Foreign policy analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Foreign policy analysis - Essay Example According to Rational Actor Model, the government is seen as a unitary actor and policy making is done keeping in mind the cost and benefit analysis. This model assumes that policy makers are faithful and execute their role with full justice. This model is unrealistic because it is logical and asses policy on basis of cost and not on its ulterior motive and subject value. In this model, the investigation is made to understand the rational thinking of the person involved in policy making. As per (Zakiuum,2009)â€Å"The Rational Actor Model is used to understand the decisions that a nation-state or organization makes†. In Rationale Actor Model the goal and objective of a country is analyzed primarily. In Cuban missile crisis, Russian president installed nuclear missile in Cuba to defend Cuba from Unites States. The objective of then U.S. president Kennedy was to obstruct communism in the western region. Kennedy has attempted to overthrow Castro and his government many times but was unsuccessful. In this Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy wanted maximum to avoid a nuclear war which was on a brink of happening. He analyzed many options but decided blockade of Cuba as it would initiate a positive response from Russia. â€Å"On October 20, 1962, President Kennedy directs implementing a military blockade on Cuba: a full "quarantine", preventing anything or anyone from going into or leaving Cuba".†(Marxist,2000).Here the cost of the policy is not taken in to consideration but the safety of United States was in mind of Kennedy. It is not necessary that always the political leaders will act in rationale manner as human mind is egoistic. 2. Evaluate the impact of re-unification on Germany’s foreign policy. The German re-unification was a treaty signed between two German states in October 3rd 1990 in Berlin. This event has shocked the world and triggered many chain of actions. The re-unification had a tremendous impact on allies of Germany as they thought t hings were happening too fast and the international security can be at risk. America and Great Britain assumed that Germany’s unwillingness to sign NATO membership even can create more trouble. According to the (Emabssy of ,2011)â€Å"United Germany’s integration in the foreign policy context was regulated under a separate treaty signed by the two German states and the four allied powers†. The new German policy implies a considerable shift in the country’s stand towards Europe and other foreign nations. As per (Hellman,2011)â€Å"These foreign policy self-image changes are extensive and profound, and pertain not only to the self-image of a small foreign policy elite, but that of the German public in general†. Being a unified country, Germany is more confident and is trying relentlessly for a permanent seat in U.N. Security council. Germany also participated in the â€Å"P5 plus Germany† which is comprised of U.N. security members to discuss about the nuclear activities of Iran. Germany has showed its self confidence in its relation with foreign nations especially with European Union and Afghanistan. Not only European Union is t he centre of German foreign policy but its allies with U.S. regarding NATO membership is strong. Germany as a unified nation also shares a close tie with Russia. 3. Assess the impact of political change and instability on Russia’s foreign policy. The Russian foreign policy is significantly affected by the internal political factors and the action of executive leader .While U.S governors visited foreign nations to promote business, Russian governor Tatarstan formulated his own laws regarding foreign investment and attempted to build alliances with UN and other international organization without the consent from central authority. In his article(Charap,2007)states that â€Å"

Child Development Theories Natural vs Social Process

Child Development Theories Natural vs Social Process To what extent has childhood been viewed as a social and cultural process rather than a natural process? Illustrate your discussion with reference to Book 1, Chapter 1, Children and development. Childhood is such a fundamental and integral part of humanity that on first considerations, we may take it for granted as an entirely natural process. The biological journey of maturation is a universal shared experience.   Yet even if childhood is recognised only in these limited biological terms, it is still influenced by social factors i.e. the health and life choices of the mother during pregnancy. In the civilised world, there are very few who would be prepared to argue that childhood should be viewed as an entirely natural process. Contemporary developmental theorists recognise the child as an active agent whom is developing both physically and psychologically; the individual experience of childhood is dependent upon how they interact with their environment and how that society understands their specific nature and needs. The attitudes to children and views of childhood vary dramatically between different periods in history and different cultures, and are also actively evolvi ng within our own culture; therefore it is, currently, more accurate to view childhood as a social and cultural process rather than a natural one: â€Å"The immaturity of children is a biological fact but the ways in which that immaturity is understood is a fact of culture†¦.childhood is †¦.constructed and reconstructed both for and by children† (James and Prout, 1997, p.15) Woodhead (2005) illustrates that historically, throughout Western culture, childhood has been viewed as both a natural process and as a social and cultural process. It has also been viewed as an interactive process between the two. These changeable and evolving attitudes confirm James and Prout’s assertion that â€Å"childhood is constructed and reconstructed†. By comparing and contrasting the origins of the four main Psychological perspectives of Child Development and acknowledging their legacies to modern day practices, I intend to conclude that childhood has probably been viewed to a greater extent as a social and cultural process than it has a natural process. It has been proposed that ‘childhood’ is in itself a recent invention. Philippe Aries (1962) is chiefly accredited with underlining the socially constructed character of childhood. He studied the history of literature and paintings and concluded that in mediaeval times childhood didn’t exist. Obviously younger members of the species existed but they were not granted any special or distinctive status.   Once weaned, they were thrust into adult society. Aries claimed that the awareness of children’s distinctive nature did not emerge until the end of the fifteenth century. This can de illustrated in the emergence and gradual rise of schooling and paediatrics. Aries has been criticised for making general conclusions which rely on limited sources. The largest group of children would have been the poor, and they would not have been represented. However the broad framework of his argument (the socially constructed nature of childhood) is the foundation of subsequent studies: â€Å"The idea of childhood must be seen as a particular cultural phrasing of the early part of the life course, historically and politically contingent and subject to change†. (James and James, 2001) There are four main perspectives of child development. These theories stem from three opposing philosophies which attempt to define the essential nature of humanity as embodied in the newborn child. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) believed children to be inherently sinful. He believed that development should be shaped by control and discipline. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) believed children to be inherently innocent; his supporters advocate that development is shaped by following children’s natural stages. The theories of Hobbes and Rousseau are classified as nativist theories; maintaining that childhood is a natural process. John Locke (1632-1704) didn’t view children as either inherently sinful or innocent, but rather a ‘tabua rasa’ (blank slate) to be written on by experience; those influenced by him maintain the chief factor of development is experience.   Locke’s Theory is classified as empiricist; advocating that childhood is a social and cult ural process. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) believed children to be born with mental structures specifically designed to interpret information from the environment; the essence of development being interaction. Kant sets the tone for the ‘transactional models’ of development; not viewing childhood as exclusively a natural or exclusively a social process, but a combination of the two. Thomas Hobbes believed that all human beings were born with original sin, therefore all children were born evil and had to be ‘saved’. The prime factors of development were control and discipline. He was an important influence to the formation of the Methodist church. The theory that children were inherently sinful was very desirable and easily identifiable from an Armenian perspective; people believed that children learned obedience to God through obedience to their parents. Childhood was a time of strict parenting and harsh discipline: â€Å"Severe beatings of children in the name of discipline were common occurrences. Heaven was sometimes described to children in Sunday school as a place where children are never beaten†. (Newman and Smith, 1999) This view was apparent in the early nineteenth century in Hannah More’s evangelical writings on child rearing. She too argued that it was a fundamental error to view children as inherently innocent and it should be down to society to curb their evil dispositions. The omnipresence of God and Satan in every person’s life was an unchallenged premise: â€Å"The hard line view of infants as limbs of Satan persisted throughout the eighteenth century†. (Ezell, M.J.M, 1984) This harsh and unsentimental view of children was not just religiously, but also demographically and economically motivated. Infant mortalities were extremely high; between twenty and fifty percent of babies died within their first year. Many parents referred to their child as â€Å"it† until they reached an age when survival was probable.   Although it is problematic to speculate, it seems plausible that parents were consciously detached from their children as a coping mechanism, should they not survive into adulthood. Although Hobbes advocated a nativist perspective on the essential nature of children, the religious attitudes which he and his contemporaries would have taken for granted as truth are now dormant in the majority of Western societies (apart from some remaining puritan cultures).   Any who did share the popular religious view would not have been recorded.   This validates James and Prouts assertion that childhood is â€Å"constructed and reconstructed†. Hobbesian views of childhood did not unfold naturally, but were constructed through social discourse. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed the exact opposite to Hobbes; that children are not inherently sinful, but are inherently innocent, and would develop naturally in positive ways if allowed to do so. He referred to children as ‘noble savages’, this romantic notion supposes that all humanity is born pure and good until corrupted by civilisation. The environment does not have a positive, but has a negative affect on development: â€Å"Everything is good in leaving the hands of the Creator of Things; everything degenerates at the hands of man†. (Rousseau, 1762) During the eighteenth century, views of childhood began to change; children were seen as innocent and in need of protection, (not unlike the way we see them today) consequently though, they were also viewed as weak and susceptible to temptation. Along with the notion of protection came the notion of discipline, as parents taught their children to avoid the enticements of their social world. Until the late 1800s, child labour was commonly practiced and accepted. It is reported that up to half of all workers in northern factories were children under the age of eleven. Children worked as long and as hard as adults. Because of their small size, they were sometimes given difficult and hazardous jobs, like cleaning out the insides of narrow factory chimneys. In poor urban families, parents often forced their children to engage in scavenging and street peddling.   Rousseau’s observations were not surprising given that the desire to protect children was coupled with their seemingly inevitable exploitation. Although chiefly belonging to the realms of Romanticism, Rousseau’s theory did have practical psychological applications. He is attributed with presenting the first truly developmental account of childhood, through his emphasis on maturation and stages of development. His book; â€Å"Emile† (On Education)(1762) suggests children should be allowed an ‘Age of Nature’ covering the period from birth to twelve years. This should be a time in which children be allowed to play and have their natural innocence respected.    It is Rousseau’s emphasis in allowing the child to indulge their natural stages of development which is his legacy to child development. Fredrich Froebel (1782-1852): the pioneer of the kindergarten movement and designer of toy building blocks shared Rousseau’s vision: â€Å"The child, the boy, man indeed should know no other endeavour but to be at every stage of development wholly what this stage calls for† (Froebel 1885). The idea of natural stages of development sets the tone for contemporary teaching templates by setting guidelines for what is considered ‘developmentally appropriate’ practice, especially the balance of play and teaching within early years education. Although Rousseau’s legacy can be illustrated in modern day views of childhood, it is his practical advice about nurturing the Childs natural development, and not his nativist perspective which persists.   John Locke’s theory contrasts both Hobbes and Rousseau’s. He didn’t believe that children were born inherently evil or innocent, but rather a blank slate. He saw the character of childhood as extremely malleable; experience being the sole factor of development. He recommended parents as tutors, responsible for providing the right environment and offering moral guidance in which to shape and nurture their children into mature, rational adults.   Locke was the pioneer of the Educationalist movement. His essay,† Some thoughts concerning education† (1693)asserts that; â€Å"a Childs mind must be educated before he is instructed†.   Although some of his critics accused Locke of â€Å"despiritulising† childhood, his theory permeated throughout society: â€Å"The root of all corruption is poor Education† (Osborne London Journal, 1732.) Locke’s theories echo contemporary debates concerning modern family values. The infamous ‘Back to Basics’ conservative campaign of the early 1990’s suggested that a breakdown in traditional family values was responsible for a degenerating Britain. In May 2002, Patricia Amos was jailed for sixty days because of her daughter’s persistent truancy. Most recently, in response to a spate of teenage shootings in East London in February 2007, leader of the opposition; David Cameron controversially proposed that absent fathers are responsible for an emerging class of feral children.   These attitudes don’t assume that children are passive receivers of their environment as Locke believed, but do demonstrate the huge onus of social responsibility he proposed. Immanuel Kant viewed the key influence on development to be interaction. He agreed with Locke that experience plays a crucial role in learning but argued that knowledge could not arise from what is taken in by the senses alone. Kant acknowledges the child as an active agent in their own development. He deems it unreasonable to assume that children are just passive receivers of external stimuli or blind followers of a pre-determined biological pattern. The precipitator of development becomes the continuous interaction between the two. Both nature and the environment are equally significant. Kant creates the framework for the transactional models of development which assume the child to be an active autonomous agent in their own development and attempt to explain this relationship of cause and effect that they have with their environment.   This is the most popular start point for modern child development theories, such as social constructivist theories.   The religiously dictated views of Hobbes and Romanticism motivated views of Rousseau are unconvincing to a modern audience. Their legacies are derivative of their child rearing advice and not their rigid perspectives. James and Prouts assertion that â€Å"childhood is constructed and reconstructed is convincing enough to dispel these solely nativist theories. Locke’s emphasis on education (although not to the extent he proposed) is echoed by today’s politicians.   It seems reasonable to assume that the real character of childhood is an interactive process between the two as proposed by Kant. .   In the civilised world, the onus of social responsibility to our children has always been great and is growing. Underlining the socially constructed character of childhood has had a great influence on our attitudes; therefore childhood has probably been viewed to a greater extent as a social and cultural process than it has been viewed as a ‘natural process’.

Which Fuel Releases the Most Energy Per Mole Measure by Heating Water :: Papers

Which Fuel Releases the Most Energy Per Mole Measure by Heating Water Hypothesis In this investigation I will burn alcohols to heat up a beaker of water. I will be burning five fuels which are called Methanol, Ethanol, Propanol, Butanol and Pentanol. In my investigation I predict that the alcohol Pentanol would release more energy than the other alcohols because as the chain length of the alkanes get longer, the more energy is released. Apparatus  · Retort stand  · Clamp  · Measuring cylinder  · Thermometer  · Heatproof mats  · Copper can  · Splint  · Chemicals(Methanol, Ethanol, Propanol, Butanol and Pentanol) Independent variables  · Using the same scales  · Same amount of water in copper beaker  · Same height of thermometer from water  · Temperature of water before experiment  · Weight of alcohol before experiment Fair Test To make it a fair test:  · I made sure I put the same amount of water in the copper can.  · I made sure that the water started with the same temperature with the same alcohol.  · I made sure that the height was the same from the water to the thermometer. Health and Safety  · Wear goggles  · Hide tie in the shirt  · Keep bags under the table Method I first got all the apparatus that I needed and set it up. I got a measuring cylinder and measured a 100 cm ³ of water and poured it in a copper can. Then I connected the copper can to the stand with a clamp. Then I would get a spirit lamp which is filled with alcohol and measure it. Then I would use a spirit to light it and put it under the copper can. Then I would heat and stir the water until the temperature has gone up another 10 degrees Celsius. I will then blow out the flame and put the cap on the burner quickly and reweigh the alcohol.

Interview Questions Essay

1. Tell me something about yourself. I am a hard working employee who is dedicated to get the job done successfully, effectively and efficiently. I have a strong background in business management and a variety of job experience. This has helped me to develop valuable skills and abilities I use in my personal and professional career path. 2. Why should I hire you? I am confident that my professional skills and abilities would bring value to your company as well as your staff. I will use my current management skills and abilities to evaluate, improve and maintain employee production by setting specific employee job goal, increasing employee motivation and providing frequent employee feedback. 3. What are your strengths? I have developed strong business management and customer service skills that I will use to manage employees, increase production and decrease company expenses. I also have a strong communication, leadership, organizational, creativity and safety skills and abilities that help me to provide a positive, safe and secure leadership. 4. What are your weaknesses? I tend to over analyze simple Ideas and solutions to basic problems. This is where I try to identify all aspect of a situation or process before making an educated decision. My weakness lies in my slightly impaired ability to make quick radical decisions to simplified problems. I also tend to be a workaholic where I become more concerned with solving problems and completing projects then my own personal welfare. 5. Why are you applying for this position? I feel this position is a great opportunity to increase and utilize my  professional skills, abilities and education. These skills will provide a valuable resource to your business while increasing my own personal and professional development. 6. Why are you interested in working for our firm? Outside of a benefit scope, your company shows appreciation and loyalty to employees providing needed security and support. You also provide strong career development benefits and incentives that I plan to participate in as I build my career in your company. 7. What can you contribute to this company? I plan to contribute my time, skills and abilities to completing company goals and developing new innovative strategies to decrease company costs, increase production or productivity and increase the overall value and success of your business. Group B: Behavior-Based Questions 1. Tell me about a difficult situation you dealt with when supervising others. What did you do, and what were the results? One summer I acquired a job position as a shift supervisor for the lodge services department. This position consisted mostly of janitorial duties, supervising employee job functions, developing work schedules and reporting employee activity to department managers. While working under this position, an employee was hired to provide additional help during periods of higher service demand. After working for a few weeks his job performance started to drastically decrease. He hide himself in closets, bathrooms or other secluded areas where he would read personal books he brought from home. After verbally warning him several times with little to no compliance I felt the need to escalate this situation to the attention of my supervisor. After doing so, my supervisor showed little interest in disciplining his poor performance. When it came to time to develop new work schedules, I took it upon myself to drastically decrease hours he was to work and offered these additional hours to more productive and resourceful employees. This action eventually lead to a dismissal of his services, slightly decreased company costs and lead to my personal promotion as hotel service manager. 2. Tell me about a time when someone made an unreasonable request of you. How did you react, and what  happened? When I worked in the plating lab for a company, my boss on many occasions would change the job duties and requirements I was to perform. On one occasion I was reprimanded and written up for following the specific guidelines for disposing of nickel sulfa mite, a hazardous chemical used to plate steel with nickel. When I started working for my boss, I was given a detailed list of specific actions to be taken when disposing of company chemicals. The action plans for disposing of nickel sulfa mite consisted of checking current hazardous material disposal drums for partially filled or empty drums. If no drums were available I was to go directly to our chemist and have him supply me with a new waste drum. The following day after executing this procedure, an employee reported that a practically filled nickel sulfa mite waste drum had been misplaced by another department. This is when I received disciplinary action for not following specific orders. At the end of the day, after my boss and I had time to calm down, I approached my boss and explained how I followed the direct procedures I was given for the circumstances, he agreed that without additional information I would not have known to check other departments for waste drum that may have been misplaced. The penalties were dropped and I received the additional training needed to fulfill my job requirements more effectively. 3. Describe the last time that you did something that went beyond what was expected in work or school. While volunteering my services as a water safety officer and public safety driver for a fire company and the county zone water task force, I personally found it very difficult to meet specific requirements and expectations when using company gear. These requirements and expectations are set by training and state law standards to insure a moderate level of safety and job success is provided. After identifying the main issues for these complications residing with the company’s gear, I took it upon myself to analyze record and report current equipment, as well as additional needed water rescue equipment. This action resulted in a better understanding of water rescue requirements, acceptable equipment and additional support from higher officials including the company’s chief, deputy and captain. The company is now evaluating the cost and resources needed to acquire this additional equipment and increase the safety and security of our water rescue personnel.

Policy Recommendation Essay

The difficulty with any definition of poverty involves the meaning of minimum needs and the amount of money required to satisfy these needs. (Ansel M. Sharp, 2010) Those in poverty sometimes face an additional obstacle to earning an adequate income. Discrimination as we use it means that equals are treated unequally or that the ‘unequal’s are treated equally. Discrimination exists in the labor market when people with equal productivity are paid different wages or people with differences in productivity are paid equal wages. Discrimination can also exist in the product market when consumers pay different prices for the same product. (Ansel M. Sharp, Evidence of Discrimination in Our Economy, 2010) Discuss the major impact to society of the problem. In 2001, some six-point-eight million families, or nine-point-two percent of all families, lived in poverty. This translates into more than thirty-two-point-nine million individuals, a staggering number to many Americans who have never been personally touched by poverty. Indeed, some have characterized those who live in poverty as the hidden poor. Studies have shown that there is a significant turnover in the poverty population: Families and single individuals move into and out of poverty several times throughout the years in response to significant life events. Although no reliable estimate exists for the number of hardcore poverty cases, the incidence of poverty can be easily seen to vary dramatically across a number of demographic characteristics. (Ansel M. Sharp, What is Poverty? , 2010) Just imagine searching through heaping piles of refuse at landfills, looking for anything that could seem partly edible, to satisfy an unending hunger. Many people around the world face this situation every day of their lives. What could have caused a situation like this to occur? The education and skill level, health or handicap status, and discrimination play a vital role in poverty. A major factor determining whether someone will end up living in poverty, education or skill level can make or break an income. Education plays a vital role in acquiring jobs, learning new skills, and bringing home necessities and comforts of life. A person who doesn’t receive an education has a very small chance of making much money and acquiring skills that would bring home a desirable income. Many who do not have an education bring their family into a cycle of poverty, where their posterity doesn’t necessarily have the income to go to college or even don’t have a desire to acquire a high school diploma. Poverty rates are higher among families with only one parent or head of household present. Poverty is also related to age, those very young and those very old have higher rates of poverty than those in their prime and middle-age years. The economic cause of poverty is family incomes depend on the quantities of resources that families can place in employment and the prices received for those resources. To understand poverty, then, it is important to understand what determines the prices paid for human and capital resources and what determines the quantities that can be employed. Under competitive market conditions, the basic principle of wage rate determination is that units of any kind of labor tend to be paid a price equal to any one worker’s contribution to an employer’s total receipts. In other words, workers are paid about what they are worth to employers. What a worker is worth to an employer is referred to by economists as the marginal revenue product of labor. (Ansel M. Sharp, The Economic Causes of Poverty, 2010) Market discrimination may be traced to two primary sources. These are the power to discriminate in the market and the desire to discriminate. In our complex market economy, the wages of workers vary widely. Even workers hired by the same employer to perform similar jobs are often paid different wage rates. The meaning of wage discrimination is clear enough: unequal pay for equal contributions. But proving discrimination depends on being able to distinguish among individuals on the basis of individual efforts and productivity. Generally, humans are paid pproximately what they are worth in a competitive economy. (Ansel M. Sharp, Evidence of Discrimination in Our Economy, 2010) Employment discrimination means that some people are not hired because of non-economic characteristics such as race or gender. Two individuals with the same training, education, and experience apply for a job, however one is black and one is white. If both do not have the same chance of getting the job, discrimination has entered into the decision-making process. There is a growing belief that discriminatory differences in pay, especially gender differences in pay, occur largely because of occupational segregation. In general, men work in occupations that employ very few women, and women work in occupations that employ very few men. The economic results of occupational segregation for women are low wages. Women are often relegated to occupations where productivity and experience have little to do with their status and where opportunities for overtime and premium pay are limited. Price discrimination occurs when people of different races or genders are forced to pay different prices for the same good or service, provided the differences are not due to differences in cost of serving the consumer. (Ansel M.