Religion, Wealth and Poverty Essay Example for Free

Religion, Wealth and Poverty Essay Outline the work of one religious agency working for world development and explain why it does this work. The religious agency, Christian Aid was set up in 1944, originally known as the British Churches Ecumenical Refugee Council. It was primarily created to help the thousands of homeless Europeans as a result of the Second World War. It became known as Christian Aid in 1945 and was filed as only a segregated department of all of the non-Roman Catholic churches the British Council of Churches and provided great help to the poorer people surviving in lesser economically developed areas. Christian Aid is now a worldwide organisation and has become an agency for the churches of the United Kingdom and in Ireland, working wherever their need is superlative, irrespective of the religion of this area. As well as doing this work, Christian Aid supports local organisations who are better at understanding the needs in their specified areas, whilst continually helping those in need with the sixteen offices they retain overseas. Christian Aid believes in helping people gain strength in finding their own solution to a particular problem rather than simply helping and leaving, Christian Aid provides withstanding support. In addition to this work, Christian Aid strives to transform a New World by ending poverty and continuously campaigns for the change of the morals and rules that allow the poor to get poorer. Christian Aid works and provides help in over sixty countries in the world today, supplying emergency aid and long term aid to organisations, which are working to create the end of poverty. Christian Aid prefers to work through local organisations in areas of lesser-developed economies, as they believe that these organisations understand the needs of their people best. A great plus of the agency of Christian Aid is that it works in all areas despite the religion or race of the place they are working in. In order to achieve the high aims set by Christian Aid, their work can be divided into four sections and they are as follows. Fund raising is a major issue and to be able to start any work in relieving the issue of poverty, Christian Aid has to tackle the problem of funds, which can be raised in several ways. In 1975, it was organised so that every year in May, Christian Aid week could be held as a nationwide even. This is where churches provide information about Christian Aid to almost every home in certain areas by posting letters through their letterboxes and asking for donations. In 1995, a record à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.6 million was raised for Christian Aid via this process. In addition to this, certain parishes and individuals organise events to raise money for the agency and in the past have contributed more by this process than in Christian Aid week. Emergency aid is also taken into consideration as Christian Aid set up a fund known as the disaster fund so it could be immediately used if a natural disaster were to occur and has often overtaken long term aid due to its efficiency in helping people survive the effects of a natural disaster. The work done by Christian Aid involves providing and sending food, medicine and materials to build shelters for the victims of such natural disasters as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. An example of this aid was when blankets, tents and food were sent to refugees in Bosnia and Rwanda and when food was provided for drought-stricken Zimbabwe. This specified version of aid is so important that nearly 15% of Christian Aids funds are spent on it per annum. Long term aid is equally important and fortunately, Christian Aid is greatly advantaged in this area as it has contact with the organisations who receive the aid and the majority of Christian Aids emergency and long-term aid is diverted through Christian associations within the country concerned. If is often for these establishments to come up with fund-raising ideas to help relieve certain aspects of poverty in their area and then ask Christian Aid to finance these propositions. An example of this is when in Columbia, poor farmers were being threatened to be evicted from their homes. Fortunately, the farmers were able to establish an alternative environmentally friendly method which allowed them to develop their area that would provide an income for these farmers and their families. Christian Aid and the European Union are negotiating the finance of this scheme. Another example of Christian Aid helping lesser developed countries is in Bangladesh, where Christian Aid are funding a group of Christian workers to make basic drugs for medicine which are unavailable in Bangladesh. Consequently, as Christian Aid helps in all of these diverse and different areas, their main aim is to help people to help themselves. Education is a key factor to the success of Christian Aid. Nearly 5% of Christian Aids funds is consumed on education about the greater need of development and the way in which Christians are enabled to provide this help to those in need. The association of Christian Aid produces a newspaper, Christian Aid News, along with many other educational articles which not only provide information on the projects that Christian Aid is working on but how they are improving the rate of development in lesser economically developed areas. Christian Aid advocates campaigns for the improvement of living and health conditions in lesser-developed areas. Christian Aids motivation is built upon the Christian belief that all people are equal in the eyes of God and so therefore all deserve the same things. This organisation is driven by the beliefs that God cares about the poor and their lifestyle, wanting them to be treated accordingly. It is also believed that the worth and importance of a person is not measured on how much money they have or the material belongings that they may possess. It is written in the Bible that what counts is a persons desire to do good, their faith in God and actions towards other people. Due to these Christian beliefs, Christian Aid does everything within its power to help those who are less fortunate in both this country and abroad. The quotation, There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all once in Christ taken from Galatians 3:25 is the basis of the Christian Aids work. It is believed that everyone has rights and so deserves to be treated the same, despite their circumstances, creed, nationality, religion or colour. In conclusion to the work of Christian Aid and its motivation, it is clear that their main aim is not only to assist the poor, but help them learn to help themselves and by doing this, Christian Aid are increasing the development of the developing world. The motivation of this agency is obvious due to the fact that they are Christian and it is Gods belief that you should use everything within your power to help those in need of your help. Christian Aid believes that From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole Earth, Acts 17: 26, so that everyone is equal in the eyes of God as they were all created from the same mould, therefore everyone should be treated respectfully. Thanks to these beliefs, Christian Aids work is helping to eradicate the growth of poverty and sustain a development in the lesser-developed areas.

The Big Five Inventory Bfi Psychology Essay

The Big Five Inventory Bfi Psychology Essay The present research is aimed at exploring the relationship between the Big Five Personality Factors and Academic Success. The Big Five Inventory, developed by John Benet-Martinez (1998), was administered on 158 students of the first and second year postgraduate (HR and Business Management) programs at XLRI. The participants current CQPI at XLRI and the XII standard percentage marks obtained at school served as the two measures of academic achievement. The results revealed that conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p Acknowledgements I am grateful to Dr. M. Srimannarayana for his unparalleled guidance and support which was a major motivation behind my doing this dissertation. I thank the participants of this study for having filled up the forms and for having shared their experiences with me for this project, without which I would have been unable to go anywhere with my analysis. I would also like to thank my classmates who helped me in many instances with valuable inputs regarding various concepts and issues. Table of Contents Introduction Two traditional indicators define academic performance grades and highest level of educational attainment. Academic achievement is affected by an interplay of cognitive abilities and personality traits, both of which are involved in the determination of the direction and intensity of intellectual investments. Previous studies undertaken to examine the predictors of academic success have focussed largely on intellectual ability. Anastasi (1954) noted declining correlations between IQ scores and academic performance with increasing levels of educational attainment. Specifically, the correlations between the two constructs declined from r = .70 in elementary school to r = .50 in secondary school and to r = .40 in college (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2005). Within postsecondary education itself, there is a declining correlation between ability tests and other measures of intelligence with increasing years at school. This pattern repeats itself at the post-graduation level abilities have the highest predictive validity at the commencement of a students university or postgraduate experience, and then subsequently decline in magnitude (Humphreys, 1968; Humphreys Taber, 1973). These results indicate that individual differences in academic performance due to cognitive ability disappear with increasing years of education, even after clearing successive hurdles to admission. Hence, it appears that non-ability factors (i.e., personality, self-efficacy, and motivational variables) become more important in distinguishing between better and worse students when the students are pre-selected by past academic performance or intellectual ability (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2006). Recent studies provide evidence in support of the measures of personality dimensions as possible predictors of academic achievement (e.g., Duckworth Seligman, 2005). Martin et al. (2006) found that personality characteristics have a major impact on performance at the undergraduate level across all 4 years of coursework. This impact was observed over and above the effects resulting from high school academic performance and intellectual ability (i.e., achievement test scores). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) studied the linkages between personality traits and academic performance using two longitudinal samples of British university students. They found that personality scores measured during the first week of the academic year were significantly related to final exam results and programme work that were assessed three years later. Further, the predictive power of personality traits accounted for another 10-17% variance in academic performance when it was related to both academic behaviours (like attendance and class involvement) and teachers predictions. In another study, Furnham et al. (2003) found that personality traits accounted for about one-fifth of variance in exam marks and one-third of variance in essay grades over a 2-year period. McLaughlin, Moutray Muldoon (2007) examined the impact of personality in predicting academic performance among nursing students. They administered the Eysencks personality questionnaire (EPQ-R) on 384 nursing students in their first year of study. The results of the EPQ-R were then analysed along with the final marks obtained at the end of the program. They found that students with high scores on psychoticism were more likely to withdraw from the program. Extraversion was also seen to negatively impact academic performance those scoring high on extraversion were more likely to achieve lower marks. In another study, Bisping Patron (2008) also found personality type as a significant determinant in academic success. They used the MBTI to study the impact of personality type in an introductory general business course designed to incorporate knowledge from various business disciplines. Caspi, Roberts, and Shiner (2005) argued for a causal relationship between personality traits and academic performance. They postulated that personality traits and academic performance might be causally related if achievement criteria and personality dimensions overlap. In other words, the causal relationship will arise when a certain behaviour indexing a certain personality trait is also a part of successful performance. For instance, exerting effort as a behaviour (relevant to conscientiousness) is likely to be important for securing high grades in school (Rothstein, Paunonen, Rush, King, 1994), thereby indicating the existence of a causal relationship. Given the wide variety of personality measures available and the subsequent difficulty of making generalisations across studies, there is considerable debate regarding which personality traits are associated with superior academic performance. Nevertheless, the majority of research examining the importance of personality in academic performance has used the Big Five Model of Personality (Costa McCrae, 1992). For example, Tok and Morali (2009) examined the predictive ability of the Big Five personality factors on academic success for a total of 295 physical education (PE) teacher candidates. They found that academic success as GPA was positively related to Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness and negatively associated with Neuroticism. In a meta-anlysis by O Connor and Paunonen (2007), conscientiousness (r = .24), extraversion (r = -.05) and openness (r = .06) were identified as the most consistent predictors of academic achievement. In another study, Mervielde (1994) and Mer vielde, Buyst, and De Fruyt (1995) examined teacher ratings of different age groups (from 4-12 years). They found that both Openness and Conscientiousness showed significant association with academic performance. Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, and Pastorelli (2003) also found these two traits as the most important personality correlates of academic success across different informants (self, teacher, and parent). Each of the five factors Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism have been discussed below with regards to their impact on academic performance. Conscientiousness Conscientiousness is associated with the will to achieve, self-control, determination, purposefulness, and dependability. Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham (2004), and Moutafi, Furnham, Crump (2003) report a negative relationship between IQ and conscientiousness. Nevertheless, it appears that conscientiousness, as a personality construct, most strongly correlates with academic achievement in both undergraduate and graduate settings (Busato, Prins, Elshout, Hamaker, 2000; Noftle Robins, 2007). Noftle and Robins (2007) used multiple personality inventories across four independent samples of more than 10,000 participants. They found conscientiousness to be the strongest predictor of both high school and college GPA. Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnham, and Ackerman (2006) found conscientiousness to be a good predictor of academic success (r = .19 to .31) on multiple measures including exams, continuous assessment (presentations), and written essays over a three year period. Lievens, Coetsier, De Fruyt and De Maeseneer (2002) found conscientiousness to be a significant predictor of academic performance among medical students in each of their three preclinical years. Further, successful students differed from the unsuccessful ones on the subconstructs of dutifulness, achievement orientation, and self-discipline. Conscientiousness is associated with sustained efforts and goal setting activities (Barrick, Mount, Strauss, 1993), both of which are said to contribute to scholastic achievement (Steel, 2007). It is also related to compliance and attention to home assignments (Trautwein, Ludtke, Schnyder, Niggli, 2006), to time management and to regulation of effort in learning activities (Bidjerano Dai, 2007). This attests the relationship of conscientiousness to academic performance, class attendance, and final grades (Conard, 2006). MacCann, Duckworth, Roberts (2009) found that each facet of conscientiousness (e.g., diligence, dependability, self-discipline, prudence, competence, dutifulness, order, and achievement striving) contributed to higher performance in academic settings, attainment of scholastic success, and lower disciplinary infractions. The facets also independently predicted Grade Point Average (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003; Furnham et al., 2003; Martin et al., 2006), motivat ion (Komarraju Karau, 2005), effective learning styles (Duff et al., 2004), and academic aspirations (Rottinghaus, Lindley, Green, Borgen, 2002). Finally, Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003, 2006) argue that in competitive settings, conscientiousness may play a compensatory role for lower cognitive ability and consequently promote higher academic achievement. Thus, the conscientious person who works hard, completes tasks, and strives to succeed is more likely to be motivated to perform well. This would help him in achieving higher academic success (Furnham Monsen, 2009). Openness to Experience Openness to Experience is characterised by receptiveness to new ideas, preference for varied sensations, attentiveness to inner feelings, and intellectual curiosity. Evidence supporting the relationship between Openness to Experience and scholastic success is mixed. Some studies report a positive relationship between Openness and academic performance (e.g., DeFruyt Mervielde, 1996; Farsides Woodfield, 2003), effective learning style, and higher academic aspirations (Rottinghaus et al., 2002). However, other studies do not support such a relationship (e.g., Busato et al., 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003). Openness has been positively related to final school grades and to strategies involving critical thinking (Bidjerano Dai, 2007; Komarraju Karau, 2005), and motivation to learn (Tempelaar, Gijselaers, Schim Van Der Loeff, Nijhuis, 2007). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) found openness to be positively related to intelligence and intellectual curiosity. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnhams (2008) confirm a positive relationship between the openness and academic achievement. They argue that open individuals are more likely to engage in activities that stimulate the acquisition of knowledge and learning experiences. Caprara et al. (2010) found that openness along with academic self-ef ¬Ã‚ cacy contributed to junior high-school grades, after controlling for socio-economic status (SES). Graziano et al. (1997) assessed the Big Five self-reports of 5th to 8th graders. They found Openness positively related with both, self-reports and teacher ratings of academic adjustment. However, OConnor and Paunonen (2007) reported in a review a very low correlation (r = .06) between openness and academic achievement. They rejected the idea of an overall interaction between the two variables. Neuroticism Neuroticism is the degree to which a person experiences negative emotions that are associated with irrational beliefs (Ellis, 1994), weak impulse control, and difficulty coping with stress. A number of studies report a negative correlation between neuroticism and academic performance (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003; Ridgell Lounsbury, 2004), thereby indicating that academic performance tends to be higher in the case of emotionally stable students than neurotic students, who may experience higher levels of anxiety during stressful situations (OConnor Paunonen, 2007). However, results of meta-analyses examining the relationship between neuroticism and academic achievement remain inconclusive (OConnor Paunonen, 2007; Trapmann et al., 2007). Such studies suggest that neuroticism may not be a strong predictor of individual differences in academic achievement in general. Agreeableness Agreeableness may be defined as the disposition of a person toward nurturance, altruism, trust, and a willingness to help others. Studies examining the relationship between agreeableness and academic achievement have produced differing results. Gray and Watson (2002) and Farsides and Woodfield (2003) found agreeableness to be positively associated to GPA (r = .15 and r = .14 respectively). Deary et al. (2003), using the Big Five Inventory found that those who failed to complete the program scored lower on agreeableness. However, in other studies (Conard, 2006; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, Ferguson 2004) researchers failed to find such a significant association between the two variables. Thus, agreeableness may not be that important a determinant of academic performance. Extraversion Extraversion is the degree to which individuals are sociable, preferring large groups and gatherings. Extroverts demonstrate a tendency to be cheerful, assertive and active. Although a positive relationship exists between IQ and Extraversion, Extraversion has been found in several studies (Busato, Prins, Elshout, Hamaker, 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2004; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic McDougall, 2003) to be negatively associated with academic success. Early studies, in particular, indicated that introverts performed better than extroverts, suggesting that the former were better at revision and possessed a higher ability to learn (Entwistle Entwistle, 1970). More recently, Sanchez-Marin et al. (2001) found that extraverts failed their programs more frequently than introverts, again suggesting that this was to do with their distractibility, sociability, and impulsiveness. However, Furnham et al. (1998) found that extroverts performed significantly better than introverts on a meas ure of logical reasoning. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) state that it is difficult to find a consistent relationship between intelligence and extraversion. Overall, extraversion supports academic achievement in some studies and hinders it in others. It must be noted that several variables like age, educational level, gender and assessment method may moderate the relationship between the two variables. In light of the preceding research, today it is more important than ever to determine the personality factors influencing academic success among college students, given the increasing levels of early withdrawal from college and their declining levels of academic performance (Tok Morali, 2009). While a considerable amount of research has been undertaken to establish the relationship between personality factors and academic achievement, there is a virtual gap in study in this area in India. Thus, the present study extends the earlier literature on personality-academic achievement relationship by studying the linkage between the two variables among B-school students in India. Hypothesis Based on the results of the previous research, I hypothesise that Conscientiousness as a personality variable would have the strongest impact on academic achievement. Method Participants Data was collected from 158 respondents studying in the postgraduate program at XLRI. Convenience sampling technique was used to identify the respondents. The sample size comprised of a mix of participants belonging to the first year and second year HR and Business Management (BM) programs offered by the Institute. Specifically, 81 respondents (51.26%) were studying in the HR program and the remaining 77 participants (48.73%) belonged to the BM batch at XLRI. Out of these, 108 participants (68.35%) were in the second year and the rest 50 (31.64%) were studying in the first year. All the respondents were between the age group of 21-32 years. There were a total of 112 male respondents (70.88%). 46 female respondents (29.11%) comprised the rest of the sample. Measures Personality Measure: The Big Five Inventory (BFI) developed by John Benet-Martinez (1998) was used to measure the five personality dimensions of Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The participants were asked to respond to 44 items on a 5 point Likert Scale with a score of 1 indicating strongly disagree and a score of 5 indicating strongly agree. Out of the 44 statements, eight items each measure Extraversion and Neuroticism; nine items each measure Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and ten items measure Openness to Experience. Sixteen items in all are reverse scored. John Srivastava (1999) report the reliability coefficient of the BFI to be 0.83. The convergent validity for the instrument ranged from 0.73 to 0.81. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a validity coefficient of 0.92 for the instrument. (See appendix: Big Five Questionnaire) Academic Achievement: The participants Cumulative Quality Points Index (CQPI) at XLRI at the time of the research study was used as a measure of academic achievement. The maximum CQPI that can be obtained by a student is 8.00. The CQPI, as a measure, was coupled with the percentage of marks obtained in the XII standard in school. Information on both these measures was obtained from the participants self-reports. Data Analysis Responses obtained from the participants were first recoded to take into account the negatively worded items. Thereafter, the scores on the five dimensions of the BFI were computed for each participant by summating the responses of the assigned items. In order to explore the relationship between personality factors and academic success, the Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was calculated between the Big Five Dimensions and the two measures of academic achievement, namely XLRI CQPI and XII standard percentage scored. Results The results indicate that Conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p No significant correlation was found between other personality factors and the measures of academic achievement. Table I: Correlation Coefficients between the Big Five Dimensions Measures of Academic Achievement Big Five Dimension XII Percentage XLRI CQPI Extraversion 0.095 0.025 Agreeableness -0.051 -0.047 Conscientiousness 0.124* 0.248** Neuroticism 0.077 0.164* Openness to Experience 0.012 0.058 where ** indicates p Discussion The findings of the study revealed that when compared to other personality dimensions, Conscientiousness had the strongest influence on academic success, both at the XII board level and at the post-graduation level. Thus, the hypothesis was accepted. More specifically, conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p Neuroticism was also found to be significantly and positively related to CQPI at XLRI (r = 0.164, p Further the high structure academic environment prevalent at XLRI may also facilitate a comparatively better performance for students who are high on neuroticism (as is indicated by positive correlation obtained between the two variables in the present study). It has been argued that neuroticism has a more substantial influence on academic performance under high pressure situations. This may be because the presence of evaluation apprehension may trigger a variety of cognitive and affective reactions among individuals with high levels of anxiety. In fact, under low levels of situational pressure these individuals might experience less anxiety and stress, thereby performing better or at a level similar to individuals with low levels of Neuroticism. The evaluation system at XLRI is such that it emphasizes round the year academic performance rather than evaluation being restricted to a single examination, as is the case with the XII board exams. Further at XLRI, aside from the quizzes an d end term examination (which are individual evaluation components), a major focus is on evaluation of group projects and assignments. These further reduce the stress and anxiety levels for students and make the environment a low press situation. This may explain for the significant positive association observed between Neuroticism and academic performance at XLRI. Finally, no significant correlation was found between the personality factors of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness with the measures of academic achievement. Research evidence regarding the association of these personality dimensions with academic success is mixed and there are numerous studies that report no relationship of academic success with Extraversion (e.g., Hair Hampson, 2006; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic, 2004; Phillips et al., 2003, etc), Openness to Experience (e.g., Busato et al., 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003) and Agreeableness (e.g., Conard, 2006; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, Ferguson, 2004). The results of these studies are in line with the current results. Implications Overall, the results of our study, along with those of previous studies, clearly demonstrate the useful nature of Conscientiousness in predicting the academic success among college students. This information may be beneficial to college admissions committees armed with the mission to reduce the increasing levels of early withdrawal from college and academic failure. However, the problem of accurate measurement of the personality constructs leaves the admission committees wide open to the challenges of self-report scales. These self-rating measures may be highly prone to the effects of impression management, given the high stakes nature of admissions to graduate school. One suggestion is to apply other data collection methods that may approximate the personality constructs sought here. For example, Trapmann and colleagues (2007) suggested that structured interviews may be used to assess the personality trait of Conscientiousness and its associated components. Here also concerns regard ing impression management remain, despite the fact that interviews form a substantial component of selection process for a majority of graduate schools. Another suggestion is to request ratings about the student from knowledgeable informants that could be used to assess particular personality traits (Wolfe Johnson, 1995). However, admissions committees may find locating willing and unbiased informants a huge challenge. Those who provide letters of recommendation could be asked to address particular student characteristics. The idea is to gather as much information as possible about a students non-ability traits to guide admission related decisions. Limitations Directions for Future Research The first limitation of the present study concerns the investigated sample. The participants were students of the postgraduate management program at XLRI. Since, the participants had already been pre-selected by ability and intelligence; it may have resulted in a narrow distribution of the students characteristics. Future studies can focus on samples from multiple backgrounds with a wider distribution in abilities. Another limitation of this study is that it focuses exclusively on grades as a measure of academic performance. Grades represent only one measure of performance that people exhibit in the context of education. In the classroom there are several behaviours that may be more highly related to personality, such as the frequency of asking questions or seeking help (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, McKeachie, 1993), or even showing up for classes when the attendance is not taken. Investigating the effects of personality on these and other data sources may reveal that personality plays a much larger role in student behaviours, than the sole examination of grades and level of educational attainment would reveal. It is suggested that future research can focus on examining homework and other study-related behaviours discussed above. Because they occur in a relatively unstructured environment, it appears that they would be more likely to capture the influence of non-ability traits rather than just in- class assignments or grades.

Coverage of Child Rights Issues in Pakistani Print Media

Coverage of Child Rights Issues in Pakistani Print Media Chapter 2 Literature Review A literature review is an evaluative report of information found in the literature related to the selected area of study. It is a process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, and summarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic. The results of a literature review may be compiled in a report or they may serve as part of a research article, thesis, or grant proposal.(Hart,1998) A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original experimental work. Also, a literature review can be interpreted as a review of an abstract accomplishment (Dellinger, Leech, 2007). A well-structured literature review is characterized by a logical flow of ideas; current and relevant references with consistent, appropriate referencing style; proper use of terminology; and a comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic (ibid). In this research â€Å"Coverage of child rights issues in Pakistani Print Media; a comparative study of English and Urdu newspapers† researcher uses thematic order for literature review. Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. Researcher divides the literature review into two sections. Studies on child rights in Pakistan International studies on child rights Studies on Child rights in Pakistani media Studies on Child rights in International media Studies on Human rights Media studies on Human rights 2.1. Studies on Child Rights in Pakistan OMCT (2003) reported in Pakistan Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by Pakistan that in particular, that children are at a high risk to be subject to various forms of abuse and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and punishment. OMCT is aware that many of the structural causes of the violations of childrens rights require economic and social change at a structural level, we nevertheless feel that some fundamental legislative and administrative changes in the country would enable a better implementation of children’s rights that could lead to a considerable improvement in the lot of children. Therefore, OMCT would like to make several conclusions and recommendations, both legislative and practical. Sadruddin (2011) identified in study on the important issues of child rights in Pakistan that the important issues of children in Pakistan, during 2004-2008. This research article aims to inform practitioners and policy makers, in an effort to move child rights and childrens plight in especially difficult circumstances to the forefront of the public conscience. The value and importance of children has also been highlighted in the study. The efficacy of the implementation of child rights by Pakistani Government has also been revealed. The study revealed that the issues of children were over shadowed in Pakistan during the last few years. The Convention on the Rights of Child did not serve as a guaranteed savior. Education, security and social rights were not given proper attention during the last five years due to which, much effective results were not produced in improving child rights. Although the needs of children and their rights, particularly social and security rights were well understood, but were not well addressed, both on social and political platform. The study concluded that Pakistan was unsuccessful in addressing the issues of Children in Pakistan to its best as the issues of children were found in a vulnerable state. Khan (2011) determined in his work implementing law against child labor: a research study of Pakistan that child Labor is always related to the violation of the basic rights of children. However, every work that children indulge in cannot be categorized as child labor. This article assesses the International norms regarding child labor after understanding the notion of child labor. This article aims to highlight the socio-economic issues responsible for the profusion of child labor in a society. This article thus analyzes the different approaches towards child labor eradication and the prominent hurdles in implementing international and national norms against child labor. A case study of assessing hurdles in laws implementation is done in Pakistan. Pakistan is an economically developing state, that is why the cases of children indulging in health hazard work is prominent. 2.2 International studies on Child rights Jones (2011) described in what are children’s rights? Contemporary developments and debates how the idea of child rights has emerged, identifying the ways in which different pressures for change continue to develop the way rights are legislated for and understood. It has given brief examples of the kinds of policies that are emerging and has shown how changes in long-held attitudes and practices are a consequence of the child rights agenda. The chapter introduced areas key to child rights including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the UK’s Human Rights Act 1996 (HRA). Examples that link child rights to their lived experiences were used to illustrate the ways in which the practical application of legislation affects children and those working with them. Kim (2008) paper considers whether letting children combine work and school is a valid and effective approach in Cambodia. Policy makers’ suggestions that child labor should be allowed to some extent due to household poverty appear ungrounded as no signià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cant relation between children’s work and household poverty is found while arranging school time table s à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exibly in order to accommodate households’ perceived need for children’s labor may increase problem s of insufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cient teaching hours if schools conduct their time tables un reliably. Considering these issue s, the paper suggests the need for a more diversià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ed app roach to dealing with the impact of child labor on their school education. Claire (2012) Investigated the relationship between representation and cognition in a study with 105 3-7 yr olds designed to test the implications of 2 major theories of childrens drawings. The classical or conceptual theory considers the young childs drawing of the human figure as an index of his concept of a man, and predicts uniformity across representational tasks which vary media and instructions. In contrast, R. Arnheim defines the representational process as the invention of structurally equivalent forms in a given medium, and predicts that representation will vary as a function of the task and the medium. Results of 11 representational tasks support Arnheims theory that representation varies as a function of the medium, instructions, practice, the provision of parts, and the childs developmental level. Sadruddin (2012) evaluated in critical studies on the Asian countries assessment on children rights that the Implementation of Children rights in few Asian Countries, particularly, Pakistan. The study identified the important issues of children in Asian Countries besides highlighting the value and importance of children. The study conclude that although the issues of children were highlighted by most of the Asian countries but the practical Implementation of the Children Rights in Asia, particularly Pakistan, were over shadowed during the last few years. Very few laws were imposed in favor of children rights without practical imposition to resolve the issues of children in Asia. 2.3 Studies on child rights in Pakistani media IFJ (2002) reported in Putting Children in the Right that Those looking for a check list to work from may find this section annoyingly imprecise. The overall duty of a journalist or other media professional doing this kind of work is to act in the best interests of the child and of children and to try to deal with ethical issues with clarity and honesty. This will not guarantee that they make no mistakes, but would dramatically improve the quality of media coverage of children’s issues. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is based on the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity. Journalists should extend those qualities to children. The daily challenge to journalists and media organizations is particularly felt in coverage of children and their rights. Jabeen (2014) This research article child protection data: an analysis of news coverage of child protection issues in Pakistan, argues for the need of systematic data, not only for recognition of child protection issues, but also for formulation and implementation of policy and practice responses in Pakistan. Through a systematic review of the newspaper coverage of child protection issues over a period of 20 years, the actual and potential risks to children are highlighted, thus, providing a methodological justification to use newspapers coverage as a record of child protection problems. Further, with its focus on the language and content of the coverage, this article shows how representation of child protection issues in the print media reflect the existing reality on the one hand, and on the other may affect people’s perceptions of these issues. 2.4 Studies on child rights in International media Cheity (2004) reported in his research work the coverage of child sexual abuse in popular magazines since the early 1990s. The article employs systematic analysis to identify and analyze articles in four popu-lar magazines. Articles are analyzed by subject, length, and publication. The results affirm established theories of newsworthiness related to the coverage of specific stories over time. However, inter-est in the subject waned in the past 10 years, with the brief and dramatic exception of coverage connected to the Catholic Church in 2002. The findings demonstrate systematic differences between the slants of the four magazines studied. The findings also suggest that child abuse professionals could improve the quality of cover-age by agreeing to interviews in connection with articles about childhood sexual abuse. Goddard Saunders (2000) explained in their research work the gander neglect and textual abuse of child rights in print media that in recent years the relationship between the media and child abuse has been subjected to closer inspection. Research at Monash University into the media portrayal of child abuse has led the researchers to examine the language used by the print media to represent both children who have been abused or neglected and the offences committed against them. This paper presents two findings from this research. The analysis firstly found that a child who has been abused or neglected may be objectified in print media language even when the child’s gender is previously identified. Secondly, the analysis found that the language used to describe the sexual abuse of children may serve to reduce the seriousness of offences. These phenomena, termed ‘gender neglect’ and ‘textual abuse’, are highlighted by examples from UK and Australian pri nt media. The authors argue that ‘critical language awareness’ is important for children, just as it has been identified in research that examines the representation of women in print media. Wilczynski, Sinclair, and young (1999) explained in their study Moral Tales: Representations of Child Abuse in the Quality and Tabloid Media that although child abuse is a favorite topic for media stories, there has been little research on how the media portrays such issues. The present research examined the media construction of child abuse in a comprehensive sample of all 1302 reports on the subject during 1995 in a representative quality and tabloid newspaper in NSW. Criminal justice agencies were the predominant sources used for the stories; child abusers were individualized and demonized by the press and used to promote ‘law and order’ agendas; and there was little coverage of the social causes of abuse and prevention issues. Although both the quality and tabloid press demonstrated these features, there were some marked differences between the coverage in the two sources, such as a much greater emphasis on individual cases in the tabloid press. 2.6 Media studies on Human rights Sial (2009) explained in his research named Human rights Reporting in Pakistani Media that Media reports on human rights influence people, but there is a lack of investigative reporting on human rights issues in Pakistan. The journalists do not have the required expertise and training to investigate and report on rights issues. Only a few journalists are committed to human rights reporting whereas most of them are either indifferent to or skeptical of rights issues. The environment is comparatively better for human rights reporting in the English media where journalists are not forced to work in multiple areas and have an educated audience. The Urdu media relies much on sensationalization, a narrative devoid of investigation and personal bias. A balanced and impartial analysis of the issues is largely misssing. Dunn (2012) explained in his research paper on emerging sociological theories on human rights: social structure, human agency, and inequality that sociological theories of human rights are relatively less developed, but such frameworks are crucial for the development of the unique contributions to the human rights topic that sociology can make. Foremost among these is conceptualizing the role of inter-relationships between social structure, human agency, and inequality as they impact human rights and efforts to promote them. Nwanko (2011) reported in his research work Role of the media in promoting human rights: an analysis of the BBC documentary chocolate: The bitter Truth. This study has tried to look into what role the media play in the promotion of human rights. This was done by looking into the case of BBC One and the documentary, chocolate: the bitter truthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸, which it produced. The documentary dwelt on the use of child labour in cocoa farms in West Africa. The study was aimed at finding the reason why the BBC chose to promote human rights through the production of the documentary. It also tried to find out how the contents of the documentary are shaped to promote human rights. Human rights theories literature arc commonly incompatible to one or both of Aeijaz (n.d.) expressed in his thesis Theoretical and Philosophical foundation of human rights that human rights theories interpreted as expression of philosophical optimism, even arrogance. The philosophical task is to explicate Minows dilemma of difference† and acknowledge both the fact and fluidity of difference. The objectives of undercurrent research are intending to investigate the comparative analysis of coverage of child rights in Urdu and English Pakistani newspapers. The study of Sial (2009) reported coverage of human rights in Pakistani news media. The findings of that study revealed that Urdu Newspapers sensationalizing the issue. Other studies of literature review are also supporting the arguments of the current research.

Disparities in Education of Minorities in the United States Essays

The problem of educational disparities among various ethno-racial groups that make up the United States has been a long studied topic. Theories have ranged widely in what they consider as the primary factors for these disparities. Biological and individualist perspectives have cited inherent genetic inferiorities as the cause of these disparities. Others have taken into account social forces but have maintained that the cause is due to the creation of a culture of subordination and poverty that does not allow social advancement. Still others have tended to focus on systemic inequalities and on the roles of prejudice and discrimination (Sidanius et al, 1998). This paper will attempt to frame the issue of educational disparities among marginalized minorities through the idea of â€Å"social dominance theory,† which states that social systems and structures are arranged hierarchically to benefit the dominant group and in turn create low-status among others (Sindanius et al, 1998). I will then more specifically look into the role of cultural mismatch between a student’s home culture and the cultural ideals that are embedded in the educational system. These cultural discontinuities affect minority students’ identities during this crucial period of development. From there, I will turn the focus to highlighting some possible solutions and alternatives to this problem of cultural mismatch and oppositional identity. These solutions will focus on the role of reclaiming education as a part of student’s home culture as well as the educational system’s role in recognizing and accommodating to these differences . In order to understand the relationship between marginalized minorities and the educational system, it is importan... ...d motivation. Psychological Review 98:224-53 Moll LC. 1992. Literacy research in community and classrooms: a sociocultural approach. In Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Literacy Research, ed. R Beach, JL Green, ML Kamil, T Shanahan, pp. 211-44. Urbana, IL: Natl. Counc. Teach. Engl. Oyserman, D., Grant, L., and Ager, J. (1995). A socially contextualized model of African American identity: Possible selves and school persistence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69 (6), 1216-1232 Sidanius, J., Levin, S., & Pratto, F. Hierarchical group relations, institutional terror and the dynamics of the criminal justice system. Racism: The Problem and the Response, Sage Publications, 1998, 136-165. Tatum, B.D. (1997). â€Å"Why are all the Black kids sitting together at the cafeteria? And other conversations about race.† (pp. 52-90). New York: Basic Books

Reducing Corporate Spending :: essays research papers

In today’s global market the appropriate use of resources is a must-do we heard that a lot, all the time administrators say so, accountants, all the people at the top of the pyramid agrees with this idea, yet companies usually have a double Standard position when it comes to define where the fine line of frugality ends and who should obey it. On one hand we have in the production area the idea that there’s always something there is to save money it goes from temporary-work-contract to really small inventories to name two. As a supervisor of a very important company once told me â€Å"We have been working effectively in the last couple of moths yet the profits of the company aren’t as they should be but, that ain’t our fault, it’s because administrators spend a lot of money when they meet with our clients, yes, I do understand that our clients’ satisfaction is really important but, they have to find a balance because it is fair to be accused of being inefficient while we produce so much.† On the other hand there’s this huge amount of money companies (marketing employees, sales employees, administrators) spend when they try to get a very profitable contract- in the best of the cases- from a very important customer and apply all the techniques there are to satisfy customer’s expectation. One of the most popular one is taking the customer out one night to â€Å"spoil† him in order to get the contract. As business magazine Newsweek March edition reported that most of the best contracts are not usually signed in the places one would suppose they are signed (such as offices, restaurants to name two), they are signed in nightclubs, bar, places that involve a very different environment from the places they met (customer-supplier). Corona’s supplier director explains, â€Å"Our customers are use to going out, to having fun, to being out of the work environment when they have to make an important decision that is just the way it is, there’s n o way we can change it, remember that â€Å"the client is always right† they expects us to entertain, amuse them, it’s hard work but, somebody has to do it† Both sides have very good points and the success of

American Imperialism and Early Progressives Essay

The issues America had with other countries all revolved around things like that. There was the Louisiana Purchase. There was the Mexican-American War. There was the â€Å"54-40 or Fight† crisis involving England and the Oregon Territory. Beginning with the Spanish-American War, the US turned towards expanding its power and having more of an impact on the international scene. The US then did things like taking and running the Philippines. It pushed for the â€Å"Open Door† in China. The war represented the first major military engagement for the United States borders since the Mexican-American War and led to a desire of United States interests throughout the Caribbean and into the western Pacific region . The war’s outcome led to dramatic increases in the United States navy budget and U. S military involvement in the Philippines, resulting in a three-year war. The Spanish-American War created policies promoting overseas investments and expansion, later referred to as â€Å"dollar diplomacy† under President Taft. Before that, this expanded policy could be seen in the Open Door policy regarding China. It could also be seen in President Theodore Roosevelt’s engineering a revolt in Panama against the Colombian government and then negotiating for the Panama Canal Zone and construction of the Panama Canal. 2) Explain how the following individuals responded to the economic and social problems created by the industrialization during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: Jane Addams, Andrew Carnegie, Samuel Gompers, Upton Sinclair Thesis: Industrialization may have created a dramatic increase in wealth but brought along social and economic problems, Andrew Carnegie responded to these problems with the gospel of wealth, Sinclair attacked corruption in industry’s, Jane Addams with Hull Houses and movements for women and Samuel Gompers with the AF of L. Addams focused on poverty, low wages, poor conditions and the need to assimilate immigrants. Her goal was to help with the poverty and bad lives of of urban life. She established a settlement house, Hull House, in Chicago in 1889. 00 settlement houses were established across America because of her. She advocated the regulatory movement for slums and factories that opposed child labor and sweatshops and advocated for the 8-hour working day for women. Carnegie did want to fix the issues of the emerging economy with his vertical integration of the steel industry. Carnegie built wealth around efficient monopolistic operations, vertical integration, lowest possi ble wages, exploitation of workers, and forbidding unions. He advocated the Gospel of Wealth, and economic survival of the fittest. Yet, Carnegie also held that excess wealth was a trust for communities, and he established the many Carnegie funded public libraries. Altogether he gave away over $150 million. Gompers organized unions into the American Federation of Labor; unions were independent but cooperated on bread and butter issues. He wanted higher wages, fewer working hours, business liability for injuries, mine safety laws, and leverage of skilled unions; the AFL coordinated strikes and boycotts. The AFL had 2 million members by 1904 but mostly omitted semi- and unskilled workers and women. Sinclair wrote the book The Jungle in 1906 and described meatpacking conditions, which made Theodore Roosevelt push for the 1906 Meat Inspection Act that established sanitary rules and inspections. Sinclair was an investigative muckraker focusing on abuse of workers. 3) How Successful were the progressive reforms during the period 1890 to 1915 with respect to the following: Industrial condition, Urban life, politics Progressive reform helped in seeing the creation of labor unions like The Knights of Labor and The American Federation of Labor. These unions pushed for higher pay and shorter work days for workers by attempting to organize the laborers. They achieved some of what they desired to but not all do to the advanced organization and quick methods of reacting of the companies. the reforms were successful in terms of industrial conditions. Examples of this: Creation of strong labor unions such as The Knights of Labor and the America along with Federation of Labor. These unions pushed for higher minimum wages and pay and shorter work days. Also, to rid of child labor. For Urban life improvements, i didnt develop an argument yet but i have these ideas that were successful: The Hull House, Public Education, Crime, Pollution and theres a whole lot more but im working on it now. Sorry but that’s all i have:( In addition, the Conserative reforms of Teddy Roosevelt and Taft. TR added the Yellow Stone National Park to a protective reserve. Taft built off of these ideas with more parks being made into reserves. How successful were progressive reforms during the period 1890-1915 with respect to TWO of the following? Industrial conditions; urban life; politics. The late 19th century and early 20th century were marked by a period of reforms known as Progressivism. During this time, leaders of Progressive reforms aimed to improve American lives by instigating changes that would influence politics and urban lifestyles. Progressivism generally helped improve the everyday life and reduced corruption within the nation’s legislations. During the Progressive Era, President Theodore Roosevelt adapted in 1904 what was known as the Square Deal program. This was the main program that outlined business relationships between the corporate leaders and the industrial workers and that fairness and equality would preside over the connection. However, in order to prevent a communistic society and maintain competition in the economy, Roosevelt did not eliminate all trusts. He declared that there were some â€Å"good† trusts, along with the bad ones. The â€Å"good† trusts were those that were free from corruption and would generally maintain a fair and just relationship between employer and employee. The program included the Sherman Antitrust Act, which demanded that the trusts be judged by the acts they have committed. This act successfully signaled the end of corrupt trusts, along with the passing of the Elkins Act. The Elkins Act prevented the rich and the well known to benefit and receive rebates on the railways. The Elkins Act forced the railroads to create an equal rate for people of all walks of life and it could not be subject to change. In the coal strike of 1902, hundreds of thousands of Americans refused to work in the mines without improvements to working conditions.

Personal Recounts- a Day in the Life of Superman

A day in the life of Superman I nearly died today . I could not help but toss and turn in bed and think about how horrible my day had been . what would have happened if the Atomic Skull had hit me on my head. â€Å"Someone help me! † old . Auntie Mary was lost in the jungle. She could not find her way out and was shouting frantically for help. The sun was setting. Auntie Mary was shouting for help because she had now been captured by the notorious Atomic Skull. He was notorious because of his habit of abducting little children and the elderly. Ha ha, now nobody can save you,† laughed the Atomic Skull but he was wrong and I had heard Auntie Mary. The Atomic Skull’s teeth were a disgusting sight to look at and his face was bigger than his body. â€Å" Superman to the rescue,† I was on my way to the spot where Auntie Mary was since he was already near the jungle. I was just flying past the jungle at that time. The jungle was eerie and gloomy and had a lot of t rees. No longer than a minute had passed when I arrived at the spot where Auntie Mary was. There was one problem, she and the Atomic Skull were not there anymore.The Atomic Skull had brought her somewhere. I started to look for Auntie Mary. She was nowhere in sight. Then, I heard the rustling of leaves. I turned around and saw that there was a pile of leaves nearby which could have been used to hide behind. I then had an idea. I crept the other way round the tree to the back of the pile of leaves. That was when I saw the creepy Atomic Skull. The Atomic Skull saw me and we began to fight. There was a lot of action as well as blood. The Atomic Skull could feel a punch on his cheek and felt his hand raising up to hit me.He had a scythe in the other hand and had the mean thought of hitting me with it. Auntie Mary could not bear this sight so she turned around. I was wise and had known that earlier so I kicked the scythe out of the Atomic Skulls hand. The Atomic Skull was helpless now he was powerless and could not do anything but ask for forgiveness or so I thought so. Just as I turned around with Auntie Mary, the Atomic Skull, being very nasty, crept towards his scythe and picked it up, aimed it at me. Just as he was about to throw it, I turned around saw what the Atomic Skull was up to.I ducked just in time and gave the Atomic Skull one last kick of mine which was one of the famous style of kicks. The Atomic Skull lay there, groaning in pain as if he had fallen from a tree which was very high and broke a bone or two. â€Å"Better luck next time, Atomic Skull. Always remember that where there is evil ,there is good and where there is you , there is me! Ha ha! † I was smiling to myself because I had just realised that I had spent two hours thinking of what had happened instead of sleeping. â€Å" How silly of me! † he said before he started to snore.