Designing a plan for collaboration Research Proposal

Designing a plan for collaboration - Research Proposal Example This demographic data is vital to the proposed collaborative plan as social status and lifestyle characteristics will impact the level of community involvement in the proposed collaborative program development and implementation. Reno maintains considerable volumes of city services designed to facilitate a higher quality of living for its citizens and improve the development capacity of the city. Some of these services related to community function include recreation facilities, the Neil Road Recreation Center, Summer Discovery Youth Camps, and the Community Assistance Center offering shelter and counseling facilities for disadvantaged or at risk citizens (reno.gov). These services are supported by the City Council, the Civil Service Commission, and the Recreation and Parks Commission (reno.gov). Coupled with the high presence of community-minded services is the Neighborhood Advisory Board designed to act as a forum for citizens to lodge complaints or propose suggestions on improving lifestyle in Reno (reno.gov). Active involvement of citizens in improvement objectives are welcomed and required in order for the collaborative program to find ultimate success. High instances of school violence and gang presence in Reno have created considerable community-level problems and impact the city budget significantly. It is proposed for Reno city officials to collaborate with the Washoe County School District, an organization that maintains a very low drop-out ratio in grades 9-12 that is far below the national average (education.com, 2008). Coupled with collaboration between the Regional Gang Unit, affiliated non-profits, and direct community involvement, a plan has been developed to prevent school violence and provide services to reduce gang presence in Reno. There are currently no services in place to provide this support for school and gang-related delinquency and this impacts budget and community lifestyle due to its neglect

Soap Operas Essay Example for Free

Soap Operas Essay Soap operas use issues from everyday lives to attract an audience. In this study I will be researching the issues and topics from which soap operas create storylines, for example marriage, divorce, death and teen pregnancy. I will look at the way different soaps look at these issues from various perspectives because the hypothesis is that the soap Coronation street will tackle issues in a more older perspective but the soap Hollyoaks will tackle issues in a younger view. Audiences have many reasons why they watch soap operas. Escapism is a big reason; people choose to watch soaps to look lives other than their own. It helps viewers to see that their lives may not be as bad as the characters on television. In addition, sometimes people need to fantasise about the good things in life, and it gives them hope that it might happen to them. Soap operas also make audiences feel happy and enjoy the storylines, they get involved in whats happening, so they watch more and more. Every soap opera needs an audience: without an audience there would be no need for soap operas, so their job is to make sure they keep their audience interested. Soap Operas have to keep them interested by writing storylines on everyday issues, similar to those which audiences have to deal with in their own lives. These issues help people to consider what to do if they need to deal with them. Soaps look at these issues differently, in different ways, in different environments, and with different ages, in order to react to reach their target audience. Looking at Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, both have completely different settings and characters. Coronation Streets is the longest running television soap opera. The first episode was released in 1965, 40 years ago. It is set in Manchester, Weatherfield in fictional industrial town, it has a middle and lower class setting for that particular audience. It is aimed at middle and lower class people because that is the biggest population in that area, as upper class are just a minority group. The programme is broadcast at either 19. 30 or 20. 30, 5 times a week. This is when families get home from work and sit down and relax in front of the television together. But the target audience are more late teens to old pensioners. So with this type of audience issues need to cover different ages, to interest different generations; children, teenagers, parents, and grandparents, but also both genders and Coronation Street try to cover this. On the other hand Hollyoaks is set in Chester; it was first begun in 1995. It is broadcast at 18. 30 5 days a week and with an omnibus on Sunday at 9. 15. This is called the Hangover Zone, the morning after a Saturday night, most people that occur in this zone tend to be 18- 30 years old so again the issues need to cover for this range of audience. The Omnibus is significant because teenagers and older people may miss the episodes in the week as it is at 6. 30 when people are still at work. The soap is at 18. 30, this is a time when older people are still at work or travelling home so the soap needs to tackle issues very differently because it looks at young teens young adults rather than the older generation. However some people do not consider the show to be a serious drama when compared with the bigger soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street, partly due to its reputation for hiring numerous attractive, blonde, ratings-grabbing actresses. The settings of both soaps are very different too. Coronation Street is set in a traditional street with a corner shop, a pub, a very local neighbourly place where everyone knows everyone and their business this is where all the conflict comes in, and the audience become familiar with the characters. Whereas Hollyoaks, Chester is a bigger setting of a village not just a street. It includes a pub, a shop, a nightclub, a school and most important a university. The characters are mostly young and beautiful, so there is many two faced people, where most of the conflict happens. Looking at different characters from both soaps, you see how different some characters are and some similarities there are. Two characters a have been looking at are coronation streets Sally Webster and Hollyoaks new character Kathy Barnes. Both characters are mothers of two teenage girls, and push their girls into doing things that they want, not what their daughters want. Sally Webster is a very pushy person who always wants things to go her way. A big story line recently is between her and her14 year old daughter Rosie. After finding out her daughter was sleeping with boyfriend Craig Harris, Sally forces Rosie to take the morning after pill, she also insists that Rosie and Craig split up. Being teenagers, they disobey and continue to stay together without Sally or husband Kevin Webster knowing. This storyline is very dramatic and covers an issue which concerns a lot of parents today. As an audience you see different views of the parents and the children and it shows a way of dealing with this kind of issue, or not choosing this way of dealing with the issue in the way characters have. Both Sally and Kathy have similar roles being parents of two girls and wanting the best for them. Kathys recent storyline in Hollyoaks has shown similar way of wanting the best for her children. She has recently been pushing her daughter into training extremely hard at swimming. Daughter Sarah loves her swimming but her mum has been making her hobby into something she doesnt want to do. This storyline may show people that pushing your child hard into doing something can push them away from you. This shows that even though both soaps are very different they still have similar storylines and characters. This is because of the audience, even though the audiences are slightly different they both use these storylines towards the younger audiences and both soaps deal with everyday issues and both have shown this. Another two characters I have been looking at are soap star Leanne Battersby and Mandy Hutchinson. Both characters are a similar age but live two very different lives. Leanne is a troublesome girl. Ever since she was a teenager she was mouthy and still hasnt changed. She has been married but that ended and she has also been in the wrong crowds, fleeing coronation street but returning in 2004. She then got into a relationship with newcomer Jamie Baldwin but later started sleeping with his father Danny behind his back. After him finding out and leaving Leanne she is now in a relationship with Danny Baldwin and trying to still be devious and ruin peoples lives. Comparing Leanne to Hollyoaks character Mandy Hutchinson, we can see that she is quite the opposite. Mandy is wife to Tony and mother to Antonia. Mandy owns the nightclub The Loft and with her degree in business studies from HCC, she and Tony own a lot of businesses in Hollyoaks. In the past, Mandy has been with many different guys and with the loss of her father, brother, mother and step father, she became quite alone but with the help of her husband Tony she is now back on her feet with her own new family. Even though both characters are the same age they lead very different live. Audiences see both soaps very differently in the different actors for both soaps. Some people do not consider Hollyoaks to be a serious drama when compared with the bigger soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street, partly due to its reputation for hiring numerous attractive, blonde, ratings-grabbing actresses.

Corporate Social Responsibility Environmental Disclosures Philosophy Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility Environmental Disclosures Philosophy Essay In many nations debates over current global issues such as climate change and poverty are sites of educational, social and political conflict. This paper explores the academic attempt made by Human Development (HD) model, to address Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) environmental disclosures in annual reports. Also this essay seeks to examine the impact of the notion of social contract and legitimacy upon corporate responsibility and Environmental Disclosure Policies. Discussion then shifts to an ecocentric critic on Marx and an ecofeminism critic on Frankfurt school on ecological crisis. As a way forward, an ecocentric outlook is introduced. The paper ends with conclusion. Introduction There is a growing understanding that the current crisis we face is both ecological and social furthermore the global challenges of poverty, that are foreseen to grow in many ways through Climate Change demand constructive, innovative and forward looking approaches between development sectors (World Bank, 2003). In recent years, there has been a proliferation of corporate social and environmental disclosures in business practice (Coles and Murphy, 1999). This study goes further than accepting the achievements in voluntary environmental disclosures in (CSR) annual reports, into actual commitment by the industrialized world in tackling environmental degradation. It critically evaluates the impact of mainstream notion of social contract and legitimacy in (HD) literature upon corporate responsibility disclosure policies theoretical arguments a way forward, an ecocentric perspective is introduced, one that draws leading an ecologically informed philosophy of internal relatedness to narro w the gap between (CSR) environmental disclosures and actual commitment to environmental protection. Description of a New Sustainability view Ever since the Bruntland Commission introduced the concept of Sustainable Development in its seminal report, Our Common Future, (UN, 1987). Governments and their development partners at the national, regional and international level have struggled to operationalize the concept of sustainability in development policies, programs and plans (World Bank, 2003). Part of the reason for this struggle is because sustainability is a highly complex concept that over time has come to mean different things to different people (Pepper, 1996). Sustainability actually describes several different approaches as well these approaches carry with them different visions of society and different political commitments to action (Pepper, 1996). Although, the sustainability defining roots come largely from environmental-economic fields (Constanza et al, 1992) the concept of Sustainable Development incorporated other aspects questioning justice, poverty, inequality, and peoples aspiration for a better life, only to mention a few (Naess, 1990). As a result, cultural, technological, ethical ambits have been most recently introduced in various innovative ways to better picture a multidimensional and integrated perception of the sustainability notion in an attempt to achieve progressively, what has called; a public relation response between business sectors and environmental organizations (Coles and Murphy, 1999). Like many critical theorists, we are strengthening corporate responsibility as fact that must be taken into account when talking of people and their environment, not only on the things that affect them but also on things on which they have an effect (Naess, 1999). Under this idea, sustainability has been recently define d in Human Development model with rather different and new terms and further characterizations demonstrating levels of interaction between business sectors and nature originating thoughts from many authors; such as Coles and Murphy, 1999), who has for instance defined it as: a proactive environmental management. CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in (HD) has emerged largely since the 1950s, but its origins in the UK can be traced back to nineteenth century and early twentieth century philanthropists, many of whom left a lasting legacy; for instance, William Cadbury, who became a leading philanthropist as a result of successful business endeavors at the turn of the twentieth century (the William Cadbury Trust). Since then Businesses sectors has been engage in (CSR) for diverse reasons, driven by economic, ethical and other considerations. The conception of (CSR) is closely related to the conception of the social accountability in Human Development (Coles and Murphy, 1999). It is evident in this post-modern world that the business (CSR) annual reports have moved away from narrow financial disclosures to the disclosure of a number of broader social issues for a larger audience on a voluntary basis ranging from information about employees, political and charitable donations, environment pollution, social audit and other social information (Coles and Murphy, 1999). Perhaps this is one of the attempts to building what literature now describes as social accountability in Human Development (Coles and Murphy, 1999). The (CSR) annual reports are already advancing future concern for peoples ´ welfare foreseen as a long run problematic issue, but certainly is not yet questioning environmental havoc as one key aspect to analyse within. Most recently though, UNDP ´s Human Development notion began to question the fact that yet through elaborated definition and examination (CSR) is not really focusing enough on people and environment. Defining CSR eco-social unsustainability Defining current patterns of (CSR) and corporations as eco-social unsustainability is one way of making transparent human-nature connections (Williams, 1980). One needs to question the reasons for a sudden increase in these broader disclosures. Some may argue that such procedures on the part of the preparers of corporate annual reports may be nothing but a giant public relations campaign. From a more critical perspective the above may be seen as celebrations by environmentalists and researchers in sustainability. As Coles and Marphy, (1999) point out (CSR) Annual report of corporations these days are filled with information that celebrate successful social accountability actions but negative consequences of their actions such as externalities from pollution as costs to the society are never highlighted, thereby silencing injustices. The difference between voluntary environmental disclosure practices and the actual tackling or commitments to environmental performance of corporations cannot go unaddressed for long. A study by Perlo-Freeman in Nigeria (2002) reports a significant negative relation between sustainable development performance and Shell (CSR) annual reports. The findings support the argument that companies with worst environmental performance records (highest levels of toxic releases) provide most extensive environmental disclosure. Given the widespread variation in social and environmental disclosure, it is not surprising that a number of narrow, human-centred overlapping theories of such disclosure have evolved (for example, social contract, legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and progressive market) (Pepper, 1996). We argue that a (CSR) approach thorough ecocentric theory on environmental issues is capable of providing a more comprehensive theoretical framework to the (HD) current ecological cris is. A Critique of Social Accountability Mainstream Theoretical Arguments Mainstream theoretical arguments for environmental in (CSR) comprise the Social Contract Theory approach and Legitimacy Theory. Social Contract Theory approach is the base of managerialist school of thought in addiction Social Contract Theory hypothesizes that the foundation stone of morality are uniform social accords that best serve the interests of those who make the agreements. Legitimacy Theory is closely related to the conception of the social contract. The theory posits that businesses are bound by the social contract in which the firms agree to perform various socially desired actions in return for approval of its objectives and other rewards, and this ultimately guarantees its continued existence (Guthrie and Parker, 1989). Legitimacy theory is essentially a systems-oriented theory, i.e. organisations are viewed as components of the larger social environment within which it exists (Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975). As this paper demonstrates these approaches favour an anthropocent ric (CSR) stance and concur with the arguments of the critical school in relation to the limitations of such approaches. Critique of Social Contract Theory approach Firstly, it is evident that the traditional (CSR) model, although dependent upon a range of conventions, has restricted itself to a dominant principle: value of goods and services also non human perception (Ormerod, 1994). This attitude is in line with the concepts of objectivity and profit that enhance shareholders and creditors welfare. They are seen as the primary users in the managerialist model, their needs are known (wealth maximisation), and are paramount, and the needs of other users are secondary. This observation, from an ecocentric (CSR) environmental perspective, ignores the information of the environment impact furthermore is just an ideological cloak to protect corporations. With this line of argument, (CSR) under the managerialist approach becomes important only if it affects the survival and continuity of an enterprise. Critique of Legitimacy theoretical arguments Legitimacy Theory is closely related to the conception of the social contract. The theory posits that businesses are bound by the social contract in which the firms agree to perform various socially desired actions in return for approval of its objectives and other rewards, and this ultimately guarantees its continued existence (Guthrie and Parker, 1989). This theoretical arguments for environmental (CSR) are ineffective according to the eco-socialists school (Pepper, 1996), largely due to the fact that social responsibility and profitability are at odds as a result of the neoclassical economics foundation on which the social accountability model is based. In spite of severe criticisms, legitimacy theorists defends their thought by questioning whether progress could be made under the critical approach by think that is possible to somehow reconcile the destructive tendencies in neoclassical, capitalist economics with radical sustainable development (Pepper, 1996). They state that while it is acknowledged that present practices (CSR) are far from perfect, one must work within the system and slowly refine it to be reflective of social and environmental issues rather than completely accepting or completely rejecting current systems which have been widely accepted for centuries as a decision useful tool in (HD) paradigm (Pepper 1996). Ecophilosophical point of view of Social Accountability From an ecophilosophical (HD) point of view, the most fundamental division in eco-social theory is between those who adopt an anthropocentric perspective and those who adopt a nonanthropocentric (ecocentric) perspective (Pepper, 1996). The distinction could be best understood as representing a spectrum of thought rather than separate and distinct positions. The first approach focuses on human freeing and fulfillment in an ecologically sustainable society, while the second examines the notion of emancipation in a broader context emancipation that also recognises the moral standing of the nonhuman world (Dobson, 1990). We are of the view that an ecocentric philosophical orientation provides the most comprehensive, promising and distinctive framework to study todays environmental problems. This is not to claim that ecocentrism would solve all our environmental social responsibility problems. Instead, emphasis is on providing sufficient details of an alternative model that could improve the present practice of (CSR) for the environment and provide a basis for a sustainable future in Human Development. An Ecocentric Critique of Marxism In this section we present an ecocentric challenge to Marxism and the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. A complete overview of these works remains beyond the scope of this paper, and only key ideas/issues in ecological context have been considered. Pepper (1996) argues that literature is far from clear about the extent to which Marxian analysis can be said to be compatible with or at conflict with environmentalism. Marx focused on capital, labour, surplus value, class conflicts and so on, and this placed him closer to liberal economics than to environmentalism (Pepper 1996). As for Marx, environmental problems, like social problems are traced directly to the exploitative dynamics of capitalism and solution to such problems require revolutionary transformation of the relations of production (Pepper, 1996). Marx was only marginally concerned with environmental degradation with no systematic theory of humanitys relationship to nature. The dominant sense in which Marx characterised nature was as a medium for human labour (Mellor, 1992). The above arguments seek to demonstrate that an ecocentric perspective on environment cannot be wrested out of Marxism without seriously distorting Marxs own theoretical concepts. Social Ecofeminism Critique of Frankfurt School The critical theory of the Frankfurt School is not a single doctrine or a unified worldview. Sharp differences have existed for long time among critical theorists at the Frankfurt School, as evidenced by the increasingly heterogeneous nature of their works. The first generation of Frankfurt theorists focused on different levels and dimensions of domination and exploitation through critique of instrumental reason, which also included critical examination of the relationship between humanity and nature (Mellor, 1992). First, early Frankfurt Schools critical discourse was pessimistic in outlook towards nature romanticism and was increasingly preoccupied with theory instead of practice. Secondly, a more fundamental explanation lies in the way critical theory developed in the hands of Habermas, who has, by and large, focused on social and political rather than personal aspects, thereby marginalizing green movement (Warren, 1990). Critical scholars in corporate responsibility have drawn up on Marxist and Habermasian themes to think and act about environmental (HD) pathways. Yet to date, critical theory has not had a major direct bearing in shaping the theory and practice of the green movement, except in indirect ways (Pepper, 1996). An Ecocentrism Critique of Frankfurt School There are two other problematic aspects of Frankfurt Schools theses that deserve attention. One is that it separates and privileges good life for humans concerning the emancipation of nonhuman world. And the other is the claim that we know nature, through science and technology ignore the reality of biological and ecological (Mellor, 1992) only insofar as we can control it, thus legitimising continued exploitation of the nonhuman world. In this way Frankfurt Schools endorses rather than challenges dominant anthropocentric prejudices towards the nonhuman world. As Eckersley (1992) argued that according to Habermas schema, a norm is considered right if it is achieved via a consensus reached between truthful and rational human agents. Thus the principal objection to Habermas social and political theory has been that it is human-centred, insisting that the emancipation of human relations need not depend upon the emancipation of nature. Alternative Ecocentric Arguments for (CSR) Environment There is no intention on our part to offer a detailed proposal on what an ecocentric corporate responsibility might look like as this will amount to putting the cart before the horse. Instead, we argue in support of a broad, thoroughgoing framework, sensitive to both human and nonhuman world, and one that seeks emancipation which will provide a better and more meaningful theoretical basis for environmental (CSR) and related environmental disclosures. Anthropocentricism and ecocentricism represent two opposing poles on a continuum, with different orientations towards nature, and major streams of modern environmentalism fall between these poles. It is argued that this classification enables an evaluation with regard to the kind and degree of anthropocentricism or ecocentricism that is manifest in green political discourses. Eckersley (1992) discusses at least four positions (resource conservation, human welfare ecology, preservationism, animal liberation and ecocentricism) on the continuum, moving from an economistic and instrumental environmental ethic towards a comprehensive and holistic environmental ethic (Pepper, 1996). The latter conforms to key ecocentric beliefs that recognise human and non-human interests, present and future within a more encompassing framework for human development. Ecocentrism draws upon an ecologically informed philosophy of internal relatedness that advocates that all organisms are not only interrelated with their environment, but also constituted by those environmental interrelationships. Ontologically, under this perspective, the world is an intrinsically dynamic, interconnected web of relations in which there is no absolutely discrete entities and no absolute dividing lines between the living and the nonliving, the animate and the inanimate or the human and the nonhuman (Eckersley, 1992). Ecocentric theorists emphasise on the absence of any rigid and absolute dividing line between humans and nonhumans to point out the logical inconsistency in anthropocentric models that justify exclusive moral considerations of humans and their superiority (for example, language skills, reasoning skills and technological skills). Some may argue that there are countless things that nonhumans do better (see for example, Fox, 1990) and to single out special attributes of human simply tantamount to human prejudice. To criticise ecocentric orientations as anti-science, ecocentric theorists have pointed out how new scientific discoveries have served to challenge long standing anthropocentric prejudices (Eckersley, 1992), and further argue that the philosophical premises of ecocentrism are actually more consistent with modern science than the premises of anthropocentrism. The concept of internal relatedness upon which ecocentrism stands, equally applies to relations among humans, in a biological, psychological, and social sense. In other words, we are all constituted by our interrelationships between other humans, and our economic, political and cultural affiliations (Eckersley, 1992). Since birth, humans are constituted by, and co evolves within the context of such relations and cannot be separated from them. Based on this social interactionist model, which is not new in social sciences, humans are neither completely passive and determined nor completely autonomous and self-determining, rather, are relatively autonomous beings, who by their knowledge, thought and action help constitute the very relations that determine who they are ( Anderson, 1996). Further, it needs to be pointed out that ecocentric theorists are not against the central value of autonomy as depicted in Western (CSR) political thought; they are concerned with the revision of the notion to incorporate into it, a broader ecological framework a framework that incorporates individuals and social aspects in a more encompassing way. Eckersley (1992) argues that while the liberal idea of autonomy as independence from others can be seen as philosophically misguided, socialists tend to adopt a more relational model of self, but both are deeply embedded in anthropocentrism. The ecocentric reformulation of autonomy at no stage implies that the boundary between the self and others is removed, it rather seeks to emphasise the soft and flexible nature of line between them. Ecocentric foundation requires psychological maturity and involves a sensitive mediation between ones individual self and the larger whole with a view to having a sense of competent agency in the world (Ec kersley, 1992). On the contrary, the quest of radical independence from others or power over others leads to an objectification of others, and a denial of their own modes of relative autonomy or subjectivity. What is new and adds strength to an ecocentric perspective is that it extends the notion of autonomy to a broader and more encompassing pattern of layered interrelationships that extend beyond personal and societal relations to include relations with the rest of the biotic community (Pepper, 1996). In this way the nonhuman world is not posited in the background but recognised as having their relative autonomy and their own modes of being. Zimmerman (1988) made this comment: the paradigm of internal relations lets us view ourselves as manifestations of a complex universe; we are not apart but are moments in the open-ended, novelty-producing process of cosmic evolution. Some critiques are cynical of ecocentrism, as it interprets nature selectively, something that is essentially h armonious, kindly and benign, providing and all too convenient framework for human relations (Eckersley, 1992). But there is no need to depict the nature as such, and to judge the nonhuman world by human standards, we will invariably find it wanting, for nonhuman nature knows no human ethics, it simply is (Livingston, 1981, Eckersley, 1992). Conclusion While voluntary environmental disclosures in corporate annual reports throughout the world are on rise, we have argued that these disclosures do not provide sufficient grounds for celebrations. One needs to go deeper and examine the silences in those successful stories in order to understand better the motives for such disclosures and more so, the extent to which corporations are actually tackling the environmental problems. It is the actual commitment to environmental performance that matters the most, for (HD) and (CSR) disclosure of such information will fall into its appropriate place when the former is taken care of. In seeking emancipation an existential attitude of mutuality needs to be adopted simply because ones personal fulfillment is inextricably tied up with that of others. The gap between voluntary environmental disclosures in corporate annual reports and lack of firm decisive actions to protect environmental by the industralised world will continue, as long as environme ntal philosophical enquiry favours human interests over the interests of the nonhuman world. Theoretical contexts: Anderson, E.N. (1996) The disenchanted: religion as ecological control, and its modern fate and A summary, and some suggestions. Extracts from Ecologies of the heart, pp. 161-179. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 19 509010 1 Birch, C and Cobb, B. Jr. (1981) The liberation of life: from the cell to the community, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Coles, D. and Murphy, K. (1999) Social accountability: a new approach to business.Extract from Sustainable Development International, pp. 17-20. ISSN 1 466 4739 Costanza,et al (1992) Goals, agenda and policy recommendations for ecological economics, in Costanza, R. (ed.) Ecological Economics: the science and management of sustainability, New York: Columbia University Press. Dobson, A. (1990) Green Political Thought, London: Unwin Hyman, second edition 1995. Dowling, J. and Pfeffer, J. (1975). Organizational Legitimacy: Social Values and Organizational Behaviour. Pacific Sociological Review. Vol. 18 (1). pp. 122-136. Eckersley, R. (1992) Environmentalism and political theory: towards an ecocentric approach, State University of New York Press, New York. Fox, W. (1990) Towards a transpersonal ecology: developing new foundations for environmentalism, Shambhala, Boston. Guthrie, J. Parker, L.D; (1990) Corporate Social Disclosure Practice : a Comparative International Analysis Advances in Public Interest Accounting, Vol. 3, pp. 159-175 Habermas, J. (1981) New social movements, Telos, Vol. 49, pp. 33 37. Livingston, J. (1981) The fallacy of wildlife conservation, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto. Mellor, M. (1992) Dilemmas of essentialism and materialism. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 3(2), 43-62. Naess, A. (1990) Sustainable development and deep ecology . Extract from Engel, J. R. and Engel, J. G. (eds) Ethics of Environment and Development, pp. 87-96. Belhaven Press. ISBN 1 85293 251 1 Ormerod, P. (1994) I see, said the blind man, Independent on Sunday, 13 March, 21, extract from The Death of Economics, London: Faber and Faber. Pepper, D. (1996) Radical materialism: changing the economic base. In Modern Environmentalism: An introduction, pp. 301-305. Routledge. ISBN 0 415 05745 0 Perlo-Freeman, S. (2002) Militarism and Sustainability. A paper for the Education for Sustainability conference, November. The World Bank (2003). Extract from The world development reporter 2003: Global problems and local concerns, pp. 162-173. Oxford University Press ISBN 0 8213 5150 8 Warren, K. (1990) The power and the promise of ecological feminism, Environmental Ethics, 12, 125-46. Williams, R. (1980) Ideas of nature. Extract from Problems in Materialism and Culture, pp. 67-85. Verso. ISBN 0 86091 028 8 Zimmerman, M. (1988) Quantum theory, intrinsic value, and panentheism, Environmental Ethics, 10, pp. 3 30.

Aluminium Heat Capacities

Aluminium Heat Capacities Aim The aim of the experiment was to determine the specific heat capacities, with uncertainties, of two different materials; for the purposes of this experiment, it was chosen to be aluminium Introduction Specific heat capacity is defined as the quantity of heat energy, which will raise the temperature of unit mass (1kg) of a substance by 1K. It is usually denoted by c and expressed in J/(kg.K). (Joule per kilogram Kelvin). So, what is the relationship between heat and temperature? It is usually expressed ΆQ = m c ΆT Heat energy = mass x specific heat capacity x temperature change, (c) being the specific heat capacity. The relationship will not happen if there is a phase change due to heat either being added or removed, does not change the temperature ΆQ to the change of temperature ΆT is given by: ΆQ = m c ΆT Where ΆQ = the change in heat energy. is the enthalpy, m = the mass c = specific heat capacity ΆT = the change of temperature. Unit: Jkg-1K-1. High specific capacities occur in substance that take a lot of heat energy and therefore have a long time to heat or cool down. The specific heat capacity of the sea is much greater than the land, so therefore more heat energy will be needed to heat it up by the same amount as the land. From the relationship: mass x specific thermal capacity x temperature / time = current (amps) x p.d. (volts) .The ratio temperature rise or time can be gotten from the graph slope of temperature which was plotted against time and this is how thermal capacity can be met. Hypothesis Can the chosen method of investigation produce a reliable value for the specific heat capacity of a metal block? Method Apparatus: Calibrated thermometer power pack, Stop clock, Voltmeter Leads, Balance (up to 1kg), Ammeter, Immersion heater Test metals Heat proof matt and lagging The immersion heater was connected to the power pack, which was set to 10V. The voltmeter and ammeter were set up so that they measured the potential difference and current going through the heater. Next the mass of the sample was recorded using the balance and the immersion heater was placed in the test sample, followed by the thermometer and an initial temperature reading. Simultaneously the power pack was turned on and the stop clock started, and the heater was left to run for two minutes prior to the first recording. Recordings were taken from the voltmeter and ammeter every minute for a total of 15 intervals. The collected data was gathered into a table with the following headings: Following this the data was used to produce a graph of energy against temperature difference, from which the specific heat capacity can be determined. Original mass: 987.8g x-axis Original temperature, T1: 20oC Y-axis Temperature, T2 Temperature change, T2-T1 Voltmeter, V Ammeter, A Time, s Energy, J 26 6 11.16 4.15 120 5557.68 27 7 11.18 4.12 180 8291.09 30 10 11.17 4.16 240 11152.13 33.5 13.5 11,16 4.15 300 13894.20 37 17 11.13 4.18 360 16748.42 40 20 11.13 4.19 420 19586.57 43 23 11.14 4.20 480 22458.24 46.5 26.5 11.13 4.22 540 25363.04 49.5 29.5 11.15 4.21 600 28164.90 52.5 32.5 11.15 4.21 660 30981.39 55.5 35.5 11.13 4.23 720 33897.53 58.5 38.5 11.12 4.23 780 36689.33 62 42 11.13 4.23 840 39547.12 64.5 44.5 11.12 4.24 900 42433.92 67.5 47.5 11.11 4.22 960 45008.83 70.5 50.5 11.11 4.24 1020 48048.53 Results Table 1: See graph 3 for a plot of Energy, Q against the temperature difference, T. From this graph the gradient will be determined and the specific heat capacity for the metal found. Gradient of graph 3: units: units: Specific heat capacity of the metal: units: units: Conclusion The hypothesis of Can the chosen method of investigation produce a reliable value for the specific heat capacity of a metal block? has been met ,more will be said and evaluated below. Evaluation   Ã‚   Accuracy can be improved by the method of conducting several iterations of the experiment to gather enough information to produce a mean value for the specific heat capacity. Furthermore, the temperature was recorded using a liquid in glass thermometer with an accuracy of +/- 0.5 this lead to percentage errors in the temperature readings ranging from 2.5%- from In order to reduce these errors future experiments will be carried out using more accurate thermometer.   

Social Security Essay -- Welfare Politics Essays

Social Security "On a daily basis senior citizens face a choice between buying food, paying the rent, or buying medicine. Senior citizens slice pills into halves because they can't afford their full prescriptions." (Federal News Service Sept. 2002) Social Security is what keeps many elderly and disabled Americans from being stricken by poverty. Without Social Security in our society 15.3 million elderly would have incomes below the poverty line, however after Social Security was added to the equation only 3.8 million elderly have incomes below poverty. Three-fourths of those elderly people who would have been poor without Social Security were removed from below the poverty line by Social Security. Nearly 90 percent of America's elderly are lifted from poverty by Social Security. Currently nearly 44 million Americans receive benefits under Social Security, making it one of the nation's largest anti-poverty programs existing today. Although many Americans are also not helped by Social Security and linger at the fringes of society because the money is not enough to live in America today, even with Social Security adjusting to inflation. Today, the average Social Security benefit is less than $10,000 a year, and for women the average benefit is closer to $9,000. For most seniors, especially those who live in high-cost areas such as my home state of New Jersey, that's barely enough to maintain even a basic standard of living. Unfortunately 11.9% of Americans who receive Social Security are still below poverty level. It's shocking that over ten-percent of a country of 281 million people can have that much of its citizens in poverty. (http://www.cbpp.org/4-8-99socsec.htm) However c... ...ll. The biggest part of privatization is letting the person decide how to invest their Social Security since it is given to them to be invested, rather than put in a private account after being taken from the person's paycheck as is the current government policy. Americans could then invest in stocks, corporate bonds, government bonds, money market funds, and annuities. The Republican Party then goes further to say there is less risk and makes many more Americans feel "safer". Although there are risks in everything we do. Bibliography  · http://www.cbpp.org/4-8-99socsec.htm  · Socialsecuritychoice.org  · The New York Times Company, October 10, 2002; New York Section: Section A, Page 30, Column 1  · U.S. Newswire Inc., October 8, 2002 Section: National Desk  · Federal News Service Inc., September 24, 2002 Section: Press Conference or Speech

The Evil Side of The Internet Essay -- Technology Internet Essays

The Evil Side of The Internet In my present employment at the moment, the usage of the Internet is not that important. The only times that I use the Internet is when I have to do a search for a research paper for school or in need of directions to a new location. I have always found the Internet to be a positive tool that helps with the spread of information in order to educate a large population. It is cheap and easily accessable by All. The internet was and is a new invention compared to the wheel and fire that has changed the way we view the world and has brought convenience to our finger tips. Information from across the world can be inter-changed within seconds that can help in the field of politics,medicine and personal relationships. However, there is a darker side to the internet. This side is one that I would like to focus on in my paper. This negative side of the internet is one that is being abused by regular folks everytime they copy articles and pictures and never give credit to the publisher or thei r actual authors. The dirty evil side of the internet has become a magnet for pedophiles and hate crime activists. The problem is that due to freedom of speech there is not much control that I know about in regards to items being posted on the internet. This device is so easily usable that even kids in middle and high school are posting web sites and chat lines in order to say what ever they like and send information to all corners of the world in a second, practically for free. There are some issues that have always concerned me in regards to the legal censorships over the internet that I would like to explore in my paper. The reason for my curiosity began a few weeks ago when my 8 year old cousin was playing on... ...t you can install which will block out certain sites and keywords. Those recommended by Newsweek Magazine were: Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny and Cybersitter. It is important to understand that Internet crimes should be dealt with just like real-world crimes. If you believe that your child or other children are being exploited or know of someone who is using child pornography in any way, notify the Police, the FBI or the local Customs Service Office. Many times there might even be an award awaiting you. Works Cited Nordland,Rod.,Bartholet,Jeffrey. "The Darkest Corner of the Internet." Newsweek. March 19,2001. 44-51 http://www.cyber-rights.org/reports/ http://www.ci.keene.nh.us./police/task_force.htm http://www.eff.org/pub/Groups/BCFE/limit2.html http://www.condemned.org/ http://missingkids.com/cybertip/ http://www.boylink.net/personal.html The Evil Side of The Internet Essay -- Technology Internet Essays The Evil Side of The Internet In my present employment at the moment, the usage of the Internet is not that important. The only times that I use the Internet is when I have to do a search for a research paper for school or in need of directions to a new location. I have always found the Internet to be a positive tool that helps with the spread of information in order to educate a large population. It is cheap and easily accessable by All. The internet was and is a new invention compared to the wheel and fire that has changed the way we view the world and has brought convenience to our finger tips. Information from across the world can be inter-changed within seconds that can help in the field of politics,medicine and personal relationships. However, there is a darker side to the internet. This side is one that I would like to focus on in my paper. This negative side of the internet is one that is being abused by regular folks everytime they copy articles and pictures and never give credit to the publisher or thei r actual authors. The dirty evil side of the internet has become a magnet for pedophiles and hate crime activists. The problem is that due to freedom of speech there is not much control that I know about in regards to items being posted on the internet. This device is so easily usable that even kids in middle and high school are posting web sites and chat lines in order to say what ever they like and send information to all corners of the world in a second, practically for free. There are some issues that have always concerned me in regards to the legal censorships over the internet that I would like to explore in my paper. The reason for my curiosity began a few weeks ago when my 8 year old cousin was playing on... ...t you can install which will block out certain sites and keywords. Those recommended by Newsweek Magazine were: Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny and Cybersitter. It is important to understand that Internet crimes should be dealt with just like real-world crimes. If you believe that your child or other children are being exploited or know of someone who is using child pornography in any way, notify the Police, the FBI or the local Customs Service Office. Many times there might even be an award awaiting you. Works Cited Nordland,Rod.,Bartholet,Jeffrey. "The Darkest Corner of the Internet." Newsweek. March 19,2001. 44-51 http://www.cyber-rights.org/reports/ http://www.ci.keene.nh.us./police/task_force.htm http://www.eff.org/pub/Groups/BCFE/limit2.html http://www.condemned.org/ http://missingkids.com/cybertip/ http://www.boylink.net/personal.html

Compare and contrast the characters Essay

Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Hardy’s iconic novel, centres around the eponymous tragic heroine, Tess. Yet the tragedies that befall her in the course of the novel would not have occurred without the two leading male characters whom Tess encounters. The first is Tess’s ‘cousin’, Alec D’Urberville, whom she first meets in Chapter Five when she comes â€Å"to claim kin†. Alec becomes infatuated with the sixteen-year-old Tess but after he is rebuffed several times, rapes her and leaves her pregnant with his child. The second of these characters is Angel Clare, a young man Tess is introduced to at Talbothays dairy farm where she works as a dairymaid at the age of twenty. Angel and Tess fall in love, but their romance is blighted by the shadow of Tess’s past. On first reading, Angel and Alec may seem to be very different, but further analysis may prove that these men are more similar than previously seen. Alexander D’Urberville is written to be the complete antithesis of Angel Clare. Alec is rich, powerful and lazy, everything that Angel despises about the â€Å"old families†. Even the names of the characters reflect their personalities. Alexander brings to mind great noblemen, such as Alexander the Great, but the fact that the diminutive, Alec, is almost always used, suggests that perhaps the man has not lived up to the name. His surname at least sounds impressive, and the fact that it contains some of the title of the book seems to bestow a degree of importance. However, as the reader finds out just before Alec is introduced, the D’Urberville family don’t actually have a claim to their name: it was an old ancestor who simply annexed the surname ‘D’Urberville’ in order to sound more genteel and more impressive. Thus, on meeting Alec D’Urberville for the first time, we see him straightaway as a fake, an imposter. Unlike with Alec, whose name precedes him and tells us about his nature before he even meets Tess, Angel Clare is introduced very early on in the book, in Chapter One, but as a nameless student. He joins in the country girls’ dance and partners everyone but Tess, who then stares reproachfully after him. During this encounter, we find out nothing about this young man except that he has not chosen a path like his brothers, yet when Angel is ‘officially’ introduced in Chapter Seventeen, the reader straightaway knows who he is before he even gives his name. ‘Angel’, an unusual choice of first name for a male, marks him out straightaway as a hero, a harbinger of good, the light to Alec’s dark. ‘Clare’, too, suggests light, brightness, clarity. However, does Hardy set up Angel as the perfect hero only to destroy this fai ade later on? Alec is preceded by his name as this brings an ominous shadow to his later dealings with Tess, but Angel is followed by his name. His nameless presence remains in both Tess’s and the reader’s mind until we see him again: he is marked out by his intelligence and his willingness to involve himself in country life, rather than his beautiful name. Hardy describes Alec’s appearance very vividly. His â€Å"red and smooth† lips bring the first hints of sexuality and eroticism to Tess’s life, while his â€Å"well-groomed black moustache with curled points† implies he pays a lot of attention to aesthetics and appearances, which is confirmed when he continually refers to Tess as â€Å"my Beauty† and gives her beauty as the reason for his passion for her, rather than her innate qualities. Hardy uses plosives when describing Alec for the first time (â€Å"lips†, â€Å"badly†, â€Å"points†) to emphasise â€Å"the singular force† and violent, aggressive nature of the character. The contrast Hardy makes between Alec’s full moustache and his relatively young age suggests that Alec is using his moustache as a smokescreen to disguise his lack of maturity and experience: his self-assured, superior manner helps him assert power over Tess, but he has had little experience in the area of love and affection and therefore is unsuccessful at winning Tess. He is worldly and superior in many aspects, but emotionally he is still immature. Hardy also makes reference to the â€Å"touches of barbarism† in Alec’s face. Throughout Phase the First, we see how Alec falls from his aristocratic status in his efforts to make Tess love him: he curses, swears, forces himself upon her, cries and begs, simply to try and make her feel for him. The barbaric aspects of his countenance also reflect the contrast between his higher social position and his base morals, showing an even greater difference between Angel’s idealised morality despite his lower class, and between Alec’s self-degradation and lack of self-control in spite of his higher status. An interesting point is that Hardy’s vivid description of Alec paints him very similarly to the Devil. At that time, as Hardy himself makes reference to in Chapter Fourteen, Christian children were taught â€Å"quaint and curious† ideas about religion, leading to common visual stereotypes such as that of Satan with his horns and moustache. Even the colours used, such as red and black, are reminiscent of the Devil, drawing a not-too-subtle contrast between this and Angel. Unlike Alec, who has been described so vividly that almost every reader pictures him in the same way, Angel is described in a vaguer manner. While some of Alec’s outward characteristics are linked to his behaviour, Hardy only really mentions them in passing, as the pace of the story is fairly quick here, as if Hardy is eager to get to Tess’s first interchange with Alec. At Chapter Eighteen, however, the pace has slowed considerably to make room for the new main character, and so most of this chapter is given over to describing Angel and his history. Angel’s description is linked more to his personality and behaviour, and this vagueness of description also emphasises how Angel is â€Å"nebulous, preoccupied, vague†¦ had no very definite aim or concern about his material future†. In contrast to the plosives used when describing Alec, a lot of sibilance is used in the paragraph describing Angel (â€Å"past†¦ distinct†¦ as†¦ appreciative voice†¦ fixed, abstracted eyes†¦ somewhat too small† and so on) which not only adds to the vague haziness surrounded his future prospects, or emphasises our and Tess’s knowledge of him as a memory only, but hints at a gentle, placid, soft nature in keeping with his namesake. However, there are signs that perhaps Angel’s nature is not as consistent as it seems: the juxtaposition of â€Å"fixed† and â€Å"abstracted† as well as the description of his mouth as both â€Å"delicate† and â€Å"firm† suggest contradiction, if not hypocrisy, in his nature. The masculinity of both characters comes under question: while Alec’s apparent masculinity is undermined by his constant attention to aesthetics and his aversion to any form of manual work, Angel’s is enhanced by his apparent firmness, a trait valued in Victorian husbands and fathers at the time. The attitude to country folk and manual work is something that divides the two men significantly. Alec, as a gentleman, has never done a day’s work in his life. He has excessive free time to spend watching Tess attempting to whistle and looking after the birds. In fact, our first image of Alec is of him standing lazily at the gate smoking his cigar, while our first real image of Angel is when he is milking a cow. Additionally, Alec looks down on Tess’s social class. Although he sends the Durbeyfield family gifts, his motives are purely romantic, and he sees himself as a noble beneficiary, helping those lower than himself. His attitudes towards the country folk are shown perfectly when, in Chapter Ten, he addresses the group of country workers as â€Å"work-folk†, showing he considers them useful only for manual labour and of lower intelligence than himself. He defines them by what they do, rather than what they are. Angel, on the other hand, steps down from his initial family pathway due to his beliefs, and does not consider himself above the workers at Talbothays who are of a lower social standing than him. Hardy deliberately describes how Angel’s mindset and attitude change over time: at first, it is natural that Clare sees the new society in which he lives as â€Å"strange†, â€Å"undignified†, â€Å"retrogressive and unmeaning†, yet as he becomes part of the household, a change takes place. Suddenly he realises that each member of the dairy is just as uniquely human as he is, with their own memories and dreams, and this is what Alec fails to realise. The latter never treats Tess as anything close to his own intelligence, treating her like a child, while Angel learns to treat every man or woman as an equal, not an inferior. This is reflected in his change in sentiment towards where he lives: not only does he begin to â€Å"like the outdoor life for its own sake†, but he forms an attachment to the dairy and the people living and working there. Alec, however, scorns Tess when she becomes emotional at seeing the village where she was born, remarking unsympathetically that â€Å"we must all be born somewhere†. In keeping with Hardy’s Romantic leanings, Angel is portrayed as more feeling and more appreciative of his surroundings, which is exacerbated when he falls in love with Tess and starts to see her as a â€Å"daughter of Nature† rather than separate from his surroundings. In a story where something as simple as a name changes Tess’s life forever, it is fitting that both men’s attitudes and feelings towards Tess are shown perfectly through the names they use for her. As aforementioned, Alec focuses only on Tess’s appearance, continually calling her â€Å"my Beauty† or â€Å"my pretty†. When he uses her name, it is in the diminutive (â€Å"Tessy†), belittling her even more than he normally does. However when his mood towards her changes, as it so often does, his names for her change to â€Å"mere chit†, â€Å"Miss Independence† and â€Å"young witch†, simultaneously scorning and patronising her ‘disobedience’. Angel, on the other hand, calls Tess â€Å"Artemis, Demeter, and other fanciful names half-teasingly†. These names, stemming from classical mythology, show Angel to be more educated, imaginative and creative than Alec, and represent Tess as a beautiful embodiment of pure womankind, not just a pretty maid to be wooed. These names show how high a pedestal Angel has placed Tess upon, and how he associates her completely and fully with the natural world, as both these goddesses represent aspects of nature or hunting. It is important to note, though, that Tess implores him to use her real name, signifying that at this point, Angel does not know Tess for who she really is (or her full history) and therefore uses these names because of the idealised way in which he sees her. An interesting point is that both characters are required to ‘save’ Tess at some point, and that both characters take advantage of Tess’s vulnerability to fulfil their own romantic motives. At first, Alec appears to be Tess’s knight in shining armour, come to rescue her from the angry Car Darch, but he rides off into The Chase, unbeknownst to Tess, and uses the opportunity to rape her. Angel, on the other hand, carries all three of Tess’s friends and then Tess herself across the river, ostensibly to help them to get to church. Hardy emphasises the beauty and romance of this scene in contrast to the sinister tone of the scene in The Chase, reinforced by the fact that the events in the woods take place at the dead of night while the scene at the river is in broad daylight. Alec purposefully rides off in the wrong direction while Tess believes he is taking her home, and Angel actually tells Tess that he has â€Å"undergone three quarters of this labour entirely †¦ for the fourth quarter†. Both men use Tess’s predicament to be alone with her, but the key difference is that Alec goes ahead and forces himself upon the fragile and terrified Tess, while Angel remembers that â€Å"he was somewhat unfairly taking advantage of an accidental position; and he went no further with it. † Angel treats Tess with reverence and respect, while Alec believes he has a right to Tess’s maidenhood. Throughout the first part of the book, it is clear to see that Hardy makes very obvious differentiations between Alec and Angel. Both represent strong influences on Tess, even after they leave her life, but Alec corrupts and ruins her while Angel later on even takes the place of a deity in her eyes. However, both men are only human, and throughout the rest of the novel, Hardy goes on to show that despite their differences, both characters have an equally destructive impact on Tess’s life. Both offer to protect and love her, but in the end, both abandon her, believing themselves superior in intellect and character. It could be argued, therefore, that Hardy’s overall aim is not to show how dissimilar Angel and Alec are, but to show how neither of them truly cares for Tess when she needs them to, leading to her downfall.