Research proposal on press freedom

The close proximity to Eugene ensures a steady flow of customers. MGSG is a start-up grower and distributor of exotic salad greens for restaurants and individual consumers. MGSG is located in Blue River, Oregon and serves the southern Willamette Valley.M6SG's objectives are to develop a product-based company whose goal is to exceed customer's expectations, increase roduction efficiency by 10% a year, and lastly, and develop a sustainable farm business, able to survive off their cash flow. Products MGSG will sell a spring mix of salad field greens. These greens will include but are not limited to: red leaf, arugula, radicchio, mustard greens, endive, and chicory. These greens are grown for use in salad mixtures, purchased by the end consumer as well as by restaurants who then serve it to their patrons.The Market MGSG has decided to target two distinct market segments, individual customers and restaurants. The individual customers will purchase greens from MGSG at the Tuesday and Satur day Farmer's Market. This segment is growing at 12% and has 12,000 potential customers. The second segment is local restaurants. This market is smaller at only 28 potential customers, but is more consistent in demand throughout the year. Competitive Edge MGSG has two competitive edges that will help them maintain strong growth rates, ncreasing their market penetration.The first edge is quality. MGSG prides themselves on the high quality of exotic salad greens. Greens that do not meet MGSG high standards of quality are rejected as imperfects and go to a not-for-profit food bank. M6SG's second competitive edge is their flexibility. The entire farm has been set up to allow them to change crops or scale existing crops to meet demand. This is highly unusual as most farms are unable to change crops mid year. Management MGSG is led by Heidi Ponic.Heidi initially got her start in growing while working at a greenhouse. After college, Heidi went to work for a large grass seed company. This ex perience is what solidified Heidi's desire to continue working in an agricultural capacity. Soon after her experience at the Willamette Seed Company she decided to enroll in Oregon State University's Master of Horticulture Program. Heidi's Masters provided her with requisite detail and skills to develop her own farm business research proposal on press freedom By Jkamaleki

Fireworks Factory Essay

Jerry Yu is an American born Chinese man with an MBA who runs a small family chain of businesses in New York. He is faced with a decision to invest in the Chinese fireworks industry. Jerry must assess the attractiveness of the fireworks industry along with the risks involved. Throughout this paper we will analyze the pros and cons of entering the market of Chinese fireworks. In our opinion, Jerry Yu should not invest in the Liuyang fireworks factory. While there are many factors that could give Jerry the opportunity to be successful, the low profit margin and the high instability of the market outweigh the chances of success. The regulations throughout the fireworks industry varies from market to market. For example, China’s domestic market has deregulated since 2005, while the American market remains regulated. The high competition paired with the low selling prices due to undercutting has caused the profit margin to decrease, especially for new entries. The reason for this is that the established fireworks companies have long term contracts with suppliers, causing Jerry to sell his fireworks at a lower price. Established companies also cause a problem because of their relationships with the raw material suppliers. Due to their longstanding relationships, these companies have a right to supplies before the new entries. This results in the new entries receiving lower quality materials, leading to a worse product and less safe working environment. Even though technology is involved in the production of the fireworks, the cheaper quality materials cause a greater risk of an accident during the manual mixing of powders, which is the most dangerous step. The risk of an accident is so high that most factories are built in rural areas near a water source with separated departments in case of an explosion. Another factor that should be considered is the environmental hazards of fireworks production and use. With an increase concern for the environment and â€Å"going green†, stricter regulations have been put into place. With the new restrictions and concern to avoid pollution, the consumption of and desire for fireworks could eventually fade away. Substitutes have already entered the market that are more environmental friendly. These substitutes include popping of red balloons and laser light shows. Considering all of the risks, along with the entrance of substitutes, we advise that Jerry Yu not invest in the Chinese fireworks industry. Jerry Yu has many factors to consider involving risk  associated with the Chinese fireworks industry; however, there are many advantages in investing that he should not overlook. The Chinese fireworks industry is a highly competitive market. With over 6,000 companies, it is hard to differentiate products. The attractiveness of investing in the industry is that there is easy entry. In Liuyang, there are over 400,000 laborers working in the industry, and this makes for low cost labor and easy access to skilled labor. While the majority of workers in China are not skilled, the residents in Liuyang have gained experience with producing fireworks. Jerry has an opportunity to use this to his advantage. If he can rework the business structure of the company previously run by the village, he can set his factory apart from the average family run and operated businesses. Jerry Yu must recognize that in 2009, the current market size is $675 million, and if he plays his cards the right way, he can grab a large portion of the market share. In order to do this, his factory should have a competitive advantage. The question is, how can he go about this? We believe that he can achieve this goal by building his factory to be different from all others in the industry and specializing specifically in fireworks instead of firecrackers. Jerry Yu needs to create a niche where he, and only he, has the ability to make the highest quality of fireworks in the world. He must create a marketing strategy that has not been introduced to the current market, and he must hire the most qualified engineers to make the safest and most extraordinary combination of fireworks that exists. In doing so, Jerry has an opportunity to push the technology bubble to a place that fireworks have never been before. Creating a more unique, high quality product that will blow the competition away will give Jerry the ability to set his prices higher than other manufacturers. Jerry does not need to concentrate his sales upon the low cost average firework sales that sell in bulk, but he must sell a few high quality fireworks that give him a large margin. He needs to stay away from the price competition, and the way he will do this is by creating a niche firework that the world has never seen before. One way that Jerry can set his factory apart from other firework competitors is to embrace the new and changing technologies. Instead of looking at lasers and music as negative competition, he can make an alliance with them. Jerry can team up with a laser light show and a music show to complement the firework display. Creating a bundle package for the most  elite firework show that the world has ever seen is an answer to the niche market that Jerry should pursue. Jerry Yu should also focus on brand advertising and brand awareness, so his brand of fireworks can stand out above the other businesses in the market. He could create a marketing campaign that emphasizes that his fireworks are the best in the world, as well as the safest. A major objective for Jerry Yu should be to aim for a specific, high paying target market. The competition is high in the basic firework industry, and entering this market would result in price gouging; this would be too hard for Jerry to gain market share at this level. He will have to set his product apart from what already exists. He should guarantee that his fireworks are the safest and highest quality, which can give him the competitive advantage to target high paying customers. For example, Jerry Yu does not need to concentrate his sales to the common buyers. He should aim to get his product to a popular show, such as the Beijing Olympics, or to high paying customers in the United States and Europe where the price is not a huge concern. In ensuring his high paying customers of safety and quality, there will be very few businesses, if any, that can compete with Jerry. While the objective of Jerry Yu should be to aim at a particular market, this goal is not in the best interest of Liuyang Firecrackers and Fireworks Industry Department to go that route. In our opinion, Jerry Yu should advise Liuyang to encourage its citizens to consolidate its family owned businesses into bigger corporations. As of now, one of the only ways to differentiate products is by undercutting other manufacturers’ prices. The entire industry should focus on a way that each company can pull away from price gouging and work together to make sure the prices stay at a constant medium that will benefit all of the manufacturers. One way businesses could do this is to designate certain types of fireworks and firecrackers to be made by specific manufacturers or areas. In doing so, the designated companies could increase productivity and steer clear of price gouging. After analyzing the circumstances associated with entering the Liuyang fireworks factory, we believe Jerry Yu should not invest his time and money into the market because the risks highly outweigh the benefits. The market is too unpredictable, restricted, and saturated to guarantee a successful investment. If Jerry Yu did take on this investment opportunity, the costs he would endure to improve the company would not be  worth it in the long run. With the industry being the way it is, it would be difficult for Jerry Yu to become profitable.

Opinion Paper: Gender Reassignment

Human Sexuality/Gender Re-Assignment This is an Opinion Paper Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female, or something else; gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice, or body characteristics. â€Å"Trans† is sometimes used as shorthand for â€Å"transgender. While transgender is generally a good term to use, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is gender-nonconforming will identify as a transgender person. The ways that transgender people are talked about in popular culture, academia, and science are constantly changing, particularly as individuals’ awareness, knowledge, and openness about transgender people and their experiences grow. After you do your research and readings, in a one page opinion paper, state your position on Gender Re-Assignment. Chaz Bono brought this important and once hidden topic to the forefront. Write about your position.Be sure you add a reference page in APA format and use in-text citations when using the authors words. Writing an opinion paper for college can be a daunting task for college students. Opinion papers by nature require you to state an opinion or take a position on a specific issue and defend that position. An opinion paper is not, however, license to rant and rave about an issue without providing any evidence. This paper will involve research, organization, and planning to be effective. ? 1. Research your topic. Stating an opinion in a paper involves more than reporting what you think.You'll often hear these assignments referred to as position papers, as you must take a reasonable position based on evidence that is grounded in fact. Determine your opinion based on your research, and kn ow your topic thoroughly on both sides of the argument before you state it and attempt to provide any type of reasoned defense. ? 2. ?Create an outline for your paper consisting of the three main parts that you'll follow when crafting your document: an introduction, body, and conclusion. In your introduction, state your opinion on the topic at hand. This will set the stage for the rest of the paper.You can even hint at the reasons for your opinion, but don't give them away entirely. You'll want the reader to glean that information from the rest of your paper. The body of the outline should list the reasons for your position. The conclusion should clearly and concisely sum up your argument. ? 3. ?Construct your essay using your outline. State your opinion in your introductory paragraph and then use your list of reasons for stating your opinion in the body of your essay. The body should include three to five substantive reasons why you have taken your position.Provide the most compell ing reasons last and the least compelling reasons first. This will give your paper a crescendo effect and drive home the point of your essay. ? 4. ?Write a definitive conclusion. Your conclusion is your opportunity to restate what you've already state in your introduction and in the body of the paper. Your conclusion should reiterate the main conclusion of your essay based on the facts that you've provided. Go over each point briefly, but be careful not to simply chronicle them without tying them together. The grading criteria will be the same as in other modules.

Cyberspace Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cyberspace Communication - Essay Example These metaphors acquire meaning because we are able to connect and associate even disparate things. For example we can say: 'he was turned off by the behaviour of his boss.' The title of George Orwell's famous book Down and Out in Paris is another good example of an orientational metaphor. We do not have words to describe everything. The first ray of the sun does not have a word and the first kiss of the lover is still just a kiss. These lapses of language create dents in the perception of reality. Personifying metaphors are used to lend spectacle as well as intensity to an act of communication. Abstract entities can be conceived metaphorically in terms of human life and expressed as capable of living and growing. 'Life' of a government, lifeblood, 'economic' growth are good examples. When one says that qualities reside in someone or something lives in memory, the human tendency to equate the inequitable is brought to the fore. When someone gives me the ghost of a smile, I am compelled to marvel at how the brain googles and establishes links. The word 'etheral' could be a good substitute since it combines 'ether' and 'all'. It is relevant because it makes one remember the aspect of the Universe - that vast domain which we all inhabit and our email address is a strong reminder of where we actually belong. After all, where is this gmail.com John Seely Brown

Come up with topic and I will discuss it with the professor then u can Essay - 1

Come up with topic and I will discuss it with the professor then u can start writing - Essay Example of 1980s, the welfare reform movement deeply transformed the prospects of the credit so that it no longer represented a modest work incentive, but rather acted as an anti-poverty device capable of raising the living standards of non-working Americans over and above the poverty line. In 1986, the EITC earned considerable credit in the political salience resulting to its radical expansion. A decade later when the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act was established to replace the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to oversee welfare under the TANF program, the credit became the most consistent and the largest anti-poverty tool (Chetty 24). In 1994, when the federal spending on the EITC became consistently higher than AFDC and TANF, it incrementally gained more attention among the US policy makers. By the 2009 fiscal year, EITC benefits to low-income workers accounted to about $60 billion in federal spending, nearly $35 billion more than that on TANF. To show the long-term effects of the shift, EITC disbursal in 1980 was nearly $5 billion, compared to approximately $18 billion AFDC outlays. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 led to the expansion of the credit to include married couples and those families that had more three children. The expansion was ultimately extended through December 2012, and today, it is the largest tax benefit program for low-income working individuals, thus providing substantial tax dollars to the claimants. The economic incidence -- also known as the tax burden -- of the EITC is borne by individuals who suffer economic loss resulting from the taxes. From its outset, the credit triggered increased tax payments made by individuals to the local treasuries and the state. This in turn influenced the relative prices of goods and services, which further resulted to changes in behavior of individuals. Ultimately, a section of the economic burden was (is) shifted from those bearing the legal incidence

Sport and Exercise Psychology 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sport and Exercise Psychology 2 - Essay Example One of the most consistent findings within this vast research literature is the variability in well-being that people exhibit when they experience stressful life events. Constructs like vulnerability and resiliency reflect attempts to identify social, situational, and individual difference variables that either increase or decrease the likelihood that people will exhibit negative reactions to stressful events (Block & Block, 39–101, 2000; Compas, 393–403, 2000; Garmezy, 196–269, 2003; Kessler & McLeod, 620–631, 2003; Rutter, 389–395, 2000). Research on vulnerability and resiliency factors was stimulated in part by low and inconsistent relations between life events and outcome measures. Although statistically significant relations between negative life events and self-report measures of physical and psychological well-being have frequently been reported, seldom has more than 10–15% of the outcome variance been accounted for in studies using prospective designs. When objective outcome measures of physical well-being have been used, thereby eliminating the potential role of self-report biases, the amount of variance accounted for has shrunk to 1–5% (Rabkin & Streuning 389–395, 2004; Schroeder & Costa 389–395, 2003). Faced with a pattern of weak and inconsistent results, researchers have sought to identify psychosocial moderator variables that might affect the nature and magnitude of relations between life stress and well-being. Many studies have demonstrated that taking into account factors suc h as social support and certain personality variables results in stronger relations between life stress and both psychological and medical outcome measures (e.g., Barrera 389–395, 2002; Sarason, Sarason, Potter, & Antoni 389–395, 2003; Smith, Johnson, & Sarason, 188-235, 2003; Stone, Helder, & Schneider 389–395, 2002; Thoits

Business Studies LocationBreakeven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Studies LocationBreakeven - Essay Example Also inventory would not need to be stored thus stock holding costs would also be reduced. (Unit 88) Having the suppliers close by is important, having the customers nearby also matters. The business revenue directly depends on the location which is easily accessible to the customer. Also it should be at such a place where the flow of customers is high or the population density is high so that the business product is exposed to the customers as much as it can. The transport network plays a vital role in selecting a location. The raw materials need to come via a transport route. The customers have to visit the storefront and purchase the product. Therefore the road network in the immediate vicinity needs to be good. Furthermore the location should be at such a place where train/ship/plane network is close by so that connectivity to local and international business centres is maintained. (Business Review, 2003) The actual piece of land selected for locating the business needs to be seen from the cost point of view as well. There should be room for future expansion. For customer storefronts, spacious land with space for car parking is sometimes required. The geological stability of the land area also needs to be considered as well as the knowledge of high seismic activity zones near the area. The use of Greenfield and Brownfield sites are being increasingly used in the UK. (Unit 88) Labour For a new business finding an area where skilled labour is available is also one of the factors to be considered since the skills required for the job are not always available in the locality. For an existing business moving to another location has the problem of persuading the existing employees to start coming to the new facility. They might have to relocate their homes, or change their office hours due to traffic etc. which might cause inconvenience. (Business Review, 2003) Government Influence The government of some counties may give incentives, like low priced land, to businesses to locate in some areas. The government may want to keep industries only in industrial areas and give incentives such as subsidized land and labour rates etc. (Unit 88) Image Most storefronts bank on the type of area where they are located. For a branded store, having an outlet in the posh area of the city makes sense. Thus a business wanting to create an impression and keep its status high in order to charge premium prices from the customers would need to locate in expensive localities. (Business Review, 2003) Hassle of Relocation When the business moves to a different area, a certain bit of disruption is caused to the business activities. The suppliers may not want to come to the new location. The employees would have to change their routine or even relocate themselves. The

Trickster Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Trickster - Research Paper Example Events in the world are not so simple to distinguish and thus, the divisions of the oppressor and the oppressed, the victimiser and the victimised, are porous and these two categories often overlap. The coexistence of both categories within the same society often makes this porosity of categories inevitable and this shall be analysed while looking at the characters who seek to escape social boundaries and social restrictions through trickery, and usually earn a living through exploiting others. It is thus, not surprising that in many of these stories, the trickster belongs to non-white races and may often be women or belong to ambiguous sexual identities and orientations. Literature becomes a medium whereby writers seek to show the society how trickery becomes the only option that is available for a class of people who are unable to launch any open form of protest. The character of the trickster may in some cases, not even be human. It may be the society that plays tricks upon the co nsciousnesses of human beings and may also lead to the distortion of memories. Toni Morrison’s story, Recitatif, exemplifies this idea. It talks of the life of a child named Twylla. Twylla is raised for a while in a shelter home where she meets Roberta Fisk. She enters into a friendship with Roberta and sees how a deaf woman named Maggie is abused by the older girls of the shelter. The story of Maggie is told often through memories and often, the narrator of the story can be suspected of being an unreliable narrator. This feature of the story makes it impossible for the reader to identify what happened to the character of Maggie and the question remains whether she was victimized as a result of her being black. This ambiguity in the story points to the unseen character of the trickster in the story, memory. The memory of both Roberta and Twylla are shown to be unreliable and they serve the function of the traditional trickster (Morrison). The trickster, in a manner that is si milar, can also be the collective consciousness of a community. The clean environment of Harlem on Sundays makes the people believe that they are better off in life than they actually are, in the Langston Hughes’s poem, â€Å"Passing†. The real lack of economic resources and squalid manner of living makes these areas want to be like people of other areas that were economically better off. This is possible, according to Hughes, only by converting the collective imagination of the people into metaphoric tricksters (Hughes). In another work by Hughes â€Å"Who’s Passing for Who?† he describes his experience with a couple which seemed to be white. They later reveal that they are colored. While leaving Hughes, they say that they were white people trying to pass off as colored. In this story, the trickster couple serve to bring to the fore the racist assumptions that are made by both white and colored people. Both sets of people harbored prejudices that were de ep-rooted. The young black writers who are a part of the group that Hughes is with try to make themselves appear very knowledgeable. This is a consciously put on act that is aimed at impressing the white people. When they are told that the couple is colored, they end up being very friendly with them and they let their guard down. They then become more

Enrichment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Enrichment - Research Paper Example It challenged America’s notion of an immigrant nation. It reflected the racist views of the time when European visitors, the whites, were welcomed through Ellis Island but the non-whites coming through the Angel Island in the Pacific coast who were seen as criminals and delinquents who had to be deported or detained. The Angel Island station was operational for thirty years from 1910 -1930 within which time it came to be known as a detention facility and sought to exclude the Chinese after the passing of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. The number of people coming in through Ellis Island was far greater than those entering through Angel Island. In the present day both Angel Island and Ellis Island immigration stations have undergone preservation and restoration. Ellis Island is being projected as a symbol of America’s immigration tradition and hospitality which has a strong support group for its restoration. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990 and till today evokes a sense of hope. Angel Island on the other hand does not have a strong support group as many people do not know about it and it stands as a symbol of America’s racist past. After a closure of four years it was opened to public on 15th February 2009 and serves to remind them of the pain and agony undergone by the people who migrated

Known Information about Dolphins Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Known Information about Dolphins Research - Essay Example They are relatively new creatures, appearing on the earth during the Miocene period, which was roughly ten million years ago. They give birth to single calves near the surface of the sea so that the calf would not drown. They are also literally half-asleep when they sleep. They are like these because they can’t afford to sleep with two brain hemispheres â€Å"shut off† because they will drown. They have to breathe air once in a while to do that.Dolphins have huge brains. They have even bigger brains than us humans. However, their intelligence centers are still smaller compared to human brains, that’s why we are still smarter compared to them. They also look like they smile all the time because of the way their mouths curve.  I have stumbled upon dolphin rights advocacies in my research about dolphins. As you would know, most dolphin species are considered endangered, that’s why they are protected. However, in some parts of the globe, dolphins are still h unted. They are hunted because of food, and they are tortured as well. In a certain place in Japan, there are almost 20 000 dolphins killed helplessly in a cove every year, just for commercial gain or for food. Yes, some places have dolphins as a delicacy. However, it is not safe to eat dolphins, even if they are tasty, since they have high mercury levels in their bloodstream. Constant exposure to dolphin meat would also make you at risk for mercury poisoning.Other people also hunt dolphins because for entertainment.

First-Time Buyers Essay Example for Free

First-Time Buyers Essay Housing is a common asset that most people regard as their biggest financial asset and the largest make-up of their wealth; the purchase of a house is usually one of the largest investments an individual will make, and therefore lower house prices may encourage more people to consider purchasing housing, serving as a more affordable investment. On the obvious side a fall in house prices will only encourage further demand for housing. A demand supply analysis will show that the falling prices should theoretically allow individuals who are considering buying a house but holding back due to fluctuations in prices finally take the jump onto the property ladder – falling prices provides an incentive for individuals to make this large investment, particularly as in the long term the value of housing may also increase depending on the state of the economy. While falling prices may indicate a slump in an economy, it provides an excellent chance for people who previously may have not been able to afford a purchase to do so. It is also important to take into account that housing is also a necessity in any part of the personal life cycle, and therefore any fall in prices will create an opportunity and incentive. It also does not necessarily mean that first-time buyers must look to make a large investment immediately; extract two suggests that lower prices may allow considerers to think of renting property as an early ‘alternative’, helping save up for a single cash deposit which would then in turn allow first-timers to climb onto the property ladder. However, as stated in extract two falling house prices does not necessarily indicate a good environment for contemplating investors to finally make the choice of investing; there are numerous other costs to consider such as the availability of mortgages, described as ‘dropping to its lowest level for more than a decade’. The lack of mortgages may in fact serve as a deterrent to first-time buyers, preventing them from climbing onto the property ladder as there are numerous other costs to consider. Extract two also states that lenders have refused to drop their interest rates in line with the governmental cuts, and once again this will only provide a disincentive to first-time buyers no matter how low the price of housing falls. Rising unemployment and cuts in the subsidies budget towards building affordable homes will also serve to undermine confidence in the housing market. While the governmental cut in subsidies towards funding new affordable homes may not have a direct impact on a first-time buyers decision, it is important to note that this policy will contribute to the level of confidence in the housing market, an example being lenders no longer willing to cut their interest rates following suit of the government doing so; the government is offering little support in the housing market and many are therefore not willing to take the risks. The people that will lose out from this ultimately are the first-time buyers who will be deterred from making such a large investment particularly if lenders and the government provide little confidence in this market. Therefore, while the fall in housing prices may incentivise first-time buyers to some degree overall it is likely to only have a limited effect, as many buyers will still be put off by the inability to receive mortgages as well as the other numerous financial costs involved.

Plato and Mill on the relationship between individual and society Essay Example for Free

Plato and Mill on the relationship between individual and society Essay Plato was born around 428-7 BC, he lived for the most part of his life in Athens, and had much to say about Athenian democracy. Mill was born much later in London in 1806, but although over two thousand years of political philosophy divide the two, much of the same issues and concerns arise in both their work though often with very different outlooks. Despite their differing opinions Plato and Mill are both antithetical, or in other words believe that the tyranny of the majority is to be feared. Plato believes that individuals are selfish and pursue their own self-interests at the expense of the rest of the population, and follow their own moral path. The philosopher individual is epitomised by the Gadfly. The gadfly is referred to by Plato in the Apology, to describe Socrates relationship with the Athenian political scene. Socrates believed he irritated for the purpose of leading people closer to the truth to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth. The gadfly describes a person who upsets the status quo by posing lots of questions. Plato states that while the gadfly is easy to swat, the cost to society of silencing an individual simply because of his irritancy could be extremely high. This seems to contradict some of what he has to say on his republic, as he stifles the lower class citizens in the Kallipolis, counting their opinions as obsolete in comparison to the philosophers. The gadfly is also mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Jeremiah also relating to political influence Egypt is a very fair heifer; the gadfly cometh, it cometh from the North. Plato believes that Democracy fosters the wrong kind of individual, hence the Kallipolis, which is the inverse of Democracy, designed to bring about the right way of living. In Platos view, an individual is fulfilled by the contribution that he or she makes to the overall functioning of the community, and the Kallipolis is designed to make this possible for everyone. Platos state also respects the individuality of its members and treats them equally. In Platos republic, the state limits the freedom of its individuals, but only to ensure that all the members receive the same amount of freedom. In effect, Plato believes that the repression of individual freedom results in equal freedom for the society as a whole. This is contrasted to Mill, whose view is that, excluding children, the individual is sovereign over himself, his body and his mind. Interference in an individuals beliefs or actions is wrong. Unless it is known that one is inflicting harm upon another, interference is not justified. Mill has three liberties that are the hallmark of a free society- the first is the freedom of thoughts and sentiment on all subjects, including freedom of expression and publication. The second liberty is the freedom of taste; the fact that others may disapprove of an individuals actions or beliefs, is not justified by Mill as the basis of interference, for example homosexuality. The third and final liberty necessary for a free society is the freedom of individuals to unite as long as the resulting union does not lead to others being harmed as a result. Mill forbids coercion and deception within the union, as he believes it is unjustified to have a direct negative impact on the utility of others (this does not involve doing something which someone else does not agree with). Mill encourages individualism and self-development or human flourishing as he believes that it will only benefit society, as the individuals will be able to contribute more if they reach their full potential and are allowed to develop their own ideals and opinions. Mill has concerns over the limits of which power can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. Safeguards are necessary to ensure that the majority does not suppress the minority. Mankind would be no more justified in silencing one person, than that one person; if he had the power would be justified in silencing mankind. Plato believes that false opinions could be dangerous to society, whereas Mill would say they were necessary in order to help obtain the truth, something that we as humans so desperately strive to obtain. Plato believes that satisfying our desires is something scarcely worth caring about, whereas Mill would encourage us to do so as long as it brings utility rather than harm. Free discussion in Mills opinion will only aid us in getting closer to the truth, as who is to decide what is true if there is no proof? A combination of views, questions and opinions are better than one view or opinion that is decided to be true, and not questioned. There are always people who will disagree with something that others agree with, so who is right? Plato believes that in order to have a productive and harmonious society, conditioning or training is necessary to ensure that the members actual desires coincide as far as possible with their real desires, thus reducing conflict. Mill would argue that this is in a sense brainwashing the individuals to believe that they are happy and that they are fulfilling desires, when in fact they are only fulfilling what the Philosopher Kings have told them they desire. Plato believes in critical freedom, which the Kallipolis is intended to provide to its members as much as their nature permits, Mill however believes in actual freedom in which all is permitted but harm (The Harm Principle). Mills rejection of social contracts is accompanied with the acceptance of certain rules of conduct in our dealing with others in return for the protection we receive from society. For example, we are bound to observe and respect the rights of others and according to him As soon as any part of a persons conduct affects prejudicially the interests of others, society has jurisdiction over it. Otherwise Mill states that foolish actions do not deserve penalties, and that mature individuals should be left to develop and coagulate their own views and act on their own impulses. All society can do is help educate its members as to what is moral and immoral before they reach the state of maturity and therefore the freedom they have a right to. Platos similes are used to demonstrate the negative aspects of democracy and Athenian politicians. The simile of the cave is used to show how politicians will conceal the truth from the people (represented by the prisoners). The people are ignorant and do not possess the knowledge that they deserve. The prisoners are bound and only have a view of the wall in front of them, there is a fire behind them, between them and the wall is nothing. All that the prisoners can see are shadows of themselves, and of the objects behind them. The prisoners naively believe that the shadows are real as they have nothing else upon which to base their knowledge. One of the prisoners manages to escape from the cave, and in the light of the sun sees the real world for the first time. He realises that all this time he was deceived by shadows. This man, if according to Plato is in possession of the capacity for knowledge and wisdom will feel it is his duty to go back to the cave, release his fellow prisoners and enlighten them. The other prisoners are hard to persuade however, as his exposure to the sunlight renders him unable to see the shadows as clearly as before, and so the prisoners just think that he is less intelligent than when he was trapped. Plato justifies the Philosopher Kings lying to the people in order to protect them. Plato argues the necessity of a structured organised society separate from the outside world in which every individual reaches their maximum potential and has a fundamental part to play in contributing all they can to their community as a whole. Education is available to all members of the Kallipolis regardless of gender. Mill states in his introductory chapter to On Liberty that the struggle between liberty and authority is the most conspicuous feature. Mill developed a principle to counteract what he calls the interference of collective opinion on an individuals independence, this principle was called the Liberty principle. Mill and Plato have different styles of communicating their points, Mill expresses his ideas in the form of discursive arguments, Plato however expresses his ideas in the form of dialogue, something which Mill praises Plato for regardless of their conflicting conclusions. Platos Kallipolis, or utopia is designed as a hierarchical state consisting of three different classes, the Producers, the Auxiliaries, and the Guardians. These three different classes will have very different experiences of life, and which one they will lead depends on their capacity for knowledge. The three classes experience different upbringings, and receive different levels of education. Plato contradicts himself, he says that all people in the Kallipolis should be friends and equals yet he also unashamedly states that the Producers will not be able to choose how they wish to live their lives, and that their opinions are the least worthy. The Producers are in effect not free, but rather slaves to their senior ranking class, the Guardians. The Producers are thought to be the least intelligent mass of the population, and they are therefore expected to trust and believe their rulers. This is justified by Plato because it is better for them to be under the control of divine wisdom something that the minority of the population possess, and what makes those that do worthy to rule over all others. Platos belief is that if these less intelligent people are allowed to think freely, then they will make the wrong choices, and an individual is only worth what they contribute to their community as a whole. This means that personal desires are not as important as the overall functioning of the community, which is immaculately ruled by the Philosopher Kings who have the ability to learn and retain the knowledge leaded to rule and guide the citizens of the Kallipolis. Mills views contradict these of Platos; his liberalist view is that the individual is important in creating the desired environment within the state and is worthy of reaching their full potential in all areas. Mill considers freedoms of opinion and of actions necessary, and his Harm Principle was made to help protect other individuals from being hurt. Mill believes that individuals have a fundamental right to discover and develop their knowledge to their maximum capacity with the absence of a priori constraints. Platos view on the freedom of individual development of knowledge is that it is the despotism of custom. Mill prioritises the freedom of thought and expression; he believes that unless we push an argument to its absolute limit, then we cannot claim to fully understand it. Mill says that we must listen to everyone, even those that offend us, or those who we believe to be irrelevant. Mills justification for this is that if one person speaks out against an otherwise unanimous society about a certain topic, and they are right, then they could enlighten the mass to the truth. If they speak out and are found to be wrong, then they have simply helped the mass come closer to the truth by falsely opposing it. Platos analogy of the Beast shows how politicians will keep society happy in the short term, while not regarding what is best for them in the long term. It works on the basis of keeping the people satisfied rather than truly doing what is best for them (according to Plato). The keeper of the Beast manipulates it with what is wants at the time by giving it treats, with no regards for its health. It is made clear however that the Beast is manipulating the keeper too, by getting what it currently desires out of him. For this reason Plato says that freedom to do what one wants when ignoring the absolute truth, or the long term real effects of certain action or decision can be damaging to the inward domain of consciousness. Similarly, his analogy of the Ship of State depicts his attitude on Athenian democracy. The captain of the ship is stronger than any of the crew, but he lacks the skill of working on and handling the boat. The crew argue over who should be in control, and beg the captain to allow them to take control of the ship. Those who succeed turn the voyage into a drunken pleasure cruise. The true navigator or star-gazer is overlooked by his fellow men although he is the only one skilled enough to actually guide the ship, he possesses the art of navigation, and seamanship. He is unable to gain the control needed to steer the ship to safety. The captain represents Athenian citizens responsive only to the rhetoric of the crew, the crew represent the politicians, they are manipulative and are not concerned with the truth, but rather power. Plato says that eventually the crew will ask the navigator for help, sacrificing their freedom and control for their safety and social benefit. The navigator is capable of using his knowledge of astronomy (knowledge of Being) to help guide the ship and those on it through a world of constantly changing and sometimes-dangerous weather conditions (the world of Becoming). The crew must surrender to the navigator, as he possesses not opinions or beliefs, but facts. The crew have to recognise his superior knowledge and therefore his authority, although they would fail to do so if it did not ultimately benefit them. Mill would argue that this analogy is incomplete, for the crew are able to be taught the skill of navigation themselves and do not need to rely solely on the star-gazer, wouldnt a crew of capable navigators be better than just one? Mill would argue that it is vital for the well being of the state to be able to argue against the truth. He argues the positive value of blasphemy as it challenges assumptions that are established as being right or wrong. We can criticise Mill for assuming that all individuals are capable of being rational and having rational thoughts and discussions. Equally, Plato fails to recognise the need for questioning and testing and assumes that people will accept sacrificing their freedom because he tells them too. If the tyranny of the majority is to be feared then why would Plato put the minority in power, and deprive the majority of control over their lives and the lives of their children? Mill and Plato hold the same or similar views on the issue of gender. Plato says that all citizens of the Republic, male or female will have access to equal education, as gender is obsolete when knowledge is the main focus, although a woman could never become a Philosopher Ruler. In 1869 Mill wrote The Subjection of Women, in which he encouraged and supported equal rights for both genders. Mill encouraged the equal rights for women on the basis of utility. He argued that we could not criticise women for being less skilled than men if we did not give them equal opportunity to try. He also said that society could not be at its best when half the population could contribute nothing to society outside of the home. Plato had a number of conditions that he says will help maximise the usefulness of all members of society, the stories which children are told must be authorised, and there is the censorship of music and the restriction of meat and fish unless it is roasted. Children are to be removed from their parents and are not to know who their parents are and visa versa. They are to call all males old enough father and all females mother, the purpose of this was to minimise private possessive emotions therefore reinforcing their focus on their relationship with their community. Deformed children and children of inferior breeding will be put away in some mysterious unknown place as they ought to be. The works of Homer and Hesiod, two of the earliest Greek poets are banned, as they encourage their readers to fear death, and depict the heavens as being filled with the inextinguishable laughter of the blessed Gods. Plato on the other hand banned loud laughter. Mill would argue that this repression is an infringement of basic human rights, and the suppression of individual development and human flourishing will do nothing but hinder the development and progression of mankind. How can society benefit if most individuals are at a disadvantage as to developing their own unique skills? Plato classifies people in three groups, as gold, the best members of society fit to be guardians, as silver members fit to be soldiers, and the common herd of brass and iron, fit only to be the producers. This is what Plato describes as the one royal lie used to deceive both the rulers, and the rest of the city, if he can justify lying about Gods creation of the three differing classes of people then why is he justified in choosing which one they belong to? Breeding is organised with the strongest members of society used simply to keep the population constant and as best bred as they can be. The strongest of sires are allowed to have the most children and the weaker ones less. The fundamental difference between Mill and Plato is that while Plato wished to radically change the structure of society in order to condition and force the people to behave and think in a certain way, Mill would leave the people to develop naturally, yet offer them all the education and teaching needed to steer them away from negative things and intervene only when one is inflicting harm upon another. Mills two main criticisms of Platos republic are that the proper function of the state is to regulate behaviour, not to encourage one or anothers set of belief or values. The second is that tolerance should be restricted to cases where it does not undermine the moral foundations of the community. He would argue that social bigotry should be restrained for the sake of encouraging freedom of thought and expression. Mill endorses Grotes admiration of Athenian tolerance, as tolerance is a necessity and encourages genius as a society may have persons of talentbut genius in such a soil is fatally stunted in its growth. Plato on the other hand criticises Athenian tolerance on the basis that the maintenance of public emotions requires repression by both law and by non-legal sanctions. He held the belief that Athenian tolerance undermines civic spirit required for the furtherance of the tolerant society itself. Aristotle, a student of Platos born in 384BC stated that it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. It is interesting that somebody taught by Plato would recognise the need for the self-development of opinion, something that Mill believes to be essential for a progressive society. Mill states that his father taught him to value Plato and his contributions to philosophy, and he says that he does just that. He called himself a pioneer when he began his translations of Platos work. Perhaps this was because he believed that the time that separated the two philosophers had made way for changes albeit dramatic, to Platos ideas that would concur with the modern world. Mill criticised Plato for trying to show that virtue is in the individuals interest, but also for attempting to give justification that virtue should be preferred at all. Neither Plato nor Mills work is flawless, so criticisms can be made on their errors and self-contradictions, yet both of these men helped advance philosophy immensely, and provided the basis of much discussion and debate. For Mill, freedom is necessary and desirable by both the individual and society. For Plato however freedom is not of fundamental concern; it is far more important to live according to the eternal and immutable truths. Herein lays the biggest contrast in the works of these two influential philosophers as regards the relationship between the individual and society.

Age and Gender Differences on Fear of Crime

Age and Gender Differences on Fear of Crime The current study aimed to investigate age and gender effects on fear of crime and their relationships with attitude towards prisoner and crime, life satisfaction, living arrangement and religion in a Chinese sample. 170 undergraduate and postgraduate students, with a mean age of 21.9 years, participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on fear of crime. In general, women reported significantly greater fear of crime than men. A factor analysis was performed and two factors were extracted: fear of being cheated and fear of physical harm. An age-gender interaction effect was found after controlling the variable of attitude towards prisoner. Results indicated that older females had higher levels of fear of being cheated than males. Yet, gender and age differences in fear of fraud victimizations are a largely unexplored area. Additional research is needed to examine how womens fear of being cheated varies with age. Introduction Fear of crime has received considerable attention in the criminological studies. Over the last few decades, research has been carried out to explore how fear of crime is explained and handled by society. Information about fear of crime not only help us to understand and interpret what fear of crime meant for individuals and societies, but also facilitate government to develop active plans to tackle publics fear. Anxieties about crime may lead to behavioral adaptation, e.g. taking precautions against crime and avoiding certain places. Nonetheless, public anxieties about crime may also have negative consequences for the individual and for society. For example, they may exacerbate the impact of crime by damaging an individuals quality of life or may affect the community by deteriorating a shared sense of trust, cohesion, and social control (Jackson, 2006). The concept of fear of crime and its causation is widely examined in the criminological field, but there is a lack of agreement on the definition of fear of crime. Fear of crime may involve two different concepts: an evaluative component and an emotional component (Skogen, 1984). For instance, Hollway and Jefferson (1997) referred crime fear as irrational response in which the rational, calculating individuals who routinely miscalculate their true risk of crime; whereas Ferraro (1995) suggested that fear of crime is an emotional reaction of dread or anxiety to crime or symbols that a person associates with crime. Past research has identified a number of factors which appear to make a contribution to fear, such as age, gender, race, vulnerability, neighbourhood cohesion, personal knowledge of crime and victimization, confidence in police and criminal justice systems, perception of risk, and assessment of offence seriousness (Box, Hale and Andrews, 1988). However, the current study wil l focus mainly on age and gender effects on fear of crime. Gender and Age Effects It is well-documented that women are more fearful of becoming a victim of crime than men despite the fact that they are less often victimized by serious violent crime (Pain, 2001; Fetchenhauer and Buunk, 2005). Over the past decades, researchers have proposed different approaches to resolve the fear victimization paradox: (1) hidden victimization of women; (2) gender tendencies of women to recall victimization experience, and to generalize fear from one context to another; (3) vulnerability of women; and (4) male discount of fear. Most crime surveys have shown that the levels of violence against women (e.g. domestic violence) are far higher than men; therefore it has been argued that women are not irrationally fearful of crime. It is because women and elderly under-report their actual victimization, and thus they appear to be less victimized (Pain, 2001). However, some have suggested that women tend to generalize the actual experience of victimization across spatial contexts than men (Pain, 1995; Farraro, 1995). Warr (1984) found that fear of sexual assault operated as a master offense among women and their fear of sexual assault influenced fear of nonpersonal crimes, such as burglary. Yet, still others reported that males often discount their fear of crime (Smith and Torstensson, 1997). Previous literature has demonstrated that males are suppressed by the perception that it is not socially acceptable to express ones fear; and when men are being perfectly honest, they may actually be more afraid of crime than women (Sutton and Farrall, 2005). On the other hand, the vulnerability hypothesis suggested that women are physically weaker than men and therefore they are less able to defend themselves against (typically male) perpetrators. A considerable amount of studies have also shown that that gender difference in fear of crime often reflects gender difference in physical vulnerability (e.g. Smith and Torstensson, 1997). Apart from gender, age is another important factor that predicts fear of crime. However, the definition of elderly varies across different studies (Chadee and Ditton, 2003). For example, Sundeen and Mathieu (1976) defined elderly as 52 years or above, whereas Warr (1984) suggested 66 years and over. Yet the most common definition of old is aged 65 or above. Since there has been no agreement on the definition of what constitutes old, mixed results were found on age. Some researchers argued that older people report higher level of fear than young people (e.g. On and Kim, 2009). In contrast, others suggested that elderly people are less likely to be victimized and thus they have the lowest level of fear (e.g. LaGrange and Ferraro, 1989; Chadee and Ditton, 2003). On and Kim (2009) explained that older people (aged 65 and over) often experience a drop in social networks (e.g. withdrawal from work, loss of close family members, increasing physical and psychological fragility), and their so cial isolation or feeling of loneliness intensifies fear of crime. Recently, it has been proposed that the relationship between fear of crime and age is non-linear and varies with crime type (Moore and Shephred, 2007). Past research has shown two different inverted U-shaped patterns in fear of property loss and fear of personal harm. Fear of property crime peaked at some time during middle-age, whereas fear of personal harm decreased with age (Chadee and Ditton, 2003; Moore and Shepherd, 2007). The oldest age group (75 or above) exhibited the lowest levels of fear for both property crime and personal crime (Chadee and Ditton, 2003). Prior research has shown that gender and age often interact with one another in producing the fear of crime differences (Ortega and Myles, 1987; Haynie, 1998; Pain, 2001). Significant gender differences in fear are observed among younger people. Nonetheless, this gender-fear gap has narrowed as mens reported fear of crime has gradually increased over tim e while womens has remained stable (Haynie, 1998). Attitude towards prisoner and crime and life satisfaction Much research on fear of crime has been focused on the perceived risk of crime; little is known about how peoples attitude towards prisoners and quality of life link to their fear of crime. Informal social control, trust, and social cohesion are important factors that contributed to the feelings of security; hence, one might argue that fear of crime often reflects individuals life satisfaction and their perceptions of social control. Jackson (2006) puts forward the view that public attitudes toward crime raise fundamental sociological problems but with a twist: public perceptions of deviance, social order and social control (p.253) and he claimed that public perceptions of crime reveal how people conceive social order (including the norms, values, and morals that bind communities and constitute social glue) and what they see as hostile to that social (maybe specific groups or wider social changes regarding values and morals, ethnicity diversity, and transformations in the political a nd economic arenas) (p.261). Therefore, it has been suggested that high levels of community efficacy, social cohesion, and a tight social structure (with low levels of anonymity and distrust) might inhibit fear of crime (Farrall, Gray and Jackson, 2007). In the last decades, researchers have questioned the validity of previous studies on fear of crime. LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) criticized that the experimental designs of previous studies were problematic. First, it has been suggested that measures of crime risk are often mistaken for measures of crime fear. Second, several widely used crime survey do not measure fear of crime, in which implicit questions are used in crime survey to measure fear (e.g. how safe do you feel or would you feel being out alone in your neighborhood at night?) instead of explicit questions. Hence, LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) have developed an 11-itemed crime fear survey to overcome the above shortcomings. The current study aims to use LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) crime fear questionnaires to examine gender and age effects on fear of crime in a Chinese sample. Method Sample A total of 170 participants (77 males, 92 females and 1 without specifying gender) were recruited in this study. The sample consisted of both undergraduates and postgraduates. Participants aged from 18 to 48 year-old (M = 21.94; SD = 4.07). Descriptive statistics of the sample were presented in table 1.They joined this study on a voluntary basis. Instrument Attitudes towards Prisoners Scale (Melvin, Gramling, Gardner, 1985) This scale contains 36 items. Participants were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The scale had a satisfactory reliability level, with overall alpha = .91. Life Satisfaction Scale. Life Satisfaction Scale, a five-item-scale developed by Diener and his associates measured general satisfaction towards life (Diener et al., 1985; Larsen, Diener, Emmons, 1985; Pavot Diener, 1993). It was validated locally (Wang, Yuen, Slaney, 2009). Participants were asked to rate the items on a 7-point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The overall alpha is satisfactory at .88. Fear of Crime Scale (Ferraro, 1996) The ten items of this scale were rated on a 10-point Likert scale, raning from 1 (not afraid at all ) to 10 (very afraid). Unlike the Attitude towards Prisoners Scale, the Fear of Crime Scale had not been validated locally, thus prior to any analysis, a set of validation procedures was performed. First, two items that could not match the current research purpose were removed: while the item being raped or sexually assaulted was removed due to its gender nonequivalence, the item having your car stolen was also removed because not many college students in Hong Kong owned their own cars. After removing the two items, the Kasier-Meyer-Oklin (KMO) and the Bartletts Test of Sphericity were performed to see if the originally factor structure could be employed in this study. The KMO value of the eight items was 0.80 and the Bartletts Test of Sphericity was significant (p Results Checking for Covariates Based on previous studies, life satisfaction, religion, and living arrangement are all possible covariates. In order to be classified as a covariate, these variables should correlate with a) any of the independent variables (age and gender) and b) any of the dependent variables (total fear of crime, fear of physical harm and fear of being cheated). Preliminary analyses indicated none of these variables satisfied the above conditions, so they would be excluded in subsequent analysis. Testing of Hypothesis Prior to analysis, all variables excluding gender were mean-centred. This was done to reduce any multicollinearity and to facilitate model estimation when main effects and interactive effects were both present (Aiken West, 1991). To compare the relative influences of age and gender on total fear of crime, fear of physical harm and fear of being cheated, three sets of hierarchical regression were performed. Attitude towards prisoners was first entered into the equation as a covariate, followed by age and gender; the Age X Gender interaction term was entered afterwards. Gender Difference in Fear of Crime: There was a main effect that gender had on all three types of crime fear, where female was always significantly more fearful than male (see Table 2). See table 3 for the mean and standard deviation of the three dependent variables in each gender group. Age Effect on Fear of Crime: While age positively correlated with fear of being cheated, no significant correlation was found between age and the other fear of crime constructs (see Table 4). Yet after controlling for attitude towards prisoner as the covariate, the predictive power of age on fear of being cheated disappeared (see Table 2). Age X Gender Interaction Effect on Fear of Crime: Significant Age X Gender interaction effects on total fear of crime and fear of being cheated were found. However, such interaction effect did not happen for fear of physical harm (see Table 2). To further investigate these significant interaction effects, two sets of hierarchical regression on total fear of crime and fear of being cheated were performed after splitting the sample into male and female subgroups. Attitude towards prisoners was first entered into the equation as a covariate, followed by age. After controlling for the covariate, age was no longer a predictor of total fear of crime for both gender groups. Yet for fear of being cheated, while it could be predicted by age for female (ÃŽÂ ² = .14, p Discussion The present study aimed to look at age and gender effects on fear of crime and their relationships with attitude towards prisoner and crime, life satisfaction, living arrangement and religion in a Chinese sample. In general, women reported higher average scores on fear than men among all aspects of crime, indicating that women were always more afraid of crime than men regardless of how fear of crime was measured. Women in our sample also reported that they were most afraid of being raped or sexually assaulted, followed by fear of being murder and fear of being attacked by someone with a weapon. This pattern of results were in line with previous findings that women were more fearful than men because they were particularly vulnerable to crime and were less able than men to defend themselves physically; therefore, women perceived themselves to be at greater risk of crimes than men (LaGrange and Ferraro, 1989; Smith and Torstensson, 1997). The results were also consistent with previous s tudies that fear of sexual assault operated as a master offense among women, which in turn heightened their fear of other victimizations, e.g. murder, attacks, or burglary (Ferraro, 1995). On the other hand, fear of being murder was most common among males, followed by fear of being attacked by someone with a weapon and fear of being raped or sexually assaulted. Interestingly, the current results replicated the findings of LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) in which men reported that they were afraid of being sexually assaulted (presumably by other men). In the second part of the study, a factor analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between gender and age of participants and their various crime perceptions. Results of the present study showed a gender effect on fear of crime, in which women had significantly higher score on total fear of crime, fear of being cheated and fear of physical harm than men. These findings were consistent with previous research in which females might have lower threshold for fear than males. An evolutionary approach has been put forward by researchers to explain this gender difference in fear of crime (e.g. Campbell, Muncer and Bibel, 2001; Fetchenhauer and Buunk, 2005; Sidebottom and Tilley, 2008). In a Dutch study, Fetchenhauer and Buunk (2005) showed that females were significantly more fearful than males when presented with scenarios (both criminal and non-criminal events) that resulted in physical injury, and they proposed that gender differences in fear of all kinds of events that inv olved physical injury may be the result of sexual selection that favoured risk-taking and status fights among males, and being cautious and protecting ones offspring among females (p.111). The current study also found a significant positive correlation between age and fear of being cheated, suggesting that older people were more afraid of being cheated than younger people. The result reflects the varying importance attached to material wealth with age: the costs of property loss might have greater impact on middle-aged group since they are more likely to have accumulated property and have dependent children compared to younger age group (Moore and Shepherd, 2007). Based on data derived from the 2001 British Crime Survey, Moore and Shepherd (2007) concluded that fear of property loss was greatest at around 40-60 years, peaked at around 45 years, whereas a lower level of fear was observed at about 16-25 years. Another possibility for the age differences in fear might be due to socialization. Past research has shown that socialization may increase the amount of contacts with others, and thus people who socialize more often may increase their likelihood of fraud victimizat ion (Van Wyk and Manson, 2001). In a recent study, Schoepfer and Piquero (2009) demonstrated that risky behaviour and age were important factors that predicted the likelihood of fraud victimization: individuals who were open to financial risk-taking and engaged in more risky behaviours were more likely to be a victim of fraud (e.g. free prize fraud, credit or bank account fraud and being billed for more than what the product is worth). It should also be noted that older people in our sample are postgraduate students who might have higher income and socialize more often and thus they have greater opportunities to be victimized than younger people. Results in this study also showed that the relationship between age and fear of being cheated was influenced by individuals attitude towards prisoner. Since not much research has been done on fear of being cheated, more studies are needed to look at the relationship between age and fear of deception. Nonetheless, no significant correlation was found between age and fear of physical harm, indicating that that age was not associated with levels of fear of being physical harm. Further analysis was performed in the next section to look at gender and age effects on various constructs of fear. Significant gender-age interaction effects were found on total fear of crime and fear of being cheated. After controlling the variable attitude towards prisoner, age was a significant predictor of fear of being cheated in females, but not in males. There was a positive correlation between age and fear of being cheated among females, suggesting that older females were more fearful of being victimized than males. This may be due in part to the fact that personal victimization can have more serious consequences for women than men. Past research has indicated that crime fear involve both emotional and evaluative components and it is shaped by the vividness of the image of crime and perceptions of the severity of the consequences of crimes, together with feelings of personal control and perceptions of victimization likelihood (Jackson, 2006). It has been found that some vict ims of fraud may experience more harmful long-term effects than those victimized by conventional crimes, and many of them continued to suffer from lasting problems with finances, self-esteem, embarrassment, and self-blaming even ten years after the incidents (Shover, Fox and Mills, 1994). Recently, Schoepfer and Piquero (2009, p.210) argued that some fraud victimizations have even been equated to those of rape since both crime are rarely reported by victims and both involved victim facilitation, and questions of guilt and responsibility are the burden of the victims; hence, this makes females more fearful of being cheated than males. However, the current results did not support some of the past findings on fear of fraud victimization. Mixed results were found in previous studies concerning gender difference on fear of property loss. For instance, LaGrange and Ferraro (1989) found no gender different on fear of being conned or swindled out of money and fear of being approach by a beg gar; whereas Moore and Shepherd (2007) showed that men were more fearful than women of property loss. One of the possibilities for the discrepancy in these findings might be due to the cultural difference in crime rates. Since fear of crime also reflects actual crime rate in society, results in the present study might also suggest that older women are more vulnerable to minor crimes, e.g. street or telephone deception, than men in the local area. Yet, no interaction effect on fear of physical harm was found in this study. Additional study might be needed to investigate how womens fear of being cheated varies with age. There are two possible limitations in the current study that should be taken into account. The first one relates to variables that were not included in the questionnaire, namely the mass media effect, crime prevalence and previous victimization experience. Due to the limitations of the standard questionnaire used in the present study, these factors were not included. It is well-established that the mass media plays an important role in shaping individuals attitude towards prisoner and the perception of crime and fear. According to the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF), people may attend to information about criminal activities from a series of amplified stations (e.g. mass media and interpersonal communication), and the risk signals may interact with a wide range of psychological, social and cultural processes in ways that intensity their actual risks (Kasperson et al. 2003). Researchers have demonstrated that tabloid readers who have an extensive level of crime media exp osure are about twice more likely to be worried than those who have limited exposure to crime source (Smolej and Kivivuori, 2006). Previous literature on media consumption and public attitude toward crime has also shown that offenders are often portrayed as different from the general population and viewed as psychopaths that prey on weak and vulnerable victims (Dowler, 2003). Recently, Reiner (2008) argued that crime stories often exaggerate the crime risks faced by higher-status people and always disproportionately representing women, children, or older people as victims, and this might heighten publics fear of crime. Over the past decade, researchers have attempted to integrate fear of crime into macro and micro levels of analysis (Ferraro, 1995; Jackson, 2004). At the macro-level, publics fear of crime is related to crime prevalence in society and local communities; whereas, at the micro-level, neighbourhood characteristics and personal characteristics (e.g. previous victimization experience, anxiety and everyday worry) may interact to produce differential perception of risk which, in turn, produces either fearful or adaptive reactions to crime (or both) (Farrall, Gray and Jackson, 2007). In future research it might be interesting to examine how these factors interact with age and gender to produce different levels of fear of being cheated. The second possible limitation is that the current findings could not be generalized into diverse cultures with different age groups. In this study, subjects were undergraduates or postgraduates recruited from a local university and they might have similar ag e, background, living situation, and ethnicity; therefore, their crime experience will be alike. In the future study, participants from various age groups and cultures are needed in order to generalize the results outside the Chinese society.

Examples of How Set Can Communicate the Dances Ideal Concept :: Dance Drama Still Life at the Penguin Cafe Essays

Examples of How Set Can Communicate the Dance's Ideal Concept When a dance piece is created, it is not just the choreography of the steps that needs to be considered. To make a successful piece, firstly a starting point needs to be found, this can be anything ranging from an emotion, an animal, or even someone's journey to work or school. When this has been decided upon, there are five main areas that need to be concentrated on. These are; costume, music, set, lighting and choreography. These different fields of the dance cannot be considered separate, nor is there a rank of importance; all five areas need to be created together. They compliment each other, and grow together to form the piece. In this essay I am going to focus on the importance of just one of these factors, the set. Using examples from professional dance works I am going to discuss how the set successfully communicates the dance's ideal concept. The first dance work I am going to use as an example, is from "Still Life at the Penguin Cafà ©" choreographed by David Bintley and designed by Hayden Griffin. I have chosen to discuss the set in the first scene of the performance, "The Great Auk". There are two sections to this scene, the first section being a representation of the Great Auk's habitat, the second being a busy cafà ©, run by penguins as waiters and sophisticated women as customers. The set for the first section is simple but effective. The stage has a black backdrop, covering the whole stage wall, and a smaller screen on wheels centre stage. This screen is roughly 7ft tall and a vertical rectangle. On it an icy landscape is painted. It shows ice and sea, using white and icy blue colours. It shows an image of the penguin's habitat. It lets the audience know a bit about the penguin's background and what it has to deal with in life. This is very effective as it communicates the meaning of the piece, showing that life for this creature is hard. This piece of se is also very useful within the piece, as the dancers use it as an added entrance. They hide behind the screen and appear at the sides, this give added interest to the piece, and it is also practical as it is on wheels, therefore easy to move on and off the stage. The rest of the stage is left empty for this section, providing space for the dance. For the second part of this scene, the icescape is moved off stage and the backdrop is lifted to reveal a cafà ©.

Prejudice and Racism in Canada Essays -- Sociology Racism Prejudice Es

Racism is a Problem in Canada A few years ago in Smalltown, CA a burning cross was placed in the lawn of a visible minority family. Although the media seemed shocked at this explicit racial attack and portrayed the attackers as a group of abnormal, twisted deviants, I was not surprised. As an Asian student who is writing her Sociology honours thesis on visible minorities in Canada, I know on a personal and academic level that racism in Canada does exist. Although explicit racial incidents are not a common occurrence, they do happen. Here at school, a visible minority student left the school when a car sped past her, while the young men inside shouted racial slurs. Two weeks ago The school paper published an article about a group of International students who experienced racially motivated discriminatory service at restaurant. Last month I attended a meeting about racism, and a number of students related explicit stories about experiencing racism in Tinyville. More often, racism is expressed in subtle ways, and is not recognized as racism. Although social scientists do not like using the term race since it is a socially constructed category based on inaccurate assumptions about phenotypical and biological differences between human groups, race still holds social currency since perceived racial differences leads to unequal power, privilege, and social prestige. Ignoring race would mean ignoring the reality of racism. Racism takes forms that include social ostracism, employment discrimination, and racial prejudice. One Mt. A student related experiencing social ostracism and prejudice at Mt.A. "People are less willing to get to know me and most people view Black people negatively. 'Yo, whatsup?!' That stereotypical treat... ...ral nation. Multiculturalism is unfortunately only a vague discourse that tokenizes cultures, ignoring the reality of racial conflict. Mary Pipher, discussing sexism, observes that "The lip service paid to equality makes the reality of discrimination even more confusing." Although overt forms of racism are rare, covert forms of prejudice and discrimination against visible minorities still exist. Further, racism is not only evident in individuals, but on institutional and national levels. Although it is tempting to ignore racism and deny that it exists, ignoring racism will not make it go away. Source: Miedema, Baukje (Bo) and Evangelina Tastsoglou. "But Where Are You From Originally? Immigrant Women and Integration in the Maritimes." Atlantis 24.2 (Spring/Summer 2000): 82-91. 25 Jan. 2003. http://www.stmarys.ca/academic/arts/sociology/tasto/pubs/atlantis.pdf

The Traitor :: Star Trek Essays Papers

The Traitor Despite the episode's title, The Defector is a story about a traitor. I can not agree that Admiral Jarok is any way but parenthetically defecting to the Federation -- he demonstrates love for his country and his people on several occasions. Instead I feel that he is a reluctant traitor motivated by personal rather than political reasons. The difference between the terms is subtle, but important: the term 'defector' should not imply traitorous crime, nor should the term 'traitor' imply defection. The term 'defector' is used to describe a person who has joined another country for ideological reasons. Defection is a political term and is only used to describe knowing and voluntary relocation due to ideological motivations. Someone's ideology is their overall view of or attitude toward life: their outlook, credo, or philosophy. (Nisus Dictionary.) A group of Zendik socialists, for example, defect from the United States when they move to Canada in protest against the market economy. A traitor, on the other hand, actively and knowingly participates in a decision or event that will harm his or her country. There are two important differences between these terms. First, the definition of traitor is non-specific when it comes to motivation. A traitor might betray his country for money, for love, for fame, or, certainly but not necessarily, for ideological reasons. Second, a defector is explicitly choosing to change geographical location in harmony with his ideals. The definition of a traitor does not include any reference to location, although a traitor may be exiled or he may -- additionally -- defect. (Kidder.) Since a defector is motivated by his ideology -- that is, an intellectual apprehension of his concepts of Right and Wrong -- his rejection of his country is both fundamental (starting at the most basic levels) and (therefore) complete. This understanding of the term can not include Admiral Jarok. Throughout the episode Jarok expresses love for his country in poignant ways. He shares reminiscent thoughts about Romulan Ale and the Romulan landscape with Data. More importantly he expresses his approval for at least one of the warlike maneuvers of his government. When he is brought into sickbay at the beginning of the episode Dr. Crusher makes obscure references to a previous medical situation following a Romulan military conflict. Obviously angry, Jarok interrupts her to place the blame on the Klingons, a Federation ally. (The Defector.) If Jarok were truly planning to defect it seems reasonable that he would be bitter, cynical, and disapproving of his country, not wistfully longing for it or defending it.

History of Hrm Essay

HISTORY OF HRM HRM is traced back to the 19th century with the beginning of the Welfare System. The Welfare System was an important development in terms of voluntary initiatives undertaken to improve conditions of factory workers, in relation to pay, working hours and health and safety. The voluntary initiative originated from Quakers. Welfare officers were appointed and became the forerunner to HR practitioners. The early 1900’s saw the appointment of welfare officers in Irish companies such as Jacobs and Maguire & Patterson in Dublin. The impact of the Welfare approach is still apparent in HR practice in terms of dealing with issues such as health, working conditions and personal problems. Another early influence on the emergence of HRM was Taylorism (Frederick Taylor). Early 20th century improvements in technology and the increase in company sizes made way for new advancements in creating a system which focused purely on efficiency and profitability whereby workers were treated as economic machines. Scientific Management led to a shift in the emphasis of HR away from the employee caring approach towards the more managerial, efficiency and profitability benefits to be gained through greater standardisation of work systems and methods. The emergence of the Behavioural Science Movement gave a great impetus to HRM by establishing a body of knowledge to underpin many aspects of HR work such as selection, motivation, training, industrial relations and payments.

Environmental Science Study Guide Essay

Environment- everything around us. Including nonliving things (air, water, and energy) Environmental science- an interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the living and nonliving parts of their environment. Ecology- the biological science that studies how organisms or living things interact with one another. Ecosystem- A set of organisms within a defined area or volume that interact with one another and with their environment of nonliving matter and energy. Natural capital- the natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and support our human economies. Resource- anything that we can obtain the environment to meet our needs and wants. Perpetual resource- is a continuous supply of solar energy. Renewable resource- a resource that takes anywhere from several days to several hundred years to be replenished through natural processes. Sustainable yield- the highest rate at which we can use a renewable resource without reducing its available supply. Reuse- involves using a resource over and over in the same form. Recycling- involves collecting waste materials and processing them into new materials. Economic growth- is an increase in a nation’s output of goods and services. Gross domestic product (GDP) – the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all businesses, foreign and domestic, operating within a country. Economic development- an effort to use economic growth to improve living standards. More-developed countries- those with high average income and they include the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries. Less-developed countries- (opposite of well-developed countries) Pollution- any presence within t he environment of a chemical or other agent such as noise or heat at a level that is harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms. Point sources- single, identifiable sources. Ex. Smokestack of a coal-burning power or industrial plant. Non-point sources- are dispersed and often difficult to identify. Ex. Pesticides & some trash. Pollution cleanup/output pollution control- Involves cleaning up or diluting pollutants after we have produced them. Pollution prevention/pollution control- reduces or eliminates the production of pollutants. Ecological footprint- the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to provide the people in a particular country or area with an indefinite supply of renewable resources and to absorb and recycle wastes. Affluence- consuming large amounts of resources far beyond basic needs. Per capita ecological footprint- the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area. Ecological tipping point- an irreversible shift in the behavior of a natural system. Exponential growth- occurs when a quantity such as the human population increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time, such as 2% per year. Poverty- occurs when people are unable to fulfill their basic needs for food, water, shelter, health, and education. Environmental worldview- your set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what your role in the world should be. Environmental ethics- are beliefs about what is right and wrong with how we treat the environment. Planetary management worldview- the view that we are separate from and in charge of nature. Stewardship worldview- holds that we can and should manage the earth for our benefit, but that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers or stewards of the earth. Environmentally sustainable society- one that meets the current and future basic resource needs of its people in a just and future basic resource needs of its people in a just and equitable manner. Natural income- living sustainability Social capital- making the shift to more sustainable societies and economies. Chapter 2 Science- a human effort to discover how the physical world works by making observations and measurements, and carrying out experiments. Model- an approximate representation or simulation of a system. Peer Review- involves scientists openly publishing details of the methods and models they used. Scientific Law/law of nature- a well-tested and widely accepted description of what we find happening repeatedly in nature in the same way. Unreliable science- (opposite of scientific law and reliable science) Tentative/frontier science- some of the scientific results are validated and reliable, and some are not. Matter- anything that has mass and takes up space. Atomic theory- the idea that all elements are made up of atoms. Neurons- no electrical charge Protons- positive electrical charge Electrons- negative electrical charge Nucleus- extremely small center of the atom, containing one or more protons/neurons. Atomic Number- equal to the number of protons in the nucleus of its atom. Mass number- the total number or neutrons and protons in its nucleus. Isotopes- the forms of an element having the same atomic number but different mass numbers. Molecule- a combination of two or more atoms of the same or different elements held together by forces called chemical bounds. Ion- an atom or a group of atoms with one or more net positive or negative electrical charges. Acidity- a chemical characteristic that helps determine how a substance dissolved in water will interact with and affect its environment. pH- used as a measure of acidity Chemical formula- chemists use this to show the number of each type of atom or ion in a compound. Organic compounds- contains at least two carbon atoms combined with atoms of another element. Inorganic compounds- (opposite of organic compounds) Genes- certain sequences of nucleotides. Chromosome- a double helix DNA molecule wrapped around some proteins. Chapter 3 Abiotic- Nonliving Aerobic respiration- nutrient organic molecules such as glucose combine with oxygen to support carbon dioxide, water, & energy. Anaerobic respiration- form of cellular respiration in which some decomposers get the energy they need through the breakdown of glucose in the absence of oxygen. Atmosphere- mass of air surrounding the earth. Autotrophs- (same as producer) Biogeochemical cycles- processes that recycle nutrients in various chemical forms (include carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and hydrologic cycles) Biomass- organic matter produced by plants & other photosynthetic produces; total dry weight of all organisms. Biosphere- zone of the earth where life is found. Biotic- living organisms. Carbon cycle- cyclic movement of carbon in different chemical forms from the environment to the organ. Chemosynthesis- process in which certain organisms extract inorganic compounds from their environment and convert them into organic compounds without sunlight. Community- populations of all species living and interacting in an area at a particular time. Consumers- organism that cannot synthesize the organic nutrients it needs and gets its organic nutrients by feeding on the tissue of others. Decomposers- organisms that digest parts of dead organisms. Ecology- biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms and their environment. Ecosystem- one or more communities of different species interacting with one another and with chemical & physical factors making up the environment. Fermentation- (same as anaerobic respiration) Food chain- series of organisms in which each eats or decomposes the preceding one. Food web- complex network of many inter-connected food chains and feeding relationships. Greenhouse gases- gases in the earth’s lower atmosphere that cause the greenhouse effect. Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) – rate at which ecosystems producers capture and store a given amount of chemical energy as biomass in a given length of time. Herbivores- plant eating organisms. Heterotrophs- (same as consumer) Hydrologic (water cycles) – biogeochemical cycle that collects, purifies, and disturbs the earth’s fixed supply of water. Hydrosphere- earth’s liquid water. Â  Natural greenhouse effect- natural effect that releases heat in the atmosphere, near the earth’s surface. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) – rate at which all the plants in an ecosystem produce net useful energy. Nitrogen cycle- cyclic movement of nitrogen in different chemical forms. Nutrient cycles- the circulation of chemicals necessary for life. Omnivores- animal that can use both plant and other animals as food sources. Organisms- any form of life. Photosynthesis- complex process that takes place in cells of green plants. Phosphorous cycle- cyclic movement of phosphorus in different chemical forms. Population- group of individual organisms of the same species living in a particular area. Primary consumers- organism that feeds on some or all parts of plants. Producers- organism that uses solar energy/chemical energy to manufacture nutrients. Pyramid of energy flow- diagram representing the flow of energy through each level in a food chain/web. Secondary consumers- organism that feeds only on primary consumers. Stratosphere- 2nd layer of the atmosphere. Sulfur cycle- cyclic movement of sulfur in various chemical forms. Tertiary consumers- animals that feed on animal-eating animals. Ex.shark, lion, bear. Trophic level- all organisms that are the same number of energy transfers away from the original source of energy. Troposphere- Innermost layer of the atmosphere. Chapter 4 Adaptation- any genetically controlled structural, physiological or behavior characteristic that helps an organism to survive or reproduce. Adaptive trait- (same as adaptation) Background extinction- normal extinction of various species as a result of changes in environmental conditions. Biological diversity- variety of different species Biological evolution- change in the generic makeup of a population of species in successive generations. Differential reproduction- phenomenon in which individuals with adaptive generic traits produce more living offspring than those without trait. Ecological niche- total way of life of a species. Endemic species- species found only in one area likely to be extinct. Extinction- complete disappearance of a species. Â  Fossils- skeletons, bones, shells, body parts, leaves, seeds or impressions of such items that provide evidence of organisms. Foundation species- species that play a major role in shaping a community. Generalist species- species with abroad ecological niche. (Can live/adapt in many places) ex: humans Geographic isolation- separation of populations of a species into different areas for long periods of time. Indicator species- species whose decline serves as early warnings that community is being biodegraded. Keystone species- (foundation species) Mass extinction- widespread, global extinction over a short period of time. Mutations- random change in DNA molecules that can alter behavior/anatomy in offspring. Native species- species that live or thrive in a particular ecosystem. Natural selection- process in which a particular set of genes is produced in succeeding generations more than other genes. Niche- total way of life or role of a species in an ecosystem. Nonnative species- species that into migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately/accidently introduced into an ecosystem. Reproductive Isolation- long term geographic separation of members of a particular sexually reproducing species. Specialist species-species with a narrow ecological niche. Speciation- formation of two species forms one species because of divergent natural selection in response to change in environmental conditions. Species- group of similar organisms. Species diversity- number of different species. Theory of evolution- widely accepted scientific idea that all life forms developed from earlier life forms. Chapter 5 Age structure- percentage of the population of each age level in a population. Carrying Capacity- maximum population of a particular species that a given habit can support over a given period. Coevolution- evolution in which two or more species interact and exert selective pressure on each other that can lead each species to undergo adaptations. Commensalism- an interaction between organisms of different species in which one type of organism benefits and the other type is neither helped nor harmed to any degree. Environmental resistance- all of the limiting factors that act together to limit the growth of the population. Inertia- the ability of a living system to be restored through secondary succession after a more serious disturbance. Interspecific competition- attempts by members of two or more species to use the same limited resources in an ecosystem. Limiting factor- single factor that limits the growth abundance or distribution of the population of a species in an ecosystem. Mutualism- type of species interaction in which both participating species generally benefit. Parasitism- interaction between species in which one organism preys on another organism. Persistence- (same as inertia) Population-group of individual’s organisms of the same species living in a particular area. Population crush- dieback of a population exceeded carrying capacity. Population density- # of organisms in a particular populations found in a specified area/volume. Predation- when an organism feeds on another. Predator- prey relationship: relationship predator VS. Prey. Primary ecological succession- ecological succession in an area without soil or bottom sediments. Range of tolerance- range of chemical & physical conditions that must be maintained. Resilience- the ability of a living system to be restored through secondary succession after a severe disturbance. Resource partitioning- process of diving up resources. Secondary ecological succession- succession in which natural vegetation has been removed or destroyed but the soil hasn’t. Chapter 6 Cultural carrying capacity- the maximum number of people who could live in reasonable freedom and comfort. Crude birth rate- the number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year. Crude Death rate- the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population in given year. Fertility rate- the number of children born to a woman during her lifetime. Replacement-level fertility rare- is the average number of children that couples in a population must bear to replace themselves. Total fertility rate- the average number of children born to women in a population during their reproductive years. Life expectancy- the average number of years a newborn infant can be expected to live. Infant mortality rate- the number of babies out of every 1,000 born who die before their first birthday. Demographic transition- when countries become industrialized and economically developed, death rates and birth rates decline. Family planning- provides educational and clinical services that help couples chose how many children to have and when to have them.