Why Did Britain Vote to Leave the EU?

For what reason Did Britain Vote to Leave the EU? Presentation On the 23rd June 2016, in an across the nation choice, British voters were posed the inquiry: Should the United Kingdom stay an individual from the European Union or leave the European Union? After a sharply battled political race, the electorates of Great Britain decided to leave the European Union (EU).. The voting form was incredibly close, with 51.9% of the appointive populace casting a ballot to leave and 48.1% needing to remain. At 72%, turnout was higher than for any UK-wide vote since the 1992 General Election. The guarantee of a choice was first reported by Prime Minister David Cameron on 23rd January 2013. He pledged that if the Conservative Gathering was chosen for power in the General Election of 2015, they would hold a national submission on the UK’s participation in the EU. After the political race was effectively won, the new Conservative Government presented the European Union Submission Bill 2015-16. This guaranteed the submission must be held previously the finish of 2017.In February 2016, guidelines set the official date. The submission battle was part into two gatherings. Initially, there was England Stronger in Europe, expecting to convince the country that Britain will be more grounded and undeniably progressively effective as a functioning individual from the European Union. On the other hand, there was Vote Leave, drove by Gisela Stuart and Michael Gove. This crusade bunch effectively empowered 51.9% of the British electorate to remove, which means Britain would pull back its participation with the European Union. The Chief Counting Officer, Jenny Watson, who is the Chair of the Constituent Commission, announced the national outcome from the national submission include occasion held in Manchester on Friday 24 June at 07:51 (Uberoi, 2016, p4). This outcome activated ‘Brexit’. This term turned into the well known slogan of the choice outcome and is a contraction of ‘British exit’ out of the European Association. Through exploring the referendum’s result, there was restricted explanatory material on why 51.9% of the British electorate chose to cast a ballot to leave the EU. Most of the writing concentrated on the outcomes of Brexit and the prompt effect it had on Britain. Subsequently, this activated enthusiasm with respect to the inquiry for what reason did Britain choose to help Vote Leave. The motivation behind my examination is to investigate why the submission on the 23rd June 2016, brought about a choice for Britain to leave the European Union. The examination will be part into three crucial sections. Initially, who decided in favor of Brexit, inspecting the social and topographical parts of casting a ballot to leave. Furthermore, looking at what the primary reasons were for needing the UK to pull back from the European Union, including intentions, for example, controlling migration and recovering national personality. Finally, investigating why Vote Leave won. This includes breaking down the impacts of discretionary turnout and different factors, for example, the help of the national press and the activities of the crusades nonentity government officials. The target of this exploration is to gone to an emphatic end on what the most significant reasons were 51.9% of the electorate that decided on the 23rd June 2016 needed to leave the European and variables that added to why Vote Leave won. Solid research should be created to dissect why 51.9% of voters needed to leave the EU, and at exactly that point would it be able to be comprehended what individuals need from the outcome. Writing Review Perceiving why Britain chose to cast a ballot to leave the European Union in the 2016 choice is significant in light of the fact that it is fundamental to comprehend what changes in governmental issues the British electorate need. It is basic to dissect who casted a ballot to leave the EU and purposes for this decision. When the submission results were declared, masses of information was assessed indicating how the electorate casted a ballot, fundamentally in regards to topographical zones and social class. This included surveys from sources, for example, Master Ashcroft, which was utilized by numerous individuals of the national papers. Different sources for example, YouGov, further help this information by getting comparative outcomes in surveys they likewise ran. Be that as it may, there is a hole in the hypothetical information, as there is constrained material scrutinizing the exact reasons why the British electorate casted a ballot leave and why the Vote Leave crusade won. Moreover, the data being delivered with respect to the submission immediately moved onto the results of casting a ballot to leave the European Union. Subsequently, why it is significant research is created with respect to why the 2016 Referendum brought about a decision in favor of Britain leaving the European Union, as the present perceptions are restricted. For what it's worth a very present subject, intensive examination is as yet being created, in this way the confinements in the examination are understood.â  Who decided in favor of Brexit So as to investigate the reasons why 51.9% of the British democratic populace needed to leave the European Union, it is imperative to perceive who precisely casted a ballot thusly in June 2016. Inside hours of the outcome being affirmed, there was noteworthy measures of information being delivered with respect to how people in general casted a ballot. Most this data was made open through paper articles. The Daily Mail and The Guardian, both delivered articles demonstrating the full consequences of examination of the EU choice outcomes. This permitted the peruser to perceive how every voting demographic casted a ballot and afterward further separates the information into critical subjects, for example, age, instruction and yearly salary. The likenesses between the two papers investigation shows that the assessment of the information must be founded on certainty and the papers distinctive political predisposition isn't reflected inside the examination, consequently exhibiting the sourc es solid. The majority of the national press picked up their EU choice outcomes information from YouGov or Lord Ashcroft’s Poll. YouGov is a web based statistical surveying firm and their procedure includes acquiring reactions from a welcomed gathering of web clients, and afterward weighting these reactions in accordance with segment data. This association correspondingly parts its examination of the EU results into financial gatherings, anyway the go further by likewise including components, for example, ‘political attention’. YouGov has guaranteed that its assessments of public sentiment are most exact when contrasted with its adversaries and that its online methodology is more precise than conventional surveying techniques (YouGov, n.d.). Notwithstanding, only one out of every odd individual from the democratic populace approaches the web and web surveys could be contended as chiefly focused on the more youthful age. Consequently, it is guaranteed online examples can't precisely mirror the perspectives on the populace. Then again, Lord Ashcroft Poll directed a study, on the web and by phone, after voters can made their choice (Ashcroft, 2016). The extra technique for phone studying adds unwavering quality to the outcomes. This is on the grounds that a great many people have access to a phone, expanding representativeness. Moreover, as the results were gathered around the same time individuals had casted a ballot, their sentiments and contemplations about the submission were still new. In this manner, finishing up Lord Ashcroft’s survey as increasingly valid. By and large, the writing in regards to who decided in favor of Brexit, fundamentally shows a pattern concerning which financial gatherings are believed to be the most imperative to examine. This incorporates age, levels of instruction and yearly pay. On the other hand, the writing didn’t show the hugeness of other social gatherings, for instance various kinds of exchange and ethnicity. Consequently why my investigation will look further into these changed issues.â Explanations behind Voting to Leave It is critical to comprehend why 51.9% of the British democratic populace casted a ballot to leave the European Union on the 23rd June 2016. Master Ashcroft poll’s express that the three most significant explanations behind individuals picking Vote Leave were;â The rule that choices about the UK ought to be taken in the UK.Voting to the leave offered the most obvious opportunity for the UK to recapture authority over movement and its own borders.Remaining implied almost no decision about how the EU extended its enrollment or forces. These three reasons were moreover the best three explanations behind Conservative and Labor voters, demonstrating that the clarifications are not totally politically influenced (Ashcroft, 2016). Significantly, plainly Lord Ashcroft finishes up the fundamental contention for casting a ballot to leave was the need to recover authority over decisions that affected Great England. This is additionally reflected in Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley’s inquire about paper ‘Why Britain Voted for Brexit’. National personality and sway is critical in their examination to discover why Britain casted a ballot to leave. Notwithstanding, their investigate is incredibly fortified by their utilized of models and conditions to further demonstrate the effect of components, for example, ‘explanatory powers’ and ‘predictor variables’ (Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley, 2016, p16). The joined utilization of surveying and scientific models, fortifies the validity of their results.â National papers are contended to be the most huge wellspring of data that affected people’s vote. The Sun and the Daily Mail were predominant Vote Leave supporters, expressing movement and assuming back responsibility for the United Kingdom as their most significant explanations behind why Britain should leave the European Union. This could have altogether affected certain financial gatherings vote, impressively less scholarly individuals, who are the newspaper papers lion's share perusers. In any case, the inclination idea of national papers, diminishes their validity. The political sentiments communicated by these papers in regards to why Britain casted a ballot to leave the European Union are not absolutely dependable, due to their communicated backing of the Leave Campaign. This is the place a hole is researc

Philosophy Of Mind Essay Example For Students

Theory Of Mind Essay In this paper I intend to show that Searle is right in guaranteeing that his ChineseRoom Analogy shows that any Turing machine reproduction of human comprehension ofa semantic marvel neglects to have any genuine comprehension. First I willexplain the Chinese Room Analogy and how it is contrasted with a Turing machine. Iwill then show that the machine can not truly be said to comprehend. ATuring machine has an endless number of inner states, however consistently starts acomputation in the underlying state go. Turing machines can be summed up invarious ways. For instance numerous machines can be associated, or a solitary machinesmay have more than one peruser printer under order of the control. The machinesare set to acknowledge information and give yield dependent on the kind of info given. Whencomparing the Turing machine recreation of comprehension to real humanunderstanding you ca see the story given as information, and the responses to questionsabout the story as yield. In the Chi nese Room Analogy Searle assumed that hewas secured a stay with an enormous clump of Chinese composing alluded to asscripts. By utilizing the term content it is intended to saythat this first clump of Chinese composing is the first or head instrumentor record. Further more for this situation he is said not to realize any Chinese,either composed or spoken. The Chinese composing is portrayed via Searle as useless squiggles. Next he is given a second bunch of Chinesewriting alluded to as a story. The term story here is implied todescribe the subsequent group to be a record of episodes or occasions that will beused to say something with respect to the realities relevant to the occurrences orevents that will follow. Went with the second group of composing is a setof composed standards written in English that is intended to be utilized for corresponding thetwo clusters called a program. The program given toSearle is intended to utilized as a printed layout of a specific request to befollo wed to correspond the Chinese images. The guidelines, or theprogram, will permit Searle to connect the images completely bytheir shape. At long last a third group of Chinese images is introduced along withfurther directions in English, alluded to as questions. Thequestions are actualized as an approach to examine Searle in such amanner that his fitness in the circumstance will be given. Thesequestions permit the third group to be associated with the main twobatches. It is assumed in this similarity that sooner or later he turns out to be so acceptable atfollowing the guidelines to control the images, while giving the correctanswers, that is gets unimaginable for a man from outside the immediate point ofview to recognize his answers from that of a local Chinese speaker. TheChinese Room Analogy goes above and beyond when he is given huge groups ofEnglish, called stories, which he obviously comprehends as nativeEnglish speaker. The story for this situation is to be utilized similarly a s it was in theprevious case, to depict the cluster as a record of occurrences or occasions thatwill be utilized to say something in regards to the realities appropriate to the incidentsor occasions that will follow. Much like the case with the Chinese writingquestions are asked in English and he can answer them, additionally in English. These answers are unclear from that of other local English speakers,if for no other explanation that he is a local speaker himself. The distinction hereis that in the Chinese case, Searle is just creating answers based onmanipulation of the images of which have no significance to him, and in the Englishcase answers are given dependent on comprehension. It is assumed that in theChinese case, Searle carries on as simply a PC, performingoperations on officially indicated components. A backer of the solid AI(Artificial Intelligence) guarantee that if an inquiry and answer arrangement much likethe case with the Chinese images, a machine isn't just reenacting humanability yet additionally that the machine can be said to actually comprehend a storyand give answers to inquiries concerning them. Searle announces that in respect tothe first case where machine can actually be said to comprehend a story andprovide answers, this is false. Clearly in the Chinese Room Analogy eventhough the sources of info and yields are undefined from that of local Chinesespeaker Searle didn't comprehend the information he was given or the yield that hegave, regardless of whether he was giving the right yield for the circumstance. A computerwould have nothing else of a genuine comprehension in this relationship than he. Inregards to the second case where a machine and its program disclose humanability to get stories and answer inquiries concerning them, Searle alsoclaims this to be bogus. He keeps up that adequate conditions ofunderstanding are not given by PC, and in this way its projects havenothing more than he did in the Chinese Room relationship. A Strong AI supporterwould repudiate this conviction by claiming that when Searle read and understoodthe story in English he is doing precisely the same thing as when he controls theChinese images. In the two cases he was given an information and gave the right outputfor the circumstance. Then again Searle accepts that both a Turing machine,as well as the Chinese Room Analogy are missing something that is fundamental totrue understanding. At the point when he gave the right series of images in the ChineseRoom relationship, he was working like a Turing machine utilizing guidelines with outfull understanding. There is language structure through controls, however not semantics. .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 , .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .postImageUrl , .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .focused content region { min-tallness: 80px; position: relative; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 , .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:hover , .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:visited , .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:active { border:0!important; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .clearfix:after { content: ; show: table; clear: both; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 { show: square; change: foundation shading 250ms; webkit-progress: foundation shading 250ms; width: 100%; obscurity: 1; progress: murkiness 250ms; webkit-change: haziness 250ms; foundation shading: #95A5A6; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:active , .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:hover { mistiness: 1; progress: darkness 250ms; webkit-progress: haziness 250ms; foundation shading: #2C3E50; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .focused content zone { width: 100%; position: relativ e; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .ctaText { fringe base: 0 strong #fff; shading: #2980B9; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: intense; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; content beautification: underline; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .postTitle { shading: #FFFFFF; text dimension: 16px; text style weight: 600; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; width: 100%; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .ctaButton { foundation shading: #7F8C8D!important; shading: #2980B9; outskirt: none; outskirt range: 3px; box-shadow: none; text dimension: 14px; text style weight: striking; line-stature: 26px; moz-outskirt span: 3px; content adjust: focus; content enrichment: none; content shadow: none; width: 80px; min-tallness: 80px; foundation: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/modules/intelly-related-posts/resources/pictures/straightforward arrow.png)no-rehash; position: supreme; right: 0; top: 0; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:hover .ctaButton { foundation shading: #34495E!important; } .uca cd28289607730608340fb9fee51482 .focused content { show: table; tallness: 80px; cushioning left: 18px; top: 0; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482-content { show: table-cell; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; cushioning right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-adjust: center; width: 100%; } .ucacd28289607730608340fb9fee51482:after { content: ; show: square; clear: both; } READ: Mrs Dalloway-Time EssaySearle could be over rearranging the case by concentrating just on part ofthe Turing machine of set to get info and give yield. A few supporters ofstrong AI contended that Searle could be viewed as the composing directions and tapein the Turing machine similarly as he was the controller in the Chinese Room relationship. Solid AI supporters fight that the controller and perusing head in a Turingmachine, just as Searle as the controller of the Chinese Room similarity, cannotbe said to comprehend importance behind the narratives. The issue is that thesepieces can't see, however the entire could. This implies the Turingmachine overall and the Chinese Room all in all comprehended the profundity, yetwhat seemed to control them didn't. Searle never gave a directdefinition of seeing, yet he declared that arranging to give outputwhether right or wrong can have understanding as single, loneinstruments. In the second situation where Searle was offered storiesin English to response questions, he is clearly ready to see each singlecomponent in the situation. With the correlation Searle guaranteed that his ChineseRoom relationship indicated that any Turing machine reproduction of human understandingwas inadequate. A total comprehension , much like that he had in thescenario containing just English, is just as equ ipped for happening as thepiece in charge. Searle is right in asserting that his ChineseRoom Analogy shows that any Turing machine or computational reenactment of humanunderstanding of an etymological wonder neglects to have genuine understandingthat a human can appreciate.

Horse Essay Topics

Horse Essay TopicsThe writing of an essay can be made easier if you know the types of essay topics and how to choose one. You want to know what the essay writing is about, and the best way to accomplish this is by knowing which topic you will write. Now, you are probably thinking of choosing a topic that has some appeal to you. However, if you don't have any particular interest in writing, there are still some topics for you to consider.One essay topic that is really popular in school is based on education. It is especially popular among people who have some type of educational background, whether they majored in it or not. Even students who do not have college degrees can include this topic in their essay because it is one that is quite popular.Another popular topic is medicine. Most people have a great deal of interest in knowing about some type of health care. Now, you can use this topic to talk about the medical field in general. You can also discuss the importance of having heal th care in your family and how it affects the world at large.Also, the topic of leadership is quite popular. Think about leadership as being someone who is able to influence others through their words and their actions. You can use this to your advantage by making an appeal to the reader about the importance of being able to influence others through your words and actions. These are just a few examples of topics you can use for essay writing.The next thing you need to know about essay topics is the style of writing that you will be using. Do you know what you will be using? What types of subjects do you want to cover?A good essay topic can really increase your overall grade. It is something that will allow you to get involved with your class and make an impression on the professor that you wish to impress. If you can write your essay well, the results will go further than if you don't.One thing to remember is that the essay topic should not be something that only interests you. You need to find one that will make an impression on the professor so you can make sure that you have something that the professor will consider when grading your final paper. Consider this a good idea, and try to think of one for your essay!

The Open Boat By Stephen Crane - 1106 Words

In â€Å"The Open Boat† by Stephen Crane, four men – a captain, an oiler, a correspondent, and a cook - survive a shipwreck. They maneuver the rough waters in a dinghy, searching for land and signs of life. After they accept that the area around a safe-house they come across is unpopulated, the men also accept the fact that there is a very real chance that they may die. This passage delves into the same thoughts that are rushing through all of their heads, but keeping to themselves. In such a situation, all men think about how this could happen, and why. Alas, they do not have an answer, and that frustrates them. Nature cannot be explained, it simply just is. This passage supports reveals the work’s overall meaning or theme of nature’s indifference towards humans with story elements consistent with Naturalist literature such as the adversity that ordinary people may face, uncontrollable forces deciding man’s fate, and man’s will to triumph ag ainst that fate. To begin with, this passage reveals the men’s thoughts and feelings about their situation and nature’s role in it. In addition, the essence of their situation is also revealed. In this passage the men decide that they will need to exchange information with one another in case someone does not survive. This illustrates that they are coming to the realization that their lives are in danger. There is no guarantee that any one of them will live to see another day. The men become angry when they realize that they couldShow MoreRelatedThe Open Boat By Stephen Crane1076 Words   |  5 PagesThe Open Boat Analysis The Open Boat is a wildly creative text. The author explores fiction and philosophy to achieve a balance of literature professionalism. The text is a masterpiece reality expressed through the creation of characters representatives of society and day to day living. Symbolic use of characters and human titles plays a key role in delivering the message of the author. Stephen Crane, the author exploits the power of harmony to establish a relationship where every individual isRead MoreThe Open Boat By Stephen Crane1197 Words   |  5 Pagesliterature took a turn from the romantic view of the world to a more natural take of the universe. One of the better portrayals of this naturalistic view is Stephen Crane’s â€Å"The Open Boat† in which the short story exhibits the lives of four men cast out at sea after their steamer, the Commodore, sank and they were then forced to take refuge in a life boat. This story follows the men through the focalizing viewpoint of the correspond ent and descriptively as well as effectively portrays his psychologicallyRead MoreThe Open Boat by Stephen Crane980 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Open Boat† The relationship between man and nature Many stories talk about the idea of fate, the idea that no matter how much a person tries to survive, nature ultimately chooses the person’s path of life. The short story, â€Å"The Open Boat† by Stephen Crane illustrates the relationship between nature and man and how nature’s indifference towards man’s effort for survival. In this account, the narrator, Stephen Crane explains to the readers that no matter how hard one tries to fight nature inRead MoreThe Open Boat By Stephen Crane1709 Words   |  7 Pages The Open Boat, written by Stephen Crane is discusses the journey of four survivors that were involved in a ship wreck. The oiler, the cook, the captain, and the correspondent are the survivors that make onto a dingey and struggle to survive the roaring waves of the ocean. They happen to come across land after being stranded in the ocean for two days and start to feel a sense of hope that they would be rescued anytime soon. They began feeling down as they realize nobody was going to rescue themRead MoreThe Open Boat by Stephen Crane Essay1882 Words   |  8 Pages â€Å"The Open Boat† is short tale of endurance, suffering, and redemption. The story focuses on four interesting sailors on a journey towards survival. They try their best to overcome the adversities of the water and raging storm. Crane focuses on the constant struggle of man’s immobility to control his own life. â€Å"The Open Boat† is a nonfictional fiction some call it. It typically is argued as only fiction, but many lean toward its nonfictional quality. Crane wrote the story based off his real lifeRead MoreIrony In The Open Boat By Stephen Crane880 Words   |  4 Pagesthat contains a lot of irony is Stephen Crane’s â€Å"The Open Boat†. Crane uses irony in many different ways in the story to tell of four individuals who survive their ship being wrecked and everyone else aboard has drown. In â€Å"The Open Boat†, four sailors survive their ship being wrecked and must continually fight to find land and to stay alive without their survival boat capsizing. One of the first ways that Crane incorporates irony is through the captain of the boat. The captain is hurt during theRead MoreThe Open Boat by Stephen Crane Essay1323 Words   |  6 PagesIn the story The Open Boat, by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. InsteadRead MoreThe Open Boat by Stephen Crane Essay587 Words   |  3 PagesThe Open Boat by Stephen Crane â€Å"The Open Boat† Four men drift across a January sea in an open boat, since they lost their ship some time after dawn. Now, in the clear light of day, the men begin to grasp the full gravity of their situation. Realizing that their main conflict will be man versus nature, in this case, the raging sea. In the short story â€Å"The Open Boat,† Stephen Crane gives an itemized description of the two days spent on a ten-foot dinghy by four men a cook, a correspondentRead MoreStephen Crane s The Open Boat973 Words   |  4 Pagesyou are at starts to sink. How do you think people in the ship would react to this scenario? Stephen Crane, an American author, wrote the story â€Å"The Open Boat†. The story is about a boat sinking in the middle of the ocean with four men. The characters presented by Crane in the story are a cook, an oiler, a correspondent, and the captain. Although the story is narrated from the view of the correspondent; Crane gives the reader so me particular characteristics of the captain. The goal of this paper isRead MoreThe Open Boat By Stephen Crane1423 Words   |  6 Pagesperiod is Stephen Crane’s â€Å"The Open Boat.† This riveting short story presents several ideas that humankind and nature specially bonded through a diverse set of themes. In his short story â€Å"The Open Boat† Stephen Crane’s expression of naturalistic and realistic view on mankind’s relationship with nature is highlighted through three main themes: indifference, insignificance, and incessancy. First, the indifference of nature evidently illustrates its relation to mankind. In â€Å"The Open Boat,† nature is

Plagiarism Prevention Service At Bbworld Boston - 1153 Words

General 1) Are you launching a plagiarism prevention service? Yes - as part of the Blackboard Beyond Initiative, Blackboard announced the availability of a plagiarism prevention service at BbWorld Boston on July 10, 2007. All Blackboard ® clients with Enterprise licenses of the Blackboard Learning System will have access to this new service. 2) What is SafeAssign? SafeAssign is a plagiarism prevention service, offered by Blackboard to its Blackboard Learning System, Enterprise, Vista Enterprise, and CE Enterprise License clients. This service helps educators prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers. In addition to acting as a plagiarism deterrent, it also has features designed to aid in educating students about plagiarism and the importance of proper attribution of any borrowed content. SafeAssign is a part of the Blackboard Beyond family and is centrally hosted by Blackboard, like the rest of the Beyond products and services. Although it is a new Blackboard service, it is based on a mature and proven technology that Blackboard acquired from Sciworth Inc. (MyDropBox) and enhanced to offer even better stability, performance, and integration with other Blackboard products. 3) How does the tool work? SafeAssign can be used in two ways. Instructors can set up SafeAssignments in their courses on Blackboard and let students submit papers to complete these assignments, in a way very similar to the one provided currently by Blackboard

A Case Study Analysis On Organizational Behavior Issues

Table of Contents Introduction Wal-Mart: A brief Overview Organizational Behavior Issues in Wal-Mart Low Wage and Employee Dissatisfaction Authoritarian Culture of Wal-Mart Discrimination Issue at Wal-Mart Recommendation Conclusion References Are You Daunted by the Thought of Due Assignments? Avail Our Services and Receive Assignment Help from Experts. Introduction Organizational behavior aids in studying the human behavior in context of the organizational settings. It revolves around the study of individuals, teams as well as the whole organization in order to analyze the behavior. The study of organizational behavior supports various organizational activities in order to achieve the organizational goal. The theories of organizational behavior help in exploring various pathways for meeting the objectives (Robbins, Campbell and Judge, 2010). Organizational decision making process plays a crucial role in ensuring success of the company. Maintaining positive culture within the organization contributes in motivating the workforce. It has been found that the motivated workforce assist in improving the organizational performance (Rousseau and Cooper, 2000). The attitude of the employees must be understood in order to capitalize the skills in enhancing the overall performance. Leadership is a major issue that determines how the management will work w ith the employees for achieving the organizational objectives. Ineffective leadership, mistreatment with the employees may lead to lack of motivation which will affect the work culture as well as performance. Additionally, malcontent employees will develop a negative culture which is not desired by the organization. Presently, various organizations are encountering issues regarding organizational culture, leadership, employee motivation and relations (French and Schermerhorn, 2008). This paper focuses on discussing the organizational behavior issues faced by the organizations in the dynamic business environment. An organization has been chosen for discussing the issues specifically and at the end of this paper recommendations have been included in order to resolve the issue. Wal-Mart: A brief Overview Major objective of this paper is to critically analyze the organizational behavior issues in order to identify the contemporary business problems. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been chosen for discussing the major organizational behavior issues which has significant importance on the business activities of the company. This section will focus on providing a brief overview of the organization. Wal-Mart is an USA based multinational retail chain which operates through huge discount departmental stores. The organization was established by Sam Walton in the year of 1962. Headquarter of Wal-Mart is located at Bentonville, Arkansas. For more than 50 years, the company has been operating in 27 countries with more than 11,000 outlets. Presently, Wal-Mart is the largerst company across the globe in terms of revenue. Additionally, it is the largest private employer of the globe as per the list published by Fortune. It is a family owned business and since 1972 it is listed on the New York Stock Exch ange. The slogan of the company is Save more. Live better. The low price strategy has helped the organization in capturing large market. The culture of the organization believes that the retailer can help people by saving money which will improve theory quality of life. The major four values of the company includes service to its customers, respect for every individual, achieving excellence and action which aims to maintain integrity. Wal-Mart is focusing on enhancing its business value through exploring growth opportunities and integrating its core values and purpose to every aspect of the business (Corporate.walmart.com, 2014). Organizational Behavior Issues in Wal-Mart Presently, the dynamic business environment has presented various challenges for the organizations. The needs and motivating factors are changing due to the shift in socio-economic structure and multicultural approach. Managing the employees in order to enhance the organizational performance has been a major challenge for the multinational companies. Wal-Mart has been encountering some issues regarding organizational behavior. Mistreatment with the employees have been reported which is the result of poor organizational culture (Pendola, 2014). The role of leaders has been questioned in case of Wal-Mart. It has been found that the employee is not motivated due to various reasons. This section will focus on highlighting the major issues relating to the organizational behavior at Wal-Mart. Low Wage and Employee Dissatisfaction Wal-Mart believes in the slogan, Save More. Live Better. It has been found that the company has been applying this approach in case of its employees (Harress, 2013). It has a large employee base of 2.2 million across 9,000 stores. It h has been reported that the wage rate at Wal-Mart is significantly low in comparison to its business rivals. The management of Wal-Mart has been controlling the cost cutting activities in an aggressive manner. It has been reducing the employee benefits along with the wages. Every business organization adopts a strategy for maximizing the profit. Cost cutting through managing labour cost is a popular way. However Wal-Mart has not adopted as well as implemented it effectively. The average salary of the lowest paid workers at Wal-Mart is $18,720 if the employee works for 40 hours per week and 52 weeks in a year. But, the average salary is reported to be $9 per hour and it has been fund that the workers work around 34 hours per week. Hence, the averaged ann ual salary is estimated to be $15,500 (Harress, 2013). It results in dissatisfaction of the employees. The employees in Washington D.C. and various cities across America, are organizing strikes. The labor unrest is majorly triggered by the low wage rate at Wal-Mart (Ungar, 2013). The organization needs to motivate its employees in order to enhance the overall work performance. According to the Maslows Need Hierarchy, at first the physiological needs to be satisfied (Robbins, Campbell and Judge, 2010). Physiological needs trigger an individual to get engaged into a job to ensure regular earnings. The preliminary purpose of employment is to satisfy the basic needs of the individual. Lower wage at Wal-Mart is not adequate to meet the physiological needs of the workers. They need avail food stamp and subsidies for maintain their livelihood. Hence, the company is not able to fulfill the primary requirements of its employees (Pendola, 2014). Hence, the employees are not satisfied and it is reflected in their performance (Arvinen-Muondo and Perkins, 2013). According to Herzbergs Two Factor Motivation Theory, there are two factors associated with the motivation of the employees at workplace. It has been found that the hygiene factors includes policy and procedures or the company, working conditions, management and supervision, interpersonal relations, job security and salary (Robbins, Campbell and Judge, 2010). Absence of these hygiene factors leads to dissatisfaction of the employees. Consequently, it affects the performance of the employees. It has been found Wal-Mart has not been offering adequate salary which is one of the most important hygiene factors. According to the Herzbergs two factor motivation theory, the employees will be dissatisfied (French and Schermerhorn, 2008). It has been observed that the employees are calling out for strikes in various stores of America which reflects the labour unrest. Additionally, it has been observed that at the Wal-Mart stores, products are stacked on the pallets in the warehouse of the organ ization instead of bringing it to the floor of the stores so that the customers can get their desired product. Due to low level of motivation, the employees of Wal-Mart have been found to be working efficiently (Arvinen-Muondo and Perkins, 2013). The check-out lines are found to be significantly long which is not desired by the customers. Thus, the overall shopping experience of the customers is declining which has a potential impact on the financial performance of the company (Arvinen-Muondo and Perkins, 2013). Costco is one of the biggest competitors of Wal-Mart and in the fourth quarter of 2012-2013, the company has reported 8% growth in revenue in year on year basis. On the other hand, the sales of Wal-Mart had increased by 1.2%. In the past 5 years, the company had recorded 13% growth in the number of stores. In 2013, the workforce in U.S. warehouse had dropped by 1.4% (Ungar, 2013). The remaining disorganized workforce is not motivated enough to help the customers during shopp ing. Thus, the poor organizational culture has dissatisfied the workforce which has significantly impact on the financial performance of the company. Authoritarian Culture of Wal-Mart Various types of leadership are practiced in different organizations and it develops a specific culture. Different type of organizational culture depending on the leadership styles includes authoritarian culture, participative culture, mechanistic culture and organic culture. It has been found that the Wal-Mart has developed an authoritarian culture (LICHTENSTEIN, 2014). In this type of culture, power is centralized and the leader is the ultimate person to make decision. This culture emphasizes on obedience and discipline. Authoritarian culture implies that the leader is the best person for understanding what is good for the organization and he will always cater the organizational interest (French and Schermerhorn, 2008). In case of Wal-Mart it has been observed that the authoritarian culture has pressurized the store level management to squeeze more from its workers, lower level managers and the stockers (Brantley, 2014). The hyper centralized management at Wal-Mart had leaded to various problems. The workers could not share their views regarding working conditions and other problems. The communication system has been found to be one way which focused on instructing the sub-ordinates (Robbins, Campbell and Judge, 2010). Additionally, authoritarian culture of the organization leaves no scope for innovation which significantly inhibits the future growth. In the dynamic global business environment it is important for the organizations to facilitate innovation for ensuring sustainable growth. Wal-Mart is an anti-union organization which had punished the employees for violating the rules. The authoritarian structure of Wal-Mart had deployed communitarian ethos for sustaining higher degree of loyalty (Brantley, 2014). The decline in the sales level is an alarming factor for Wal-Mart which is the result of the present culture. The authoritarian culture significantly affects the motivation level of the employ ees which negatively impact the financial performance of the organization (Pendola, 2014). Discrimination Issue at Wal-Mart Discrimination is a major issue which has been reported by the employees of Wal-Mart. The authoritarian culture and tendency of cutting cost through lower wage are the major organizational issues. The incidents of discrimination had added fuel to the employee dissatisfaction and affected the reputation of the organization (Pendola, 2014). Presently, 70% of the hourly employees of Wal-Mart are women. Sex-discrimination is a massive issue which has been reported by the workers as they were deprived of certain benefits and opportunities. The organizational culture of Wal-Mart promotes gender discrimination. According to the Herzbergs Two Factor Motivation Theory motivation factor included job satisfaction, growth opportunities, achievement, responsibility and recognition (Kondalkar, 2007). Absence of these factors leads to dissatisfaction of the employees. In Wal-Mart, gender biasness had leaded to dissatisfaction of the employees. It was reported that a woman employee was paid less sal ary than the male employee who was trained by her (Cascio, 2006). The discrimination issue had significantly affected the motivation as the female employees were deprived of recognition (French and Schermerhorn, 2008). In case of promotion, the same trend was observed. According to Lichtenstein (2011), around 10,000 female employees at Wal-Mart deserved to be promoted as the salaried store manager. But, the management of Wal-Mart considers it as impossible and the glass ceiling had affected the employee morale. It assumes that the women with young kids and relative, who needs intensive care, will not be able to take the high level of responsibility (Cascio, 2006). This is referred as glass ceiling which prevents the management from analyzing the actual position. Recommendation The above section has discussed the major organizational behavior issues In Wal-Mart. The discussion implies that the organizational culture does not develop a positive working environment. The leadership style and organizational policies have failed to motivate its employees for enhanced performance. This section will provide few recommendations which will address the organizational behavior issues and inclusion of these recommendations will be effective in solving the current problems. First of all, the management must focus on providing standard wage in order to satisfy their physiological needs. The salary must be enhanced which will have a parity with the current economic status of the respective nations (Harress, 2013). A two-way communication system must be established so that the workers can express their views and ideas. The organic culture needs to be developed which will support innovation and provide ample growth opportunities (Rousseau and Cooper, 2000). In order to improve employee morale, gender discrimination must be stopped. In order to make it effective, the organization needs to design an anti-discrimination policy and implement it properly (Kondalkar, 2007). The mid level management must be trained in order to enhance communication with the workers. The executives are responsible for motivating it staffs (Cascio, 2006). Responsibilities must be distributed among the workers and the major aim of performing each activity need to be explained in order to motivate them to enhance their performance. Reward and recognition policy must be redesigned in order to encourage the workforce in achieving excellence. In order to attract and retain the talented workforce, career growth opportunities must be provided to the employees. Conclusion This paper has provided an insight to the contemporary organizational behavior issues encountered by large companies. In this paper, the problems of Wal-Mart have been discussed along with the relevant organizational behavior theories. It has been found that Wal-Mart has been encountering various issues due to labour unrest. The company has been offering lower wage which is inadequate for meeting the physiological needs of the workers. Consequently, the employees are not motivated to perform their job responsibilities efficiently. Additionally, it has been found that the authoritarian culture of the organization have inhibited innovation as the employees are not motivated to perform their tasks in the negative working environment. Gender discrimination is a common practice at Wal-Mart which has deprived several female employees from their deserving positions and benefits. In order to solve these issues, the management must focus on re-orientation of the management structure which wil l adopt a positive culture. The need of the employees must be catered. Additionally, reward and recognition program must be re-designed for encouraging the workers in improving their performance. Gender discrimination must be stopped at Wal-Mart for ensuring a positive organizational culture. References Arvinen-Muondo, R. and Perkins, S. (2013).Organizational behaviour. London: Kogan Page. Brantley, M. (2014).Walmart's authoritarian style. [online] Arkansas Times. Cascio, W. (2006). The High Cost of Low Wages.Harvard Business review, December. Corporate.walmart.com, (2014).Culture. French, R. and Schermerhorn, J. (2008).Organizational behaviour. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Harress, C. (2013).Wal-Mart Says 'Save Money Live Better,' But Workers Don't Make Living Wage And Rely On State Benefits. Kondalkar, V. (2007).Organizational behaviour. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers. LICHTENSTEIN, N. (2014).Wal-Marts Authoritarian Culture. [online] Nytimes.com. Pendola, R. (2014).Mistreated Walmart Employees Speak Out Against Company (UPDATED). Robbins, S., Campbell, T. and Judge, T. (2010).Organizational behaviour. Harlow [u.a.]: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Rousseau, D. and Cooper, C. (2000).Trends in organizational behavior. Chichester: Wiley. Ungar, R. (2013).Walmart Pays Workers Poorly And Sinks While Costco Pays Workers Well And Sails-Proof That You Get What You Pay For.

Sociology free essay sample

Media and Violence with Music Background Hip-hop music stemmed from a resistance movement in the sass. Rap music, one form of hip-hop, became more mainstream in the late sass and early 1990s. Historically; this form of hip hop was used to voice extreme opposition of dominant culture and represents the struggle of disadvantaged Black youth in urban ghettos of the South Bronx, and later South Central Los Angles. Rap music lyrics have been proven to be extensions of a constant struggle between a dominant White society and the struggle of disadvantaged minorities (mostly Black), to obtain social capital Martinez 1997).This resistance to mainstream society has created an oppositional culture. According to Martinez (1997), the Race Relations theory states that oppositional culture consists of subordinate groups, who use parts of their own culture such as values and resources, to oppose the majority or dominant society In order to survive. Black youth (specifically adolescent males) have formed an oppositional culture because of the disadvantages in their communities, labeled, urban neglect (Martinez 1997). We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This created a resistance that is shown through messages In rap music.Many messages that are portrayed In rap music are often violent In nature, because the artists are speaking about their own communities, where the despair is pervasive enough to have spawned an oppositional culture, that of the streets, whose norms are often consciously opposed to those of mainstream society (Anderson 1994: 82). Violence is so much a part of these disadvantaged communities that a set of Informal rules, which polices personal and group behaviors, has been established and many of the lyrics in rap music reflect a code of the street (Elijah Anderson 1994).According to Elijah Anderson (1994), author f the Code of the Streets, throughout all the problems that poor, disadvantaged black communities face, violence Is the most harmful. For a black youth In this type of disadvantaged community, Anderson (1994) claims that Just living in an environment like this can sculpt a violent identity. Unfortunately these Black youth have no choice but to live by these rules, and accept the amount of violence and crime as a norm that Is In their communities.Violence and Medal Although rap music embodies a well-established culture of violence (Richardson and Scott 2002), violence in the media isnt only reserved to rap music. Violent media has been proven to be associated with involvement in violent behavior (Richardson and Scott 2002). Because youth, especially adolescents look to find people as role models, they often subsequently are choosing those rap artists who speak about oppositional culture and violence. Anderson and Cavalry (2002) found that a part of the way teens identify with lyrics is shown in the aspects of youth (adolescent) Identity development.But teen Identification Isnt Just shaped or Influenced by rap music lyrics. According to the Commission for the Prevention of Youth Violence, by GE 18, the average American youth will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 20 0,000 acts of violence through different media forms (Richardson and Scott 2002). A Juvenile detention center and an average high school and found that simply a preference for violent media was predictive of personal violence and aggression. They found that even when an individual originally has low aggression, they are still in some way affected by violence in media (Boxer et. L. 2009). Violence in Rap Rap music content however, contains a large amount of violence in comparison with other media outlets. In a study done by Chairs E. Suburb (2005), he found many rap lyrics actually provide Justification for violence on the street and a direct link to willingness to use violence to protect or defend identity and reputation. About 65% of all rap songs in his sample referenced a violent theme and violent retaliation was found in 58% of the sample (Suburb 2005).Suburb also found that listeners hold the street code as a normal order to life and that rap lyrics are actual reproductions of the code that describe black urban street life (Suburb 2005:375). He argues it is important to realize that rap is a characterization of urban life. It is clear that as notations in the inner city have gotten worse in the last 10 years, the prevalence of street code has risen (Anderson 1994). Suburb states that these conditions have defined the context in which rap has emerged (Suburb 2005:365).Thus, since violence is extremely prevalent in rap music lyrics, and held highly by those who can identify most with it, perhaps it could have a significant influence on adolescent rap fans of different races. Conclusion Violence in rap music is proven to be pervasive and also, like other media outlets that contain a high amount of aggression and violent acts, it does affect how a youth identifies with it. Lyrics in rap music are a reflection of an oppositional culture and can therefore aid in shaping an adolescents violent social identity. Sociology free essay sample Childhood as a Social Construct: * Pilcher (1995) notes that the most important feature of modern childhood is ‘separateness’ from adulthood – it is seen as a clear and distinct LIFE STAGE. * Children in our society have a different status to the adults and have different expectations of them. * This is emphasised in several ways, such as: * Laws which regulate what children can and can’t do. * Difference in dress, for young children especially. Through goods and services especially for children such as food, toys, books and play areas. * Related is the idea of childhood as being a ‘golden age’ of innocence and happiness. * This innocence means that children are considered to be vulnerable and in need or protection. * Children need to be ‘shielded’ from the hardships of the adult world. * As a result of this, children’s lives are lived largely within the confines of the family and education where they are provided for and protected by the adults. We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They lead lives of leisure and play unlike adults. * Wagg (1992): ‘Childhood is socially constructed. It is, in other words, what members of particular societies, at particular times and in particular places, say it is. There is no single universal childhood, experienced by all. So, childhood isn’t ‘natural’ and should be distinguished from mere biological immunity. ’ * All humans go through the same stages of development; different cultures construct and define this process differently. In the Western world, children are defined as weak, vulnerable and unable to care for themselves, however other cultures do not take this view. * A good way to see these differences is to take a comparative approach, for instance: * Punch’s (2001) study of childhood in RURAL BOLIVIA found that at around the age of five, children were expected to take on work responsibilities in the home and community. * Firth (1970) found that among the TIKOPIA of the WESTERN PACIFIC doing as an adult tells you is a concession of respect from the child and not a ight to be expected by the adult. * Holmes’ (1974) study of SAMOAN people found that ‘too young’ is not an acceptable excuse for not allowing a child to carry out a particular task: ‘Whether it be the handling of dangerous tools or the carrying of extremely heavy loads, if a child thinks he can handle the activity, parents do not object’. * Aries (1960): ‘the idea of childhood did not exist’. Children were not seen as having a different nature or needs to the adults after they had passed the stage of physical dependence during infanc y. During the Middle Ages, children were essentially ‘mini-adults’, with the same rules and punishments applying to both. * Aries states that elements of the modern childhood began to emerge from the 13th Century onwards: * Schools: (which adults had previously also attended) came to specialise exclusively in the education of the young. This reflected the influence of the church, which increasingly saw children as ‘fragile creatures of God’ in need of protection and discipline from worldly evils. * Clothing: Children and adults began to dress differently. By the 17th Century, an upper-class boy would wear something ‘reserved for his own age group’ which would set him apart from the adults. * Parenting Books: childrearing handbooks were widely available by the 18th Century – a sign of increasingly child-centric values in the family, at least in the middle classes. * Aries claims that these ^ developments have caused the ‘cult of childhood’ and that we have moved form a time that did not find anything notable in childhood to one where we are obsessed with it. * He describes the 20th Century as ‘the century of childhood’. Pollock (1983) argues that previously there was just a different idea of what childhood was, not that it did not exist. * Aries’ work is valuable though as it provides evidence for the theory that childhood is a social construct. Has The Position of Children Improved? * March of Progress: Standards of living for children have been steadily improving and have never bee n as good as they are today. Today’s children are more valued, cared for, protected, educated, enjoy better health care and have more rights than those that came before them. In 1900, the infant mortality rate was 154 in every 1,000 births, now it is just 5. * Smaller family sizes (from 5. 7 births per woman to just 1. 84 in 2006) and better living standards mean that parents can provide properly for their children. Studies suggest that by the time a child reaches its 21st birthday, they will have cost their parents up to ? 186,000 (Liverpool Victoria, 2007). * Declining family size and lowering infant mortality rates are encouraging parents to make a greater financial and emotional investment in fewer children. Donzelot (1977) observes how theories on child development began to emphasise the need for supervision and protection of children. * Laws and policies now apply specifically to children, placing minimum ages of activities such as drinking, driving and sex, and these h ave reinforced the idea of a ‘separateness’ between children and adults. * MOP sociologists argue that the family is now ‘child-centred’; children should no long be seen-and-not-heard as in Victorian times. * Parents invest emotionally in their children like never before, and often have high aspirations for them to have better jobs and lives than they had. Society is also ‘child-centred’ now, as well with many media and leisure facilities geared specifically towards children. The Conflict View: * Conflict Sociologists (Marxists and Feminists) dispute the MOP concept because they argue that society is based around conflicts between different social classes or genders with some people with more power than others. * These sociologists argue that the concept of modern childhood is false and idealistic and ignores inequalities. They criticise MOP on two key points: * There are inequalities AMONG CHILDREN in terms of opportunities and risks as many are still unprotected and poorly cared for. * There are inequalities between CHILDREN AND ADULTS and they are greater than ever before: children today are being more greatly controlled, oppressed and are therefore increasingly dependent upon adults. Inequalities Between Children: * Not all children have the same status and experience: some boys attend Eton College, some a state comprehensive. * Children of different ationalities experience different childhoods and opportunities, 90% of the world’s low birth-weight babies are born in the Third world. * There are GENDER differences too, Hillman (1993) notes that boys are more likely to go be allowed to cross the road or go out and play by themselves than girls and Bonke (1999) found that girls were more likely to do more domestic labour, particularly within LPFs, where they do five times more housework than b oys. * There are also ETHNIC differences: Brannen’s (1994) study of 15-16 year olds showed Asian parents as much more likely to be strict to their daughters: honour killings. Bhatti (1999) found that izzat (family honour) could be restrictive of girl’s behaviour particularly. Inequalities Between Children and Adults: * MOP writers believe that adults use the power they have over children for their protection, as in the passing of child labour laws. * However, Firestone (1979) and Holt (1974) argue that what the MOP writers see as protection is just cleverly disguised oppression. * Firestone argues that ‘protection’ from paid work is not a benefit but just serves to segregate children, make them dependent upon adults and therefore subject to their control. These critics hold a view known as ‘child liberationalism’ as they see the need to free children from adult control and abuse. This abuse takes a number of forms: * Neglect and Abuse: physica l neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse is an extreme form of adult control. In 2006 alone, 31,400 children were on child protection registers because they were deemed to be in potentially unsafe living environments, at risk mostly from their own parents. ChildLine receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying they’ve been physically or sexually abused which reveals a ‘dark side’ to the family. Children’s Space: shops may display signs banning schoolchildren from their shops, shopping centres and public areas are more highly surveyed particularly during school hours, and fears about road safety and ‘stranger danger’ have led to more children being driven to school by parents and prevented from travelling alone. Cunningham (2007) found that the ‘home habitat’ (where children may travel unaccompanied) has shrunk to one 9th of what it used to be. * Children’s Time: adults in today’s society control chi ldren’s daily outines: when they eat, sleep, wake up, are at school or at home, when they work, when they play. Therefore, they control the speed at which a child ‘grows up’. They decide if a child is old enough nor not, and this contrasts with Holmes’ findings among Samoans – ‘too young’ is never given as a reason not to let a child perform a task. * Children’s Bodies: adults can control how a child sits, walks or runs, what they wear, how they have their hair, if their ears are pierced, and in certain situations can touch them – to wash them, dress them, feet them or to show affection. However, adults can also restrict how a child touches its own body. * Access to Resources: children have limited ways in which they can earn money, so remain dependent upon adults. Compulsory schooling and child labour laws exclude them from all but the most marginal, poorly paid, part-time jobs. Child benefit does not go to the child; pocket money may be given for good behaviour, but may also be restricted to certain objects. Age Patriarchy: * The power the father has over the rest of the family. * This can assert itself in the form of violence against both children and women. Humphreys and Thiara (2002): found a quarter of the women in their study of 200 left their abusive partner because they feared for their children. * This supports the view of Gittins (1998) that patriarchy oppresses both women and children. * Evidence (Hockey and James, 1993) that children find childhood oppressive comes from looking at how they resist it: * ‘Acting up’: engaging in activities tha t adults can but they can’t, such as drinking, swearing, smoking, joy-riding and under-age sex. ‘Acting down’: behaving in ways that are associated with younger children, such as baby-talk, or being carried. * Hockey and James conclude that this proves that children wish to escape childhood. * Critics of the child liberationalists argue that some control needs to be exercised over children’s lives because they are unable to make certain decisions for themselves. * It is also argued that children are not as helpless as claimed, as they have legal rights to be protected and consulted. The Future of Childhood: The Disappearance of Childhood: * Postman (1994) comments that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’. * He points out that children are being given the same rights as adults, dressing the same as adults and even committing ‘adult’ crimes like murder. * This, he argues, is to do with the rise and fall of print culture and the advent of television culture. * During the MIDDLE AGES, as most people were illiterate, speech was the only skill required to participate in the adult world, so children could join at an early age. Childhood was not a concept; there was no division between a child’s world and an adult’s. * Childhood emerged with mass literacy: there was suddenly a division between the adults who could read and the children who could not. This meant that adults could keep knowledge of sex, death, illness, and other ‘adult things’ secret from the children. These things faded into mystery and childhood became associated with innocence and ignorance from the 19th Century onwards. Television blurs the line between child and adult, destroying the ‘knowledge hierarchy’. Unlike reading, television requires no special skills and therefore makes the same information available to both adults and children. Adult authority diminishes and childhood’s innocence is replaced with knowledge and cynicism. * The opposite of this is the disappearance of adulthood – where adult’s and children’s tastes and styles become indistinguishable. * Postmanâ €™s study details how communication technology can influence the way childhood is constructed. However, he over-emphasised television as the single cause of this change and neglected to discuss others such as improved living conditions and changes in the law. A Separate Childhood Culture: * Opie (1993), however, argues the opposite. * Based on a lifetime’s research into children’s games, rhymes and songs conducted with her husband, she argues that evidence strongly suggests that a separate children’s culture has existed for many years. * These findings contradict Postman – their studies show that children can and do create their own separate lives/cultures. The Globalisation of Western Childhood: * Child liberationalists argue that childhood is not disappearing, quite the contrary – it is spreading. * Through GLOBALISATION, the western concept of childhood is being exported and imposed upon other cultures thanks to international humanitarian organisations and welfare agencies. * Campaigns against child labour and street children in the Third World reflect Western ideas about the norms of childhood, while not taking into account the culture of the countries they are campaigning to change. Contradictory Trends – the Reconstruction of Childhood? * Some writers are concerned that children are experiencing what Palmer (2006) dubbed as the ‘toxic childhood’. * Advances in technology and cultural changes in the last 25 years have stunted children’s emotional, physical and intellectual development. * These changes include: junk food, computer games, intensive marketing, the long hours worked by parents and the emphasis on testing in education. Young people’s behaviour has also raised concerns – Margo and Dixon (2006) reported that the UK’s youth are at or near to the top of the international league tables for obesity, self-harm, substance abuse, under-age sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. * Such observations induce an anxiety that childhood as an innocent and protected life-stage is under threat. This is hard to prove, however, for two reasons: * Not universal: not all children experience the same childhood. * Which aspect of childhood are we talking about? Some suggest the continuation of childhood as a separate life-stage, others do not: * Rights: though children have more rights, they are not totally equal to adults and remain under their authority. * Similarities: between adults and children’s dress sense, food and activities. * Education: the extension of compulsory and non-compulsory education has made young-adults economically dependet ‘children’ for longer. * Freedom: ‘stranger danger’ has meant children freely roam in smaller spaces than ever efore. * Childhood may be disappearing due to the ‘ageing population’ there are more old people and fewer young people in the world. * Qvortrup (1990) argues that as the numbers of adults with dependent children decreases, the number of voices calling for resources to go to children decreases with it. * As families become smaller, childhood may become a lonelier and isolated period as there will be fewer children around. * However, the relativ e scarcity of children may cause people to value them more highly.