Childhood Obesity A Public Health Issue Essay - 2551 Words

Obesity rates in the United States are alarming, with more than one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children qualifying as obese with a Body Mass Index greater than 30.0 (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015). Even more frightening is the growth rate of this crippling health epidemic; between 1980 and 2014, obesity has doubled for adults and tripled for children (CDC, 2015). The physical consequences of rising obesity rates in our country include an abundance of physical ailments including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, elevated cholesterol, and even some cancers. Additionally, obesity-related health care costs to our country are estimated at $147 billion annually, plus the costs of productivity lost at†¦show more content†¦Federally-funded school meal programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), serve an average of 31.3 million lunches and 11.1 million breakfasts per day at a cost t o the country of $11.1 billion in 2011 (Food Nutrition Services, 2012). These federally-funded meals are an excellent opportunity for regulation of nutrition as well as education regarding healthy choices. Obesity is clearly a great threat to the health of our nation, and the federal government must step in to defend its citizens against this growing threat. Children are at the mercy of their families, their social conditions, and their schools, predisposing them to obesity through poor nutritional options and a lack of education; the federal government must intervene through regulation of school meals and snacks to protect children from the abundance of unhealthy options while also educating them and reducing childhood obesity. In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which works with Food Nutrition Services to develop guidelines for the NSLP, proposed new regulations for school lunches in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA). The rules included calorie guidelines according to age group and also outlined requirements for vegetable, fruit, protein, and starch components of the meals. While the USDA guidelines for meals wereShow MoreRelatedPublic Health Issue: Childhood Obesity3264 Words   |  13 PagesPublic Health Issue Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern for Americans; it is a very serious health concern. It doesn’t just impact the way Americans look, this serious condition can change the course of our lives, and not for the better (American Heart Association, 2005). Childhood obesity is a national epidemic that is affecting our children and adolescents of America at high and alarming rates. It occurs when children are exceeding the normal weight for his or her age and height. Up to oneRead MoreChildhood Obesity : How Has This Become A Problem1218 Words   |  5 PagesChildhood Obesity: How Has This Become a Problem and What Can Be Done to Fix it? Childhood obesity is affecting 1 out 3 kids in our society. These children are being classified as being obese or overweight. Obesity has gained recognition as an important worldwide public problem and in the U.S., appears to be overtaking tobacco use as the number one cause of preventable death (Dennison, B. A., Edmunds, L. S., Stratton, H. H., Pruzek, R. M. (2006). This is the first time we have ever seen our childrenRead MoreFighting the Obesity Epidemic in the UK912 Words   |  4 PagesPublic health aims prevention of health problems before they occur and mainly focuses on population rather than individual (Thorbory, 2009). It also helps to improve the health and well being of individuals, communities and the wider population and prevent from mortality and disability (Nursing Times.net, 2013). Prevention such as immunisation and screening, Protection such as safety and protection from abuse and promotion such as health education are the three main approaches of public health ( RCNRead MorePolicy Priority Issue : The Childhood Obesity Essay1614 Words   |  7 PagesPolicy priority issue: The childhood obesity Childhood obesity is one of the major public health challenges of the 21st century. The prevalence of obesity is increasing globally. In 2013, the number of overweight children under the age of five was estimated over 42 million. Childhood obesity can cause premature death and disability in adulthood. Overweight and obese children will grow up to become obese adults and are more likely to develop diseases like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes at aRead MoreThe Effects Of Childhood Obesity: An Epidemic In Our Nation.1391 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects of Childhood Obesity: An Epidemic in Our Nation Seema Patel A Capstone Proposal Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Healthcare Administration KAPLAN UNIVERSITY March 2017 The Effects of Childhood Obesity: An Epidemic in Our Nation Childhood obesity is a greatest public health concern in our nation because it has an immediate and long-term effect on morbidity and mortality later in life. Experts in this epidemic suggest that there isRead MoreEssay on Policy Priority Issue1648 Words   |  7 PagesPolicy Priority Issue: The Childhood Obesity Pandemic Marla C. Khalikov Chamberlain College of Nursing NR506 – 10999: Health Care Policy Winter 2014 Policy Priority Issue: The Childhood Obesity Pandemic Childhood obesity is a global pandemic requiring prioritization in policy and health care reform. It has many effects on acute and long term health, including increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer. This paper addressesRead MoreBackground and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care1003 Words   |  5 PagesResearch Process to Problems in Health Care Childhood Obesity HCS/465 August 2, 2012 Donald Steacy Introduction The purpose of the paper is to show how to develop and understand methodology of the research process when pertaining to health care. The process consists of retrieving a peer-reviewed article and applying the research methodology to the article selected. The article selected for the research methodology was Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis written by Sameera KarnikRead MoreThe Battle Against Obesity Is A Health Issue Of Great Importance1237 Words   |  5 PagesFor community and public health nurses alike, the battle against obesity is a health issue of great importance. Obesity is shown to be directly responsible for many of the negative health issues we see today. It contributes to higher risk of having chronic disease and poor health (which will be explained). Obesity is a nationwide epidemic stretching across the whole human development spectrum: from childhood obesity, adolescent obesity and adult obesity. The prevalence of children being overweightRead Mo reApplying the Background and Methodology of the Research Process796 Words   |  4 Pagesalso help to define the uniqueness of the study. The article addresses the problem of childhood obesity, which is a significant issue in health care. The prevalence of obesity during childhood is on the increase across various parts of the globe, especially in the United States. Childhood obesity is associated with multiple chronic health conditions, including premature death during adulthood. The childhood health problem is promoted by the modern environment, which encourages overeating of foods thatRead MoreU.s School Food Regulation For Public Schools Essay1543 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican public schools have poor nutrition, and it causes obesity in teenagers. As a former student of the American public school systems, the condition of the food has been a problem for years. Over the past two decades, obesity has been an issue in the U.S, and it is due to poor school nutrition. The public schools lack a variation in the healthy meals they contain. Inadequate nutrition can lead to an abundance of health problems. Although spendin g money on food can be expensive, the government

Executive Coaching Intertwines Multiple Practical Theories Free Essays

All complement each other in understanding the client’s needs and helping them reach their goals. Executive Coaching Theories Executive coaching is not a one-size fits all profession. There are a multitude of different approaches that one can take to help the client identify and reach his goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Executive Coaching Intertwines Multiple Practical Theories or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, one of the key commonalities of any good executive coach is to understand the human psyche. One has to know how to not only ask good, probing questions, one must also comprehend the psychological and situational barriers that prevent the client from reaching his goal. Then, he coach must be able to work with the client to identify action steps that will follow a path to reach the client’s desired outcomes. There are many theories that abound with regards to executive coaching. No one approach is better than another. Some approaches are applied in compliment with others. The goal is to bring a toolkit of assorted and appropriate tactics to help the client understand barriers to success, and to assist the client with framing the goals necessary to move forward, and finally, to motivate the client to take specific action steps. The goal of this paper is to identify three of the theories that a coach might use to assist a client. These are not necessarily implemented mutually exclusive from each other, but are just several of the approaches that are available to a coach. Action Frame Theory This is a theory that was developed by two psychologists, Tracy Coverer and Steven Crossbow. Coverer is a leadership and organizational development consultant at Canadian, Tire in Canada (as of 2004, when this article was published). Crossbow is a professor of psychology at the university of Gullah in Ontario. They state that it is not intended to be a stand-alone new concept, UT is derived from the synthesis of existing theory, plus social action and functional analysis. The goal is to make the translation from generalities of â€Å"mediated focus† to specifics of executive behavior, which was an idea of R. R. Killing, who proposed a â€Å"holistic and integrated model† within the executive coaching process. (Coverer Crossbow, 2004) Action Frame Theory encompasses five specific processes to provide a deliberate approach for the coach to assist the client identify and achieve his desired end-state or goals. The processes include the following: conditions, means, action, result, and consequence. These steps help the client move from the generalities mentioned in the previous paragraph to a specific outcome for definitive results. (Coverer Crossbow, 2004) Condition: The coach must first help the client identify his current status to be able to correlate where he is now with where he wants to be at the end of the journey. A coach must understand the current climate and atmosphere and conditions that the client exists within before he can evaluate how to move forward. Part of this assessment is to identify barriers that may be reverting the client from progress, or any organizational barriers as well as personal hindrances. This includes the organizational culture, as well as its management style and where the client fits within this. It includes those constraints where the client may not have any actual control to change. Means: This includes personal resources that the client possesses that he can employ to resolve the situation and/or reach his goal. Included within the means can be the client’s interpersonal skills, leadership talents, and ability to resolve issues. The author also mentions integrity in the case that they illustrate where the client was dealing with a troublesome employee who was spreading rumors. This is, in essence, self-reflection of one’s personal tool kit. Action: These are the voluntary action steps that the coach helps the client agree upon to take to work toward attaining the end-goal. These should be a set of defined processes that had deliberate purpose and correlation toward a forward motion toward the desired result. Similar to the F. O. C. U. S. Del, (Harms, 201 1) (Ellis Bernard, 2006) the coach must ensure the steps are meaningful and have validity toward a specific outcome. Especially with a emitted coaching contract, it is important to maximize these action steps to avoid wasting precious time. This also involves mentally focusing the client toward defined action steps so that he sees a clear roadman toward reaching his destination. There is nothing worse than wandering aimlessly without direction. Resul t: This is the end-state that the client hopes to achieve through the result of the actions. The authors state that there are actually two results: the starting result and the end result. Although the end result is the ultimate final goal, there is what are known as milestones whereby the client achieves mailer results on the path to the larger goal. Consequence: The consequence is the normal evaluation of the result that is present over an extended period of time. It is what becomes the new current status, or also known as the condition, which was the first component of the Action Frame Theory. This essentially becomes that new normal state as a result of achieving the set-out goals. Coverer Crossbow, 2004) Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Theory This is a more widely known theory that was developed by Albert Ellis, who developed this based upon inspiration of teachings of Asian, Greek and Roman philosophers. Ellis originally began a career in clinical psychology in the 1 adds. During the course of his progress toward earning his doctorate in clinical psychology, he leane d toward and practiced psychoanalysis. In the early sass, he transitioned from psychoanalysis toward his new approach of a more proactive and direct form of psychotherapy, which he called Rational Therapy (ART). His goal was to help the client adjust their thinking and behavior to lead more positive and productive lives. (Ellis Bernard, 2006) Ellis’ premise is that people are rarely affected emotionally by external influences; UT, rather by their personal perceptions, attitudes, or internal thoughts about outside things or events. He states that people get upset and are affected by how they construct their views of reality through language, beliefs, meanings, and philosophies about the world, their self, and others. By understanding these meanings, people can learn to identify the issues and challenge and question them to work toward a more constructive outcome. (Hag Davison, 1 993) The assumption that this theory incorporates is that people have both rationale and irrational tendencies and learning. Rational Emotive Behavioral Theory places emphasis on changing the current thinking and helping the individual to behave how they wish to be. The theory postulates that people unconsciously construct their own emotional pitfalls such as self-pity, blame, etc. That prevent them from achieving their goals. The goal of imparting REST is to assist the client how to identify these self- defeating tendencies so that they can achieve what they wish to do. (Ellis Bernard, 2006) (Ellis Bernard, 2006) A major process for the REBUT therapy is to help the client overcome these self-defeating thought processes so that hey can see that they have a choice not to be fearful or scared or the like. This is critica l in the coaching process because executives may feel that they are alone at the top of the food chain and have nowhere to turn. When they have these fears, they may simply internalize them without actually dealing with the feelings for fear of appearing human in their role as a senior leader. This may prevent the executive from being able to be successful in leading the organization, and can lead to self-defeat. Although the coach is generally not a therapist, understanding Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy concepts s key to working with these executives that may show signs of needing this assistance. The primary tactic for assisting clients through this process is to help them see their fears that are prohibiting them from being successful or moving forward. Ellis said that people cannot move forward and get better except through continual work and practice in finding their core beliefs and irrationality. Then, they need to replace them with healthy, positive feelings that will enable them to move forward and succeed. (Ellis Bernard, 2006) Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most widely studied harries in the field of psychotherapy. From the time of his inception of this theory through his death in 2007, his work laid the groundwork for much Of today’s modern cognitive therapy approaches. Cognitive therapy is a direct outcome of the results of Ellis’ theory’. Counselors or coaches use cognitive theory to help clients identify the negative thoughts that occur automatically and teach them to replace these with happy, positive thoughts. Since the premise of REBUT is that people?s negative and irrational thoughts to these situations are automatic, cognitive therapy teaches clients to alter their thinking. Coaches or therapists teach the clients to consider a variety of alternative ideas for why things occur. They then teach them to restate things in terms of ways they can control the situation. Rational emotive behavior therapy, 2011) Adult Development Theory Being an executive coach means that we have the power to influence and develop our clients. A key component of being able to achieve this is to understand human development theory. People at different stages Of life construct their understanding of the world and self, which shapes their interpretation o f their surroundings and how they will react or make decisions. Adult Development Theory involves areas such as moral, intellectual, emotional, relational, and spiritual development. Demoded, 2007) All of these factors have an impact on how an executive sees the world and makes decisions. For a coach to be effective, he needs to have a basic understanding of this Adult Development Theory. One of the most exciting elements of coaching is being able to have an influence upon an individual, and to help them achieve success and improve their situation at work. A key to the success is the relationship between the coach and client, which is contingent upon the coach asking the right questions, and also understanding where the client is coming from. One of the most overlooked elements to success is the personal life development stage that the client might be at in their adult development. This correlates to the modern Adult Development Theory by Robert Egan. He states that as people develop through life, they have gained insight through learning. This learning content does not change, but the context in which we see the world does change. (Hope, 2007) As coaches, we need to understand how people develop so that We can impart better listening skills and impression to better understand where people are coming from. For the coach, one of the critical tools that we have is understanding of the client’s way of thinking, his challenges, his situation, and the context in which he interprets things. This is where the understanding of adult development is crucial. Egan first presented his theory of adult development or social maturity in his book â€Å"The Evolving Self’ in 1982. He then wrote a follow-up to this in 1994 called â€Å"In Over Our Heads: The Demands of Modern Life. † In these books, he posits that people progressively become more socially mature as they go wrought life. This affects how they interpret life’s events and how they react at different stages of the game. (Hope, 2007) (Ellis Bernard, 2006)Being a good coach means understanding how people evolve and can interpret life’s events based upon their social maturity and place in the organization. One of the factors that new coaches may need to learn is that not everyone will see the world as you do. In â€Å"Evidence Based Coaching,† the author states that it is human tendency for people to expect that everyone will see things that way you do. The authors claim that if coaches have a better understanding of human development that it enables them to be better listeners, and identify connections that one otherwise might not have done. The author describes four types of clients: the prince or princess, journeyman, chief executive officer and the elder. Understanding each personality in an executive will make the coach have a higher likely. Prince or Princess The princess and prince have very ego-centric personalities that are focused on them. They don’t have a comprehension that other’s viewpoints are valid, and only see things from their perspective. These people are not great team layers, and will only follow the organization rules to the extent that they meet their needs. Journeyman Transitioning from princess or prince to journeyman usually occurs once the client begins to understand that it is not all about them, and they take into account the interests of others and the organization. This is the person who realizes that they and the organization need each other to be successful. It brings about a sense of loyalty in the journey. A coach can work with a client who was originally in the prince or princess realm and bring them more in- tune with the organization to be a team player. The approach with the person in the journeyman stage is to help him form a commitment that helps to benefit the organizational as a whole. CEO Working with the Coos is much different because they are more likely to have a very definitive concept of how the organization should function, and will have plans for how to achieve this. They don’t necessarily need direction, but are looking for professional development to help them become better leaders. They are at the top where they often don’t have the luxury of bouncing ideas off of others. Elder The elders are very in-tune to all elements of the organization, and are very enforceable with interpreting the feedback from all levels. The difference from the elder to the CEO is that this person is less ideological, and is more focused on the leadership process. So, where does this adult development theory fit into the executive coaching process? The coach who understands this theory and the dynamics can better focus the questions, suggestions, and be more in-tune with the client’s form of understanding. Each coaching relationship is unique based upon specific personalities and developmental stages. Along with AEGON’s four stages is another aspect of adult development hurry which ranges from people moving from dependent, to independent to inter-dependent. The further people develop and evolve from the former to the latter; they ultimately become able to be transformational thinkers. Hopper 2007) The dependent level is similar to the prince or princess, where they only see things from their perspective. These clients tend to see things through their lenses and apply their values, traditions, and practices without regard to other. They perceive difference from their views as confrontational. The independent levels are those who have learned from their experiences, ND are more willing to be open to growth. They bec ome curious about others’ thoughts and perspectives. These are like Coos who are willing to listen to staff to develop process improvement that benefits the entire organization. The inter-dependent clients are those who are most comfortable with their positions and look for the global vision, and make decisions based upon the greater good. They embrace fresh ideas and concepts and seek continuous improvement. A coach who understands where the client is at in this path of development will have a better opportunity to help the executive on the right ND most appropriate path. Each client is unique. AEGON’s theory of adult development has been the leading research as of recent years. However, he bases much of his premise off of the work off Swiss psychologist, Jean Pigged, who invented modern developmental psychology. Essentially, the adult development theory of Egan evolved from Piglet’s descriptions of how children developed from early childhood through adulthood. His theory was that kids go through various stages of psychological development that affect how they adapt, learn and react to situations. (Hope, 2007) Conclusion An executive coach must bring myriad skills to the table with a client. How to cite Executive Coaching Intertwines Multiple Practical Theories, Papers

Globalization Fact Of Life in Asia Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Globalization Fact Of Life in Asia. Answer: Introduction The Asia region enormously influence globally and the rest of the world. Being the most populous region in the world, the Asian culture has a direct impact on the educational process. The region includes worlds most dynamic, varied and complex societies. Asia is considered as the largest producer and consumer of goods and services in the world (Rui Stefanone, 2013). West is increasingly looking to Asia strategically, politically and culturally as well as economically. Likewise, Asias literacy rate is considered to be an important requirement in order to strengthen knowledge. The country relationship with the Asia region is considered as an effective contributor to the wellbeing of the region (Bochner 2013). This is the major reason that allow in managing the curriculum while managing the broad insight into the histories of the countries, including history, its complex and diverse cultures and an understanding of the modern challenges and opportunities. While understanding the Asian societies, cultures, beliefs and environments, it will be good for managing both the intercultural understanding, developing its own in order to increase the likelihood of successful participation in the Asian century(Thomas Peterson, 2017). The education program is more the less influenced from the Asian culture and teaching method. An effective cross-cultural education provides with an innovative experience in order to enhance the productivity. However, according to my understanding cultural difference might create a problem in understanding the overall task. In order to gain objective, it is vital to manage the cross-cultural issues(Carbaugh,2013). These theories are important for making a teaching pedagogy. In order to reduce the impact of cross-cultural differences, it is evident to involve the different aspect of education into it. There are differences in managing the cultural difference due to the vast gap in understanding. There are multiple examples of success and failure in the international projects due to cultural differences. This is important for generating culturally awareness while managing the cultural gaps. Without a proper knowledge, it is obvious that the plan will fail. The report is based on the comparison of culture of Japan and China. This is too managed with a pro active approach in order to reduce the miscommunication caused while considering differences. Asian Culture is different from Western Culture in many ways. The paper focus on managing the cross-cultural gap Undertaking a cross-cultural comparison between Japan and Chian in the contemporary period Both Japan and China, has "congruity." In China, it's is an unfortunate chore. "Progression," either individual or national, is a definitive goal. In Japan, agreement fitting in is an end in itself. Essential contentment is taken as an agreement. Indeed, the Japanese are moderately, more "individualistic" yet not disobedient (i.e., Western) sense. China and Japan have blown hot and cold, together, from the time when ancient times of the First World War. Ever since then, the relations between these two nations saw heightened tensions that continued till the Second World War (Benton Pieke, 2016). While comparing both the countries on the cultural front, Chinese culture had a strong hold over Japan till the fall of Tang Dynasty. One can see an impact of Chinese culture on Japan. Buddhism came to Japan through China. It has a strong influence over both the countries in term of cultural understanding. Since the Chinese culture and its impact started declining over Japan, this gave ris e to Japanese culture to emerge and evolve, making its own identity. This is how certain differences occurred in between the Japanese and Chinese culture (Shiraev, Shiraev Levy, 2016). While comparing the culture, it is seen in the modern day that, it is a typical sight in China to see individuals talking or snickering noisily in open places or while going on open transport. Today, the Chinese culture lack open warmth. On the other hand, Japanese finds it rude to talk noisily at public places. People in Japan silent their ringer when utilizing open transport for travel. This is been considerate as rude. The Japanese culture foster warm relationship among family members (Pinar, 2013). Food in China is different due to the vast geographic degree and the impact of different remote cooking styles, extraordinarily centre eastern and Mongolian. The Chinese uses considerable measure of oil, and equally along with different flavours. Most of the part of their nourishment includes duck, chicken, pork, and hamburger. On the other hand, Japanese cooking is similar to their way of life. Fish is favoured on an extensive scale here. Japanese food is thought to be healthier, as there is negligible utilization of oil. In Japanese cooking, the majority of delicacy is raw. There are vast differences seen in the contemporary world in term of cultural difference in between both the countries (Li, Sekiguchi, Zhou, 2016). While comparing both the culture in term of work, the difference between conventional Japanese and Chinese people groups' response to the financial emergency isn't astonishing. Japanese are in a state of unconsciousness, bewildered, even defenceless, and shocked by something they don't get it. The Chinese have been especially practical and this has reduced the aftermath of the worldwide change in the General. There has been a careful evaluation of hazard and opportunity. It is evident from the research that in China, Harmony is viewed as an instrument of strength for society (Bruun Kalland, 2014). Before achieving a high position in e.g. an association, it is important to control oneself and one's family. China's general public depends on an arrangement of strict progressive system. This conviction is as yet present in organizations, and shows itself, for instance through the top-down-standard. Managers and workers attempt to evade open discussion. They endeavour to determine issues in a more blended way. The arrangement of authoritative units, called Danwei, is as yet demonstrating its face and serves as instrument to balance out and control society. Because of that framework, individuals are a piece of units and not respected as people. The burden of the social union in China is Guanxi, which is normally far reaching to the family-orientated, Chinese social structure (Ismail, 2016). Japanese people trust and understand the important aspect that looks after the nature. Because of this reason, Japanese are considered among the orchestrated and adjusted society and easily fit i an organization. Individuals push retentiveness. Faithfulness and obligation to one's association is been given preference as sort of a religion. Despite the fact that chain of command in Japan is critical, individuals get engaged with the basic leadership process. This arrangement of developing numerous workers is called Ringi Seido. Verbal and non-verbal correspondence in Japanese firms is exceptional whereas for the outsiders, it is hard to understand. Clear correspondence is more uncommon, than for example in Austria that can incite somebody's loss respect. Japanese do believe in Gathering and tied down in the public eye and with other associations (Tsui Tollefson, 2017). Associations are based on a strict arrangement of progressive system, in view of best down rule. The arrangement of lifetime work, Shushin Koyo, is as yet show in Japan and means, that alumni from college get contracted and remain in a similar organization for a lifetime. This has affected the reliability towards the organization and fabricated a solid system inside the organization. Nenko Joretso, the status standard also enables the enlisted people to be known by their senior associates, which create trust (Vickers Kumar, 2014). Ways in which Asian cultures are depicted by international media The Asian culture is depicted differently by western media. Republic of China began its fiscal change in the late 1970s, and from that point forward, the world has seen the re-emergence and rise of China in the worldwide forum. Not just has the volume of news streams from and about China fundamentally expanded since the late 1990s, be that as it may, alongside this, scholastic enthusiasm for knowing the portrayal of contemporary China by the global media has additionally become both inside and outside China. A vast volume of the exploration is directed by researchers situated in China and Chinese-talking scholastics in the West. Most examinations inspect the general idea of the media picture of China in a specific national or local setting, for example, the Unified States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Arabic nations, Africa, etc. However, some additionally take certain occasions in remote media, and some emphasis on a particular sort of picture concerning China (Buruma, 2015). The developin g writing examines the global media portrayal of contemporary China concerning China's tourism, business, governmental issues, society, and universal relations. A general concern obvious in the writing as contended by a few people is that the worldwide media, especially the American media, is to a great extent negative in covering China. While speaking to China as "alternate" versus "us," ideological contrasts and generalizations assume a key part (Shively, 2015). Different factors, for example, economy, reporting, dialect, and culture are additionally vital in forming the scope of China by the worldwide media (Fewsmith, 2015). Many examinations additionally investigate the effect of such portrayal on the impression of China and China's worldwide relations by individuals outside the nation (Garcia, Mendez, Ellis Gautney, 2014). Lately the Chinese government has tried to manufacture a benevolent picture of China abroad and to apply China's universal impact in the field of correspond ences (Zhang, 2016). This gives an incredible importance in dissecting China's worldwide media portrayal through the point of power and open strategy exercises (Beardsley Smith, 2013). Japan on the other hand, is depicted as unreasonable when compared to the western countries. The idea behind the U.S. - Japan shared histories, overwhelming economies, and transnational stream of culture. Notwithstanding, Japan is regularly depicted as unreasonable when contrasted with the West or US. Western researchers, columnists, and Japanese nationals make these express and verifiable correlations (Carter Mol, 2013). For instance, Japanese "majority rules system" is frequently depicted as unequal to the United States, and the Japanese government is unable to manage the Western gauges." For instance, The New York Times makes inside and out vilifying examinations amongst Japan and the United States: Japan is coming back to its legitimate place on the planet, that of a mediocre nation of limitlessly decreased and as yet declining significance on the planet (Ang Van Dyne, 2015). Moreover Japan is as yet solidified wilfully ignorant about a useless political framework based on stan dardized cronyism. The Western Media tries to pull the image down by stating that Japan ought to and will remain in its "legitimate" place in the world until the point that it can figure out how to copy the United States(Jackal, Kinas Sargeson,2013). Developing a class/school wide program for the inclusion of contemporary issues and values relating to Asia Asia has a vivid culture and each and every country reflects difference in opinion in terms of personal and professional regards. The wide gap in framing the Asian culture has a different mindset from the Western culture. There value system is family centric that differs in terms of balancing the opinion. The value system of every country is different that provide with a concrete base for creating a relationship in between the different countries. The program focus on including issues that is common in the Asian countries (Thomas Peterson, 2017). This will primarily help in focusing upon the different roles played by both government and non-government organization in managing the country. The program provides with a ground to create difference in understanding various cultural gaps in the countries. This will help in developing a better understanding of culture and allow in meeting different goals. It is important in understanding relevant issues and its implications in todays conte xt. The Asian culture is different in every aspect from the western culture. This is due to the fact that the cultural values are far different from West. The work culture, the personal etiquettes everything is different. While undergoing the studies, it is important from the point of view of betterment in the gaining cultural knowledge(Doctoroff, 2017). The program particularly focuses on granting knowledge to the people in order to understand the difference in implications. This will help allowing a better understanding on culture and its role in managing the crises. This is important for gaining effectiveness in understanding the culture from the close context. Thus it is important for developing an understanding to the cultural gaps. This study will help in managing the differences in a better way. The cultural difference and opinion need to be managed effectively in order to guarantee better understanding. Tracking student knowledge/attitudinal change as a result of their studies of contemporary issues and values relating to Asia The cultural understanding and the program designed for student will help in developing knowledge about the Asian values and culture. The program helps students in understanding the contemporary issues that are seen in gaining knowledge about the Asian studies. Students are now able to understand the Asian values through this program. This is essentially helping students in conducting effective research into the program and guaranteeing better knowledge developed through it. I found a significant change in the attitude of the students towards Asian countries. There is an increasing awareness about the Asian culture and development. The misconceptions were removed through the program that was made to draw the attention of people largely in order to guarantee effective knowledge. The program effectively helped in managing the knowledge of people in guaranteeing knowledge and helping each and every individual in a better way. One can understand the growing importance of the program whil e understanding the effective knowledge and developing a whole effective program in managing individual and organizational understanding. Asian studies will provide a base in managing the values while offering a base to attain knowledge. While framing the curriculum, it is important to understand the supportive base that consequently helps in generating awareness. While studding it is concealed that, Asia is considered as the largest producer and consumer of goods and services in the world. Australia is increasingly looking to Asia strategically, politically and culturally as well as economically. Likewise, Asias literacy rate is considered to be an important requirement in order to strengthen knowledge. The country relationship with the Asia region is considered as an effective contributor to the wellbeing of the region (Nahavandi, 2016). Conclusion The report is based on understanding the issues faced in Asian countries due to cross-cultural gaps. The purpose is to create a better understanding of the topic and to gain knowledge pertaining to modern issues faced in China and Japan. It provides with a self-reflection that analyse the cultural gap and curriculum in supporting education. There are differences in managing the cultural difference due to the vast gap in understanding. There are multiple examples of success and failure in the international projects due to cultural differences. This is important for generating culturally awareness while managing the cultural gaps. The wide study helps in understanding the cultural gaps. References Ang, S., Van Dyne, L. (2015).Handbook of cultural intelligence. Routledge. Beardsley, R. K., Smith, R. J. (Eds.). (2013).Japanese culture: its development and characteristics. Routledge. Benton, G., Pieke, F. N. (Eds.). (2016).The Chinese in Europe. Springer. Bochner, S. (Ed.). (2013).Cultures in contact: Studies in cross-cultural interaction(Vol. 1). Elsevier. Bruun, O., Kalland, A. (2014).Asian perceptions of nature: a critical approach. Routledge. Buruma, I. (2015).A Japanese mirror: Heroes and villains of Japanese culture. Atlantic Books Ltd. Carbaugh, D. (2013).Cultural communication and intercultural contact. Routledge. Carter, N., Mol, A. P. (Eds.). (2013).Environmental governance in China. Routledge. Doctoroff, T.(2017). China vs. Japan: Two Cultures, Two Responses to Crisis. (Online). Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-doctoroff/china-vs-japan-two-cultur_b_178263.html (Accessed on: 25 October 2017) Fewsmith, J. (2015).Elite politics in contemporary China. Routledge. Garcia, F., Mendez, D., Ellis, C., Gautney, C. (2014). Cross-cultural, values and ethics differences and similarities between the US and Asian countries.Journal ofTechnology Management in China,9(3), 303-322. Ismail, R. (2016).Southeast Asian culture and heritage in a globalising world: diverging identities in a dynamic region. Routledge. Jacka, T., Kipnis, A. B., Sargeson, S. (2013).Contemporary China: Society and social change. Cambridge University Press. Li, P. P., Sekiguchi, T., Zhou, K. (2016). The emerging research on indigenousmanagement in Asia. Nahavandi, A. (2016).The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson. Pinar, W. F. (2013).International handbook of curriculum research. Routledge. Rui, J., Stefanone, M. A. (2013). Strategic self-presentation online: A cross-cultural study.Computers in Human Behavior,29(1), 110-118. Shiraev, E. B., Shiraev, E. B., Levy, D. A. (2016).Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications. Taylor Francis. Shively, D. H. (Ed.). (2015).Tradition and modernization in Japanese culture. Princeton University Press. Thomas, D. C., Peterson, M. F. (2017).Cross-cultural management: Essential concepts. Sage Publications. Tsui, A. B., Tollefson, J. W. (Eds.). (2017).Language policy, culture, and identity in Asian contexts. Routledge. Vickers, E., Kumar, K. (Eds.). (2014).Constructing modern asian citizenship(Vol. 5). Routledge. Zhang, L. (2016). International Media Representation of Contemporary China. (Online). Retrieved from: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199920082/obo-9780199920082-0123.xml (Accessed on: 25 October 2017)

Motivational Process free essay sample

Dweck argues that this approach has important implications for practice and the design of interventions to change maladaptive motivational processes. She presents a compelling proposal for explaining motivational influences on gender differences in mathematics achievement and observes that empirically based interventions may prevent current achievement discrepancies. The Editors Most research on effective learning and performance of cognitive tasks analyzes the particular cognitive skills required to succeed at those tasks. In contrast, the focus here is on motivational processes that affect success on cognitive tasks. That is, the focus is on psychological factors, other than ability, that determine how effectively the individual acquires and uses skills. It has long been known that factors other than ability influence whether children seek or avoid challenges, whether they persist or withdraw in the face of difficulty, and whether they use and develop their skills effectively. However, the components and bases of adaptive motivational patterns have been poorly understood. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivational Process or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As a resuit, commonsense analyses have been limited and have not provided a basis for effective practices. Indeed, many commonsense beliefs have been called into question or seriously qualified by recent researchfor example, the belief that large amounts of praise and success will establish, maintain, or reinstate adaptive patterns, or that brighter children have more adaptive patterns and thus are more likely to choose personally challenging tasks or to persist in the face of difficulty. In the past 10 to 15 years a dramatic hange has taken place in the study of motivation. This change has resulted in a coherent, replicable, and educationally relevant body of findingsand in a clearer understanding of motivational phenomena. During this time, the emphasis has shifted to a social-cognitive approachwaway from external contingencies, on the one hand, and global, internal states on the other. It has shifted to an emphasis on cognitive mediators, that is, to how children construe the situ ation, interpret events in the situation, and process 1040 information about the situation. Although external contingencies and internal affective states are by no means ignored, they are seen as part of a process whose workings are best penetrated by focusing on organizing cognitive variables. Specifically, the social-cognitive approach has allowed us to (a) characterize adaptive and maladaptive patterns, (b) explain them in terms of specific underlying processes, and thus (c) begin to provide a rigorous conceptual and empirical basis for intervention and practice. Adaptive and Maladaptive Motivational Patterns The study of motivation deals with the causes of goaloriented activity (Atkinson, 1964; Beck, 1983; Dollard Miller, 1950; Hull, 1943; Veroff, 1969). Achievement motivation involves a particular class of goalsthose involving competenceand these goals appear to fall into two classes: (a) learning goals, in which individuals seek to increase their competence, to understand or master something new, and (b) performance goals, in which individuals seek to gain favorable judgments of their competence or avoid negative judgments of their competence (Dweck Elliott, 1983; NichoUs, 1984; Nicholls Dweck, 1979). Adaptive motivational patterns are those that promote the establishment, maintenance, and attainment of personally challenging and personally valued achievement goals. Maladaptive patterns, then, are associated with a failure to establish reasonable, valued goals, to maintain effective striving toward those goals, or, ultimately, to attain valued goals that are potentially within ones reach. Research has clearly documented adaptive and maladaptive patterns of achievement behavior. The adaptive (mastery-oriented) pattern is characterized by challenge seeking and high, effective persistence in the face of obstacles. Children displaying this pattern appear to enjoy exerting effort in the pursuit of task mastery. In contrast, the maladaptive (helpless) pattern is characterized by challenge avoidance and low persistence in the face of difficulty. Children displaying this pattern tend to evidence negative affect (such as anxiety) and negative self-cogniCorrespondenceconcerningthis article shouldbe addressedto CarolS. Dweck,Departmentof Psychology,UniversityofIllinois, 603 E. Daniel, Champaign, IL 61820. l The wordperformancewill be used in severalways,not only in connection with performancegoals. It will alsobe used to refer to the childs task activity(performanceof a task) and to the product of that activity (levelof performance). The meaning should be clear from the context. October 1986 9 American Psychologist Copyrisht 1986 by the American PsychologicalAssociation, Inc. 0003-066X/86/$00. 75 Vol. 41, No. 10, 1040-1048 Table 1 Achievement Goals and Achievement Behavior Theory of intelligence Goal orientation Confidence in present ability Behavior pattern Entity theory (Intelligence is fixed) gt; Performance goal (Goal is to gain positive judgments/avoid negative judgments of competence) If high gt; Mastery-oriented Seek challenge but High persistence If low ~ Helpless Avoid challenge Low persistence gt; Learning goal Incremental theory (Intelligence is malleable) (Goal is to increase competence) If high gt; Mastery-oriented ioOr ~ Seek challenge (that fosters learning) High persistence tions when they confront obstacles (e. g. , Ames, 1984; C. Diener Dweck, 1978, 1980; Dweck Reppucci, 1973; Nicholls, 1975). Although children displaying the different patterns do not differ in intellectual ability, these patterns can have profound effects on cognitive performance. In experiments conducted in both laboratory and classroom settings, it has been shown that children with the maladaptive pattern are seriously hampered in the acquisition and display of cognitive skills when they meet obstacles. Children with the adaptive pattern, by contrast, seem undaunted or even seem to have their performance facilitated by the increased challenge. If not ability, then what are the bases of these patterns? Most recently, research has suggested that childrens goals in achievement situations differentially foster the two patterns. That is, achievement situations afford a choice of goals, and the one the child preferentially adopts predicts the achievement pattern that child will display. Table 1 summarizes the conceptualization that is emerging from the research. BasieaUy, childrens theories of intelligence appear to orient them toward different goals: Children who believe intelligence is a fixed trait tend to orient toward gaining favorable judgments of that trait (performance goals), whereas children who believe intelligence is a malleable quality tend to orient toward developing that quality (learning goals). The goals then appear to set up the different behavior patterns. 2 effort. Further, this research shows how a focus on ability judgments can result in a tendency to avoid and withdraw from challenge, whereas a focus on progress through effort creates a tendency to seek and be energized by challenge. Although relatively few studies as yet have explicitly induced and compared (or measured and compared) learning versus performance goals (see M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985; FarreU Dweck, 1985; Leggett, 1985, 1986), many have manipulated the salience and value of performance goals, and hence the relative value of the two types of goals. This has been done, for example, by instituting a competitive versus individual reward structure (e. g. , Ames, 1984; Ames, Ames, Felker, 1977), by varying the alleged diagnosticity of the task vis vis important abilities (e. g. , Nicholls, 1975), by introducing an audience or evaluator versus allowing the individual to perform privately or focusing his or her attention on the task (e. . , Brockner Hulton, 1978; Carver Scheier, 1981; E. Diener SruU, 1979), and by presenting the task with test instructions versus game or neutral instructions (e. g. , Entin Raynor, 1973; Lekarczyk Hill, 1969; McCoy, 1965; Sarason, 1972). Taken together, the results suggest that highlighting performance goals relative to learning goals can have the following effects on achievement behavior. Goals and Task Choice Learning and Performance Goals Contrasted How and why do the different goals foster the different patterns? How do they shape task choice and task pursuit to facilitate or impede cognitive performance? The research reviewed below indicates that with performance goals, the entire task choice and pursuit process is built around childrens concerns about their ability level. In contrast, with learning goals the choice and pursuit processes involve a focus on progress and mastery through 2 See M. Bandura and Dweck (1985), Dweck and Elliott (1983), and Leggett (1985) for a more extensive treatment of childrens theories of intelligence. The present article will focus on achievement goals and their allied behavior patterns. Appropriately challenging tasks are often the ones that are best for utilizing and increasing ones abilities. Recent research has shown that performance goals work against the pursuit of challenge by requiring that childrens perceptions of their ability be high (and remain high) before the children will desire a challenging task (M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985). That is, if the goal is to obtain a favorable judgment of ability, then children need to be certain their ability is high before displaying it for judgment. Otherwise, they will choose tasks that conceal their ability or protect it from negative evaluation. For example, when oriented toward performance goals, individuals with low assessments of their ability are often found to choose personally easy tasks on which success is ensured or excessively difficult ones on 1041 October 1986 9 American Psychologist which failure does not signify low ability (M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985; see also deCharms Carpenter, 1968; Moulton, 1965; Nicholls, 1984; Raynor Smith, 1966). Even individuals with high assessments of their ability may sacrifice learning opportunities (that involve risk of errors) for opportunities to look smart (Elliott Dweck, 1985; see Covington, 1983). Thus, performance goals appear to promote defensive strategies that can interfere with challenge seeking. With learning goals, however, even if childrens assessment of their present ability is low, they will tend to choose challenging tasks that foster learning (M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985). Specifically, in studies by EUiott and Dweck (1985), in which learning and performance goals were experimentally manipulated, and by M. Bandura and Dweck (1985), in which learning and performance goals were assessed, children with learning goals chose challenging tasks regardless of whether they believed themselves to have high or low ability (see also Meyer, Folkes, Weiner, 1976; Nicholls, 1984). Thus with a learning goal, children are willing to risk displays of ignorance in order to acquire skills and knowledge. Instead of calculating their exact ability level and how it will be judged, they can think more about the value of the skill to be developed or their interest in the task to be undertaken. Goals and Task Pursuit Outcome interpretation and impact. Although within a performance goal childrens confidence in their ability needs to remain high to sustain task involvement, that confidence is difficult to maintain. Research shows that children with performance goals are more likely to interpret negative outcomes in terms of their ability. That is, they attribute errors or failures to a lack of ability (Ames, 1984; Ames et al. , 1977; Elliott Dweck, 1985) and view them as predictive of continued failure (Anderson Jennings, 1980). This in turn tends to result in defensive withdrawal of effort or debilitation in the face of obstacles (Covington Omelich, 1979; Elliott Dweck, 1985; Frankl Snyder, 1978; Nicholls, 1976, 1984; see also Berglas Jones, 1970; Weiner, 1972, 1974). In contrast, children with learning goals tend to use obstacles as a cue to increase their effort or to analyze and vary their strategies (Ames, 1984; Ames et al. 1977; Elliott Dweck, 1985; Leggett, 1986; Nicholls, 1984), which often results in improved performance in the face of obstacles. That is, the more children focus on learning or progress, the greater the likelihood of maintaining effective strategies (or improving their strategies) under difficulty or failure (A. Bandura Schunk, 1981; Elliott Dweck, 1985; Farrell Dweck, 1985; see also Anderson Jennings, 1980; C. Diener Dweck, 1978). Satisfaction with outcomes. Once again, within the performance goal versus learning goal framework, the focus is on ability versus effort. For performance-goal children, satisfaction with outcomes is based on the ability they believe they have displayed, whereas for learninggoal children, satisfaction with outcomes is based on the 1042 effort they have exerted in pursuit of the goal. Ames et al. (1977), for example, found that with an autonomous reward structure (learning goal), childrens pride in their performance in both the success and the failure conditions was related to the degree of effort they perceived themselves to have exerted. However, within the competitive reward structure (performance goal), pride in performance was related to the degree of ability (and luck) they believed themselves to have. Thus, failure within a performance goal, because it signifies low ability, yields little basis for personal pride or satisfaction. Indeed, within a performance goal, high effort may be negatively related to satisfaction: Leggett (1986) showed that children with performance goals are significantly more likely than children with learning goals to view effort per se as indicative of low ability (see also Jagacinski Nicholls, 1982; Surber, 1984). Findings by M. Bandura and Dweck (1985) also support the differential emphasis on effort versus ability as the basis for satisfaction within learning and performance goals. When asked to indicate their affective reactions to low-effort mastery, children with learning goals were more likely than children with performance goals to choose bored or disappointed as opposed to proud or relieved. Finally, within a performance framework, childrens own outcome satisfaction and that of their peers may be in conflict. Results from the Ames et al. 1977) study are consonant with this view. Childrens own satisfaction and perceived others satisfaction with performance were negatively correlated under the competitive reward structure (-. 70) but not in the autonomous reward structure (. 06), even though their relative outcomes were identical in the two conditions. In addition, in rating how deserving of rewards (stars) both persons were, given their level of performance, children were more magnanim ous toward the poorer performer (whether it was self or other) in the noncompetitive condition than they were in the competitive one. Indeed, in the noncompetitive condition, they even awarded the losing other slightly more stars than they awarded themselves. Intrinsic motivation. It has been noted that persistence in the face of obstacles is made more difficult within a performance goal because obstacles tend to cast doubt on the childs ability and hence to call into question goal attainment (favorable ability judgments). Persistence is also made more difficult by the fact that intrinsic motivational factorssuch as task interest or the enjoyment of effortmay be more difficult to access within a performance goal. That is, effort in the face of uncertainty appears to be experienced as aversive for children with performance goals, and worry about goal attainment may well overwhelm any intrinsic interest the task may hold for the child (Ames et al. , 1977; M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985). Indeed, performance goals may well create the very conditions that have been found to undermine intrinsic interest (Deci Ryan, 1980; Lepper, 1980; Lepper Greene, 1978; Maehr Stallings, 1972; Ryan, Mires, Koestner, 1983). October 1986 9 American Psychologist In concluding this section on goal orientation and task pursuit, we might ask: Do childrens goal orientations play a role in what and how they actually learn in classroom settings? One of the hallmarks of effective learning (and of intelligent thinking) is the tendency to apply or transfer what one has learned to novel tasks that embody similar underlying principles. In a recent study, Farrell and Dweck (1985) examined the relationship between childrens goal orientations and transfer of learning. As a week-long unit in their regular science classes, eighth-grade children were taught one of three scientific principles by means of self-instructional booklets. They were then tested for their generalization of this learning to tasks involving the two (conceptually related) principles that had not been taught. The results showed that children who had learning goals for the unit, compared to those who had performance goals, (a) attained significantly higher scores on the transfer test (and this was true for children who had high and low pretest scores); (b) roduced about 50% more work on their transfer tests, suggesting that they were more active in the transfer process; and (c) produced more rulegenerated answers on the test even when they failed to reach the transfer criterion, again suggesting more active attempts to apply what they had learned to the solution of novel problems. To summarize, a performance goal focuses children on issues of ability. Within this goal, childrens c onfidence in their current ability must be high and must remain high if they are to choose appropriately challenging tasks and pursue them in effective ways. Yet the same focus on ability makes their confidence in their ability fragile-even the mere exertion of effort calls ability into question. A strong orientation toward this goal can thus create a tendency to avoid challenge, to withdraw from challenge, or to show impaired performance in the face of challenge. Ironically, then, an overconcern with ability may lead children to shun the very tasks that foster its growth. In contrast, a learning goal focuses children on effort-effort as a means of utilizing or activating their ability, of surmounting obstacles, and of increasing their ability. Not only is effort perceived as the means to accomplishment, it is also the factor that engenders pride and satisfaction with performance. The adoption of learning goals thus encourages children to explore, initiate, and pursue tasks that promote intellectual growth. The Relation of Ability and Motivation Does Ability Predict Motivational Patterns? One might suppose that children who had the highest IQ scores, achievement test scores, and grades would be the ones who had by far the highest expectancies for future test scores and grades, as well as for performance on novel experimental tasks. Surprisingly often, this is not the case. In fact, one of the things that makes the study of motivation particularly intriguing is that measures of childrens actual competence do not strongly predict their confidence of future attainment (M. Bandura Dweck, October 1986 9 American Psychologist 1985; Crandall, 1969; Stipek Hoffman, 1980; see also Phillips, 1984). Indeed, M. Bandura and Dweck found that their low-confidence children tended to have somewhat higher achievement test scores than their high-confidence group. Interestingly, the low-confidence children did not have poorer opinions of their past attainment or abilities but faced the upcoming task with low expectancies of absolute and relative performance. One might also suppose that high-achieving children would be much less likely than low achievers, when encountering an obstacle, to attribute their difficulty to a lack of ability and to show deteriorated performance. But this supposition, too, is often contradicted by the evidence (e. g. , Licht Dweck, 1984; Stipek Hoffman, 1980; see also C. Diener Dweck, 1978, 1980). A tendency toward unduly low expectancies (CrandaU, 1969; Stipek Hoffman, 1980), challenge avoidance (Licht, Linden, Brown, Sexton, 1984; see also Leggett, 1985), ability attributions for failure (Licht Shapiro, 1982; Nicholls, 1979), and debilitation under failure (Licht et al. , 1984; Licht Dweck, 1984) has been especially noted in girls, particularly bright girls. 3 Indeed, some researchers have found a negative correlation for girls between their actual ability and these maladaptive patterns (Crandall, 1969; Licht et al. , 1984; Licht Dweck, 1984; Licht Shapiro, 1982; Stipek Hoffman, 1980). An extensive study of sex differences in achievement cognitions and responses to failure recently completed by Licht et al. (1984) yields illustrative evidence. On the basis of their grades, Licht divided her subjects into A, B, C, and D students and, among other measures, administered a novel concept formation task. A significant sex difference was found among the A students (and only among the A students) in their response to failure, with the A girls showing the greatest debilitation of the eight groups and the A boys being the only group to show any facilitation. In addition, Licht found a strong sex difference in task preferences between A girls and A boys: The A girls much preferred tasks they knew they were good at, whereas A boys preferred ones they would have to work harder to master. It is also interesting to note that in Leggetts (1985) study of bright junior high school students, there was a greater tendency for girls than boys to subscribe to an entity theory of intelligence (smartness as a fixed trait, a static entity) and for those who did to choose a performance goal that avoided challenge. Again, it is not the case that these girls are unaware of their attainments (Licht Dweck, 1984; Nicholls, 1979; Parsons, Meece, Adler, Kaczala, 1982), but knowledge of past successes does not appear to arm them for confrontations with future challenges. For example, in a study by Licht and Dweck (1984) that examined the 3It is important to note that sex differences,like most individual differences,are by no means found in everystudy. However,when sex differencesare found,the sameonesare typicallyfound. Thus,the pattern describedis a recurrent one that has been foundin many studiesfrom many differentlaboratories. 1043 impact of initial confusion (vs. no confusion) on subsequent learning, high-achieving girls rated themselves as being bright but still showed greater debilitation than lowachieving girls. Whereas in the no-confusion condition, the brighter the girl (by her own self-rating and by IQ score), the more likely she was to master the new material (r = . 7), in the confusion condition, the brighter the girl, the less likely she was to reach the mastery criterion (r = -. 38, Paifflt; . 02). (For boys in this study the correlation between self-rated ability and task performance tended to increase from the no-confusion to the confusion condition: rs . 15 and . 34, respectively. ) In short, being a high achiever and knowing one has done well in the past does not appear to translate directly into high confidence in ones abilities when faced with future challenges or current difficu lties. Nor does it clearly predict the maintenance of ones ability to perform or learn under these conditions. It is apparent, then, that a maladaptive motivational pattern is not the sole province of the low-achieving, failure-prone child. Does Motivational Pattern Predict Ability Over Time? If there is a sizable proportion of high achievers with maladaptive motivational patterns (see Phillips, 1984), and if these patterns are important to achievement, then why are these children still high achievers? Drops in achievement can result from performance debilitation or task avoidance. That is, both the presence of failure or the opportunity to avoid challenging subject areas may lead to cumulative skill deficits in children with maladaptive patterns. For good students, grade school may not provide either of these. It may present neither tasks that are difficult enough to create failure and debilitation nor the choice of not pursuing a given subject area. For these reasons, maladaptive patterns may not yet typically come into play. Licht and Dweck (1984) showed, however, in an experiment conducted in classrooms, that when confusion does accompany the initial attempt to learn new material, mastery of the material is seriously impaired for these children. It may be that only in subsequent school years will these maladaptive tendencies have their impact on achievement, when children with these patterns may elect to avoid challenging courses of study, drop out of courses that pose a threat of failure, or show impairment of performance under real difficulty. Thus, our experimental studies may create conditions that good students will encounter fully only in later years but that reveal underlying patterns already in place in the grade school years. In the following section, sex differences in motivational patterns and achievement are used as a means of exploring the ways in which motivational patterns can affect achievement, and ability, over time. The Case of Sex Differences in Mathematical Versus Verbal Achievement Discrepancies between males and females in mathematical and verbal achievement have long been a source of puzzlement and concern. Although in the grade school 1044 years girls equal boys in mathematical achievement (and surpass them in verbal achievement), during the junior high and high school years, boys pull ahead and remain ahead in mathematical achievement (Donlon, Ekstrom Lockheed, 1976; Fennema Sherman, 1977; Hilton Berglund, 1974; Maccoby Jacklin, 1974). A wide assortment of explanations has been advanced, ranging from claims about the nature of the genetic equipment (Benbow Stanley, 1980) to arguments about the impact of sex role stereotypes (Sherman Fennema, 1977). Without ruling out other explanations, one can add a motivational explanation based on the research findings reviewed above. Specifically, the fact that the two sexes often display different motivational patterns and the fact that the academic subject areas in question differ in major ways aside from the skills they require suggest that perhaps motivational patterns contribute to these achievement discrepancies. This suggestion is made even more plausible when one considers that (a) sex differences in mathematical achievement are greatest among the brightest students (Astin, 1974; Fox, 1976) and (b) sex ifferences in motivational patterns and associated behavior appear to be greatest among the brightest students. As noted above, bright girls compared to bright boys (and compared to less bright girls) seem to display shakier expectancies, lower preference for novel or challenging tasks, more frequent failure attributions to lack of ability, and more frequent debilitation in the face o f failure or confusion (Licht et al. , 1984; Licht Dweck, 1984; Stipek Hoffman, 1980). Moreover, some characteristics of mathematical versus verbal areas are precisely those that would work against individuals with this pattern but that would favor individuals with the more confident, challengeseeking pattern (see Licht Dweck, 1984, for a more detailed discussion of these characteristics). Specifically, new units and courses in mathematics, particularly after the grade school years, tend to involve new skills, new concepts, or even entirely new conceptual frameworks (for example, algebra, geometry, calculus). These new skills and concepts are not only different from but are often more difficult than those the child has mastered in the past. In the verbal areas, however, once the basic skills of reading and writing are mastered, one does not as typically encounter leaps to qualitatively different tasks, tasks requiring mastery of completely unfamiliar verbal skills. Increments in difficulty appear to be more gradual, and new units or courses often simply ask the student to bring existing skills to bear on new material. This general difference between mathematical and verbal areas may have several important psychological consequences. For one thing, as children ponder future math courses, the greater novelty and difficulty of the future courses compared to present ones would be expected to precipitate declines in confidence for bright girls, but not for bright boys. Indeed, in the study cited above, Parsons et al. (1982) found significant sex differences in expectancies for future math courses even when females October 1986 9 American Psychologist nd males were equivalent in their perceptions of their present mathematical ability and in their expectancies for their present math courses. Task preference data as well suggest that a greater discrepancy between present and future tasks in mathematical versus verbal areas may render math less appealing to bright gifts, but perhaps more appealing to bright boys. Bright girls, it will be recalled, tend to prefer tasks they are fairly certain hey are good a t and can do well on, whereas bright boys are more attracted to tasks that pose some challenge to mastery (Licht et al. , 1984; see also Leggett, 1985). Yet another consequence of this proposed mathverbal difference is that in math, children are more likely to experience failure or confusion at the beginning of a new unit or course. This might be expected to produce debilitation (or escape attempts, such as course-dropping) in bright girls but perseverance in bright boys. And, indeed, support for this prediction of differential debilitation comes from the Licht and Dweck (1984) study, described earlier, in which confusion (or no confusion) attended the introduction of new subject matter, and from the Licht et al. (1984) study in which obstacles were encountered in the acquisition of a new skill. In both cases, bright girls showed the most impairment and bright boys the most facilitation. In short, mathematics appears to differ from verbal areas in ways that would make it more compatible with the motivational patterns of bright boys and less compatible with those of bright girls. Thus, given two children with equal mathematical aptitude and mathematical achievement in the grade school years, but with differing motivational patterns, we would predict precisely the sex differences in course taking and long-term achievement that are found to occur (Donlon et al. , 1976; Fennema Sherman, 1977; Hilton Berglund, 1974). With increasing age, children make increasingly consequential decisions, and maladaptive patterns may begin to impair their achievement and constrict their future choices. Maladaptive patterns such as those displayed by bright girls may even fail to foster intellectual growth in general. In a 38-year longitudinal study of IQ change (measured at mean ages of 4. 1, 13. 8, 29. 7, and 41. 6), Kangas and Bradway (1971) found that for males the higher the preadult level, the more they gained in later years, whereas for females the higher the preadult level, the less they gained in later years. In fact, of the six groups in the study (males and females with high, medium, and low preadult IQs), all showed surprisingly large gains over the years (between 15 and 30 points) except the high-IQ females, who showed little gain (about 5 points). Although there are many possible interpretations of these results, the general picture suggests that bright females, compared to bright males, are not thriving. Our analysis suggests that appropriate motivational interventions may help prevent some of the achievement discrepancies between the sexes. Let us turn, then, to the experiences or interventions that appear to foster adaptive motivational patterns. October 1986 9 American Psychologist Experiences That Foster Adaptive Patterns The question for motivational interventions is: What are we aiming for and how do we get there? When one considers the necessity for, but the vulnerability of, confidence within a performance goal framework, one is led to the position that challenge seeking and persistence are better facilitated by attempts to foster a learning goal orientation than by attempts to instill confidence within a performance framework. Nonetheless, much current educational practice alms at creating high-confidence performers and attempts to do so by programming frequent success and praise. (See Brown, Palincsar, Purcell, 1984, for a discussion of this issue. How did this situation arise? I propose that misreading# of two popular phenomena may have merged to produce this approach. First was the growing belief in positive reinforcement (interpreted as frequent praise for small units of behavior) as the way to promote desirable behavior. Yet a deeper understanding of the principles of reinforcement would not lead one to expect that frequent praise for short, easy tasks would create a desire for long, challenging ones or promote persistence in the face of failure. On the contrary, continuous reinforcement schedules are associated with poor resistance to extinction, and errorless learning, as evidenced by Terraces (1969) renowned pigeons, has been found to produce bizarre emotional responses following nonreinforcement. Second was a growing awareness of teacher expectancy effects. As is well known, the teacher expectancy effect refers to the phenomenon whereby teachers impressions about students ability (e. g. manipulated via test information) actually affect students performance, such that the students performance falls more in line with the teachers expectancies (Rosenthal Jacobson, 1968). The research on this self-fulfilling prophecy raised serious concerns that teachers were hampering the intellectual achievement of children they labeled as having low ability. One remedy was thought to lie in making low-ability children feel like high-ability children by means of a high success rate. In light of the implications that were drawn from teacher xpectancy effects, it is interesting to contrast them with the views of the original researchers (see, e. g. , Rosenthal, 1971, 1974; Rosenthal Jacobson, 1968). Unlike many of their followers, they appeared to frame their work within (and provide teachers with) an incremental theory of intelligence. Specifically, in the Rosenthai and Jacobson (1968) study, teachers were told that the test for intellectual blooming indicated that the target children would show remarkable gains in intellectual competence during the school year. Moreover, when hypothesizing possible mechanisms through which gains were produced, the original researchers thought in terms of teachers having stimulated intellectual growth through challenge. And, in reviewing work on undesirable expectancy effects, they lamented that lows seemed to be given too little work, and work that was too easy, to spur cognitive gains (Rosenthal, 1971). (See also, Brown et al. , 1045 1984, who argued cogently that it is not ill treatment, but a failure to teach the necessary high-level skills, that accounts for much of the achievement deficit of low-reading groups. Thus, these original researchers were oriented toward producing intellectual growth in children rather than simply giving children an illusion of intelligence. The motivational research is clear in indicating that continued success on personally easy tasks (or even on difficult tasks within a performance framework) is ineffective in producing stable confidence, challenge seeking, and persistence (Dweck, 1975; Relich, 1983). Indeed, such procedures have sometimes been found to backfire by producing lower confidence in ability (Meyer, 1982; Meyer et al, 1979). Rather, the procedures that bring about more adaptive motivational patterns are the ones that incorporate challenge, and even failure, within a learning-oriented context and that explicitly address underlying motivational mediators (Andrews Debus, 1978; A. Bandura Schunk, 1981; Covington, 1983; Dweck, 1975; Fowler Peterson, 1981; Relich, 1983; Rhodes, 1977; Schunk, 1982). For example, retraining childrens attributions for failure (teaching them to attribute their failures to effort or strategy instead of ability) has been shown to produce sizable changes in persistence in the face of failure, changes that persist over time and generalize across tasks (Andrews Debus, 1978; Dweck, 1975; Fowler Peterson, 1981; Relich, 1983; Rhodes, 1977). Thus far, only short-term experimental manipulations of childrens goal orientations have been attempted (Ames, 1984; Ames et al. , 1977; Elliott Dweck, 1985). Although these goal manipulations have been successful in producing the associated motivational patterns, much research remains to be conducted on how best to produce lasting changes in goal orientation. To date, motivational interventions, such as attribution retraining, have been conducted primarily with less successful students (those who display both a lag in skill level and a maladaptive response to difficulty). Yet, the earlier discussion suggests that some of the brightest students, who in grade school as yet show little or no obvious impairment in the school environment, may be prime candidates for such motivational interventions. Among these are children (e. g. , bright girls) who have had early, consistent, and abundant success yet, despite this (or perhaps even because of this), do not relish the presence or the prospect of challenge. implications for practice and ameliorative interventions. Indeed, ways ofappropriately incorporating issues ofselfconcept into education have long been sought. The social-cognitive approach, by identifying particular selfconceptions (e. g. childrens theories of their intelligence) and by detailing their relationship to behavior, may well provide the means. In addition, there is growing evidence that the conceptualization presented here is relevant not only to effectiveness on cognitive tasks but also to effectiveness in social arenas. For example, childrens attributions for social outcomes predict whether they respond adaptively to rejection (Goetz Dweck, 1980), and childrens social goals are related to their popularity among their classmates (Taylor Asher, 1985). Thus the present approach may illuminate adaptive and maladaptive patterns in diverse areas of childrens lives and may thereby provide a basis for increasingly effective socialization and instructional practices across these areas. REFERENCES Ames, C. (1984). Achievementattributions and self-instructionsunder competitiveand individualisticgoal structures. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 478-487. Ames,C. , Ames,R. , Felker,D. W, (1977). Effectsof competitivereward structure and valence of outcome on childrens achievementattributions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 1-8. Anderson, C. A. , Jennings, D. L. (1980). When experiencesof failure promote expectationsof success: The impact of attributing failureto ineffectivestrategies. Journal of Personality, 48, 393-407. Andrews, G. R. , Debus, R. L. (1978). Persistence and the causal perceptions of failure: Modifyingcognitiveattributions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 154-166. Astin, H. (1974). Sexdifferencesin scientificand mathematicalprecocity. In J. C. Stanley, D. P. Keating, L. H. Fox (Eds. ), Mathematical talent: Discovery,descriptionand development. Baltimore,MD Johns Hopkins UniversityPress. Atkinson, J. W. (1964). An introduction to motivation. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Bandura, A. , Schunk, D. H. (1981). Cultivating competence, selfefficacy, and intrinsic interest through proximal self-motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 586-598. Bandura, M. , Dweek, C. S. (1985). Self-conceptions and motivation: Conceptions of intelligence, choice of achievement goals, and patterns of cognition, affect, and behavior. Manuscript submitted for publi- Summary and Conclusion Motivational processes have been shown to affect (a) how well children can deploy their existing skills and knowledge, (b) how well they acquire new skills and knowledge, and (c) how well they transfer these new skills and knowledge to novel situations. This approach does not deny individual differences in present skills and knowledge or in native ability or aptitude. It does suggest, however, that the use and growth of that ability can be appreciably influenced by motivational factors. The social-cognitive approach, with its emphasis on specific mediating processes, has generated important 1046 cation. Beck,R. C. (1983). Motivation: Theoriesand principles. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ: Prentice-HaU. Benbow,C. P. , Stanley,J; C. (1980). Sex differencesin mathematics ability: Fact or artifact. Science, 10. 1262-1264. Berglas, S. , Jones, E. E. (1970). Drug choice as a self-handicapping strategyin responseto noncontingentsuccess. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 405-417. Brockner,J. , Hulton,A. J. B. (1978). How to reversethe viciouscycle of low self-esteem:The importance of attentional focus. Journal of Experimental Psychology 14, 564-578. Brown,A. L. , Palincsar,A. S. , Purcell,L. (1984). Poor readers:Teach dont label. In U. Neisser(Ed. ), The academicperformanceof minority children: A new perspective. Hillsdale,NJ: Erlbaum. Carver, C. S. , Scheier,M. F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control-theoryapproach to human behavior. NewYork:Springer. Verlag. Covington, M. V. (1983). Strategicthinking and the fear of failure. In S. E Chipman, J. Segal, R. Glaser (Eds. ), Thinking and learning skills: Current research and open questions (Voi. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Covington, M. V. , Omelich, C. L. (1979). Effort:The double-edged October 1986 9 American Psychologist sword in school achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 169-182. Crandall, V. C. (1969). Sex differences in expectancy of intellectual and academic reinforcement. In C. P. Smith (Ed. ), Achievement-related motives in children. New York: Russell Sage. deCharms, R. , Carpenter, V. ( 1968). Measuring motivation in culturally disadvantaged school children. In H. J. Klausmeier, G. T. OHearn (Eds. ), Research and developmenttoward the improvement of education. Madison, WI: Dembar Educational Services. Deci, E. L. , Ryan, R. M. (1980). The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. In L. Berkowitz (Ed. , Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 13). New York: Academic Press. Diener, C. I. , Dweck, C. S. (1978). An analysis of learned helplessness: Continuous changes in performance, strategy, and achievement cognitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 451-462. Diener, C. I. , Dweck, C. S. (1980). An analysis of learned helplessness: II. The pro cessing of success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 940-952. Diener, E. , Srull, T. K. (1979). Self-awareness, psychological perspecfive, and self-reinforcement in relation to personal and social standards. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 413-423. Dollard, J. , Miller, N. E. (1950). Personality and psychotherapy. New York: McGraw-Hill. Donlon, T. , Ekstrom, R. , Lockheed, M. (1976, September). Comparing the sexes on achievement items of varying content. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Dweck, C. S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674-685. Dweck, C. S. , Elliott, E. S. (1983). Achievement motivation. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed. , Socialization, personality, and social development. New York: Wiley. Dweck, C. S. , Reppucci, N. D. (1973). Learned helplessness and reinforcement responsibility in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 25, 109-116. Elliott, E. , Dweck, C. S. (1985). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Manuscript submitted for publication. Entin, E. E. , Rayn or, J. O. (1973). Effects of contingent future orientation and achievement motivation on performance in two kinds of tasks. Journal of Experimental Research in Personality, 6, 320341. Farrell, E. , Dweck, C. (1985). The role of motivational processes in transfer of learning. Manuscript submitted for publication. Fennema, E. , Sherman, J. (1977). Sex-related differences in mathematics achievement, spatial visualization, and affective factors. American Educational Research Journal, 14, 51-71. Fowler, J. W. , Peterson, P. L. (1981). Increasing reading persistence and altering attributional style of learned helpless children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 251-260. Fox, L. (1976). Sex differences in mathematical precocity: Bridging the gap. In D. P. Keating (Ed. ), Intellectual talent: Research and development. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Frankl, A. , Snyder, M. L. (1978). Poor performance following unsolvable problems: Learned helplessness or egotism? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1415-1423. Goetz, T, Dweek, C. (1980). Learned helplessness in social situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 246-255. Hilton, T. , Berglund, G. (1974). Sex differences in mathematics aehievementA longitudinal study. Journal of Education Research, 67, 231-237. Hull, C. L. (1943). Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton-CenturyCrofts. Jagacinski, C. M. Nieholls, J. G. (1982, March). Concepts of ability. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York. Kangas, J. , Bradway, K. (1971). Intelligence at middle age: A thirtyeight year follow-up. Developmental Psychology, 5, 333-337. Leggett, E. (1985, March). Childrens entity and incremental theories of intelligence: Relationships to achievement behavior. Pape r presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston. Leggett, E. (1986, April). Individual differences in effort-ability inference rules: Implications for causaljudgments. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York. Lekarczyk, D. T. , Hill, K. T. (1969). Self-esteem, test anxiety, stress and verbal learning. Developmental Psychology, 1, 147-154. Lopper, M. R. (1980). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in children: Detrimental effects of superfluous social controls. In W. A. Collins (Ed. ), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 14). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Lopper, M. R. , Greene, D. (Eds. ) (1978). The hidden costs of reward: New perspectives on the psychology of human motivation. Hillsdale, N J: Erlbaum. Licht, B. G. , Dweck, C.

Edgar allen poes fall of the h

Edgar allen poes fall of the h The Fall of the House of Usher In Edgar Allen Poe's, "Fall of the House of Usher", Poe utilizes life-like characteristics of a decaying house to give it an unnatural or supernatural atmosphere, and in effect bring it's inhabitants to their impending doom.From the beginning of the story, the house is given a supernatural and unusual atmosphere, Usher's house, its windows, bricks, and dungeon are all used to portray a dismal and unusual atmosphere. When the narrator is approaching the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, Poe refers to the house as the "melancholy House of Usher" (718). This could be interpreted as the house being in a state of depression, in reality houses don't have a sense of feeling, Poe is giving the house life with these words. This is the first sign of a supernatural or unusual atmosphere.When the narrator is examining the building from the outside he describes what he is seeing and how he feels as he looks upon the house, "the vacant eye-like windowsupon a few r ank sedges-and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees-with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium" (718).Roderick MacRae

Saying Hello in French

Saying Hello in French Greetings are an essential part of French social etiquette. The most important and common greeting is  bonjour, which means hello, good day, or even hi. There are also other ways to say hello or greet someone in French, but its important to understand what greetings are acceptable in various social contexts. Youll also need to familiarize yourself with greetings that are considered informal versus those that you would use in more formal settings. Bonjour- The Most Common Greeting Saying bonjour is the most common way to greet someone in French. Its a flexible, all-purpose term: You use it to greet people in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Bonjour is always polite, and it works in any situation. In France, you need to say  bonjour  when entering a place.  Whether you are talking to a single salesperson  or entering a crowded bakery, greet them by saying  bonjour. For example, if there are a few people sitting at a table you are approaching or several acquaintances are drinking  un expresso  at the bar as you walk up to them,  greet them with a friendly  bonjour.   If you are talking to one person, it is polite in French to use courtesy titles when you say hello, as in:   Bonjour, madame  (Mrs.)Bonjour, monsieur  (Mr.)Bonjour,  mademoiselle  (Miss) Its acceptable to say bonjour by itself- without using courtesy titles- if you are greeting several people, such as when you enter une boulangerie  (a bakery) packed with a line of customers. Bonsoir- The Evening Hello Use bonsoir  to say hello in the evening. Since the  hour that nighttime arrives in France can vary greatly  depending on the season, generally start saying bonsoir around 6 p.m. You can also use bonsoir when you leave- so long as its still evening. Beware of Salut Salut (pronounced with a silent t) is commonly used in France, although it is extremely informal: Its the equivalent of saying hey in English.  Avoid using salut  with people you dont know unless you are a teenager. If you are in doubt, stick with bonjour, which- as noted- is always an acceptable form of greeting. You can also use salut  to say goodbye  in an informal setting among close friends, but there are better ways to  say goodbye in French. Gestures Associated With Bonjour If you say bonjour to a group of strangers- such as when you are  entering a shop- you need not add any gestures, though you may nod your head a bit, and of course smile. If you know the person you are greeting with bonjour, you would either shake his hand- a frank, strong handshake is preferable- or kiss him on the cheek.  Light kisses  (rarely just one kiss on each cheek but usually three or four total) are extremely common in France among friends and acquaintances. Be aware, however, that the  French do not hug  upon greeting each other and saying  bonjour.

Consumers as Victims of Fashion Manipulation Essay

Consumers as Victims of Fashion Manipulation - Essay Example Fashion is a word that everyone admires and all want to be fashionable to be accepted in the egoistic society in which life prospers today. Everything from the color of the handkerchief to the perfume used is a criterion to measure the position of the person in the society. It is more or less a pseudo-prestige donor that the people rush behind it even if their pockets and wallets do not permit. They are compelled to do so by many factors around. To be precise, they are manipulated to consume certain standard of products in the society so as to make others approve them. It is basic human nature to have an urge for praise and admiration and the manipulating factors are well versed with this fact. It is, therefore, a necessity to study the situation and suggest possible solutions for the situation. The study presented here is based on the topic and the method used is secondary literature analysis. Websites like google.com and wikipedia.org are used for the collection of various data. Th e concepts introduced are supported by the examples of various advertisements shown on media. Fashion is a relative concept. Being fashionable is also the same. Fashion has changed from time to time. It is more or less prestige that rules the industry more than anything else. Fashion and being fashionable can be seen as the second side of the coin. The other side is that of consumption. Every fashionable being is expected to spend as much as possible to gain the best possible fashionable attire or accessory.

What is 'Queer Thoery' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What is 'Queer Thoery' - Essay Example In the stream of interest to set up new scholarly and popular frontiers, the orientation of this theory has been heavily directed at demonstrating how and why long-standing disciplinary accounts have fallen short to defend and do justice to queer groups. However, quite a handful of thorough analyses have investigated the implications and effects of these queer perspectives on current academic disciplines, or possibly will more significantly, in the framework of contemporary social life. The concept of ‘queer,’ in that case, is the deconstruction of common ideas regarding gender and sexuality, from their embodiment in literature, movies and music to their assignment to the social as well as in the physical sciences. The movement of ‘queer’ is in fact the ‘queering’ of traditions, spanning from the rereading of characters in literatures and movies to the reviewing of historical analyses. As a movement, we have witnessed the declaration of identity of queers, particularly labelled as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual, as human behaviour variations that possess their individual rights. As a theory, the origin of queer from post structuralism and postmodernism results into the elimination of all classifications as restricting and branded by prevailing power structures. Before the concept of ‘queer’ was, in its best notion, jargon for homosexual, in its worst, a notion of homophobic ill-treatment. In current years ‘queer’ has been used diversely, at times an umbrella concept for an association of culturally minor sexual self-identities and sometimes to illustrate an emerging theoretical framework which has emerged out of more long-established gay and lesbian studies. The abrupt development and reinforcement of gay and lesbian studies in universities almost two decades ago is matched by an increasing use of the concept of ‘queer’

I Had a Job I Liked Once by Guy Vanderhaeghe Essay Example for Free

I Had a Job I Liked Once by Guy Vanderhaeghe Essay Guy Vanderhaegh takes us back a few decades in the retelling of a court case in small town, Saskatchewan in the play, â€Å"I Had a Job I liked. Once. † Using elements of style, staging and developing characters throughout the play Vanderhaegh portrays to the audience the theme of the biases and prejudices that come with living in a small town. The story is set in small town Saskatchewan in a police station office, on the night of August of 1957. Corporal Heasman has brought in Les Grant on the account of accused rape Tracy Tolbertson, and the play follows the questioning of Sergeant Finestad to Les, who retells his involvement with Tracy, the daughter of Mr. Tolbertson, the local crown attorney. The story has many sub conflicts; the tension between Finestad and Tolbertson being a main one. Tolbertson wants his daughter’s accused rapist behind bars, but Finestad wants to get the whole story instead of just listening to Tolbertson. Then there is the conflict of Finestad with himself; for years he has followed the law and stuck to the book, but in this case he is having a hard time sticking to the black and white because he feels that there is more to the story. All these sub conflicts underlie to the main conflict of the prejudices and biases that come from living in a small town, and the difficulties that come with dealing with that. These conflicts all lead up to the climax where Finestand goes against Tolbertson and against the prejudices of the town and lets Les Grant go, without charging him. Vanderhaegh does a very good job of developing the characters in this play. We are first introduced to Sergeant Finestad who has a very strong character-he likes being charged and doesn’t do well with being told what to do. Finestad undergoes a very big character change through the course of this play. At the beginning, Finestad is very strict to the law, strict to the rules. As he says to Heasman before Les is brought in to be questioned, â€Å"Nothing about police work is personal. We follow the law, Tom. We’re the keepers of the rules. If we don’t keep them, what right do we have to enforce them? † This comes after he writes on the chalk board in big bold letters â€Å"NOT PERSONAL†. Through questioning Les Grant and learning his story, we see him change at the end where he lets Les go, not charging him and saying, â€Å"something broke down tonight, Tom. Either the book, or me. † He realized that he couldn’t charge Les just based on what it says in the book. The other character who undergoes change in the story is Les. Les comes from a very rough family, and has had some challenges throughout his life, but he has stayed a good, hardworking kid. He now works at the town swimming pool in the pump room, which is where he is changed. At the pool Les is bullied very badly- every day when he gets to work there is something new written about him or his mother on the bathroom walls, which he has to clean up. He puts up with this for so long until he finally can’t do it anymore and snaps, which is when he allegedly raped Tracy. Les is then judged because of his family background, and almost found guilty just based on the prejudices against him. There are other characters that help to contribute to the conflict as well. Corporal Heasman who works with Finestad is constantly against him, wanting Les to be charged to make Mr. Tolbertson happy. Mr. Tolbertson, as Finestad describes him, â€Å"likes to win, so the rules get ignored or ben. The law’s a game. † He doesn’t bother with protocol, but is just used to getting what he wants, in this case being Les being charged. He is a hard nut who always gets his way and orders everyone around, especially his wife and Tracy. Because of this, Tracy rebels and brings out her anger making other people feel bad, such as Les Grant. All these characters come together into forming the main conflict. Guy Vanderhaeghe broaches a theme that can be very relatable to people growing up in small towns. After Finestad releases Les Grant, he explains to Heasman the reason. He recalls a poem from his grade three teacher that has the lines â€Å"Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright/In the forests of the night. † He always asks himself, â€Å"Who made the tiger? Who made the tiger? † He then goes on to say, â€Å"Who made Les Grant? They did. And who made that girl? More of the same. Poor, sorry, fucked up tigers. And you and me-we’re supposed to play tiger tamer. After they’ve used their teeth. I might have been up to the game-once, but all of a sudden it seems too complicated for rules-for me. † This is where the main theme of small town prejudices is revealed, and how there’s more to people that what meets the eye. Society judges people based on their first impressions of what they see and what they’ve heard about them. The question â€Å"Who made the tiger? † refers to the events and families in people’s past that shape who that young person becomes. Tracy’s dad was very strict and hard on her, which makes her rebel, leading her to writing the cruel things about Les on the wall. Les has had to deal with his rough family life growing up which automatically causes people to judge him. Heasman describes them as a â€Å"Bad bunch, the Grants. † Les has also been bullied for such a long time that it causes him to act out. He is good kid, but all these outside influences came into making him make a bad decision. As he explained to Finestad, â€Å"Taking it from them for as long as I remember, that gave me the right. † He believed that he had the right to do that to Tracy because he has had so many things happen to him in the past. This play deals with the prejudices society has against people and how that shapes them into who they are. Guy Vanderhaegh’s use of styling really emphasizes many things in the play, whether it be through the use of different language, symbolism or repetition. Finestad’s injured back is one symbol of his relationship with Les. When Finestad hurts his back, he asks for Les to help him and says, â€Å"Don’t let them see me like this. Please don’t give me away. † He is humiliated and Les helps him, keeping his promise. At the end of the story, the tables are turned and Les is now the one who needs help. Les is asking Finestad to not lay a charge. He says, â€Å"Don’t’ give me away to them. That’s what you asked when your back went out. That’s what you asked me. † His back symbolizes the debt he owed to Les. The Tiger in Finestad’s poem also symbolizes Les Grant and Tracy Tolbertson, who had many things contributing into making who they are and resulting in the actions they did. Vanderhaegh also uses Tolbertson’s appearances as a way to contribute to the rising action of the play, leading right up to the climax. At first Tolbertson is just mentioned when Heasman and Finestad are talking about them, then he calls and Finestad ignores him, and finally he shows up trying to threaten Finestad. In all three â€Å"appearances†, Finestad put Mr. Tolbertson down leading right up to the climax where he completely opposes Mr. Tolbertson and does not charge Les. The repetition of acknowledging the statute book also emphasizes Finestad’s character change. He went from following it’s  every word to forgetting about it and going against it at the end. The staging also helps in contributing to creating the mood of the play. The whole play takes place in the one office at the police station with no scene change. This set is very basic, which makes you focus on the characters and their actions instead of their surroundings. The lighting used helps to create the atmosphere for the memories Les has, such as it creating a â€Å"lattice-work effect to suggest a grill† at the pool, or the dimming of the lights suggesting a soft summer night on the day Les picks up Tracy. Instead of scene changes, characters enter and exit the scene giving the impression of a new location. Even in memories, Tracy actually enters the office as Les is describing the memory so as to give the audience a better understanding of what happened. The use of different sounds, such as splashing at a swimming pool or music in a car helps create the atmosphere as well. At the end of scenes, the characters do not leave, rather the lights blackout. The scene is different, but they are still in the same place. This gives you a sense of mood change to the scene. Finestad never leaves the office until the very end of the play, where he turns the office light off, walks out and the curtain comes down, giving you the sense of finality. Many things have to come together in a play to get the main message across. With Guy Vanderhaegh’s effective use of styling, staging and character building he efficiently gets across to the audience the idea that with small towns come prejudices and biases, and that before making judgments you need to understand a person’s background and circumstances to get the whole story. â€Å"I Had a Job I Liked. Once. † is an interesting play with a good message to take home.