Social Problems Essay Free Essays

The family is a social institution that has been underestimated and placed in a box for generations. In America, television and media has portrayed the â€Å"typical† family to be a Caucasian bread winning father, homemaker wife, and there 2 kids all living under one roof. But according to Eitzner’s book â€Å"Social Problems†, the actualization of how a family looks under one roof is based on economic conditions, and the typical family portrait never applied to immigrants and racial minorities because these people were denied equal opportunities to earn a family wage, and denied support of such grants as the GI Bill. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Problems Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Extended families as well as extended households grew in the light of immigration and socioeconomic reform. Now there is no longer a single culturally dominant family pattern. The idea of family has to be reconstituted frequently to relate to ever changing personal and occupational circumstances. Some of the social problems that the family institution is dealing with are gay marriages, multi-generational households, and teenage pregnancy. In this essay, I will briefly discuss each problem, but also I will develop a program for change. The collective variety of the family in the U. S. has led researchers to study if and how different family systems are linked with different groups of people who then may experience different results. Research has found that not all racial groups participate in each family type equally, thus not all family forms are equally available to all people Intellectuals have also found that each type of family (e. g. , married with kids, married with no kids, single-parent with young children, etc. ) is associated with different economic, child, and health outcomes. This may be a stereotype but researchers say that children who grow up with only one of their parents â€Å"are more likely to drop out of high school, to become teenage and single mothers, and to have trouble finding and keeping a steady job in young adulthood, even after adjusting for differences in parents’ socioeconomic background (McLanahan Sandefur, 1994). I will now discuss each of my topics further. Gay marriage is a hot topic right now in America because there are a lot of states deciding whether to legalize homosexual marriages. The debate over legalizing gay marriages is to do with religion; it’s against everything that it says about marriage in the Bible. But it also goes against everything that we are familiar with when it comes to marriage (husband and bride). It is a hot debate as many already know, but, there are far worse things happening in the world today such as Catholic Priest molesting innocent children. The solution, in my opinion, is for gay people to be accorded all the civil rights and social benefits heterosexual people enjoy, without regard for popular sentiment or other people’s religious beliefs. The decline of the traditional family nucleus should only prove that option was only for a few. I have to admit that I come from that type of nucleus. My dad worked and my mom stayed home with me and my sister. Times were very different in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The economy to day is teaching families how to adjust to new trends and new ways of living. We should appreciate the new forms of family and community that are occurring. Since the onset of the financial crisis there has been an increase in the number of multi-generational families. It’s the new normal. Younger adults live with their parents into their 30’s now and approximately 50 million Americans are in multigenerational households, that’s a 10% increase from 2007. Economic circumstances, as well as other cultural factors, have no doubt influenced families to start incorporating widowed grandparents, unemployed in-laws and adult children back into a common home. Life on life’s terms has incorporated the return of extended family formations. Another reason for extended families is the current epidemic of teenage pregnancies. And while the teenage mother is affected by the circumstance, this issue affects the entire family. Issues of trust, financial stress, and decision making are all factors involved. Some research suggests that women who have children at an early age are no worse off than similar women who wait to have children. According to this research, many of the disadvantages set up for young mothers are related to their own lack of everything during upbringing. This research suggests that it would be unwise to relate all of the problems faced by teen mothers to their youth. But the truth is that other research proves that teen mothers are less likely to finish high school, less likely to ever marry, and more likely to have additional children outside marriage. Thus, an early birth is not just a marker of preexisting problems but it may prove to be a barrier to successive upward mobility. I have seen success stories with teenage girls who choose to keep their children. But even if married, these women face much higher rates of poverty and dependence on government assistance than those decide to wait. And early marriages are much more likely to end in divorce. So marriage, while it may be helpful in establishing the family nucleus that is so longed for in Western civilization, is no verified solution. Now I would like to discuss my idea on a program for change in the family. Social inequality will continue to exist without bold action. We need to empower families to take charge of their lives and shift perception of people to understand that families that come from an unconventional family nucleus are still valued citizens. Government, business, community, education are all sectors that can benefit from an improvement in circumstance of the institution of family. What is needed is a re-invigoration of the â€Å"family movement† to works towards building stronger, more inclusive communities. Remember that united we stand, and divided we fall. One major setback for America is the division in every aspect, be it race, social class, gender. I don’t want to say I am a communist, but I do understand how a communist society may be the best to incorporate equality for all. How to cite Social Problems Essay, Essays

Categorization of Multiple Channel Retailing †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Categorization of Multiple Channel Retailing. Answer: Introduction Most business managers are urged to take wise decisions regarding their businesses. In order to evaluate the direction, goals, objectives and plans of a business a basis of reference is needed. Strategic management is a goal based management of resources to achieve a specific objective; it helps the managers to focus on effectiveness and efficiency of their decisions and actions(Hillet al.2014). Most practitioners and researchers may agree that strategic management of a company involves at least three elements i.e. strategic goal setting, management of core competence and corporate governance. Fixing appropriate goals based on the core competences and resources available helps the business position itself favorably in the market. Core competences of a business are the things an enterprise does best or better than others. Researchers have identified three major factors to qualify core competence of a business i.e. competences that are difficult to copy by the competitors, competences that are used to produce specific products and services, and competences that lead to solutions to customer problems or create customer satisfaction (Bharadwaj et al 1993). Corporate governance is the manner in which a company is run and its shareholders are managed. Corporations are different from other business structures such as partnership, Limited Liability private enterprise, etc. (Smith 2017). Corporations are required to meet certain legal requirements such as incorporation rules, listing in stock exchanges, etc. and are considered as separate from the promoters or owners. Often, corporations are owned by many people through shareholding i.e. a set of individuals share the profit and losses generated by the company through its intended operations. The shareholders and Board of governors have limited liability to the creditors of the company and the enterprise continues to exist beyond life span of its owners because the shares of a company can be transferred to others through sales or gift of shares. Analysis of strategic management helps the business managers to evaluate their business direction (Wheelenet al. 2015); and it helps the investors to assess the present and future position of the company. In order to demonstrate the strategic management of a company, an analysis of a listed company in the Australia i.e. Adairs is performed. Adairsproduct and service portfolio Adairs is a well-known retail brand in Australia and New Zealand that offers specialty home furnishing materials to its customers (AO, D.R.H.M 2017). It operates through specialized retail stores across Australia and New Zealand and through a dedicated e-commerce web site. The major strategy of the organization is to offer their customers trendy materials for home furnishing, backed by strong values and enhanced shopping experience (Mall 2017). Adairs has relatively large product portfolio. A product portfolio is a set or categories of all the products or services offered by a business enterprise. Information on product portfolio provides an opportunity to understand the market segment of a company, the current trends related to the product consumption, the probable profit margins, future growth prospects, market leadership of the company, etc. Information on product portfolio is critical for investors to assess the potential of the company. Currently, Adairs product portfolio has a wider range than its nearest competitor. The variety of home decorator product is large (Adairs 2018). However, the business managers in the small business units balance the range of products to meet the customer demands, optimally utilize the floor spaces in retail outlets, and create an ambience for shopping experience. It is reported that Adairs have included wall art, bedroom chairs, household fragrances, floor carpets, bed side lamps, decorative mirrors, etc. to the product portfolio. The critical aspects of product selection for offer depend on the Adairs strategy of categorizing products on fashionability, quality, aesthetics, and value for money. The product categorization helps the customers to have an integrated view of products and enables the retail staff to provide superior service (Varley 2014). The company focuses on enhancing living in the customers homes. Adairs operation includes, rolling out new points of sales i.e. specialized stores, manage the merchandise in it, and provide customer friendly web platform for the customers to do shopping sitting in their places of comfort. Adair focuses on four kinds of specialty stores (Adairs 2018). i.e. Adairs home maker, Adairs Kids, Adairs Outlet and Urban Home Republic. Each outlet of the Adairs, functions as a business unit of a larger system. Astrategic business unit(SBU) is considered as aprofit centerthat offers specific product range to a market segment with a discrete marketing plan to capture local market share, may be a city, town or a region. Adairs Product and Service lines The product portfolio of Adairs include, bedroom accessories, bathroom accessories, furniture division, home wares and kids section. In each of these product portfolios, specific product lines mark the retail inventory. A product line is a set of interrelated products under a category, brand or utility. Adairs sell multiple product lines in each of its portfolio, for example bedroom accessories portfolio included product lines such as pillows, quilts, blankets, bed spreads mattresses, etc. And, within each of product lines there are various brands and variants to meet the demands of the customers. Inventory of Adairs is complex. Having wider product portfolios and product lines helps the company to meet the specific needs of the customers (Beck Rygl 2015). From the media reports , it is evident that Adairs have not been doing good in terms of earning profits, but have increased revenues from the retail outlets and e-commerce. The reports indicate that revenues from online sales have increased by 26 percent and retail sales have increased by 7 percent in the year 2016. Revenue is the income from sale of products or use of capital / assets associated with the major operation of a company (Bannikovaet al. 2015). The revenue is indicated on the top of the profit and loss statement. Subtracting all costs, overheads, expenses and charges from the revenue, net income of an organization can be calculated. Revenues are sometimes equated with total sales and turnover. The operational environment or external environment of an organization stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legislative factors around it. These factors are critical in accomplishing strategic plan and typically a strategy must effectively address these factors (Edelman Webster 2015). The local conditions of each store also affect its business. With respect to operational environment, there are a number of risk factors specific to Adairs and in general for the lifestyle retail. The performance of the Adairs is affected by a range of economic and business conditions such as changes in consumer spending for lifestyle products, inflation rate, interest on loans, and exchange rates in the international market. Government policies regarding taxation, people management, etc. also affects the retail business. The risk factors that are to be considered by Adairs include the following. Changes in consumers buying pattern General economic condition in Australia and New Zealand Entry of new competitors and strategic changes of existing competitors Management may lag in execution of the strategy Rented retail locations may have to be vacated Product range expansion and retail store expansion must be backed by sufficient resources. SWOT Analysis of Adair would help to understand the effectiveness of the strategies that have been implemented by the organization. Strength: Being one of the largest retail industries in Australia covers a larger area of market share. Moreover, the leader position of the organization promotes the company in exploiting the target market with the help of its strong resources. The organization has strong resources in the form of human and technological resources and also has a very good presence of the industry (Culley et al. 2017). Apart from that, one of the strength of the organization is its large number of quality products and services that targets large number of customers from Australia and from other parts. Prior to this, Adair has a strong commitment to the environment and the sustainability. Weakness: Apart from the strength, the organization has certain weakness also, as its presence in the International market is very low. Till now, it could not able to make a profitable market share in the International market. One of the major weaknesses is the impact of the external environment in the growth strategy of the organization (Jain 2015). Moreover, Adair has failed to sustain the competitive advantage of the market and entering the online retail lately had resulted negative impact on the organization. Opportunities: Retail industries in Australia shows a good growth within the market area and the organization tries to promote its brand through advertising, sponsorship and more. Apart from this factors such as the lifestyles of the consumers in Australia, advent technologies, supply chains provides good opportunities for the retail industries to expand their market share in Australia. In order to increase their productivity and revenue growth, the organization tends to implement strategic acquisitions in the emerging economies (Segarra et al. 2016). Threats: The major threats for the Adair organization is mainly from the larger retail industries in Australia such as Woolworths and the Coles Supermarket. Another threat to Adair comes from the intervention of the Government in their business procedure (Kew and Stredwick 2017). Apart from this, economic recession in the country could hinder the growth of the organization. Porter Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of the Buyers: In respect to the Australian retail market, the bargaining power of the buyers is higher as there is large number of retail industries that provides variety of products to thee customers (Corona 2015). It has been stated that the strong power of the customers forces the organization to decrease their products process in order to target large number of customers. Bargaining Power of the Suppliers: In the context of porter, it has been stated that higher the importance of suppliers, higher is the power of the suppliers. Therefore, Adair organization tends to have lower dependence on their suppliers, that means the bargaining power of the suppliers are low (Wanjohi 2017). The main reason behind this is the amount of shares of retail market in Australia and the large number of products that are being sold to the industries. Threat of new Entrants: In case of Adair, the threat from new entrants tends to be lower as the bigger retail industries do not keep any pace for the entry of new players in the market. And if any new player enters the market, it becomes difficult for them to survive in that particular retail industry and therefore it tends to reduce the threat from the new entrants (Kew and Stredwick 2017). Apart from this, Adair is consider as a dominant player with larger access to various distribution channel and trusted brands in the retail sector. Rivalry among the Existing Firms: The threat from the existing firms in case of Adair organization is higher, as there are major competitors in the Australian supermarket. Dominant market players include Woolworths, Coles supermarket and more that tends to exercise their power in the overall retail industries in Australia and for dominating the largest supermarket they tends to fight among themselves. Threat of Substitutes: As Adair is mainly a retail industry that deals with products that are essential for daily needs, therefore consumers need to avail those products as there are no other substitutes of those products (Segarra et al. 2016). Therefore, the threat of substitutes for the organization is low; consumers need to buy all those retail products that are important to them. Profit and loss figures shares in stock exchange 2017 (Net Revenue) 2017 (Sales) Adair $ 6.8 billion $ 15.04 B Woolsworth $ 25.7 billion $ 41.15 B Tesco $ 19.2 Billion $ 78.43 B From the above table, it could be seen that in case of the generation of revenue in terms of profit and loss, Adair ranks third. Woolsworth being one of the largest retail industries in Australia ranked at the top most level by earning $ 25.7 billion. Tesco ranks second by generating profit of $ 19.2 billion, whereas, Adair earned $ 6.8 billion, whereas in terms of sales, Adair has a low sales profit than its competitors (Wanjohi 2017). In order to increase its profit, Adair needs to target larger customers in order to sell more products. Factors of sustainable competitive advantage The company has been following a strategic direction for long but has recently attempted to improve the execution of the plans. The company believes that improvement in execution will have corresponding improvement in results i.e. some of the key drivers of Adairs strategy are discussed here(Rosemann vom Brocke 2015). One of the major strategies followed by Adairs to attract more customers to its stores is product differentiation and product line expansion. Presenting high quality and appealing products to the customers is critical in home dcor business. Adairs, over the years have developed an ability to address broad range of customer needs by offering differentiated products that are superior in quality but at attractive prices. This strategy of Adairs has been successful so far and the trend shows the company is likely to pursue incremental steps in adding new range of products and reaping corresponding increments in sales. Second strategic measure by Adairs is increasing their retail store network. In spite of the reduced profit margins, the company is betting their luck on not only expanding store network but also upgrading the floor spaces in existing network. One of the executives has said that the company plans to open at least eight new outlets in Australia and New Zealand every year. However, the history of two to three years indicates that the company has opened only four outlets on average. The finance managers have reported that stores that upgraded their physical space have stated to give better returns in terms of revenue and profit margins. Company has learnt that providing customers with broader range of products, and differentiated customer experience can lead to better profitability (Shockleyet al. 2015). Recently, Adairs have started a concept called omni channel retailing. The customers have the choice to buy the products from retail outlets or from online site (Gao Su 2016). Irrespective of the customers style of buying, the company has decided to provide flexible customer experience. The company has introduced loyalty programs to retain customers and enhance engagement with the company. It is apparent that online sales is likely to post higher rate of growth and company is focusing in developing various services around it such as hassle free returns, etc. Capable staff is considered as part of the strategy at Adairs. The company values passionate and high performing team members as critical for the success of the company. The company aims to provide excellent shopping experience to its customers along with service. Great service can be provided by people only, for which the company encourages and trains the staff to provide excellent service (Vieiraet al 2017). Overall, Adairs is placed to expand its international presence, especially in New Zealand. The executives in the company are confident that with their competitive advantage of larger product range, omni channel sales, and appealing price it can do better in the coming years in terms of profitability. Competitive advantage of company is the reason for sustained business from the customers. As per the five forces analysis, the entry barriers to a new competitor are high as the capital needed to start a retail chain is huge. The threat of substitutes is high as there are many retailers who provide home dcor items. The bargaining power of suppliers is neutralized by the brand value of the Adairs and the bargaining power of the customers is high as they have many alternatives to satisfy their needs. The industry rivalry in home dcor retail is neither intense nor trivial; the company needs to respond to the customer needs quickly.It is a set of attributes that allow a company to perform be tter than the competitors. The increase in sales in retail outlets and online site indicates strong competitive advantage for the company. Recommendations for Future Strategic Direction It appears that strategic direction of the company is right, but the management should focus on the execution of the strategy i.e. product differentiation and store expansion. The correlation between the new stores development and store up gradation, and the growth of revenue and profitability are strong, and it must be pursued (Davcik Sharma 2015). The company managers have acquired unique ability to include new products that meet the needs of the customers; the company must encourage and nourish such initiatives of the managers. The product differentiation with affordable price range and product category expansion also needs to focus to keep away the competitors. The ambition of starting eight stores per year appears to be a bit impractical, looking at the profitability and the resources of the company. It would be safe to start four new stores per year for next two years and four floor expansion projects. Physical floor expansion in the existing stores has been more profitable than opening new stores (Nishida Yang 2015). The managers must pay attention to the profitability of the retail store differentiation i.e. home maker, kids, urban republic, etc. Overall the company may adopt the following recommendations. Continue the loyalty programs Strengthen online presence and develop web pages to enhance shopping experience Facilitate broader range of products availability Provide realistic and precise product information in the online facility Reduce number of clicks in the purchase process and simplify payment procedures Expand to new and unrepresented areas depending on the recognized demands Look for newer international markets Initiate mobile marketing and mobile commerce Conclusion Analyzing a companys strategic management has several benefits (Puntet al. 2016). Strategic evaluations present an opportunity to objectively analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the current strategy. To helps the investors and job seekers to assess the future potential of the company. For the managers and decision makers, it provides an opportunity to take corrective actions bring back the company to right direction. Performance assessment and corrective actions are two significant outcomes of strategy analysis. Though Adairs had low profitability in the past few years, the coming years appear to be positive for the company. References Adairs, 2018. Find your nearest Store. Available at https://www.adairs.com.au/stores/, (Accessed on 23rd March 2018). Bannikova, N.V., Baydakov, A.N. and Vaytsekhovskaya, S.S., 2015. Identification of strategic alternatives in agribusiness.Modern applied science,9(4), p.344. Beck, N. and Rygl, D., 2015. Categorization of multiple channel retailing in Multi-, Cross-, and Omni?Channel Retailing for retailers and retailing.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,27, pp.170-178. Coffee Jr, J.C., Sale, H. and Henderson, M.T., 2015. Securities regulation: Cases and materials. Culley, B., Graham, J., Kay, G., Norberry, J. and Wilson, S., 2017. Digital Marketing Plan: Naked Wines Australia.Newcastle Business School Student Journal,1(1), pp.68-89. Davcik, N.S. and Sharma, P., 2015. Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments and brand equity on pricing strategies: A brand level investigation.European Journal of Marketing,49(5/6), pp.760-781. Edelman, B. and Webster, K., 2015. Reinventing Retail: ShopRunner's Network Bet, HBS Case collection. 915-002. Gao, F. and Su, X., 2016. Online and offline information for omnichannel retailing.Manufacturing Service Operations Management,19(1), pp.84-98. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Jain, D., 2015. A Study On The Impact Of Supplementary Services In Building Customer Satisfaction For Retail Industry.International Journal of Retailing Rural Business Perspectives,3(3), pp.1089-1097. Kew, J. and Stredwick, J., 2017.Business environment: managing in a strategic context. Kogan Page Publishers. Mall, A.S., 2017. Aussie Shopping Mall. Shop at Australian Online Stores, Valentine Day, Christmas Shopping Ideas. Manzaneque Corona, E., 2015. Comparison of marketing policies applied by the same company in different countries and analysis of the reasons for the differences. Nishida, M. and Yang, N., 2015. Better Together? Retail Chain Performance Dynamics in Store Expansion Before and After Mergers. Unpublished manuscript. Available at https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1107/48c7001e2318b12ff3fcfb9dc2fb3568274d.pdf, Accessed on 23rd March 2018 Punt, A.E., Butterworth, D.S., Moor, C.L., De Oliveira, J.A. and Haddon, M., 2016. Management strategy evaluation: best practices.Fish and Fisheries,17(2), pp.303-334. Rosemann, M. and vom Brocke, J., 2015. The six core elements of business process management. InHandbook on business process management 1(pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Segarra, L.L., Almalki, H., Elabd, J., Gonzalez, J., Marczewski, M., Alrasheed, M. and Rabelo, L., 2016. A Framework for Boosting Revenue Incorporating Big Data.Journal of Innovation Management,4(1), p.39. Shockley, J., Plummer, L.A., Roth, A.V. and Fredendall, L.D., 2015. Strategic design responsiveness: An empirical analysis of US retail store networks.Production and Operations Management,24(3), pp.451-468. Smith, M.G., 2015.Corporations and society. New Jersey, Transaction Publishers. Varley, R., 2015.Retail product management: buying and merchandising. Routledge. Vieira, R., ODwyer, B. and Schneider, R., 2017. Aligning strategy and performance management systems: the case of the wind-farm industry.Organization Environment,30(1), pp.3-26. Wanjohi, C.N., 2017.Factors Influencing Sustainable Competitive Advantage in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Sector: A Case of Bidco Africa(Doctoral dissertation, United States International University-Africa). Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D., Hoffman, A.N. and Bamford, C.E., 2015.Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy. Pearson.

The Life And Poetry Of William Buttler Yeats Essays - Abbey Theatre

The Life And Poetry Of William Buttler Yeats On June 13 1865 William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin Ireland. From the start Yeats had artistic influences, due to the fact that his father Jack Butler Yeats was a noted Irish painter. He had no formal education until he was eleven, at that time he started at the Godolphin Grammar School in Hammer*censored*h England and later he enrolled in Erasmus Smith High School in Dublin. Throughout his schooling he was considered disappointing student, his studies were inconsistent, he was prone to day dreaming, and poor at sports. In 1884 Yeats found his way to the Metropolitan School for the Arts, here he met a poet by the name of George Russell. Yeats and Russell sheared the same dreams, visions, and the enthusiasm for them. Russell and Yeats soon founded the Dublin Hermetic Society for the purpose of conducting magical experiments. They promoted their idea that ?whatever great poets had affirmed in there finest moments was the nearest we could come to an authoritative religion and that their mythology and their spirits of wind and water were but literal truth.? This sparked Yeats's interest in the study of the occult. After his experience in the hermetic society he joined the Rosicrucians, Madam H.P. Blavavtsky's Theosophical Society, and MacGregors Mather's Order of the Dawn. Yeats consulted spiritualists frequently and engaged in the ritual of conjuring the Irish Gods. The occult research Yeats made was apparent in his poetry. The occult was a source of images to use in his poems, and evedence of this is in all of his works. In1885 Yeats met John O'Leary an Irish Nationalist and Fenian leader. O'Leary played a large role on getting Yeats's his work first published in The Dublin University Review and directing Yeats's attention to native Irish sources for inspiration. The influence of O'Leary caused Yeats to take up the Irish writer's cause. England was trying to destroy all Irish literature in an attempt to anglicize Ireland through a ban on the Gaelic language. O'Leary's nationalism and opposition to violence impressed many people including Yeats. These views helped shape political views that Yeats would hold for the rest of his life. In 1889Yeats met Maude Gonne, a woman he loved unrequitedly for the rest of his life. Yeats asked Gonne to marry him many times but she always turned him down. Gonne was an Irish patriot and an inspiration to Yeats. Yeats frequently accompanied here to political rallies even though he usually disagreed with her extremist tactics. Their relationship went through a lot including Gonne's short-lived marrige to John McBride. Most of Yeats's poetry is addressed to her. Yeats associated her with Helen of Troy, whose capriciousness led to the destruction of a civilization. In 1986 Yeats became friends with Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory, a nationalist playwright. Together Yeats and Lady Gregory helped to found the Abbey Theater. As the director and dramatist Yeats helped to turn it into a leading theatrical company of the world and a center of the Irish Renaissance. Near the Turn of the century Yeats fought to abandon his old style of writing, at this time his writing became less mystical and symbolic and it became clearer. Yeats eventually got married in 1917, at the age of 52. His wife was Georgie Hyde-Lees, while on their honeymoon she discovered that she had mediumistic abilities. Through automatic writing she could communicate with a visionary realm. In Yeats's later years he became more involved in politics. From 1922 ? 1928 he was a senator for the Irish Free State. In 1923 Yeats received the Nobel Prize for literature, and died on January 18 1939 in Roquebrune France. Yeats was buried in Sligo Ireland. A Drunken Mans Praise of Sobriety Come swish around my pretty punk And keep me dancing still That I may stay a sober man Although I drank my fill. Sobriety is a jewel That I do much adore, And therefore keep dancing Though drunkards lie and snore. O mind your feet, O mind your feet Keep dancing like a wave, And under every dancer A dead man in his grave. No ups no downs, my Pretty, A mermaid not a punk; A drunkard is a dead man And all dead men are drunk. This is a lyrical poem, which

Sociology in New Zealand Essay Example

Sociology in New Zealand Essay Example Sociology in New Zealand Essay Sociology in New Zealand Essay The country of New Zealand consists of two dominant cultures: Western-influenced European culture, and the Maori culture. This paper will focus on the sociological aspects of the environment, family, and aging in respect to the Western-influenced European culture only. I say that the European culture of New Zealand is Western-influenced because beliefs and values of Western cultures are affecting those of their own society. Based on findings regarding the three sociological topics that will be covered in this paper, the environment, family, and aging, the society in New Zealand is primarily a functionalist society. I have found that in New Zealand, the culture, under the influence of the environment and family structure, fulfills the functionalist theory, while aging implements the interactionist theory. These theories show how the New Zealand culture is one of efficiency, as these topics (the environment, family, and aging) have important roles as to how the society as a whole functions. However, it is not a completely functionalist society- it is also an interactionist society as the citizens are socially aware of each other and this awareness affects their behavior. The way the people of New Zealand behave, when influenced by the environment and their family structure, folds back into society, and benefits it as a whole. These topics follow the functionalist theory originally presented by sociologists August Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim. These three sociologists had slightly differing views of functionalism, but the main message remained constant: that society is comprised of interconnected parts, each of which has its own function. The parts rely on each other to function optimally, or are interdependent, and if a part fails to carry out its function, it can negatively affect the other parts. This disrupts the unification of society and causes conflict, which, from a functionalist point of view, is a symptom of disease. Inversely, when all parts fulfill their roles, then society would be in a stable, unified, â€Å"disease-free† condition. Furthermore, the society will only thrive when stable and when its citizens cooperate with its collective conscience, or accepted basic values and rules of behavior. There are a few criticisms of this theory, however. Many argue that functionalism is merely an ideal state, as it refers to society as an effectively running machine with no complications. This is not always the case, as society is almost never free of conflict. Another argument is that the functionalist theory disregards the influence of whoever creates and maintains social agreements. (Kier, 2010) With these criticisms in mind, it is safe to say that no society completely fulfills the functionalist theory. Thus, the society of New Zealand is not completely functionalist, although some aspects are, such as the environment and family. ENVIRONMENT The country of New Zealand is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, located to the southeast of Australia. The terrain is predominantly mountainous, with some large coastal plains. Despite the fact that most of its terrain is mountainous, a majority of the New Zealand people live in urban environments that are mainly situated along the coast. That is not to say that the surrounding, non-urban environment is unimportant. Only about 13 percent of this land is used for crops, while the other 87 percent is reserved for industrial, urban, tourist, and residential purposes. The majority of the land is used to support and maintain the citizens’ way of life and their economy. The country is involved with a number of international agreements primarily regarding marine life, as New Zealand is located in the Oceania region of the world. New Zealanders, an outdoor-loving people, hold their environment in high regard. In a survey held in 2004 by the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board, 87 percent of New Zealanders consider the environment to be important. The same survey found that New Zealanders deem the quality of their natural environment to be in the top three most important aspects of New Zealand, the other two being quality of life and quality of education. (Ministry for the Environment, 2000) The main current environmental issues that the country faces are deforestation, soil erosion, and the invasion of native flora and fauna by foreign species. Another, although not as current, concern of New Zealand is marine maintenance. Some preventive and restoration measures that the government is taking include the Conversation Act 1987, which was established to promote conserving the natural and historic resources of New Zealand and laid the foundation for the development of the Department of Conservation, and the International Tropical Timber Agreement 1983, which was developed to encourage nations to establish strategies that strove for the conservation and sustainable exercise of tropical forests and their natural resources. The goal of conservation also has economic reasons. As n island nation, the land is one of the primary means to support the lives of the New Zealand citizens, so the environment is very important to the people of New Zealand. So as to keep this stable way of life, New Zealanders under their government are implementing laws to clean up their pollution and conserve what has remained untouched by industrialization and urbanization. For example, as members of the Kyoto Protocol, a contract be tween nations that strives to cap the world’s carbon emissions, the New Zealand government has implemented a new carbon tax for all households and businesses. New Zealanders care about preserving and cleaning their environment because of the role the land plays in their society. They are intent on improving and sustaining their environment because they have realized, just as many other industrial countries have, that the world’s natural resources are depleting, and that if the citizens wish to maintain a comfortable, consumerist way of life, then these resources must be preserved. New environmental laws must be implemented to prevent further damage, lest citizens lose the convenience of having their own cars and other extraneous materials. Kier, 2010) Furthermore, the environment is prevalent in their lives through business, recreation and tourism- it stimulates their economy and supports their lifestyle. Moreover, the state that their country is in is what the rest of the world sees. If the country of New Zealand appears unable to manage its resources and satisfy the consumer demands of its people, it is likely to be taken less ser iously and looked down upon. The environment plays an essential role in the lives of New Zealanders, and always will- its function is timeless. It is the foundation, on which they set their behavior, and it continues to affect what they do and how they live, fulfilling functionalist theory. FAMILY As in most cultures, family is a huge aspect of life. Family, from a sociological point of view, is a social construct, and is a social unit rather than a biological unit. Family is a social construct because, over time, the definition of family has changed. In the past, family was considered â€Å"a group of people related by blood, marriage. † However, many people have family bonds with others that they have no relation to, changing the idea of family from a biological unit to a social unit. In New Zealand, the definition of family has expanded to include not only the European culture, but the Maori culture that occupies the country as well. In new Zealand, a family is taken to be â€Å"a family group, including an extended family, in which there is at least one adult member with whom a child or another adult member has a biological or legal relationship; or to whom the child or other adult member has a significant psychological attachment; or that is the child’s or other adult member’s whanau or other culturally recognised family group. (Department of Labour, 2000) These people, one’s family, support each other and teach each other accepted norms and behaviors of society. Now, there are a number of different types of families, the first being couple-only families. There are also nuclear families, stem families, and compound families. A nuclear family consists of a couple and their child(ren), or a single parent with his/her child(ren), while a stem family consists of a couple, a married child and their spouse, and their children. The last type of family, the compound, is when two families combine after a divorce. Birks amp; Hodgson, 2002) For a majority of the past century, the prevalent family type of New Zealand was the nuclear family. (Statistics New Zealand, 2007) However, over the years, the number of couple-only families has grown the fastest, outpacing the growth of nuclear families, which has become the slowest growing family type. As shown from this information, the value of starting a family with children has decreased as time continued. Statistics on changes in New Zealand’s household income (New Zealand Treasury, 2000) show that, since 1998, the gross household income has been decreasing. Because of this decline, working age citizens have been working harder than before to make enough to support themselves and be able to live comfortably, thus improving their quality of life. From this information, I have found that New Zealand citizens replaced family with work in their hierarchy of values. This could mean either of two things, the first being that family is not valued as highly as work and a steady income, and the second being that the role of a support system a family plays is assumed and stable, and thus can be put aside so that other things (work) may be addressed. All of this does not necessarily say that the New Zealand society is completely focused on work. Based on the fact that New Zealanders highly value a good quality of living, and the gross household income has been decreasing over the years, working has become one of the top values of New Zealand citizens, but it has not replaced the family or the support system it provides. Granted, this support system is small due to the fact that most families consist of couples only, but the members of the family provide support nonetheless. So instead of depending on family for a large support network, lately New Zealanders depend on family for a steady income in order to have a better quality of living. Despite the change in what New Zealanders rely on their family for, the family has a function in their lives. New Zealanders edit their behavior in correspondence to how the family carries out its role, following functionalist theory. AGING Other sociological aspects of the New Zealand culture follow different theories as well, as aging fulfills the interactionist theory. This theory claims that human beings determine their behavior by comparing themselves to those around them. George Herbert Mead is credited with this theory, as he stressed that society is maintained through our interpretation and communication of â€Å"mutually-agreed-upon† symbols. Our mutual agreement of these symbols, which are typically words, gestures, body language, and anything of the like, is what keeps our society together. Under the interactionist theory, old age (the actual number of years one has aged) is not important. What is important, is society’s definition of the word â€Å"old†, as the culture decides what that label constitutes. For example, a society considers physical, biological appearance and capability when deciding who is and is not old. In New Zealand, as in many cultures, those considered old are no longer influential contributors to society. They become burdens rather than assets. As there is no set age as to when a person is considered â€Å"old†, New Zealand society has set a timetable to inform citizens of their age status. One way of doing this is by setting a mandatory retirement age. While New Zealand does not have a mandatory retirement age, it does have a minimum age, 65 years old, which still does its job in telling whomever that they are considered old in their society. Of the elderly population, only 3-6 percent lives in nursing homes, or residential care, leaving a vast majority to live with their children and their families. (Ministry of Health, 2004) This low percentage shows that it is not customary to consign the elderly into nursing homes. Those who make up this small statistic are admitted primarily because of major factors such as sudden changes in circumstances or health (no one is capable of caring for them) and major disabilities, such as dementia. Of course, there is always the choice few that personally decides to live in residential care. This high rate of retired citizens living with their families further displays the economics of the country, as well as their value in quality of life. Previously, I had mentioned the decrease in gross household income for New Zealand families. Because of this, the authority figures of the household consider the cost of an extra person to support living in the home versus the cost of said person living in residential care. In most, if not all, cases, the notion of having their elderly live in their home wins, as it turns out to be less expensive than residential care rates. (Ministry of Health, 2004) Keeping the elderly at home rather than residential care also portrays the social value of a high quality of life. Once again, the people of New Zealand compare the quality of life in a nursing home to the quality of life at home with their families. Being surrounded by your loved ones makes life better, makes for a happier citizen, as opposed to being surrounded by the sick and independently incapable. From this, I find that, while New Zealand families are financially minded, they also put improving the quality of life for the elderly in their list of priorities. The size of the elderly population remaining at home continues to rise, while both the working age and underage populations decrease. The elderly are quickly becoming the largest, most influential group in society. Ministry of Health, 2004) As such, their demands for civil rights specifically established for their age group grows as well. This demographic shift (increase in elderly and decrease in working age population) leads to a smaller work force. Because of these results, employers are will likely need to become flexible with whom they hire, and retain older workers. As such, the New Zealand government is implementing a Positive Ageing Strategy, which promotes the value and participation of the elderly in society. (Office for Senior Citizens, 2001) Not only does this strategy look to provide for the eeds of the older age group, but it also strives to increase the opportunities in which the elderly can contribute to society. In advocating this strategy, the government hopes to put the idea of aging into a more positive light. As many people see the elderly as a burden, one of the goals of this strategy is to make said age group more self-sufficient. By engaging the elderly and providing means with which they can contribute to society, the more they are valued by the rest of society and the less dependent they are on their children- instead of being liabilities, the elderly can become assets to society once again. Not only do the demands for elderly civil rights rise, but so do demands for more specialized health services. I said before that the Positive Ageing Strategy also looks to provide for the needs of the elderly. These needs differ than those of the working age and underage groups. In light of the goal to improve the quality of life for the elderly, the government is working to satisfy the need for more specialist and support services to address conditions related to age, such as hip replacements and cataracts. (Office for Senior Citizens, 2001) New Zealand culture’s agreed definition of the word â€Å"old† provides a means to keep the society unified. This unification allows them, the citizens and the government, to agree upon social values and determine what changes need to be implemented to satisfy demands and needs of the elderly. This demonstrates how mindful of their elderly the citizens of New Zealand are. In the case of aging and the elderly, it is a social value to improve the quality of life for the elderly, and an increasing belief to look at aging with a positive attitude. In allowing the elderly to continue to contribute to society, and live with their families rather than nursing homes, the members of New Zealand society are improving and maintaining the quality of life for those in this age group. This also gives the elderly a chance to once again contribute to society, hopefully casting them in good light. Additionally, these actions have economic benefits as well. When the elderly remain a good percentage of the workforce, companies save money that would have been used to train new employees and purchase unnecessary equipment. Also, by having their elders live with them, families can save money and continue to focus on increasing their household income. Aging does play a role in society, giving it a functionalist aspect, but it mainly adheres to the interactionist theory. As per interactionism, New Zealanders determine their behavior on judgments passed based on the social definition of â€Å"old. † CONCLUSION I find that the society of New Zealand, like most societies, is a combination of perspective theories, namely the functionalist and interactionist theory from investigating these three topics. New Zealand is a functionalist society in that two social aspects, the environment and family, are important to the culture because of the functions they carry out. The interactionist theory comes into play when discussing aging in New Zealand. Age is one of the social criteria in each other that citizens are aware of, and this attentiveness influences their behavior. The environment is important to New Zealanders and affects how they behave because of its function in their society. It sustains the way they live, it provides means for a thriving economy through industry, business, and tourism. The resources with which the environment supports its inhabitants are decreasing, and the citizens are reacting in ways to save these resources. Due to the decline of the gross household income and the high value in quality of life in New Zealand, family has become not only a source of emotional support, but a source of financial support as well. As a couple-only family is the currently dominant model, the emotional support system is small, but if both members work, the financial support is relatively large. Thus, the family is important because it fulfills two roles, emotional and economic. Aging is important to New Zealand society in a number of ways. It provides a way in which the society can be unified, in setting the stage for social values and beliefs to be communally agreed upon. One such value is to improve the quality of life for the elderly, and an increasing belief to look at aging with a positive attitude. In this way, the New Zealand society shows that they are aware of their elderly. This coupled with the notion of giving the elderly a chance to once again contribute to their communities allows this age group to be seen positively, opening the gateway for the rest of the society to behave positively in response. While the country of New Zealand is functionally driven and efficient in the sense that the importance of a social aspect corresponds to how much it benefits society, it is also socially aware, as its citizens use the comparisons they have between each other to determine how to behave. The environment and family are not the only factors of New Zealand society that follow the requisites of functionalism, nor is aging the only sociological aspect that implements interactionist theory. In this sense, New Zealand society fills out aspects of both functionalist and interactionist theory.

Locating German Vital Records

Locating German Vital Records Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths in Germany began following the French Revolution in 1792. Beginning with regions of Germany under French control, most German states eventually developed their own individual systems of civil registration between 1792 and 1876. In general, German civil records begin in 1792 in Rheinland, 1803 in Hessen-Nassau, 1808 in Westfalen, 1809 in Hannover, Oct 1874 in Prussia, and Jan 1876 for all other parts of Germany. Since Germany has no central repository for civil records of births, marriages, and deaths, the records may be found in several different locations. Local Civil Registrars Office Most civil birth, marriage, and death records in Germany are maintained by the civil registration office (Standesamt) in the local towns. You can usually obtain civil registration records by writing (in German) to the town with the appropriate names and dates, the reason for your request, and proof of your relationship to the individual(s). Most cities have websites at www.[city name].de where you can find the contact information for the appropriate Standesamt. Government Archives In some areas of Germany, duplicate civil records of births, marriages and deaths have been sent to the state archives (Staatsarchiv), district archives (Kreisarchive), or another central repository. Many of these records have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library or through local Family History Centers. The Family History Library The Family History Library has microfilmed the civil registration records of many towns throughout Germany up to about 1876, as well as copies of records sent to many of the various state archives. Do a Place Name search in the online Family History Library Catalog for the name of the town to learn what records and time periods are available. Parish Records Often called parish registers or church books, these include records of births, baptism, marriages, deaths, and burials recorded by German churches. The first surviving Protestant records date back to 1524, but Lutheran churches, in general, began requiring baptism, marriage, and burial records in 1540; Catholics began doing so in 1563, and by 1650 most Reformed parishes began keeping these records. Many of these records are available on microfilm through Family History Centers. Otherwise, youll need to write (in German) to the specific parish which served the town in which your ancestors lived.

I want to get married, Ghad Abdel Aal Assignment

I want to get married, Ghad Abdel Aal - Assignment Example in Egypt, a country that has over 3 million spinsters over the age of the 35, 25% of marriages ending up in divorce within a year and 50% of men between the youthful and economically active age of 25-29 are unmarried. Ghada strives to obtain a â€Å"Mr. Right† that will be accepted by the parents, but fails to secure one despite attending numerous living room meetings arranged by friends and family. Young men are failing to rise to the expectations of their parents and girls experience the stiffest challenge when time comes for them to be married. While some might perceive Ghada to be debauched and the foulest example of single ladies, she in fact portrays the exasperating, interesting, amusing and lousy world of dating, aspects that can be attributed to the new millennium. Moreover, Ghada reveals the overwrought gender relations predominant not only in Egypt but also in many developing countries. While intermarriages seemed to popup in the story, it is something that a good portion of the contemporary society is yet to embrace and give the modern woman more freedom to determine her fate. Disparagingly, parents have failed in guiding their children in the growth and development process, a factor that has increase the challenges being experienced by young people of Ghada’s age and this challenges the existence of families and social

A Man Called Horse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Man Called Horse - Essay Example This paper illustrates that in the movie, â€Å"A Man Called Horse,† produced in 1970, there is a direct correlation between living the American lifestyle and living with the Native Americans.   The ideology is one which creates divisions and contrasts that are a part of the movie and which develop a different understanding of what it means to belong to an outside culture. The concepts of â€Å"A Man Called Horse†is set in the Wild West when America was only beginning to develop and explore the territories that were a part of the country. The movie begins with a man, John Morgan, who is going to discover the land and which is interested in developing his own area of land in the West. However, on his journeys, he is captured by the Sioux and begins to be treated as one who is trapped in the culture. The transformation which John begins to go through after this comes from watching the culture and how each of the people lives and survive on the land. This is followed by his eventual integration into the culture through gaining warrior status by killing warriors of another tribe, marrying one of the women on the land and going through initiation rights to be a part of the tribe, in which he gains the name ‘horse.’ The depictions of both cultures are then shown through the overall concept while building a sense of value that is a part of the story. The concept which is used in â€Å"A Man Called Horse† begins with the ideology of showing the white man and the ways that were known in the Wild West and depicted by the main character, John. This is shown first through showing the character fishing by the water and performing the expected routines that are a part of the concepts used for settlement. This is followed by the viewpoint which is taken after John is captured. The film shows the Native Americans surrounding John and looking foreign and like outsiders. The perspective and the way in which it is seen through John’s eye s create a sense of threat and the belief that John may die.