Hulu: An Evil plot to Destroy the World Essay

All quotations and references refer to â€Å" Hulu: An Evil plot to Destroy the World† unless otherwise noted. 1) Hulu succeeded while everyone predicted its failure due to the following reasons: * Hulu harnessed existing technologies namely online video and broadcast media to create a new platform that was â€Å"focused on helping users find and enjoy the world’s premium, professionally produced content when where and how they want it†. The platform brought together professional content owners/providers, advertisers and content consumers/users in a platform mediated network. * Rather than choose to be a destination site or syndicate content, Hulu chose to be both by being an aggregator of online video. There were web sites that did this for user generated content but Hulu was a leader in this space for professionally generated content. * The business model for Hulu’s platform is 100% advertising supported. * Hulu’s platform model consists of 3 nodes – content providers, advertisers and users * The ‘subsidy side’ in this network is the users who use the platform for free while the ‘money side’ is the advertisers who pay Hulu for running their advertisements. Hulu on the other hand pays content providers for showing their content on the platform. The more the number of users on Hulu the more advertisers value the platform and are attracted to advertise on it. Also, the more the content available on Hulu the more users are attracted to the platform and subsequently, the more the revenue that can be generated from advertising. * Hulu leveraged the cross side network effect between content providers and users by partnering strategically with over 170 content providers including the most popular broadcast and cable networks in the United States. The content providers â€Å"participated in the value created through the distribution of their content†, providing the incentive for them to continue their support of the Hulu platform. * Hulu partnered with 30 affiliated websites including those whose users represented 96% of the monthly unique US-based web users to bring content to its audience and to leverage the cross side network effect between users and advertisers to increase revenues. * Hulu also focused on users and offered its service free to them thereby maximising the cross-side network effects between users and advertisers on its platform resulting in increased revenues generated from advertisers. 2) Hulu’s business strategy is to be focused â€Å"on helping users find and enjoy the world’s premium professionally produced content when, where and how they want it†. Hulu does this by using Internet technology to bring free content to its users anywhere at any time. Hulu is a first mover in this space and is currently enjoying the first mover advantage. However with the ubiquity of internet technology accompanied by lower costs and the commoditization of the technology, the barrier to entry will be reduced and more players will be attracted to the profitable online video business, eating into Hulu’s profitability and success. Also, the increase in IT investments in the internet age causes â€Å"a Winner-take-all dynamic and high turbulence, as each group of dominant innovators is threatened by succeeding waves of innovation† (McAfee and Brynjolfsson, 2008) in Schumpeterian competition. This makes Hulu’s success vulnerable. The case mentions that there is already an emergence of competitive threat from â€Å"TV Everywhere† and even though CEO, Jason Kilar discounts the effect on Hulu, the new entrant is gaining some clout and Broadcasting & Cable has warned that † TV Everywhere was â€Å"starting to look like a real competitor to Hulu.†Ã¢â‚¬  Sustained success for Hulu in what is bound to be an increasingly competitive market will depend on Hulu’s Management and their ability to continue to maintain frugality, drive innovation, operational efficiencies and differentiate their products and services to gain competitive advantage and continue to dominate the market. 3) Input data – Basic – Name, Gender, Age, marital status Contact – address (state, city, zip code), phone number Other- favourite genre, previous shows watched, sites visited previously, ratings of previous shows watched. a) BI techniques i) Using Market basket Analysis Rule: if {Gender = female} then {watches real estate shows} Action: Show Ad Selector for real estate companies and related products when a female user is on Hulu ii) Using Market basket Analysis Rule: if {Married and Age>50 and lives in California} then {has watched >2 court shows in the past and previously visited a tax filing website} Action: Approach tax filing website to place their advertisement on Hulu when court shows are playing. iii) Using user based Collaborative filtering Rule: Find users ‘similar’ to current user by choosing those with the highest similarity coefficient between them and this user on the ratings of other shows. Use a combination of their similarity coefficients to predict current user’s rating for a crime show. Action: if user’s predicted rating for the crime show is high, then advertise any new crime show when user is on Hulu or other affiliate websites. b) Monetization These techniques allow Hulu to increase the click through rates as well as transaction conversion rates for its advertisements because they are targeted at users most likely to respond. Since advertisers are interested in traffic, Hulu can increase revenues by demonstrating to advertisers the number of users that can be targeted using these techniques and the subsequent increase in click through and conversion rates. 4) IT Security Plan for Hulu a) People * Management should make security a high priority and include it in Hulu’s business strategy * Train Hulu employees on the importance of security-keeping passwords confidential and not sharing passwords * Train employees on privacy policies b) Processes * Create security policies and procedures establishing mandatory minimum security standards * Standards should include provisions on customer privacy * Ensure all affiliate websites adhere to mandatory minimum security standards * Set procedures for security incidents * Review security policies annually to address new security threats to the online video industry c) Technology * Encrypt all customer data * Install antivirus software on all servers and computers and keep installations up to date * Have multi-site backup of data * Install monitoring software for servers and network * Incorporate systems logging to track access to Hulu’s IT infrastructure * Ensure firewalls are installed, enabled and have sufficient filters to protect from outside intrusion * Engage ‘Ethical Hacking’ vendors to audit systems annually in order to identify areas of vulnerability. References Andrew McAfee &Erik Brynjolfsson (July-August 2008). What Makes a competitive difference. Harvard Business Review, pg 100.

Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions in India Essay

The corporate sector all over the world is restructuring its operations through different types of consolidation strategies like mergers and acquisitions in order to face challenges posed by the new pattern of globalisation. The intensity of such operations is increasing with the de-regulation of various government policies as a facilitator of the neo-liberal economic regime. The intensity of cross-border operations recorded an unprecedented surge since the mid-1990s and the same trend continues. Earlier, foreign firms were satisfying their market expansion strategy through the setting up of wholly owned subsidiaries in overseas markets which has now become a ‘second best option since it involves much time and effort that may not suit to the changed global scenario, cross-border mergers and acquisitions became the ‘first-best option’ to the leaders and others depended on the follow-the-leader’ strategy. The Indian corporate sector too experienced such a boom in mergers and acquisitions that led restructuring strategies especially after liberalization, Four types of growth strategies adopted by the firms. Firms started with domestic production and began to export to the foreign markets, establishment of subsidiaries in overseas market was the next stage and as a fourth phase, firms started to acquire firms in foreign markets instead of establishing subsidiaries. The increasing magnitude of investment through cross-border mergers and acquisitions and its emergence as a major component of FDI even in the case of developing countries such as India, why firms are engaging in cross-border consolidations instead of establishing subsidiaries or to engage in export-oriented growth.

Advantages of Natural Gas Grill Brands

Advantages of Natural Gas Grill Brands Summertime would not be complete without at least one outdoor barbeque. Once upon a time, there was a very limited array of foods that you could cook on your grill Today, modern conveniences allow you to cook pretty much any type of food on your grill. The easiest grill to use is by far the natural gas grill. Natural gas grills are designed to hook directly into your home’s natural gas line, eliminating the need to provide the fuel source. This cuts out all trips to the grocery store for more charcoal or propane. Another advantage when using a natural gas grills is the ability to control the temperature in which you are cooking. Natural gas grills have burner controls which allow you to produce different temperatures for the different cooking areas on your grill. This allows you to cook your meat on one side while keeping your side dished warm on the other. Natural gas grills have the ability to come with many different types of cooking surfaces. These different cooking surfaces include a BBQ surface, a flat grill, and a ribbed grill. Some grills even offer these types of surfaces as none stick, which allow you to cook a whole array of foods that you would not be able to cook on a grill otherwise. Some gas grills even contain a Wok type surface for cooking pasta and rise dishes, or a full rotisserie set that allows you to cook rotisserie chicken. Natural gas grills are by far the easiest type of grill to clean. With other grills such as charcoal and smoker grills, you have to remove the wood and charcoal briquettes each time. Natural grills only have to be wiped down. Some natural gas grills even have a none stick feature. Natural gas grills are not portable as you will need to be able to hook them up to your natural gas line, so weight should not be that big of an issue when you go to purchase your first grill. Instead, you should look at the surface area available. Will you be able to cook for just yourself and one other? How about a family of 5? Natural Gas Grill Brands Broilmaster- One of the most popular brands of natural gas grills is the Broilmasters. This company has been around for a long time and prides itself on creating great grills, even in its companies early years. If you are looking for a reliable name, Broilmaster would be the way to go. One of the most popular Broilmaster grills is the Super Premium Series, which puts out 40,000 BTU’s of cooking power, and has a cooking surface area of over 695 square inches. Brinkman- These simple natural gas grills put out a lot of power, and can be purchased for much less then it’s competition. The Brinkmans, like the Broilmasters, are built of solid construction and meant to last a long time. Typical power output is around 45,000 BTU’s. Smaller units can range from 12,000 to 15,00 BTU’s. Lynx- Lynx natural gas grills were specially designed for cooking higher end meats such as steaks and ribs. This grill have a patent design that is suppose to lock in flavor and juices. The Lynx run on the higher end of the price range, anywhere from $500 to $3000. The typical cooking power is about 50,000 BTU and has a cooking surface area of 840 square inches.

Proposal finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal finance - Essay Example With further analysis indicating that the pecking order theory additional explanatory power as compared to trade off- or marketing theory, interest in the impact of financing and capital structure decisions on project and firm value needs discernment now than before. The recent financial crisis is an opportunity to study the impact of financial shock on capital structures. The relationship between capital structure and the value of firms remains an issue attracting considerable debate (Harrison & Widjaja, 2013). Historically, debate has focused on the relevance of optimum capitals structures to an individual firm’s value. However, recent findings show that firms should center on maximizing value through capital structures or financial leverage decisions considering their impact on the value of firms. This assertion forms the background of this study, which the researcher hopes will help companies forge a way forward in their capital structure decisions. The study will employ a descriptive and qualitative research method to investigate behavior occurring in this non-contrived situation. In contrast, a comprehensive literature review will aid in gathering information and summarizing literature on eventual yields. The research will also employ a structured questionnaire to collect data from company managers. The literature is meant to unearth information gaps on the research topic while the questionnaire will investigate current expectations of the industry. The sample defines the target population chosen for this study, picked through random sampling. The study will select ten capitalistic firms using a simple random sampling technique. The study will include managers as well as employees from the firms in the sample. The proposed sample size is 10 managers and 30 employees. Data analysis begins from the literature review and extends to the onset of the interviews. It then continues to its end. After data collection, the researcher will deduce

Social Media Marketing Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Media Marketing Plan - Term Paper Example The organization can achieve the goals by monitoring the stakeholders’ reactions towards the organization’s activities using their views on the social media. Other organization’s goals encompass validation of new products and services using the social media as a research base and generation of registrations to the organization’s events through the media. Given the organization’s marketing strategies, the activities that make sense include increasing awareness of the strengths of the company’s products and providing accurate information about the business. Other activities entail reacting to the consumers’ messages and questions within the shortest period. Additionally, an important activity entails aligning the media activities with the organization’s goals. This is achievable through the effective online status management. Social Media Status The company has successfully engaged in several social activities. Some of the activit ies entail responding to the customers’ questions and selling some products through the social media. These activities have been successful because customers’ views illustrate their level of satisfaction with responses. Additionally, the company has managed to sell several products online. Moreover, the company has been successful in attracting large numbers of clients. However, it has not been successful in increasing their engagement. The organization used some metrics to measure the success of the social media. The social media successes need to be identified by clear measurable goals. The organization has measured its goal of reaching many clients by using the total reach. By using this, the organization acknowledged the value added to the social space. The total reach was large. This implies that the organization was able to attract many clients. Additionally, the organization measured its success through the social customer relationship management (CRM) tool. Thi s, too, was helpful in showing the number of people using the organization’s social page and the level of engagement on the page. This measurement is vital in determining whether the organization’s value is increasing through its social strategy. The social CRM tool used is the Sprout Social, which combined the organization’s activities into a single activity. This enabled the organization to know if its strategy is moving towards the expected direction. Through this metric, the organization’s goal was partly achieved because it had managed to attract a large community. However, it had partly failed because the level of engagement was very low. Furthermore, the organization used the Conversation Share to determine the position of the organization in the social media as far as competition is concerned. This is done through measuring the amount of conversation about organization’s products in comparison with the number of conversations about the riva ls’ products. This metric showed that the organization was successful in acquiring a large market share, although not like some of its competitors. Consequently, the organization needs to upgrade its systems in order to reach very high levels of conversation share like its competitors (Lauby 1). Social Activities The first step of the social medi

Summery of the studies been done by 3 researchers (B.K. CAMPBELL, Outline

Summery of the studies been done by 3 researchers (B.K. CAMPBELL, HELEN PICTON and MC NEILY) on folliculogenesis in Female ewes - Outline Example Concentration of FSH decreased during follicular growth, while that of LH surged. FSH concentration increased on day 1 and a second batch of follicles with 5 mm diameter emerged. The researchers concluded that preovulatory follicles emerge from large follicle population supported by FSH generation. Building up on this research, Campbell and Baird (1998) examined the antral of follicle development of genetic variation in ovulation rates for different sheep breeds. Two strategies have evolved to help achieve high fertility, the Finnish Landrace and the Fec gene, and these suppress FSH. The research indicated an unidentified gene mutation that brings this effect. An interesting research by Campbell (et al. 2000) helped to develop cortical autograft procedures to restore fertility in aged sheep. The results indicate the FSH helps to modulate folliculogenesis, and it can be used for early follicle and oocyte development. Campbell and Baird (2001) undertook a research to evaluate the local actions, the origin and control of inhibin A in sheep. The research concluded that inhibin A acts as an FSH-responsive marker of granulosa cell differentiation, and that it performs paracrine and autocrine activities. In the same years, Campbell (et al. 2001) examined the role of Booroola gene, an autosomal mutation that influences the ovulation rate, and discovered that it leads to the growth of antral follicles that increases the ovulation rate in sheep. Campbell (et al. 2003) undertook further research on the FecB Booroola gene that acts at the ovary of sheep, and enhances the sensitivity of the ovaries to stimulation. Examining the FecB (Booroola) gene, Campbell (et al. 2009) presented a paper on the mechanism of action of the FecB mutation at a conference in Pune, India. In another research, Campbell (et al. 2007) examined the use of LH on growth of large preovulatory follicles and hormone secretion in Ewes. T he study indicated that LH is required

Libel law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Libel law - Essay Example ommon libel prompting charges is accusing someone of being a communist, describing a lady as a call girl, calling an attorney a criminal, and condemning a minister for immoral conduct (Amponsah 78). Also, other cases arise due to accusing a father of infringing the confidence of his son, calling a political foe a liar or thief and calling a television character a â€Å"chicken butt" and "local loser". The defenses used in lawsuits are the truth, privilege and fair comment. If a journalist reports something, then it is thought to be true (Lawhorne 98). Also, journalists have the privilege of reporting accurate proceedings. Finally, journalists have the right to fair comment. Hence, what is published is perceived as the truth. The New York Time Co. vs. Sullivan recognized that, for a public official to succeed, a declaration must be printed (Mason 53). In addition, the person who published the statement was aware it would cause havoc, but he or she still disregarded the truth. Some of the court rulings that have had a significant impact on libel law are the case of John Zenger vs. William Cosby (1735), Dow Jones vs. MMAR Group Inc. and Alex Konanykhin vs. Izvestia, the Russian newspaper. All these cases went in favor of the plaintiffs. It also goes to conclude that if a plaintiff has grounds with regards to what was published he or she stands to win in a court of

Industrial Hygiene Programs in Chemical Companies Research Paper

Industrial Hygiene Programs in Chemical Companies - Research Paper Example This concept is not something new to the world. Industrial hygiene has been at work since the olden labor days and has made a lot of impact on our history.    â€Å"In 1908, the public awareness of occupationally related diseases stimulated the passage of compensation acts for certain city employees. States passed the first workers' compensation laws in 1911. And in 1913, the New York Department of Labor and the Ohio Department of Health established the first state industrial hygiene programs. All states enacted such legislation by 1948. In most states, there is some compensation coverage for workers contracting occupational diseases.† (Informational Booklet on Industrial Hygiene, 1998) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is the leading developer of industrial hygiene all over the country. These people are the ones in charge of building up and then maintaining a set of health standards that shall be promoted to all relevant parties in the U.S. They are trained to anticipate, recognize, evaluate and recommend the environmental hazards that could affect the health and well-being of the people in a particular workplace. This concerns the control over toxic chemicals, harmful biological and physical agents that the employees get in contact with every day. Let us then look into what the industrial hygiene protects the workers from. To do this, we need to go through the basics. There are a number of chemical hazards that are present in a chemical company workstation namely: Irritants, Asphyxiants, CNS Agents, Specific Organ Agents, and Genetic Activity. Irritants come in the primary form (at the source of contact) and secondary form (travels through the blood to another area). Both forms can create damages to one’s eyes, skin and even the respiratory system.  

Should Veil Be Judgemental In Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Should Veil Be Judgemental In Islam - Essay Example It is a sacred fact that in Islam, Purdah is unnecessary for every woman approaching the age of puberty or who has already reached it. Many people and especially the non-Muslims sometimes tend to believe that Hijab is in a way restrictive or rigid and is aimed at keeping the women inferior to men. However, nothing could be far from the truth. Ignorance and misunderstanding happen to be the leading causes behind such beliefs. Purdah on the one side protects the women from exploitation from the strangers and on the other hand enjoins on the women the conditions of morality and purity (Guindi, 1999). Without in any way trying to dilute or disrespect the spirit of this great religion, with all due humility, it will also be true to conclude that many a women who may not adhere to purdah in the strict sense of the term, may still show respect for the innate morality and purity signified by the true intentions behind the cause of purdah. Many people believe that purdah and Hijab ought to be binding on women and any women who refutes the constraints of purdah and Hijab happens, not to be a believer in the true sense of the word. However, though such views do have relevance, it would not be wrong to say that Islam in no way tends to confine and limit the socio-economic status of women to the mere constraints of purdah and Hijab, and has multiple other women centric aims and ambitions, allowing for the full development of a female’s personality. Considering that nobody is perfect, there may not be a dearth of women who though not affiliating to purdah as interpreted by many, may be adhering to a range of Islamic values and morals. With the passage of time, as women are moving forward with the influx of globalization and the opening up of societies, there is no dearth of Muslim women who not only qualify to be called the career women and working mothers, but who also harbor a deep seated intention to inculcate Islamic values in their personal and professional life and identify themselves as practicing Muslims (Abdo, 2000). In fact, the spread of the modern education has opened up the minds of the contemporary Muslim men and women, and one particular thing about the modern Muslim women is that they are increasingly getting reconnected with Islam (Abdo, 2000). Yet, by the virtue of being modern Muslim women, these women also have a pragmatic need to be able to be mobile and practical in the wake of the demands being enjoined on them by their professions. Thereby, demoralizing such women by interpreting the requirements of purdah in a strict and conservative way will certainly not be an act of faith, especially more so when these women have an innate and deep seated respect and allegiance to the Islamic values and morality. For instance, there may be women who may don a veil in their public life, but, who may smoke, drink and dress in an unsuitable manner in their private life, when nobody is observing them. In contrast, there also may be women, who may wear a short scarf out of the need of being mobile and professionally effective, yet, who have the potential to be religious and follow the God’s will in all possible ways except for the scarf. In a practical context, Islam lays stress on the purity of an individual’

Environment assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environment assignment 2 - Essay Example This would greatly reduce the ability of many firms in Botswana to achieve their goals, ultimately leading to lower GDP and increased poverty. d) Western governments can integrate HIV/AIDS in funding proposals so that they the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) can use these monies to boost their internal efforts in combating the spread and negative impact of AIDS. In addition to this the developed world could sponsor building of capacity in health institutions through training health practitioners on modern ways of tackling pandemics, overcoming stigma and promotion of safe sex campaigns. Giving money alone to LDCs without the necessary human capacity to manage it well would be ineffective. Question 2 According to Kriebel et al. (2001) the precautionary principle consist of four central components: taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty; shifting the burden of proof to the proponents of an activity; exploring a wide range of alternatives to possibly harmful actions; and increasing public participation in decision making. With this in mind, we agree that should one wish to introduce a new chemical or a new industrial process, he or she must demonstrate that their change will not harm the environment before proceeding. For starters, as it is now evident to the world, the pace of efforts to combat problems such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and resource depletion is too slow and that environmental and health problems continue to grow more rapidly than society’s ability to identify and correct them. This therefore means that we cannot afford to compound these problems by allowing more untested products or processes to be started when we already have a backlog of issues to solve. Kriebel and Tickner (2001) concur with this argument when they state that the precautionary principle helps us to avoid creating new problems as we solve the existing ones. By shifting the burden of proof to proponents of an idea, the precautionary principl e prevents the proponents from hurriedly investing in technologies or techniques for a â€Å"quick buck†. Proponents are forced to think through all things that they may propose. This self-check mechanism is regulated from abuse by an increased stakeholder participation, which is advocated for by the precautionary principle. Question 3 In the most comprehensive, peer-reviewed and quantitative climate-health assessment to date, the World Health Organization (WHO) examined the global burden of disease already attributable to anthropogenic climate change up to the year 2000. The study found that this â€Å"global warming† could already be causing over 150,000 deaths and approximately five million ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (DALYs) per year through increasing incidences of diseases especially in developing countries (Patz, Campbell-Lendrum, Holloway, & Foley, 2005). This, however, does not imply that the developed states are risk-free. On the contrary, large increases in heat waves (more devastating than the 2003 Europe heatwaves) have been projected for the USA and European countries (Patz et al., 2005). On the other hand, global warming may not be all doom and gloom. According to â€Å"What Are the Benefits of Global Warming?,† (n.d.) global warming could increase the amount of land available by reducing the Polar Regions. This would lead to provision of more land for production of food crops, crops to be used for generating alternative fuels and land for living. Others argue that it would

Black Poems Essay Example for Free

Black Poems Essay In the past during apartheid being black meant you lost out in many privileges it also showed how black people where oppressed. In this poem we see that Mbongeni Khumalo uses the word black in connection to all the bad things. He highlights that there is this darkness associated with the colour black and that in the 1960’s when someone called you a black person it showed nothing good and that no one should be proud of being black. He also looks at all the words that start with â€Å"black† and if one looks deep into them then we see that there’s a deeper meaning to that particular word and that it has got something to do with wrong doing or bad happenings. The first line of the poem reads â€Å"you don’t need a BLACK-BELT to write blackpoems†, if one looks at this line and critique it then we see that he says that one doesn’t need a black belt to write black poem and the way it is written from the small letter at the beginning of the sentence to the to the black belt in a big font and black poems as one word this shows that as a black person no one really paid attention to the diction of the poem. â€Å"B/LACK† when one looks at this word and the way it has been written then you can interpret it as be lack, as if he’s trying to point out that when you are black you lack in something. He further one uses the word â€Å"prac-teasing† and instead of writing practising he uses the teasing showing that he was isolated for mocking black art but in his own right one can argue that he was not mocking it but just highlighting the points that were true and that there was a time when anything that was done by a black person was just done and not taken seriously, a black person could only go so far with their art. â€Å"Trampling my so(u)l/e/† the way he has chosen to break down the word soul in a way that one can say he is trampling the word himself and he also adds an â€Å"e† at the end which shows that he can do anything to this poem since it is a black poem. â€Å"Served sausages made from minced pork and call(ed) it BLACK PUDDING† one can say that it was called black pudding because in the black culture the only time that the families ever ate pudding which consisted of custard and fruit was during Christmas otherwise black people always feasted with meat he could also have been referring to himself as the black sheep because he did not eat meat and in that case being black and not eating meat meant that you were a different type of black person and therefore you were out casted and you were a black sheep. â€Å"I suffered a BLACK DEATH at the hands of a BLACK GUARD†, what the writer brings out in this line is how black people still killed each other regardless of the fact that they were all oppressed by the same people for the same reason. The guards were also said to be puppies for the oppressors so that the hit on them could be lighter and that they could spare them their lives. So it shows that black people were also turned against each other and killed each other just so that they can hold their own end. The language that he has chosen to use is simple but the was in which he has broken down his words and placed them in way that one could clearly see the point he is trying to make about black poems. As one carries on to read this poem you could say that this is not a black poem but a poem about black people. He uses a playful tone but at the same time the way he stresses some words to show his point and the double meanings behind them. He also used the words to show what was happening in that time to black people trying to pass on the torch of awareness so that people could stop being naive and actually know how things were done in that time. He attracts the reader by his title which is â€Å"BLAK POWEMS† which shows the way he wrote it as if he were a actually saying it in a Bantu accent, so he chose to write it the way he would say it because no one really paid close attention to the diction and the style of the way black poets wrote their poems because it always ended up being black people reading each others poems. The way this poem has been written it shows well that it is protest poem in such a sense as when one looks at the diction used in this poem and the style of writing that the poet has chosen to use. He plays with associations surrounding blackness to put his point across of how blackness is associated with bas things and in this case particularly back in the 1960’s during times of black oppression and apartheid. The tone of this poem is in a playful but honest manner, not harsh but it keeps one intrigued that there could be so many things associated with the colour black that represent a darker side of life and the poet does a good job of bringing them out and also highlighting them. This poem makes the reader see the problems that the past could add on to a simple phrase or word. The word black in this poem has been separated and put on a spectrum whereby we can all see the negatives that could and that are surrounding this one word in particular. The poet has also made us think of how history played out and he did this not by writing that in the 1960’s this is what happened but he used words that show or highlight the main events of the 60’s.

Imperialism In The Dominican Republic

Imperialism In The Dominican Republic Imperialism according to the definition of The Dictionary of Human Geography is the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.(Johnston: 375) Europe is often accordable for its interest in gaining economic fulfillment and development and doing so by seeking out countries with rich land and obtainable territory. The Dominican Republic was a victim to European imperialism because of its possession of rich farmland and beautiful coast that provided an outstanding selling and trading ground. Affluent in tobacco and sugar, countless oversea investors and financiers made their way to the Dominican Republic to get a piece of the profit and establish their own businesses, especially towards the eastern side of DR which was accountable for the surplus creation of sugar. As wealthy as this country was in its goods such as tobacco, sugar and coffee, the y were incapable of withstanding a secure, unwavering economy. During the Dominican Independence War in 1844, the Dominican Republic was given independence from Haiti. Before this war, the entire island of Hispaniola had been underneath Haitian ruling for over 20 years. Helping to first inspire and then lead the war was a young, talented, nationalist named Juan Pablo Duarte. Together with Matà ­as Ramà ³n Mella and Francisco Del Rosario Sà ¡nchez, he established a group of individuals in 1838, devoted to oppose the invasion of Haiti, called La Trinitaria (The Trinity). Despite efforts to stay under the radar, the group was soon discovered and renamed itself La Filantrà ³pica (literally The Philanthropic, in Spanish), and continued its silent fight against the Haitians. With the help of a liberal Haitian party, the revolt made a giant step forward by overthrowing President Jean Pierre Boyer. Unfortunately, the Trinitarios had called a bit of attention to them and were noticed by Boyers stand-in, Charles Riviere-Hà ©rard who banished Duarte off the island after imprisoning multiple members of the Trinitarios. Though the rebels begged him to return, he could not because of an illness but this did not stop them. By February of 1843, they had decided to take matter into their own hands and by February 27th, 1844 the Dominicans were celebrating their independence. Part 2 Once The House of Bourbon had replaced the House of Habsburg in Spain in 1700, economic reforms that were newly introduced had begun to restore trade in Santo Domingo. (Leonce: 264) The restrictions that had initially been placed between Spain and the colonies were loosened and relaxed by the crown. In 1737, the last flotas sailed; soon after, the monopoly port system was abolished. These changes encouraged a large boost in emigration from the Canary Islands, especially by the middle of the century. There was a jump in the resettlement of the northern part of the colony and tobacco plantation in the Cibao Valley, even the importation of slaves was renewed. All of this led to the increase of Santo Domingos population which grew from 6,000 to about 125,000 between the years of 1737 and 1790. In this new population count, about 40,000 were white landowners, around 25,000 were black or mulatto freedmen, and almost 60,000 were slaves. Unfortunately, next to their wealthy French neighborin g colony, Saint-Domingue, which would become the wealthiest in the New World and held a population of almost four and half times greater? The principal market for Santo Domingos beef, mahogany, tobacco and hides exports was offered by the colonial elites of St. Domingue when restrictions on regal trade was relaxed. During the Haitian Revolution 1791, many rich urban families that had been associated with the colonial bureaucracy left the island, while most rural farmers and cattle ranchers, hateros as they were known locally, stayed. Spain saw this as a chance to take control of the entire, or at least, some of the western third of the island as to seek a convenient alliance with the British and the unruly slaves. However, after the French and slaves reconciled, the Spanish were conquered by Jacobin General Toussaint Louverture and by 1795, France claimed control of the entire Island under the Treaties of Basel. In 1801, LOuverture declared the eradication of slavery, on behalf of the French Republic, Soon after this, Napoleon dispatched an army which took over the entire island, taking it over for a few months. In October 1802, Mulattos and blacks rose up against these French once again and were victorious in November 1803 and declared Saint-Domingue the independent republic of Haiti on January 1, 1804. Even after this defeat, a small French stronghold remained in Santo Domingo. They managed to reestablish slavery and numerous Spanish colonists returned. In 1805, after crowning himself Emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines invaded Santo Domingo but was forced to retreat when faced by a French naval squadron. In their retreat, the Haitians sacked the towns of Santiago and Moca, killing most of the people who lived there. Due to this act, there has been animosity between the two countries for two centuries. Before Dominican independence, there was a period of time called, The Haitian Occupation. There were several independence plots prior to this but they all failed and on November 30, 1821, when Josà © Nà ºÃƒ ±ez de Cà ¡ceres who was Santo Domingos past Lieutenant-Governor (which was top administrator), declared the colonys independence. Cà ¡ceres appealed that the new state gain admission to the republic of Gran Columbia, Simà ³n Bolà ­var, and though it passed and the Dominican Republic was now free from under Spains rule, in the February of 1822, led by Jean-Pierre Boyer, Haitian forces invaded nine weeks soon after. While the Haitians, had abolished slavery, much like how Toussaint Louverture had also done two decades previously, the Haitians had also nationalized most private property. This even include the property of landowners who fled in the beginning of the invasion; Church property; even property that belonged to previous rulers, the Spanish Crown. In attempt to boost profit, Boyer placed a large emphasis on cash crops rather than crops that were grown for consumption and had them grown on large plantations. He had the tax system reformed and allocated foreign trade. While it did increase the production and sales of sugar and coffee, Dominican farmers still strongly opposed this new system. Universities were shut down and lower levels of education also collapsed; the Haitian army was drafting many young Dominican men, especially from the ages of 16 to 25-years-old. These poor men were not even being treated in their camps properly, were heavily unpaid and had to forage and sack from local Dominical civilians. As much as they might have wanted to fight back and claim their freedom, they were without a leader and lacked the necessary guidance to revolt. Part 3 While it is true that the Dominican government has improved and made some substantial progress, according to the State Departments Country Report on Human Rights Practices focused on the year of 2004, human rights records are still fairly pitiable. Press reports on EFE News Service states that in 2004, there were 160 more people killed by the hands of police than there was in 2003. Sadly, not only is the use of physical abuse and torture continuing but even the conditions of prisons have ranged from poor to harsh when the fact is that there are overcrowded prison stations that are being made to held only 9,000 inmates are instead holding over 13,000. These horrid conditions only make a bad situation worse and the tension and the discomfort caused by being so close can only make angry people angrier. A result of 26 injuries and 133 deaths was the product of a fire that rival gangs set to show their discontent with their present situation in The Higà ¼ey jail, which was built in 1960 to house 80 inmates, but according to the director of prisons, Juan Ramà ³n de la Cruz Martà ­nez, it had a population of 426 on the morning of the fire.(NYT: There is also a social problem of human trafficking in the Dominican Republic. There is an approximated 50,000 women from the Dominican Republic apart of the overseas sex industry. After Thailand, Brazil and the Philippines, this is the fourth largest number in the world. Countless women from the Dominican Republic are trafficked to Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria. In fact, almost 10% of the 500 to 600 visas issued every year from the Netherlands to the Dominican nationals are for prostitution. There is a vicious cycle of women in the sex industry and the average age of women entering the sex industry from the Dominican Republic is between 24 and 28 years old. On average, these women have only completed primary school. When asked, most Dominican prostitutes give two main motivations for being in the sex industry; those who have children say it allows them to provide for their children. Then there are those without children who proclaim that they are doing it to buy a piece of land or a house for their parents. Most of the trafficked women also reported that their husband, father or boyfriend did not know exactly what kind of job they would be performed overseas, but did not ask; usually the husband, father or boyfriend received the money fro m the women abroad. Some of the women who returned to the Dominican Republic had been deported by the police while others were able to escape from the traffickers with the help of friends. Still many women are trapped and have no financial means of returning home, because they have no savings and are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Most of the trafficked women said that if they had known what they were actually getting into, they would have never went. It is only an undersized amount of the women that are actually able to hoard away money to bring back home with them, with amounts that range from US$300 to US$10 and this is after roughly one year in the sex industry. Some women are welcomed home when they return because they sent money from overseas and their new jewelry and clothes, or their familys new or improved house is an incentive for other young women to go into the sex industry. Part 4 A well-known commanding officer in the army, Rafael L. Trujillo, established supreme political control in 1930 and though he encouraged, economic growth and development for the country, only he and his supporters actually benefitted from it and it worked more to severely repress the domestic rights of civilians. Dishonesty and negligence to important details led to corruption and major economic tribulations. The Organization of American States took control of the situation and implemented political endorsements against the Dominican Republic as a consequence of Trujillos involvement in an endeavor to eliminate President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela in the August of 1960. Within the borders of the Dominican Republic are about one million Dominicans and Dominican-Haitians whose treatment is the cause for the international criticism the Dominican Government has been receiving in the last few years. With influence from and similarity to the way Rafael Trujillo, benefitted from the work of others, the Dominican government continues to under-work undocumented, migrating Haitians and accept cheap labor. More than 90% of the countrys seasonal sugar workers and two thirds of its coffee workers are Haitians or Dominicans of Haitian origin. (Ribando: 3) The Directorate of Migration forced the deportation of more than 12,000 Haitians (including children) in 2002, in the Dominican Republic. According to President Fernandez and many other Dominican officials, the deletion of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in early 2004 has caused the increase of the amount of illegal migrants that were heading to D.R. which then caused an even larger strain on the already strained Dominican economy Part 5 Since independence in 1844, the United States has greatly influenced the Dominican Republics political standing in military. In the early 1900s, the U.S. sent their troops out into several nations and in an attempt to restore the initial civil order, entered such places as Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and namely, the Dominican Republic. According to representatives of the United States at the time, they needed to take control of the finances in these nations so help prevent the possibility of uproar or chaos caused by money. The Dominican Republic is actually known for having the second largest economical standing in the Caribbean and Central American region. While previously known mostly for their sugar production, their bountiful economic growth is subjugated largely to services such as their telecommunication system. After the assassination of tyrant, Trujillo, as a result of the fear felt by the possibility of reprisal by Trujillos allies, one of the three later 20th century emigration waves began in 1961. In effort to end the civil war in 1965, the United States began a stronger military activity in the Dominican Republic. Due to this movement, travel restrictions were slackened which made obtaining a United States visa, which was once a reasonably difficult job, much easier. In the year 1966 to the year 1978, the emigrations continued which were stimulated by high rates of unemployment and political subjugation. Succeeding arrivals of immigrants to the United States were introduced and welcomed in the country by previous immigrants to the nation who had joined together and formulated a group. In the early 20th century, prices, the value of a dollar and the rate of unemployment all increased and supplied the third wave of emigration which continues to hang pretty high in the Dominic Republic to this very day.

Relationship Between Medication and Fatigue

Relationship Between Medication and Fatigue Title:-> Fatigue as a bringing factor conducting to medication problems a midst. New graduate registered nurses in a intensive care unit in Sydney western area health service (SWAHS) Aim:-> The goal of study was to analyse and to get deep awareness into the factors affecting medication short coming relies on nurses ability and their thinking of medication problem. Methodology:-> In this section, the researcher will classify and confer the research delineate will be assigned to conduct the study loading to result capability of being measured will be utilized to conduct the study. According to jiroiwong pepper (2011) quantitative research indicates to the scientific and business like check out method of main episode by means of assembling quantifiable knowledge and data to accomplish a research error. The researcher will collect facts relating the connection between fatigue and medication problem for innominate valid nurses as a sample of this study in a form of examine and questionnaire. In quantitative research design class, this study will distinctively assign non experimental approach since the study relevantly accords with its symptomatic that has no idea of operating the fickle relationship between variables. In the words of jiroiwong and pepper (2011) the suitability of non-experimental research object relies on the nature of postulate, If rules are met. Predicament contain theory assaulting to recognize non-accidental statistical relationship between capricious and theory is relating formal relationship yet, it does not allow liberated fickle to be operated. They are many forms of research delineate under non-experimental way that contains inter-relation study draf in peculiar. This draf is more in use when the researcher wants to measure assess and examine relationship or differences between liberated fickle and aligned fickle. Leading to examine, the main aim of study is to recognize and confer the relationship between fatigue and medication problems, where in fatigue and medication problems are two variables of topic of eagerness without controlling fatigue among annalised nurses. Study design:-> Examine draf is described as the methodology utilized in the study that serves a director for the researcher to answer the examine question. This examine’s aim as outlined in Part A, wants to approve best meet and research draf will be detailed phenomenology or the husserlian phenomenology. The object of detailed phenomenology is to animate other’s thinking of lived evidence while accenting the richness, meaning and deepness of experience. A part from this, Schneider et al. 2003 described that by phenomenology meet, values and belief of nurses can be showed and question that are mandatory to nursing can be researched. By examining the nurses we also take data to recognize the forms that conduct in medication supervisional errors. As a result the draf is suitable for the study to examine and describe as trusty as possible, the live experience and thinking of current nurses, who have under the training. Study population and sample:-> In suitable sampling plan is qualitative study is wide to foundation and maintain believability (Honser,2008) samples, also called as informants or partakers are selected particularly for their ability to answer the examine question rather than correspond an overall population (Honser,2008; tuckett,2004) sampling in qualitative examine is usually small and bull’s eye is more about deep or detail of data (tuckett,2004). This study proffer for a sample size of ten to give more accent to validity and asperity of our searchings. The study proposal is to get samples by object is essential and usefulness sampling. Objective samples are those who are chosen based on the set of blurred conon and easy samples are the most availability sample at had (Borbasi, Jackson Langford, 2004) target sample are nurses who have talented MAE. Participants will be pulled from the hospitals of Sydney west area health services. Samples will be approaching from the absolute wards in analysis to the high examples of medication investigations in these canny settings. In a study managed by Tang shev 44, wei Chen (2007) medical wards and all out care units are problems facing places in hospitals. Terrence James Aquino:-> Insertion plans are also used to limit the capable selection biootny by objectively recognizing who can be acknowledged to be while informer accidental planning are those who are not appropriate for the study (houser,2008). Incorporation criteria:-> Both genders registered nurses and nurses have talented MAE. All race and Regular staff or easy access Nurse working for 1 year and above in canny wards of SWAHS Exclusion criteria:-> NUMs Clinical nurse trainer Enrolled nurses who are not clinical endorsed Learner EN’s Recruitment and Retention Strategies:-> The process starts by representing this examine plan to the SWAHS and hospital organization. The object of this to get support and superscription in order to manage this study within the hospital grounds. A letter will be sent which describes the programme, its objective and necessity to the nursing industry. It will also contain the appeal to use hospital dexterity to use hospital ease for interview. With the assurance of conduct support to this study. We apprehend a smooth enlist process and high keeping rate. This will also decrease nurses disquiet relating the bad effect of involving the study. Upon acceptance by SWAHS, mobilization statement describing the nature and aim of study will be sent on the bulletin boards of each target wards. This contains the researcher’s contact numbers to call for those who are keen to participate. We will also point bunged box on the nurses stations for the interested nurses to give their name and contacts in detail. Some, who do not get sufficient associates, we strategy to mobilization period. For keeping of function, contributors will be hearten that only the examiners can avenue recognizing information for confidentiality. Greater impression will be given on description of aim of the study to recruit the compititors to stay! Examine or interview time and place will be pre-planned to nurses comfortability. Data collection:-> The examiners will be the tool for data collection. Because of the secretness of all information. The interviening transcription and data consideration will be managed the examiners. Data entry operator will be employed one time all recognizing knowledge is vanished from the information. The researcher will be organizing recorded interview which according to Roberts and taylor(2002) are the best way to bring it together for philosophy. To reduce the danger of losing data incase of failure of body parts, the recording will be investigated as well as support batternes, tapes and recorder before starting of interview. The interview may be organized in a secret room of local library or within the hospital staff away from the nurses wards to obey the secretness minimize the apprehension. The participants will be given the permission to chose the convenient place, date and time will be planned by them. The students who will be consulted for the interview to judge their participation, describe the nature of the study, give an overview of described consent and give them to acknowledged the study proposal. Each examine/interview will be conducted for one hour and will be increased for half an hour if required. The examiner will take note of the interviewer’s behave and the face expression as well as the body language during the interview. The strategy of data collection is self and not organized in detail so the interviewer can explain the ability in deep and detail. This method utilizes open-ended quest to encourage the participants to describe about their stories and relevant their experience in deep and impressive way. Interview will begin with a long question such as to describe your experience related to medication administration problem. Other question will be conducted relevant on the responses to the first question. Data continues until the examiner accept douse has been accomplished. Gibbs suggests that it is suitable to belay gathering data when it has become duplicacy and no issue are emerging. Data analysis:-> Data estimate is mandatory to abet the researcher together useful information and may also utilized for differenciate all the achieved information, whether it is numerical data of lined experience to further attached to a result. The purpose of the study to recognize relationship between two capricious which fatigue and medication. As a result, the researcher will make use of alternation statistic in order to estimate the data. Person’s will be used to indulge the relationship of independent and independent Flexibility of topic of interest. This correspondence measure is blossomed to conclude whether there is a unsuccess relationship between capricious. The value of the consequence is be token between -1 and +1 which announces the compass of linear relationship b/w two fickle. When value shows -1 this reveals correct negative correlation. While a +1 value shows perfect positive correlation. The result of zero contribute no relationship. Person’s v value be declared as lean linear relationship if value r ranges from .3 to .5 and lastly, if the value r ranges over .5 then the variable shows strong relationship. The information gathered from both methods of IIMS and questionnaire are entered into a computer and arranged to search out the periodicity of the problem. Study conduct and riguor:-> a quantitative research draf must ensure that tool is certain and acceptable certainity and conclusively are two methods to admit quality of the instrument. First main criterion of tools approachment is dependability. The believability of qualitative examine is relies on the comprise of responses collected over time and by asking different question about the same topic to certify the agreement of the information. Believeability of data collection was agreed in this study as only one researcher organized the interview. This study will use test-relate reliability to judge that to measure not alter at two different times. This responsibility test is commonly utilized with physical and technological measures, pencil and paper scale. It is completed through organizing two same measures but in separate time and compares both scores. Afterwards collection of scores will impartially undergo a reliability analysis or a so called analysis coefficient is a tool to quantitatively confer the eminence of a relationship through 0.00 which is not related to + 1.00 which means there is absolute relationship. It reveals durability when the value of coeffi cient is high. After all, if the consequence of two tests has altered value then accidental problems arise. This catch up is suitable as this is applicable only to quantative examine since it gets quantifiable information and the study is about recognizing relationship. Apart from this, the data collection to be utilized is paper scale and pencil that particularly applies to questionnaire in a likert scale format. Cogency is the second major gange of tool. This conclude that the tool alloments what it is assume to extent. To allowance cogency of study, the researcher will engage statistical conclusion validity. Reliability of data was abolished by selecting catch up. Participants to read through their manuscript and to check that the data had fluently and minutely catch their experience. Besides, two other researchers individually coded segments of some manuscript to accord the classification recognized by the interviewer. Ethical issue/consideration of data collection:-> this research section will confer application of conscientious rules and regulations that will be utilized in this study. Three uprights rules will cover during data collection to defend the affection of the participants; namely: informed consent right to intimately and innominateness and secrecy. Informed consent will be deliberated in data collection. It is a consent form that is written in chronicle form that must be given to anticipated sample. This accede is based on the rules of self-determination elucidating all the same information related the study where in the subject respondent may cogitate whether to participate or not in research study without any energy, cheating and any other form of bullying. In addition the description of danger and facility in participating in this study will also be included in a informed consent. Other correct rules that will be applicable in this study is secrecy. It will be differenciate by conferring to respondants that personal recognisation will be kept secret and will not be publicly divulged. The result will only utilized for the purpose of the study not to open any personal information. In application of namelessness, the researcher divides questionnaire that contains some confidentiality such as name and age. Secrecy will be also c laim in this study. Privacy is about their freedom to choose when to share all the knowledge and same information of their evidence. It will be displayed by giving permission the respondent to choose relating the time of their presence to answer the questionnaire. Timeline :-> In order to established the study the researcher must manage a timeframe in a system to organize the study. Gantt chart will be used show the process of study containing the decided starting and ending data. This study will be organized for near about 3 months Which contains sampling selection, data collection and researches, exploratory and final report.

Hablando de Inteligencia Exitosa (aprendizaje) :: essays research papers

Hablando de Inteligencia Exitosa by Dumar Là ³pez CONTORNO Tesis: La base del aprendizaje, se encuentra en la confrontacià ³n que se realice entre los conceptos propios y los ajenos, sustentados en fuentes verà ­dicas que proporcionen una informacià ³n exacta. Sin embargo, para el à ©xito se hace necesaria la correcta transicià ³n entre informacià ³n y conocimiento, que se logra dando significado propio a la primera. I. Trabajo en grupo #1: Ideas propias, no siempre la mejor opcià ³n 1) Descripcià ³n: a) Sin bases sà ³lidas. b) Auto didactismo. 2) à mbito cognoscitivo a) Aproximacià ³n al salà ³n de clase. II. Trabajo en grupo #2: Experiencia, distracciones y proposiciones 1) Descripcià ³n: a) Puntos de comportamiento. 2) à mbito cognoscitivo a) Los profesores como facilitadotes. b) Conformar conocimiento. III. Trabajo en grupo #3: El papel de las tecnologà ­as de la informacià ³n 1) Descripcià ³n: a) Útiles para la educacià ³n. b) En constante desarrollo. 2) à mbito cognoscitivo a) Mà ºltiples funciones del hipertexto y el chat. IV. Caracterà ­sticas del à ©xito: 1) Descripcià ³n: a) Confianza en sà ­ mismo. b) Parte de la inteligencia. 2) à mbito cognoscitivo a) Mentes creativas y prà ¡cticas. Hablando De Inteligencia Exitosa La base del aprendizaje se encuentra en la confrontacià ³n que se realice entre los conceptos propios y los ajenos, sustentados en fuentes verà ­dicas que proporcionen una informacià ³n exacta. Sin embargo, para el à ©xito se hace necesaria la correcta transicià ³n entre informacià ³n y conocimiento, que se logra dando significado propio a la primera. Primeramente, basado en experiencias propias afirmo que el trabajar solo y sin colaboracià ³n o pensamientos diferentes provoca el encasillamiento en ideas y conceptos en la mayorà ­a de las ocasiones errà ³neos. En este caso, no existe correccià ³n por alguien talvez mà ¡s experimentado o sapiente del tema a tratar. Personalmente, la aficià ³n por los computadores sà ­ funciona en estas ocasiones con las facilidades del hipertexto y el Chat permitiendo variados contrastes con ideas diferentes. Segundo, como afirman algunos autores tales como Klausmeier (1915), Vygotsky (1978), y Piaget (1950), el trabajar en un ambiente solitario aunque es efectivo para evitar distracciones, no es lo mejor para generar conocimiento. Por lo tanto, en determinadas situaciones estudiando solitariamente no se logra encadenar y dar un significado correcto a la informacià ³n. Finalmente, la palabra à ©xito siendo tan extensa no puede conformarse de una sola letra, sino del conjunto coherente de estas ademà ¡s de una tilde que genera su correcta pronunciacià ³n, a la tilde le proporcionamos el papel de la experiencia y a las demà ¡s letras, conceptos propios y ajenos. Asimismo, significa el porquà © de conformar la unidad (significado) a travà ©s del agrupamiento de algunas partes (conceptos). Para concluir, al compilar algunos conceptos junto a informacià ³n proporcionada por fuentes experimentadas con ideas propias se genera un texto coherente y no teà ³rico, demostrando lo que segà ºn Robert Sternberg (1997) serà ­a el producto de una â€Å"inteligencia prà ¡ctica y creativa† determinante del à ©xito.

Womens Rights :: Womens Rights Movement

Women had it difficult in the mid-1800s to early 1900s. There was a difference in the treatment of men and women then. Married women had few rights in the eyes of the law. Women were not even allowed to vote until August 1920. They were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law. There were no chances of women getting an education then because no college or university would accept a female with only a few exceptions. Women were not allowed to participate in the affairs of the church. They thought they were totally dependent on men. Then the first Women's Rights Convention was held on July nineteenth and twentieth in 1848. The convention was assembled as planned, and over the two days of discussion, the Declaration of Sentiments and twelve resolutions received agreement and endorsement, one by one, with a few amendments. The only resolution that did not pass unanimously was the call for women's authorization. The thought that women should be allowed to vote in elections was impossible to some. At the convention, debate over the woman's vote was the main concern. Women's Rights Conventions were held on a regular basis from 1850 until the start of the Civil War. Some drew such large crowds that people had to be turned away for lack of meeting space. The women's rights movement of the late nineteenth century went on to address the wide range of issues spelled out at the Seneca Falls Convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and women like Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth, who were pioneer theorists, traveled the country lecturing and organizing for the next forty years. Winning the right to vote was the key issue, since the vote would provide the means to accomplish the other amendments. The campaign for woman's right to vote ran across so much continuous opposition that it took 72 years for the women and their male supporters to win. They finally received the right to vote in 1920. There were some very important women involved in the Women's Right Movement. Esther Morris, who was the first woman to hold a judicial position and who led the first successful state campaign for woman's right to vote in 1869. Abigail Scott Duniway was the leader of the successful fight in the early 1900s.

Essay --

The Brain Pacemaker: A New Hope For Seizure Patients Molly M. Manley Schoolcraft College The Brain Pacemaker: A New Hope For Seizure Patients Times have certainly changed with the progression of technology and health care; more specifically, with the advances in care for patients who suffer from epilepsy. â€Å"An epileptic seizure is a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms resulting from abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. This activity results in an alteration in motor activity, sensation, behavior or consciousness† (Solomon, 2012). Over the years, medications have been discovered to help minimize the amount of seizures and/or the intensity of seizures in patients of all age ranges; but not all medications are effective because of the variance in each person’s genetic make-up. Although, when medication fails, and the seizures don’t stop, that’s when a California-based company, NeuroPace, rewrites the present and future of patients with epilepsy. NeuroPace is responsible for the creation of the Responsive Neurotransmitter System (RNS); which d...

Why Our Company Should Adopt a Direct Marketing System

Our company, Duetsche computers, has been using retail marketing since its inception in 1985. We want to thank you all the retailers for the commitment you have shown to our company for all that time, to make it a leading supplier of computers and accessories. As you all know, the global market is changing very fast and for us to keep up with our competitors, we need to make several changes. We began by changing our technology and installed more efficient production machine. However, this has not helped to keep us ahead of our competitors. There are so many companies that are eating slowly into our market segment. This is why the company commissioned a research on our marketing strategy, comparing it with the global trend and we have found that we need to change it. From the result that we gathered in our research, most companies have preferred direct marketing as compared to retail marketing. It has come to our realization that we need to know our business well since we know our competitors. Direct marketing is the answer to modern marketing. It is not that we want to sideline our retailers who have supported us for all that time but it’s because we have to answer to the market needs. Marketing is becoming more direct, highly focused and interactive. Direct marketing is more personalized and aimed at individual markets rather than to the mass i.e. aimed at micro markets, who are the customers. According to Andrew R. et al. (2006), direct marketing remains the most effective channel for providing customers with personalized marketing that they prefer. We have found retail marketing very costly to us, and in the end we have been passing that cost to the consumers. This cost is increased by the inventory cost and ware housing cost. We have not been fixing prices for our electronic products and most of you have been selling at different prices. This has placed us at a disadvantage since competing companies sell their products at a uniform price throughout the country. We have also found that, most companies are making the product to consumer specification and that is the direction we want to take. We want to start making customized items as per the customer specification.   We have found it necessary to adopt a production model bases on the model of ‘Just-in-time, build-to-order’ as put forward by James Fulkerson (2003) of Dell Company – United States. This will help us to include new technology to orders placed by the customers. However, we are not to get into marketing alone. We want you to partner with us. We want you to move from you shops and establish a web-based shop. In turn we are going to establish a highly efficient sales team in our marketing department. You shall do the advertising of the product and then customers shall make orders to you. However we shall also partner in advertisement but for us at the company level and you at the distributor level.   The customers shall place order to you and you shall forward your order to the company with the required specification.   We can guarantee to you that, your orders shall be ready with the first five days of placing. The customer should have the orders delivered within the first 7 to 10 days. You shall be paid 8% commission for every delivery you make. This is surely a better method of improving our company sales and in advance your business sales. However it needs all of us to start working serious to maintain the market segment that we have acquired and that is a sure way to move about it. References Andrew, R., Dale, M., William, J. and Lind, T. (2006). Direct marketing in action: Cutting edge strategies. Fulkerson, J. (2003). Hewlett-Packard Saves U.S. $1.27 Million by Streamlining Online Sales Guide Production on 9th November 2007. Woodgrange Technologies Ltd. (2005). Businesses case study. Retrieved from, http://www.business2000.ie/cases/cases_8th/case1.htm   on 9th November, 2007.      

Early learning studies Essay

In the first five years of life, a child has gone through rapid development in physical, cognitive, and social/emotional characteristics. Around the time these children start kindergarten, their growth has slowed down. However, it is still vital for the kindergarten teacher to know how their students have developed and what they can do to further develop their students as a whole. According to â€Å"Educating Children in Nursery Schools and Kindergartens† by Lillian L. Gore, by the age of 5 children are learning how to relate to others in a positive manner. This skill forms the basis of all human relations (16). In general, kindergarten-aged children are beginning to develop their own self image and their likes and interests through sensory and other experiences (Gore 16). To a kindergarten-aged child, the world is big and mysterious. The combination of physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development allow these children to explore and begin imposing basic order and control over their environments (Gore 16). Overall, these experiences allow children to understand and appreciate the world around them. When the teacher looks at the overall development of their kindergarten students, the physical, cognitive, and social/emotional aspects are relatively similar across each child. That is to say that each child experiences relatively the same development in all three areas. Physically, a kindergartener has two distinct developmental characteristics. #1 is the individual characteristics such as rate of growth, body build, and eye color (Gore 17). The teacher should respect each child’s unique characteristics and teach others to respect them as well. #2 is each kindergartener has a wide output of energy (Gore 17). A kindergarten teacher should expect their students to be fully active one day and inactive the next. Similarly, the activities the children participate in receive different levels of energy from day to day (Gore 17). Cognitive development in kindergarten in vital for a child to understand and experience all that school and the world have to offer. In Gore’s book, she notes two important cognitive developments that a kindergarten child experiences. #1 is the development of hand-eye coordination (Gore 17). At this stage, children are developing awareness for everything that needs both hands and eyes in order to function properly. As the teacher, you should be aware of the students and their surroundings. Particularly on the playground, the teacher should know the students inability to judge speeds and distances properly (Gore 17). To aid in the development of proper hand-eye coordination, the teacher should incorporate hand-eye coordination lessons and activities into the daily schedule. The second important cognitive development in kindergarteners is that they want to grow and learn (Gore 19). Kindergarten is a stepping stone into what school will be like for the rest of their lives, and the fact that each student wants to grow and learn makes the teacher’s job easier because the students are intrinsically motivated. To further their enjoyment of learning it is important for the teacher to provide conditions for each student to explore, discover, and feed their sense of wonder at their own pace (Gore 19). Teachers should also allow students to think and solve problems at their own pace as well (Gore 19). By letting each student work at his or her own pace, the student feeds their desire to grow and learn and also learns that they are capable of many things. One of the most important developments that kindergarten children make is social and emotional developments. Both these developments aid children in forming friendships, relationships and emotional maturity as their lives continue. Two social developments are highlighted in Gore’s book. #1 is that children will fluctuate their patterns of social growth and they may regress at times (Gore18). This is a natural process that children go through and navigating it can be tricky. As a teacher, we should encourage children to proceed in and out of groups at will (Gore 18). This will allow children to experience many different people and form many friendships. As teachers we should also encourage students to relate an experience with one group of students to experiences with another group (Gore 18). This will allow each student to mentally process each experience and decide which experiences they prefer to have, which in turn leads to them having friends of similar beliefs and interests. Above all, kindergarten children learn how to cooperate with others when they choose which group of students to associate with. The second social characteristic that kindergarten children develop is their preference of children of the same sex as playmates and friends (Gore 18). As a teacher we should support this development and help each child learn appropriate sex role with their peers. In addition, kindergarten teachers should also encourage children of the opposite sex to interact. When it comes to emotional characteristics of development, the #1 characteristic is that children in kindergarten are learning how to accept and give affection (Gore 18). This developmental characteristic is vitally important because if children do not learn how to give and accept affection, then all their relationships with others will be short-lived. We as teachers can help foster this important characteristic by providing warm relationships for emotional growth in the classroom and individually with your students (Gore 18). In addition to the developmental characteristics, a kindergarten teacher must also be aware of how they arrange their classroom. Utilizing space and organizing the classroom to best suit the needs of the students allows each kindergartener to maximize their use of the classroom. In Doris Fromberg’s book â€Å"The Full-day Kindergarten†, it is important to know both the teacher’s and the student’s views on four elements relating to classroom organization. Those four elements are; â€Å"Choice: what the students will be doing. Space: where the students will be engaged. Pacing: when the students will be participating. Social Activity: how and with whom the students will interact† (Fromberg 62). These elements are also applicable to what the students are doing in a kindergarten classroom and what activities they participate in. By understanding when and where to implement these four elements, the classroom experience will be enhanced for all the kindergarten students. In a kindergarten classroom, the students are capable of making choices that are relevant to the school-day procedure (Fromberg 62). When a kindergarten student, or any other person, chooses what to do, their attention is higher to that activity than if they had not chosen. However, this is not to say that kindergarten students enter into an â€Å"anything goes† classroom (Fromberg 62). The teacher has preselected and screened everything that is already in the classroom to ensure that it is safe and educationally-sound. The teacher also screens the materials that students bring from home on the same criteria (Fromberg 62). By ensuring that all materials in the classroom are on the same level and that the children decide what they want to do, they will establish a routine of making independent choices knowing that what they choose will spark their interests and be educationally appropriate. The space and organization of the classroom is an important concept to consider when in a kindergarten classroom. Kindergarten students enjoy moving around and being independent, but also need a sense of stability and security. How the classroom space is organized reflects four characteristics about the teacher and the classroom in general: 1) How independent the students are expected to be. 2) How responsible the students are expected to be. 3) Relays what activities are valued in the classroom. 4) How students will spend their time in the classroom (Fromberg 64). When organizing the classroom, it is important to keep materials where they will be used and in limited-use sections. By creating a section of the room only for writing, or art, or reading, children will be more focused on that activity or feel part of a small group (Fromberg 64). Limited-use sections also help the students answer the question, â€Å"What will I do next? † (Fromberg 64) For example, a child that is finished at the writing center will know that there is nothing more they can accomplish at this center; they decide that they want to work on their art project and move to the appropriate section. By utilizing limited-use sections, the students are minimizing procrastination and are maximizing their ability to select their own choices. By using these elements, Fromberg describes a properly organized kindergarten classroom. In a kindergarten classroom, all materials are stored where they will be used; books are in the reading areas, writing supplies are in the writing area, and art supplies are in the art area. The students work in the areas where the materials are stored. This not only keeps them focused on their tasks, but also eliminates the possibility of misplacing materials. These active work areas should be located away from student desks or other areas where students are meant to concentrate and reflect (Fromberg 64). In addition, the teacher should always organize their classroom where they and the students are visible to each other at all times. This not only allows the teacher to monitor behavior, but it also allow students to see what model behavior looks like. In addition to the organization of the room, there also needs to be proper time management as well. Proper time management can help reduce the issues that arise in those students who have ADHD or other unpredictable behavior patterns (Fromberg 66). In a full day kindergarten classroom, it is beneficial to have a whole-class planning session in the morning and afternoon, with a small gathering before lunch or around 11:00 AM according to Fromberg (66). Kindergarten instructors have found it helpful to provide at least two long activity blocks of 30 minutes or more each day (Fromberg 66). In this time, the students will be engaging with the different sections of the room; art, writing, reading, etc. at their own choice and pace. From having this time to select which activity to do and how long to do it for, the students are inspired to make long-range plans and increase their sense of control over their environment (Fromberg 66). Within the kindergarten environment, the lessons and activities should emphasize academic content but also personal relationships and social behaviors. While kindergarten does prepare students to â€Å"do school† and everything that comes with it, I believe that lessons and activities that stress proper relationship techniques and social behaviors are just as important. For example, kindergarteners may not realize what they say sometimes and although they find nothing wrong with it, the teacher or others students will. Having several lessons on how to talk to other students in a nice and polite way will not only benefit the students in class, but they can take that knowledge and apply it to other situations as well, such as talking to adults. Lessons that demonstrate proper social behaviors and etiquette will also benefit kindergarteners. For example, how to stay quiet and listen while another person is talking or how to solve conflicts in a respectful manner will again not only benefit the students in the classroom, but also prepare them for the world as they grow older. Finally, classroom management is very important in a kindergarten class. A teacher could have a perfectly organized room and excellent lessons, but if they cannot manage their students they will never get a chance to utilize their room or lessons. Firstly, the kindergarten teacher should make a set of class rules for the school year. In addition to their professional opinion, the teacher should ask the students themselves what rules should be followed during the school year. This serves two purposes: 1. it reinforces the element that children are capable of making relevant choices pertaining to school and 2. It allows the students to feel that they have a say in how the classroom is to be run. By having this sense of control, the students are more likely to follow the rules and provide less argument when disruptions arise. Secondly, student behavior accountability should be established. In her article â€Å"Classroom Management†, Jody Camp describes her accountability system. She has four circles displayed in her room, each a different color and face. All the students have a clothes pin with their name on it. Every morning each student starts on the green smiley face. If a student breaks one classroom rule, they move their clothes pin to the yellow face. The yellow face is a warning for the student to start acting correctly. In addition to that, the student loses 5 minutes of recess. If the student breaks another rule, they move to the red face, which means the student needs to stop and think about what they are doing. The student also misses an entire recess. The last face in Jody Camp’s management system is the blue sad face. This means that the student needs to go to the principal’s office (Classroom Management). By implementing these or similar classroom management techniques, any teacher will be successful and be able to focus the majority of their time on educating the minds of America. As a student moves through elementary school and into middle school many changes occur so fast that they may, to the frustration of teachers and parents, act like kindergarteners once more. However, it is important to realize and understand the developmental characteristics of middle school students so they still have a positive educational experience. Similar to kindergarten students, middle school students have their own unique set of physical, cognitive, and social/emotional characteristics. Physically, middle school students are in transition between their childhood bodies and their adult bodies. This leads to three main physical characteristics. Susan Robinson, Guidance Counselor at Southern Columbia School District in Catawissa, PA, nicely lays out physical characteristics of middle school students (5th-8th grade) on her webpage. The first physical characteristic is large muscle development (5th Grade Characteristics). In boys, this means that their arm and leg muscles are becoming more defined, as well as their abdomens. In girls, muscle development leads to growth spurts and gaining weight. The second physical characteristic is the desire to be outdoors and physically challenged (5th Grade Characteristics). It is at this time that both boys and girls become very interested in sports and physical activity. This characteristic can also lead to a decline in school performance because the students are more interested in playing outside than doing homework. The third physical characteristic is that they become restless and in constant motion (6th Grade Characteristics). The need to move and be active can also lead to declining performance because the students won’t be as focused. This can also lead to more discipline because the students can’t stay in one place for extended periods of time. Cognitively, middle school students are now open to more abstract and logical reasoning than ever before. The first cognitive characteristic is that 5th grade students have is an increased memory and ability to abstract (5th Grade Characteristics). The increase in memory potential allows the students to remember more academic information, but also helps them remember social activities like birthday parties and phone numbers. The second cognitive characteristic is the affinity for logical reasoning and problems solving (5th Grade Characteristics). 5th and 6th grade students are now using more of their brain in every aspect of life which allows them to solve and reason more than ever before. Similar to how kindergarten students like to impose control on their environments, middle school students enjoy the feeling of being able to solve a problem or think logically with classmates and teachers. The third cognitive characteristic of middle school students is their increased concentration in all aspects of school (5th Grade Characteristics). With the increase of concentration students are able to read, focus on homework, and participate in activities for longer periods of time. This cognitive gain can help balance out the need for movement during physical development. Middle school is the time when every student starts to define who they are and who they want to be. Socially and emotionally, each middle school student is becoming more mature as they grow older and it is important to know what developmental characteristics these students face. When a student is in 5th grade they are more socially and emotionally sound than 6th graders. The first developmental characteristic of 5th graders is that they are generally content with themselves and others (5th Grade Characteristics). At this stage they are in a state of equilibrium in terms of social and emotional growth. This is not to say that 5th graders are void of anger. When this age group gets angry, they tend to get angrier faster than usual but they also are faster to forgive (5th Grade Characteristics). The second characteristic of 5th graders is that they work well in groups and enjoy team-oriented activities such as sports and clubs (5th Grade Characteristics). Because they are generally content, it boosts 5th graders abilities to work cooperatively. This age group would benefit greatly from pods in the classroom and team-oriented competition. Lastly, 5th graders are mostly truthful and are developing a larger sense of right and wrong (5th Grade Characteristics). At this age, students want to be taken seriously because they feel that they have valuable opinions. They realize that they can’t lie and be taken seriously so they tell the truth. Also, as they are telling the truth more, they are expanding their sense of right and wrong. It is at this point when crucial right/wrong situations should be explained to the students such as drugs and alcohol. When a child hits 6th grade, they change once again and sometimes not for the better. There are three main characteristics of 6th graders from Susan Robinson’s website. The first is that 6th graders become more moody and sensitive (6th Grade Characteristics). 6th graders are starting to hit puberty and this messes with their normal selves. The hormones set off mood swings and sensitivity towards almost any situation. It is important to know this because it could be the cause of many problems with your students. The second characteristic is that 6th graders are becoming more autonomous and with that comes more opposition to rules and punishments (6th Grade Characteristics). As they get older, the students begin to realize that they are held to higher standards but still try to get around those expectations. This inevitably leads to confrontations between teacher and student(s) and the student(s) will test your patience at this age. The third characteristic is more positive. As the students age and grow during 6th grade, they will start to take on an adult personality (6th Grade Characteristics). They will lessen their oppositional behavior and become more respectful and dutiful in school work and social activities. While their bodies are going through a massive amount of change in a short period of time, it is important to layout the classroom, lessons, and management techniques to keep up with these middle school learners. First off, it is important to keep the students in groups when at their desks. This helps the students remain social with others and it helps the students to keep working in teams. As they are older, each student should be given their own desk. This allows the student to become more independent and it allows for individuality to show through if they are permitted to decorate their desk. Similar to the kindergarten room, there should be sections of the room where students can go to complete different assignments. Especially at this time, the movement will allow these students to relieve some tension from their growing bodies. Overall, the classroom at the middle school level starts to become similar to that of high school and college classrooms, but should still represent a sense of home and security for 5th and 6th graders. The lessons and activities that these students participate in should also be developmentally appropriate. At this stage of life, the students are beginning to think and reason logically. Therefore, lessons in math and science can enhance the individual student’s ability to think and reason logically. In addition to logic and reasoning, social skills are key to a healthy development. In 5th and 6th grade, it is important to teach and model proper social etiquette and behaviors. One way to accomplish this is to have the students sit in pods when at their desks. This serves two purposes: 1) it allows each student to work in close proximity to other students and 2) it allows students to practice proper social behavior on a daily basis. Lastly, students at this age are going through major physical changes and it is important to keep that in mind when designing lessons and activities. When possible, incorporate some form of physical movement into your lesson plans. This will allow the students to move their bodies and retain focus in school. If you simply let the students sit at their seats all day, they will become restless very quickly and will lose focus and interest in what you are trying to teach them. Similar to the kindergarten classroom, without successful classroom management techniques, the teacher will struggle to maintain focus and interest in their lessons. With this age group, routines are essential to having successful classroom management. As noted by many teachers, routines help the students to know what is coming next in the school day and how to proceed from one task to the next. With a regular routine, students won’t need to be told to take out their reading materials or their math books; they will already know what is coming. By establishing successful routines, the teacher can minimize distractions and maximize learning time. Another management technique that I remember from 6th grade was the use of a money management system. My teacher, Diane Dale, set up a management system that revolved around the use of a weekly â€Å"allowance† for each student. Each student started the week with a predetermined amount of â€Å"money†, i. e.$100. Actions in class had either a positive or negative effect on the student’s allowance. For example, if one student got a perfect on their math test, they may get $25 added to their account. If another student starts a fight on the playground, besides the consequences of the principal, they may lose $75. At the end of each week the students with the 3 highest allowances got to pick a prize from the â€Å"Class Treasure Chest†. To my recollection, this system worked well in our class and I plan on modifying this management system to create my own. All in all, as an elementary teacher it is important to know and be able to work with students from all age groups. By understanding the characteristics of the students in your class, you will be able to maximize the effectiveness of your lessons because they are aimed to work with their developmental characteristics, not as a substitute. In addition, to knowing developmental characteristics, a teacher should also institute effective classroom management techniques and proper lesson plans that will maximize the learning experience for each student. Works Cited Gore, Lillian L. , and Rose Koury. Educating Children in Nursery School and Kindergartens. Washington: U. S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, 1964. Print. Wills, Clarence Dechent, and Lucile Lindburg. Kindergarten for Today’s Children. Chicago: Follett Educational Corporation, 1967. Print. Fromberg, Doris. The Full-Day Kindergarten. 1995. eBook. Camp, Jody. http://www. atozteacherstuff. com/Tips/Classroom_Management/Managing_Behavior/index. shtml Robinson, Susan. http://www. scasd. us/ms/RobinsonPage/grade5. htm White, George. Incoming 6th Graders. http://www. ringwoodschools. org/files/ryerson/parent_orientation_booklet. pdf.

Sociology: Marx, Weber & Feminist Theory

1. Classical Marxist theories have served as a springboard of inspiration for a variety of contemporary theorists challenging the existing state of society and seeking social justice and a fair society. Consequently, feminist standpoint theories, theories that represent a specific disposition, align with common themes found throughout Marxist interpretations of society, with an emphasis on the development of individual schemas dependent upon the relationship between the individual and their economic and material conditions.Although the foundation of the separation of and disparities between classes is applicable in feminist standpoint theory, feminist theories contribute an entirely unorthodox dimension to the Eurocentric, masculinist dominated sociological discourse about oppression: gender. Marx’s theories of society developed around what he considered an unfair and unjust society in which two classes existed, determined by the coincidence of birth, which Marx coined the bou rgeois, the owners of the means of production, and the proletariat, the wage earning laborers who become alienated from their work due to social constraints.Marx believed in historical materialism and class struggle, demonstrating that the private ownership of the means of production enabled the bourgeois to maintain power over the larger, powerless proletariats who provided the labor for the means of production. As a repercussion of this disparity of power Marx concluded social and moral problems were inherent to a capitalist system, which forced competition and created unnecessary antagonisms, essentially isolating the proletariat in their social position for generations.Feminist standpoint theories corroborate the essence of Marx’s disposition regarding the injustice found in society, as it is acknowledged that there is a clear disparity of power in society among stratified groups of people. Yet instead of focusing on the owner of the means of production versus the wage la borers or proletariats, feminist standpoint theories extend the argument to include the dimension of gender and emphasize the necessity of including feminist experiences.According to feminist standpoint theories, the concrete experience of females and males is historically different, as they are required by society to play very different roles. Feminist theories build on Marx’s standpoint of experience based on social class and include the systematic oppression in a society that devalues women’s knowledge and experiences. One feminist standpoint theorist in particular demonstrated the subtle differences between standpoint theories and Marx’s theories on society.Patricia Hill Collins’ matrix of domination theory agrees that there is a top-down power struggle in society that forces and controls unwilling victims, yet also notes that an individual has the ability to be the oppressor, a member of an oppressed group or both simultaneously, citing gender and cl ass as variables of oppression. Collins continues to purport that it is the oppressed or subordinate individuals and groups in society who possess the most comprehensive social knowledge of power structures and their affects on these individuals and groups due to their social positions.Marx sought change in society and attempted to inspire a revolution amongst the proletariat, with an overthrow of the capitalist system. Collins seeks to understand the struggle with a more complex perspective, contributing the observation that people simultaneously experience and resist oppression, implying that there is more control in the hands of the oppressed than what was previously thought. Just as Marx challenged the capitalist system, feminist standpoint theory further challenges the existing male-biased conventional knowledge.In both theories there exists the implication that the experiences of individuals is shaped by their social position, and a hierarchy of power relations exists among th ose who have and those who have not, or the oppressor and the oppressed. However, although Marx’s theories on society and feminist standpoint theories share the emphasis on individual experience being shaped by social position, Marx focused on class from an economic standpoint while feminist theory added to the discussion of social injustice by incorporating a new dimension, gender.While Marx was more interested in social justice for the proletariat, feminist standpoint theory extended this social justice to include the day to day concrete experiences of females with respect to their different knowledge of the world, as well as various other subordinate groups whose perspectives are often left out of the discourse on society. In conclusion, the comprehensive discussion of class relations that has been ongoing for centuries has continued to evolve over time and space, xtending the concepts of social justice and a fair society to various subordinate groups. I support Marxâ€⠄¢s theories of society serving as a significant platform for the descending schools of thought to build off of, with shared goals of social justice and a fair society. The differences can be attributed to the historical context of the development of these theories, with the discourse of sociology seen as an ongoing continuum.Sociological implications are inspirational, as it has been seen that within the discussion of social justice subordinate groups are gaining attention and credibility, and I believe it can be concluded that because of this criticism of the existent state of society, society has begun to improve. With the emersion of Marxist inspired feminist standpoint theory in the middle of the 20th century, women’s experiences have been acknowledged and improved because of their visibility in academic discourse.I support the Marxist call for an examination of subordination in the existent social structure, accompanied by feminist standpoint theories that extend to inc lude all subordinate groups that struggle with societal constraints. 2. The structure of the critiques of science and knowledge provided by Foucault parallel the central concepts and arguments found in the feminist critiques of science and positivism, yet the focus of topics are differentiated along gender lines and the quest for the origins of truth, or the acceptance that truth itself is subjective.Both Foucault and feminist critiques share a common theme of mistrust of authoritative power, and the social injustice stemming from this authoritative power. As a post-positivist philosopher with an interest in power relations and the ability of power to dominate western culture, Foucault offers criticisms of science and knowledge rooted in the distrust he maintained for the developments of science representing improved reference and authority.Foucault emphasized the quest to discover the roots of truth values in the social context of science but rejected an account of science as ideol ogical and argued that the discourse of scientific knowledge is constraining of what scientists themselves can see, but more significantly is productive and enabling for the production and solving of problems, the construction of data, and therefore the production of new knowledge to be interpreted widely s valid, or universal truth. For post-modernists, such as Foucault, science is nothing more than an allegation derived from subjective orientations, or a social construction. Feminist theorists corroborate this belief and interpret the power and injustice stemming from science with a different sociological perspective, a female standpoint.Feminist theorists believe mainstream science is a product of a patriarchy, and despite being portrayed as universal, value-free and neutral in its pursuit of truth or knowledge deemed valuable for all, it is actually organized in a way that systematically oppresses and harms women based on their gender. Feminists believe that the production of kn owledge is a social activity, embedded in a certain culture and worldview, echoing the social construction of knowledge purported by Foucault.Feminist critics of science have noted that Western science, as it has developed since the Enlightenment, is determined by political, economic and social conditions, which are based on a patriarchal order. Feminists go on to note that women themselves were left out of the development of science, and as a consequence of being perceived as closer to nature than men with respect to their capacity for feelings and emotions, were ruled out as unfit for reasoning abilities.Foucault’s main concern throughout his lifetime of publications revolved around the relationship between power and knowledge, and how one affected the other. Citing Nietzsche’s considerations of a will to power motivating human behavior with the declining of traditional values losing power over society is built upon by Foucault’s further analysis of knowledge ceasing to be liberating and instead becoming a mode of surveillance, regulation, and discipline. Foucault also argued that power itself creates new objects of knowledge and accumulates new bodies of information.The feminist critiques on positivism shares common characteristics with Foucault’s critical theories of science and knowledge, as feminists tend to adopt an anti-positivist, anti-science position due largely to the male dominated social science research. Despite positivist views put forth by such classical theorists as Emile Durkheim, supporting the necessity of objectivity in research, feminist critiques argue for subjectivity. According to feminist critique, male social science researchers likeDurkheim claimed objectivity by citing non-involvement in social problems, enabling them to distance themselves from their human subjects of research and omitting their research goals, as well as claimed scientific truth for their theories by imitating quantitative methods of the natural sciences. In an effort to parallel the natural sciences with sociology, furthering the notion that science is in fact objective, Durkheim conducted a study on suicide and measured it using the scientific method and quantifiable observations.The feminist criticism notes the results of paralleling the natural sciences with sociology were often blatantly untrue and biased against women, with science and social science being manipulated to harm women, for example by neglecting to appropriate equal value of their experiences with that of their male counterparts. Most significantly, feminist critique argues the pursuit of objectivity in science and the pursuit of truth are impossible, and by pretending that they are possible the scientific community is deceiving the public.In conclusion, feminist critiques of science and positivism are directly paralleled with the concepts found in Foucault’s critiques of science and knowledge. In both instances, I support the arguments that center on the need to understand the ambiguity and cultural context of the notion of universal truth and for scientific and social research to be sensitive to the dangers of objectivity regarding such truth. I believe the scientific approach is useful but misguided as subjectivity is inherent in the search for truth and knowledge.These critiques have significant sociological implications as the existing state of male-centered scientific research is being challenged in a way that will be productive for the various sub-groups within society, particularly along gender lines. 3. The concept of modernity generally refers to a post-feudal historical period that is characterized by the move away from feudalism and toward capitalism, accompanied by all of the ripple effects initiated by capitalism, such as the industrialization and secularization of society that is maintained and controlled through extensive surveillance. Modernity ocuses on the affects that the rise of capitalism has had on social relations, and notes Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber as influential theorists commenting on this phenomenon. For the purposes of this assignment, I will be focusing on the concepts and analyses of Marx and Weber. Karl Marx is perhaps the first in a series of late 19th and early 20th century theorists who initiated the call for an empirical approach to social science, theorizing about the rise of modernity accompanied by the simultaneous decline in traditional societies and advocating for a change in the means of production in order to enable social justice.Marx’s analysis of modernity reveals his conceptualization of modern society as being dictated by the rapid advancement of productive forces of modern industry, and the corresponding relationships of production between the capitalist and the wage laborers. In addition, Marx also examined the concept of class interest, which seeks to further the life of capitalism as those individuals or groups who hav e power work to retain this power at the despair of the subordinate, socially powerless individuals and groups.The rapid advancement of major innovations after the Enlightenment period known as modernity stood in stark contrast to the incremental development of even the most complex pre-modern societies, which saw productive forces developing at a much slower pace, over hundreds or thousands of years as compared to modern times, with swift growth and change. This alarming contrast fascinated Marx who traced the spawning of modern capitalism in the Communist Manifesto, citing this record speed as the heat which generated the creation of the global division of labor and a greater variety of productive forces than anytime before.Ultimately, Marx’s approach is best known as an effort to come to terms with the unprecedentedly rapid development of the new capitalist world and the consequential development and adaptation of social constraints. Marx concluded that modernity was a soc ial construction of mankind, and as a creation of mankind, mankind could reverse it and with the public class-consciousness acknowledging this rule, revolution, followed by utopia, was inevitable. In contrast, Max Weber found that social life did not evolve according to his rule, and, unlike Marx, Weber did not anticipate a definitive end of modernity but instead viewed modernity and the outlook of mankind as an open query, with an answer impossible to predict. Weber’s disposition on modernity transformed modern society into a metaphorical iron cage. The iron cage represents society’s entanglement with the modern, mechanized transformation of society initially thought to be controllable, with the ability to detangle itself from the machines at any time, like a cloak that can be removed.Throughout history, however, Marx notes that this entanglement has become permanent and the individual has been locked in a cage by a modern society, with the implementation of more soci al control manifest in excessive bureaucracy. Karl Marx and Max Weber have made significant contributions to the field of sociology, and I support both theorists in their arguments. I believe that Marx was correct in regards to his conceptualization of the social structure being of man’s creation and therefore within the realm of change under the direction of man. However I believe that limitations exist in the idealistic nature of his utopian dream.Maintaining a utopian objective as the goal of social change exposes the inherently distorted analysis of sociological phenomenon, as there is neglect of examining social issues from a micro, day-to-day orientation essentially proving the existence of a Eurocentric male bias historically found within the study of sociology. I also agree with Weber’s connection between the Protestant work ethic and the consequent rise of capitalism as is found in his work The Protestant Work Ethic, which implicates religion as the engine tha t enabled the rapid development of capitalism.However I find limitations with the primacy placed on the influence of religion as the sole engine for capitalism†¦. Marx and Weber lived and worked in a distinctive scholarly moment in time, after theological persuasive power had declined and while sociological analysis maintained a fresh outlook on classical theories. During this moment in time Marx and Weber also experienced the rapid transformation of society dictated by modern forces, which would influence their focus and work.Marx and Weber, who’s work has been critiqued and contributed to by future theorists as society continues to rapidly transform into a fully mechanized, technologically dependent society, holds sociological implications in the theorists whose work has been influenced by their analysis of modernity. 4. The Marxist perspective on work and capitalism is paralleled in many ways with Max Weber’s perspective on these issues, with subtle differences stemming from the causation of capitalism.For Marx, the theory of historical materialism held that all human institutions, including religion, were based on economic foundations, with the implication that the economic foundations came first. In contrast, Weber’s The Protestant Ethic challenges this assertion and instead implicates a religious movement as responsible for fostering capitalism, yet doesn’t fully discount the theories of Marx. According to Marx, it is historical materialism that fuels the engine of society.Historical materialism examines the causes of developments and changes in human society in regards to the collective production of life necessities, with non-economic characteristics of society, such as religious ideologies, seen as a repercussion of its economic activity. The emphasis on material objects, or commodities, during the newly mechanized time period influenced the construction of a labor class that performed activities that were detached fro m their personal identities.As private ownership over the means of production reduces the role of the worker to that of a cog in a machine, as Marx astutely determined, the worker becomes an expendable object that performs routinzed tasks. For Marx, working simply for money, in essence seen as a means to an end, and neglecting the creative potential for labor itself was analogous to selling one’s soul. Weber, on the other hand, did not fully discount Marx’s theories but added to them and incidentally sparked a conversation that has become a historically significant and enduring sociological debate.Weber proposed that ideology fostered capitalism, in part resulting from the absence of assurances from religious authorities. Weber argued that Protestants began to look for other signs that they were saved, and, spurred on by Calvinist ideas of predestination, in which individuals identified their central duty to prove their salvation accompanied by the rejection of having too much wealth, capitalism prospered. Essentially self-confidence replaced the priestly assurance of God’s kindness, and a way for this self-confidence to anifest itself and be measured was with worldly success, and profit became a visible blessing from God that enabled followers to feel confidence that they were going to heaven. This enthusiasm toward achieving self-confidence through the production of profits encapsulates the Spirit of Capitalism, and it was within this spirit that capitalism flourished. Weber described a paradox regarding this Protestant work ethic.On the one hand, Protestants desperately sought the accumulation of worldly wealth in an attempt to give them self-confidence that God has chosen them and they will be granted salvation. However, on the other hand, Protestants were also deeply passionate about frivolous purchasing of luxuries being perceived as a sin, accompanied by complex limitations for extricating the money. In order to resolve this paradox the money was invested, giving life to the class distinctions along the lines of those who possess, and those who do not.Adam Smith paved the way for this phenomenon of investment and class divergence, citing the existence of those who work hard and those who do not, and that over time those who work hard and can be motivated will accumulate wealth. I applaud Weber’s theoretical surfacing of the irony of the Protestant work ethic, which views ideology as being composed of the need to be posthumously saved through their religion, and yet this motivational work ethic would inspire the distribution of excessive earnings to maintain their religious ideals, spawning and encouraging capitalism.Marxist perspectives are limited by the need for further examination of the causes and continuations of capitalism throughout the current state of society, particularly with respect to the rapid transformation and globalization of the economy. If further analysis reveals the causation of cap italism and the structure that continues to keep it running, then it may reveal implications that mankind can control the economic and social conditions of humanity. With the appropriate critiques of capitalism in a contemporary society there may be a potential for social justice. . Social action and interaction can be explained in a number of ways, and in the field of sociology exists two major theoretical orientations that aim to discover whether the hierarchy of influence between individuals and society is macro, with society influencing the individual, or micro, with the individual influencing society. Herbert Blumer’s interpretation of symbolic interactionism demonstrates the process of interaction from a micro perspective, demonstrated in the formation of meanings for individuals.As John Dewey influenced Blumer, Blumer believed human beings are best understood in relation to their environment and used this concept as inspiration for the study of human group life and con duct. Blumer outlines his micro theory of symbolic interactionsim with three central principles. The first principle, meaning, states that humans act toward people and things, based upon the meanings they have given to those people or things, and meaning is a central influence on human behavior. The second principle regards language as a means by which to negotiate through symbols.According to Blumer, it is by engaging in acts of speech with other individuals that humans come to identify meaning, enabling the development of discourse. The third and final principle is thought, which is based on language, and is a mental representation of conversation or dialogue, requiring role taking and imagining different points of view. Essentially, Blumer supported the micro perspective of individuals influencing society because he believed the language and meaning of language explains social action. In contrast, Talcott Parsons’ macro approach to social action and interaction reveals a d ifferent conclusion.Parsons developed the theory of functionalism, which serves as a framework that views society as a complex system, whose parts work together in order to promote stability and solidarity. Parsons’ approach views society with a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, adopting a macro orientation to social action. Looking simultaneously at social structure and social functions, the theory of functionalism tackles society as a whole in terms of the functions that compose elements. These elements mostly include norms, traditions, customs and institutions.For example, it is like the human body; the individual parts work together for the functioning of the body as a whole. Functionalists such as Parsons support the notion that a social role is created due to the repetition of behaviors in interactions with the reinforcement of expectations. The role that is created is defined by Parsons as the regular, repetition of participation in co ncrete social interactions with specific role-partners. Eventually, Parsons’ concept of roles was formed into a collective definition that is functional as they assist society in servicing and satisfying its functional needs, enabling society to run smoothly.I support both Blumer’s micro level orientation as well as Parsons’ macro orientated theoretical arguments in that they acknowledge the capabilities of the individual and the adaptability of society, implicating a dialogue between the two entities. However I believe limitations exist in that both theorists place primacy of one orientation over the other, and as a result are neglecting a holistic approach. Research questions that have emerged from functionalist theories add new depth and dimension to the basic concept of functionalism.For instance, emergent theorists have inquired about functionalists’ tendency to see only the benefits of various institutional relationships brought to society, posing t he question of whether or not institutions can be oppressive and exploitative. Further emergent research questions address whether or not social institutions create social constraints, and controversially ponder why anything should change if it is already functional to society. Ultimately this discourse inspires sociological thought to continue developing and evolving over time. 6.Traditionally, theorists and theories that generally support one of two orientations have dominated the discipline of sociology. The first orientation is regarded as a macro-perspective, with an analysis of society focused on the larger overall structure of society, placing an emphasis on social systems and institutions, or structure, and the ensuing tendency for the structure to dominate the individual. The second orientation can be described as a zoomed in image of society, with a focus on the every day individual and group interactions, with the implication that the individual is being dominated by the structure of society.It is through these two distinct lenses that sociologists have contributed to the larger discourse regarding social justice and equality, yet the disconnect manifests in the perceptive cohesion of these two orientations. Contemporary sociologists, such as Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration and the empowerment theory in feminist thought, have sparked a revolution in sociological thought with the unorthodox notion that the actor, or individual, and the agency, the structure, are in fact of equal primacy, and represent a duality rather than a hierarchy.In addition to bringing this connection to the surface of sociological discourse, many contemporary theorists’ theories are challenging the limitations of solely using one orientation in the effort to balance humanity’s understanding that individual’s posses the will to maintain social relations based on the comprehension of power, social reproduction, and institutional constraints. Giddens developed the theory of structuration, and, like many other contemporary theorists like Pierre Bourdieu, the theory supports the integration of macro and micro orientations.The structuration theory centers on the consensual duality of structure and agency, where the agent and the structure intersect, arguing that they are a dichotomy where one wouldn’t exist without the other. Giddens argues that the individual, or agency, is essentially responsible for their surroundings as they are reflexive and possess the ability to adapt to the ever-changing social structures and institutions, which also adapt to the individuals’ behavior, creating an ongoing dialogue between the two entities.The argument for a rejection of primacy between the agency and structure includes the objective of literal social change that can result from social scientific knowledge of society. Giddens continues to argue that it is the individuals’ motives that dictate the larger plan of a ction and the routinized practices determine what the action will manifest as. According to this logic Giddens proposes that individuals therefore have the ability to change their actions, which produce unintended and inevitable consequences, influencing future actions.Giddens critiques sociologists for placing too much emphasis on the constraints of social structure when he believes it is only through this activity of the individual agent that structure, or rules and resources, can exist at all. In fact, Giddens purports that a social structure or system is composed of a set of produced and reproduced relations between agents. It is this belief in the duality of agency and structure, as well as the desire to alter the discourse to ncorporate an integrated orientation rather than independent orientations, that Giddens has significantly contributed to the discussion and debate of macro and micro orientations, citing the inability for one to exist without the other. Despite criticism of structuration as inadequate, Giddens’ work continues to influence and inspire contemporary social thought.Feminist thought and the empowerment theory takes an additional step back from sociological discourse to evaluate the misconception of objectivity found in Eurocentric, male dominated standpoints and argue for the need to take a subjective perspective in order to achieve any social change. Additionally, feminist thought advocates for the integration of orientations to examine the individual’s experience as equivalent, or dualistic, with the social structure in which the individual plays an active role in shaping.It is also deemed necessary that the interrelationships between the individual, groups and society are examined from a subjective, integrated orientation in order to make the leap from social theory to social practice. According to feminist thought, by making the previously personal world of the individual political the barrier between the individual and society is broken down and lays the foundation for individuals to influence and experience social change.The empowerment theory suggests that production and maintenance of society is dependent upon the individuals who are socially considered undesirable, casting these occupations as invisible in society and, accompanied by a societal ideology that lacks public appreciation for these occupations, the undesirable individuals also believe their work is invisible, revealing the distortion of societal components. It is within feminist thought that the empowerment theory extends not only to women, but any subordinate, oppressed group or individual within the larger society.This emerging connection between the personal and political identity parallels Giddens’ support of integrating the macro and micro orientations in order to achieve any significant social change, and I support both approaches. I believe that with the integration of the orientations true social change can be achie ved, and that further examination of the intersection between agency and structure can enhance the limitations of past sociological thought. By creating and maintaining a boundary between these two worlds and rejecting the notion of a duality, a cognitive dissonance will continue to remain in the lives of oppressed and arginalized individuals without any hope for societal change. Contemporary sociologists must continue to transcend this boundary, accepting the inherent subjectivity found in any social science and focusing on fostering a productive sociological discourse with the goal of social justice. As Marx a stoutly stated in the mid-19th century, philosophers have only interpreted the world; the point, however, is to change it. 7. As the grand theory is considered the most abstract level of sociological theory, the initial intentions of such a theory are discussed in an abstract, idealistic way.Grand Theory, a term created by American sociologist C. Wright Mills, refers to the preference for formal organization and the arrangement of concepts over understanding the social world. The concept of an overarching, grand sociological theory can be applicable in an idealistic setting, where each diverse aspect of society is equitably dealt with and examined to formulate widely accepted conclusions about the world. However, the emphasis tends to focus on concepts that are generally disconnected from the concrete, every day realities of societal life.I believe that an adapted version of a grand theory in sociology is necessary to the extent that it has the ability to provide a structured framework in an otherwise incredibly complex social world. However, I also believe the grand theory should not be accepted as universal but instead should be considered a continuous work in progress that is added to over time as traditionally invisible issues continue to surface, creating multiple new dimensions of potential thought. Throughout sociological history the theoretical supporters and critics of a grand theory have been numerous.Karl Marx’s Historical Materialism, Anthony Giddens’ The Juggernaut of Modernity, and Talcott Parsons’ Actions Theory each offer various uses and perspectives of grand theory concepts. The evolution of the concept of a grand theory can be seen throughout these noteworthy theorists’ work. For example, Marx’s work with the grand theory of historical materialism put forth a streamlined argument that stated economic relations were the foundation of social structure, regardless of any other variable.Embedded in this theory is the idea of an overarching, universal definition of social structure contingent solely upon economic and material relations. This revolutionary idea may have been appropriate in the historical context of the theory, yet weaknesses in the universal concept of a grand theory appear in the absence of any other variable which undoubtedly impacted the social structure of Marxà ¢â‚¬â„¢s time.Anthony Giddens uses the concept of a grand theory to examine modernity, differentiating from the streamlined definition of society as purported by Marx by including a complex assortment of variables, which contribute to modernity. Giddens relates modernity to an overpowering force that transcends everything in its path with the implication that it is uncontrollable. Giddens also suggests that the overpowering force of modernity is dynamic, with the consequences of actions unforeseeable and uncontrollable, yet it manages to adjust based on reflexive actions, creating new societal problems in the process.Overall, Giddens’ interpretation of grand theory offers a more complex framework for analyzing society in modernity, yet it is left open ended as Giddens anticipates the creation of a new slew of issues that will plague society based on the adjustments made from previous issues. Talcott Parsons is credited with the continuing the quest toward the theoretical evol utionary development of structural functionalism and established what can be defined as a grand theory of action systems, despite the fact that Parsons himself declined to identify it as a grand theory.Parsons contributes to the discussion of grand theories in that he expanded the theory to consist of influence from various disciplines aside from sociology, including psychological, economical, political and religious components. Parsons also connected the concepts of motives as part of our actions, and determined that social science must take ends, purposes and ideals into consideration when creating a grand theory. Parsons attempted to integrate all of the social sciences within an overarching, grand theoretical framework that aimed to include aspects of both macro and micro orientations.Tracing the evolution of the concept of a grand theory reveals the irony rooted in the quest for such a grand theory, which is that despite attempts to create universal truths regarding society ind ependent of time and space, such independence is not possible. Marx, Giddens and Parsons each lived in their own, slightly different time periods and as a result one can observe the variations in their concepts of grand theories.I believe that the evolution of a grand theory is a continuous one with no particular end, because as Giddens suggested, the flexibility of society to adapt to societal issues in turn creates new societal issues, suggesting the permanence of such an analytical cycle. 8. Among Emile Durkheim’s plethora of contributions to sociological theory emerges an unorthodox, evolutionary approach, which considered society to be like an organism, distinguishing two central characteristics as structure and function. Durkheim’s contributions also include helping establish and define the field of sociology as an academic order.Durkheim expanded the limitations of the study of sociology when he argued that sociologists should study particular features of collec tive, or group, life. He suggested that society exists independently of the individuals in it, as societies influence individuals through established norms, sentiments, and social facts. Durkheim contributed the inquiry of study regarding modern society and its ability to remain cohesive despite the individualism and self-sufficiency of each person, as well as the study of social facts representing features of the group that cannot be examined independently of either the collective or the individual.Emile Durkheim’s writings are recognized for forming the foundation of functionalist thought, which remains among the oldest and most dominant theoretical perspectives in the study of sociology. The foundations of functionalism center on two categories: the individual organism and society being seen as analogous, and the examination of the objective social world with the application of the scientific method.Durkheim was one of the first sociologists to make use of scientific and s tatistical data to conduct sociological research, such as with his famous work Suicide, using real data to examine the phenomenon of suicide among religious groups. By incorporating the scientific method as a central method of research, Durkheim implicitly contributed the assertion that the social world can be studied in the same ways as the physical world. Regarding Durkheim’s relation to structuralism, he was concerned with the question of how particular societies are able to maintain stability internally and are capable of survival over time.Durkheim discussed structuralism in two variations, with the first referring to the pre-industrial societies that were structured on equivalent parts connected by shared values, and the second referring to more complex post-industrial societies that are connected through specialization and strong interdependence. The essence of Durkheim’s relation to structuralism and functionalism is the concept of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, with society being greater than the individuals.Talcott Parsons offers a contemporary perspective on the concepts of structuralism and builds on Durkheim’s interpretation by discussing structuralism as a framework to examine society as a complex system whose parts work together in order to promote solidarity and stability. The focus on Parsons’ work is on the social structures that shape society as a whole, determining that each individual has a set of expectations based on other’s actions and reactions to that individual’s own behavior.Parsons also contributes the idea of the role, established through the repetition of behaviors and interactions dictated by social structure and that become recognized as normal. This concept of roles evolved into the groups of roles that harmonize each other and ultimately fulfill functions for society, in the sense that they assist society in operating and running smoothly. In conclusion, the concep ts put forth by the theories of functionalism and structuralism has had a significant impact on the study of sociology.Durkheim utilized the scientific method, and for this leap to a parallel with the natural sciences and hence more validity I am in support. However, Durkheim’s scientific method was perceived from an inherently Eurocentric male standpoint, and consequently produced misleading results. Emile Durkheim is ascribed with forming the foundation of thought in the functionalist orientation, and continued to attempt revolutions in sociological thought throughout his life’s work. Talcott Parsons is one of many contemporary theorists who have built upon Durkheim’s original theory y contributing contemporary rationalizations and have enhanced the sociological discussion regarding the macro evaluation of a modern functioning society. I support Parsons’ concept of social roles that are dictated on social expectations and are controlled by social struct ure, yet I find limitations in the neglect of an analysis of the social roles for subordinate individuals and groups, and without this analysis social justice will remain an idealistic theory. 9. The theoretical contributions and approaches of sociological theorists such as W.E. B. Du Bois and Patricia Hill Collins are significant in the conversation of sociological history as they take the unorthodox approach of delving into the perception of historically invisible issues regarding race and gender. For instance, Du Bois approaches the subject of race that centers on describing and explaining the actual, instead of theoretical, daily life conditions of African Americans, such as the threat of racially motivated violence like lynching, and the psychological damage of being separate but equal under Jim Crow laws.This brought a clearness of vision of specific phenomenon to the sociological conversation, with a focus on race, and an extension to any colored group that has experienced Eu rocentric imperialism. In regards to racism, Du Bois granted the primary responsibility of the social construction of racism on capitalism, and Du Bois was sympathetic to socialist causes throughout his work. Du Bois utilized deductive analysis, accompanied by empirical observation, to examine the experience of African Americans throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.Du Bois was primarily focused on variables that had been ignored by his sociological predecessors with particular attention paid to the intersection of race and class. He was interested in how the intersection of these variables contributes to broader cultural patterns dictating the stratification of individuals along lines of race and class and the shaping of individuals’ perceptions and experiences. Du Bois offers his conceptualization of race in comparing the variety of races around the world, with the U. S. housing two of the most extreme examples of race on the planet.As a result, the concept of the double c onsciousness exists, as African Americans may ask themselves on daily occasions what identity is truly theirs. For instance, one might ask, am I American or am I black? Can I be both? Does being black give me more of an obligation to assert my nationality than European immigrants would? Further, the double consciousness is the sense of â€Å"otherness† that prevents this uniform sense of self in accordance with the American image and produces a sense of two-ness, both American and black.In addition, Du Bois’ concept of the veil represents the distance that is felt socially between people of separate races, most significantly keeping the less dominant group, blacks, out of the dominant group’s, white, world. Patricia Hill Collins continues to build on the concepts highlighted by Du Bois’ work, and instead of extending his conversation about race and class Collins adopts an unconventional method of examining the intersection of race and gender.Collins empha sizes the specific experiences of black women as intersecting categories of oppression, with the goal of extending the discourse into other oppressed individuals and social groups. Collins’ theorizes that black women stand at the focal point where two historically powerful systems of oppression meet: gender and race, focusing on black women as outsiders within the larger, white male dominated society. According to Collins, by acknowledging this intersection of oppression, the possibility to see into other social injustices.Collins identifies three aspects of every day life in which black women are affected by and manage their race and definitions of identity in the greater American culture. These three aspects are known as safe spaces where black women are able to articulate their thoughts and feelings without the social pressure of mainstream society, which creates the double consciousness experienced by racial divide. The creation of the safe space is essential for the surv ival of oppressed groups, as they provide a unique place away from the ruling ideologies.For instance, one safe space for black women is in their relationships with each other. By empowering themselves in their own relationships, black women are able to help each other learn the knowledge to survive. Other safe spaces include black women’s blues traditions, followed by black female literature and poetry. Through these art forms, black women are able to approach the concepts of social injustice in a non-threatening manner.Collins also adds that groups must identify themselves, instead of letting other identify them. In conclusion, W. E. B. Du Bois and Patricia Hill Collins have made significant contributions to the sociological discussion of social injustice by forcing the issues of racial, class, and gender inequalities to the surface of social discourse. I find the work of Collins to be an extension of what Du Bois began, and I support the shared goal for both theorists in t heir quest for social justice for all subordinate groups.In fact, I believe that the combination of work from Du Bois and Collins epitomizes the essence of micro sociology, as they are able to articulate the invisible yet powerful social constraints that subordinate individuals and groups experience, and represents a transcendence of sociological thought above Eurocentric male standpoints. Their work has left deep impressions on current and future sociological theorists and essentially opened the door for the study of other socially oppressed groups.