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“Mariner’s Sin, Punishment, Redemption and His Penance”

â€Å"Mariner’s Sin, punishment, redemption and his penance† â€Å"If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us. But passion and party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives us is a lantern on the stern, which shines only on the waves behind us. †Ã‚  This is one of the famous quotes by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). In his one of the magnificent work, â€Å"The Rime of the ancient Mariner†, Coleridge has been able to prove his quote mentioned above. The decision made by the young and excited Mariner to kill the albatross helping them and the consequences which was faced by the entire sailing crew.Mariner, the main character not only was sorry for what he did, he also went through a series of transformation making him understand his sin. He then suffered all his life searching for redemption. Mariner was all around the places to redeem his sin. Not only he suffered attacks from his haunted past, he had to let everyone know about his deed just to feel relaxed. Mariner killed someone who helped the entire crew survive the icebergs they were in after the storm stroked them. The albatross who flew with the boat, was decided to be a help from the god himself, resulting in all the sailors trying to pet the bird.As all the crew possessed positive aura when the iceberg cracked and they again were in the open sea covered with fog. Something evil consumed mariner heart and he killed the bird with his crossbow. The entire member was cursing him for his deed at first, but when the fog started clearing out everybody was praising the Mariner. Entire crew who was turning away from Mariner for what he did was now agreeing on the sin committed. This now makes all the crew full of sin, which was not be in their favor. Soon their situation turned worse, the breeze stopped, and they were in the middle of the ocean without any movement.Without any water, â€Å"Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. † suddenly entire crew was begging for water. It’s a human nature to be happy and sad depending on the situation he puts himself in. When there are good things happening then they all forget about the harm it can cause. Coleridge proved the human nature on this poem. When the sin was committed, one tends to agree with it, until it has any negative effect. When god started wrath upon them, entire crew turned to Mariner to curse him again for what he did.In ones normal life, one always tries their best to blame someone for the sin they have helped in. God will always punish the one who have committed sin as like in the poem. As the entire crew was involved in the crime, soon they start to get punished. They start to see the wrath from the god in form of different unnatural ways in the grip of nature. The sun was getting really hot. â€Å"Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down†¦ † â€Å"All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody sun at noon. †Ã‚  Hot and dry, and without water the sailors were in dire need of help.Even putting the albatross’s cross around the mariner did not help anything. They could see the slimy and gross creature with legs making entire crew suspicious about their future. After the passing of the mysterious ghost ship, all the members start dying one by one. As if the sin committed by the mariner, was all the reason for the death. The Ancient Mariner is punished mentally by the spiritual world. The Mariner feels responsible for his crews suffering (along with the Mariners own suffering) as the penalty for killing the albatross.The Mariner is punished by being forced to watch his crew be released and knowing he must suffer further (he must suffer alone):  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The souls did from their bodies fly, They fled to bliss or woe! And every soul, it passed me by, Like the whizz of my cross-bow. † The Ancient Mariners physical and mental punishment continues and he becomes the living dead. The Mariner is force d to feel constant pain and has the constant urge to tell others (who he knows must hear his story) his story in order to momentarily relieve his pain: â€Å"That agony returns: And till my ghastly tale is told, this hurt within me burns. God plays in mysterious ways. Although Mariner is getting punished as his colleagues are dying one by one and all he can do is just look at them cursing him. To make mariner responsible for their misfortune they hung an albatross cross around the neck so that the mariner will see that every time and feel the pain and agony felt by the entire crew before dying. Mariner was getting punished also he possessed the guilt, but still god was testing him. Even in the worst situation ever faced by the mariner, god had a plan from which he could escape his guilt.The mariner's own sense of guilt is enhanced through the consequences he faces in the physical world, as a result of the powers of the metaphysical world. That is the powers of the spirits in the po em, allow for severe contrasts in the physical world, which in relation to the mariner's sense of guilt, are reflective of his own unsettled mind. â€Å".. More horrible than that†¦ I saw that curse, and yet I could not die. †He was in great pain. Soon the mariner was in a condition of a living dead person. He was alive, but for no good.Soon he realizes he needs help from the god, but the presence of the negative aura makes that impossible. â€Å"I looked to heaven, and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came, and made my heart as dry as dust† Soon that night when he again sees the slimy creatures, he finds those creatures to be really wonderful and a part of god’s creation. He then understands every creature in this world is equally loved by their creature i. e. god. After realizing that his necklace of albatross fell and he was able to pray to god. The selfsame moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell o ff, and sank Like lead into the sea. † With the help from god, he could hear the curious and knowledgeable voice; he has to do a lot of penance in the future. Waking up after he fainted, he found it was raining; slowly he regained consciousness, and finds that his curse has been lifted, his entire crew members were alive filled with good souls and it was making the boat to move. â€Å"Then like a pawing horse let go, she made a sudden bound; It flung the blood into my head, and I fell down in a swound. When he reached towards his home, he was approached by the pilot and his young crewmate, also accompanied by the hermit. The hermit might have been sent by the help of god for the information about the penance to be done by the mariner all his life. The boat on which mariner was lying started to get fall in the ocean like the albatross fell when it was shot. Amazingly mariner was still floating on the ocean. When they make back to the shore, Mariner immediately starts asing for redemption.As the mariner closely associates the hermit with religion, to act like a priest, upon seeing the man, the mariner believes it is he who will free him from sin. â€Å"It is the hermit good! / He singeth loud his godly hymns that he makes in the wood . He’ll shrieve my soul he’ll wash away the Albatross’ blood†. The mariner intends for the hermit to wash away the albatross’ blood, and thus, his, sins. The hermit does allow this to happen –  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh shrieve me, shrieve me holy man! The hermit crossed his brow. ‘Say quick’, quoth he, ‘I bid thee say — what manner of man art thou?   The mariner is gripped with a compulsion to tell his story to the hermit. This is how the hermit offers the mariner redemption. As soon as he tells the story to hermit he feels really good. He is then told to tell his story to people who need to hear his tale to get off the pain that persists until he tell the story.  "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner† teach us to love all the creation of the god. Submission to god is the only option for all people to enjoy their life. It is really foolish to take an instant decision and face the consequences for ever.Only people, who love God’s creation i. e. men, birds, and animal and everything created by god, can pray well and gain a place in heaven. The poem also encourages people to be faithful to god. Redemption and somewhat penance may be the only way for anyone to get rid of his sins. It is up to us to decide what action are sins and what are not. There will be objects and situation which will make it harder for one to decide, but correctly analyzing and choosing ones action is the only way not to do any sin, which is far better than to penance all over one’s life like the mariner in the poem.Citation: -Stillinger/Lynch. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. † The Norton anthology of English Literature. New York. 2006. Print -â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner†. Wikipedia. Ed. Web -Shmoop Editorial Team. â€Å"The Rime of Ancient Mariner†. Shmoop. com Shmoop University, Inc. , 11/4/2012. http://www. shmoop. com/rime-of-ancient-mariner/summary. html. – SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"The rime of the Ancient Mariner. † SparkNotes. com. SparkNotes LLC. 2006. http://www. sparknotes. com/poetry/coleridge/section1. rhtml

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Watching TV Makes You Smarter - Essay Example While Johnson makes several relevant points about the new TV shows, there is also missing information about the concept of TV allowing children and adults to be smarter. Even though TV may have new and different focal points, the mass media and popular culture is still focused on aspects of dumbing down society. Johnson’s main ideology is one based off the opinion of TV providing a smarter outlook through various programs; however, there is not significant information or definitions on intelligence and the effects that TV has. The main thesis of Johnson’s article is based on the concept of TV and programs which children and adults watch. Johnson believes that, despite the popular analysis of TV that states that programs lead to higher levels of violence and a lack of intelligence, TV is actually helping to provide children and adults with higher levels of intelligence. Johnson believes that this is coming from ideas of approaching difficult situations and questioning how to make right decisions that are attributed to TV. For instance, looking at perspectives of women who have to face an unwanted pregnancy, individuals who are placed in violent or compromising situations, are relevant to turning toward the correct moral decisions. Johnson states â€Å"There may indeed be more negative messages in the mediasphere today. But that’s not the only way to evaluate whether television shows or video games are having a positive impact. Just as important – is the kind of thinking you have to do † (Johnson, 3). The relation to this is based on morality as well as intelligence within the pop culture and TV. The concept of morality and thinking about issues then relates to intelligence that Johnson believes occurs on several levels. There are several statements about concepts such as newer technologies, intricate plot lines and the associations with

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Symbols of Great Religions and Eliade's Concepts - Term Paper Example As the report declares Eliade claimed that most of the rituals, mystical experiences and myths involve Coincidentia Oppositorummeaning a ‘coincidence that is opposite’. He refers to this concept as being the pattern of myths. Most of the myths according to Eliade bring out revelations that are twofold. This to him was an expression of the different positions of the opposition that was diametrical to the double divine figures coming up from the same destiny and principle. This happened after a reconciliation of different versions at eschatology illud tempus. The Coincidentia Oppositorum manifests itself in the divinity nature through benevolent, simultaneous, creative, terrible and serpentine ways. According to the research findings Eliade states that Yahweh can manifest himself both as being wrathful and kind. That is the mystical of Christian’s God as being gentle as well as terrible. He also went further to consider the mystic of the Chinese and the Indians as they both tried to have a state that had perfect neutrality and indifference leading to an opposing coincidence where pain and pleasure, repulsion and desire, heat and cold are taken away from God’s awareness. Eliade insists that the appeal of this concept is in the deep dissatisfaction of any man depending on his conditions and situations. According to most of the mythologies, the mythical age fall out led to a significant change in the ontological world structure. Now that Coincidentia Oppositorumentails contradictions, it stands out as a representation of laws of abolition of the world that is fallen. Sacred, Profane and Hierophany The scene where Moses had his shoes off before the ‘burning bushà ¢â‚¬â„¢ is the basis of this concept. Elaide in his writing, states that religion viewed in general rests bringing out a

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What is the best way to give charity in Kuwait Essay

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Constitution of Uk Essay Example for Free

Constitution of Uk Essay As Pryor mentioned, a Constitution â€Å"is a written document setting out a system of founding principles according to which a nation is constituted and governed, and, most particularly, by which is sovereign power is located† (Pryor, 2008, pp. 4). Therefore, constitutions limit the governments’ powers, protect people’s rights, and infer the legitimacy of the state. The constitution of Great Britain hasn’t been brought together into a single document like other commonwealth countries such as France – it is not written or codified. Britain’s constitution is made up of common laws, Parliament acts, and customs and traditions. But Britain does have some important constitutional documents from the Act of Parliament such as the Magna Carta (1215): â€Å"which aimed to protect citizens against arbitrary power and guaranteed the right to a fair trial and trial by jury† (Barnett Diamantides, 2007, p.33), and Bill of Rights (1689): â€Å"the Lords and Commons, previous to the coronation of King William and Queen Mary had framed a bill which contained a declaration of the rights which they claimed in behalf of the people, and was in consequence called the Bill of Rights† (Jean Louis de Lolme, 1853, pp. 50). Britain has no written constitution because â€Å"the country has been stable for too long. The governing elites of many European nations, such as France and Germany, have been forced to draw up constitutions in response to popular revolt or war† (Morris, 2008). In addition, since the current situation has been working well for a long time, why to change it? Besides, the constitution can be changed or adjusted by acts of Parliament, or by an agreement. Since it is flexible, effective amendments in laws can be easily made. A.V. Dicey explained that a flexible constitution is â€Å"one under which every law of every description can legally be changed with the same ease and in the same manner by one and the same body† (Dicey, 1885, pp.65). It is also very valid for Great Britain not to have a written constitution so not to limit the power of the executive branch – the main executive branch being the parliament. Without the laws of the country written in a formal document where people can check them, it is very difficult to know the limits of the government. Hence, an unwritten constitution preserves the parliament’s sovereignty. Moreover, without a written constitution, the parliament is able to inspect the ministers in favor of the public. Albert Venn Dicey, who was a law professor in London School of Economics and a constitutional scientist, said that it is actually advantageous for Britain not to have a written constitution. He mentions that the people’s rights and democracy have been long respected in the constitutional arrangements of Great Britain. He called it (the respect of people) as the ‘The Rule of Law’ which is â€Å"the security given under the English constitution to the rights of individuals looked at from various points of view† (Dicey, 1885, pp. 107). Dicey summarized this rule in three main points. According to Dicey in his book ‘The Law of the Constitution’, no man will be punished except if the law allows it. Secondly, every man, regardless of his status, is subject to the law (no person is above the law). Thirdly, people’s liberty and rights are respected, and consequently, there is no need for the Bill of Rights (Dicey, 1885, pp. 110-115). A country might have a constitution, but may not enjoy constitutionalism. According to Kuper and Kuper â€Å"Constitutionalism is a political condition in which the constitution functions as an effective and significant limit on government† (The Social Science Encyclopedia, 1996, pp. 134). For constitutionalism to occur the constitution must constrain the government; hence, any government that is constitutional can be referred to as â€Å"limited government† (The Social Science Encyclopedia, 1996, pp. 134). In many regions, such as the European Union, constitutionalism is maintained by the Court of Justice, or judicial reviews. According to Kuper and Kuper, these practices aren’t required in the British system because â€Å"the most important constitutional precepts are maintained and enforced more informally through well-established popular attitudes and the restraint of politicians† (The Social Science Encyclopedia, 1996, pp. 134). Furthermore, there are countries with a written constitution such as Middle-eastern countries, but don’t practice constitutionalism. It is the executive body that rules and sets the laws, and in addition, there is no limit to its power. Furthermore, an opposition party or a judiciary, those who make sure that constitutionalism is practiced, and maintain constitutional limits are actually â€Å"not independent of government, because they are controlled by social or economic interests aligned with the government† (The Social Science Encyclopedia, 1996, pp. 134). Hence, even if there is a written constitution that can limit the government’s power, those who enforce constitutional laws may be in line with the government. A constitution might be nothing but a symbol or tool in order for governments to acquire both internal and external legitimacy, and for the public to respect the political and social rules. In the case of Britain, the people chose the anniversary of Magna Carta as the new national day, which shows that the people believe that the power of their ruler is bound. Magna Carta â€Å"didnt work in practice but it set a precedent. It advanced the cause of liberty, constitutionalism and parliamen tarianism†¦..† (The Telegraph, 2006). Reading in the news, the idea of forming a written constitution in Great Britain is being addressed by the current Prime Minister Gordon Brown in order to increase the democracy in Britain. But what must and must not be included in the constitutions? So, since this system has been working in Britain for centuries, and there is a body (the Parliament) that has some power over the prime minister, the system must not be tampered with. The well functionality of the system, the stability of the country, and the great flexibility in making and terminating laws are some of the reasons why Great Britain has an unwritten constitution. To sum everything up, Great Britain does not have a written constitution, but they do have other forms of constitutional documents. This system has been working well for a very long period of time, and even without a constitution, constitutionalism (which is limiting the government’s power) is still being practiced to some extent. Bibliography Adam Kuper, Jessica Kuper (ed.): The Social Science Encyclopedia (London: Routledge, 1996). A.V. Dicey: Introduction to the study of The Law of the Constitution (London: Macmillan, 1885). John Louis De Lolme: The Constitution of England (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853). Judith Pryor: Constitution (London: Routledge, 2008). Hilaire Barnett Marinos Diamantides: ‘Sources of the Constitution’, Public Law. Published on 2007 by University of London, accessed from http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/laws/subject_guides/public_law/public_chs1to4.pdf Nigel Morris: ‘The Big Question: Why doesnt the UK have a written constitution, and does it matter?’ published on 14/02/2008, accessed from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-big-question-why-doesnt-the-uk-have-a-written-constitution-and-does-it-matter-781975.html No author: ‘Magna Carta is favoured date for British Day’, published on 30/05/2006, accessed from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2006/05/30/nmagna30.xml

The Power Asymmetry In Qualitative Research Interviews English Language Essay

The Power Asymmetry In Qualitative Research Interviews English Language Essay The books in The Sage Qualitative Research Kit have been written with the needs of many different types of readers in mind. As such, the Kit and the individual books will be of use to a wide variety of users: Practitioners of various research, University teachers and Undergraduate and graduate students. Each book of the Kit has been written by a distinguished author with extensive experience in their field and in the practice with methods they write about. Doing interviews addresses the theoretical, epistemological, ethical and practical issues of interviewing people about specific issues or their life story. There are two other books about interviewing, they approach the subject in a much more detailed and focuses way for the specific method. Interviews are one of the major approaches in collecting data in qualitative research. There are variety ways of how to do interviews and what to do after the interview has been done. Doing interviews comes with specific needs of increasing the interview quality in general and its validity in particular and finally of reporting what was said and how it was analyzed. 1. Introduction to interview research Three interview sequences Conversation is a basic mode of human interaction. Through conversations we get to know other people, get to learn about their experiences, feelings and hopes and the world they live in. In an interview it is the same, except the researcher asks and listens to the people. The research interview is an interview where knowledge is constructed in the interaction between in the interviewer and the interviewee. Trough various sequences the writer is explaining that there are three forms of interviewing. A rather simple form of straightforward questioning contrast with the reciprocity of everyday conversations. The interviewer is in a power position and sets the stage by determining the topic of the interchange; it is the interviewer who asks and the interviewee who answers. The qualitative interview is a key venue for exploring the ways in which subjects experience and understand their world. Interview research in history and in the social sciences The term interview is of recent origin; it came into use in the seventeenth century. An interview is literally an inter-view. An interchange of views between two persons conversing about a theme of common interest. Systematic literature on research interviewing is a new phenomenon of the last few decades. Qualitative interviews have, previously been extensively employed in the social sciences. With education and health sciences, the interview has become a common research method in the last few decades. Quality methods, ranging form participant observation over interview to discourse analysis, have since the 1980s become key methods of social research. Technical, epistemological and cultural reasons may be suggested for the growing use of qualitative research interviews. The availability of small portable tape records in the 1950s made the exact recording of interviews easy. In the 1980s, computer programs facilitated the qualitative analyses of transcribed interviews. Interviews have also become part of the common culture. Methodological and ethical issues The interview is a conversation that has a structure and a purpose determined by the one part, the interviewer. The qualitative research interview is a construction site for knowledge. A semi-structures life-world interview will be in focus of the book. It is defined as an interview with the purpose of obtaining descriptions of the life world of the interviewee with respect to interpreting the meaning of the describes phenomena. To have an interview a good preparation will be needed. The interview is a powerful method of producing knowledge of the human situation. 2. Epistemological issues of interviewing Mode of understanding in a qualitative research interview A semi -structured life-world interview attempts to understand themes of the lived daily world for the subjects own perspectives. It comes close to an everyday conversation but as a professional interview it has a purpose and it involves a specific approach and technique. The interview is a uniquely sensitive and powerful method for capturing the experiences and lived meanings of the subjects everyday world and it allow the subject tot convoy their situation from their own perspective and in their own words. An interview seeks to understand the meaning of central themes of the subjects lived world. It is necessary to listen to the explicit description and to the meaning expressed, as well as to what is said between the lines. In qualitative interviews, precision in description and stringency in meaning interpretation correspond to exactness in quantitative. The qualitative interviewer encourage the subject tot describe as precisely as possible what they experience and feel. The qualitative interview attempts to obtain descriptions that are as comprehensive and presupposition less as possible of important themes of the interviewees life world. The interviewer should be curious, sensitive to what is said, as well as to what is not said, and critical. The focus of the interview is on particular themes: it is neither strictly structures with standard questions, nor entirely non-directive. The task of the interviewer is to clarify, as far as possible, whether the ambiguities and contradictory statements are due to a failure of communication in the interview situation. Power asymmetry in qualitative research interviews The research interview is a specific professional conversation with a clear power asymmetry between the researcher and the subject: The interview entails an asymmetrical power relation; The interview is a one-way dialogue; The interview is an instrumental dialogue; The interview may be a manipulative dialogue; The interviewer had a monopoly of interpretation; Counter-control, subjects may hold information; Exceptions. Research interviews between a philosophical dialogue and a therapeutic interview The qualitative research interview has affinities to philosophical dialogues as well as to therapeutic interviews, but follows neither the relentless intellectual reasoning of the former nor the close personal interaction of the latter. Professional interviews, such as a therapeutic interview, a job interview or a legal interrogation, are characterized by a focus on the dynamics of interaction between interviewer and interviewee, a methodological awareness of question forms and a critical attention to what is said. The therapeutic sequence indicates the possibilities for research interviewers to learn from the techniques developed within the therapeutic profession, while also demonstrating differences between therapeutic and research interviews. The interviewer as a miner or as a traveler Two contrasting metaphors of the interviewer, as a miner or as a traveler, may illustrate the different epistemological conceptions of interviewing as a process of knowledge collection or as a process of knowledge construction, respectively. In a miner metaphor, knowledge is understood as buried metal and the interviewer is a miner who unearths the valuable metal. The knowledge is waiting in the subjects interior to be uncovered, uncontaminated by the miner. An alternative traveler metaphor understands the interviewer as a traveler on a journey to a distant country that leads to a table to be told upon returning home. The interview traveler walks along with the local inhabitants, asks questions and encourages them tot tell their own stories of their lived world. Epistemological conceptions of interview knowledge The elimination of the hum factor in research, key aspects of the mode of understanding in qualitative research interviews appear as methodological sources of error, to a philosophy of sciences. In a postmodern approach the qualitative research interview appears as a construction site of knowledge. The knowledge generated by interviews is in line with key features of a postmodern conception of knowledge, such as the conversational, the narrative, the linguistic, the contextual and interrelational nature of knowledge. With a decline of modern universal system of knowledge, the local, manifold and changing language contexts come into prominence. In a postmodern epistemology the certainty of our knowledge is less a matter of interaction with a non-human reality than a matter of conversation between persons. 3. Ethical issues of interviewing Interviewing as a moral inquiry An interview inquiry is a moral enterprise. Moral issues concern the means as well as the ends of interviews. The human interaction in the interview affects the interviewees and the knowledge produces by an interview inquiry affects our understanding of the human condition. Consequently, interview research is saturated with moral and ethical issues. Ethical issues throughout an interview inquiry Ethical issues go through the entire process of an interview investigation, and potential ethical concerns should be taken into consideration form the very start of an investigation and up to the final report. Ethical guidelines Professional ethical codes serve as contexts for reflection on the specific ethical decisions throughout an interview inquiry. Figure 1 outlines issues raised by these ethical guidelines in the form of questions, which interviewers may ask them before embarking on an interview journey. Figure 1. Informed consent entails informing the research about the overall purpose of the investigation and the main feature of the design, as well as of possible risks and benefits from participation in the research project. This raises the issue of how informed consent can be handled in exploratory interview studies, where the investigators themselves will have little advance knowledge of how the interview will proceed. The interviewees should always be informed about the purpose and the procedure of the interview. Confidentiality in research implies that private data identifying the subject will not be reported, otherwise the subject need to agree on the release of identifiable information. In extreme cases, protecting confidentiality can raise serious legal problems. The consequences of an interview study need to be addressed with respect to possible harm to the subjects as well as to the expected benefits of participating in the study. The ethical principle of beneficence means that the risk of harm to a subject should be the least possible. The researcher as a person is critical for the quality of the scientific knowledge and for the soundness of ethical decisions in an interview inquiry. Moral research behavior involves more than ethical knowledge and cognitive choices. The integrity of the researcher, his or her knowledge, experience, honesty and fairness, is the decisive factor. 4. Planning an interview study Seven stages of an interview inquiry No standard procedures or rules exits for conducting a research interview or an entire interview investigation. There are standard choices of methods at the different stages of an interview investigation. The quality of an interview study to a large extent rests on the craftsmanship of the researcher. The term unstandardized pertains to the interview situation, but an entire interview investigation had often tended to be a rather standardized affair, going through five emotional phases of hardships. Anti-positivist enthusiasm phase; The interview-quoting phase; The working phase of silence; The aggressive phase of silence; The final phase of exhaustion. These descriptions are based upon observation of colleagues and students undertaking interview projects. The seven stage of an interview inquiry are: Thematizing Designing Interviewing Transcribing Analyzing Verifying Reporting Through these stages an interview study will be developed and ends with the reporting. The emotional dynamics of an interview study are related tot these seven stages. Thematizing an interview study Thematizing refers to the formulation of research questions and a theoretical clarification of the theme investigated. The key questions when planning an interview investigation concern the why, what and how of the interview. Thematizing an interview study involves clarifying the purpose of the study, the why question. Interviews can have explorative or hypothesis-testing purposes. An exploratory interview is usually open with little pre-planned structure. Interviews that test hypotheses tend to be more structured. Interviews can also being used to inductively develop an empirically grounded theory, or as background material for further practical and theoretical studies. The thematic understanding of the topic if the study, the what, will further provides a ground for the how of the study: the many decisions on method that must be made on the way. The thematic focus of a project influences what aspects of subject matter the questions centre upon, and which aspects remain in the background. Familiarly with the local situation may also sensitize tot local ethic-political issues of the community, which need to be taken into account when interviewing and reporting the interviews. Designing an interview study Designing an interview study involves planning the procedures and techniques, the how of the study. The temporal dimension of an interview investigation should be kept in mind from the first thematizing to the final reporting stage, taking into account the interdependence of the seven stages. Overview, interdependence, push forward, spiraling backwards, keep the end point in sight, getting wiser and work-journal are all key factors of an interview inquiry. The number of subjects to interview necessary depends on the purpose of a study. In common interviews, the amount of interviews trends to be around 15. This number may be due to a combination of the time and resources available for the investigation and a law of diminishing returns. The method may be understood in a broad sense, like the way to the goal. A method is a set of rules, which can be used in a mechanical way to realize a given aim. Within such a formal rule conception of method, the qualitative research interview, where knowledge is produced trough the personal interaction between interviewer and interviewee, is clearly not a scientific method. Interviewing may be regarded less as a method following explicit rules than pragmatically as a craft, where the quality of knowledge produced by the interview rests upon the subject matter knowledge and the craftsmanship of the interviewer. Learning to interview is to arrive at a transparency of the techniques and tools. 5. Conducting an interview Setting the interview stage The setting of the interview stage should encourage the interviewees to describe their points of view on the topic. The first minutes of an interview are decisive. The interview should be introduced by a briefing in which the interviewer is defines the situation for the subject, briefly tells about the purpose of the interview, the use of a tape recorder and ask if the subjects has any questions before starting the interview. The initial briefing should be followed up by a debriefing after the interview. Scripting the interview An interview guide is a script that structures the course of the interview more or less tightly. The guide may merely contain some topics to be covered or it can be a detailed sequence of carefully worded questions. Interviews differ in their openness of purpose; the interviewer can explain the purpose and pose direct questions from the start, or can adopt a roundabout approach, with indirect questions, and reveal the purpose only when the interview is over. Thematically the questions relate to the what of an interview, to the theoretical conceptions of the research topic, and to the subsequent analysis of the interview. Dynamically the questions pertain tot the how of an interview; they should promote a positive interaction, keep the flow of the conversation going, and stimulate the subjects to talk about their experiences and feelings. The interviewer should also try to keep in mind the later analysis, verification and reporting to the interviews. Interviewers who know what they are asking about and why they are asking, will attempt to clarify the meanings relevant to the project during the interview. Active listing, the interviews ability to listen actively to what the interviewee says, is as important as the specific mastery of questioning techniques. That is why researcher questions need to translated to interviewer questions, figure 2 Figure 2 6. Interview variations Interview subjects Different issues will raise by different populations when the focus is on cross-cultural interviews, interviews with men, women and with children. In a cross-cultural interview it is difficult to become aware of the multitude of cultural factors that affect the relationship between interviewer and interviewee. In a foreign culture an interviewers needs time to establish a familiarity with the new culture and learn some of the many verbal and non-verbal factors where interviewer in a foreign culture may go amiss. Also with children the approach for an interview needs to be different. Interview forms A variety of research forms, useful for different purpose, exist. With the broad variety of interview forms and subjects it becomes understandable that there are no general standard procedures and rules for research interview. There is no correct or ideal interview form. Qualitative interviews do not only focus on the interviewees own perspectives and meanings. Obtaining valid factual information may be crucial in many interviews. In other situates, when interviewing for the oral history of a community, the focus will be less on the storytellers own perspective upon the events recounted, than on his or her stories as venues to reliable information about a collective past. Some experiments may serve interviewers as a reminder to be extremely careful in wording their questions when interviewing for factual information. Confrontational interviews though we did not seek to impose our ideas on those with whom we talked, †¦we did attempt to uncover assumptions, to make explicit what the person we were talking to might have left implicit (Bellah et al., 1985, p 304) In addition to a prevalent empathetic and consensual interview form, the more active confrontational and agonistic styles of interviewing may also produce valuable knowledge. 7. Interview quality Interview qualifications The interviewer is the key research instrument of an interview inquiry. A good interviewer knows the topic of the interview, masters conversational skills and is proficient in language, with an ear for his or her subjects linguistic style. The interviewer must continually make on-the-spot decisions about what to ask and how; which aspects of subjects answer to follow up, and which not, which answers to comment and interpret, and which not. The interviewer should have a sense for good stories and be able to assist the subjects in the unfolding of their narratives. Leading questions It is a well-documented finding that a slight rewording of a question in a questionnaire or in the interrogation of eyewitness may influence the answer. Politicians are well experienced in warding off leading questions form reporters; but if leading questions are inadvertently posed to subjects who are easily suggestible, such as small children, the validity of their answers may be jeopardized. In contrast to common opinion, the qualitative research interview is particularly well suited for employing leading questions to repeatedly check the reliability of the interviewees answers, as well as to verify the interviewers interpretations. The task in an interview is not to avoid leading research questions, but to recognize the primacy of the question and attempt to make the orienting questions explicit, thereby providing the reader with the possibility of evaluating their influence on the research findings and of assessing the validity of the findings. There are no unequivocal quality criteria for research interviews. A good interview rests upon the craftsmanship of the researcher, which goes beyond a mastery of questioning techniques to encompass knowledge of the research topic, sensitivity to the social relation of interviewer ad subject, and an awareness of epistemological and ethical aspects of research interviewing. 8. Transcribing interviews Oral and written language Transcription is an interpretative process, where the differences between oral speech and written texts give rise to a series of practical and principal issues. A transcript is a translation from one narrative mode, oral discourse, into another narrative mode, written discourse. The quality of interview transcriptions had always been a neglected issue. Transcribing interviews Transcribing the interviews from an oral to a written mode structures the interview conversations in a form amenable to closer analysis, and is in itself an initial analysis. The reliability and validity of transcriptions are generally neglected. If these two issues are addressed, the interpretative and constructive nature of transcription will appear. Computer tools for interview analysis Once the interviews have been transcribed, they become available for structuring and analysis by a variety of computer programs. The computer programs allow for such operations as writing memo, writing reflections on the interviews for late analysis, coding, searching for key words, doing words counts, and making graphic displays. No valid transcription of an oral account exists, but a variety of forms of transcribing, which will be valid for different uses of the transcripts. 9. Analyzing interviews Integrating interview analysis in an interview inquiry The question How shall I find a method to analyze the 1000 pages of interview transcripts I have collected? is a question which is too late en the work will be too much. The method of analysis should not only be given thought in advance of the interviewing, but may also, to varying degrees, be built into the interview situation itself. Modes of analysis No standard method exists, to arrive at essential meanings and deeper implications of what is said in an interview. The techniques of analysis are tools, useful for some purpose, relevant for some types of interviews, and suited for some researchers. But it depends on each interview itself. Interview analyses focusing on meaning Meaning and language are interwoven; in the practice of interview analysis the focus on meaning versus linguistic form does imply rather different techniques. Coding and categorizing were early approaches to the analysis of texts in the social sciences, which make it easy to transcribe the interview. Coding involves attaching one or more keywords to a text segment in order to permit later identification of a statement, whereas categorization entails a more systematic conceptualization of a statement, opening for quantification. Interpretation of texts is established by a hermeneutical circle, where the meaning of a text is established through a process in which the meanings of the separate passages are determined by the global meaning of the text as it is anticipated. Re-reading of the single passages may again change the first anticipated global meaning of the text, which again alters the meaning of the single passages. Interview analyses focusing on language The medium, or the material, with which interviewers work is language. The interview process occurs through speech, and the interview products are presented in words. During the last few decades social science researchers have started to use linguistic tools. Linguistic analysis, narrative analysis, conversation analysis, discourse analysis and deconstruction. Interview analysis as bricolage Many analyses of interviews are conducted without following any specific analytic method. The researchers may then freely change between different techniques and approaches. Bricolage refers to mixed technical discourses where the interpreter moves freely between different analytic techniques. In contrast to systematic analytic modes such as categorization and conversation analysis, bricolage implies a free interplay of techniques during the analysis. 10. Validation and generalization of interview knowledge Objectivity of interview knowledge. Issues of reliably and validity go beyond technical or conceptual concerns and raise epistemological questions of objectivity of knowledge and the nature of interview research. Interview analyses can be objective in the sense of intersubjective agreement, such as when a high degree of intersubjective reliability is documented by coding interview in quantifiable categories. Objective may also mean reflecting the nature of the object researched, letting the object speak, being adequate to the object investigated expressing, the real nature of the studied. Contrary to common opinion, knowledge produced in interviews need not be subjective, but may, be an objective method with respect to key meanings of objectivity. Reliability and validity of interview knowledge Reliability pertains to the consistency and trustworthiness of research findings; it is often treated in relation to the issue of whether a finding is reproducible at other times and by other researcher. Validity refers in ordinary language to the truth, the correctness and the strength of a statement. A valid argument is sound, well grounded, justifiable, strong and convincing. Validity as quality of craftsmanship Validation rests on the quality of the researchers craftsmanship throughout an investigation, continually checking, questioning and theoretically interpreting the findings. Validations do not belong to a separate stage of an investigation, but permeates the entire research process. Validity is ascertained by examining the sources of invalidity. The stronger the falsification attempts a knowledge proposition has survived, the stronger and more valid is the knowledge. Communicative and pragmatic validity When a modern belief in knowledge as a mirror of reality recedes to a social construction of social reality, communicative and pragmatic forms of validation come to the foreground. Communicative validity involves testing the validity of knowledge claims in a conversation. A Communicative validation of interview findings raises specific questions about the how, why and who of communication. Pragmatic validation relates to the users responses to an interpretation, and in a strong for it concerns the issue of whether interventions based on the researchers knowledge may instigate actual changes in behavior. Pragmatic validation is verification in the literal sense, to make true; justification is replaced by application. Analytical generalization rests upon rich contextual descriptions. It includes the researchers argumentation for the transferability of the interview findings to other subjects and situations, as well as the readers generalizations form a report. 11. Reporting interview knowledge Contrasting audiences for interview reports. When writing a report for an interview study it may be useful to be aware of different requirements within local social science communities. In common interview reports the link between the original conversations and the conclusions reported may be thin or missing. The interested reader will not find any, or only come across some vague scattered descriptions of how the interview knowledge was produced. Working towards the final report from the start of an interview study may contribute to a readable report of methodologically well-substantiated, interesting findings. Presenting interview findings with a quote, three guidelines for editing are suggested: The quotes should be contextualized; Interview quotes should be rendered in a readable style; Interview quotes should preferably be loyal to the habitual language of an interviewee. For communicative validation and analytical generalization, readers need rich contextual information about the interview findings in order to validate and generalize the results. 12. Enhancing interview quality Learning the craft of interviewing A book about interviewing involves a paradox of presenting explicit and general guidelines for a craft, which consist of practical skills and personal know-how that often remains tacit and depends on given situation. It can not be predicted which an interview journey goes. If people research interviewing by themselves, they will discovered the theory about interviewing and transcription themselves and not through a book. Starting to learn interviewing by listening to tapes will sensitize novice interviewers to the oral medium of the interview craft. Learning interviewing by transcribing interviews promotes a discovery learning where , through their own practice, newcomers tot the trade discovery techniques and dilemmas is transferring live conversations to written texts. There are three options to learn about interviewing: Learn interviewing by witness others interviewing; Learn interviewing by practicing interviewing; Learn interviewing in a community of interview researchers. The road to mastery of interviewing through a transcribing task, an interview practicum, or ideally a research apprenticeship, may appear as too cumbersome and time-consuming to some students. But it is most important to be well prepared. The adequate knowledge of the nature of interview conversations is suggested by: A pragmatic approach involves a move from philosophical legitimation to the practical effects of knowledge. Rather than seeking universal knowledge, the emphasis is on situated knowledge. What matters is not arriving at context-independent general knowledge, but producing well-described situated knowledge from the interviews. Interview knowledge is not collected, but produced between interviewer and interviewee, and the meanings constructed in their interaction are again restructured throughout the later stages of an interview inquiry. In order to reach a professional level comparable to quantitative analysis today, qualitative social research needs to move beyond a linguistic illiteracy towards a professional mastery of the linguistic medium of the interview craft. We live in a conversational world. The relevance of conversations in social science goes beyond the use of interview conversations as an additional empirical method. It concludes conversations among researchers, and the public, about the truth and value of the knowledge produced in interview conversations about a conversational world. Conclusion Doing interviews by Stein Kvale is a book which has two kinds of different input. There is the theoretical background and the practica

Theories of Self Leadership

Theories of Self Leadership Introduction Self leadership is normally defined as a process whereby individuals are able to control their own behavior and at the same time lead and influence others to follow them (Neck, 2006). The individuals are able to use several behavioral strategies to empower and lead others. They also use several skills to attain self influence, self motivation and also achieve a certain self direction that is necessary to undertake the leadership process. Individuals who strive to become self leaders need to have certain competencies such as self awareness, tolerance, adaptability, emotional resilience, self reflection or assessment among others. One needs to identify the growth experiences that exist and that can lead to development or provide support when one is carrying out the leadership process (Rothstein, 2010). In this context self reflection or self assessment in self leadership are held to be important practices when it comes to human resource development. This paper discusses and critiques self assessment within the context of self leadership and discusses the implications on contemporary human resource practice. It also gives recommendations on further research that can be done on self assessment in self leadership. Literature Review Several studies have been carried out in regard to self leadership. Christopher Neck (2006) defines it as the process of controlling oneà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s behavior and at the same time leading and influencing others to follow the individual. To back up this definition Mitchell Rothstein (2010) puts it that the individual self leader needs to identify experiences for growth which they need to take advantage of so that they become better leaders and influence others to follow them. Mitchell also adds that the self leaders need to understand and examine themselves before they can undertake the task of leading others. Robert Lussier and Christopher Achua have discussed self assessment in the leadership context defining it as the process through which individuals review and gauge their performance for the purpose of improving their leadership performance. Authors Rajnandini Pillai and Susan Stites have however brought to light the drawbacks of self assessment in self lead ership and human resource practices among them that the assessment instills too much confidence on the self leaders when they get a high score. The high score according to the two authors does not mean that the leader has effective leadership skills. David Andrew and Leanne Atwater on the other hand identify the 3600 Feedback method as one of the self assessment methods that can be used in organizations as part of human resource development practices. The method leads to an improvement of the performance of the organization and its members. Rothstein also adds to the discussion by highlighting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator method as a practice that can be used to improve the organization and impact the human resource practice. In light of the perspectives brought by the different authors on self assessment in self leadership and the impact on contemporary human resource practices, this paper adequately matches up to the discussion. Findings Self Assessment Self assessment is the process through which an individual is able to review and systematically gauge their own performance for the sole purpose of improving their own performance. The individual carries out the review on their own identifying their weaknesses and strengths as well as their own skills and level of knowledge (Lussier Achua, 2009). From the results of the assessment the individual is then can identify the areas and the need for development of their skills and abilities. Review and Critique of Self Assessment Self assessment when used strategically in self leadership and human resource development it can not only increase the motivation and the engagement of the leader but it also helps to pinpoint the areas the individual needs to develop and improve. It can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the development process as well as increase the ability of the individual to make decisions based on his self leadership role (Rothstein, 2010). The process of self assessment involves the use of various activities such as self study using workbooks, identifying capabilities and other preferences. Self assessment is best done as a continuous process where an individual can explore their values, interests, personal resources, goals and decision making styles as a leader. Advantages of using workbooks and other materials to carry out the self study include the fact that these materials are developed by third parties who are experts and very experienced in the field (Werner DeSimone, 2008). However modifications can be done to suit the style of the leader and the needs of the individual leader. These methods of self assessment are also well structured in a way that allows the individual to easily understand and one is also able to perform the assessment on their own at their own pace and time. Other advantages of the self assessment process in self leadership include the fact that the results of the assessment give the individual a sound basis for the decisions, goals and strategies that they set. The goals and strategies made are very effective and efficient in the self leadership role (Werner DeSimone, 2008). However the self assessment process does have its disadvantages when it comes to self leadership and how it is carried out. One major disadvantage that is identified once the self assessment is carried out includes the fact that the individuals are prone to confuse a high score on the self assessment with self leadership effectiveness (Pillai Stites, 2003). Self assessment models can be complicated and this also confuses the individuals taking the test. Attributes that are needed in a certain situation in the model may be used on some of the universal self leadership quality situations and be appropriate in the different contexts thereby depicting unintended resul ts (Pillai Stites, 2003). Implications of Self Assessment for Contemporary Human Resource Practice 3600 Feedback This is one of the methods that are used as part of the human resource development practices to effectively improve the performance of the leaders and lead to an improvement of the performance of the organization (Waldman Atwater, 1998). It is considered to be a starting point in the journey of self discovery and self assessment. It helps empower the individual in the face of negative feedback as well as positive feedback. In areas where the feedback is different from the perceptions of the individual, the differences provide an insight to the individual on the impact of their behavior and actions on others. The method is beneficial in the human resource practice in that it allows for the involvement of other employees in the organization. Their input to the organization is valued as they contribute to the future of the organization and their future. The Federal Express organization uses this kind of system to evaluate their managers (Waldman Atwater, 1998). The Survey Feedback Action program (SFA) puts the philosophy of the employees first as they give their feedback on the performance of their managers and leaders. The method also improves the communication between the leaders and the employees as it facilitates the communication between the two. Organizations are also able to empower their culture as well as holding the managers accountable for their actions. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) This is a self report in form of a questionnaire that is concerned with the perception and judgment of the individual. It also seeks to measure the personal preferences, communication patterns, decision making skills, the thinking style and the leaderà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s orientation with other people (Rothstein, 2010). The method of self assessment has several benefits which include the identification of the weak and strong areas of individuals. It also clarifies the behavior of the managers and the leaders as well as helping the individuals understand different methods and perspectives when solving different problems. It also aims to maximize the benefits and the diversity of leaders as well as the subordinates and helps them to reach more insightful and useful decisions. Through integrating and offering interactive challenges, the approach offers the entire team of the leaders and the employees a chance to generate greater understanding and insights for the development of the entire organization (Johnson, Mauzey, Johnson, Murphy, Zimmerman, 2001). The method is also known to resolve conflicts within organization and also create a lasting impact among the employees and their leaders in the organization. The approach also bears the benefit of helping individuals to understand themselves better regardless of their personality type or their personal traits. Recommendations for Future Research A lot of study has been done on self assessment in self leadership and the impact on human resource practices. Most of the authors have focused on the role of the self assessment in self leadership and how it can be used to improve the performance of the organization and the leaders. While all these approaches and study is important and very beneficial, much more research is needed on the different methods that leaders and individuals can use to assess themselves on their leadership skills and attributes. This will help to bring in some light on the issues that leaders are likely to face as they undertake the assessment and the emerging changes that are occurring in the environment. Research is also needed on the different characteristics and attributes that the self assessments try to highlight and identify. The individuals also tend to use different sources of data to help them to identify their strong and weak areas as well as their development needs. Research should also focus on the different sources of data that the individuals use when carrying out the self assessments and the important role that they all play in the development process. Conclusion Self leadership is considered an important process in the corporate world today. For one to be a leader in any organization, one needs to portray self leadership skills. One of the primary elements of self leadership is self assessment. This element helps the individuals to understand themselves better and to highlight the personality, behavior, skills, talents, strengths and weaknesses among other attributes that help an individual to carry out the self leadership role effectively. The self assessment is carried out with an aim of improving oneself and also enforcing a leader to embrace their individualism. Leaders need to be supported to bring out the best in themselves in order for them to take the organization forward. The self assessment should be followed with a learning process to develop a culture and a practice that will benefit the organization and members of the organization as well.

The first time Jane and Mr Bingley meet, the air is filled with promise :: Free Essay Writer

The first time Jane and Mr Bingley meet, the air is filled with promise and romance. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. There are many women and men in this world that state that they don’t need bind in holy matrimony in order to feel complete or happy about their lives. Obviously, these women and men don’t live in the world of Pride and Prejudice. Even the opening line declares a subtle truth so well that it get you thinking. At first one sees it as an ironic statement trying to open the book’s comedic and love-related atmosphere. However as one digs deeper you see there is more to this line than what meets the eye. This sentence can sum up the goal of many women in this novel who are in search of a single man in possession of a good fortune such as Ms Lucas, as it does sum up the plot in many ways. As it states that men must be in want of a wife, it subtly hints that the women in the novel are most likely looking or are in desperate need of a [wealthy] husband. This line also sets out little hints as to who are these men in search of these women? If one reads on the same page as this line is printed on, one notes that Mr Bingley, who has just recently moved into Netherfield, is one of those men "Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England†¦ . This quote states that Mr Bingley is a man of large fortune which is similar to good fortune, in fact even better. The meeting of each new male central character is attached to a descriptive sentence of his wealth and background. As we read along the novel we see that most of the women in the novel notice this wealth and also notice that these men are in fact looking after wives to wed and share their life with. The first time Jane and Mr Bingley meet, the air is filled with promise and romance. They can be referred back to this opening line of that he is looking for mutual affection in his life. There is a lot of truth behind this quote which sums up the behaviours of most of the male characters in the book; with the slight exception of Darcy who doesn’t seek love though is surprisingly revealed to it.

Collective Bargaining and Labour Market Outcomes for Canadian Working W

Collective Bargaining and Labour Market Outcomes for Canadian Working Women I  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  INTRODUCTION: UNIONS, LOW PAY, AND EARNINGS INEQUALITY The major purposes of this paper are, first, to examine the impacts of collective bargaining on labour market outcomes for women workers in Canada, specifically with respect to pay, benefits coverage, the incidence of low pay and the extent of earnings inequality, and, second, to suggest ways in which positive impacts could be extended via the expansion of collective bargaining coverage. This part of the paper briefly reviews the literature on the impacts of collective bargaining on earnings, low pay, and earnings inequality, and Part II provides some background description of the labour market position of Canadian working women. Particular attention is paid to the situation of the majority of women who continue to work in lower paid, often insecure and part-time, clerical, sales, and service jobs. The central conclusion of the empirical analysis in Part III, mainly based on data from Statistics Canada's 1995 Survey of Working Arrangements, is that collective bargaining coverage, con trolling for other factors, has significant positive impacts in terms of raising pay and access to benefits, and in terms of reducing the incidence of low pay among women workers. However, the level of collective bargaining coverage for women is very low in precisely those sectors of the economy where women in low paid and insecure jobs are most concentrated, namely in private services and in smaller enterprises. Promoting better labour market outcomes for women workers accordingly requires a major extension of collective bargaining. Part IV of the paper briefly considers ways in which this could be achieved through trade union action and through changes to public policy. The 1996 OECD Employment Outlook comprehensively documented profound differences in the degree of earnings inequality and the incidence of low pay in the advanced industrial countries, noting that these two labour market characteristics are closely related in that "the incidence of low pay tends to be highest in those countries where earnings inequality is the most pronounced." While there is significant variation between countries, a generalized pattern is that continental European countries, particularly in Northern Europe, have a strikingly more equal distributio... ...omen in non-unionized jobs, while for men, the wage difference was about $4.50 - or 24 per cent. The wage premium associated with unionization is shown for selected subgroups of women and men in Table 3. It is notable that the apparent union wage premium tends to be higher for less educated workers, though this is more clearly the case for men than for women. This is consistent with the fact that managerial and professional occupations in the private sector have very low rates of unionization. Table 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Average Hourly Wages of Women and Men, by Unionization and Selected Characteristics, Canada 1995   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   WOMEN  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MEN  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Union  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Non-Union  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Union Premium"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Union  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Non-Union  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Union Premium" All Age 15 to 24 Age 25 to 44 Age 45 to 69 Less than high school High school grad. Certificate/Diploma University degree Full-time Part-time Managerial/Admin. Professional Clerical Sales Services Blue Collar Firm size less than 20 Firm size 20 to 99 Firm size 100 to 500 Firm size + 500   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   16.68 11.23 16.92 17.37 12.16 14.60 16.56 21.38 16.90 15.95 18.59 19.49 14.47

Karl Marx :: essays research papers

According to Karl Marx, religion is like other social institutions in that it is dependent upon the material and economic realities in a given society. It has no independent history; instead it is the creature of productive forces. As Marx wrote, â€Å"The religious world is but the reflex of the real world.† Religion can only be understood in relation to other social systems and the economic structures of society. In fact, religion is only dependent upon economics, nothing else — so much so that the actual religious doctrines are almost irrelevant. This is a functionalist interpretation of religion: understanding religion is dependent upon what social purpose religion itself serves, not the content of its beliefs. Marx’s opinion is that religion is an illusion that provides reasons and excuses to keep society functioning just as it is. Much as capitalism takes our productive labor and alienates us from its value, religion takes our highest ideals and aspirations and alienates us from them, projecting them onto an alien and unknowable being called a god. Marx has three reasons for disliking religion. First, it is irrational — religion is a delusion and a worship of appearances that avoids recognizing underlying reality. Second, religion negates all that is dignified in a human being by rendering them servile and more amenable to accepting the status quo. In the preface to his doctoral dissertation, Marx adopted as his motto the words of the Greek hero Prometheus who defied the gods to bring fire to humanity: â€Å"I hate all gods,† with addition that they â€Å"do not recognize man’s self-consciousness as the highest divinity.† Third, religion is hypocritical. Although it might profess valuable principles, it sides with the oppressors. Jesus advocated helping the poor, but the Christian church merged with the oppressive Roman state, taking part in the enslavement of people for centuries. In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church preached about heaven, but acquired as much property and power as possible.

Research question †How many molecules are there in a liquid drop? Essay

Variables – Independent variable – The nature of the liquid drop. Dependent variable – Mass of liquid drop. Constants – * Concentration of the liquids * The volume of a drop * Temperature of the liquids Hypotheses and prediction – The heavier the liquid used i.e. a liquid with a high relative molar mass, the more the number of molecules per drop. I predict this as the RMM (relative molar mass) is the measure of the mass of molecules that make up a mole of a substance, and hence the higher the mass is, the more the number of molecules there have to be. Thus, the liquid would have more number of molecules per unit volume as compared to one with a lower RMM, keeping in mind the same concentration is taken. Apparatus – 1. Measuring scale, in grams (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.01 g) 2. Dropper 3. Beaker, 50 ml 4. Distilled water 5. Glycerine 6. Ethanol 7. Ethylene glycol 8. Tissue paper Methodology – 1. We collected the apparatus needed and measured the mass of the 50 ml beaker. We called it m1. 2. Using a dropper, we put 20 drops of water in the beaker. We measured the mass of the beaker + water, and called it m2. The mass of the 20 drops of water was found by subtracting m1 from m2. The answer was divided by 20 to find out the mass of one drop of water. 3. We repeated step 2, with water, using 40, 60, 80 and 100 drops. This made the experiment more accurate i.e. gave a more precise mass of the water drop. 4. then, we repeated steps 3 and 4 with the three other liquids – ethanol, glycerine and ethylene glycol. 5. Values were noted down. Further calculations were made using the mole equation – Number of moles = And, also using Avogadro’s constant, where the number of molecules in one mole of a substance is 6.023 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Controlling, varying and monitoring the variables – > The independent variable was varied by using not one, but four different types of liquid. These were – distilled water, glycerine, ethanol and ethylene glycol. These liquids have different relative molecular masses. > The change of the dependent variable were monitored by using a measuring scale to observe the change in the masses of the same number of drops when different liquids were tried. > The controlled variables were kept constant:- (a) All the four liquids had the same concentration of 1 mol/dmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. This was necessary as a change in the concentration produces a change in the number of moles of the liquid in the drop. (b) The drops were all of the same sizes, and hence of the same volume. the volume was kept constant by using the same dropper for each trial, and furthermore, by applying the same pressure (from the fingers) to the bulb of the dropper. (c) The temperature of the liquid was necessary to keep constant as even trivial changes in temperatures can make a liquid expand or contract, changing its volume. The experiment was carried out at room temperature, for all trials. The temperature of the surroundings was unchanged throughout the experiment i.e. the temperature of the air conditioner was not altered. Collecting relevant and sufficient data – Before the experiment, several trials were executed in order to get a gist of the experiment and recognize and amend any errors. Examples of errors include applying different amounts of pressure on the dropper bulb, giving us drops of different volumes. We also noticed that sometimes, more or less drops were added than needed, due to not observing well or counting the number of drops being put into the beaker carefully. We corrected this by paying more attention to the number of drops being put into the beaker. These errors were made right and taking trials before the experiment ensured we had a more precise, accurate and relevant experiment. We also decided to take the mass as the dependent variable, instead of volume, as we were provided with a measuring scale which was much more accurate (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.01 g) as compared to even the most accurate measuring cylinder (10 ml, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.1 ml). This reduced the overall uncertainty of the equipment used and hence the general error of the experiment, and made the data more relevant and certain. On the other hand, it was made sure sufficient data was collected as we took five different trials (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 drops) for each of the four liquids, just to average it down and get the mass of one drop (for each liquid). Furthermore, we measured the masses of high numbers of drops ex:- 60, 80, 100 drops etc. as the higher the number of drops, the lesser the error uncertainty. The standard deviations of the averages of each set of drops has not been calculated, as it isn’t the final value needed (i.e. the average mass of one drop is the final value needed). I have rounded off those averages to three decimal places (instead of one) as the values are very small. The average mass of one drop has been rounded off to the same number of places as the standard deviation, that is two significant figures. The calculations are shown on the following page. Calculations – * The averages have been calculated the following way:- For example, taking the values for water = = = = 0.0634 = 6.3 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (to one dp) * The standard deviation for the averages have been found out in the following way:- 1. First the average of the values have been found. Taking the example of the values of water the average is 6.3 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ g (0.0634 g). 2. Then, the difference between each reading and the average was found. That is: 0.058 – 0.0634 = -0.0054 0.059 – 0.0634 = -0.0044 0.065 – 0.0634 = 0.0016 0.067 – 0.0634 = 0.0036 0.068 – 0.0634 = 0.0046 3. Next, these differences were squared (in order to remove any negative signs): (-0.0054)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ = 2.916 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 (-0.0044)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ = 1.936 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 (0.0016)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ = 2.56 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6 (0.0036)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ = 1.296 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 (0.0046)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ = 2.116 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 4. These squares were then added, and the sum was divided by (n – 1), where â€Å"n† is the number of values. = 2.13 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 5. Finally, the square root of this number gives the standard deviation of the average: = à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 4.615 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ However, this value is always rounded off to one significant figure (hence, so is the average value) giving – à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.2 s. 6. This method was used to get the standard deviation of the rest of the four averages as well. * The number of moles of the liquid contained in the drop was calculated by the formula = Number of moles = . The relative molar masses of the four liquids were taken from literature values – Water – 18 ; Glycerine – 92 ; Ethanol – 46 and Ethylene Glycol – 62. (www.wikipedia.com) * The number of molecules present in the drop was found out by using Avogadro’s formula which states – Number of molecules = Number of moles of the substance à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (6.023 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½) Data processing – Graph 1 – This graph shows us two things – the mass of the liquid drop as well as the number of molecules each drop contains – of four different liquids, which are placed on the X axis. Comparing this graph, and literature values, we can see there is an indirect relationship between the mass of the drop and the number of molecules. This relationship is most importantly affected by the relative molar mass (RMM) of the liquid. A higher RMM means a lesser number of moles in a given volume, as is seen in the case of glycerine, where the number of molecules is seen to be relatively lesser when compared to its mass; and other values. This means that glycerine’s molecules are heavy, large or more dense. Whereas in the case of water, the number of molecules is seen to be much higher as compared its mass – which suggests that water has a lower RMM, relatively, and hence is â€Å"lighter†, or smaller, on the whole. This graph also shows us anomalous results regarding the mass of the ethylene glycol drop. Technically, the ethylene glycol drop should have a greater mass as when compared to ethanol, as it has a greater RMM (value got from literature data) and a lesser number of molecules. This could have been due to errors in the volume of the liquid drop (for example), which have been explained in the evaluation. Conclusion – Thus, we can conclude by stating that the hypothesis has been proved wrong i.e. as the relative molecular mass of a liquid increases, or the mass of the liquid drop increases, the number of molecules it contains decreases. This is because the relative molar mass is a measure of the mass of one mole of a substance (relative to 1/12 of the mass of carbon 12), and one mole of any substance consists of the same number of molecules – 6.023 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. However, one mole of a substance may differ in mass from one mole of another substance. This is solely because of the mass of the particles contained in that one mole of the substance. A compound which has i) many atoms ii) heavy atoms (in one molecule), will have a higher relative molar mass than a molecule of a compound which has lesser atoms or lighter ones (or both). In this experiment, we are not measuring the number of molecules in one mole of these for substances, but in one drop. hence, the volume remains constant here. Thus, the only way a drop of a substance (of the same volume as the other three drops) will have more number of molecules than any other will be by the liquid having a lower RMM, so that more number of particles would fit in that drop. Taking the example of water, its mass is relatively lower as compared to the number of molecules it contains. This simply suggests that a water molecule will either have lesser atoms, or lighter atoms, or both. On the other hand, the molecule of glycerine is fairly heavy, with an RMM of 92 (whereas the RMM of water is 18) and we can see by the graph that the number of molecules it has is relatively lower than that of water’s however the mass of the drop is higher than that of water’s. This shows that glycerine molecules are heavier than water molecules. Thus, as the mass of the drop increases, the number of molecules it contains decreases. Errors and observations – > Glycerine doesn’t dissolve in water, hence it was difficult to clean the dropper and the measuring cylinder containing it. > Ethanol, being an alcohol, was volatile. Thus, it easily evaporated. This could have been the reason why the mass of the ethanol drop was lower than expected. > Any slight changes in the room temperature would have caused an error to the volume of the drop, since it is so small in volume, ex:- opening of the laboratory door, changing of the temperature of the air conditioner, opening of the windows. However, it was made sure as far as it could to avoid these changes. > The same dropper was used for each liquid, in order to try to maintain the volume of the drops. This could have resulted in the liquids mixing up, hence altering the mass values. > Minute air particles like dust and dirt could have affected the experiment by changing the mass of the drops. > The readings taken towards the end of the laboratory session were slightly heavier (due to some liquid still remaining in the instrument). > The angle with which the dropper was held made a difference to the size of the drop i.e. if the drop was held vertically, the drops flowed faster and were heavier. Whereas if the dropper was held more horizontally, the speed of the flow of the drops was slower and the size was smaller. > After filling the dropper, the first drops were slightly heavier as compared to the last ones due to the extra pressure being applied to them from the liquid above. > Air bubbles were trapped in the liquids. > Glycerine had the largest and most viscous drops whereas water had the smallest and least viscous drops. > Sometimes, drops were added to a measuring cylinder which already contained drops, intentionally. For example, if a measuring cylinder had 20 drops of water, 20 more drops were added and then the mass for 40 drops of water was measured. In case there were any errors for the first 20 drops, they could have carried on for the next 20 drops. > The liquids could have been slightly impure, as they were all being used for the same experiment (some could have mixed). This would have made a difference to the mass. Evaluation – 1. In order to clean the glycerine left from the sides of the dropper etc, a substance which dissolves glycerine could have been used, for example alcohol. 2. Since ethanol was volatile, the experiment could have been carried out in an area where there was no straight wind. The ethanol bottle could have been kept shut for most of the time, and the masses could have been taken down quickly. 3. The room temperature could have been well monitored by maintaining a constant temperature (of the air conditioner) and strictly ensuring that the windows or the door weren’t opened. 4. Extra care and hygiene could be taken to ensure that the liquids didn’t mix up. This could be done by making sure that attention is paid to the lab while performing it and the volunteers aren’t distracted. To make sure the dropper was well cleaned for each trial, liquids which dissolved the liquids being used could have been applied. Another way could be to find another dropper with the exactly same diameter as the one being used. This would decrease the errors by a great deal. 5. To ensure dust particles didn’t fall into the liquids, a conical flask could be used. 6. After each trial, it should be made sure that the beaker is cleaned well and wiped well too, by tissue paper. In order to ensure that there is no extra liquid remaining, the mass of the beaker could be checked before adding the drops. 7. One set angle (of the dropper) should be used, for example the dropper could held at approximately 45à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to the laboratory surface table for all trials. The pressure applied to the bulb should also be monitored. 8. When the dropper is full, the experiment could be carried out more slowly and the number of drops be carefully monitored. This would make sure that the size of the drops was not too large, and that the number of drops being added to the beaker were carefully monitored. 9. To decrease the number of air bubbles, the bottles which contained the four liquids could be shut for most of the time and not moved around much. It should also be made sure that the dropper was full with sufficient liquid so that there would be very less air bubbles, or none at all. 10. To avoid carry-on errors, each trial could be performed after cleaning the beaker with water and wiping it well with tissue, each time. These would be the improvements I would add to my experiment in case I perform it again. I would also like to use more, different liquids, in order to get a broader idea of the experiment.