Whose work seems most relevant to todays social p Essays

Whose work seems most relevant to today's social problems ? It is clear that each of these sociological doctrines (Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism) have been established and refined over many years' time . Consequently, e ach discipline has found its own identity and intent. They are used to support different models or representations for mapping what we think of as sociology. It would be an injustice , though, for me to blatantly declare one of these sociological perspectives to have more validity and reliability than the other two. Having said that, I think that from the perspective of an educator , Karl Marx, Conflict Theory perspective seems most relevant to today's social problems in that, "Marx believed that communism was a more equitable system than capitalism", if we lived in a communist society, more of the population would be in the same class, then just the top 3%. Why did you c hoose that sociological thinker? Conflict, by nature, is goal oriented; conflict seeks resolution. This commonality (solution seeking) is what binds real world problems and people, with sociological Conflict Theory perspective, and to a greater extent than Functionalism, or Symbolic Interactionism . In choosing this perspective I would have to say that Karl Marx and his views on sociology seem a better fit in describing social interactions in today's w orld - this is a totally subjective conclusion on my part, as a layman in the field. W hich social problems were you thinking of? What comes to mind in answering this question is that old saying in Economics, "Unlimited wants for scares resources" . Most of today's world has come to embrace Capitalism as their economic philosophy. Karl Marx saw the inequities in this system that still prevail today. Look at the wealth distribution o f our country and the World, it is obvious that inequality is not only prevalent, but one of the most challenging sociological problems we face today .

Free Essays on Are Grades Really That Important

Are Grades Really That Important? I remember taking a class in high school called â€Å"post war America†. I loved this class so much because it dealt with all the neat stuff that people went through after a certain war. I also remember the teacher giving me back mostly all C’s or D’s on all of the tests. This really ticked me off because some kids just can’t perform well at taking tests. I mean, I was a total geek in this class. I read every assignment, looked forward to doing the homework, and even studied because I enjoyed this class so much. Still, every time I got back a test, the grade was always â€Å"just passing†. I started thinking after seeing how no progress was getting done, and I began to wonder about the system of grades. Why are the majority of grades focused on test taking? Why aren’t grades on what a kid learned because of taking a class? It ended up that I made a â€Å"C-† in the class, and the class is still one of the best classes I have ever take n. I know the teacher probably thought I was a bull shitter trying to get my grade boosted, but I honestly learned something in that class. I learned that a grade is on a piece of paper because of a test, but the knowledge is stuck in your head because of what you made of the class. What is a grade? A grade is a letter or number that is sent to your parents to evaluate one’s overall level of ability in a class. What does that mean? Does that mean if Bobby runs out of time on a test because he is slow, he is going to get a poor grade for not finishing half the test? Or does that mean if Johny participates all the time and he completes all of his homework but he â€Å"freaks out† on tests failing them, that Johny should deserve a â€Å"D†? Or should Billy get a â€Å"B† because he has never done any of his homework, but he makes a 100% on every test or quiz that is laid in front of his face? I feel that all the grades given to the imaginary kids are hogwash. A student... Free Essays on Are Grades Really That Important Free Essays on Are Grades Really That Important Are Grades Really That Important? I remember taking a class in high school called â€Å"post war America†. I loved this class so much because it dealt with all the neat stuff that people went through after a certain war. I also remember the teacher giving me back mostly all C’s or D’s on all of the tests. This really ticked me off because some kids just can’t perform well at taking tests. I mean, I was a total geek in this class. I read every assignment, looked forward to doing the homework, and even studied because I enjoyed this class so much. Still, every time I got back a test, the grade was always â€Å"just passing†. I started thinking after seeing how no progress was getting done, and I began to wonder about the system of grades. Why are the majority of grades focused on test taking? Why aren’t grades on what a kid learned because of taking a class? It ended up that I made a â€Å"C-† in the class, and the class is still one of the best classes I have ever take n. I know the teacher probably thought I was a bull shitter trying to get my grade boosted, but I honestly learned something in that class. I learned that a grade is on a piece of paper because of a test, but the knowledge is stuck in your head because of what you made of the class. What is a grade? A grade is a letter or number that is sent to your parents to evaluate one’s overall level of ability in a class. What does that mean? Does that mean if Bobby runs out of time on a test because he is slow, he is going to get a poor grade for not finishing half the test? Or does that mean if Johny participates all the time and he completes all of his homework but he â€Å"freaks out† on tests failing them, that Johny should deserve a â€Å"D†? Or should Billy get a â€Å"B† because he has never done any of his homework, but he makes a 100% on every test or quiz that is laid in front of his face? I feel that all the grades given to the imaginary kids are hogwash. A student...

WRITING CLASS PAPER ON ROMEO AND JULIET (PLAY VS THE MOVIE) Essay

WRITING CLASS PAPER ON ROMEO AND JULIET (PLAY VS THE MOVIE) - Essay Example True love was an element that would see no change, despite the time period it was thrust into. In following this very sentence, the movie directed by Luhrmann, was a disappointment because it was not able to reflect a number of emotions that Shakespeare intended to portray in his work. Due to this very reason, the movie is quite irrelevant when it comes to the actual play written, and through examples of this paper, the same has been depicted. Shakespeare did not fathom the fact however, that his play would later take the form of a movie enacted by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes; he never thought that actors on reel would ever portray his characters; and do it very averagely at that too. There have been a number of statements and reviews regarding how terrible the movie version, ‘Shakespeare in Love’ was as compared to the actual emotions and feelings that should have been reflected in any enactment of Romeo and Juliet; this play has been done time and again in theat res big and small, all around the world. In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo says, â€Å"Is love a tender thing? it is too rough, Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.† ... He wanted the audience to know what Shakespeare was thinking of when he thought of the word love, and thus, how the same feeling came across to the world through the pages of Romeo and Juliet. However, since the director wanted to show all of this while keeping in account his own ideas and beliefs of what the same emotions of affection were according to the renowned playwright, he failed miserably in doing so. A number of important speeches, dialogues and scenes have been left out from the story in the movie; some of which were crucial for the existence of the entire plot of the novella; for example the scene that takes place between Romeo and the apothecary. Yet another change in the scenes is when at the end, Lady Montague is shown as alive and standing next to her husband, instead of having died of pain, grief and trauma caused to her due to the various incidents that take place in the play. The death of Paris has also not been shown in the movie and the scene where Romeo was supp osed to visit the Capulet tomb thus had to be omitted and misinterpreted to the audience. Another misgiving has been provided to the audience through the movie; the presence of Friar John. The man was supposed to have been quarantined due to being suspected of having the plague, yet in the movie version, he passed Romeo and Balthasar while they were on their way to Verona. A number of dialogues that were supposed to be said by Capulet have also been passed o Lady Capulet instead. Many suspect that such a move was done in order to increase the role that women have in society in the present day and age. In those times, when Shakespeare had initially written the play, women were not given much importance, and their please or requests were either made in private, or were not heard

A letter to editor in wall street journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A letter to editor in wall street journal - Essay Example the problem of unemployment in the nation that attracted my attention, similarly as it might have done to the majority of sentient inhabitants of the US. The recent financial shock of 2008 was certainly quite destructive that led to multiple issues in the economic as well as in the political structure of our country. One such consequence, as the experts called attention to, was the very rising unemployment rate in the economy. According to the statistical data, unemployment rate has increased rapidly in the US since the early 2009 which currently accounts above 9% on an average. It is indeed one of the most serious drawbacks for a developed economy such as the US which require instantaneous concern of the government with the purpose of its revival. The declared economic plan by the President of the US also depicts similar concern, but in an extended demeanor taking into account both the economic and political aspects. The plan emphasizes on payroll tax cuts that would surely lessen the burden of employers and employees in the presently hostile business environment of the economy. It also includes extension in the investment grants for education and infrastructure sector. Attempts shall be made to boost the labor market through added concerns regarding programs for the jobless under the declared plan. On an aggregate, this planning shall cost $447 billion being enacted from 2012. Therefore, as a short-term recovery strategy, this plan shall certainly encourage the employers to hire more man power and thus make larger contribution to the overall GDP growth. Where economists in this context reveal the probable short-term benefits of the strategy, politicians have been noted to continue with their fair game of opposition with due regards to the components of the planning. The most noticeable questions augmented by the politicians in this context, whether a democrat or a republican, are related to the approval of the amount asked for the plan and its

American Law Enforcement - Ethical Dillemma Essay

American Law Enforcement - Ethical Dillemma - Essay Example Police ranks often pull together to support their own and when that does not work, the community will justify their actions by not holding them responsible for the outcomes of bad decision making. The ethics within the police rank appears to be teleological, supporting the concept of the means justifying the ends, despite all Constitutional efforts to dissuade this type of thinking. In a world that is becoming ever increasingly violent the service that is entered into by the police should reflect a higher standard of responsibility instead of a shield that protects them from the outcomes of their poor decision making processes. Incidents Death and Justification In the year 2000 Shannon Smith, a mentally disabled man of 27 who often forgot to pay for the gas he would pump into his Cadillac. The $15 dollars in gas was not the first that he had forgotten to pay, but he would remember and go back, or his father would take care of the bill for him when called. On this particular occasion, however, the clerk called the police and a slow pace pursuit began chasing the mentally disabled man across jurisdictions. ... Gabor was later charged with his murder (Reynolds, 2001). Despite evidence that Gabor had used his nightstick to pound on the car window and to kick at the car, he was acquitted of the charges. Smith’s family received $675,000 in a wrongful death settlement against Gabor from the police department who settled on Gabor’s behalf (Reynolds, 2002). On August 31st of this year Michael Vincent Allen was shot 41 times after a high speed chase that included a bashed in front end to a police vehicle. Police contend that at the end of a cul de sac Allen tried to make a u-turn which ended in the damage to the front of the police car, but witnesses contradicted that version and stated that it was the police car that rammed into Allen’s vehicle. The officer’s name, that has yet to be released, stood with his fellow officers and fired 41 times at the suspect while the other officers did not fire off a single shot (Peterson, 2012). The initial police reports supported th e officer through police accounts, but a wider investigation showed that he was aggressive and that he was the only one shooting is suspicious. Officer Mathew Jacob Marin, who has been a police officer for five years, shot and killed a man with only one arm and one leg in a wheelchair when he was cornered by the man who was waving around a metal object which turned out to be a pen. Marin was involved in a previous shooting death during his career when in 2009 he shot a suspect who was stabbing his neighbor and refused to drop the knife when confronted. In the same year, a poll taken by the Chicago Tribune found that 59% of police officers never fire their gun during their career. While the first incident seems justifiable for Marin,

Strengths weaknesses and the strategy of IKEA

Strengths weaknesses and the strategy of IKEA IKEA is the worlds largest home-furnishing retailer. It was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden. In terms of scope, IKEA is designed for the total home environment, in order to offer furnishings and fittings for every part of the home, both in- and out of doors. With the vision: To create a better everyday life for the many people, it offers a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. (IKEA.com). From it first store in Sweden, today, there are over 300 IKEA stores in 39 countries, with turnover in 2009 of more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22.7 billion. According to Forbes Magazine, Ingvar Kamprad, now in his eighties, is the 11th-wealthiest person in the world, with a fortune estimated at U.S. $23 billion in 2010. (Mary Albon, The Sun Never Sets on IKEA, 2010). I would like to address some issues to understand more about IKEA success as follows: Since its establishment, IKEA has always taken care of people and the environment as it stated on its vision. That is the reason why in manufacturing process, IKEA tries its best to have a better use of both raw materials and energy. They even have a brochure presenting a brief overview of how the IKEA groups work to in a high sense of responsibility to people and environment. We also can easily see how much they concern people and the environment by knowing IKEA stakeholders. Like other business organisations, the stakeholders who have high power and high interest are Inter IKEA system BV, investors and customers. However to me the most impressive and important stakeholders of IKEA are environmental organisations of which IKEA Group also is a member such as: BCI, Better Cotton Initiative, aims to promote measurable improvements in the key environmental and social impacts of cotton cultivation worldwide. (IKEA.com) Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) is the Global Union Federation of democratic and free trade unions, protecting more than 12 million members in 350 trade unions around the world in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied industries. IKEA and BWI meet frequently to exchange experience and discuss working conditions and social responsibility. (IKEA.com) The IKEA Group is member of BSR and has an representative on the board is a global, non-profit organization that helps member companies achieve business success while respecting ethical values, people, communities and the environment. BSR provides information, tools, training and advisory services to make corporate social responsibility an integral part of business operations and strategies. (IKEA.com) Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) which is working to promote sustainable product transportation. (IKEA.com) European Retailers Round Table (ERRT) which is Focus for activities include consumer protection, food safety, environmental issues, corporate social responsibility and trade issues Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (IKEA.com) Refrigerants Naturally is a United Nations initiative acting as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise and sustainable development of the global environment. (IKEA.com) The Network for Transport and Environment (NTM), aiming to establish a common base of values on how to calculate the environmental performance of various modes of transport (IKEA.com) And IKEA also is the partner of: IKEA Foundation and UNICEF are long term partners working together on both a global and local level (IKEA.com) WWF and IKEA co-operate on projects which focus on sustainable forestry, sustainable cotton production and climate change (IKEA.com) During working and sharing experience with these organizations, IKEA not only has better knowledge about social responsibilities but also has built its reputation of being green. In 2010 and beyond, the world economy would be a key issue to impact Ikeas business. IKEA and other companies in the world had to face the worse economic situation since many decades as its financial sector was deeply in crisis and then the global economy was felt into the depth of recession. The world economic growth reached only 1.1 % if compared to about 5% in previous years (VietnamPlus and World Economy, n.d). However, the world economy improved in 2010 with the economic growth increased to 4.2% as the economy of the United States of America is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2010, following an estimated downturn of 2.5 per cent in 2009. Recovery in both the European Union (EU) and Japan is projected to be much weaker, reaching GDP growth of no more than 0.5 and 0.9 per cent, respectively, in 2010. At this pace of recovery, the major developed economies are not expected to provide a strong impetus to global growth in the near term (World Economic Situation and Prospects 2010 Global outlook, p.2). Nevertheless, the UN stresses that the recovery is uneven and conditions for sustained growth remain Fragile. In 2010, global growth will remain below potential and unemployment will stay high ( p.1 ). Though the situation was still difficult because fewer people have moved home but the company sales increased 7.7% in 2010 compared to fiscal year 2009 is surprised outcome. The company also faces increased competition of other competitors all over the world. For example, it is ddifficult to sustain good design quality products at low cost when the number of competitors keep increasing e.g. In the US, Kmart, Target Corp, Fly in France and Japan Nitori Co in Japan (Ikea case study). In particular sales case, competition cut Ikea sales in UK as profits dropped to  £17 million to August 2009, according to documents filed at Companies House last week. Sales fell 1.4 per cent to  £1.23 billion. The company has reported falling profits for five years and falling sales for three years in Britain. Ikea has come under increasing pressure from DIY retailers that are selling more home furnishings, as well as growing competition from supermarkets (Neil Craven, daily mail, n.d) IKEA is positioning as a cost leader of home furnishing retailers. Ikea states firmly its market position by a statement that Your partner in better living. We do our part, you do yours. Together we save money (Ikea Portal, Student Info, n.d). It is clear to see that IKEA is regarded as low price products with high quality by using inexpensive materials in a novel way and minimizing production, distribution and retail costs, customers benefit from low prices. This cost leadership has been making IKEA differently from other competitors. Due to high inflation increasing every year, it is hard to find any other companies who can announce that last year our price is 8.99 euros, this year 4.90 euros or 10 year ago 260 euros, today 169 euros (Ikea Welcome inside 2010, p.20). Ikea has been making it for many decades. Low prices are one of the cornerstones of the IKEA concept and help to make customers want to buy from IKEA. This low price strategy is coupled with a wide range of well designed, functional products. IKEAs products cater for every lifestyle and life stage of its customers, who come from all age groups and types of households. This is vital in times when the retail sector is depressed, as it increases IKEAs potential market. While the price of other companies products tends to rise over time, Ikea says it has reduced its retail prices by a total of about 20 percent during the past four years. Ikeas corporate mantra is Low price with meaning. The goal is to make things less expensive without ever making customers feel cheap. Striking that balance demands a special kind of design, manufacturing, and distribution expertise. But IKEA pulls it off in its own distinctive way: tastefully, methodically, even cheerfully, and yet somehow differently than any other company anywhere. Lisa Magonelly therefore presents guide to how IKEA designs, builds, and distributes the furniture that the entire world wants to buy. Based on low prices strategy, IKEAs segmentation is targeting to young low and middle-income family who are willing to do a little bit of work serving themselves, transporting the items home and assembling the furniture for a better price. IKEA offers customer experiencing in actively involve in shopping at its stores. Definitely, customers involvement contributes to IKEA low prices. To explore the successful of the IKEA, analyzing its opportunities and threats is an essential. Before looking at the opportunities of IKEA, we can come over its strengths. First of all, Brand is one of the most important that IKEA has. It is already a global brand therefore it will be a very attracted factor to customers because it like a promise to customers that where ever they are, they will be provided the same quality. Second strength is its vision to create a better everyday life for many people. The concept that offers a wide rage of well designed and functional home furnishing products at the inexpensive prices is the third strength. Fourth is the sustainability is fully-integrated into all business strategies.   The IKEAs strengths bring its opportunities, especially in this dedicate, people more and more care a bout a sustainable environment. By caring about environment, people will care about Green products and IKEA has reputation of being green so that its products will be their choices. IKEA shows their care about environment clearly on its statement: Each and every one of our business strategies whether local, national or global must now clearly and systematically integrate sustainability as a part of everyday operations.   I see this as a milestone. It will help us move forward in our relentless work with the many challenges we have to solve on our route to becoming a sustainable company. (Greeneconomics.com) As a member of number of environmental organizations enables IKEA to work with sustainability in different ways: IKEA reduced overall CO2 emissions by 5% in FY 2009.   The company plans on participating in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in 2010. (Greeneconomics.com) The company has a pilot program with select suppliers to reduce energy consumption by 30% or more by 2011. (Greeneconomics.com) IKEA has also started four new climate change projects with the WWF, which will focus on measuring supply chain emissions, helping our customers tackle climate change through transport initiatives, reducing emissions from IKEA food product transport, and improving the reuse and recycling of used products. (Greeneconomics.com) One climate change project is to install solar panels in 150 of its stores, with the long-term goal of supplying all buildings with 100% renewable energy. (Greeneconomics.com) Because of the economic downturn, customers tend to be looking for products with low prices than expensive one. The excellent thing to be come IKEA customer is you can buy good things with well designed and good quality but inexpensive prices. It means that, even the economic crisis, the demands for IKEA products still raising and the turnover also high more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22.7 billion in 2009 (Mary Albon, The Sun Never Sets on IKEA, 2010). However the strengths and opportunities of IKEA can also drive the organisation to its weaknesses. IKEA with hundreds stores in different countries is really hard to control the quality as well as the standard of the products and services. The low cost is a strength however in the management aspects it is not easy to control the low cost but keep the standard of quality in the same time. The threats that IKEA is facing are: The competition in the retails market: there are more and more organsations have strategy of producing products with high quality with reasonable prices. They will become competitors of IKEA so this will be one of the main factors can impact to IKEA. The economics down turn in 2010 and will continues in 2011 makes the disposable income decrease but the living expense is rising. This will definitely affect the business operation of IKEA. By analyzing these factors IKEA can have plan to reduce the threats and take advantage of the opportunities.

Speech Community :: essays research papers

Speech Community Contribution There is an infinite amount of chat rooms available on the internet and each one can be defined as its own speech community. I have chosen to analyze a chat room that is devoted to the hit Fox reality show, American Idol. The transcript used was from a chat session that occurred at 10:00 PM on March 27, 2005. This online chat room seemed to be the source of a continuous flow of opinionated statements regarding the television show. Due to the anonymity of the internet, members of the many speech communities within are uneasily identified. Members tend to rely solely on â€Å"screen names† for identification purposes. With names such as TanBear251 and MegaBob12, most statistical information regarding the identity of participants is limited. The context and purpose of the chat room, however, allow for various limited conclusions to be drawn. For the American Idol chat room, it can be assumed that participants include people who watch the television show regularly. These people are likely to statistically fall into the show’s target audience in regards to age and income, among other factors. The target audience of American Idol consists of middle to upper-middle class viewers between the ages of 20 and 45 years of age. No physical location can truly be defined for this speech event. One participant may reside in Houston, Texas, while another may live in Puerto Rico. Due to the time of day, a casual setting can be assumed since it is likely that most participants are located within their own homes. Participation is fully voluntary and in most cases is for enjoyment purposes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For this chat room in particular, knowledge truly is power. The status of a participant grows with their expertise on a subject of discussion. The chat room â€Å"regulars† seem to hold a higher status that those who are entering for the first time. This is seen with the amount of posted messages a person makes. Those who regularly participate in the chat room from day to day dominate the discussion while newcomers tend to sit back and watch. In order to gain inclusion in a discussion, one must prove themselves as knowledgeable about the subject at hand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of the barriers that coexist with chat room communication include a limited ability to show emotion as well as a tedious typing requirement. To address these issues, many new abbreviated expressions have been introduced.