Education Problems ( The Risk ) Research Proposal

Education Problems ( The Risk ) - Research Proposal Example It was advocated as a way to insure that students were receiving the education they were entitled to, and not just pushing them through the motion of graduation. However, critics have contended that it is ineffectual, punitive, inflexible, and hurts minority students the most, the very one's the Act was purported to help. An evaluation of the important markers of achievement scores, drop out rate, and performance gap will show that the NCLB has left minority students farther behind, and in fact is fundamentally discriminatory in its implementation. The NCLB was enacted with good intentions and targeted the legitimate educational problems in the public school system, but the unintended consequences have prohibited the ACT from realizing its goals. The Act was passed with bipartisan support amid much fanfare with then President Bush stating, "These reforms express my deep belief in our public schools and their mission to build the mind and character of every child, from every background, in every part of America" (cited in US Department of Education, 2002, p.9). The fundamental principles of the NCLB came after decades of debate and stress that "schools and districts work best when they have greater control and flexibility, when scientifically proven teaching methods are employed, and when schools are held accountable for results" (US Department of Education, 2002, p.9). However, after 6 years of data it appears that schools and teachers have lost their autonomy and the results are being masked and hidden through unethical accou nting practices. Issues such as bilingual education are being used as a political hot button, with little regard for the students that the policies impact. Data is falsified, drop out rates soar, and the real problems go unnoticed in an air of false confidence. The situation has degenerated to the point that some states have considered abandoning the NCLB and forfeiting federal funding for education. It is of extreme importance to look at the latest data available and make an evaluation as to the future of the NCLB. It is the obligation of the citizens and legislature to assure we have an Act that works as designed and fulfills the lofty, and worthwhile, goals set by the NCLB. Literature Review One of the most focused upon characteristics of student data is what is called the 'Achievement Gap'. It is the performance gap that exists between the white students and the minority students. Traditionally, since the 1960s white students have outscored minorities at almost every level and subject due to socio-cultural and economic reasons, and the NCLB has a goal of closing this gap (Smith, 2005, p.513). However, this aspect of the NCLB is almost immeasurable. For the recent 4-year period beginning in 2004, the data required to evaluate the achievement gap only exists for 10 of the 50 states (Anderson, Medrich, & Fowler, 2007, p.549). To be measured as a minority sub-group, such as Hispanic, the school needs a minimum number of the minority students to be required to include them in the data. If the number of minority students is small, such as in a rural school, they are not required to disaggregate them in the data. Schools and districts can set this number arbitrarily and may be using it to hide minority results. According

Balanced score card of puppy Luv Doggy day care Essay Example for Free

Balanced score card of puppy Luv Doggy day care Essay Robert Kaplan and David Norton first introduced the Balanced Scorecard in the early 1990’s as a strategic management system that forces managers to focus on the important performance metrics that lead to success. There are four perspectives of BSC as following: 1. Financial perspective This is the standard perspective that everyone uses even before the BSC. Even a non-profit organization uses this perspective in order to balance their books. It measures financial performances through financial ratios and other financial indicators. In the case of Puppy Luv Doggy Day Care, the financial perspective includes strategic objectives in following areas: ? Market share ? Revenues and costs ? Profitability ? Competitive position 2. Customer Perspective It is a measure of corporate value viewed from the value it delivers to customers. For instance, time taken to process a phone call, result of customers’ surveys, number of complaints, competitive rankings, etc. In the case of Puppy Luv Doggy Day Care, the Customer Value Perspective includes strategic objectives in following areas:? Customer retention or turnover ? Customer satisfaction ? Customer value 3. Business Process Perspective It measures corporate value from the enhancement of its business processes, like time spent prospecting, quality cost, product rework required, etc. In the case of Puppy Luv Doggy Day Care, Process or Internal Operations Perspective includes strategic objectives in following areas: ? Measure of process performance ? Productivity or productivity improvement ? Operations metrics 4. Learning and Growth Perspective. This perspective measures corporate value from its learning abilities or the progress of its learning processes. Example of activities measures are staff training, employee suggestion and improvement of certain processes as an outcome of the learning process (‘Balanced Scorecard’, 2006). In the case of Puppy Luv Doggy Day Care, the Learning and Growth (Employee) Perspective includes strategic objectives in following areas: ? Employee satisfaction ? Employee turnover or retention ? Level of organization capability ? Nature of organization culture or climate. ? Technological innovation These perspectives are then adaptable to various businesses by choosing different drivers for each perspective. The BSC can also detect and measure correlation between activities, in order to help decide which activities positively impacted others. For instance an online customer service can help reducing telephone calls and time to handle complaints, thus increasing effectiveness of business processes. According to Kaplan and Norton, there are various utilities of the Balance Scorecard. Some of them are: to clarify and update strategy, communicate strategy, align unit goals with corporate strategy, link strategic objectives to long term target, etc (‘Balanced Scorecard’, 2006). Table 2 KPI based on Balanced Scorecard of Puppy Luv Doggy Day Care. Reference: Balanced Scorecard Institute. (2009). Balanced Scorecard Basics. Retrieved August 5, 2009 from http://www. balancedscorecard. org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default. aspx Hansen, Don R. And Mayanne M. Mowen. (2003). Management Accounting. Ohio: South-Western College Publishing Co Niven, Paul R. (2006). Adapting the Balanced Scorecard to Fit the Public Sector. Retrieved August 5, 2009 from http://www. bettermanagement. com/seminars/seminar. aspx? l=5545 Shaw, Greg L and John R. Harrald. (2004). Identification of the Core Competencies Required of Executive Level Business Crisis and Continuity Managers. Retrieved August 5, 2009 from http://www. gwu. edu/~dhs/pubs/identifycore_2004. pdf#search=businesslevel%20strategic%20control.

Organizational culture, and change management

Organizational culture, and change management Introduction This study is based on organizational culture, and change management This study provides an overall idea about the particular subject area and it provides very important knowledge base in both practical and theoretical manner. Accordingly in the first part of the study the concept of culture of an organization has been studies as a one learning outcome of the module. Under that a framework of analyzing organizational culture has been described. After that the internal and external factors which could influence organizational culture has been explained, accordingly as the final description of the first learning outcome the current organizational culture has been evaluated. After a comprehensive understanding on culture of the organizations a study has been expanded to study understand the impact of change that underpins individual and organizational performance. In that section the concept behind organisational values the values to an individual and as well the affect of mangers personal values in working with team members has been explained properly. As the third learning outcome the relationship between organizational culture and change management has been understood and accordingly it was identified how organizational culture can affect organizational change management process and then it was assessed how organizational culture and change management can affect individual behaviour. Also ultimately it is discussed how individual values can influence the behaviour of team. All together this study covered a vast area in the subject area of organizational behaviour and change management. Universal Supplier (Pvt) Ltd is UK based company, they import many food items from various Asian countries, and among that Sri Lanka is major country. Universal suppliers are newly established company, it is not alder than 10 years, but its progress is very successful. World is change every day, new technologies are emerge and customer anticipation and satisfactions are change day by day therefore every business has to upgrade their standard. Universal suppliers have understood change system, so they give more priority to change their management and products relative to market change. The Concept of Culture To achieve this learning objective there are three main areas which has to be address. First one is the to determine a framework for analyzing organizational culture and then Explanation on internal and external factors that influence organizational culture and at last of this section the consideration was given to evaluate the current Organizational culture. Determine a framework for analyzing organizational culture Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the way in which people behave and things get done. Norms are unwritten rules and behaviors. In a very simple way we can say the culture of an organization is the typical way of doing things in the organization. It particularly relates to the behavior pattern and the relationship. The culture of an organization develops as an evolution of long time. It is normally created by the people who work in the organization both the managers and the workforce. So this framework for analyzing organization should be developed in a manner considering on above said ideas of the organizational culture. There seems to be wide range of agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of shared meaning is, on closer examination, a set of key elements that in aggregate capture the essence of and organizations culture. These elements are the core of the framework which can use to analyze the organizational culture. Those are as follows. Innovations and risk tasking The degree to which employees are encourages to be innovative and take risk. Attention to detail The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. Result Orientation The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. People Orientation The degree to which management decisions take in to consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. Team Orientation The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easy going. Stability The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth Each of these elements exists on a continuum from low to high. Appraising the organization on these seven characteristics or the elements and then gives a composite picture of the organizations culture. Explanation on internal and external factors that influence organizational culture to Management Practices Internal Factors The actions of Top Management The actions of the top management also have major impact on the organizations culture. Through what they say and how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organizations as to whether risk taking is desirable, how much freedom managers should give their employees, what is appropriate dress, what action will pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions and other rewards. Human resources Practices Once culture is in place there are practices within the organization that act to maintain it by giving employees a set of experience. For example many of the human resources practices reinforce the organizations culture. The section process, performance evaluation criteria, training career development activities, the promotions procedures ensure that those hired people fit in with the culture. Socialization No matter how good a job the organization does in recruiting and selection, new employees are not fully indoctrinated in the organizations culture. May be most important, because they are unfamiliar with the organizations culture, new employees are potentially likely to disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. The organizations will therefore want to help new employees adapt to its culture. This adaptation process is called as Socialization. External Factors The context of Community The people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of the community. This matter have two sides one is community as a external factor how look at the organization and the other hand employees also come from that community that will effect to the internal factors also. Organizations that promotes a spiritual culture recognize that people have both a mind and a spirit seek to find meaning and purpose in their work, and desire to connect with other human being and be part of a community. Government Rules and Regulations This is also having another high effect on organizational culture. Especially in the areas like how to treat for the employees, regulations o customer relations and like that the government rules and regulations also may have a effect on organizations culture. National Culture it is needed to taken in to account if accurate predictions are to be made about organizational behavior in different countries. But does national culture override the organizations culture. Is an IBM facility in Germany, for example more likely to reflect German ethic culture or IBMs corporate culture? This example should be taken in to account to national culture override the organizations culture. Evaluate the current Organizational culture Here if we take the McDonalds organization the organizations culture can be identified as follows. Organizational culture to cope up with National culture McDonalds company adjusts to cooking differences in various cultures. In the case of India, McDonalds offered vegetarian burgers to practicing Buddhists. Asian countries preferring spicy taste saw the introduction of spicy burgers, chicken and seasoning. This provides options for customers to purchase food with either the American taste or the local taste. McDonalds achieves balance by maintaining standardization in products but adjusting to the local taste. Company operations Operations Customer Oriented Product and service delivery of McDonalds is customer cantered. This means that McDonalds primary concern is the satisfaction of its customers. This is ensured by applying a strict standard of food and service quality. Under direct Supervision of Mother Company Periodically, representatives from the mother company visit certain branches in order to ensure the maintenance of quality standards, to discover problems and issues, and to provide updates on operation, management and marketing techniques. Relationship with the Employees The company applies the employment policy of providing sufficient training to its workforce. Prior to starting work, newly hired employees are given a rundown of the rules and regulations, company practices and the goals of the company. After this, the employees are introduced to the different components of the menu, process of food preparation, food-packaging techniques, serving of food, handling the cash register, and establishing rapport with customers. New employees are given practical exercises for experience. Change Management Process The change management process is one of basic skill in that most Managers and larders need to be competent in there management process. There are very less working environments where change management is not important and not implemented. In here we are looking basic principles of change management, and provide some guideline on how these principles can be implemented. When leaders and managers are planning to manage changes, there are five main philosophies which need to be remember Various people respond various way to change Everybody has basic needs which have to be fulfil Changes regularly involves a loss, and people go through the loss curve Anticipation need to be managed rationally Fears have to be deal with changes The some techniques in the change management practitioners belt are well known in the business and trade press. The effective organizational change in their implementation and realization are required the introduction of lean manufacturing, 360 ° feedback, executive coaches,  six sigma, CRM, just-in-time supply and manufacturing processes such as kanban and kaizen, Total Quality Management, or enterprise applications such as SAP, and etc Importance (Objectives)of Change Management to the Organization 1. To allow changes while, at the same time, maintaining or improving service stability and availability. 2. To increase the probability of change process success. 3. To reduce and minimize the ratio of changes that needs to be backed out of due to inadequate preparation. 4. To ensure that all parties affected are informed of planned changes. 5. To provide a record of changes implemented to assist with and shorten problem determination time. 6. To ensure that technical and management accountability for all changes is identified. 7. To assist with the accuracy of predictions of impact, such as response time, utilization, etc. 8. To ensure that all affected parties are not only informed, but necessary documentation and training is in place prior to the implementation. Organization Culture and Change Management Process The organization culture and change management process are interrelated. There are many impact cultural impacts for change management process. Ever organization has unique culture, so management system also adapted surrounding that culture and if they implement any change process they have to adapt that change process with their culture, otherwise they have to change organization culture. Company motivation process is often to improve the effectiveness of this employee in order to improve the financial status of the company. Some organizational cultures are making barriers to implement changes, so they have to overcome those resistant against to change. Most of manager and leaders are not willing to do changes, because they have some fear about it success or failure. Cultural changes or changes adaptation to culture are required to success of changes, because these two cannot be separated. Good relationship between organization culture and change management process always bring succe ss of change. Model for the Changing Process Change is not conventional; it does not chase the particular order in change management models were suggested. So, when look at these models of change management, permit a lot of flexibility when referring a model rather than referring any model too rigidly, The way of implementation of changes are differ and depending on which model is used, but we can fallow basic steps those are essential to follow and those are common to any personal or organizational changes. Model for the Changing Process Kotters Eight Change Model John Kotters eight change model is so suitable compare with the other all models for Universal Supplier change process. It has eight steps to fallow for the appropriate change process that will be applied to Universal Supplier. (Source: http://www.google.co.uk/images?clien) Step One: Create Urgency This may help to Universal supplier spark the initial motivation to get things moving company has low distribution network so they want to expand it all over the UK, still it spread only within boundary of London. Company has threat from their market, because there are many competitors arising with new entrance. Company has opportunity to expand its other region in UK; because London is more competitive place many business organizations are located there, not only UK they have opportunity to penetrate other EU countries Like French. Company competences are enough for penetrate and expand the market network, but they should strengthen it further. Step Two: Form a Powerful Coalition The effective change leaders dont need to follow the traditional company hierarchy. To lead change, company management level need to bring all together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power comes from several of sources, including job title, status, expertise, and political importance Step Three: Create a Vision for Change The universal Supplier change process vision is to be a leading food supplier in UK and change objective is expansion of market network all over the UK and Penetrates to other EU countries such as French. When the first start thinking about change. There will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to an overall vision that people can grasp easily and remember. Step Four: Communicate the Vision Change vision is communicated all the stakeholders of Universal Supplier. There are various methods is implicated for success of vision communication. Step Five: Remove Obstacles Universal Supplier has some obstacles from importing process. There are many rules and regulation impose when importing of products, and employee knowledge and skills are not enough for achieve that change. Therefore company has to remove those obstacles by using various strategies Step Six: Create Short-term Wins Company should create short term wins like annual target coverage, 10% change coverage. Company should be given a taste of achievement early in the change process. It will be encourage employees to reach to final goal in changing process Step Seven: Build on the Change Company need to implement continuous improvement and change build on going changes. In here final goal is penetrate to other EU countries that should be achieved in the change process. Continuous improvement is very important for going to final target. Step Eight: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture The Cooperate culture regularly identifies what gets done, so the values behind the company or person vision must show in daily work. Required continuous commitment to ensure those changes are seen in every aspect of organization, this will help that change a solid place in Universal supplier (Pvt) Ltd Resistant to Change There are many reason to change, those are due to lack of understanding, poor communication process, cultural and belief barriers, norms, conflict, company structure, technological capabilities, Managerial attitudes and style. Therefore managers and other executives need recognise and identify different form of resistance: 1. Threat of power on an individual basis 2. Threat of power on an organization basis 3. Losing the control by employees 4. Increasing the control of employees 5. Economic factor and limitation 6. Fear for the Jobs security 7. Implication on personal objectives and plans 8. Misunderstanding about changes 9. Fear of unknown 10. Limited resources allocation There are many factors for create resistance again changes. Organization should identify those barriers (resistant) to changes and need to find out overcome those resistant otherwise changes are not implemented successfully. Successful Method of Implementation of Change There are several key parameters that need to be observed if change is to be successful, those are: 1. Idea and the need for the change: Idea generally should be serious, and otherwise there is not a perceived need for change. 2. Adaptation: Adaptation is occurred after key persons make decision chose to a head with planed objectives. Executives and general employees should help to success of change process, and major organizational changes should be sign on legal documents by the board of directors 3. Resources: Change is not happened without resources, it requires allocated resources within time frame, specially required adjustable budget, and proper human resource, technology and etc. 4. Implementation: Implementation is occurred after create change decision with organizational plan. Capital approval, employee training, arranging of materials and equipments are very important in implementation process. Conclusion This assignment analyses a broad area in organizational culture, and change management process. In the first part of the study the concept of culture of an organization has been studies in broad term under three main study areas. Which are organizational culture external internal factors affect for organizational culture and assessing a current organizational culture of an organization. In the second section a comprehensive understanding on culture of the organizations a study has been expanded to study understand the impact of changes that underpin individual and organizational performance. In that section the concept behind organisational culture and the changes to an individual and as well the affect of mangers personal values in working with team members has been explained properly. In the final section relationship between culture and changes has been understood and accordingly it was identified how organizational culture can affect organizational change process and then it was assessed how organizational culture can affect individual and organizational changes. Also ultimately it is discussed model of change process, resistant to changes and successful method to implementation of changes. Universal Supplier (Pvt) Ltd is UK based company, they import many food items from various Asian countries, and among that Sri Lanka is major country. Universal suppliers are newly established company, it is not alder than 10 years, but its progress is very successful. World is change every day, new technologies are emerge and customer anticipation and satisfactions are change day by day therefore every business has to upgrade their standard. Universal suppliers have understood change system, so they give more priority to change their management and products relative to market change.

False Memory Syndrome And The Brain Essay -- Neurological Biology Essa

False Memory Syndrome And The Brain In the mid-nineties, a sniper's hammering shots echoed through an American playground. Several children were killed and many injured. A 1998 study of the 133 children who attended the school by psychologists Dr. Robert Pynoos and Dr. Karim Nader, experts on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among children, yielded a very bizarre discovery. Some of the children who were not on the schools grounds that day obstinately swore they had very vivid personal recollections of the attack happening (1). The children were not exaggerating, or playing make-believe. They were adamant about the fact that they were indeed there, and that they saw the attack as it was occuring. Why would these children remember something so harrowing if they didn't actually experience it? What kind of trick was their brain playing on them? Why did it happen? False Memory Syndrome (FMS) is a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are centered on a memory of traumatic experience which is actually false, but in which the person is strongly convinced (2). When considering FMS, it's best to remember that all individuals are prone to creating false memories. A common experiment in Introduction to Psychology courses include a test similar to this one: Look at this list of words and try to memorize them: sharp thread sting eye pinch sew thin mend After a few seconds, the students will be asked to recall these words, and are asked the following questions: Was the word "needle" on the list? Was it near the top? The majority of the class will vehemently agree that needle was, in fact, on the list. And not only that, it was actually quite close to being the first word. Some will attest to havin... ... memories", implant unhealthy and false ideas into the brains of their patients that havoc ensues. References 1)Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome, Recent Legal and Investigative Trends by Dr. John Hochman, M.D. http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.memory.html 2) Memory and Reality: Website of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation http://www.fmsfonline.org/ 3) BodytalkMagazine.com How Memory Works http://www.bodytalkmagazine.com/how%20memory%20works.htm 4) The Skeptic's Dictionary False Memory http://skepdic.com/falsememory.html 5) Salon.com Health and Body - The Story of Valerie Jenks http://www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/12/22/false_memory/ 6) How Memory Really Works Freud's Notion of Repressed Memory http://www.skeptic.com/memory/ 7) FAQ for the False Memory Syndrome Foundation http://www.fmsfonline.org/fmsffaq.html

Community Psychology Essay

1. UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUALS 1.1 Ecological principles There are four key ecological principles proposed by James Kelly et al in understanding human environments and they are interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation, and succession. Interdependence- As with biological ecosystems, any social system has multiple related parts and multiple relationships with other systems. Changes in one of these parts can affect the others; they are interdependent. A corollary of the principle of interdependence is that any change in a system will have multiple consequences—some of them unanticipated and perhaps unwanted. An example of interdependence could be, when the primary caregiver gets the flu, meal preparation, washing, transportation, and a host of other daily operations for every other member of the family are affected. Cycling of Resources- It specifies that any system can be understood by examining how resources are used, distributed, conserved, and transformed. Personal resources include individual talents, knowledge, experiences, strengths, or other qualities that can address challenges in a setting. Social resources occur in relationships among members of the setting, including shared beliefs, values, formal rules, informal norms, group events, and shared sense of community. Even physical aspects of a setting are resources: a library with rooms for group study, quiet nooks for individual study, and a place to take a break. Adaptation- this principle concerns the transactions between person and environment. This is a two-way process; individuals cope with the constraints or demands of an environment and environments adapt to their members. While starting a new job in order to adapt, you probably learned new skills without losing your unique identity. Some jobs require changes in appearance, changes in relating to people, or changes in schedules. Environments also adapt to their members. Think about the changes in a family triggered by such events as the birth of a child, a parent starting a new job, or children moving away from home. Succession- Settings and social systems change over time. Interdependence, resource cycling, and adaptation must be understood in that perspective. An implication of understanding succession in settings is that psychologists need to understand a system’s history before they plan an intervention in that system. In trying to make a neighbourhood a safer place, what have people tried to do in the past? What worked? How did the problems develop? Psychologists should also carefully consider the likely consequences of the intervention, including possible unintended consequences. How can the community continue the intervention after the formal involvement of the psychologist ends? Social Climate Dimensions The social climate approach to understanding environments is based on three primary dimensions that can characterize any setting: how they organize social relationships, how they encourage personal development and their focus on maintenance or change in the setting. Relationships -This dimension of settings concerns mutual supportiveness, involvement, and cohesion of its members. The social climate approach looks for evidence of relationship qualities in each setting. Personal Development -This dimension of settings concerns whether individual autonomy, growth, and skill development are fostered in the settings. System Maintenance and Change- This dimension of settings concerns settings’ emphasis on order, clarity of rules and expectations, and control of behaviour. Social Regularities Social regularities, defined as the routine patterns of social relations among the elements (e.g., persons) within a setting. The patterns of social relationships in communities can affect distribution of resources, access to opportunities, and authority to address social issues. To discover social regularities, search for patterns of behaviour that reveal roles and power relationships among setting members (e.g., teacher-student, therapist-client, employer-employee, parent-child). Roles are enacted in a specific setting in ways that affect power, decision making, resources, and inequalities. A historical social regularity is that U.S. schools have been a sorting mechanism for separating students by achievement or test scores and then preparing them for different roles in society. Segregated schools once also sorted students by race. When the courts mandated an end to segregation, communities brought Black and White students into the same schools. Ecological psychology Behaviour Settings- this concept is the primary unit of analysis for ecological psychology. A behaviour setting is defined by having a place, time, and a standing pattern of behaviour. It is important to note that a behaviour setting is not simply a physical place. The sanctuary of the Methodist church in Midwest was a physical setting but not a behaviour setting. Instead, several behaviour settings occurred within it, each with a time and standing behaviour pattern (e.g., worship services, choir practices, and weddings). Activity Settings While similar to ecological psychology in focusing on settings, activity setting theory takes subjective experiences and cultural social meanings into account. An activity setting is not simply a physical setting and not just the behaviour of persons who meet there but also the subjective meanings that develop there among setting participants, especially intersubjectivities: beliefs, assumptions, values, and emotional experiences that are shared by setting participants. Key elements of an activity setting include the physical setting, positions (roles), people and the interpersonal relationships they form, time, and symbols that setting members create and use. Environmental Psychology Environmental psychology examines the influence of physical characteristics of a setting (especially built environments) on behaviour. A major focus of environmental psychology is the study of the psychological effects of environmental stressors, such as noise, air pollution, hazardous waste, and crowded housing. Environmental Design- Environmental psychologists also study the psychological effects of architectural and neighbourhood design features. Examples include studies of enclosed workspaces, windows, and aspects of housing design. 1.3 The importance of understanding individuals within a context From a community psychology perspective, a better understanding of what contributes to problems forms the basis of choosing where to intervene. Community psychologists do not believe that interventions that change environmental conditions of settings are necessarily sufficient to address social issues. Rather, they place an emphasis on understanding environmental factors of social problems because they are so often overlooked. If the ecological context of social issues is left unaddressed, the interventions chosen will likely be limited in their effectiveness. 2. UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY 2.1 Community refers to relationships that are multidimensional and are valued in their own right, not just as a means to an end. But society refers to relationships that are based on a specific transaction. The relationship is instrumental in the sense that the participants view the relationship fundamentally as a means to an end, not as something that has value in its own right. This is a relationship you engage in solely because you expect to benefit in some way from the interaction, and the same is true for the other person. 2.2 Types of community Locality-Based Community- This is the traditional conception of community. It includes city blocks, neighbourhoods, small towns, cities, and rural regions. Interpersonal ties exist among community members (residents); they are based on geographic proximity, not necessarily choice. Relational Community -These communities are defined by interpersonal relationships and a sense of community but are not limited by geography. Internet discussion groups are communities completely without geographic limits. Mutual help groups, student clubs, and religious congregations are defined by relational bonds. Levels of community ââ€" ª Microsystems (e.g., classrooms, mutual help groups) ââ€" ª Organizations (e.g., workplaces, religious congregations, civic groups) ââ€" ª Localities (e.g., city blocks, neighbourhoods, cities, towns, rural areas) ââ€" ª Macro systems (e.g., the Filipino community, political parties, nations) 2.3 Sense of community According to Sarason (1974) he defined it as the perception of similarity to others, an acknowledged interdependence with others, a willingness to maintain this interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one expects from them, the feeling that one is part of a larger dependable and stable structure. There are four elements identified in sense of community: Membership: it refers to the sense among community members of personal investment in the community and of belonging to such as Boundaries, Common symbols, Emotional safety, Personal investment, Sense of belonging, Identification with community. Mutual influence between individual and community: It refers both to the power that members exercise over the group and to the reciprocal power that group dynamics exert on members. Integration and fulfilment of needs among members: Integration is concerned with horizontal relations among members such as Shared values, Satisfying needs and Exchanging resources. Shared emotional connection: it refers to the shared dramatic moments, celebrations and rituals among members of the community. 2.3.1 Social Capital Social capital refers to connections among citizens and reciprocity and trust based on them. It may be formal or informal and involve bonding or bridging. 2.3.2 Social Support Social Support refers to the help provided by others to promote coping with stress. 2.4 How communities are built In order to build a strong community, members should develop a set of common symbols, celebrations, and narratives that describe and reflect the meaning they assign the community and also set norms that support a sense of personal safety that ensures all members have a level of influence over the community. 3. UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY 3.1 Key dimensions of human diversity CULTURE The term culture has been stretched to refer not only to ethnic and cultural groups but also to nation-states, religious groups, racial groupings, and corporations (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993). Cultural influences can be seen in the functioning of individuals and families, organizational practices, and norms of local communities and societies. Community psychologists have sought to understand how settings have layers of cultural influences that impact the composition, functioning, and interactions of its members. A contextual, ecological understanding of cultural influences on communities seeks to understand how cultural influences structure community norms and processes for how decisions are made, how conflict is addressed, and how resources are distributed. RACE Race does have psychological and social meaning in many societies: as a socially constructed set of categories related to inequalities of status and power. Even as racial categories shift over time and across locations, race remains important because racism makes it so. No terminology is entirely satisfactory to describe the racial diversity. Use of almost any terminology and definition of race reflects and perpetuates racial oppression in some way. Yet community psychology cannot ignore race, despite the drawbacks of vocabulary for discussing it. ETHNICITY Ethnicity can be defined as a social identity, based on one’s ancestry or culture of origin, as modified by the culture in which one currently resides and it could also be defined by language, customs, values, social ties, and other aspects of subjective culture GENDER Gender refers to our understanding of what it means to be female or male and how these categories are interpreted and reflected in attitudes, social roles, and the organization of social institutions. SOCIAL CLASS Social class comprises a key dimension for community psychology. While often studied only as a demographic descriptor, social class actually marks differences in power, especially economic resources and opportunities. It influences identity and self-image, interpersonal relationships, socialization, well-being, living environment, educational opportunities, and many other psychological issues. ABILITY/DISABILITY It refers to the tendency of members in a society to discriminate based on ableism which leads disabled individuals to many barriers for participation in community life as a valued and contributing member. SEXUAL ORIENTATION This is best understood as a spectrum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual, with intermediate points. It refers to an underlying orientation, involving sexual attraction, romantic affection, and related emotions. AGE Children, adolescents, and younger and older adults differ in psychological and health-related concerns, developmental transitions, and community involvement. Similarly, aging also brings changes in relationships and power dynamics for families, communities, workplaces, and societies. SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION Spirituality and religion often interrelate with culture and ethnicity. Moreover, many religions and spiritual traditions are multicultural, and many cultures contain multiple religious and spiritual communities. Therefore it is impossible to understand many cultures without understanding their religious institutions and spiritual practices. SOCIAL INEQUITIES Social inequities occur when the lack of social and economic resources available to particular groups lead to reduced opportunities for education, health care, or work. In more extreme cases, a group’s reduced social status can lead to group members having their property rights, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and citizenship challenged.

nazism essays

nazism essays Nazism has caused many problems over time. Nazism, through the leadership of Adolf Hitler, has caused the massacre of millions of Jews during the holocaust and the Third Reich. It has affected the Jewish community mostly as well as the rest of the world. Nazism has changed Europe and now it has spread all over the world to this day where there are still nazi groups and organizations all over the world. Nazism is defined as the ideology and practice of the nazis, its is especially the policy of racist nationalism, the national expansion, and it is the leader of the state trying to control the economy in anyway he prefers. Nazi is short for Nationalsozialist. Nazism is a type of fascism, a form of government that gives all the power to a very small minority led by a dictator who has all the power and control. Nazis were mainly prejudice against the Jews. One man led Nazism almost solely and he was Adolf Hitler. He was the leader of the Nazis; he was called the Fuhrer, which is the German word for leader. He is what started just about everything to do with Nazism. Nazis ruled Germany from 1933 until 1945. This period is called The Third Reich.(Taylor and Shaw, 1987) Hitler, the leader of Nazism, was born in the evening of April 20, 1889, in Austria in a small village called Braunau. His father was Alois Hitler and his mother was Klara Plzl. Adolf Hitler was born healthy baby and was baptized as a Roman Catholic. Adolf had four brothers and sisters. When he was a little boy he went to monastery school were he did well and even thought of being a priest. Then when he got into high school he started to slack off and purposely started failing, then his father died when he was thirteen. At the age of sixteen he dropped out of high school and moved away. When he was eighteen, he moved to Vienna to study art, but he failed the entrance exam and could not get into the academy of fine arts. ( http://worldwarll.www4.50megs....