Medieval Times

Imagine you are in Medieval Times, the food, the people, the weapons. The bus ride was long. I could not wait to see the castle, the medieval castle looked like. I was amazed when I got to the castle. You need to work on these sentences to make your writing stronger. â€Å"Show me, don’t tell me. † Use sensory words! The last sentence (your thesis) should be 1 sentence. Try combining the last two sentences of this paragraph. Medieval Times is an accurate representation of the Middle Ages. That is because of the food and beverages, weapons, and the extras.Primarily Good transition and topic sentence. , the food and beverages were accurate. You had water to drink. The chicken was good and was a little salty, so it was beneficial to have water to drink. Also, at dinner time, a food option was soup or stew. We however Switch these words and insert a comma. did not have soup or stew because it was lunch time and not dinner. On the other hand, the weapons were realistic. The knight was training his squires with certain weapons. Like the halberd is a combination of a battle-axe and a pike.Also, the bludgeon, a type of mace, was also used. Then they were using swords. Finally, the dagger was used, a small sword. Furthermore, the extras were amazing. The dancing and bowing horse from Saudi Arabia was the best part. The falcon with the bell on his foot was also a tradition of the opening ceremony. The color of the knight’s armor and the horse’s armor also told where they came from. Like the red knight, Baron Ruiz de Roig was from Castilla. Similarly, the black and white knight, Don Iofre Santa Creu was from Santiago de Compostela.That is why I think Medieval Times is an accurate representation of the Medieval era. You do not need to tell me â€Å"That is why I think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The first sentence should be the exact same sentence from your thesis. I think this because of the extras, the weapons and last but not least, the food and beverages . I do think it is a great show to see so, I do recommend Why do you recommend it? I need more than you enjoyed it. that next year’s 7th grade class should see the medieval times show. I liked it, it was enjoyable.

Experts need to slow down the rate of global warming

Experts around the world have been warning about this for decades and have been urging governments to do more to slow down the rate of global warming. They warn that there is a 75% risk that global temperatures will rise a further two to three degrees in the next 50 years. The consequence of this would be dramatic. In fact a rise of just one degree would melt the Greenland ice sheet and drown the Maldives, but a three degree increase would kill the Amazon rainforest, wipe out nearly half of all species facing extinction and wreak havoc with crop yields due to weather changes. Whilst the global climate goes through hot and cold cycles, what is worrying about the current phase is the pace of change that could send us head first into a final spin. Although we have certainly benefited from technological advancements that have given us plastics, air travel and cheap food – what is important is to maintain a balance so that excessive consumerism does not ride roughshod over nature's harmony. In Islam man is given the role of trusteeship over the earth, which is a huge responsibility. In the past, man had to be careful how he treated his local environment since excessive grazing or agriculture could bring ruin to his livelihood. His knowledge was also limited but in the event of a disaster either through ignorance or abuse at least he could resort to moving elsewhere and start again. Now we should have no excuse for ignorance and we should have learnt from our past to avoid misuse. But what is worrying is that the impacts of our behaviour are not just local anymore, they are global. If we fail to act in a responsible manner then we cannot simply relocate because there will be nowhere to go. It is therefore vital that as producers, manufacturers and consumers, we ensure that we give due consideration to the impact of our actions. Such a responsibility is not just that of the east or the west but a responsibility for all of us. Islam teaches us that God has continued and will continue to provide us with ample resources for all time. But through man's misuse, this balance may change. It is this personal greed of man that makes them squander these resources and deprive others who may need those resources. The Holy Quran warns mankind in Chapter 7, verse 32 â€Å"O children of Adam!†¦ eat and drink but exceed not the bounds; surely He does not love those who exceed the bounds† The overall message of Islam is that it promotes harmony by advising moderation. It accepts that we need to use resources for our progress but this should be done wisely and in a sustainable manner, so that a satisfactory medium is found. The Holy Quran relates in Chapter 25, verse 68 â€Å"those who, when they spend are neither extravagant nor niggardly but moderate between the two. So as individuals we should act on the Quranic injunction that promotes balance and avoids excess and Nations need to be more willing to share knowledge for the sake of the planet rather than for profit and take collective action in line with their collective responsibility. By doing so we will be able to win the pleasure of God and honour our trusteeship of the earth for the present and future generations

Adaptation Othello Essay

The main characters in Act 1 are Othello, Brabantio, Roderigo, Iago, Cassio, The Duke and Desdemona. There are also two senators in the play as well as an Officer, a Sailor and a Messenger. I will now give a brief description of each one of these characters. Othello: A commander for the Military Force of Venice. Being an origin of Mauritania, he is referred to as a â€Å"Moor†. His triumphant line of work brings him a high rank in Venice. We know this from how people refer to him â€Å"Valiant Othello† (Act 1 Scene 3, Line 48, Duke) But being a foreign person of a different colour, he is socially separated from those whom he works with. He is a military man, with repute for bravery in combat and fine judgment in military matters. In act 1, we learn that Othello falls in love and marries Desdemona without Desdemona’s fathers consent. Brabantio: A member of the Venetian Senate. He is the father of Desdemona and brother of Gratiano. His first appearance is in Act 1 Scene 1 where Iago and Roderigo tell him that Othello has married his daughter. When he hears of his daughter’s marriage to Othello, Brabantio accuses Othello of using magic on his daughter to bewitch her into loving him. Brabantio consequently brings Othello to court in front of the duke and two senates. After the events that happen he disowns his daughter. He advises Othello that, â€Å"She has deceived her father, and may thee† Desdemona: Desdemona is the daughter of Brabantio; a man of high repute in Venice. For that reason, Desdemona is an upper class lady. Desdemona elopes with Othello and escorts him to Cyprus. After Cassio is shamed, she pleads for his reinstatement, an act which her husband interprets as proof of Iago’s inference that she is disloyal. She is eventually slaughtered by Othello in the final scene of the play. Roderigo: Roderigo is a Venetian gentleman frantically craving Desdemona. Roderigo tells Iago that he does not appreciate him using his money. â€Å"I take it much unkindly, that thou, Iago, who hast had my purse†¦ † However, when Iago tells him his plot in order to capture Desdemona’s heart Roderigo forgets Iago’s â€Å"theft† and agrees to kill Cassio. He does everything that Iago asks him to do and has no idea that he is being systematically cheated by him. In the final scene of the play, he wounds and gets wounded by Cassio in an unsuccessful attempt to murder the lieutenant, and as a consequence he is killed by Iago. Iago: Iago is Othello’s servant. When Othello promotes Michael Cassio, Iago feels affronted and conspires to affront them both. He manipulates Cassio into making himself look bad and urges Roderigo to slay Cassio. When the plot fails, he kills Roderigo to make sure he does not show him up. Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona’s deceitfulness and maneuvers him into killing her. He then murders his own wife, Emilia, and is taken into custody by Cassio at the play’s end. Michael Cassio: Cassio is a gentleman soldier; he comes from Florentine and has a weakness for women and alcohol. Cassio is well bought up, and well learned. He is one of Othello’s lieutenants. Iago uses him in his plot to destroy Othello; Iago hints throughout the play that Cassio is having an affair with Othello’s wife, Desdemona. Iago eventually uses Cassio to fuel Othello’s jealousy into murderous anger. The other characters in Act 1 are the duke, the senators, the officer and the messengers. Cast List on following page†¦ Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award- winning American actor and director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his portrayals of several real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin â€Å"Hurricane† Carter, Frank Lucas, and Herman Boone. Ian Mckellen Sir Ian Murray Mckellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939) is a British stage and screen actor, the recipient of the Tony Award and two Oscar nominations. Mckellen is best known to moviegoers in recent years for his roles as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and as Magneto in the X-Men trilogy. His work has spanned genres from serious Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979, knighted in the 1991 New Year Honors for his outstanding work and contributions to the theatre. In the 2008 New Year Honors he was made a Companion of Honour (CH) for services to Drama and to Equality. Liv Tyler Liv Tyler (born July 1, 1977) is an American actress and model. She is perhaps best known for her roles of Grace Stamper in Armageddon and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. She is the daughter of Aerosmith’s front man, Steven Tyler. Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall OBE (born February 27, 1957) in Battersea, is an English BAFTA award-nominated film, stage and television actor. Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London to a postal worker father and a hairdresser mother. He trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA, where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor in his year.

Critical Evaluation of the Accenture on the Innovation Death Spiral Article

Critical Evaluation of the Accenture on the Innovation Death Spiral - Article Example Market evaluation at IBM limited may involve looking critically into the business environment to identify the needs and wants of the customers and come up with proper ways to meet the identified needs. It may further involve empowering employees through various methods such as providing them with train programs. Innovation may also be tracked by identifying whether the company is able to provide its employees with the necessary motivation to ensure the necessary job gets done as intended (Bessant and Tidd, 2013). Innovation at IBM limited may also be tracked via identifying the ability of the company to establish proper networks with customers, suppliers and all stakeholders. This means that for IBM limited to be successful it must be in opposition to establish clear communication networks. The networks may help to collect information regarding the market demand and look forward to how the identified needs could be met in a more effective and efficient manner. Finally, innovation may be tracked via the continuous search for the necessary advice that may help to keep the IBM limited from moving forward. This means that strong leadership may be required to lead others towards channeling their efforts toward realizing organization goals and objectives (Adair, 2009). The three most important approaches may be used to prevent IBM limited from moving towards the death spiral such approaches include; breakthrough, platform, and incremental innovations. Breakthrough innovation approach may be suitable for IBM limited given that it is a large organization that has large capital investments. This approach has been proved to be successful at Apple Company on it’s I pad brand. The second type of innovative approach that may be applied by IBM Limited may involve platform innovation.  

Project managment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Project managment - Assignment Example Company will cater premium product in hot beverages and will cover different types of teas and coffees. Shop will also provide complimenting products like cupcakes, pastries and other bakery items. People can have casual chats and enjoy the drink. Small meetings can also be held by the professional in the comfortable environment of the outlet. Shop will though provide take away keeping in mind that professionals of Murphy Street are busy most of the times. The name of the shop will be Tà © y cafà ©. The outlet will not focus on a single product, but it will focus on both tea and coffees. This way tà © y cafà © will not miss any professional in the Murphy Street. The project will be to establish the shop in Murphy Street. If the business start up is successful then more market will be covered with penetrating other regions and markets. An online ordering system will also be built. This will be helpful in catering the customers who are busy even during lunch hours and cannot come to tà © y cafà © to buy their beverage. The online system will deliver the coffee and tea to the office of the customer and will collect cash. This system will be cash on delivery. Customer can place an order for their customized beverage via the email system. As soon as the order is placed, the product will be prepared and delivered on an immediate basis. Project management is defined as the planning of the organization’s human resource and other resource in order to achieve a specific goal or complete a specific project (Gray, Larson and Desai, 2006). Project management is a task aspect where the organization utilizes its resource to achieve one time task (Kerzner, 2013). It is not ongoing work but rather is one time project which is achieved by organizing, planning, motivating and controlling different resources (Brotherton, Fried, and Norman, 2008). A

Media production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Media production - Essay Example The film opens with a school boy, Shaun, starting a fight after one of his classmates, Havey, jokingly hurls an insult. Harvey annoys Shaun by insulting his father who had earlier passed on during the Falklands war. Shaun later leaves school and meets a group of skinheads among them Woody who pities Shaun and welcomes him to join in the crew. With time, Shaun finds comfort under the umbrella of this crew after Woody offers him a shoulder to rely on. A striking feature among the group is the only black skinhead, Milky, who seems quite pleased to share with the group despite all the others being white. As the film advances, more characters such as Meggy, Trevy, Smell, Kes, Kelly and Woody’s girlfriend Lol are revealed as members of the group (Meadows, 2006, Para. 1-2). An old skinhead member of the gang, Combo, has just completed a jail sentence and returns to the group with a new member, Banjo. Combo, a rather transparent character, expresses the differences between English nat ionalists and the racists as a way of inspiring leadership within the group. Resultantly, the group breaks into two and Shaun is attracted into Combo’s group as he regards Combo as an image of change and a mentor. Together with Combo, they attend meetings that are meant to sensitize the whites against the existing prejudice. Those who are opposed to the political ambition of this group, like Pukey, are rejected by the group (Fradley, 2006, para 5). As the group wages a war against racism, they have a chance to face harsh members of the nation such as the likes of Mr Sandhu who had warned Shaun against visiting his shop. This war against racism marks the climax of the film as the members of the Combo’s group fly the flag of change high despite Woody’s group remaining apolitical. At the denouement of the film, Combo suffers from depression after his old love, Lol, turns him down at such a critical time. To cure his stress, he buys bhang from Milky and they both pa rty under intoxication and learn more about one another. When Combo learns that Milky has a rich background, he develops bitterness and beats Milky to a coma when he invites him for a family gathering. The sense of guilt wears Combo up and he resolves in violence and fights his friends including Banjo and Meggy. As he and Shaun drag Milky to hospital, they lose their calmness and cannot avoid crying out of fear (Ferreira, 2000, para 1). Later, the camera catches up with Shaun as he laments over the whole experience and his Mother, Cynthia is the only icon of hope as she assures him that Milky will recover. As the film ends, the disappointed face of Shaun cannot be mistaken as he roams near the Sea beach where he throws the Saint George flag. Themes In the film â€Å"This is England† a number of themes are well pronounced by the vivid and lively coverage of the various scenes in the film. The main theme of this film is cultural bias or racism as pointed out by its main charact ers. The antagonist of this film is Combo as he organizes a gang that would fight against the racial prejudice that is exhibited by characters like Mr Sandhu who denies Shaun the right to buy in his shop. The words of Combo â€Å"this is England†

MicroEconomics Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MicroEconomics Homework - Essay Example For example, a product with really high elasticity will mean that you don’t value a product very much and hence it will have a low consumer surplus and vice versa. 2) Elasticity, simply, is the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price. For example, when you levy a sales tax on any product its price increases. This price increase is going to decrease the quantity demanded of this product. The magnitude of change, however, will depend upon the elasticity of demand. For example, if sales-tax is levied on a product with inelastic demand, then quantity is not going to fall by a large amount and large revenue will be collected. On the other hand, if sales-tax is levied on a product with elastic demand, the change in price is going to decrease the quantity by a greater amount and revenue collected will be less. 3) I think that the government should charge those products with high price inelasticity of supply. This is because, if it levies taxes on products with high elasticity of supply, the suppliers would pressurize the government by supplying fewer amounts in the market and hence majority of consumers will be deprived of the product. So, it should charge a product with low price elasticity of demand so that supply does not change much and consumers get the adequate amount of product. 4) Simply, the perfectly inelastic demand and supply would ensure that imposition of tax is going to reduce the quantity in the market by smaller amounts and hence, this will result in little or no welfare loss. 5) In this case, consumer will bear a bigger burden of the tax because suppliers will easily pass it on consumer by supplying less, but consumers would encourage them to keep producing the same amount of cigarettes by paying a bigger share of tax. 7) In this case when price is more inelastic for suppliers and less inelastic for consumer, then the suppliers of a product

Violent Employees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Violent Employees - Essay Example manifestation of severe stress, history of violence and criminal records, poor personal relationship, tendency to stay aloof, inconsistent productivity, swift personality change and poor personal hygiene. Identifying violence indicators in an employee is a step distinct from finding a lasting solution to the looming danger. After identifying a potentially violent employee, I would summon him or her to my office to investigate the issue that nags him or to discuss the behaviour manifestation that does not go well with the organisation. I would then clearly communicate anti-violence policy of the organisation to him or her and let him or her know the repercussions of such behaviour. I would make the talk as friendly as possible so as to gauge whether the employee can be helped or if there is need to part ways with him. In doing this, I would call for the opinion of other managers. If the employee promises to change, I would establish crisis management team to monitor and coach the employee, after which he or she would be dismissed if no change is observed after a given

Challenges of Older Workers in America Research Paper

Challenges of Older Workers in America - Research Paper Example Many of the employers in America are of the view that the productivity and efficiency of the older workers are lower as compared to the same traits in the young employees. Therefore, majority of the employers in America are not very interested in recognizing the contributions of older workers properly. While deciding promotions, incentives and salary hikes, employers often consider the needs of younger employees only. Moreover, when employers are deciding to reduce the number of employees, older employees often come in the list as the first priority. This paper analyses various challenges older workers in America face. Introduction As with many other demographic groups, older workers’ unemployment overall and long-term unemployment rates have increased dramatically since the recession began in 2007. In December 2011, the unemployment rate for older workers was 6.0 percent, up from 3.1 at the start of the recession, but down from its peak of 7.6 percent in February 2010. In par ticular, long-term unemployment rose substantially, and at a greater rate for older than younger workers. By 2011, 55 percent of unemployed older workers had been actively seeking a job for more than half a year (27 weeks or more) (â€Å"Many Experience Challenges Regaining Employment and Face Reduced Retirement Security†, 2012). ... heir homes or apartments, and approximately half have been looking for work for more than a year† (â€Å"Older Low-Income Workers Face Historic Crisis†, n.d.). These statistics clearly suggest that the social security of the older generation of America is in danger at present because of various reasons such as recession, economic crisis and many other social factors. It should be noted that the young in America are not interested in protecting their parents nowadays. Because of that, many of the unemployed parents are facing huge financial problems. They need enough money to seek the services of charity organizations when they are in need of some kind of assistance. In short, unemployment problems among older workers are not only an economic problem but also a social problem. In short, challenges facing by older workers are an important problem in America now, and it is extremely important to get more insights into this topic. Review of Literature: Challenges of Older Wo rkers in America According to Richard W. Johnson (2010), â€Å"On average, laid-off male workers 50–61 who become reemployed earn 15 percent less on the new job than the old job, and those age 62 and older earn 21 percent less† (p.2). He has also pointed out that age discrimination prevails in American workplaces. He states: In 2008, 15 percent of workers age 55–61 reported that their employers give preference to younger workers over older workers in promotion decisions. Low-skilled older men are especially likely to report this type of discrimination: 29 percent of men who did not complete high school and 20 percent of high school graduates claimed that their employers preferred younger workers, compared with 13 percent of men who had attended college (p.2). According to Tomiko Thomas, program

How to Write a Good Speech Essay Example for Free

How to Write a Good Speech Essay Writing a good speech isnt the same as writing a good essay. It can be achieved by considering a few extra necessary but simple points. The audience needs to be engaged and thinking about what you’re talking about. A good way to do this is to ask a question the audience hadnt considered, and force them to think of the only obvious answer. This is called a rhetorical question. Rhetorical questions arent meant to be answered, but still allow the audience to think about the question and relate to what you’re talking about. These questions are great to use as an introduction to your speech and can never be overused throughout the rest of your speech. Using complicated language in essays is fine. If the reader misreads or doesnt understand, they can just track back a few words or do a quick Google search of the phrase in question. This is the opposite in a speech. Hammering your audience with a few clauses in one sentence can cause you to lose your audience very quickly. Use simple language that you can read and the audience will understand well. This can be achieved by reading your speech aloud a few times before presenting it. Reading speeches aloud allow you to filter out those confusing statements. It helps a lot if you have a test audience to tell you when there is something a bit too tricky for them. It’s a good idea to replace the trouble sentence with one or two extra sentences, spreading the information out giving the audience more time to think. Don’t drag the speech on for too long. It’s good to end when your information starts to seem irrelevant or repetitive. If possible, don’t just keep the most interesting or important information at the beginning of the speech. If the audience thinks that your information is unnecessary or repetitive, they’ll stop paying attention to what you’re saying. Don’t include a personal introduction or farewell in the written speech. For instance don’t include â€Å"Hi, my name is Ashneil and I’ll be talking about soup standards across Australia†. You should always introduce yourself on the spot because this prevents reading line by line of your speech. Basically, to write a great speech, it’s important to use rhetorical questions to engage the audience, avoid complicated language and lengthy speeches to keep the audience’s attention, and not include a personal introduction in your written speech to keep yourself from reading line-by-line.

Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth

Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth Abstract The massive expenditures on foreign aid programs by developed nations and international institutions, in combination with the perceived lack of results from these disbursements, raise important questions as to the actual effectiveness of monetary assistance to less developed countries (LDCs). In this analysis, I focus on 119 low- and medium-development countries, and measure the impact that foreign aid has on their growth rates of gross domestic product, using dummy variables for geography and conflict in a geometric lag model. The results indicate that foreign aid donations do have a positive impact on the economic growth of the recipient nation. The effect is extremely modest, however, and other factors such as armed conflict and geography can easily mitigate this impact, in some cases to the extent that foreign aid becomes detrimental to economic growth. Further analysis of the results indicate that this impact is quickly felt, with half of the total impact of foreign aid felt in approximately six months. Key Words: Foreign aid, economic growth, economic development 1. Introduction Over the last half century, foreign aid has emerged as a dominant strategy for alleviating poverty in the third world. Not coincidentally, during this time period major international institutions, such as the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund gained prominence in global economic affairs.  [1]  Yet it seems that sixty years later, the lesser developed countries (LDCs) of the world continue to suffer from economic hardship, raising questions of whether foreign aid is a worthwhile and effective approach to boosting growth and development in recipient economies. Research on the subject has attempted to draw an empirical connection between foreign aid and economic growth. Despite these efforts, however, there is no solid consensus among scholars on the actual effectiveness of foreign aid inflows.  [2]   The term foreign aid can imply a number of different activities, ranging from humanitarian support in the wake of natural disasters to military assistance and arms donations.  [3]  For the purposes of this analysis, however, I refer to the standard definition of official development assistance, or aid that is aimed at increasing economic development, and has a grant component of at least 25% of the total aid package.  [4]  Critics of development assistance cite a variety of reasons why it is a poor strategy for combating global poverty. Some argue that it can breed corruption, weaken accountability, and cause government to become excessively large.  [5]  Nonetheless, as researchers Hansen and Tarp (2000) write, it is neither analytically defensible or empirically credible to argue from the outset that aid never works.  [6]  Indeed, a number of studies have shown a positive relationship between foreign aid and economic growth, especially in countries which have respons ible economic policies regarding trade, inflation, and other macroeconomic concerns. The purpose of this analysis is to study the effects of foreign aid inflows on real gross domestic product growth rates. It differs from existing research in two key ways. First, I utilize a geometric lag model to capture the continued impact of foreign aid inflows for years after its initial introduction into the economy.  [7]  Second, I incorporate several dummy variables for geography, political stability, and development to determine their additional impact on foreign aids effectiveness in growing GDP. 2. Literature Review There are two contrasting sides to this debate: one which argues that aid has a positive effect on economic growth, with even more impact in countries with sound economic and trade policies; and another which contends that foreign aid causes corruption, encourages rent-seeking behavior, and erodes bureaucratic institutions. A renewed interest in explaining cross-country economic growth emerged in the early 1990s, with numerous studies attempting to answer the foreign aid question. To date, however, there is no consensus among scholars as to the actual effects of foreign aid on economic growth. There have been several prominent studies which find a causal link between foreign aid and economic growth. Perhaps the most well-known of these was performed by two researchers for the World Bank, Craig Burnside and David Dollar (1997). They found that foreign aid enhances economic growth, so long as good fiscal policies are in place. These policies can include maintaining small budget deficits, controlling inflation, and being open to global trade.  [8]  Durbarry, et. al. (1998) also found a positive association between foreign aid and economic growth, and confirmed Burnside and Dollars finding of conditionality on good economic policy. The study also concluded, however, that the degree to which aid impacts GDP depends largely on other factors as well, such as geography.  [9]  Ali and Isse (2005) further confirmed the findings of Burnside and Dollar. The study also demonstrated, though, that aid is subject to decreasing marginal returns, indicating a threshold beyond which development assistance can become detrimental to economic growth.  [10]   Not all research has shown a positive relationship to exist between aid and growth. Even before Burnside and Dollars monumental findings, a study by Peter Boone (1994) found that aid-intensive African countries experienced zero per capita economic growth in the 1970s and 80s, despite foreign aid actually increasing (as measured by share of GDP).  [11]  Additionally, Knack (2001) found that high levels of foreign aid can erode bureaucratic and institutional quality, triggering corruption, and encouraging rent-seeking behavior.  [12]   There is also evidence that the effects of foreign aid can be mitigated by other non-economic factors. Situations of state failure, such as ethnic conflict, genocide or politicide, and revolution can all potentially influence the extent to which aid impacts growth. George Mason Universitys Political Instability Task Force (PITF) created a binary dataset indicating in which countries and during what years these events take place. According to the PITF, an ethnic conflict requires the clash of two separate ethnic, religious, or nationalistic factions, and also must meet two threshold criteria: 1,000 people must be mobilized for armed conflict, and at least 1,000 people per year must have died as a direct result of this conflict. Similarly, revolutions are defined as episodes of violent conflict between political groups in hopes of overthrowing the current regime, and must meet the same threshold criteria as ethnic wars. Finally, genocide and politicides are defined in a slightly differ ent manner. These events occur when the group in power carries out sustained policies that target ethnic, religious, or political rivals, ultimately resulting in the deaths of a substantial portion of one of those groups.  [13]   Easterly and Levine (1997) studied the effects of high ethnic fractionalization on economic growth. By fractionalization, they mean the probability that two randomly chosen people from a population will be of different ethno-linguistic backgrounds. Easterly and Levine conclude that movement from heterogeneity to homogeneity (decreasing fractionalization) results in better schooling, more efficient infrastructures, and more developed financial systems and foreign exchange markets.  [14]  According to their findings, then, it is entirely possible that ethnic conflict, in its attempt to move away from ethnic diversity and towards ethnic homogeneity, will actually improve economic growth. Despite their findings, however, the instability of the regime could still negatively impact the degree of aids effectiveness. Not a lot of attention is paid to genocide, politicide, and revolution and their effects on growth in the literature. Moreover, there has been virtually no research performed on this question as it concerns the effectiveness of aid. It is reasonable to believe, though, that resources (including foreign aid) are siphoned off by the dominant party and used for individual benefit rather than for economically efficient activities, as intended. Furthermore, out of respect for state sovereignty, these events are not likely to prompt a major international response, which would perhaps eliminate local control over resources and allow them to be used productively. Ethnic conflict, on the other hand, typically ignores state boundaries. One study by Gurr (1993) estimated that over two-thirds of identified ethnic communal groups in the world have kindred in another country. The spread across state borders allows other states to intervene without violating state sovereignty, which could positively impact how resources are used, and ultimately, economic growth. Additionally, a countrys geographic location can influence economic performance; nations that are landlocked, for instance, are at a natural disadvantage in global trade. Sachs and Warner (1996) write, Landlocked countries, in particular, face very high costs of shipping, since they must pay road transport costs across at least on international boundary in addition to sea freight costs. Although air shipments can help overcome many of these problems, only certain goods can be economically shipped by air, and most countries still import and export the majority of goods by the sea.  [15]   A report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (1999) specifically mentions the positive relationship between aid and growth in landlocked countries, noting that they are at a disadvantage for these reasons, as well.  [16]  Due to their geographical position, then, landlocked countries could potentially benefit from foreign assistance, as it may fill the gap in trade that they experience relative to countries with easy access to international trade. 3. Methodology 3.1 Data I direct the focus of this analysis to low- and medium-development countries as defined by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human Development Index (HDI).  [17]  These nations were selected since they are the most likely to be recipients of foreign aid, whereas high-development nations are the most likely to be donors. I select the HDI as a basis for classification because in addition to income, the index accounts for life expectancy as measured by infant mortality rates, and educational attainment as measured by adult literacy rates and gross enrollment ratios for primary, secondary, and tertiary schools. This provides for a more thorough understanding of a countrys stage of development and a comprehensive measure of quality of life.  [18]  In all, 119 countries of the 177 analyzed by the UNDP (67%) meet the development criteria and were included in this study.  [19]   Due to data availability issues, I restrict the range of this study to the period from 1980 to 2003. With 119 cross sections, there is a potential 2,856 observations over this time span. After taking into account missing data for the independent variables included in the model, 1,760 remain, or about 62%. A vast majority of the missing data is a result of the overall lack of information regarding Sub-Saharan Africa and Soviet bloc countries during the early 1980s. Furthermore, I aim to measure the impact of foreign aid on average, across both time and countries. Thus, I employ pooled data analysis. I collect the data in annual format from several sources. Most of the data come from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  [20]  and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  [21]  Table 1 below lists the variables included in this study and the source from which they were gathered: Table 1: Data Sources Variable Unit Source Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate IMF Official Development Assistance Millions $US UNCTAD Household Consumption Growth Rate UNCTAD Government Expenditures Growth Rate UNCTAD Exports*Petroleum Exporter Growth Rate UNCTAD Imports Growth Rate UNCTAD Agricultural Production Growth Rate UNCTAD Gross Capital Formation Growth Rate UNCTAD Inflation Growth Rate IMF Openness to Trade  [22]   Share of GDP UNCTAD Energy Consumption Per Capita Millions of BTUs Energy Information Agency, U.S. Dept of Energy Major Petroleum Exporter Dummy 1=Yes, 0=Otherwise UNCTAD Non-Tropics Dummy  [23]   1=Yes, 0=Otherwise IUCN World Conservation Union Foreign Direct Investment Inflows Millions $US UNCTAD Ethnic Conflict Dummy 1=Yes, 0=Otherwise Political Instability Task Force, University of Maryland Genocide Dummy 1=Yes, 0=Otherwise Political Instability Task Force, University of Maryland Revolution Dummy 1=Yes, 0=Otherwise Political Instability Task Force, University of Maryland Landlocked Country Dummy 1=Yes, 0=Otherwise UNCTAD Low Development Dummy 1=Yes, 0=Otherwise United Nations Development Programme Data for household consumption, government expenditures, exports, imports, agricultural production, and gross capital formation were only available in share of GDP format. Since I aim to explain growth rates in GDP, however, percentage changes in the dollar amounts of each of these variables would be more appropriate. Thus, I transform these numbers into growth rates as well.  [24]   3.2 Model Specification I assume that inflows of foreign aid will continue to impact the economy for years after its initial introduction, but at a decreasing rate. It would therefore be unsuitable to use an ordinary least squares model, since it would only take into account aid inflows in the year they were received and disregard the continued impact that foreign aid has on the economy in the years after its introduction. To effectively capture this rationale, I use a geometric lag model which incorporates an infinite number of lags for each variable, but weights each lag in a geometrically declining fashion. The general form of this type of model is: (1) Note that in the model a weight is attached to each lag (ÃŽÂ »), a value between zero and one that diminishes geometrically as time passes. Mathematically, this model is the same as:  [25]   (2) This simpler form, however, shows the dependent variable Y on the right side of the equation. Since Y is already shown to have an error component in (1), this simplification introduces a stochastic regressor into the model, requiring two-stage least squares (TSLS) regression. In order to ensure the instruments required for TSLS are non-stochastic, I lag each one period. Thus, to the observer at time t, values for instruments at t-1 are fixed. In other words, these instruments are stochastic but predetermined. 3.3 Expected Results I expect to find a positive relationship between foreign aid and economic growth on average, as indicated by most prior research on this subject. I further anticipate, however, that aid will have a detrimental effect on low-development countries since they lack efficient infrastructures and institutions which might make foreign aid donations more effective. I expect ethnic conflict, genocide and revolution to negatively influence the effectiveness of foreign aid, but leave open the possibility that ethnic conflict could positively influence aids impact based on Easterlys study. Furthermore, I expect landlocked countries to experience additional positive gains from foreign aid, since they are at a trade disadvantage. 4. Results and Analysis The results of the TSLS regression are shown below in Table 2: Table 2: TSLS Regression Results Parameter Estimate Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. Constant Term 0.091 0.400 0.228 0.820 GDP(-1) [Lambda] 0.233 0.087 2.692 0.007 Household Consumption 6.307 2.241 2.814 0.005 Government Expenditures 4.505 1.305 3.452 0.001 Exports*Petroleum Exporter 9.825 1.866 5.266 0.000 Imports -3.746 0.963 -3.891 0.000 Agricultural Production 10.976 1.992 5.510 0.000 Gross Capital Formation 7.262 0.834 8.703 0.000 Inflation -0.001 0.000 -2.282 0.023 Openness to Trade 0.020 0.005 4.301 0.000 Energy Consumption -0.013 0.004 -3.212 0.001 Energy Cons.*Low Dev. -0.052 0.014 -3.822 0.000 Less than Half of Land in Tropics (1=Yes) 0.742 0.326 2.275 0.023 Foreign Direct Investment 0.000 0.000 2.124 0.034 Foreign Aid 0.001 0.000 3.233 0.001 Foreign Aid*Ethnic Conflict 0.001 0.000 2.202 0.028 Foreign Aid*Genocide*Low Dev. -0.017 0.009 -1.948 0.052 Foreign Aid*Revolution -0.001 0.000 -2.731 0.006 Foreign Aid*Landlocked 0.002 0.001 1.847 0.065 Foreign Aid*Landlocked*Low Dev. -0.003 0.001 -2.320 0.021 R-squared 0.415 S.E. of regression 4.535 Adjusted R-squared 0.408 Durbin-Watson stat 2.069 The model can be written as in general terms as follows: (3) Where: GDP = Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (for country i at time t) ODA = Official Development Assistance (for country i at time t) DUMMY = Vector for Dummy Variables (for country i at time t) Z = Vector for All Other Variables (for country i at time t) The results of the regression indicate that approximately 42% of the variation in GDP growth rates is explained by the variables included in the model, as evidenced by the R-squared value. Further, each coefficient estimate is significant at the 0.05 level, with the exception of a few borderline cases and the constant term. These coefficients are also consistent with my expectations, however the coefficient for the ethnic conflict dummy did turn out to be in harmony with Easterlys study of ethnic fractionalization. The Durbin-Watson statistic fails to conclusively determine the presence of serial correlation. Further analysis of the residuals, however, indicates that it is not a statistically significant problem.  [26]  The model was also tested for the presence of heteroskedasticity, both across time and cross sections using the Breusch-Pagan Test. The results of this test fail to show statistically significant evidence of heteroskedasticity.  [27]  Multicollinearity was investigated using a correlation matrix of the regressors, but no major evidence of this anomaly was detected, either.  [28]   The results provide insight as to foreign aids effectiveness in a number of ways. Most obvious is that it is has a positive, though modest effect on economic growth, significant at the 0.01 level. Increasing foreign aid by $1 million US will result in an increase in GDP of approximately 0.001%, ceteris paribus. According to the data, the average annual amount of official development assistance received over all years and countries is approximately $570 million US. In this case, aid is estimated to increase growth in GDP by approximately 0.6%. As shown in Table 3, however, this impact can be greatly diminished by other factors, in some cases to the point where aid actually becomes detrimental to growth. Using the baseline case of a country with no ethnic conflict, revolution, or genocide, which is not landlocked, and does not suffer from low development, I estimate the additional impacts of any of those circumstances on economic growth. Those factors with N/A listed under Impact were not statistically significant at the 0.05 level.  [29]   Table 3: Factors Influencing Aid Effectiveness Factor Impact Overall Impact of Aid + Additional Factor(s) on GDP Ethnic Conflict 0.001 0.002 Ethnic Conflict in Low Development Countries N/A N/A Genocide/Politicide N/A N/A Genocide/Politicide in Low Development Countries -0.017 -0.016 Revolution -0.001 0.000 Revolution in Low Development Countries N/A N/A Landlocked Country 0.002 0.003 Landlocked Country with Low Development -0.003 -0.002 The model indicates that foreign assistance actually becomes detrimental to growth in situations where there is genocide or politicide in low development nations, as predicted. I attribute this to the fact that resources are typically controlled by the dominant party in genocidal conflicts, and it is likely that aid dollars are siphoned off and used for their own benefit instead of productive and efficient activities. Revolutionary conflict eliminates entirely the impact aid has on the economy, resulting a net effect of about zero. I argue that this is the case because the institutions required to effectively utilize foreign assistance are in jeopardy during a major transfer of power, reducing their ability to act efficiently and distribute aid dollars according to the countrys best interests. Interestingly, ethnic conflict actually increases the effectiveness of aid. This finding is consistent with Easterlys study of ethnic fractionalization and its impact on economic growth. In landlocked countries, aid is particularly effective, tripling the extent to which it impacts economic growth. As Sachs and Warner pointed out, landlocked countries are limited in their ability to engage in global trade. Thus, it seems reasonable that foreign aid positively impacts growth in these areas since their capacity to engage in trade is restricted. However, in low-development countries that are landlocked, this relationship no longer holds. This indicates that whatever benefits aid has in landlocked countries is reversed in low-development countries, possibly due to poor institutional quality, corruption, or other factors. As for other variables besides foreign aid, the model shows the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth is surprisingly small; an increase of only 0.00003% in GDP for every $1 million US invested. In contrast, foreign aid boosts GDP by 0.001% with the same amount of money. This indicates that foreign aid has a substantially greater impact on growth than foreign direct investment, all else equal. According to the model, being open to trade seems to be a much more effective strategy in growing the economy, even more so than foreign aid and FDI. It is important to note, however, that since openness to trade is measured as a share of GDP, the impact is not directly comparable that of foreign aid or FDI, since economies included in this study vary greatly in size. To quantify how quickly foreign aid impacts the economic growth of a country, I calculate the median lag as outlined by Davies and Quinlivian (2006).  [30]  This measure estimates how quickly half of the impact of foreign assistance is felt, and is calculated as follows: Median Lag = = 0.477 (4) A median lag of 0.477 indicates that in approximately 5.7 months, half of the entire impact of foreign aid on GDP growth will be realized. Half of the remaining impact is then felt in another 5.7 months, and so on, as the cumulative impact of the aid asymptotically approaches 100%. This phenomenon is illustrated in Chart 1 below. Graph 1: Cumulative Impact of Foreign Aid on Growth The median lag indicates that aid can quickly impact an economy, but for a relatively short amount of time. After only two years of circulation in the recipient economy, over 95% of the total impact of foreign aid is experienced. 5. Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Research The purpose of this analysis was to determine the effects of development assistance on economic growth. The model developed in this paper provides evidence supporting the contention that foreign aid positively impacts economic growth in the developing world. Therefore, it is not in the interest of developed countries and international bodies to discontinue aid programs. Moreover, as Gunning (2004) points out, it would be extremely difficult for a donor country to stop aid since it would be seen by both the domestic and foreign populations as punishing an already poor country.  [31]   The model also shows, however, that the effects of aid on economic growth are modest, and buying economic growth through foreign aid would be incredibly inefficient and expensive. For instance, using foreign aid alone to increase GDP by 1% in a country would require a foreign aid package of approximately $1 billion US. With almost 120 countries identified as low- and medium-development, spurring economic growth in developing world to desirable levels would be an enormous expenditure. This also assumes that the negative effects of conflict and geography shown to be significant in the model do not apply, and ignores the potential problems of aid dependence, corruption, and bureaucratic erosion that research has associated with high levels of foreign aid. The aforementioned studies by Burnside and Dollar (1997) and others have shown aid to be more effective in sound economic policy environments. Thus, donor governments and multilateral institutions should continue to push economic reforms and trade liberalization on recipient governments. Not only will this improve the effectiveness of foreign aid according to these studies, but it will also result in less aid being required. The armed conflict dummies indicate, with the exception of ethnic conflict, that state failure and political instability reverse the positive effect of aid, even making it detrimental to economic growth in some cases. Therefore, donor governments should be aware of the political situations in recipient countries, and work with international bodies to ensure as much stability as possible. Further, since geography is essentially fixed, foreign aid donations to landlocked countries should be designed to facilitate improvements in transportation infrastructures, which increase their capacity to engage in trade. Future research should further explore the role of sound economic policies and good governance in aid effectiveness. Scholars should also explore other ways of quantifying climate, tropical geography, and governance to provide for additional testing of potential impacts on the effectiveness of foreign aid. Finally, future study of foreign aid should also investigate its effects on economic development, instead of growth. Doing so will shed light on the question of whether aid actually improves the quality of life in lesser developed countries.

A Comparative Analysis Of Online News Articles Media Essay

A Comparative Analysis Of Online News Articles Media Essay In European Union citizens are expected to take responsibility and actions to limit the threat of climate change as well as authorities or corporations. However, while only 36 percent of citizens in Lithuanian take personal action, 75 percent of British do. In light of framing as media effects theory media coverage can be considered as an explanation for different levels of personal contribution. Based on the latter assumption the online news content in Lithuania and the United Kingdom was investigated in terms of attribution of responsibility to citizens, authorities and industry/corporations. The findings showed that the use of the same frames varies by country and political preferences of media. However, the findings were not explicit enough to prove the one directional relationship between media content and individual level behavior, where media is perceived as having power upon individuals. Contrary, the results showed that social problems guide thematic choices of editorials an d therefore individuals have impact on media. As a result, findings raised concerns that the notion of framing as an interactive process would more relevant than the assumption of framing as linear process. Introduction Today climate change is on political, media and individual agendas all across Europe. Political and legislative efforts prove that climate change mitigation is a priority for the European Union. Furthermore, citizens are expected to take responsibility and actions to limit the threat as well. Supranational survey Eurobarometer shows, 63 percent of Europeans say they have taken personal actions to combat climate change (European Commission, 2009). However, the EU as a body of 27 Member States is more diverse than one seeing aggregate level figures could think. For instance, while only 36 percent of citizens in Lithuanian take personal action, 75 percent of British do (European Commission, 2009). The topic of climate change not only has its thematic relevance, but as well scientific. In light of framing theory media coverage can be considered as an explanation for different levels of personal contribution to climate change mitigation among Lithuanians and British. To assess the influence of media portrayals of climate change on individuals, two research questions are developed: RQ1. To what extent do media frame climate change in terms of attribution of responsibility to industry and corporations, international and national authorities, and citizens themselves? RQ2. Does the attribution of responsibility to particular actor vary by country: the United Kingdom and Lithuania? To be more specific, I expect to find that Lithuanian media attribute responsibility to citizens more seldom compare to British media. Moreover, in media coverage in Lithuania attribution of responsibility to citizens should be less visible than attribution of responsibility to authorities or industry. Contrary, in British media attribution of responsibility to citizens should more or equally visible compare to authorities and industry. The next chapter will provide theoretical framework on which the paper rests. It will be followed by the sections of method, results and discussion. Literature review Within the realm of social sciences, such as sociology, psychology, political science and political communication, studies of framing are common. In a way it explains why framing as a concept is rather scattered, as Entman once referred to it (Entman, 1993, p. 51). However, scientists of different disciplines share the perception that the function of a frame is to help people organise the complexity of the world into meaningful categories (Nickels, 2005, p. 21). Framing as theory can be conceptualized in terms of media effects (e.g. Scheufele, 1999; Scheufele, 2000). Generally, media effects are classified into cognitive, affective and behavioural. Cognitive effects refer to the assumption that how news is presented has influence on what people know or think about issues, people, and event (Glynn Jeong, 2003, p. 634). Affective effects refer to emotional reactions to media coverage. Behavioral effects can be understood as observable actions that are linked to media exposure (Perse, 2001, p. 3). What concerns the latter, a widely cited study of Kahneman and Tversky (1984) showed that how a particular issue is framed determines perceptions of problems and subsequent actions upon them (Vliegenthart et al., 2008, p. 419). In view of these considerations, the prominence of framing theory and framing effects studies in the field of communication flows naturally. In the field of political communication framing effects studies often focus on investigating the relationship between news content and individual perceptions (e.g. de Vreese, 2002). Nickels (2005) argues that partially this is determined by the assumption that the news is the principal means by which they [i.e., people] experience and learn (p. 22) about certain issues. A frame in media is an emphasis in salience of certain aspects of a topic (De Vreese, 2002, p. 27). The frame works by omitting some aspects and attaching more salience and meaning to others (Entman, 1993, p. 53). The reasoning of selecting of these aspects can be determined by political, media and social context (De Vreese Semetko, 2004, p. 93). Therefore, media frames can be defined as social and cultural indicators of the particular time (Nickels, 2005, p. 26). Frames in media can be investigated by the presence or absence of certain key-words, stock phrases, stereotyped images, sources of information, and sentences that provide thematically reinforcing clusters of facts or judgements (Entman, 1993, p. 52). In general, two main ways to analyze frames can be identified issue-specific and generic. The former is considered to be a better approach to detect newly emerging frames while the latter is based on the investigation of predefined frames in the text (Matthes Kohring, 2008). Majority of the studies of generic frames focus on the prevalence of one or several frames in media. Attribution of responsibility (e.g. Iyengar, 1987; Iyengar, 1991; Semetko Valkenburg, 2000; Valkenburg et al., 1999) fall within most commonly investigated generic frames. Valkenburg et al. (1999) defines the attribution of responsibility frame as representing an issue or problem in such a way as to attribute responsibility for causing or solving a problem to the g overnment or to an individual or to a group (p. 552). The biggest advantage of generic approach enables to detect differences or similarities between certain media (or within it), cross-nationally and over time (Nickels, 2005, p.24). However, generic frames are not suitable to explore the new issues as they are derived from theory. Iyengar (1991) measured how individuals attribute responsibility for social problems after exposure to different content. The research proved that, when television news present issues in terms of individual, people tend to attribute responsibility to individuals rather than government. Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) investigated the presence of 5 news frames theoretically derived from prior framing studies: attribution of responsibility, conflict, human interest, economic consequences, and morality. Media content was analyzed in the period surrounding the Amsterdam meetings of European heads of state in 1997 (p. 93). The study unveiled that the attribution of responsibility frame was used the most in news. Moreover it showed that attribution of responsibility was more used in serious media both press and television. Bennet and Iyengar (2008) argues that today with growing opportunities to personalize media content the way people learn about and experience the social world has changed. Therefore, media effects theories have to be reconsidered to go in line with changing social environment. Opponents claim (e.g. Holbert, Garrett Gleason, 2010), to announce a new era of minimal media effects is too early. Another criticism addressed to framing-effect studies is the commonly used experimental design, which neglects natural environment people live in and questions generalizability of the findings (Chong Druckman, 2007, p. 102). Those trying to overcome methodological drawback by comparing media content with survey results agree that it is difficult to separate out the effects of the media from other environmental or social influences (Glynn Jeong, 2003, p. 633). On the other hand, if effects are proved to be present on individual level under experimental conditions, it is logical to expect them to be present in society at large. To put it in Vliegenthart et al. (2008) words, this does not imply that all citizens are exposed to (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) news, but that on the aggregate level news coverage has the potential to drive the attitudes of a substantial share of the population (p. 418). To sum up, despite changing media environment and individual habits towards media use, media still often is a primary framer and therefore has the power to set the tone and scope of the discussion about particular issue. In view of the considerations discussed in this chapter, the present empirical research was based on the assumption that frames in media influence how people think about certain problems and act upon them. To be more specific, that how media frames climate change issue in terms of frame of attribution of responsibility affects individual behavior. As in this study aggregate level public opinion surveys results will be compared with media content, I am aware that social or other influences will not be encountered. Method The main interest of the current study is to find out if media content are capable of explaining, why people in some countries are more likely to take personal actions to fight climate change than others. Therefore, two cases representing significant contrasts in citizens behavior were needed The United Kingdom and Lithuania appeared to comply with the condition (Eurobarometer, 2009). Consequently, the comparative design was chosen as it served the aim of the study best. As Hantrais (1996) defined, the aim of comparative cross-national research is to seek explanations for similarities and differences or to gain a greater awareness and a deeper understanding of social reality in different national contexts (Bryman, 2004, p.53). The design was realized in the form of quantitative content analysis of news websites articles in two countries. The content of news was analyzed in terms of the presence of attribution of responsibility frame. The operationalization of this generic frame was mainly based on measures developed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). However, as I was interested, to what extent responsibility is attributed to a particular actor, the frame was divided into three new frames. These are: Attribution of responsibility to international and national authorities, attribution of responsibility to industry and corporations, and attribution of responsibility to citizens themselves. Clusters of four yes-no framing questions were used to identify if generic frames are present in analyzed news articles (see Appendix 1). For framing analysis four news websites were chosen Guardian.co.uk and Thetimes.co.uk in the United Kingdom, and Lrytas.lt and Respublika.lt in Lithuania. All of them are websites of popular national newspapers: The Guardian and The Times, and Lietuvos rytas and Respublika, respectively. As the online and traditional versions of newspapers share the content, it can be estimated that information reaches young and older, online and traditional newspaper readers at national level in both countries. Furthermore, it was estimated that political leaning of newspapers can influence the findings. According to traditional division of newspapers by political affiliation, Guardian.co.uk. and Respublika.lt was chosen as leaning to left, and Thetimes.co.uk and Lrytas.lt as leaning to right. The period of investigation is from 2009 July 1 till 2009 August 1. The choice of the period was determined by the fact that the survey on Europeans attitudes towards climate change (Eurobarometer, 2009) was conducted in 2009 August-September. Therefore, the period had to be prior to survey fieldwork. Only articles with the main topic of climate change/climate change mitigation were selected for framing analysis. In total media sample consisted of 135 articles. However, media coverage varied by country meaningfully: N=26 in Lithuania and N=109 in the United Kingdom. Although chosen research design is consistent with the aim of the study, it also has several drawbacks that must be considered. Firstly, small media sample may lead to biased results as media coverage was restricted to two news websites in each country. Secondly, the study period of month does not allow measuring the presence of frames in changing political and social environment throughout longer period of time. To put it in other words, the findings show one-time situation. As a result, I am aware that generalization of research outcomes is limited. Results The results of content analysis showed that the frame of attribution of responsibility to citizens in Lithuanian media is more present than in British media (see Table 1), contrary to initial expectations. The most present frame in both countries appeared to be attribution of responsibility to international or national authorities. The Lithuanian media was more likely to use this frame and exclusively attributed responsibility to international authorities. The British media paid more attention to attribution of responsibility to industry and corporations than Lithuanian. Table 1. The presence of attribution of responsibility frame by country The findings confirmed that political affiliation plays an important role in presenting climate change issue. Left leaning websites (Respublika.lt and Guardian.co.uk) appeared to be more likely to attribute responsibility to citizens than left leaning (Lrytas.lt and Thetimes.co.uk). In Respublika.lt 63 percent and in Guardian.co.uk 28 percent of articles contained the latter frame, while only 17 percent in Thetimes.co.uk and none in Lrytas.lt did. Right leaning news sites considerably more discussed climate change issue in terms of attribution of responsibility to international and national authorities than left leaning. Table 2. The presence of attribution of responsibility frame by outlet To sum up, the media coverage does not seem to be directly related to behaviour: In Lithuania, where citizens are less likely to combat climate change personally, the frame of attribution of responsibility was more present than in British media. In this case, the personal behaviour in relation to climate change mitigation seems to be a reason for a bigger or smaller media attention rather than a cause of citizens behaviour. Discussion As is evident from the last chapter, the use of frames of attribution of responsibility in news sites varied by country. However, the variation was not consistent with initial expectations. In terms of presence of attribution of responsibility frame results were opposite than expected: In Lithuania the media attributed responsibility to citizens more than media in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the media cannot be considered as a main factor determining low citizens involvement in climate change mitigation in Lithuania and high involvement of people in the United Kingdom. In this case the direction of influence is likely to be from individuals to media. Low awareness of climate change mitigation at individual level in Lithuania encourages media editorials to address the problem. As the latter problem is not present in the United Kingdom, the frame of attribution of responsibility to individuals is less present in media. Furthermore, the results go in line with criticism of framing as a one way-communication model. As Nickels (2005) noted, the framing process (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) is more likely to be an interactive process of negotiation where political, media and public actors have different measures of framing power(p. 32). From this point of view, a relationship between media and individuals should be investigated as an interactive process of negotiation about climate change. In light of such an approach the power of framing of different actors could be assessed more accurately. Both Lithuanian and British media mainly discussed how climate change is tackled at political level while the role of citizens and industry and corporations received considerably less attention. The prominence of attribution of responsibility to authorities frame should not be surprising considering policy priorities of the EU. Firstly, the European Union is said to play an important role as the international agenda setter in relationship to climate change mitigation (Schreurs Tiberghien, 2007, p. 19). Secondly, during the last twenty years the EU managed to turn the encouragement to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions into legislation. Furthermore, the comparison by political preferences of news websites shows that political affiliation strongly influences the content. Climate change mitigation in terms of citizens behavior in left leaning websites was presented more often than in right leaning. The latter news sites concentrated more on attribution of responsibility to authorities. In total, right leaning news are more balanced according to the frequency of the whole three frames use. Therefore, findings prove a tight relationship between politics and media. The main limits of the study appeared to be related to methodological concerns. A short period of investigation at one particular time does not let to assess if findings can be generalized or they represent only a particular case. Another drawback is that aggregate level data on citizens behavior in relation to climate change mitigation was compared to media content of small sample. Therefore, it would be beneficial for the aim of the study to increase media sample and investigate how changes in media correspond with changes in public opinion/behavior over time. This could be considered as a future research direction in terms of methodological improvements. Besides the information related to the aim of the study, the investigation showed that Lithuanian media uses the frame of attribution of responsibility in context of international affairs: The role of national or local authorities was not mentioned in media once. Contrary, British media paid more attention to national governments policies related to climate change. As the EU is instrumental in climate change mitigation, it would be intriguing to explore how successful is the EU in setting climate change issue on political agendas of new Member States, i.e. what role governments play in climate change mitigation. Furthermore, media sample of climate change related articles in the United Kingdom appeared to be five time bigger than in Lithuania. Consequently, it would be interesting to investigate to what extent the climate change issue is present compare to the total content media in different countries. In light of media frames the study to show that the use of the same frames varies by country and political preferences of media. However, in light of framing effects the empirically collected data was not explicit enough to shed light on connection of citizens attitudes and subsequent actions and media content. The study unfolds the need encounter cultural, economic and political differences, as well as the interactive notion of framing process participants. References Bennet, W. L., Iyengar, S. (2008). A New Era of Minimal Effects? The Changing Foundations of Political Communication. Journal of Communication, 58, 707-731. Bryman, A. (2004). Social Research Methods (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Chong, D. Druckman,J. N. (2007b). A Theory of Framing and Opinion Formation in Competitive Elite Environments. Journal of Communication, 57, 99-118. De Vreese, C. H. (2002). Framing Europe: Television News and European Integration. Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers. De Vreese, C. H. Semetko, H. A. (2004). Political Campaigning in Referendums: Framing the Referendum Issue. Abingdon: Routledge. Entman, R.M. (1993) Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58. European Commission (2009). Special Eurobarometer 322 / Wave 72.1 Glynn, C.J. Jeong, I. (2003). Public Opinion and the Media (pp. 631-640). In Encyclopaedia of International Media and Communications, Volume 3. Holbert, R., Garrett, R. Gleason L. (2010). A New Era of Minimal Effects? A Response to Bennett and Iyengar. Journal of Communication, 60(1), 15-34. Iyengar, S. (1987). Television News and citizens Explanations of National Affairs. American Political Science Review, 81, 815-831. Iyengar, S. (1991). Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Matthes, J. Kohring, M. (2008). The Content Analysis of Media Frames: Toward Improving Reliability and Validity. Journal of Communication, 58, 258-279 Nickels, H.C. (2005). Framing the Refugee and Asylum Question in Luxembourg: An Interactive Approach to Framing Theory. Doctoral dissertation, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Amsterdam School of Communications Research. Perse, E. M. (2001). Media Effects and Society. Mahvah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Scheufele, D.A. (1999). Framing as Theory of Media Effects. Journal of Communication (Winter), 103-122. Scheufele, D.A. (2000). Agenda-Setting, Priming, and Framing Revisited: Another Look at Cognitive Effects of Political Communication. Mass Communication and Society, 3(23), 297-316. Semetko, H. A. Valkenburg, P.M. (2000). Framing European Politics: A Content Analysis of Press and Television News. Journal of Communication, Spring, 93-109. Schreurs, M.A. Tiberghien, Y. (2007). Multi-Level Reinforcement: Explaining European Union Leadership in Climate Change Mitigation. Global Environmental Politics, 7(4), 19-46. Vliegenthart, R., Schuck, A., Boomgaarden, H. de Vreese, C.H. (2008). News Coverage and Support for European Integration. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 20(4), 415-439. Valkenburg, P., Semetko, H. de Vreese, C.H. (1999). The Effects of News Frames on Readers Thoughts and Recall. Communication Research, 26(5), 550-565.

United Nations Security Council Reform :: UN World Politics Essays

â€Å"Chief responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security lies with the Security Council. It is therefore essential to its legitimacy that its membership reflect the state of the world.† – French President Chirac’s address to the United Nations General Assembly. Objective The focus of this paper is on the United Nations Security Council reform issue. It will start by giving some history on the United Nations charter and the Security Council. This background will set up a discussion on the past and present proposals to reform the Security Council. I will also offer analysis on the feasibility of these reform proposals. I will then discuss what the key countries think about Security Council reform. Background United Nations Background The United Nations was born out of the turmoil of two devastating world wars. It was established in the hopes that a strong international organization could foster enough cooperation between nations in order to prevent future conflicts. In 1945, representatives from 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August and October of 1944. The Charter was signed on June, 26 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States. Since then the United Nations has grown significantly. The United Nations General Assembly now consists of 191 Member States. The predecessor of the United Nations was the ill-fated League of Nations, which was conceived under similar circumstances after World War I. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent World War II. Fifty-eight years after the signing of the Charter, the world has changed dramatically. Its universal character and comprehensiveness make the United Nations a unique and indispensable forum for governments to work together to address global issues. At the same time, there remains a large gap between aspiration and real accomplishment. There have been many successes and many failures. The United Nations is a bureaucracy that struggles – understandably – in its attempt to bring together 191 countries. It must come at no surprise, therefore, that a consensus cannot always be reached with so many different competing voices. Security Council Background The Security Council of the United Nations has the primary responsibility under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Causes of World War II Essay -- American History European

Causes of World War II Many historians have traced the causes of World War II to problems left unsolved by World War I (1914-1918). World War I and the treaties that ended it also created new political and economic problems. Forceful leaders in several countries took advantage of these problems to seize power. The desire of dictators in Germany, Italy, and Japan to conquer additional territory brought them into conflict with the democratic nations. After World War I ended, representatives of the victorious nations met in Paris in 1919 to draw up peace treaties for the defeated countries. These treaties, known as the Peace of Paris, followed a long and bitter war. They were worked out in haste by these countries with opposing goals; and failed to satisfy even the victors. Of all the countries on the winning side, Italy and Japan left the peace conference most dissatisfied. Italy gained less territory than it felt it deserved and vowed to take action on its own. Japan gained control of German territories in the Pacific and thereby launched a program of expansion. But Japan was angered by the peacemakers' failure to endorse the principle of the equality of all races. The countries that lost World War I--Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey--were especially dissatisfied with the Peace of Paris. They were stripped of territory, arms and were required to make reparations (payments for war damages). The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed with Germany, punished Germany severely. The German government agreed to sign the treaty only after the victorious powers threatened to invade. Many Germans particularly resented the clause that forced Germany to accept responsibility for causing World War I. World War I seriously damaged the economies of the European countries. Both the winners and the losers came out of the war deeply in debt. The defeated powers had difficulty paying reparations to the victors, and the victors had difficulty repaying their loans to the United States. The shift from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy caused further problems. Italy and Japan suffered from too many people and too few resources after World War I. They eventually tried to solve their problems by territorial expansion. In Germany, runaway inflation destroyed the value of money and wiped out the savings of millions of people. In 1923, the Ger... ...ed by meeting Hitler's demands. That policy became known as appeasement. Chamberlain had several meetings with Hitler during September 1938 as Europe teetered on the edge of war. Hitler raised his demands at each meeting. On September 29, Chamberlain and French Premier Edouard Daladier met with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, Germany. Chamberlain and Daladier agreed to turn over the Sudetenland to Germany, and they forced Czechoslovakia to accept the agreement. Hitler promised that he had no more territorial demands. The Munich Agreement marked the height of the policy of appeasement. Chamberlain and Daladier hoped that the agreement would satisfy Hitler and prevent war--or that it would at least prolong the peace until Britain and France were ready for war. The two leaders were mistaken on both counts. The failure of appeasement soon became clear. Hitler broke the Munich Agreement in March 1939 and seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. He thereby added Czechoslovakia's armed forces and industries to Germany's military might. In the months before World War II began, Germany's preparations for war moved ahead faster than did the military build-up of Britain and France.

Aims of Higher Education

Students may have divergent aims while receiving higher education. They may chime with expectations of policymakers, employers, the faculty, society, or they may concern some other personal needs of students. All in all, the main purposes of getting higher education are getting a desirable position, developing personal skills, respect in society and preparation for future life.The major aim of higher education is getting a good job because it is necessary for a good position and high salary. Nowadays presence of a diploma is a ticket to a good job. During the whole life a person is told by his or her teachers that without higher education it is very hard to get fixed up in a good job. From this follows another aspect – high salary. According to Russian Centre of Society’s opinion poll, 76% of recipients claim that without higher education it is almost impossible to get a well-paid job.These examples show that higher education is significant for employers to offer one a desirable and well-paid position. Secondly, studying in a university is a challenging, life-enhancing experience for two reasons: students gain substantive knowledge and develop personal skills. Graduation from university supposes that students will have a common level of knowledge and information literacy. As my Mathematics teacher said, that every piece of knowledge we get will come I hand. Developing personal skills is also important.Tatyana Nikishina, university teacher believes, that socialization is an essential part of educational process, and it develops a lot of other skills, which will be helpful in future. The evidence suggests that higher education will help to improve one’s knowledge within a particular field and individual skills as well. Moreover, getting higher education is essential nowadays, as without it one will not be respected and with it one can assume leadership roles in community.Today more people within the society have higher education and it really hard to be treated with respect without one. My mother says that now people would communicate only with those who have a diploma, although its presence does not mean that a person is intelligent. It is not a secret that people with higher education are more likely to assume leadership roles. From my own experience  I can say, that higher education plays a great role in forming a company of friends, collegues.In brief, it is quite obvious that today people with higher education gain more respect within society and are able to take leading roles. Furthermore, studying in a university will prepare students for future life: they will have career-related courses and will be able to use their knowledge in everyday life. Students are supposed to enter those universities that will help them in their future career.A. Shebistova, Curtin University teacher claims that with choosing a faculty, a student studies within a particular field of knowledge, and this theory would definitely help in practice. To sum up, getting higher education is needed to get ready for future career and knowledge received will be useful in common life. To conclude, the major aims of higher education are getting a good job, improving personal skills, being an authority among community and getting ready for further life. But still, some people suppose that one can be successful even without higher education and it is just waste of time. It is up to everyone to decide whether he or she needs higher education or not.

Positive Child Guidance (Managing Challenging Behaviour – Tantrums and Biting)

Focus It is important to remember that almost all young children display stages of â€Å"inappropriate† or challenging behaviours such as biting, tantrums, clinging or hitting at various times in their development. These behaviours are usually short-lived and typically improve with guidance and age. There are some children, however, whose challenging behaviours may increase and result in injury to self or others, cause damage to property, interfere with acquiring new skills and/or social isolation.This report investigates the possible causes for challenging behaviors (focusing primarily on tantrums and biting) in infants, toddlers and young children and positive child guidance strategies that are important as the basis for intervention and prevention. It is important to intervene in such a way that appropriate, pro-social behaviors are taught, modeled, and reinforced to ensure lifelong success. 18 June 2011 J M Badenhorst-Awasthi ID: 20090950 Introduction On average about 10 % of children younger than five display challenging behaviours (Tremblay, 2000).There has been an increase of children exhibiting challenging behaviours serious enough for parents and teachers to get concerned about disrupting family functioning and classroom routines (Powell, Dunlap and Fox, 2006). It is necessary for parents and teachers (adults) to work collaboratively in identifying causes of challenging behaviour and implementing relevant positive child guidance strategies that will promote pro-social and acceptable behaviour (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). Pro-social / Acceptable BehaviourConroy and Brown (2004) highlight the following skills or pro-social behaviours that children should acquire before the age of five (on average): Getting along with others Following directions Regulating and identifying emotions Conflict resolutions / solutions Persisting on a task Engaging in social conversations Cooperative play Positive Child Guidance [PCG] An increasingly familiar term in th e field of Early Childhood Education is â€Å"Positive Child Guidance†. PCG techniques, instead of Punitive Discipline Techniques are endorsed by experts as the best way to respond to challenging behaviour (Flicker and Hoffman, 2002; Miller, 2007).PCG is a process wherein adults use certain strategies, e. g. reasoning, giving choices, problem-solving, negotiation and redirection, when dealing with challenging behaviour (Miller, 2007; Porter, 2003). Challenging behaviours (e. g. tantrums and biting) are seen as an opportunity for negotiation, learning and resolution, instead of something that requires children to be disciplined or punished for (Berk, 2006; Miller, 2007). Factors that influence challenging behaviour According to Flicker and Hoffman (2004) there are various factors that influence challenging behaviour: ? ? ? ? ? Emotional: boredom, anxiety, low self-esteem, fear, overstimulation Family: sibling rivalry, divorce, domestic violence, abuse Classroom: overcrowding, too much clutter, excessive noise Physical: hunger, fatigue, illness, soiled nappy Learning difficulties: speech and language, ADD/ADHD Environmental: poor housing, poverty, community violence Before deciding on the most effective guidance strategy it is very important for adults to consider the (potential) contributing factors. PCG is not a â€Å"one-size-fits-all† approach.It involves developing a close, trusting relationship with the children and parents and â€Å"individualizing† approaches (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). TANTRUMS Definition A tantrum / temper tantrum is an emotional outburst, usually associated with children that are in emotional distress. Typical characteristics are crying, screaming, defiance, anger, stubbornness, ranting, resisting attempts to be pacified and sometimes hitting or kicking (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). Tantrums most commonly happen when children believe (wrongly or rightly) that their wants (not necessarily their needs) are not bei ng met (Ministry of Education [MoE], 1996).Typically tantrums will occur in children aged between 16 months and three / four years (Berk, 2006). Influencing Factors The physical environment may affect young children’s behaviour, e. g. inadequate space, noise levels and traffic patterns in the classroom (Miller, 2007; Strain and Hemmeter, 1999). Classroom schedules and routines may be a factor. Children need routines but with some flexibility. It is often the transition times that prove most problematic (Miller, 2007).Children might learn (after the first tantrum) that it is an effective way to get what they want and therefore keep repeating this behaviour (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). Tantrums might occur when a child wants a toy that is being used by another child (jealousy) (Conroy and Brown, 2004). Often tantrums will happen when an adult says â€Å"no† to a child e. g. when changing or leaving an activity or fun place (e. g. when it’s time for tea / lunch) o r when asked to do something they don’t want to do (e. g. cleaning up) (Tremblay, 2002). A CNN Health Report concluded that there are neurological influences for tantrums.The prefrontal cortex, (part of the brain), which is responsible for emotional and social regulation is not yet developed in children and they are therefore less likely to have the required skills to negotiate a more controlled behaviour (New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003). Positive Child Guidance Strategies Teachers should make use of observations to establish which factor(s) is/are influencing tantrums. Only by understanding the factor can appropriate strategies be applied (Miller, 2007). There should be minimal disruptive transitions and fair warning before it occurs.Ensure children know the routine. Teachers should model and praise appropriate behaviour (Miller, 2007). Adults should not give up / give in when a child has a tantrum. Children might learn that a tantrum is an effective and immed iate means of getting what they want. Other children might learn and copy this behaviour (Alter and Conroy, 2006). Careful planning is very important. Teachers should identify potential triggers and formulate solutions in advance (MoE, 1996). Children with a tendency for tantrums should be encouraged to do relaxing activities such as water play, play dough or the sandpit.It is inappropriate to expect toddlers to sit for long periods of time or to engage in large group activities. It is better to arrange short, engaging mat times and small group activities (Slee and Hemmeter, 1999). It is important to have enough toys so that all children have an opportunity to play at the same time. Some centres will deliberately have less toys to encourage problem-solving and negotiation skills. Through observations teachers should identify high interest toys and possible tantrums (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). BITING DefinitionBiting is a distressing and common behaviour for children aged between f ourteen months and two years (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). Influencing Factors Probably the most common factor for biting is that children of this age are frustrated when they are unable to use words to communicate their needs or wants. Toddlerhood is a time of strong emotions and few words. It is a time of many changes and the feelings (coupling these changes) can sometimes lead to biting (Berk, 2006). Changes that bring about strong emotions and stress can makes children more prone to biting, e. g. otty training, transitioning to a different room (age group in the centre) or a new sibling (Conroy and Brown, 2004). Sometimes infants and young toddlers might bite when they are teething. Biting eases the irritation and pain of teething (Berk, 2006; Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). Hunger and thirst could also be an influencing factor (Berk, 2006). Infants use biting and sucking as a means of exploring and making sense of the physical world. Most objects (that is big enough) will go into an infant/ toddler’s mouth (Slee and Hemmeter, 1999). Sometimes children bite when they actually want to kiss someone (Conroy and Brown, 2004).Biting may occur when children are seeking attention. This behaviour mostly causes disturbance and focuses the adult’s attention on the child who bites. Children could also investigate / experiment the cause and effect of biting – seeing / testing what will happen when biting (Conroy and Brown, 2004). Positive Child Guidance Strategies It is important for adults to talk to the child and acknowledge that these changes can be difficult and give the child the opportunity to express their feelings appropriately (Berk, 2006; Alter and Conroy, 2006). Teachers can ask the parents if the child has a favourite â€Å"teething toy†.For toddlers a teething ring / toy can be pinned to their clothes (attached to a short string) and older children can carry a toy in their pockets. Adults should encourage children to use it when t hey feel like biting. Some children are comforted by a frozen teething toy as this numbs the area and eases discomfort more. For infants and toddlers the adult can wet a cloth and put it in the freezer. The child can easily suck and chew on this (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003). Toddlers and young children should not go for more than two hours without food.It is also important that adults regularly offer children liquids as well. To ease late morning tendency of biting adults can offer a mid-morning snack that is crunchy and chewy such as pretzels, rice crackers or biscuits (Slee and Hemmeter, 1999). Adults should ensure that the objects that infants play with are not small enough to swallow. To measure the size of objects try fitting it inside a toilet paper roll. If it fits then it is too small. Adults should ensure that appropriate teething toys are available (Slee and Hemmeter, 1999). Teach children the appropriate way of showing affection.How to kiss or hug can be taught. Children should first be taught to consider whether children want a hug or kiss. Adults should teach children to listen to the words that people use when they don’t want to be kissed (Conroy and Brown, 2004). To teach the child who has bitten empathy get him/her involved in calming and caring for the person who was bitten (e. g. getting an ice pack). If they see the obvious pain and discomfort and adults asking prompting questions it might discourage a child from biting again (Porter, 2003). Factors and Strategies for both Tantrums and BitingThere are some factors that may lead to both tantrums and biting which include boredom or frustration when children are not adequately engaged with peers, teachers or materials and activities in the centre or at home. Adults should ensure that the materials and activities are engaging, challenging and entertaining for all ages and stages of development. Children should be given a choice of activities which may minimize boredom or frustration (Port er, 2003). Feelings of jealousy or the need for love / attention could also cause tantrums and biting. It is important that adults treat each child equally and fairly.Adults should be consistent in PCG strategy so children can know the boundaries, expectations and acceptable behaviour (Flicker and Hoffman, 2002). . There is a relationship between language inefficiency and challenging behaviours. Children with a language inability will often use tantrums or biting (although inappropriate) to communicate their needs (Hemmeter and Ostrosky, 2006). Hyter (2003) suggest that adults should help develop language skills through songs, repetitions and reading books (See Appendix C) so that children can express themselves verbally instead of resorting to tantrums or biting (Porter, 2003).Conclusion This report highlighted various factors that influence challenging behaviour (tantrums and biting). For this reason adults (teachers and parents) should work collaboratively in identifying the infl uencing factor(s) and applying the most effective and appropriate prevention and intervention strategies to increase compliance and the child’s development of self regulation and appropriate pro-social behaviours (Berk, 2006; Fox, Dunlap and Cushing, 2002; Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2003; Miller, 2007 ).

Policy Making Essay

In the United States, a Constitutional form of government mandates a separation of powers between the respective branches of government. Therefore, the methods and avenues of the policymaking process are complex. Because of this unique â€Å"separation between its executive and legislative functions† (Schroedel 3) the governmental system in America â€Å"lacks a formal hierarchical or organic link between the executive and the legislative branches of government† (Schroedel 3) and this results in two primary progenitors of policymaking. Policy may be forwarded by the legislative or executive branches. The idea behind the division of policymaking powers to establish â€Å"a government composed of functionally separated branches that are required to share legislative responsibilities† (Schroedel 4) with neither of the branches exerting primacy. In addition to the formal branches of government, policymaking is impacted by public activism and public opinion as well as media. Such influence, often referred to as â€Å"agenda setting,† can be a primary motivator in the policymaking chain. Plainly stated, â€Å"Agenda-setting is the course by which issues are adopted for Governmental consideration and perhaps remedy† (Nelson 161), so, technically, one of the branches of government, legislative or executive, must at some point be engaged in the policymaking process set forth by public agenda-setting. A case which illustrates the combination of all aspects of policymaking fro public activism to legislative and executive influence, is the issue of child abuse in America. Rather than having long-standing laws and protections against child abuse, â€Å"It was not until the 1950s and 1960s [†¦ ] that the problem again came to the fore† (Nelson 163); a key point being that the bringing of the problem to the forefront of public and governmental awareness lay largely with the media and with popular interest groups and activists. It was â€Å"by examining how child abuse achieved these agendas† that government came to understand â€Å"new categorical social service policies† (Nelson 163) and subsequent legislation broadened to include â€Å"a more sensitive governmental response to rape, as well as recognition of such â€Å"new† problems as spouse abuse, child sexual abuse, child pornography, and abuse of the elderly† (Nelson 163). The conclusion is that public interest and activism, along with the legislative and executive branches of government plays a pivotal role in policymaking in American government.