Climate change Essay Example for Free

Climate change Essay The topic of the dissertation is very clear and well-defined. The problems that have been set forth by the researcher have also been posed with great clarity. To wit, the dissertation aims to ascertaon how green travel blogs perceive the problem of climate change and the manner by which it is affected by the tourism industry; how tourists, in their green travel blogs, choose to go â€Å"green,† looking into their knowledge of the negative effects of tourism on climate change; and how green travel blogs contribute in making tourists aware of the relationship between tourism and climate change. All these have been answered through an analysis of the discourse found in these blogs. The researcher acknowledges the strong relationship that exists between climate change and tourism, and thus analyzing the content of travel blogs will give clear indications about how tourism may further be enhanced through the perceptions of climate change derived from this medium. Simply put, this paper has given valuable input that shall help tourism flourish. Literature Review The literature review is clearly yielded from the most recent sources on the topic. It directly discusses the importance of the subject by beginning with the relationship of climate change and tourism, as indicated by the World Tourism Organization in 2003. It also did mention the requisites that are asked from the tourism industry to help mitigate the problems on environment and climate change, setting a strong rationale for undertaking the study. Empirical studies that further point out the relationship between these two variables were presented such as those of Becken and Hay (2007), Boniface and Cooper (2005), Hall and Higham (2005), Lockwood and Medlik (2002), Jones and Munday (2007), and Belle and Bramwell (2005), among others. From this backdrop, the review of related literature zooms in on the role of travel blogs as a medium for promotion, product distribution, communication, management, and research has been clearly suggested from various empirical studies. These have successfully gained popularity in order to ensure that they communicate initiatives in the fight against climate change and/or global warming. Major books and journal articles have been gathered and synthesized in a coherent manner to allow for an effective springboard for the research. Moreover, relevant transition from each portion of the literature to the next may be observed. There is synthesis and a demonstration of the interrelationships of concepts, making the review cohesive and critical.

The Development Of Social Work Social Work Essay

The Development Of Social Work Social Work Essay The problems that came about from industrialisation proved there was a severe lack of help for those who truly needed it. No profession already existed to help these people in society, and from that social care gradually came about, progressing into social work as it is today. Industrialisation meant that everyone left the country to move into the city, as it was a lot easier to find work, however with more people in the cities this meant more social problems could easily arise. Older people and younger children were given no help or education, as they were seen as no benefit to society, as they werent fit to work. From the mid 1700s Britain began to change dramatically, those who had formerly lived in the country and worked on the land, moved to the cities and sought employment in the factories. Work conditions were harsh and many were working 12 hours days on very low wages, and without laws people were exploited. Home conditions were not much better, and the large urban populations led to poor sanitary and social conditions which went on the lead to very poor public health, and high numbers of those being effected by diseases such as cholera and typhoid. The governing social policy of the time was laissez faire, leaving the caring self less citizens of society to help those worse of than them, with the policy having its roots in religious benevolence. However laissez faire had appeared to have failed and the effects included the poor living conditions of the time. In the fight against poverty and poor sanitation the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) and The Public Health Act (1848) were created, and this was said to be ..the first example of the state taking direct responsibility for the poor (Sheldon McDonald, 2009, p13). The Poor Law Amendment Act was put in place to make sure that those who truly deserved relief were receiving it. The poor were separated into two categories; the undeserving and the deserving. The deserving poor received practical and financial support from charities, and consisted of those who were not physically fit to work such as the elderly, sick, and disabled. The undeserving poor were those who were fit to work but chose not to for whatever reason; these people were turned down for support from charity and voluntary services. They were forced to turn to the workhouse or the state, conditions in the workhouse were deliberately harsh, to try and deter those who we able to work to seek work instead. Workhouses soon became home to those who were not well enough to work, but were eliminated in 1930. The Public Health Act came as a result of Chadwicks Sanitary Report, and the aim was to improve the sanitary conditions in towns and cities. The General Board of Health had responsibility over water supplies and drainage; the first main focuses were on public places, especially hospitals. Diseases slowly killed fewer and fewer people, due to the drainage systems and clean water put into place in London following the act. At first sight the Poor Law and the workhouses it introduced may seem a far cry from social wok (State Social Work, BJSW, p.665, John Harris 2008) Financial and practical support provided was and still is set below that of minimum wage which therefore dissuaded people from seeking help from state intervention and instead encourages them to find employment. Today the same values still hold. The Charity Organisation Charity (COS) was founded in 1869, to help manage the relief that was given out to the poor. The system was designed to stop charitable relief being given out to those who didnt require it as much as others, as they were seen to be taking advantage. Only the deserving poor could receive aid from charities. The COS introduced a case work practice, which meant that those who applied for support from charities could be thoroughly assessed as to whether they were legible for help or not. A caseworker would work closely with an applicant to build up a bigger picture of their personal background to determine what action plan would be put in place. Just as a social worker would today, the caseworker visited the client and built a relationship. A client would then be referred to a local charity or voluntary organisation which would best help provide for their needs. The COS was the first organisation to introduce the idea of casework, which was later developed and ex panded due to the work of Mary Richmond. Richmonds beliefs really conveyed the importance of casework, and her ideas focused on the social theory instead of a psychological theory. Her ideas are still recognised today and are said to be the root of social work education. Post World War I, psychiatry in social work started to play a big part. Many men returned from war with what we now recognise as post traumatic stress disorder, however a hundred years ago little was known about it. Care centres employed psychiatrists to treat these men, and from this psychiatry became much more recognised and started to play a bigger part in treatment for mental health patients. Social workers and psychiatrists focused more on psychology for their answers and a more head over heart (Sheldon McDonald, 2009, p.21) approach was used more widely in practices. During World War 2, over 3 million children were removed from their homes in the cities and sent to live in the country for their own safety; however children experienced adverse effects due to their separation from their parents. It was from this psychologist John Bowlby produced his theory of attachment and effects of maternal separation. 1944 saw the beginning of the Education Act, ensuring that children were entitled to education, free of charge. In the following 5 years after the end of World War 2, towns and cities were rebuilt and following Sir William Beveridges suggestions, a welfare state was set up, as the former welfare system was not accepted anymore by those in society. In 1948 the Nation Health Service was founded, providing care to everyone who needed it. Even though voluntary organisations were still in place, the state had eventually become the biggest provider of care. During the 1950s the COS no longer had such a major impact upon the development of social work, as it had had previously. Times were changing for social work as a profession, and psychological theories became one of the main influences of social work practice. The COS identified individuals social problems and sought the best way to deal with them, however they stuck too strongly to their social theory that in the end it began to have less and less relevance to the real problems the poor were experiencing. An in depth understanding of the individual was the basis to good social work, according to Younghusband. She wrote that the social worker needs to understand their client as a person, their individuals needs and relationships but must not forget the reality of the situation they are in. Before the 1950s, social work training had always been specialised in a specific area of practice, so the social worker would be specifically trained to do the job they were doing. However the 1950 s saw the first general social work training scheme being set up. The Seebohm Committee was set up in 1965 to assess the social services, in reaction to the growing pressure for a reform. The Seebohm report was finally published in 1968 stating their recommendations and beliefs of improving the social work profession. To start with the committee set up area teams, where social workers worked within one community. It stated the profession needed to provide a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to the problems of individuals, families and communities. (Seebohm Report, cited in Social Work: An Introduction to Contemporary Practice, p.58) The report is said to be a major landmark in social policy (State Social Work, p.670, BJSW, 2008). Social work was given more status as a profession and the Local Authority Social Services Bill was passed in Parliament in May of 1970. The conservative government came into power in June 1970, from then on social work saw a massive growth. To begin with there was a huge increase in qualified social workers, however this stirred conflict between those who had qualified before 1970, and those who qualified after, due to the difference in their training, and there failed to be an established understanding of the social work role in society. The 1970s saw the formation of the Radical Social Work Movement, which start when a magazine named Case Con was published, which passed judgment upon social work practices, in hope to come up with a new theory of Social Work. This theory was built on the need for Social workers and clients working together to bring about social change. Rather than offering suggestions on what needed to be changed, radical social work instead just summarised the faults within social work. Consequently the movement did not change policy and practices within social work, yet the writings of the movement still played a big part in the growth of Social Work throughout the 80s. The Barclay Committee report published in 1982 recognised three approaches to relationships between the state and those in need. The first was known as the safety net approach, with the main principle that help from the state should only be given to those who really need it, as a last resort, once again with a focus on who are the deserving and undeserving poor. With the welfare state approach it was a responsibility of the states to offer services to everyone. The third approached focused upon the communitys responsibility to look after each other, and this was the most popular approach to the committee. Social workers main focus should be on a certain community and having an in depth knowledge of that community. With helping those in that community they encourage citizens to care more for one another. Overall the Barclay report did not make much change to community social work. In social works reform as a profession, marketisation and managerialism became very important, introducing new techniques such as audits and inspections. With following wider market trends and models, social work became more cost effective and sustainable, focusing on the outcome rather than the quality in which the work gets done. In recent times procedures and bureaucratic practices have become the main framework around which social work practice is structured, at the expense of the professional relationship, (Gupta and Blewitt, 2007, cited in Social Work: An Introduction to Contemporary Practice, p.5). With growing advances in technology it meant that social workers could pursue more office base practices, which had its advantages in storing, accessing and organising files and data, however it can be argued that it has had a negative effect on the client/social worker relationship. In 2003 the Laming Report was published, after the well known case of Victoria Climbie and how she eventually died. The safeguarding of children became a priority, and it was questioned how effectively social work was doing its job. More emphasis was put onto the importance of inter professional working and communication, as it was due to the lack of communication between services that Climbie was not saved. The Children Act of 1989 was modified and The Children Act of 2004 was put into place to help protect and safeguard children. Social work has its beginnings in voluntary based services which were mainly based on religious principles and over the last 150 years the profession has grown to what we know it as today. Although laws and policies have changed and developed over the years, social work is still based upon the same values as it was all those years ago. Social workers still do the same service, in helping clients improve their lifestyle, however due to all the laws and legislation that have been put into over the years, the way in which social workers have to do their job has changed. Today the job is less hands on as it used to be, more paper work based, and more time is spent in the office, due to technological advances and managerial direction. The relationship with the client has always been at the heart of good social work practice, and social workers strive to do their best in improving their clients situation, no matter what their problems may be. There is still a focus on who is deserving and undeserving, and there are limitations on who can receive what services. For example the benefits the unemployed can receive are lower than minimum wage, encouraging the unemployed to seek jobs rather than rely on the state. In social work assessments always have to be carried out on the client to determine whether they are eligible for the services on offer. In the last 10 years we have seen the development of the GSCC (General Social Care Council) which was set up in 2001, in reaction to criticisms, mainly stemming from the death of Victoria Climbie. As of April 2005 it became policy that all trainee and qualified social workers had to be registered with the GSCC. When registered with the GSCC, social workers must oblige by the codes of practice. The codes of practice are in place to show practitioners what is expected of them, and to ensure that clients are receiving the best care possible. The codes of practice of the GSCC are based on social work values developed over the years, giving us the underpinning beliefs of contemporary social work.

Theoretical Overview of Gender Socialization

Theoretical Overview of Gender Socialization What is the meaning and intent behind this rhyme? What types of messages are given with a rhyme to children? How children internalize these messages? What are little boys made of? Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails Thats what little boys are made of. What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and all thats nice. Thats what little girls are made of. (Marchbank Letherby, 2007). Immediate after the birth, children are surrounded with environmental input from the society in which they grow up, peers and teachers they interact, media, books and parents related to their gender and roles attributed to their gender. Those messages and social cues tell children there are two ways of existing (Marchbank Letherby, 2007). Children are surrounded with environmental in-put about gender from family, peers, and the media. At the same time, they make their own attempts to understand the world and to form categories that help organize it. Gender provides one convenient way for them to accomplish this cognitive organization. In addition, society suffuses the gender distinction with affect, making gender what is perhaps the most salient (Eckes and Trautner, 2000). Gender is seen as a categorical system made up of many levels. Although at the most fundamental level, it is defined by physiology as biological differences between the sexes, on the basis of their sexual anatomy; it usually refers to social, cultural and psychological rules and traits linked to males and females through particular social context. Gender Identity is defined as individuals experience oh himself or herself as masculine or feminine and one of the strongest components of socialization is the development of gender identity. Gender identity, an aspect of self-concept, develops in childhood, learned early and well (Richardson Simpson, 1982). The acquisition and modification of childrens gender roles, attitudes, and social behaviors related to gender, are regulated by many factors, including the values of social class to which they belong, interaction with peers and teachers, exposure to behavior and standards through mass media and especially parents and their parenting styles are the most principle and most influential agents in childrens gender socialization process (Mussen, et al, 1979). In the fallowing part, the influences of parents will be discussed; however, it is needed to look at theoretical overview of gender role development to understand the role of parents in detail. Theoretical Overview of Gender Socialization All theories of gender role development focus on primary socialization and deal with how children learn gender identity, at the time they become aware of two sexes having different gender roles and acting differently. Gender socialization and gender role development are influenced by a variety of significant elements such as biology, social constitutions and social interaction and personality. Different theories bring different point of look and understanding to these each element (Lindsey, 2005). Biological accounts of gender differences have been popular in recent years by focusing on the hormonal and genetic factors. Physical differentiation of two sexes and differentiation of sex organs are determined due to the sex hormones and chromosomes. Here, starting at the conception, it could be said that hormones play a role in sex differentiation between male and female bodies, but it is not at all (Marchbank and Letherby, 2007). Biological theories of sex differences indicate that hormone activity as biological events are viewed as producing psychological and cognitive differences between sexes in terms of being nurturance or aggressiveness. For example, the changes in the mood of women during the menstrual cycle are seen as result of the hormone levels in their blood or the level of testosterone becomes a common explanation used to explain aggressive and hostile behaviors (Burr, 1998). However, there are also studies in literature rejecting the effects of hormones on the differences of behaviors among the females and males. Monozygotic twins sharing 100% of identical genes have been analyzed in terms of the similarities and differences in their behaviors. Mitchell and his colleagues resulted that genes can explain from 20% to 48% of the differences among the behaviors, but environmental factors have a greater role in the range of 52%- 80% of differences (Helgeson, 2005). When the attention is drawn on the studies of testosterone hormone, according to the study of Brannon, both males and males involved in criminal activities and the relationship between aggressiveness and violence can not be solely depending on the testosterone level in men (Brannon, 2005). Similar to the results of Brannon, according to a study conducted with prisoners, college students and psychiatric patients, it is found that there was no positive correlation between hostility and testosterone levels (Burr, 1998). Additionally to these findings, the level of testosterone should not be associated with males, rather in a study; there is a correlation between increased testosterone levels of female students and improved performance on tests for spatial abilities. However, the improvement is not due to the presence of testosterone, rather it is related to relative level of testosterone seen as determinant character of optimal performance (Smith, 2007). When the attention has been turned to the brain studies to explain sex differences in cognition and behaviors of females and males, again paradoxical explanations can be seen in that era. Although, some argue that differential brain lateralization contributes differently to the emotional and cognitive functions of two sexes, the findings are not satisfactory to explain gender role differences (Hetherington Parke, 1993). Different areas of brain have been playing different roles in terms of different cognitive functions. It is believed that right-hemisphere dominated male brain makes men superior in the spatial abilities, while women are good at verbal and language skills because of the lateralization of their brain which is left-hemisphere (Marchbank and Letherby, 2007). However, in a study, damage to the right-hemisphere related to spatial skills influenced both men and women. Hiscock and colleges concluded that the differences among two sexes because of the brain specialization are very small with 1 and 2 % variability (cited in Helgeson, 2005). Besides, it is reviewed that right-hemisphere is more emotional half of the brain. So, if women are left-hemisphere and men left-hemisphere dominated how women are seen as more emotional than men (Lindsey, 2005). When it is generally looked at the literature of brain studies and biological theories, it should be said that the evidences are contradictory and those studies supporting the influences of biology on the gender differences suffer from methodological inadequacies. Therefore depending on the theories of many researches on the issue of gender socialization, it is assumed that biology alone can not be thought as determinant gender roles and gender differences in behavior and cognition. However, those biological theories draw attention of the theorist to explain the reasons of variability in the behaviors of men and women. That is why it is needed to focus on social-situational and cognitive factors while investigating the process of gender role development. To begin with the psychoanalytic theory, Freud in his theory, talked about a series of stages playing role in the development of personality and third stage focused on the development of gender roles (Helgeson, 2005). In the third stage called as phallic, Freud described the role family environment where children engage in the process of identification with mothers feminine virtue of love and nurturance and with fathers masculine strengths of discipline and rules. That means phallic stage is the starting point that boys and girls discover their genitals and they realize that only boys have penises which leads both boys and girls to view girls as inferior. Due of the desire of opposite-sex parent, oedipal complex, boys fear castration, because father figure is seen as source of threat and fear. Boys, at this stage, overcome their castration anxiety, by giving up sexual attraction for their mother and by identifying with their fathers (Eckes and Trautner, 2000). For girls, the resolution of Electra complex with the meaning of being sexually attracted to their fathers is not completely resolved in the same way that the oedipal complex of boys resolved. Freud was not clear explaining girls identification with their mothers. For girls, anxiety occurs because of the penis envy, realization of girls that they do not have a penis and they blame their mothers for anatomic deficiencies. Therefore, girls want to attract their fathers which lead them to handle conflict, Electra complex, by identifying with their mothers and transferring their energies to make themselves attractive towards their fathers (Smith, 2007). Freuds psychoanalytic theory, however, has been criticized on a number of grounds. One of them is that it is not possible to evaluate thoughts and actions by sexual instincts of unconscious mind from a scientific standpoint. That means it is difficult to verify objectively, whether girls suffer from penis envy or boys from castration anxiety. Another criticism comes from feminist theories due to the Freudian thoughts related to penis envy and castration anxiety. Karen Horney, a feminist psychologist, pointed out the importance of social forces as determinant of gender identity rather than biology. Horney, believed that penis envy experienced by girls, does not reflect an actual adoration to have a penis; rather it is envy of power and social status attributed to men (Brannon, 2005). On the other hand, psychoanalytic theory has been criticized by many researchers of not considering any outside influences such as parents, peers or media (Matlin, 1987). Margret Mahlers and Nancy Chodorows Object-relation Theory grew out of Freuds psychoanalytic theory, but it emphasized the importance of early relationship in establishing gender identity. Like Freud although they stressed the importance of sexuality, Mahler and Chodorow believed that rather than unconscious process, family structure and childrens early experiences have an important role in shaping their gender socialization (Helgeson, 2005). Besides Parson mentioned that Freudian psycho-analytic theory is needed to be modified by pointing out on the development of social roles of children. In his model, Parson emphasized that children learn the male and female roles by playing roles of other family members. Girls learn how to be a mother, or boys learn how to be a father by observing what is expected of individuals who enact roles. According to Parson, gender development of children is the result of learning by mastering of prescribed roles (Eckes and Trautner, 2000). Unlike psychoanalytic theory of Freud emphasizing anatomic human drives in the role of socialization, social learning theory should focus on external events controlling childrens behaviors and the theory also posited that defining factors which promote gender socialization come from the social world. It is assumed by behaviorists that appropriate behaviors have been learned directly through reinforcement or indirectly through observation and imitation (Burr, 1998). Depending on operant-conditioning theory, different expectations lead to different reinforcement from parents, teachers or other agents such as television programmes, books, comics including a rich source of symbolic models reinforcing stereo-typical behaviors for females and males. They reinforce children for behaviors which are thought appropriate to their gender and such social pressures serve to condition gender-typed behaviors such as for girls playing with dolls or for boys playing with balls. Children by this way, learn that gender appropriate behaviors which are reinforced with praise and gender inappropriate behaviors which are scolded by punishment (Smith, 2007). On the other hand, Albert Bandura, social learning theorist, explained the process of socialization of children emphasizing the role of observation and imitation. Parents are seen as primary figures who are imitated and viewed as role models by children. Throughout the time they spent with their parents, children first discriminate gender-typed behavior patterns, then they make generalization of what they have learned to new situations and they performed similar to what they acquired from their observations of their parents. As a result, girls become feminine and boys become masculine by imitating similar models, because society rewards them to behave in particular way (Marchbank and Letherby, 2007). However, like psychoanalytic theory, social-learning theory has been criticized in many ways. Depending on the first criticism, a girl can be rewarded for a masculine activity, such as being a basketball player; however they keep a tight hold on other aspects of feminine role. That means rewarding or punishing a behavior does not always lead children to behave in desired way. Besides, social learning theory underestimate the importance of social changes such as increasing number of single or divorce family environments where adults take on a range of non-traditional roles. Lastly, and the most apparent critique towards social learning theory is that its view of children passive recipients of rewards and punishment and it fails to explain children who are quite rigid about constructing their personal version of gender roles (Lindsey, 2005). Unlike social learning theory, cognitive developmental theory views children as primary agent of his or her own gender role socialization by pointing out the importance of cognitive skills as determinants of selecting role models. Building his theory of Piagets work, the most and the first influential cognitive-developmental theory of sex typing were proposed by Kohlberg. According to him, as children have developed intellectually, they become able to understand the world in terms of categories, including gender categories. The starting point of comprehending the world of child is self-realization which is distinguishing each individual from others. To acquire all aspects of self-realization, children develop their gender identity by observing and labeling behaviors of males and females and translating those sex-typed behaviors at the age six where gender constancy is in place. After that time, to develop their self-esteem, same-sex attitudes, occupations and activities are seen as g ood by children (Serbin, et. al., 1993). Kohlbergs cognitive developmental model of sex typing has been influential since it gives importance to childrens active roles in determining gender-based value system. However, like other theories, there are some limitations in cognitive developmental model. It is criticized since there is a problem to understand the sequence in this model whether gender identity or childrens understanding of gender constancy comes first. According to theory, gender constancy should be acquired before children start to develop a gender-based value system fitting their gender role. However, studies stress that there are children who can not acquired gender constancy, become aware of sex-typed behaviors and integrate them in their lives (Lindsey, 2005). On the other hand, the theory fails to explain why sex such dominant category rather than race, religion, or even hair color. Therefore, to understand why children become sex-typed, rather than race or religious typed, and why priority is given to gender schemas, it is needed to look at the Gender Schema Theory (Marchbank and Letherby, 2007). Like Kohlberg, Sandra Bem, mentioned children categorize their social world along gender lines and their desire is to develop an identity which is consistent of social expectation. However, Bem, as mentioned above as shortcoming of cognitive developmental theory is only has valid explanation for the development of gender identity, not other variables such as eye color, race or culture (cited in Serbin, et. al., 1993). Depending on this theory, schemas are cognitive structures used to grasp the knowledge about the world, take perception and process new information. Gender schema includes information related to what being male or female means and what kinds of behaviors, cognitions, attitudes and emotions associated with those gender-related schemas. Children first learn what their gender is and they realize that there are significant differences related to each gender. This knowledge which children acquire by the sex-differentiated social messages, leads them to the information of gen der schema (cited in Smith, 2007). Like Kohlberg and Piaget, Bem agreed with the view of children as being primary agent of his/her own sex-role socialization, however, unlike those theorists, she emphasized the role of society as providing information used by individuals to acquire gender roles (Bem, 1983). Gender schema theory is the combination of the elements of social learning theory and cognitive developmental theory. When it is looked at the philosophy of social learning theory, it talked about how individuals acquire the different characteristics of female and male gender categories and what kinds of characteristics are associated with those categories. On the other hand, cognitive developmental theory also explains how children start to encode new information and how the accommodate this information into the schemas and categories maintain consistency. Besides, as an answer to the question of why sex-typed categories are dominant, Bem believes that gender is more salient and significant and society assigns to the category of gender a broad functional significance (cited in Helgeson, 2005). In short, gender schema theory indicates that every culture includes assumptions about certain characteristics within personalities of individuals. Sandra Bem used the term cultural lenses to define cultures values, beliefs and norms and due to the influences of those cultural norms and forces, without questioning and altering them, children accept to organize their world (Bem, 1983). When it is considered biological, social-learning, cognitive developmental and gender-schema theories, it could be concluded that each theoretical perspective has a number of problems. Although some of them focus on the environmental forces affecting gender identity, some others mentioned the importance of self-cognitive functioning as determinant issue of developing sex-typing behavior, but in fact, none fully explains gender identity acquisition and gender typing. However, generally, all these theories, offer productive avenues to explain gender role socialization. Now, it is needed to move the attention to sociologically based explanations accounting for primary socializing agents who play an important role on attitudes and behaviors of children regarding gender (Lindsey, 2005). Parents Expectation and Childrens Gender Role Socialization Within the aim of this paper, it is expected to find the answers to the questions of do parents provide different socialization for their girls and boys and do they have different expectations from them? Numerous studies on this issue reveal that by modeling traditional roles and encouraging sex-typed activities, parents influence childrens gender role socialization. (Fagot, 1974). Even starting before birth, mothers give sex-appropriate meaning to the activity of fetus. If fetus moves actively by kicking, mothers define this sign as the child will become more likely male than female (Lewis, 1972). Mothers and fathers have different expectations from their sons and daughters leading childrens gender role socialization depending on their values, attitudes and beliefs which are differentiated for girls and boys. To support this differentiation, a study was conducted with 1200 mothers and fathers from different cultural backgrounds to see how children socialize differently in terms of their gender in family environment. The results reveal that parents emphasize on their sons competition, autonomy, achievement and they support sex appropriate behaviors of their sons compared to girls. When parent-daughter relationships have been examined, parents concern warmth and closeness in the relationships with girls (Block, 1973). The study conducted by Pomerantz and Ruble also the relationships between attitudes of parent in use of control on their children and childrens self-evaluation. When it is looked at the outcomes of the research, parents are more controlling with their daughters rather than their sons and they give more autonomy to boys rather than girls. Childrens self-evaluation analysis also indicates that girls outperform boys in school and they have fewer behavioral problems, but on the other hand, they are more vulnerable to anxiety, depression compared to boys. The authors believe that parents differentiation of use of control with girls and boys is influential factor in their socialization (Pomerantz Ruble, 1998). Supporting the claims of Pomerantz and Ruble, Goshen-Gottstein mentioned that supporting dependency of boys rather than girls, mothers believe that boy should be autonomous (cited in Lindsey et.al.,1997). Similar to the findings of those studies and observation mentioned above, depending on the research of Lewis about the interaction between parents and child and expectation of parents, mothers believe that boys should be independent and autonomous than girls and hence they show more proximal behaviors such as touching, holding, or rocking to support their sons to explore their world. On the other hand, mothers look at the eyes of their girls and talk to their daughters more than they do with their sons as part of distal mode of behaviors (Lewis, 1972). Apart from mothers who spent a great deal of their time with both their sons and daughters, when the literature on parenting has been discovered, it is concluded that fathers play primary role in socialization process of their sons especially. A study done by Rothbart and Maccoby parents differential reactions towards their sons and daughters have been analyzed. Fathers have been seen to be potent constructor of the understanding of gender for their children. More likely than mothers, they encourage more traditional gender specific behaviors in their son. They empathize more with them and support independency and autonomy for their sons, rather than girls (Rothbart Maccoby, 1966). Besides, fathers have higher expectations for their sons and they give more emphasis on their sons achievement and occupational attainment rather than the success and carriers of their girls. (Maccoby Jacklin, 1974). As indicated above, due to their different expectations from their sons and daughters, parents reflect their values, beliefs and desires towards their attitudes, communication types and relationships with their children influencing their understanding of the world in a gender-schematic process. Clothes and Arrangement of Childrens Rooms Most parents know the sex of their baby before birth and design childs room accordingly. It is not surprising to see boys rooms are covered with educational and art materials, sport equipments, toy animals and vehicles, while girls rooms consist of dolls, house-keeping toys, and floral furnishings. In a study conducted by Rheingold and Cook, parents furnishing rooms of their sons and daughters has been examined and thought as providing index to their ideas about appropriateness by sex and their different attitudes towards their children. 96 children between the ages of 1 and 71.6 months are the sample of the study. The result of the study reveals that parents design differently the rooms of their daughters and sons with different styles of furnishing and toys. The boys rooms involve more vehicles, and toys supporting motor abilities of children, while girls rooms are full of with domestic equipments and toys of home encouraging nurturance and concern with fashion. According to author s, some of the differences were more apparent and impressive than expected. In girls rooms, there are not vehicle toys such as wagons, boats or buses which can be frequently found in boys rooms. On the other hand, almost total absence of baby dolls and domestic equipments can be observed in boys rooms seen in Table II (Rheingold Cook, 1975). According to authors of this study, the differences in parents furnishing of the rooms of their daughters and sons can be associated in other classes of their behavior towards their girls and boys (Rheingold Cook, 1975). Color-coded and gender-typed clothing of children are widespread and parents choose gender appropriate colors when dressing their children. While they prefer pink, yellows clothing and clothes in pastel tones with embroidered hearts and flowers for their girls, for sons, dark colors such as brown, blue or red clothes with superhero and athletic motives are preferred. According to social learning theory mentioned above, children receive strong messages from their parents related to their gender and by those positive reinforcement associated with their clothing, toys selection and room arrangement, they start to learn what is or not gender appropriate (Lindsey, 2007). Communication and Interaction Differences with Children Differences in the behavior of boys and girls are associated with the differences how parents behave toward them (Rheingold Cook, 1975). Numerous studies indicate that parents play a pivotal role in shaping childrens gender role development by interacting and using different communication types with their sons and daughters. The conversation styles of parents with their children are seen as persuasive socialization mechanisms through which gender roles are conveyed to children (OBrien Shinn, 2008). In a study conducted by Horan and with his colleagues, the aim is to investigate the differences among the communications between mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter and father-son dyads. Depending on the collected results of dyads, it is concluded that mothers communicate with their daughters by giving more feminine gender role messages compared to their sons. Similarly, when it is looked at the results of father-son dyads, it can be said that fathers encourage their sons to communicate in masculine styles by sending more masculine messages than they did to their girls. Fathers perceive their sons as being self-reliant, dominant, aggressive, competitive and ambitious than their daughters (Horan et.al, 2007). In another study, fathers have been found to play with their newborn sons and talk them more when compared to their daughters. Besides, when fathers interaction with their girls has been examined, the result shows that they are more gently cuddle to their newborn daughters, while physically rough to their sons (Fagot, 1974). According to the study conducted by Mussen and Rutherford (1963), masculinity of young boys is closely associated with the nature of father-son relationship. That means appropriate sex-role preferences in boys directly correlated with nurturing, affective relationship with their fathers who strongly motivate them towards masculine behaviors. On the other hand, by acting in feminine ways, participating with their daughters in girls game such as housekeeping, mothers become a feminine role model by encouraging their girls to act in the expected ways (Mussen Rutherford, 1963). More recently, a meta-analysis has been conducted about how parents behave towards their sons and daughters. Siegal (1987), concluded that mothers and fathers treat differently and the apparent differences has been found in the era of physical involvement. That means both mothers and fathers participated in physical activities with their boys and they were more strict, and restrictive with them (cited in Helgeson, 2005). Similar to those studies, in another research of OBrien and Shin, they aimed to discover differences in communication styles between mothers and fathers engaged in conversation with a 9-year-old son or daughter. They put two types of communication styles characterized differently for men and women. Assertive communication styles consist of characteristics which are directing attention of others, controlling whole conversation by influencing ideas of others and even interrupting the conversational partner and this style is thought as reflecting mens power and status in the society. On the other hand, affiliative communication which is considered to reflect lack of power of women in society is characterized by concentration on other person through conversation, focusing on others ideas and expecting involvement from partner. The results of the study indicate that fathers use more assertive communication styles and mothers were more affiliative through conversation. In this study, sex o f child has an important role of use of each communication styles. When the powerful status of males and even male children have been considered in society, according to authors, it is not surprising that both mothers and fathers used more affiliative speech with their boys to support their power and dominancy (OBrien Shinn, 2008). Besides those studies, in another study, the frequencies of mothers and fathers parenting behavior with their sons and daughters have been examined. Depending on the results of the study, mothers engage in personal interaction with their daughters rather than their son and similar results of fathers with their sons. According to the authors, traditional gender stereotypes children acquire are the consequences of differential parenting of girls and boys by their mothers and fathers (Moon Hoffman, 2008). Play and Toys Selection In the socio-emotional domain, children develop through the expansion of their social network, from the early relationship with their parents to relationship including other people, especially peers. In this step of the socialization process, play becomes most powerful agent for the formation of peer relationships (Smith, 2007). When the developmental literature has been discovered, consistent findings indicate that children prefer playing with traditionally stereotyped toys for their own sex more than toys stereotyped for the other sex (Martin et.al., 1995). While boys tend to be more active and show higher interest in rough-and-tumble play, girls mostly prefer playing with dolls in the dramatic play (Thorne, 2005). Even starting very early in their lives, children show sex-differences in terms of play and toys selection. Depending on the study of Goldberg and Lewis, 13 month olds, 32 girls and boys behaviors in free play, their interaction with mothers and mothers responses to their infants have been observed. Results indicate that boys and girls reflect striking differences in terms of interaction with mothers, toys and styles of their play. When it is looked at their play styles, girls select toys appropriate for fine motor coordination rather than gross motor abilities. In contrast girls, rather than sitting on the floor, boys are more active by rolling the landowner over toys seen in picture below. Considering maternal behavior of mothers showing differentiation between girls and boys in terms of touching, vocalization and response to their play, author concluded that parents catalyze sex-role appropriate behaviors of children by reinforcing sex-typed activities (Goldberg Lewis, 1969). Parents are the first agent who enact traditionally prescribed sex role

Compare Contrast Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano Essay -- Comparat

There are various things that make up a piece of literature. For example: choice of diction, modes of discourse, and figurative language. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano were great examples of authors that used these elements of literature. There are similarities and differences in A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and From Africa to America. Though Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano shared similarities in experiences, they had different writing personalities, purposes, attitudes, tones, and relations with their communities. There are four main modes of discourse: expository, narrative, descriptive, and persuasive. In Mary Rowlandson’s A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, it is apparent in the title that it is a narrative. Like Mrs. Rowlandson’s literature, Olaudah Equiano’s From Africa to America is a narrative. A narrative form of literature is a story, account of events, or experiences, whether it is true or fictitious. In this case their stories were their real experiences and they gave the reader actual facts and information, also making it expository. "The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us." (73) This is a perfect example showing that Olaudah Equiano’s narrative is also descriptive, giving the reader vivid images in his mind, whereas Rowlandson’s narrative rarely has descriptive content. These w orks of literature may also be portrayed as persuasive by the quote of, "..Overwhelmed with the thoughts of my condition.." (7) Mary Rowlandson was overwhelmed with her emotions. This quote may persuade the reader ... ...aves. Olaudah’s story may be seen as a reminder that people in the latest generation have things easy compared to the time he was alive. People should not take what they have for granted, for example freedom. The people of today have the most freedom than ever before. Although two different authors wrote these works of literature, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and From Africa to America, both stories possessed similar and different elements of writing. These tales were worthy of comparing because they had various things to review, contrast, and realize, such as the worship they had or didn’t have for God, their experiences, and their styles. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano were remarkable writers whose works will always be a part of America’s history for the various styles and purposes they had to share with their readers.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor Essay -- American History WWII World War

The Attack on Pearl Harbor The United States is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the East, the Pacific Ocean to the West and is bordered by two friendly nations, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Attacks on United States soil have therefore been rare. The surprise attack by the Japanese in 1941 on the United States at Pearl Harbor resulted in a great loss of life and changed the course of history. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was an isolationist country and coming out of the Great Depression. There was a war raging in Europe in 1939 that involved many United States allies. Hitler’s German troops were attacking France, Poland, Great Britain and other European countries. Despite the attacks on these United States allies, citizens in the United States wanted to remain neutral. Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Japan had invaded China and Indochina and was making preparations for broader war. As late as December 1941, Americans thought that the United States Government should stay out of World War II and not interfere with European and Asian affairs (Gailey 29). On the morning of December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack against the United States and its Pacific Fleet based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii--â€Å"A day which will live in infamy†. The United States immediately entered the war and changed the course of the 20th century. Pearl Harbor is a land-locked harbor on the Southern coast of the Oahu Island in Hawaii. It is West of Honolulu. Pearl Harbor is one of the largest and best natural harbors in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Close by are many United States military installations. They include the Chief US Pacific Naval Base, Hickam Airforce Base, Pearl Harbor Naval Air Station ... ...ry for Americans during World War II (Pearl Harbor, 1986). It made Americans even more determined to go kill the enemy. Works Cited Bahrenburg, Bruce. The Pacific Then and Now. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1971. â€Å"A Brief Overview of the Attack.† Pearl Harbor Remembered. 7 July 2001. 15 October 2001 . Gailey, Harry A. The War in the Pacific. Novato: Presidio Press, 1995. Layton, Edwin T., Roger Pineau, and John Costello. And I Was There. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1985. â€Å"Pearl Harbor.† Encyclopedia.com. 2001. 15 October 2001 . â€Å"Pearl Harbor.† The Golden Book Encyclopedia. 1986 ed. Renzi, William A., and Mark D. Roehrs. Never Look Back. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1991. Weintraub, Stanley. Long Day’s Journey into War. New York: Penguin Group, 1991. â€Å"World War II.† Encarta.com. 2001. 15 October 2001 .

Management studies Essay

Introduction Since starting the DMS in September I have found the workshop programme very useful. I have learnt many styles and techniques of management and from this have applied to my workplace with very effective results, also using my workplace as an experimental ground for practising my new techniques. From this, I have learnt from my mistakes and errors and rectified them to continually improve my own performance, and thus improve the performance of my department within the business. From leaving school with four â€Å"o† levels, I started my working career as an engineer; attaining an apprenticeship at Phillips Components. After four years of completing this, along with a higher national certificate in computer aided engineering, I acquired a position of Toolmaker in the Toolroom. I then continued working as a Toolmaker for the next eleven years without ever considering a managerial position. After many years of Toolmaking I acquired the position of Improvement Technician within the Sub-components department (press shop) and after Twelve months was offered the position of Shift Leader within this department. From taking the leap from Engineering to production/people management it was recommended that I returned to college to complete a Diploma in Management Studies to gain the academic qualifications to compliment my new role. Learning Style and Teamwork Theory One of the first workshop sessions was based on learning style and teamwork theory. For this we completed questionnaires on learning style and the Belbin self perception inventory, a questionnaire based on individual’s team role profile. The learning style questionnaire was designed to understand your preferred learning style and help you pinpoint your learning preferences so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that suit your style. The results are broke down into four different styles: Activists, Reflectors, Theorists and Pragmatists. After scoring myself on the questionnaire, the results suggested that I had a very strong preference towards being an Activist, a strong preference towards a reflector and moderate preference towards Theorist and Pragmatist. An Activist is a person who is very open-minded and enthusiastic about new ideas or experiences. They tend to act first and consider the consequences later. They tackle problems by brainstorming and thrive on the challenge of new experiences. They are gregarious people constantly involving themselves with others but, in doing so, they seek to centre all activities around themselves. With the learning style of an Activist I find it very hard work to sit down and study, I also find it very difficult reading a book as I tend to find my mind wandering off on to other activities I could be doing. Analysing my learning style within the workplace, I would tend to agree with these results. I have a reputation at work for being very enthusiastic and passionate about my department and also about the company I work for, also preferring to physically â€Å"get stuck in† with problems we encounter, rather than sitting down and discussing them. Within each learning style there is a set path we need to progress through in order to get the most out of any learning experience, these are as follows: Step one, having an experience In step one there are two easy in which we can have an experience; one is to be passive and allow the experience to happen and you needing to react, two is to deliberately seek them out in a proactive manner. Step two, reviewing the experience I tend to think this is the one we most often miss out on, we tend to jump this one and come to a conclusion before we’ve reviewed an experience in a none judgemental manner (with an open mind and no preconceptions). Time needs to be taken out to properly review any experience to gain anything from it. Step three, conclusions from the experience This involves looking at the reviewed experience step to understand and see what lessons can be learnt. Step four, planning the next step There would be little point in reviewing or coming up with any conclusions from the experience if we did not apply this newly gained knowledge to future events. The Self Perception Inventory The Belbin self perception inventory specifies nine roles for the efficient working of a team. Once the questionnaire is completed, a team role profile is then calculated for the individual and a counselling report is created. The chart below shows how I scored: Roles and Descriptions Team-Role Contribution Percentage Score Specialist 93% Plant 81% Resource Investigator 73% Shaper 69% Complete Finisher 63% Monitor Evaluator 50% Team Worker 25% Co-Coordinator 9% Implementer 2% My profile shows that I gain great intrinsic satisfaction from the nature of work in which I am engaged. For me work is like a hobby, offering me a chance to exercise my creative disposition and achieving professionalism all at the same time. As far as the outside world is concerned, I will be known and respected for my knowledge and special skills and for the fact that I am in the forefront of most new developments. My limitations I may have to accept apply to my administrative and managerial skills. I may have to make a conscious choice in terms of the direction of my career. A wider arena would offer broader prospects of advancement, but would also face stiffer competition, with the chance of me loosing some of my professional expertise. The alternative would be to build up my personal reputation in my own special area and carve out my own job within it. Reflecting on my results from the self perception inventory, I must realise that to become a better team player, I must understand my allowable weaknesses from the roles I scored high in. Also I must work on increasing the lower end scores, by becoming a better co-ordinator and implementer, also increasing my team worker skills. Residential To start the course off, our first learning experience of working within teams was the residential activity at Dove Nest. After a brief introduction (and cup o’ tea) we were soon split into four groups and given the mine field activity to complete. This being a perfect ice-breaker to the course, testing our teamwork skills and also a perfect opportunity to get to know other students. Instantly, different individual’s personalities and trends were noticed and within minutes different traits were easily recognised as some members co-ordinated whilst others problem solved or challenged ideas. Our team decided it would be an advantage to amalgamate with the adjacent team to create a synergy were by we would attain greater power due to the creation of synthetic energy, i.e. the understanding that to join forces more than twice the power of each individual team would be achieved. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Although we did manage to complete task, we didn’t a ccomplish it in the fastest time. Before to long we were soon split into other groups and given different tasks to complete with goals clearly set. One task I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from was a task where all team members had to run up a hill (about 20 metres) to a square marked out on the floor (approx 3m sq.). Inside the square was 18 randomly spaced tags pinned to the ground, numbered 1 to 18. Our task was for all team members to run up to the square, then all the tags had to be touched, respectively from 1 to 18, but only one member was allowed into the square at any one time. Once this was complete, all the team then had to run back to the start point and cross this point within a specified time. We were given an allocated time to plan the task and also only given three timed attempts to achieve our target. Instantly we conducted a brainstorming session to assess all our different options. Then after heated debate about which ideas we thought would be the most efficient we then decided to perform what we thought would be the fastest trials. After timing each option we then chose the fastest and analysed this to see if we could improve on the practiced times. Once we thought we couldn’t improve any more we then attempted to reach our goal. Of the three timed events, the first one was about twenty seconds overtime, the second just under, but by the third attempt we had shaved about forty seconds off our original time, also clearly beating the goal set. We achieved this through everybody committing to the teams needs to achieve the goal set, where everybody knew their place within the team, even though everybody did not agree with some of the decisions. A great sense of satisfaction and camaraderie was achieved by the conquering of this task, with all the team thoroughly motivated and geared up, ready for the next task. Finally on day one we were given the task of running our own business, the final goal, to manufacture and sail a raft on Lake Windermere. Different roles of team members soon developed, one person accounting, another designing, whilst others negotiated with opposing teams to acquire either more money or materials. Once enough materials were obtained, the raft was ready to be manufactured. Again, different team roles were seen, as some members built the raft whilst others delegated different tasks, and others stood back, saying â€Å"that’ll never float, you’ll not get me on that†, only to be proved wrong once the race got underway. For me, there were many learning points from Dove Nest even though at this point we had not covered these techniques at college. It was an excellent opportunity to improve my listening and negotiating skills, as well as improving my delegating techniques. The best learning experiences for me were teamwork and motivation. Working within teams were nobody knew other people’s knowledge or capabilities, or what specialities they may possess created an atmosphere were by to achieve the goals set, individuals roles had to be rapidly appointed. I also found the problem solving activities very stimulating, probably through my engineering background. Dove nest was also an excellent starting point to the course as many students (myself included) were novices to the styles and theories ahead, thus giving everybody a perfect foundation to the year ahead. Reflecting on how each team member performed on the residential, I think it would be an excellent idea to perform a similar residential exercise at the end of the year to recognise the improvement of individual’s performance. Presentation Skills A great learning point for me was the workshop on presentation skills. When confronted with the task of presenting to the group I was keen to improve my ability as presentations are a key role in my position at work, whether presenting a fortnightly team brief or a project presentation to senior Management. Previous to workshop I have encountered some bad experiences in the workplace, due to inadequate planning beyond my control. After watching the video on presentations, I came away with a greater knowledge of what creates a good presentation. The key learning points for me being preparation, content and delivery. What is the purpose of the presentation and why? Know your subject – do your homework. Know your audience, the objective being to keep them interested. A good presentation should have a suitable introduction, main theme and conclusion. The delivery is also essential, confidence being the key, keep to a specified time and remember that you are the person presenting and the effect of it is upon your audience. I found it very beneficial to be able to watch and judge people’s presentation skills reflecting with the rest of the group on how to improve these skills, not feeling under any pressure whilst doing so; an option not available at work. The experience of having someone give feedback to a presentation allowed me to fully focus myself on the need to learn from, and understand my shortcomings, is also gave me the opportunity to scrutinise the way in which I should deliver a presentation. As I have a learning style of an Activist, and therefore wanting to try anything once to gain a new experience, I chose to give my presentation on a non-work related matter. I decided to give my presentation on what I labelled â€Å"The Millionaire Lifestyle Weekend† – a presentation on how to live a millionaire lifestyle for the weekend working within a budget that most people would find affordable. Fortunately I wasn’t presenting until the third week, which gave me plenty of time to plan my presentation. Also gaining more knowledge on this subject through analysing other student’s presentations and making observations as to how their presentation could be improved. A key observation from myself was never apologise when presenting as this may come across as being negative. Also, try to keep the audience interested and keep within the time specified. Provide a handout for any important information, but don’t distribute until the end of the presentat ion. When the time came to delivering my presentation, I was at first nervous, due to previous experiences, but after the first two slides I felt more at ease due to the environment in which the workshop was held and also due to the fact that I felt confident about what I was presenting thanks to sufficient planning and preparation. I think another added contribution was the fact that the first couple of slides grabbed people’s attention and instantly they were thinking â€Å"this looks interesting†, a very important learning point, grasp people’s attention on the first two slides. I realised that in doing this, people sit up and listen, thus giving the presenter more confidence in what he/she is presenting. I also learnt that the rehearsal of a presentation is extremely important; I practiced this presentation about Ten to Fifteen at home in front of the mirror, finding this to be a great benefit to delivering a good presentation. Overall it gave value to me as I now know how to structure presentations. I felt, as did the others in the group that their subject would be boring for anyone else but to the contrary, as I listened to other presentations they were entertaining, informative, and all had flow to them. This tells me that if the subject to be presented is put over in the way we have been shown then the information within it is retained by the audience. Since this workshop, I have presented to management at work and felt a lot more at ease, having greater confidence in myself by understanding the correct way to performing a successful presentation, understanding the emphasis on planning as well as delivery. I have now learnt to improve my presentation skills at work a lot more by watching and analysing others present in the workplace. Time Management The time management workshop was also of great use to me with respect to my position at work. I am responsible for the production of nine different sub-components all used in the manufacture of a cathode, with present cathode production running at 300k per day, although due to losses on automation, with some components I have to produce 160 good components to make 100 good cathodes. I am responsible for a workforce of 45 people as well as providing assistance in other departments as and when required. I find myself in a position where I am constantly fire-fighting on a daily basis, going home feeling that I have taken two steps back rather than one step forward. When we had the workshop on time management I was instantly keen to increase my knowledge on this subject as time at work is sparse. I found the video a great learning tool, by watching the situation with the manager who never seemed to have any time. I instantly related issues on the video to my workplace and started to understand the important factors of managing time efficiently. Learning to identify, and then change, any bad practices such as taking on too much work that I could possibly delegate out to others, or failing to plan and organise my day correctly, understanding the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. The key points of time wasting have stayed fresh in my mind since this session understanding that I need to prioritise, delegate, plan and communicate more effectively. From watching the video, I returned to work ready to try out my latest technique. Understanding that to manage my time for that day I must spend the first five to ten minutes planning my day a head, prioritising what jobs have to be done, what jobs should be done, what jobs need not be done and what jobs I could delegate out to others. Also deciding which jobs are important, urgent, urgent and important and so on. Once I have done this, I then write a priority list in order of which jobs I shall do when, ranging from must do to least important. Since doing this on a daily basis I have found that I get through a lot more issues at work and seem to find a lot more time to take on extra tasks without the worry of not being able to complete in the required time. This has taken a large amount of pressure of my working day. Although I am sometimes still rushed off my feet, at least I’m not leaving for home with my head in a spin. Conclusion When first discussing the DMS to work colleagues, who had once been students on the course. They described the workshop sessions to me, explaining about people’s learning styles and teamwork theory and I have to admit I was very sceptical about the whole thing, not understanding about Activists and pragmatists, etc. But since attending workshop I have realised that what we have learnt is true to life and have found very useful. I do have the opinion that people who become successful managers do have that special gift and that managers are born and not trained. My opinion is that to be successful not only must you have that gift but you must also learn the different techniques learnt on workshop and understand how and when to apply them to daily life. I have found that a lot of what I have learnt a necessity in the role I am in at work. I also realise that not all situations in the workplace are the same, as people’s attitudes and characteristics all vary, some on a daily basis, and to be able to handle any situation without causing upset to the individual or the business is a skill only acquired over time. Dealing with issues can be a very delicate and tricky art, but with the correct personality, integrity and knowledge gained from the workshop, success is a not such a fantasy as a nearby reality. Bibliography. KELLET, P. (2002) Presentation Skills Workshop lecture notes KELLET, P. (2002) Effective Teamwork Workshop lecture notes KELLET, P. (2002) Time Management Workshop lecture notes KELLET, P. (2002) How to Improve Your Learning Style Learning style questionnaire BELBIN (2002) Self Perception Inventory Mk2 BELBIN (2002) Self Perception Team Role Profile

Positioning and Differentiation Strategies

Differentiation is the act of designing a set of meaningful differences to distinguish the company's offering from competitor's offerings (Rao, 2010). With Voice to Text/Text to Voice, Toyota designed itself above the rest. After researching the needs of its consumer, Toyota focused its plans on the safety and needs of today’s driver. With the human need to stay connected to our loved ones, friends, and business contacts at the touch of a button, Toyota turned it ways to providing this service to drivers in a safe manner. Taking the Bluetooth technology to another level, Toyota set itself up with its differentiation strategy to move with the consumer and appeal to the heart and mind when it comes to safety. By differentiating the marketing mix to do a better job meeting customers’ needs, Toyota builds a competitive advantage (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2009). With this type of differentiating, the buyer will see that Toyota is trying to appeal to what the buyer really needs and wants. Other auto makers have not yet offered this technology, making the appeal appreciated by the buyer. This is a product that is important to their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Positioning refers to how customers think about proposed or present brands in a market (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2009). By promoting the legal and safety level of the Voice to Text/Text to Voice, Toyota can ensure the customer will think positively about its product and service. With the focus of advertising in states that have banned texting while driving, Toyota can position itself as a front runner for safety to the customer. With the threat of citations, tickets, and possible jail, the customer will be looking for a quick fix. Toyota can position itself as the cure to the problem. At this point, Toyota is the only maker who offers this service, which puts them on the leader board and sets the stage for its followers and the positioning needed.