Theories of social disorder in contemporary UK society

Theories of social disorder in contemporary UK society Compare and contrast any two theories of social disorder in contemporary UK society In UKs society, like in many other Modern societys Life is ordered in a certain way, They live in what is called a democratic society where everyone in theory has a voice and is heard and everyone gets to help pick who is in power or rather they get the freedom of making a choice. Those that are placed in power by the majority of the society in theory help maintain the social balance and laws that will govern that society in a certain way. This type of society is arranged in a certain order and those that live in this society are accustomed to life having an order and an acceptable set of rules in which they live within. This is social order an accepted Group belief on the ways of life in the society. The people who live in these societys are accustomed to its order and anything or anyone that disrupts their order are seen as a threat to their beliefs and on their ways of life these people are a seen as a disruptive or called and disruptive element and are said to bring disorder. Thi s behavior can be categorized as antisocial or Social Disorder. But who gets to decide on what is actually classed as order and what is classed as disorder? To be able to provide an answer to the question about theories of disorder in contemporary UK Society. An understanding of social order and where it comes from needs to be understood. Then looking at why social disorder is, and how it affects society on a whole. By doing so a better idea of UK societies is gained and why order is so important and why disorder can become such an issue to society. Looking first at Social order and how people get accustomed to order. People get used to their society working in a certain way it becomes a natural accepted way of life to them. But who decides on this way of life and what the order should be. An attempt can be made to try to show this by comparing and contrasting the works of two social scientists Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault (Silva pp.316). According to Geoffmans Apotheosis people come together in many ways. Society is not a separate entity with needs of its own but rather instead, society is a construction of many individual parts these parts made up of actions and interactions of many parts. Society is like a vast network of individual parts and that social order is caused by action put together by its individual parts. These are not repeated the same every time, as actions are made remade, worked and reworked all the time. This can simply best be summed up in saying. Interactional order creates social order (Silva pp 317). In comparison when the work of the social scientist Michel Foucault is looked at, He examined how the social order is organized and shaped. Foucault claimed society is made and remade through, power of discourses and authoritative knowledge. His apotheosis was that the dominant ways of thinking, Came from ether an authoritative entity, professionals and experts in positions of authority and that the order in society is made from alterative power and discourse. Foucault says that in any given historical period, ways of thinking and talking are organized in systems of discourses. These discourses can be seen as what determines the dominant ways of thinking and subsequently what the order in the society will be (Silva pp.319-324). In the comparison between the work of Geoffman and Foucault, They both have different apotheosis as has been shown earlier and both gave a strong explanation on how order is created in society and where it comes from. Both had their own merits but Foucault Seems apart from lacking to take the creative process of the individual into account uses a scientific basis to his apotheosis which helps to add to the validity of his claims and this builds a stronger apotheosis than the one put across by Geoffman. Now that a basic idea on what social order is has been gained its now time to take a look at what social disorder is, who creates it. To gain a better a basic idea of social disorder the works of the two social scientists Stuart Hall and Stanley Cohen, have been used and will be compared and contrast. So lets first look at what is social Disorder? Social disorder can be said to be any thing differing from normal. There is no universally recognized definition as to what contributes social disorder, disorderly/anti-social (which people are identified as anti-social or disorderly) or essential definition of certain things being right and others wrong. The definition of disorderly or anti-social is actually constructed in specific societies and therefore differs between places. Indeed, the very term anti-social is of relatively recent origin (Kelly, Toynbee.pp367-368). And such definitions are potentially an issue of conflict and power. This leads to the issue of the value-laden nature of defining disorderly/anti-social behaviors and people via law, social policy and media. A definition of disorderly/anti-social behavior is also a concept invoked by communities, an imagined we who judge some activities and people as disorderly/anti-social in the separated, yet overlapping, social spac e, Toynbee.pp368). Antisocial behavior has now become a catch-all term to describe anything from noisy neighbors and graffiti to kids hanging out on the street. Indeed, it appears that almost any kind of unpleasant behavior can now be categorized as antisocial or Social Disorder. Stanley Cohen puts forward the Apotheosis on social disorder that societys media over reacts to an aspect of a group or individuals behavior which may be seen as a challenge to existing social normality. However, the type of media response and the way it deals with the representation of that behavior will actually helps to define it, communicate it and portray it to society as a model for others to observe and adopt in their own way. He puts forward that the way group or individuals behavior represented in the media causes moral panic and that the fears generated are out of all proportion to the scale of the actual behavior which is the subject of the panic by society and will arguable fuel yet further sociably unacceptable behavior. (Kelly, Toynbee.pp378) Stuart Hall and his colleagues employing Cohens definition of moral panic theorized that the rising crime rate equation has an ideological function relating to social control. Crime statistics, in Halls view, are often manipulated for political and economic purposes. Moral panics (e.g. over mugging) could thereby be ignited in order to create public support for the need to police the crisis. this was the creation of a Law and Order society. The media played a central role in this new law and order Society in order to reap the rewards of lurid crime stories. After a period of stabilized consent the government relationship to the British society was starting to begin to crack and was coming to an end, in the form of social and political dissent. This dissent ranged from strikes and industrial unrest, intense political and military conflict in Northern Ireland, to the emergence of new social movements trying to promote or provoke social change. (Kelly, Toynbee.pp371) The British state those that are those in authority the most rich or powerful in society e.g. government, police, judges, politicians and lords used a crack down on crime and violence, particularly among young men of ethnic origin. This changed the status and the state it became a definer of disorder. The media then taking the cue from those in power made use of terminology, for instance the word mugging and extended it in society eyes, giving them a popular ring. This helped cover the deep-seated causes of social conflict, chiefly inequality, and the original social issues were now masked and turned into a moral and legal struggle e.g. violence. This was the birth of a Law and Order society'(Kelly, Toynbee.pp380) In conclusion in this essay it was shown what social order was and how it works and how disorder is made and used examples of how order works and about disorder was used to build a full picture. First by Geoffman who saw society as a network of individuals interacting. Then by Foucault who saw society as controlled and dominated by the powerful and authorities. Then we looked Stanley Cohen theories about media manipulating and escalating disorder in contemporary UK society and in part causing grater disorder in society. Then finally, Stuart Hall theory that social disorder was used as a way of manipulating issues and discord in society and that the media was used as a tool to suit there means. So to conclude society in UK is a democracy where we vote for who has the power then those who are in power use the media to manipulate and escalate to cover deep-seated causes of social conflict and they become the definers of what social disorder is and use it as required to keep stability in their society. They become the definer of social disorder and can change it to suit there political and social needs. . Word Count 1536 Self Reflection On reflection I have totally enjoyed this assignment I found it has given me a large challenge translating the information given into an acceptable essay. Through putting this essay together I have learned a lot. The hardest thing was actually putting my essay together. The research into how to achieve the required results was the best bit

Banana Ghost :: essays papers

Banana Ghost "My, my what a lot of work I have to do" said Mr. Billy Banana. Mr. Billy Banana certainly lived up to his name. He just simply loved bananas and ate them for every meal banana and egg sandwich for breakfast, sausages and banana crackers for lunch, fried banana for tea and curry chicken, banana porridge and vegetables for dinner. As he loved bananas, he wanted to have a job to do with bananas. "Eureka!" he cried. " I'll have a fabulous and splendid banana factory!" "Yahoo!" he yelled, sounding just like a little kid. And so, he got his job. His appearance was as nutty as his appetite. His brown hair, that somewhat looked like banana fritters, was crispy and had a tinge of yellow in it. He had a beard and a moustache that made him look like a walrus. His chestnut eyes were full of laughter and fun. He was creative and that was all what he needed in order to design new objects. He was a daring inventor, ready to try out fun things. Mr. Banana thus had a building that manufactured all kinds of banana foodstuffs. He created banana sweets that tasted delicious, different kinds of banana biscuits and best of all, he created banana sweets that when you chewed them, they changed their colour. After he made all these delicious foodstuffs, he sold them off to shopkeepers. Kids could be seen going to shops everywhere and buying these lovely banana sweets. His banana sweets were extremely famous. Not far off, there was a ghost who loved anything to do with bananas. He loved eating bananas and was always haunting places which had bananas. "Ooh! They are probably finger-licking good!" he exclaimed when he heard about Mr. Banana's foodstuffs. "I'll go there tonight." He decided after thinking for a moment. "Only I hope he doesn't freak out when he sees me. I actually try to be nice when taking people's things, you know." That night, the ghost went to Mr. Billy Banana's building. Creeping quietly, he tiptoed to where Mr. Banana slept. "BANG!" The ghost accidentally bashed himself onto Mr. Billy Banana's precious machine. Mr. Billy Banana woke up and when he saw the ghost, he yelled for help. The ghost said, "Please don't be afraid. I just would like to have some of your banana foodstuff." Brave Mr. Banana said gallantly, "If you want to have some of my foodstuff, you must promise never to steal any of my food without my permission. You must also promise to help me when I am in need of any help Banana Ghost :: essays papers Banana Ghost "My, my what a lot of work I have to do" said Mr. Billy Banana. Mr. Billy Banana certainly lived up to his name. He just simply loved bananas and ate them for every meal banana and egg sandwich for breakfast, sausages and banana crackers for lunch, fried banana for tea and curry chicken, banana porridge and vegetables for dinner. As he loved bananas, he wanted to have a job to do with bananas. "Eureka!" he cried. " I'll have a fabulous and splendid banana factory!" "Yahoo!" he yelled, sounding just like a little kid. And so, he got his job. His appearance was as nutty as his appetite. His brown hair, that somewhat looked like banana fritters, was crispy and had a tinge of yellow in it. He had a beard and a moustache that made him look like a walrus. His chestnut eyes were full of laughter and fun. He was creative and that was all what he needed in order to design new objects. He was a daring inventor, ready to try out fun things. Mr. Banana thus had a building that manufactured all kinds of banana foodstuffs. He created banana sweets that tasted delicious, different kinds of banana biscuits and best of all, he created banana sweets that when you chewed them, they changed their colour. After he made all these delicious foodstuffs, he sold them off to shopkeepers. Kids could be seen going to shops everywhere and buying these lovely banana sweets. His banana sweets were extremely famous. Not far off, there was a ghost who loved anything to do with bananas. He loved eating bananas and was always haunting places which had bananas. "Ooh! They are probably finger-licking good!" he exclaimed when he heard about Mr. Banana's foodstuffs. "I'll go there tonight." He decided after thinking for a moment. "Only I hope he doesn't freak out when he sees me. I actually try to be nice when taking people's things, you know." That night, the ghost went to Mr. Billy Banana's building. Creeping quietly, he tiptoed to where Mr. Banana slept. "BANG!" The ghost accidentally bashed himself onto Mr. Billy Banana's precious machine. Mr. Billy Banana woke up and when he saw the ghost, he yelled for help. The ghost said, "Please don't be afraid. I just would like to have some of your banana foodstuff." Brave Mr. Banana said gallantly, "If you want to have some of my foodstuff, you must promise never to steal any of my food without my permission. You must also promise to help me when I am in need of any help

Family Ethnicity :: essays research papers

Name:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Title:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The impact of ethnicity on my family Subject:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due Date:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Growing up, my family consisted of my mother, father, and my three brothers. My father was of German decent and my mother was of Irish. There was a stigma attached to being a German American back in the late 1940’s and as a result, my father would have nothing to do with this German heritage. He changed his name from Willie to William and as a great disappointment to my grandparents, refused to learn the German language. Even with his attempts to keep his ethnicity out of his life, my father retained many of the German traits of his parents. He is extremely hardworking and thrifty. The thought of going into dept makes him physically sick to his stomach. He would never own a credit card. To make a major purchase such as a car or appliance, he would take a 2nd and sometimes a 3rd job so he could pay cash for the items. I like to think that I inherited my father’s work ethics. But I know for a fact that I don’t have an ounce of his thrifty ways, nor do my daughter. I miss the German foods that my Grandmother used to make. Now that she is gone, I wish I had some of her recipes. The only German foods I can make are potato pancakes and German Potato salad, which my daughters love, or at least they say they do so they don’t hurt my feelings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I hardly knew my mothers parents. They both died before I started kindergarten. My grandfather loved beer and died of cirrhosis. I suppose that this could go along with his Irish ethnicity. My mother is a strong catholic and had plans to become a nun before she met my father. As long as I can remember, my mother would give up a pleasure in her life and spend time praying for something to happen or not happen to one of her sons. Examples are:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She gave up wine and prayed that I wouldn’t be drafted during the Viet Nam war. I received a medical exemption for a back problem.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She gave up between meal snacks and prayed that my brother, Kevin would marry his live-in girlfriend. Kevin is in his mid 40s now and is still living with Patty. Mom doesn’t pray for this anymore since Kevin is the only of her 4 sons that hasn’t been divorced yet.

Bio 169

Urinary System: Anatomy Review 1. Name the organs in the urinary system:1. 2 kidneys2. 2 ureters3. bladder4. uethra2. The kidneys are retroperitoneal (behind the peritoneum), lying against the dorsal body wall in the upper abdomen. 3. The adrenal gland sits atop the kidneys. Blood vessels enter and leave the kidney at the renal cortex. 4. The functional units of the kidney are the nephrons. They are called renal pyramids if they are located mainly in the cortex. They are called renal pyramids if they are located in both the cortex and the medulla. 5. Blood enters the kidney through the hilus artery. The artery branches into smaller and smaller arteries and arterioles. Complete the sequence below: ______________ arteriole ______________ capillaries ______________ arteriole ______________ capillaries and vasa recta6. Complete the sequence below showing all parts of the nephron: Glomerular (Bowman’s) capsule proximal convoluted tubule loop of henle (both descending and ascending limb) distal convoluted tubule collecting duct (both cortical and medullary sections)7. The renal corpuscle consists of two parts: glomerular capillaries and the Bownan’s capsule.A portion of the plasma is filtered into the capsular space due to the hydrostatic pressure of the blood.8. The filtration membrane consists of fenestrated capillary endothelium, porous basementmembrane, and the photocyte (which contain filtration slits). This filtration membrane permits (large or small) molecules to be filtered.9. Proximal tubule: The simple cuboid al cells of the proximal tubule are called brush border cells because they contain numerous microvilli. The microvilli increase the surface area for reabsorption. The proximal tubule cells are highly permeable to water and many solutes. The tight junctions permit the movement of water between the cells.10. Loop of Henle: The thin descending limb of the loop of Henle is highly permeable to water but not to solutes. The thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle is highly permeable to ___________________ but not to ___________________.11. The thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle runs back between the afferent and efferent arterioles as they enter and leave the glomerular (Bowman’s) capsule. The juxtaglomerular apparatus consists of the macular densa cells of the tubule and the granular (modified smooth muscle) cells of the afferent arteriole. Granulerutal cells serve as baroreceptors sensitive to blood pressure within the arteriole. Macular densa cells monitor and respond t o changes in the osmolarity (or electrolyte composition) of the filtrate in the tubule.12. After the juxtaglomerular apparatus, the tubule becomes the distal tubule, which merges with the cortical collecting duct. The cortical collecting duct contains two functional types of cells: Principal cells—hormones regulate their permeability to water and solutes. Intercalated cells—secrete hydrogen ions for acid-base regulation.13. The medullary collecting duct is composed of principal cells.Their permeability to urea and water is hormonally regulated. Urinary System: Glomerular Filtration1. What force drives filtration at the glomerulus? Blood pressure2. Glomerular filtration is a process of bulk flow driven by the hydrostatic pressure of the blood.3. Common components of the filtrate are divided into four categories on the CD program. These include: 1. water 2. ions 3. notrogenous waste 4. organic molecules4. Blood pressure in the glomerulus is about 60 mmHg.5. What two pres sures oppose filtration and what are their values?1. hydrostatic 15mmHg2. osmotic 28mm Hg6. What is the normal net filtration pressure? 7 mmHg7. With a glomerular filtration rate of 125 ml/min, how much plasma would be filtered per day? 180L In 24 hours? _____8. In an exercising individual the afferent arteriole will (dilate or constrict) to avoid excess fluid loss.9. Two mechanisms that provide autoregulatory control over renal processes include: 1. myogenic 2. tubuloglomer10. High osmolarity (or high Na+ and Cl–) in the ascending loop of Henle will cause afferent arterioles to (dilate or constrict) by releasing vasoconstrictor11. In periods of extreme stress, the sympathetic nervous system will override autoregulation.An increase in sympathetic flow to the kidney will result in what two important effects that will aid maintenance of blood pressure?1. vasocontriction2. Urinary System: Early Filtrate Processing1. What are the two reabsorption pathways through the tubular cell barrier?1. transcellular2. paracellular2. How can we cause water to diffuse from the lumen into the interstitial space? An increase in the osmolarity of the interstitium3. Transport of what ion could cause the diffusion in question 2?4. Summarize reabsorption in the proximal tubule. 85% of reabsorption of all useful substances occur here5. What percent of the filtrate is reabsorbed in the proximal tubule? 99%6. The simple squamous cells of the thin descending loop are permeable to __________________ but impermeable to ________________.7. The ascending limb of the loop of Henle is permeable to Water but impermeable to solutes.8. What is the role of the loop of Henle? Facilitated diffusion9. What is the role of the vasa recta? Blood capillary which collects the filtered blood capillary which collects the filtered blood from afferent arterriole10. From the Quiz section, what does furosemide do? Increases your water output to decrease fluid retention through urinationUrinary System: La te Filtrate Processing1. Name the two types of cells in the cortical collecting ducts and describe their function.1. principal2. intercalated2.a. Aldosterone is stimulated by an increase or decrease in what ions?1. potassium2. Sodiumb. What does aldosterone increase in the basolateral membrane?3. What does antidiuretic hormone (ADH) increase in the luminal membrane? Vasopressin4. In dehydration and overhydration, what would be the levels of: a. ADH? v dehydration ___? ___ overhydration (? or ) b.Aldosterone? ___ v ___ dehydration __? ____ overhydration (? or )5. Describe what move(s) out of the tubule and what the osmolarity would be in the following nephron segments: a. Proximal tubule______ move(s) out______ mOsm b. Descending limb______ move(s)out______ mOsm c. Ascending limb______ move(s)out______ mOsm d. Late distal tubule______ move(s)out______ mOsm6. a. By the medullary collecting duct, only _____% of the filtrate remains. b. Under the following conditions, report the levels of ADH and subsequent urine osmolarity and flow rate7. a. Urine with a â€Å"high normal osmolarity† and containing RBCs and protein would indicate: _______________ b. Urine with a very high osmolartiy and glucose would indicate: _______________ c. Urine with a very low osmolarity and high volume would indicate: _______________8. An increase in plasma potassium levels would lead to what changes in the following? (? or ) a. _____aldosterone levels b. _____potassium excretion c. _____sodium excretion d. _____interstitial osmolarity e. _____urine volume

Political science as a social science Essay

Political Science is in part a social science, and in part a humanity. Both are important. In this topic, we will look at the basics of social science inquiry, and then proceed to show how this differs from, on the one hand, inquiry in the natural sciences and, on the other, inquiry in the humanities. Social Science Social science inquiry seeks to develop empirical theory. ?Empirical? refers to things that can be experienced through the five senses of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, or (in the case of political corruption) smelling. Theory? basically means explanation. An empirical theory of politics, then, is an attempt to explain why people behave the way they do politically. If a social scientist (or anyone else) observes people engaging in political behavior, he or she will need to focus on certain characteristics of the people being observed. The observer may wonder why some people differ from others in their political characteristics. Why, for example, are some people Liberals while others are Conservatives and still others are New Democrats. Characteristics that differ from one person to another are called one variables. Those that do not are called constants. Constants are generally less interesting than variables. There is not much point in trying to explain voting behavior in a country in which only one party appears on the ballot. Of course, we might then ask why some countries have only one party whereas others have multi-party systems, but now we are treating ? number of parties? as a variables. Everyday language is full of what are, in effect, hypotheses about political behavior. For example, talk about a ? gender gap? in voting hypothesizes that vote (the dependent variable) is in part a function of gender (the independent variable), with women more likely to vote for the Liberals or New Democrats and men more likely to vote Conservative. Social science research differs from everyday discussion of politics in two ways. The first is where hypotheses come from. Anyone who follows politics will likely carry around in his or her head a lot of ideas about what explains political behavior. Such ideas may come from personal experience, from conversations with others, or from following politics through the mass media. This is true as well for the ways social scientists think about politics. In addition, however, social scientists develop hypotheses more systematically by studying the scholarly literature for the results of previous research. This is important for at least a couple of reasons. For one thing, it is usually the case that the more you learn what is already known about a subject, the more new questions you are likely to have. A review of the literature helps generate new hypotheses. Even more important, social science seeks not merely to describe raw facts, but to explain why people behave the way that they do. To accomplish this, we need to put our ideas into a broader theoretical context that offers such an explanation. It is a fact that in the United States, from 1936 through 2000, the incumbent party has always won the presidency whenever the Washington Redskins won their last home game before the election, and lost whenever the Redskins lost. However, since there is no reasonable explanation for why this should be the case, it is merely an interesting bit of trivia, and no serious observer of politics would rely on it in analyzing the next presidential contest. A second difference is that, for many people, ideas about patterns of political behavior remain merely assumptions. Social science insists that the validity of assumptions must be tested against data. Conceptual definition. We need to know, and be able to communicate to others, what our independent and dependent variables mean. What, in other words, is the idea in our mind when we use a term? Definitions found in dictionaries are examples of conceptual definitions. Sometimes, the idea that is in our mind when we use a term will be obvious, but often it will not. Many concepts used in political science are anything but clear. If we are to study political ideology, for example, we need to spell out with as much precision as possible what that concept means in the context of our research. Operational definition. For hypotheses to be tested, we will need to come up with measurements of our variables. An operational definition is one stated in a way that can be directly measured by data. We strive for a one-to-one correspondence between our conceptual definitions and our measurements (operational definitions) of them. If we succeed, then our measurements have validity and reliability. Data needed to provide operational definitions of our variables come from a wide variety of sources. We may gather the data ourselves. Analysis of data that we gather in order to test hypotheses that we have formulated is called primary analysis. Often, however, this approach would be totally beyond our resources of time, money, and expertise. A nationwide survey of public opinion, for example, would take months to design and carry out, would cost many thousands of dollars, and would require the services of a large survey research organization. Often, secondary analysis of data (that is, analysis of data originally gathered for other purposes) will suit our needs far better. Indeed, very important databases are used almost exclusively in secondary analysis. The Census Canada data is a good example. Other surveys such as the Canadian National Election Study and the General Social Survey were created, in part, for the express purpose of providing quality survey data for secondary analysis by students of Canadian politics. Indeed much of the work using the Canadian National is based on secondary analysis. To facilitate secondary analysis, the University of Toronto Data Library, and other university-based data archives have been established throughout the world. The largest of these is the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) established in 1962. Today, over 500 colleges and universities from all over the world, including the University of Toronto are member institutions. Students and faculty at these institutions obtain datasets that provide the basis for numerous scholarly books, articles, and conference papers, graduate theses and dissertations, and undergraduate term papers. The Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences What we have described as the social science method ? the effort to explain empirical phenomena by developing and testing hypotheses ? could as easily be called simply ? the scientific method,? without the ?  social? qualifier. There are, however, differences between social sciences, including political science, and the natural sciences. Though these are differences in degree, they are important. One difference is that the natural sciences rely much more heavily on experimental design, in which subjects are assigned randomly to groups and in which the researcher is able to manipulate the independent varia ble in order to measure its impact on the dependent variable. Often, when people think about the scientific method, what they have in mind are these sorts of controlled laboratory experiments. In political science, we for the most part are not able to carry out experimental designs. If, for example, we wish to study the impact of party affiliation on decisions by judges, we cannot very well assign judges to different parties, but rather have to take the data as they come to us from observing judges in their natural setting. Experimental design, however, does not define the natural sciences, nor does its absence define the social sciences. Astronomy, for example, must of necessity rely on observation of things that cannot be manipulated. ?Epidemiological?  medical research also relies on non-experimental data. Conversely, the social science discipline of social psychology has been built in large part from experiments in small group laboratories. In political science, a great deal of laboratory research on the impact of campaign commercials has been carried out in recent years. Field experiments are also common, as when survey researchers will test the impact of alternativ e question wordings by splitting their sample and administering different questionnaire forms to different subsets of respondents. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that experimental designs are much less common in the social sciences, including political science, than in the natural sciences. Most of our research design is, in effect, an effort to approximate the logic of experimental design as closely as possible. Other differences, also differences in degree, have to do with lower levels of consensus in the social sciences. There is less consensus about conceptual definition. Even if we agree that power is a key concept for the study of politics, we may not agree on what power means. Chemists, on the other hand, not only agree that molecules are important, they also mean pretty much the same thing when they use the term. There is less consensus about operational definition. Chemists also agree on how to measure the atomic weight of a molecule. Social scientists are far from unanimous in the ways they go about measuring power. It bears repeating that these differences are ones of degree. In the natural sciences there are also disputes at the frontiers of the various disciplines about what concepts are important, what they mean, and how they should be measured. In the social sciences, consensus is likely to break down from the start. Even if we can agree that a particular concept is important, on what it means, and on how it should be measured, we will encounter far larger problems of measurement error than those in the natural sciences, where measurement is not without error, but is typically much more precise. Finally, remember that we are involved in trying to explain human behavior. People do not seem to behave as predictably as molecules. Philosophers are not in agreement on this point, but it may be that human behavior is inherently less predictabl The fact that we deal with tendencies rather than with laws means that, for the most part (and despite impressive work by ? rational choice? theorists to develop formal mathematical models of political behavior), political science makes relatively little use of elegant systems of deduction, but considerable use of statistics, which provides us with valuable tools for dealing with probabilities. Despite its unavoidable limitations, political science as a social science has produced an explosion in our knowledge about politics. This has had important practical consequences. For example, no serious aspirant for a major elected office in an economically developed democracy would consider embarking on a campaign without consulting experts in survey research, a signature social science technique. In addition to being, in part, a social science, political science is also in part a humanity. Political science as a humanity means at least a couple of different things.

Competitive Position Essay

In this assignment we tried to look into the Baja Auto’s own position in Indian domestic market and how it has performed in last year compare to local rivals. In addition, we suggest company to invest directly in America’s automobile industry as America and India is more or less similar in terms of operating multinational organisations. As, it is a long term investment and high risk strategy for company, we clinically analysed new market scenario and different aspects of it. 1.0 Competitive Position Baja Auto is ranked as the world’s fourth largest two and three wheelers production company. It is in two wheelers and three wheelers Indian market since 1945 and recognised brand across Asia, Middle Eastern countries, Latin America. Bajaj Auto shares 26.70% of two wheelers market in India, fairly behind Hero Honda Motors which has 41.35% Indian customers, and ahead of TVS Motor Company which holds 18.14%. But when it comes to three wheelers vehicles, Bajaj Auto clearly control the majority of the market with 58.60%, much ahead then Piaggio Vehicles 32.70%. Bajaj’s closest competitor in two wheelers market is Hero Honda Motors. Hero Honda sold 3.72 million two wheelers units, almost double then Bajaj, who managed to sold 1.28 million units. Bajaj Auto is the country’s largest exporter of two- and three-wheelers. During 2008-2009, Bajaj Auto’s international sales achieved an all-time high of 772,519 units of two and three wheelers, representing a growth of 25% over the previous year. (Sources: Automobile Industry report -2012, India). Though, there is a huge difference in terms of selling units between three major players of India’s two wheelers, their growth rate is almost similar to each other. Hero Honda Motors enjoys 15.4% growth in 2012, and it was followed by TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto with 13.3% and 13.2% respectively. (Sources: Annual reports of Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda Motors and TVS Motors-2012). In plant wise capacity Bajaj Auto clearly out plays its competitors. Bajaj Auto has 4 active plants compare to 3 of each for Hero Honda motors and TVS Motors. Therefore Bajaj has upper hand in terms of number of units’ productions. Bajaj Auto’s plants are capable of producing 5 million units of vehicles compares to Hero Honda’s 4.75 million and TVS’ 4 . 50 million of units. (Sources: Automobile Industry report-2012, India). Adopted from Automobile Industry report-2012, India. 2.0 Market Entry Bajaj Auto is highly recognised company throughout the world and has vastly experienced management team. In addition, it has its own technology labs, engineering colleges and very strong labour power. Apart from having a fair amount of domestic market share, it is a leading exporter of India. Bajaj is famous for manufacturing two and three wheelers which have good fuel efficiency and strong outer body and comes in very cheap prise compares to other manufacturers. It is right time for the company to move forward and make its own base in well developed country like The USA, which help company to reduce the good amount of money spent on exporting its products to Latin America and Africa and moreover, America itself has huge crowd who are struggling with current worldwide economic downfall and looking for cheap available options. 2.1 Reason for Entering Into the USA Market PESTLE analysis is an useful analysis tool to evaluate future plans and it helps organisations like Bajaj Auto who is going to enter in new business environment to understand the risk associated with its next move .PESTLE helps company to analyse its position, potential and direction in new market place. 2.1.1 Political Situation of the USA It is very important to assess political condition of new working field before moving abroad. It helps company like Bajaj to make its business strategy. America is strong democratic country like India the motherland of Bajaj Auto and this will work company’s favour as it knows the pros and cons of such a political environment. 2.1.2 Economy The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy of the world, with per capita GDP of $49,800. US Business companies have more flexibility than any other part of the world in decision to expand their capita plant. . At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals’ home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. It is lucrative industry to enter for foreign company like Bajaj Auto. 2.1.3 Social America’s population is 316,668,567 which consist of 79.96% white, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%. 40.2% of America’s population is 25-54years old. 82% population is urbanised and an annual urbanisation rate is 1.2%. 99% of total population is literate. 2.1.4 Technological highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second largest industrial output in world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining. Bajaj Auto will enjoy a good amount of success due to technological expansion of the company which is comparably low in India. 2.1.5 Legal America has strong, fast legal system which gives every individual a fair chance to appeal decision of the court. Supreme court is the highest body who makes the final verdict on any legal issue. 2.1.6 Environment Air pollution resulting in acid rain in the US ; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural freshwater resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification. Bajaj Auto developed the technology in recent years and some of its vehicles run on CNG and LPG which reduce the amount of carbon dioxide. This technology gives company an edge over its competitors to gain confidence of the US government to enter into their market. (Sources: http://www.cia.gov/library) 2.2Market Attractiveness DIAMOND MODEL Source: Porter, M. (1990) 2.2.1 Firm strategy, structure and rivalry As mentioned earlier, Bajaj Auto is famous for producing light weight two and three wheelers vehicles which have good fuel efficiency and strong body and it’s new for American population. There is no strong competitor in market at the present that can threat the position of Bajaj Auto in its production range. Bajaj Auto manufactures couple of motorbikes like Pulsar, Duke, and Discover which is heavy but it will not be a good idea to launch them in America as Harley Davidson, Yamaha motors, Kawasaki motors have strong hold on American customers. Bajaj Auto follows hierarchical strategy which resulted in advantages within industries and it helps company to gain upper hand in competition with major players. 2.2.2 Demand Conditions Light motorcycles, the summary say, will outperform other ICE product types and maintain their position as the largest single segment of the motorcycle market in America. This will be due to several factors, including the fastest population growth of any region, the lowest median age and the lowest (but climbing) per-capita GDP. (Source: world demand motorcycles grow). This is good future aspect for Bajaj Auto to succeed in international adventure. 2.2.3 Factor Endowment America has strong and large factor endowments compare to Western Europe. The US has comparative advantages of skilled workers, infrastructure, open market entry for international companies, natural resource and technology. Romalis (2004) provides a quasi-Rybczynski prediction, â€Å"if a country accumulates a factor more rapidly than rest of the world, then that country’s production and exports will systematically shift toward that more intensively use that factor.† The US has well developed technology when it comes to motorbike industry and that attracts Bajaj Auto to gain an entry in this market. 2.2.4 Related and Supporting Industries The US is rich in producing natural resources like iron, lead, petroleum, natural gas. In addition America has the world largest coal reserve with 491 billion short tons accounting for 27% of the world’s total.(Source: http://www.cia.gov/library). Strong supply chain of motorbikes engines parts, raw material for motorbike body, leather and machineries are always key factors in success of automobile business and America provides all these features to Bajaj Auto. 2.3 2.3.1 Target Market Young, universities’ students, African and Asian immigrants, middle class families and small vendors should be first priority as a target market for Bajaj Auto as they share large number of total American population (see 2.1.3). Above mention customers have limited resources of income and other responsibilities and therefore they always look out for cheap available option. The kind of two and three wheelers Bajaj Auto produces are low in prise and have high fuel efficiency. These two points will work in company’s favour and manage to pull big crowd. Once company get established, it can launch the range of heavy weight vehicles to provide competition to giants like Yamaha, Royal Enfield, Honda and Harley Davidson.

Effectiveness and Impact of Virtual Teams Essay

Technology is consistently evolving and impacting many organizations worldwide. It has changed many aspects in the workplace, including work styles, communication, and teamwork. Communication has been transformed into the ways of the virtual world, directly affecting group dynamics. Organizations often form teams of employees to serve a variety of purposes and reach goals in a more effective manner than independent work. Teams used to work strictly through face-to-face interactions, but with growing technology, virtual teams have been created and are used fairly often. â€Å"A virtual team is any team whose member interactions are mediated by time, distance, and technology. The core feature is not the technology, but that the team works together on a task while physically separated. Group members can communicate through e-mail, voice mail, video conferencing, electronic bulletin boards, and intranets.† (Levi, 2007, p. 258) Many research studies have been done to assess the effectiveness of virtual teams, examining the positive and negative aspects. This literature review is aimed to analyze several articles where researchers have explored many components of virtual teams and their impact. Vroman and Kovacich (2002) wrote an article that analyzed â€Å"the interactions of a virtual interdisciplinary team.† They explain computer-mediated communication (CMC) to be the basis of virtual teams, which they then compare to face-to-face teams. They examined the Interdisciplinary Training for Health Care for Rural Areas (ITHCRA) project, which is a team comprised of many different types of health professionals (e.g. clinical psychologist, nurse practitioner, nutritionist, etc.) The team’s ultimate goal was to develop an interdisciplinary health care curriculum, solely using CMC. ITHCRA functioned the same as any other team working together would, and faced the same challenges and developmental processes (forming, storming, norming, performing, and transforming). They additionally had to learn the ways of the new communication technology, which was an obstacle for many of the group members. The developmental process of the virtual team was similar to that of a face-to-face team, however, a number of differences were found. The forming phase was very  typical for team development. Team building and norm development took precedent of the project tasks initially. They had met face-to-face once, and after looking at their communication after this occurred, it was obvious they had formed social relationships and were more committed. This raised the question: what would have happened if the face-to-face meeting did not take place? It may have been more effective to have two groups in this study so comparisons could be made (e.g. one group solely virtual, the other group allowed 1-3 face-to-face meetings). It is hard to determine whether certain aspects of team development would have taken place without the opportunity to see their team members in a more personal way. Storming took place as well, which is when teams face certain conflicts. There were no apparent differences for this development in the virtual team. Norming, performing, and transforming phases of development all contributed to the team’s success and helped them complete their tasks and reach their goals. Vroman and Kovacich (2002) provided a good analysis of ITHCRA and the ways in which it was successful and where the members were challenged. They portrayed virtual teams as being more convenient, effective, and less time consuming when completing tasks. However, it allows for less personal contact and can be more difficult for some to communicate and fulfill the expectations of the group project. It may have been more effective to have ITHCRA communicate solely through CMC and compare them to a team with the same tasks and goals, but who communicated through a combination of CMC and face-to-face meetings. More valid results would be accessible to draw more accurate conclusions. It was interesting to use a interdisciplinary team, however, it may have acted as another variable besides CMC, which would then alter the results. Kirkman, Rosen, Tesluk, and Gibson (2004) conducted a research study on the impact of team empowerment on virtual team performance. â€Å"Team empowerment is defined as increased task motivation that is due to team members’ collective, positive assessments of their organizational tasks (Kirkman & Rosen, 2002). They examined team empowerment through the teams potency, meaningfulness, autonomy, and impact to determine its’ impact on process improvement and customer satisfaction. Kirkman et al. (2004) studied a service organization that utilized high technology and frequently formed virtual teams to complete the company’s tasks and goals. Each team member had different roles within the organization and was separated from each  other geographically. The researchers moderated the effects of face-to-face meetings to examine the relationship between team empowerment and both process improvement and customer satisaction. Kirkman et al. (2004) used surveys, observation, a team empowerment measure they had created, and customer satisfaction and process improvement scorecards to test their hypotheses, which were that 1. Team empowerment will have a positive relation to virtual team process improvement, 2. Team empowerment will have a positive relation to virtual team customer satisfaction, and 3. The number of team’s face-to-face meetings will alter the relationship between team empowerment and process improvement (the fewer face-to-face meetings the stronger the relationship), and 4. The number of team’s face-to-face meetings will alter the relationship between team empowerment and customer satisfaction (the fewer face-to-face meetings the stronger the relationship). Their results indicated support for hypotheses one, two, and three, but did not support the fourth hypothesis. The researchers produced a well-designed study with significant, meaningful results that help contribute to the understanding of virtual teams. They operationally defined all of the terms and measures to provide an equal understanding for everyone. It seems that virtual teams have many positive characteristics that are more effective compared to the common face-to-face teams. With the rising technology, virtual teams may become the norm as researchers continue to understand their components and wire them for optimal success. Montoya-Weiss, Massey, and Song (2001) wrote an article on the findings of their research study. They â€Å"examined the effects of temporal coordination on virtual teams supported by an asynchronous communication technology.† They measured the mechanism â€Å"process structure† to determine the relationship between conflict management behavior and virtual team performance. They measured conflict management individually for each team member through a questionnaire they created. They defined their dependent variable, virtual team performance, as â€Å"the quality of the team rationale used to support the team decision.† They examined the range, depth, and organization for each team decision. Lastly, they observed and analyzed all communication among the virtual team. Montoya-Weiss et al. (2001) had five hypotheses total, which were tested through statistical analysis. They predicted that for all conflict management behaviors, a positive interaction would result.