Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 26

Economics - Essay Example In some cases, financial models may also quantify the financial impact of the policies of the firm, and of covenants or restrictions imposed by lenders or investors. A cash budget is a basic financial model. The engineering consulting firm generates a stream of $48,000 in monthly revenue for the first year from six customers, two per partner. A lot of time is spent on travels, about 30 trips per partner, in a year at a cost of $2,000 per trip. Every partner buys a new computer and updates software for $5000 per year. The firm looks forward to expanding to four customers per partner by the third year with assumed monthly revenue of $3000. The financial model is the gold standard for valuation. Cash budget and cash flow have been indicated as the best proxy for financial performance of corporate. The above financial model is easy to build just like cash flow. One column holds annual cash flow estimates, and rows hold individual itemized expenses. The models states yearly estimates depending on the firm’s revenue generation. In the case of existing growth rates, one can create bulk estimates that apply the same rate of growth for the five years. It is significant to note that sophisticated or detailed modeling does not substitute discretion or judgment. Reality checks will be conducted periodically concerning the core assumptions. The financial model illustrates what the firm must do in order to grow, the value of the growth, and what is expected of the firm. Financial models, even though take time to build, can pay for the consumed time and result into better investment

Did Attorney Evans Bump Her Head on the Glass Ceiling Case Study

Did Attorney Evans Bump Her Head on the Glass Ceiling - Case Study Example When working together though, both men and women tend to portray certain behaviors and they tend to even identify with them. According to (Powell, 48), women demonstrate emotional behaviors and an extended level of care and concern for their families and children. From the case, for example, women attorneys always complained that they were not allowed enough family time and it was becoming a bother to them. Due to the notion that is held by people that women are weaker, they try to prove themselves stronger and can end up working round the clock so as to achieve the recognition they always long for. This can make the women be possessive and always fight for equality in the group. On the other hand, behave to be stronger both emotionally and physically but they can bear less stress as compared to women. Men also tend to care for the women in the group emotionally and will always be willing to support them at least in a normal working environment. In an organization, the contribution of every member is as important and in a working group, both men and women have different strengths that can be helpful to the general success of the organization. To begin with, women are good organizers and are always sensitive to the current ideas that come up in the organization and affect each worker in one way or another. This means that women can come up with the ideas that can work towards the improvement of the workers' welfare hence motivating them to work towards the general good of the company. Men, on the other hand, can be good in idea generation and can always be there for their partners at work if need be.

Creating the resume Essay Example for Free

Creating the resume Essay Looking for the perfect job? If you are, then you better invest in the quality of paper works that you submit to your dream company. Whatever you submit as basis for your credentials will create the company’s impression of who you are. Thus, there is a need to learn the proper way of writing resumes, curriculum vitae and cover letters. These three main documents reveal basically reveal your personal information and your desire to become a part of the company. The resume writing part is a 101 guide to writing a resume that will suit ones qualifications and job application. There are several kinds of resume and it would be best to know how these kinds are written. The resume writing guide teaches how one should write his qualifications such as his personal information, educational background and work experiences. It also elaborates on the writing mistakes that an applicant should avoid in writing his resume and some tips in creating an impressive one. This part also points out the major differences between a resume and curriculum vitae and when these documents could be utilized in job applications. The cover letter writing teaches the reader how to properly write a cover letter and be able to send one’s message across without difficulty. It also elaborates on the importance of this type of document to job applications. Writing tips as well as samples can also be seen on this part for the reader to better understand the process of writing such document. Making it to the interview process in a job application may either make or unmake one’s application. The impression that one would create on that interview will determine his future to the company. Thus, there is a need to make a really good impression. The site provides tips in preparing for a job interview such as what clothes to wear and how to act during the interview. This part also includes frequently asked questions by employers. Another part of the website is the highlight it provides to successful personalities and their careers. This part shows their achievements, the difficulties they faced in attaining the positions that they have and how they were able to cope up with these problems. RESUME With the influx of qualified applicants for a job, getting employed has become a very challenging task. Applicants here and there are fighting hard in order to get the job thus, there is a need for one to make a good impression at once. The best way to make a good first impression is to prepare an efficient, concise and striking resume. A resume is a selling tool which outlines the applicants experiences and skills for the employer to initially assess whether or not the applicant can contribute to the company. The goal in writing a resume is to instantly get the attention of the employer and lead him to think that the applicant has what it takes to compete for the job. In order to make the employer think about this, the applicant should read journals, magazines and books and even ask professionals to determine what the the needed requirements for the job and the necessary skills that will interest the employer. A resume is usually one to two pages long. It provides a summary of the applicants skills, education and experience. It does not have to be long to the point of revealing the applicants life history. It should only be concise but complete. There are several types of resumes and these are the following: ? chronological resume-this kind of resume starts with ab outline of the work history starting with the recent position. This kind is preferred by many employers because it provides easy access to the positions held and the length of service. It is usually used by people who have a good employment history. ? functional resume-this kind focuses on the skills and experience of the applicant. It is usually used by people who changes careers or who have gaps in their history of employment. ? combination resume-this type lists the skills and experience then the employment history. This kind enables the applicant to highlight the needed skills for the job as well as indicate the employment history preferred by the employer ? targeted resume-unlike the other types of resumes which can easily be accomplished for general employment purposes, a targeted resume is customized to fit the needed qualifications for a specific job. RESUME WRITING TIPS In writing a resume, one has to consider the following: 1. An effective resume is clearly focused on a specific job and addresses the requirements specified by the employer for a certain position. The applicant should know what the employer needs for the job and how the applicant can provide solution to these needs. 2. Among the elements that should be seen on a resume are positive personal characteristics, foreign language skills, educational accomplishments, technical and computer skills, experience gained in internships, work history and awards received. 3. The resume should also present a clear-cut objective that will signify to the employer the position desired for. It should match the keywords that the employer included in the job posting. 4. The heading should indicate the applicants name, address, e-mail address and telephone number. The name should be located in the middle part, written in bold letters and the font is larger than the other texts in the paper. 5. Educational accomplishments should start from the most recent. It should indicate the degree finished, major and minor as well as the date of graduation. The name of the institution should be in bold letters. All special programs as well as workshops should be indicated. 6. Work experience should also be written from the recent to the least. A steady job held for some years may be highlighted to signify the applicants work attitude. 7. Additional interests and information should include a list of special talents and interests. This will show to the employer that the applicant has a balanced lifestyle and can function beyond the job qualifications. 8. Active words should be employed in creating the resume.

Sociology Essays Researcher Power Relations

Sociology Essays Researcher Power Relations How do power relations challenge us to re-think the issue of dialogue in research, ethicsand critical urban ethnography? Sociological research is not theclearly defined process that the textbooks would have us believe. It can be amessy business and is fraught with pitfalls so the researcher needs to beflexible in his/her approach to the project. Power relationships emerge as anissue right from the beginning. There are the power relations contained within social institutions and in personal relationships. The relationship between theresearcher and the researched is generally thought of as one of unequal powerrelations where the researcher is the custodian of expertise concerning themeaning of a research subjects experiences. The balance of power may not,however, be in the researchers hands at the beginning of a project, if theresearcher needs to gain access to a setting then he/she may be subject to thewhims of gatekeepers. Gatekeepers have the power to say no the researchersrequest and if you do manage to gain entry it is often at the end of a longslow process. Lofland and Lofland (1984) say that feelings of anxiety when aresearcher first encounters gate keepers, is not unusual because they hold thereins of power. Bogdan and Taylor (1984) write about problems with gatekeepers.They argue that there are those professionals in charge of establishments suchas retirement homes or womens refuges, who exercise their power by monitoringwho should and should not visit. In this way they retain control of the spaceoccupied by the people they care for and in controlling their space alsocontrol the influences of and within that space. Giddens 2001 has argued that thechanges in modern society have, in their turn, brought vast changes to the waywe live our lives: The development ofmodern cities has had an enormous impact, not only on habits and modes ofbehaviour, but on patterns of thought and feeling. >From the time whenlarge urban agglomerations first formed, in the eighteenth century, views aboutthe effects of cities on social life have been polarized (Giddens,2001:573). Hammersley (2000) has argued that social research cannot be understood outside of the social world that itstudies. It does not exist in some autonomous realm, but affects, and isaffected by other factors in society. Beginning with a brief explanation of keyterms this paper will give a brief description of the long and hotly contesteddebate that frames the quantitative/qualitative divide within researchdiscourse. This should demonstrate that even before a researcher frames aresearch question they have to contend with the powerful discourse that says social research should be undertaken in a scientific manner if it is to producemeaningful data. The paper will examine the question of how power relationschallenge us to re-think the issue of dialogue in research, ethics and criticalurban ethnography. The main focus with regard to how knowledge is acquired, andhow, like research, it is intimately connected with relations of power, will beon feminist work. The final part of the paper will d eal with power relations,dialogue and ethics in the context of critical urban ethnography. Epistemology An epistemological concern is onethat raises the question of what might be regarded as acceptable knowledge in adiscipline. Central to this point is whether it is feasible to study the socialworld in the same way and using the same principles as science (Bryman, 2004).Research undertaken in this way is generally associated with a positivistparadigm of research. Positivism Positivism is most closelyassociated with the work of Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim. Positivism is anepistemological standpoint that argues for the application of the scientificmethod to the social world. It is usually (though not always) associated withquantitative research and the collection of statistics. Positivism is,therefore, very closely associated with the scientific method which, looselyput, is based around the laws of cause and effect. Bryman (2004) identifies theaspects of positivism in the following ways, only those things that we canobserve through our senses can really be known. Theory (speculations about whatmight be the case) is used to generate hypotheses (general statements) that canbe tested and from which laws can be derived. The hypothesis is subjected toquestions e.g. who, what, when, where and data gathered either throughinterviews, observation, or using existing data such as crime statistics. Ifthe findings confirm the hypothesis then laws are derived, if not then the hypothesishas to be modified. This process continues until a suitable conclusion isreached that confirms the modified hypothesis. Positivists state that sciencemust be objective and value free (Bryman, A. 2004).Durkheim argued that in order to be scientific and to obtain objectiveknowledge, social facts should be counted as things, and that allpreconceptions must be eradicated (Durkheim, E, 1938:31).Scientific statements should be the interest of the scientist because they arethe only statements that can be confirmed by the senses i.e. science proceedsthrough observable, repeatable experiments.. It is this form of research in particularthat feminists have dubbed malestream research (Abbott and Wallace,1997) they argue that: Many malestream sociologistsare resistant to the view that there is a need for a reconceptualisation.Nevertheless, this is the position that w accept and while we recognise thatthis is an uphill struggle we think that it is a necessary one if we are toachieve an adequate sociology (Abbott and Wallace, 1997:13). Interpretivism This is the opposite view topositivism where a research strategy is needed that respects the fact thatthere is a difference between the physical world and people. The scientificmethods that are used to study the physical world may not be appropriate tostudying the social world where the sociologist is trying to understand the meaningsthat people give to their actions. Interpretivists most often use qualitativeresearch methods consisting of unstructured interviews and participantobservation. Positivists criticise research data gained in this way asunscientific and subjective. They argue that the findings from such research donot have the same validity or reliability as data collected in a scientificmanner (Bryman, 2004). Researchers who use qualitative methods tend to maketheir research process as transparent as possible and will often ask theirresearch subjects to check the findings to see whether they are an accuraterepresentation of the persons life. Both types of researchers want toknow what is happening in society but interpretivists also attempt tounderstand. Weber (1947) maintained that sociology is a Science which attempts theinterpretive understanding of social action in order to arrive at a causalexplanation of its cause and effects (Weber, 1947:88). Qualitative researchers tend tomake use of unstructured interviews, case study research and participantobservation. Ethnographic methods such as in-depth interviews and prolongedparticipant observation are also favoured methods. These last tend to be usedmore often by those who are engaged in critical research. Hammersley (1992)criticises the use of ethnographic methods because he believes that this typeof research is less able to produce data that will result in useful theoreticalinsights. Participant observation is regarded by positivists as unscientificand not rigorous enough they regard it as subjective. Hammersley (1992) hasargued that because ethnographers can produce different accounts of the samesetting then the results of such research might be said to reflect a purelypersonal perspective rather than a scientific and reliable account.Yet anothercriticism of this type of method is that the ensuing account is the result ofhighly selective methods of data collection (Hammersley , 1992). This isarguably a nonsensical criticism as all research is the result of a set ofselection processes. The researcher constantly has to decide what is the bestway of collecting the information that will answer the research question. Thishappens in what is regarded as scientific and value free social research justas much as it does in social research that does not claim to be objective andvalue free. All researchers, as Gouldner (1971) points out have to make choicesabout their domain of enquiry i.e. when, where, how, and from whom they aregoing to obtain their data. There is a clear difference betweenscience and the scientific method and the methods that are needed toinvestigate the social world. For human beings, human action is meaningful andthey act on the basis of that meaning. The sociologists job is to interpretthe social world from the research subjects point of view. What this means isthat far from research being objective and knowledge being objective and valuefree, they are in fact marked by the stamp of their producers. Marx recognisedthis in his analysis of capitalism and feminists have recognised this in theiranalysis of patriarchy and of an epistemological stance that bears the stampand is endowed with the power of the white western male. Thus power relationsare evident even before we begin on the actual research process. Knowledge and Power The rationalistattitudes towards knowledge that developed during the Enlightenment remaineddominant until well into the nineteenth century. They were, as many feministshave argued (Abbott and Wallace, 1997), a powerful force in determining whatconstituted knowledge and have had considerable effect on the structures ofmodern society. A similar critique of knowledge has also been mounted by theFrench philosopher Michel Foucault (1966). The work ofthinkers such as Nietzsche (1886) and Foucault (1966) has emphasised the factthat knowledge is intimately tied to structures of power and domination.Foucault argues that it is power which produces and sustains knowledge.Anything that contradicts the authorised view of what counts as knowledge isseen as deviant and transgressional. Thus, he argues, Power isthat which says no. Any confrontation with power thus conceived appears only astransgression (1966: 53). Feministcriticisms of knowledge and the way that knowledge is produced are aconfrontation with power and authority. The tendency of many thinkers toneglect class, race, gender, and economic factors contributes to the exclusionof oppressed and marginal viewpoints thus further reinforcing bothuniversalistic and objective models of knowledge and the power structures associatedwith this view. Foucault has argued that the enlightenment model of scientificreason only existed through the will to objectify and dominate. For Foucault,this kind of knowledge is inseparable from the desire for power. He argues thatresearch into criminality or mental illness is often undertaken for the expresspurposes of legislation, and not for a desire for improvement in these areas(1966). These critiques of the structures of power have meant thatepistemological questions are now a central issue within contemporary culture(Lennon and Whitford, 1994). The writings of Marx (1970), Foucault (1966), andmembers of t he Frankfurt school (and in a different context liberationtheologians) emphasise the fact knowledge claims are a reflection of theinterests of those with economic power. More recently, black scholars andscholars from the third world have also indicated the Eurocentric and racistnature of most knowledge production (Lennon and Whitford, 1994). The separationof fact from value in knowledge production is not appropriate, that is to sayknowledge is not objective and neutral. Rather, knowledge bears the stamp ofits producers and is affected by their value systems. It is through thisunderstanding that feminist and other forms of critical research developed. Critical Research Carspecken(1996) maintains that critical research is aimed at exposing the powerrelationships at work in society particularly as they relate to social inequalities. The researcher studies this from the viewpoint of the oppressedin the hope of achieving social change. Critical research is informed by thecritical theory of the Frankfurt School. Critical social research does not fitwell into either the positivist camp or the interpretive one but embraces allthose approaches which tend to criticise society (in terms of its powerrelationships for example) in order to transform it. Hammersley (1995) hasargued that the growing influence of qualitative research and most particularlyof the type of research that is critical of power structures and of theinequalities that exist within society has meant that increasingly the basisfor seeing social research as scientific has been undermined. Harvey (1990) hassaid of critical research that: critiqueis an integral part of the processA critical research process involves morethan appending critique to an accumulation of fact or theory gathered throughsome mechanical process, rather it denies the objective status of knowledge (Harvey,1990 quoted in Haralambos et al, 2000:982). Knowledge inthese terms is a process that is never finished because the social world isconstantly changing. Knowledge is inseparable from the values of the socialcontext in which it emerged, the research participants, and most importantly,the researcher. The knowers always affect what is known as Ely et al (1996)argue: Researchlike all other knowing, is a transactional process the knower and the knownboth act upon each other (Ely, et al, 1996:196 ibid.). Criticalresearch is primarily concerned with uncovering oppression and oppressivestructures and by that action transforming them. By uncovering these structureswithin social accounts the critical researcher can then link these with widersocial processes and structures. Thus Oakleys analysis of housework and howwomen bear the brunt of it links back to industrialisation and the rise ofcapitalism and womens removal from the public world of work to the privatesphere of the home, this also links with the growth of patriarchal oppressionof women (Harvey, 1990). Thus a critical analysis such as this can uncover thebasis of some of the power relationships that exist within society andeventually to change them. Harvey (1990) says of this process that it: ..involvesa constant questioning of the perspective and analysis the researcher isbuilding up. It is a process of gradually, and critically, coming to knowthrough constant reconceptualisation. This means that the selection of a coreconcept for analysis is not a once and for all affair (Harvey, 1990:30). Harvey (1990)maintains that critical research does not depend on any one method becauseresearchers may often use a variety of methods in ensuring that they have madethe connections with wider social processes such as the structures of power,and also to increase the reliability of their findings. Feminist research alsooperates by the use of a number of different research methods, feminists are moreconcerned with improving womens lives and with the non-exploitation of thosewho are researched, than they are with the commitment to any one set of methods.Some (primarily male) researchers argue against feminist research because theysay that it is subjective and partisan. They argue that research should neverbe partisan and that it is impossible for everyone to be equally free, theremust always be some hierarchy. Thus Geuss (1981) contends that: It seems unrealistic underpresent conditions of human life to assume that any and every preference humanagents might have can be satisfied, or to assume that all conflict between thepreferences of different agents will be peacefully and rationally resolved.Some frustration-even some imposed frustration-of some human preferences mustbe legitimate and unexceptionable (Guess, 1981:16). Presumably thelegitimate and unexceptionable preferences are the prerogative of the male, whofor centuries has had some much power over womens lives. It is this kind ofpower that feminists are keen to expose, they are also concerned about thepower relationships which exist between the researcher and the researched, andwhich have sometimes been exploited by (male) researchers. In view of this somefeminists argue that participatory research, where the researcher and theresearched work together on a project, should be a defining feature of feministresearch. Abbott and Wallace (1997) argue however, that this is not often donebecause, it is notpossible for the researcher to share her knowledge and expertise, and to implythat she is sharing them conceals a power relationship rather than overcomingit (Abbott and Wallace, 1997:288). Feminists who douse these methods argue that participatory research not only gives women a moreactive role in knowledge production but further increases the validity of theresearch findings. McGuire (1987), has this to say Participatoryresearch proposes returning to ordinary people the power to participate inknowledge creation, the power that results from such creation, and the power toutilize knowledge (Maguire, 1987:39). Even this statement isproblematic because the researcher has at least some training in how researchmight be said to proceed and this is not easily passed on to those who are nottrained (Abbott and Wallace, 1997). Mies, 1983 has this to say: the study of an oppressivereality is not carried out by experts but by the objects of the oppression.People who were before objects of research become subjects of their ownresearch and action. This implies that scientists who participate in this studyof the conditions of oppression must give their research tools to the people (Mies,1983:16). Shared experiences, it might beargued, help to balance out the power relationships that feminists such asAbbott and Wallace (1997) contend, inevitably exist between a researcher andthose who are researched. One way in which the researcher may try to lessen thepower differential is through self-disclosure. Thus recovering alcoholics whoare researching alcohol misuse or women who have survived domestic violenceinterviewing women who are being abused would make the interviewee aware of thefact. While it maybe impossible to do away with the power differentialaltogether, it does make it less problematic. Ann Oakley (1982) has writtenthat, the goal of finding outabout people through interviewing is best achieved when the relationship ofinterviewer and interviewee is non- hierarchical and when the interviewer isprepared to invest his or her own personal identity in the relationship (Oakley,1982:41). This power differential thatexists in the research relationship may also colour what is found because datais never free of the influence of the person who gathered it. Carspecken (1996)believes that although critical researchers may have a value commitment that isnot to say that the research needs to be biased providing it is systematic andcareful. Stanley and Wise have this to say, .the recognition that whoa researcher is, in terms of their sex, race, class, and sexuality, affectswhat they find in research and is as true of feminists as of any other researchers(Stanley and Wise, 1993:228). This power differential willalso affect, and may distort the dialogue between the researcher and theresearched. Abbott and Wallace (1997) argue that because the researcher willnecessarily involve herself with the women she is studying then she needs to beaware of this. Constant reflexivity is required if the research is to beconsidered valid. The researcher must be aware that because she is a part ofwhat is going on this inevitably affects what is going on and there needs to bea continual taking stock of how personal values, attitudes and perceptions areinfluencing the research process. A feministinterviewing women is by definition both inside the culture andparticipating in that which she is observingpersonal involvement is morethan dangerous bias it is the condition under which people come to know eachother and to admit others into their lives (Oakley,1982:58). Aronson (1992) has pointedout that the ethnographic interview is a common method of gathering data inqualitative research. Interviewing is also a method which is favoured byfeminist researchers (Oakley, 1982; Stanley and Wise, 1993). The interviewprocess should be such that women feel at ease and can relate their experiencesas they see them. The interviewer should encourage the participation of theinterviewee, the aim of which is to conduct research with women rather than onwomen. In this way it is thought that a fuller picture of womens experiencesemerges (Oakley, 1981 et al). Carspecken (1996) argues that one way ofminimising any distortions that may arise due to the power differential betweenresearcher and researched is to check out your findings with the researchparticipants. Differences may also arise here if the dialogue between theresearcher and the research participants has been awkward or untruthful in anyway there may be objections when the participant sees what has been wr itten.Seeing this distorted dialogue in print may increase any feelings ofpowerlessness that the participant might have and thus renegotiating thedialogue may prove difficult. Ethics At the very least ethics areconcerned with protecting the anonymity of those who are participating in theresearch. This is vital if for example the participants are women who haveexperienced rape or domestic abuse as any such exposure of their true identitycould put them at further risk. Many researchers, not just feministresearchers, also regard the use of non-sexist language as an ethicalprinciple. Sexist language is exclusionary and denotes the power relationshipsthat have for centuries existed in patriarchal society. Relationships that arein some way based on power are prone distortions in communication and it is upto the critical researcher to be aware of these sources of distortion as amatter of ethical principle. Carpecken (1996) thus believes that researchersshould: Establish supportive,non-authoritarian relationships with the participants in your study. Activelyencourage them to question your own perceptions. Be sure that participants areprotected from any harm that your study could produce, and be sure that theyknow they are protected (Carpecken, 1996:90). There isconsiderable contemporary debate about what constitutes ethical research. Thisis particularly the case with sensitive areas and with feminist methodologies(Abbott and Wallace, 1997). Feminist researchers are concerned with the ideathat the people who are the major part of many research undertakings should notbe exploited. As I have stated previously, feminist researchers are concernedwith the researched. Relationships between researchers and their human subjectsare often continued long after work in the field has finished (Ely et al,1996). The majority of feminists are conscious that the research relationshipis a two-way process. Researchlike all other knowing, is a transactional process the knower and the knownboth act upon each other (Ely, et al, 1996:196 ibid.). Many feministsregard it as crucially important that women who are more oppressed andmarginalised than they themselves are given a voice for their experiences. Theyargue that some, (predominantly male) researchers have used respondents asobjects to be worked on (Reinharz, 1983; Abbott and Wallace, 1997). In manycases there is no further contact with the people they have worked with oncethe research process is finished. Feminists have said that this kind of researchis conducted on a rape model. The researcherstake, hit, and run, with a total disregard for the needs of the researched.They intrude into their subjects privacy, disrupt their perceptions, utilisefalse pretences, manipulate the relationships, and give little or nothing inreturn. When the needs of the researchers are satisfied, they break off contactwith the subjects (Reinharz, 1983:80). The issue of giving oppressed andmarginalised women a voice has been identified by black feminists, as anethical matter. This is because black womens voices are the most marginal ofall womens voices in the academy, and the current educational systemreinforces the values and culture of the dominant classes, thereby ensuringtheir continued domination and the covert exercise of power (Hill-Collins, P,1990). In view of these ethical questions, many feminists are conscious of theneed to put something back in, whether by the payment of a fee, or ofcontributing to work in the community. More recently however ethical questionshave also concerned researcher safety. Is it ethical to allow a lone (possiblyfemale) researcher to venture into settings where the power relationships thatpertain in such a setting may put that researcher at risk. Power and ethics areclosely entertwined. Covert participant observation (whereby the researcherdoes not disclose their true role and reasons for being in the setting) isoften regarded as unethical and a misuse of researcher power becauseparticipants are not given the chance to give their informed consent to the research.It is also regarded as privacy violation (Bryman, 2004). Thus the powerrelationships that are, or might be at work in the research relationship needto be acknowledged at all stages of the research process and before decisionsabout how the research is undertaken are formalised. Research, particularly qualitative research is not just composed of a setof facts drawn from a number of suitably phrased questions. It is madeup of all the seemingly unrelated bits and pieces that are part of humanrelationships (Ely et al, 1996). Critical Urban Research The most famous urban research is that of the Chicago school in the 1920sand 30s. Robert Park was the central figure here and his main concerns werewith the effects of social and cultural forces on human nature. Park and hiscolleagues recognised two levels of behaviour the biotic and the cultural. Thebiotic level concerned mechanisms of survival and competition and the culturalwas concerned with how the human subject was constituted (Dickens, 1990). Urbanresearch is concerned with how the city influences those who inhabit it and howit shapes their lives. Giddens has argued that the space people occupy has tobe taken into account when studying social life because social interaction isnot aspatial, it has to take place somewhere. This somewhere Giddens designatesa locale. Localesrange from a room in a house, or street corner, the shopfloor of a factory,towns and cities to the territorially demarcated areas occupied by regionstates. But they are typically internally regionalised (Giddens, 1984). The Chicago school was highly influential on the way in which streetsociety was studied. Jacobs (1961) undertook what became a classical study ofGreenwich Village when she studied the everyday behaviour and relationships ofpeople on the sidewalk. In the nineteen-ninetees Duneier (1999) wanted todiscover how sidewalk life had changed in the intervening years. He studied thelife of pan handlers and street vendors to see whether and in what ways itscharacter might have changed. Duneier started out as a voyeur and customer at abookstall in Greenwich Village and it was there that he noticed the tenor ofsidewalk life. His primary informant was the bookseller who at first wasreluctant to take part in the research. When he eventually wrote up hisfindings and submitted the manuscript for publication he was not comfortableeven though he had invited his informant to read the manuscript and comment onit. He eventually co-opted the informant to co-teach with him about life on thestreet for a Blac k American. Duneier believed that not only would this adjustthe imbalance in power relationships in research more adequately but thatstudent feedback and comments on the course might allow him to remedy anyshortcomings of the original research. Duneier had faced a number of challenges during the course of researchsuch as gaining access to the culture and the confidence of those who lived andworked on the streets. He had trouble fitting in because of the obvious powerdifferentials of class and race as well as the inequality of the researchrelationship (adapted from Giddens, 2001 pps 652-655). Duneiers researchparticipants were among the least powerful of society. The way in which modernsocieties operate what Giddens (2001) has called a geography of centrality andmarginality where affluence and abject poverty co-exist made the lives ofDuneiers research participants unliveable. He was worried whether he wasimposing an agenda on his research participants that would make their liveseven more problematic. What Duneiers research revealed was that the socialresearcher has to take account of the wider social context and processes ofwhich he/she is a themselves a part. Mac an Ghaills critical ethnography ofheterosexual and homosexual young men also tries to reduce the powerdifferential between researcher and research participants and to be as open andethically aware as possible though collaboration, reciprocity and reflexivity(Haralambos et al, 2000). Conclusion This paper has examined how power relationships in research impact at alllevels of the research process and affect the dialogue between the researcherand the research participants and the ethical considerations that are part ofsocial research. It has also attempted to show how these processes can severelyaffect the undertaking of critical urban ethnography. Duneiers work inparticular demonstrates how power relationships operate at all levels inresearch and how decisions that have been made (for example the changinggeography of the urban environment) which neither the researcher nor researchparticipants have any control over can affect the outcomes of the research anda researchers own sense of his personal ethical commitment to the people whomay have participated in the research. There are a number of reasons why thisis important. Those scholars who are critical of this type of research oftenfail to acknowledge that the scientific paradigm is also beset with these kindsof issues and p roblems but fails to take them into account. This is what Popper(1992) called the theory of demarcation whereby any variables that do not fitwith the theory are ruled out of the equation. Duneier and others explicitrecounting of the problematic nature of undertaking social research thatcontributes to knowledge, is committed to social transformation, and at thesame time is aware the pitfalls that can occur when researching the lives ofthose who are already disenfranchised by society. There may never be a completeanswer to addressing the issue of power relationships in social research but Iwould wish to argue that the researcher who neglects the fact that such thingsexist and influence all research is failing to give an accurate account of thesocial reality that he/she is investigating. 5000 words Bibliography Abbott, P andWallace, C (1997) An Introduction to Sociology, Feminist Perspectives Routledge,London. Aronson, J. (1992). Theinterface of family therapy and a juvenile arbitration and mediation program,.Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, FortLauderdale, FL . Bilton, T. etal, 1996. Introductory Sociology, London, Macmillan (Ch. 13). Bogdan, R andBilklen, S (1982) Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction toTheory and Methods, Allyn and Bacon, Boston Bogdan, R andTaylor, S (1984) Introduction to Qualita

Pigs Role in Animal Farm by George Orwell Essays -- Animal Farm Georg

Pigs' Role in Animal Farm by George Orwell At the start of the novel Orwell describes the pigs to be the "cleverest of the animals." This is clearly an advantage and so leads to the pigs taking over the farm. There is a sense of leadership very soon after Old Major's death as the three pigs, Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer arrange meetings with the other animals and already begin to give orders. "You do not need sugar," says Snowball. It is evident here that Snowball believes that he has power over the other animals already. Further on during the second chapter Snowball and Napoleon send for a ladder, proving that they think they can use the animals to do jobs and progresses more in chapter 3 when they believe that they can direct and supervise the other animals and not actually do the work themselves. In chapter two Napoleon says, "Comrade Napoleon will lead the way." Using the word "lead" shows that the pigs think of themselves as more than just teachers and even have their own headquarters soon after. It is clear to us that the pigs are using their intelligence to trick the other animals and play mind games with them. Orwell describes Snowball as a "more vivacious pig than Napoleon." We can see this whilst he is still on the farm, as he is always doing things to benefit the whole of the farm, not just himself whereas Napoleon is. "Snowball made a little speech, emphasizing the need for all animals to be ready to die for Animal farm if need be." It is evident from this quote that Snowball is very passionate about the farm and will do anything to improve it. His passion for the farm is very much shown at the battle of the cowshed where he is in charge of the attack against Jones and other farmers. ... ...oleon-we have won every inch of it back again!" Squealer is making it out to be a good thing maybe because Napoleon wants the animals to still think of him as a great leader. The animals soon believe that what they have done is great and so join in with the celebrations. Another use of Squealer by Napoleon is to increase the belief that Snowball is a menace so they think of Napoleon as a better leader and Snowball as a traitor. Napoleon is always maintaining his power throughout the novel and also uses Squealer to do this by giving credit to Napoleon for everything and reminding the animals that he is a great leader even if what he is doing is wrong. This way the pigs are able to benefit greatly from communism which is what they wanted from the rebellion. They show no interest in improving the farm itself but only in the strength of their power over it.

Solomon Asch Conformity Experiments (1951) Essays -- Social Psychology

In 1951, Solomon Asch carried out several experiments on conformity. The aim of these studies was to investigate conformity in a group environment situation. The purpose of these experiments was to see if an individual would be swayed by public pressure to go along with the incorrect answer. Asch believed that conformity reflects on relatively rational process in which people are pressured to change their behaviour. Asch designed experiments to measure the pressure of a group situation upon an individual judgment. Asch wanted to prove that conformity can really play a big role in disbelieving our own senses. Asch initiated his experiment by making one of the particpants at ease. He asked a serious of elementary questions where the four confederates answered them correctly so the fifth person also answered the question correct. This in sense gave the participant a false interpretation of the actual thinking behind Asch true experiment. The participants were asked to compare, identify and match one of three lines on the right card to the length of the line on the left card. This task was repeated several times to get a true picture of the data collated. Participants were not under any explicit demand to conform, as they received no physical or verbal coercion to do so. The specific hypothesis centered on the idea, â€Å"if group pressure can play influence and effect individuals perception, decision and attitudes†. The independent variable will be â€Å"Procedure†, and the dependent variable is the â€Å"level of conformity did change†. The experiments were quite simple, in that there was a seemingly harmless task to be performed, and the participants were instructed to choose the estimation of the lengths of a line when compared to two ... ...y is decreased. Although Asch conducted many variations on his test of conformity, and he has been criticized as being too simplistic to accurately represent true conformist behaviour his experiment has stood the test of time and examination Works Cited Anderson, M, L, Taylor, H, F. (2008). Sociology. Understanding a Diversity Society. Thomson Higher Education. Belmont. (USA). Fourth Edition. Babbie, E. (2007) The Practice of Social Research. Thomson Higher Education. Belmont. (USA) Eleven Edition. Cardwell, M. Klanagan, C. (2003). Psychology As. Nelson Thornes Limited. Cheltenham. (UK). First Edition. Crisp, R, J. Turner, R, N. (2007). Essential Social Psychology. Sage Publications Limited. London. (UK). First Edition. Macionis. J, J. Plummer, K. (2005). Sociology. A global Introduction. Pearson Education Limited. Essex. (UK) Third Edition.

Original Writing – Snowdrops

I will never forget the day when Miss Webster was going to show us the snowdrops growing in the little three- cornered garden outside the school keeper's house, where we weren't allowed to go. All through that winter, I remember Miss Webster saying, that the snowdrops had been asleep under the ground, but then they were up, and growing in the garden. I remember a frank speaking with Garath. He was telling me how he had imagined the snowdrops, but all he could imagine was one flake of the falling snow, bitterly frail and white, and nothing like a flower. I recall that morning being very cold. I remember leaning against the kitchen table, I remember because I had put my brother, Geraint, who was three at the time, in the armchair in front of the fireplace. That morning my mum realised the time and began to shout, â€Å"Hurry up or you'll never get to school.† God rest her soul, she only past away a year ago. I remember I replied â€Å"Miss Webster is going to show is the snowdrops today!† I was so excited. My mum just looked at me and smiled, the rest is a bit fuzzy. But I do remember my mother wondering where my father was, and suddenly he entered the room. My father was a big man; every time he entered the room he filled the room with bigness. He stood in front of the fire because it was cold in the yard, and all I could see was a faint light each side of my father's wide body. I remember this next moment vividly, my father said, â€Å"it's a cold wind, I can't remember a colder march. My father turned around and faced my mum and I, smiling because I think he had just realised that he was much warmer and the cold March wind was trapped outside the house. â€Å"You're a big boy for six,† he said to me, â€Å"and it's all because you eat your breakfast up.† This was a joke my father always said, and part of it was for me to just look and smile, all the time all I could think about were the snowdrops. Then, I remember thinking that it might be too cold to go and see them. Or perhaps Miss Webster would only take the boys, I confirmed to myself, because we were stronger, and the girls could stay in school out of the cold. â€Å"The Meredith boy is being buried this afternoon† I overheard my father saying to my mother. I don't remember exactly what my father said but I remember my father saying that he couldn't go. And my mother replying, â€Å"How old was he?† â€Å"Twenty,† my father answered. â€Å"Twenty last January, silly little fool. That bike was too powerful for him- well, to go at that speed on wet, dark night.† I'll never forget the anger yet sadness on my fathers face, as he continued to talk to my mother. â€Å"Over seventy, the police said, straight into the back of a stationary truck, a terrible mess.† â€Å"He was a nice looking boy too.† My mother added. â€Å"All the Meredith's' are,† replied my father. â€Å"This one was very friendly with the young teacher up at the school, Webber is it? Something like that.† I remember turning around in shock thinking that it couldn't be Miss Webster or could it? But at that age I didn't really understand, all I could think was if my father was talking about Miss Webster, what did that mean? Then suddenly my mother coughed and looked at me sharply. â€Å"Oh?† said my father, â€Å"of course I should have remembered. Come on, David, or you'll be late.† The next moment is a bit hazy, but all I recall is it being much warmer when I got to school, and Edmund telling me a joke about Europe. I recall not seeing Miss Webster for some time of the morning, so we had to go into Miss Lewis's class. My memory fails me on what happened next, but I do reminisce to Edmund playing a trick on Gerald Davis by tying his shoelaces together. I can recall asking Edmund â€Å"Do you wish that Miss Webster will take us to see the flowers when play is over?† Edmund responded â€Å"I don't care, because I've seen some already growing in my aunt's garden.† The rest of the morning is a blur, except for when I drew a robin. After that I just remember asking Miss Webster â€Å"shall we be going to see the snowdrops this afternoon?† â€Å"Yes†, she replied, â€Å"if Miss Lewis will allow us, we'll go and see them this afternoon.† I bring to mind eating my lunch quietly, while thinking in my head of a story about a wizard who could change himself into anything at all. It was a good story, but something always seemed to happen before I got to the end of it. Sometimes I began it at night in bed, only to fall asleep long before the really exciting part. Now my mother was talking to me. â€Å"Was Miss Webster in school this morning?† she asked me, â€Å"Yes, but she came late. She didn't arrive until playtime.† â€Å"Poor girl,† my mother said as she shook her head. I thought about this for a long time, and then recalled back to earlier that morning. I continued â€Å"She's got a bad hand,† I said. â€Å"She caught her finger in the cupboard door and her hand was bleeding. She's got a bandage on it today, she'll never be able to bend her finger again, and that's what Edmund Jenkins said.† I remember her looking at me and shaking her head while saying â€Å"Oh, you and Edmund Jenkins.† As many of my memories, I only recall a few moments of me running back to school to see the snowdrops. However when I got back there was nobody about, except some girls skipping and giggling just inside the school yard, as I made my way inside the building. Everybody was sitting very quietly inside the classroom. We were allowed to go in early because it was very cold. Normally we would have stayed outside however wet and cold it was, but today it seemed that they all wanted to sit quietly with Miss Webster, close to the cast- iron shove that had the figure of the tortoise on top. At two o'clock Miss Webster marked her register and then began to tell us a story. It was a good story, about a dragon who guarded a hoard of treasure in his den underground, where the snowdrops slept all through the winter. But as time went on, I noticed Miss Webster continually turned around to look at the big clock in the hall. I realised she could see it through the top half of the classroom door, which I distinctly remember having four panes of glass in it. Also her voice seemed to be hoarser than usual, at the time I assumed she had a cold, which was fine when she read the dragon bits, but not good for the knight nor the princess. Unexpectedly, she shut the book with a sharp and stood up; she hadn't even finished the story. And till this day I always wonder how the story ended, but I could never remember the title. She then announced, â€Å"Now we'll go to see the snowdrops† she said. â€Å"I want the girls to go quietly to the cloakroom and put on their coats. When they are ready, I'll come along with the boys, everybody must wear a coat. If you have difficulty with buttons, please stand in front and I'll fasten them for you.† I stood up with a sudden lightning of heart. I had known all the time that Miss Webster would not forget, and at last she was taking me to see the miraculous flowers, pale and fragile as the falling snow. I looked at Miss Webster with pure gratitude. I remember her eyes being as bright as frost, and she was making sure the girls walked nicely through the door. Just as we were about to leave, Edmund Jenkins waved at me and that was funny, because Edmund had his black gloves on with a hole in a place he could push his finger through. Edmund waved his finger like a fat white worm in the middle of his dark hand. We all walked through the playground, in two rows holding hands, and I hold Edmund's hand as we gave a little ship together every three steps. It didn't take long to get to the garden. We all bent down, four at a time, to look at the little clump of snowdrops as Miss Webster told us what to look at. I and Edmund would be last to look. When the other children had finished, the other children went down to the garden gate which opened onto the road. I remember it being a big gate, with iron bars and your head could almost poke through. Somewhere a long way off I could hear men singing. They sang softly, mournfully, the words carried gently on the air over the school wall, but I could not hear what they were singing. â€Å"It's a funeral,† Edmund assured me. â€Å"My father's there and my uncle Jim. It's a boy who was killed on a motorbike.† I nodded. Funerals often passed the school on their way to the cemetery at the top of the valley. All the men wore black suits and they walked slowly. Sometimes they sang. I squatted down to look at the snowdrops. I felt a slow, sad disappointment. I looked around for Miss Webster to explain these simple flowers to me, but she had gone down to the gate and was staring through, looking up the road. Her back was as hard as stone. I turned again to the snowdrops, concentrating, willing them to turn marvellous in front of my eyes. They hung down their four petalled heads in front of me, the white tinged with a minute green, the little green ball sturdily holding the petals, the greyish leaves standing up like miniature spears. I began to see their fragility. I saw them blow in a sudden gust of the cold March wind, shake, and straighten gallantly. I imagined them standing all night in the dark garden, holding bravely to their specks of whiteness. I put out a finger to touch the nearest flower, knowing now what snowdrops were. I lifted my face to tell Miss Webster, but she was standing right at the gate, holding the iron bars with her hands. I could see her shoulders shaking, at that time I didn't realise that Miss Webster wasn't shaking because of the cold, she was shaking because she was scared. *Mor ddedwydd yw y rhai trwy ffydd s'yn mynd o blith y byw†¦* Sang the men as they filed solemnly past the school. I knew it was welsh because of my grandmother, and it was sad and beautiful, at the same time. After a while we couldn't hear the singing anymore, but Miss Webster continued to cry aloud in the midst of the cold March wind. As in her own personal way, she said goodbye to her sweetheart.