Monday, September 30, 2019

English-language films Essay

1. How are the pictures helpful in understanding the selection? 2. Why did the noise of the sonar speed up? 3. Why did the Titanic sink? 4. How were Frederick’s Fleet and Minnie Coutts alike? 5. If you wanted to prove the fact that over 1,500 people died out of the more than 2,300 people on board, what would you use to prove this? 6. What is the most likely reason the author wrote this selection? 7. The author uses figurative language, including comparing the ship to a â€Å"ghost from the ancient past,† saying the ship is â€Å"weeping great tears of rust,† and saying he felt as if he â€Å"had walked into a dream.† Why does he do this? 8. Tell how the author felt about seeing the Titanic. 9. Imagine that the author kept a journal. Write one or two sentences to tell what he might write after he came up from his first trip to the Titanic 1. How are the pictures helpful in understanding the selection? 2. Why did the noise of the sonar speed up? 3. Why did the Titanic sink? 4. How were Frederick’s Fleet and Minnie Coutts alike? 5. If you wanted to prove the fact that over 1,500 people died out of the more than 2,300 people on board, what would you use to prove this? 6. What is the most likely reason the author wrote this selection? 7. The author uses figurative language, including comparing the ship to a â€Å"ghost from the ancient past,† saying the ship is â€Å"weeping great tears of rust,† and saying he felt as if he â€Å"had walked into a dream.† Why does he do this? 8. Tell how the author felt about seeing the Titanic. 9. Imagine that the author kept a journal. Write one or two sentences to tell what he might write after he came up from his first trip to the Titanic

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Addressing Industry Dependency Essay

Regal Entertainment Groups is the parent company of Regal Cinemas, which is made up of Regal Cinemas, the United Artists Theaters, and the Edwards Theater. It runs the largest theater circuit in the U.S., and uses the multiplex cinema model in metropolitan and metropolitan growth areas. The movie theater industry is highly competitive, both within the film entertainment industry (as with Netflix and pirated films) and with substitute goods, such as live performances, restaurants, and sporting events. In addition, industry competitors have an extremely low level differentiation from one another, which is partially due to the reactive nature of the industry. It is also due to the considerable dependency on major film production companies. Regal’s dependency on the film production companies for profitable films and film advertising contributes to its lack of differentiation from its major competitors, which hinders its profitability potential in a market of ambivalent consumers. See more:  The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Essay This report recommends that Regal pursue both an active advertisement campaign team to deliver the message of Regal’s value directly to the consumer (a practice not traditionally observed in the movie theater industry) to create brand recognition, and forge partnerships and agreements with live performance venues, utilizing Regal’s existing digital technology. By doing so, Regal could increase its profit margins, decrease its  dependency on quantity and quality of mainstream film companies, create greater value to consumers and stakeholders, and provide new entertainment possibilities and community experiences that have not been available on this scale before. Position Company Overview Regal Entertainment Group was created out of a consolidation of the Regal Cinemas, the United Artists Theaters, and the Edwards Theaters in 2002 (â€Å"Regal Entertainment Group Company History†). Regal Cinemas are primarily a line of multiplex, first-run theaters in urban, metropolitan, and suburban growth areas. It currently operates the largest theater circuit in the United States, with 520 theaters, averaging 12.6 screens per location, with a total of 6,558 screens. (Form 10-K 4) It is currently one of the ‘big three’ competitors in this industry. Mission, Vision, and Values Regal Entertainment does not currently have a mission or vision statement. It would be advisable to create such statements in order to improve investor and employee understanding of what Regal hopes to be, and better focus its efforts and attempts to solve current and future problems (Yuthas 9-10). However, their business strategies listed on the Regal Investor Relations webpage provide some insight into the company’s values. The four strategies listed are maximizing stockholder value, pursuing selective growth opportunities, pursuing premium experiences opportunities, and pursuing strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Combining these strategies with their metropolitan multiplex approach, their business landscape shows a drive to expand, using economies of scale to create value for the viewer, as well as their partners and suppliers. Their activities will better reflect their values, and will be discussed in greater length in this report, under the Current Activities sectio n. Key Stakeholders Regal’s key stakeholders include the usual categories: stockholders, suppliers, employees, and business partners. Regal’s main suppliers are their food and beverage suppliers and the major movie production companies that Regal depends on for their first-run films. The food and beverage  suppliers include beverage companies like the Coca-Cola Company, and confectionary companies like Tootsie Roll Industries, Cadbury Schweppes, and the American Licorice Company. Regal’s sheer size makes it a desirable client, and the economies of scale benefit both parties. Partners of note include AMC, one of its major competitors, with whom Regal jointly owns Open Road Films, a film distribution company. This will be discussed in more detail under the Current Activities section. AMC could conceivably take over if Regal were to go under, but splitting the cost and the risk of a new venture is a benefit to AMC. Regal also maintains an investment in National CineMedia (NCM), as does AMC and Cinemark (Form 10-K 74). NCM is an advertising service that acts through cinemas to reach the consumer. While this allows for more advertising within Regal Cinemas, Regal currently does not advertise itself outside of its theaters and website. NCM and Regal have a mutually beneficial relationship, in which Regal’s geographic expanse and numbers of theaters give NCM greater exposure, while Regal benefits from the money from the advertisers. However, Regal does little outside advertising for its cinemas. Regal Entertainment Group created the Regal Foundation, which is a non-profit charitable organization â€Å"committed to [improving] the quality of life in the communities in which [Regal operates] by providing funds and other resources to aid the initiatives of national and local charitable entities (â€Å"Community Affairs†)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Some of it beneficiaries include the Will Rogers Institute, and their partners include the Boys & Girls Club of America, the American Red Cross, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation (â€Å"Community Affairs†). All of these stakeholders rely on Regal’s profitability to continue successfully, in order to maintain their charitable support. Current Financial State Regal reports a total of 211 million cinema viewers in at the end of the fiscal year December 2011, and recently reported dividends of $0.21,declared for Class A and B common share. These dividends have been distributed for the past four quarters (Form 10-K 97). Regal anticipates continued dividends in the foreseeable future, but note that dividends are considered quarterly and are only paid when their Board of Directions approves them. From May of 2002 to the end of December of 2011, Regal has returned $3.3 billion in cash dividends to their stockholders (Form 10-K 5). The movie theater industry  as a whole has a fairly low profit margin to dip into, and Regal has the same approximate costs and revenues as its competitors (Mintel – Leading Companies). Regal’s 2011 10-K states a net income of $40 million dollars, and cash and cash equivalents of $253 million, with $174 million in accounts payable (54); Regal appears confident in its ability to met its obligations. Current Activities In 2003, a year after its consolidation, Regal removed video games showing â€Å"graphic depictions of sexual behavior or nudity,† â€Å"graphically violent character deaths† or â€Å"human-like characters suffering bloodshed and/or dismemberment.† It also removed games depicting â€Å"violence toward law enforcement officers or other figures of authority or the ‘glorification of illegal activity (Earnest).’† A potential reason for this decision may be Regal’s major shareholder, Philip Anschutz, who is heavily involved in Conservative and fundamentalist Christian politics, and actively supports Christian and family-friendly cinema (Haber). The aim appears to be to gear the public areas of the theaters towards a more family-friendly approach, although this has had no effect on the MPAA film ratings that the theaters would normally show. This may be relevant to any changes they wish to make to the business in the future. Regal appears to be fairly reactive to market changes rather than being proactive. They, as have their competitors, turned a great deal of attention to digital, 3-D, and IMAX technologies (â€Å"Market Size and Trends†). Regal has been investing a considerable amount of time and effort into IMAX technology, as well as their own version of IMAX, called RPX (Regal Premium Experience), which emphasizes improved uncompressed surround sound. Another trend that Regal has followed is creating a dining experience in-theatre with its subsidiary, Cinebarre. There are 28 locations that are experimenting with various menu items, pricing strategies, and serving styles, such as the traditional restaurant versus being able to order directly from the audience seating. A few locations have beer and wine availability, and a total of 5 are testing the direct-to-seating Cinebarre method (Form 10-K 14). One of the major audience draws to the multiplex structure is the all-encompassing experience that involves â€Å"the consumption of the space as well as the visual consumption of the movie† (Hubbard). Open Road Films is jointly owned by Regal and AMC.  According to Regal’s 2011 Annual Report, they believe that â€Å"Open Road Films has a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the marketplace created by the major studios’ big-budget franchise film strategy by marketing smaller budget films in a cost-effective manner which [Regal] believe[s] will drive additional patrons to [sic] theaters and generate a return on [sic] capital investment† (12). They are approximating that they will eventually be distributing eight to ten films per year, effectively filling any dead space left by the major film production companies. Industry Overview Key Players and Market Share The major competitors that Regal currently contends with are Cinemark and AMC. Both of these companies have overseas markets, which Regal does not. Both also prefer geographical locations similar to those preferred by Regal. This is to be expected, as the multiplex structure is most profitable in such metropolitan and growing suburban areas that these first-run, multiplex theatres prefer to locate themselves in. Regal currently holds 21% of the market share, with AMC and Cinemark holding 20% and 18% respectively (â€Å" Leading Companies†). Current Practices Currently Cinemark and AMC are pursuing trial runs in improved and expanded concession ventures, which appear to be successful, judging by their continued implementation (â€Å"Leading Companies†). AMC and Cinemark currently have a potential advantage over Regal in their foreign markets. Not only have they expanded the number of people who will see first-run Hollywood films, but they have good relationships with foreign movie production companies and currently show their films in other countries. As previously mentioned, the industry and major competitors have made the move to digital, 3-D and IMAX technologies. Sense Industry Challenges and Causes Piracy and Alternative Goods The industry’s battle with pirated films is well known, costing the entertainment business as a whole roughly $20.6 billion (Plumer). It also  competes with such legitimate entertainment businesses as DVD rental services, Pay-per-View, cable television, and similar entertainments. Not only this, but since most of the movie theaters are in areas of high population, there are multitudes of other activities to compete with, such as live theater, restaurants, sports bars, pubs, concerts, and sporting events, to name a few. Fewer Total Annual Viewers It is no surprise that the current recession has had a significant impact on consumer’s spending habits. A night at the movies is an affordable luxury, but a third of the total respondents reported going to movies less in 2009, and again in 2011, than the previous year. Although there was a small increase in total revenue in 2010, it declined by 1.2% in 2011, with the lowest number of tickets sold since 1995 (â€Å"Segment Performance: Box Office Admissions†). The most profitable age group (18-34) are attending live performances more often than in the past, and as unemployment continues, their numbers are decreasing at the box office, although they still are going more frequently than any other age group (â€Å"Family Entertainment on a Budget†). Ambivalent Audiences Not only is the number of attendees declining, but consumers do not have a strong brand loyalty to their cinemas. A Mintel report showed that the major criterion for selecting a movie theater was the proximity to home (66% of respondents of all ages cited this as an important factor in their decision), the availability of the desired time (53%), and how comfortable the seats were (56%) (â€Å"Consumer Trends†). The brand of the cinema appears completely irrelevant for the average consumer. Branding has considerable value for any industry, yet movie theaters do not appear to have made a lasting connection with the average consumer. Reliance on Film Production Companies The industry depends heavily on the film production companies. Movie theaters depend on good relationships with the firms to get a contract, and must pay a premium for the use of big-name productions. The pricing has improved since the transition to digital, but to equip thousands of screens with the most profitable movies is still expensive. There are been accounts from the  film companies that because releasing to DVD is more profitable for the studio, there may be fewer films released and theater running times may decrease farther (Szalai). The movie theater industry historically has a low profit margin, and having empty theaters will only decrease it further. Regal Challenges and Causes Market Saturation There are a limited number of profitable places to create the multiplex experience that Regal specializes in. In light of the prevalence of competing first-run theaters that also occupy the same profitable locations, it seems that Regal is running out of places to go within the U.S. Its films are primarily first-run big-name productions, which are the biggest draw to the box office, but since the other major competitors specialize in showing these films as well, this is only a minor point in Regal’s favor. Regal could conceivably open theaters in more remote locations, but while big-name films are popular everywhere, they are also the most costly to rent (Morgan). Opening in less densely populated areas could mean higher costs than revenues, if the attending numbers aren’t high enough. Another option could be expanding Regal Cinemas overseas, but expanding overseas is a highly risky and costly venture. It should also be noted that AMC and Cinemark have already established themselves in the most convenient overseas locations (namely Central and Latin America), and have been closing theaters in recent years (â€Å"Leading Companies†), indicating Regal may have a difficult time finding a marketing foothold. Fewer Total Annual Viewers Despite the optimistic announcement of Regal’s 2011 attending numbers, movie theater attendance for the industry has been declining (â€Å"Family Entertainment†), and Regal’s viewership went down by 5.5% (â€Å"Segment Performance: Box Office Admission†). The economy has had a significant impact on the buying power of Regal’s main audience: middle to upper-middle class families and young adults (18-25). These are currently becoming more price-sensitive groups, and movie prices are nearly the highest they’ve ever been (Morgan). While Regal cannot turn the economy into a bull market, it could create some consumer incentives to attend Regal Cinemas. They have a customer rewards program; restructuring the rewards program to create a  better value may help incentivize an increasingly price-sensitive market. Some have suggested a return to staggered pricing, which fluctuates depending on the movie title and show time, typically having higher prices for popular movies at peak viewing hours (Zeitchik). However, pricing rarely regresses, and if Regal is the only movie theater to attempt it, consumers may resist and direct their attentions to movie theaters with more familiar pricing. Viewers are turning towards other methods of movie entertainment, such as Netflix and On Demand (Form 10-K 7), as they are more affordable and convenient. As mentioned in the industry challenges, the key age group18-34 are attending more live performances than before, indicating some experience value that Regal is not providing them. Regal must find a way to remain competitive and to market greater value to these consumers to coax them out of their homes and away from live venues. Dependency on Film Production Companies As noted in the Industry Challenges, Regal is dependent on the major film production companies. Because of the film production companies’ release times, theater business is seasonal, peaking during the summer months and during the holidays. This is occasionally broken up by a fluke film release, but this is again the choice of the film production company. Not only is Regal dependent on the timing of the releases, but also on the quality and draw of the films. Regal notes in its 2011 Annual Report that the decline in viewers during 2010 may have been due to the poor product offerings those years (Form 10-K 37). If the film production companies do decide to reduce the number of films produced and reduce the run times of these films in favor of earlier DVD production, Regal stands to lose profitability in the future. The production companies take a significant portion of ticket sales, anywhere from 35% to 100% for a specified amount of time, on a film-by-film basis (Morgan). More popular movies will have a larger percentage taken from their ticket sales for a longer period of time. This effectively decimates Regal’s earnings. Most theater-viewers see the film within the first six weeks of its opening, and the highest volume is within the first two to three weeks, when the production companies are taking their cut. Also, the younger, profitable age groups tend to go during the first few weeks, and older viewers, who are notoriously more price-sensitive, tend to wait until  the crowds die out. Having a shorter timespan to show the films, knowing that the best part of those profits will be going to the production companies, and having fewer films to pack the multiplex seats: it is clear these issues will create profit gaps for Regal if left unaddressed. Regal’s Open Road Films venture is perhaps an attempt to alleviate the stress from that dependency, but it is not a full solution to the problem. ORF is a distribution company. While Regal must enjoy some income and savings from its involvement, they are not (and are not legally able to) actively creating their own films to guarantee quantity and quality of films. However, its first films distributed met with success, with Killer Elite starring Clive Owen and Robert De Niro, and The Grey starring Liam Neeson. It is a good addition to the company, but it is not enough to fully address Regal’s dependence. Lack of Differentiation From Competitors First-run movie multiplex theaters are the most profitable in the motion picture theater industry. However, there is very little differentiation between major movie theaters. They all show the same big-name films, they provide the same concessions, they have very similar prices, and their layouts and locations are similar. The industry shift to digital and IMAX technology is also widespread, so it despite Regal’s investment in it, it does not create a sustainable advantage. As discussed earlier in this report, consumers are fairly ambivalent about which cinema they attend to see a particular movie, which is understandable, considering the striking similarities of major movie facilities. Again, the two highest deciding factors in a consumer’s cinema selection are the cinema’s proximity and the availability of the desired viewing time. Movie theaters depend on movie production companies to advertise their films, and do not create significant advertising outside of their facilities and website, with the exception of local newspapers (Segment Performance: Advertising). The production companies do not advertise specific theaters, and so Regal must depend on its location and available viewing time to entice audience members. Since there is little to make Regal stand out from the crowd this way, creating an active marketing campaign designed to show advertisements outside of the newspapers and company website could be a divisive next step to better differentiate itself from other theaters. Problem Statement Upon the given information of the industry and business environment and challenges: Regal’s lack of differentiation from its competitors and its dependency on film production companies is negatively impacting its profitability. Uncover Problem Focus and Potential Solutions In creating the fishbone diagram (Appendix A), I present the problem as a two-pronged issue that stems from dependency and lack of differentiation. I chose to present it this way because both problems are intertwined, and can be solved by similar means. Dependency on Film Production Companies Again, film companies claim a large percentage of the ticket sales for the first few weeks. After that period, Regal gets the majority of the ticket sales. However, the profitable market groups (tweens, families, and the 18-25 age range) tend to see movies in the first few weeks, which means Regal is left with fewer tickets, and thus lower total profits. Regal could attempt to renegotiate with film production companies regarding the percentage of ticket sales, in an effort to buffer against the lessened and shortened theater runs that the production companies are currently discussing. Regal could increase production with Open Road Films, or extend negotiation to other film distributors to include indie films. Using Open Roads Films not only fills a void and generates some cash flow that is significantly less garnered than Regal typical ticket sales, it also creates the potential to gain revenue from the showings of Regal’s film creation at other cinemas. In creating fresh relationships with outside artists, Regal could create a more beneficial set of terms than it currently has with the mainstream film production companies, and would be creating greater exposure for fledgling or small-time artists. Another option may be to create a whole new cinematic experience with Cinecasting. Cinecasting is digital, sometimes live, streaming of a remote event. In Santa Rosa, California, a small local theater was able to use a local movie theater’s digital projection system to show a live Broadway run of The Importance of Being Earnest, performed by the Roundabout Theater Company, which had been  nominated for three Tony Awards. They charged a premium for tickets, which were not available until one hour before curtains. They sold out every show and created a huge demand that led to an on-going, mutually beneficial relationship between the theater and the local movie theater company (Fuller). Cinecasting is slowly catching on, but no major cinema chain has done much with it. Cinecasting could be applied to theater performances around the world, concerts, major sporting events, and potentially minor sporting events such as Friday Night Fights. It would make the special events seem larger than life, and make the smaller events seem special. Lack of Differentiation The ORF and Cinecasting solution mentioned previously would also attack the problem of lack of differentiation directly. If Regal could get exclusive agreements with various entertainment providers before its competitors follow in its footsteps, they could potentially create a sustainable advantage for some time. Regal is in the process of creating a premium adult dining experience, as shown by their investment in Cinebarre and menu expansion, and ventures into wine and beer provision. Because Regal will be charging higher ticker prices for these experiences, there is more of a call to add something extra-special to the experience. Regal locations in metropolitan and urban areas could invite local artists and business to entertain in the theater during times when the theater is in low use, usually late at night. Other theaters are making the same push with their menu expansion as they did with digital, 3-D, and IMAX technologies. Not only would Regal be creating additional value for the customer, but gaining community bonds and goodwill. These connections are extremely valuable to a company (Grewal and Levy 190). However, simply taking the small step of actively advertising the Regal experience to the public would be a beginning to making Regal stand out from its competitors, and increase profits (Pitelos 39). Movie theaters, as previously mentioned, rely on the film production companies to advertise the movies to drum up interest, but this does not specifically help audiences select a particular theater. The advertising campaign would have several parts to it. There could be one for the traditional movie-going experience, but with an emphasis on the superior Regal experience. In the event that Regal does begin to differentiate its  offerings beyond blockbuster films, the advertisements might show what entertainments are available on a regular basis, or simply to show the variety of experiences it is capable of bringing to the consumer, thus getting the attention and creating consumer interest. Another advertising effort might be to create advertisements that are more specific to the region s they are in. This would help to integrate Regal into the community further, as a way of showing that they are a part of the community and are paying attention. For example, T-Mobile ran an ad on a Manhattan billboard, proclaiming that their service connection moved faster than new families moving to Park Slope. It was almost immediately reposted and written about on a dozen New York City blogs, written by New Yorkers, who love making fun of other New Yorkers (Arak). The humor is highly selective, but it was successfully implemented, creating the feeling of an in-joke with their consumers and their region. Making the significant changes necessary to alleviate the problems of dependency and differentiation could additionally address some of the other problems discussed previously, such as creating interest in ambivalent consumers and offset market saturation. By expanding potential cash inflow ventures outside the major production companies and forming those alternative options, Regal would be addressing saturation and ambivalence through the differentiation projects, and so those will not be the main problems addressed in the remainder of the paper. Potential Stakeholder Effects The majority of Regal’s stakeholders would most likely benefit from these changes. If the changes are successfully implemented and Regal’s profit margin rises, the majority of its stakeholders stand to benefit, including stockholders, charitable organizations, and employees. Regal would be following its normal business strategies that rest on its current strengths, so it wouldn’t depart from the company’s culture and â€Å"mission†. In creating strategic alliances and partnerships with additional entertainment groups, Regal would be fulfilling its goal to create greater worth to its stockholders and following its current business strategy. Breaking from the dependency on the film production companies should not cause a great gap in Regal’s usual operations. Regal’s bread and butter is first-run films, so those will continue to take precedence in the theaters, so the changes  should not damage Regal’s relationships with the major production companies. The changes would be intended to supplement those films once the hype dies away and audiences are looking for new entertainment between peak film release times, rather than replacing blockbusters.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Carl Jung’s Theory: Personality Types and How They Help Therapists Essay

In this essay I aim to describe and evaluate Carl Jung’s theory concerning personality types and show how they might usefully help a therapist to determine therapeutic goals. I will also look at the origins and characteristics of attitudes and functions and show how these can be related to psychological disturbance. Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung was born in 1875 to a reverend who had lost his faith and was the only surviving son; which lent him to a rather solitary childhood which was emotionally deprived. His mother had bouts of mental anguish and illness and spent long periods of time in hospital. He was a lazy scholar and pretended to faint regularly to avoid school work, but after hearing his father voicing concerns he would amount to nothing in life, he stopped this and engaged with his studies. This is relevant in that he used this experience of his own behaviour as an example of how neurotic behaviour can be overcome when subjected to the realities of life. Jung studied medicine at University, then trained as a psychiatrist specialising in schizophrenia. He spent time studying with Freud, with Freud even seeing Jung as his main partisan, but he struggled with Freud’s theory of everything being influenced by sexuality and they split their alliance in 1913. Jung was deeply affected by this split and experienced his own psychological ‘crisis’ resulting in him withdrawing to Zurich for six years, exploring his own unconscious. Patients still visited him however and he became renowned worldwide for his skills as a psychoanalyst. â€Å"During this period, Jung spent considerable time working on his dreams and fantasies and seeking to understand them as far as possible, in terms of his everyday life† (Memories, Dreams, Reflections p. 170, New York Vintage Books), this led to Jung developing his own theories and he travelled far and wide becoming fascinated with how culture affects the psyche (the word he uses for personality). This fascination with culture greatly influenced the theory Jung created. According to Hayes (1994, pg. 233), Jung â€Å"saw libido as being the basic energy of motivation and pleasures but Jung’s concept of libido was a non-sexual life force encompassing religious awe and mystical life affirming experiences as well as sexuality. † Although different to Freud’s interpretation of libido, the influence of Freud when Jung created his theory is evident. This was the beginning of his journey investigating different factors which affect the personality; which he believed were influences of a higher order. Upset by his split with Freud and to help him understand the root cause of their difficulties Jung tried analysing one patient’s case history from the perspectives of Freud and also from Alfred Adler, who saw the origins of neurosis as being due to how one relates to society and in particular, the desire for power. The outcome was that dsepite both methods being incompatible with each other, both were valid and made sense in the understanding of the patient’s pathology. Jung reasoned this was due to the different personalities of Freud and Adler and the way each viewed the world differently, meaning that different personality types make people behave and think in different ways because their individuality influences their attitudes. Jung’s theory is based upon structures within the psyche, the Ego, the Personal Unconscious, the Collective Unconscious and Archetypes. The Ego (different to the one identified by Freud) is the ‘Self’ or the total personality including the conscious and unconscious. This is the part which combines all mental processes, characteristics, contents, positivity and negativity as well as constructive to destructive thinking and behaviour. The ‘Self’ contains conscious thoughts and feelings about our own behaviour and feelings, our memories of past experiences and our inner sense of our identity. Jung claimed that the Self is not always achieved and never occurs until middle age. The Personal Unconscious Jung believed contain our personal experiences which we are unaware of, blocked or repressed because we find them unacceptable, but memories which can be revived through hypnosis or psychoanalysis. The ‘collective unconscious’ is central to Jung’s work, although not invented by him, since for centuries this theory had come to the fore in philosophical, literary and psychological works; however it was Jung who defined it further. Jung’s development of this theory was empirical because he felt that if anyone had his experiences then they would arrive at the same conclusion. Hayes (1994 pg 233) cites that Jung â€Å"accepted Freud’s model of conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious but believed in a further level to the unconscious – the ‘collective unconscious’, Hayes (1994 pg 234) also states, â€Å"The deepest levels of the unconscious, Jung thought, were shaped by all humans and date back to our primeval ancestry† . In simple terms this means that not everything is learned or due to experiences, but that there is a higher order which we have no control over and that certain parts of our unconscious are built in before we are born. In his dealings with schizophrenic patients, Jung observed that many of their fantasies, dreams and hallucinations were similar to one another and also similar to ancient cultures and myths. From this he deduced that these contents were far beyond personal experience and had therefore come from evolutionary development, were shared from ancestors and so were innate. Jung called these similarities across cultures, these ideas of universal themes and symbols ‘Archetypes’. He described many archetypes such as God, Mother, Father, Hero, Child and many more and believed that different archetypes exert their influence on us in different situations. The Persona is one such archetype. Jung described the persona as being the mask or role that we allow others to see, disguising our inner feelings to ensure we behave in a socially acceptable way. We have personas for all our different roles and adapt accordingly, however this sometimes causes internal issues when different personas meet and they are too different to be comfortable, such as the role our persona projects in our work will often be very different to that we project with our friends. The shadow, another archetype, describes the dark side our nature, the sinister within; holding repressed material in our personal unconscious and universal evil images from our collective unconscious. Jung believed that we never really know our shadow since it is too frightening to explore the potential we have to think evil thoughts or do harm. Mattoon (2005 pg 28) states, â€Å"the expression of the shadow is likely when a person is in the grip of anxiety, under the influence of alcohol or otherwise subject to a diminution of consciousness†¦ [sic] we repress our shadows to a degree that we are not aware of their behaviour†¦ [sic] Under these conditions, the shadow is autonomous and may express itself in moods, irritability, physical symptoms, accidents, emotions and behaviours, even cruelty†. You can see therefore that the archetype of the shadow can play a major part in the psychological disturbance a client may be suffering, displaying these kinds of behaviours can be indicators of a darker side of an individual affecting their life and can help the therapist in identifying the repressed content, which in turn can lead them to assess the progression necessary to improve things for the client. Jung’s other two main archetypes are the anima and animus. The anima, the feminine element of the male psyche, contains inherited ideas of what constitutes woman, their experiences of women and incorporates positive and negative qualities usually associated with women, such as emotionality, seductiveness, demanding, vanity and moodiness. The animus, the masculine element within the female psyche, is derived in the same way as the anima but from the opposite perspective; females’ experiences of men. It consists of male qualities such as reason, logic, leadership and social insensitivity. Jung felt that having these archetypes enabled men and women to understand each other better. An issue here would occur when animus types try to live in an anima role which can cause depression, anxiety, hostility or other, again, identifying this would enable the therapist to focus on these archetypes and find how they fit into the psyche of the individual to help determine the therapeutic goal. According to Begg (2001), Jung also invented Synchronicity which is the term he used for the idea of meaningful coincidences. He felt that a synchronistic event was otherworldly, inexplicable and wondrous and was an â€Å"acausal connective principal† meaning links between two apparently unconnected events occur and again, this supported his spiritual beliefs that our psyche is subject to a higher order. He believed these synchronistic events were a result of the archetypal forces guiding us in certain directions which led to the ‘individuation process’ or the wholeness and completeness of personality. Jung considered individuation to be a driving force leading to uniqueness, he wrote (Collected Works – 12 par 330) that â€Å"every life is the realisation of a whole, that is, of a self;†¦. this realisation can also be called individuation†. The process of individuation includes positive and negative elements and can begin with psychic pain such as depression and anxiety, from a therapy perspective this is severe enough to arouse desire for change but will involve facing one’s shadow. Jung’s theory is a complex one and although has underlying Freudian theories to an extent, much of this faded as he explored the psyche over the years. Jung, like Freud, believed that there were clear stages in development; however Jung describes development as having only three main stages. The first being the ‘Pre-sexual’ stage; birth to approximately five years old. This is where he felt the individual is preoccupied with nutrition and growth. According to Carl Jung’s Collected Works – 8, paragraph 668, he stated that, â€Å"there is no demonstrable ego-consciousness in childhood, for which reason the earliest years leave hardly any traces in the memory†. This indicates  that Jung thought that young children live largely in the collective unconscious, it suggests that until around age five, a child lives in a fantasy where they experience an almost archetypal world in terms of the parental image they have and the fact that many children of this age have an imaginary playmate, Jung felt supported this view. The next stage, from five to puberty, the ‘pre-pubertal’ phase, was the real beginning of sexuality. In Carl Jung’s Collected Works – 8, paragraph 756, Jung states, â€Å"Psychic birth occurs at puberty with the conscious differentiation from the parents†¦ [and] the eruption of sexuality. This differs significantly from Freud’s theory, which suggests that we are tied to our sexual urges from birth. Jung acknowledges the stages in a less controversial way and more in keeping with how we view stages of development in the modern day. Things have not really changed as much as we are led to believe. Mattoon (2005) quotes Socrates from the 5th Century â€Å"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for their elders and love to chatter in place of exercise. They no longer rise when others enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble their food and tyrannise their teachers†. This example from history backs up Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious to some extent. It suggests that behaviours of adolescents are not learned at all and that they behave the way they are naturally meant to be; since this has been the way for centuries. Should the behaviours be purely ‘learnt’, then why would adolescent behaviour be so similar all over the world, in other cultures and before technology brought us closer together? The final stage he named ‘maturity’ which he identified as being from puberty to adulthood including old age. Jung describes three stages within ‘maturity’, the first (adolescence and young adulthood), being about learning about a particular society and how to live in it, the second (middle life) focussing on establishing oneself into society through work and personal relationships, in particular marriage and the third (old age) being the time one acquires wisdom. Within this ‘maturity’ stage, the ‘middle-life’ he talks about is what today we would describe as a ‘mid-life crisis’. This has happened in the past at 35-40 years mark; although this is getting later as longevity increases. This is the time Jung felt that concerns arose about youthful objectives having not been met or given up on. Also a time when physical energies subside and there are fewer possibilities for achievements and adventures. Jung suggested that at this stage there is an inward turn of psychic energy and refocusing on relationships, goals and the meaning of life. The second half of ‘maturity’ is old age and it is at this stage we search for meaning and movement towards wholeness. The Personality model within Jung’s theory explains the unconscious as a mirror image of the conscious, meaning that an extravert person would have an introvert unconscious and vice versa, which links back to the anima/animus archetypes. He believed that the personality is complex and many sided, in that we have intuition, emotion, thought, intentionality and so on. Jung felt that the individual should be competent in developing different facets to the personality evenly and in congruence with one another but if this development was uneven, one side developed and others repressed, this would produce neurotic conflict. He decided the solution to this was that the individual needed to get in contact with the collective unconscious which in turn would itself heal the psyche, restoring psychological integrity. To do this would involve psychoanalysis or hypnotherapy. The introvert takes longer to condition to stimulus, however, once conditioned it is long lasting, they pay attention to subjective factors and inner responses, enjoy being alone, have few friends but are incredibly loyal and may be clumsy in social situations. Whereas the extravert is more ready to form new associations between stimulus and response but although this happens quickly, it is not long lasting, they attend to their outer world such as people, events and things and can be seen as quite superficial, these extraverts are disinclined to be alone and seem afraid of their inner world. Jung called Introverts and Extraverts ‘types’ but he meant this relating to attitudes and functions, the dimensions of conscious and unconscious not by way of putting people into ‘boxes’ and he used their preferences as a way of identifying ‘type’. Mattoon (2005 pg 23) describes Jung’s description of the Introversion-extraversion (IE) as being one of the best substantiated dimensions in academic psychology. The IE dimension stood alone but Jung was not convinced it was sufficient and later identified two pairs of functions: sensation – intuition (SU) and thinking-feeling (TF). The sensing function relates to how we experience stimuli through our senses without evaluation, the feeling function evaluates the degree of importance of an object or stimuli and is different to an emotional response, the thinking function uses reason and logic and assigns meaning and the intuition function is how we relate to the world without reason, in the form of hunches. Each of these functions is either dominant or non-dominant and largely excludes the other. Jung saw that any function can be associated with either attitude (introversion/extraversion) and also with either gender. German psychologist Hans Eysenck took on Jung’s theory of extraversion-introversion personality traits but also linked biology of brain function to the equation, suggesting that the brain has two sets of neural mechanisms, excitatory and inhibitory, the former responsible for stimulating brain activity, the latter inhibiting activity of nerve cells. He said balance is required which is regulated by the Ascending Reticular Activating System and it is the arousal produced that links his personality dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism, with neuroticism personality traits including anxiety and worry. He also talks of Second Order Personality where first order traits are grouped and the range from neuroticism to stability is biologically decided. He found that neurotic individuals react readily to stressful stimuli whereas stable individuals took longer to react, with a lesser reaction. Some of Eysenck’s theory is comparable with Jung’s but is more scientifically testable compared to Jung’s studies which were empirically based, however Eysenck examined the introversion-extraversion element with success. Jung’s theory of personality types can be useful to the therapist in that it gives many options to explore; the overlapping functions however can be confusing regarding assessing whether the influences are a result of the shadow, the collective unconscious or the influence of one of the many archetypes. Despite this, Jung’s theory has been influential in modern psychology and much of his resulting work is still used today, such as his word association tests which are used to explore the unconscious. His theory would be useful to a therapist in the quest to uncover underlying factors in the individual of which they are unaware, using the indicators to explore what is behind their issues and giving insight to allow the therapeutic goals to be achieved. Bibliography Begg, DeikeSynchronicity – 2001 Hayes, NickyFoundations of Psychology – 1994 Jung, Carl Collected Works – Volume 8 – The Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche Jung, CarlCollected Works – Volume 12 – Psychology and Alchemy N. York Vintage BooksMemories, Dreams, Reflections Mattoon, Mary AnnJung and The Human Pscyhe.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Research paper based on millennial generation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Based on millennial generation - Research Paper Example Correspondingly, the objective of this research paper is to clearly understand the various perspectives of the Millennials and to determine the competencies of first-line supervisors, middle-level managers and corporate leaders, as needed to ensure employee engagement, commitment, and satisfaction within the organizations. When studying the key perspectives of the Millennials, it can be observed that during their relatively short time period till date, they have observed, experienced and came across the major boom and downfall scenarios in the world. Being young, they have witnessed the terrorist attacks, downfall in the global economy, wars and many other aspects, which has affected the geo-political and communal weather of the modern world, largely. Such scenarios have helped the young generation to learn about the various developmental needs and the changes taking place in the United State as well as across the world (Norcott & Emerson, n.d.). However, all these perspectives have shaped the ideologies of Millenials, as quite apparently different from those of the earlier generation such as the Baby Boomers, creating awareness regarding various inequalities currently persisting in the global dimension. These perspectives have further assisted them to understand their social responsibilities and stri ve harder to change the world in a more uniform way. The Millennials commonly believe that technological innovations have greatly transformed their life and have relatively revolutionized the global community. It is worth mentioning that many Millennials inherit the same values and cultures, as their forefathers, but new technology and tools have apparently increased their awareness as compared to Baby Boomers. They believe that they are not primarily focused on the issues affecting the stability and welfare of the United States, but are also concerned about the issues become affective globally. Contextually, it can be observed that

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Purpose of the Financial Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 21

The Purpose of the Financial Policy - Essay Example Coming to the month of May, the expenses go much down, making the net income to increase, hence an increase in the profit. This shows that the month was not much over-budgeted. On the month of June, the net expenses and deductions increase again drastically. This reduces the net income, in the same way, hence making the net profit be reduced. Even though the company does not realize a loss this month, the profit it gets is so much reduced when compared to the previous month.  Financial policy is criteria or procedure that describes a company’s choices as far as debt/ equity mix, currencies of denomination, maturity structure, the method of financing investment projects, and hedging decisions with a goal of maximizing the value of the firm to a particular group of stockholders.  The purpose of the financial policy is to minimize cost over a long period of time, providing citizens, investors and business owners with confidence when they know that there are strong, and consis tent financial policies in place to guide their businesses.  The benefits of a financial policy include the fact that the stakeholders are guided by certain rules and regulations, hence the gain of confidence in the business over a long period of time. It also enables people to receive payment at the time of service. The financial policy allows one to gain control over a financial system, this enables one to offer financial services to patients while minimizing possible confusions.

Terrorism and Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Terrorism and Policy - Essay Example or terrorist activities; and empowers the enforcement agencies to scrutinize foreign jurisdictions and to monitor the transactions of foreign financial agencies. Bank accounts are to be closely monitored to detect any criminal abuse of those accounts. The US enforcement authorities can direct foreign financial institutions and service providers to report money laundering activities that are linked to terrorist activity. In addition, this Act seeks to prevent foreign officials from exploiting the American financial system for their own ends. It also, facilitates the repatriation of stolen assets to the country where the theft transpired (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). The official name of the USA PATRIOT Act is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. It was enacted in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.This act provides widespread powers to the police and intelligence agencies, and it also expands the authority of law enforcement authorities in search and surveillance interventions. More importantly, the PATRIOT Act rescinds the checks and balances system, which enables the courts to review the constitutional validity of statutes and to conduct a judicial review of such statutes, in order to ensure that there is no abuse of power by the government. The Constitution bestowed civil liberties and right to privacy on the citizens, but these rights have been endangered by the PATRIOT Act. It also affects the democratic traditions and customs in the US, and there is widespread opposition in the US against this statute, because it repeals the fundamen tal rights of the people (The USA PATRIOT Act). Homeland security aims to protect the US from any potential terrorist attack. Its fundamental duties include preparedness against such attacks, ensuring a high level of protection against terrorist attacks and the management of the results of such attacks on the US.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Role of Social Systems Theory and the Family within Society Essay

Role of Social Systems Theory and the Family within Society - Essay Example The ideal should be to provide as good a practical service to clients as possible rather than the testing of ideas. Social systems theory is a method of understand various systems that humans interact with in an effort to provide answers for the problems of social functioning that may occur for both individuals and groups. Throughout the history of sociology there have been various attempts to construct what might be termed as a "grand theory" of human social interaction (Jokisch, 2001). Talcott Parsons was one of the first sociologists to offer a single theory. Parsons saw systems as an analytical tool to understand certain processes that were occurring within society. By contrast, e was followed up by the specific features of Niklas Luhmann, who first used the term social systems theory (Luhmann, 1995). Luhmann suggests that systems exist as a discrete entity that can and should be studied in and of itself. As Moeller et al. suggest, the originating point of nearly all social systems theory is that "it no longer holds that current society can be successfully based on the basis that it is (or should be) fundamentally humane, and that it is, on principle, an assembly of individual human beings" (Moeller, 2006). Thus social systems theory avoids the temptation to indulge in what may be seen as unfounded generalizations about the "nature" of human beings or far reaching conceptualizations that ignore reality. The basis of Luhmann's ideas is communication. He sees social systems as essentially systems of communication. A system is defined by a boundary between it and its environment, dividing it from a hopelessly complex and chaotic exterior. The systems is then, through simple logic, less complex and less chaotic than the exterior. Luhmann argues that if a system fails to maintain its identity, it cease to exist as a system and dissolves back into the overall environment from which it emerged in the first place. Elements are filtered by the system into some kind of organization within what Luhmann termed as autopoiesis, literally "self-creation", a term he borrowed from cognitive biology. Social systems are autopoietically closed as they use and rely upon resources from the environment, but these resources do not necessarily become part of the system's environment. With some reason, much of social systems theory has been criticized as rather remote and perhaps not too relevant to the actual world that human beings inhabit. The fact that the study of humans as discrete individuals is rejected by Luhmann et al. seems to lend support to these criticisms. As Weiner (1978) it might be difficult to associate such esoteric theories with their application within the resoundingly practical world of the delivery of human services to at need groups, families and individuals. But seeing society as a system, and one in which the constituent parts can be analyzed and perhaps even categorized according to similar types that have been discovered before is of use to the delivery of human services. Many societies may seem so utterly complex that the only method of dealing with them is on a case-by-case ad hoc basis rather than through some kind of systematic paradigm. Systems theory may help in answering a number of basic questions regarding human services. As Gardner (2003) suggest,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Aviation Cyber Threats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Aviation Cyber Threats - Essay Example However, there were several laws that were passed in the congress after September 11 terrorist attacks. In the process, a series of homeland security presidential directives were issued for sustaining domestic security (Vacca, 2009). However, on the other hand, despite an economic turmoil from September 11 attacks, the aviation industry continues to grow at a rapid pace and is considered as a fundamental transformation. Moreover, there is also a significant change for managing air traffic via net-centric approach (Markarian, Kolle, & Tarter, n.d). The acquisition of this change will replace the traditional approach for controlling air traffic that is constructed on Information technology solutions. By focusing on aviation security, there is a significant increase in utilizing computerized systems onboard of an air carrier. Likewise, these systems facilitate high airborne and internally located system connectivity, operational and maintenance requirements (Markarian, Kolle, & Tarter, n.d). Moreover, the net-centric ATM connectivity raises concerns for cyber security threats and vulnerabilities. Propagation threats are critical because it is capable of rapidly broadcasting traffic on the Internet along with bypassing intrusion detection systems (Hatahet, Bouabdallah, & Challal, 2010). Likewise, for augmenting the primary phase of work propagation, it uses a ‘hit list’ comprising of overflowed users i.e. users consuming heavy bandwidth. By identifying users, worm spreads itself at a rapid pace when compared to traditional spreading worms (Hatahet, Bouabdallah, & Challal, 2010). Moreover, this type of attack saves a considerable amount of scanning time by only attacking a visible target. In the context of any cyber threat to an airport, the airport cannot be the primary target, as the Spanair flight JK5022 crash was successful by one of the contributions from a Malware (Markarian, Kolle, & Tarter, n.d). System Wide Information Management (SWIM) that is a program for delivering foundation that is vital for renewing the national airspace system in to an operation that is represented as ‘network-centric’ (Markarian, Kolle, & Tarter, n.d). Likewise the SWIM is sponsored by the umbrella of SESAR for Europe and in the United states, it is sponsored by NextGen. Commonly, the SWIM program is stated as ‘aviation intranet’ (Markarian, Kolle, & Tarter, n.d). Likewise, by utilizing ‘publish and subscribe mechanisms’, the intranet will demonstrate a ‘net- centric’ approach. Apart from all these advantages, there are always cyber threats that are associated with it. As mentioned earlier about the net-centric approach, that will utilize point to point connectivity, any single vulnerability will result in a complete network compromise because of distributed application and network resources. Aviation information systems must be resilient, redundant, ensure integrity of data and most importantly ‘always available’. These features are associated with safety principles that are applicable to operational functions in the aviation industry. For instance, control messages are communicated from the control tower to the pilot, who is one of the crew members on the flight. Any mistake or manipulation in communicated messages may result in a catastrophic event or disaster that may

Monday, September 23, 2019

Research paper about world Trade organization (WTO) impact on

About world Trade organization (WTO) impact on environment - Research Paper Example That is, in the quest to achieve economic development, countries aided by economic initiatives like World Trade Organisation (WTO) are indulging in many constructive activities for the development of people, including the environment. At the same time, certain destructive or dubious activities are carried out by the people or country because of WTO, destructing many lives. Like a simple rope which can also be used to constrict one’s neck, the development activities of WTO have turned out to be life destructive activities, damaging the lives of the humans themselves as well as the earth’s environment in which they live. Apart from the highly industrialized countries, this phenomenon is also happening in developing and least developed countries (LDC), mainly after the inception of WTO. So, this paper will analyze how WTO causes environmental problems and also avoids it. Among the many economic based movements, globalization is the one which had and is still having major impact on the economic development of many countries and its people worldwide. Economic part of globalization is the key because with the whole world becoming a kind of global village, barriers between the countries are broken with integration happening mainly in the economic aspects. After the advent of globalization, the main initiative which opened up the markets of the countries is the establishment of WTO in 1994. The World Trade Organization (WTO), founded to supervise and liberalize the international trade in the post-globalization era, was officially initiated on January 1, 1995, with the actualization of the Marrakech Agreement. With 150 odd members and representing more than 97% of the world trade, WTO performs multiple roles. While supervising and liberalizing international trade, it deals and oversees trade regulations between participating countries, then it provides a platform to negotiate and formalise trade agreements, even while solving any disputes that may arise during the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The invisible white privilege Essay Example for Free

The invisible white privilege Essay White people, from birth, automatically benefit from their light skin color, enjoying the privileges relating to child care, education, hygiene, careers, politics, etc. Compared to white people, people of color are at a distinct disadvantage. They are treated differently than white people, and they are the ones that suffer, not having this same privilege. In Peggy McIntosh’s article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, McIntosh describes how whites carry the invisible privilege. In society, white people are treated better than non-white people since segregation, beauty trends, political power, social connections, and street crime seem to be better for them. According to McIntosh, White Privilege is an invisible package of unearned assets granted to white people (McIntosh 1). They can enjoy special advantages that are beyond common advantages of people of color. White privilege is a social constructed phenomenon. Besides physical appearance, there is no biological difference between white people and the non-white people. It is society that distinguishes whites from people of color, and it tends to recognize all races besides those who are white. Living in a society of white dominance, whites are carefully taught to ignore the fact that white privilege puts them at an advantage. This is because, according to McIntosh, deconstruction of white privilege threatens the myths and ideas about this nation, and it challenges the notion of equal opportunity and meritocracy (McIntosh 2). There are many ways that white privilege still exists today. Here are five examples of white privilege I find out in my life. 1. White parents do not have to be worried about their kids being scared at school. I learned from the news that at Delavan-Darien High School, the American Diversity class divides students into whites and non-whites, and tell non-whites students, â€Å"you have been oppressed and you are still being oppressed†. 2. White women represent beauty and lead the trends. Speaking of this, why don’t we take a look at the proportion of white models in the 2013 New York Fashion Week? An official statistic shows that out of the 5,000 styles in last New York Fashion Week, around 80 percent were modeled by white women. Fewer than 1,000 styles were given to women of color (Dries 1). 3. White people occupy Congress. In Congress the total is 87 percent whites, which is divided into 85 percent in the House and 96 percent in the Senate (Portero 3). The voices of politicians of color are often drowned out in the politic sea of white dominance. 4. White people are able to achieve success more easily by using their connections. Because of belonging to the dominant group, white people have more connection than people of color do. Based on this, they are more likely to succeed. 5. Whites do not have to be worried about being shot one day on the street. A well-known example can be the Shooting of Trayvon Martin. Making a run to the store to get some refreshments for his brother and himself, Martin was shot and killed by the neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman because, according to Zimmerman, â€Å"he was very suspicious. † I think if Martin were a white guy, Zimmerman would not have seen him as a â€Å"real suspicious looking guy†. In society, people regard whites’ lives as morally neutral, normative, and ideal. Whites are elevated above people of color. Although I believe all racial groups are harmed in the long run by racism, white privilege still exists as a daily reality throughout every part of the structure in the United States. Work Cited Dries, Kate. New York Fashion Week Was Chock-Full of White Models. Again. Jezebel. N. p. , 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Welsey, MA: Wesley College Center for Research on Woman, 1988. Print. Portero, Ashley. Congress Still a White Male Lawyers Domain; Members More Religious Than Most Americans. International Business Times. N. p. , 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

History Of The Industrialised Building System Construction Essay

History Of The Industrialised Building System Construction Essay Steel framing construction is classified as one of the Industrialised Building System. However, Industrialised Building System (IBS) is common in construction industry in Malaysia. Steel framing is becoming more common in residential construction. The use of steel for framing residential construction has both advantages and disadvantages. Steel frame elements are manufactured in the factory and then will be transported to a job site for installation once it passed the inspection on it quality standard. This method has its own significance and shortage. Construction site take very high attention on the safety aspect especially when the construction is running. Safety is an issue that has no end and every year will have accidents occurred on construction site. However, it can be lead to accidence that may cause injured or dead to worker or public. Steel framing construction also having their own risk and hazard in its construction process during the installation component although it was convenient to install. For example steel column base plates are a fundamental component of a steel structure. Poor base plate installation can lead to steel columns tipping over, which can cause severe injuries or death to worker in the area. The experiences contractor on steel framing installation knows there are procedures required to pull off a high level of quality, customer satisfaction and most important safety. To make installation run smoothly it is the best to have experienced worker or else have a good safety and health management to guide and control the workers to comply with the safety rules. By the way, the major problem was poor attitude of the worker and poor management system. Aim and Objectives The overall objective for this proposal is to investigate and evaluate the safety aspects in steel framing construction. The specific objectives of this study are as follows: 1. To study the process of installation steel framing component. 2. To identify the safety aspect and the requirement during the installation process steel framing component at site. 3. To identify the level of safety during installation process at site. Problem Statement The Industrialised Building System (IBS) is not a new approach in Malaysia. It has been introduced in Malaysia since 1966. However, the most steel framing construction accidents occur because the developer or contractor lack of proper planning or using the unsafe equipments and do not follow the correct method when installation. Apart from this, unsafe site condition, not using the safety equipment that was provided, and poor attitude of workers toward safety during installation process also the issues that causes accident. Therefore, it indicated that there is lack of consideration of safety and risk evaluation in IBS construction. Based on the information from Social Security Organization (SOCSO), Malaysia recorded a worrying increase in the numbers of accident occurring at construction site. It shows that a total of 4654 out of 73858 industrial accidents recorded in 2003 were come from the construction industry. (Mohammed Taher Alashwal, 2008). But it different if used steel framing system, the statistic from CIDB shows the accidents are 50% from heavy lifting, 20% installation, 10% other factor, and other 10% from during transportation component to storage accidents. Scope of study The scope of this study is focussed on safety aspects on installation of Industrialised Building System (IBS) which specific in steel framing construction. This study is to identify the safety aspect during the steel framing construction at the installation stage. The information will be collected from observation, interviews, internet resources, journal and some of the documents. 1. This study covers Industrialised Building System specific in steel framing. 2. This study identifies the safety requirements within the installation stage of steel framing construction. 3. Information will be collected at Kuala Lumpur and Selangor area. Methodology Interview In this research proposal, interviewed is to be conducted with the contractor which are using steel framing system for their project or any other relevant position of staff within construction site to get the information. 4 to 5 interview question will be set which related to my research objective there are to identify the safety aspect and requirement during the installation process of steel framing component at site and to identify the level of safety during installation process at site. After that, I will do an summary based on the information that I collect from the respondent. Face to face interview will be conducted and several questions will be asked and the answer will be recorded down. Face to face interview is chosen because it was very convenient for the respondent and interviewee to discuss and different date collection techniques can be used for example open-ended questions and visual aids can improve the understanding of interviewee. Desktop based review To improve my understanding and experience to do future thesis, I will using desktop based review as my secondary data collection techniques which reading through the articles, journal papers, conference papers, books and websites browsing related to my title. Through this method I can have better understanding on the process of installation steel framing component before I go to the construction site visit to do observation. So when I go to the site visit, I can directly go to the point of the installation process and can easily understand the information given by the respondent to get the good idea to write my research. Review of previous research and book done by other people also make me more familiar with the correct way to do research in this topic and also increase the accuracy. Observation Besides, observation will as my one of the method to collect data to identify the level of safety during installation process at site. Besides, I also will observe on the process of installation steel framing component to fulfil my objective. I will make appointment with the contractor which using steel framing system to have a site visit at his construction site to observe the going of project specific in installation process of steel framing system. I also will take a reference on the lay out plans for steel frame component, steel frame installation guide, and other communications which provide by contractor. The important of study Through this research, the contractor which specific on steel framing construction can use this as a guide for them to review their safety requirement when installation of the steel framing component to reduce the rate of accident of construction work in Malaysia.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Family In Sociology

The Family In Sociology Functionalism, an approach which dominated much of twentieth century thinking, sought to explain the family through the vital functions it played as a social institution. George Peter Murdock, a notable American Anthropologist and functionalist, conducted a study in 1949 in where he studied the institution of the family in 250 different societies. He concluded by saying that the family plays four different basic functions which he termed reproductive, educational, sexual and economic. Education was vital in teaching the norms and values of society whilst reproduction produced members for society. The family certainly does not perform these functions exclusively, this perhaps more relevant after the industrial revolution when the family lost many of its functions to new specialized social institutions such as factories, schools and hospitals. However the family still makes important contributions to all of the above functions. Talcott Parsons, a respected American sociologist, also pioneered the functionalist perspective of the family. In addition to serving functions to society as a whole as explained above, it also plays equally vital functions for its individual members. According to Parsons, the family during early years of childhood structures the childs personality and the internalization of societys culture. Taught mainly by the childs parents, the central norms and values of society are internalized into a child to a point where it becomes natural and instinctive. This is the same for every child, and without this internalization, society would not be able to function. An American child for example would grow up with the central idea of independence and a strong motivation to achieve a high status in society as these are the central qualities of American culture. Once this personality is achieved, it must be maintained and this is the second basic function of the family: the stabilization of adult personalities. In order to balance the stress and strains of life found in a busy society, an individual can seek emotional support by his spouse. This function is especially important in Western societies as the nature of the popular nuclear family means that there is no extended family to rely upon for emotional support. Thus the married couple must solely depend on each other. The introduction of a child in a family also allows for the next step in stabilizing the adult personality. Adults can act out childish elements of their own personalities whilst engaging with his or hers child in a activity. This cannot be done in adult society. The points discussed above largely derive from two of the most influential functionalists in the 20th century. However, there work in recent times has come under particular criticism. Critics tend to agree upon the fact that both perspectives offer an unrealistic picture of the family, portraying a couple who unwillingly care for each others every need. Parsons idea of socialization is also dubious as it fails to consider the child who will not conform to his parents values and morals. Parsons and Murdock also both fail to offer functional alternatives to the family unit. As to affirm these criticisms, this functionalist view of the family has not been adopted by other sociologist who favor a more blunt and critical explanation. Friedrich Engles, with his publication of The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State in 1884 developed the first Marxist perspective of the family. He combined an evolutionary approach with Marxism, explaining how at the early stages of evolution, means of production were communally owned and the family as such did not exist. There were no rules to dictate the boundaries of sexual relationships thus society as a whole was the family. However, with the development of the state later in history, restrictions were applied on sexual relationships and on the production of children, reaching the point in where the nuclear family was born. Coinciding with this new unit was the privatization of both property and means of production. These assets were passed down by the male to his heir, and in order to ensure the legitim acy of the link, greater control was placed on women in order to ensure that there was no question about the paternity of the offspring. Summarized by Eagles himself in the original book, It is based on the supremacy of the man, the express purpose being to produce children of undisputed paternity; such paternity is demanded because these children are later to come into their fathers property as his natural heirs. Alternative Marxist perspectives sought to study the role families played in industrial societies. They argued that the capitalist system exploited the free domestic labor of the housewife, seeing childrearing and housework as an essential part of the economy. However the central argument was that the employer only paid for the services of the male breadwinner, securing the housewifes contribution for free. In addition to this, Marxist also saw that the worker was only able to work long hours for his employer as the domestic labor of looking after the children for example was done by the housewife. The housewife, in addition to the above work, also benefited the employer by reproducing potential workers. Expanding upon this idea, families acted as an ideological conditioning device which reproduced ideologies which prop up capitalism. Children are in affect a reflection of their parents in terms of values and behaviors and so uninspiringly follow them into the same work and patterns. Outside of the household, women were seen as a reserve army of labor that could be drawn in when there was a labor shortage and returned home when demand fell. All of these valuable services were provided to the employer for free, with him only having to pay the male breadwinner. The Marxists approach compared with the functionalist idea is much more critical of the family unit, and this trend continues with the feminists perspective. In their book Familiar Exploitation, radical feminists Christine Delphy and Diana Lenoard attached importance in Marxist methodology in explaining the family unit but nevertheless were of the opinion that men, not capitalism, were the main beneficiaries of the exploitation of womens labor in the household. They began their explanation by detailing how they saw the family as an economic system in where men benefit from, and exploit the work of women. They identified several factors that related to the family as an economic system, for example that the family structure typically involves two roles and that the male usually occupies the most important one, head of household, and the women and children are left with being helpers. What makes the role of head of household so important is that he has final say on important decisions and assigns duties to other members of the family. These duties vary according to the status and sex of the person in the family as women for example are usual ly given the task of doing the domestic and reproductive work. The head of household usually has control over finances and spending decisions and this still applies even when the woman is in paid employment. As concluded by Delphy and Leonard, The head of the family may have a near monopoly over, and he always has greater access to and control of, the familys property and external relations. Both of these radical feminists perhaps offer the most comprehensive radical feminist insight into the family unit. They depict a patriarchal and hierarchal structure in where men dominate and receive 57 varieties of unpaid services. It would be wrong to suggest that women are not oblivious to their exploitation but economic and social constraints make it difficult for women to escape from the patriarchal family. However their assumption that all families have a head has earned their work criticism. The data where this theory derived from is also questionable as it is said to be dated, and more contemporary data show in actual fact show less gender inequality in middle class families than in working class families. Both of the above approaches tend to agree on the fact that woman are often exploited by men in family life and in the case of Marxism, also benefit capitalism. As already mentioned, both fail to take into account the variety family life can adopt in various societies and the effect this can have on individuals. Difference feminist ensure that the variety of positions women can find themselves in is central to their argument, taking into account lesbian couples, single parent families and the impact social position and race has on the womans position. Leading difference feminist Linda Nicholson in her book The myth of the traditional family began by defining what is meant by the traditional family. She saw it as the the unit of parents with children who live together, separating it from other kin and emphasized the important bond between husband and wife. This simple image of the family is the one often associated with the nuclear family and it became popular among commentators in th e 1950s. Alternative families to this image however were not regarded with the same esteem but Nicholson rejected this notion, arguing that alternative families offered greater benefits than the nuclear family for the women who live in them. In her particular study, she saw poor black women in the USA at more of an advantage when at the head of the household without men. Reason being was that their tended to be a stronger relationship between other friends and kin which in turn provided support and insurance, helping out families most in need at a particular time. This theory evidently had disadvantages, namely the lack of a father model which is integral for a childs upbringing. However traditional families also share several disadvantages such as the inability of a child to turn to other relatives for help when abused by his parent. Nicholson concluded her work in a very liberal manner, advocating greater choice in individuals choosing their preferred living arrangements according to what best suited them. She disagreed with the distinction between traditional and alternative families, citing that traditional families often give the impression that they have long been the norm whilst this is not true. The summary given above is only one take on the family by a difference feminist among dozens. On the whole however, they all tend to avoid narrowly define the role women play in families and instead show a degree of sensitivity towards different experiences of family life experienced by women of different classes, sexual orientation and ethnicity. It would therefore be fair to say that difference feminists offer the most advance perspective on family life. In order to expand upon the perspectives explored above, various themes must be examined to gain a comprehensive understanding of the family as a unit of social organization. Perhaps the greatest process to have an effect on family life was the advent of industrialization and modernization in the eighteenth century. Modernization refers to the development of social, cultural, economic and political practices and institutions which are thought to be typical of modern societies whilst industrialization refers to the mass production of goods in a factory system which involves some degree of mechanized production technology. Sociologists regard the above factors to be the detrimental reasons responsible for change in Western societies in the early eighteenth century. Embroiled in this was of course the family unit which found problems relating itself to industrialization or modernization. For example, every society experienced the above changes differently with each social institution ef fected in differing ways. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that industrialization and modernization is a developing process, our different culture, politics and society to those of our ancestor evidence of this. The complexity of trying to associate families and industrialization and modernization allows for plentiful confusion among academics as to what a pre-industrial family consist of. Michael Young and Peter Willmott were among those who traced the development of the family from pre-industrial England to contemporary times. Specific to their study, which was published in a book titled The Symmetrical Family in 1973, they traced the changes experienced by the family up to the 1970s. They concluded, using a variety of sources and social surveys, that the family had gone through four main stages. Stage one belonged to the pre-industrial family which was seen as an unit of production consisting mainly of a husband, wife and unmarried children who cooperate as a team. With the advent of industrial revolution however, this form of family became largely extinct with the exception of some farming communities in the nineteenth century. Followed closely after was stage 2 which coincided with the beginning of the industrial revolution and continued throughout the nineteenth century. As discussed earlier, the family lost many of its functions to other social institution and thus ceased to be an unit of production. The nineteenth century witnessed chronic poverty and high unemployment and therefore the family responded by breaking away from the traditional nuclear model into an extended network which included grandparents and grandmothers. This allowed for an insurance policy and someone to rely on in tough times. As with stage 1, stage 2 declined in importance in the twentieth century but still found prominence in low income, working class areas. Finally, and still predominating today according to Young and Willmott, is stage 3 which the two sociologist conducted a large scale social survey in order to prove and later became the basis of their book. Stage 3 saw the return of the nuclear family with the exception of it being now more home centered. Free time was usually spent doing domestic work at home and leisure time allowed parents to play with their children and watch television. Stage 3 witnessed a stronger conjugal bond between husband and wife and a notable self-reliance now associated with the nuclear family. The term used to describe this type of nuclear family is symmetrical family, referring to the now equally shared duty of maintaining the household between two spouses. Radically different to the inequality described above about the allocation of chores and responsibility of finances, couples in stage 3 now share many of the chores and decisions. Many of the above points are open to criticism, especially by feminists who disagree with the concept of the symmetrical family and instead still seeing oppressive inequality between husband and wife. Despite this, Young and Willmott accomplish in tracing the family before, during and after the industrial revolution and the various forms it adopted according to the needs of society. Many criticisimis raised about the sociological prespectives is that they fail to consider other forms family may adopt in society.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Presidential Debates :: Politics Political Science Essays

The Presidential Debates A picture is worth a thousand words. Get that picture played repeatedly over the news and it’s worth more than a thousand words; you gather the entire eyes, ears, and minds of a nation. The â€Å"great debate† of the Presidential Election for 2004 was well aware of the media power, understanding that there is a 24-news cycle available through TV, newspapers, and Internet. Those who wanted to remain ahead only had to use the media as their guinea pigs to twist out their favorable outcome. President Bush may be incumbent but his team behind the debate is not; John Kerry may be long-winded but his team behind the debate knows how to attract attention quickly. Both candidates may not have known what stage was being set October 4, 2004 but their campaign aids and analysts knew that in order to turn an American audience onto their side they knew manipulation of the media would turn into manipulation of the public. For those watching the first debate it was easy to see which candidate was better prepared and over-all more likeable. While John Kerry spoke on point, direct, and quickly, President Bush was defensive, angry, and often repetitive; idiotic remarks such as, ''Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us -- I know that,† stuck out like sore thumbs amidst a debate of intelligence, and cool comebacks (New York Times). The use of the split-screen by some cable networks such as Fox Network News, presented the debate with a split-screen allowing â€Å"... several shots of Bush grimacing and looking quite hostile during Kerry's criticisms of his Iraq actions† creating the effect that â€Å"Kerry was aware of the camera’s gaze and Bush perhaps did not† (The Los Angeles Times). The overall effect of the split-screen was favorable to Kerry and unfavorable to Bush, allowing for the Democratic and Republican parties to try and convey their opinions of whe ther this was fair. Kerry officials were ecstatic over the results, comparing the President to Al Gore’s reactions in the 2000 debate â€Å"memorable† and â€Å"counter productive† (The Los Angeles Times). While Kerry officials were gloating the Bush campaign tried to play if off coolly, acting as if the reactions of the President did nothing more than a man who showed his emotion and conviction last night in answering questions and listening to someone de-credit him in the American Public (The Los Angeles Times). The Presidential Debates :: Politics Political Science Essays The Presidential Debates A picture is worth a thousand words. Get that picture played repeatedly over the news and it’s worth more than a thousand words; you gather the entire eyes, ears, and minds of a nation. The â€Å"great debate† of the Presidential Election for 2004 was well aware of the media power, understanding that there is a 24-news cycle available through TV, newspapers, and Internet. Those who wanted to remain ahead only had to use the media as their guinea pigs to twist out their favorable outcome. President Bush may be incumbent but his team behind the debate is not; John Kerry may be long-winded but his team behind the debate knows how to attract attention quickly. Both candidates may not have known what stage was being set October 4, 2004 but their campaign aids and analysts knew that in order to turn an American audience onto their side they knew manipulation of the media would turn into manipulation of the public. For those watching the first debate it was easy to see which candidate was better prepared and over-all more likeable. While John Kerry spoke on point, direct, and quickly, President Bush was defensive, angry, and often repetitive; idiotic remarks such as, ''Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us -- I know that,† stuck out like sore thumbs amidst a debate of intelligence, and cool comebacks (New York Times). The use of the split-screen by some cable networks such as Fox Network News, presented the debate with a split-screen allowing â€Å"... several shots of Bush grimacing and looking quite hostile during Kerry's criticisms of his Iraq actions† creating the effect that â€Å"Kerry was aware of the camera’s gaze and Bush perhaps did not† (The Los Angeles Times). The overall effect of the split-screen was favorable to Kerry and unfavorable to Bush, allowing for the Democratic and Republican parties to try and convey their opinions of whe ther this was fair. Kerry officials were ecstatic over the results, comparing the President to Al Gore’s reactions in the 2000 debate â€Å"memorable† and â€Å"counter productive† (The Los Angeles Times). While Kerry officials were gloating the Bush campaign tried to play if off coolly, acting as if the reactions of the President did nothing more than a man who showed his emotion and conviction last night in answering questions and listening to someone de-credit him in the American Public (The Los Angeles Times).

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Science Essay -- essays research papers fc

For some people science is the supreme form of all knowledge. Is this view reasonable or does it involve a misunderstanding of science or of knowledge? For many persons science is considered the supreme form of all knowledge, as science is based on facts and theories and it reaches its results through an approved scientific method. Consequently, it seems to be objective and thus more truthful and reliable. However, other persons argue that this is a misunderstanding of science. Hence, one should question what science and knowledge entail. Can there actually be some form of knowledge that overrules all other types of human knowledge? Is scientific knowledge actually always objective? Are there other types of knowledge of equal worth? This essay will discuss the views presented mainly using examples from biology and history and comparing them to the different ways of knowing, i.e. perception, reasoning, emotion and language to try and reach a conclusion on whether scientific knowledge really is a higher form of knowledge. Firstly, before attempting to discuss the topic at hand, it is important to define the terms â€Å"knowledge†, â€Å"science† and â€Å"supreme†. According to Webster’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary â€Å"knowledge† is defined as â€Å"the acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles gained by sight, experience, or investigation†1. â€Å"Science† is a branch of knowledge that has purpose to â€Å"describe, explain, understand, investigate, predict, and control†2. The term â€Å"supreme† is defined as â€Å"the highest in rank, authority, and/or quality†3. Now, to put these definitions in context, one must recognise that scientific knowledge, to have the status of the highest in authority and quality, it has to be reliable and consistent with reality. And since scientific knowledge is based upon investigations and observations of the environment around us (i.e. reality), it must be supreme. However, what can be questio ned is the degree of supremacy within different types of sciences, and in this essay the comparison will be limited to one natural science (biology) and one social science (history). Biology could be considered the supreme form of knowledge, as a large proportion of what we know is based upon observations and investigations of the world around us, thus inductive reasoning. Let’s consider the example of organs in living organisms; it’s a scientific fact that most living org... ... our perceptions, way of reasoning, and the language used, thus the scientific knowledge we have created is also subjective. Bibliography Books Abel, Reuben. Man Is the Measure. New York; The Free Press, 1976. Acton, Edward. Rethinking the Russian Revolution. Arnold Publishers, 1990. Pipes, Richard. Den Ryska Revolutionen. Stockholm; Natur och Kultur, 1990. Dictionaries Webster’s Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. 1989, Gramerce Book, New York. 1 Webster’s Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. 1989, Gramerce Book, New York. p. 792. 2 Abel, Reuben. Man Is the Measure. New York; The Free Press, 1976. p. 82 3 Webster’s Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. 1989, Gramerce Book, New York. p. 1430. 4 Pipes, Richard. Den Ryska Revolutionen. Stockholm; Natur och Kultur, 1990. p. 161 5 Acton, Edward. Rethinking the Russian Revolution. Arnold Publishers, 1990. p. 238 6 Abel, Reuben. Man Is the Measure. New York; The Free Press, 1976. p. 82  © Copyright 2005 Cassandra Flavius (FictionPress ID:375156). All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of Cassandra Flavius.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Educational Reform Essay

The educational institutes today are more focused on academics & pay less attention to the physical attributes of the students. Physical educators along with academic teachers play an important part in promoting good health through regular physical activities. The number of obese children is increasing around the world. Research depicts that one in every ten; six years old child in England is obese. It is estimated that by the year 2020, 50% of the children would be obese. (BBC. co, 2004,) Lack of physical activity is said to be a cause for lowers academic achievements as well as overweight & obese individuals. The reason being, when the fundamental dietary & fitness needs are not met, the students show a decline in academics by giving a poor performance. A study in New York asserted that students’ intelligence & academic performance was affected by the slightest of malnutrition signs. Schools play a major role in developing the young minds & grooming them for a bright future, it must be kept in mind that physical education too is an imperative aspect of an individual’s life. Along with the P. E. courses the students should be advised about a proper diet intake. Children with poor nutritional habits, especially in the early years usually score low in vocabulary, reading & calculation. (Athletics Campus Life, 2007) It is calculated that 40% of American population is inactive & only 20% are slightly active. Mostly 50% of individuals drop out of exercise programs without even completing six months. The fact is that habits are developed at an early age. If the students are not facilitated with physical exercise courses at school, they will never form healthy workout habits. The schools these days are struggling to increase the student success rates, the children are over burdened with homework & extra classes, leaving no time for extracurricular activities. The Buffalo City School District in New York has decided to incorporate a physical education department starting from the very initial stage; the aim is to achieve better student grades, attendance & improved health. The students’ nutrition, active lifestyle & accomplishments are all interrelated. If the child is happy & healthy, he will perform well in every step he takes. Reducing 240 minutes per week in class time in favor of physical activity resulted in higher math scores. (Action for Healthy Kids, 2004) Students with the highest fitness scores scored the highest in their SAT exam. Being physically active also fortifies the student’s cognitive learning abilities & lowers anxiety & depression levels. It is derived from extensive research that the intake of oxygen during exercise benefits the neurons & increases the mind power. Overweight children are susceptible to develop physical ailments like blood pressure & diabetes in later life, not to mention the psychological effects by being teased in school causing a reclusive feeling, low self esteem & presently depression. The Cambridge Public Schools, in Massachusetts, discovered that almost 14% of children from the age group 9-13 were overweight due to sedentary routines. These students were being targeted for jokes & bullying. In order to facilitate the energy of hyperactive & sedentary students, at the same time improving their physical & social wellbeing; increased the activity programs at school targeting every student’s individual needs. This act may produce desirable results in the meantime confronting issues like obesity & bullying. But focus should be kept on the physical wellbeing of students; therefore it’s a better option to minimize competing activities. Sports & recreational competitions are a good way to realize one’s potential but may induce negative feelings in the losing opponent. Every school attempts to reach the highest target of excellence; this goals should set concern for the physical & mental growth of the students thus, expanding time for the physical & extracurricular activities for the children to indulge in. summer & winter breaks can also be utilized for such programs. Participating in such activities help the children to discover their strengths & uniqueness creating a feeling of achievement. They realize their interests & then design their future goals accordingly. A number of funds are use for the betterment of academic departments in schools. Some steps should be taken for designing the physical education department in order to achieve a positive impact on the confidence, self esteem & motivation of all the students. Each student should be dealt separately, so as to meet individual demands & improve their over all personality. A policy taken up by the Michigan State Board of Education Policy in September 2003 on Quality Physical Education confirms that well planned physical activities play a pivotal role in the student learning capabilities. They learn to incorporate their skills & abilities to the fullest in every field. They started a 150 minutes/week program for the elementary students & 225 minutes/week. (Michigan State- Resource Guide) Some of the ideas that can be incorporated for the betterment of students overall capabilities are:†¢ All students should be entitled to join the physical activity groups. Each age group should be handled separately so they can enhance their confidence, identify their personal. The physical education curriculum should be based on a rationally researched content. The proper equipment & tools should be provided by the school & a professional trainer should be hired to train the students. The individual strengths & abilities of students should be catered. Tests should be conducted to find out their endurance levels & body strengths & then target the problem areas for achieving a healthy & active student body. †¢ Athletics are very effective in the over all growth of children.  Basic levels of athletics should be coached to every student & advance courses available to those who are interested. †¢ The P. E. group can hold study groups & workshops to help the students with their weakness & provide them with proper nutritional guides. Several activities can be introduces involving interaction with friends & families of the students. For example few schools arrange sport days, running tracks & family fitness nights. After school activities can play a major role in inducing physical fitness in the students. The points to keep in mind are that †¢ the activities are convenient for the students †¢ the program contains enough intensity to make it challenging †¢ Variety of programs should be introduced so that the children are keen to partake in them. †¢ The weather conditions should be kept in mind & indoor gyms & recreational rooms should be set up in case of a rainy day. †¢ The parents & teachers should be encouraged to get involved with the students so they can help the children to live up to the best of their abilities.