American military tortures of prisoners of war Term Paper

American military tortures of prisoners of war - Term Paper Example Since soldiers do not usually divulge information, the military personnel who detain hostiles as prisoners of war use different methods of torture for extracting information. Similarly, during peace time also nations come under threat of terrorist attacks, which is a major problem in nations across the world. Thus, when the military or the law enforcement agencies arrest suspects, they torture them to obtain information. In the modern day the United States of America is one nation that has become the target of many countries due to political as well as religious reasons. Politically, the nation opposes communism and as a result, countries embracing the communist political ideology have become America’s enemies. On the other hand, in religious and political context, the nation is also being targeted by Muslim radical groups. Thus, the American military as well as law enforcement agencies are often forced to resort to torturing prisoners from other nations for extracting informa tion for the purpose of safeguarding the external and internal security of their nation. While there are often allegations about countries engaged in war torturing the prisoners of war and other suspects, the complaints against the US military have been mounting in recent years, especially in the context of their role in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the crackdowns against the Al Qaeda. The general perception is that torture is being meted out by low ranking soldiers but in many cases the evidence has suggested that high ranking officers in both the military and civil administration authorize such atrocities on detainees. It is also noted that while the US government promises to punish those responsible for such acts, only the people at bottom receive the punishment and top ranking leaders get away. One of the major instances of the exposure of US torture on prisoners of war in recent days is the episode in March 28, 2004 when pictures of US soldiers inflicting torture and humiliation on the

Saint Augustine of Hippo and his Confessions Essay

Saint Augustine of Hippo and his Confessions - Essay Example Monica. It can be deduced through his works that his main goal is to find the spiritual truth, and due to himself not acknowledging the spiritual presence of God everywhere he had an early life full of sins. He died in 430, just when the Vandals were starting to besiege Calama, where he stayed for the rest of his life.4 As a reformed man who used to live in a life of sin, his book Confessions was able to convey his thoughts as well as his beliefs during and after his conversion to Christianity, as well as the struggles he had to face during the time when Rome was already crumbling and a new era was about to usher in. St. Augustine’s book, Confessions recalls most of his younger life, when he was still living in sin. The first 10 books were mostly his biography, while the remaining books focused on the first chapter of Genesis, mostly dealing with creation and the fall of grace, which he personally experienced.5 While it is not said in the book that he was a very bad child, he found pleasure in committing sins due to his search of love.6 The first book deals with his infancy to his youth, and during which he was starting to question things which he must do, as well as the good and mischievous things that he did in order to gain praise from just about everyone: from his parents; to his teachers and to his peers. However, trying to gain praises from human beings was only to make oneself feel good, and for that he confesses that he only looked for beauty and not the truth.7 The second book tells about St. Augustine’s life as a youth who was sent to Carthage in order to further his studies and become a respectable man. However, due to his relishing of the needs of the flesh, as well as to satisfy the peer pressure from his friends, he has sunk into an even lower state, much to the chagrin of his devout mother. He confessed that during these times, he was doing such things in order to satisfy his need for sinning, and nothing else.8 Concluding this book is St. Augustine admitting that having friends can either be good or dangerous, and that to live away from friends that commit sins should be the best course of action to avoid becoming a sinner even further. The third book talks about St. Augustine’s life in Carthage, how he felt that he desired to love something, but instead fell into the throes of lust.9 He also loved being an audience to theatrical plays, especially those of tragedies since he sees them as a mirror to his own life. Again, just to satisfy his vanity, he committed himself to become an eloquent speaker, to impress people. But upon reading the book Hortensius by Cicero, his whole life goal changed. He now tries to pursue the truth instead of knowledge.10 During this time he was jumping from one belief to another, and he stayed in the Manichean faith for around 10 years. Finally, through his mother, St. Monica, things were starting to become different for him. In the fourth book, most of St. Augustine’ s doubts regarding the Manichean religion as well as his swindling life as a teacher of rhetoric were further

Examining The Booking System Of Web Appointments Information Technology Essay

Examining The Booking System Of Web Appointments Information Technology Essay Every person has to book appointment in GP or hospital before their visit to organization (unless in emergency). The web based appointment booking system simplifies the date, time, and choice of doctor, changing or modifying patient details. Since the internet has become an important part of our lives, organizations either small businesses or big establishments make it part of their business functionalities. The technology is expanding day by day and online sources are also increasing too. According to Hacker, Ease of access, increased availability of information, and the prosperity of web services have universally increased productivity and operational efficiencies (Hacker, 2008). The online system has transformed complete background of information exchange. This research is also related to develop of web based appointment booking system where user only has to type URL provided and they can access it from anywhere in the world and any time. The system will allow patient to log in, r egister, and booking appointment where they will be able to choose time, date and choose of their doctor. The development of web based system can be very demanding if the system was planned well before design. The system will reduce burden of work load of their staff and staff will be more efficient. The research will carry before start developing a system it will help to choose right tools, technologies. The system will reduce queues in GP. The use of web based appointment booking system will allow customer to book appointment anytime for example if they want to book appointment at midnight so they will be able to make it without waiting for GP to open in morning and than call to GP because telephone booking appointment system will work only when GP is open but web based appointment booking system will work all the time 365 days in a year. Background It is important to know how appointment is done currently in organisation. The currently appointment done manually or through phone in which the patient are given choice of dates when they visit their GP or hospital and it should be approved by the member of staff . And if patient book their appointment through phone than they have to wait for automated machine to answer and than choose available date and book appointment. If patient need confirmation then they have to visit GP personally or choose option to send letter by post. This type of situations lead to waste of time, money and it may put load of time and pressure on the administrative staffs as well. As there are human beings involved in the whole process there are high possibilities of human errors. The booking appointment through phone or personally going there the staff can access wrong details and also when staff booked the appointment for person then there may be some mistake. So by considering all these points the devel opment of web based system will help GPs or any organisation to overcome all of these problems by providing an online service to do their booking and to choose their desire date and select them online. Rationale / Significance The online booking system will not work in case of emergency. In emergency there are always places available to go straight there, this system will work for normal booking to visit and see doctor for regular check-up. The rational of this research is to develop a web based appointment booking system and implementation of system for GPs and other organisation. The development of web based appointment system is to overcome the problems faced by the users and staffs while booking their appointment for regular check up. The appointment booking is important for any organisation to deal their user more efficiently. As we discussed in the background of the research there may be some human error. That is why the development of this system is selected which will help organisation to give quality service by providing their users web based online appointment booking system. The main purpose of developing this project is to identify the user needs, to satisfy those needs by selecting the best approach to achieve the objectives of the project. The implementation of this project will help the organisation to reduce the time for user to book appointment. It may also reduce paper work, queuing at the GPs reception, because the major services will be provided online. The implementation of this system will also help organisation financially as well as for their users and it will saves lots of time. The implementations of web based appointment booking system also support multiple users at a time so the system will efficient. Aim and Objectives Aim: To design and implement the Web based online appointment booking system within time. Research Objectives: The research will conduct to collect necessary information for designing a system for GP or hospital. To develop the system, some interviews need to be conducted among people to understand problems with system. The Feasibility study for implementing the system will conduct and the main focus will be on scalability issues. As the GP is growing rapidly the system should support any future expansions such as increasing number of users. The technologies that required to develop the system Client/server architecture (Web based client server applications), Requirement gathering and analysing techniques (the interviews will be conduct and also questionnaires), HTML,XHTML,client side, server technologies (PHP,ASP.NET) Relation database (Oracle, My SQL), System testing tools Practical Objectives: Analysis. The analysis will be done to understand the scope of project. The interview and questionnaires will be conducted to collect user requirements and analyse them to develop a system. System modelling and prototyping The programme language which going to use should be suitable. The testing condition will identify. Testing and implementation The system has to test before deliver to user to check that developed system is working properly and it fulfils requirements. The system will check verification and validation. Maintenance The helpdesk will be provided for user if user face any problem of developed system. Hypothesis / Research questions The current system allows user to book appointment throw phone or user has to go to GP to book appointment. This will result such as long queue at the GP, hospitals. Only few GPs using online booking system. There are some possibilities of problems such as users do not know about the online booking of their appointment. In case if user need to book appointment for repeat visit than they have to go every time to book appointment and problem is that users can miss their repeat visit because they did not have time to go or phone line was busy. The queue at GPs will put pressure on the staff and may take more time. It is important that complete project should fulfil all the requirements of system and also how system will work, features of system and functionality. The system will work on the basis of authentications and authorizations which will be achieved by providing the unique ID which is username and password to each user. The patient will be able to select of their desired date and time and also able to change if they want to. The online booking system will not work in case of emergency. In emergency there are always places available to go straight there, this system will work for normal booking to visit and see doctor for regular check-up. 1.5 Expected outcomes: This is a real time project, so the purpose of this project is to develop a web based appointment booking system for GP and Hospitals where users will able to book appoint from anywhere in world. This will be a client and server application where client will be used for just entering the data and submitting it. The server side will be capable of processing. This is academic level project, therefore the structure of this project will be little bit different than the usual professional project. Professional people mostly have the relevant knowledge about how to make the project but in academic level student first learn then make it into practice than they provide the application. Theory Practice Application (Dawson, 2005) 1.6 Risk in this Project and way of minimization: The identification of risk in projection development is important because risk can put project on halt or destroy complete project. The project risks are those which will affect the quality and performance of project (Summerville I 2001).Some of the risks are highlighted are below. Hardware problem: The occurrence of hardware problem can happen while a lot of software is being used to develop a system. So laptop can crash. The virus can also be responsible for laptop crash. To conquer this problem the code always saved on another device like (flash drive or friend computer).So if the computer crashed than the old code can be taken without losing anything. This is one project risk. Software complexity and connection: The software installation and making connection between them is could be a problem. The installation of Mysql software, apache server and make connection between apache, PHP and Mysql. For this problem first all software will be use but if there is problem then Xampp where the old code can be generate. This is a project risk. Tools and software problem: The Tools and software is always important for development any kind of project. If some software is giving error while development a system then there is always new software is available to use. Time: The Time limit into any project is a high risk. If time is not enough then it will lead to affect the performance of system and also quality. For example if any hardware problem or software problem occur in development of project where all the time is spent then at the end is not enough time to finish project. In his case the development of project will carry on and delivered as much done on 19h of November. Illness: The involvement of human into anything can delay. If human is handling a project there is chances that person get sick which will delay the project. If this happens then try to finish project on time but if could not then delivered on 19th Novemberas much as possible. Plan risk management approach Risk management plan Project objective achieved Risk Register Risk identification Analyze the project to identify the sources of risk Risk Assessment Assess the risk in terms of: Severity of impact Likelihood of occurrence Controllability New Risks Risk Response Aim to reduce possible damage Create contingency plans New risks Risk Reduction Implement risk strategy Monitor and adjust plan for possible new risk Change Management, if possible New risks Figure Risk Management Process Technology to be used The technology which will be use to develop a system are followed. The system will develop using back-end and front-end technology. XHTML, CSS, MySQL, JavaScript, PHP and Apache Web Server. XHTML: The XHTML will be used for web interface. CSS: The CSS will use to enhance web site for better view. MySQL: The MYSQL is a database language, it will be used to store database. JavaScript: The use of this is to validate data. PHP: The server side programming will be done with PHP. Apache Web Server: This will use to test the system before implement system. Chapter 2 Literature Review According to Burke Project management, Control and Management Techniques. This book will give idea about what should be Aims and Objective of project. This book described that how to find a good AIMS and Objective of project. By using this book it help me to give idea about my project Aims and objective. The Aims and objective is most important part of project which will lead my project throughout the end. So this book helps me a lot to achieve perfect Aims and object for my project. According to Stein in How to setup and maintain the web site is described about how to construct a web site and also how to maintain about development. This helps me throughout project to construct web pages. The technology HTML, PHP and JAVA are described with examples. Stein has described everything in details about technology and this will help full for beginner and also for professionals. The appointment booking system is very important to run organisation successfully. The GPs appointment booking system is important because every person who wants to be seen by doctor should make appointment. The GPs (NHS) appointment system is always in news for delays, patient were not able to see doctor when they want. The government always introduce new system to tackle the problem, the government introduced SMS system as well as online booking for some GPs.The two national survey were published in 1998 and 2000 highlighted the difficulty in accessing GPs.The government was promised that by 2004,patient will be able to see primary care within 24 hours and GP with in 48 hours. The request for appointment into GP has become very important. The new GP contract in United Kingdom. The National Primary Care Development Team(NPCDT) was set up to deliver the governments modernisation agenda in primary care by using the national primary care collaborative to implement change. The solution is based on five principles, namely: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ understand the access demand on the practice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ clear the backlog of appointments à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ review the appointment system à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ develop contingency plans à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ widen the mode of patient consultation. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/6/39 The web based appointment booking system will help customer sociologically because some people does not like to hear machine voices for example phone appointment booking system customer will call and automated machine will answer and that will put customer away because they do not like and web based appointment booking system will attract more customer. The other problem is that if disable person want to book appointment with GP or hospital by phone than person has to wait until carer will come and phone for appointment because mostly GP phone appointment booking system runs in morning most GP want their patient to call for appointment in morning. The NHS introduces new Plan for primary care in England promises access to healthcare professional within 24 hours and General practitioner (GP) within 48 hours. The new plan is given financial helps to achieve targets. The new plan will allow patient to see GP of their choice, the main focus on achieving targets could lead to reduced choice of doctor. The National Primary Care Development Team (NPDT) has find out that some general practioner (GP) have adopted a restricted booking. They have limited the option for pre booking appointments or completely stoped.The NPDT did not allow that because it will frustration among those people who want to book appointment in advance (British Journal of General Practice, 2004). The NPDT analysis was based on interviews conducted in the East Midlands, study centre. The focus was on patients and carers. The approval has been taken from Leicester Research Ethics Committee, 41 interviewees were recruited through 14 GP and more 15 were recruited from other organization, such as community centres, a charity. At least one has used their GP practice once in last 12 months. The participants were interviewed in 2002 and 2003 and interviews were recorded (British Journal of General Practice, 2004). The another problem is GP telephone appointment booking system will only work until GP is open and telephone is attend by member of staff after closing time phone appointment booking system will not work. Project Development Approach: The project development approach is all about that what type of software project going to do and how much information about system already gathered. According to this project we have idea about problem which company is facing and what can do to new system to attract the attention of users towards the company. So it is confirmed that we need to build a web site where customer and company can attract each other. For this we need to visit company and try to find out what exactly they are expecting and will help them to increase their business. The information which is already collected will be very helpful to build a project. The project development approach which is considered in development is Incremental Development approach. This approach starts from the initial planning and it will end when development of system is finished. In this approach the development is done in small portion and it will help to develop next stage. The advantage of this approach is that the system is divided into different stages once first stage is completed then the next stage will start. This approach consists of Initialization step at this step the basic idea of system is created and given to company with some functionality. If the organization is satisfy then the next stage which is redesign and implemented and also analyzing the current system. The development of project carries on step by step. The following steps which is important while developing a project. Designing of project Writing of coding Testing of the codes Final implementation The development of system and also functionality of each section will process step by step. The each step functionality will be processed and if it is successful then consider as a project part. The approach give clear idea that project, the project is completed at step by step as in this way it is easy to find error and fix them as compare to at the end when it is very tough to find and fix. 2.1 Problems with current system The problem using phone appointment booking system is always staff is not free to answer call and other is customer has to wait in a queue to be answered call and it could take up to minutes. The other problem is that sometime operator make a mistake and forget to book appointment and without booking appointment disconnect call and customer will think appointment has been booked whatever date they want but unfortunately when they go for check up there is no appointment for customer into system because staff did not put into dairy. Another problem is that the patient can book their appointment only that time when GP is open they would not be able to book appointment all the time. The current system only runs by a member of staff, it costs more than web based appointment system. The company has to hire more staff to run organisation. There are number of other system in place in different locations like in some GPs automated phone system is also in place which runs 365 days in year but problem with that some people does not like to wait long time for to get answered and also some people does not like to go with machine. This kind of system put people off to use that system. The current system which is phone booking system people may not use because it is costly to access for example if patient need to book appointment they have to call and they need credit in their phone to call GP.So in this case some people may not like to waste their money and do not use system but as compare to online system they just pay small money and get access to many things and happily use new system. The other problem is that the patient do not want to speak their personal details publically so they have to find private place to phone GP and book appointment. Integrating system with the tools to be used In these days the development of software can be develop using different technology which is available in market and it can also happen that all the tools which been used may not integrate with each other. So it is really important to choose right technology which can integrate with each other. The technologies which are chosen to develop the system are PHP, MySQL, XHTML, CSS and JavaScript to be used in the development. The main reason using PHP is a server-side scripting language that allows website to be truly dynamic (Naramore E. et al, 2005). The open source HTML-embedded scripting language. The reason for using MySQL is it is good integration with PHP as it is recommended by most developer and writers. The apache web server will facilitate to experiment the system so we can make sure how the system will work online and if there is some error. Programming Language PHP The PHP is a server-side scripting language that allows website to be truly dynamic (Naramore E. et al, 2005).The PHP is used widely for general purpose scripting language and it can be used with open source HTML.The PHP was originally developed to design a dynamic Web sites it is also HTML embedded. The PHP can also use as a graphical application. The PHP was created in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf and it has been in development continuously. The PHP runs on server so we used WAMP server to run PHP language on computer the PHP is very user friendly language. The PHP output is mostly in HTML.The PHP is having over 20 million internet domain (April 2007) .The PHP used to develop a web site it is easy to use and it can be downloaded free and it will give result quickly. The PHP used to access database because it also provide fast access to database. The use of PHP is for example if patient request a page, the server which is apache will execute PHP script and send output to show on page. The PHP is a only execute code which is written within its delimiters if anything written outside that then it will come as a output as you written. The PHP will be used to validation the pages and it is based on server side and validate requests of users. 2.4 Database Management System: The Database is place where all the data will stored about patient details their appointment. It is easy to find database on every type of computers i.e. personal computer, large computer. My SQL provide a facility to handle and manage a relational database in very efficient way. The Database Management system is used to allow database to create tables. It also let create relation, foreign key, and primary key and insert data into table in form of rows and columns. My SQL will be used as the database for our project. It is open source database and more than 10 million copies of My SQL are downloaded by the user / Developers. My SQL is owned by the Sun Microsystems. It was first developed by the Swedes and Fin in Sweden. (mysql.com) Advantages of using MYSQL are followed. Performance is very good. Easy to understand and use. Connectivity with pages is easy. Interface is simple. MySQL, pronounced as my sequel, stands for My Structured Query Language. MySQL is a relational database system and free software. MySQL is very fitting software to use while developing the proposed system because it is open source software and can function as either a database management system or a relational database system. Because of its open source feature, this means that anyone can download it for free, use the software and can modify it as they please without having to pay anything. MySQL will allow PHP and the Apache server to work together in order to have access to data and display them in a more readable format in a web browser. WAMP Server The WAMP is a server package which is independently created programme and installed on Microsoft window. The WAMP package components are Apache, MYSQL and PHP.The Apache is a server which uses to execute PHP code and MYSQL is a database which used to create database for patient and also their appointment booking details. The WAMP make the computer server and computer acts like a server to run web pages and helps user to use all services on same computer. In some package also include phpmyadmin which is used to provide a graphical interface of MYSQL database. The WAMP is easy to use and it is free to download. It is a mini server and runs on all servers. 2.6 JavaScript The JavaScript is also a scripting language and it is primarily used in client side. The JavaScript is used into web browser for client interface. The JavaScript was developed by Brendan Eich. The JavaScript is embedded into HTML code and as well Microsoft gadgets, Google desktop gadgets. The many scripting language is available to use like VBscript, etc. The use of JavaScript in this system chosen because it is spread widely and it is accessible easily. The most web browser use JavaScript in these days ((Firefox, Internet Explorer and others).The use of JavaScript is that to collect information from user and validate their request or action. For example while patient is booking appointment if they choose date which is already gone then JavaScript show a message and invalidate a data. 2.7 Architecture The appropriate architecture has to place in and examined that architecture. The multi-tier architecture is available (known as n-tier architecture) which is client and server architecture. The most communally used architecture is 3-tier architecture because it is much secure compare to other architecture (2-tier architecture).The benefit of using tier architecture is that the user only add a particular layer rather than writing a fully application again. The 3-tier architecture uses a middleware. The middleware is a layer which is between client and server which does not allow client to access database directly. The benefit of using 3-tier architecture is that there is no need of connection with database from every client only from server side. It make sure that only valid data is updated, So the client does not have direct access to database it makes business more secure because the database of customer is placed on server side. The project is also client server based so 3-tier architecture is used to make sure that the system is much secure and middleware is there to provide a security to database. The clients send a request to server then server process it and send back to client. The database need to update only on server side each time if some changes happen to database and it does not disturb all clients. The 3-tier application is much difficult to compare to 2-tier application to develop but it is provide much higher security to organisations and their consumer as well. The data or functions which are critical are not processed on client side all critical function or data are processed on server side. The 3-tier is associated with many databases but in this system the database used is MYSQL and it is associated with MYSQL as well. The information flow on both direction between client and server and one client can send one or more request to server and server process them (comer E, 2001).So the 3-tier application is used which is much secure and communally used architecture. Figure 1: 3-tier Architecture Model 2.7 Web Security The web security is a critical component for any web based business. The web security is very important when developing something which is web based, the developer should consider this. The user must be fully satisfied that all the data which is given is confidential. The web security will detect threats and it will take more time to recover threats. The client and also server both side have to be secured while they are working with web security. But there are the positive side which is providing two protocols to secure the accessibility on the web through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Secure HTTP. SSL uses public key authentication and encryption technology and the SSL handshake protocol has to be completed before an application is transmitted or received. Secure HTTP is related to security over the general socket based communication and facilitates encryption methods at the application layer. Chapter 3 Research Methodology 3.1 Available Researches The research method is that how the data is going to collect for project. This part will show the method which has been used to carry out whole research. There are many research methodologies available such as quantitative research, qualitative research, exploratory research, primary data collection, secondary data collection and empirical research. 3.2 Primary Data The primary data collection is collect a data from real world which include focus group, taking an experimental approach, experience gained from past. It also include the formal and informal interviews and mixed this with the data which collected from secondary method ie, books, journals and internet etc.The data which is collected through observation is given less importance because observation is not perfect always Research Method Used The research method is important and research method which is used for project is Action Research Method. This methodology means simply learning by doing, identify the problem. The action of system will be considered and if outcome is fine that is good otherwise it will start process from same point again. The research method is secure and efficient in way of accuracy. This research method is mostly used. This research method will continues working until problem solved. This kind of research method is also called qualitative research method. In this method feasibility study will be carried to setting up interviews and discussions with organisation as they are users. Chapter 4 Design The design of project is important so design will be made before start developing a project i.e. the tools like use case and also use entity relational diagram to show relation. Use Case The use case is a interface between user and a system. The use case diagram use to display a relationship between actors and use cases. The main components of use case diagram are actor and use case, an actor in this system is the patient who uses this system to booking appointment. The user access a web page (home page) which uses to inform a user about effectiveness and efficiency of the system. The user then can click on health news, opening time and appointment booking to log in and choose date and time and also choose of doctor to book their appointment. Register Details Choose Date and Time Web Page Make appointment Log In Patient Details Database GP Or Hospital In this diagram shows that patient can Register their details with GP or Hospital, Log In, Visit web page and main thing is that they can make appointment where they can choose date and time which are available. 4.2 Entity Relation Diagram Booking PK Ref Name Email Doctor Date Time Account PK User name Username Password Email Address Primary and foreign keys are also established between the entities, in the account table primary key has been defined to username As a unique number is allotted to each and every Product in the database it is taken in to consideratio

The Individual and Society in the Communist Manifesto Essay -- Karl Ma

The Individual and Society in the Communist Manifesto The end of 19th century, Western Society was changing physically, philosophically, economically, and politically. It was an influential and critical time in that the Industrial Revolution created a new class. Many contemporary observers realized the dramatic changes in society. Among these were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who observed the conditions of the working man, or the proletariat, and saw a change in how goods and wealth were distributed. In their Communist Manifesto, they described their observations of the inequalities between the emerging wealthy middle class and the proletariat as well as the condition of the proletariat. They argued that the proletariat was at the mercy of the new emerging middle class, or bourgeoisie, and could only be rescued by Communism: a new economic form. During the 19th century, the proletariat was at the mercy of the bourgeoisie for survival. The bourgeoisie imposed conditions that required the proletariat to work under harsh, unsafe, and unhealthy industries. Cities were overcrowded, unsafe, and hazardous due to the many factors including the smoke from the factories that clouded the skies. Earlier, Friederich Engels had described the conditions of the proletariat in the town of Manchester. He saw, â€Å"everything which here [aroused] horror and indignation [as] of recent origin which [belonged] to the Industrial Epoch†.1 Not only did the proletariat have to work in unsafe factories but also was doomed to life long misery. Marx and Engels saw both the proletariat and the bourgeoisie as an outgrowth of feudal society. They argued that the bourgeoisie emerged as a result of exploration and discovery of new land, ... ... 8 Hadley Cantril, The Politics of Despair (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1958), 41 9 Bertell Ollman, Alienation: Marx’s Conception of Man in the Capitalist Society (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1971), 131. 10 Neil Harding, â€Å"Marx, Engels and the Manifesto: Working Class, Party, and Proletariat.† Journal of Political Ideologies (1998): 13-44 11 Karl Marx and Friederich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (London: England 1848): Proletarians and Communists. 12 Hadley Cantril, The Politics of Despair (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1958), 85-86, 87, 95. 13 Hadley Cantril, The Politics of Despair (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1958), 87 14 Hadley Cantril, The Politics of Despair (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1958), 94 15 Antonio Gilman, â€Å"The Communist Manifesto, 150 years later.† Antiquity (1998): 910- 913.

Concept of childhood Essay

Break their will betimes: begin this great work before they can run alone, before they can speak plain, or perhaps speak at all †¦ make him do as he is bid, if you whip him ten times running to effect it †¦ Break his will now and his soul will live, and he will probably bless you to all eternity. (Wesley, quoted in Reader,Foley p. 28) It was not until the 18th century Western culture began to see a new view of childhood. Philosopher Rousseau in his largely influential book Emile published in 1972 wanted to protect the innocence of the child, believing it was the child’s right to be a child. His writings seemed to suggest the first realization of the concept of childhood being a special time of life. Rousseau was a large influence of literature of this time as children begun to dominate art and literature, and ceased to become souls in need of salvation but childhood became synonymous with innocence. This idea existed in opposition to the older belief that children were instinctively sinful because of the Judeo – Christian belief of original sin and continues to be seen in both literature of 19th and 20th century. In more recent times social construction has been defined by another theory; postmodernism. An important part of the postmodernism theory is the idea of ‘discourse’. Within postmodernism ‘discourse’ is taken to mean a whole set of interconnected ideas that work together in a self contained way, ideas that are held together by a particular ideology or view of the world†¦ The term ‘discourse’ is also used to specify a particular ‘take’ on some phenomenon. The two images†¦ the image of the ‘innocent and wholesome child’ and the image of the ‘wicked and sinful child’ can be seen as being based upon two different ‘discourses of childhood’. (Children in society p29) Although the two discourses within the postmodernism have two very different views on children and how they should be treated, they both share a common concept of ‘concern’ about children. This is a shared belief that adults do in fact have a responsibility towards children. However, they do not agree on what the actions of the adults are but do agree on action. Theses two different discourses are defined as the discourse of welfare and the discourse of control. The discourse of welfare being based on the romantisization of childhood and the assumptions that children are entitled to a good child hood and are innocent and need protection from the adult world. The discourse of control is based on the theory of original sin and children should be controlled and disciplined. The two discourses in turn have influenced policy and practice towards children. The discourse of welfare informs the Children’s Act 1989, which allows intervention where a child is seen to be at the risk of harm and the discourse of control informs education policy imposing compulsory education and strict regulation of the material being taught. Although the majority of time the two discourses can co exist well alongside each other conflicts can arise. Even though each discourse has its own set of professional bodies they can sometimes find the two competing discourses confusing and stressful and can leave employees sometimes failing. This in turn is highlighted by the media and leaves the Government under immense pressure to tighten their policy and procedures leaving it even harder for workers within health and social care Even today childhood is not seen as a universal stage of human life. Variations over time and culture are dramatic. Historians such as Aries and Rousseau had a profound impact on Western society and their beliefs on childhood and how children should be perceived and treated. This in turn has shaped the policies and practices for those working with children and their families.

Identify Some of the Factors That Make People Help Others.

Identify some of the factors that make people help others. Who helps the most, and in what cases (whom) are they especially likely to help? Illustrate your answer with examples. Giedrius Statkus Department of Psychology, Keynes College, CT2 7NP Identify some of the factors that make people help others. Who helps the most, and in what cases (whom) are they especially likely to help? Illustrate your answer with examples. Many different factors have been shown to influence people’s willingness to help others. The motive behind certain type of help can be certain rewards for helping however other types of help do not always appear to have a clear motive. This was noted by Comte (1875 as cited in Batson & Shaw 1991, Baumaister & Bushman, 2011) who studied the question of helping others, philosophically and suggests that there are two key types of help displayed by people. He describes these as either Egoistic Helping (EH) or Altruistic Helping (AH). The former refers to the type of help where an individual is clearly aware of a reward for performing the help, such as can be seen in some volunteers workers, whose clear reward is experience and recommendations. The latter however refers to situations where an individual’s willingness to help is unaided by any conscious reward. AH behaviour can be seen in such examples as helping a broken down stranger fix a car tyre on a road (Pomzal & Clore, 1973 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011). The factors influencing the latter type of help are the ones mainly considered throughout this essay. However these factors have a varied effect on different people, this variation can be based on gender, age and other individual differences. It has been suggested that one major factor influencing the willingness of people to perform AH is empathy (Batson, Batson, Slingsby, Harrell, Peekna & Todd, 1991). The theory suggests that individuals witnessing someone in need of help, as they are displaying distress or pain, will experience similar feelings themselves. This is supported by many studies (Baumaister & Bushman, 2011) however of key importance are studies conducted via observing the process of empathy in the brain using Functioning Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) (Singer, Seymour, O’Doherty, Kaube, Dolan & Firth, 2004). In their study participants were subjected to electric shocks while undergoing an fMRI scan, after that they had to watch as their spouses undergo the electric shocks. The scans showed that the brain’s responses were similar, for both conditions, and that witnessing the shocks and receiving them affected the same areas of the brain. Other studies have also found empathy between emotional states such as happiness or sadness and other situations (Singer, Seymour, O’Doherty, Kaube, Dolan & Firth, 2004). Therefore this confirms Batson’s et al. (1991) suggestion that if an individual is witnessing someone in distress, he also experiences some distress and therefore helping that person would be the fastest way to relieve it. There are many other factors playing roles in influencing willingness to help, however many of them may also be explained via empathy. As these other factors may increase or decrease empathy which could result in increased willingness to help. The fact that reward in AH is not obvious is not to say that it does not exist. As mentioned previously the relieving of distress may be one form of reward experienced through AH. Other rewards to be considered may be the need for praise or some sort of award (Batson, et al. 1988 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011). Another motivation may be fear of punishment, often in the form of social disproval, the fear of people knowing you could of helped, but did not. This can aid understanding of AH on an evolutionary and survival basis. As in some cases AH may mean less resources or putting oneself in danger (Dawkins 1988 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011) it can be said that such behaviour is counterproductive to survival. Except in clear cases of close family AH, where the help would favour the survival of the helping individual’s genes either way. However modern human survival, and therefore chance of reproduction, is highly dependent on social acceptance (Coie, Dodge & Coppotelli, 1982). Therefore avoidance of punishment, in the form of social disproval is often a sufficient reward for AH. Empathy can be seen as a major aspect of other factors influencing willingness to help too, for example it has been shown that people feel more empathy for people similar (Frans, 2008) and are more willing to help based on similarity between them and the person needing help, such as similar clothes (Eimswiller, Deux & Willts, 1971 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011), personal values (Batson, Duncan, Ackerman, Buckley & Birch, as cited in Batson & Shaw, 1991) and other features. This may be because people are more likely to experience empathy for people who are ore like them instead of someone who is very different. This can be seen in Batson’s et al. (1981 as cited in Batson & Shaw, 1991) study where participants who believed a person undergoing electric shocks held personal values that were very different to the participants’ values, were less likely to take the victim’s place and receive shocks instead of them. This is supported by the green beard theory, a term coined by Dawkins (1976 as cited in West & Gardener, 2010) in reference to a theoretical gene that would encode the information of a green beard and make green bearded people more likely to help others with a green beard. In this theory the green beard is an example of an obvious visual feature. Although just a theoretical principal for which the relevant genes have only been observed in the study of micro-organisms (West & Gardener, 2010) and other far less genetically complex, than humans, life forms (Fostner, Wensler & Ratnier, 2006). It is suggested that a much more complex system may be a viable genetic explanation for the way in which AH is influenced by people with similar features. Although the theory is criticised in its current state as it has been said that one allele would be incapable of encoding and identifying all the relevant information necessary (Henrich 2001). This however led others (Jansen & Baalen, 2006) to suggest that, instead, a number of genes could encode some features of appearance, or a â€Å"visable tag† (West & Gardener, 2010, p. 1344), and a separate, gene would encode the ability to recognise similarity and influence AH when it is recognised. For example it has been shown that people empathise more with close members of their family (Frans, 2007). As well as being more willing to help them (Burnstein, Crandall & Kitayama, 1994). This was especially true for close members of the family such as siblings. The willingness to help was found to decrease as the family ties grew weaker. In all cases people were three times more likely to help close family members such as siblings than nephews and cousins, they were even less likely to help strangers or friends. This was especially true if the sibling in question is a monozygotic twin of the individual (Burnstein, Crandall & Kitayama, 1994). The willingness to help for un-identical twins was considerably lower, by up to half as willing, suggesting that AH is an important behaviour for successful evolution and survival as it favours identical genes. This staggering difference between identical gene siblings and dizygotic twins could also be related to the green beard theory mentioned earlier. As the perfect visual tag for an altruistic gene to identify would, in the case of monozygotic twins, be a completely identical appearance. AH was also found to be dependent on age (Baumaister & Bushman, 2011). For example Burnstein et al. (1994) found that people’s willingness to help young children of age 1 was identical to the amount of willingness seen at age 25. Overall, willingness to help was found to quickly reach a peak at the age of 10 and then steadily decrease as people get older. For the final recorded age, of 75, willingness to help had decreased by a quarter when compared to age 1. People’s health was also noted as an important factor in influencing willingness to help. It was found that people are more willing to help healthy individuals than those suffering from ill-health. This may be due to survival reasons as healthy individuals are much more likely to help the person in return and therefore increase their rate of survival. In cases of AH, it can be said that, the evaluation of ability to reciprocate may be performed unconsciously. The same concept applies to old and very young individuals who are also less able to reciprocate the help they receive. The attractiveness of an individual is also a recognised factor in one’s willingness to help (Harrel, 1978 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011). This is often hard to explain in regards to evolution and survival theories. One aspect considered is that attractiveness may be evaluated as health, as attractiveness and health evaluations have been shown to positively correlate (Taylor and Brown, 1988). However a study by Juhnke et al. (2001) found that attractiveness does not necessarily rely on physical features. He found people dressed more attractively are also more likely to receive help. A possible critique of this finding could be that in this case the more attractive people were seen as richer, and therefore their ability to reciprocate would be higher. This would however contradict Burnstein’s et al. (1994) finding, which demonstrates that people would be significantly less likely to help rich people than poor people across every situation. And although based on participants’ conscious evaluation of their willingness to help, the results are consistent across all participants and therefore suggest that Juhnke’s et al. (2001) findings were related to attractiveness, if not as the sole factor than at the very least more than the effect of a ealthy appearance. This finding is also more supported by the survival via reproduction theory since in some cases it appeared to have a sex specific effect, (Pomzal & Core, 1973 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011) where male participants were found to be more likely to help females than males, especially if the female is attractive. They also report that males are more willing to help than females overall which is an important finding as this slightly contradicts Batsonâ €™s et al. 1991) theory, of empathy being the most important factor in AH as Davis (1980) has pointed out that females display a much higher level of empathy across many different AH related situations. This may be related to Dawkin’s (1989 as cited in Baumaister & Bushman, 2011) theory. He proposes that willingness to help is directly affected by the loss incurred in the process of helping. Therefore although women may want to help more than males, as they feel higher empathy, they may be prevented by fear of loss. This is because most AH requires a form of loss of resources, time or putting oneself in danger (Batson & Shaw, 1991) as only in cases of unconscious and reflex powered reactions are people willing to put their survival over the person in need of help. This sort of behaviour is most often seen in combat situations and almost never occurs if people are able to consider the threat posed to them (Batson & Shaw, 1991) Individuals’ willingness to help people is affected by many factors as discussed. This can be seen in many forms. Some forms of help are motivated by feelings of distress caused through empathy. This coupled together with unconscious reward seeking and punishment avoidance influences people in making the decision of whether to help or not. Although empathy may be the predominant factor it is also important to mention that it is heavily influenced by other factors such as age, gender, family ties and physical or mental similarities. However empathy at times is affected by other factors such as the cost of helping someone. For example men are less likely to be helped, however are more likely to be willing to help than females. Females, although experiencing higher empathy and therefore maybe higher willingness to help are said to be more aware of fear of loss. This may also be influenced by the fact that males feel higher social expectations, to help, than females. Although another reason may simply be survival as the people most likely to be helped are often the same people who are most capable of reciprocating the help. In the case of 10 year old children and young adults receiving more help than elderly people or young children it may be because they can be said to be evaluated as having more chance of reciprocating this help. Same can be said for the health bias influencing willingness to help. Healthy people are more likely to receive help as they are more likely to have the ability to return the help. The fact that attractive people are more likely to be helped than less attractive people is thought to be highly linked to peoples’ willingness to help healthy people. Helping close family is also affected by health although the predominant factor here is the closeness of the family relationship. Children and parents are as willing to help each other as siblings who are significantly more willing to help each other than they are willing to help nephews, cousins or other family members. The only group more likely to help each other are identical twins, this evidence fits in with the selection of kin theory of evolution and therefore is most likely based on survival of the genes. Genes appear to be the most likely explanation for the fact that people are very likely to help individuals who appear similar to them. As suggested by the theory that certain genes may help their own survival by creating visual tags in people who share the same genes or by encoding recognition of similarity. This visual tag would be recognised by the other individuals carrying the same genes and therefore AH would be increased. When all the discussed factors are considered it can be seen that people’s willingness to help and their choice of whom they help, is motivated and influenced by many factors which all interact in a complex manner. References Batson, C. D. , Batson, J. G. , Slingsby, J. K. , Harrel, K. L. , Peekna, H. M. , & Todd, R. M. (1991). Empathic Joy and the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 413-426. Batson, C. D. , & Shaw, L. L. (1991). Evidence for Altruism: Toward a Pluralism of Prosocial Motives. Journal of Psychological Inquiry, 2(2), 107-122. Baumeister, R. F. , & Bushman, B. J. (2011) Social Psychology and Human Nature (2ed. ). Belmot, California: Wadsworth. Burnstein, E. , Crandall, C. , & Kitayama, S. (1994). Some Neo-Darwinian Decision Rules for Altruism Wighting Cues for Inclusive Fitness as a Function of the Biological Importance of the Decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(5), 773-789. Coie, J. , Dodge, D. K. , & Coppotelli, H. A. (1982). Dimensions and Types of Social Status: A Cross-Age Perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 557-570. doi:10. 1037/0012-1649. 18. 4. 557 Davis, M. H. (1980). A Multidimensional Approach to Individual Differences in Empathy, JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85-104. Foster, K. R. , Wenseler, T. , & Ratnieks, L. W. (2006) Kin Selection is the Key to Altruism. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21(2), 57-60. Frans, B. M. (2008). Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy. The Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 279-300. Henrich, J. (2001) Cultural Group Selection, Coevolutionary Processes and Large-Scale Cooperation. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 53, 3–35. Jansen, V. A. , & Baalen, M. (2006). Altruism Through Beard Chromodynamics. Nature, 44(30), 663-666. Juhnke, R. , Barmann, B. , Vickery, B. , Cunningham, M. , Hohl, J. , Smith, E. , & Quinones, J. (2001). Effects of Attractivness and Nature of Request on Helping Behaviour, Journal of Social Psychology, 127(4), 317-322. Singer, T. , Seymour, B. , O’Doherty, J. , Kaube, H. , Dolan, R. J. , & Frith, C. (2004). Empathy for Pain Involves the Affective but not Sensory Components of Pain. Science, 303, 1157-1161. Taylor, S. E. , & Brown, J. D. (1988) Illusion and Well-Being: a Social Psychological Perspective on Mental Health. Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), 193-210. doi: 10. 1037/0033-2909. 103. 2. 193 West, S. A. , & Gardener, S. (2010). Altruism, Spite, and Greenbeards. Science, 327, 1341-1344.