Sociological Theories and How They Contribute to Our Understanding of Education

Sociological Theories and How They Contribute to Our Understanding of Education Introduction Different scholars look at education functions from different perspectives depending on the theory they deploy in interpretation of their perceived features of education. The theories that tend to explain the sociological functions of education are collectively termed as sociological theories of education.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sociological Theories and How They Contribute to Our Understanding of Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Young posits that sociology of education entails the study of the manner in which public institutions coupled with individuals experience the various impacts of education alongside its outcomes (1995, p.21). On the other hand Floud, Halsey and Martin (1956) claims that it â€Å"is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher, further, adult continuing and education† (p.12). People h ave, over the years recognized education as the most fundamental way of overcoming various handicaps in the society with the capacity to make the society achieve higher equality coupled with acquiring wealth. They have also claimed to have the ability to improve the social status of individuals. Educational scholars strongly believe that through education children are able to develop to their full potential. Additionally, people view education as having the ability to make people from challenged background to rise to higher social classes. In this context, Sargen argues that education is â€Å"perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality† (1994, p.30). Some sociology scholars argue that any properly formulated educational system has the ability to achieve this purpose precisely. However, as Bourdieu reckon that other sociologists have â€Å"a particularly negative view, arguing that the education system is designed with the intention of causing rep roduction of social inequality† (1990, p.47). Putting into perspectives the various scholarly approaches in the interpretation of the purposes of education, especially bearing in mind the social changes impacts of education, the modern perceptions of education attracts mixed reactions. It is in this regard that various sociological theories of education become significant as one of the subtle ways of determining the direction of modern and future educational policies.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The work on moral education by Emile Durkheim pioneered systematic studies on educational sociology. His work looked at the education as a platform that constitutes organic solidarity within the society. Max Weber, on the other hand, perceived education as a tool for political manipulations. After the Second World War came to a halt, the subject of sociology of educat ion acquired renewed interest. This renewed interest shifted from â€Å"technological functionalism in the US, egalitarian reform of opportunity in Europe, and human-capital theory in economics† (Sullivan 2001, p.893). The concepts of human capital were widely necessary particularly by putting into consideration the fact that increased industrialization created divisions of labor and hence the necessity for a given way of hierarchically dividing labor inputs into the industries. Education level emerged as one of the subtle ways of accomplishing this endeavor: people with low education predominantly serving as manual workers. Education results into stratification of social classes and forms an impeccable tool for ensuring social mobility. Nevertheless, some scholars argue that education produces only limited social mobility. According to Heath and Cheung, â€Å"statistical and field research across numerous societies showed a persistent link between an individuals social clas s and achievement suggesting that education can only achieve limited social mobility† (2007, p.89). The 1960s saw the collapse of functionalism approaches in education. The concept of education as a good that people cannot mitigate suffered a fair deal of challenges. One of such challenges was the one placed by neo Marxists, who proclaimed that â€Å"school education simply produced a docile labor-force essential to late-capitalist class relations† (Ogg, Zimdars Heath 2009, p.783). The various ways of looking at the societal impacts of education predominantly lie squarely on a number of theories. Among these theories are conflict theory and structural functionalism. Social functionalism theory claims that the society inclines towards an equilibrium that tends to inculcate social order.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sociological Theories and How They Contribute to Our Understanding of Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People look at education analogously to the human body, which comprises of various organs that must function harmoniously for maintenance of a healthy body. In this regard, social functionalism sees institutions such as education within the society as mainly intended to socialize kids. Opposed to social functionalism, conflict theory claims, â€Å"society is full of vying social groups with different aspirations, different access to life chances and gain different social rewards† (Furze Healy 1997, p.23). According to this theory, people characterize the society based on relationships that are predominantly sub-ordinative, oppressive, dominative, and exploitive in nature. The two theories have different opinions with regard to the functions of education in the society as portrayed by activities carried out in the schools. This paper compares these two theories coupled with the unveiling of the contrasts in the claims that exist between them with re gard to the way educational or school activities are perceived in the two schools of thought. Nevertheless, it begins by presenting an overview of each of the two theories. Overview of Conflict theory With regard to conflict theory, the relationships that guide the society are exploitative, subordinate, oppressive, and dominative. This theory thus anticipates teachers to expect students to have some background experience of middle-class life right at home. The conflict theory posits that reproduction of these predetermined functions end up exacerbating or rather reproducing existing inequalities from one generation to the other. Unfortunately, this is widely a misconception since people come from different backgrounds and hence making such an assumption is largely fallacious. As Young reckons, â€Å"Some children are expected to help their parents after school and carry considerable domestic responsibilities in their often single-parent home† (1995, p.47). Anticipating studen ts to be involved in helping in the domestic chores compounds the responsibilities of the students hence making them suffer from deterred academic success in schools.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the conflict theorists, the way educational activities have been structured clearly point to the fact that education serves as a way of further widening the social class gap. For instance, in most countries schools are funded by property tax, which means that in localities where the residents are rich the schools are heavily funded than poor and marginalized places (Jacob 2001, p.10). Heavily funded schools in return seek the services of the best teachers and the students eventually perform far much better than their counterparts in other marginalized regions. By doing this, the conflict theorists argue that the system of governance in schools prepare the students for the unfair life ahead of them. This is because the students from the best schools have the highest probability of securing positions in the best colleges in the country while those from the poor backgrounds hardly make it to colleges therefore only seeking positions in technical institutes and vocational t rainings. Students who gain access to the best training in the best colleges end up getting jobs in the corporate world while those who train in vocational and training institutes become manual laborers (Sullivan 2007, p.893). This is enough proof according to conflict theorists that education serves to widen the social class gap further and propagate further discrimination based on class. Education functions as a way of instilling an ideology to the poor people in the society to accept their situations and rather than blaming the authorities to blame it on themselves. This is what the conflict theories term as the ‘hidden curriculum’ in education (Giddens 1991, p.116). School activities, such as sorting students based on their academic abilities, serve to prepare them to accept their social place. This, in return, maintains the status quo in the society. The oppressed people, in this case, do not find the need to struggle to and be free from the poverty that engulfs th em since they consider it as their fate. According to Anderson and Taylor (2009), they even start counting themselves lucky for the little that they have (p.19). Conflict theorists argue that the composition of the tests intended at sorting the students is in most cases, discriminatory as far as the questions involved are concerned (Bassile 2011, p.263). This can be termed as discrimination based on class or even ethnicity. For instance, a class test may include a question such as the following: Which of the following instruments form part of an orchestra? A) Guitar, B) Violin, C) Trumpet. D) None, E) All. This question can be classified by the conflict theorists as among those that propagate or portray racial discrimination. The fact that the question requires the students to get a definite difference between an orchestra and a band is one of the claims. The second thing is that the question is trying to portray the orchestra as superior, considering that it is in most cases prefer red by the elites and the rich people (Bassile 2011, p.262). A conflict theorist would in this manner consider this school activity as revealing to the students the discriminative nature of the outside world and perhaps indirectly propose that the students struggle to align themselves with the favored class by working hard in school. Competitions in schools, whether inside or outside the classroom, introduce the student to capitalism according to the conflict theory. When a student is recognized and rewarded for performing exceptionally either in extra-curriculum school activities or in classwork. This makes the student feel that he/she is better than the others (Sadovnik 2007, p.12). Competitions in the schools are therefore regarded as unfair by the conflict theorists considering that they make the less privileged feel so. The researchers and proponents of this sociological theory of education found out that â€Å"Where teachers have softened the formality of regular study and in tegrated student’s preferred working methods into the curriculum, they noted that particular students displayed strengths they had not been aware of before† (Wilson Wyn 1987, p.137). Softening of the formalities in education infers that teachers deviate from the traditional curriculum as determined by the state. The reason for departure is principally rested on the belief that what the state perceives as to entangle â€Å"knowledge† does not necessarily have to make subtle impacts in the students future career life and hence not vital to teach in school settings. The state determined knowledge is thus more often than not non-useful to students and hence majority of them find it pointless to learn such knowledge. Wilson and Wyn, proponents of the conflict theory, laments, â€Å"students realize there is little or no direct link between the subjects they are doing and their perceived future in the labor market† (1987, p.120). In this context and congruent w ith the conflict theory, the bottom line lies in teaching exactly what the students anticipate to be widely involved in the future. Unfortunately, such desires emanate from segregated interests, which one cannot harmonize for teaching groups of students who might be interested in similar interests. No two personalized interests can coincide. From a different context Henry, Knight, Lingard and Taylor assert that â€Å"irrespective of their academic ability or desire to learn, students from poor families have relatively little chance of securing success† (1988, p.12). It is perhaps with this argument that the oppression, subordination, dominations and exploitation concerns in the conflict theory become eminently significant. Bearing in mind Henry, Knight, Lingard and Taylor priory mentioned argument, it perhaps sounds plausible also to argue that, as the students who come from poor backgrounds struggles to succeed academically with little success, those from middle class backgr ounds would employ less effort to achieve their academic dreams. Sargent concurs with this argument. He, further, adds that â€Å"The federal government subsidizes ‘independent’ private schools enabling the rich to obtain ‘good education’ by paying for it† (1994, p.111). With the cute educational backgrounds, children coming from rich backgrounds financially, have more ample opportunity to excel in education and hence in future careers. Rich children also have higher probabilities of acquiring gigantic rewards in the future as opposed to the poor children. Conflict theorists view this as a way of continual and acerbating of existing inequalities in the society, which people claim to alleviate, in contrast education systems. Conflict theory furthermore, perceives education systems as mechanisms of aggravating social privileges among the elites only. The continued dominance by a single class of people is what conflict theorists’ term as social r eproduction. Social reproduction takes place due to educational ideologies held by the groups that dominate the society. The position held by conflict theorists is perhaps crucial by considering the question of the quality of education available to the two divides: the poor and the rich. Consequently, from the perspectives of the conflict theory, the idea of equal availability of quality education for all serves nothing more than just a myth. To this end, Wright is concerned that â€Å"the effect of the myth is to†¦stop them from seeing that their personal troubles are part of major social issues† (Sargent 1994, p.92). It is thus unsubstantial to argue that only what impairs people from achieving their dreams lies squarely on their inability to work towards their goals. However, many other inequalities exist that perpetuates the ability of less advantaged members of the society from achieving their dreams in education. Many parents sacrifice to ensure that their children achieve their best in their academics. Even though this sacrifice is essential, conflict theory insists that it is not the sacrifice that matters but rather the elimination of existing social discrepancies in terms of equal accessibility to quality education. Conflicts theorists look at the poor and hence less advantaged members of the society as the victims of what they term as victims of confidence trick. These victims of confidence trick â€Å"have been encouraged to believe that a major goal of schooling is to strengthen equality while, in reality, schools reflect society’s intention to maintain the previous unequal distribution of status and power† (Breen Goldthorpe 1997, p.299). As a result, conflict theorists are opposed to the idea that education is available to all without prejudices pegged on some way of discrimination of some members of the society. They also fail to strike to a consensus to the argument that education acts as a mechanism for ensuring fare distribution of wealth and achievement of equal societal status. Social functionalism theory Social functionalism theory looks at the educational system as analogous to a human body, which has many organs that must function in harmony for cute bodily health. Social health infers that the society lives in a socially ordered environment. Social order is normally assured where the society generally appreciates the moral values that are usually applicable and binding all members of that society. The concerns of the structural functionalism theory tend to foster continual of certain predetermined functions that particular members of the society must accomplish for sustained realization of the roles of society from generation to generation. In this context, structural-functionalist theorist proactively believes that the existence of social institutions such as educational institutions seeks to socialize teenagers and children in general (Heath et al. 2001, p.39). In structural functional ism theory, the educational system is analogous to a human body, which has many organs that must function in harmony for good bodily health. Social health infers that the society lives in a socially ordered environment. According to Heath, â€Å"socialization is the process by which the new generation learns the knowledge, attitudes, and values that they will need as productive citizens† (2003, p.301). Despite the fact that the curriculum explicitly proclaims this objective of education, more often than not, people achieve it through a curriculum that they may regard as â€Å"hidden curriculum†. The hidden curriculum encompasses â€Å"a subtler, but powerful, indoctrination of the norms and values of the wider society† (Harker 1984, p.164). The school environment, according to the functionalism theory, seems more often regulated in such a way that students unconsciously learn these behaviors prompting the students to accept and internalize them. The labor market is dynamic. People enter and leave, giving rise to vacancies that people must fill, so long as they possess certain attributes and qualifications. Education systems serve to produce such persons. As Bourdieu (1977) puts it, school serves yet another function entailing â€Å"sorting and ranking individuals for placement in the labor market† (p.89). The sorting and ranking process results in the placement of individuals with high performance in training for the most crucial jobs: mainly the ones entangling decision-making. On the other hand, those with low performances find themselves ranked to train in chores that demand less intellectually with repercussions of being rewarded less. Ranking of people following the functionalism theory attracts a myriad of criticisms. For instance, Henry, Knight, Lingard and Taylor argue, â€Å"to believe that ability alone decides who is rewarded is to be deceived† (1988). This argument is perhaps significant since the disparities exis t between various educational settings. Using performance indicators such as the scores arguably do not necessarily reflect on the capacity of students. It is thus unfair to set performance indicators in schools as true reflections of the performance of the students. Meighan and Siraj-Blatchford (1997) accepts this argument and adds that â€Å"large numbers of capable students from working-class backgrounds fail to achieve satisfactory standards in school and therefore fail to obtain the status they deserve† (p.103). One of the factors that may impeccably deter some students from portraying their abilities through performance indicators includes deferring experiences at home. As a way of example, some functionalism theory proponents believe that children from working-class families are insufficiently equipped with strategies to cope with school challenges. Jacob happens to be one of such scholars and posits that performance indicators are not true reflectors of childrenâ€⠄¢s abilities since â€Å"the middle-class cultural experiences that are provided at school may be contrary to the experiences working-class children receive at home† (2001, p.34). The performance indicators more often sieve individuals from working-class by making them remain at the working class just like their parents. This way, there is the mobilization of social reproduction of inequalities. Now, the concerns of functionalism theory take us back to the concerns of social reproduction. In this context, Sargent (1994) confirms this trend. He proposes, â€Å"†¦that schooling supports continuity, which in turn supports social order† (p.99). The repercussions of using performance indicators in grading students abilities is to taint some students as educational failures which social functionalism theorists argues that it prejudices people within a society. Since functionalism theorists insists that the social order must be sustained, it intrigues to think of why wo rking class people would fill satisfied in remaining at this level from one generation to the other. According to Bessant and Watts, the existing discrepancies in education between various classes of people â€Å"maintains social order and continuity which is what most people desire† (2002, p.13). However, arguably, social functionalism theory is inconsistent and challengeable since the question of why one class of people would prefer and fill satisfied in a while at that class is a recurring one. School activities such as examinations, group work, sports, debates and other activities aimed at preparing the student to attain the necessary skill to serve as the social being that a human being is. The spirit that is achieved in these activities is aimed at enabling the students to get the necessary skills also to rise in the social ladder (Apple 2000, p.24). To this extend, structural functionalists posit that education is aimed at facilitating social mobility and consequently helping in the closing of the social class gap. The spirit of competition which is introduced to students in school is supposed to enable them to work hard as the rewards of hard work go up with personal efforts. In this sense, education assists the students and arms them with the necessary capabilities to face the world as it is. Structural functionalists contest the claim held by conflict theorists that activities aimed at sorting students and rating them according to their capabilities are flawed and instead encourage further discrimination (Jacob 2011, p.36). According to the structural functionalists, these competitions are fair since they place the students at level ground and give them the chance to work their way up. The nature of interactions that students experience in educational facilities is important in the effort to eradication discrimination of any sort. Students from varying backgrounds and ethnicities meet in educational facilities and interact freely with each oth er. This teaches them the need to be tolerant to people from other walks of life or even those that one perceives to be different (Apple 2000, p.43). In reaction to the question of there being schools that include only students from a given background or ethnicity and how the nature of this interaction helps in creating tolerance, structural theorists argue that there are hardly such schools where only one social class or ethnic group is represented and add that there is the inclusion of exchange programs in school curriculums which aim at handling that exception. The school curriculum according to the structural functionalists is specially designed to ensure that the lessons offered in schools help in the transmission of the core values that are required for the student to succeed in the society. Other activities such as games and club activities facilitate in this by creating platforms where the level of achievement of these core values is tested (Sargent 2004, p.34). For instance , education aims at ensuring that the students embrace courageousness and a game competition such as football gives the student the avenue to test such courageousness. Another key value that school activities aim at giving to the students is what structural theorists term as personal liberty, this is the ability to function independently and be in a position to choose what is right at the right time. Comparing and contrasting structural functionalism and conflict theories As discussed in previous sections, social functionalism theory entangles looking at the purpose of educational systems as mechanisms of socialization of people. On the other hand, conflict theory looks at the institutions from the angle of serving as to adapt and respond congruently with the behaviors of students as dictated by certain moral norms (Basile 2011, p.266). According to conflict theory, these institutions do not necessary follow the traditional curriculum, but rather they follow a hidden curriculum char acterized by some societal dictated forces, which warrants the departure of curriculums from the state established curriculum. Social functionalism theory predominantly restricts its concerns to the manner in which universal education is adapted to satisfy the myriad of needs of the society. Manifestation objectives of educations form the solid foundations onto which functionalist theory pegs itself. These objectives principally focus on the need to pass on basic skills and knowledge from one generation to another. The founder of the theory: Durkheim sighted out latent roles that any educational system deserves to accomplish. According to him, education has the noble aim to ensure socialization of people into one single mainstream. He referred to this form of education as â€Å"moral education.† According to Bowles and Gintis (1976), moral education aids in forming â€Å"more-cohesive social structure by bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, which echoes the his torical concern of â€Å"Americanizing† immigrants† (p.103). From functional theory perspectives, education also has vital roles in ensuring transmission of social control coupled with core values of the society. Some of this educational values which various educational systems, for instance, the American system follows includes the various characteristics, which foster economic systems and political systems, which in the first place served to fuel American education. Consequently, students get rewards for sticking to deadlines, schedules authority demands and while not negating following given guidelines keenly. Perhaps one of the dominant characteristics of functionalism theory is the concept of individualism. With regard to Wright, â€Å"individualism embraces an ideology that advocates for liberty rights or dependent action of the individual† (1959, p.105). Compared to some others parts of education, American education seeks to reward the best individual amon gst groups of competitors. This approach doe not only apply to curricular activities but also to extracurricular activities. As a repercussion, even the educational activities that call for collaborators effort such as football must have a singling out of the player of the season or even year. Arguably, functionalism theory of educations seeks to inculcate the spirit of self-esteem as opposed to social esteem. Learning about the necessity of competition is yet another vital characteristic that functionalist theorist sees as important. The spirit of competition is perhaps one of the essential traits of capitalistic economic constructions. Students learn at early stage to compete for the best score, winning for an athletic challenge among other games. Consequently, there is the reproduction of competition altitude down from generation to generation. The fruits of engaging in some competitive task have always had some reward attached to it acting as a motivator. In schools, it takes so me form of presents. Arguably, the functionalism theory tends to advocate for capitalist systems in which the main driver of the economy is some anticipated gain either in terms of profitability or in kind. Additionally, as Sadovnik laments, â€Å"schools overtly teach patriotism, a preserver of political structure† (2007, p.91). In fact, this is extremely crucial from functionalist point of view since it fosters continued existence of established societal norms then truncated down to subsequent generations. Social functionalism theory advocates for rankings of students based on their abilities. This way the students can then undergo training on different area to which they are well suited for the economy to leap most from their contributions. In this end, the ranking of student takes place based on some merits. Bernstein (1977) claims that â€Å"Societys needs demand that the most capable people get channeled into the most important occupations† (p.27). With regard to social functionalism perspective point of view, schools have the noble role to ensure that they select the most able people from the massive population early enough. To achieve, they give out these tests. Hence, at an early age, students learn to appreciate their abilities in comparison to their colleagues. Unfortunately, tests more often than not end ups instilling some negative spirit of ‘I cannot’ amongst some students. However, as Bourdieu and Passeron (1990) reckon that â€Å"those who score highest on classroom and standardized tests enter accelerated programs and college-preparation courses† (p.37). Many functional theorists’ advocates for this approach referred as social placement. Among such theorists includes: Wilbert Moore and Talcott Parsons, among others (Ball 2004, p.7). Majority of these sociologists scholars are inclined to a perception that social placement is vehemently crucial in society. Upon realization of the sorting process, accordi ng to social functionalism theory, the nest purpose of education entails networking. Networking, according to social functionalism theorists, is a vital tool with the capacity to foster interpersonal connections. In fact, social functionalism sociologists claim that this networking is an inevitable constituent of any well-formulated educational system. Right from colleges and or in high school, students have a network with colleagues in similar grades, majors or classes. These networked programs more often have got the chances often ending up being professional or at some times remaining as personalized. In this end, education serves to match various groups of people within the society. One drawback of these networks stands out because the various networked groups have certain attributes and ways of conduction of their academic affairs that characterize them. Hence, they may hinder free flow of information and knowledge to other networks. Nevertheless as Apple (2000) reckons â€Å" Sociologists primarily interest themselves in how sorting and networking lead couples together of similar backgrounds, interests, education, and income potential† (p.45). Arguably, people place immense concerns to the networking function of education to the extent that parents and guardians object and regulate the choices of colleges available to students. The main aim of limiting these options being predominantly inclined on the perception that kids should only attend colleges where they would find their perfect matches. Proponents of the functionalism theory tend to advocate for the sarcastic two-fold roles served by education, which entangles changing of cultures coupled with preservations of cultures. â€Å"As students move through colleges, as well as beyond, their liberty increases, as they encounter a variety of perspectives† (Fine Weiss 1998, p.39). Borrowing from this line of view, it is perhaps subtle to argue that less educated persons are largely conservati sm while their educated counterparts are incredibly liberal in nature. A heavy emphasis lies on the higher education to inculcate the spirit of research. This has the capacity to make students subjects of changing values and initiators of knowledge evolution. From the functionalism dimension, education then serves to preserve coupled with skills and knowledge transmissions. In this end consequently, education is merely a transforming tool for the society. Somewhat controversial and yet debatable function of education pegged on functionalism theory entails the argument that education fosters family placement of people. Despites the imminent controversies surrounding this function of education, perhaps its advocating is critical since the modern curriculums incorporate various aspects that would foster family placement of people going through such curriculums. Such aspects include sexuality, development of careers and discipline. However, a good number of parents opposed to this funct ionalism function of education opts for home-based–schooling for their children or alternatively place them in privately established schools that are run consistently with values they advocate. Opposed to the above concerns of social functionalism theory of education conflict theory â€Å"†¦sees the purpose of education as maintaining social inequality and preserving the power of those who dominate society† (Henry, Knight Lingard 1988, p.15). The conflict theory consequently indebts itself to concerns of social order. Conflict theorists claim that education has a principle and noble role in fostering social order. In this context, and in the most general sense, conflict theorists widely concur that education emerges as one of the tools that erode the concepts of status quo rather enhances the spread of social inequality. With regard to Sargent, these inequalities are acerbated by the fact that to some extent educational systems serves to create ways of segregatio n of the broader society population into social classes (1994, p.89). Members belonging to the lower social classes are more often accustomed to remaining obedient workers. As a way of comparison, both theorists strike to a consensus that education produces some kind of sorting. However, they immensely fail to agree on the manner in which education enacts such a sorting process. Sociologists who subscribe to functional theory of education argue that education sorts based on merit. On the other hand, conflict theorists posit that education systems seek to sort people based on ethnicity coupled with distinct classes. As Ball, Maguire, and Macrae (2000) notes â€Å"conflict theorists, proclaim that schools train those in the working classes to accept their position as a lower-class member of society† (p.57). This province of thought, on the other hand, as referred by subscribers of conflict theory, is a â€Å"hidden curriculum† that education serves to uphold as part of i ts roles. In the two theories, formal education guided by curriculum preset by the state forces produces some kind of social imbalance. For conflict theorists, a clear difference exists between schools located in two contrasting regions. For the regions occupied by the rich, schools receive excellent funds and hence stand better chances of attracting the best staff to administer the curriculum. On the other extreme, those schools situated in the poor regions have lesser funds available to them and hence attract moderate staff. With these differences in mind, conflict theorists argue that such differences end up reflecting themselves in the performance of students in schools. More sad is the fact that poor performance at the elementary level somewhat determines the destiny of the individual concerned. Maguire, Wooldridge, and Pratt-Adams agree with the line of thought and lament that â€Å"students who attend high-class schools gain substantial advantages in getting into the best co lleges and being tracked into higher-paying professions† (2006, p.109). These advantages of attending high-class schools are largely unavailable to students who attend less affluent schools. Conflict theorists claim that more often than not such students end up in technical and or in vocational training centers. Worse, still, once this kind of imbalances is established within a society, it normally is truncated from one generation to another. In this context, therefore education serves to maintain the dominance of wealthy and affluent members of the society in leadership of almost every sector of economy. Additionally, the functional theory also appreciates the likelihood of formal education to foster existence of social imbalances. In the course of ranking people based on their abilities, some imbalances are produced which in one way or another ends being truncated down to subsequent generations once they are established. From the preceding discussion in previous sections, pe ople have argued that the net effect of measuring student’s abilities through performance indicators such as tests is to produce some sort of prejudiced indication of the abilities of the students. Background characteristics of students play pivotal roles in determining the performance of the students in schools. Since these backgrounds are eminently valid for deferring number of students, this variation reflects itself in their performance. Arguably, the standardization of performance indicators without relative or correlation factors to accommodate the variation in the backgrounds of student produces some imbalance. In this regard, educational system tends to favor the advantaged people in the society. People who subscribe to conflict theory in unison agree on the capacity of the economics status of the affluent members of the society to favor them in economic terms and hence can afford best education. As this is not enough favor, testing procedures deployed in schools also tends to favor the affluent members of the society. The poor consequently suffer twin challenges. In fact, intelligence quotient tests are among the testing procedures that proactively favors the affluent class of people. Intelligence test happens to be one of the tests employed to segregate students in terms of their abilities based on the scores recorded from these tests. Other than inability to produce standardized results tests since they do not appreciate the differences among those they test for intelligence, Bourdieu see more trouble being acerbated by such tests, Bourdieu (1977) claim that â€Å"tests, which claim to test intelligence, actually test cultural knowledge and therefore exhibit a cultural bias† (p.69). This perhaps presents a paradox, since people believe education to serve as the tool for a breakdown of cultural biases and in the modern age: promote global cultural diversity. Again, even though modern educationists claim that education is predominantly c ulturally neutral, this is perhaps not the case based on both conflict and social functional theory of education. It is evident from the theories that education bases itself on some background knowledge. This background knowledge often is culturally sensitive. Arguably, this thinking posses substance since the very initial knowledge that helps an individual to attach meaning to the environment he or she lives is based on the characteristics of this environment that one is put in immediately after being born. People who have differing artifacts dominate this environment. The construction of these artifacts differs based on people’s culture. Considering the differences and similarities in the concerns of the two theories of education, perhaps one can establish a compromise between the two that mitigates the imbalances and foster the positive aspects of each of the theories. This way we can challenge our understating on the role of education and settle on mechanisms that would p erhaps call for adopting a mechanism for ensuring that the education and its testing procedures end up being more reflective of the abilities of the students both academically and in extracurricular activities. There may be many ways of mitigating the imbalances. However, some of them would entail the provision of correlation factors in the scores recorded by students upon conduction of various tests on them such as intelligence tests while attempting to sort them out. These correlation factors need have factors that help to accommodate the various differences existing among students among them cultural differences, and economic differences among others. This way perhaps the dominance of one group of people in the best jobs would cease and hence produce a better equal society. There would be the mediation of the traditional role of education to maintain some discriminatory social order. Consequently, introspecting the roles of education from varying dimensions: from functional theor y or conflict theory would lead to striking to neutral point at which the role of education in the society would end up to foster equality other than propagating inequality. Conclusion The paper has dedicated itself to scrutinizing social functionalism and conflict theories of education. It has clarified how social functionalism theory entangles looking at educational system as analogous to a human body, which has many organs that must function in harmony for good bodily health. Any institution within the society that indebts itself to social harmony infers some sort of social order (Jones 2003, p.47). As revealed, there is the assurance of social order where the society generally appreciates the moral values that are generally applicable and binding all members of that society. The theory brings education into the picture as to whether it may profile such a role. The conflict theory, on the other hand, encompasses looking at education purpose from the dimensions of being a contribu tor of relationships that guide the society. Based on perception, the relationships are exploitative, subordinate, oppressive, and dominative in nature. A comparison of the two theories reveals that functional and conflict theories of education reveal existence of some social imbalances in their concerns. Education makes people climb up their social ladder by breaking down the barriers that may impair people from accomplishing this noble ability. With this regard sociologists, such Sargen argues that education is â€Å"perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality† (1994, p.30). While some sociology scholars argue that any properly formulated educational system has the ability to achieve this purpose precisely, as the paper discussed others believe that education in one way or another introduce inequalities. These inequalities are reflected in the dominance by some affluent social class members in the control of major jobs that be regarded as the bes t in terms of rewards. The paper has also proposed how careful scrutiny of the concerns of the two theories may help in understanding education better. In this end the paper has argued that introspecting the roles of education from varying dimensions: from functional theory or conflict theory would lead to striking to neutral point at which the role of education in the society would end up to foster equality other than propagating inequality. References Anderson, M., Taylor, H., 2009. Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Apple, M., 2000. Official Knowledge: Democratic Education in a Conservative Age. London: Routledge. Ball, S, Maguire, M., Macrae, S., 2000. Choice, Pathways and transitions Post-16: New youth, new economies in the global city. London: Routledge. Ball, S., 2004. The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Sociology of Education. Abingdon: Routledge. Basile, G., 2011. â€Å"Implications of Sociological Theories for Brand and Consumer Relationship Studies.â €  International Journal of Management Studies, 13(3), pp. 261-269. Print. Bernstein, B., 1977. Class, Codes and Control Vol. 3. London: Routledge. Bessant, J., Watts, R., 2002. Sociology Australia. Sydney: Allen Unwin. Bourdieu, P., Passeron, J., 1990. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. London: Sage. Bourdieu, P., 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bowles, S., Gintis, H., 1976. Schooling in Capitalist America. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Breen, R., Goldthorpe, J., 1997. â€Å"Explaining Educational Differentials: Towards a Rational Action Theory.† Rationality and Society, 9(3), pp. 275-305. Print. Fine, M., and Weiss, L., 1998. The Unknown City: The Lives of Poor and Working-Class Young Adults. Boston: Beacon Press. Floud, J., Halsey, A., Martin, F., 1956. Social Class and Educational Opportunity. London: Heinemann. Furze, B., Healy, P., 1997. Understanding society and change in Stafford, C. and Furze, B . (eds) Society and Change (2nd Ed). Melbourne: Macmillan Education. Giddens, A., 1991. Introduction to Sociology. New York: W.W. Norton Company. Harker, R., 1984. On Reproduction, Habitus and Education in Robbins and Pierre Bourdieu Volume II. London: Sage Publications. Heath, A., Andersen, R., 2003. â€Å"Social Identities and political cleavages: the role of political context.† Journal of the Royal Statistical Society series, 166 (8), pp 301– 327. Print. Heath, A., Martin, J., Beerten, R., 2001. Old and New Social Class Measures: A comparison of pp 226-243 in D. Rose and D.J Pevalin (eds) A Researcher’s Guide to the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification. London: Sage. Heath, F., Cheung, S., 2007. Unequal Chances: Ethnic Minorities in Western Labor Markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Henry, M., Knight, J., Lingard, R., Taylor, S., 1988. Understanding Schooling: An Introductory Sociology of Australian Education. Sydney: Routledge. Jacob, A., 2001. Research links poverty and literacy. New York: ABC Radio Transcript. Jones, K., 2003. Education in Britain: 1944 to the present. Cambridge: Polity Press. Maguire, M, Wooldridge, T., Pratt-Adams, S., 2006. The Urban Primary School. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Meighan, R., Siraj-Blatchford, I., 1997. Sociology of Educating (3rd Ed). London: Cassell. Ogg, T., Zimdars, A., Heath, A., 2009. â€Å"Schooling effects on degree performance: a comparison of the predictive validity of aptitude testing and secondary school grades at Oxford University.† British Educational Research Journal, 35(5), pp. 781-807. Print. Sadovnik, A., 2007. Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader. London: Routledge. Sargent, M., 1994. The New Sociology for Australians (3rd Ed). Melbourne: Longman Chesire. Sullivan, A., 2001. â€Å"Cultural Capital and Educational Attainment.† Sociology, 35(4), pp. 893-912. Print. Wilson, B., Wyn, J., 1987. Shaping Futures: Youth Action for Liveli hood. Hong Kong: Allen Unwin. Wright, M., 1959. The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Young, M., 1995. Knowledge and Control: New Directions for the Sociology of Education. London: Macmillan.

Combahee River Collective in the 1970s

Combahee River Collective in the 1970s The Combahee River Collective, a Boston-based organization active 1974 to 1980, was a collective of black feminists, including many lesbians, critical of white feminism.  Their statement has been a key influence on black feminism and on a social theory about race.  They examined the interplay of sexism, racism, economics, and heterosexism. As  black feminists and lesbians, we know that we have a very definite revolutionary task to perform and we are ready for the lifetime of work and struggles before us. History The Combahee River Collective first met in 1974. During â€Å"second-wave† feminism, many black feminists felt that the Women’s Liberation Movement was defined by and paid exclusive attention to white, middle-class women. The Combahee River Collective was a group of black feminists who wanted to clarify their place in the politics of feminism and to create a space apart from white women and black men. The Combahee River Collective held meetings and retreats throughout the 1970s. They attempted to develop a black feminist ideology and explore the shortcomings of â€Å"mainstream† feminism’s focus on sex and gender oppression above all other types of discrimination, while also examining sexism in the black community.  They also looked at lesbian analysis, particularly that of black lesbians, and Marxist and other anti-capitalist economic analyses.  They were critical of essentialist ideas about race, class, sex, and sexuality. They used techniques of consciousness-raising as well as research and discussion, and the retreats were also meant to be spiritually refreshing. Their approach looked at a simultaneity of oppressions rather than ranking and separating the oppressions at work, and in their work is rooted much of later work on intersectionality.  The term identity politics came out of the Combahee River Collectives work. Influences The name of the Collective comes from the Combahee River Raid of June 1863, which was led by Harriet Tubman and freed hundreds of slaves. The 1970s black feminists commemorated a significant historical event and a black feminist leader by selecting this name.  Barbara Smith is credited with suggesting the name. The Combahee River Collective has been  compared to the philosophy of Frances E.W. Harper, a highly educated 19th-century feminist who insisted on defining herself as black first and a woman second. The Combahee River Collective Statement The Combahee River Collective Statement was issued in 1982. The statement is an important piece of feminist theory and description of black feminism.  A key emphasis was on black womens liberation: Black women are inherently valuable.... The statement includes the following points: The Combahee River Collective is committed to fighting race, sex, and class oppression, and also recognized oppression based on sexuality.  These were analyzed not just as separate forces, but interacting forces. The synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives.As black feminists, members struggle alongside black men to fight racism, but against black men to fight sexism.If black women were free, everyone would be free, because that would mean all systems of oppression had been destroyed.The Collective would continue to examine politics, including racism in white women’s feminism.  But eliminating racism in white feminism, they said, was the work and accountability of white women.The members believe in the organization of work to benefit workers instead of bosses. The statement recognized many forerunners, including Harriet Tubman, whose military raid on the Combahee River was the basis of the name of the collective, Sojourner Truth, Frances E. W. Harper, Mary Church Terrell, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett - and many generations of unnamed and unknown women.  The statement highlighted that much of their work was forgotten because of the racism and elitism of the white feminists who dominated the feminist movement through history to that point. The statement recognized that, under the oppression of racism, the black community often valued traditional sex and economic roles as a stabilizing force, and expressed understanding of those black women who could only risk the struggle against racism. Combahee River Background The Combahee river is a short river in South Carolina, named for the Combahee tribe of Native Americans who preceded the Europeans in the area. The Combahee River area was the site of battles between the Native Americans and Europeans from 1715 to 1717. During the Revolutionary War, American troops fought foraging British soldiers there, in one of the last battles of the war. During the period before the Civil War, the river provided irrigation for rice fields of local plantations.  The Union Army occupied a nearby territory, and Harriet Tubman was asked to organize a raid to free slaves to strike at the local economy. She led the armed raid - a guerilla action, in later terms - which led to 750 escaping enslavement and becoming contraband, freed by the Union Army.  It was, until recent times, the only military campaign in American history planned and headed by a woman. Quote From the Statement The most general statement of our politics at the present time would be that we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking. The synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives. As Black women, we see Black feminism as the logical political movement to combat the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face.

Obesity Epidemic in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity Epidemic in America - Research Paper Example The causative factors of obesity are, lifestyles, eating habits, genes, workplace conditions, hormonal metabolic factors and recreational practices. Consequences of obesity include ailments, mental and emotional disorders, negative psychological outcomes, and hinders individuals’ performance. Obesity prevalence varies significantly across ethnic and racial disparities as well as socioeconomic status in the American population. In conclusion, obesity can be alleviated using pharmacological intervention, energy variation, public education, behavioral therapy, community-based initiatives and political-oriented solution. Introduction Obesity, weight gained or overweight has remained a contingent issue for a considerable time in health care, among scholars, the US Government as well as the community at large. Obesity is one of the most prevalent health care issues, which is causing worries in the United States. Obesity rates have relatively amplified over the years with its effects experienced in various population groups, and states. To offset the ever-increasing rates of obesity, it is important to evaluate the causes and effects of obesity in the American population. In view of this, obesity is associated with a number of negative physical and psychological consequences. It is attributable to several diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, psychological disorders including withdrawal syndrome, and overall personal degradation. On the other hand, obesity is caused by a range of factors, which include eating habit, sedentary work, genetics, inert recreation and individuals lifestyle just to mention but a few. In this paper, obesity is analyzed at length with respect to its prevalence, causes, consequences, and ways of solving the epidemic. Prevalence Several researches conducted on the prevalence of obesity in America indicate that the rates at which individuals are becoming overweight are ever increasing. In the period between 1986 and 2000, s evere obesity prevalence shifted to the proportion of 1 in 50 Americans from former status of 1 in 200. Besides, extreme obesity has greatly increased at an approximate rate of twenty percent in adults. Decades ago, obesity was a significant health issue among adults, but the situation has changed with time to include adolescents and children. Recent researches reveal that fifteen to twenty five percent of adolescents and children in America are obese with about nine million children aged above six years being obese. According to CDC’s data and statistics on obesity in America, obesity has dramatically increased over the past twenty years and rates remain high. In 2010, state based obesity prevalence ranged from twenty-one percent to thirty four percent in Colorado and Mississippi respectively. All states had obesity prevalence above twenty percent. Thirty six states had twenty five percent or more prevalence with states such Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana Michigan, Kentucky, and Oklahoma having thirty percent or more prevalence. Regional prevalence was a follows; South 29.4 %, Northeast 24.9 %, Midwest 28.7 % and West 24.1 % (CDC, 2012). The findings of the analysis conducted, in 2009-2010 in the US indicate that, approximately forty-one million women and over thirty-seven million men aged twenty years and above were obese. Amidst children and adolescents aged two-nineteen years, about seven million boys and

Module 2 Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 2 Case - Essay Example Several techniques of collecting data on the system requirements have been identified and applied. Among those techniques, the interview method has proven most effective. The advantage of the interview method over the other methods is that, it offers the system analyst a hence to get inclusive responses from the departmental heads. This ensures that all the aspects of the various departments in the firm are integrated into the system. This document outlines some of the steps to be followed in the interview process. The first step in an interview is to select the interviewees. To ensure that helpful information is obtained, different stakeholders should be involved in the interview. Some of the stakeholders would include managers, company employees and the general end user of the system. By selecting interviewees from different departments/ niches, reduces chances of biases in the information obtained. Once the interviewees are selected, the next step would be the development of the interview questions (YouTube, 2015). The questions should be developed such that they are free from ambiguity, and they use a language that can easily be understood by the interviewees. The questions can be either structured or unstructured. The structured type of questions attracts specific and straight to the point answers, whereas the unstructured questions remain open to the respondent to give any answer/ or view. For the purpose of efficiency in data analysis, the bigger percentage of the questions should be structured. The structured questions are appropriate when the expected data from the interview requires analysis to identify some patterns. On the other hand, the unstructured questions are relevant to a scenario where the opinion of the respondent is required. This offers the interviewee a chance to use any words to respond to the question asked. This makes the analysis of the unstructured qu estions difficult as compared to their

The Seattle Times Essay Example for Free

The Seattle Times Essay In one of the letters sent to the editor of The Seattle Times, one sender wrote â€Å"when someone uses binoculars to spy into his or her neighbor’s home, it is the same as crawling through the grass to peer into a window† as a reaction to the story about women blocking their windows with newspapers so as to keep peering neighbors out (Letters to the Editor: Creepy Couple Should Leave Neighbors Alone). The reaction of the letter-writer is guilty of the fallacy of â€Å"false analogy† wherein spying through binoculars is treated analogously with crawling in the grass in order to peer into a window. It is not valid to treat the use of binoculars for spying and peering into the windows after crawling in the grass as the same simply because these two things are entirely different. Peering into the neighbor’s window is far graver because the person behind the act is guilty of trespassing whereas spying through binoculars does not necessarily imply trespassing. In John McCain’s â€Å"Strategy for Victory in Iraq,† the post states that McCain â€Å"supported sending reinforcements to Iraq to implement a counterinsurgency strategy† at a â€Å"critical moment† when violence was at its peak â€Å"after four years of badly conceived military strategy. † The post then claims that the strategy â€Å"paid-off† in March of 2008 as violence considerably decreased. The post goes on to attack McCain’s presidential rival, Barack Obama, by saying that such â€Å"gains would be lost† if the policy of Obama of â€Å"withdrawing most of our troops† and leaving behind only a â€Å"small strike force† is implemented. The reason being argued to that claim is that Obama’s policy is the same strategy that failed in 2006 (Strategy for Victory in Iraq). Such line of reasoning is guilty of the fallacy of â€Å"questionable cause† or of â€Å"confusing cause and effect. † The fact that the decrease in violence in Iraq came after the counterinsurgency strategy suggested by McCain after 2006 does not necessarily mean that his strategy is ultimately the cause of the decline in violence. Moreover, even if it be granted that McCain’s strategy in the past did succeed and has been the primary reason behind the decline in Iraqi unrest, it is not necessarily true in all cases in all times. Conversely, the withdrawal of troops in Iraq does not necessarily mean that a rise in violence will certainly follow just because of a precedent which does not even clearly establish a firm connection between McCain’s strategies and the decline in Iraqi violence. In one of the blogs in the Los Angeles Times, Michael McGough makes the observation that â€Å"a majority of Americans would be willing to vote for a gay or lesbian candidate† because a recent poll indicates so. The statement is guilty of hasty generalization and appeal to popularity precisely because the author makes the poll as the basis of the general claim that a majority of Americans are willing to elect either a gay or a lesbian politician. Just because a poll with a few thousand of individuals as samples indicates that there are more Americans willing to elect a gay or a lesbian individual than those who do not favor that as far as the size of the sample is concerned does not necessarily hold true for the rest of the America population—a population millions more than the sample size of the poll. Further, just because the proposition is popular for a few thousands does not necessarily mean that it holds true for the majority of the larger American population. Lastly, many advertisements are guilty of the fallacy of â€Å"wishful thinking† since a number of these advertisements portray before the public the image of, say, the physique they should have and that, once buying the product being endorsed, the viewing public will have the same physique and image as the ones endorsing the product. For example, Nike has been advertising their products through the years with the use of athletes as product endorsers. In television advertisements, athlete-endorsers are shown wearing Nike products while performing in their sport. It is as if the viewers are being told that they can be like the athletes if they wear Nike sports products. References Letters to the Editor: Creepy Couple Should Leave Neighbors Alone. (2008). Retrieved August 27, 2008, from http://seattletimes. nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008135620_monletters25. html McGough, M. (2008). The Cleaverization of Michelle Obama. Retrieved August 27, 2008, from http://opinion. latimes. com/opinionla/2008/08/the-cleaverizat. html Nike Advertising. (2004). Retrieved August 27, 2008, from http://xroads. virginia. edu/~CLASS/am483_97/projects/hincker/ad. html Strategy for Victory in Iraq. (2008). Retrieved August 27, 2008, from http://www. johnmccain. com/Informing/Issues/fdeb03a7-30b0-4ece-8e34-4c7ea83f11d8. htm

Right Stuff :: essays research papers

The Right Stuff   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As one advances in their educational process it becomes apparent that some of their instructors were a significant cut above the rest. These few individuals are inevitably viewed as master craftsmen. But why is it that some instructor’s posses the â€Å"right stuff† for being effective with their students while others do not? When one analyzes their educational experience, those instructors that were extremely effective appear to them as makers of fine wine, turning grapes into a drink which is pleasurable to the pallet. All instructors’ careers starts out in much the same manner as a trade’s apprentice. First, they must go to school themselves. Then, they must observe experts in action. And finally, they have to exercise their newly acquired skills. The instructors that eventually become effective quickly realize there is much more to the fermentation process than this. They realize that to be effective with a student there are additional requirements that must be adhered to. To make a fine wine they must learn to delicately blend the right ingredients of personality, motivation, and above all patients.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The initial ingredient required to becoming an effective instructor is of personality. The personality of the instructor affects each and every student they are in contact with. An effective instructor will develop a personality that conveys humor into the learning process. It is only natural that what one finds humorous, one tends to remember longer. Additionally, if an instructor to be a cut above the rest, their personality must be of fairness and equality for each student. Students feel that, if their instructor really doesn’t like them much anyway, there isn’t much use in trying as hard as they would otherwise. As the apprentices of the instructor trade begin to integrate a warm, humorous, and friendly personality into their instructional style, the first process in fine wine making is achieved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, the instructor then adds motivation to their students’ behavior. When an instructor motivates a student to do well, the student usually tries to succeed beyond that point. This can most easily be done by the positive reinforcement of the students’ abilities and through constructive criticism. When an instructor portrays to their students that they believe in their abilities, the student unknowingly starts believing that they do posses the same abilities. Through applying the second ingredient to becoming an effective instructor, motivation, the grapes start to ferment and the apprentice now becomes a journeymen of the wine making trade.

Environmental Protection and Sustainability

Introduction In the past 25 years, international passenger aviation has experienced a threefold increase. It is expected that the aviation sector will continue to see similar growth over the next 25 years (Walker & Cook, 2009). Due to the rapid expansion of the aviation sector, there has been a growing concern for environmental issues in airline operations, especially in terms of energy and environmental sustainability (Agarwal, 2010). The focus on sustainability and environmental protection is due to the environmental consequences of contemporary aviation, especially the contribution of aviation to global climate change (Upham, 2003). With the recognition of the harmful effects of aviation on the environment, experts predict that â€Å"environmental factors will increasingly limit the expansion of air travel and the social benefit that it brings† (Green, 2003, p.281). Meridiana concurs that it is important to consider sustainability and environmental protection in aviation. It recognises the importance of green aviation and puts a lot of value on protecting the environment. In line with this, the company manages its activities in compliance with national and EU environmental regulations. As proof of its commitment, it has been awarded certification of its Quality System in compliance with UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 regulation for air quality. SGS Italia SpA has certified the compliance of the company’s activities involving the design and supply of services on board of domestic, international, and intercontinental flights (Meridiana, 2009). Recently, Meridiana joined the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which represents Europe’s major airlines. The AEA influences its members at the industry and institutional level in order to achieve goals that benefit the airline industry. One of the main thrusts of the AEA is to shape a more sustainable and competitive arena (AEA, 2013). Meridiana’s membership in the AEA shows that it is committed towards achi eving sustainability in the aviation sector. Marketing Mix Despite its success in some areas of the domestic market, the company has experienced heavy losses in recent years. With its ageing fleet, subscale international network, and its dependence in the domestic market, the company is facing very stiff competition from some of Europe’s leading low cost carriers (CAPA, 2013). Taking these into consideration, Meridiana has to improve its current marketing mix in order to increase sales and remain competitive. Effective marketing strategies can have a significant influence on society; thus, it is important for the company to apply the appropriate marketing mix to achieve their objectives.ProductMeridiana’s major strength is its competitively priced business class seats for long haul destinations, targeted at leisure travellers. As a medium service carrier, it offers elements of both full service and low cost carrier. For example, it provides food and drinks like full service carriers but its price range is comparable to low cost airlines. Meridiana should utilise this mix and use it as a competitive advantage. The airline needs to focus on its domestic flights and its short/medium haul destinations in Europe. The current marketing strategy fails to reach out to the business community. Their marketing strategy should emphasise services for both holiday/leisure and business purposes. The company should target SMEs and become the airline of choice for small and medium-sized companies. This can be done by offering discounts and incentives for companies who want to purchase multiple seats or flights.PriceMeridiana needs to use a competitive pricing scheme to attract customers. Its price point should be not too high from low cost carriers, but lower than traditional networked airlines. Although low cost carriers have lower prices, Meridiana should differentiate its slightly higher price point by offering better customer service. The aim is to have a mid-range price point, which can attract middle class consumers and SMEs.PlaceMeridiana has been highly successful in Sardinia and Sicily. The company should replicate its success by building stronger presence in other parts of Italy and in key international airline hubs such as London, Dubai, Beijing, Singapore, Narita, Paris, and New York. This can be achieved by improving airport check-in services and making their internet reservations website more attractive and easy to use.PromotionAs a hybrid airline, Meridiana operates both as a low cost carrier and a network airline (Sansonetti, 2010). It needs to be highly competitive by keeping it unit costs down. This can be achieved by enhancing its internet and social media channels. Meridiana should upgrade its website to make it more attractive and user-friendly. It should improve its tie-ups with hotels, resorts, car rentals, and other tourist services to attract more customers.PeopleMeridiana should improve its services to customers in order to attract more consumers and gain more customer loya lty. Excellent customer service can be a competitive edge, especially when low cost carriers offer cheaper rates. Meridiana should also highlight their people and the value of customer service in their marketing strategies.ProcessMeridiana should ensure that its online reservations are always efficient and that customers can easily access the airline through phone or email. The airline’s systems should be designed for the benefit of customers. Physical Evidence Meridiana should also ensure that its flights are always on time; its planes are spotless; and its service crew are highly efficient. Its check-in and guest lounges in airports should be clean and the services of both ground crew and in-flight staff should be excellent.Promotional MixMeridiana should focus on tapping customers from the mid-market socio-economic segment and business people, especially from SMEs. The elements of the promotional mix must integrate different strategies. It should use a combination of vario us promotional strategies, particularly, advertising, public relations, sales promotions, and internet/online promotions. The integration of different promotional tactics will aid in achieving a more successful result. Advertising should be enhanced in traditional channels such as television, print, and radio in order to target domestic consumers in areas where Meridiana is not the market leader (i.e. Milan, Turin, Naples, Marconi, Rome, and Verona). To increase presence in international markets, the airline should advertise in popular travel magazines and international cable channels (i.e. BBC, CNN, NHK, etc.). In terms of public relations, the airline should improve its relationship with Italian businesses and local government. It should also improve its public image by doing CSR activities and being more active in environmental protection. The company should emphasise their support for green aviation and sustainability in the airline industry. Meridiana should also launch sales p romotions on its ticket prices. It should conduct seat sales in which the flight fare is a fraction of its original price but customers can avail of the ticket only for a limited period. For example, the seat sale gives an 80% discount on ticket prices for 50 seats in the plane and the sale will be ongoing for 3-5 days only. Meridiana should also prioritise internet/online promotions and strengthen its social media presence. The airline should improve its advertisement and tie-ups with online travel sites such as Expedia, Kayak, and Orbitz. It should also effectively make use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Meridiana should advertise in these sites and encourage customer feedback through social media. The company can also utilise viral advertising by putting very creative and highly memorable adverts in YouTube or other video sharing sites. References Agarwal, R. (2010). Sustainable (Green) Aviation: Challenges and Opportunities. SAE International Journal of Aerospace. 2(1), p.1-20. Anna Aero. (2013). Meridiana fly and Air Italy complete merger, as Meridiana turns 50 under new CEO; combined fleet shrinks for S13. Available: http://www.anna.aero/2013/06/19/meridiana-fly-and-air-italy-complete-merger-as-meridiana-turns-50-under-new-ceo/. Last accessed 12th January 2014. Association of European Airlines (AEA). 2013). AEA welcomes Meridiana as new airline member. Available: http://files.aea.be/News/PR/Pr13-036.pdf. Last accessed 15th January 2014. CAPA Centre for Aviation. (2013). Meridiana: how to escape the impact of loss-making Italian airlinesAvailable: http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/meridiana-how-to-escape-the-impact-of-loss-making-italian-airlines-120241. Last accessed 12th January 2014. Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). (2013). Marketing and the 7Ps: A brief summary of marketing and how it works. Available: http:// www.cim.co.uk/files/7ps.pdf. Last accessed 12th January 2014. Cooper. C et al. (2013). Tourism: Principles & Practice 5th edition. London: FT Prentiss Hall Denton, N & Dennis, N. (2000). Airline franchising in Europe: benefits and disbenefits to airlines and consumers. Journal of Air Transport Management. 6(4), p.179-190. Green, JE. (2003). Civil aviation and the environmental challenge. The Aeronautical Journal. p.281-299 McCabe, S. (2009). Marketing Communications in Tourism and Hospitality: Concepts, Strategies and Cases. Amsterdam: Butterworth Heinemann Meridiana. (2009). Meridiana Group Ethical Code. Available: https://www.meridiana.it/cms/deploy/1/IGGJ_Documenti/IT/Codiceetico/MeridianaGroupEthicalCode.pdf. Last accessed 12th January 2014. Meridiana. (2014). About us. Available: https://www.meridiana.it/en/company_informations/Company_AirItaly_quality.aspx. Last accessed 12th January 2014. Middleton, V. (2009). Marketing in travel and tourism. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann San sonetti, A. (2010). The European Airlines Transformation: Hypercompetitive and Long Tail Effects. MCIS Proceedings. Paper 76. http://aisel.aisnet.org/mcis2010/76 Upham, P. (2003). Towards Sustainable Aviation. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd Walker, S & Cook, M. (2009). The contested concept of sustainable aviation. Sustainable Development. 17(6), p.378-390

Poles Reading Fewer and Fewer Books Essay

Poles reading fewer and fewer books – speculating about the causes Fewer and fewer Poles are reading books nowadays. It is mostly visible in the libraries, book stories and even in the reading rooms. What are the causes of such phenomena? Let us look at three of them: lack of time, the rise of technology and laziness. It seems that the main cause might be that Poles have no time for reading books. These days more and more people are overworked, and when they finally have their leisure time they prefer to go to the cinema or to the party rather than read books. Going to the library and borrowing books also requires some time and may be problematic to many people. Another important cause is that technology plays an important role in many people’s lives. The new technology, which is developing day by day offers a lot of facilities, interesting methods of spending time. People are focused on gaining new abilities, moving with the times and books are often considered as something archaic and unnecessary. What may also contribute to such a phenomenon as reading fewer and fewer books by Poles is the fact that they are simply lazy. It seems that going to the library and borrowing a book demands too much effort for contemporary people. As far as teenagers are concerned, they prefer much easier things to do, for example staring at the television, playing video games or going to a pub. Taking everything into consideration, I can state that reading books by Poles as a way of spending their free time is becoming less popular. Nowadays people spend their time mainly on working and are generally not interested in books. It can be difficult to change this negative attitude towards reading but it is certainly worth trying.

The Island †Movie Review and Critical Analysis

The Island – Movie Review and Critical Analysis Free Online Research Papers Some may claim that, as a nation founded upon liberty and freedom of choice, America must well uphold its tradition as a democracy rather than backslide into a Communist reign of pure governmental authority. Individualism and capitalism have always been central themes in American literature, and private enterprises have been embraced wholeheartedly without question throughout its history. However, as modern scientific progress slowly creeps towards its potential climax, how will society face the dreading possibilities of a moral and ethical recession, which shall manifest itself as an origami of changing societal laws, especially when governmental regulation is often debated when it comes to controversial issues? We must decide. Do we want the government to control certain aspects of our lives and protect us from potential dangers looming around us? Even so, how much governmental regulation can we tolerate? It may seem that the majority vote of the House symbolizes that most people want scientific progress – and that President Bush is the only man who wants to halt it. If that were the case, however, I do not believe that America would reelect him as president. Furthermore, to answer the prompt using an ethical approach, pro-lifers argue that research of stem cells requires the destruction of an embryo, the equivalent of murdering a child. Even if researchers can extract the stem cells without harming the embryo, the issue of cloning is distressing. A movie I watched called â€Å"The Island† alludes to the issue discussed in the essay. The insinuation of the hazards of stem cell research is manifested in the movie through cloning to create doubles of these original humans. The independently-funded private corporation, apart from government control, who produced these clones did not educate them, but instead deceived them about their purpose in life. The clones, hidden in this secret building, were forbidden to step out of it and taught to believe that their purpose was to journey to this island, where luxury awaited them (it was like winning the lottery if chosen to go there). The irony is that those clones chosen were needed to supply whatever their original doubles wanted to replace (such as body parts – organs) for themselves. Thus was the health insurance of that futuristic society. The scientists who nurtured the embryos in a controlled environment also utilized tri-keys – basically one key with three different heads – that opened all the doors in the building. I thus realized that the tri-keys symbolized the (Holy) trinity, and that the movie essentially portrayed these men as trying to assume the role of God by opening the doors of science and new life. The idea that â€Å"if I can give life, then I can take life† is unethical and supports the pro-life argument. Obviously, this is an extreme view and more a form of entertainment than a predicament of the future. However, it is a social commentary about how often private interests conflict with benefits for society. Anthropology teaches that humans act in their own best-interest, which does not always benefit society. Government should regulate research by neither halting nor allowing private individuals to monopolize it. But President Bush’s veto disallowed the government to fund stem cell research, thus forcing individuals to take initiative into their own hands. An alternative proposal aimed at limiting independent stem cell research, when the claim is to propel advancements in treatments, is that society would be better off researching the preventatives of diseases than trying to find the cures. People claim that similar research is needed to find preventatives, but such claims prove false, for stem cell research is targeted at finding cures for diseases already exposed to humans. In the movie, while the cloned doubles remained in the secret building, everyday, they went through routine fitness trainings and ate healthy dietary meals to ensure a physically-fitted cloned double. In the meantime, their originals were living hedonistic lives in the real world and indulging in such pleasures as excessive drinking, smoking, and eating, until their livers, lungs, and other organs failed them, when they could have prevented the need for such research and the controversy about its ethics. Research Papers on "The Island" - Movie Review and Critical AnalysisGenetic EngineeringWhere Wild and West MeetMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesBringing Democracy to Africa19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenQuebec and CanadaResearch Process Part OnePETSTEL analysis of India

What Is (and Isnt) on the AP Statistics Formula Sheet

What Is (and Isn't) on the AP Statistics Formula Sheet SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're going to be taking the AP Statistics exam, you're in luck! During the test, you'll have access to a formula sheet that has many useful equations. However, you need to know exactly what's on the AP Statistics formula sheet and how to use it before test day in order for it to be helpful. In this guide, we go over everything you need to know about the AP Stats formula sheet. We'll explain the exact equations that it includes, show you what the formula sheet looks like, go over a few important equations it doesn't contain, and give you tips on how to get the most out of it. What's on the AP Statistics Formula Sheet? The AP Stats formula sheet is actually three pages of statistics formulas that you'll be given on test day. The formulas will be at the beginning of both the multiple-choice and free-response sections of the test, so you'll have access to them for the entire AP exam. That's great because that means you don't need to memorize any of these formulas! What's on this AP statistics cheat sheet? You can see exactly what the formula sheet will look like here as well as below. The formula sheet has three sections, and each section takes up one page. Below are screenshots of the formula sheet, along with a list of the equations it includes (ordered from the top of the sheet to the bottom of the last page). Descriptive Statistics Formulas Sample mean Sample standard deviation Pooled sample standard error Simple linear regression line Regression coefficient Regression slope intercept Sample correlation coefficient Regression coefficient Standard error of regression slope Probability Formulas Rule of addition Rule of multiplication Expected value of $X$ Variance of $X$ Binomial formula Mean of binomial distribution Standard deviation of binomial distribution Mean of sampling distribution of the proportion Standard deviation of sampling distribution of the proportion Mean of sampling distribution of the mean Standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the mean Inferential Statistics Formulas Standardized test statistic Confidence interval Standard deviation of sample mean Standard deviation of proportion Standard deviation of difference of sample means Standard deviation of difference of sample proportions Chi-square test statistic What Isn't on the AP Statistics Reference Sheet That You Should Know? The AP Statistics formula sheet contains pretty much all the equations you need to know for the exam, but there are some equations they've left out that may come in handy on test day. Below are the most important of these. Be sure to memorize them because they won't be listed on the AP Stats formula sheet! Descriptive Statistics Interquartile Range The interquartile range, or IQR, is the middle 50% of values when ordered from lowest to highest. The IQR is the difference between the 75th and 25th percentiles, or the first quartile subtracted from the third quartile. The IQR is used to show dispersion, and it can be a useful way to describe the data in boxplots, histograms, scatterplots, etc. The equation is IQR = Q3-Q1 You can also use IQR to determine if an outlier exists. A commonly used formula is if a data point is more than $\bo 1.5*$IQR above Q3 or below Q1, then it's an outlier. Residuals The residual (e) is the difference between the observed value of the dependent variable ($y$) and the predicted value ($Ã… ·$). It's used in regression analysis. Each data point has one residual. The formula looks like this: $\bi e \bo= \bi y \bo - \bi Ã… ·$ Both the sum of the residuals and the mean of the residuals are equal to zero, or $ÃŽ £ e = 0$ and $e = 0$. Probability Bayes' Theorem Bayes' theorem is useful for calculating conditional probabilities. You'll use conditional probability when trying to find the probability of an event given that another event has already occurred. Conditional probability questions usually follow a format similar to "Given $x$, what is the probability that $y$ occurs?" Use Bayes' theorem to solve them. Bayes' Theorem: $P(A | B) = {P(B | A) * P(A)}/{P(B)}$ Tips for Getting the Most out of the AP Stats Formula Sheet As you can see, the AP Statistics formula sheet can be very useful during the exam since it helps you avoid memorizing long lists of equations. There are some tips to getting the most out of it though, and we go over the three most important in this section. #1: Know How to Use the Formulas It seems like obvious advice, but it's very easy to take a glance at the AP Statistics cheat sheet and move on, knowing you'll have it with you on the test. However, test day is not when you want to be trying to understand what the different formulas mean or how to use them. If you go into the AP exam not sure of what's on the formula sheet, you'll lose tons of valuable time searching for the right equations and struggling with how to use them properly. Well before exam day, be sure to go through every formula on the sheet and make sure you understand it and know how to use it. The College Board includes each of these formulas because they think they're necessary for doing well on the AP Statistics exam, so you should trust them and make sure you know them! If you're not sure how to use some of the equations, here's a helpful site that goes over what each of the formulas is used for. #2: Know Calculator Shortcuts You're allowed a graphing calculator for the entire exam, and you should take advantage of some of the nifty things it does. Calculator shortcuts can save you precious time on the test by quickly solving certain AP Statistics equations and finding pieces of data. They also give you a way to check your work for some problems. Stanford has a handy list of calculator shortcuts you can use with your graphing calculator. There are two caveats though. First, don't become so dependent on your calculator that you forget how to solve the equations on your own or the logic behind them. Second, you should use calculator shortcuts primarily for the multiple-choice section of the test, where you just have to select the correct answer choice. For the free-response section of the exam, you'll need to show all the work you did for each question, and simply writing which shortcut you plugged into your calculator won't cut it. Use the shortcuts primarily to check your work on free response. #3: Take Practice Tests With the Formula Sheet Answering practice questions and taking practice tests using the AP Statistics formula sheet is also key to doing well on the exam. You should take several practice AP tests before the actual exam, and for each of them you should use the official AP Statistics formula sheet. Your teacher will also likely give you a copy of the formula sheet for your in-class exams, so you can get some practice in there too. If you need help finding practice tests, check out our guide specifically on where to find the best AP Statistics practice questions and tests. Summary: Using the AP Statistics Formula Sheet The AP Statistics reference sheet can be a big help during the exam, but only if you already know what's on it and how to use it. The formula sheet is actually three pages that contain useful equations in descriptive statistics, probability, and inferential statistics. While this AP Statistics cheat sheet doesn't contain everything you need to know, it does include many key AP Statistics equations that you'll need to use on the test. In order to get the most out of your AP Stats formula sheet, make sure you know all the formulas, pick up some useful calculator shortcuts, and be sure to take some practice tests with the AP Statistics reference sheet. What's Next? Looking for more AP Statistics prep? Check out our ultimate guide to the AP Statistics exam to learn everything you need to know to ace the test. How's your grasp on calculating significance? Brush up on your t-tests and how to calculate statistical significance here. Practice tests are key to preparing for AP Statistics. Our guide has links to all the best AP Stats practice tests so you can put your formula sheet to use! How many AP classes should you take? Get your answer based on your interests and your college goals. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Foundations of Academic Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Foundations of Academic Writing - Assignment Example This paper examines the moral obligation human beings have towards other non-human animals within the ecosystem in order for them to enjoy their rights as living creatures. Animals are part of the ecosystem within which human beings live and thus, it is the obligation of people to conserve their surroundings. Preserving their surroundings in this context implies that they should strive to ensure the animals and other living things within that proximity are protected from any form of damaged or destruction to ensure perpetual lives hence save them from extinction (Linzey and Clarke, 2005). Biologically, human beings are regarded as the highest creature in terms of reasoning and making rational judgement thus they ought to preserve the other creatures that are under them. However, those creatures should not be subjected to uncouth activities for the benefit of man but should be guided in the best ways to live and interact with other creatures. The issue, of non-human beings being accorded rights, is both limiting to people and at the same time tends to defy the logic of common sense. For instance, with animal rights in place those who subscribe and pledge to uphold them should not use animals for food, transport, recreation as well as not harm them in any manner (Regan, 2003). It is right for a man to handle other animals with dignity and all the activities that they subject them into must be within a moral context. This will aid to solve numerous cases in which animals have fallen victims of torture in the name of satisfying the needs of man. For instance, it cannot be justified when a person loads tonnes of luggage on camels for transport purposes just because he/she can afford to own that animal (Regan, 2003). It is prudent to understand the fact that just like a human being animals also have feelings of pain, anger and even can die. Thus, they should be accorded with the utmost respect even in the event

Tennesse Williams The Glass Menagerie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tennesse Williams The Glass Menagerie - Essay Example In Act One, Scene One, the stage setting is described as having a ‘dark, grim rear wall of the Wingfield tenement’. There are stage directions where the actors and actresses enter and exit the stage using the props like stairs and this is difficult or impossible to accomplish using an arena stage. (Williams 12).An arena stage is a central stage that has surrounding seats and this gives no leeway except to ascend or descend from the stage. Then the actor or actress has to sit down at the level of the audience, or walk all the way to the nearest dressing room. An arena stage is similar to a theater in the round, which has the audience seated on all sides of the performance stage. A thrust stage is most suited for this play because it allows the actors and actresses entrance and exit routes and help to make the play a realistic drama. In Act One, Scene One, the stage directions say that; ‘The scene is memory and is therefore non-realistic.’ (Williams 12). Amanda and Laura are seated at the dinner table behind the scrim to symbolize their need for privacy since they are eating. Williams highlights the unrealistic nature of the play by stating that; ‘Eating is done by gestures without food or utensils.’ (Williams 15). This play is also unusual in having a character, Tom, in the play, assume the multiple roles of being the narrator and stage director too. This makes the play realistic because the play is Tom’s testimony. Some characters are unrealistic in the play. In Act One, Scene Two, Amanda discovers that Laura has been skipping her typing class and deliberately deceiving her. Laura is an unrealistic dreamer. She fails to understand the importance of earning her stripes with a formal education and getting a relevant job to be self-supportive, if not contributing to the family household income. Tom is rooted in realism although his responses to the pressure are human and hints of escapism. Amanda