There are many facets to social work Essay Example For Students

There are many facets to social work Essay There are many facets to social work Essay and many different angles a person can look at what drives the need. In this essay I will critically examine three approaches to social work. These three include the Structural Perspective, the First Nations perspective and the Feminist Perspective. To start off, looking at social work from a Structural Prospective is helping a worker to see from a wide scope lens. In Karens story on the tape An Interview with four social workers, we see a boy helped more by broadening the scope and looking at the invisible walls surrounding him. By identifying these invisible walls we see more of a different perspective and helps us deal with the problem in a different light. Each individual holds different beliefs; assumptions and values of life, and many angles need to be explored to evaluate a case. When I was young I saw my family as very needy because of the lack of money and trying to feed eleven in all was very frustrating for my father. My family was very proud and going on welfare was the last resort. Back in the 60s, if a family was on welfare the whole community new about it and we were labeled at school as poor. Bags of clothes would appear on our doorstep, and nobody would know where they came from. The attitude of today is much different with regards to helping others. People are more willing to give openly and help each other through hard times. When I think back now, my family had many private troubles, which are now public issues. Some of these include incest, family violence, child abuse, learning disabilities, grief, poverty, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, residential school abuse, sexual abuse, and young offenders. The invisible wall I see now that had a lot to do with the private troubles appearing was classism. Friends, teachers, parents, counselors, coworkers, and relatives labeled us in society. We will write a custom essay on There are many facets to social work specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Teachers blamed my lack of concentration on my work at school as Radical child, maybe we should put her in a special class where she will stand out more. Being a rebel was the only way I knew how to cope and to me this was not a choice, but a reactive response to my circumstances. If I were a social worker reviewing my case as a child in grade four, I would definitely take the structural perspective approach to understanding the situation. These workers are concerned with changing the oppressive structures, which have brought on the private troubles in the first place. According to the Social Work Module 1V, Structural social workers believe that only when the primary structures of oppression are dismantled can social justice occur. (p 69) These oppressive structures that surrounded my family growing up, preserved my family well and enabled the dysfunction to flourish. According to my own philosophy, we did not choose this way of life, it chose us. My family was unwilling to work with the ministry because my parents were too proud to admit there was any kind of problem. Back then I think social work was more in the form of a Band-Aid that had a hard time getting past the why is this happening stage. Because of this uncommon ground between the social workers and my parents, to critically look at the situation and to develop a personal and political plan of action was out of the question. This definitely contributed to holding back any help that my family needed. This definitely put a damper on the Structural Perspective being able to thrive in my home. As I grew older and started socializing more with kids my own age, I became aware of how other families lived. My family was not singled out anymore for being different. I learned that other families had personal troubles, sometimes more intense than ours, which was ironically a sigh of relief. During my teen years I had many dealings with native people whether they be friends, acquaintances, or me looking after their children. Back in the 70s we didnt refer to them as First Nations People mainly because they probably werent recognized by society in this .

Discuss individual differences in musical functioning with regard to social and biological influences. The WritePass Journal

Discuss individual differences in musical functioning with regard to social and biological influences. Introduction Discuss individual differences in musical functioning with regard to social and biological influences. ) describes music as an art that entails thinking with sounds. Music is played all over the world in churches, homes, funerals and many other places. It is part of humanity introduced at birth with lullabies and continues throughout the course of life up to death with the funeral march (Hallam, Cross    Thaut, 2016).   It is a language that resembles speech in many aspects and has no borders. Sense of sound and rhythm are essential elements of musical functioning (Gruszka, Matthews, Szymura, 2010). Music is significantly influenced by culture in terms of content and style. As such it evokes the same emotions within members of the same culture. It has two main components (rhythm and pitch) that it uses to pass the intended message and one has to be able to understand the two in order to appreciate music (Jones, Fay Popper, 2010). Human beings are born with ability to understand and appreciate music and that is why young children appreciate lullabies. However the music potential and preferences vary from one person to the other. People have different musical preferences and this influences the amount of time and resources that they spend listening to music. This study investigates the individual differences in musical functioning with regard to social and biological influences. Individual differences in Musical Functioning Individual differences in musical functioning or musicality refer to the differences in the strength of music preference (Kern Humpal, 2012). These differences are among the most intricate psychological issues in music. An individual may be fine without music while another one may need music so much so that he or she would use huge resources to attend music concerts. The source of such differences is a major concern to psychologists. According to Deutsch (2012), the strength of music preference is a function of the role that music plays in the life of an individual. People use music for different purposes like regulating their mood and emotions, promoting self-awareness, communicating, fostering social relations, distractions, and physiological arousal. Music plays an important role in the lives of many people across the world, and many people depend on music for different purposes. The availability of music on portable devices has increased the use of music with many people making it an ubiquitous companion (Theorell, 2014).   Therefore music has a profound effect on the lives of many individuals as it influences their thinking, feelings, behaviour and perception. These factors influence the lives of individuals depending on the level of dependence on music and the specific type of music (Haas Brandes, 2009). As such it is important to ascertain the factors that influence music preference. Individual differences in musical functioning belong to an area in psychology that still remains largely unexplored (McPherson, 2016). People like certain artists, tunes, and styles more than the others. The other individuals also have different musical preferences. This is what is termed as style/genre preferences under music preference. In addition to this, individual differences also exist in terms of the extent to which people listen to music. The extent to which people love and enjoy music differs from one individual to the other (Gruszka, Matthews Szymura, 2010). The knowledge on why people form preferences on certain types of music still remain fragmented partly because music plays different roles in the lives of people (Theorell, 2014). This is what is termed as the strength of preference under musical preference. The major issue of concern to psychologists is the source of these individual differences in strength and genre/style. Strong music preference is an indication tha t an individual spends a lot of time listening to music, going to concerts and buying music. The decision to invest time and money to listening to music is a sign that music is useful to the lives of these people. Individual differences in musical functioning are a multifaceted phenomenon that has continuously eluded psychologists, researchers and musicologists (McPherson, 2016). However, some factors that affect musical functioning have been identified and they include exposure, musical characteristics, genre and personality. The factors that affect musical preference can be grouped into two broad categories namely extrinsic and intrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors are inherent and they include melody, structure and timbre. The extrinsic factors on the other hand include social influence, personality and emotions. Social influence on Musical Functioning Social influence is one of the factors that influence the development of individual preferences in music. This starts at the adolescence stage and continues late into adulthood (Zelazo, 2013). Adolescents often have a strong desire to do the same things that their peers are doing in order to belong.   They also tend to dislike the things that their peers dislike. As such they will tend to like the same music that their peers like (Theorell, 2014). They listen to music to create an impression, develop self-image and please their friends. According to McPherson (2016), the teenagers often desire to identify themselves with certain groups that they consider as being â€Å"cool† and distance themselves with those that they regard as being â€Å"old-fashioned†. Therefore they tend to develop musical preferences that are similar to members of their group and avoid those of the other groups that they regard as â€Å"not being cool†. This implies that musical preferenc es are partly created for the purpose of serving a function of group differentiation (Damon Lerner, 2006). According to Juslin Sloboda (2010), individuals often tend to like the music that was popular during the years that they reached maturity age. The music preference developed at this point is often a function of the songs that are popular among the friends. However, the events that occur in late adolescence and early adulthood often shape the music preference for the rest of adulthood. When individuals first leave home and start being independent, they are often influenced by their peer groups. They spend a lot of time with their peers and tend to like what their peers like and dislike what their peers dislike (Damon Lerner, 2006). They will like the same songs as they go to concerts together and spend most of their free time doing the same things. For instance the people who fail to acquire higher education tend to like songs that depict a care free attitude to justify their condition. Therefore social perceptions significantly influence the type of music preferred by people. Accor ding to the social learning theory, people learn through observation (Lehmann,   Sloboda,   Woody, 2007). When people are rewarded for certain behaviours like listening to a certain genre of music, others tend to learn from it and are likely to imitate the behaviour in order to reap the same benefits. People tend to use music socially as a way of reinforcing their self-image. For instance conservative people are more inclined to listen to music that is conventional. Furthermore, people use music to communicate to the world by expressing their ideal self-image. The preferences of society may increase or inhibit the spread of certain music genres thereby influencing their potential to be preferred by individuals (Feezell, 2008 and Gruszka, Matthews Szymura, 2010). For instance when it was discovered that Mozart music positively affected spatial IQ , more people started listening to classical music. This exposure increase the preference for classical music as it was considered es sential for children (Hallam, Cross    Thaut, 2016). This indicates the power of society to influence music perception and preference. Therefore the influence of society is one of the most significant factors that influence individual music preferences. The type of music that people are exposed to from childhood is highly dependent on what the society considers popular and appropriate. For instance the mainstream media may prefer playing certain music over the others thereby influencing the preference of individuals. Biological influence on Musical Functioning Music Cognition A series of processes is often activated when listening to music; these processes include melody recognition, memory of the music, recognising the lyrics and emotional response (Lehmann, Sloboda,   Woody, 2007). These basic processes are often integrated by complex mechanisms in the brain where various neural circuits take part simultaneously and some in succession. Identifying the specific tasks involved in processing music and the various interactions requires theoretical models. According to the functional architecture model proposed by Peretz and Coltheart, perception of monophonic tunes is organised by two independent systems working simultaneously (Sloboda, 2004).   The melodic system aids in processing melody whereas the temporal system processes tempo. The melodic system processes all information on melody and differentiates the two main components (i.e. note and intervals). All the perception mechanisms are required for processing melodic contour. Melodic processing is done in right superior temporal gyrus (Lehmann, Sloboda,   Woody, 2007). Both the melodic and temporal systems work in coordination with each other and as such a damaged brain may lose its ability to perceive music. Both the melodic and temporal systems relay information to musical lexicon to generate musical repertoire. Musical lexicon includes music repertoire and has a perceptual representation of all the things that an individual has be exposed to (Kern Humpal, 2012). Furthermore, it also contains a memory that stores new music to aid in the recognition of melodies that are both familiar and non-familiar. As such if damage occurs to the musical lexicon, an individual becomes unable to perceive familiar melodies or even record new ones. Information from the musical lexicon is often relayed extemporaneously or immediately after stimulus reception to different areas depending on the required action (Haas Brandes, 2009). Phonological lexicon is often activated to aid in the retrieval of lyrics, phonological and articulation prepares an individual for singing, motor functions are responsible for producing music, and the multimodal associative memories are used for retrieving information that is not musical (Jones, Fay Popper, 2010). The perceptual modules are linked to the memory processes and emotional pathways to aid in music recognition and emotional experience. Non emotional processing and emotional processing are independent and as such damage to one may not damage the other. Any impairment to these connections often leads to difficulties in being able to integrate musical processes. Influence of Biological Factors on Individual Differences According to Sloboda (2004).  , music has rarely been studied from the biological perspective as it is mostly perceived as a function of culture. However, biological factors significantly influence musical preferences (Feezell, 2008). The ability of an individual to process and appreciate music is dependent on cognitive functions. Individual differences in self-perception and personality influence musical preference. Therefore people may opt to like music that will allow them to express themselves to the others on how they would like to be perceived. Moreover, individual differences influence the purpose for which people listen to music (Zelazo, 2013). One of the reasons why people listen to music is to regulate their emotions and help them cope with the daily challenges in life. The differences in musical preference and reasons for listening to music are indications that intelligence and personality partly influence how people use music. Personality and intelligence influence the type of music people listen to, how often they listen to it and the reasons for listening to music (Sloboda, 2004). For instance the intellectuals like those with high IQs are more inclined to like conventional/ reflective music and as such are likely to use it for their intellectual purposes rather than for emotional consumption (Juslin Sloboda 2010). This is because of their higher cognitive ability. This is clearly noticeable in their preference for jazz or classical music not because they do not elicit emotions but because the complexity of the genre is more inclined to suit the interests of people seeking experiences that are intellectually stimulating. On the other end are extraverts who may rely on music to stimulate their activity level when carrying out monotonous tasks like doing dishes or jogging. This implies that the role music plays in the life of an individual is partly determined by the level of arousal (Lilienfeld, et al 2011). This is particularly evident for thos e with high or low level of arousal average. The interference caused by background music on cognitive processes is higher in introverts than extraverts (Rickard McFerran, 2012). Damon Lerner (2006), claim that the association between musical use and other traits remain largely unexplored although some relationship may be expected. For instance people who suffer from emotional instability and regularly experience negative emotions are more likely to use music to regulate their emotions. Cognitive research has established that these people listen to music more for the purpose of managing their emotions (Rickard McFerran, 2012). Furthermore, they are more sensitive to the emotions elicited by music and as such find music essential for regulating their emotions. Conscientious people on the other hand react differently to music. Conscientious people are those that have traits which are inversely correlated to psychoticism and creativity (Lilienfeld, et al 2011).   Conscientious peop le are less likely to use music for regulating their emotions as they are likely to use it for other purposes. Conclusion The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of biological and social factors on individual musical functioning. The findings show that individual musical preferences and use of music is influenced by both social and biological factors. The social factors mostly influence the type of music people prefer to listen to whereas the biological factors influence the reasons for listening to music. The major social factors that influence the choice of music that people listen to are peers and the society as they determine the kind of music that is played regularly. The biological factors on the other hand influence the purpose for which people listen to music. The purpose for which people listen to music is closely associated with the frequency of listening to music than the choice of music (Hallam, Cross    Thaut, 2016). Therefore biological factors are also responsible for the amount of time and resources people spend to listen to music. However, it is important to note that b oth the biological and social factors significantly contribute to the individual differences in musical functioning. References Damon, W. Lerner, R. M., (2006).  Handbook of child psychology. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley Sons. Deutsch, D. (2012).  The psychology of music. London : Academic Press. Feezell, J. T. (2008).  Stereotype: The influence of music preferences on political attitudes and behaviour. Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California, Santa Barbara. Gruszka, A., Matthews, G., Szymura, B. (2010).  Handbook of individual differences in cognition: Attention, memory, and executive control. New York: Springer. Hallam, S., Cross, I.,    Thaut, M. (2016).  The Oxford handbook of music psychology. Oxford : Oxford University Press Haas, R., Brandes, V. (2009).  Music that works: Contributions of biology, neurophysiology, psychology, sociology, medicine and musicology. Wien: Springer. Jones, M. R., Fay, R. R., Popper, A. N. (2010).  Music perception. New York: Springer. Juslin, P. N., Sloboda, J. A. (2010).  Handbook of music and emotion: Theory, research, applications. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kern, P., Humpal, M. E. (2012).  Early childhood music therapy and autism spectrum disorders: Developing potential in young children and their families. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Lehmann, A. C., Sloboda, J. A., Woody, R. H. (2007).  Psychology for musicians: Understanding and acquiring the skills. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Ruscio, J., Beyerstein, B. L. (2011).  50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons. McPherson, G. (2016).  The child as musician: A handbook of musical development. Oxford : Oxford University Press Rickard, N. S., McFerran, K. (2012).  Lifelong engagement with music: Benefits for mental health and well-being. Hauppauge, N.Y: Nova Science. Sloboda, J. (2004).  Exploring the musical mind: Cognition, emotion, ability, function. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Theorell, T. (2014).  Psychological health effects of musical experiences: Theories, studies and reflections in music health science. London: Springer Zelazo, P. D. (2013).  The Oxford handbook of developmental psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Inclusion - Both Practice and Educational Philosophy

Inclusion - Both Practice and Educational Philosophy Definition Inclusion is both a practice and a basic underpinning of modern educational philosophy. A Practice The practice of inclusion in public schools is based on the legal concept of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) When Congress passed PL94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, it was in response to the findings of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971 in PARC (Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Citizens) vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The decision stated that children with handicaps were protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Least Restrictive Environment has come to be known, through legal challenges and due process, as that educational experience that is most like that received by non-disabled students. Districts (the Local Education Authority) are expected to offer a full spectrum of placements in the best interest of children, from full inclusion, which means receiving all instruction in the general education setting, to residential treatment,when it is in the best interest of the child, and all alternate levels of restriction have been exhausted.   It also requires that students with disabilities attend schools in their neighborhood, rather than in special schools.   Most students receive support and services in something between the two extremes, as for students with significant academic challenges, they often do the best when they receive explicit instruction in the resource room, where the difference in their skills and their need to focus are not compromised by active students.  Ã‚   The amount of time spent in a special education setting needs to be designated in their IEP, as well as being justified there. Inclusion as a Philosophy Inclusion is also an educational philosophy. Supported by research, it fosters belief that children with disabilities do better in general education settings with typically developing peers. It also advances the understanding, also supported by research, that best practices in special education, especially differentiation, provide the most success for general education as well as special education students. Unlike mainstreaming which proposed to stick students qualifying for special education in general educations to sink or swim, inclusion holds that students of broadly differing abilities can succeed with appropriate support. Although integration is sometimes used interchangeably with inclusion, it is more generally understood as the effort to bring minorities, English Language Learners and new immigrants from diverse populations, into local educational communities, and the practices that best foster smooth integration into social and cultural groups.   Certainly, good teaching is good teaching, and strategies that help integrate English Language Learners also supports students with specific learning disabilities in building and enriching language development.    Pronunciation: in-kloo-shun Also Known As: integration, inclusional (in Canada and England) Examples: The Rye, New Jersey school district has clearly demonstrated its commitment to inclusion by hiring and training extra special education teachers to co-teach in middle school and high school classrooms with general education teachers.

Proposing a Solution on Texting While Driving Essay

Proposing a Solution on Texting While Driving - Essay Example period. In other words, it amounts to something like a driver covering a length of football field at a speed of 55 mph without looking at the road. In another study carried out in 2008 it has been mentioned that over 800,000 Americans were texting or making calls, during the same year over 6,000 Americans were killed because of distracted driving and cell phone usage is one of the major reasons. Considering the extent of loss to the life that cell phone usage, specifically texting, there has been a Federal ban on texting while driving for commercial vehicle drivers. The defaulters may be subject to fines up to USD 2,750. But even after this ban the scene has not changed significantly. In order to propose a solution to address the issue of texting while driving it may be meaningful to understand the cause that leads the drivers to text. One of the national insurance agencies in America conducted a survey of over 1500 drives, nationwide. As per the findings of the survey, the key reaso n for people to use cell phones while driving is (Deleon) â€Å"social etiquette† demands that people be in constant contact with each other, so people feel pressured to responds immediately to text messages and phone calls.† This issue may be very difficult to be addressed comprehensively by adopting just one solution. Such issues can be addressed by two types of solutions, these are i) technology based solutions and ii) by bringing about a behavioral change in the actors concerned, in this particular case drivers are the key actors. In this paper, I would like to propose a solution that aims at kindling a behavioral change in the drivers. The justification for adopting such an approach is centered on the reason for which the people get urged for texting. The key audience in this proposal is the policy makers and society in general who are usually the drivers of social and behavioral change amongst people. If the audience, as I would propose in the next section, adopts the behavioral change strategies, I believe that there would be a considerable improvement in the statistics pertaining to texting while driving. It is also important to note that the proposal that I present is even though relevant for all drivers, but has specific benefits for commercial vehicle drivers. These are the ones exposed to high risks. The proposal is presented in the table below: Strategies of principle In order to induce a behavioral change amongst commercial drivers, I propose that the telecom companies should mandatorily send Statutory Warning about the dangers of texting while driving (TWD) before each text they send such as â€Å"TWD multiplies the risk of crash incidents by 23 times.† or â€Å"You might not be able to see the person whom you text if you text while driving.† Similar warnings may also be placed on strategic places inside the car. It is the job of the policy makers to ensure that each cellphone operators comply with this regulation. Con sequences of actions The consequences of this solution are anticipated to be: Subconscious learning by every cell user about the fallouts of TWD Advocate and Amplify the cause and risks of TWD Fall in the number of TWD accidents Analogies Advertisers, social marketers and policy makers have successfully applied Statutory Warnings in order to modify behaviors with respect to other unhealthy habits such as smoking, HIV/AIDS, toys using LASERS etc. Texting while driving is already being seen as a one of the unbending issue for all

Organisational Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Organisational Analysis - Essay Example In reality, when Scottie determines to have his quintessentially imagined woman, he tried to mould another woman Judy Barton, starred by Kim Novak by changing her appearances in accordance with his imaginary woman â€Å"Madeleine†. During his effort of altering appearances of Judy, Scottie barely thinks about the clay he is modelling and starts the unique story of Hitchcock’s works of arts (Ebert, 2014). The main purpose of this essay is to highlight the moral derives from the story of â€Å"Vertigo† and critically define the role of structure and culture, which have major influence on organisations and/or processes of organising that are represented in some way. In order to obtain the key purpose of the study, the discussion critically reviews the story and thematic representation of â€Å"Vertigo† and representation of the aesthetic view of the film in the context of organisational processes. The discussion of the essay also focuses on critical evaluation by emphasising on the moral of the film and how it can relate with the current organisational structure and culture. Retired police detective Scottie was hired by Gavin Elster to follow his wife Madeleine, regarding her outlandish behaviour. Scottie was appointed in this role to develop effective behavioural aspects of Madeleine but he obsessively falls in love with her. However, she starts believing that she is the recreation of a particular woman who expired many years ago and therefore Gavin Elster is concerned regarding Madeleine’s sanity (Adas, 2006). During the time of Scottie’s affection on Madeleine, they visit an old mission church where Madeleine commits suicide by jumping from the top steeple of the church. The incident of Madeleine’s death faults Scottie not for stopping her from the top of the steeples. After several months of that incident, Scottie

Discrimination Against Women Essay Example for Free

Discrimination Against Women Essay The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period,to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Leader of the Opposition. As of 2011, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (Lower House of the parliament) both are women. However, women in India continue to face discrimination and other social challenges and are often victims of abuse and violent crimes and, according to a global poll conducted by Thomson Reuters, India is the fourth most dangerous country in the world for women, and the worst country for women among the G20 countries. History Ancient India Scholars believe that in ancient India, the women enjoyed equal status with men in all fields of life.[11] However, some others hold contrasting views.[12] Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period[13][14] Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their husband.[15] Scriptures such as Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi.[16] There are very few texts specifically dealing with the role of women;[17] an important exception is the Stri Dharma Paddhati of Tryambakayajvan, an official at Thanjavur around c.1730. The text compiles strictures on womenly behaviour dating back to the Apastamba sutra (c. 4th c. BCE).[18] The opening verse goes: mukhyo dharmaH smr^tiShu vihito bhartr^shushruShANam hi : women are enjoined to be of service to their husbands. Some kingdoms in the ancient India had traditions such as nagarvadhu (bride of the city). Women competed to win the coveted title of the nagarvadhu. Amrapali is the most famous example of a nagarvadhu. According to studies, women enjoyed equal status and rights during the early Vedic period.[19] However, later (approximately 500 B.C.), the status of women began to decline with the Smritis (esp. Manusmriti) and with the Islamic invasion of Babur and the Mughal empire and later Christianity curtailing womens freedom and rights.[7] Although reformatory movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to the religious order, by and large, the women in India faced confinement and restrictions.[19] The practice of child marriages is believed to have started from around sixth century.[20]

Alice Munro :: Biography Biographies Essays

Alice Munro Alice Munro’s fiction receives its strength from her vivid sense of regional focus, the majority of her stories take place in Huron County, Ontario, and through the sense of her narrators she illuminates and gives personal significance to each story. Many of Munro’s themes are centered around adolescent girls dealing with the ideas of loving, growing up, and losing innocence in a small town. Munro steps away from the adolescent girl and in her most recent work focuses on problems of the middle aged, such as women alone and those of the elderly. Munro is most famous for her works that deal with the adolescent girl and it has been said that Lives of Girls and Women is nearer her autobiography than it is a work of fiction. Munro has been known to say it is "autobiographical in form, but not in fact." As mentioned above many of Munro’s themes are centered around young girls, but the overlying theme is power. Munro defines the power of her artistic vision as the direc t result of her lack of power as a woman. Munro state’s "A subject race has a kind of clarity of vision and I feel that women have always had a clarity of vision which men were denied. And, in a way, this is a gift, it goes along with lack of power." At the end of Lives of Girls and Women, Del, the narrator, is trying to write fiction but finally rejects her unwritten novel as an "unreliable structure." The Lives of Girls and Women is a novel that focuses on the young Del Jordan, who is struggling with the problems of becoming a young woman. Munro takes the reader through Del’s carefree childhood to an uneasy adolescence in search of love and sexual experience. Munro’s ability to use Del as the narrator and to capture the perfection of local speech makes the reader feel that it is not Del’s life that is being told, but every young adolescent girl’s. In Lives of Girls and Women, Munro uses metaphors to organize the sequences of the fiction into a larger picture.. Metaphors of fire and electric power are used to associate fleshly humiliation of death and in Lives of Girls and Women are associated with sexual experience as in the climatic chapter "Baptizing." The most pronounced metaphor Munro uses is that of drowning. Munro uses a splitting metaphor to describe two kinds of power, sexual power and the power of death.

Carnival Cruise Lines Case

Carnival Cruise Lines case Questions 1. What global forces have contributed to the growth of the cruise industry? Two major factors that have contributed to the growth of the cruise industry are the change in the competitive environment brought about by the advent of transoceanic airline service and increasing discretionary incomes. As demand for liner travel declined in response to the development of less expensive and much faster air service, shipping lines were forced to respond to the new market conditions by developing sea travel for the middle class, i. . , cruises. In addition, all-inclusive prices, a wide range of on-board and on-shore offerings, and the additional safety and security measures provided by the cruise industry have proven very attractive in light of recent political and socio-economic events. 2. What specific steps have Carnival Cruise Lines taken to benefit from global societal changes? Carnival has responded to global environmental changes in a variety of way s. Because a ship is highly vulnerable to terrorist acts, Carnival has instituted very strict security measures.It has also implemented strict health and safety measures. Carnival has dealt with economic recessions by offering shorter cruises that embark closer to home and with times of economic prosperity by offering longer cruises that incorporate more exotic destinations. It minimizes staffing costs by sourcing employees on a global basis. In addition, across its various lines, Carnival offers a wide variety of themes, classes of service, and destinations. 3. What are some of the differences by country that affect the operations of cruise lines?Political/legal, geographic, economic, and sociocultural differences all affect the operations of cruise lines, which are truly international in nature. For example, most shipping lines choose to flag their vessels in countries such as Liberia, Mongolia, or Panama because of the lower taxes and less stringent employment practices required by the laws of those countries. Relatively few countries (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea, for example) have shipyards capable of building cruise ships.Consequently, governments (e. g. , Italy) may choose to subsidize the ship-building industry in order to secure contracts for their domestic firms. The favorable location of the Caribbean/Bahamas and the Hawaiian Islands makes them busy destinations year round, while Alaska is strictly a seasonal favorite. Because of their professional skills and fluency in English, Philippine workers comprise nearly a third of the seamen worldwide. Yet many other crew members also come from Eastern Europe, Vietnam, and China.Finally, in addition to the fact that many ships are designed to accommodate the economic realities of the mass market, others are specifically designed to appeal to the cultural preferences of their clientele (e. g. , Costa, based in Italy, offers a distinctive Italian flavor). 4. Although most cruise li ne passengers are from the United States, the average number of vacation days taken by U. S. residents is lower than in most other high-income countries. For instance, the number is 13 days per year in the United States as compared to 42 days in Italy, 37 in France, 35 in Germany, and 25 in Japan.How might the cruise lines increase sales to people outside the United States? Given that the majority of people in the targeted income segment ($20,000-$60,000 per year) have yet to take a cruise, the major task confronting the cruise line industry is one of marketing. In addition to promoting the many appealing features of its various cruises and lines throughout the developed world and selected developing countries, Carnival could partner with foreign airlines and travel agents in order to get foreign vacationers to its many ports of embarkation. . What threats exist for the future performance of the cruise line industry and specifically Carnival Cruise Lines? If you were in charge of Ca rnival Cruise Lines, how would you (a) try to prevent these threats from becoming a reality, and (b) deal with them if they do become a reality? While the potential market for Carnival seems very attractive, port capacity could well become an issue. The deep water and the massive facilities required to dock a liner in any port are limited.In addition, there are passionate cries from environmentalists regarding the damage (pollution of the seas, disorientation of sea mammals caused by the noise of the propellers, etc. ) being caused by liners both in port and at sea. Should there be a major global economic disaster or a global health pandemic, the cruise line industry will surely suffer. To proactively deal with the possibility of a downturn, Carnival should invest heavily in research and development in order to continually minimize the environmental impact of its ships and their operation. It must also carefully develop its global cruise structure n a way that complements existing c apacity—or else work with ports to provide additional capacity. If Carnival finds that it must react to a downturn, it should always think in terms of all of its stakeholders, not just its stockholders. Of course, it will want to minimize any damage to its operations and profits. However, given the immense size of the firm, it may also be possible for Carnival to reach out to others (such as providing liners to be used as housing for workers, as in the case of Hurricane Katrina). Carnival will be better served by a long-term rather than a short-term orientation. 6.Discuss the ethics of cruise lines regarding the avoidance of almost all taxes while simultaneously buying ships built with governmental subsidies. This is definitely a complex issue. While cruise lines avoid most taxes by flying flags of convenience, they argue that they must do so for competitive (cost-savings) reasons—and that other governments could choose to offer the same benefits. Their supporters also argue that the lost taxes are at least to some extent indirectly offset by port fees and passenger spending, and that the taxes realized by less developed countries are important contributions to their economies.However, others argue that the less restrictive staffing, safety, and operating requirements associated with flags of convenience are intolerable. They argue that lesser standards pose both safety and environmental hazards and that in the long-run, the costs to society are high. They feel strongly that if shipping lines receive government subsidies on the one hand, it is immoral and should be illegal for them to avoid paying taxes on the other.

The Impact of Co-teaching on the Student Achievement

The term co-teaching refers to a teaching practice whereby two or more professional teachers are involved in delivering substantive instructions to a group or class of students, who are diverse and blended. The delivering of instructions by the teachers occurs in a single physical space. In this arrangement of teaching, the regular and special educators (co-teachers) are involved in teaching students who belong to the same class. In some cases, co-teachimg is done in order to assist students with disabilities or those with learning difficulties, as compared to other students in the class (Brooks, V.2004).The two educators in co-teaching are referred to as the regular and the special educators. The responsibility of a regular educator includes the preparing of the general class content as well as the lesson plan. The special educator on the other hand is responsible for adapting the content of what is to be taught to the students. In addition, the special educator presents the class c ontent in a manner that meets the needs of the students especially those who may have learning difficulties.It is therefore important to note that in co-teaching, the special and the regular educators have their different responsibilities and roles. However,the teachers are expected to work together in harmony so that each individual student ‘s learning needs are catered for. Co-teaching is one of the ways through which collaborative teaching can occur (Adams, L. et al. 1993). Collaborative arrangement based on co-teaching brings together two educators (regular and special) and the related personnel in order to ensure that students with disabilities have all their learning needs met.This requires the teachers to spend some reasonable amount of time in a regular class so that students are provided with the appropriate support. A teaching program that adopts co-teaching as a teaching practice should always be effective for both the teachers and the students. This ensures that th e objectives of co-teaching are achieved. The concept of co-teaching has existed in the education system for some time now. This method of teaching has been growing very fast in schools due to the important role it plays on student achievement.Though effective as a teaching tool, co-teaching has faced some challenges when it comes to evaluation as well as supervision. Just like in the other teaching practices, co-teaching requires the teachers to prepare a co-teaching module in order to increase the success of the education programs. Thesis Statement Co-teaching has now become a very popular method of teaching in many schools. As a concept, the teaching arrangement aims at meeting the needs of all students, including the disabled and those with learning difficulties.This aims at boosting the students’ achievement. The objectives of the education programs that are used in class can be easily achieved through effective co-teaching. This will involve the adoption of good co-teac hing relationships as well as skills. Co-teaching has some impact on the student achivement. In this paper, both the lesser and the greater impacts of co-teaching on the student achievement will be discussed. Discussion Co-teaching increases student achievement by developing a good learning environment.Having a good classroom environment enables students to perform well, because it ensures that factors that increase the students’ achievement are always present. The students show poor performance when the classroom environment hinders their proper concentration and understanding in their learning (Cowley, S. 2006). Therefore, a good learning environment improves the performance of the students and vice versa. A good example of a good classroom environment that improves student performance is the one that is heterogeneous.The co-teaching programs are very instrumental in creating a heterogeneous classroom environment (Cook, L. 2004). This discourages monotony in learning, hence learning becomes exciting and enjoyable for the students. When students enjoy learning, they become more engaged in learning and they are ready to work hard in order to perform well. The increased participation of students in learning promotes a healthy teacher-student relationship, which is very important when it comes to effective teaching and good performance in students.Co-teaching creates more room for learning and sharing for both the teachers and the students, which is a great step towards positive achievement in students. Co-teaching facilitates positive achievement in students through improved instruction. Through the co-teaching programs, the teachers are able to deliver improved instruction to the students. Due to the students’ different academic abilities, the teachers have a great responsibility of ensuring that the students achieve their learning objectives despite their different academic abilities (Kyriacou, C. 2000).The differences are used to determine what needs to be done so as to assist a particular student. For instance, while some students are academically gifted, the others have average ability. In addition, some students are always at the risk of failing in class due to their low academic ability and lack of effective teaching methods by the teachers. It is only by identifying the individual students’ academic abilities that teachers can offer the necessary assistance to students who need special attention. For example, the ability of the disabled students to perform well depends on how well their special needs are met in class.There is need for teachers to ensure that all students learn well, despite the differences in their academic abilities. This can be done by assisting the students to maximize their potential in class. This is what co-teaching does through improved instruction. The needs of the students based on their different academic abilities are well addressed in co-teaching. This improves the achievement of t he students, since their learning needs are addressed on time and in the right manner. The problems that are faced by the students can always be solved at the right time to promote good student achievement.In any profession, having unique professional relationships encourages commitment and dedication of the workers. In the teaching profession, teachers who have unique professional relationships are able to work together in a complementary manner. Because professional relationship has to be built on trust, communication, parity, and respect, the co-teachers integrate these values in their teaching (Richard, A. et al 2008). When the teaching is based on positive values, the students are able to learn properly.This increases the students’ ability to adopt learning based on values that maximize their potential, hence they show a high level of achievement. Creating a sense of belonging and support in the classroom encourages the sharing of learning experiences between the teacher s and the students (Rosenberg, M. 2003). This means that all learning experiences, whether good or bad can be shared. For instance, co-teachers who have been involved in teaching programs have clearly stated that they have enjoyed a sense of support fostered by the teaching programs.Therefore, teachers are always able to share a spectacular lesson with the students. On the other hand, whenever a lesson is challenging, the teachers are able to share their experiences. When students feel that they need to share their learning experiences with the teachers, they are able to appreciate learning. Since the students feel obliged to participate in the learning process, they can perform well to achieve what is expected of them. This increases the students’ achievement. Co-teaching is an innovative approach in teaching, which has both the conceptual and operational aspects.There is need to develop and adopt co-teaching programs through proper planning, implementation, and also evaluat ion. One of the impacts of co-teaching on student achievement is closely related to solving the problem of stigmatization of the students with disabilities. In a regular class, students with disabilities are sometimes faced with learning difficulties due to being perceived as â€Å"different†. This means that the students tend to be disadvantaged when it comes to learning because of their nature of being disabled.The other students in class may stigmatize the students who are disabled because they consider them as lacking something. Consequently, the students with special needs may be treated unfairly by the others due to their special needs. By being stigmatized, students with special needs may tend to show poor performance in class. They fail to meet the goals of the courses that they are taught in class. In order to improve the performance of these students and to increase their achievement, co-teaching can be used (Marston, N. Accesed on October 9, 2008). This is very ben eficial to the students.The teachers who are involved in co-teaching programs are able to deliver their services effectively to the students who are disabled, and therefore have special needs. The stigmatization of the students is greatly reduced, a situation that has been proved to improve the performance of the students. Through the co-teaching programs, the teachers increase understanding of the students about the content of the courses that the students are taught. This motivates the students to learn, as well as to share what they have learned in class with the others.In addition to increasing the students’ understanding, co-teaching advocates for respect towards the disabled children from the fellow classmates. The fact that the disabled students have special needs means that they may require some special attention from the others, a situation that the fellow students may try to ignore. When co-teaching promotes respect for the disabled and minimizes their stigmatizatio n, the student achievement in learning increases. It is very important to note that, co-teaching takes care of the students’ and teachers’ needs.For instance, co-teaching advocates for a teaching approach that minimizes transitions when students show the tendency to disrupt transitions. At the same time, co-teaching approaches create room for frequent changes so that the students’ needs for extra motivation are encouraged. Co-teaching approaches promote the addressing of the teachers’ needs. The approach can either allow independent teaching for teachers with different teaching styles, or working together within a shared approach. The most appropriate approach can then be adopted depending on the teachers’ and students’ needs.The student achievement is increased when the most appropriate approach in co-teaching is adopted. For instance, a student can be able to have a more detailed observation in the learning process. A teaching approach, â €Å"One teach, One Observe† has teachers decide on the type of observational information that needs to be gathered during instruction in advance. The teachers can then easily agree on the best gathering data. The co-teachers are then able to analyze information, which they can use constructively in the classroom. Instructional fragmentation in learning affects the performance of students negatively.This often occurs when service delivery options are offered to students in the learning process. This requires the students to leave the classroom so as to receive the services, a situation that promotes instructional fragmentation. This can be well minimized when students do not have to leave the classroom in order to receive instructions. When students receive instructions through the co-teaching programs, the instructional fragmentation is minimized. This is because, the students do not necessarily leave the classroom to receive the services.Well referred to as the co-teacher, t he special service provider improves student learning by their good understanding of the class curriculum. This means that the curriculum is well developed and implemented to suit the needs of the students (Moran, G. 1997). In addition to this, a special service provider is empowered by the co-teaching programs to understand well the academic expectations. By understanding the curriculum, the teacher concentrates on issues that aim at ensuring that the performance of the students is always improving.Co-teaching encourages the development of a teaching model that promotes positive achievement in students. The teaching models used in co-teaching require individual teachers to always bring certain characteristics and knowledge voluntarily in class. This is further complemented by skills that the teachers voluntarily use in class. Since teachers have special personal charateristics, bringing their characteristics in class voluntarily enable them to work effectively with the other teache rs. By working together in harmony, the teachers are able to strengthen each other in teaching (Jill, A. ET al.2007). A co-teaching model requires teachers to have sets of common skills as well as common knowledge. Furthermore, the teachers show knowledge that is specific to discipline. Through the models, teachers are able to coordinate classroom activities to suit the needs of the students, and to facilitate learning in a good classroom environment. Since teaching becomes voluntary for teachers, they are able to fully maximize their potential in teaching. When the teachers deliver their best, the students on the other hand receive the best. This no doubt improves the performance of the students in class.The classroom dynamics based on co-teaching models make the classroom interactions very unique. Having well defined classroom responsibilities and duties allows the teachers to specialize on particular classroom topics (Gail, E. et al. 2001). These topics can be taught intensively such that the students’ understanding about a particular topic is increased. The teachers are then able to provide support to individual students by ensuring that a whole class instructional flow is successfully maintained. A co-teaching curriculum is very instrumental in reflecting the students’ needs.By so doing, the curriculum is then implemented with the aim of addressing the compensatory, developmental, and academic skills. The student achievement is boosted when skills are improved based on how the co-teaching curriculum is implemented. The students’ efforts are easily monitored by the teachers in a co-teaching program. The students’ performance can be improved when the curriculum and the teaching techniques are reviewed (Ellis, V . 2004) this calls for appropriate teaching measures based on the weaknesses and the strengths of a co-teaching curriculum.Another co-teaching approach, â€Å"One Teach, One Drift†, allows teaching by one teacher wh ile the co-teacher at the same time assists students in class without disrupting the one who is teaching. The student supervision by the teachers is important in good student perfomance. This is what the â€Å"Parallel Teaching† co-teaching approach does. Through such an approach, the students who have been involved in co-teaching have had their class achievement increased greatly. Other approaches that can be used in co-teaching include Station Teaching, Alternative Teaching, and Team Teaching.The diversity of teaching approaches offers teachers an opportunity to adopt the best and the most appropriate teaching approach based on the different and diverse student needs. This encourages proper matching of a given particular approach with the needs. The students’ achievement is increased when proper teaching approaches are adopted in teaching (Curren, R. 2006). Students in a co-teaching program are able to develop a comfortable relationship with the teachers through the well-built relationship between the two parties. The students can express themselves freely, sense harmony, and tension that may exist in a learning environment.A positive relationship can easily be established between a teacher and students in a co-teaching program. Through the relationship, misunderstandings that may arise in class are minimized (Capel, S. , and Turner, T. 2005). The problems that may arise in a class room environment are then resolved before they affect the students’ performance negatively. Co-teaching creates a cohesive classroom where the teacher and the students are able to work together towards achieving the goals of the courses taught in class. While they appreciate the strengths of what they experience during the learning process, they also recognize the weaknesses.By recognizing the weaknesses, the teachers and the students strive to turn the weaknesses into opportunities of improving learning. Furthermore, learning that integrates Individualized Ed ucation Plans can be developed. The plans are very important in ensuring that the needs of the students are well taken care of. Through co-teaching, the teachers are able to take risks . This means that new methods of teaching can be explored. This makes it easy for teachers to learn from each other, and hence they can grow as professionals. Conclusion Learning is very important in any society, whether formal or informal (Cohn, L.1976). The teaching methods in formal and informal education differ, but the two shares certain priciples. In formal education, co-techinh has bee used as one of the most effective teaching practices when it comes to assisting the students to improve their perfomance. This increases the students’ achievement. The impact of co-teaching in student achievement varies. Co-teaching uses different approaches. Despite the differences, the most important thing in co-teaching is to ensure that the students’ needs are appropriately addressed in a class environment. ReferencesAdams, L. , Cessna, K. , and Friend, M. (1993). Effectiveness Indicators of Collaboration in Special Education. General Education Co-teaching Final Report. Denver; Colorado. Department of Education Brooks, V. (2004). Preparing to Teach in Secondary Schools. Open University Press Capel, S. , and Turner, T. (2005). Learning to Teach in the Secondary School. Routledge Cohn, L. (1976). The Good Old Manners as Seen through the Sears. Ayer Publishers Cook, L. (2004). Co-teaching; Principles, Practices, and Pragmatics www. ped. state. nm. us/seo/library/qrtrly. 0404.coteaching. 1cook. pdf Accessed on October 9, 2008 Cowley, S. (2006). Getting the Buggers to Behave. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd Curren, R. (2006). A Companion to the Philosophy of Education. Paperback Edition Ellis, V. (2004). Learning and Teaching in Secondary Schools. Learning Matters Ltd Gail, E. , Arnold, A. , Cynthia, W. (2001). Renaissance in the Classroom: Arts Integration and Mea ningful Learning. Published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Jill A. , Dianne K. , Judith K. , Kristin M. (2007). Common-sense Classroom Management forSpecial Education Teachers, Grades 6-12. Corwin Press Kyriacou, C. (2000). Stress-Busting for Teachers. Nelson Thornes Publishers Marston, N. Six Steps to Successful Co-teaching www. nea. org/teachexperience/spedk031113. html Accessed on October 9, 2008 Moran, G. (1997). Showing How: The Act of Teaching. Continuum International Publishing Group Richard, A. , Jackqueline, S. , and Anne, N. (2008). A Guide to Co-teaching: Practical Tips for Facilitating Student Learning. Corwin Press Publishers Rosenberg, M. (2003). Life-Enriching Education. Puddle Dancer Press

Examples of Gapping in English Grammar

Examples of Gapping in English Grammar A construction in which part of a sentence is omitted rather than repeated. The missing grammatical unit is called a gap. The term gapping was coined by linguist John R. Ross in his dissertation, Constraints on Variables in Syntax (1967), and discussed in his article Gapping and the Order of Constituents, in Progress in Linguistics, edited by M. Bierwisch and K. E. Heidolph (Mouton, 1970). Examples and Observations: The cars were old-fashioned; the buses, too.(Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Broadway Books, 2006)Arnaud was his closest friend; Peter, his oldest.(James Salter, Light Years. Random House, 1975)Forwards and BackwardsGapping ... describe[s] a transformation which creates gaps in a sentence after a conjunction by deleting a verb which would otherwise reappear, e.g. Caroline plays the flute and Louise (plays) the piano. Gapping can work forwards, as above, or backwards as in the deletion of the first mention of the word. According to Ross the direction of the gapping depends on the constituent branching in the deep structure, and provides insight into the underlying word order of a language.(Hadumod Bussmann, Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. Taylor Francis, 1996)Verb DeletionConsider the pattern in (154):a. John likes coffee and Susan likes tea.b. John likes coffee and Susan -   tea.(154) illustrates a pattern known as gapping. Gapping is an o peration which deletes a constituent in one sentence under identity with a constituent of the same type in a preceding sentence. More particularly, gapping in (154b) deletes the second verb of two co-ordinated clauses; this is possible because the deleted verb is identical to the verb of the first sentence. In (154b) the verb is gapped but, crucially, its NP [Noun Phrase] complement is left behind.(Liliane M. V. Haegeman and Jacqueline Guà ©ron, English Grammar: A Generative Perspective. Wiley-Blackwell, 1999) Gapping in Written EnglishCertainly, some constructions are overwhelmingly found in written language. An example is the English Gapping construction, as in John ate an apple and Mary a peach, where an implicit ate is omitted from the second clause, understood as Mary ate a peach. Tao and Meyer (2006) found, after an extensive search of corpora, that gapping is confined to writing rather than speech. In the Elia Kazan movie The Last Tycoon, a powerful film director rejects a scene in which a French actress is given the line Nor I you, on the grounds that this is unnatural speech. But his colleague, with earthier instincts, comments on this line with Those foreign women really have class. This rings true. The gapping construction is classy, and restricted to quite elevated registers, though it is not lacking entirely from spoken English.(James R. Hurford, The Origins of Grammar: Language in the Light of Evolution. Oxford University Press, 2012)

An Old Woman.

Having lost the promises of her past, she is reduced to her present state. As the speaker views her squarely, he, in a sort of ‘revelation’, becomes aware of the decay which has set in her person and which is extended to the decaying tradition symbolized by the hills and the temples. Without using many words, the old woman forces the narrator to look at her from closed quarters. It is then that he realizes the hypocrisy of society and the decadence of the social system that has ruined the old woman to a beggar. he finds that the social fabric is destroyed, architectural features go into ruins. Human values are forgotten. The old woman’s condition reduces the narrator to a small status when he feels as insignificant as that small coin in her hand. This poem humbles us to remember our responsibility to society. It reveals the callousness, a failure on our part to take care of the elderly, protect our heritage and preserve our values. In the rush of materialism and the desire to achieve, one takes all that one can from society, but giving the same back is largely forgotten. So the cracking hills, crumbling temples, crumbling of social order is directly a result of our negligence, our failure to act responsibly. Somewhere, the materialistic world has made man selfish, trapping him in a race to accumulate. When society has to face this onslaught, cracks appear, but selfish man forgets to repair the cracks, forgets to salvage lost values, thereby creating a dilapidated social fabric†¦. An Old Woman. Having lost the promises of her past, she is reduced to her present state. As the speaker views her squarely, he, in a sort of ‘revelation’, becomes aware of the decay which has set in her person and which is extended to the decaying tradition symbolized by the hills and the temples. Without using many words, the old woman forces the narrator to look at her from closed quarters. It is then that he realizes the hypocrisy of society and the decadence of the social system that has ruined the old woman to a beggar. he finds that the social fabric is destroyed, architectural features go into ruins. Human values are forgotten. The old woman’s condition reduces the narrator to a small status when he feels as insignificant as that small coin in her hand. This poem humbles us to remember our responsibility to society. It reveals the callousness, a failure on our part to take care of the elderly, protect our heritage and preserve our values. In the rush of materialism and the desire to achieve, one takes all that one can from society, but giving the same back is largely forgotten. So the cracking hills, crumbling temples, crumbling of social order is directly a result of our negligence, our failure to act responsibly. Somewhere, the materialistic world has made man selfish, trapping him in a race to accumulate. When society has to face this onslaught, cracks appear, but selfish man forgets to repair the cracks, forgets to salvage lost values, thereby creating a dilapidated social fabric†¦.

Do employment consultants need to be trained when dealing with the Essay

Do employment consultants need to be trained when dealing with the unemployed - Essay Example An employment consultant is the link between a job seeker and the company where a vacancy exists. The consultant has the unenviable job of not only matching the skill sets of the applicant with the position, but also to judge the mental make-up and socio-psychological responses of the applicant in different situations. A highly qualified and well-experienced person might be unsuitable for an opening because of his temperament. On the other hand, a lesser qualified person, but with a different temperament might be right for the job. Not everyone is capable of managing people. The person needs to be outgoing, be able to perceive the unspoken needs of the clients and co-workers. Similarly, not everyone is suited for research. A candidate might have the required qualifications, but no desire for knowledge or curiosity. In my opinion, a lesser qualified person, but with an intense desire for knowledge would be better suited for the job. Thus, it would not be only the degrees and certificates that need to be verified during an interview, but also the attunement of the candidate for the mentioned opening. The social background of the candidate and exposure to various situations also holds a key to the candidate’s behavior under different life-situations. Then again, there could be gender differences. Aspirations and dedication to different kinds of jobs could be different in men and women. Though traditionally, men might be suited for a particular job, an enterprising woman might be able to do more justice to it. Similarly, while society might consider a particular job as â€Å"lady’s job, some men might be more suitable for the same. Thus, it is the consultant’s job to sense and discover these aptitudes in the candidates and offer them suitable openings. (iii)The ways in which we look at the world, are known in the literature as â€Å"paradigms†. These influence how we perceive problems and their solutions, and what we choose to