Case Study – Jetblue Airlines

February 20, 2013 JetBlue Airways Corporation Case Study Report Situation Analysis History JetBlue Airways Corporation was created my David Neeleman. His vision was to create an inexpensive, easy way to travel by airplane. He was quoted saying he wants to â€Å"bring humanity back to air travel. † David Neeleman was already a seasoned entrepreneur. Two years after dropping out of the University of Utah he established his own business by renting out condominiums in Hawaii. Soon after he established his own travel agency and began chartering flights from Salt Lake City to the islands to bring in more prospective clients to rent his condo’s.In 1984 Neeleman joined forces with June Morris, who owned a large corporate travel agency in Utah, to bring to the world a company known as â€Å"Morris Air†. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011) Success followed and the company was bought by Southwest Airlines for $129 Million. Soon after the sale of â€Å"Morris Air† Nee leman pioneered the use of â€Å"at home reservation agents†. By using their homes as offices the reservation agents were saving money by lowering overhead expenses. He also developed the first electronic ticketing system in the airline industry. JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011) Neeleman became the executive vice president for Southwest but realized it wasn’t a good fit. He signed a five year noncompete agreement and was on his way. During his five year agreement he developed the electronic ticketing system he had initiated at Morris Air into one of the worlds easiest airline reservation systems. He called it Open Skies. He then sold this innovation to Hewlett-Packard in 1999. Finally in 1999 the noncompete agreement had reached its expiration and Neeleman launched his own airline.He raised the needed capital with ease and JetBlue became the highest-funded start up airline in aviation history. JetBlue commenced operations in August 2000. For a start up base JetBlue c hose John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011)The company relied on electronic reservation and ticketing to keep costs down. JetBlue was of the first airline companies to issue laptop computers instead of manuals to their pilots. One of their highest selling points aside from price was the in-flight entertainment. The airbus A320’s ere complete with 24 live satellite broadcasts (including A&E, Animal Planet, CNBC, ESPN, the Food Network, Home & Garden, and the Weather Channel) at every seat. This kind of entertainment was of the first among airlines. Airlines typically aired taped shows or movies. To help keep costs down the airline provided no meals but did offer gourmet blue potato chips and soda. The seats were equipped with more leg room and were all leather with larger overhead storage compartments. Business grew rapidly in JetBlue’s first year of operations.Reservation agents were receiving calls of up to 12,000 a day and st ill the company was booking 40% online. In 2001 JetBlue opened a second base in California at Long Beach Airport. JetBlue grew over the years to serve more than 52 destinations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Mexico and the Caribbean. In 2008 they added services to Puerto Plata and St. Marteen. In 2009 they started serving Bogota, Columbia, San Jose, Costa Rica, Montego Bay and Jamaica. In 2007 JetBlue announced that they were entering into an agreement with Aer Lingus, and Irish flag carrier, to facilitate easy transfers for both airlines’ customers.Unlike traditional code-share alliances, customers could not make one reservation for both airlines if need be. They would have to make two reservations instead. Then only 8 days later, JetBlue announced a code-share agreement with Cape Air. Customers would be able to purchase seats on both airlines under one reservation. A much better fit for convenience. JetBlue’s growth was becoming harder to fund due to competitiv e pricing and high fuel prices amongst other growing costs. On February 14, 2007 an event took place that would shake the solid, well funded company to its knees.Not only costing Neeleman his position in a company that he created, it destroyed the companies reputation for good customer relations. There was a terrible storm headed towards the East coast and while all other airlines took the proper precautions and canceled their flights JetBlue in all their stubbornness did not. When the storm hit it was worse than expected and JetBlue’s customers were left stranded planes for 7 hours or more. David Neeleman when interviewed about this horrible turn of events said â€Å"Things spiraled out of control. We did a horrible job; we got ourselves into a ituation where we were doing rolling cancellations instead of a massive cancellation. Communications broke down, we weren’t able to reach out to passengers and they continued to arrive at the airports†¦ it had a cascading effect. † It took the organization more than a week to get the situation under control. This is where The Customer Bill of Rights came in. It basically outlined self-imposed penalties for JetBlue and major rewards for its passengers if the airline experienced operational problems and could not adjust to weather-related conditions within a â€Å"reasonable† amount of time.In 2007 the company reported a $76 Million loss with a primary reason being rising fuel costs. JetBlue remains profitable, posting a net income of $128 Million for 2012. JetBlue’s CEO and President, Dave Barger said â€Å"2012 was a very good year†. (Corporation, 2013) Mission JetBlue Airways does not operate under a traditional mission statement. Instead they use a set of core values. Those core values are as follows: * SAFETY * CARING * INTEGRITY * FUN * PASSION These five things are best described as â€Å"the JetBlue experience†. (John W.Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Corporate Strategy There are two new strategies that have been developed for JetBlue Airways; a growth strategy and an efficiency strategy. Both strategies have been created out of internal and external analysis. The growth strategy’s primary goal is to take advantage of recent mergers and failures within the airline industry. When companies merge it takes away some of the competition. Failures in other companies create opportunities for JetBlue to step in and create new business. (John W.Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) (Corporation, 2013) The efficiency strategy is developed based on the organizations position within the low-cost segment of the airline industry. To reach this goal an extensive internal analysis is performed with a careful look at the labor force as well as an analysis of the jet fuel prices/purchasing. (John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) Strengths and Weaknesses of JetBlue Airways Strengths Strong brand recognition and their ser vices are competitive. If you consider revenue passenger miles JetBlue is the sixth largest passenger carrier in the United States and is a widely recognized global brand.The company has received several awards such as â€Å"Top Low Cost Airline for Consumer Satisfaction† seven years in a row and also â€Å"Best Coach Class Experience†, â€Å"Most Customer Friendly Airline† and â€Å"Best Value Airline Domestic† for 2011. JetBlue is also known for their spacious seating and live satellite TV. The Customer Bill of Rights is also a key player in the companies strengths. It was created with meaning and specific compensation for customer inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue’s control.Another service offered only by JetBlue is an expedited security experience in over 30 cities and they call it â€Å"Even More Speed†. JetBlue utilizes their aircraft most efficiently to have the ability to spread its fixed costs over a greater numbe r of flights and available seat miles and they do this by using Airbus A320 planes for the majority of their business. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Weaknesses JetBlue has an extreme amount of high fixed obligations. In 2011 JetBlue had a debt of $3. 14 billion and it accounted for 64% of its total capitalization.As the years go on and the company grows its debt will only grow as well. Eventually their high level of debt could make it difficult to grow the business further because of lack of funding. That in turn would put the company below their competitors who could find it easier to acquire necessary funding. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Opportunities An obvious opportunity for JetBlue is expansion in the travel industry. This specific industry has always fluctuated in the past but, it is expected to grow aggressively in the years to come.According to The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airline travel is said to double over the next 20 years. In 2011 about 815 billion people or seats sold is expected to increase of the next two decades to numbers close to 1. 57 trillion. That is an average growth rate of approximately 3. 2% per year. Being the sixth largest passenger carrier in the US, JetBlue is in a good position to expect a growth like that as well. JetBlue has also put effort in to making business relationships with Asia. The pace of the economy as a whole is slowing but Asian economies have remained strong domestically.Cathay Pacific is the home carrier of Hong Kong. In 2012 JetBlue announced an interline agreement with this company. This agreement will link each other’s network between Asia Pacific and the America’s. JetBlue also announced a codeshare agreement with Japan Airlines to offer nonstop service to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. For this reason JetBlue’s expanded partnerships with major Asain airlines will help further strengthen its network and expand their services. (JetBlue Airways Co rporation, 2012) (Corporation, 2013) Threats The absolute biggest threat to JetBlue is the rising costs of aircraft fuel.Throughout history fuel costs have fluctuated out of the control of companies such as JetBlue. The costs vary widely and are unpredictable at best. In 2011 fuel costs represented nearly 40% of JetBlue’s total operating costs. Another threat is stringent governmental regulation. In the airline industry companies are subject to extensive regulatory and legal compliance requirements that result in significant costs. It is also very expensive for the company to keep their current certificates. Lastly there will always be intense competition in this industry.As a tradition the industry is typically dominated by the giants such as: United Air Lines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and US Airways. Because of their size and power, some of these companies may be better suited for necessary funding. They may also receive more favorable fuel pri ces due to volume of sales. Intense competition could lead to price wars which could negatively affect the company. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Identification of Problem(s) and Their Core Elements The first problem with JetBlue is that the company grew too big too fast.The organization was incapable of sustaining this growth both financially and physically with staff, equipment and services. The second problem was/is bad publicity. The airline was well known for exceptional customer service and relations but lately they are ranked among the lowest in customer satisfaction. JetBlue grew too quickly. In the 1990’s there were many small start-up airlines. Most failed when faced with competition from the major airlines because they were not able to withstand the wage wars. The smaller companies were also at a disadvantage when it came to start up capital and management talent.Because of David Neelemans talent and charisma he was able to acquire an abundance of start up ca pital which carried the airline through the toughest part of a business, the beginning. Once JetBlue took off the company had a difficult time keeping up with its popularity and growth. Technology for one was lacking and it all caught up with the company on Valentines Day in 2007. The company made a few bad decisions and it escalated quickly and their reservation system could not handle the capacity of the situation. Their technology also failed them when trying to remedy the problem.They were not prepared or ready for something of this magnitude. (Damaraju, 2009) With the growth divergence from the company’s original plan was starting to take place. They started off operation only one type of aircraft, an Airbus A320. The strategy behind this was to lower training cost and provides a very knowledgeable staff with flexibility in manpower. The airline then included a second type of plane, the Embraer 190 which the staff was not prepared for. Furthermore the company was embarki ng on even more paths where it did not have the needed experience. (Damaraju, 2009) JetBlue started as an airline for the New York leisure traveler.The concern with their expansion is that they don’t have the route structure to compete with the majors for the business class travelers. (Farzad & Bachman, 2012) The second problem is bad publicity. The first unfortunate event was the Valentines Day ice storm that left passengers stranded and the company without the proper tools to fix the problem in a timely manner. Customers were outraged as they should have been. The second very public mishap came in August 2010 when a frustrated flight attendant exited the plane using the emergency slide after becoming irate with passengers.And last but certainly not least, when one of their pilots had to be subdued by passengers and forcibly removed from the plane in March of 2012. (Farzad & Bachman, 2012) Because of these unfortunate events JetBlue now ranks last among 15 airlines in on-tim e performance and ninth in customer complaints to the Department of Transportation. (Farzad & Bachman, 2012) Those numbers are three times Southwest’s complaint ratio. Having started out as an airline that wanted to â€Å"bring humanity back to air travel† they seem to be coming up short in the customer service area.That was their biggest client attraction. Evaluation of Alternative Courses of Action The problem of growing too big too fast can easily be evaluated as a hind sight. The company had great aspirations and fell short only by default. Had the company foreseen the events that were to come with the failure in their choice of technology or the mental breakdown of their staff, I’m sure they would have done things differently. The costs of their technological errors were somewhere close to $30 million. The costs they endured over their lack of customer satisfaction are immeasurable.For these problems, the alternatives courses of action could only be to reva mp their technology and better train staff and let them know the real pressures of their positions. JetBlue already has a comprehensive training program for their employees known as â€Å"JetBlue University†. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Recommended Solutions Recommended solutions for JetBlue’s growth from this point moving forward would be first, to monitor and maintain a functional operation-revenue to operating-expense ratio. As with any successful business the operating revenue must be greater than the operating expenses.This ratio will determine the future of JetBlue. (John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) Internally JetBlue should consider how to reduce expenses. The two key players in this particular situation are labor and fuel expenses. Although JetBlue has remained un-unionized, which is imperative in keeping labor costs down; there may be more room for improvement in the budget regarding this matter. I suggest a closer look at Management and Airport Operations. These two positions are the furthest from the consumer and have the most employees.The reason behind choosing these particular positions is that change in these areas will not directly affect customer service. These positions need to be examined and see where, if any, the process inefficiencies lie. By doing this the company may be able to cut a few unnecessary positions. Recommendations for best efforts for capping fuel costs are an evaluation of the fuel purchasing agent’s performance. (John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) The second recommendation is to take a more aggressive approach like Southwest has and practice more hedging.Recommended solutions for JetBlue’s failure to provide exceptional customer service would be first to continue to practice and put to use The Customer Bill of Rights and to take a few leads from their competitors. Other airlines do not charge their customers for a pillow and blanket set. At all costs they should continue with t he perks they provide their customers. They may not serve meals but the snacks and sodas are always free. A big selling point for consumers is baggage fees. JetBlue allows their passengers to have two free bags per flight.That is one more than Southwest. The fact that JetBlue is â€Å"low cost† airline the consumers expect less, i. e. meals and things of the such, so their state of the art entertainment is a welcome surprise for passengers. Implementation Plan To take action on the operation revenue to expense ratio is to start immediately reviewing the labor functions and initiate an additional review every two years. Starting immediately with employee performance reviews, having properly trained employees is a must. Success or failure in this area will be measured in dollars saved.Immediate action considering fuel costs are to hire a congressional lobbyist to help neutralize the market by opening up national strategic reserves as well as encouraging increased domestic petro leum exploration and jet fuel production. Success or failure in this area will also be measured in dollars saved. Works Cited Corporation, J. A. (2013). JetBlue Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year Revenues. New York: PR Newswire. Damaraju, N. L. (2009). JetBlue Airlines: Will it Remain Blue? In McGraw-Timmons, Capstone Bus 250s (pp. 13-220). Dallas: University of Texas. Farzad, R. , & Bachman, J. (2012). Once High-Flying, JetBlue Returns to Earth. Bloomberg Businessweek , 27-29. JetBlue Airways Corporation. (2012). Company Profile JetBlue Airways Corporation. marketline. com. JetBlue Airways Corporation. (2011). Reference for Business. New York: referenceforbusiness. com. John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, L. (2008). Shaping Tomorrow's Solutions for JetBlue Airways- A Strategic Analysis. San Fernando Valley: University of La Verne.

“A Modest Proposal” Essay

Jonathan Swift writes a satirical passage to criticize the England government on their lack of participation in helping the hungry citizens during the years of drought they are experiencing. In his overly exaggerated proposal, he uses an abundance of features of style, voice, and organization to express his point he is trying to make through satire.Swift’s choices on the variety of different features of style he uses were decided upon the fact that this passage is purely satirical. In paragraphs 20-26, Swift uses mature diction to express his standing with the England government. Paragraph 20 says, â€Å"I think the advantages of the proposal which I have made are obvious and many, as well as of the highest importance.† Here he is claiming that this proposal is very important, and that the government should agree with him.He writes like he is well educated on the ideas he is proposing. In essence, this is a legitimate proposal to the government, so his choice in words h ave to sound sophisticated. As his subject is about ingesting children, it clearly makes sense for him to use a refined vocabulary. If he would use his vocabulary loosely, the exaggeration and satire in the passage would not be as obvious.A blunt voice is in use during the passage. Swift approaches his point immediately to present the urgency of the problem he is addressing. England is experiencing drought, which is a serious issue that he feels could be resolved by selling, killing and eating children.In paragraph 25 he states, â€Å"Fifthly, this food would likewise bring great custom to taverns, where the vintners will certainly be so prudent as to procure the best receipts for dressing it to perfection..† He straight up tells us that children will make great food. There is no other way to express this point and get the same effect unless it is done bluntly. He wants the government to recognize their absence in the current issue, and being straight-forward with each point he makes guides the reader to believe that the passage is purely satirical, but that there is an underlying meaning with his satire.The organization of the essay was very structured. It is clear that he  thoroughly thought out each of his ideas, and he presented them in a strategic way to make his point. In paragraph 21 he says, â€Å"For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly overrun, being the principal breeders of the nation as well as our most dangerous enemies; and who stay at home on purpose to deliver the kingdom of the Pretender, hoping to take their advantage by the absence of so many food Protestants, who have chosen rather to leave their country than stay at home and pay tithes against their conscience to an Episcopal curate.†This shows he is even thinking about religion and how his proposal will affect everyone else in England. He expresses many stomach wrenching thoughts, which could get very co nfusing if he did not have them structured in an orderly fashion. A mess of ideas about eating children would take away from the actual satire in the passage. The reader would be very mislead and may lose the hint of satire he perfectly presents in his writing.Jonathan Swift composes a proposal to not eat children, but to try and open the governments eyes on the problems they are facing. Through style, voice and organization he pulls off a fabulous satirical piece with immense detail and wonderful diction.

Forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Forecasting - Essay Example Good judgment, intuition, and an awareness of how the economy is doing might give the management an idea of what is likely to take place in the future. Nonetheless, it is not east to change a belief concerning the future into a useful and precise number. Forecasting techniques can assist in estimating various aspects of a company operation. All forecasting techniques can be split into two wide classes: quantitative and qualitative. Most of the forecasting methods use historical or past data in time series. Time series is just a set of examinations measured at consecutive points in time or over consecutive periods. Forecasts provide future elements of the time series on a particular variable like sales volume. Division of forecasting techniques into quantitative and qualitative classification is based on the accessibility of time series information (Zech and Nallau, 5-57). Forecasting is a tool that assists management in its effort to tackle future uncertainties. It is mainly based on information from the present, past, and evaluation of trends. Forecasting begins with some assumptions based on the business’s knowledge, experience and

Changing Role of HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Changing Role of HRM - Essay Example This essay explores the functions of HR department within a company and the changing role it performs nowadays. Humans have always been a critical resource for almost all organizations for a greater or lesser extent. They are diverse, necessary and at times problematic as well. Talented and capable employees are the foundation stone of a competitive edge for most organizations. Since 1900, the field of Human Resource Management has gone forward a great deal. Initially, it was only about the clerical operations of an organization and activities such as payroll, employee records and arrangement of community trips. Until 1960s and 1970s, these activities stayed under the umbrella of Personnel Development, however with the social legislations that passed in these years striking changes modified the organizational element of human resource. With great inclination towards globalization, competitions, mergers as well as acquisitions in 1990s, there was an increase in concern for costs, plan ning and implementation of strategies for both organization as well as its employees, finally compelling a structured development of a Human Resource Department. With the changing trend, the empowering of HR department is elevating. From the very basic to the very top, HR performs four different roles today. These are the roles as administrator, employee advocate, operational and strategic. While the administrative role focuses largely on the secretarial and clerical supervision, employee advocate role aims to serve as a morale officer.

The film the Red Violine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The film the Red Violine - Essay Example The involvement of many cultures and use of many languages could be said to be the strengths for the movie because it stirs up interest in audiences around the globe. I could say that the movie has been ingeniously produced to the full satisfaction of every movie. What could have been the drawback for the movie are some shots which took so much of the time like the many changing faces in the monastery who played the violin when the very message that was portrayed there was the length of time it stayed with the monks. The character I most identify with is the violin maker as he was a perfectionist, demanding the best that he wants and working hard on things rather than easily giving up. In addition, he is passionate with his works, giving his best even his heart and soul to create the master piece he desires to have for his unborn child. Also, he is a determined man, knowing what he wants in life for his wife and unborn son. He is extraordinarily zealous for his loved ones, and defini tely a true lover to his wife which is most admirable to me.

Operation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Operation Management - Essay Example 5. The experience of the visitors is very poor, especially about the entrance from one of the sides of the park. 6. The size of the park and the amount of the amenities of the park is not being exploited. This may be due to the lack of the availability of complete idea of the park. 7. The size of the park is a great reason for the tagging of a number of the private events in the area; include the display of the fireworks. This leads to a great degree of the pressure. 8. The decrease of the amount of the space also plays a part in the lack of the services. There is the lessening of the space of the park that can be considered of any artistic value. These are the various kinds of the issues that are being faced by the park. The decrease in a number of the green areas has an important impetus on the services of the park in a significant manner. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The park has been facing a period of the distress in a number of the areas. The study aims to provide with a comprehensive p lan to improve all the areas. The objectives have been developed in conjunction with the proposed outcomes. They are as follows: The stopping of the decline of the number of the visits of the park by the restoration of the value of the park. The increase of the number of the visitors in the park. The subsequent increase of the income of the park. The spreading of the natural value of the park by the use of the different kinds of the mechanisms. The proliferation of the audiences of the park into a number of new age groups. The increase of the number of the volunteers of the park. The improvement of the basic levels of the skills and learning of the different constituents of the park. This can involve the use of the different kinds of the... This essay stresses that the new kind of the facilities needs to be developed for the growth of the park. There is a need for the over haul of the amenities of the park. There is a need to look at all the basic kind of the facilities of the park. The development of the facilities shall play an important part in the reclaiming of the lost audience. There are a number of problems that are being faced by the club. The primary deliverables of the park involves strategy is the increase of the number of the audience that visits the park. There is also the need to increase the range of the audiences of the firm. The basal part of the strategy is to increase the reach of the park. This is the strategy that has been outlined for the firm. This paper declares that the park has been suffering due to the lack of the branding. All the parks in the area in the area have been at the forefront in the area have number of the facilities, which they provide. The level of the branding is very high. The concept of the park as a popular place to hang-out has to be re-enforced in the mind of the consumers. This can be done increasing the number of the promotional activities that surround the park. This shall help in the development of the ideas that need to be taken into the consideration. The large part of the population that comes in the park, generally comes for the activities in the park. This can be used as an opportunity for increasing the number of the visitors of the park. They can be used as a medium for increasing the amount of the sales of the entries of the park.

Answer two Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answer two Questions - Essay Example This could also happen due to their norms and behaviors which might not be liked by any one party (person) and thus lead to a conflict of thoughts, ideas, actions and eventual behaviors towards each other. A selection process is a tedious job at the best of times yet it has to be done time and again in order to have the best employees on board and to have a lasting impression of the organization within the industrial domains as well as in front of the people for which the business is in existence. Personality issues come to the fore more so when there are conflicting experiences and issues of grave concern and it is up to these employees as to how best they avoid or deter such circumstances in the wake of adversity. Every big business or multinational that is existent in present times credits itself on to the vision of an exemplary personality which started it all when the going was tough and when there was a huge competition in the related market. Thus to withstand pressure and competition is the hallmark of any successful and long lasting business, company or enterprise, whichever term we might quote it as. Thus personnel management is more person-centric and focused on the positions that are being filled with employees. These employees have the related strengths and the zest to deliver the goods when it matters the most and hence the reason that they are being given the related opportunities to display their vigor on the job. (Cappelli, 1999) Personnel management is a conventional way of looking at the organizational human resources regimes and has been adequately addressed by the phenomenon of the human resources management nowadays. This is because the traditional management philosophies h ave ceased to exist with the changing times and much has changed for the better in the present day organizational scenario. The selection process is assisted immensely by the incorporation of personality assessments within them and it is only helpful if one

Reading-Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading-Writing - Assignment Example He shares that today’s shows have a Sleeper Curve which challenges humans to think while watching. Johnson also states that multi-threading is very common in TV programs now unlike in earlier shows such as â€Å"Starksy & Hutch† or â€Å"Dragnet†. (p. 51) He goes on further to say that this new practice of watching TV has brought on other benefits aside from a smarter audience. The change in TV shows has made more money for the entertainment industry, more complex shows and a more intelligent audience. Steven Johnson writes that â€Å"the Sleeper Curve is the single most important new force altering the mental development of young people today, and I believe it is largely a force for good: enhancing our cognitive faculties, not dumbing them down† (p. 50). The Sleeper Curve is the entertainment’s way of making culture smarter. It is evident in the gradual layering of plots in TV programs such as â€Å"24† where a single scene can present more than one plot. In earlier generations, a show’s plot was so simple. â€Å"The Nanny† was a series that revolved around an unconventional nanny who managed an uptight British widower’s household and took care of his kids. â€Å"Beverly Hills 90210† was about a group of teenagers trying to survive high school. â€Å"Melrose Place† gave audiences a glimpse of the lives of people living in an apartment complex. The stories in these shows and other similar ones were easy enough to understand t hat missing one episode would not affect understanding of the whole story. They did little to get the viewers glued to the screen. People watched without exerting much effort in critical thinking and analysis. Nowadays, however, shows like â€Å"Prisonbreak†, â€Å"24†, â€Å"Sopranos†, â€Å"CSI: Las Vegas† and the like cause viewers to eagerly anticipate and theorize why particular events happened or what events would probably

Hispanis Americans and the United States Research Paper

Hispanis Americans and the United States - Research Paper Example However, apart from that parameter they share considerable differences among themselves to be identified as separate groups with regards to the different countries to which they belong to. Political Issues of the Hispanic Groups Mexicans The Mexican Americans distinguish themselves from the larger American race owing to separate immigration and labor policies held in America. Further, the implementation of treaties like North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement also makes their positions easily distinguishable. Moreover, the constitutional rights of the Mexican Americans are also infringed through the construction of separate schools for Mexican children which are mostly poorly funded. Mexican Americans are increasingly taking resort to political activities to gather voice for protesting on social issues though on temporal basis (Schaefer, 2006, pp.242, 246, 265). Cubans The Cuban population in United States of America reflects a much better position than other Hispanic groups. These group s of people turn out to be the fortunate ones to be able to complete their education till the college level. These immigrants unlike other Hispanics like Mexicans have formed their own political party to raise their voices against America’s policy in bettering relations with Cuba. However, Cubans like Mexicans adore the Spanish language which relates them to the Hispanic groups (Schaefer, 2006, p.250). ... Moreover these Hispanic groups unlike Hispanic races like Mexicans gained the opportunity for making mass scale immigration to United States. Common to the Mexican population is the high level of illegal immigrants occupied the American region (Schaefer, 2006, p.251-252). Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans unlike other Hispanic groups have self political identities where they can elect their own governors and constitute a separate homeland distinct from the United States. Henceforth, this Hispanic group enjoys the power of citizenship in America. The Puerto Rico immigrants are highly scrutinized on matters of other Hispanics entering as Puerto Ricans to enjoy constitutional rights. Puerto Ricans share a commonality with other Hispanic groups in using Spanish language as their own distinct language in America (Schaefer, 2006.pp.268-270). Action of Political Parties on increase Hispanic presence The growth of Hispanic population in the United States has led to their increased political presen ce. Moreover, the policies of the American government have also supported the growth of the Hispanic voters. The ballot system has been made bilingual to help the Hispanic population cast their votes. However, the above activities failed to have a considerable impact on the voting rights of the Hispanic groups for a maximum of them were found ineligible for being non-citizens. The Democrats in United States are taking a fresher look to draw in more Hispanic votes in their constituencies (Schaefer, 2006, p. 245; Marger, 2008). Social and Economic Issues of the Hispanic Groups Mexicans The Mexican Americans in United Kingdom have varied economic positions. Some have access to potential land resources while a majority turned out to become poor farmers who are regarded by Americans as

Online Dispute Resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Online Dispute Resolution - Essay Example This paper will explain some of the advantages and disadvantages to the ODR scheme. One of the advantages of ODR over other dispute resolving methods, such as face-to-face arbitration, mediation and litigation is the cost factor.2 This factor is especially important, as many of the cyber disputes involve small dollar amounts. Many online problems would never be resolved if it were not for cost-saving. Inherent in this analysis is that the parties involved in the dispute do not have to hire attorneys, nor do they have to travel, which can add up to considerable costs in traditional dispute resolutions.3 Therefore, ODR has a great social implication, in that it ensures that everybody in the on-line world has access to justice. The prohibitive expense of litigation is a hindrance to this basic principal, because individuals without financial means cannot afford traditional litigation. But in the wonderful proletariat world of on-line dispute resolution, everybody has a fair shot in getting their disputes resolved, as the costs are minimal and attorneys are not necessary. It might be the great equalizer. Two different entities exemplify the cost-benefit analysis examined above: one is the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, which is the dominant dispute resolution service provider with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) under its Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).4 This entity is basically the go-to service for individuals with a domain name dispute, and has resolved some 9,000 such disputes since its inception in 1999. The other method examined is the SquareTrade, which is an ODR method that predominantly assists buyers and sellers on Ebay.5 In the ICANN and UDRP systems, a complaint by a trademark holder is deemed served upon the holder of the domain name if it is sent to his registered e-mail address. If the holder of the domain name

Lower class citizens Essay Example for Free

Lower class citizens Essay In our first workshop we looked at the different classes aboard the titanic. We studied how the first, second, and third class passengers would react going on the titanic. We used still images to show our different facial and body expressions. Looking back at our work we could have improved the way we staged our still images and could have used more space up stage so that the audience had a better view of our body and facial expressions. I also think that we could have used more still images instead of just three we could have used five to show the contrasts of the different classed passengers on the titanic, this would have also improved our performance because the audience would have had a better view of interest and mannerisms from the characters. In the second workshop we looked at the titanic and the 9/11 attack. First, we started looking at the titanic and made 3 still images tom show the different type of characters, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classed passengers. We developed these by adding hand gestures and facial expressions and also adding role play. Using role play we had to think of the different uses of tone of voice and how each person would speak, like the 1st class passengers would use proper words and would speak clearly whereas the lower class passengers would use cockney and wouldnt speak very clear. We then went on looking at the 9/11 attack on America in 2001. We then had to make role play of a hijacker taking control of the plane and killing an air hostess while she was giving out drinks. We then had to move on to making a role play. I played a window cleaner, complaining about my job when the plane is coming at my windows that I am cleaning. We then did parrot on the shoulder to empathise the worry of those who were there. When we used role play we had to make sure that we used all the right facial and body expressions to show how we were reacting at the time of one of the largest disasters in history. In the third workshop we developed our understanding of hot seating, and used many examples of the titanic to help us. We had to be questioned by the group about his or her background, behaviour and motivation. The characters were based around the catering on the titanic and had all sorts of questions asked to find information about the occupation. We created a scene in which enables us all to get a detailed idea about what it was like to work on the titanic. In workshop four we firstly had to do 3 still images to show the towers standing, falling and the towers no longer standing at all. We had to think of how we could use of our body and facial expressions to show the audience the effects it had. We then looked at a piece of text called Requiem for Ground Zero by Stephen Benkoff. The piece of text told us how the twin towers exploded when the plane hit the building. We had to explore the text and then look at how we could use it in role play. My group first came up with three still images showing how three different people were trapped. We then looked at fallen. This was a phone call that was made when those who were trapped could get hold of their loved ones. We used split screen to show how the different phone calls are made and what is said. During this exercise we had to think about the way we would use body and facial expressions to show emotion. We then moved on to role play. We created a scene that included levels and thought tracking to create more of an atmosphere to our work. The levels meant that we could show what level the characters were, in relevance to showing how important they were in our role play. During workshop five we also did 3 still images on The survival list for the titanic. We used facial expressions and body language to show to the audience the different class. For example the 1st class people would look down on the lower class and their heads would be up very high wheres the lower class people their heads would be down all the time. The higher class got to look at the list first so in this case we would see them pushing past the lower class citizens. The facial and body expressions that we used showed that the majority of higher class people were delighted about the news because they were first priority when it came to life boats and survival. The lower class people would be very upset, due to the fact that they werent as important when the life boats were being filled, so many of the lower classed passengers aboard the ship died.

Pre Implantation Genetic Testing Philosophy Essay

Pre Implantation Genetic Testing Philosophy Essay Humanity revolves around procreation. We need to reproduce in order to produce future generations. In the past few years, science and medicine has gained an immense amount of knowledge about pregnancy and the underlying developmental stages of how it works. Furthermore, science is progressively improving, resulting in our ability to diagnose, manipulate and sometimes treat genetic abnormalities. Procedures such as the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) were developed as a means to avoid selective abortions by detecting that the embryo is free of terrible lethal genetic diseases such as Huntingtons disease. However, recently PGD has been raising some ethical questions as people began using this technology for medically unrelated and unjustified reasons. Vanity and secondary motives of patients who use PGD for the creation of designer babies and savior siblings violates the fundamental principle of morality. Using PGD for reasons other than justified genetic testing is impermissi ble because it treats the potential baby as a means not as ends in itself; therefore, it violates Kants second categorical imperative. Scientific Background PGD works through a process of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). In this procedure, multiple eggs are produced, retrieved from the ovaries and [manually] fertilized with the husbands sperm in a laboratory, outside of the female body3. As the embryos develop in vitro, embryo biopsy is performed by removing a single cell from each three day old embryo4. These cells are analyzed-by a variety of methods-for particular chromosomal or genetic abnormalities in order to distinguish which embryos are free of genetic disease. Normal, healthy embryos are then transferred into the uterus where they can grow and develop into a healthy child. Arguments Kant Immanuel Kant came up with a moral philosophy that was based on a theory of the Categorical Imperative. These are valid principles based off of the concept of duty that must be obeyed by all and are good in and of themselves. The second categorical imperative states that one should Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end2. In other words, one has perfect duty to not use someone as a means to achieve a personal goal. This principle of rationality formulates the core of moral law and requirements that rational agents must follow. Furthermore, each rational being has autonomy, or a free will to define their own law. However, possession of autonomy by each being implies that all persons should be treated equally, with the same amount of respect and one cannot infringe on the others rational will. The intuitive essence of humanity, therefore, objects to usin g others as a mere tool because it overlooks ones integrity and humanness. So, one cannot assert a moral right to own a person-like a piece of property-because proprietary right over a person denies any existence of a free rational action; furthermore, it denies the person a right to be an end in themselves. But, humans have value and worth; hence, they require to be respected. Each person deserves to be respected for his/her integral being (of who they are). While PGD is performed on fetuses, its use is still unjustified because fetuses are potential persons and therefore, require the same amount of respect as any other person. Furthermore, the use of PGD in creating designer babies and savior siblings violates Kants second categorical imperative. Designer Babies A very compelling argument against PGD arises out of its questionable potential use in creating perfect designer babies. The technology behind PGD would allow parents to select specific and nonessential traits (such as eye color, height, athletic ability, even intelligence) that they want their child to express. Such technology is reminiscent of the Build-a-Bear Workshop but for grown-ups. Using PGD as a means for eugenics is fallacious and unjustified in many ways, such as its violation of the second categorical imperative. Parents have abused PGD use in order to have it cater to their individual conceited expectations of creating a perfect child. They vainly pick and chose the traits they find beneficial and get rid of ones they find unhealthy or unperfect so they could satisfy their goal of not having a financially and socially burdensome child. Not only is this wrong because it discriminates against the disabled but also because it violates the core value of humanity by infringing upon the childs autonomous will by treating him/her as a means to an inappropriate end. The parents social and economic ends are being pursued while the childs ends are being neglected. In designing a child, parents destruct the childs will (in a few different ways) therefore, they fail to treat them as an end in themselves. Physically, parents annihilate certain features their child would naturally possess (not to mention the obliteration of unwanted fetuses). By doing so, parents fail to treat the child humanely. Also, al tering mental abilities of a child is deceptive and confuses their will. Hence, it overlooks the rational ability of a-potential-rational agent and his/her end in himself/herself. Finally, parents restrict their childs will by altering their whole mental and physical being and not allowing them to pursue their individual goals as they see fit4. In order for the mental and physical humanity to be treated as an end, ones will must exist. However, when parents select traits for their child, they overlook their childs dignified and humane right to be how they were naturally meant to be. They use their child as a means to reach some vain, social or economical end, therefore, violating Kants second categorical imperative. Every human being is a rational agent (even the fetus which is a potential person) and has autonomy; therefore, one should not be treated as a means to an end. Because the use of PGD allows parents to use their children as a means to an unjustified end, its use is imperm issible. Savior Siblings Another issue with using PGD rises out of its unjustified creation of savior siblings. A savior sibling is a child created by tissue typing and help of PGD in hope of providing a perfect HLA-match for the seriously sick sibling in order to save his/her life. While the engineered child does not benefit or is harmed, the implications of such procedure are morally unethical. It objectifies the child, viewing him/her as a mere commodity, disregarding the childs humane right to equality. Treating such child as a tool to cure another violates an ethical principle of treating a person as an end in himself/herself (violates the second CI) because it uses the child as a means for which to treat the unhealthy older sibling. Such applications of PGD resemble slavery, where the savior child is a slave and the parent is a slave-owner. The parent would possess a right to own the slave child affirming the child as a commodity. But a child is not an object to have possession over; the child is a per son who requires respect and possesses an autonomous will to be an end in himself/herself. Therefore, creating a slave or savior sibling would violate the categorical imperative due to the demolishment of the childs free rational action. Thus, use of PGD for the creation of savior (slave) siblings is unjustified because it strongly violates Kants second categorical imperative. Furthermore, creation of savior siblings leads to other problems. In addition to being unethical, there is a strong belief that a childs profound identity would be impaired. They would be viewed as a secondary gain, a tool solely designed for the purpose of saving another life. This impaired will of the child would lead to countless psychological problems. The mental aspect of the childs humane nature would be compromised-the child would lack self-esteem and self-rescpect-as he/she would not be praised for his/her individual value but rather as a means to a particular end. Parents, by using PGD for instrumentalization of their children, would violate the childs autonomous will and individual personal value by using them as mere means to parental ends and limit[ing] a childs right to an open future4. In sum, PGD promotes unjustified creation of designer babies and savior siblings. The use of this technology allows parents to use their children (or potential children) as a means to satisfy their parental end; therefore, neglecting the childs autonomous will to be an end in himself/herself. Thus using PGD to create designer babies and savior siblings is impermissible because it violates Kants second categorical imperative. Opposition PGD is argued to be unethical in this paper; however, others view its use acceptable and nothing more than a legitimate autonomous right of parents to produce healthy children. They believe that because parents are the most socially and economically affected by the birth of a child, then they should have the right and freedom to choose the identity of their offspring. Having a healthy child is in the parents interest because it is less socially and financially constraining and burdensome. Besides, being healthy is in the best interest of the child as well. The child would want to live a happy and healthy life, free of disease. If PGD can provide a tool for removing such lethal and stigmatizing disease form society, then it should be perfectly plausible to be able to use it. Parents have a right to choose what it best for their children and family; therefore, using PGD as a means that will allow them to select for traits they see best fit for their child would be perfectly justified. Rebuttal However, while these are plausible reasons for the use of PGD, they are not strong enough to justify its immoral applications. Every single individual-even the potential person and the disabled-has a right to autonomy. No one can or should be able to define what life is worth living; furthermore, no one can impose the quality of life of principle on another. As previously stated, we can not say that the disabled lead a good or a bad life; it is simply not for us to decide. In fact, values of good and bad are of human conception and will vary from person to person. Parents need to take responsibility, financially and mentally for their child regardless of its physical well-being. Good parent do not choose; furthermore, they do not use their child as a means to appease their interest of having a less socially and financially constraining life. Using PGD for vain reasons is never morally justified. Using PGD for medicinal reasons is appropriate; however, using it for designer babies and savior siblings violates the fundamental principle of ethics (Kants second categorical imperative) and therefore, can never be morally justified. Conclusion In conclusion, PGD has revolutionized reproduction. It has granted access into a remote realm by allowing persons to select favorable genetic characteristics of offspring before implantation. However, while its promising view of the world without suffering and disease sounds appealing, moral justifications of PGD and its policy raise many concerns. More specifically, some of the issues with the use of this technology deal with the unjustified creation of designer babies and savior siblings. These are serious issues, the implications of which can have destructive and irreversible consequences on the present and future generations. While some of the applications of PGD may be accepted; nevertheless, as of now, the risks outweigh the benefits. It is not medicines role to make one more socially accepted or be better-off. Those are not the types of standards for us to decide. Intentional destruction of potential human life is never justified. PGD runs on a dangerously thin line of potenti al medicinal benefit and playing God. It also violates Kants second categorical imperative by treating fetuses as a mere means to an end. Therefore, until clear, strictly medicinal and ethical applications of PGD are established, the use of this technology can not be justified.

Factors Influencing Family Lifestyle

Factors Influencing Family Lifestyle The family issues can always attract public attention, because it is so close to peoples life. As Kephart claimed that the family is one of the older social institutions which could be found in almost all societies (1961:3). This report will argue that the family turned into diversity as a result of the varied demands of individual while the alterations of household could affect society in social services, government policy and social safety. There is no denying that the development of society could also influence the family lifestyle. Initially, this report will look at the history of the family. Secondly, this report will introduce the changing nature of the family and the situation of several types of household( cohabitation, lone-parent families, homosexual families ) that have appeared recently. Specifically, what family means to society will be illustrated-family is not an abstract word, but a basic part for society. Finally, this report will analyse the role of the family has played in society and the impact of changes on British society. 2. History Generally, family is categorized as two basic models: nuclear family and extended family. Nuclear family includes parents and their children while extended family is a family group with a close relationship among the members that includes parents, children and relatives (Oxford , 2005). As Eversley and Bonnerjea (1982:75) said, Victorian family (between 1830 and 1870) has played an important role in the development about the modern family: whatever forms the contemporary family takes, it is usually considered as a deviation from this supposed former norm, in other words, the Victorian family is the earliest ancestor for families of British society. Until the 1980s, it was popular within sociology to talk about the family cycle. Inherent in this notion was the idea that people typically followed a similar family pathway (Allan and Crow, 2001:2). In contemporary society, families have changed from formation and conditions over time. The average household size fell from 2.9 persons per household in 1971 to 2.4 in 2006 (ONS Focus on Families, 2007). Nowadays, there is no typical example of families, such as single-parent families, cohabiting, step-families, and so on (Harding, 1996). Actually, family could provides a wide range of functions which include socialization, social placement, material and emotional security, child rearing and economic cooperation (Morris and Winter, 1978:46 ; Allan and Crow, 2001:19-20). Families determine the outcomes for children, adults, community and society. Such as in the family, parents bring up children, give them encouragement with love and a good relationship between family members could contribute harmonious development on the community and society as well (Cabinet Office Families in Britain, 2008). So that family could be seen as valuable to the society and to individual. 3. Current Situation A recent survey showed that 80 percent of people really think that family is more important to them than their friends in British society (Ipsos MORI Real Trends, 2008). As an institution, family is altering continually. Since 1971, the proportion of all people living in traditional family households of married couples with dependent children has fallen from 52% to 37% in Britain (BBC, 2007). Today, people usually get later marriage, the one possible factor of this situation might be women paying more attention to their career. It is a common phenomenon to live together without marrying. The number of cohabiting couple families increased from 1.4 million to 2.3 million between 1996 and 2006 (ONS Focus on Family, 2007). More and more children are born outside of marriage, especially occurred among cohabiting couples families. A recent survey showed that the rate of births outside marriage has risen from about 10% in 1971 to over 40% in 2006 (ONS Population Trends No.132, 2008). Meanwh ile, married couples also have some problems. According to a statistics, there is a increased number of divorces around 26 thousand in 1950 to over 155 thousand in 2005. Compared with many other developed countries, Britain keep the higher rate in divorce until 2005 (ONS Marriage Stats 2006 (Provisional), 2008). 4. Analyse the Effect The family could be claimed as an economic and social institution (Jagger and Wright, 1999:3). No matter which form the family is, it seems that family could influence the society both in positive and negative aspect whilst be impacted by social environment. 4.1 Major institution in society In order to support the family, people have to hunt for a job. Individual plays essential role in different working areas, such as the large number of workers are employed in the services sector, a minority in industry and a little proportion in agriculture (Oakland , 2006:170). Those people create necessity for public need and make income for their family, thus there is a situation that the family workers fulfill the social demands while create wealth. Meanwhile, the family could be impacted by the external environment. For instance, financial crisis hit British families since 2008. According to research, the conflict between parents occurred frequently due to them worrying about the economic risk, therefore, a number of children suffered a hard period during the financial crisis (Hawthorne et al, 2003). Furthermore, families contribute childrens growth. The new generation is the force of the society continually developing. In order to make sure the better outcome for children, pare nts have to balance childrens state of being fully developed while make the children being a part of family and society by providing love, encouragement and guidance (Bornstein and Bornstein, 2007). 4.2 Cohabitation In contemporary society, public attitudes of sexual relationships have moved forward, thus cohabitation has been accepted by a majority of people (Allan and Crow, 2001:64). Review the recent two decades, the number of people who cohabit has rapidly raised (Oakland , 2006:190). When the divorce were difficult to achieve, people likely choose cohabitation (Kiernan, 2002:3). There are several factors enable adults to cohabit, one of the factors is decreasing the living cost. Men and women live together and share the expenses of daily necessities. Moreover, living together lead to learn more about each other. It is an opportunity to test whether the person suit to the other party (Allan and Crow, 2001:67-68). In turn, there is not any data (no data) shows that cohabitation could be helpful to marriage living, meanwhile, some statistics prove that if some people married after cohabiting, they had higher rate to divorce (Popenoe and Whitehead, ?:2 [reference: should we live together]). Peo ple in cohabitation families maintain the relationship rely on 4.3 Lone-parent families The proportion of children living in lone-parent families in Great Britain more than tripled between 1972 and spring 2006 to 24 per cent(11 _04_07_social_trends) Children living with single parents may be at higher risk of experiencing physical and sexual abuse and neglect than children living with two biological parents. Single parent households are substantially more likely to have incomes below the poverty line. Lower income, the increased stress associated with the sole burden of family responsibilities, and fewer supports are thought to contribute to the risk of single parents maltreating their children. In 1998, 23 percent of children lived in households with a single mother, and 4 percent lived in households with a single father. A strong, positive relationship between the child and the father, whether he resides in the home or not, contributes to the childs development and may lessen the risk of abuse. In addition, studies have found that compared to similar non-neglecting families, neglectful families tend to have more children or greater numbers of people living in the household. Chronically neglecting families often are characteriz ed by a chaotic household with changing constellations of adult and child figures (e.g., a mother and her children who live on and off with various others, such as the mothers mother, the mothers sister, or a boyfriend). (http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/foundation/foundatione.cfm) 4.4 Homosexual families 5. Recommendation As a result of what have mentioned, the government is considered that should establish reasonable policy for different type families. Trying to improve the marriage rate, create employment opportunities for lone parent, pay more attention to the mental health of single-parent children and provide help for them. Ensuring each kind of families getting equal rights include homosexual families. Honestly, family is the fundamental part of the society, making each unit running normally is one possible way to boost the development of society. 6. Conclusion In summary, under several period changing, the family developed into many forms, it all depends on individual needs, so that the changing to the family is an inevitable phenomenon. For the society, its development rely on each familys growing, such as changes to household required a development of services, domestic variety created new demands on government policy, and some of the new type families led to social crisis. Meantime, it could be found that the social environment influenced family lifestyle. Therefore, a interaction between families and society could be discovered. Allan, G. and Crow, G. (2001). Families, households and society. New York: Palgrave. BBC (2007). One-parent families on the rise. Retrieved October 7th,2010 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6542031.stm Bornstein, L. and Bornstein, M. H. (2007). Parenting styles and child social development. Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Montreal: Centre of excellence for early childhood development. Cabinet Office/The Strategy Unit. (2008). Families in Britain: An Evidence Paper, Department for Children, Schools and Families. Elliot, F. R. (1996). Gender, family and society. London: Macmillan Press Eversley, D. and Bonnerjea, L. (1982). Social change and indicators of diversity. in Rapoport, R. N. , Fogarty, M. P. and Rapoport, R. (1982). Families in Britain.(p.75). London: Routledge Kegan Paul Harding, L. (1996). Family, State Social Policy. London: Macmillan Press Hawthorne, J., Jessop, J., Pryor, J. and Richards, M. (2003). Supporting children through family change: a review of interventions and services for children of divorcing and separating parents. London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Ipsos MORI Real Trends (2008) self-completion and online. Base: 2,019 British adults 16+, 9th May 5th June. Jagger, G. and Wright, C. (1999). Changing family values. London: Routledge Jenkins, DRS. , Pereira, I. and Evans, N. ( date unknown ). Families in Britain, The impact of changing family structures and what the public think. London: Ipsos MORI and Policy Exchange. Kephart, W. M. (1961). The family, society, and the individual. Cambridge: The Riberside Press Morris, E. W. and Winter, M. (1978). Housing, family, and society. Canada: John Wiley Sons Oakland, J. (2006). British civilization: an introduction. New York: Routledge Office for National Statistics (2007) Focus on Families: increase in families mainly cohabiting couples. Retrieved October 7th,2010 from:http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/fofam1007.pdf Office for National Statistics (2008) Marriage Stats 2006 (Provisional) cited in Cabinet Office/ The Strategy Unit (2008) Families in Britain: An Evidence Paper, Department for Children, Schools and Families. P26. Office for National Statistics (2007) Population Trends 132. cited in Cabinet Office/ The Strategy Unit (2008) Families in Britain: An Evidence Paper, Department for Children, Schools and Families. P28. Oxford Dictionary of English. (2005). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rowlingson, K. and Mckay, S. (2002). Lone parent families: gender, class and state. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited

Rape: A Living Nightmare Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Rape: A Living Nightmare Is anyone truly a stranger to nightmares? Has anyone not woken up in a feverish sweat with a racing pulse or pounding heart? Whose eyes have never wildly searched their room for the phantoms of a dream? Now, what if the familiar consolation of learning it was all in your head never came? How do you wake up from a nightmare that is, in fact, a reality? I think I’m getting ahead of myself. What I mean to say is, I was raped, and rape is a nightmare. I am a 19-year-old girl, far too old to think I know everything. I don’t pretend to be an expert on rape. Having known the feel of a cold blade pressed to my side gave me no superior understanding of the crime, only a small scar to remember it by. Thus I offer you no solution. I cannot say with any conviction that my writing will help to save even one person from being subjected to a similar fate. Before you’ve read to the bottom of this page three more girls will be sexually assaulted, one girl will be raped. Neither the eloquence of my words, nor the fervor of my voice will have changed a thing. The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok. Before my emotions coerce me into preaching about the atrocity I survived, excuse me, am surviving, I think some clarifications are in order. L... ... calm disposition is counterfeit. If you must be angry, be angry that by doing nothing to stop the assaults you have been made both the victim and the rapist time and time again. If you have a choice, though, choose to be upset. Be upset that it is our society that is responsible for rape and this nightmare’s reign over women. Bibliography Bode, Janet. The Voices of Rape. New York: Franklin Watts (†¢1990) Ehrhart, Julie K. Campus Gang Rape: Party Games? Washington: Association of American Colleges Gordon, Margaret T. The Female Fear. New York: The Free Press (†¢1989) Hilberman, Elaine. The Rape Victim. Washington: American Psychiatric Association (†¢1976) Macdonald, John. Rape: Offenders and Their Victims. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher (†¢1971) Schwartz, Martin D. Sexual Assault on the College Campus. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications (†¢1997)

Prufrock and Modernist notion of trivial things completeing themselves :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Modern humankind is caught up in a series of trivial pursuits that seem to make their lives shallower. Eliot uses â€Å"Prufrock† to show that the only cause for doing the trivial actions is to avoid the bigger issue. Which could be as simple as asking a woman out, or a complicated as facing death. Either way, J. Alfred Prufrock was avoiding everything challenging in his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was his goal to avoid death, because he didn’t know how to deal with it. He avoided asking a woman out, because he was afraid of what she might say. So he found other ways to continue his life, but it lead it to become useless. He slept with many women, but none of them seemed to please him. It was as though he was incapable of being pleasured, and therefore just filled his day with random women to sleep with because it was the only thing to keep him going. Prufrock already knew that he was condemned to hell; maybe he was already living in it. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop sleeping with all these women, he continued as if it was his â€Å"guilty pleasure.† It couldn’t possibly be though because it wasn’t at all pleasurable for him, just a repetitive act that he did. Prufrock was a lonely man, with no hope of having his name carried on. He hadn’t done anything worthwhile, or that some would remember him by, there was noth ing remarkable about him. Prufrock longed to be more than just a workingman, somewhat like Michelangelo. Accomplish something wonderful to be remembered by, and not just known as a sex addict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prufrock, however, could never achieve something great. He was too afraid; it held him back and forced him to subject himself to only the most trivial things in life. ,It was these trivial things that Eliot wanted to show. The modernist society had forced many others into a life just like Prufrock lead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unable to find true joy in any activity, everyone is subjected to trivial pursuits, shallow goals, and no pleasurable experiences. It was created by the notion that the things that you can’t explain or want to know should just be avoided. If one person couldn’t figure them out, then it was impossible for all. And therefore, society should just give up and come to the realization that the time of great thinking has passed, and nothing new can be discovered.

Richard Feynman :: essays research papers fc

Richard Philip Feynman was born in New York City on May 11th 1918 to a middle class family that lived on the Southern tip of Manhattan. He grew up in a household where both of his parents poured into him their best qualities. His mother, Lucille, instilled in Richard a powerful sense of humor, which would be essential in forming his magnetic personality and eccentric lecturing style. His father, Melville, decided before Richard was born that if he were a boy, he would grow up to be a scientist, something that Melville himself had always wanted to be. And so guided subtly by his father, and given the power to laugh by his mother, Richard was set on a course that would eventually lead him to become a legend. At a young age it was apparent that he was scientifically inclined. In school, he was interested in all things scientific and loved math. At one point he even gave thought to becoming a mathematician. After high school, he went to MIT to study physics, and after four years of that he went to Princeton as a graduate student. During this time in his life, he became engaged to his high school sweetie, Arline Greenbaum. Halfway into his education at Princeton, Arline was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and was not given many years to live. So Richard married her and put his doctoral thesis on hold. Shortly after their marriage, a friend of Richard, Robert Wilson, came to Richard and told him that the government of America was looking for the finest physicists to help construct the atomic bomb. Otherwise known as the Manhattan project. At first Richard said no, but eventually his patriotism won over and he agreed to join the project. Upon agreeing to join the project, he moved to Los Alamos, where the research facility was located and Arline could move to a hospital in Albuquerque. In July 1945, Arline, the love of Richards life, finally succumbed to the dreaded tuberculosis she had been fighting all of this time. To escape the pain, he immersed himself in his work and the 1st atomic bomb ever was ready for detonation very quickly. With his work at Los Alamos done, Richard took a teaching position at Cornell University where he became depressed and believed that his life's work was behind him. But as he was stewing in his own depression, more and more of the top universities were sending more and more lucrative professorships his way.

Test Taking Strategies

Test-Taking Strategies For 10 years, I was the one testing the students, teaching strategies and finding new ones to help students study. Suddenly, I found myself returning to school and the anxiety, stress, lack of time, and just all the unknowns seemed to overwhelm my life. The last couple of years I have learned to incorporate strategies that work best for me, but there is always room for improvement and strengthening. Learning, study and test taking skills are some of the most important things to have when furthering your education. Upon reading Strategies for Test Success by Linda Anne Silvestri, I was able to scrutinize some of my weaknesses, reevaluate my learning style, and look at some new test taking strategies while assessing my current strategies. Helpful Test Taking Strategies Tests usually have significant validity on your grade. The better you are prepared for different types of tests, the better grade you will receive. Meyers, 2000) Some helpful test strategies that I gathered from this assignment include: techniques for reducing test anxiety, avoid reading into the question, avoid changing answers, learning how to study in a manner that works best, and improving retention of information. Test anxiety is an unpleasant experience and can interfere with test performance. This is one area that I struggle with myself. Linda Anne Silvestri suggests incorporating some of the following techni ques in order to reduce anxiety while preparing for and taking an exam. First, evaluate yourself to determine what may be causing the anxiety. Is it stress, pressure to succeed, or negative thoughts? Second, figure out techniques that will help to reduce the anxiety such as: avoid procrastination, relaxation techniques before and during an exam, maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet, and maintain a positive attitude which will lead to success. (Silvestri, 2010) In that moment of despair, when my memory just seems to go blank, I often find myself digging from my own life experiences to find a rationale to the question being asked. Linda Anne Silvestri explains reading into a question as â€Å"One is considering issues beyond the information presented in the question. †(Silvestri, 2010) I am guilty of this on many occasions, and learning to identify the information the question contains and what it is asking will help improve my test scores. Changing answers is another area which I struggle. â€Å"You know the information; go with your first instinct, don’t second guess yourself! † I have said this to many students over the years, why does it seem so hard to incorporate into my own strategies now that I am a student? By reevaluating this area, hopefully I can become more confident in the answering of questions and learn to trust my instincts and knowledge. â€Å"One must also remember not change an answer unless you are absolutely sure you have made a mistake,† as stated in the book The Secret of Taking Any Test by Learning Express. (Meyers, 2000) In Kaplan’s How to Study vide o about learning to study in a manner that work best for you, suggests that you find a quiet room or area that you can use just for studying. I often find myself trying to study in the family room where it seems like the TV is shouting at me and my books are scattered all over the couch and floor. I am currently working on this by converting a spare room into my study space. It was recommended that in this area you are to consider good body position, such as using a chair and desk not sitting or lying on your bed. This area must also have good lighting and be free of distractions. In doing this I hope that I will be able to separate my school time and family time from each other. Visualize, organize, recite, repeat is suggested by Kaplan in order to retain information. The goal of most students is to retain what they are learning. Spending too much time studying is and major complaint of students. By making vivid associations of the content with a picture, group and organize topics together because items are best learned in groups, recite your knowledge out loud to figure out what you do not understand, and finally repeat it often. By using this strategy instead of trying to memorize text out of a book, one should have to spend less time studying and more information should be retained. (Kaplan Nursing: Lipponcott) Test Strategies Not so Helpful There are so many strategy recommendations for students. While each have good points, some are more helpful than others. Strategies that don’t seem as helpful to me are simulating actual test like circumstances when studying for the exam, study groups, note taking by using the fancy systems. These three strategies just seem to increase my stress level to the point I feel like I am not learning. Simulating actual test like circumstances has just never worked for me as I usually don’t pick the correct information to test myself on and the important information gets left behind. Study groups cause me too much pressure because I find that one or two people seem to be putting the study guides together. This is a pet peeve for me; I don’t mind sharing my ideas but don’t expect me to do all the work and then hand it to you. The final one that has never worked for me is taking notes by using one of the many note taking systems. I find myself spending too much time trying to remember what needs to be written where, organizing, how to fold the paper. I have developed my own crazy way of taking notes over the years. Note taking is an area that I feel is individualize for each person. Learning Style The VAK Learning Style Assessment indicates that I learn visually followed closely by being a kinesthetic learner. I feel this is a very accurate assessment of my learning style. I am the person who likes to observe how things are done either by reading the instructions or watching someone perform the task. I also learn by holding, touching, and feeling. The whole hands-on experience works well for me. Auditory learning is sometime difficult for me. I find using the auditory portion of an E-book is not beneficial to me because my mind seems to wander and I have a hard time concentrating on the information. I am someone who likes to have the textbook in hand to touch and feel. Diagnosis of Test Taking Weakness My personal diagnoses of test taking weakness would be: Anxiety related to taking examinations as evidenced by sympathetic stimulation including increased respiratory rate, heart rate, apprehension and facial flushing. I will display decreased test anxiety before and after each exam for the next twelve months. I will learn how to control sympathetic stimulations during exams for the next year. Interventions will include getting enough sleep before exams, practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing by inhaling deeply through nose and exhaling slowly, thinking positive thoughts, avoiding reading extra information into the question, and changing answers on the exam. Interventions will be confirmed effective if vital signs reflect baseline, there is decreased sympathetic stimulation, and able to control test anxiety by using stated techniques. Risk for impaired emory related to inability to retain sufficient knowledge and information. I will retain sufficient knowledge and information from the ADRN program to pass all exams for the next year. I will demonstrate use of techniques to help reduce memory loss for twelve months. I will utilize anxiety reducing techniques, non-distracting study areas, visualize, organize, recite, and repeat techniques into current study and test taking p ractices . Intervention will be confirmed effective if I pass all exams and the NCLEX. References Ackley, B. & Ladwig, G. (2008). Nursing diagnosis handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care, (8th ed. ). St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc. , an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. Kaplan Nursing: Lipponcott, W. a. (n. d. ) Kaplan Nursing. Retrieved September 1, 2011, from Kaplan nursing: How to study, Nursing school success http://www. nursing. kaplan. com/student/User_Home. aspx# Meyers, J. N. (2000). The secret of taking any test. Learning Express Silvestri, L. A. (2010). Saunders strategies for success for test success: Passing nursing school and the NCLEX exam. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders an imprint of Elsevier.

Background The 1930’s In The USA Essay

In the 1920’s/1930’s a lot of Americans got the idea that investing in shares was a safe way of making money, but many didn’t know the risks that could occur when buying shares, and on the 4 October 1929 America suffered from the ‘Wall Street Crash.’ This meant that billions of dollars were lost due to the stock markets crashing and the prices of shares dramatically falling, the ‘Wall Street Crash’ left countless numbers of American citizens with no life savings and on the edge of bankruptcy. It also caused many companies and businesses to go bust or close down, and consequently left many workers unemployed and broke. This mass of unemployment resulted in many people moving from the big cities out to the countryside to find work on farms as itinerant workers. These itinerant workers were most often men who were sacked due to the Wall Street crash, and a lot of the time found themselves alone and lonely. Itinerant workers had to keep moving from farm to farm and therefore could never make any long time friends, many had no home to go back to or even any family to contact. The farms conditions were very poor and there was a big health and safety risk due to the large and dangerous machinery used daily by the workers, the average number of deaths on farms in America per year was around 25,000. But this high number of deaths didn’t stop the Itinerant workers from working, as they had no other way of getting money and had no other choice. The itinerant workers were made to live in poor condition bunkhouses with a group of other workers, the workers had their food prepared by a cook that the boss would hire, but of course this was not free and came out of their already small wages. The workers were made to work during the day but also found themselves with spare time where they would play games or go into town. During this time in the1930’s when money was short for everyone, farmers found themselves in the position where either they could save money and cut back on something or simply go bust. So a lot of the farmers left their soil without any fertilizer, but continued to grow crops on the fields, this destroyed and dried out the soil leaving it near worthless to them. The farmers also cut down field barriers so bigger more efficient machinery could be used, but this also helped to destroy and dry out the top part of the soil and also left it vulnerable to strong winds. These farming techniques particularly effected the south-west of the USA as they had seasonal bad weather which usually posed a problem but what they didn’t know was there was going to be exception bad weather. And due to the weather and poor farming methods, the fast and strong winds which the bad weather brought were able to race across fields upon fields and whip up the dry top soil creating big clouds of ‘dust’. This ecological disaster was named the ‘Dustbowl’ and it whipped up dust that landed in other states to where it originated from, and left farms and homes under dust which left many people no choice than to just pack up anything they could and leave. A lot of these itinerant workers migrated to California which is known as ‘the golden state’ where dreams come true and is also the home of Hollywood ‘the dream factory’ but mainly because it was away from the dust bowl and the because the farms in California were known for having rich fertile land. This fertile land and unharmed farms, not only created a big attraction for people looking for work, but also created an attraction to farmers wanting to start again and own a farm. Although the itinerant workers moved out to California due to the large amount of farms there, many still had no job and the workers still found themselves moving from one farm to another as the bosses only employed most workers for short periods. The Author John Steinbeck, was born in Salina’s, California, and is one of the USA’s greatest writers, he is known for writing the book ‘Of Mice And Men’ which we are studying, and has also written books such as ‘The Pearl’ and ‘Cannery Row’. We have found that a lot of the ideas in the story ‘Of Mice And Men’ are from events which were past experiences in his own life. We know this as John Steinbeck has worked on farms himself as an itinerant worker and therefore has an idea of the loneliness and the continuous search for friendship and somewhere to settle down that all itinerant workers had. This dream that all itinerant worker had of settling down is shown in the book by all the worker but especially George and Lennie for they have a dream of owning a place of their own. John Steinbeck also got ideas for the book from past events such as when he saw a large man kill a pet rabbit and when he saw one of his bosses killed by a disturbed man. He writes about the migrants to California and how the itinerant workers are needy and desperate and will work for a small wage. In a way the characters of George and Lennie are microcosms of what was happening to the USA in the 1930’s, as they suffered from the ‘Wall street crash’ and are itinerant work that have migrated to California. John Steinbecks title ‘Of mice And Men’ is taken from a poem written by an 18th century Scottish poet, and the novel was first published in 1936 and followed shortly after by the stage play.

Agriculture and Industrialisation

The topic of agriculture and its role in industrial and urban development has long been studied by economic theoreticians. According to Nam, Dang and Hainsworth (2000), there are three important theoretical schools that have been particularly influential after World War II, and which differ considerably in the ways by which each presents the relationship between agriculture and industry, in regards to the process of industrialisation.These are: â€Å"the role of agriculture in industrialisation†, â€Å"‘big leap’ into industrialisation and urbanisation†, and â€Å"harmonious links in the development process† (Nam, Dang, and Hainsworth, 2000, http://www.idrc.ca/geh/ev-33149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html).In 1965, John Mellor and Bruce Johnston reported that a successful agricultural sector is an important element in the industrial development and rapid growth rate of a nation’s economy. According to Johnston and Mellor, the five key roles of agriculture are: ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"to supply cheap foodstuffs and raw materials for the urban/industrial sector†; ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"to export farm products to earn foreign exchange which could be used to finance technological and material imports for urban and industrial development†; ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"to release labour to provide the work force for the industrial sector†; ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"to expand the domestic market for industrial products†; and ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"to increase domestic savings to be used to finance industrial expansion† (Nam, Dang, and Hainsworth, 2000, http://www.idrc.ca/geh/ev-33149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html).Also in 1965, Simon Kuznets verified the role of agriculture in industrialisation by way of commercial transactions.According to Kuznets, the agricultural sector supplies other sectors within and outside the country with products such as â€Å"foodstuffs, industrial raw materials, labour, capital, and markets† that are necessary for industrialisation (Nam, Dang, and Hainsworth, 2000, http://www.idrc.ca/geh/ev-33149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html).But despite the fact that these authors emphasised the importance of agriculture, their hypotheses also highlighted the need for a restructuring of the national economy, decreasing the share of the agricultural sector in the GDP (gross domestic product) and in the work force, and boosting the industrial sectors.Developmental strategies were usually geared towards the maximum utilisation of agricultural resources to augment industrialisation and urban expansion. In the matter of utilising agriculture to support industrialisation, the existing theories were unable to provide insight into how this can be made possible.La Grande Encyclopedie Francaise stated in 1986 that â€Å"The industrial revolution is accompanied by a general urbanisation and the gradual death of rural civilisation† (Nam, Dang, and Hainsworth, 2000, http://www.idrc.ca/geh/ev-33149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html).In 1992, Hainworth observed that the conventional economic theories of the West, as established from the development of the UK and other European nations as well as the rapid industrialisation of North America, often places the agricultural sector in the position of â€Å"Cinderella† or slave to the indulgent â€Å"ugly stepsister† demands of industrialisation.In W.W. Rostow’s The Stages of Economic Growth, the author affirms that Western countries have achieved such advanced stages of development that their experience should be emulated by other countries.According to Rostow, the growth of an agricultural sector in an industrialising setting should be carried out concurrently based on four approaches: â€Å"economic, spatial, sociopolitical, and cultural – industrialisation, urbanisation, internationalization, and Westernisation†   (Nam, Dang, and Hainsworth, 2000, http://www.idrc.ca/geh/ev-33149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html).Somewhat akin to this viewpoint are the opinions of several Western theorists in A Future for European Agriculture. Their theories tended to downplay the role of agriculture in industrialisation. According to them, the agricultural sector in Europe is primarily geared only towards the production of food.Thus, on the road to industrialisation, the only way to preserve economic growth is to considerably trim down the agricultural work force. As a rule, an impartial cutback on the agricultural work force and an augmenting of the industrial and urban-services labour force are expected trends in countries undergoing the process of industrialisation.Nevertheless, it is also important to remember the aforementioned key roles of agriculture. Another vital aspect not to be forgotten is that a country cannot simply make a â€Å"big leap† from being primarily agricultural into instantly becoming industrialised.There are stages between the two that simply cannot be bypassed, as evidenced by the experiences of developing countries in Latin America, Asia, and Afric a. Owing to lack of consideration for the agricultural sectors, there have been instances where the negative ramifications of rapid industrialisation have been felt in some countries.In certain African, Asian, and Latin American nations, the consequences of making a â€Å"leap† towards industrialisation have included widespread shortages in foodstuffs, sudden migrations into urban centres that have led to poverty and overpopulation, and abrupt scarcities in the necessary products for industrialisation.British economist E.F. Schumacher, in his 1973 publication Small is Beautiful, stated that for true economic development to be attained, â€Å"an entirely new system of thought is needed, a system based on attention to people, and not primarily attention to goods† (Nam, Dang, and Hainsworth, 2000, http://www.idrc.ca/geh/ev-33149-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html).He postulated that sufficient attention on the agricultural sector must be paid, especially in developing countries where th e majority of the economy is dependent on agriculture and where the bulk of the work force is in the agricultural profession.

Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes

Online classes and traditional classes are both great ways to receive an education during college. They both strive for the same purpose, which is to help the students reach their goals during their college careers. Although both class settings are great, they do differ in some ways. The three major differences between these classes are the pace of the classes, the student/teacher interaction, and the success rates. The pace of the class affects how much information the student receives throughout the course.Traditional classes often take a slower pace rather than online classes only because online classes have more assignments compared to a traditional class setting. In traditional classes, the students have the luxury to receive the assignment, have time for the teacher to thoroughly discuss the assignment, and have additional time to complete the assignment. On the other hand, students that take part in online classes get a brief, but also detailed description of the assignment an d are given a due date to complete the task by.The student/ teacher interaction also plays an important role in between these two class settings. Students in a traditional class setting have the ability to listen to the teacher talk about a lesson, ask any questions that they may have, and take part and watch any demonstrations. Online classes however, may be able to achieve the same things as the traditional classes, but do not get the full effect of the lesson. Teachers also may be able to explain things better in person to person contact, rather than going through a computer to try to solve any questions or concerns that the student may have.The final major difference between these two are the success rates of the classes. Students have a higher risk of failing and/or withdrawing a course taking it online rather than in a traditional class setting. For example, In 2005, the student success statistics for online classes were slightly lower than that of the traditional classes. Stu dents in online classes often procrastinate and put off the assignment where in a traditional classes they would be more obligated to complete the work they are given on time rather than put it of until a different time or day.Also, some students often could be distracted from their work and tests by things in their environment at home, where as in a traditional classroom the teachers try to minimize the risk of a distraction as much as they possibly can. Although both classes have pros, they also have cons that go with each of them. Online classes basically enable the student to teach themselves with minimum guidance from the teacher and traditional classes enable the student to learn from the teacher. It mostly depends on what is better for the student and how the student is interested in learning.

American Family and the Home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Family and the Home - Essay Example The results obtained from the 10 usable questionnaires are analyzed in this section. The data, represented in graphs and tables shows the perception of the respondents regarding American family and the home. The first question required the respondents to describe their families. The results indicated that the families are crazy; happy, funny and entertaining; big, loving, crazy and loud; dysfunctional; simple; large and crazy; small and successful; diverse; and divorced. Most of the families are crazy while a few are happy and successful. Most of the families are not very successful as they ought to be as some are dysfunctional.The second question asked: â€Å"What is the ethnic origin of your family?† The results were; Jamaican; Syrian, Native American; Italian, German, Irish, Puerto Rican; African-American; German/Irish; Caucasian; and White. This indicates that many of the families in America are of different origins with African-American, Italian and German/Irish tying at 20 percent.The third and fourth questions asked the role of the fathers and the mothers in the family. Results indicated that in more than 50 percent of the families. Fathers were the breadwinners and disciplinarians while mothers played the role of homemakers. Fathers play leadership roles while mothers are caregivers. Other respondents indicated that their fathers are absent possibly due to divorce thereby leaving mothers with the sole role of providing for the family, comforting them and leading them. Such mothers nurture the children.