Chapter 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter 5 - Essay Example 1. Why do some employers ban tattoos while others don’t mind them? Employers have different stance or position with regards to employees donning tattoos because some corporate environment require stakeholders to maintain a level of professionalism, which is instrumental in projecting a level of quality in their corporate image on a more traditional sphere. 2. Is it fair for employers to reject applicants who have tattoos? Based on the foregoing, one firmly believes that it is actually fair for employers to reject applicants who have tattoos, especially when these applicants would be future employees who are expected to project the same image of professionalism that the organization aims to adhere to and embody in their transactions. Is it fair to require employees, if hired, to conceal their tattoos? Actually, one believes that at the onset, a corporate philosophy of being true to the applicants in terms of signifying policies regarding tattoos should immediately be relayed. Therefore, if the organization condones tattoos and prefers employees without them, then they should be honest enough to state this requirement to the applicants to avoid conflicts in the future. 3. Should it be illegal to allow tattoos to be a factor at all in the hiring process. Personally, as disclosed in the case facts, tattoos are actually a person’s choice according to preferences and what was aimed to represent by donning them. As such, since these are matters of choices and preferences, organizations have also the prerogative to determine the hiring criteria which would place potential applicants for the right positions. If tattoos are seen as not in any way detrimental to the organization’s operations and to the corporate image being projected, then, the organization has the prerogative not specify restrictions in their hiring policies. It is therefore deemed not

Managing Organisational Change - decentralization of power and the Essay

Managing Organisational Change - decentralization of power and the empowerment of employees - Essay Example The scope of this already demanding situation is further aggravated by the ensuing technological revolutions that are unleashing ground breaking changes at a rapid pace. The source of such a change traces its origins to both within and outside the organisations. External social, economic and technological changes push the organisations and institutions into an adaptive mode. The resulting pressure ultimately percolates down to the individual employees that alters or motivates to alter the basic aspects of the concerned individuals' overall personality and style of communication (Burnes, 2000, p.258-259). Now if such a competitive scenario is further analysed in the context of the universal economic integration that is the direct outcome of globalization, one comes to the conclusion that it is next to impossible for the organisations and businesses to survive without a proactive initiative on the part of their individual employees in favour of change (Ollinger, 2006, p.1). A fast evol ving and metamorphosing global economy demands every individual to be an instrument of change. Off course such a change can only be meaningful if it is well managed and positive in its outlook. The query that deserves one's utmost attention is that are the organisations able to adapt to change in a smooth and eas... rves one's utmost attention is that are the organisations able to adapt to change in a smooth and easy way Does change automatically moulds the organisations in its natural course or does it require to be meticulously managed There is no dearth of theoreticians who believe that organisations are naturally malleable to change and somehow manage to adapt to the unfolding circumstances on their own (Thompson, 1967, p.35). However, there does exist a school of somewhat cautious thinkers who hold that there exists a sense of inertia within the organisations, the magnitude of which may vary from one organisation to other, that makes them somewhat inflexible and if left unmanaged may turn out to be eventually hazardous (Hannan and Freeman, 1977). Realistically speaking, organisational change is often a double edged sword that may prove to be either disruptive or adaptive in its outcome (Haveman, 1992, p.48-75). Usually it often gets very difficult for organisations to accept change and the initial reaction is always marked by a spontaneous or deliberate resistance. The framework of almost all the organisations often rests on certain institutional or technical structures built over time that often turn out to be the very source of such resistance (Granovetter, 1985, p.481-510). The astonishing fact is that such structures do not directly oppose any sort of change within the organisations, at least at an obvious level. The ultimate resistance more then often comes from the members or the employees in the organisations who can be considered to be the eventual outcome or the final by product of such structures (Coch, & French, 1948, p.512-532). Infact such institutional or technical structures insidiously oppose the change in the sense that even when the change is accepted and

Conditions for Equilibrium Essay Example for Free

Conditions for Equilibrium Essay When we say equilibrium, it is a state of balance. It is a condition where there is no change in the state of motion of a body. Equilibrium also may be at rest or moving within a constant velocity. A simple mechanical body is said to be in equilibrium if no part of it is accelerating, unless it is disturbed by an outside force. Two conditions for equilibrium are that the net force acting on the object is zero, and the net torque acting on the object is zero. Thus, the following objectives were emphasized in this experiment: to determine the equilibrant force using the force table and the omponent method, to determine the unknown forces using the first condition and second conditions for equilibrium, to locate the centre of gravity of a composite body, and to demonstrate rational equilibrium. 2. Theory Equilibrant is equal in magnitude to the resultant but oppositely directed. The first condition of equilibrium is when a body at rest or moving with uniform velocity has zero acceleration. The center of Gravity is the point where the weight of a body is assumed concentrate. The second condition of equilibrium is satisfied when the sum f all torques acting on an object about any axis equals zero. In activity 1, TA or the tension acting on the string is the weight of the pan A plus the weight added to it and multiplied to 9. 8 m/s2 TB or the tension acting on the string is the weight of the pan B plus the weight added to it and multiplied to 9. 8 m/s2 Experimental Equilibrant is the weight of the pan A plus the weight added to it. Theoretical Equilibrant= % Error = Exp. Theoretical X 100 Theoretical In activity 2, the equation Tl T2 cos e = O was used. From the equation, was derived to get the value ofT2 where, Tl is the reading on he spring scale when the pin is exactly at the middle of the ring e is the angle of the string makes with the horizontal Experimental Weight = T2 sin e Theoretical Weight= In activity 3, to check the results, the actual computation of center of gravity was used. Where XC and YC are the coordinates of the center of gravity of the circle, XS and YS of the center of gravity of the composite fgure. In activity 4, the equation was used, where, Xl is the length of the cylinder used X2 is the length of the center of gravity of the cylinder. And X3 is the length of the cylinder minus the 5. 0 cm. . Methodology There are 4 different kinds of activity in the experiment to determine the conditions for equilibrium. The materials used were the following: Force table and accessories, force board, cylinder of unknown weight, spring scale, electronic gram balance, card board, aluminum bar, cylinder of unknown weight, and protractor. For activity 1, the group used a force table, its three pans and accessories. The three pans were weighed and labeled as A, B and C. Pan A was hung at 30 degree mark and a 100g was placed on it whereas on pan B a150 g was placed and was hung at 200 degree mark. The group balanced the two tensions in the strings by placing weight on the pan C or adjusting its position in the force table to obtain the magnitude and position of the equilibrant. The theoretical equilibrant of the two tensions was solved using the component method. The group then computed the % error using the values obtained by the component method as your accepted value for magnitude as well as direction. Figure 1: Set-up for activity 1 For activity 2, a cylinder of unknown weight was suspended on the force board by means of two strings. A spring scale was then attached to one of the strings. One member of the group pulled the string horizontally until the pin was exactly at the middle of the ring. The reading on the spring scale was recorded as Tl . Another member of the group measured the angle that the other string makes with the horizontal and solved for the tension T2 of the other spring and the weight of a cylinder. Percent error was computed after. For activity 3, the group used a circle of diameter 10cm and a square of side 10 cm from the card board. The circle and the square was weighed and recorded as wc and Ws. The group determined the center f gravity of the composite fgure by using the balancing method and composite method. In balancing method, a pen was placed in the middle of the composite figure wherein the plumb method, the group used a string with a coin at the end then hung it from any point and measured where it intersects on the composite fgure. Figure 2: Balancing Method Figure 3: Plumbing Method For activity 4, the group first located the center of gravity of the aluminum bar by balancing it on a pencil. The cylinder used in activity 2 was hung 5. 0 cm from one end of the bar. Using the force board, the aluminum bar was supported by means of spring scale on the end and a string on the other end until the bar assumes a horizontal position. The group used the second condition for equilibrium to determine the weight of the bar and the tension in the string. Percent error was also computed. . Results and Discussion Activity 1 Tensions Magnitude (N) Position(0) TAI. 3105 300 1. 7962 2000 Experimental Equilibrant 0. 6241 3600 Theoretical Equilibrant 0. 5545 3560 % Error Table 1: Results of Activity 1 Table 1 shows the magnitude and the positions of the equilibrants and the tensions acting on the pans. The theoretical equilibrant of the two tensions was solved using he component method. The % error was computed using the values o btained by the component method as the accepted value for magnitude and the direction. Some factors that contributed the 13% error in this activity were the accuracy of the force table and its accessories used. Activity 2 Tl (N) 63 N (0) 440 T2 (N) 8. 7 N Experimental Weight (N) 6 N Theoretical Weight (N) 6. 3 N % Error 13. 2% Free Body Diagram of ring Table 2: Results of Activity 2 Table 2 shows the different unknown forces acting on the cylinder using the first condition for equilibrium. Some factors that contributed the 13. % error in this activity were the accuracy of the spring scale used and the pulling of the string horizontally. Activity 3 Weight of Square= 8. 36 g Weight of Circle= 6. 94 g Method Center of Gravity X- coordinate Y coordinate Plumb line Method 10 5. 2 Balancing Method 9. 55 4. 5 Computation 9. 54 5 Table 3: Results of Activity 3 Table 3 shows the x and y coordinates of the center of gravity of the component fgure using plumb line method, balancing method and the actual computation. In balancing method, a pen was placed in the middle of the composite figure wherein he plumb method, the group used a string with a coin at the end then hung it from computation was written in the manual. Activity 4 Reading of Spring Scale (N) 5 N Weight of cylinder (N) 5. 3238 N Experimental Weight of bar(N) 0. 7418 N Theoretical Weight of bar(N) 0. 7977 N % Error 7% Free Body Diagram of bar Table 4: Results of Activity 4 Table 4 shows the different unknown forces acting on the bar using the second condition for equilibrium. One factor that contributed the 7% error was due to the person holding the string at one end to make the cylinder bar in horizontal position 5. Conclusion Different activities in this experiment were accomplished to understand more about the conditions for equilibrium. Based from the results obtained by the group in the different activities, the group was able to determine the equilibrant force by using the force table and the component method. The unknown forces using the first and second conditions for equilibrium were determined. Using the square and circle fgure, the center of gravity of a composite body was located. Rotational equilibrium was demonstrated because the sum of all of the torques equals zero 6. Application 1 . State the first condition for equilibrium. If a body is in equilibrium, are there no forces acting on it? Equilibrium means the sum of all forces in all directions is equal to zero. It doesnt mean that there are no forces acting on it. It Just means that the forces that are acting on it are equal and opposite. 2. The Russell Traction system is used for a fractured femur. Identify the forces acting on the femur. If the weight hang is 5. 0 kg, find the force needed to immobilize the femur. What will supply this force? 3. What happens to the center of gravity of a person under the following situations? A. ) His upper right extremity is amputated. B. He carries all his books using the right arm only. )When ones upper right extremity is amputated, the center of gravity of the person would lean towards the right part of the body since the gravitational force on the remaining arm will push the center of gravity towards the right. b) When a person carries his books using only his right arm, the pull of gravity on the book would push the center of gravity of the body towards the left. 4. Devise a way by which you could determine your center of gravity. If the object is irregular in shape, the center of mass is always located closer to the more massive nd. Use felt pens to outline your partners body on a piece of butcher paper. Determine your partners approximate center of gravity by carefully cutting out the human outline and balancing it on your finger. Mark the center of gravity on your partners body with a piece of tape. Get a six foot piece of butcher paper and tape it feet. Mark their approximate center. Another way is to lie horizontally across the arm of a couch. The point where you are balanced is your center of gravity. 5. In general, the womens centers of gravity tend to be lower than mens. Can you explain why? Womens centers of gravity tend to be lower than mens because women have a bigger pelvis area. The skeletal structure of women make it so that their pelvis is bigger, since they will need the extra support come the time that they become pregnant, and their bodies support a baby. This means that the lower body of women is generally heavier in comparison to their whole body, as opposed to the lower body of men. This would make the center of gravity of women slightly lower, because more of their body mass is concentrated at the lower portion of their body.

E-Commerce Business Aims and Objectives

E-Commerce Business Aims and Objectives Md Imtiaz Ahmed Task Covering LO1 INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE E-Commerce, formerly referred to as Electronic Commerce, is the trading of several of goods services over a wide area of electronic means; such as the Internet or any other Computer Networks. The various sources where the e-commerce is successfully being running and the uses of e-Commerce are mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems and automated data collection systems. E-Commerce allows the exchange of data over electronic means in order to facilitate the financing payment aspects of business transaction. Within the help of e-Commerce, an organization is benefitted through effective communications better business conducts. In order to build up a proper e-commerce website for a business, there must have to be some implementations of these analyses as follows:- PEST (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological) Analysis Political- The potential change of government, as well as the changes in the policies priorities and the introduction of a new government initiative could be major political factors. Such factors include political stability, tax guidelines, trade regulations, safety regulations employees laws. Economic- Economic factors may also be limited to the home country but as global trade continues to grow, economic difficulties in one nation would tend to have a broad impact overall. Factors affecting the economy in such ways include inflation, interest rates, economic growth, the unemployment rate policies, and the business cycle followed by the country. Socio-cultural- Socio-cultural factors are those that arise from customers or probable customers. These changes can often be slight and they can be difficult to assume or identify until there’s a major effect or impact. Within this social factor the business finds it helpful to analyze the socio-economic situation of its market by means of fundamentals like customer demographics, cultural limitations, lifestyle attitude, and education. Technological- This area is all about those that are related to the uprising developments on the uses of technology. There are 2 types of changes in technological uses in general: developments in the uses of IT, and, developments in IT in specific industry or market.[1] In modern days, we have an extension in the PEST analysis which has added two more factors to take effect in the business. These are Legal(L) factors and the Environmental(E) factors, which for instance, stands to be the PESTLE Analysis. Legal- It is very important to take into accounts the factors arising from changes to the law. Changes can be by means of Discrimination laws, Health safety laws, Consumer Protection laws, Copyright Patent laws. Environmental- The factors arising from the concerns about the natural environment, in other words the ‘green’ issues, include increasing concerns about packaging and the increase in pollution. SWOT(Strength,Weakness,Opportunities,Threats) Analysis This analysis is only focused on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities threats that are significant to an organization for a brand new scheme. Strength(S)- Internal attributes that are helpful to the organization to achieving its objectives. Example includes: superior product quality, superior technological equipment, education to employees, popular product name, products embraced by consumers. Weaknesses(W)- Internal attributes that are harmful for the organization achieving its goals. Examples include: extension of the distribution system, lack of direct contact with customers, higher prices. Opportunities(O)- External factors that help the organization to achieve its aims objectives. This might arise from: exports, approaching the youth markets, cross-selling. Threats(T)- External factors that help the organization to achieve its aims objectives. These are brought up by: huge tax rates on luxury items, indirect competitors.[2] Onto a business organization, the SWOT Analysis has been divided into two categories, Internal Analysis which is Strengths Weaknesses, and External Analysis which is Opportunities Threats. The Strengths are valued by measuring the ability of an organization to compete with other companies globally or locally. The start-up cost overhead cost is low to introduce e-Commerce system in the business, which is a plus point. Direct consumer communication too takes place while this e-Commerce system is implemented by means of when an order is made; the goods are directly delivered where a personal meet up takes place. So it generally creates a good customer relationship. Weakness could be the higher prices of their products which will result in less consumer attentions and hence less profit. Another point to take into account as the weakness of an e-Business could be the online page loading time. If the page takes much time to load, the visitors of the site will eventually tend to turn their search off and leave. Hence no profit would be earned by the business. Opportunities are measured by their 24/7 availability online to serve their consumers. Growth is estimated to continue at high rates and launching an online business allows the merchant to be in a position to benefit from this growth. Threats are measured by the business’ ability to survive in the field by competing with other organizations. Another point to take into consideration is fraud. Some consumers find it risky to deliver their financial data and such kinds of feeling among the population can be a great threat for any online business stores. Privacy concerns too are a factor to be thought of. CORE BUSINESS FUNCTIONS OF E-COMMERCE I am Md. Imtiaz Ahmed, and, Mr. Bashar has appointed me as an e-Commerce Developer in his e-commerce business. He is planning to open an e-Commerce online book store. Nowadays we see a rapid rise in such businesses that runs online. There are various sectors such as the one Mr. Bashar is planning to open, apart from that there are jewelries, fashion items, perfumes, groceries, electronic appliances, household items and much more. Mr. Bashar wants to organize such an online book store where people from all around the world can get access to and order for their desired books of their own choices favorite authors. E-commerce is basically functionalized as to deliver the customers with the desired service in an online basis. For instance, the customers will stay at their favored place from where they can easily place an order for the product they want. They will either make the payment online using debit/credit cards or, they can also make the payment on cash while the product is finally delivered at the right place. That’s one of the most efficient and generally important function though which the system runs. Named Boibazaar.com, Mr. Bashar has set his online storefront targeted to basically the people of any ages since there are absolutely no limitations to read books. Starting from the youngest to the oldest, anyone can order for books as they want or would like to. Mr. Bashar targets to deliver his potential customers by serving them the right output as required. There are various functional areas partly divided in a sense to run the e-Commerce business on a smooth flow. Among them, follows are the most important ones that Mr. Bashar’s online storefront must implement:- The Sales Function- This department is assigned to maintain the sales promotion of the business, for instance, by means of effective advertisements discount offers. It also responds to their customers’ queries and tries their best to deliver them with the best possible solutions. Their task is to sell their products either over the telephone or using the face-to-face method of business transactions. They decide the estimations to offer discounts on their selling items, this is done through effective persuasive advertisements. Financial terms too are anyhow maintained by this department in some businesses. They also provide technical advices keeps records of their customers updated. The Production Function- This department plays a vital role in any business organization since it checks monitors the storage of raw materials. It also builds up the schedule of the productions for the maximization of the uses of equipments. Producing the items is the core function of this department and hence it also assembles the finished output. This functional area is also assigned for the quality checking of the products all through the production process. Machinery inspections too are managed by this area of business. The Purchasing Function- This department is necessary since its task is to order inputs/raw materials for the production of expected items from its suppliers. If any problems, such as disagreements from a supplier to sell raw materials, are faced, then the department would hold the right to change the supplier and order from the new one. If to introduce new items, new kind of raw materials is to be bought and utilized. In such cases, this department would search for new suppliers to meet the requirements. It also refers to the problems on delivery, e.g. quality or quantity. It is also very necessary for this department to be in good relation with its suppliers so that the business doesn’t face any negative trust issues amongst each other. The Administration Function- In simple senses, this department is all set to maintain the legal documentations, paper works necessary record keepings. In some business it helps their customers by providing expert advices for the queries faced. The Customer Service Function- Similar to the above one, it responds to their potential customers and gives them the best soluble options. It also provides after-sales services including the replacements of damaged items, arrangements for repairing the items, etc. It deals with the customer complaints and takes necessary steps to overcome the problems arising. The Finance Function- All the financial works are maintained by this area of business. The money that is received is well recorded by this department. The checking paying of the invoices received are too done by this department. All any financial documentations payments involved in the business are monitored by the Finance Department. The ICT Function- Most of the tasks of the Administration Department are followed by this ICT area such as maintaining the records on computer. Also the online helps too are done by this department. All that are related to the IT are controlled by this department. Since Boibazaar.com is an online book store, the Production Department is not much necessary since Mr. Bashar’s business does not produce books but deliver what are available on the market, just by means of selling on the online method. The ICT Department is the most important one since the business is online basis and thus the whole thing is maintained according to its own ways as supposed. Boibaazar.com has categorized their selling items according to the genres so that the visitors of the site find it handy easy enough to find out what they are looking for. The prices too are mentioned so that they don’t really need to navigate to any more pages to go for inner details. Seller contacts too are added so that if customer decides to purchase can make direct deals with the seller easily. Boibazaar.com agrees accepting the method of payments on Cash on Delivery basis for local consumers. Soon they will be accepting Card Payment method using VISA, debit/credit cards and online payments. For local consumers, the shop is also accepting the online payment procedure of Bkash. Regarding International consumers’ payments, the store is working on to accept methods followed by banks and also The Western Union process. But customers must be sure that there are different methods to follow for payments for different orders. Cash on delivery basis is highly being appreciated by the customers who prefer dealing online for their desired products. It’s less hassle and over all the difficulties that might appear compared to physical trading. AIMS OBJECTIVES OF E-COMMERCE Profit maximization is the core aim of any organization whether it is a physical business place or the one that runs online. Some organizations even aim to survive with just less or no profit at all. Breakeven, one method of surviving is to focus on breaking even over a certain period. This means making enough money to cover the total costs involved in producing and selling the goods or services, and running the business, although there is no profit, no money is lost. Also there are some businesses that only tend to focus on selling (sales maximization) as more products as possible in order to expansion in their business. BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP IN THE BUSINESS Below is a table that shows the aims of the business following the relationship of their stakeholders into the business. Stakeholders are those people who are both directly and indirectly related to the business in general means. The table below will help make a clear view:- Task Covering LO2 [1] http://pestleanalysis.com/pest-analysis/ [2] http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/SWOT-analysis-strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-and-threats-analysis

Marxist Theories of Punishment

Marxist Theories of Punishment The application of punishment is determined by the class system. Critically discuss this with reference to Marxist theories of Punishment. This essay is going to critically discuss with reference to Marxists theories of punishment whether the application of punishment is determined by the class system. In order to do this we first need an understanding of what Marxist theory is based on, how Marx differentiates the class system and how punishment fits in to his theory. At the time of Karl Marx’s work, he had witnessed many revolutions across Western Europe. Marxism tried to get people to understand the society they lived in and whilst he did only a minuscule amount of work on actual crime and criminals, he did acknowledge that there was conflict within society (History Learning Site, 2010). He recognised there was a split in society between the wealthiest and the poor. One of Marx’s main focus’ in his theory was the economy and he believed those who had wealth were the powerful and those who were poorer were the powerless. By the start of the industrial era Marx believed society to be split between two economic classes. The poorer end of society known as the ‘proletariat’ which is also known to be the working-class, and the ruling-class he described as being a more dominant class, called the ‘bourgeoisie’; these were owners of wealth that did not need to work. The control and owning of private property by the wealthiest (which was the start of Capitalism) and the exploitation of labour done by the working class was his main idea in his theory on the conflict of classes. â€Å"Marx saw conflict in society as being due to a scarcity of resources and a historical inequality in the distribution of those resources, notably power.† (Williams and McShane, 2010; 134). Marxists criminologists suggest that class struggle affects crime in three different positions. Firstly, they suggest that law is a tool used by the ruling class to control the working class. They believe that is why there is no law enforcement for the ruling class (Michalowski and Bohlander, 1976 cited in Williams and McShane, 1988: 135), they said that behaviour that is not placed under any law but instead placed under just administrative and governing laws can only be to protect themselves. Marxist think law is an abuse to general human rights and they also question the power of the law and it purpose in its application, if the working class are policing the working class (Schwendinger and Schwendinger, 1970, 1972, 1977; Platt, 1974 cited in Williams and McShane, 2010). Secondly, Marxist’s see all crime in a capitalist society as a product of class struggle. It causes the working class the need to chase to get ahead which can manifest itself it to criminal behaviour. The di vide between these two classes and the conflict, creates competition. Someone will want something and when they feel there is no other way of achieving this, criminal activity can take place (Bohm, 1982 as cited in Williams and McShane, 2010). This can be seen in Emilie Durkheim’s Anomie theory. There are other theories that also recognise a division in society. Emilie Durkheim’s anomie theory also recognised the division in society and in his book termed it as the division in labour. He studied Europe after the industrial revolution and Durkheim saw from forced industrialisation and commercialisation, a large economic crisis could define factors of causing a state of anomie. He described this as a breakdown of social norms for the working class. He stated without clear rules to guide the working class, individuals find it hard to find a place in society. He concludes that this in turn causes dissatisfaction, frustration, conflict and deviance. Durkheim’s anomie theory looks at social norms in society being broken while Merton’s Strain theory (1938) looks more at deviance who also refers to bureaucratic behaviour as well as criminal behaviour in his theory. In Merton’s theory he saw certain goals emphasised through society and used financial succe ss as an example. He said not everyone has equal access to these financial achievements or success and that some people may look for illegitimate ways to gain this success. Because of this social inequality and division in society between the working class and ruling class, he believes that certain goals are just not available for certain groups within society such as the lower social class. Merton’s anomie theory is often referred to as strain theory as this lower or working class feel a strain to achieve illegitimately ways to gain this success and those groups with the least access to achieve these goals have higher crime and deviance rates according to Merton. In his study of US societies that these higher rates of crime were amongst the lower classes (Williams and McShane, 1988: 79-83). These theories of anomie and strain theory all take the same direction as Marxist theory in that they believe there to be a division in society between working class and the ruling class. With the ruling class holding the most power and the working class trying to achieve this. The power held by the dominant class has also been termed ‘cultural capital’ (Giddens, ). Marxism influences cultural capital. Pierre Bourdieu another sociologist influenced by Marx argues that it is the education system, to blame for the failure of the working class, not the working class culture. He referred to the cultural capital as those who were in possession of the dominant culture and thought this could be translated in to wealth and power through the education system. He claimed that cultural capital in class structure was not evenly proportionate and he could see this in the class structure through the disparities in education attainment achieved by those of different classes. Bourdieu claims that middle class students succeed better than those of the working class as they are the dominant culture. He states that education attainment is directly related to those who possess the most cultural capital (Giddens – Sociology). Gramsci was a Marxist thinker in the 20th century whose work evaluated culture and political leadership. He believed that the bourgeoisie uphold control, that they developed a hegemonic culture which he saw transmitted its own set of norms and values that just became common sense values and norms of everyone. People from classes outside the ruling class acknowledged their own good with the good of the ruling class. Marxism always expected a revolution in capitalist societies but by early 20th century no revolution had occurred in such advanced countries. Gramsci’s theory suggested that capitalism maintained control not just through political and economic coercion, but also through ideology as well. (Perry Anderson, 1976. (The Antinomies of Antonio Gramsci. New Left Review). SENTENCE TO WRAP IT UP Marxism saw the creation of two different groups that were created through the rise of capitalism; the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat) and he claimed that these two classes offered nothing but â€Å"new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of old ones†. They saw that the labour of the working class needed to be exploited in order for the ruling class to gain more capital. Marxism referred to this as oppression and believed that the ruling class exercised their power over the working class in order to control them. Rusche (1980) took the same approach in his theory of punishment and social structure. He states that when wages go up because of the lack of labour that this in turn causes the ruling class to apply their power to supply the need for cheap labour. Rusche saw that the exploitation of prison labour began to be the preferred method over previous methods such as corporal and capital punishment. He claims that â€Å"When a labour surplus occurs, wages go down causing a mass unemployment resulting in extremely high penalties, such as corporal and capital punishment executed in a torturous fashion. This is thought to be needed in order to keep crime down† (Rusche, 1980:). During the industrial era the ruling class turned prisons in to workhouses which were named the house of correction. These were set up in a bid to help supply their need for cheap labour. The house of correction’s main aim and focus was there to make those that didn’t want to work and was unwilling to work, to make them work. Rusche and Kircheimer (1939) claimed that by being forced to work within this institution that the prisoners would pick up skills in the hope that they could take with them to the labour market on release. During period where labour was in excess, and the attitude changed toward the poor, it became unprofitable to force people to work and prisons became warehouses for people that he also claimed cost money. He also claimed that the attitudes towards punishment need to change when the living conditions of the working class began to get worst. In order to see that people were being punished according the conditions of the prison had to be worse than those of the prisoners conditions on the out side of prison. As Jenner (2014) stated â€Å"the conditions need to be markedly more unpleasant than the conditions of life experienced by those of the lowest strata living free in society†. This of course, had economic advantages, less food was needed and no medical assistance offered, but it came to be seen that the living conditions of the working class, did not ‘vary’ much, from those of the prison. This caused the conditions to deteriorate even worst in an attempt to deter the working class not to end up inside the prison (Rusche and Kirchiemer, 1939). Evidence to support these theories that prison is a way of controlling the working class by the ruling class can be seen in the inequalities of the prison population. According to a report by NACRO (1997a; 1997b) England and Wales have one of the highest prison populations in Western Europe which in 1997 was as high as 61,000. They reckoned this figure could rise by the year 2005 to 82,000. A national survey done by the Home Office carried out on prison population in 1991 showed that it was made up by uneducated young men, many whom had an ethnic minority background. His study found some interested figures in evidence of the theories that have been presented in this essay. This study found that 40% of the prison population to be under 25 but over 18 compared to 16% of the general population; this shows there is a huge over representation of young men between 18-25 years old, imprisoned. It found that 41% of prisoners either posed no skills or had very little, compared to 18% of the g eneral population; again a large over representation of unskilled labour force. This study also found that 15% of prisoners were from Black or Asian ethnic minorities yet these minorities only make up 5% of the general population. 40% of prisoners under the age of 25 had left school before they were supposed to, compared with only 11% of the general population. 38% of prisoners under 21 had experienced being in care whilst only 2% of the general population experience this and 13% said they did not have a place to live before they entered the prison system (Walmsley et al., 1992 cited in NACRO, 1997b). From these figures and our knowledge of Marxism with regards to class struggle and the segregation of the lower class, how the ruling class exert their power over the working class and how they use this power to control, we can see that the prison has been used in the same way. That it is a mere control of the bourgeoisie bid to control the working class. This can also be seen in the a pplication of law and how the bourgeoisie wrong doings do not fall under any law but as mentioned earlier fall under administrative and governing laws in order to protect their own. This could also be argued in the case of why white collar crime does not get much attention paid to it over criminal law. REFERENCES Anderson, P. (1976) The Antinomies of Antonio Gramsci. New Left Review. Bohm, R.M. (1982) Radical Criminology: An explanation. Criminology, 19, 565-589. Giddens – Sociology). History Learning Site (2010) Marxism and Crime [online] available at. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/marxism_crime.htm accessed on. (20th Feb 2014). Jenner, A. (2014) Assessment Workshop [SC6001 Justice, Punishment and Social Control]. 27th February, 2014. Maguire, M., Morgan, R. Reiner, R. (2007) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (4th edt), University Press: Oxford. Merton, R. K. (1938) Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review, 3, 672-682. Michalowski, R. J. Bohlander, E. W. (1976) Repression and criminal justice in capitalist America, Sociological Inquiry, 46, 95-106. NACRO (1997a) Information Bulletin, An occasional briefing compiled by NACROS Youth Crime Section, Issue 7, NACRO: London. NACRO (1997b) Criminal Justice Digest. No. 91, February, NACRO: London. Platt, T. (1974) Prospects for a radical criminology in the United States. Crime and Social Justice, 1, 2-6. Rusche, G. (1980) Labour Market and Penal Sanctions: Thoughts on the Sociology of Criminal Justice. In T. Platt, Takahi, P. (Edts.), Punishment and Penal Discipline (pp 10-16). Berkeley, CA: Crime and Social Justice Associates. Rusche, G. Kirchiemer, O. (1939). Punishment and Social Structure. New York: Russell Russell. Schwendinger H. Schwendinger, J. (1970) Defenders of order or guardians of human rights? Issues in Criminology, 5, 113-146. Schwendinger H. Schwendinger, J. (1972) The continuing debate on the legalistic approach to the definition of crime. Issues in Criminology, 7, 71-81. Schwendinger H. Schwendinger, J. (1977) Social class and the definition of crime. Crime and Social Justice, 7, 71-81. Walmsley, R., Howard, L and White, S. (1992) The National Prison Survey 1991 main findings. A Home Office Research and Planning Unit Report, HMSO: London. Williams, F. P. and McShane, M. D. (2010) Criminological Theory (5th edt), Pearson: London.

Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe - King of Nothing :: Defoe Robinson Crusoe Essays

Robinson Crusoe is said to be the first realistic novel ever, an it is written by Daniel Defoe. In this novel we meet Robinson Crusoe who is stranded on a uninhabited island. In the topical excerpt called "the print of a foot" Crusoe sees a footprint, and he starts wondering if the island really is uninhabited. Though Robinson Crusoe is stranded on a island in the middle of nowhere without any facilities, he is not a desperate man in any way. He sees himself as a king or an emperor, an feels kind of free, despite the limited geographical space. Crusoe also says "I had neither the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life. I had nothing to covet, for I had all that I was now capable of enjoying". The fact that the environment around Crusoe has been changed completely, has also changed his way of thinking. Women has been less importaint, which is naturale since there are no women around. But we can also see how the lack of material things, forces Crusoe to focus on other tings and get other values. He starts thinking and reflecting about life and his own surroundings. Crusoe becomes pleased with the fact that he has everything he needs on the island, and he uses only what is needed; nothing more. The religious aspect of Robinson Crusoe should be mentioned. Crusoe t hinks a lot about God and the Devil. He looks upon every positive ting, such as the rich nature, as gifts from God. Crusoe is very thankfull to this, and he is happy that he is able to consider what he enjoed, rather then what he wanted. But also the Devil was something he beleaved existed. This shows when Crusoe one day sees the footprint in the sand, and first thinks that it must be the Devil. After some time though, he concludes that this can not be right. It must have someother explanation... Of course Robinson Crusoe can be seen as "an ideal of individual enterprise empire-building". Crusoe fights the nature and manage to live well on a island all by himselfe. He also take care of the environment in a good way. But in all this, I also think there is a fundamental thought of power, which we can be critical to.

Scott Joplin and His Musical Legacy :: Entertainment Biographies Papers

Scott Joplin and His Musical Legacy "He just got his music out of the air," said one neighbor. One cannot hear the word "ragtime" without thinking of the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin. He is clearly one forerunner in the field of American music, particularly at the turn of the twentieth century. Not only was he a genius in the musical frame of mind, he also displayed strong talents in other areas. He had a kinesthetic gift, as seen in the movements he created for his dramatic productions. It was often said that if times were different and not so segregated, he could have been a great choreographer. He was also talented in the interpersonal field, as his music touched so many people throughout the years. Through his efforts ragtime is now a respected form of music in our history, although he did not live to see this fulfillment of his dreams. Background Joplin's father, Jiles, was only a small boy when he was purchased in South Carolina and taken to Texas. He had the privilege of being one of the few black slaves to be a house worker, which decreased his chances of being sold. Jiles was freed in his late teens. Picking the last name of his former owner's son-in-law, he traveled south. There he met Florence Givens, who was freeborn. They married by "jumping over the stick," the only form of marriage available to blacks at that time. He was eighteen; she was nineteen. The Joplins were not a close family. It is said that the men "had traveling in their blood." Scott, the second of five children, was born on November 24, 1868. When he was a preschooler, they moved to the wild frontier town of Texarkana, Texas. Both Jiles and Florence were musically inclined and talented. Jiles played the violin, while Florence played the banjo and sang. They encouraged musical interest in the children, and all five had talent. Scott stood out above the rest. At an early age, he could pick out songs on his mother's banjo, on which he was proficient by age seven. He had perfect pitch and could duplicate any chord he heard. He had the ability, which he retained until the end of his life, to remember tunes and fragments he heard years before. He incorporated them with his own elements into original compositions. His talent did not go unnoticed. Area music teachers were impressed and offered instruction.