Garbology in Marketing Strategies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Garbology in Marketing Strategies - Term Paper Example Neuromarketing refers to the application of technology to determine the consumer’s brain activity so as to assist in developing products and communications (Zurawicki 211). The technique is founded on the idea that consumer purchasing behavior is formed in split seconds. The technique also holds that buying decisions are made within the brain’s subconscious and emotional part. The technique is also based on the premise that that by being able to clearly understand what consumers like, do not like, or fear as shown by the reactions of the brain to brand stimuli, marketers can be able to brand their products and communicate with them in a manner that best meets the market needs, by influencing consumers to buy the products. All these fundamentals are based on neuromarketing is based on neuroscience, which involves the study of how the brain enables human to think, perceive, and feel emotions, make decisions and communicate (Guardian News and Media Limited Par. 3). The tec hniques applied are based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), psychophysics, electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) as noted by Moore and Pareek (195). Neuromarketing research is said to have triggered significant amount of interest among many marketers and companies. Proponents of the technology argue that it could be the next big thing in the marketplace (Guardian News and Media Limited par 6). In this regard, they argue that by using science to locate the ‘buy buttons’ of consumers, it would be easy for marketers to open the black box of the consumer’s mind. Research reveals that neuromarketing is good for application in different areas especially in predicting behaviors, understanding the ads that the majority of consumers can easily remember. It can also be applied in choosing the media formats that can easily be understood by consumers. Other areas of application according to Moore and Pareek are in understanding why most consumers differ from what they inform the focus group (196).

Marketing Plan Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Marketing Plan Project - Research Paper Example more on effective strategic activities with a view to meet consumers’ on demand-expectations. In order to be competitive and to survive in today’s fiercely competitive markets, businesses have not only to seek response from customers, but also discover hidden market opportunities and stimulate demand for their goods or services (Kotler and Keller, 2006, p. 10). Regardless of whether it is small or large in scale, startup businesses essentially need to plan for its business and marketing activities by analyzing various strategies that they can implement for future. Business organizations that manufacture or market goods and services are performing its business function primarily to meet their commitment and responsibilities to the society, consumers and all other important stakeholders. Marketers create benefit or utility that are the want-satisfying power of the consumers (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). It is extremely important for any business to see what utility or be nefit its goods or services can offer to the consumers and to evaluate the value and money-worth that consumers may expect for them. It is also important to weigh up whether customers are satisfied with the offerings and how they can be turned to be loyal-customers so as to gain advantage as long-term assets. Marketing plan, which has recently gained greater significance among business experts, is an invariably practical tool that can provide insights in to the overall business environments, competitive levels, strategic aspects and major areas of opportunities and threats. As contemporary markets are largely impacted by radical changes in technology, consumer behavior and buying patterns, competition, management and business strategies, marketers have to foresee how these variables may impact their marketing domain and how they can be dealt with. Marketing plan is a roadmap that can illustrate how these marketing forces create challenges on the business and how they can be managed as well. It is an important strategic tool that helps a marketer comprehend business potential and foresee ways with that it can achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It provides detailed explanation of various environmental factors and significant elements in relation to competition, management, and marketing mix and so on. This paper presents a brief marketing plan for Al-GiZza Restaurant in Abu-Dhabi, UAE. Al-GiZza is going to be an incredible experience with dining of multicultural organic food and entertainment for the local Arabian community, people around the world who visit UAE for leisure and other expatriate professionals working in UAE. Though there are many pizza

Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI)

Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) Discuss the weaknesses of the Occupational Stress Indicator. What are the alternatives? The Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) is one of the most frequently used measures of occupational stress. Its intention is to provide practical help to individuals and their organizations (Cooper et al., 1988). It was designed to measure the key components of the stress process and work study in a wide variety of organizations. The original occupational scale contained over 200 items scored on a 6-point Likert-type scale. The Indicator consists of one biographical questionnaire and six questionnaires each measuring different dimensions of stress. For example, source of stress, moderating factor in aspects of dealing with stress and the stressors affects on the individual and situation. The sources of pressure questionnaire have six subscales and are a measure of factors thought to have a role in the aetiology of occupational stress. There are three questionnaires for assessing moderating variables: these are for type A behaviour pattern with three subscales, locus of control with t hree subscales, and coping strategies with five subscales. A further three questionnaires for mental ill-health, physical ill-health, and job satisfaction (with six subscales), assess strain or `stress effects. In simple terms, the OSI uses questionnaire statements to assess, a) how you feel about your job b) how you assess your current state of health, c) the way you behave generally, d) how you interpret events around you e) sources of pressure in your job, and f) how you cope with the stress you experience. OSI questionnaires are based on identifying three key elements of the stress process-effects, sources, and individual differences-and the scale places appraisal at the centre of the process. In particular, it is felt that it is not the demand or the source of pressure itself that is the issue; it is the perception of that pressure (Lazarus, 1966). It follows that the perception of individual differences such as coping and support and the perception of stress outcomes such as w ell-being and job satisfaction should also be measured. Pratt and Barling (1988) stated that it is as important to measure the interpretation that individuals give to an event as it is to measure the event itself. The recognition that appraisal plays a key role in the stress process makes it appropriate to use self-report questionnaires to measure stress at work. The essence behind the OSI was to provide a measurement scale, which would in turn provide a link between theoretical knowledge – in particular Lazarus (1966) Transactional Model and empirical evidence. Before discussing alternatives, it is important to evaluate the strengths of the instrument – and assess the positive attributes that the indicator has provided for future research. Although self-report mechanisms of discovering data have had criticism for its susceptibility towards experimenter bias – i.e. participants lying for socially desirable reasons, or over-playing/down-playing their answers for personal means, self report instruments are a valuable way of seeking responses from the core source themselves. Thus responses are first hand – and not an interpretation from a second or third party. In regards to work related stress – it has been found that self- reported health is a good indicator of the health status (Farmer Ferraro, 1997) and there is a positive relationship between self-reported health and self-efficacy (Parkatti, Deeg, Bosscher, Launer, 1998). Thus, this may imply that self report responses collected from a measurement like the OSI may well yield valid responses in regards to their health and how this in turn may affect how they feel about their working environment and how they perform within it. There has been a considerable body of research that has investigated self-reported health and occupational stress. It is accepted that in work situations stress due to increased psychological demands and reduced job control is related to poor self- reported health (Andries et al., 1996). Therefore, asking employee’s to complete the complex occupational stress indicator questionnaires may indicate where this stress is coming from and how the person perceives they are dealing in the situation. The major advantage of the OSI is that it is a mechanism of which may highlight a potential damaging work-related stress problem – not only high-lighting the problem, but the scale attempts to highlight its source and potential solution as well. The OSI has been used extensively since its publication in 1988. However, up until the late 1990’s, the scale has not been changed or been amended in any way. A number of studies have reviewed the design and use of the questionnaire in attempt to test the psychometric properties of the OSI, and to see if the instrument could be improved. The original OSI suffered from being developed on the basis of a very small (N = 156) sample. Therefore, it was important in any evaluation of the scale to include a vast sample to prepare the analysis from. In attempt to evaluate the scale structure and reliability, Williams (1996) analyzed the data for over 20,000 participants working in over 100 different organizations. The data was collected between 1990 and the end of 1995 from a wide variety of organizations in the public and private sector in the United Kingdom. Accounting for errors, a sample of 4,455 individuals in total adds support to a great body of literature that presents a consi stent picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Through analyse, the scale appears strong at measuring job satisfaction, mental and physical health, and sources of pressure (Cooper Bramwell, 1992; Rees Cooper, 1992; Robertson et al., 1990). However, if the aim of the OSI questionnaires are to identify key elements of the stress process- e.g. the effects, sources, and individual differences-the indicator is somewhat flawed. The indicator is not so strong at evaluating the extend to which the individual feels in control of their situation (i.e. locus of control) or what behaviour, coping strategies people are most likely to adopt (Kirkcaldy, Cooper, Eysenck, Brown, 1994). Thus, the scales seem to lack in the ability to address the fundamental issue of individual differences in the process of stress, and how one perceives and copes with their situation. Therefore, there is strong evidence to suggest that the scale itself needs improvement or redesi gn to account for this (Williams Cooper, 1997). To discuss alternatives or improvements for the Occupational Stress Indicator – one needs to highlight how we define stress and how this definition is relevant in the work place. Stress can be regarded as the sum of total of environmental demands that tax our mental resources. For some (e.g. Lazarus, 1975), stress only has impact if we appraise it as threatening or harmful to ourselves. Symptoms of stress are varied but often present itself as some kind of strain in psychological, physiological, behavioural or physical health. Information about the individual and stress is often accumulated through self-report questionnaires. The most common (but not necessarily the strongest method) is through the use of a cross sectional design – such as the OSI. All data collected via this method is self-report and collected from the same people at the same time. There is danger in this approach – as it can often inflate the correlations observed between job-factors and the st rain outcome, and this does not accurately indicate the direction of causality. Conclusions derived from such analysis are often in terms of ‘main effects’ (of work related factors) and modifiers (moderate, mediators – variables that serve to enhance or attenuate the effect of job stress). For example, the level of control or autonomy against level of work load put upon the individual. However, this does not clearly tell us whether these two variables are related or independent of each other. It is merely assumed that one causes the other. As mentioned before, the flaws of the OSI seem to be in its ability (or lack of ability) to reliably identify how one perceives their situation and addresses coping strategies to suit. Lazarus (1975) account of occupational stress is useful here. He purposes a transactional cognitive view of stress. Lazarus believes that it is not just the environment that needs to be taken into account when considering sources of stress, but also a look at the person and how they ‘fit’ into the environment. Lazarus (1975) believes that there is a transaction between the environment and the person. This transaction is only stressful if a) the person believes the outcome of behaviour is relevant to personal goals/beliefs and b) if the person recons that the environmental demands exceed the personal resources of the individual. Furthermore, every encounter between the environment and the person involves appraisal and coping strategies. Lazarus (1975) believes that since perception of the s tressor is all important, it is pointless to pursue objective indicators of the environment. Rather it is this perception of the situation that indicators how stressed one will feel. A great criticism of the OSI is in its complexity and its length. This makes the administration of the scale a timely process. In response to this, Faragher, Cooper and Cartwright (2004) purpose an alternative, two-stage, risk assessment process. This involves an initial screening questionnaire for all employees of a given work place, and then conventional risk assessment tools are used to evaluate in detail just those individuals identified as having a potential stress problem. There are three main sections of the questionnaire which measure employee perceptions of their job, organizational commitment and employee health. This shorter version of the Occupation Stress Indicator is termed the ASSET – A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool. Tests of just under 10,000 employees in 100 public and private sector organizations within Britain found ASSET to be quick and easy to complete, generating a high response rate. Thus in comparison to the OSI, the evaluation of the ASSET provides evidence that it possesses good reliability (a small number of reliable factors which increases the ease of interpretation) and has good reports of validity. However, it could be regarded that this shortened scale may have negative consequences for its validity. For example, the ASSET is put forward as a two stage ‘risk assessment’. This implies that the scale is administrated to assess the employee’s susceptibility to feeling stressed. Therefore, this ignores that there is an interaction between the environment and the person, but instead, puts heavy emphasis on the person’s ability to cope in a given environment. Therefore, this type of risk assessment may be perceived as more of a ‘test’ – rather than a support mechanism. Therefore, the validity of the screening scale itself is put into question – as it is highly likely that participants will want to answer in a socially acceptable manner to avoid incrimination. . Another scale that has adopted a shorter format is the Pressure Management Indicator. Williams Cooper, (1996) cite this model as more reliable, more comprehensive, and shorter than the OSI. The Pressure Management Indicator did infact evolved from the Occupational Stress Indicator. Therefore, the comparisons between the two scales here, opposed to the ASSET scale, are more valid and useful. Therefore, its inventors regard it as the replacement indicator of occupational stress. Williams and Copper (1998) examined existing measures of stress (directly and indirectly related to work) – these included questionnaires on mental health (e.g., Crown Crisp, 1979), job satisfaction (e.g., Warr, Cook, Wall, 1979), and locus of control (e.g., Rotter, 1966) and worked from the original OSI to produce a standardized, reliable, compact, and comprehensive instrument to measure work-related stress. The PMI incorporates three main scales; stress-outcome, stressor and the moderator factor. The stress-outcome scales measure, job and organizational satisfaction, organizational security, organizational commitment, anxiety-depression, resilience, worry, physical symptoms, and exhaustion. The stressor scales cover pressure from workload, relationships, career development, managerial responsibility, personal responsibility, home demands, and daily hassles. The moderator variables measure drive, impatience, control, decision latitude, and the coping strategies of problem focus, life work balance, and social support. To overcome the limitations of the original OSI, Williams and Copper (1998) embarked on a comprehensive analysis of the scale, ranging from analysis of the name of the scale – e.g. it was found that the mention of ‘stress’ in the title of the original scale implied there was a ‘stress problem’ in the organisation. Thus changing the name to ‘Pressure’ intended to imply a more neutral term (opposed to stress – the n egative consequence of pressure – William 1994). Through the extensive analysis of the OSI Williams and Copper (1998) revealed the main attributes of the original scale that existed as its weakness – and purposed to find solutions to these problems. For example, as stated the scale could be interpreted as threatening and time consuming. Thus a shortened version was essential. Another issue highlighted with the use of such a lengthy scale – was infact the possibility that a large number of items would increase the co-efficient alpha rating – and thus making the scale appear more reliable than it actually is. Therefore, the production of the PMI was designed to revise the questionnaires and number of items, without sacrificing its psychometric properties. Furthermore, it may be felt that the items on the OSI were bias towards white-collar or executive levels – ignoring the stress felt at lower levels of the organisation. The length and complexity of the OSI may have been bias towards workers who took on re ading activities regularly – opposed to the more manually skilled employee’s with more hands on day to day tasks. With this diversity in mind – it is essential that a vast number of employment scenarios are covered on any stress indicator scale. It may be interpreted that the original OSI was not so diligent in representing such diversity in the work-force. Williams and Copper (1996) were careful to use an extremely diverse data set representing over 100 different organisations from the public and private sectors. Incorporating diversity, it is also important to eradicate cultural boundaries in the questioning material. For example, the acknowledgement and understanding that many companies want to investigate work-related stress across national and ethnic boundaries is important. Therefore, can the OSI be regarded as a multi-cultural measure of occupational stress? It may be suggested that the mere fact it was based on a very small sample of just over 150 people , that it is impossible that is has gained a representative view of the world and the people and organisations within it. Furthermore, the consideration that the world of work is always changing means that the questions on the scales need to reflect changes in demand such as job insecurity and technology. The fact that, the original OSI scale has not been amended since its production renders it out-of-date in many respects. To combat these downfalls, William and Copper (1996), attempt to combine the questionnaires with organization-specific items, in hope of identifying sources of pressure and the use of coping mechanisms. The original scale lacks the ability to provide a cross-occupational and cross-company analysis. The solution was to develop a standardized measure covering all aspects of the stress-strain relationship that is, stressors, moderating factors, and stress outcomes (William and Copper, 1996). The new PMI questionnaires are intended also to help raise awareness of occ upational stress at the individual and organizational level, identify those individuals who need remedial help, and provide information for the design of appropriate interventions In light of the discussion above, the Occupational Stress Indictor has presented many weaknesses – in particular reference to its design, practical administration, validity and reliability. Many have questioned the length and complexity of the original self-report questionnaire. This has led to a revised version of the scales in the form of the PMI (Williams and Copper, 1996). The PMI, developed just under ten years after the original OSI, intended to combat many of its methological concerns such as shortening the administration process and taking into account cultural and occupational differences of its users. It would appear that through the quest to appeal to a wide audience – i.e. a diverse work base, the original OSI flawed due to its lack of ability to be able to offer a reliable source of stress indicator in reference to the individual’s perception of the situation and how they perceive they are coping. Although the original OSI was giving an accurate rep resentation of job satisfaction, mental and physical health, and the sources of pressure – i.e. concrete certainties that are easily measurable, the scale was not so reliable in measuring more abstract properties such as perceptional qualities. Therefore, it may seem a valuable option to concentrate on the perceptual properties of the scale itself to produce more reliable scale that measures how the individual feels, opposed to just how the individual acts in their environment– hence the development of the Pressure Management Indicator. This goes hand in hand with the theoretical assumptions that underpin the measurement scales – e.g. Lazarus transactional model of stress – purposing that there is a transaction between the environment and the person – which in turn may render the interaction as a stressful one or not. It is important to take into account that stress is an interactive process between the stressor and the moderator and the stress out come. The newly revised PMI scale is more advanced than the original OSI scale in that it takes into account this interaction. An important factor highlighted by the ASSET scale is that the administration of an Occupation Stress Indicator or Pressure Management Indicator needs to be as impartial as possible. A large weakness that needs to be overcome about any type of stress indicator is that it is not measuring the person’s ability to cope in stressful situations. For example, the scale is not intended to assess or question personality or to test the personal attributes of the individual, but instead, to provide an indication of how one perceives their working environment and how a number of variables interact to produce potentially stressful effects for the individual. The overall aim of a stress indicator scale is to identify physical and psychological areas of concern that can be highlighted to encourage an optimal balance of stress, coping strategies and support in the w ork place. References Books Cooper, C. L., Sloan, S. J., Williams, S. (1988). Occupational Stress Indicator. Windsor, England: NFER- Nelson. Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lazarus, R.S. (1975). The healthy personality: a review of conceptualizations and research. In Levi, L (Ed). Society, stress and disease, vol 2. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Pratt, L. I., Barling, J. (1988). Differentiating between daily events, acute and chronic stressors: A framework and its implications. Cited in Hurrell, J.J., Murphy, L.R. Sauter, S.L., Cooper, C.L (1998) (Eds.), Occupational stress: Issues and developments in research. London: Taylor Francis. Williams, S. (1994). Managing pressure for peak performance. London: Kogan Page. Williams, S., Cooper, C. L. (1996). Pressure Management Indicator. Harrogate, England: RAD. Williams, S., Cooper, C. L. (1997). The Occupational Stress Indicator. In R. J. Wood Zalaquett, C. (1997) (Ed.). Evaluating stress: A book of resources. Huntsville, TX: Sam Houston State University. Journals Andries, F., Kompier, M. A. J., Smulders, P. G. (1996). Do you think that your health or safety are at risk because of your work? A large European study on psychological and physical work demands. Work Stress, 10, 104-118. Farmer, M. M., Ferraro, K. F. (1997). Distress and perceived health: Mechanisms of health decline. Journal of Health Social Behaviour, 38, 298-311. Cooper, C. L., Bramwell, R. S. (1992). Predictive validity of the strain components of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Stress Medicine, 8, 5760. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Crown, S., Crisp, A. H. (1979). Manual of the Crown-Crisp Experiential Index. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Kirkcaldy, B., Cooper, C. L., Eysenck, M., Brown, J. (1994). Anxiety and coping. Personality and Individual Difference, 17, 681-684. Parkatti, T., Deeg, D. J. H., Bosscher, R. J., Launer, L. L. J. (1998). Physical activity and self-rated health among 55- to 89-year-old Dutch people. Journal of Aging and Health, 10, 311-326 Rees, D. W., Cooper, C. L. (1992). Occupational stress in health service workers in the U.K. Stress Medicine, 8, 79-90. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Robertson, I. T., Cooper, C, L., Williams, J. (1990). The validity of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Work Stress, 4, 29-39. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal vs. external locus of control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1), 609. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Warr, P., Cook, J., Wall, T. (1979). Scales for the measurement of some work attitudes and aspects of psychological well-being. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 52, 129-148. Williams, S. (1996). A critical review and further development of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Doctoral thesis, University of Manchester, Manchester, England. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Bibliography Hurrell, J.J., Murphy, L.R. Sauter, S.L., Cooper, C.L (1998) (Eds.), Occupational stress: Issues and developments in research. London: Taylor Francis. R. J. Wood Zalaquett, C. (1997). (Eds). Evaluating stress: A book of resources. Huntsville, TX: Sam Houston State University. Schweizer, K. and DÃ ¶brich, P. (2003). Self-reported health, appraisal, coping, and stress in teachers. Psychology Science, Volume 45, (1), p. 92-105 Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321

Jim Jones Essays -- Cult Suicide Essays Papers

Jim Jones The mass suicides, that took place under the influence of Reverend Jim Jones, can be explained from a sociological perspective. By looking at how the group dynamics played into the outcome one gets a better idea of the whys? of the massacre. The sociological explanation is but one way to explain this horrific event. It is , however, the only one explored in this essay for reasons of concision. At one level, the deaths at Jonestown can be viewed as the product of obedience, of people complying with the orders of a leader and reacting to the threat of force. In the Peoples Temple, whatever Jim Jones commanded, the members did. When he gathered the community at the pavilion and the poison was brought out, the populace was surrounded by armed guards who were trusted lieutenants of Jones. There are reports that some people did not drink voluntarily but had the poison forced down their throats or injected. While there were isolated acts of resistance and suggestions of opposition to the suicides, excerpts from a tape, recorded as the final ritual was being enacted, reveal that such dissent was quickly dismissed or shouted down. Jim Jones utilized the threat of severe punishment to impose the strict discipline and absolute devotion that he demanded, and he also took measures to eliminate those factors that might encourage resistance or rebellion among his followers. Research showed that the presence of a "disobedient" partner greatly reduced the extent o which most subjects in the Milgram situation (1965) obeyed the instructions to shock the person designated the "learner." Similarly, by including just one confederate who expressed an opinion different from the majority's, Asch (1955) showed that the subject would also agree far less, even when the "other dissenters" judgment was also incorrect and differed from the subjects. In the Peoples Temple, Jones tolerated no dissent, made sure that members had no allegiance more powerful than to himself, and tried to make the alternative of leaving the Temple an unthinkable option. Analyzing Jonestown in terms of obedience and the power of the situation can help to explain why the people acted as they did. Once the Peoples Temple had moved to Jonestown, there was little the members could do other than follow Jim Jones's dictates. They were comforted by an authority of absolute power. They were l... ...ons consistent with the ideology and policy are good. The individual conscience is not reliable. Under these conditions the individual expects humiliation, ostracism and punishment because of his inability to live up to the criteria and lives in a constant state of guilt and shame. Since the organization is the ultimate judge of good and evil, this guilt and shame is used to manipulate and control members. The organization becomes an authority without limit in the eyes of members and their power is nowhere more evident that in their capacity to "forgive". We live in a dangerous world, a world often caught in the midst of disastrous group dynamics. Cult leaders use their knowledge to bemire the minds of unsuspecting victims. Until, recently cult's were able to run freely in public without anything more than slight amusement at the dress or the ethereal spouting. There was a time in the not so distant past that cult members were allowed to approach anyone in a place as public as an airport to share their ‘beliefs' and their tainted language. They were allowed access to our children and to our minds. It has been a long time coming, but the world is finally catching on.

Minority Groups

In quest for survival, men move from one country to another. This has become a rampant thing in our world today. Generally, there are a lot of reasons why people migrate for one their home country to another country. For instance, people who live in less developed or developing countries move to other countries in search of a better financial prospects. This kind of migration is voluntary as it is based primarily on the decision of the immigrant. Apart from this, people are forced to seek refuge or asylum in other countries due to the political unrest in their own home countries. This might be as a result of war or some other forms of political unrest. Also, people migrate to other countries because they want to be reunited with family members that they have seen in a long time.   Other reasons why people may want to migrate to other countries include among others; business, job relocation and overpopulation. Migration has its advantages and disadvantages. Although migration may help people achieve their goals and make their dreams come true, it is laden with its adverse effects. To begin with, the immigrant has little or no power in deciding how he/she will be seen by the people of the host nation because they constituted the minority in that country. Apart from this, we should understand that the immigrant’s culture will most likely be different from that of the host nation. This might lead to the loss of identity of the immigrant. Overtime, some terms have been connected with majority-minority interaction, some of which are assimilation, cultural pluralism and segregation. I will attempt a brief definition of these terms. Assimilation is a concept that is used in reference to the situation where a person is absorbed into another community as a result of constant interaction with the people of such community. Assimilation as a concept involves the assimilator, who usually belongs to the minority group blending into another culture, which is the majority group. The effect of assimilation is soon felt as the culture of the minority group faces the risk of going into extinction. The concept is claimed to have evolved from the notion of â€Å"melting pot† which implies that immigrants and other cultural group will naturally blend and be self-oriented into the American culture and way of life. Thus, the success of assimilation is the loss of the minority’s culture and the individual’s identity. Also, assimilation has led to individuals having a confused identity as they do not know which culture to embrace and are stuck in-between the two cultural identities. Furthermore, another term that has evolved in majority-minority interaction is cultural pluralism. As opposed to assimilation, this concept believes that minority groups could fit into the majority community while still retaining their individual culture. As a concept, it acknowledges the possibility of a pluralistic society and holds the idea that it is possible for people with different cultural backgrounds to coexist in the same society without one culture defacing the other. This term can be said to be built on the concept of ‘unity in diversity’. Historically, two American pragmatists namely Horace Meyer Kallen and Randolph Silliman Bourne have argued for the adoption of this concept. They argued that this became necessary during the World War 1 where some culturally different individuals were denied some fundamental human rights and liberty in America. This thought is accounted for in the book written by Horace Meyer Kallen titled â€Å"Democracy versus the Melting Pot†. In addition to these, majority-minority interaction has been criticized for promoting segregation in the society. The term â€Å"segregation† can be defined as a social situation where a particular group or race, usually minorities are discriminated in a society. For instance, for a long time, blacks were segregated in America. They were some laws that were made that showed that blacks were separated. Another typical example of a country where there was segregation, even on their homeland, is South Africa during the apartheid period. Generally, to say that America is a perfect nation devoid of separation is to believe in a myth. This has and is still a problem faced by different races in America. Although it is claimed that America is â€Å"God’s own country†, reality beholds us in the face as there are still cases of segregation in our nation. Terms like â€Å"DWB†, which means â€Å"driving while black†, depicts the fact that black people are still being discriminated against in America. Apart from blacks, another notable minority group that has been affected by issues that surround majority-minority interaction is the Polish people living in America. I will attempt to relate the three concepts discussed above to how it relates to the polish living in America. Going down the memory lane, the Polish had been living in America but their number increased between 1800’s to the beginning of World War II.   Basically, they migrated for a lot of reasons which varied from fear of recruitment to religious persecution and financial reasons. Notably, the Poles did not initially assimilate into the American culture. Because most of them are Roman Catholics, they lived together and built big churches where they could worship. This is due to the fact that they believed that they held they believe that their identity was hinged on these churches. The church served as an avenue for them to meet and discuss their individual and societal problems. As expected, they assimilated gradually into the American culture. They made their impact on America and a notable Polish that had a significant impact in the field of entertainment is Artur Rubinstein, one of American’s finest pianists. Through this time, they held on to their culture and stuck together, regardless of what Americans felt or said. Although latter generations that were born in America shelved their original culture and totally did things like the Americas. In addition to this, early poles that migrated into America operated a system of cultural pluralism. Although they participated in the activities of Americans, they held on to their own beliefs too. They were original and they believed so much in their heritage, which they considered the center of their identity. They knew who they were and were not ready to compromise that for anything. Therefore, the society that poles lived can be said to be culturally plural. During a campaign speech by the former US President, Ronald Reagan, he said â€Å"Did you know that the Polish Army bought 10,000 septic tanks? Once they learn how to use 'em they are going to invade Russia.† Poles were stereotyped in America and were seen as dirty, unkempt and rough. In fact, there was a film where they were greatly stereotyped titled â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire.† This does not include the various forms of discrimination they faced as a result of TV commercials, magazine cartoons, comedy show and lots more. In conclusion, majority-minority interaction is bound to create a problem because it is difficult to totally embrace a stranger from a different cultural background. It is also hard for immigrants to hold on to their original culture for ever because of socialization. Also, when we argue for cultural pluralism, we are allowing divisions in the society. Reference: Simon, J. L. (1989). The Economic Consequences of Immigration. London: Basil Blackwell, Ltd.               

Our Sense of Self

As Feenstra (2011) states in your textbook: â€Å"Social psychologists are interested in who we are. Our sense of self is affected by what we know about the self and by the people around us. The self is a powerful force. The self affects how we feel, what we think we can do, and what we in fact do. † (pg. 32). Expanding on the quotation above, describe how individuals develop a self-concept and self-schema. Discuss the cultural, social, and environmental influences on that development.In what ways does our sense of self determine how we think about others and how we interact with individuals and groups of people? What is the significance of the acting self? In your response, be sure to address at least three of the key concepts presented in Table 2. 2 of the reading. Individuals develop a self-concept through learned behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that they usually get from their friends and family. Self-concept is continuously developed by the reinforcement of factors such as religion, experiences, relationships and even actions.The self-schema helps organize all the information we contain within the self-concept. The way we see ourselves versus the world’s view definitely plays a significant role in the choices we make, our behavior, and even our beliefs. A person’s opinions of the world are generally influenced by the experiences they have with the outside world, both negative and positive, but ultimately it is the person’s reaction to the situation that forms the self-concept. One large impact on the development of our self-concepts is our culture. Cultures vary greatly in a variety of ways, but one large difference is in the way cultures view the self and connections with others. † (Feenstra, J. , Chp. 2, Sec. 2. 1)  Cultures that are independent view people as unique individuals while interdependent cultures believe that people should be viewed as a group. Having a healthy sense of self is essential for interaction wi th people.Self-esteem plays a large part in determining a person’s personality: high self-esteem = outgoing, makes friends, â€Å"party starter†, low self-esteem = quiet, keeps to oneself, doesn’t appear friendly. That doesn’t mean high self-esteem individuals are awesome, however that doesn’t stop them from believing they are. A person’s sense of self is important when it comes to interacting with people because it affects a person’s feelings of acceptance and rejection. If a person feels rejected by the social world then they will have a hard time mingling with others.The acting self allows us to become who we need to be at that particular moment. For example, during a job interview when asked how well you could perform the job, a person must describe their worth as high in self efficacy for that specific job. The images we portray of ourselves to others is constantly changing and therefore allows us to take on new roles when necess ary. Reference: Feenstra, J. (2011). Introduction to social psychology. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The Paradox of Tragedy

The Paradox of Tragedy How is it possible that human beings can derive pleasure from unpleasant states? This is the question addressed by Hume in his essay On Tragedy, which lies at the heart of a long-standing philosophical discussion on tragedy. Take horror movies, for instance. Some people are terrified while watching them, or they don’t sleep for days. So why  are they doing it? Why stay in front of the screen for a horror movie?It is clear that sometimes we enjoy being spectators of tragedies. Although this may be an everyday observation, it is a surprising one. Indeed, the view of a tragedy typically produces disgust or awe in the viewer. But disgust and awe are unpleasant states. So how is it possible that we enjoy unpleasant states?It is by no chance that Hume devoted a whole essay to the topic. The rise of aesthetics in his time took place side by side with a revival of a fascination for horror. The issue had already kept busy a number of ancient philosophers. Here is, for example, what t he Roman poet Lucretius and British philosopher Thomas Hobbes had to say on it. What joy it is, when out at sea the stormwinds are lashing the waters, to gaze from the shore at the heavy stress some other man is enduring! Not that anyones afflictions are in themselves a source of delight; but to realize from what troubles you yourself are free is joy indeed. Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe, Book II.From what passion proceedeth it, that men take pleasure to behold from the shore the danger of them that are at sea in a tempest, or in fight, or from a safe castle to behold two armies charge one another in the field? It is certainly in the whole sum joy. else men would never flock to such a spectacle. Nevertheless there is in it both joy and grief. For as there is novelty and remembrance of [ones] own security present, which is delight; so is there also pity, which is grief But the delight is so far predominant, that men usually are content in such a case to be spectators of the misery of their friends. Hobbes, Elements of Law, 9.19.So, how to solve the par adox? More Pleasure Than Pain One first attempt, pretty obvious, consists in claiming that the pleasures involved in any spectacle of tragedy outweigh the pains. Of course I’m suffering while watching a horror movie; but that thrill, that excitement that accompanies the experience is totally worth the travail. After all, one could say, the most delectable pleasures all come with some sacrifice; in this circumstance, the sacrifice is to be horrified.On the other hand, it seems that some people do not find particular pleasure in watching horror movies. If there is any pleasure at all, it’s the pleasure of being in pain. How can that be? Pain as Catharsis A second possible approach sees in the quest for pain an attempt to find a catharsis, that is a form of liberation, from those negative emotions. It is by inflicting upon ourselves some form of punishment that we find relief from those negative emotions and feelings that we have experienced.This is, in the end, an ancient interpretation of the power and relevance of tragedy, as that form of entertainment that is quintessential to elevate our spirits by allowing them to surpass our traumas. Pain is, Sometimes, Fun Yet another, third, approach to the paradox of horror comes from philosopher  Berys  Gaut. According to him, to be in awe or in pain, to suffer, can in some circumstances be sources of enjoyment. That is, the way to pleasure is pain. In this perspective, pleasure and pain are not really opposites: they may be two sides of the very same coin. This is because what’s bad in a tragedy is not the sensation, but the scene that elicits such sensation. Such a scene is connected to a horrific emotion, and this, in turn, elicits a sensation that we find in the end pleasurable.Whether Gaut’s ingenious proposal got it right is questionable, but the paradox of horror certainly remains one of the most entertaining subjects in philosophy.