Week 2 Essay Healthcare Essays - Health, , Term Papers

Week 2 Essay: Healthcare POLS210 November 20, 2016 Healthcare Currently, there are many issues that are being debated in the American healthcare system. While many of these issues have been debated upon for many years, they have recently been debated and focused on more heavily due to the Presidential election. One of the most prominent problems that is being debated right now is the cost of health insurance. Originally, the Affordable Healthcare Act was supposed to make healthcare insurance affordable and more attainable. Years after the Affordable Healthcare Act was implemented; it is apparent that it was a failure for the most part. In a great majority of cases, it failed the many Americans. The Affordable Healthcare Act in a great many cases has made healthcare insurance less affordable for the American people. The insurance costs have been on a steady incline since the Affordable Healthcare Act was put into play. It also failed by creating a federal tax for those Americans that could not afford to get coverage for themselves. There is a n array of opinions on this topic, but the majority of Americans agree that change is needed. The Presidential election this November was a stage for the debate of healthcare insurance costs. Donald Trump listen to the popular opinion of the majority of Americans and prosed to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act/Obamacare. This solution of getting rid of Obamacare and the Affordable Healthcare Act is one that the majority of America agreed with. This solution was the most popular and was the solution that is most believed to be the most efficient and most correct solution. As far as this solution goes, healthcare insurance would return to the way it was prior to 2010 when the Affordable Healthcare Act went into place. In the bigger picture premiums, would drop and that ridiculous tax for not being to afford health insurance would vanish. Yet another solution is to leave the Affordable Healthcare Act intact, but to get the premiums down by getting the non-profit insurers back into the insurance Marketplace. The goal would be to get those non-profit insurers into insuring again at higher numbers so as to cut down on the numbers being insured by for-profit companies. A great many believe that the rise in for-profits insuring in the Marketplace is a cause to the rise in insurance premiums and other costs. It is proposed that if the vast majority was being insured by non-profits the premiums and costs would fall. The American people would again be able to purchase health insurance for companies that were not in it solely to make money for themselves and their company, but instead would actually care about the people, as well as care about being able to provide affordable and reliable health insurance. The solution to the rising and outlandish costs of health insurance that seems to be the best, and most popular with public opinion, is to repeal and do away with the Affordable Healthcare Act/Obamacare. The public opinion spoke in the Presidential election and the candidate that side with this solution won the election. There is no question that this is the solution that is agreed upon my most American people. Before the Affordable Healthcare Act was implemented, there were lower deductibles and premiums. There was also not a tax for not being able to afford and purchase health insurance. This solution is the only one that the American people believe would work. It is the solution they feel necessary in order to get things back on track. We need to start back at ground zero again as far as health insurance and the cost of health insurance goes. Federal government is the one that has the most effect on healthcare and its costs. There are a few rules and regulations at a state level, but the clear majority is Federal. Healthcare insurance companies like to pride themselves on being private; however, since the Affordable Healthcare Act has come into play that just is not that case. The federal government has rules and regulations that the companies must follow nowadays, plus the federal government also provides funds for some insurance companies such as Medicaid and Medicare. The insurance companies, rules, and regulations,

Image Crisis at British Petroleum Essays

Image Crisis at British Petroleum Essays Image Crisis at British Petroleum Essay Image Crisis at British Petroleum Essay Bp’s BRAND IMAGE More packaging than substance ? Introduction: Corporate image symbolises the values an organisation stands for. Organizations can create it to define themselves or get branded due to their actions. Therefore, its more important to have a the right image that reflect an organization’s commitment to quality, excellence and its constructive role in the society. British Petroleum (BP) is a major enterprise to redefine its core values in the light of its ethical considerations. It is an example of antagonism between its core business and it’s core values. Since years it has been subject of criticism more than any other oil producer for failing to deliver on its commitments of environmental protection, ethical business model and health / safety procedures. A series of accidents have also undermined BP’s credibility of going green and the range of disparity between its business values and business practices is anyones guess. In order to assess the extent to which BP has been successful, we will equate its position with respect to the extrinsic factors like industry macro-drivers, strategy implementation, crisis management and intrinsic factors such as size, capital, costs, technology and location. It is the change of dynamics between these extrinsic and intrinsic factors that decides the amount of resources that can be allocated to bring about any change. We will also aim to explore how BP is affected by dynamics of a business sector on which its customers are rather dependent and shareholders who are looking for the return on their investment. The kind of leverage BP has to sideline its ethical commitments and favor profit generation. There are unexploited oil reserves in this highly profitable industry and switching to alternative energy solutions cannot viably offset current technologies brought about by years of research and billiols in investment. How does BP plan to manage this change across the company and time of implementation is debatable. â€Å"Bp’s internal culture is characterized by intense pressure to keep the costs down and budgeting always took precedence over routine maintenance and occasionally over safety. † Forbes The business ethics that are followed in this sector are questionable and BP is no exception. Seemingly the company has protocols setup for operation but due to the rapid expansion of the oil industry, these have to be adapted to the local conditions that leads to complacency and rearrangement of ethical priorities. This results in a business mechanism where the core values does not filter down to the grass root level. The ethics of any organization is comprised of the individuals representing it. Customizing ethics with respect to the operating environment increases heterogeneity in values which is not permissible. the values are real, but they haven’t been aligned with our business practice in the field a scream at our level is, if anything, a whisper at their level. † anonymous BP executive quoted by Fortune magazine There are challenges faced by BP as well to bring about changes. Change in technology is relatively easier than to bring change in attitude. Being conti nuously under the scrutiny of environmental agencies like green peace and WWF it is hard for the company to invest into alternative energy considering the profit it is making from the existing operations. Moreover, it is understandable that BP is a business concern that generates profit and not a charity, therefore it would be unfair to ask it for a paradigm shift in its policies and operations. It has made mistakes and hopefully learnt from it, there is actually no intention of reinventing the wheel. Therefore, the aim of this article is analyse the success BP has had since it was rebranded and whether its actions are in line with its green strategy or result of a covert master plan. Overview of the study: In this study we aim justify if BP is taking concrete steps to go green. We will cite examples and then examine how they translate in the light of stakeholder management, business ethics and crisis management and their political, economic, social, technologcal, environmental and legal effects (PESTEL). These management, ethics and PESTEL phenomenon occour differently in different strata of any organisation, their understanding is even more important as these individual processess lead to a cascade of events that define the actions of an organisation. Therefore, in most of the cases BP’s green credentials have to be judged as consequences rather than results of these processes. Stakeholder Management: A key issue in stakeholder management is the identification of ‘key’ stake holders which in turn helps an organization to filter out its ‘strategic’ stakeholders. â€Å"A stakeholder in an organization ( by definition) any group or individual which can affect or is affected by the achievements of the organizations objectives. † (Freeman 1984, Pg 46). Therefore, in order to maximize profits, stakeholders have to be prioritized on the basis of their affect or the organization. Stakeholders that can affect the management of the organization need to be handled instrumentally but if the firms decisions affect the well being of the stakeholders, then it is just a case of moral obligation (Berman et al. , 1999). They can also be categorized no the basis of their interest, claim or ownership in the organization and its activity (Clarkson 1995), where as equal merit should also be given to any consideration that a stakeholder might have (Donaldson Preston 1995). In the case of BP, we can clearly see that there is a genuine attempt to give equal merit to all its stakeholders. Even more so as its new branding scheme credits the environment as its stakeholder to which it ideally only has a moral obligation. Environmental organization maintains that BP is still ‘toying’ with the idea or going green (Barley, 2009) and on the company website the green trademark has been replaced with the commitment to be ‘Responsible’. (Barley 2009) One can only imagine the internal and external forces that come into play while corporate decisions are made. Primary stakeholder have an upper hand in influencing corporate decisions and an organization survival may depend on their continuous participation. Shareholders and investors, employees, suppliers are considered to be the primary stakeholders in an organization while secondary stakeholders constitute groups that are not essential for the direct functioning of an organization but are influenced or affected by it (Clarkson, 1995). Secondary stakeholders have a unique participation that they can mould people perception and have a major impact by striking interaction between stakeholders. Imperical studies have demonstrated that firms with different levels of commitment to environmental issues vary in managers perceptions of which groups of stakeholders is important (Buysse and Verbeke, 2003; Harvey and Schemer, 2001; Henriques and Sadorsky, 1999; Hoffman, 1996). BP being a profitable organization gives justice to this model. An insight into the this area leads to the fact that it has given good return on investment for its investors and ranks good on employee satisfaction surveys (BP Annual Review 2008). It is well known that the supply chain has always been happy in this generally profitable business sector. Considering customer satisfaction, the subject becomes debatable as their primary focus is on the fuel in their vehicles rather than its producer or its methods of production. Agle (1999, Pg 508) advocates that the importance of stake holders on attributes such as ligitimacy, power, urgency. Organization however big or small have limited resources where these attributes provide additional criteria for identifying and prioritizing stakeholders. Legitimacy refers to a legal or contractual obligation and categorizes shareholders and investors having interest in the harms and benefits generated by a company’s actions. Power is the ability to influence a firm’s behavior. Again it can be deduced that power comes to legimate stakeholders. Urgency is a dynamic component for a stakeholder to grab attention of managers. BP seems to adhere very strongly to above theory as we can see that the secondary stakeholders like environmental and health safety concerns do not feature high in its priority list. BP codes demands requiring immediate attention or change implementation as one and for future attention as zero. In year 2000 four environmental NGO’s lead the boycott of British Petroleum requesting it to pledge to avoid drilling operations in Alaska. This request was coded as zero (LexisNexis Academic, 2003). Bp’s Alaskan Northstar operation began production in the same year. It is also noteworthy that bp has done very well as an organization by contradicting a Harvard study that concludes that the companies that prioritize shareholders did less well for their stakeholders as compared to companies that put equal weightage on both (Caulkin and Black, 1994; Kotter and Heskett, 1992). Along with profit generation and market penetration, it has also expanded its product portfolio to alternative energy like solar energy, wind farms etc. ( However, it has not provided any explanation as to why it regards natural gas as alternative energy). As stakeholders, environmental agencies like greenpeace are its biggest critiques but other than that it ranks high on corporate social responsibilities initiatives like social innovation, energy efficiency, operating efficiency, product emission and research on renewable sources of energy (BP 2004). Its alternative energy division has been downsized to department as they have reported losses of $900 million in Q1 2009 due to sales slump and $193 million in Q108 (Yarrow, J. , 2009). Understandably, this decision should have been taken due to economic feasibility since BP as a business seeks profitability rather than investing funds in loss making operations. Therefore, viewing BP’s stakeholder management in the light of strategy implementation, we can see that fundamental changes in its business processes actually comprise its very long term strategy. It might be due to the fact that its secondary shareholders are miniscule considering its financial and political might within an industry that operates in an essential commodity business sector where it is hard, if not impossible, to persuade its customers to abstain using its products. It gives fair credit to political and economic aspects of PESTEL. Primary stakeholders have been prioritised and secondary stakeholders like society and environment have been sidelined. It is difficult to be profit oriented and environmentally comitted in this industry sector. The closest it has gone for being green on enviromental sustainability is cleaner energy that primarily focuses on process efficiency and carbon offset farms. In the current scenario it looks like BP’s strategy is to align stakeholders with its own business policies rather than implementing changes that reflect stakeholders’ concerns. Business Ethics: It is defined as the study of business situations, activities and decisions where the issues of right and wrongs are concerned (Crane and Matten, 2007). The fundamentals of business ethics have been deduced from applied ethics. By taking business environment into account, it addresses decision making when moral or ethical problems arise. Being a normative discipline, it provides a framework of values by averaging or bordering. It means that a decision being ethical or unethical actually depends on the situation and the environment where it may or may not be morally and socially acceptable. BP has had major criticism for unethical practices due to its collaboration with apartheid governments, exploration in protected areas, use of force in West Papua, Columbia, Azerbaijan, inadequate adherence to safety and most notably failing to deliver on its green initiatives. Bp’s trade agreements with the Souch African government under apartheid is a classis case where BP even denied to report its involvement ( Tutu, D. , et. Al, 2002). BP along with other major oil companies paid levy to South African government’s Strategic Oil Fund which financed SASOL to produce fuel for domestic transport (Burton, B. , 1998), which seriously undermined the effect of sanctions. However, it explained that embargoed oil was exported twice but that was an error. Like all other oil companies operating there, it said that it was compelled to purchase oil through the State Fuel Fund. Burton, B. , 1999) Bp’s publicly support to the Bush government to open oil drilling in Arctic National Wildife Refuge in Alaska and continues to explore in environmentally sensitive areas like the Atlantic Frontier, foothills of Andes and Alaska (Beder, S. , 2002). In 2001 PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) reseased the survey results of ADEC employee s that suggested that there is a widespread perception of regulatory favoritism towards the petroleum industry, political arm-twisting of pollution enforcement and waek agency leadership (Ruch, J. 2002). Bp’s move to extract oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada is another example where BP is involved in extraction involving process which is five time more energy intensive and equally polluting. BP does state its advantages of such a dirty extraction process but there are few takers. ( bp. com, 2007) It has been widely reported that BP uses force and in some cases collaborates with defence agencies to start or continue its production abroad and sometimes prosecute opposing fractions. In West Papua, BP has been developing athe massive Tangguh gas project at Benton Bay, where it has tried hard to gain community support by proclaiming its intention to avoid the disasters occurred while other companies were operating there. Rather than gaining community approval it has tied up with the Indonesian military. In March 2003, Bp was warned by US senator George Mitchell that it could trigger human rights abuses based on the fact that indonesian military would be deployed to guard its Tangguh LNG facilities (Macalister, T. , 2003). In Columbia, BP has been accused of making deals with local security forces and introduced voluntary principles while contracting private security providers and trying to ensure their implementation later (Warner, M. , 2002). BP was yet again in human rights vioation during the execution of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project connecting operations in the caspian sea to the medeterranean sea. It was accused osf sidelining the rights of Turkish villagers and environmental authorities as it struck a deal which exempted it from its environmental, social and human rights laws. Moreover, this deal included the fact that the pipeline would remain outside Ankara’s jurisdiction for its lifetime (Brown, P. , 2002). In March 2006, a sever corrosion was detected in the Purdhoe Bay oil transit line resulting in an oil spill. In June 2006 BP’s North America division was charged for illegal profit of $20 million by manipulating propane prices. In September 2006, 1000 barrels of oil was spilled at BP’s port of Long Beach, California due to rupture in its underground pipeline. In 2005 there was an explosion in its Texas refinery that killed 15 and injured more than 170. A government enquiry was carried out issuing fines and recommendations. Payment of fines was hardly a dent in its balance sheet but new health and safety management systems were incorporated such as OMS (Organisational Management System) and ERNP (Environmental Requrements for New Projects). Since 2007 there has been no reports on any accidents or mishaps so far. After the pipeline and Texas refinery disasters it went for damage control with a series of public relation campaigns, mainly in North America. There were adverts in newspapers, parties, barbrques, celebrity receptions, road shows, footrace etc. In 2007 it went for a US wide campaign called ‘Helios Power’ through newspapers, radio and television. One might wonder why such initiatives were not taken in other parts of the world, where it primarily settled lawsuits with monotory compensation, notably in the case of Columbiam farmers (Verkaik, R. , 2006). There can be no doubt that human rights abuse in Turkey could go unnoticed as BP had already made legal arrangements to circumvent it. It really is a blemish that would take long to wash off. Human rights grops have questioned BP’s business ethics and corporate culture it operates within. If a corporation can go against governments would it head to its citizens’ concerns; doubtful. Print and visual media is also to be credited as they break these news all over the world so that the people become more concious about the blood-fuel that is being delivered to them. Keeping strategy implementation in focus, it seems like its current strategy is to gamble and take chances. Its financial and political might does give it leverage to do so which could also be the root of this problem. Interestingly, BP in 2002 has also stated that it woll no longer offer donations to political parties as they have no democratic legitimacy anywhere in the world (Cowell, A,. 2002). It indicates that there were donations made that might have lead to malpracitces. With this many number of environmental blunders under its belt, its environmental credentials have hit rockbottom. In terms of basic ethical standards such as honesty, trustworthiness and co-operation (Collins 1994; Watson 1994), BP has set wrong examples that might, in future, undermine the commitment it enjoys from its investors and shareholders. CRISIS MANAGEMENT: Crisis management is a process that enables an organisation to manoevour under unpredictable situations which may threaten to harm the organisation, its stakeh olders or general public. Common challenges faced in a crisis situation is that of threat to the organisation, element of surprise and short decision time (Seeger et. l. 1998). Due to the large ambit of a crisis situation and organisation wide reach of the process a hybrid term has been coined called business crisis and continuity management (BCCM) (Shaw, G. , 2005). It has also been defined as the farmework that integrates strategic business protection, response recovery and business continuity (Mitroff and Pauchant 1992, Mitroff 2001) (Fink 1986). Bp’s crisis managem ent strategy suggests that it is accomodating rather than proactive. There have been instances like the Alaskan and Longbeach oil spill, Texas refinery disaster. Something common in all these situation is that fact that BP executives were swift enough to apologise and stop production but fact of the matter is that the fines and compensation it paid out hardly made a dent in its balance sheet. It has coerced stakeholders, made illegal government deals in Turkey, abused human rights in Azerbaijan, exploited environmentally sensitive areas and even denied involvement in worngdoings in South Africa shows the deapth of its crisis management. After the Texas refinery inqust, health and safety protocols like OMS and ERNP were introduced and will be tested over time. If the abovementioned situations are not regarded as crisis than what is? If these crises are catagoried ( Coombs 1999; Lerbinger 1997), BP has faced nearly all of them like technological, confrontational, malevolence, deception, organisational misdeeds and management misconduct. Falling back on the MItroff, Pauchant and Fink definition, BP does prform well in terms of business protection and business continuity but has failed to provide industry leading examples of response and recovery in any crisis situation. These crices situation have brought massive negative public relation to BP. Even more so the heavyhanded approach towards their resolution and recovery further exposed the rift there exists between BP policies and actions. Its blatent disregard for the very objectives it stands for proves that afterall it is an oil company and will remain one until these resources are exhausted and alternative energy becomes equally profitable. The need for rebranding and what BP got out of it: â€Å"Its not a matter of competition. Its a matter of different character. † -BP exchief executive John Browne Bp’s rebranding campaign is still considered a success story. With the acquisition of US based Amoco and ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Corp), access to the north american market, Amoco and ARCO brand ceased to exist and being catapulted in the big league was an ideal situation for rebranding the organization as a whole. This exercise in year 2000 brought two kinds of changes. Visibly, the old shield logo metamorphosed into a Helios sunburst with white yellow and green colours thereby defining the company as innovative, progressive, environmentally responsible and performance driven (Mufson, S. and Eilperin, J. (2006), and declared BP to stand for ‘Beyond Petroleum’. Psychologically it initiated a change in attitude and future orientation of the business as an energy company. This led to a series of organizational and leadership changes. This change in logo is seen with sarcasm these day as year 2000 and onwards BP has been associated with accidents, oil spills, government enquiries, protests, global warming etc. The effectiveness of BP’s new brand and the public relations can be judged on defintion given by Grunig and Hunt (1984) which stated that a non-product advertisement as being concept, general promotion, goodwill, image, issue, personality and responsibility. With the juxtaposition of being green to being responsible, BP has practically achieved these with its new brand but their realisation seem farfetched. CONCLUSION: Being green or not, it is important to consider that it is the people who make our society, inhabit the planet and will be most affected by issues like pollution and global warming. The managers in BP breathe the same air and hopefully do understand their moral responsibilities. Is it a race between oil majors to make maximum profits because one day or another final damage will be done? Green colour is not all about environment but it also signifies life. Being green is about respecting life. Its is hard to consider an oil giant to be environmentally sensitive if it earns $25 billion a year and pland to invest $8 billion over a period of ten years on alternative energy sources. BP has strady increased its profits year on year and the above figures correspond to year 2005. Since then its alternative energy subsidiary has been downsized to a department, getting even lesser funding. Other than environment, it has topographically and geologically disturbed the ecosystem, thereby causing irrepairable damage. In addition to bringing harm to the environment it has also taken resort to political lobbying, human rights abuse is South America and collaborated with apartheid government of South Africa. Going to these extremes clearly shows that it is a concious attemp on BP’s side to move away from its environmental claims. Moreover, the people that have been subjected to its abuses feel compromised as the benefits of their resources is being concenrated elsewhere. Bp’s Bold move to explore oil in environmentally sensitive areas have drawn a lot of flak from agencies such as Greenpeace, Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (PRIG) and Amnesty International. BP contends that it should be allowed to drill in sensitive areas because it has the ability to operate in a manner that will not harm these unique places, We disagree with that argument. The best way to preserve biodiversity and important protected areas is not by making a best practices gamble but to not operate there at all. Justin Tatham, PRIG representative There is no match to the long term damage caused by oil companies in general, but they are not to blamed alone. It is the world’s insatiable thirst for oil from which these companies derive motivation to move forward with the plan. It is also a plausable excuse that if BP doesn’t enter a market other oil majors will, but its still worth a try on moral grounds. In order to extract oil cheaply political and military collaborations forged and put common public on the receieving end. The importance of controlling production assets has gained impetus recently as countries like Russia and Venezuela are using their oil exports as political tools and there might be a day when BP’s political lobbyists may ask for its favour. Therefore, considering its working practices, orgsnisation culture, business ethics, shifting priorities and ambiguous future strategies, it can be clearly seen that BP has not lived up to the expectations. Its going to be a decade since BP rebranded itself, this journey of transformation has been marred by accidents, employee unrests, management shuffling and awards for being the worst performing company by Greenpeace. In 2008, BP was awarded ‘Emerald Paintbrush’ award for the worrst green-wash of the year, which speaks reams about what BP has achieved with its green commitment (Jossc 2008). It can only be hoped that BP has learned from its mistakes and responsibility has also been added to its commitments, it translates these commitments into business practices to ‘think out of the barrel’ and assimilate the green vision it stands for. REFERENCES: Agle, B. R. , Mitchell, R. K. , and Sonnenfeld, J. A. 1999. â€Å"Who matters to CEOs? An investigation of stakeholder attributes and salience, corporate performance, and CEO values. † Academy of Management Journal 42:507–25. 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Ruch, J (2002) INDUSTRY RUNS ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY, EMPLOYEES SAY peer. org, Available: peer. org/news/news_id. php? row_id=131 Last accessed 3rd July, 2009 Seeger, M. W. ; Sellnow, T. L. , Ulmer, R. R. (1998). Communication, organization and crisis. Communication Yearbook 21: 231-275. Shaw, G. , (2005), Business Crisis and Continuity Management, Federal Emergency Management Agency Higher Education Project, chapter 5, Pg 2,3. Tutu, D. , et. al. (2002), Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report, Juta Co Ltd, Cape Town, ISBN 0702158771 Verkaik, R (2006) BP pays out millions to Colombian farmers independent. co. uk, Available: independent. co. uk/news/world/americas/bp-pays-out-millions-to-colombian-farmers-408816. html Last accessed 3rd July, 2009 Yarrow, J (2009) BP Suffers Losses On Alternative Energy businessinsider. com, Available: busi nessinsider. com/bps-alternative-energy-unit-reports-a-800-million-loss-2009-4 Last accessed 28 June, 2009.

Extra points Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Extra points - Essay Example Generally typical unlawful immigrant household has only a 10th grade education. Consequently non-immigrants have low paying jobs hence pay less tax. On the other hand most house hold heads of lawful immigrants are well educated. Lawful immigrants headed by well-educated household tend to pay higher taxes that exceed the direct benefits they receive from the government. According to this report, lawful immigrants with college education heads generates a fiscal surplus of approximately$29250 which the government uses to finance the benefits of unlawful immigrants with less education who consequently contribute less taxes leaving the government with huge fiscal deficit. The benefits they receive exceed the taxes they pay to the government. Unlawful migrants unlike lawful migrants do not have access to social security, Medicare and other tested welfare services. However their children benefit from highly subsidized public education, medical benefits and welfare services offered by the go vernment. Unlawful immigrant household heads also benefit from the use of sewers, roads, parks, police, fire and state security. These available resources get overburdened due to congestion effects hence leading to decline of quality of services to be offered to lawful migrants and non-immigrants. It’s assumed by analysts that nearly half of the unlawful immigrants do not pay income or FICA taxes because most of them work â€Å"off the books†. In 2010, the Pew Hispanic Centre estimated children residing in US with unlawful parents to be 5.5 million. Out of this, 4.5 million were born in the US while the remaining 1 million migrated with their parents to the US. They therefore qualify to be legal citizens and are entitled to state welfare and subsidized education. In average, unlawful immigrants have about 3.7 percent of persons in their households as compared to non-immigrant who have 2.7 persons in their households. This indicates that households of unlawful immigrant s are larger than the household of non-immigrants. How has the relative education of unlawful immigrant households changed over time, and how does it compare to the education level of lawful immigrant and non-immigrant households? Data from the NELS indicate that the children of unlawful immigrant’s households will improve more than the educational levels of their parents. However 18 percent of these children are likely to drop out of school without even a high school degree while about 13 percent are likely to graduate with a college degree. The rest will either attain high qualification or some college training school. College graduates with degrees need to be improved to 30 percent to match with the levels of lawful immigrants and non-immigrants. In assessing the distribution of government benefits and costs, the study uses 6 categories of benefits/expenditures. Briefly describe what is in each category Government benefits and services are distributed into six categories a s follows: Direct benefits - : This involves the cost of services offered to the citizens or the direct cash transfer. They include the costs of Medicare services, unemployment insurance, workers compensation and social security. It’s calculated on the per capita of the Medicare cost that the government spends on its citizens. Means-tested benefit - : These are welfare costs that are channeled

Compare and contrast three stories from three different cultures Essay

Compare and contrast three stories from three different cultures - Essay Example The essay will juxtapose these stories and discuss their differences and similarities between these three stories according to cultural standards and human psychology. The Greek myth that relates the conception of Helen is perhaps the most intriguing as it involves not only an obscene case bestiality, but also the conception of a demigod after that encounter. The legend of Helen of Troy is most popular because of its Hollywood depiction and the many mystical events surrounding the event. Helen was the most beautiful women that made men go to war for her but she was also the product of an odd love affair between her mother Leda and the Greek god of Thunder and the father of gods, Zeus. There are many myths and legends in which Zeus was known for ravishing young women and producing many offspring that grow up to become godly or heroic figures in their mythology. However, in this particular tradition, Zeus transforms himself in to a swan to have intercourse with Leda, who in turn lays t wo eggs and gives birth to a daughter named Helen and a son named, Polydeuces. There are many alternating versions of the story and this is why, it is not known whether Leda was actually seduced or raped by Zeus. Moreover, at the same time Leda was known to have given birth to two of her other children after sleeping with her husband, Tyndareus. (Cavendish 2005, 811) The second myth narrate the story of Osiris and Isis, the former was deceived and killed by his jealous whereas the latter, who was the sister and wife of Osiris and also the patroness of nature and magic. After her husband was tricked and murdered by Seth, his body was dismembered in to 14 pieces and scattered throughout the land of Egypt. Isis with the help of her sister and Seth’s wife, Nephthys located all 13 parts of his body; which also represent one of the 14 full moons in one year. The last part was devoured by a fish that is Isis had to create a phallus made of gold and then brought Osiris back to life b y singing to him. As a result, Osiris became the lord of the underworld and together they created Horus, who went on to defeat Seth and reclaim the kingdom of Egypt. As Osiris was murdered out of jealous, the night signified the darkness that is associated with such a heinous trait and crime. However, the moon that becomes the only source of light became associated with the resurrected Osiris and the righteous ones who died were exalted to the status of a star that brightened up an otherwise dark sky. (Pugliano-Martin 2011, 22) On the other hand, the primary plot revolving around the one thousand and one Arabian nights is the story of a Persian King, who is betrayed by his wife and upon seeing his brother’s wife’s infidelity; he convinces himself that all women are evil. He not only has his wife and his brother’s wife executed but each day he marries a maiden and then the very next day he has them executed. The king’s grand Vizier became increasingly worr ied at the King’s madness but stayed mum until her daughter Scheherazade volunteers to become the next bride. Although he is reluctant at first but quickly places his faith in his daughter, who assures him that she would put an end to the massacre. On their wedding night she begins to tell her husband, the king a story but does not tell him the end as it dawn, her scheduled time to be executed. The king is fascinated by

Evaluate how the Media Affects Children Psychologically Essay

Evaluate how the Media Affects Children Psychologically - Essay Example they see at a greater rate than elders, when they watch good educational programs on media like television or the internet, they develop problem-solving, mathematical, reading and language proficiency. They learn to be social (Fisch, 2004, p. 191). Their interest in continuing to watch informative television shows increases as they grow older which helps them get higher grades in English, math and science and encourages them to read informative books. They learn to do well in reading and develop language abilities as many shows include simplified speech, repetitions and elaborations of meanings of words. Negative media effects are that children face problems in maintaining long attention span. They face difficulties in concentrating. They do not learn to think on their own. When watched in excess, television viewing becomes an undesirable activity. Excessively watching television shows other than educational ones gets them poor grades in academic achievement tests. Thus, moderation is necessary. Violent media tends to be harmful in developing good behavior and makes children aggressive and violent (Tompkins, 2003). To sum up, media has both positive and negative effects on children. The parents should feel the responsibility to keep a check on their children and teach them to watch any sort of media in moderation so as to reduce any bad effects media may cause on the developing

Inhibition Effectiveness of Au Compounds

Inhibition Effectiveness of Au Compounds Function of the â€Å"Guiding Bar† on Inhibition Effectiveness of Au Compounds on Thioredoxin Reductase 3 Qi Liu Introduction Mammalian thioredoxin reductase (TR) is an Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) dependent flavoprotein oxidoreductase, which is involved in reducing the disulfide of thioredoxin (Trx) using NADPH (Figure 1). Trx can reduce many important proteins, such as ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), which produces deoxyribonucleotides for DNA synthesis1, 2. Thus, TR and Trx play an important role in maintaining proteins in their reduced state, which involves the regulation of cellular redox reactions, proliferation, and differentiation3. In addition, Trx and TR is overexpressed in a lot of aggressive tumors, and the tumor progression and metastasis appear to be dependent on the Trx system, because tumor cells need constant DNA synthesis. However, tumor progression and metastasis were dramatically reduced when TR knockdown cells were injected into mice4. Thus, the TR was proposed to be a new anticancer drug target5. In mammals, there are three different TRs which have been characterized: the cytosolic form TR1, the mitochondrial form TR3, and thioredoxin glutathione reductase (TGR, also known as TR2)6. All of these TRs are selenoproteins with a selenocysteine (Sec) at their C-terminal active site. In the reaction mechanism of TR, the selenolate of Sec acts as an electron donor to Trx, also selenium can accept electrons from the N-terminal redox center of TR6. This redox center is located on a flexible arm, which is solvent-exposed and reactive towards electrophilic inhibitors, thus representing a target for antitumor drug development1. A number of recent reports suggest that gold-based drugs have strong inhibition ability on TRs, which could be from the direct coordination between Au and the active site Sec on TRs, so that the selenolate group is blocked7. Interestingly, the gold compounds,Bis[1,2-bis(dipyridylphosphino)ethane]gold(I) chloride ([Au(d2pype)2]Cl) and Bis[1,3-bis(di-2-pyridylphosphino)propane]gold(I) chloride ([Au(d2pypp)2]Cl), effect the inhibition effectiveness on human TR1(hTR1) and human TR3 (hTR3) differently (Figure2). The precise molecular mechanism of TR inhibition by gold compounds has not been elucidated. Thus, studies on inhibition of TRs by gold-based drugs are necessary for designing new cancer inhibitors. Available crystal structures of TRs include hTR1, rat TR1 (rTR1), mouse TR3(mTR3), DmTR (thioredoxin reductase from D. melanogaster), and PfTR (thioredoxin reductase from P. falciparum) enzymes9. A recent study showed the crystal structure of hTR1 with its substrate thioredoxin, in which the C-terminal tail of hTR1 was stabilized by a â€Å"guiding bar†, so that the flexible C-terminal tail can be observed (Figure 3). The guiding bar was first proposed in one of the structure studies of hTR1, and is composed of three amino acids: Trp407, Asn418, and Asn419. It functions to suppress random motions and positions the C-terminal tail in catalytically competent position through hydrogen bonding interactions9. However, the crystal structure of mTR3 does not show the C-terminus because of the random motion of the C-terminal without control from the guiding bar. Furthermore, the sequence comparison between hTR1 and hTR3 shows the absence of the guiding bar in TR3 (Figure 4). Research question Though inhibition of gold compounds on TRs has been studied, the function of the guiding bar on the gold compounds inhibition effectiveness on TRs has never been brought up to the studies of inhibition effectiveness on TRs. The goal of this proposal is to investigate the role of the guiding bar on the inhibition ability of gold based compounds on hTR1 and hTR3. The guiding bar will be constructed on hTR3 by mutations of K432W, A443N and S444N. Biophysical characterization will be applied to observe the presence of the C-terminus on TR3 after mutagenesis. My hypothesis is the C-terminal tail of the crystal structure of mutated TR3 will be observed, because the random motion of the C-terminus is reduced by restriction from the guiding bar. Then, two gold compounds, [Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl , will be applied to test the inhibition difference on normal TR3 and mutated TR3. I expect to see that the inhibition on mutated TR3 could be stronger than that on normal TR3. Significance of Proposed Research The thioredoxin system plays an important role in the intracellular redox enviornment and is composed of Trx and TR10. Proposed studies will give an insight into the function of the guiding bar on different TR enzymes. The guiding bar is expected to suppress the random motion of the C-terminal tail so that the redox center Sec on the C-terminus can have better coordination with the gold compounds. The coordination between metal and Sec will tightly block the Sec redox center, so the intracellular redox balance will be disturbed and result in potent TR inhibition4. Thus, the presence of the guiding bar can help TR to be a better drug target. Proposed studies Enzyme Expression and Purification Recombinant human TR1 and TR3 will be cloned into E. coli BL21(DE3) cells, and the growth and purification will be done as described previously.11 Mutation of Human TR3 In order to study the impact of the guiding bar residues on TR catalysis, the proposed mutations will be constructed on hTR3 with K432W, A443N, and S444N. These three mutation sites are chosen based on the sequence alignment of hTR1 in the guiding bar region of Pro376-Tyr422 (Figure 3), in which the critical amino acids, Trp407, Asn418 and Asn419, have the function of limiting random motion of the C-terminus. Thus, the same function of the guiding bar on hTR3 is expected to be observed via specific site mutation. Mutations will be introduced by the Quick Change mutagenesis method and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Structural Studies of Mutated Human TR3 The C-terminal tail in human and rat TR1 could be observed by X-ray crystallography, because the guiding bar limits its random motion. However, because the guiding bar is not present in mouse TR3, the C-terminal tail is too mobile to generate sufficient electron density without restriction from the guiding bar. This leads to the absence of the C-terminal tail in the crystal structure of mouse TR39. The mutated hTR3 after insertion of the guiding bar will be studied by X-ray crystallography. The presence of an ordered C-terminal tail in the crystal structure and the interaction between the guiding bar and the C-terminal tail will suggest restricted motion of the C-terminal tail. I expect to see that the interaction of the guiding bar on the C-terminal tail will improve the inhibition effectiveness of Au compounds on hTR3. Electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESIMS) Characterization ESI is an ionization technique which is used to detect high molecular weight molecules, such as proteins, peptides and other macromolecules, so ESI MS is an important technique for studying a complex biological sample9. Instead of fragmenting the macromolecules into smaller charged particles, this process turns the macromolecules into small droplets by ionization, and these droplets are further desolvated into even smaller droplets, which creates molecules with attached protons12. As a putative target for anticancer metallodrugs, the selenoenzyme TR is the drug target for gold compounds, such as [Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl. The TR inhibition is thought to occur through direct binding of the gold to the active site Sec following ligand substitution. So, TR3 and mutated TR3 will be separately incubated with the two gold compounds mentioned above for 30 mins at room temperature, and then the products will be analyzed by EIS-MS. The results will be compared and are expected to explain the binding of the gold onto the hTRs. I hope to see the gold compounds have better binding on mutated hTR3 than normal hTR3. This can be explained as the guiding bar can reduce the motion of flexible C-terminal tail, so that the gold compounds can bind onto the Sec of mutated hTR3 easier than the normal one and cause more inhibition on the mutated hTR313. TR Inhibition Assay The solvent-accessible selenolate group, arising from enzyme reduction, very likely constitutes a high affinity binding site for gold compounds. Tightly blocking the active site Sec through metal coordination should result in potent TR inhibition9. Thus, after ESI-MS characterization, the TR inhibition study will be performed with the two different gold compounds, [Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl, on hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3 respectively. In addition to Trx, some low molecular weight disulfide-containing substrates, including 5,5†²-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), lipoic acid, and lipoamidem, can also be reduced by TRs9. Here, DTNB would be chosen as the substrate for TR inhibition assay to keep consistent with the previous studies from other groups9. The NADPH dependent TR catalyzed reduction of DTNB will be monitored and determined by the increase in absorbance at 412nm. Inhibition of hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3 will be done by using different concentrations of go ld compounds ([Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl). The inhibition results from different TRs and gold compounds will be compared. Based on the assumption that the guiding bar can suppress the motion of the C-terminal tail, greater inhibition effectiveness on mutated hTR3 than that on normal hTR3 is expected to be seen. This will show that the C-terminus is limited by the guiding bar on mutated hTR3 helps the gold compounds inhibit the active site Sec more. Binding Studies by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) ITC is a technique used to determine the thermodynamic parameters of interaction in solution. It can be applied to study the interactions between protein-protein, enzyme-inhibitor, protein-small molecules, protein-DNA, and so on. Thus, the binding between gold compounds and the three TRs (hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3) can be investigated by ITC. Applying this method will tell us how well the inhibitors, the gold compounds, bind to TRs. The binding affinity (Ka) could show how strongly the gold compounds and TRs will bind, and the higher Ka, the stronger the binding. In addition, enthalpy changes (ΔH) can tell the amount of energy released or obtained. Then, the entropy change (ΔS) and Gibbs energy changes (ΔG) can be determined by the following equation (1): ΔG = -RTlnKa = ΔH-TΔS (1) Comparison of the binding parameters between gold compounds ([Au(d2pype)2]Cl and [Au(d2pypp)2]Cl) and TRs (hTR1, hTR3 and the mutated hTR3) will give more information about the function of the guiding bar on the inhibition effectiveness of TRs. The higher Ka of hTR1 compared to normal hTR3 is expected to be seen, because the absence of guiding bar in hTR3 will lead to a flexible C-terminal tail, which will give a lower inhibition. In addition, Ka of the mutated hTR3 is expected to show higher binding affinity than the normal hTR3, because the guiding bar mutated on hTR3 will help reduce the random motion of the C-terminal tail, so that the redox center Sec can be easily inhibited by the gold compounds. Thus, the guiding bar can help improve the inhibition effectiveness of gold compounds on mutated hTR3. Conclusion Through mutation and structural studies, the presence of the C-terminal tail which is restricted by the inserted guiding bar is expected to be seen in the mutated hTR3. The ESI-MS characterization and binding study can give information about if the gold can successfully bind to the specific active site on the mutated hTR3. Finally, a better understanding of the inhibition effectiveness will be tested and compared by the inhibition assay with hTR1, hTR3 and mutated hTR3. Thus, a better understanding of the function of the guiding bar in the TR system will give an insight into the effect of the guiding bar on the drug inhibition effect on TR3 so that it can become a better drug target. References O. Rackham., A. M. Shearwood., R. Thyer., E. McNamara., S. M. Davies., B. A. Callus., A. Miranda-Vizuete., S. J. Berners-Price., Q. Cheng., E. S. J. Arner and A. Filipovska,Free Radical Biol. Med. 2011, 50, 689–699 Lothrop A. P.,Snider G. W.,RugglesE. L., PatelA. S., LeesW. J., and HondalR. J., Biochemistry.2014,53, 654–663 Fritz-Wolf K, Kehr S, Stumpf M, Rahlfs S, and Becker K., Nat Commun.2001, 2, 383 Fritz-Wolf K., Urig S., Becker K., J. Mol. Biol. 2007, 37, 116–127 Lothrop, A. P., Snider, G. W., and Hondal, R. J., Biochemistry. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/bi400651x Pratesi A., Gabbiani C., Michelucci E., Ginanneschi M., Papini A. M., Rubbiani R., Ott I., Messori L., J. Inorg. Biochem. 2014 Gabbiani C., Mastrobuoni G., Sorrentino F., Dani B., Rigobello M. P., Bindoli A., Cinellu M. A., Pieraccini G., Messori L. and Casini A.,Med. Chem. Commun. 2011,2, 50–54 Lu J.,Chew E. H.,Holmgren A.,Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.2007, 104,12288 Yoo M.H., Xu X.M., Carlson B.A., Gladyshev V.N., Hatfield D.L., J BiolChem, 2006, 281, 13005–13008. Arnà ©r E.S.J., Holmgren A., Eur. J. Biochem, 2000, 267, 6102–6109 Gromer, S., Urig, S., and Becker, K., Med. Res. Rev. 2004, 24, 40-89 http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Analytical_Chemistry/Instrumental_Analysis/Mass_Spectrometry/Mass_Spectrometers_(Instrumentation)/Electrospray_Ionization_Mass_Spectrometry Lu, J., Chew, E.H., Holmgren, A., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.,2007, 104, 12288–12293. Berners-Price S. J., inBioinorganic Medicinal Chemistry, ed. E. Alessio, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim Berners-Price S. J. and Filipovska A.,Metallomics, 2011,3, 863–873

Americans Benefit from the Abuse of Migrant Farm Workers :: Essays Papers

Eating-up Exploitation: How Americans Benefit from the Abuse of Migrant Farm Workers As Americans become more health conscious, their consumption of fruits and vegetables is increased at astronomical levels. Since migrant farm workers are responsible for picking the majority of these products, the eating habits of Americans perpetuate the very farm labor market conditions that many people would like to put an end to. Therefore, whether knowingly or not, Americans are exploiting these Migrant workers who are paid less then minimum wage, have no power to bargain with their employers, and have inadequate and unacceptable living accommodations. In New England, the harvest of blueberries and apples are crucial to the economy, and are in abundant supply. Those who pick these fruits travel across the country, and often across international boarders to fill agricultural jobs that U.S. citizens are not willing to take. Both blueberries and apples are extremely difficult crops to harvest, and require extensive manual labor. Migrant workers are willing to fill these physically exhausting positions because of economic hardships, and the lack of jobs in their own countries. The phenomena of Migrant Workers would not be possible if the migrants were able to get jobs elsewhere, but as many come from Third-World Countries with little economic possibilities, this is not possible. What has resulted is an inexhaustible supply of cheap labor to the United States. This willingness on the part of the workers to work for wages otherwise unacceptable in the United States is problematic. Employers in this position are not under any pressure to reveal truthful, or even any information about wage rates, and many workers do not ask how much they will be paid. As a result, workers often do not know how much they will paid until they are thousands of miles away from their homes, and frequently not until they are paid at the end of a week. This is the story for the Mexican blueberry pickers in Maine, and the growing number of apple pickers who are Jamaican. Mexicans are the majority of blueberry pickers in central Maine where the majority of wild lowbush blueberry plants grow.

Applications for Christian Counseling Essay

In McMinn’s 1996 book Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling, the author goes into detail about the theoretical and technical applications and interventions involved in the practice of counseling from a Christian perspective. McMinn discusses bringing religion into the counseling office. He asserts that religion is always addressed in counseling, in a variety of ways. Religion is either presented as a negative force which should be removed from a client’s life, as a positive force in which God is a helpful support in the life of the client, or as a negative force in which religion takes on a shaming role. McMinn calls the reader’s attention to the psychological and spiritual health of the client as being interwoven. From a Christian perspective, psychological and spiritual health is a given, an essential gift from God, and it is up to the client with the help of the counselor to find the path towards recognizing and appreciating spirituality as an element of psychological health. Prayer serves to bring God closer to people personally, and clients can be aided in their goal to reach spiritual enlightenment by praying to God to help them find solutions. Scripture can also be helpful in the lives of people wanting to find a deeper meaning and purpose in their lives, as the path to happiness is clearly explained within the Bible. However, it is not always appropriate to discuss religious ideals with clients. It should be up to the client whether or not he or she feels comfortable discussing particular aspects of religion. Although people are disturbed by sin, suffering from personal decisions to break away from God, it is important to recognize that sin can only be overcome by acts of love and kindness. Recognizing sin is important, but it is not up to counselors to point out the sins of their clients, and it does not serve any purpose for clients to fall into the gloom of guilt and shame. In regard to the benefits of confession, it can be immensely helpful and relieving to share one’s sins with another person, to give voice to the things one has done wrong. However, it is also important to forgive and move forward in figuring out ways to make amends and rectify the situation as best as possible. McMinn covers all of the basics in regard to how counselors should and need to address psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian counseling. Religion is always a topic of any counseling session, and it is up to the counselor to decide the best ways in which to address the ways in which God is present in the lives of clients. McMinn offers a wide range of ideas and suggestions in response to people who are searching for an answer about how to address Christianity in the counseling office. Response In reading McMinn’s chapter entitled Toward Psychological and Spiritual Health, I was reminded of one of my own road trips with my family as a child. My sisters and I were making too much noise in the back of the van, and my father pulled over, opened the back of the van, and slapped me, shouting at us to be quiet. This is one of my most disturbing memories, and it made a profound impact on my life. Having experienced a situation such as this was a learning experience for me, and it took a while for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I was not guilty, my father was. My father was the one who sinned, not I. He was the one who was raising me, and he made mistakes. It was wrong of him to yell, to hit, to manage his own anger so poorly and to react to me in violence. I think it’s important that sin be treated seriously, as it is an act which fragments tender social and familial relationships. I think that it is important to feel remorse about sinful situations and to regard the incidents with honesty. As a child, I felt guilty, as if I did something wrong. I carried this guilt, which was also sinful, into my life as a young adult, until I finally recognized that I was not to blame. My father was the one to blame. And now, I feel comfortable in knowing what is wrong and right for me as a parent. I feel liberated by seeing the sinful situation clearly and through forgiveness of both my father and myself. I forgive him for hitting me, for yelling at me, and I forgive myself for feeling guilty and ashamed for so long for something which was not my fault. Reflection In reflecting on McMinn’s book, I think it is highly important for Christian counselors to keep in mind the importance of attributing sin to the precise people and situations. McMinn addresses how it is important to regard oneself with respect to one’s own sins. However, given the relational nature of human social interaction, it is highly significant to discuss the ways in which the sins of others have an affect on the personal lives of clients. Many people have problems in their lives, and many times, people are feeling guilty and ashamed, down trodden and helpless, because of the sins of other people (Isay, 2008). It is important for counselors to see the world clearly, especially the ways in which family relationships create specific relational responsibilities. One of the most important elements of the counseling relationship is to help clients figure out how sin, personal sin and sins of other people, are affecting their lives. Without being precise about who, what, where, and when sin has occurred, there can be no honest step forward into forgiveness. Action In my own professional life as a Christian counselor, I want to be able to help people to honestly be able to recognize and attribute sin to the problems in their lives, whether the sin is their own or the sin of another person. Most problems in the world are relational, and it is nearly impossible to consider oneself outside of the realm of how one is relating to others. I want to be helpful in asking questions and guiding clients in their search to figure out the ways in which sins are affecting their lives. When the sins of the client and the other people in the client’s life are clearly described and honestly voiced by the client, only then it will be possible for the client to move forward in forgiveness and reconciliation, and be enabled to move closer in a relationship with God. References Isay, J. (2008). Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship between Adult Children and Parents. Random House, Inc. McMinn, M. (1996). Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Comparison of the Theories of Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim on Religion The WritePass Journal

Comparison of the Theories of Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim on Religion Abstract Comparison of the Theories of Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim on Religion AbstractIntroductionDifferent Routes to the Core of a DelusionConclusionReferencesRelated Abstract This paper examines the works of Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim on religion, looking at how both theorists essentially viewed religion as serving an integral role in human culture. In particular, this essay considers how both theorist consider religious believers to be mistaken in their ontological beliefs, and the rational causes for this. Introduction While both Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim are concerned with the study of human behaviour as it relates to culture, each does so from within distinct traditions. In terms of religion, Freud’s approach belongs to the psychological tradition, while Durkheim puts forward a sociological approach. In the Freudian view, human behaviour is largely driven by inborn and intangible â€Å"drives†, working in the unconscious. Such phenomena are not directly observable, that is, they are non-empirical; they must consequently be inferred, and as such are conjectural. Durkheim’s sociological method, on the other hand, utilises direct empirical observations of social phenomena (rites, rituals, customs, et cetera), looking to account for the impetus behind and purpose of group behaviour. Hence Freud is concerned with obscure, intangible internal phenomena, whereas Durkheim is concerned with overt and tangible external phenomena. Evidently, the theoretical positions in question to a degree divide between internal and external motivations. Different Routes to the Core of a Delusion Durkheim posits a direct connection between environmental variables, the way groups interact with such variables, and how this interaction is perceived by individual members of said group. There is a mode of cyclical reflexivity in this dynamic: this means people â€Å"living together in society generate rules which are felt by any individual member as acting on him from outside, as having a force which he feels as both uplifting and constraining† (Scharf 1970, 151). This force, Durkheim argues, is an externalisation of conventions peculiar to the group; that are perceived as exogenous but which are in fact endogenous. This tendency to externalise, Durkheim suggests, derives from the natural human desire to ascribe meaning to experience, to seek a pattern in the natural order. Thus, as Kunin states, religion likewise â€Å"is an externalisation of society and its order† and speaks to the â€Å"dialectic relationship between the individual and society† (2003, 82). Religion, then, provides for an externalised object onto which collective emotion can be projected; this is ultimately reflexive because the externalisation at root represents the people themselves. As a result, to honour religious custom is indirectly to honour the group. This is why for Durkheim religious experience serves to strengthen group cohesion and bonding. Freud’s understanding of religion is somewhat pejorative. Connolly observes that Freud noticed â€Å"the connection between abnormal psychological conditions and religion† (1991, 146): which observation he expanded upon in his study â€Å"Obsessive acts and Religious Practices† (1907). As the paper’s title suggests, Freud drew a connection between psychological abnormality and religious practice, noting a resemblance between â€Å"what are called obsessive acts in neurotics and those religious observances by means of which the faithful give expression to their piety† (17). In turn, Freud perceived religion, like neurosis, as symptomatic of deep-seated psychological issues. In the words of Gallucci, â€Å"Freud saw religion as a collective neurotic symptom, an obsessional neurosis† (2001, 76). This â€Å"neurosis†, according to psychoanalytic theory, comes about as a defence mechanism against feelings of helplessness which obtain in a d ispassionate cosmos. Hence the need for a cosmic father figure, who, as a parent comforts the child, palliates the religious subject with conciliatory notions (about purpose, meaning, boundaries, rewards, and so on). This entire dynamic apparently stems from Oedipal anxieties, where â€Å"each person grows up with a sense of foreboding toward a father figure who is both feared and loved†; this, it follows, â€Å"becomes the basis for the cosmic father figure, who offers protection and salvation but in the meantime needs to be appeased by devotion and sacrifice† (Clarke 2002, 43). In Freud’s mind, religion therefore constitutes a surrogate parent. On the surface, Freud and Durkheim proffer two seemingly quite different explanations for religion. Importantly, while these theories are not overtly complementary, nor are they mutually exclusive. Indeed, significant parallels may be drawn between each approach. For example, both both theorists argued that religion is an important factor in community cohesion (Scharf 1970, 155); both agree that â€Å"religion is central to any cultural analysis† (Ginsburg and Pardes 2006, 220); and, thus, both hold that â€Å"that the cognitive roots of religious belief are to be found in social experience† (Spiro 1987, 202). These similarities are significant and, moreover, point to one common determinant: that the underlying basis of religious convictions are contrary to what believers suppose. For Durkheim, the real driving force behind religion is social cohesion; for Freud, the impetus is psychological assuagement. In either case, social unity and mental wellbeing obtain, only for slightly different conceptual reasons. From the above, one might argue that Freud and Durkheim share significant overarching perspectives on religion while holding markedly different structural viewpoints on how and why religion functions. Freud is concerned with psychological structures; Durkheim with sociological structures. Freud believes religion works to console believers from the ultimate anxiety of a meaningless cosmos. Durkheim believes religion provides for a canvas on which social phenomena can be externalised and then re-accommodated as an exogenous entity. Again, both modes of behaviour essentially work to the same purpose: instilling a sense of meaning in human life. At this stage, one might consider the ways in which Freudian theory could compensate for shortfalls in the work of Durkheim and vice versa. For instance, Durkheim offers little in the way of early psychological developmental insights, into the religious process; yet there is no reason that early anxiety (of an Oedipal nature) could not cohere with Durkheimian ideas. Indeed, such anxiety and the consequent potential for neurosis could suggest an even greater need for group cohesion: as a way of reifying the delusion through consensus, thus alleviating the anxiety. Again, this would chime with Durkheim’s understanding that religion is â€Å"a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things [. . .] which unite in one single moral community called a Church† (cited in Gain 2010, 39). By the same token, Freud’s limitations could perhaps be overcome with reference to some of Durkheim’s insights. Scharf notes a â€Å"weakness of Freudian theory† in that it â€Å"does little to explain [the] variety† in articulations of paternity and fraternity within religious discourse , advising that, here, â€Å"Durkheim’s structural approach has more value† (1970, 154). Accordingly we see that a synthesis of theoretical approaches may not only be possible but highly advantageous. Conclusion Freud and Durkheim take very different roads to arrive at more or less the same destination. For this reason, significant and consistent core elements may be identified between their works. These include the fundamental belief that religion serves an explicable, material, social purpose which is essentially external to theological concerns; that religious believers are at base mistaken in their beliefs (insomuch as these beliefs are connected to cosmic phenomena beyond the rationally explicable); that, it follows, religion is the irrational articulation of an ultimately rational cause (anxiety or clan behaviour); that religion can function as a surrogate or projection of humanity – reformed with divine auspices; and that, finally, religion is an integral element of human culture. What is fundamentally different in these two authors is their methodological priorities. Each man comes from a very distinct tradition. Put simply, Freud and Durkheim were engaged in different discipl ines; as a result, their pursuits were orientated differently The reason Freud and Durkheim’s works are compared at all is that the realms of the sociological and of the psychological possess mutual territory: the grounds of culture. Both theorists have their limitations. Durkheim can be accused of being over reductive and simplistic. Social structure may not be enough to account for every aspect of religion. Psychological, cognitive and other inborn factors may also have a large part to play. Freud, on the other hand, may place too much onus on the unconscious drives in dictating religious experience. After all, religion is so varied and complex, it might be argued, to defy any wholesale theory to explain it away. What, for example, do we make of religions in which there is no â€Å"father figure† proper; or religions which proclaim no deity at all? Clearly there are unanswered questions on both sides of the aisle. Perhaps a hybrid methodology that adopted a syncretic approach to the study of religion might help answer these ques tions. After all, it seems to be the case that both Freud and Durkheim arrived at crucial insights into the social and psychological determinants that drive religion. References Clarke, P. J. (2002) Explaining Philosophy and Ethics. Cheltenham: Nelson Thomas. Connolly, P. (1991) â€Å"Psychological Approaches†. In: Connolly, P. ed. Approaches to the Study of Religion. New York: Continuum, pp. 135-193. Durkheim, E. (1912). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. (J. Swain, Trans.) New York: The Free Press. Freud, S. (1907) â€Å"Obsessive Acts and Religious Practices†. In: J Strachey (ed. and trans.) Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press. Gain, M., 2010. On Durkheim’s Rules of Sociological Method (Routledge Revivals). New York: Routledge. Gallucci, G. M., 2001. Plato and Freud: Statesmen of the Soul. Philadelphia: Xlibris. Ginsburg, R. Pardes, L., 2006. New Perspectives on Freuds Moses and Monotheism. Tà ¼bingen: Niemeyer. Kunin, S. D., 2003. Religion: The Modern Theories. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Scharf, B. R., 1970. â€Å"Durkheimian and Freudian Theories of Religion: The Case of Judaism†, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 21. 2 (June), pp. 151-163. Spiro, M. E., 1987. Culture and Human Nature. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Text Telephone essays

Text Telephone essays The TTY, or Text Telephone is widely known among the deaf and hearing impaired community. Although it is an extremely effective form of communication, it was actually difficult to locate around the city of Boston. The first stop I made was a regular T station. There was not one there. I thought there may be one in a bank, no luck. I then traveled to a major bus station where I found one TTY but it was unusable. Having the TTY broken made me wonder, what would I do if I was deaf? Where is the nearest one to here? What if there was an emergency? Realizing the difficulty in finding a working TTY gave a bit of insight into what the deaf and hearing impaired must go through when they are in public places and the inconvenience they face when there is a lack of facilities that are suited for them. The TTY can come in several different forms and sizes. Some are in payphones, some desktop. All have a keyboard in order to type out the information a person needs to relay to the person they are calling. TTYs must have some sort of power source, either a battery or an adapter for a plug. They also have acoustic cups on them, which the caller places the phone receiver onto. TTYs have a phone cord, usually on the left side and have a signal light that indicates when there is a dial tone. Some TTYs also have printers built in which allow the communicators to print out their conversation. Conversations can be printed but must be thrown away after the conversation, out of the respect for the other person. TTYs are created for the deaf and hearing impaired but they are able to be used by anyone. They are located in most public buildings and many businesses use them in order to contact their customers who are deaf or hearing impaired. Originally, the TTY was called the TDD or Telecommunications Device for the Deaf. The term TTY is preferred out of respect for those who are hearing ...

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

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