Educational Memories Essay Example for Free

Educational Memories Essay I first came into Wakefield City High School on September 1994. I had to go to the hall for an assembly. I was nervous I didnt know anyone. There was no one else from my old school just me. I was sat down feeling nervous in the assembly just then the head of lower school called out my name. They decided which tutor group I should go to Mrs Elliss classroom. I made a few friends in my class Tariq, Ajmal, Safdar and Zulfiqar. At first we all used to have the same timetable and I would ask them which lessons we would have next and which room the lesson would be held. But then gradually we were put into different groups meaning different timetable. Most of the teachers didnt like us. In maths we would look in the back of textbooks for answers that would be in are maths work. In science we made a mess of all the experiments. I broke three beakers and two test tubes, once I squirted hydrochloric acid at the black board the mark is still there. My music teacher liked me because I was good at the essays and minor music tests. I scored a high mark in the music exam but I was awful at playing music. I blew up the keyboard adapter. We would throw water balloons at everyone in the winter and set of bangers at bonfire week. In food technology the teacher hated are cooking we never cleaned up after we had finished. In art we used to draw pictures on are art folders even though she told us not to draw on them. We would draw a picture of a liver floating in a swimming pool and write next to it Liver+pool FC. My art teacher was Austrian and she would were these big black German boots and walk very disciplined like a solider. I thought she was related Adolph Hitler. In D+T resistant materials we had a teacher called Mr Taylor. Mr Taylor was tall and was a very moody person. When he was drunk he was alright. But when he was sober he was on a short fuse. He would never repeat himself. If anyone in the class asked, sir what was the question I didnt understand it sir he would start shouting and tell you to just do your work. He was tall skinny and atleast 30 years old. He would wear a white shirt with black pants. His hair had a lot of gel on it and his sideburns were completely shaved of. He always thought he was cool so he always brushed the side of his hair back. He never use to send students to isolation but he sent me because I was outside the school uniform by wearing white trainers. Whenever he explained to the whole class the work, what we had to do. I always fell asleep. So I always washed my face before entering the classroom. If you did anything wrong he would give dirty look and make you look like an idiot as though you are stupid and not clever. In the last two years all the teachers started getting on with me. I started doing well in my science and D+T. I got a high score in my science modular tests and I was predicted a c in my final G. C. S. E exam. In D+T I got a c for my coursework in G. C. S. E project Table. In my final two years at school Mr Taylor would not talk about work in D+T because we know what we had to do finish the design work. Instead Mr Taylor what talk about general interests and all kinds of things that he heard on the news saw in the papers or saw on TV. Most of al this talk was irrelevant but it was just to keep us company while we were working in the workshop and in the classroom. He would even put the radio on in the workshop and we would often have debates. He would view us as engineers including himself, which he was and he viewed the common man as underpaid labourers. He told us about his last job that he would operate a machine. He would just set the material on the machine and program the machine, then he would let the labourer do all the moving and lifting basically the heavy work. He said all this with confidence thinking non-of us would become a labourer, he thought we would all do well with his help D+T. He developed a relationship, which went from student and teacher to colleagues, and everyone knew what to do. We developed confidence in the workshop. I would use the sander and go into the store cupboard looking for whatever I needed to assemble the project. I would use all the machines, tools and equipment in my surrounding. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Importance Of Public Relation In Post Modern Organisation Management Essay

Importance Of Public Relation In Post Modern Organisation Management Essay Introduction Communication acts as a mediator in the process of daily human activities. Men are a social animal and hence, they have to be within a society. They all are interdependent on each other and therefore, proper interaction among them is inevitable. Communication helps them in expressing their emotion, motivating, controlling, informing etc (Singh, 2009, p.202). Earlier, during the initial period of human civilization, communication brought revolution in human life, and their lifestyles were improved significantly. However, with increasing complexities in human life, the process of communication has become complex and advanced. Presently, proper and systemic communication is considered as one of the major necessity for social improvements. In the post-modern age, communicational process has had a considerable importance. With the gradual globalisation and modernisation, various aspects of communication have been categorized and their importance has been identified for bring constant impr ovements. Public relation is one of the major concepts that have been derived during the last three decades. In addition, public relation is also an integral part of an economy and its society. The governing authorities and political powers use public relation for communicating their message to the mass population in a democratic society. David W. Guth identifies that public relation has an important contribution in emerging a democratic society as it plays a critical role in the free flow of information in democratic societies (Guth, 2000). During the social crisis, proper communication through public relation is genuine remedy to settle down the prevailing issues. This paper will attempt to present the impact of current trends or future of public relation. The briefing on the stated topic will focus to contribute for the preparations of a TED speech delivered by CEO. Therefore, it is necessary to explain and cover the important aspects of public relation that have significant impacts on public relation related philosophy, issues and multiple strategies for future success. In this process, at first, the importance of public relation in post-modern organisation will be explained. Next, the impact of recent changes in public relation practise will be analysed by focusing on specific areas. The analysis of future of mutual understandings and two way communications are necessary for understanding the future trend of public relation. Next two sections will figure out major issues in public relation followed by a discussion on public relation strategies for reputation management. Finally, the overall discussions, analysis and findings will be conclud ed. Importance of Public Relation in Post Modern Organisation The growth of modern trade and business is major area where public relation plays an essential role. Due to globalisation and technological changes business activities suffered many improvements. The process of communication and public relation has been enhanced with help of advanced technology. The post-modern organisations including non-profit and profit-making organisations have realized the necessity of proper public relation for their organisational reputation and success. It has become very vital tool for achieving the short term and long term organisational goals and objectives. The public relation practises in business organisation is major tasks in marketing activities that helps them in achieving competitive advantage and in developing consumer loyalty. Hiebing has provided a standard definition of public relation. According to him, public relation is the act of evaluating public opinion, and identify your organisations policies and practises with the interests of your audi ence, followed by development and execution of plans that earn public awareness, understanding, acceptance, support and action (Hiebing and Cooper, 2004, p.364). The above stated definition of public relation distinctly identifies its major areas for implementing effective public relation within an organisational process. Identification of target audiences is the foremost task in public relation. Public relation is act of developing and maintaining healthy relationship with target audience as a way of communication.Not being able to identify target audience is a major barrier in incorporating organisational goals and objectives. In the post-modern era, many scholars and public relation experts have presented their perspectives regarding public relation. Some of them offered very general views and rests focus on specific functions and importance of public relation for an organisation. As per the general view of public relation, it is considered as distinct managerial philosophy that helps managers in understanding the target audience for obtaining reputation. On the other hand, specialists in public relation have offered a specific explanation of public relation. J. C. Seidel, one of the eminent scholars in public relation philosophy and understanding has described that public relation is the continuing process by which management endeavours to obtain the good will and understanding of its customer, its employees and the public as large; inwardly through self-analysis and correction, outwardly through all means of expression (Gupta, 2005, p.17). Therefore, the primary importance of public relation is to devel op organisations reputation among the target audience. The target audiences are the people who are directly or indirectly associated with organisation like customers, employees, suppliers, local community, government, shareholders etc. In the post-modern organisation, public relation is important for two major areas of management. Firstly, in case of crisis management, public relation is important problem solving tool. Due to advanced electronic media technology, information travels at very high speed and any bad news like allegation or rumour directly attacks on reputation of an organisation. However, in such critical situation, the management has to take initiative at faster rate, and in this process, public relation is the only tool for managing such crisis (Coombs, 2007). Secondly, in brand building process, public relation is one of the major tools along with value added products or services. Reputation is very important in developing brand image in the mind of target consumers and public relation helps to achieve higher brand image (Blackett and Robins, 2001, p.130). Impact of the Pace of Change on the Practice of Public Relations The pace in post-modern organisation has become faster than ever. Organisational activities have been passing through many significant changes and improvements. This faster pace of improvement has also affected the philosophy and practises of public relations. The growing importance of public relation has led to bring multiple improvements in this field. In the post-modern organisation, managerial thought process and concerns have changed dramatically. For example, in traditional organisation, the business owners used to perceive employees as an expense but in post-modern management, employees are perceived as vital investments. There are five major factors that have shaped the current trend of public relation and these factors have also influenced the trends in prevailing public relation. Firstly, technology is the most important factor in the current trend of public relation practises. The use of internet and social network sites have played very important role. Many companies are using the social network sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc to promote their image. The social network media has become major trend in public relation as the impact of social media on the promotion of travel is particularly powerful and growing exponentially (Dilenschneider, 2010, p136). Secondly, due to globalization, the market expansion and exposure of public relation activity has expanded. A multinational organisation in international market faces difficulties due to cultural differences and diversity. In this respect, public relation is the major tool in understanding the cultural characteristics and needs of target consumers which facilitates the communicational process. Thirdly, increasing concern for the society and environment is also major trend. The business organisations have identified their responsibility towards society, environment and community and hence, they are focusing more on corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. These activities are also helpful in building corporate brand image and for social marketing. In this respect, CSR activities must be communicated to target audiences and this task is executed through public relation practises (Shen, 2006). Fourthly, the necessity of increasing transparency is another major trend in public relation practises. The consumers, employers and shareholders want higher level of transparency in organisation. Companies commit to be more open as the public is demanding more accountability from all of societys institutions (Patrick Harwood.). Finally, the pace of competition has also impacted the public relation practises. Most of the companies have implemented public relation strategies to achieve competitive advantage and upper hand position in market. Future of Mutual Understanding and Two-way Communications Increasing importance of public relation has led to develop certain specific theories and concepts in public relation activities. Johnston and Zawawi have described multiple theories relating to public relation practises and some of the important theories are situational theory, cultural theory, stakeholder theory, relationship management theory, symmetrical or excellence theory etc. Among these theories, the symmetrical or excellence theory is one of the most popular as it primarily focuses on two-way communication and mutual understandings. Johnston and Zawawi have explained that the Symmetrical/Excellence model of public relations theorises that there can be a win-win situation if parties to a discussion are able to reach agreement or at least partial agreement (Johnston and Zawawi, 2009, p.52). Grunig has characterizes this model that uses communication to negotiate with publics, resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization and its publi c(s) (Grunig.). The earlier section has explained major reasons that have brought new trends in public relation practises. These factors also lead to enhance the significance of public relation in post-modern organisation. The task of managing a business organisation has been becoming more complex and therefore a better communication process is very necessary for controlling, coordinating and managing. The organisations are more focusing on developing two-way communicational system with their employees, customers and shareholders. The market has become more challenging and it is expected to rise further in future. Reputation risks are major concern for the existing corporation as it determines the stock value. Recently, the issues like WikiLeaks has made the organisations more conscious in maintaining their reputation in market. In this respect, importance of two-way communication and mutual understanding is expected to increase (Trivitt, 2010). Besides, organisations often face troubles due to agen cy problems. The management often fails to communicate properly with the stakeholders and it causes conflicting situations. However, two-way communication and mutual understanding is the primary way to resolve such issues. Therefore, increasing demand of transparency will require better two-way communication within organisation. Issues Impacting on the Public Relation Profession The above sections have analysed and explained the growing necessity of public relation practises in organisation. In future, the complexities in organisation activities will increase and hence, public relation practises will play very crucial role in reputation, conflict and brand management. This fact clarifies the public relation profession will keep emerging and growing with time. However, there are certain underlying issues that have impacted the public relation profession. Most of large and medium size organisations maintain their public relation personnel and they are responsible for building higher corporate reputation among the target audience or public. However due to certain contemporary issues, the public relation professionals encounter hurdles. Firstly, the views and opinions of general public regarding public relation profession is one of the major issues. Target audience and population often interpret public relation practises for influencing peoples opinion by providing, instruction, information and persuasion. This perspective often leads to degrade the public relation profession. However, the primary reason for such negative opinion is due to the gap between the publics expectations and actual performance of an organisation. The people also perceive it as a tool of organisation for image building. People also observe that public relation leads to develop an illusionary nature which causes accountability problem (Plessis, 2000, p.59). Another major issue in public relation profession is job dissatisfaction due to ethical dilemma or conflict. In many organisations, the public relation professional faces ethical issues as the top managements are not serious about the ethical responsibilities. Lack of corporate standards is one the major issues in this respect. Sometimes, the public relation practitioners who have recognised ethical conflicts were likely to leave their companies because the conflicts affected their mental and even physical well being in the workplace (Kang, 2009). When public relation professionals engage into certain specific task in any specialised organisation, they must have sound knowledge regarding organisations core activities, products, technical know-how etc. The public relation professional has to communicate with target audience on the behalf of their organisation. Lack of such information makes their tasks difficult and misguiding. The organisations often fail to provide proper training to their public relation professional (CERP, n.d.). Reputation Management and PR Strategies In the fast changing environment of business, corporate image is one the major criterion for organisational success. Corporate reputation management primarily focuses on the managing the corporate risk within a business environment. There are a number factors associated with business that drives the reputation of a business organisation. Adam Jolly have identified and characterized six major attributes and drivers of corporate reputation. The flowing model portrays these attributes and drivers. Figure 1: Attributes and Drivers (Source: Jolly and Public Relations Consultants Association, 2001, p.31) The public relation professional must identify and analyse the above stated attributes and driver before drafting and implementing public relation strategy. Watson and Noble have developed specific model for public relation strategy which include four phases. The following table presents these four phases for implementation and formulation public relation strategy. Table 1: Phases of Public Relation Strategy (Source: Watson and Noble, 2007, p.56) The above stated nine steps cover the necessary tasks in public relation strategy formulation. The first phase deals with analysis of various attributes and drivers that affects image of a company. The second phase involves the development of specific goals and objectives followed by formulation of communication focused strategy. In third phase, management must choose proper communicational tactics and implement it within cross functional departments. Final phase involves constant evaluation and control the implemented public relation strategy and if necessary, favourable modification should be executed. For developing a comprehensive public relation strategy, there are a number of different approaches available like one one-way communication, two-way communication etc. However, at present, integrated communication approaches is the most popular and effective for post-modern organisations. Integrated communication approaches consider symmetrical or excellence theory i.e. two-way communication (Grunig, Grunig and Toth, 2007, p.302). Integrated marketing communication should not be confused with integrated marketing communication (IMC) as the former focuses on reputation building through communication and later on marketing communication. Grà ¶nstedt defined that integrated communication is the strategic management process of facilitating a desired meaning of the company and its brand by creating unity of effort at every point of contact with key customers and stakeholders for the purpose of building profitable relation with them (Grà ¶nstedt, 2000, p.8). Conclusion This paper has presented various aspects relating to public relation. Public relation is an emerging field with increasing competitiveness and constant improvements due to technological advancement, globalization and economic enhancements. In the post-modern era, there are certain factors that have influenced the trend of public relation. The social networking sites and social environmental concern are two major trends in public relation practises. Issues relating to ethical conflict and negative public opinions are main hindrances for public relation profession that leads to degrade the public relation practises. However, proper public relation strategy with two-way communicational systems is helpful in resolving the underlying issues. In this respect, integrated communication approach is the best and suitable for planning and executing public relation in post-modern organisation as this approach involves the symmetrical or excellence theory.

Symbolism in Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway Essay -- Ernest Hemin

Symbolism in Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway In his short story Cat in the Rain, Ernest Hemingway uses imagery and subtlety to convey to the reader that the relationship between the American couple is in crisis and is quite clearly dysfunctional. In other words, the reader has to have a symbolic reading of the images. In fact, what seems to be a simple tale of an American couple spending a rainy afternoon inside their hotel room serves as a great metaphor for their relationship. This symbolic imagery, hided behind common objects, gives the story all its significance. This short story contains a great number of striking and literary symbols. In a symbolic reading, the opening paragraph describes the crisis that exists in the marriage of the couple. In other words, the description of the bad weather, of the "empty square"[1](l.10) and of their isolation, reflects this conflict and also sets the negative mood. In fact, since the beginning, Ernest Hemingway insists on the isolation of the couple that "does not know any of the people they passed" (ll.1-2) and are "only two Americans"(l.1). Here it is interesting to notice that they are isolated from the outside world but also from each other. There is no communication and they have no contact, they are distant from each other. Then this isolation is accentuated because of the weather, it is raining. The rain is part responsible for the fact that they have to stay in their room. Nevertheless, the rain has a symbolic meaning together with the description of the public garden. It represents as suggests the critic John V. Hagopian the "lack of fertility"[2] (p.230) . This lack is a... ...t the cat, the story would lose much of both their colour and clarity. Moreover, Ernest Hemingway has succeeded very well in this story in showing that individualism of the people living with their own problem is in many case the cause of split and despair. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1]All further references are to this edition : Ernest Hemingway, "Cat in the Rain" . The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, ed. Jackson J. Berson (Dwham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975). [2] John V. Hagopian, "Symmetry in 'Cat in the Rain'", College English, XXIV (December 1962). [3] John V. Hagopian, "Symmetry in 'Cat in the Rain'", College English, XXIV (December 1962). [4] John V. Hagopian, "Symmetry in 'Cat in the Rain'", College English, XXIV (December 1962).

Polygamy in America Today :: Marriage Mormon

Polygamy is a common, well-buried secret that is often hard to leave and still exists throughout the country today. The Encyclopedia Americana defines polygamy as the form of marriage that permits a person to have more than one husband or wife (Encyclopedia Americana). It has been known to exist at various times in certain societies. Polygamy is more common that most people realize. In the Paper â€Å"Polygamy and Same Sex Marriage,† David Chambers states â€Å"that in the history of the country, by far the most significant and widespread practice of polygamy occurred among the Mormons during the later half of the 19th century.† the Mormons believe that plural marriage is biblical and approved of by God. In the New Testament, it was never deemed to be immoral or even inferior in any way to monogamous onions. More Americans are practicing polygamy than one might think. Even more interesting, more than half of nonindustrialized societies still permits it. For both married men and women, sexual relationships outside of the marriage are regarded as deeply sinful. Polygamy is a way around this. It is not a sin to sleep with your wife. It is understood that any Christian should not have more than one marriage registered with the state. Such actions would surely violate tax codes and many other legal situations. Many do believe, however, that all United States laws, which make registered plural marriage illegal, are unconstitutional and should be repealed. Carmen Thompson, former polygamist and author of â€Å"Memories of a Plural wife,† wrote â€Å"that because plural marriage is against the law, those that still embrace it have, for decades, kept their practice well hidden.† According to Andrew Murr in his article, â€Å"Secrets in the desert,† â€Å"Utah banned polygamy as a precondition of statehood in 1890, but the practice of taking multiple wives has never disappeared (1).† Thompson wrote that there is an estimated 30,000 polygamists living in the states of Utah, and an equal number scattered around the rest of the United states (118). With so many involved in this lucid crime it is only a matter of time before those who are trying to stay hidden are

Sports and the Business World Essay -- essays research papers

Sports and the Business World   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the wide world of sports, teams will try and find a way to better market themselves in the nation to make more revenue. There are many ways to market your team but in the newer generation teams have been taking a different approach. Most teams will advertise there big sports star in trying to have people buy there gear, buy tickets, or simply support their team. But the most effective way to market your team is getting to the kids first. In advertising for a younger generation, you will tie the kids in more at an earlier age and hopefully will stay with the team throughout the years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reaching tomorrow’s fans, teams seek long-term benefits from marketing to kids and teens. Youth Marketing is one of the most popular ways that sports are using to market their teams. Television has become the main source of marketing pro teams, as some teams have their own T.V show. The New York Jets launched â€Å"Generation Jets,† a weekly half-hour show for children that uses animated characters, Jets players and New York landmarks to teach life lessons. A few of the lessons featured in season one-preparation, patience, and faith- might also be the keys to success for pro teams that are marketing to kids and teenagers. In airing this show the Jets targeted kids six to eleven years old, in hoping that the kids would watch it before they realize what’s cool. â€Å"Generation Jets† is more than a TV show, it became the opening for a comprehensive kids marketing effort that has seen the team launch a dedicated Web site, create themed mer chandise, and re-brand its community relations activities and kids club. Case in point: Like many teams, the Arizona Cardinals have a kids club through which members receive specially created newsletters and team merchandise. Many marketers figure that kids clubs are a sort of necessary evil, a way to create some connection with children and teenagers who probably aren’t going to buy full-price tickets for years to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For pro teams, getting fans while they’re still young is probably the most important now than ever because of well-established competing forces like the Internet, video games and action sports. The way teams are going about it, varies from team to team. The range of tactics includes everything from scheduling ... ...g to attract four to five year olds. To attract those youngsters, Reebok markets kids-only for kids’ only styles, creates kid targeted retail displays and steals a few tricks from kid’s breakfast cereal. Reeboks main focus is it tries to mirror its kid targeted advertising with retail displays to help young kids make the connection from TV spots to the product in stores. Sales at stores with those displays consistently outstrip sales at merchants without them. On the other hand Nike which is a high profile athletic apparel and footwear company was having trouble positioning themselves successfully with youths. The youths have been more attracted to newer brands such as Volcom or old school with Adidas that is making a comeback because kids watch more and more TV and extreme sports are becoming more and more popular each day. In trying to get the kids back to supporting NIKE, NIKE came out with a contest that had a youths compete in skate and bike jumping. At this event the kids were video taped and the best ones moved on. Also, NIKE was giving out their branded materials in seeking to get the consumer back. This event was highly attended and NIKE was able to increase its brand.

Behaviour Awareness Essay

Self concept is created by two main concepts, self image and self esteem. How you see yourself, your personality and how others see you are all part of a persons self concept. The more positive a person views themselves, the greater the chance of that individual reaching their full potential and being able to maintain a positive attitude. Self image being how you see yourself and your appearance. It does not have to necessarily reflect that of reality, someone suffering from anorexia for example who is visibly thin may, â€Å"have a self image in which the person believes they are fat. (1) The development within children and their self concept is quite significant. Young children will only possess a limited self concept of few descriptions which are usually physical. Older Children develops to a series of â€Å"factual categories†, these being things such as, hair colour, eye colour and height. In the adolescence period the self concept begins to expand further. Incorporating many likes and dislikes along with beliefs and may include details regarding others. Once self concept is in an adult stage it includes personalities and details of the quality of their life. If a person sees themselves as being a success it is likely that their self esteem will be high. With a positive self belief and a positive self image comes a positive self concept. According to Seligmon’s cycle of failure, if a child was attempting a certain activity and failed they could develop a negative concept of their abilities perhaps reinforced by others. With the negative builds a low self esteem leading the child not to try at the activity which in turn would lead to them failing once again. The cycle could also work in a positive way, If an individual performed an certain action and was rewarded for it they would repeat that action. For children to be able to develop need to have a role, a sense of worthiness. This could be as simple as tidying their bedroom or toys away. To have a positive self esteem children should also be praised and rewarded for good behaviour, and on the same principle have criticism and discipline for any bad actions. The case study of Emily illustrates aspects of her development and self concept, it is stated that, â€Å"she was an unsettled a baby and spent the first three months of her life crying. At this stage in a child’s development the baby would have little concern over self image or self esteem and is therefore crying for comfort, safety, love, in pain or just hungry. Due to the unhappiness of Emily it is unlikely that she was receiving the sufficient care or attention she needed. As Emily grows older her role is diminished even more, being blamed for the collapse of the family and the walking out of her father. The lack of belonging will damage Emily’s ability to find her identity, causing her a low self esteem. This only encouraged as she grows older, being neglected and left in her playpen. With the lack of interaction Emily is unable to make any form of attachments and develop any social skills. She is constantly being compared to her brothers in a unfair fashion yet again breaking down her self esteem and therefore her self concept. The sense of rejection from the family is renewed later on when the father collects her brothers to go and play football. With the reasoning, â€Å"she is a girl and girls do not play football! Not only presenting a sexist attitude, Emily is once again denied any form of acceptance. This denial of acceptance could influence her gender concept and develop the thought that she, and women in general are the weaker sex when compared to the male race. When Emily starts school, she does not mix with the other children. She instead isolates herself, a lack of confidence and social skills instantly signal a low self confidence and self image. This is most likely to be a result to her previous life experiences, she has not been encouraged to interact with others and therefore not know how to. As the case study explains in regard to Emily‘s social interactions, â€Å"Her brothers have little time for her† and that her mother, â€Å"was too depressed to care for her. † A lack of interactions may have given her a low self concept, the feeling that she was not worthy of positive attention. This lack of communication would have had a profound impact on Emily’s own attitude hence the lack of interacting with others once she begins school. If not improved Emily’s isolation could lead on to more serious problems such as depression in Adolescents and later life. Her perspective on socialising will impact her in a very negative way once she moves into her teenage years, it is during this period that relationships shift and close attachments are formed with friends. However, if she is unable to mix with others, unable to fit in the pressure could become too much. She could fall victim to bullies without the protection of friends or display what is often described as, â€Å"off the rails† behaviour. Drinking, smoking taking drugs and self harming to numb her disappointment with herself as she compares herself to others created a low self image and therefore low self concept. Teenage depression is a major issue often dismissed as â€Å"emotional teenage behaviour†, in actual fact it is said that, â€Å"one in seven children† develop depression with, â€Å"More than 70 percent† of these not being diagnosed and treated (2) An individuals self concept has both primary and secondary influences. Primary influences can be those of most significance to a person. Examples such as, friends and family who have a profound impact due to the closeness of the relationship. A person’s upbringing, how an individual is treated whilst growing up. The perspective on life and the morals of an individual all depend upon the atmosphere they have learned from. If a child for example had little attention or care from the parents, they may be badly behaved to get that attention even if it is in a negative form. Life experiences all depend on the depth of the example, if it was as simple as starting school it may not have such a dramatic impact when compared to a more serious situation like being moved due to a case of domestic violence. In the case of Emily her primary influences all possess negative elements, her family appear to disregard her displaying little love and affection towards her. The upbringing that she receives seems very â€Å"hands off†, her mother is suffering from a form of depression so therefore does not grant Emily much positive attention. Her brothers are fed lies from their mother who tells them that Emily, â€Å"is the reason why their father left. † and as for her absent father figure, he comes by and takes her brothers out leaving her behind. Secondary influences include, the influence of the media, certain situations such as arguments and role models. In regard to the case study of Emily, only negative influences are represented. With exception of the teacher who is the only one who appears to show any concern for her. From being a baby, Emily has had no close relationships. Her father left, and for this her mother and brothers both set the blame onto her. The upbringing she has received is simply that of neglect and disappointment. With all this rejection Emily must have an extremely low self esteem and sees herself as a failure. She has many life experiences, being blamed for them has affected her confidence and may be partly responsible for her self isolation. As for role models, Emily must be in envy of her brothers and the praise they receive so she may see them as her ideal self. The situation that Emily must be in is awful, she is aware that her family feel as though she is to blame and punish her for the break up of the family however, Emily has little concept on why others are treating her this way and so believes it must be her actual self developing her low self concept. As humans we all make comparisons. Comparing looks, styles, personalities ect. Children are less intrigued by style and dress size, instead many tend to focus on possessions. A friend having a certain new toy however, parents sometimes curse they children after they question the appearance of someone with a visible disability. It is just the curious nature of a child as they develop. Michael Argyle stated that self concept was made up of four factors, one of these being the comparisons we make. One website states, â€Å"If the people we compare ourselves with (our reference group) appear to be more successful, happier, richer, better looking than ourselves we tend to develop a negative self image BUT if they are less successful than us our image will be positive. † (1) This statement is relatable to most individuals as based on others we create our self image, am I as pretty as them? Am I more successful? These are questions that many ask daily and based on their personal answers the self image may change as a result. Comparisons can be negative but at the same time positive. By comparing yourself to someone in a negative way will only damage your self confidence and therefore, self concept. Emily is regularly compared to her brothers by her mother and also by her father in the form of neglect. This resulting in comparing herself to her brothers, her possible â€Å"ideal self†. It is because of this that any comparisons she makes will be negative towards herself. Once she begins attending school, it would be expected that she also makes comparisons between her parents and everybody else’s. Presumably enhancing the lack of love she receives from her mother and distant father. Many people have role models, someone they can look up and aspire to. They may also compare themselves to this person, their ideal self. As a child heroes tend to be a fictional character rather than an actual person although some may favour their parents or close family. By having a superhero as a role model, children want to act in the same way as them. Claiming that sense of power and authority they appear to possess. The mind of a child should be full of imagination and the ability to make believe. With this the self esteem and self image of a child can be fulfilled. As people grow older and develop more the hero’s they once looked up to seem outdated and childish. Role models at this stage tend to develop into real inspiration people. Someone who’s actions have had an impact and influenced an individual. . A persons self concept can have a very dramatic effect upon relationships. Some of the negative effects of having a bad self concept may include, lack of confidence, little interaction, isolating yourself, a low self esteem and a low self confidence. All of these reactions having a deep impact on the way we form and present friendships and relationships. If someone has a low self concept for one reason or another, they could become distant and withdrawn. This affecting others who are close to the person. If this was to occur with children they would not have the knowledge to understand that there might be a problem and dismiss it and maybe find new friends, rejecting the withdrawn one. As people grow older and become wiser it would become more apparent that there was a problem. Hopefully in this situation any friends would address to problem and support their friend. Depending on past experiences it may be difficult for some people to make or maintain friendships or relationships. A lack of trust or social skills would make it hard for an individual to express themselves and be themselves. In the case of Emily when she starts school, she makes no effort to make friends or socialise. From past experience she has had no real friends to be able to base future friendships on. The only actual relationships ships she has encountered are those of her mother and brother, which is filled with hatred and guilt. Bearing this in mind, in future Emily will always be conscious that she might cause the relationship to fail, and therefore never just be herself. On the other hand, due to her experience of abuse, neglect and negative attention it is possible that these qualities are those of what she will encounter in future relationships as to her this may be viewed as the norm. Michael Argyle was a theorist. He said that self concept is developed and affected by four main things. These being, the comparisons we make, our reactions to others, the roles that we play and the identification with role models. Comparisons we make: we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, this occurs most during the adolescence stage when individuals are attempting to find who they are and look at others for inspiration. Comparing almost everything in either a negative or positive way. The reactions towards others: how people interact, confidence or lack of social skills. If a person is happy and has a high self concept it would be more likely they would interact more. The roles that we play: does a person have any value or a role in life? It is important for an individual to have a role in life, to make them feel worthy like they have a purpose. Our identification with role models: means someone that an individual can aspire to and follow giving them some reason in life, an ideal self. Erik Erickson was a German theorist who set about a theory which suggests humans experience eight stages. At each of these we are faced with a crisis, a life experience. They are presented as opposites for example, trust Vs mistrust. It is said that we learn both positive and negative parts from each stage, which we never fully resolve. Instead take them and live by them in the next stage. For a healthy development throughout life the positive experiences must outweigh the negatives. His theory can be viewed as a lifelong description of ego. Either loosing or gaining the strength of ego as a result of each stages developmental experiences. All of this creating and shaping a persons personality, who they are. The development of his theory being influenced by both biology and genetics. The sequencing of events due to genetics and when each stage occurs as a result of biology. The theory which consists of both social and mental development, was also influenced by interactions with the environment.

Analysis of the Human Attitude

Surveying the Human Attitude Melissa Hightower November 19, 2012 PSY475 University of Phoenix Surveying the Human Attitude Attitude can be seen in many parts of a daily routine of an individual. The significance of measuring attitude has become important in many areas of our society. Employers want to measure attitude of employees, while customers on the other side of the counter view att Attitude Survey The measure of attitudes is of great importance in a consumer driven economy, such as the one that exists in the United States today.Psychologists use attitude surveys to translate subjective attitudes of people into empirical data. Attitudes themselves are distinguishable from interests and personality traits, in that attitudes are usually attached to an object (Hogan, 2007). The construct of attitude actually encompasses the cognitive, affective, and behavioral thoughts, feelings, and actions that a person exhibits in reaction to—or as a result of—an object. For the p urposes of this paper I designed an attitude survey using a selected-response format that is built upon the precepts of the SERVQUAL approach to attitude assessment.The purpose of the survey is to assess the attitudes and perceptions that University of Phoenix (UOP) students exhibit at graduation about UOP itself. The intention of this paper is to discuss the design, administration, scoring, and interpretation of the survey as well as any issues I experienced while creating the survey. Design The target audience for this survey is UOP graduates that attended at least their sophomore and senior college years at UOP. The particular trait to be measured is the attitude that graduating students hold towards UOP after graduations.The survey should be administered electronically via the UOP student login page after graduation. There are 11 items in the survey and should take no more than 1-2 minutes to complete. I did this on purpose, because I know from experience that I hate taking long surveys when all I really wanted to do was log into UOP online. The survey uses the Likert scale to measure attitude, with the possible answers of strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree with the corresponding scores of -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2, respectively. The score report is used to compile the individual scores into a descriptive format.The item stems are the assertions themselves and the responses are gauged through the Likert scale, otherwise known as the method of summated ratings (Hogan, 2007). The basic proposition of the Likert scale is that one attitudinal construct is at the basis of all of the items. All of the statements that I proposed are about the attitude of the graduate toward UOP and therefore addresses this concern. Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation The survey should be administered by UOP personnel and not the teachers. It would not do for the results of the survey to be skewed by the last class experience.This factor cannot be done away with entirely, but it can be minimized by having the survey administered by UOP personnel rather than a teacher. Moreover, in a general sense the lower the score the less the satisfaction and the higher the score the lower the satisfaction. The directionality of the scores are all in the same direction, meaning that a rating of strongly disagree always corresponds to a more unfavorable attitude toward UOP. However, it is important that the survey items be tried out on a large variety of students at UOP and the scores tabulated in advance.These scores will act as a means to convert the raw scores that will be collected when the test is actually distributed on a large scale to normed scores, which are more useful for interpretation. For instance, if there is universal tendency to score one item extremely negative, then the raw scores of the actual test can be mediated to take into account this propensity. For the purposes of a general attitude survey negative scores reflect nega tive perceptions and thoughts about UOP and positive scores the opposite.Issues Experienced While Creating Survey The SERVQUAL approach to attitude surveys is specifically designed for quantifying service quality and product satisfaction in the retail industry (Gob, 2007). As the SERVQUAL approach applies to this attitude survey, the main point of any survey is to ascertain the examinees expectations, perceptions and the gap between them. Therefore, I tried to design items to measure both the expectations of the UOP student as well as their perception of the item in question.This will increase the validity of the interpretation that lower scores equal less satisfaction and vice versa, since the items not only deal with the student’s actual perception, but their expectations as well. I also tried to encompass the entire spectrum of measurements—cognitive, affective, and behavioral—when considering the items to be administered. I am not comfortable with simple sel f-reported tests. They seem too subjective and too circumstantial. The items should gauge observable behavior, past feelings, and current thoughts about the construct being measured. ConclusionIn sum, the attitude survey that I created follows the Likert scale method to gauge the overall satisfaction of UOP students, with an emphasis on both the perception and expectation of the items. The survey also attempts to measure the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of the construct being tested. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain the general attitude that UOP students have toward the University of Phoenix at graduation. References Gob, R. (2007). Ordinal methodology in the analysis of Likert scales. Quality & Quantity, 41(5),601-626. Retrieved July 24, 2010, from SocINDEX with Full Text database.