The Effects Of Gangs - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1218 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/04/12 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Gang Violence Essay Did you like this example? The effects of gangs in the lower-middle-higher class communities is an important issue to be aware of, for the fact that it causes a lot of problems in society. Currently, gangs have been increasing within communities causing negative effects on neighborhoods and their youth. A gang can be defined as a group of three or more individuals who associate together and have the same clothing or color styles and commit crimes from all different of levels. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Effects Of Gangs" essay for you Create order People are upset with gang members and the outpour they bring, which includes harassing the community, encouraging their local youth to join, and publicly displaying inappropriate behavior. It is not only important to be able to recognize the level of a community and the gang problems within them, but also to see what actions can be taken to prevent more gang problems before they become greater in society. When it comes to gangs it has been noted that in communities with a reduced population of no more than 50,000, gangs tend to be much smaller with only a hand full of members. Typically, they form as fast as they dissolve because it is hard to start up a gang and recruit members that will stay committed for a long period. In these areas the conflict for gang leaders is to keep members devoted before members realize what a waste of time the gang life is. In a small populated zone there can be up to three different gangs at max with roughly fifty members or less in each. In larger populations between 50,000 and 100,000 typically report between 4â€Å"15 gangs and about 50â€Å"200 members. (2). As the population of towns, rural counties, and cities increases, the issue of gangs seems to also be increasing for the communities and society at large. Larger cities have a much longer, more extensive history of gang problems†nearly half have experienced ongoing gang problems since before the 1990s.(5) Whether a community be small, average, or enormous in size, there is always a purpose for joining a gang or associating with them. Quite often, the data shows that there are reasons an individual might be interested in joining a gang which include protection, power, money, or peer pressure. Communities who are considered to be at a lower economic class level, typically see a higher rate of gang activity. A reason behind this is that these areas have been left unsupervised without leadership, or adherence from any local law or community leaders. This has left the people with low income communities to fend for themselves and makes it more challenging to protect themselves and their children. These communities can be seen as ?broken windows theory which happens in many communities who are considered to be lower economic classes. This allows for gangs to encourage youth to join their ranks and see what benefits might come from being in a gang. These benefits often include protection from other rival gangs who come to their neighborhood and harass them, or in some cases threaten to kill them. Of these reasons, youth most commonly join gangs for the safety they believe the gang provides. (3) In addition, protection can be given to those individuals or families who may need it. Money and power can both be obtained by joining a gang in these lower income communities, which is often another reason children decide to join. When seeing their older family members or siblings partaking in these kinds of behaviors, it inspires the youth in these communities to follow in their footsteps making it quite likely that one day they will be actively involved in delinquency, drug use, and violence in comparison to youth in higher income level community. Exposure to violence during youth has long-term life consequences.(4) In these communities being surrounded by gangs 24/7 encourages children and families to join the lifestyle rather than prevent this lifestyle. Middle economic class levels typically are surrounded by some gangs but arent seen around the community as much. In these areas fewer crimes are committed and less pressure is placed on joining gangs from peers. Occasionally people might see a gang walking around or graffiti on a wall, but you dont see gangs strolling around on every single block. Influences in these communities are much more serious and positive because communities in this general state actually work to strengthen families and schools. The work to improve community supervision, and to train teachers and parents to manage disruptive youth. These factors play a huge role in protecting the community and the kids who live around the neighborhood. Without a doubt there are some adolescents in this general area that may be involved in gang activities but as mentioned above, it is quite minimal in these communities because of the support of local community leaders and families. In higher economic class levels, they depict picture perfect communities where there are no gangs in sight. Typically, a community of this sort is protected by officers who patrol around the neighborhood and in addition, many of these communities are gated to prevent further issues. There may be graffiti around, but it does not imply that there is a gang problem in these communities; this can just be a person who comes there to tag. If any issues would arise it would most likely be because of drugs being sold or used in these communities. In these communities, gangs arent really relevant, but drugs dealers may be. Those drug dealers who are associated with gangs are not there to recruit youth, they are there to merely make a profit. It is clear that as economic class levels rise, the crimes decrease because the communities work to improve its protection and enforce its laws. The best possible way to ensure that communities are not being infected by gangs or corrupting the youth, is by making sure they have Safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments Exposer to gangs during youth has long-term life consequences. Whether seeing gang members commit crimes, grafting walls, seeing drugs sold etc., all these exposures damage society and its youth. The best way to prevent this is to apply characteristics like strengthening families, increasing adult supervision of students after school, teaching students that gangs can be dangerous, improving community-level supervision of youth etc. It is prudent to locate gang prevention programs in schools because student risk levels for multiple problem behaviors can be easily identified (1). These are just a few things that could make a difference in any community even if there are no gang problems at the moment. There is always help available, community members just need to look for it and ask for aid in improving the gang problems in their communities. In short, it can be said that no matter what community a person lives in, there are many issues that can disturb that community. There is definitely a considerable amount of influences that come from gangs, but the effects can always be changed or prevented. The best way to eliminate or reduce gang activity in a community is to establish a tight cooperation between law enforcement and the community. Proper actions need to be taken to protect the community, especially the youth who are the future. In the end it is really all just about cooperating with and working with others to improve the community and hoping for the best.

The Organizational Culture Of Lush Essay - 1760 Words

Lush is a leading cosmetics manufacturer and retailer with famous of its hand made bath and beauty products. Brandi,as the director and brand communications for Lush in North American, took an undercover and worked as a ground floor in manufacturing plant and retail shop of Lush in Vancouver. In the process of undercover, the organizational culture, leadership style and motivation methods of Lush is revealed. This essay will recognize the good and bad practice of Lush through its culture, leadership style and motivation methods and their impact on stakeholders. The recommendation will also be given in the essay. 1. Organizational culture of Lush Through the process of undercover, first of all, the organizational culture of Lush can be recognized. The Organizational culture of Lush can be considered as type of hierarchy culture. According to Mckee (2011), organizational culture is a set of shared belief and values developed inside an organization which guide the behaviour of members of the organization. K. S. Cameron (2006) also stated in the competing values framework that organizational culture can be divided into four categories: clan culture, hierarchy culture, adhocracy culture and market culture. In the process of undercover, Lush’s organizational culture can be regarded as a kind of hierarchy culture. According to competing values model, hierarchy culture focus on the control of the business. It encourage stability. 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Negotiation Jujitsu Free Essays

What if They Won’t Play (Use Negotiation Jujitsu) Getting to YesNegotiating Agreement Without Giving In By Roger Fisher and William Ury Vikas Singh Ed Hill What if They Won’t Play †¢ Theymaystatetheirpositioninunequivocal terms †¢ Concernedonlywithmaximizingtheirowngains †¢ Theymayattackyouinplaceofattackingthe problems Three Basic Strategies †¢ What you can do †¢ What they can do – Negotiation Jujitsu †¢ What a third party can do – One Text Mediation Procedure Negotiation Jujitsu Three Basic Maneuvers Asserting their position forcefully †¢ Attacking your ideas †¢ Attacking you Don’t attack their position, look behind it †¢ Neither reject nor accept the position †¢ Treat it as one possible option †¢ Look for interest and principles behind it †¢ Think of ways to improve it Don’t defend your ideas, invite criticism and advice †¢ Invite criticism, instead of resisting it †¢ As k them what is wrong with a particular idea or an option †¢ Use their criticism and advice to find out their underlying interests and principles †¢ Rework your ideas in light of what you learn Recast an attack on you as an attack on the problem †¢ Resist the temptation to defend yourself or attack them †¢ Listen to them †¢ Understand what they are saying †¢ Recast their attack on you as an attack on the problem Ask questions and pause †¢ Use questions instead of statements †¢ Silence One-text procedure Call in a third party to: †¢ Separate the people from the problem †¢ Direct the discussion to interests and options †¢ Suggest impartial basis for resolving differences †¢ Separate invention from decision making How does a third party do this Asksabouttheinterestsratherthanpositions †¢ Learnallabouttheirneedsandinterests †¢ Suggest a provisional solution/recommendation †¢ Askthemtocritiqueitorsuggestimprovements †¢ Improvisetherecommendationinlightofinputs †¢ Presentthefinalsolution Getting them to play: The case of Jones Realty and Frank Turnbull †¢$600 rent per month †¢Apartment under rent control †¢Max rent at $466 per month †¢Mrs. Jones reimburses after several long principled negotiation sessions Stock Phrases †¢ â€Å"Please correct me if I’m wrong. † †¢ â€Å"We appreciate what you’ve done for us. We will write a custom essay sample on Negotiation Jujitsu or any similar topic only for you Order Now †¢ â€Å"Our concern is fairness† †¢ â€Å"We would like to settle this on the basis of Independent standards, not of who can do what to whom† †¢ â€Å"Trust is a separate issue† Stock Phrases (cont. ) †¢ â€Å"CouldIaskyouafewquestionstoseewhether my facts are right? † †¢ â€Å"What’stheprinciplebehindyouraction? † †¢ â€Å"LetmeseeifIunderstandwhatyou’resaying† †¢ â€Å"Letmegetbacktoyou† †¢ â€Å"Let me show you where I have trouble following some of your reasoning Stock Phrases (cont. ) †¢ â€Å"One fair solution might be. † †¢ â€Å"If we agree.. If we disagree. † â€Å"We’d be happy to see if we can leave when it’s most convenient for you† †¢ â€Å"It’s been a pleasure dealing with you† â€Å"Please correct me If I’m wrong† †¢ Establish dialogue based on reason †¢ Invitation to participat e †¢ Good probability you won’t â€Å"lose face† †¢ Opening to correction and persuasion sets the tone â€Å"We appreciate what you’ve done for us† †¢ Through support, separate people from problem †¢ Defuses self-image threat †¢ Other side now has something to lose: – Praise and support â€Å"Our concern is fairness† †¢ Take basic stand on principle †¢ Remain open Both ends and means to accomplish ends are principled â€Å"We would like to settle this on the basis of independent standards, no of who can do what to whom† †¢ Don’t lose temper- and thus, control †¢ Bring negotiation back to merits †¢ Good example of negotiation jujitsu †¢ Reinforces principled negotiation â€Å"Trust is a separate Issue† †¢ Slip out of corner †¢ Remain firm on the principle â€Å"Could I ask you a few questions to see whether my facts are right? † †¢ Statements of fact can be threatening, questions are better †¢ Phrasing info as questions allows open participation Lays foundation for agreed upon facts â€Å"What’s the principle behind your action? † †¢ A principled negotiator neither accepts nor rejects other side’s opinion †¢ Leads other side to search for reasons †¢ Negotiation continues on principle â€Å"Let me see If I understand what you’re saying† †¢ Principled negotiation requires good communication †¢ Other side more likely to listen and be more receptive â€Å"Let me get back to you† †¢ Good negotiator rarely makes important decisions on the spot †¢ Timeanddistancehelptoseparatepeoplefrom problem Goodnegotiatorscomestotablewithcredible reason for leaving †¢ Allowsdiscussionwithconstituents(Paul) †¢ Freshcommitmenttoprinciplednegotiation â€Å"Let me show you where I have trouble following some of your reasoning† †¢ Present reasons before offering proposal †¢ Proposal first will often lead to other side not listening to reasons – Considering counterproposals â€Å"One fair solution might be. † †¢ Proposal not as yours, but as fair option †¢ Proposal not as only solution, but one fair solution â€Å"If we agree.. If we disagree. † †¢ Try to make it easy for other side †¢ Trickiest part is to communicate the alternative Use of third party – Creates distance, thus, separation of people from problems †¢ Don’t always reveal BATNA â€Å"We’d be happy to see if we can leave when it’s most convenient for you† †¢ Incorporate other side’s interests †¢ Allows for other side to â€Å"save face† †¢ Other side feels good about agreement â€Å"It’s been a pleasure dealing with you† †¢ End on a good note †¢ Reestablishes principle of separation of people from problem †¢ Relationship maintained Summary †¢ You can get the other side to play principled negotiation, even if they don’t want to at first †¢ Principled negotiation, negotiation jujitsu, or a third party all work How to cite Negotiation Jujitsu, Papers

Interview with David Field, Managing Director at Nestle Foodservices free essay sample

The article presents an interview with David Field, managing director at Nestle Foodservices. When asked about the factor in the food sector that appeals to him, he referred to partnering with clients and suppliers to find the right solutions to develop the hospitality industry at large. He stated his stand on the issue of vending machines in schools being branded as unhealthy. He cited the importance of market research to the company. Section: INFOZONE SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT Nestle Foodservices Its almost a year since David Field joined Nestle Foodservices as managing director from research company Fusion FSM. Diane Lane spoke to him about market trends, nurturing young talent, and breakfast beverages Caterer So David, youre a food service veteran what is it about this sector that so appeals to you? DF Across which other industry would you find such commitment, diversity and passion? Its an industry where I feel a real difference can be made. That difference might be in partnering our clients and other suppliers to find the right solutions to develop the hospitality industry at large, or in developing products of the future that, at present, you and I cant even start to imagine. Its exciting, its fast-moving, its flexible and no two days are ever the same. Caterer Like most of us, Im sure you need the odd confectionery fix to get you through the day. What treats does the managing director of Nestle Foodservices keep in his lunchbox? DF Naturally, I choose our very own favourite break, Kit Kat. Did you know that in Japanese Kit Kat means good luck? And sales rocket at the time of student exams†¦ Caterer Many Nestle confectionery products are sold in vending machines. Where do you stand on the issue of vending machines in schools being branded as unhealthy? DF In my school days balance seemed to be much more in evidence than it is now. Lifestyles were undoubtedly different, and there are many influencing factors to todays situation, but I do believe that it is now the responsibility of us all to encourage young people to make the right choices. We have been working very closely with our education customers in recent years to help children make healthy vending choices and have recently introduced the Refuel:Pod. A ending machine developed specifically for schools which contains a choice of healthier items, including water and cereal bars, and features graphic images of young people involved in physical activity to remind youngsters how important it is to achieve the right balance of exercise and food intake. Caterer Having been spotted recently drinking a cup of tea at a breakfast in Glasgow, what actually is your favourite morning beverage? DF Every day is different†¦ and, yes, I do admit to enjoying a cup of tea on occasion. Like everyone, my choice of beverage will depend on my mood and the time of day, and that will dictate whether I choose tea, coffee or, at times, a soft drink or something stronger. Caterer Dont you have a research background? Tell me how important market research is to Nestle Foodservices. DF Its massively important. Our whole philosophy is based around listening to what our customers and their end consumers are telling us. One of our largest financial commitments is to research, and we have a bespoke research team which focuses on establishing out-of-home trends to support our customer needs and product development for the future. Caterer In your opinion, what are the key trends or issues that will affect the market over the next couple of years? DF I would say that health and wellbeing are by far the biggest issues affecting all sectors of the food industry at present. The old adage You are what you eat is being widely accepted, and we are all becoming more aware of the need for balance. This, together with more stringent Government legislation, means that anyone involved in the supply of food products needs to deliver products and ranges which are as healthy as possible. Caterer How can food service operators benefit from market research, and how can they get hold of it? DF Every company, whatever its size, can benefit from market research. Publishing houses, the internet and research companies all offer operators a chance to access valuable research data, and even though operators may not have the resources of bespoke research facilities at their fingertips, even top-line research that can be undertaken at relatively low cost can be a good indicator. Caterer This years Nestle Toque dOr competition showcased some fabulous catering talent from around the country. Why does Nestle feel its important to nurture young talent? DF This industry faces a potentially huge skills shortage in years to come. Initiatives such as Nestles Toque dOr benefit the whole market because they help develop emerging young talent and prepare students for the real world of work. Catering colleges across the country are doing an excellent job educating the next generation of talent, and Nestle Toque dOr provides us with an opportunity to support this education, recognise the amount of hard work that is going on and reward colleges and students accordingly. These are very exciting times for the hospitality industry, and if the UK is to maintain its well-deserved place on the culinary world stage, we need to ensure that we continue to develop young talent and promote the sector as a whole. Caterer Whats your favourite dish to whip up in the kitchen? DF Sadly, as my wife will testify, my love of good food does not translate to skill in the kitchen.

The Message Of Babi Yar Essays (1136 words) -

The Message of Babi Yar There are very few people in the world who are willing to go against the popular trends and do what they feel in their hearts is correct. But Yevgeny Yevtushenko is one of those people. In his poem Babi Yar, he tells the story of the modern persecution of the Jews, focusing on atrocities like those of the massacre at Babi Yar and the pogroms at Beilostok, and also the general anti-Semitism that killed men like Dreyfus and pervades the entire Russian people. The poem uses many literary devices, such as graphic imagery and contrasts, while painting a very clear picture of the scenes of pure horror. Babi Yar is written in many different voices, all of which, however, have the same message. The author starts off with his own perspective, then goes on and describes certain people in modern Jewish history whose lives will forever be remembered as symbols of the time. At the end of the poem the author comes back and speaks in his own voice, yet this time he delivers a message to his people about how they have committed a large number of these crimes against the Jews, yet think that such actions are pure and good for Russia. By switching from the voices of those who were so afflicted by the persecution to a voice of accusation, the author effectively points out how foolish the arguments of the Russians are when they try to point out any validity in killing millions of Jews. The poem starts out with a description of the ravine at Babi Yar. However, all it says is that there is nothing to describe. It calls the steep ravine, which is the grave sight of one hundred thousand people, the only memorial that is there. This frightens the author, because the massiveness of the tragedy deserves at least some recognition. Then Yevtushenko realizes that fear is a part of Judaism, something that is as old as them, and therefore originating with them. He says that he too must be a Jew for he is afraid of what his people and his society have become. Many years ago, in the "ancient days," it would not be such a shock to see the Jews enslaved in Egypt or crucified as a means of torture and death, but even in modern times the same things are going on-he still has the marks from where the nails pierced him. The author has used classical examples of Jewish persecution which every one knows is gone in the physical sense, but show how they still exist in the theoretical aspect, as the persecution is still occurring. In the next three stanzas, the poem takes the standpoint of three figures whose stories are pertinent examples of what Yevtushenko is trying to rely in this poem. First the voice of Dreyfus is used, and the stanza describes how horribly and unfairly he was treated, and how the country and its leaders turned their backs on him. There are two important literary devices used in this section. First the author puts the word "pettiness" on a line by itself. This is used as a declaration of what the author feels anti-Semitism is based on. It is because of pettiness that Dreyfus was accused and further because of pettiness that he was not pardoned when it was proven that he had not committed any crime. The next important device is the description of ladies with their umbrellas. This is an image to the wealthy aristocracy of France, who not only turned their backs on Dreyfus and did not help him, but also increased the effort to have him punished unnecessarily. The next Jewish figure whom the author singles out is a boy from the town of Bielostok, where one of the most horrible pogroms ever took place. The entire stanza focuses on the image of how bad the people were who participated in the pogrom. Using graphic images of blood spurting all around and of victims pointlessly begging for mercy, the author clearly shows how wrong the pogroms were and wrong his countrymen were for allowing them to occur. A device the author uses in this stanza is contrast, as in

Gigantopithecus - Facts and Figures

Gigantopithecus - Facts and Figures Name: Gigantopithecus (Greek for giant ape); prounced jie-GAN-toe-pith-ECK-us Habitat: Woodlands of Asia Historical Epoch: Miocene-Pleistocene (six million to 200,000 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to nine feet tall and 1,000 pounds Diet: Probably omnivorous Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; large, flat molars; four-footed posture About Gigantopithecus The literal 1,000-pound gorilla sitting in the corner of a natural history museum, the appropriately named Gigantopithecus was the largest ape that ever lived, not quite King Kong-sized but, at up to half a ton or so, much bigger than your average lowland gorilla. Or, at least, thats the way this prehistoric primate has been reconstructed; frustratingly, practically everything we know about Gigantopithecus is based on its scattered, fossilized teeth and jaws, which first came to the worlds attention when they were sold in Chinese apothecary shops in the first half of the 20th century. Paleontologists arent even sure how this colossus moved; the consensus is that it must have been a ponderous knuckle-walker, like modern gorillas, but a minority opinion holds that Gigantopithecus may have been capable of walking on its two hind feet. Another mysterious thing about Gigantopithecus is when, exactly, it lived. Most experts date this ape from Miocene to mid-Pleistocene eastern and southeastern Asia, about six million to one million years B.C., and it may have survived in small populations until as late as 200,000 or 300,000 years ago. Predictably, a small community of cryptozoologists insists that Gigantopithecus never went extinct, and persists in the present day, high up in the Himalayan Mountains, as the mythical Yeti, better known in the west as the Abominable Snowman! (Rest assured that no reputable scientists subscribe to this theory, which is supported by absolutely no compelling material or eyewitness evidence.) As fearsome as it must have looked, Gigantopithecus seems to have been mostly herbivorouswe can infer from its teeth and jaws that this primate subsisted on fruits, nuts, shoots and, just possibly, the occasional small, quivering mammal or lizard. (The presence of an unusual number of cavities in Gigantopithecus teeth also points to a possible diet of bamboo, much like that of a modern Panda Bear.) Given its size when fully grown, an adult Gigantopithecus would not have been an active target of predation, though the same cant be said for sick, juvenile or aged individuals, which figured on the lunch menu of various tigers, crocodiles and hyenas. Gigantopithecus comprises three separate species. The first and largest, G. blacki, lived in southeastern Asia starting in the middle Pleistocene epoch and shared its territory, toward the end of its existence, with various populations of Homo erectus, the immediate precursor of Homo sapiens. The second, G. bilaspurensis, dates to six million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, about the same early time frame as the oddly named G. giganteus, which was only about half the size of its G. blacki cousin.

How can we explain the international expansion of Chinese business Essay - 1

How can we explain the international expansion of Chinese business Discuss using a big business group example(s) to illustrate your argument - Essay Example Both push and pull factors have contributed to the international expansion of Chinese business. China opened up its economy in the 1970s and gained accession to World Trading Organization (WTO) in 1990. Because of the locational advantages that China offered, it received huge inward FDI (foreign direct investment) flows since the mid-1990s which has been one of the reasons for outward FDI (OFDI). Inward FDI resulted in massive foreign currency reserves (Andersson and Wang 2011) while the MNCs in China also provided the much-needed technical know-how, competence and confidence to the domestic companies to venture overseas (Bhuiyan 2011). China no longer remained a magnet for inward FDI but now has become a major source of OFDI (Liu and Buck 2009). Most OFDI was directed towards developing nations with geographical or institutional proximity requiring limited resources. The newly industrialized economies (NICs) of East Asia and Japan engaged in OFDI due to push factors (labour shortages, high operating costs) while China initially engaged in OFDI due to pull factors (natural resource endowments and market potential) (Biggeri and Sanfilippo 2009). The motives to internationalize included enhancing the corporate brand values of Chinese enterprises (OECD 2009). However, as the Chinese government tried to integrate China into the world economy (1979-1985) only the state-owned enterprises (SEOs) were granted approval for internationalization. In the next stage the non-SOEs were allowed to expand abroad through a foreign affiliate. OFDI from China remained highly regulated during the first two decades of the economic reform (Liou 2009). As part of the Go Global Policy outlined in China’s 10th five-year plan in 2001, certain industries like textiles, machinery and electrical equipment, were provided with foreign exchange support and export tax rebates to boost internationalization.

Ultraviolet light Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ultraviolet light - Lab Report Example Additionally, UV-B is also harmful and is absorbed by the Ozone Layer on the Earth’s atmosphere. However, based on the effects of global warming, the penetration of the UV-B radiation through the ozone facilitates sunburn on human skin (Akram and Rubock, pp. 2-11). The discovery of ultraviolet light owes to the scientific research by John Ritter of 1801 which showed that in the presence of ultraviolet light, blue photographic paper would turn black. Following the discovery of the ultraviolet light/radiation, scientists have used the concept of ultraviolet wavelengths to monitor the formation of stars in the galaxy. Since most stars emit light at the wavelength of UV-light, scientists can monitor activity in the universe and provide information on newly forming stars (Mission Science, para 1-7). Practical application of UV-light is the study of the galaxy where scientists use Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope to investigate the differences between newly formed and older stars. Due to differing wavelengths, it is observed that the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope results show that optical and ultraviolet wavelengths affect how bright a star shines (Gam Products Inc.

The Transformation of Shell Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Transformation of Shell - Case Study Example It has had a very good working relationship with the stakeholders in the industry and they include: partners, shareholders, suppliers, contractors and also their customers. The values that govern the company include respect for all, high sense of integrity and honesty at all levels within the organization. Mutual respect, openness, communication, team work, joint solving of problems and a high level of professionalism also govern the company. Partners, suppliers and the society at large. The company acknowledges that the success of its company largely depends on the contributions made by its employees. The company thus respects the basic rights of its employees by providing them with a good working environment so the employees can work comfortably .They provide them with clean and hygienic employment conditions for them to work in. Once they employ their staff, they tend to motivate them by making the best use of their talents through training them so that they get new skills (Post, Preston, and Sauter-Sachs, 2002). The environment in which the employees work is all-inclusive whereby all the employees regardless of their background are given equal opportunities to develop their skills and talent. The employees are also included in the decision making process by including them in the planning stages and also offering them the necessary support and guidance while they perform their duties. A feedback program has also been put into place whereby the employees are encouraged to raise any concerns that they may have and also give opinions on what they would want to see improved in the organization. The customers are also a very important aspect in their business. The company has come up with innovative ways that assists them to win and maintain their customers. They do so by providing goods and services that are very competitive in price, very high quality, safe and above all, environmentally friendly. For the company to be able to be competitive, a team of professionals in the environmental, commer cial and information technology departments support them (Post, Preston, and Sauter-Sachs, 2002). Shell also seeks to have a mutually beneficial working relationship with all its business partners' .The partners include the suppliers, contractors, and any other parties that they could be having a joint venture with. They seek to promote the basic business principles that they possess. With their partners on board, it assists the company to make strategic decisions on whether to get into more partnerships or pull out of the existing partnerships. The company has been involved in the corporate social responsibilities whereby they try to do their business by complying with all the rules and regulations under the law, observing the basic human rights while at the same time providing proper guidelines on issues to do with the safety, health, security and the environment. Business Principles The Company believes in fairness, honesty and integrity while performing their duties and they expect to be treated the same by their partners and competitors. The company has come up with a policy against bribery, soliciting of money, and any other activities by the employees that would be with in conflict

Child Recognition of Emotions

Child Recognition of Emotions CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Human emotions serve as a means of expression, often indicating an individuals internal conscious experience or physiological arousal. Emotions also serve as a form of communication, alerting individuals to important aspects of their environment and their relationships with other individuals. Emotions influence a persons actions, cognitions, and how they are perceived by others (Strayer, 2002). For example, emotions may influence how individuals respond to an environmental threat, as feelings of sadness may indicate a withdrawal of behavior or feelings of fear may engage the activity of flight (Strayer, 2002). The experience of emotions, in turn, provides individuals with meaning about both their internal and external environments and information about how they should respond to a social situation. The ability to develop an adequate understanding of emotions is known as emotional competence. More precisely, emotional competence is defined as a demonstration of self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting social transactions (Saarni, Campos, Camras Witherington, 2006, p. 250). For children, one way to gauge their emotional competence is to examine their ability to perceive their own emotions and the emotions of others (Saarni et al., 2006). This type of assessment allows researchers to determine an approximate measure as to childrens emotional development level. The first skill of emotional competence is for children to develop an understanding of self. Through an ability to be aware of their own personal emotional experience, children begin to develop self-conscious emotions. Feelings of shame, guilt, and embarrassment, for example, allow children to refer to themselves as having conscious awareness that they are distinct from others (Lewis, 1993, 1995; Mascolo Fischer, 1995). In addition, childrens emotional competence is developed through an ability to be aware of multiple emotions or to feel that their emotions are in conflict with their environment (e.g., ambivalence; Stein, Trabasso, Liwag, 2000). As children become aware of their own emotions, emotional development is strengthened and refined. A second important skill development to emotional competence is for children to make sense of others inner states (Saarni et al., 2006). Specifically, children learn to comprehend and interpret others behaviors and begin to realize that others are capable of forming their own beliefs and emotions (for a review see Dunn, 2000; Halberstadt, Denham, and Dunsmore, 2001). Understanding the distinction between ones own emotions and the emotions of others is crucial to emotional development in children. For instance, studies indicate that childrens ability to accurately identify emotions in self and in others may work as a gauge to assess social competence (Halberstadt et al., 2001). In these types of studies, childrens social competence is established by correlating their understanding of emotion terms, facial expressions, and elicitors of emotion terms (e.g., situational descriptions of a happy or sad event) with their social competence rating from teachers ratings or by peers sociometric choices (Saarni et al., 2006). Childrens ability to distinguish differences in emotional features in combination with how others view their ability provides a measure of their social competence. Monitoring childrens social competence allows one to identify socially disadvantaged children and implement effective coping strategies before any harmful, long-term effects manifest (Benford, 1998). Through childrens awareness of their own emotional state, in combination with the skill to discern others emotions, children begin to achieve more effective emotional processing skills. Understanding childrens emotional processing is important because it affects many social outcomes, such as childrens helping behavior (Chapman, Zahn-Waxler, Cooperman Iannotti, 1987, Miller Jansen op de Haar, 1997), aggressive responses (Harris Siebel, 1975), and self-control (Ceschi Scherer, 2003). Few studies, however, have examined how emotion affects childrens abilities to accurately identify the emotional state of others. Consequently, the present study sought to examine the effects of childrens own emotional states on their social/cognitive abilities to recognize emotional states in others. More specifically, this research sought to understand how positive, negative, and neutral emotional states of children affected performance on emotion recognition tasks that utilized different levels of cognitive complexity. By utilizing two types of emotion recognition tasks, the research examined the influence of differently valenced emotions on childrens social-cognitive abilities. Results may help to expand existing social information processing models by incorporating the influence cognitive complexity and affect may serve in childrens recognition of others emotions. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Understanding Others Emotions through Facial Expressions The ability for children to understand what others are experiencing emotionally develops through an interaction between the awareness of their own emotional experience and the ability to empathize and conceptualize the causes of emotions in others (Saarni et al., 2006). In addition, the more children learn about how and why others act the way they do, the more they can make inferences about the emotional state of others. Children typically rely on facial expressions to infer others emotional state (Ceschi Scherer, 2003; Holder Kirkpatrick, 1991). The face is considered the primary indicator of human emotion (Ekman, 1992). For example, body gestures are easily concealed (e.g., hiding a clenched fist behind ones back) or verbal communication can be eliminated by simply refusing to speak. Facial expressions, however, are more difficult to disguise (Ekman, 1993). Additionally, the diversity in an individuals face allows for a variety of emotional expressions, each associated with a distinct facial expression (Ekman, 1993). Facial expressions serve a dual purpose; facial emotions can indicate a persons internal emotional state or function as symbols referring to something else, such as a form of communication (e.g., deterring or placating someones actions; Lewis Michalson, 1985). Facial expressions are commonly used as a means for gauging emotion states in research. By 2 Â ½ years, children can distinguish a number of basic emotional states in the facial expressions of adults, but do not always label them accurately (Izard, 1971). At 5 years, children can accurately label 41% of the emotions depicted in a set of adult photographs (Odom Lemond, 1972). Overall, young children can recognize some of the more common emotional expressions as displayed by adults (e.g., MacDonald, Kirkpatrick Sullivan, 1996). By the ages of 11 or 12, most children recognize and verbalize that a persons expression may be both a social and an emotional response (e.g., Underwood Hurley, 1999). Consequently, children realize that a persons facial expression may indicate both the individuals internal state (e.g., I am feeling sad), as well as what the cues represent socially (e.g., I am expressing my feelings of sadness towards others). Each form of emotional expression is essential in order for children to interpret and comprehend anothers emotion (Underwood Hurley, 1999). Developmental Differences in Childrens Understanding of Others Emotional Experiences As children mature, they acquire greater abilities to make inferences about what others are feeling (Gross Ballif, 1991). Children, in an attempt to understand the emotions of others, begin to combine facial and situational cues. The ability to combine these cues, however, is strengthened and refined as children age. The easiest emotions for children to discern are positive ones (Saarni et al., 2006). Children can more readily identify happy reactions in a naturally occurring setting as compared to negative reactions (e.g. Fabes, Eisenberg, Nyman, Michealieu, 1991). Negative facial expressions, on the other hand, such as sadness, fear, and anger, are more difficult for children to decode. Negative emotions become easier to interpret, however, when they are paired with an emotion-eliciting situational context (Saarni et al. 2006). In addition, the causes of negative emotion are easier for children to decode than causes of positive emotion, an explanation that appears consistent with negative emotions eliciting a more intense response (Fabes et al., 1991). For example, children can easily determine the causes for their goal failures because it is an undesired consequence. Developmental differences are apparent when evaluating childrens understanding of the causes of emotions (Fabes et al., 1991). Younger children (i.e., 3 year-olds) are more prone to attribute causes of emotion to a persons wants or needs, whereas older children (i.e., 5 year-olds) make use of others personality traits to determine their future reactions to an emotional event (Fabes et al., 1991). Children aged 5 to 10 years can use a characters past experience to determine the characters reactions to a new situation (Gnepp Gould, 1985). For example, if a characters best friend harasses him, children aged 5 to 10 can infer how that character will later react to seeing the best friend on the playground. The developmental difference is evident in the quality of the response. Younger children are more likely to infer what the character is feeling solely through the current situational information (e.g., the character would be pleased to see the best friend), whereas older children are m ore likely to use the prior experience to evaluate how the character will react (e.g., the character will avoid the best friend on the playground; Gnepp Gould, 1985). Further support for this developmental difference is that younger children (i.e., preschoolers) are more likely to infer the emotional state of others when a characters emotional cues are presented explicitly (e.g., pictorial representation of the characters face) as compared to older children (i.e. school-aged) who can adeptly determine the characters response when less explicit cues are utilized (Lagattuta, Wellman, Flavell, 1997). These investigations demonstrate that by school age, children are well equipped to identify emotional expressions in others. Although there are developmental differences in childrens abilities to identify reasons for the emotional expression, by the age of 5, children generally distinguish differences in emotional cues and identify different types of emotional expressions in others. Integrating Cognition and Emotion There has been considerable interest in how children interpret, encode, and respond to social environments. One such model that attempts to explain the relationship is the social information processing model (Crick Dodge, 1994). The social information processing model assumes that the way in which children understand and interpret social situations directly influences how they respond behaviorally (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). In turn, the social information processing model offers an explanation for how children process and interpret cues in a social situation and arrive at a decision that facilitates their understanding of the social environment (Crick Dodge, 1994; Dodge, 1986). For any social interaction, children utilize their past experiences and biologically determined capabilities (e.g., memory store capacity) in order to rapidly assess the situation (Crick Dodge, 1994). To illustrate the social information processing model, imagine a child who gets pushed on the playground by another child. First, the child must encode the social cues (both internal and external) to determine what happened (attention, encoding) and then determine why it happened (interpretation: an accident or on purpose?). In the third step of the model, the child begins to clarify his or her goal in the social situation (e.g., goal to show others he/she wont tolerate the behavior). In step four and five of the model, possible responses to the situation are generated in terms of anticipated outcomes and how those actions relate to the individuals goals (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). The child may choose to retaliate in response to the other childs actions or the child may choose to not retaliate for fear of the situation escalating. Finally, the majority of children generally choose the most positively evaluated response with respect to goals and anticipated outcomes before the behavio r is enacted (e.g., the child ignores the push and walks away; Crick Dodge, 1994). The social information processing model has been useful in assessing how children encode and interpret social situations. The model, however, does not specify how emotion affects the processing strategy (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Lemerise and Arsenio (2000) argue that it is possible to expand Crick and Dodges models explanatory power by integrating emotion processing with social information processing. Before integrating emotion and social information processing, it is important to understand the relationship between the two. Emotions and cognitions may appear similar because both are types of information processing, but the way each influence human behavior makes them distinct (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Emotion is about motivation; cognition, on the other hand, concerns knowledge. This view is shared by many functionalist theorists, neurophysiologists, and some cognitive theorists (e.g., Campos, Mumme, Kermoian, Campos, 1994; Damasio, 1994; Oatley Jenkins, 1996). Because cognition and emotion are two distinct processes, an attempt to devise a model that integrates and utilizes the two is pragmatic. In Lemerise and Arsenios (2000) social information processing model, the researchers added and expanded to Crick and Dodges (1994) original concept. In particular, the researchers implemented other emotion processes that could influence accessing and evaluating responses. As an example of this approach, intense emotions can interfere with the steps of Crick and Dodges model where children assess possible responses to a situation (Steps 4 and 5). For example, children with intense emotions may react negatively to a social situation (e.g., becoming easily upset and running away), thereby reducing the probability that they will interpret and encode the situation from the perspective of all parties (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Intense emotions, in turn, can influence how a child responds in a social situation. In addition, the childs reaction to the soci al situation may be dependant on whether he/she cares about and wants that person to like him/her (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Emotions heavily influence this social decision making process. It is difficult to adhere to a social informational processing strategy without accounting for the influences emotion may serve. Support for the role emotions play in social information processing has been demonstrated in more recent research (e.g., Orobio de Castro, Merk, Koops, Veerman, Bosch, 2005). Specifically, researchers examined the relationship between emotional aspects of social information processing and aggressive boys. After hearing a series of vignettes that instilled provocation by their peers, participants answered questions concerning social information processing, including feeling of their own emotions, the emotions of others, and emotion regulation. Aggressive boys used less adaptive emotion-regulation strategies, attributed more hostile intent to others actions, and reported less guilt concerning their own actions (Orobio de Castro et al., 2005). For aggressive boys, anger attribution (i.e., encoding of emotions) significantly influenced the interpretation step of the social information processing model, a view that is consistent with Lemerise and Arsenios (2000) model. Clearly, emotions can influence childrens social information processing strategies. By combining emotional processing with social decision making processes, researchers can expand Crick Dodges models explanatory power, perhaps offering further insight into the influence emotion serves for childrens cognitive abilities (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000). Induction of Positive and Negative Affect Researchers examine emotional influences on social information processing and other social behaviors by experimentally inducing emotions and assessing the effects (Bryan, Mathur Sullivan, 1996; Bugental Moore, 1979; Burkitt Barnett, 2006; Carlson, Felleman Masters, 1983; Masters, Barden Ford, 1979; Stegge, Terwogt Koops, 2001). Inducing affect typically consists of an experimenter having subjects recall events that make them happy or sad before examining their responses to a variety of social and cognitive problems. These problems can range from measures of altruism, self-gratification, or delay of gratification (Bugental Moore, 1979). For this type of induction procedure, the researcher asks the child to recall and reflect upon a happy or sad past event for approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes (Bryan et al., 1996). This type of procedure allows psychologists to examine how affective states influence individuals social and psychological behaviors (Bugental Moore, 1979). Pre-recorded videotapes or audiocassettes are another technique used to implement positive or negative affect in children (e.g., Carlson Masters, 1986; Rader Hughes, 2005). The recordings improve the reliability and standardization of the affect inductions. The recording typically follows the same procedural method as the other affect induction studies (e.g., Carlson et al., 1983; Masters et al., 1979; Moore, Underwood, Rosenhan, 1973)—the person reading the script (e.g., actor, puppet) asks the child to ruminate on a past experience that is positive, negative, or neutral for approximately 30 seconds. For any procedural method chosen, it is important to validate if the affect induction actually takes place. There are multiple methods for conducting manipulation checks. Procedures include: having two or more experimenters rate the childs mood and assessing interrater agreement (e.g., Carlson Maters, 1986); having participants use a word item check-list to indicate their current mood (e.g., Vosburg, 1998); or comparing if the performance of children in the positive or negative condition differs from those in the neutral condition (e.g., Bugental Moore, 1979; Stegge et al., 2001). As demonstrated in past research, the induction of positive and negative moods is experimentally possible. Positive and Negative Affect and Emotional Processing There are a number of experimental studies that demonstrate the influence of childrens emotional states on a variety of emotional processes and behaviors, such as altruism (Chapman et al., 1987, Miller Jansen op de Haar, 1997), aggression (Harris Siebel, 1975), and self-control (Ceschi Scherer, 2003). One study, in particular, induced positive emotional states in a group of 5-6-year-old children to examine their responses to social comparison situations where the participant was rewarded unfairly, sometimes in the participants favor, sometimes in anothers favor (Carlson Masters, 1986). Children were exposed to one of three emotion inducing conditions: self-focused happy, other-focused happy, or neutral. After the children focused on their own happy emotional experience (self-focused) or the emotional state of a friend (other-focused) or had no emotional focus (neutral), they and other players received a reward for participating in a game. Children received either more (positive inequality) or less (negative inequality) of an award as compared to the other players. Children in the self-focused happy condition did not demonstrate a reduction in generosity after receiving an inequality of rewards (Carlson Masters, 1986). The authors interpreted their results as supportive of the po sition that positive mood facilitates tolerance of aversive experiences (Carlson Masters, 1986). What these studies did not answer, however, is what influence emotion serves in other social information processes. Specifically, how do inductions of positive or negative affect influence childrens emotion recognition? One research experiment did attempt to investigate the influence childrens own emotional states has on their ability to recognize emotions in others (Carlson et al., 1983). Experimenters induced emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, or neutral affect in eighty 4 and 5 year-old children. The children were then provided with a label of an emotion (e.g. happy) and asked to identify the correct facial expression from a group of photographs of other children who were displaying various emotions. Significant differences in accuracy across the mood induction conditions were not found, but childrens own feelings of sadness did influence their perception of sadness in peers (Carlson et al., 1983). Sad participants were not more inaccurate than happy participants when identifying emotions, but when they were inaccurate they tended to confuse sadness with anger. The induction of positive and negative mood in children appears to have an influence on childrens emotional processing. Negative affective states appear to lead to inaccuracies in the perception of others sadness, whereas positive affective states appear to help children maintain positive emotional experiences, even in the presence of aversive social situations. Influence of Emotional States on Cognition for Adults Despite the number of studies assessing childrens emotion processing ability, only a few studies have investigated how emotion-directed information processes, such as perception, attention, judgment, and memory recognition and recall, are influenced by the childs own emotional state, whether enduring or temporary (Greene Noice, 1988; Masters et al., 1979; Rader Hughes, 2005). Because of this dearth in the literature, it is useful to review studies conducted with adults. One particularly important study, which examined the role affect plays in adults cognitive performance, induced positive and negative affect through the use of a role-playing technique while participants carried out three cognitive tasks (Izard, Wehmer, Livsey, Jennings, 1965). The cognitive tasks ranged from participants generating as many possible uses for a particular object (multiple-use task), recalling sets of numbers (digit span test), and giving verbalized responses for creativity problems. Positive affect increased performance for both the multiple-use task and the creativity problems as compared to those in the negative affect condition. Some literature supports the finding that positive affect results in higher productivity and creativity (Ashby, Isen, Turken, 1999). Specifically, induced positive affect improved cognitive processes such as memory, judgment, risk-preference, decision-making, creative problem solving, categorization, and logical problem solving (Ashby et al., 1999). Other research, however, does not support the claim that positive affect improves cognitive productivity and creativity. Positive affect may actually interfere with performance on some tasks (e.g., Kaufmann Vosburg, 1997). In an attempt to explain the discrepancy in these results, Forgas (2000, 2002) affect infusion model (AIM) suggests that affect results in inattentive processing for complex tasks. As participants experience positive affective, for example, substantive processing or systematic processing may be hindered, thereby interfering with their ability to solve elaborate and complex problems. Specifically, negative moods may facilitate differentiated, analytic processing whereas positive moods may facilitate global, synthetic processing (Forgas, 2000). Negative moods may be more adaptive for cognitive tasks that require one to reduce complex decisions to a series of one-on-one comparisons, thus simplifying the results (i.e., analytic processing). Positive moods, on the other hand, may be more adaptive for cognitive tasks that require one to generate a wide variety of responses, often seeking out all possibilities for a solution (i.e., global processing). Following Forgas (2000, 2002) AIM model, it is clear how research supports the notion that positive and negative affect are adaptive for different types of cognitive tasks. To clarify, some studies show that positive affect facilitates cognitive performance by increasing participants creativity (Ashby et al., 1999; Isen, Daubman Nowicki, 1987; Isen, 2002; Izard et al., 1965). Other research, however, shows that positive affect results in inattentive processing, thereby reducing participants creativity and problem-solving (Forgas, 2000; Kaufmann Vosburg, 1997). These seemingly contrasting findings are explained by differences in task specificity. In the research conducted by Kaufmann and Vosburg (1997), for example, positive affect significantly inhibited creative problem solving. After the researchers experimentally induced affect, participants responded to a series of tasks presented in a paper-and-pencil format, and received no outside feedback. Contrastingly, in research conduct ed by Isen et al. (1987), they used creativity measures such as the candle-problem, which required participants to physically manipulate objects and to come up with as many solutions to the problem as possible. In addition, the participants received feedback, which allowed them to instigate further solutions to the problem. Clearly, the tasks used in each of these studies are distinct. The notion that positive and negative affect are adaptive to different types of cognitive tasks is important because it points out the need to carefully consider the type of cognitive task being performed. Positive or negative moods may facilitate processing for different types of tasks in adults; therefore it is useful to examine how positive or negative moods affect childrens processing in different types of tasks. Influence of Emotional States on Cognition for Children There are indications that the influences of positive affect on childrens cognitive performance are similar to those in adults (Rader Hughes, 2005). For example, eighth-grade students who were experimentally induced with positive affect showed greater cognitive flexibility than students in the control condition and obtained higher scores on a verbal fluency test (Greene Noice, 1988). Likewise, researchers have examined the effects of emotional states on learning (Masters et al., 1979). After the induction of a positive, negative, or neutral emotional state, children completed a series of shape discrimination tasks. The dependent variable in the experiment was how many trials it took the children to achieve perfect mastery for the task (e.g. identifying 12 consecutive trials of shapes correctly). For children in the positive affect condition, positive affect enhanced performance. Contrastingly, for children in the negative condition, negative affect hindered performance dramatically (Masters et al., 1979). In addition, positive affect increased performance for children on a block design task, a challenging cognitive task that requires the use of spatial analysis (Rader Hughes, 2005). Research also suggests a relationship between affect and childrens thinking processes (Bryan et al., 1996). Specifically, negative affective states decrease participants efforts for processing cognitive information (Ellis, Thomas, Rodriquez, 1984). Positive affective states, on the other hand, improve participants memory on various tasks, which include: mastery of a discriminatory task (Masters et al., 1979); altruism (Chapman et al., 1987; Miller Jansen op de Haar, 1997); and child compliance (Lay, Waters Park, 1989). In sum, positive affective states increase complex cognitive functions when participants are required to synthesize information in new and useful ways (e.g., word association and memory tasks, creativity tasks, problem-solving tasks; Bryan et al., 1996). Social Information Processing and Cognitive Complexity Childrens awareness of their own emotional state, in combination with their skill to discern others emotions, allows them to develop more effective social information processing skills. As children become more aware of emotions they or others are experiencing, it facilitates problem-solving (Saarni et al., 2006). In turn, when children know how to respond emotionally to an encounter, it can aid in their decision making strategy, thus influencing behavioral or cognitive processing strategies. Task complexity can negatively influence accuracy in identifying emotional expressions in others (MacDonald et al., 1996). Specifically, research has shown how incorporating contextual information for an emotion recognition task results in lower levels of performance as compared to a task where children are given the label for the emotional expression (MacDonald et al., 1996). Labeling tasks involve an extremely easy stimulus (i.e. children are given a word), whereas contextual information tasks involve integrating and synthesizing implicit information (i.e. children must derive a word from the vignette)plexity. paragraph should be eliminated. This is more relevant to cognitive processing strategies rather than levels of task. Adding contextual information to an emotion recognition task, therefore, increases the difficulty of the task, resulting in lower performance, especially for younger children (MacDonald et al. 1996). Past research on childrens emotional recognition has not adequately addressed the influence of childrens own emotional states (positive or negative) on the accuracy of the perception of emotional states in others. Research addressing the topic is minimal; only a few studies have approached the issue (e.g., Carlson et al., 1983). In addition, past research has not directly demonstrated how emotion and cognitive task complexity influence childrens ability to recognize emotion in others. Based on the information regarding childrens ability to recognize emotions in others through their facial expressions; the developmental differences in childrens facial recognition abilities; the influence of emotion on childrens emotion processing; and the influence of emotion on adults cognitive processing, researchers can devise an appropriate social information processing model. The model, in effect, should integrate emotion and cognitive processes to determine the influence affect and task complexity have on childrens recognition of emotions in others. The component of the model the present study investigated is how childrens own emotion affects their interpretation of social cues, specifically the emotional expression of others. Inaccurate interpretations will provide potential consequences to childrens subsequent social decision making processes. The Present Study The study examined the influence positive and negative affect has on childrens emotion recognition. Children, aged 5-to 8-years, participated because of their ability to identify emotions in others (Fabes et al., 1991, Gnepp Gould, 1985, Saarni et al., 2006). Because emotion processing and cognition are considered an integral part of childrens social competence (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000), the study design combined and evaluated cognition and emotional processes. Specifically, the study investigated how the cognitive complexity of the task interacted with mood effects on emotion recognition performance. In the experiment, children were individually tested. They were first exposed to one of three mood induction conditions (positive, negative, or neutral) using a computer setup with a pre-recorded audio file, a method that is consistent with a brief mood induction procedure (Rader Hughes, 2005). For the testing procedure, the experimenter utilized two forms of emotion expressing questions: label-b

Book VIII of John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- VIII Milton Paradise

Book VIII of John Milton's Paradise Lost As Book VIII of John Milton’s Paradise Lost begins, the â€Å"new-waked† human Adam ponders the nature of the universe and the motion of the stars (ll. 4-38). When Adam has finished his speech, Milton takes the opportunity to describe Eve, who is listening nearby. We find Eve reclining in the Garden, but with grace, not laziness: â€Å"she sat retired in sight,/With lowliness majestic from her seat† (41-42). This â€Å"lowliness majestic† is the central phrase to understanding Eve’s character—she is both humble and glorious. Everything that beholds her is captivated by her â€Å"grace that won who saw to wish her stay† (43). Even in this paradise, every other beautiful creation is drawn to Eve. She walks among the â€Å"fruits and flow’rs,† and they all light up in her presence (44-47). In line 44, Milton replaces â€Å"the† with â€Å"her† to describe these fruits and flowers, indicating that they be long to her--she is like a mother to all things that â€Å"bud and bloom† (45). He even uses the term â€Å"her nursery† to describe Eve’s relationship with the Garden, signifying that Eve nurses the growing things like she would her children (46). As their mother arrives, the plants all perk up: â€Å"they at her coming sprung/And touched by her fair tendance gladlier grew† (46-47). Eve is beyond beautiful—not only does all creation adore and marvel at her, in her presence, each created thing is renewed. Her glory is found in her outward appearance and her ability to bring things to life, while her humility is in her character. Contrast Eve to the witch-queen Jadis in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Both are exceptionally beautiful and possess a sort of magic—Eve to bring things to life and Jadis to destroy them. However,... ...e in the relationship. Certainly Adam could speak wisdom to the animals in the Garden, but he speaks to Eve because she is his equal. She is the one to whom Adam prefers to relate his thoughts, simply because he is enchanted by her. In a sense, she is his â€Å"only listener†Ã¢â‚¬â€the only listener for him. Eve has the choice of how she will receive wisdom, but â€Å"Her husband the relater she preferred/Before the angel, and of him to ask/Chose rather† (52-54). Not only does Adam choose Eve to relate his thoughts to, but she chooses him to relate wisdom to her. Though there are only two humans in Paradise, Milton presents the relationship of Adam and Eve as one of choice. Both partners could get what they need from other sources, but they choose to receive wisdom and respect from one another instead. The fulfillment of their needs is more enjoyable in the context of love.

Jewish Federation Apartments Essay

The Jewish Federation Apartments is a ‘humanitarian’ housing public service organization for the elderly, those who are 62 years and above, and those who may be impaired in terms of mobility, those who are 18 years or older. The Jewish Federation Apartments is a public service offering founded and run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. Preservation of the elderly people’s dignity, safety and decency of the occupants of the apartments is the main aim for maintaining the Jewish Federation Apartments. Through the years of activity, the Jewish Federation Apartments offer not only housing but also integrated social activities that encourage the apartments’ occupants to integrate not only with their family members, if any, and the community. Jewish Federation Apartments 1) Describe the agency’s mission statement. Identify the client base of the agency including the cultural groups The Jewish Federation Apartments was started by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo to offer housing and humanitarian care to the elderly as well as those who may be mobility-impaired. The main mission of the Jewish Federation Apartments organization is to offer public service to those aged 62 years and those who are 18 years and older and are mobility-impaired. The main mission is to safeguard the dignity, decency and safety of occupants while offering social services. In any given community or society the elderly and mobility-impaired may feel the need for loving care that would give them the feeling of being a ‘normal’ part of the community. As it may be noted, both the elderly and mobility-impaired may have a sense of need to move around like any other member of the community. The mission of the Jewish Federation Apartments is to ensure that those who qualify to be tenants in the apartments get affordable housing in a safe environment and that their dignity and decency is sustained. Only those who are successful in qualifying for tenancy based on the Jewish tradition would attain residence in the Jewish Federation Apartments. The Board of Directors’, all offering their services voluntarily, goal is to ensure that the personal dignity, physical, emotional and spiritual life is of enhanced quality. These are all in the fulfillment of the Jewish Federation Apartments’ mission. According to the president of the Jewish Federation Apartments, that I interviewed, the place is predominantly occupied by Jews but this may only be so due to the fact that the apartments are a public service offered by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. Another reason this may be so is due to the fact that qualification for occupancy/tenancy is guide by the Jewish tradition. This, and many factors, has seen the apartment’s occupancy be mainly of Jewish oriented persons, though there are other cultures and other religious occupants such as the Polish, Italians and Persians. The Jewish Federation Apartments has always advertised or sought to attract applicants from all cultures religions, ethnicities and communities and this has seen it achieve its current diversity of occupancy cultures. The Jewish Russian community seems to be one that has the highest occupancy numbers; however, other communities are also increasing in number. In the past approximately half of the Jewish Federation Apartments was from the Jewish Russian community that moved to America a long time back. However, in recent years, this has changed and the Jewish Russian community seems to be reducing to about 35-40% of the whole community says the Jewish Federation Apartments president. Despite having an open invitation to all ethnics and religions and communities, the Jewish Federation Apartments seems to have low attraction of the African American community. The main reason why there seems to be no African Americans is that, the community seems slow to accepting change from their communities and neighborhoods. The African Americans seem not too keen on moving from their neighborhoods. This then explains why Jewish Federation Apartments’ occupancy has no African Americans despite there being a waiting list of the community, reveals the Jewish Federation Apartments president during the interview. Current occupation in the apartments is mainly of whites as African American communities are slow in taking up the challenge of change that may come from moving from their communities. In the past the African American were tenants in the apartments, however, they seem to have moved out since currently there are only a white population of tenants remaining. All these were revelations from the interview that I carried out with the president of the Jewish Federation Apartments. Despite there being a waiting list from the African Americans at the Jewish Federation Apartments, they do not want to move there yet. 2) Describe the agency’s cultural and linguistic competency plan Culturally, the Jewish Federation Apartments agency has been diversified, however with a reduced attention and interest from the African American community. The agency’s efforts to attract all communities to consider occupancy at the apartments have been generally attractive and open to all. Advertisement for apartments is open to everyone who is over 62 years and those who are above 18 and are mobility-impaired. The culture of the agency is to care safeguard and ensure that every tenant’s decency and dignity is enhanced. The current situation seems to lean more on the Jewish setting. Since the agency is in a predominantly white community, the cultural orientation may be leaning to the whites’ culture. The African American community on the other hand seem to be holding on to their cultures since they seem adamant about moving to the Jewish Federation Apartments despite a past occupancy and application for consideration for tenancy. Jewish Federation Apartments agency culture is that of a friendly and social environment that allows the tenants to interact though there are policies that govern occupancy of the premises by ‘outsiders’. One may therefore be right to say that the agency is well out to protect the qualified tenants and the community of Jewish Federation Apartments. One culture that the Jewish Federation Apartments community seems to have adapted is that of organized friendly activities that ensure all tenants have some sought of meeting point to engage in friendly socializing activities. In this way, many who may be old and rather disoriented would be uplifted emotionally and spiritually. By using a clear and concise tenant handbook, the agency’s aim is to give clear tenancy regulations that must be followed. By doing this, the agency is able to enhance the culture of organization and responsibility. This means that tenants are able to correlate and live peacefully with one another. The cultural plan of the agency is to maintain an open community culture that would ensure that all tenant correlate and live with harmony under the rules and regulations. Adequate, clear and precise communication has been one main challenge for the agency. Clear communication among all thee different language speakers, understanding each other and having clear and understandable communication with the agency are among the language challenges the agency faced. The legal tenancy documents print language, as well as all kinds of communication have to be clear and understandable. Linguistically, there has to be clear communication in order for all to understand each other. In order to make this possible, the agency would have to produce/print communication materials in understandable tenants’ languages. In the past, the agency printed documents in two main languages; English and Russian. This may be a sign that other language speaker, though of minority groups, may also desire to be able to get materials written in their language so they can understand. Legal documents are important and crucial and must be well understood to avoid any legal or regulatory conflicts. The agency may make plans to ensure that all tenants get these legal tenancy documents in languages that they can understand, however, since people who speak other languages seem to be quite few to justify the cost of translating these documents to specific individual languages. Past translations made to Russian have proven challenging since Russian tenant challenge the agency for not giving accurate translations. This may be a challenge of language translation that may affect may other language translations unless there be a specialized organization making standard and accurate translations. Lack of an official translation made the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), want to translate English to other languages such as Russian, Spanish, French, Polish, Chinese and other languages. Though this has not been done by HUD yet, it would give positive response if done, says the agency president. If the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) translated, the tenants may feel that the translation was done accurately and of higher standard. In the past, the agency had tried to make Russian translations as this would seem cost effective considering the Russian population that justified the translation efforts. The main translators that the agency has used in the past for the Russian language were the language institute as well as Russian translators. This has however not proven to be fully accepted by the Russian community. The community claims that the translations are not accurate hence posing a translation challenge to the agency. The main plans made by the agency to bridge cultural and language barriers are: †¢ From the interview with the Jewish Federal Apartments’ president, it seemed apparent that language would be most tasking and most challenging to the agency to deal with. During meetings tenants have had to come with translator who would translate to them so they would understand the meeting proceedings. †¢ The agency has made efforts to have its notices written in Russian as well and placed on the bulletin board. This would be a sign that the agency is making an effort towards fulfilling the laid out cultural and linguistic competence outlined by the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CALS). †¢ In an effort to make communication between the agency and the tenants clear, when a tenant goes to the agency offices, he/she has to go with a translator who may be a relative, friend or fellow tenant. This, as easy as it my seem, is one of the many culturally and linguistically challenging issue that the agency may have to address urgently as availability of a good and accurate translator may require one who is neutral well versed with both languages i. e. the agency’s and tenant’s languages. †¢ English training is offered by the agency twice a week at the agency premises. This seems to be one of the agency plans to make communication with the tenant s easier and cost effective instead of having to translate all communication materials and finding a translator for each tenant speaking other languages. The main challenge with this kind of plan may be the ability, willingness and availability of the tenants to attend the classes. Great efforts were made in housing and urban development programs to facilitate affordable housing. Culturally competent services did not have a successful impact. To prove this, one may say that even with bilingual services and culturally appropriate information, caregivers do not consider that many minorities did not read or write in their native tongue, so that traditional mainstream communication methods were not reaching them. More importantly there were still not enough minority providers and caregivers (cited in Lecca et al, 1998). All plans by the agency to ensure that it conforms to the standards of CALS may seem rather wanting. However in order to ensure standard culturally and linguistically appropriate services, the agency would have to put more effort into ensuring that all tenants cultural and language needs are considered and integrated into the agency’s policies and culture. It may be recommended to the agency to work with HUD and CALS and other human service organizations to ensure a level of conformity to the standardized operational policies. Cultural competence is based on an organization’s policies, principles and structures working effectively across all cultures. Organizations have to contain the capacity to value diversity in cultures and linguistics, carry out self assessment to ensure they can manage the dynamics of visible diversity, have cultural knowledge and adapt to the diversity and cultural differences of the people and communities they serve/work with. In this way all individuals will have a sense of care and respect, decency and dignity as well as pride in their culture and language. This is the agency’s main objective and one that may help it conduct a self assessment to ensure conformity to these basin cultural competence guidelines . Organizational processes of policy making, management and administration as well as service delivery should be based on the foundation of cultural competence by considering and integrating the community or those they serve in all processes. The agency’s capacity to offer effective communication and convey information that is easily comprehended by all persons including those with low English proficiency, seemingly low literacy, and/or any form of disability would only be reviewed by the agency itself. The current situation at the agency implies a need for this to be accomplished to ensure all tenants’ cultural, linguistic and communication needs are well catered for. 3) Examine how the policies are implemented The Jewish Federation Apartments agency follows policies developed by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD leases are the ones that have to be implemented and used by every house and its rules have to be followed. Individual human and support services offered by the agency have to be in the preferred language and communication medium of the tenants and community served. For this to be accomplished, the human service organizations such as the agency have to ensure that the policies conform to the government and/or local mandates that may be governing language access. Besides the lease document developed by HUD, the agency has house rules it has developed and documented. This two guiding documents have used at the agency by all tenants and observed by the staff, all communicated in English and Russian. All documents pertaining to the lease and house rules are communicate and provided to all tenants so as to ensure smooth operations at the agency apartments. According to Lecca et al, the health social and human service practitioners of today are no longer faced with patients/consumers of only one culture, but also with those who are of different cultural backgrounds and with different needs. With the changing and current demographic settings, agencies and human service providers have then to be culturally competent so as to meet the rapidly growing minority population. 4) Design a cultural and linguistic competency policy for the agency and suggestions of implementation strategies to improve the cultural and linguistic competency of the agency. Most social scientists and human service experts agree that if our community is more educated, better trained and healthier, productivity is an inevitable result. Housing projects and alternative community training employment and educational services have also incorporated culturally based competence service and methodologies with some success. In order for the agency to be competent in cultural and linguistic policies, there has to be a level of commitment that is not dependent on the availability of resources but rather on the aim of equitable, respectful, understandable and effective human service delivery. In order for this to be effective, a change in policy and policy implementation processes has to be implemented. Linguistically and culturally all ethnic and religious communities must be equally considered and served. All services offered by the agency have to be equally and clearly communicated to all culturally and linguistically diverse tenants. This kind of communication must also be clear, concise and understandable in the tenants preferred language and mode. In a bid to make this quest for equal, clear and understandable communication, the agency must collect all relevant data and information on all the tenants’ ethnicity, religious, cultural and family background before the lease of tenancy is offered and tenancy in commenced. Culturally and linguistically competent policies and communication frameworks have then to be implemented to ensure that the agency is culturally and linguistically competent. A policy or policies that may be implemented would be: †¢ Board of Directors and staff must exhibit behavior that can help build trust and understanding in the diverse agency. †¢ The agency has to strive to promote a feeling of acceptance for all tenants and staff to ensure both do work together to make the agency culturally and linguistically competent. †¢ The agency must be culturally and linguistically sensitive to the values of its management and operational processes and techniques. †¢ When the Jewish Federation Apartments’ tenants express doubts, concerns and feelings of need for some help or action to be taken on any given issues, whether it concerns their tenancy, environment or service, the agency must demonstrate acceptance and understanding of the problems by identifying clearly, the employees concerns and discussing them thoroughly. †¢ The agency must show consideration, respect and understanding to all tenants at the apartments. †¢ Since minorities may not be prompt and willing to reveal that they may not understand the language of communication, all modes of communication such as diagrams should be used to ensure that agency-tenants communication is clear and understandable. †¢ All communication whether verbal or written should be in the tenant’s preferred language, respectable, concise and understandable. †¢ The agency should implement strategies to recruit, retain and promote at all levels of the organization, diverse staff and leadership that represents the demographic qualities of the Jewish Federal Apartments’ tenants. In the past the agency seemed to have been challenged by the notion or reality of having to conform to standard culturally and linguistically competence. Currently this may be achieved if only the agency would: †¢ Work with the existing standard and well known translators to make translation of all communication materials that all can understand. †¢ If translators are needed the agency should try and have staff be the ones translating other that tenants bringing their own translators. This would help them avoid situations where a tenant’s own translator, being a relative or friend, being unable to translate some word that may be embarrassing. †¢ The agency should offer language assistance at no cost and inform the tenants that this service is available by posting a notice on the notice board. This would ensure that all tenants are informed of the ‘right’ to language assistance. †¢ Knowledge and general understanding of the Jewish Federal Apartments tenants’ cultures should be encouraged for all staff. This would help them communicate effectively especially in case of an emergency. In conclusion, in order for the agency to attain effective and efficient culturally and linguistically competence, it will have to embrace the fact that diversity of cultures, languages, ethnics e. t. c. in inevitable. This will then help the agency ensure that its prepared for competent service delivery. References Jewish Federation Apartments (2007), Tenant Selection. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from http://www. jewishfederationhousing. org/selection. html Lecca, Pedro J. , Quervalu, I. , Nunes, J. V. , & Gonzales, H. F. (1998). Cultural Competency in Health, Social and Human Services: Directions for the Twenty-first Century. NY: Garland Publisher. Fong, Rowena (Ed). (2004). Culturally Competent Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Children and Families (Social Work Practice with Children and Families). NY: The Guilford Press. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (2001), National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://www. omhrc. gov/templates/browse. Aspx? lvl= 2&lvlID=15 U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research (2009), About HUD. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from http://www. hud. gov/ about /index. cfm Personal communication, April, 2009

Turners Thesis essays

Turner's Thesis essays The wide open frontier a place of freedom and promise. Fredrick Jackson Turner states that the frontier changed almost every aspect of the pioneer making them distinctly American. Unfortunately, Turner's thesis as it is called is not true in all aspects. Many historians including Carl Degler who wrote the book "Out of Our Past" disagree with the cultural aspect of the thesis. Throughout his book he cites many pieces of evidence that prove Turner's thesis wrong. One of the pieces of evidence that he presents is the many frontier states constitutions. One of Turner's hypothesis that found wide acceptance among historians is that American democracy is a unique product of the struggle with the wilderness. The main way of proving this point has to been to point out the many democratic features of the western states constitutions.(i.e. universal manhood suffrage, and elected officials) Through this comes the argument that democracy actually spread from the west to the east. This is easily proven wrong however by comparing the western and eastern states constitutions. For example the first states over the Appalachian Mountains Tennessee and Kentucky both modeled their constitutions after the Pennsylvania constitution of 1790 a document which was more conservative than the 1776 laws of the state. Another example of this is the state constitutions of the Ohio-Mississippi region. At that time nicknamed the "Valley of Democracy" yet historia n John Barnhart found only eleven original clauses in Ohio's first constitution which had 106 clauses in total. Another piece of evidence that Degler states in his book is economic. As his book states that it takes a year and a half of an average urban workers pay to start a farm in the west or frontier. In essence this means that the poor urban man is going to become a poor frontiersman with no money to change economically or culturally. ...