A Report on Customer Care Improvement By Robert L Fousler

Following the article in the Standard Newspaper dated 8/07/1998 on â€Å"Customer Care Improvement by Robert L Fousler (MD) Consultant s for Effective Training, I am in total agreement with him concerning the points that he has put forth concerning Customer Care within business organizations. Customer Care is an important point in management and should be carried out by any manager within any business organization irrespective of what departments he is directly of indirectly in charge of. It is important to note that a business or organization cannot effectively attract customersclients if it cannot deal with its internal clients. In any business/organization, internal clients are the employees within the organization. Mr. Fousler mentions that in Kenya, many industries in the market and developing from a â€Å"Sellers† market into a â€Å"Buyers† market. This means that the only difference between one Seller and another will be in the quality of the service rendered to them. In addition to this, the expectations and demands of clients have been increasing and have been rapidly dynamic over the past five years and in order for you to please, and indeed, maintain a client then the services rendered to them should be adequate and ready to fulfill their needs. Most service industries, if not all, are all client/customer oriented and they depend on the client to pay for their services that are intangible. With this in mind, it is in their best interest to ensure that the services they offer are useful to the client and that the Customer Support is highly advanced and effectively operational. In reference to this, it is important for organizations, particularly those in the service industry, to realize that their future success is dependant on managers viewing their staff as the most important assets they have and that everything depends on how they work as a team. He goes on to mention that Customer Care skills should not only be offered to staff in service-oriented organizations but to all organizations in general. If people can serve one another and each department serving the other, then the Customer Service skills will be extended to the â€Å"External† customer. He also highlights the importance of Customer Care in any organization and says that it is not wise to train only certain sections in the organization since everything everyone does in the organization has an impact on the client in one way or the other. Therefore, everyone must be included in Customer Care oriented seminars because they create awareness in staff of the importance of gaining such skills. After the training has been undertaken, then the most important task is to implement it. This includes maintaining a high level of outgoing commitment and insists that this can only be done by each department having â€Å"Ownership† of the process, so that Customer Care is supported by committed individuals and teams rather than just by management. He says that one way of promoting the training is to have an incentive to bolster the training that has been carried out. An example would be to give gifts or rewards to those who improve the most in the service they give to both internal and external customers. Under Evaluation, he says that it is not easy to quantify but one good approach would be to do a â€Å"Before† and â€Å"After† survey of the complaints received from External customers.

Deontology and Bhagavad Gita

Therefore, Krishna also tells Aragua that it becomes his duty to fight a bloody war that would potentially wipe out a few hundred thousand lives on either side, but not to expect either victory or defeat in the war. In a sense, when one evaluates this scenario, one understands Arson's dilemma – a war that will wipe out his relatives and friends or withdrawal from the war that would fall in direct violation of Krishna' central concept of duty. Thus, one can clearly see that the deontological concept of duty is similar and yet distinct at the same time. Similarities between Demonology and Baghdad-GaitIn the Baghdad-Gait the highest duty is that of ‘insomnia-karma' or performing acts without expectations or desires. As instructed by Krishna, the concept does not mean action in the absence of desire or unmotivated action, but, rather, it means acting with a perceptive instruction of complete and total surrender before the God Almighty. Thus, according to the Gait, acts that a person carries out with expectations or desire for results are unacceptable. The concept implies that those people who entertain expectations or desires for the fruits of their activities are spiritually poor.In he deontological concept, Kant does not look upon the result of an act as the object of moral judgment. According to Kant, nothing in world supersedes goodwill and it is goodwill that is supreme. If the will is honorable the action, too, is honorable, whatever may be the result. Since Moral Laws are categorical, their correctness is self-evident being unaffected by the result the other point where Gait and Kant coalesce is that both emphasize service. Another important similarity benzene the two theories is with regard to the control over one's thoughts and feelings.A person's rational tendencies Anton motivate a person to perform an act. The Gait says that when a person acts under the influence of motives such as love and jealousy he or she becomes entangled in the web of karma and falls under the sway of the worldly delusion and desires. Desires (or modes) of passion such as Sex and related acts cause anger when one is denied such act. This anger manifests itself in the form of confusion which, in turn, causes the inherent destruction of reason. The same effect happens when one is guided by desires such as anger, revenge and hatred toward others.Thus, according to the Gait, the ode of passion takes one toward the direction of darkness and ignorance. Therefore, Lord Krishna tells Aragua that the solution to this problem is the complete and total abstention from the feelings of both hatred and love. Once these feelings come under control, other feelings such as anger, confusion, lust and passion also come automatically under control. The way to achieve this mode of enlightenment is to win over the senses by practice and abstinence, along with performing one's duties in the mode of ‘insomnia karma' or working without desiring results.This singul ar outlook of the Baghdad-Gait is very close in philosophical terms to the moral theories Of Kant. Even in case of Cant's theories, the ultimate duty is the restraint of contemptible desires. Lastly, Cant's notion of categorical imperative as the moral law and its applicability to all of humankind is a concept that rings quite close to the ‘Savoyards' concept of the Gait. Like Cant's categorical imperative, Krishna too, dictates that one must perform actions without any desire for the end. (Palmists, 2010, p. 21) The Gait, even states that one is not exempt from performing one's Savoyards even at the time of death. Differences between Demonology and Baghdad-Gait However, given the various similarities between the opinions of Kant and the Gait, there is also a major difference on the issue of human feelings. The Baghdad-Gait does not treat desire, emotion and feelings as completely evil. Lord Krishna through the Gait emphasizes on devotion and worship to the Supreme God so as t o enable the development Of one's feelings and for the suppression of unwanted desires.It, therefore, becomes essential for a follower of this doctrine to change or channel one's feelings positively rather Han exterminate feelings entirely. On the other hand, Kant is much more rigorous in his approach to feelings since he tends to associate the presence of feeling with immorality. Therefore, Cant's thought makes it necessary to eliminate feelings and emotions as much as possible from life. One can therefore classify his opinion as a strict and rigorous approach to feelings and emotions in life.This aspect, in itself, makes the Gait easier for the common people to implement and follow compared to the rigorous principles of Kantian ethics. The second point of difference is the point from where duties bring in each of these theories. In case of Kant, a duty arises from human reason and not due to any external factors or motivation. However, in case of the Baghdad-Gait, duty stems from one's innate nature. For instance, the Gait prescribes the Verna system as a recognition of this problem where every member of the society or a group performs duties in accordance with one's nature. Maitre, 2006, p. 64) In a way, Cant's view that one is to â€Å"act as a member of a kingdom or ends† sounds somewhat similar to the Verna system. However, for Kant the ultimate objective of performing one's duty is oral in nature, in the Gait the ultimate objective lies in attaining God and Mimosa – freedom from the cycle of life and death. Therefore, clearly the ethics of Gait are teleological in nature, as compared to the deontological nature of Cant's theories. Even Gate Pal (2001 ) agrees on the Gist's teleological foundation. P. 225) The third point of difference between the Baghdad-Gait and the deontological concepts of Kant also lies in the manner in which both the concepts know about the duties. According to Kant, an autonomous being would be able to find out about his duties and the nature f his duties merely by consulting with his reason alone and by not taking external help of any kind. (Maitre, 2006, p. 65) In case of the Gait, the answer to this question lies in the state of mind that one has when answering the same.But in most situations, the Gait says that one needs external, social, scriptural, or even environmental guidance, in addition to introspective guidance in order to understand the nature of duties that befit one's understanding capacity and capability. (Maitre, 2006, p. 66) Therefore, demonology requires introspection on the part of the person while the Gait coziness the presence of external factors in determining a person's duty. One can substantiate the difference between the two theories by providing an example through a real-life situation.The Gait prescribes people who perform menial labor to fall in the category of Sutras. The Sutras have a foremost duty to their masters or other people in the higher orders that employ them. In line with this duty, the Gait prohibits the Sutra (or a menial servant) to have feelings and emotions or self-esteem, for that matter. This line of thought makes it perfectly fine for the servant to lie to another person t the behest Of his master. On the other hand, Cant's second formulation Of the categorical imperative asks a person to treat other rational beings as ends, not only as a means. Maitre, 2006, p. 66) This line of thought brings about an opposite effect on the ethical consideration since it prohibits the master to make use of his servant in a disrespectful manner for unethical purposes such as lying or deceiving. Further, Kantian ethics also state that the servant is a rational being with a duty to himself that stands violated although he followed his master's instructions to lie. On both these counts, Cant's deontological thought stands in a complete opposition to the ideas put forth by the Baghdad-Gait.

Case study dealing with depression

Case study dealing with depression Depression is one of the most common and widespread psychiatric disorders in the UK. Of over 5000 British residents, approximately 5.9% of males and 4.2% of females suffer from depressive illnesses (Based on DSM-IV criteria) (Ohayon, 1999). Consequently there has been much emphasis on implementing techniques and psychotherapy to solve these issues and find effective treatments for depression. This essay will explore, psychodynamic and CBT therapy, in treating depression. There are clear disparities between these two forms of therapy in regards to their theoretical underpinnings as well as the arguments both for and against their effectiveness in treating depression. Throughout this review particular attention will be paid to the similar features which run through both approaches in order to gather a much more conclusive view regarding psychotherapy in the treatment of depression. The essay will begin by briefly outlining depression and discussing the development of psychotherapy in treating it. After this, psychodynamic therapy which is one of the most traditional psychotherapeutic methods of dealing with depression will be explored, in order to gather an understanding of its views on solving the problem of depression. Before moving on to compare this too, the much more modern and focused intervention CBT, developed by Beck (1979). After each approach has been outlined the essay will go on to critically evaluate each approach, firstly in terms of its empirical grounding in research before moving on to gather an understanding of the arguments regarding their theoretical grounding. Before finally going on to conclude as to what is the best option for dealing with such a common and problematic condition. Depression is a condition which is characterized by negative moods and unpleasant states of mind which can undermine our ability to function normally (Gilbert, 2007). In some cases people are born with a predisposition to depression through neurological disorders . However, for many others, depression is likely to occur as a consequence of changing life circumstances. (Hollon, Thase, & Markowitz, 2002) For many years clients were effectively treated with medicines such as anti-depressants. However, the stigma and the side effects that are associated with this medication, mean that many patients diagnosed with depression are reluctant to use them. A survey carried out by Priest, Vize, Roberts, Roberts and Tylee (1996) used questionnaires and interviews to discover the lay person’s beliefs and attitudes to pharmaceuticals as treatment of depression. The study found that 78% of the 2003 participants from across the UK, regarded antidepressants as negative and addictive. This demonstrates that the general public are still very sceptical about using medication as a quick fix to their depression. (Priest et al, 1996) Psychotherapists believe it is addressing the central psychological underpinnings of depression which is essential to long te rm recovery. (Gilbert, 2007) One of the first alternative forms of treatment was psychodynamic therapy. Psychodynamic therapy is based on the belief that that the majority of mental functioning occurs in our unconscious. Jacobs (2004) explains that, according to Freud the structure of the psyche is constructed from birth, and therefore the child’s relationship with significant others in the early years of their life, notably their mother and father, are vital to the individual’s future developments.

Real Reel Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Real Reel - Term Paper Example The sun was already high. The temperature had risen to a high 110 degrees. I was sweating profusely but I was determined to learn how to ride a bike on that day. I cannot give up just because of the heat or the exhaustion I was already feeling. I know my companions are equally tired but not even they can stop me from attaining my goal. Hallie, our neighbor and my best friend who was of the same age as I was, patiently took the responsibility of being my tutor. We were ten. She lent me her purple pink bike. Hallie has a brother who was seven years old at that time and I have a little sister who was eight and a half years old. As responsible brothers and sisters, we became their babysitters during the summer. Since they were not too young to play with us, Hallie and I decided to bring them along as she taught me how to ride a bike. Our siblings were ecstatic at the thought of playing outdoors. At first, the two younger ones enthusiastically cheered with Hallie as I tried to balance mys elf on the machine with two wheels. â€Å"You can do it, Jordan.† â€Å"That’s it, Jordan. Just try to balance yourself†, Jon and Lauren cried, imitating Hallie. Every now and then, they would follow my friend and hold the bike for me as I try another attempt of driving it. â€Å"You can do it†, was their never ending words of encouragement. ... Yet, learning how to ride the bike was really difficult for me. Thus, even if I did not want to stop my practice, I had to let the two kids ride the bike also to take their boredom and exasperation away. Since they did not know how to ride a bike too, Hallie and I exchanged turns in assisting them. In this task, I realized how difficult it has been for everyone to be holding the bike and running, holding a grip on the bike to keep me balanced as I try again and again to ride. This made me more determined and when I got back on the bike, I requested them not to assist me. â€Å"Let’s see how I can learn on my own†, I said not because I did not want their help but because I knew that I was beginning to burden them.. Nevertheless, my expectations that the task at hand was easy proved to be wrong. I hardly can balance myself on the bike contrary to how easy I perceived it to be. I fell numerous times, I incurred many scratches from the fall and I begun to feel ashamed of my self. Here I was, learning to do a simple task that I can hardly perfect. I am being taught by a girl when I was supposed to be the one teaching her. Suddenly, as if everything fell into place, I was able to ride without falling. Something like a light bulb in my head lit and I instinctively knew what to do in order to maintain my balance. â€Å"I can ride the bike!† I shouted as Hallie, Jon and Lauren came running towards me. I was reeling with excitement that I did not notice a white BMW coming my way. Being alerted by my friend, I did pop a wheelie and was able to safely get back on my track to where my friends were, jumping feom joy. Indeed, it was not just a celebration for me, being able

3) Do bilingual students have a greater memory recall than Coursework

3) Do bilingual students have a greater memory recall than non-bilingual students Studies have shown that bilingual students have better working memory does this include memory recall - Coursework Example n (medium; 2), between 11 and 19 children large (3), 20 or more children, Score: final score on competency assessment Perform exploratory data analysis on all variables in the data set. Basing on descriptive statistics, it is observed that under gender males has a higher math mean score (91%) than females (87%).This is clearly indicated in the box plot. Under classroom size, it is clearly evident that the smaller the classroom size is the high the math mean score. For instance, math mean score for 10 or less classroom size,11-19 classroom size and 20 or more class room size include 93,89 and 85 respectively. It is also observed that the median (91%) and mean (91%) under gender math mean score is same. This clearly proves that the data is normally distributed (Dey 1993). Similarly, under classroom size, math mean score (93) and median (93) is also seen to be the same and this implies that the data is normally distributed To determine if there is a main effect of gender, post hoc tests can be used if applicable. In this case, basing on the results, it is observed that, for classroom sizes, the p values are 0.00.This therefore means that the effect of classroom size on math mean score is statistically significant. It can be concluded that the math mean score for 10 or less, 11-19 and 20 class room sizes are not the same. Post hoc is normally used to determine which variables have differences in cases where the test statistics such as ANOVA can’t really determine which variables are different. This can happen when we have more than two variables, whereby there could be a difference between any of these variables. In this case, it’s not known which variables have the differences. For our case, the variables are two (male and female) and we already know that the mean score is not the same between the two groups. Therefore, there is no need of doing post hoc test To determine if there is a main effect of classroom size, post hoc tests can be used if applicable as

Guarani and Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Guarani and Nationalism - Essay Example The country seemed to understand the idea of nationalism being among the first in West collectively. Apart from the nationalism, the country was long ago associated with industrialization, urbanization and modernization due to proper understanding of nationalism at an earlier stage. At the beginning of times in Paraguay, there was widespread racial mixing and contact with limited immigration trends, political isolation and geographic trends that produced a remarkable homogeneous population. These factors prevented the creation of the society that is stratified or the rise of the Spanish-speaking group. Geography and race together with the history repeatedly led to growth of the ethnic and language identity aspects to the foreground of the political life of the nation fostering and fueling the sense of distinctiveness that has not abated at backyard and intrigued and attracted the scholars from abroad. The Paraguay’s identification within its territorial integrity and linguistic patrimony is not recent. The background of the identification dates back to the countrys quest for its independence and the self-governance thereafter. This aspect was intensified by the onslaughts that suffered at the time of the War of the Chaco and the Triple Alliance that brought an abiding appreciation and espousal of its distinctive language and heritage. This allegiance culminated in the year of 1967 when Guarani was then declared the national language of Paraguay. Since then Joan Rubin the time when he did the pioneering work it has been assumed that Paraguay is the most bilingual nation in the world and by far its bilingualism is non-volatile rather than a shifting one (Ethnicity and Nationalism (second edition), 2010). The concomitant with the above phenomenon the two languages are supposed to be predominantly infused with positive effect. The Guarani language is

The Reaction of the Markets to the Step of ECB to Raise Interest Rates Term Paper

The Reaction of the Markets to the Step of ECB to Raise Interest Rates - Term Paper Example According to the monetary theory, the reverse effect should have taken place- the prices of the bond should have been decreased, whereas euro should have appreciated. However, this reaction can be explained by the fact that Mr. Trichet-the president of ECB reiterated that the latest move of the ECB should not be treated as an indication of the policy of high interest rates. The reaction of the market that followed can be explained by the confidence of investors in a more cautious approach of ECB, as the appreciation of the Euro ceased after new announcements of Mr. Trichet. After all, there is little doubt that the financial experts of ECB do not realize that high-interest rate of ECB which might entail appreciation of Euro and tightening of available pools of credit may hamper economic growth in the European area. This step can be viewed as an attempt (apparently temporarily) to combat the high level of inflation. It is too early to say whether this decision will seriously affect economic growth in European countries. According to OECD, the raising of interest rate could wait until the middle of 2006 when more robust economic growth is expected. However, countries of EU differ in economic, financial and political terms, with weak growth in Germany and France and stronger one in Spain and Ireland; after Maastricht agreements, none of the countries mentioned has the opportunity to regulate the growth in the country by traditional methods of the money supply. Overall, the economic growth in the European countries was less than in the USA (4.3% in the USA against 2.6% in the countries of European Union) and it affected major industrial nations of the EU. If the trend of appreciation of the Euro currency continues, it may hamper export- one of the vital elements of economic recovery in European countries and reduce the long term competitiveness of European companies.  

The King Tut Exhibit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The King Tut Exhibit - Essay Example Howard Carter had worked in Egypt for 31 years before he found King Tut's tomb. Carter had begun his career in Egypt at age 17, using his artistic talents to copy wall scenes and inscriptions. Only eight years later in 1899, Carter was appointed the Inspector-General of Monuments in Upper Egypt. In 1905, Carter resigned from this job and in 1907 he went to work for Lord Carnarvon. After several relatively successful seasons working together, World War I brought a near halt to their work in Egypt. Yet, by the fall of 1917, Carter and his sponsor, Lord Carnarvon, began excavating intensely in the Valley of the Kings. By November 1, 1922, Carter began his final season working in the Valley of the Kings by having his workers expose the workmen's huts at the base of the tomb of Rameses VI. After exposing and documenting the huts, Carter and his workmen began to excavate the ground beneath them. By the fourth day of work, they had found something - a step that had been cut into the rock. It was the stairway to the tomb of Tutankhamen. If there was anything left inside, it would be a discovery of a lifetime for Carter. If the tomb was relatively intact, it would be something the world had never seen. The plastered door was photographed and the seals documented. Then the door came down, revealing the Antechamber. The wall opposite the entrance wall was piled nearly to the ceiling with boxes, chairs, couches, and much more - most of them gold. On the right w On the right wall stood two life-size statues of the king, facing each other as if to protect the sealed entrance that was between them. This sealed door also showed signs of being broken into and resealed, but this time the robbers had entered in the bottom middle of the door. Before the entrance between the two statues in the Antechamber could be opened, the items in the Antechamber needed to be removed or risk damage to them from flying debris, dust, and movement. Documentation and preservation of each item was a monumental task. Carter realized that this project was larger than he could handle alone, thus he asked for, and received, help from a large number of specialists. To begin the clearing process, each item was photographed twice, both with an assigned number and without. Then, a sketch and description of each item was made on correspondingly number record cards. Next, the item was noted on a ground plan of the tomb (only for the Antechamber). Carter and his team had to be extremely careful when attempting to remove any of the objects. After the completion of the discovery, artifacts were in their thousands, many of which were golden and had inlays of precious stones. Scholars examined the objects, read the inscriptions, and tried to learn more about his life. The information that was taken seemed to focus more on the art, religion, and funerary beliefs than on the king's reign. The first question about the death of Tutankhamen that needs to be answered is that of the nature of his death. The two examinations of Tutankhamen's mummy found evidence that may answer this question. The first examination, conducted in 1925 when the mummy was unwrapped, found a dark colored lesion on the left cheek. It is slightly depressed from the rest of the skin, and looks somewhat like a scab (Carter, 228). They also found that the king was between 18 and 19 years of age when he died. His history is not completely

Paper 1 and 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paper 1 and 2 - Essay Example I simply could not wait for the gift giving session to reach so that I could hold the envelop in my hand and feel its beauty, and the magnitude of significance that it represented. The gift was significant because with it my parents acknowledged that I was old enough to make sound choices. I chose to buy painting tools and other art materials to help furnish my artistic abilities. My hometown is Hong Kong and my favorite holiday tradition is the Lantern Festival. The celebration is marked by hanging lanterns of various sizes and shapes illuminating the streets and creating an atmosphere of excitement and celebration. Children too carry small bought lanterns and stroll the streets with utmost enjoyment, as well as sounds and giggles of excitement adding on to the delight that leaves any person visiting the town in a state of awe. The smell and sound of delight always hover over the atmosphere during this time Enhancing the lantern activity is the overwhelming riddle guessing where a correct answer earns one a gift. Furthermore, lion dance performed during the festival adds immeasurable fun to the Lantern Festival. Finally, no celebration is complete without food. During the festival, the signature delicacy is the tantalizing yuanxiao, which apart from its sweetness, is a symbol of happiness, harmony, and union to

Internal weaknesses that impacted the Islamic Societies during the Essay

Internal weaknesses that impacted the Islamic Societies during the Crudades and Mongol Wars - Essay Example Even though the early crusades were named and were quite successful in realizing the desired objectives, majority of the crusades that took place in the later years were ineffective and thus they were defeated by their counterparts, the Muslims. The Mongols on the other hand invaded Muslim land in the thirteenth century. They moved from one Islamic region to another slaughtering all the Muslims they came across. In just a single city, they slaughtered almost 2 million people. Such had immense effect on the locals in terms of their political power, economy, social life, culture, religion and population as explored in this paper. Soldiers in hundreds of thousands became crusaders through taking of vows, with the Pope granting these soldiers Plenary Indulgence. The emblem of the soldiers in the war was a cross, as the term crusade was derived from a French phrase, â€Å"taking the cross†. Most of the crusaders were from France, calling themselves ‘Franks’ that eventually became a common term among the Muslims. By this time, Christianity was yet to divide into large numbers of intermingled geographical regions which later formed the eastern churches of Byzantine Orthodox and the Western Roman Catholic. The Crusaders just considered themselves as Christians but not as Muslims. They had immense impact on Middle East, and particularly to Islamic religion. Crusades Background Among the powers that medieval popes had was the ability of requesting the kings and monarchs to be provided with troops as well as money to facilitate what they deemed as holy wars, such as the Crusades. The Crusades were fought because of geopolitical, economic and religious conflicts between the Muslims and the Christians.3 The spark for the initial Crusade came in year 1095, at the time when the Byzantines within the European Christians for military assistance against Turks, and Seljuk who had recently captured the city of Jerusalem. In order to increase their chances of receiving more aid, Byzantines exaggerated the rumors of Holy Land atrocities from the Turkish people. Pope Urban II immediately responded by summoning of the Council of Clermont, calling upon the European Catholics knights to recapture the city of Jerusalem because of the religious value that they placed to the Holy Land. In 1096, an army of Crusaders traveled headed to the Middle East through Constantinople, fighting the Muslim forces that they encountered along the way. The army reached Jerusalem two years later, 1099. They placed the city under siege, and they butchered almost every single Jew and Muslim within the walls of th e City. In the process, the Crusaders massacred a significant number of Christians whom were mistaken for Muslims. Because of lack of unity among the Jews, Turks and Muslims, they suffered immense loss and defeat from the Crusaders.4 Crusades in Islamic Society Much of the most important works of histories of crusades are being published and the settlements that have been established within their wake are concerned with the 13th and the 14th Centuries, while the great vistas are providing an opening in the sixteenth centuries.5 The Crusades, which were launched upon the holy land of Middle East from Urban II Speech that took place in 1095 at the Council of Cl

Development During Early Adolescence Essay Example for Free

Development During Early Adolescence Essay Can these changes have a significant impact on a variety of developmental outcomes of identity, morality, transitional stages, beginning of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role, and sexual maturity? Hence, because of the potential impact of these changes, it is important to understand the cycles of adolescents. Life has store many surprises for us as we develop throughout our whole life span. Developmental stages are the progress that occurs in humans from the time they are born until they grow old and die. Originally beginning with infants and children, development will subsequently progress into adolescence, followed by adult, and lastly elderly. The development occurs in many fields, namely physical, perceptual, cognitive, moral and social. Derived from the Latin verb adolescere (to grow into maturity), adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescent is a distinct and dynamic phase of development in the life of an individual. It is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood and is characterized by spurts of physical, mental, emotional and social development. Who considers adolescence to be the period between 10-19 years of age, which generally encompasses the time from the beginning of puberty to the full legal age. The early adolescent developmental period is when individuals experience many changes, including the biological changes associated with puberty, important changes in relations with family and peers, and the social and educational changes related to transition from elementary to middle school (Wigfield, Byrnes, Eccles, 2002). The biological changes that occur at early adolescence are dramatic, as anyone working with this age group knows (Susman Rogel, 2004). Pubertal developments, the timings of puberty is quite different for girls and boys; girls enter puberty approximately 18 months before boys do, which means that during early adolescence, girls mature faster. Adolescence can be prolonged, brief, or practically nonexistent, depending on the culture of their society. Adolescence is somewhere between childhood and adulthood. It is also the period of life between the beginning of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role, such as worker or parent. It is filled with constant change, uncertainty, but it can be wonderful and full of expectation. Everything a child learned to believe is suddenly challenged. One day you are a cute child that everybody seemed to adore, and the next day your skin and body are changing. Adolescence is a challenging period for both children and their parents. Three stages of adolescence early, middle, and late, are experienced by most teens, but the age at which each stage is reached varies greatly from child to child. These different rates of maturation are connected to physical development and hormone balance, neither of which the child can control. For this reason, adolescents should be treated as individuals and any guidelines should be modified to the particular child. It is very common to come across mood swings in this stage of development. Gene Roland Medinnus and Ronald C. Johnson state that during adolescence, children develop the ability to: †¢ Understand abstract ideas, such as higher math concepts, and develop moral philosophies, including rights and privileges †¢ Establish and maintain satisfying relationships by learning to share intimacy without feeling worried or inhibited. Move toward a more mature sense of themselves and their purpose †¢ Question old values without losing their identity Adolescence begins when signs of sexual maturity begin to occur in both physical and social development and ends when the individual assumes adult roles and is concerned in most ways as an adult by his reference group. Female friendships are one of the most important dimensions of an adolescent girl’s life. Peer relationships and friendships are critical in the developing adolescent’s identity, behaviors, and overall health. These peer connections influence all areas of development including emotional, physical, spiritual, social, and cognitive. The movie â€Å"Mean Girls† addresses social behaviors and experiences that are common in female peer relationships throughout the adolescent years. â€Å"Mean Girls† has brought attention to girls mean behaviors and portrays a dark side of female peer relationships, in which girls act as bullies and use relationships to express anger or power through rumors, exclusion, secrets, or gossip. This movie shows the significant role that female peer relationships play. The functions of peer relationships in adolescence are to help support adolescents at a time when they are challenged with many new experiences, to encourage the development of emotional autonomy, to enable teens to form deeper forms of intimacy that will be needed in adulthood, and to improve social skills. Positive peer relationships cause less anxiety and depression in adolescents where as negative peer relationships may place an individual at risk for maladjustment. Adolescents who are generally disliked, aggressive, disruptive and cannot establish themselves in the peer culture are developmentally at risk. Having friends and peer acceptance are generally related to school competence, higher self-esteem, and better adjustments. Adolescence is a transitional stage of human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. Teenagers (ages 13-19 years) are usually adolescent, though in some individual, puberty may extent a few years beyond the teenage years, and in some individuals puberty begins in the pre-teen years. Because adolescents are experiencing various strong cognitive and physical changes, for the first time in their lives they may start to view their friends, their peer group, as more important and influential than their parents. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word cognition as; the mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning and judgment (Cognition). Because of peer pressure, they may sometimes indulge in activities not deemed socially acceptable. What is Peer Pressure? Peer pressure is the social pressure from friends or other people to accept certain beliefs or act in certain ways in order to be accepted. How and why do we get peers pressure? Everyone gives into peer pressure at one time or another, but why do people sometimes do things they didn’t want to do? Here are a few reasons. They are afraid of being rejected by others, want to be like and don’t want to lose a friend, want to appear grown up, don’t want to be made fun of, friends have a big influence on our lives, but sometimes they push us to do things we may not want to do. The first step to standing up to peer pressure is to understand it. The four main types of peer pressure is: 1. Rejection – threatening to end a friendship or relationship. This pressure can be hard to resist as nobody wants to lose friends. 2. Reasoning – telling a person reasons why they should try something or why it would be okay if they did it i. e. â€Å"your parents would never find out. † Identity is made of what drives an individual, the abilities they have, what they believe, and their personal history (Marcia, 1980). Identity is one of the main struggles in an adolescent’s life. It is very important that children receive the proper guidance while entering their adolescence from their parents and peers. Although they like to believe that they are capable of developing on their own, adolescents need parental guidance to develop their path of identity development. The relationship between a child and a parent plays an important role with an adolescent and his or her decisions about sex. (Chapman, Werner-Wilson 2008). Morality can be defined as the distinction between what is right and wrong or what is good and bad. Although, moral reasoning depends on culture which akes it difficult to define; most people don’t look at where these principles are coming from or what guides one through moral development. As children grow and learn, usually from care takers and people who inspire their every need, their morality changes based on several levels. Although researching of moral development goes as far back as Socrates, there are two psychologists that studied morality in depth and they are Lawrence Kohlberg and Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget was a cognitive developmental psychologist spending most of his time working with children and adolescents, including his own. Although, Piaget’s observation of moral development wasn’t in depth like Kohlberg, he allowed for a basic understanding. He believed that moral development occurred in stages. Piaget strongly believed in education and thought interaction in an education setting allowed children maximum potential in cognitive development. Piaget believed in many things, but when it came to moral development there were only two basic principles. The first principle was that children develop moral ideas in stages and could not skip stages, although movement from one stage to the other could vary in length. Lastly he believed that children create their own perception of their world, including whether their actions enforce what is morally right or wrong. â€Å"Piagets ideas of moral realism and morality of cooperation play a role in Kohlbergs theory. Children in Piagets stage of moral realism believe that rules are absolute and cant be changed. Punishment should be determined by how much damage is done, and the intention of the child is not taken into account. A child has many milestones to reach through adolescence. The success of these milestones depends on normal development. Milestones can be challenging regardless of age and size. However, some children experience abnormal development and also delays. Detecting signs of abnormal development in certain age groups requires an understanding of development milestones. There for this leads us to the major physical, cognitive, self made motivational experience of adolescents that are a variety of developmental outcomes of identity, morality, transitional stages, beginnings of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role, and sexual maturity.

Organizational Outputs Essay Example for Free

Organizational Outputs Essay In reviewing the article in reference to the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model. Another quote from the article, struck me very strongly in regards to the observed organization; The bigger the gap between the formal and informal systems within the organization, the less effective the organization is. This is from the Weisbords Six Box Model and this aspect is quite apparent in the organization observed. A negative output is one of the things that should be avoided, especially regarding consumers. An agreed statistic within many business marketing modules that a dissatisfied consumer will often tell more people than a satisfied consumer. A frustrating fact, however true. Outputs are those products which are dispensed from the organization. These can include product, as already mentioned, the way consumers are treated is another factor. Outputs also include, how the organization interacts with the environment. Technically an output is any factor that the organization puts out whether through marketing, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Consumer Satisfaction There is an old saying, You cant please people all of the time. In an organization where the internal culture is to never say no. Because, we have also heard the saying, The customer is always right. An automatic conflict is built between consumer and employee. Someone, is usually wrong. And if a person is doing their job as required under organizational policy, the possibility of pleasing all of the people all of the time becomes quite low. However, in an organization pleasing every person is a near impossibility. In fact, I believe, it was Menecke who said, I dont know the sure way to success. I do know the sure way to failure, trying to please everyone all the time. Certainly a risk every organization takes is how to tell the consumer, no, while keeping that person as a consumer. Somewhat of a conundrum, as no one likes to hear the word no. This is where the earlier quote from Weisfords Six Box Model caught my particular attention. Faulty policy or the failure of an organization to uphold its own policy, creates extreme difficulties for personnel. In the organization observed, a policy would be set forth, such as a limit to the type or number of courses a student could take in an eight week period. Personnel, following policy and even double checking policy with the Director would refuse the student as directed under policy. The stated policy would then be, completely undermined if the student decided to complain. In most cases, if not all, the student was allowed the exception to having policy overturned. When a situation such as this occurs on a recurring basis, morale is severely weakened. Personnel are not trusted to do their jobs with integrity. As well as the fact, that when policy is regularly undermined, what then becomes the point of attempting to enforce any type of policy. Worse, the employee begins to give up altogether in performing their tasks with any independence. As the result is and has been personnel are wrong and can be completely overridden. The result is an organization without compass. And ultimately, in this organizational situation, it is the consumers that are hurt the worst. Personnel become surly and unwilling to help. After all, how can personnel be perceived as being helpful when every decision, no matter how small can be overturned? The situation becomes unbearable, and any attempt at creating consumer loyalty is lost. Policy should serve as that mechanism to provide the means toward providing consumer needs. When that attempt to follow policy is constantly undermined, the result, undoubtedly is weak, powerless leadership and an unwilling personnel to follow any policy that is developed. Personnel should be one of the most enthusiastic ambassadors to the community when representing the organization. The odd thing about serving the organization in this way, is that a certain pride should be taken in the work one does. A continuous undermining of the personnels ability to do the job one has been hired to accomplish. This type of output creates a hostile atmosphere, distrust is built and maintained through this constant turmoil between management, personnel and consumers. Summary Only one type of output has been mentioned in this report. The reason being that personnel are crucial to the way consumers and the public perceive the function ability of an organization. A dissatisfied representative or employee becomes complacent and extremely unwilling to attempt new devices for serving the consumer. Much less becoming innovative in the process. Frustrating employees to the point of powerlessness, is not a recommended means toward the success of an organization. Another reason, I believe in the importance of personnel and their ability is that most organizations neglect the fact that a sound, successful organization is built on the competence of employees. Yet, this seems to have become the accepted methodology among many organizations, especially older organizations. A basic principle is that personnel are the most valuable investment an organization can make. Personnel, especially those in the front line are those that have the ability to positively affect a second most important resource, consumers.

The Inclusion For Special Education Needs Students Education Essay

The Inclusion For Special Education Needs Students Education Essay Introduction This essay is divided in to three main parts: the first part discusses the inclusion for special education needs students and specified on inclusion for students with ASD and discuss the role of inclusive policies in school, school managers and staff in generating a positive experience for autistic students; the second part discusses some of the barriers to learning that students with autism might have: including their social impairments, language development and some of other symptoms they might have such as obsession with routine. The third part illustrates how these barriers might be overcome and gives more then one solution such as training for skills and attitude for teachers and students. Making the school experience a positive one for all students with learning difficulties and practically for students with ASD Inclusion is the right for all students regardless of their background or disability and to be given an equal opportunity with non-disabled people in the society inclusion is a process of meshing general and special education reform initiative and strategies to achieve in order to achieve a unified system of public education that incorporates all children and youth as active, fully participating members of the school community, that views diversity as the and that achieve a high quality education for each student by assuring meaningful effective teaching, and necessary support for each student (Ceri,1997, p.53) . Including students with learning difficulties requires supporting them with the services they need to enable them to be included successfully in school. The supporting efforts included forming inclusive policy in schools to give the right for each individual to be included and have equal opportunities (Armstrong, Armstrong, Barton, 2000); trained teachers in dealing with student with learning difficulties; taking into consideration the individuals needs and try to meet them (Lewis, Norwich 2005); having an additional support team in place with an adequate supportive framework, including regular special education assessments in order to assess the progress of the student and to adjust, as necessary, their educational need and the additional support they receive. Managers in schools play a significant role as well in making the school more positive experience for pupils with learning difficulties (Homas, Walker, Webb, 1998). In a line with that, each school should include encouraging p olicy for involving parents in the learning process for their children as this a crucial factor to ensure successful inclusion and then successful leaning to the students (Hornby, 1995;Ceri, 1997). Policy and curriculum Regarding to the school policy, the aim of inclusive policy is to prevent the marginalization for people who experience unfavourable circumstances in life (Vitello, Mithaug, 1998, p24). The role of Inclusive policy in school is to offer educational opportunities to each individual, taking into consideration all their different needs and regardless of their disability, culture or race. . Educations system should be formed on the basis of meeting each individual needs as some students are vary in their needs. A school policy should take into consideration how to address the need for the entire student in the classroom such as gifted and talented students or student with learning difficulties such as children with ASD and apply inclusive curriculum to meet such these students need. In terms of inclusive curriculum the national curriculum council (1990) defined three main roles for developing inclusive curriculum: setting suitable learning challenges. This means that the teacher should facilitate an experience of success by providing students suitable learning for their abilities, not harder and not easier: Responding to pupils diversity learning needs; teacher have to recognize their students need and try to meet all of them; Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups for pupils: some individuals have a special requirement for learning and assessment and if such requirements have not been addressed then students may fail in their learning which could create barriers to learning for them. Therefore, teachers have to meet all these requirements and assess the students progression in the learning process. (National curriculum council, 1990, p.18). The role of school managers To implement inclusion in schools, schools have to consider inclusion as one of the main goal that school have to achieve, with the importance of principals leading the school toward inclusive setting. The school managers have a huge responsibility to ensure inclusion practice in school. They have to make sure that; the inclusion procedures are followed in schools and all the inclusive policies are applied in the classroom. They have to assess whether their staff needs for any further training in order to create a positive learning experience for student with learning difficulties (Eaney, 2006). In line with that, managers have to support the communication between the stockholders inside the school such as between special education coordinator and the subject teacher as it is key element in successful inclusion, as one student stated: It is the teachers [that] are rubbish they know about their subject but they know nothing about us with Aspergers syndrome (Umphrey, Lewis, 2008, p.1 35) this expression from a student in mainstream school who felt that teacher does not understand him. In this case the teachers lack of experience and information may cause the problem. However, this would not put the responsibility away from the teacher but it shows the importance of the communication between the staff in the school for better understanding for students with learning difficulties ((Eaney, 2006; Umphrey, et al., 2008). (Kugelmass, Ainscow, 2005) argued, head teachers and other school managers as leaders are expected to make commitments to all their students, Educating every child is not just about SATs or GCSEs or all of that standards written agenda that the government is so obsessed with, its about turning them [out] as human beings and developing of the skills to enable them to go on learning through their lives and what it is to be a member of the community and so on and so on. (Umphrey,et al., 2008, p.134) for example. A school leader made this commitment. As such, this attitude for school mangers reflects a positive attitude toward inclusion and it is encouraging for school staff to meet their students needs which would lead to here they treat me just like all the other pupils, but also provide the backup that I need to (Thomas, Vaughan, 2004, p.180). A student with learning difficulties in mainstream school made this statement, as it is the main aim for inclusion to give the all the students equal opportunities for learning. As such, school managers are fundamental in determining the success of any mainstreaming school experience for a student with learning difficulties. On the other hand, the opposite is true, If a school manager, or head teacher shows any sign of a negative attitude towards special needs students, this will reflect this negative attitude in the inclusion for student with learning difficulties in school, I think one of the major difficulties is that the senior management team dont really understand about these childrens needs(Umphrey, et al., 2008, p134). This statement was taken from special education coordinator in mainstream school when the head teacher has a negative attitude toward inclusion, indeed in such condition this may lead to exclusion and not inclusion (Umphrey, et al., 2008). Concerning the head teacher negative attitude toward inclusion and special for children with ASD, Praisner (2003) illustrates that such negative attitudes for school leaders could lead him to fail to provide a suitable educational programme and fail to provide the students with the additional services they might need such as, support staff. As co nsequences a negative learning experience for children with learning difficulties might develop. The role of teachers In line with head teacher attitude toward children with learning difficulties, Campbell (2006) argued that, attitude of teachers toward children with learning difficulties is an important in creating a positive learning experience in the school for them. This is for several reasons such as the influence that teachers have over the students attitude and their academic attainment. Indeed, Teachers hold a huge responsibility in making inclusion a successful experience for children with learning difficulties. (Riseser, 2004) summaries teachers responsibilities as followed; teacher have to plan their lessons in a advance in order to ensure a satisfactory improvement for each child in the class room; making the atmosphere of the classroom challenging, encouraging and enjoyable for all the students; seeking each student needs and adapting a suitable teaching methods for individuals; providing easy access to the learning resources and encouraging the student to engage in school activities to gether; monitoring students progressions. In summary, including an inclusive policy in school is significant in making school a positive learning experience for pupils with learning difficulties. Thomas, Loxley (2007) claim that it is important to reform educational policy to ensure it dictates that all members of society should be treated in the same manner and offered the same opportunities in life and this policy should be applied in schools as a part of the society. However I firmly believe developing and maintaining an inclusive policy in schools is a crucial for the inclusion process but that would be conditional upon the practitioner attitude toward students with learning difficulties in the school such as and the degree of training they have had to dealing with these students. They may accept students with learning difficulties in the school physically but do not fully include them Some teachers ignore kids with learning disabilities altogether even though they are in the lessons they are stood separately(Umphrey, et al., 2008, p.134) this statement was taken from learning support assistance in mainstream school. Therefore the responsibility falls on the managers, teachers and all the stockholders in the school in their attitude and training to meet all students needs and to make their inclusion a successful learning experience for them. Inclusion for students with ASD Inclusion for students with ASD is not different from inclusion for students with learning difficulties, which was discussed in the previous part. However, taking into consideration their specific characteristics is important in making schools a positive learning experience for them. ASD is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way in which a person communicates and related to people around them (Wall, 2010.p.7). The term autism derived form Greek word autos which means self and it was first identified by Kanner in 1943 and then by Hans Asperger in 1944 while they were studying children behaviours (Worth, Rynolds, 2008) and both of these researchers believed that children are born with it. The cause for this disorders is wildly believe to have a biological basis, however the research in this area is still ongoing (Sugden, 2010). (Barnard, Prior, Potter, 2000) carried out a study about the notion of inclusion for autism and they examined this idea in wider context, which include the society and arrived to inclusion can not rely on the interest, commitment and enthusiasm of one or two individuals (Barnard et al, 2000, p.12). They emphasised the essential role for every individual who involved with the child to support the inclusion process. However, that does not mean involving some of the individuals and not all of them would result failing in including for students with ASD. Sugden (2010) stated that involving and training each individual in the school or in the society in which the child is involved in some manner, in a real situation may seem hard to achieve. In terms of education for children with ASD, Moore (2007) stated that autistic children are academically able to learn. As a consequence, he assumed that autistic students should have the ability to cope in mainstream schools. Furthermore, Jordan (2008) added that education should be a useful therapeutic approach for children with ASD, however that would depend on many factors such as, training teacher to teach student with ASD which could make mainstream schools positive learning experiences for children with ASD; using Information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching pupils with ASD, which could help students with ASD to learn; for students with severe autism, providing them with specialist support may be useful, but that should not segregate them; a suitable curriculum and teaching methods for students with ASD. However, Jordan (2008) claimed that, teaching autistic students is not an easy task for the teacher, as it is, learning for them in our school system is hard and that would be for some of the difficulties they have which will be illustrated in the next part of the assignment such as, difficulties in communication with other people (Umphrey, et al., 2008); the preference for routine (Moore, 2007), predictability and low sensory stimulation; preferred learning style which is sometimes challenging for teachers to teach these students some skills (Jordan, 2005). The next paragraphs will illustrate these symptoms in details. Barriers to inclusion for students with ASD ASD is a lifelong developmental disability as it was illustrated in the definition in the previous part and it is characterised by impairments in social interaction, social imagination and social communication, with these impairments occurring to different degrees in different individuals, leading Wing and Gould (1979) to the establishment of term autistic spectrum disorder to describe a wide range of abilities and disabilities caused by deficiencies in these areas (Umphrey, et al., 2008; Good Schools Guide, 2010). ASD influences individuals in many ways, such as their language development, their ability to interact with other people and the ways in which they deal with routines. They may experience impairment in their language, and it is likely that children with ASD may have delays when they start to speak compared to typically developed children. Even in the usage of language, once their language is developed, it may be not as typically developed child in term of vocabulary they use and in the way they speak (Worth, et al., 2008; Good Schools Guide, 2010). Children with Autism have a problem in developing social relationships, as they can fail to understand the social interaction. Moreover, It is difficult for autistic children to use or even understand, what do social cues are such as non-verbal signals or eye contact mean. This may cause the children with ASD to misunderstand the others and may react improperly to them. Furthermore, children with autism have a deficit in empathy, which is the ability to understand peoples feeling and understand their problem (Moore, 2007; Baron, Cohen, 2008; Umphrey, et al , 2008; Good Schools Guide, 2010) In regarding to the lack of communication skills in children with ASD which could affect their interaction with the people around them, Batten (2005) stated that the inequalities in social interaction and communication between children with ASD and their peers can lead to frustration, bullying and low self-esteem (Batten, 2005, p.93). Since, their lack of understanding of normal forms of communication, such as verbal, non-verbal and cues, it is necessary to communicate with these children in very literal ways in order to avoid any misunderstanding to them, which may cause confusion for them and then might lead to anxiety or frustration. As consequences for this frustration or anxiety, students with ASD may demonstrate different types of behaviours than other children exhibit such as self-injurious behaviours or repetitive movement behaviours, which may affect their interaction with the others and then their inclusion in the school (Batten, 2005). In addition, children with ASD are bound by routines and sameness, such as their need for routine in their everyday lifes activities, such as in playing or in educational time. They do not like the routine to be absent from their activities as they resist any change even to their physical environment such as, in bedroom or classroom and if that happens for any reasons, this may cause for them frustration and distress. Autistic children have imagination impairment and they may engage in doing the same activities such as playing in the same game, repetitively, without showing any lack of interest (Moore, 2007; Baron, et al, 2008; Umphrey, et al, 2008). These kind of characteristics for children with Autism which may lead them to prefer some particular subjects in schools such as since and mathematics for the natural of this subject. Since they have some rules need be followed, at the same time this may lead them to dislike some interpretive subjects such as history (Good Schools Guide, 2010). All of these symptoms for Autistic children verify that they may experience difficulties in learning in the school, beside the fact that some Autistic children also have concurrent attention deficit disorders and/or other conditions, such as epilepsy or dyspraxia, which means that they are faced with significant barriers to their learning (Reid, 2005). However, a huge improvement can be made with autistic children and this improvement can be made through educating them and providing them the suitable learning environment which will require removing the barriers they may face in their learning, which may contribute to their development (Sugden , 2010). On the other hand, students with ASD have strengths and not only weakness. In terms of education some individuals with Aspergers syndrome show a unique performance in particular subjects such as Mathematics or Computer since, and not only in education but also in working life, some companies prefer employees with Aspegers syndrome for their stickiness with routines and obeying the rules. Therefore, educators have to take that into consideration and try to support their talents (Sugden , 2010). The next section will look at the ways in which a child living with ASD can be helped to overcome the barriers that they might face in schools. Overcoming the barriers to learning faced by students with ASD There are multiple issues relating to include children with autism in school, In the top of what have been mentioned about their characteristics, teachers understanding of the disability and their capability to work with children with ASD has a significant impact on including children with ASD (Batten,2005; Reid,2005). An autistic child goes to the front of the dinner queue. A teacher standing nearby tells him not to barge in. The pupil becomes anxious but does not move. The teacher insists that the pupil must not jump the queue. The pupil becomes more and more agitated and hits the teacher (Batten, 2005, p.94), This student was excluded from the school for his behaviour, whereas, this kind of behaviour would be as a result for the students inability to manage and understand this kind of social situation. To avoid exclusion for children with ASD from schools, Schools managers and staff may have to equip themselves and their students by sufficient knowledge to deal with this kind of s ituation in a suitable way. That may happen by training the staff skills and attitude to understand the ASD and how to deal with children with autism in any situation and training the student in how to behave in the classroom and in a social situation (Batten, 2005; Reid, 2005). This could promote their learning and overcome the barriers they may face in mainstream schools. Teachers attitude and training Inclusion for student with ASD requires teachers with an inclusive attitude because they play an important role in including children with learning difficulties such as ASD (Ried, 2007). Some school administrators and teachers are in disagreement with the idea of including pupils with ASD as they claim that, the characteristics that children with ASD demonstrate such as, their inappropriate behaviours would not make their mainstreaming a positive learning experience for them (Connor, 2000, 2006). However, Waddington and Reed, (2005) argue that, it is the teachers negative attitude rather than the students capability to study in mainstream school or the school ability to include them. 2006). It is, therefore, essential that teachers have a positive attitude toward children with ASD. As Cook (2001) argues, however, this can be influenced by different aspects, such as the amount of experience that teachers have in dealing with autistic students, the level of training the teachers have received, the preparation that teachers do in order to meet their autistic students needs in the class room and also the severity with which the autistic child presents themselves. Teachers attitudes to students with ASD is, thus, made up of a variety of different factors, each of which determines how, overall, the teacher deals with the presence of a student with ASD in their classroom. Training teachers is an essential factor for including children with autism, as many teachers are not aware about the spectrum and dont have the ability to deal with children in the spectrum. Indeed, children with autism are varied in their needs (Sugden, 2010), it is, thus, important that teachers are trained to meet all the needs for students with ASD, and in the skills that they may need to deal with these special needs, in order that they can offer a good teaching to these students. In regard to teachers training, Reid (2005) stated that One of the key aspects to ensuring that inclusion is effective in terms of practice is to ensure the tasks that are set for students and the objectives that have to be met actually match the students needs and, importantly, that students have the means to achieve these needs and outcomes (Reid, 2005.P107). Indeed, teachers would be required to have certain skills in order to deal with children with ASD as they have to identify the individuals needs in order to meet them and then, making schools a positive leaning experience for pupils with ASD as they have different needs then the other students do. (Lewis, et al., 2005) put forward three forms of educational needs, the first one is common needs, which are the needs that are shared by all the students; second one, specific needs, which means the needs for groups of students have the same characteristics; third one, unique needs, which are the needs for each individual and not s imilar to any other one. As the idea of individual needs or what is so called distinct needs position in terms of mainstream educational provision for students with ASD is gathering support (Hmphrey, et al , 2008, p.133). Considering the teachers skills, Marks, Shaw-Hegwer, Schrader, Longaker, Peters, Powers, Levine, (2003) argued that the use of antecedent management strategies in the classroom can make it as a positive learning environment for student with ASD and assisting the teacher to increase the chance for learning and reduce the students challenging behaviours. Indeed, by addressing the problems that prevent students with ASD from learning in the classroom such as their challenging behaviour, their chance of leaning in the classroom would increase. As Market et al. (2003) argued, most of autistic students would be able to understand the content of the lessons when their problem are accommodated. In addition, students with ASD can be easily become overwhelmed by the large amount of knowledge and information they may receive in the classroom and they may not be able to recognise the most important information during the lesson in the classroom. Therefore, it is fundamental that teachers have to stress and repeat the important part of the lesson for them (Marks et al., 2003). There are many methods teachers could use to overcome this problem for these students, for example, teachers may use electronic equipment such as a recording machine and videotaping, as it enables the students to access the information as many times as they want. Moreover, teachers may use visual aids such as graphics or mind maps, to help the student visualise the information of the lesson, which can lead to better understanding for the students (Marks et al., 2003). Providing ASD students with some electronic equipment or other methods for learning such as visual aids can be very useful for students living with ASD and may help them to perform better in the classroom (Marks et al., 2003). However, teachers should ensure not to place a very high expectation on Autistic students, because if they could not meet these expectation, this may lead them to anxiety and frustration, which could lead them to demonstrate some impropriate reaction such as, self- injury behaviours or anxiety as a student with ASD once said when he faced anxiety in mainstream school Im upset every second, every second Ive got tears in my eyes (Humphrey, 2008, p.43). One of the major issues that autistic students may face is becoming familiar with the routine of the lesson as students with ASD require always a specific stricter to their activities, which requires that all information is presented in a controlled manner (Marks et al., 2003). Reducing ambiguity is the key element to mange any negative behaviour that might arise as a consequence of the ASD and so lesson planning in a detailed manner can allow the symptoms of the ASD to be controlled, as students know what will be coming in the lesson and what is expected of them (Marks et al., 2003). Training for students with ASD In addition, training students with autism to cope in school is an important for them to experience a positive inclusion in mainstream school setting. This may happen by priming Autistic students to what they could expect in their school time and providing them a timetable of what they should expect every day, every week and every term, which is a good technique of providing these students with antecedent management. Preparing students with ASD to position themselves and assimilate the required information before the beginning of the lesson may allow them to be symptom-free, as this preparation would give them time to recognise and understand what is required from them to do, which may enable them to come to the class, and their school experience, relatively anxiety-free (Marks et al., 2003). Indeed, preparing students with ASD in this way could be important and fruitful in managing their symptom and as consequences that may contribute to a positive learning experience for student wi th ASD. Moreover, as it has been discussed that, individuals with ASD have a social impairment, which can become main barriers for their inclusion in school. As they find social cues are not understandable for them such as body language. Myles and Simpson (2001) called these cues a hidden curriculum. Students have to be trained to understand these social cues and how to understand and respond to any social interaction. (Humphrey, 2008) illustrated one popular method to help autistic students to cope in social situations, which is social stories. The social skills simply describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format (Humphrey, 2008, p.44) and the goal for these stories is to enhance children (change to childrens) understanding to social cues and interaction as it equips the children by some skills, which they can use them in interaction with other people (Humphrey, 2008). The role of school managers Furthermore, school managers have a crucial role to play in including children with autism as it was discussed earlier in this assignment. (Beaney, 2006) classified the school leaders responsibility and put them into four groups. The first one would be the leader positive attitude and their commitment toward inclusion, which can influence the staff and other students as well; communication, empower the school staff and give them the confidence to deal with students with ASD is an important factor in making the school a good learning experience for them, as some school leaders state that Give confidence teachers flourish when they know they are doing well. (Beaney, 2006, p.20); Approach which is the responsibility for school leaders to be in the front position in implementing inclusion and not only just to supervise it; development implementing inclusion in school and providing children with ASD the service they need is really important, however, developing these services, when it is required, as some of the students may develop their symptoms and then developing the degree of training that the teacher has in order to cope with mainstreaming autistic students successfully (Beaney, 2006). In terms of development, school managers should support continuously training courses for their staff, a week every year for example, to ensure a positive attitude for teachers toward children with ASD and to develop their basic skills in dealing with students with ASD, and support any special courses for particular teachers, special education teachers for example, in the schools which enable the teachers to be highly skilled in dealing with autistic students and keep the other staff always up to date with latest information about this spectrum and how to deal with it (Sugden, 2010). All-in-all Cutler (2000) discuss, in order to make the inclusion for autistic children a positive learning experience, a wide range of criteria need to be followed by the school, including a positive commitment made by the managers and the staff to include autistic children in regular classes; an awareness of the managers and staff about the need for the autistic students, ongoing, training for the staff to deal with these needs and continuous training for the student to enable them to overcome their barriers to learning (Humphrey, 2008) ; making links with the family and additional support staff as to the objectives and need of the student (Connor, 1996) as a parent for autistic child state Its good for parents and practitioners to come together and to hear each others views and frustrations. (Beaney, 2006, p.37). When theses conditions are achieved then inclusion for student with ASD is more likely to happen. Inclusion Firstly this essay discusses how the school experience can be made a positive one for students with ASD, including a discussion of the role of inclusive policies in school, school managers and staff in generating this positive experience and It was shown the important of them in making school a positive learning experience for student with learning difficulties such as those with ASD. Then the barriers to learning for autistic students as a result of their condition were discussed, such as difficulties in social interactions, with communication and problems with frustration and anxiety, which may lead the child to demonstrate some extreme behaviours such as self-injury which would be disruptive to their learning in the school. For these barriers some solutions were put forward such as training attitude and skills for teacher and students, accommodating the needs of students with ASD via antecedent management and training the student how to overcome some of the barriers they may face.

Use of Cell Phones in Our Society :: Communication Health Papers

In a world that is rapidly becoming faster paced, finding various means to keep up with the changing environment is a must. Cell phones are one of the most practical inventions of time that make this possible. However, the subtle effect they have on our culture today, their invasion of our privacy, and the possible health risks they may cause are reasons to reassess the value of this intriguing device. While cell phones may be valuable, they are also potentially harmful. Cell phones are gradually affecting American culture today because they are becoming a key part of everyday life. The cell phone is "?an indispensable companion that serves without favor or prejudice. It has reached into every civilized corner of the world--and often brought civilization with it. From its wires spring the words of history in the making, the chatter of daily life" ("43 Years" sc. 1). The cell phone enables individuals to communicate rapidly over great distances and obtain information like never before. People can now pick up the phone and get information on the weather, time, stock market quotations, and other things simply by dialing a few numbers. Cell phones connect the world together, to the point where individuals become almost helpless without it. The next time you find yourself waiting at a stoplight, take the time to observe the people around you. There will likely be at least one person in the surrounding cars who is talking on the phone. Even on the streets, people continue to chat on the phone. Cell phones are everywhere. One resident in Greenville, S.C. admitted that he uses his cell phone at least 15 times a day (Chany sc. 2). The cell phone is in such high use that the traditional phones in homes and offices almost become antique devices on display. Although traditional phones are still around, individuals are quicker to pick up their cell phone. The percentage of Americans who own or use cell phones is astounding. The Post Courier reports that about half of the American population now owns a cell phone.

The Campaign for Women’s Suffrage Essay -- American History

The Campaign for Women’s Suffrage The campaign developed at that time, as it was then the rights of women began to improve. Though women were still thought of as second-class citizens, during the 1870’s the women’s suffrage became a mass movement. Prior to 1870, there were laws that meant that women were unable to keep any of their earnings once they married. That also meant that all her possessions belonged to her husband as well. In 1870, the Married Women’s Property Act meant that women were allowed to keep  £200 of their earnings. Women such as Caroline Norton are what helped the campaign develop. After a court found that she was innocent of adultery, Caroline Norton’s husband left her and took their children, taking with him her inheritance. Because of the laws at that time, she had no real control over whether she was permitted to see her children, even when one of her sons died. She fought this, even though British law was against her as she was technically the property of her husband. She battled this until in 1873 the law was changed so that all women could see their children if they were divorced from their husband. It was because laws such as this were changed that others began to believe that it was possible to gain the women’s suffrage. Legal steps were then being taken to better the position of women, legal inequalities that faced women were beginning to then balance out. Another cause to why the women’s suffrage developed was because of economical reasons. In the late 1800’s, women were paid half, and sometimes less than half, what men were in the same jobs. For example, in the 1880s in domestic service,... ... people’s views on them, it was not the only factor that gave them the franchise. During the war, there was the Coalition Government and members of this were pro-women’s suffrage. In 1917, the Prime Minister Sir Asquith – who was anti-women’s suffrage – resigned. The new PM was Lloyd George, who was actually sympathetic to women receiving the vote. The fact that women had done so much during the war meant that passing the bill was easier that it was before the war. It would have been even unfair if women had done so much during the war, yet they had still not gotten the vote. But there were men that were less qualified and had the vote. This double standard was also a reason. So though the war effort played a part in them receiving the vote, it was not the only reason why women were able to vote once the war had ended.

Iphigenia, The Diary of a Young Lady Who Wrote Because She Was Bored Es

Expression and Repression in Parra’s Iphigenia, The Diary of a Young Lady Who Wrote Because She Was Bored Like Ruby, Iphigenia uses water imagery to dramatize her feelings and fantasies. But she also turns to the river to express her wants and desires because she cannot do so freely in her Venezuelan home. After the death of her father, Marà ­a Eugenia leaves Venezuela and her best friend Christina, to visit friends of the family in Paris. In Paris she experiences a sense of freedom that she has never known before, walking the streets alone, going to operas, and dressing as she pleases. But when she gets back to Caracas to live with her aunt and grandmother, she becomes bored, feels imprisoned, and finds out that her Uncle Eduardo stole her inheritance, leaving her penniless and completely dependent upon him. Her only recourse is to get married to a wealthy suitor. Unfortunately, Marà ­a Eugenia falls in love with Gabriel, who is not her family’s suitor of choice. Uncle Eduardo moves the family to the country and intercepts Gabriel’s letters to Marà ­a Eugenia. Soon Leal, a suitor to the family’s liking, whom Marà ­a Eugenia does not love, asks her to marry him and she accepts. A short time later, Marà ­a Eugenia’s uncle Pancho falls ill, and Gabriel, a doctor, comes to the house to tend to him. When they see each other again, Marà ­a Eugenia and Gabriel realize that they are both still in love, and he entreats her to run away with him, but Marà ­a Eugenia cannot summon the courage to accept his offer. Instead, she accepts the life that her family condones, sacrificing herself as Leal’s wife. In this story water is closely associated with Marà ­a Eugenia’s ability to express herself. She struggles throughout the novel to communicat... ...eal because of their influence. Splitting off from her family by going to Paris, confiding in and symbolically becoming the water, the green-world token, falling in love with Gabriel, the green-world lover, rebelling from her family, and engaging her unconscious bring her to the tip of self realization. But as a result of the influence of her family, Marà ­a Eugenia accepts her family’s expectations as her own, that which is contrary to the desires she expresses in the process of her transformational journey. In Pratt’s words, instead of growing up, Marà ­a Eugenia experiences a â€Å"growing down† in which the protagonist accepts â€Å"auxiliary or secondary personhood† instead of self realization (36, 168). Instead of accepting herself during the process of individuation she rejects her love for Gabriel and her desire for freedom to conform to the wishes of her family.

Conformity in Psychology Essay

Introduction Imagine yourself in the following situation: You sign up for a psychology experiment, and on a specified date you and seven others whom you think are also subjects arrive and are seated at a table in a small room. You don’t know it at the time, but the others are actually associates of the experimenter, and their behaviour has been carefully scripted. You’re the only real subject. The experimenter arrives and tells you that the study in which you are about to participate concerns people’s visual judgments. She places two cards before you. The card on the left contains one vertical line. The card on the right displays three lines of varying length. The experimenter asks all of you, one at a time, to choose which of the three lines on the right card matches the length of the line on the left card. The  task is repeated several times with different cards. On some occasions the other â€Å"subjects† unanimously choose the wrong line. It is clear to you that they are wrong, but they have all given the same answer. What would you do? Would you go along with the majority opinion, or would you â€Å"stick to your guns† and trust your own eyes? This is the situation in conformity. People tend to conform in situations such as that stated above either by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational) or simply to conform to a social role (identification). This study is going to be focused on human beings, their tendency to conform and the reasons why they conform. Conformity in psychology Conformityis the act of matching attitudes, beliefs and behaviour to group norms. It is the type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group. . Norms are implicit rules shared by a group of individuals, that guide their interactions with others and among society or social group. People tend to conform when in small groups and/or society as a whole. It is as a result of subtle unconscious influences or direct and overt social pressure. People could even conform when they are alone i.e. eating or watching television. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the presence of social norms and/or expectations) group pressure. According to Crutchfield (1955), conformity can be defined as â€Å"yielding to group pressures† which could take the form of bullying, criticism, persuasion, teasing etc. Conformity is also known as majority influence (or group pressure). It is often brought up by a desire to ‘fit in’ or to ‘be liked’ (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to social role (identification). Though peer pressure could manifest negatively, conformity can have a bad or good effect depending on the situation. Driving on the correct side of the road could be seen as a beneficial conformity. Conformity influences  formation and maintenance of social norms, and helps societies function smoothly and predictably via the self-elimination of behaviours seen as contrary to written rules. In this sense, it can be perceived as (though not proven to be) a positive force that prevents acts that are perceptually disruptive or dangerous. The term conformity is often used to indicate an agreement to the majority position, brought about either by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to a social role (identification). There have been many experiments in psychology investigating conformity and group pressure. What affects Conformity? Culture Berry studied two different populations: the Temne (collectivists) and the Inuit (individualists) and found that the Temne conformed more than the Inuit when exposed to a conformity task. Bond and Smith compared, (1996) 134 studies in a meta-analysis and found that Japan and Brazil were two nations that conformed a lot whereas Europe and the United States of America did not as much. Gender Societal norms often establish gender differences.There are differences in the way men and women conform to social influence. Social psychologists, Alice Eagly and Linda Carli performed a meta-analysis of 148 studies of influenceability. They found that women are more persuadable and more conforming than men in group pressure situations that involve surveillance. In situations not involving surveillance, women are less likely to conform. Eagly has proposed that this sex difference may be due to different sex roles in society. Women are generally taught to be more agreeable whereas men are taught to be more independent. The composition of the group plays a role in conformity as well. In a study by Reitan and Shaw, it was found that men and women conformed more when there were participants of both sexes involved versus participants of the same sex. Subjects in the groups with both sexes were more apprehensive when there was a discrepancy amongst group  members, and thus the subjects reported that they doubted their own judgments. Sistrunk and McDavid made the hypothesis that women conformed more because of a methodological bias. They argued that because stereotypes used in studies are generally male ones (sports, cars†¦) more than female ones (cooking, fashion†¦), women are feeling uncertain and conformed more, which was confirmed by their results. Size of the group Milgram and his colleagues found that if one individual stops and stares at the sky, only 4% of the people would stop as well and 40% would look at the sky, whereas if fifteen confederates do it, those numbers become respectively 40% and 90%. Psychologist view on Conformity Jenness (1932) was the first psychologist to study conformity. His experiment was an ambiguous situation involving a glass bottle filled with beans. He asked participants individually to estimate how many beans the bottle contained. Jenness then put the group in a room with the bottle, and asked them to provide a group estimate through discussion. Participants were then asked to estimate the number on their own again to find whether their initial estimates had altered based on the influence of the majority. Jenness then interviewed the participants individually again, and asked if they would like to change their original estimates, or stay with the group’s estimate. Almost all changed their individual guesses to be closer to the group estimate. Another experiment performed on conformity was the Sherif Autokinetic Effect Experiment. Sherif (1935) Autokinetic Effect Experiment Aim: Sherif (1935) conducted an experiment with the aim of demonstrating that people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation. Method: Sherif used a lab experiment to study conformity. He used the autokinetic effect – this is where a small spot of light (projected onto a screen) in a dark room will appear to move, even though it is still (i.e. it is a visual illusion). It was discovered that when participants were individually tested their estimates on how far the light moved varied considerably (e.g. from 20cm to 80cm). The participants were then tested in groups of three. Sherif manipulated the composition of the group by putting together two people whose estimate of the light movement when alone was very similar, and one person whose estimate was very different. Each person in the group had to say aloud how far they thought the light had moved. Results: Sherif found that over numerous estimates (trials) of the movement of light, the group converged to a common estimate. As the figure below shows: the person whose estimate of movement was greatly different to the other two in the group conformed to the view of the other two. Sherif said that this showed that people would always tend to conform. Rather than make individual judgments they tend to come to a group agreement. Conclusion: The results show that when in an ambiguous situation (such as the autokinetic effect), a person will look to others (who know more / better) for guidance (i.e. adopt the group norm). They want to do the right thing but may lack the appropriate information. Observing others can provide this information. This is known as informational conformity. Types of Conformity Man (1969) states that â€Å"the essence of conformity is yielding to group pressure†. He identified three types of conformity: Normative, informational and ingratiational. Harvard psychologist HerbertKelman (1958) distinguished between three different types of conformity: Compliance, Internalization and identification. ï‚ §Compliance is public conformity, while possibly keeping one’s own original beliefs for yourself . Compliance is motivated by the need for approval and the fear of being rejected ï‚ §Identification is conforming to someone who is liked and respected, such as a celebrity or a favourite uncle. This can be motivated by the attractiveness of the source,[11] and this is a deeper type of conformism than compliance. Internalization is accepting the belief or behaviour and conforming both publicly and privately, if the source is credible. It is the deepest influence on people and it will affect them for a long time. Although Kelman’s distinction has been influential, research in social psychology has  focused primarily on two varieties of conformity. These are informational conformity, or informational social influence, and normative conformity, also called normative social influence. In Kelman’s terminology, these correspond to internalization and compliance, respectively. There are naturally more than two or three variables in society influential on human psychology and conformity; the notion of â€Å"varieties† of conformity based upon â€Å"social influence† is ambiguous and indefinable in this context. For Deutsch and Gà ©rard (1955), conformity results from a motivational conflict (between the fear of being socially rejected and the wish to say what we think is correct) that leads to the normative influence, and a cognitive conflict (others create doubts in what we think) which leads to the informational influence. Informational influence Informational social influence occurs when one turns to the members of one’s group to obtain and accept accurate information about reality. A person is most likely to use informational social influence in certain situations: when a situation is ambiguous, people become uncertain about what to do and they are more likely to depend on others for the answer; and during a crisis when immediate action is necessary, in spite of panic. Looking to other people can help ease fears, but unfortunately they are not always right. The more knowledgeable a person is, the more valuable they are as a resource. Thus people often turn to experts for help. But once again people must be careful, as experts can make mistakes too. Informational social influence often results in internalization or private acceptance, where a person genuinely believes that the information is right. Informational influence seems to be what happened during Sherif’s study. Normative influence Normative social influence occurs when one conforms to be liked or accepted by the members of the group. This need of social approval and acceptance is part of our state of humans. In addition to this, we know that when people do not conform with their group and therefore are deviants, they are less liked and even punished by the group. Normative influence usually results in public compliance, doing or saying something without believing in it. The experiment of Asch in 1951 is one example of normative influence In a reinterpretation of the original data from these experiments Hodges and  Geyer (2006) found that Asch’s subjects were not so conformist after all: The experiments provide powerful evidence for people’s tendency to tell the truth even when others do not. They also provide compelling evidence of people’s concern for others and their views. By closely examining the situation in which Asch’s subjects find themselves they find that the situation places multiple demands on participants: They include truth (i.e., expressing one’s own view accurately), trust (i.e., taking seriously the value of others’ claims), and social solidarity (i.e., a commitment to integrate the views of self and others without deprecating either). In addition to these epistemic values, there are multiple moral claims as well: These include the need for participants to care for the integrity and well-being of other participants, the experimenter, themselves, and the worth of scientific research. Deutsch & Gà ©rard (1955) designed different situations that variated from Asch’ experiment and found that when participants were writing their answer privately, they were giving the correct one Normative influence, a function of social imp act theory, has three components. The number of people in the group has a surprising effect. As the number increases, each person has less of an impact. A group’s strength is how important the group is to a person. Groups we value generally have more social influence. Immediacy is how close the group is in time and space when the influence is taking place. Psychologists have constructed a mathematical model using these three factors and are able to predict the amount of conformity that occurs with some degree of accuracy. Baron and his colleagues conducted a second eyewitness study that focused on normative influence. In this version, the task was easier. Each participant had five seconds to look at a slide instead of just one second. Once again, there were both high and low motives to be accurate, but the results were the reverse of the first study. The low motivation group conformed 33% of the time (similar to Asch’s findings). The high motivation group conformed less at 16%. These results show that when accuracy is not very important, it is better to get the wrong answer than to risk social disapproval. An experiment using procedures similar to Asch’s found that there was significantly less conformity in six-person groups of friends as compared to six-person groups of strangers. Because friends already know and accept each other, there may be less normative pressure to conform in some situations.  Field studies on cigarette and alcohol abuse, however, generally demonstrate evidence of friends exerting normative social influence on each other. Minority influence Although conformity generally leads individuals to think and act more like groups, individuals are occasionally able to reverse this tendency and change the people around them. This is known as minority influence, a special case of informational influence. Minority influence is most likely when people can make a clear and consistent case for their point of view. If the minority fluctuates and shows uncertainty, the chance of influence is small. However, a minority that makes a strong, convincing case increases the probability of changing the majority’s beliefs and behaviours. Minority members who are perceived as experts, are high in status, or have benefited the group in the past are also more likely to succeed. Another form of minority influence can sometimes override conformity effects and lead to unhealthy group dynamics. A 2007 review of two dozen studies by the University of Washington found that a single â€Å"bad apple† (an inconsiderate or negligent group member) can substantially increase conflicts and reduce performance in work groups. Bad apples often create a negative emotional climate that interferes with healthy group functioning. They can be avoided by careful selection procedures and managed by reassigning them to positions that require less social interaction. All these are illustrated in the table below: Normative ConformityInformational Conformity †¢Yielding to group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the group. E.g. Asch Line Study. †¢Conforming because the person is scared of being rejected by the group. †¢This type of conformity usually involves compliance – where a person publicly accepts the views of a group but privately rejects them.†¢This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance. †¢Or when a person is in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation and socially compares their behavior with the group. E.g. Sherif Study. †¢This type of conformity usually involves internalization – where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an individual. ComplianceInternalization †¢Publicly changing behaviour to fit in with the group while privately disagreeing. †¢In other words, conforming to the majority (publicly), in spite of not really agreeing with them (privately). †¢This is seen in Asch’s line experiment. †¢Publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group and also agreeing with them privately. †¢This is seen in Sherif’s autokinetic experiment. Ingratiational ConformityIdentification †¢Where a person conforms to impress or gain favor/acceptance from other people. †¢It is similar to normative influence but is motivated by the need for social rewards rather than the threat of rejection, i.e., group pressure does not enter the decision to conform.†¢Conforming to the expectations of a social role. †¢Similar to compliance, there does not have to be a change in private opinion. †¢A good example is Zimbardo’s Prison Study. Source: Mann, L (1969). Social Psychology. New York: Wiley. Sherif, M. (1935). A study of some social factors in perception. Archives of Psychology, 27(187) . However, perhaps the most famous conformity experiment was by Solomon Asch (1951) and his line judgment experiment. Solomon Asch’ Paradigm/Experiment The Asch experiment or paradigm It is closely related to the Stanford prison and Miligan experiment, in that it tries to show how perfectly normal human beings can be pressurized into unusual behaviour by authority figures, or by the consensus of opinions around them. The Asch paradigm was a series of laboratory studies published in the 1950s that demonstrated a surprising degree of conformity to a majority opinion. Solomon Asch attributed his research on group conformity based on an experiment he had as a child while growing up in Poland. It was Passover and he stayed up late to participate, his grandmother set out an extra glass of wine on the table and when he asked who the wine was for, his uncle answered him that it was for the prophet Elijah. Asch was â€Å"filled with the sense of suggestion and expectation† and believed that he even saw the level of the wine slightly decrease. At the beginning of the Second World War (WWII), Asch began studying the effects of propaganda and indoctrination at Brooklyn College. According to the Encarta dictionaries, propaganda means â€Å"misleading publicity: deceptive or distorted information that is systematically spread†. Indoctrination on the other hand is simply â€Å"to cause to believe something: to teach somebody a belief, doctrine or ideology thoroughly and systematically, especially with the goal of discouraging independent thought or the acceptance of other opinions† Social Pressure and Perception In 1951 social psychologist Solomon Asch devised this experiment to examine the extent to which pressure from other people could affect one’s perceptions. In total, about one third of the subjects who were placed in this situation went along with the clearly erroneous majority. Asch showed bars like those in the Figure to college students in groups of 8 to 10. He told them he was studying visual perception and that their task was to decide which of the bars on the right was the same length as the one on the left. As you can see, the task is simple, and the correct answer is obvious. Asch asked the students to give their answers aloud. He repeated the procedure with 18 sets of bars. Only one student in each group was a real subject. All the others were confederates who had been instructed to give two correct answers and then to some incorrect answers on the remaining ‘staged’ trials. Asch arranged for the real subject to be the next-to-the-last person in each group to announce his answer so that he would hear most of the confederates incorrect responses before giving his own. Would he go along with the crowd? Solomon Asch far right – real subject – third from right. To Asch’s surprise, 37 of the 50 subjects conformed themselves to the ‘obviously erroneous’ answers given by the other group members at least once, and 14 of them conformed on more than 6 of the ‘staged’ trials. When  faced with a unanimous wrong answer by the other group members, the mean subject conformed on 4 of the ‘staged’ trials. Asch was disturbed by these results: â€Å"The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that guide our conduct.† Real subject leans forward to get a better view of the lines being displayed. This particular individual insisted that â€Å"he has to call them as he sees them† and disagreed with the consensus over each of ‘staged’ trials. Why did the subjects conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought â€Å"peculiar.† A few of them said that they really did believe the group’s answers were correct. Asch conducted a revised version of his experiment to find out whether the subjects truly did not believe their incorrect answers. When they were permitted to write down their answers after hearing the answers of others, their level of conformity declined to about one third what it had been in the original experiment. Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to be liked by the group and because they believe the group is better informed than they are. Suppose you go to a fancy dinner party and notice to your dismay that there are four forks beside your plate. When the first course arrives, you are not sure which fork to use. If you are like most people, you look around and use the fork everyone else is using. You do this because you want to be accepted by the group and because you assume the others know more about table etiquette than you do. Conformity, group size, and cohesiveness Asch found that one of the situational factors that influence conformity is the size of the opposing majority. In a series of studies he varied the number of confederates who gave incorrect answers from 1 to 15. The subjects’ responses varied with the level of ‘majority opinion’ they were faced with. He found that the subjects conformed to a group of 3 or 4 as  readily as they did to a larger group. However, the subjects conformed much less if they had an â€Å"ally† In some of his experiments, Asch instructed one of the confederates to give correct answers. In the presence of this nonconformist, the real subjects conformed only one fourth as much as they did in the original experiment. There were several reasons: First, the real subject observed that the majority did not ridicule the dissenter for his answers. Second, the dissenter’s answers made the subject more certain that the majority was wrong. Third, the real subject now experienced social pressure from the dissenter as well as from the majority. Many of the real subjects later reported that they wanted to be like their nonconformist partner (the similarity principle again). Apparently, it is difficult to be a minority of one but not so difficult to be part of a minority of two. Some of the subjects indicated afterward that they assumed the rest of the people were correct and that their own perceptions were wrong. Others knew they were correct but didn’t want to be different from the rest of the group. Some even insisted they saw the line lengths as the majority claimed to see them. Asch concluded that it is difficult to maintain that you see something when no one else does. The group pressure implied by the expressed opinion of other people can lead to modification and distortions effectively making you see almost anything. Conclusion and Comparison Public conformity vs. social influence The Asch conformity experiments are often interpreted as evidence for the power of conformity and normative social influence. That is, the willingness to conform publicly in order to attain social reward and avoid social punishment. Others have argued that it is rational to use other people’s judgments as evidence. Along the lines of the latter perspective, the Asch conformity experiments are cited as evidence for the self-categorization theory account of social influence. From that perspective the Asch results are interpreted as an outcome of depersonalization processes whereby the participants expect to hold the same opinions as similar others. Social comparison theory The conformity demonstrated in Asch experiments is problematic for social  comparison theory, which predicts that social reality testing, or informational influence, will arise when physical reality testing yields uncertainty. The Asch conformity experiments demonstrated that uncertainty can arise as an outcome of social reality testing. Relatedly, this inconsistency has been used to support the position that the theoretical distinction between social reality testing and physical reality testing is untenable. REFERENCES 1.^ Hogg, M. A.; Vaughan, G. M. (2005). Social psychology. Harlow: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 2.^ McLeod, S (November 2011). â€Å"Conformity†. Simply psychology. 3.^ Aronson, E; Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M. (2007). Social Psychology (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-233487-7. 4.^ Hogg, M. A.; Vaughan, G. M. (2005). Social psychology. Harlow: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 5.^ Baron, R. S.; Vandello, J. A. & Brunsman, B. 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