held that discrimination was unlawful, secondly, it shows that the Human Rights Act applies both to public and private bodies and thirdly, the court interpreted the Rent Act 1977 broadly enough to give effect to the Convention rights. In the opinion of Lord Lester of Herne Hill Mendoza[26] was correctly decided, he even prised the decision for upholding constitutional rights which include equal tre atment.[27] Despite what has been said above the Act is also known to have its opponents. The decision in R (Q and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department[28] proved particularly contentious and it has been a subject of a sever ministerial criticism. The court held that firstly, the Home Secretary must support asylum-seekers and secondly, the Home Office acted in breach of Article 6. Article 6, which grants a right to a free trial, was violated when the applicants were refused to have their circumstances assessed on individual basis, moreover they were not allowed to appeal. In response to this decision the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said: If public policy can be always overridden by individual challenge through the courts, then democracy itself is under threat.†[29] In Alconbury Limited v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions[30] Lord Hoffmann was equally disapproving of the way the case-law has been developing, he that although the Human Rights Act was meant to reinforce the rule of law it reinforced the rule of lawyers instead. September 11 gave rise to many contentious legal issues, human rights, terrorism, extradition and prohibition of torture are now hotly debated. Some of the problems stem from the fact that newly granted civil liberties are counter-balanced by measures introduced on the grounds of national security; hence the Terrorism Act, which came into force on 13 April 2006, prohibits ’glorification’ of terrorism. The ’glorification’ of terrorism is now a criminal offence and applies to speech as well as membership of political and non-political groups. There is a possibility that the provisions of the Act will conflict with the rights guaranteed by the Human Rights Act 1998, future challenges are likely to be based on Article 10 which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. It is yet to be seen what will be the effect of the Act and how it will be interpreted. Another issue which has become particularly contentious is extradition. The Human Rights Act 1998 does n ot contain any provisions prohibiting extradition however it does impose some conditions, the person who is being extradited should not be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment. Finally, can it be said that following the implementation of the Human Rights Act the protection of human rights has improved or, on the contrary, worsened? It seems that there is no ’right’ answer to this question. As has been shown above, ministers can be very critical of the way the Act is interpreted while the judiciary appears very enthusiastic. Nonetheless, human rights are now an integral, and written, part of the British constitution. The Act introduced a new approach to statutory interpretation and added to the range of reasons on which government action can be found unlawful. In other words it increased the accountability of the executive and at the same time encouraged respect for the rule of law. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the Act facilitated many positive changes. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS Munro, Colin R, Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths, second edition, 1999. ARTICLES Glover, Richard, Retrospectivity and the Human Rights Act 1998, [2003] 4 JCLI. CASES Alconbury Limited v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions [2001] 2 WLR 1389. Mendoza v Ghaidan [2003] 2 WLR 478. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones v Hello! (2001) 2 All ER 289. R (Q and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, 20 February 2003, Times Law Reports STATUTES 1998 Human Rights Act 2006Terrorism Act INTERNET SOURCES Lester, Anthony, The Human Rights Act five years on. 2003 (online). Available from: http://www.hrla.org.uk/docs/lord lester.pdf#search=human rights act 1998 law [Accessed on 6 August 2006]. Footnotes [1] Munro, Colin R., Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths) 1999, p. 1. [2] Munro 2. [3] Griffith, John, The political constitution, (1979) 42 MLR 1. [4] [1974] AC 765, [1974] 1 All ER 609. [5] Munro 3. [6] Munro 13. [7] Munro, Colin R., Studies in Constitutional Law, Butterworths) 1999, p. 57, per G. Marshall and GC Moodie. [8] Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Individual ministerial responsibility issues and examples, Research Paper 04/31, (2004). [9] Oonagh Gay, Thomas Powell, Collective responsibility of Ministers an outline of the issues, Research Paper 04/82, (2004). [10] [1991] 1 AC 521. [11] (1988) QBD. [12] Munro 32. [13] Munro 29 44. [14]Matthew Leeke, Chris Sear and Oonagh Gay, Parliament and Constitution Centre, An Introduction to Devolution in the UK, Research Paper 03/84, (2003), p 7. [15] Munro 127 -166. [16] Government

Report on the Art and Architecture of the Cathedral of St. Stephen in A

1.0 Introduction The purpose of this report is to outline the art and architecture of the Cathedral of St. Stephen and compare it to other churches around the world. It is also designed to analyse the aspects of St. Stephen’s architecture and its attempts to capture some of the unique experiences of people in Australia. Also analysed was how a Catholic community can impact the identity of its parishioner as well as the importance of belonging to a Catholic parish. The report finally concludes by looking at different universal understandings on the meaning what is a church. 2.0 Survey 1. The word cathedral means: The seed of power 2. The Catholic Cathedral for the Archdioceses of Brisbane is called St. Stephens Cathedral 3 Who was St. Stephen? St Stephen was the first Martyr. He was stoned to death by a mob encouraged by St. Paul (King Saul) for speaking against the temple of Herod in Jerusalem and the law. He also was guilty of blasphemy against the names God and Moses. 4. The Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane is Archbishop John Bathersby 5. The times of masses at the cathedral are as follows: Sunday: 8:00 am 10:00 am Solemn Mass, 12:00 noon, 7:30 pm Monday – Friday: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:30 pm, 5:10 pm Saturday: 11:30 am, 6:00 pm 6. St. Stephens Cathedral was built in 1874 7. The little chapel beside St. Stephens Cathedral is called Pugin Chapel and was built in 1848. 8. What was the original purpose of the stained glass windows in the churches? The purpose of the windows is to show significant historical events of importance. For example there are images of Jesus birth, the Crucifixion and depict images of the Saints. They are not just there for informative purposes but to ... ... on the person’s particular faith example a Jewish person would belong to a synagogue where Christians belong to a Church or Cathedral. Another misconception of the meaning of church is that it is a society which engages in the rectification of social wrongs. This is a misconception because the church is designed to enhance spiritual development and to follow the teachings of God as a parish community. The nature of churches allows people to contribute to the ceremony. Churches allow input by any member to develop the service. 6.0 Conclusion In conclusion it has been discovered that there are many varieties of art and architecture that make Australian churches unique. Also noted is that many people have different meanings for what a church is. We also saw how important it was to belong to a Catholic Parish and how important it is to work as Catholic Community. Report on the Art and Architecture of the Cathedral of St. Stephen in A 1.0 Introduction The purpose of this report is to outline the art and architecture of the Cathedral of St. Stephen and compare it to other churches around the world. It is also designed to analyse the aspects of St. Stephen’s architecture and its attempts to capture some of the unique experiences of people in Australia. Also analysed was how a Catholic community can impact the identity of its parishioner as well as the importance of belonging to a Catholic parish. The report finally concludes by looking at different universal understandings on the meaning what is a church. 2.0 Survey 1. The word cathedral means: The seed of power 2. The Catholic Cathedral for the Archdioceses of Brisbane is called St. Stephens Cathedral 3 Who was St. Stephen? St Stephen was the first Martyr. He was stoned to death by a mob encouraged by St. Paul (King Saul) for speaking against the temple of Herod in Jerusalem and the law. He also was guilty of blasphemy against the names God and Moses. 4. The Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane is Archbishop John Bathersby 5. The times of masses at the cathedral are as follows: Sunday: 8:00 am 10:00 am Solemn Mass, 12:00 noon, 7:30 pm Monday – Friday: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:30 pm, 5:10 pm Saturday: 11:30 am, 6:00 pm 6. St. Stephens Cathedral was built in 1874 7. The little chapel beside St. Stephens Cathedral is called Pugin Chapel and was built in 1848. 8. What was the original purpose of the stained glass windows in the churches? The purpose of the windows is to show significant historical events of importance. For example there are images of Jesus birth, the Crucifixion and depict images of the Saints. They are not just there for informative purposes but to ... ... on the person’s particular faith example a Jewish person would belong to a synagogue where Christians belong to a Church or Cathedral. Another misconception of the meaning of church is that it is a society which engages in the rectification of social wrongs. This is a misconception because the church is designed to enhance spiritual development and to follow the teachings of God as a parish community. The nature of churches allows people to contribute to the ceremony. Churches allow input by any member to develop the service. 6.0 Conclusion In conclusion it has been discovered that there are many varieties of art and architecture that make Australian churches unique. Also noted is that many people have different meanings for what a church is. We also saw how important it was to belong to a Catholic Parish and how important it is to work as Catholic Community.

Media Analysis of Coverage of One Event Essay examples -- Compare Cont

Media Analysis of Coverage of One Event In various articles written about Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco’s visit to Cuba, the emphases are placed on different points, as the event is described from various angles. The Cuban newspaper Granma goes into more depth about Blanco and her entourage’s activities during their visit to Cuba, as well as giving a more detailed background of pertinent information about United States-Cuba relations, in the context of the embargo. La Nueva Cuba approaches the event from a different angle by providing more specifics about how this particular transaction will take place. There is also a brief compare and contrast of the ways that the United States and other nations choose to deal with Cuba, especially in matters of financing purchases. The Daily Advertiser chooses yet another facet of the issue to focus on. Because it is a Louisiana paper, it has a more domestically-oriented agenda. As a result, the article centers on Louisiana and Blanco, rather than Cuba and the United States as a whole. None of these reports reflect particularly badly on either Cuba or the United States, though each reporter’s preference is shown by the particular scope through which the respective pieces are written. The title of the Granma report is â€Å"Louisiana se acerca mas a Cuba,† a very curious title which creates a feeling of intimacy between the two entities. A mechanical analysis reveals the purposeful use of a reflexive verb only for Louisiana, rather than for both Louisiana and Cuba (i.e. â€Å"Louisiana y Cuba se acercan†). This depicts Louisiana as the active participant of the two, the one that is taking the initiative to align itself closer to Cuba. This way of describing the situation makes sense conside... ...is a smaller regional paper that is more concerned with domestic affairs than international relations. An examination of three articles from different sources but about the same event reveals the different ways of manifesting what is of great or negligible importance, how an entity chooses to present itself, or how the government prefers to have itself portrayed. The various angles chosen to approach the issue, as well as the use of supporting details illustrates the personal preference of the reporter and his or her reflection of each nation, state, or person featured in the report. Although these three articles from the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, Cuba’s conservative Granma, or the more liberal La Nueva Cuba do not exhibit criticism for either the US or Cuba, they showcase subtle opinions about the newly established trade agreement between Cuba and Louisiana.