Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia

Introduction Nationalism means the identities that people have, which they view as distinguishing them uniquely as belonging to a particular nation. Thus, it covers one of the forms of patriotism. Several theories can be employed to provide an explanation of the origin of nationalism. The main ones are modernism and primordialist views.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Modernism theory considers nationalism as a recent societal process, which demands societal structuring for it to develop. On the other hand, the primordialist â€Å"describes nationalism as a reflection of the ancient and perceived evolutionary behavior of humans to organize themselves into distinct groupings based on the affinity of birth† (Tamir 13). The paper uses the primordialist view. Based on the theory, nationalism may develop based on cultural artifact s defining people living within a given nation and political-related experiences in a nation among other things. From this point of view, this paper discuses the rise and development of nationalism in East Asia based on historic political related experiences and cultural elements including religion and clothing. Japan and china are used as the main examples in this quest. Rise and Development of Nationalism in China and Japan Cultural elements may act as mechanisms that can help to instill the perception of nationalism among people living within a common geographical area. Theses artifacts may be depicted through clothing, language, and religion. With the onset of westernization, Chinese people encountered a dilemma whether to abandon their own clothing styles that defined their heritage and hence a sense of belonging as Chinese nationals or to adopt the rising western styles of dressing. This dilemma motivates Finnane to wonder what Chinese women deserve to wear for them to retain the symbol of nationalism (99). Given the history of China that is rich in customs, the question is significant since resistance to the degradation of nationalism depicted by dressing style was evident as from 1949 when Mao Zedong declined from wearing black leather shoes and a suit. According to Finnane, the head of state argued, â€Å"we Chinese have our own customs†¦why should we follow others† (99). This resistance was a replication of over half decade debates questioning the capacity of the western influences to impair the dressing codes of the Chinese people. Over that period, alterations of style were incredibly controversial. They attracted hefty public debates particularly when they involved the question of the women dress. The main interrogatives were whether the women dresses need to be long or short, tight or loose, or cover the arms for them to depict Chinese national women.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your f irst paper with 15% OFF Learn More During the reign of Mao, the question on what Chinese people wore attracted superficial analysis. However, dressing styles and the type of clothes that were won by Chinese people acted as wonderful mechanisms of differentiating between China and the rest of the nations in the world. In this line of thought, Finnane reinforces, â€Å"For politically correct Chinese people, clothing at that time differentiated the socialist elect from the rest†¦for outsiders, it was the single most obvious feature about contemporary Chinese culture† (100). Clothes were depictive of Chinese culture and hence a symbol of Chinese people. Even though much of the concerns about the alteration of the dressing to have the capacity to erode the culture of the Chinese people concerned what women wore in the ninetieth century, the link between nationalism and the clothing was not only a problem of women: men were also equally worried. This argument is stre ngthened by the Mao Zedong’s rejection to wear a suit associated with the western culture. Outside the Chinese context, clothing remains an important symbol of nationalism in other nations in the East Asia. For instance, in India, cladding in ‘sari’ represents a sovereign Indian woman because â€Å"the fertile ground for production of future generations both past and future-were embodied in her,† (Finnane 102). On the other hand, in Japan, a woman dressed in ‘kimono’ profiles an ideal sovereign Japanese woman. From these examples, it sounds essential to infer that the perception of nationalism among people cannot be segregated from the cladding codes acceptable as representing the true national of a given nation because cultural artifacts are depictive of cultural differences among people who are often confined within different national boundaries. Apart from the rise and development of nationalism from the context of dressing style, religion is yet another crucial cultural artifact that may help to build the perception of nationalism among different people living in different nations. For instance, in Japan, subscription to Shinto is perhaps an essential way of portraying ones strongly grounded spirit of nationalism. Shinto assumed its shape upon the arrival of Buddhism. This was vital in helping to differentiate the new religion to the indigenous religion in Japan that was the representation of the ‘Japanese’.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Okuyama strengthens this point by further asserting, â€Å"Some 100,000 shrines of jinja served by Shinto priests attest to its physical presence nationwide† (94). Shinto defines the religious practices of the indigenous native Japanese to mean ‘the ways of ‘kami’ as opposed to ‘the way s of Buddha’. Therefore, since the introduction of Buddhism in the 16th century, Shinto practices became definitive of the true Japanese nationalism. However, it is also crucial to note that Japanese people consider traditional customs as defining nationalism in spite of â€Å"whether they are Shinto or not† (Okuyama 97). The question that emerges is- to what extent do Japanese people perceive Shinto as a true representation of nationalism? The response to the above question is perhaps well answered by considering the significance of Shinto shrines among all citizens of Japan including the nobles. In this regard, Okuyama reckons, â€Å"since he became the prime minister, Koizumi Jun’ichiro visited Yasukuni Shrine four times: 13 August 2001, 21 April 2002, 14 January 2003, and 1 January 2004† (106). Nevertheless, even though this may be anticipated to be acceptable within the understanding of the traditional customs of Japanese people, the visits attracted opposition. Consequently, about seven lawsuits ensued as a result. Nevertheless, Koizumi remained confident that the visits were necessary for a number of reasons. In the first place, the shrines served to portray his nationalism since they formed the places where he renewed vows never to take part in wars. Secondly, â€Å"he visited Yasukuni shrines to express relevance and gratitude to all the war dead despite the fact that these include class A war criminal† (Okuyama 106). Arguably, from this cited reason of why Koizumi visited the shrine, it is questionable whether the shines are the best places to show ones patriotism. However, it is evident that Japanese people have a strong prescription to traditional religious beliefs as the main ways of portraying sincerity in ones commitments to the Japanese people and the nation as a whole. The analysis of Shintoism as one of the theories of development of nationalism in Japan cannot be accomplished without considering the philoso phers’ attempts to ensure the national beliefs were revived and purified.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The idea was to enhance the removal of all foreign ideas that were imported from various nations including China and India. The Shintoism restoration movement began in the 18th century with Motoori Noringa playing proactive roles. This campaign gave rise to the state Shinto with the emperor of Japan then claiming to be of Amaterasu decently. A certain representation that tends to link people together creates the spirit of nationalism. According to Wang, the identification may include â€Å"China’s neo-neo-tribe and â€Å"Japanese shin shin jinrei† (547). To Wang, such a representation can be used to secure a market for a particular product because it has high likelihoods of securing an immense success when a product is marketed based on its capacity to create a sense of nationalism. For instance, Wang argues that the term bobo has the impact of bringing Chinese people together by creating messages of premium value (535). What this argument means is that the spirit of nationalism can also be build by the products produced by nations. Therefore, consumption of such products helps to depict that one is truly a patriot of a given nation. Using the Wang’s analogy, the term bobo is related to being a Chinese and belonging to a bobo class. Subsequently, when a product is sold bearing the tag that it is principally made for the bobos, it means that buying this product will not only mean fitting into the bobo class. Besides, it will also depict one as a sovereign citizen of the nation where the bobos live! From a different dimension, nationalism may be built based on the experiences that people go through as a nation. Recollection of such experiences helps to remind one of the history encountered, which is definitive of why one is a nationalist of a given nation. This kind of nationalism is perhaps well exemplified by Japan through her Hiroshima trauma. Painful experiences are crucial reflections of what it takes to be a nationalist since they pro vide links between different cultures (Caruth 3). Therefore, while Japan may be segregated based on different cultural affiliations, the Hiroshima experiences make Japanese people develop a sense of nationalism, which is critical in helping the nation to employ all strategies possible to ensure that such an experience would never reoccur. Therefore, the Hiroshima experience is one unifying experience that ensures all Japanese are united together amid their demographic differences (Wood 191). Arguably, this is crucial since nationalism is hard to thrive in an environment that is ruled by segregations. Conclusion Therefore, based on the expositions made in the paper, it is enough to declare nationalism a representation of people’s identities. The identities help in building the spirit of patriotism. Cultural elements show people’s identities and political experiences especially the ones that culminated into painful experiences. In this paper, nationalism has been explore d through consideration of clothing as one of the ways of presentation of people’s cultural artifacts in the Chinese and Japanese contexts. The Hiroshima experience has also been considered as an example of painful experiences that has helped to shape the Japanese view of nationalism. Works Cited Caruth, Cathy. Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History, Baltimore: Johnhopkins University press, 1996. Print. Finnane, Antonia. â€Å"What Should Chinese Women Wear?† Modern China 22.2(1996): 99-131. Print. Okuyama, Michiaki. Historicizing Modern Shinto: A New Tradition of Yasukuni Shrine.  Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2005. Print. Tamir, Yael. Liberal Nationalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. Print. Wang, Jing. â€Å"Bourgeois Bohemians in China? Neo-Tribes and the Urban Imaginary.† The China Quarterly 183.3(2005): 532-548. Print. Wood, Nancy. Vectors of Memory: Legacies of Trauma in Postwar Europe. New Jersey, NJ: Berg Publishers, 1 999. Print. This essay on Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia was written and submitted by user Noel L. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Paradigm Shift in Counseling Psychology Research Methodology Essay Example

Paradigm Shift in Counseling Psychology Research Methodology Essay Example Paradigm Shift in Counseling Psychology Research Methodology Paper Paradigm Shift in Counseling Psychology Research Methodology Paper From early 1970s discussions about the utility, benefit and relevance of qualitative research methodology to the psychology field, in general, and counseling psychology, in particular, has taken a central position (Goldman, 1976; Hanson, et al. , 2005; Howard, 1983). More specifically, Bogard and Wertz (2006) observed that Gordon Allport, in 1942, first made the call for pluralism of research methods in the science of psychology when, in a monograph commissioned by the National Research Council, he encouraged researchers to explore alternative research methods instead of the over-reliance on quantitative methods. However, only in the 1970s did any significant movement in this direction started. The 1980s and 1990s saw significant discussions about the incorporation of qualitative methods in counseling research. The enlightment created by these discussions and the increasing number of qualitative papers, texts and articles that have ensued have considerably changed the face of counseling research, such that more than five decades after Gordon Allport made the first call for research diversity; Ponterotto (2005) strongly believes that counseling psychology is moving away from its primary reliance on quantitative methods to a more balanced reliance on quantitative and qualitative methods (p. 126). There is no denying the fact that research plays a primary role in any academic or professional field. For example, Polit, Beck, and Hungler (2001) defined research as a systematic inquiry that uses disciplined method to answer questions or solve problems (p4). It is obvious from this definition that the goal of research is to create relevant knowledge, to develop, refine and expand the horizon of what is known, and also attempt to proffer answers for the unknown, within the chosen field of study. Moreover, in professional fields like counseling, research studies do not only refine and add to what is known in theory and practice, but also empower the counseling psychologist to capably foresee and manage the complexities and dynamism of the social world (Laws and Marcus, 2003). However, the knowledge that can be gleaned from different research efforts depends, to a large, extent, on the research method adopted, and this in turn is shaped by the researchers worldview and philosophy of science. Stressing this point, Howard (1983) indicates that different core ontological assumptions held by researchers predisposes to the adoption of related assumptions about human nature. Beliefs about human nature then shape opinions about what kinds of knowledge are appropriate, which in turn, significantly determine the research methods adopted. The author argued that a worldview that perceive reality as concrete and humans as responders to this reality encourages positivist science and quantitative research methods. Conversely, a worldview that perceive reality as subjective interpretations of experiences and humans as adapting organisms encourages an interpretivist approach and qualitative research methods. The philosophy of objective reality and laboratory experimentation of the physical sciences has dominated psychology research as the gold standard for over a century. However, the numerous calls for a move towards a more encompassing view and approach to social research that started in the 1970s have severally highlighted the failure of the quantitative research approach to provide answers to social problems and guidance to professionals (Bogard and Wertz, 2006; Howard, 1983). Fishman (1999) noted that the problems with the over-reliance on quantitative methods first came to light during the turbulent times of the 1960s. During this period and the decades that follow, it became clear to many, Fishman argued, that psychology’s delivery on the promise of clear, objective answers to the problems of the complex, ambiguous troubles of the social world was scant at best (p. 371). Apparently, this realization fostered the emerging consensus that counseling research requires a shift in perspective to meet the needs of practitioners (Howard, 1983). The explosion of textbooks on qualitative methods; the the strong affinity for qualitative approaches held by many counseling students and professionals; and the Delphi poll of counseling psychology training directors in the United States that rated qualitative sophistication as one of the top trends for counseling research development in the next decade, most probably confirms Ponterottos claims and belief that counseling psychology is in the midst of a gradual paradigm shift. This paper intends to present further arguments to support Ponterottos assertion. The next section will attempt to explain Ponterottos position on the paradigm shift presently taking place in counseling research; this will be followed by an explanation of the epistemological and ontological differences that distinguish the quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. Lastly, further argument will be provided to support and defend the claim that counseling research is experiencing a shift in perspective. The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Counseling Psychology Research Ponterotto’s Argument Ponterotto (2005) provided an elaborate argument on the need for, and the factors that expresses the movement towards a balanced reliance on qualitative and quantitative research methods. Presenting his recent observations and current perceptions (p. 126), Ponterotto argued that the field of psychology, in general, and counseling psychology, in particular, has been, for too long, dominated by the positivist and post positivist paradigms associated with quantitative research methods. This dominance, it is argued, is reflected in available course work, dissertations conducted and in published research reports. Ponterotto argue that such over-reliance on single research philosophy significantly reduces the potential for growth and also limits the knowledge base and practical relevance of counseling research. Therefore, by broadening the fields research scope to include interpretivist paradigms and the associated qualitative methods, counseling psychology will advance more rapidly as a scientific field. Ponterotto is not alone in his opinion. He shares the same sentiment with several other authors like Gergen (2001) who argued that the conception of psychological science commonly shared within the discipline is historically frozen and is endangered by its isolation from the major intellectual and global transformations of the past half century† (p. 803); and Goldman who has been calling for a revolution in counseling psychology for several decades. Ponterotto also observed that in recent times, the need to enhance and improve the level of qualitative research training available to students of counseling psychology has been emphasized by several stakeholders. The author argues that though the present level of adoption of qualitative research training is still low, it is on the increase. Highlighting the importance of the increase in qualitative research training students and scholars receive, Rennie, Watson, and Monteiro (2002) noted that graduate students and scholars start appreciating the richness of qualitative research methods and its potential contribution to the field counseling psychology. With such increase in interest, professional conferences start receiving proposals for qualitative research papers and eventually, journal editors and publishers start to take notice of the shift in the wind. The authors declare that from all indications, all of these have been happening already, signaling the slow, but determined shift in research perspectives. Lastly, Ponterotto observed that an increasing number of quantitatively trained counseling psychologist now adopt qualitative methods into their research programs. While the negative implication of this is that most of these counseling psychologists would erroneously be carrying out qualitative researches through a quantitative lens, on the other hand, this indicates the increasing awareness of and interest in, qualitative research methods. Since developing expertise in any philosophy of science or research method takes time, in a most cases, several years of study, it is apparent that this quantitatively trained counseling psychologist would become better qualitative psychologist with time. In sum, Ponterottos claim that the field of counseling psychology is in the middle of a paradigm shift is premised on these observations and perceptions. Fortunately, he is not alone in this thought; there are several observations from numerous authors to strengthen his contention. For example, Howard (1983) contends that there is a growing consensus that the prevailing concept of what constitute a good research is problematic, and that the problem calls for urgent solution. In the same light, Goldman (1976), declaring the need for a complete overhauling of counseling research pointed out that published research in counseling has, on the whole, been of little value as a base or guide for professional practice. Tied to largely inappropriate models derived from the physical sciences, much of the research has been trivial, atomistic, and obsessed with statistics and technical matters of research design (p. 543). Support for Ponterotto’s Argument In order to adequately explain Ponterottos idea of counseling psychologys shift from primary reliance to a more balanced reliance on qualitative and quantitative research methods, Rennie, Watson, and Monteiro (2002) set forth a couple of questions that should be answered. These questions include: when did the turn to qualitative research methods started in counseling psychology started? How much emphasis has been placed on qualitative research methodology? And most importantly, what should be made of the surge in interest in qualitative research methods with respect to the pre-dominance of quantitative methods? Is the presence of qualitative research methods now large enough to be considered a paradigm shift, as Ponterotto suggested, or alternatively, is it the case that the interest in qualitative method is still too low to be considered to have impacted counseling research significantly?. To answer these questions, the authors conducted a review of all the psychological literatures published throughout the 20th century. Although, as mentioned earlier, Gordon Allport is said to have made the first call to psychologists to adopt alternative research methods, and the social turbulence of the 1960s is known to have further aggravated the discontent with quantitative methods in counseling research, the 100year literature review carried out by Rennie, Watson, and Monteiro (2002) indicated that there were virtually no psychological literature related to qualitative research methods prior to 1970, with the exception of a some references to phenomenological psychology that appeared in some literatures. Apparently, with respect to the first question above, i. e. when the turn to qualitative methods started, once can infer that practical attempts to adopt qualitative research methods did not take form until in the 1970s and then 1980s and 1990s, although the discontent with quantitative methods could have started earlier. Portraying the gravity of the discontent with quantitative research methods that followed the social turbulence of the 1960s, Fishman (1999) observed that practitioners were caught between irrelevant and ineffective guidance from science and inviting courses of action suggested by reflection in the field but without justification by rational science (p. 371). The author observed that criticism of positivism and its associated quantitative methods developed independently from both the post-positivist and the phenomenological–hermeneutic–post structural schools of thought. Criticism from both angles pointed out that the continuous application of statistical and laboratory experimentation methods to social problems was not yielding the expected outcomes and that the over-reliance on theory testing and the hypothetico-deductive measures inherent in quantitative methods to real world situations that require context-sensitive methods, have considerably contributed to this failure. Again, the origin of the interest in, and application of qualitative research methods can be located in the increased social phenomena that psychologist had to explain and contain, starting the 1960s. While this did not immediately translate into the publication of qualitative papers, as the Rennie, Watson, and Monteiros study revealed, it provided the foundation for the growth experienced in the succeeding decades. Ponterotto attempted to indicate how much emphasis has been placed on qualitative studies in counseling psychology when he reported the Delphi poll of counseling psychology training directors conducted in the United States in which directors identified qualitative sophistication and methodological diversity as the two top trends for the next decade. While this alone is not enough to justify the increasing interest in and emphasis on qualitative research, the explosion of texts on qualitative methods and reports of qualitative studies add weight to the argument that increasing emphasis is being placed on how qualitative methods can better improve the field of counseling psychology. For example, Robins and others (2008) reported more psychology related journals have paid increasing attention to the potential contribution that qualitative studies can impact on the field of psychology. The authors suggest that as a result of this increasing support, increasing number of researchers have included qualitative research methods in their research programs and most of these studies have been able to highlight some very important and previously un-recognized factors that affect counseling practice. Although, there is no denying the fact that the attention and emphasis received by qualitative methods is still relatively low compared to the dominance quantitative method still enjoy; however, the growing interest and the fact that several quantitatively trained researchers have gone ahead to adopt qualitative methods either in isolation or by inviting and including qualitative researchers in their program points to a gradual shift towards balance emphasis on both research methods, as Ponterotto has suggested. Despite the potential shift towards a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in counseling psychology researches, one important issue that has generated hot debate and that could potentially hinder this paradigm shift is the paradigm-method fit known as the ‘paradigm debate’ (Hanson, et al. , 2005). The paradigm-method fit debate first surfaced in the 1970s and 1980s as the popularity of qualitative methods in counseling psychology became topical issue for discussion. The debate relates to the question â€Å"Do philosophical paradigms (e. g. , positivism, constructivism) and research methods have to fit together? † (p. 225).

Understanding Iridium Flares

Understanding Iridium Flares Our night skies are packed full of stars and planets to observe on a dark night. However, there are more objects closer to home that observers plan on seeing every so often. These include the International Space Station (ISS) and numerous satellites. The ISS appears as a slow-moving high-altitude craft during its crossings. Many people often mistake it for a very high-flying jet. Most satellites look like dimmer points of light moving against the backdrop of stars. Some satellites appear to move east to west, while others are in polar orbits (moving nearly north-south). They generally take a little longer to cross the sky than the ISS does. A pair of Iridium satellites flaring. Jupiter is to the right and the bright star Arcturus is to the lower left. Jud McCranie, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. There are thousands of artificial satellites around Earth, in addition to thousands of other objects such as rockets, reactor cores, and pieces of space debris (sometimes referred to as space junk). Not all of them can be seen with the naked eye. Theres a whole collection of objects called Iridium satellites that can look very bright during certain times of day and night. Glints of sunlight bouncing from them are referred to as Iridium flares and for years they have been observed fairly easily. Many people probably have seen an iridium flare and simply not known what they were looking at. It also turns out that other satellites can show these glints, although most are not as bright as the iridium flares. Whats Iridium? Satellite phone or pager users are major users of the Iridium satellite constellation. The constellation is a set of 66 orbiting stations that provide global telecommunications coverage. They follow highly inclined orbits, which means that their paths around the planet are close to (but not quite) from pole to pole. Their orbits are roughly 100 minutes long and each satellite can link to three others in the constellation. The first  Iridium  satellites were planned to be launched as a set of 77. The name Iridium comes from the element iridium, which is number 77 in the periodic table of the elements. It turns out that 77 were not needed. Today, the constellation is used largely by the military, as well as other clients in the airline and air traffic control communities. Each  Iridium  satellite has a spacecraft bus, solar panels, and a set of antennae. The first generations of these satellites go around Earth in roughly 100-minute orbits at a speed of 27,000 kilometers per ho ur. The History of Iridium Satellites Satellites have been orbiting Earth since the late 1950s when  Sputnik 1  was launched. It soon became obvious that having telecommunication stations in low-Earth orbit would make long-distance communications much easier and so countries began launching their own satellites in the 1960s. Eventually, companies got involved, including the Iridium Communications corporation. Its founders came up with the idea of a constellation of stations in orbit in the 1990s. After the company struggled to find customers and eventually went bankrupt, the constellation is still in operation today and its current owners are planning a new generation of satellites to replacing the aging fleet. Some of the new satellites, called Iridium NEXT, have already been launched aboard SpaceX rockets and more will be sent to space to orbits that will likely not produce as many flares as the older generation has. What Is an Iridium Flare?   As each Iridium satellite orbits the planet, it has a chance to reflect sunlight toward Earth from its triad of antennae. That flash of light as seen from Earth is called an Iridium flare. It looks very much like a meteor flashing through the air very rapidly. These brilliant events can happen up to four times a night and can get as bright as -8 magnitude. At that brightness, they can be spotted in the daytime, although its much easier to see them at night or in twilight. Observers can often spot the satellites themselves crossing the sky, just as they would any other satellite. Looking for an Iridium Flare It turns out that Iridium flares can be predicted. This is because the satellite orbits are well known. The best way to find out when to see one to use a site called  Heavens Above, which keeps track of many known bright satellites, including the Iridium constellation. Simply enter your location and get a feel for when you might see a flare and where to look for it in the sky. The website will give the time, brightness, location in the sky, and length of the flare for as long as they continue to occur. Saying Goodbye to Iridium Flares Over the next few years, many of the low-orbiting Iridium satellites that have been reliably producing flares will be decommissioned. The next generation of satellites wont be producing such flares as reliably as the old ones did due to their orbital configurations. So, it may be that Iridium flares could become a thing of the past. Fast Facts Iridium flares are caused by sunlight glinting from the surfades of low-orbiting Iridium satellites.Such flares can be very bright and last only a few seconds.As new generations of Iridium satellites are being put into higher orbits, Iridium flares may become a thing of the past.

Residential social care work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Residential social care work - Essay Example â€Å"The aim of social work is to enhance citizens’ ability to take care of themselves and to promote their participation in the social process. This can vary from helping one client to get a secure income, or organizing material security to providing information and organizing a social network. It can also mean that the social worker, reviewing her clients’ affairs, comes to the conclusion that there is something structurally amiss at the workplace and that something must fundamentally change in the company’s organization if systematic absenteeism is to be further prevented. The aim is always to help clients to help themselves, to develop new prospects for the future or to simply accept a reality that is difficult to alter.† (p. 141) In order for a social worker to be successful in her career, her broad knowledge of various organizational and networking systems that provide support and services to their clients must be matched with her own vast understanding of how a person’s mind and emotions operate especially in times of crisis. Most of the time, counseling sessions are conducted with her client, or members of her client’s family. Here, the social worker’s communication skills are put to the test. â€Å"In conversations with the professional, clients speak out about their pains and sorrows, and about their hope and beliefs.† (Van Nijnatten, 2006, p.133) It becomes an avenue where both the social worker and the client brainstorm on ways to express these emotions so they construct new meanings and new perspectives. Coming from an objective frame of mind, the social worker helps the client distance himself to the concern at hand and explains that such overwhelming emotions that the cl ient is undergoing are normal and can cite cases of others who have survived through the same. Then ways to resolve the problem are discussed. With children, social workers take on a more critical role, as they adjust

What does Castells mean by 'the space of flows' And what relevance Essay

What does Castells mean by 'the space of flows' And what relevance might this idea have for processes of globalisation - Essay Example This paper now seeks to discuss space of flows based on Castells’ description, including its relevance to the different processes of globalisation. An example will also be developed in order to illustrate this discussion. This paper is being carried out in order to understand the more contemporary application and understanding of space of flows within the context of globalisation and all its related elements. Body As was mentioned above, space is basically a tool in the expression of society (Francke and Ham, 2006). The relationship between space and society is essentially full of complications, mostly because space does not reflect society, instead, it is an expression of society (Castells, 1996). Under this context, space is not a copy of society, instead, it is a mirror of society. Spatial elements are based on the complexities of the greater social constructions. Moreover, social processes impact on space by affecting the created environment drawn from previous societal an d spatial elements (Castells, 1996). Space, based on physics cannot be determined beyond the interplay of matter. Social theory discusses that space cannot be evaluated without considering social practices and applications. Castells (1996) assesses space based on material elements and on other material resources, like people, who participate in specific social interactions and social applications. Time and space cannot be evaluated without also considering social actions. Castells (1997) discusses time-sharing social applications and he cites the fact that space considers the practices which take place simultaneously. The distance between material resources and support is no longer essential or significant. Society is built around flows, including the flow of capital resources, of data, of technology, of organizational relations, of images, sounds, as well as symbols (Castells, 1997). Flows, in other words, include various elements within social organizations which manifest the diff erent processes governing people’s lives. Castells (1997) discusses about a spatial form illustrative of social applications which impact and dominate the interactions in society; this is known as the space of flows. Space of flows refers to the â€Å"material organization of time-sharing social practices that work through flows† (Francke and Ham, 2006, p. 8). Castells (1997) also discusses flows to be purposeful and repetitive activities of interactions covering physically non-related positions applied by social actors within the various structures of society. This can also be evaluated with the use of various layers and elements of material support which when taken together make up the space of flows. The initial layer which is the initial support for the space of flows is supported by various electronic variables highlighting the material foundations of the resources significant in the interrelated fabric of society (Crang, 2002). This is considered general and tact ile support for simultaneous applications and practices. It is considered spatial form in the context of the commercial society or the industrial society. Within the context of interactions, no place can survive in isolation as its position is mostly based on flows (Crang, 2002). Places do not fade into oblivion, however their existence is often incorporated into the network. Technological resources which support the network also support the new space. The second layer in the space of flow

Timeliness And Method Of Internal Communication Management Essay

Timeliness And Method Of Internal Communication Management Essay This final chapter will provide an overview of the information and most important findings of the research. Next, a broad analysis of the conclusions and amelioration aspects will be provided in order for the organization to improve their current business strategies with regard to corporate reputation. Finally strategies for improvements will be presented. 5.2 Conclusions One of the variables analyzed in the research is the way, timeliness and method of internal communication within the organization is conducted as part of the Corporate Communication variable. In this specific case, the internal communication was not rated as high as it should be when evaluating its importance in the day- to-day business operations. Although the vast majority agrees that internal communication within an organization is important to smoothen and facilitate the core tasks that the organization has to carry out and that it also impacts the corporate reputation, it was established to be below average. When new projects are introduced, these are not explained internally as the employees would like them to. The lack of this information implies that they, in most of the cases, learn about certain developments in the media instead of being the first ones to be informed. It is also very remarkable that, although the SBAB is classified as a vertical organization, the management decisions are not well communicated to the employees, according to 50% of the respondents. If an organization has a vertical manner of doing business, where most of the decisions are made by the Di in dialogue with the management, it is a must for the organization to have an impeccable top down communication. This is with the main focus to prevent misunderstandings and miscommunications in the core business. The employees fully agreed, with a score of 70%, that the organization is being managed in a top down way. A lack of internal communication can also be perceived externally by the tax payers which will result in a lack of credibility towards the organization itself. This clearly shows that, although team meetings have as their main objective to communicate decisions taken by the management, this is obviously not the case. However, although the fact that decisions are not well communicated, the employees do not get information from the outside world. Another important aspect in the communication process is the timeliness of the communication. In this specific case the organization scored a low grade because a majority of the respondents disagreed with the statements that information is timely provided when a new event is about to take place in the workplace. Another aspect that did not score as well as it should is information regarding change management. Most respondents think that changes are implemented and afterwards when questions come on behalf of the employees, they get the information regarding the change. Based on the questions asked by the researcher on the internal communication aspect of the communication, the relationship with the organizations reputation was established to be a moderate one with a correlation coefficient of .615. In other words, a positive relationship was established between these two variables meaning that the internal communication moderately affects the corporate reputation. With regard to the external communication variable on the other hand, a rather large percentage of the employees neither agreed nor disagreed with the statements regarding the organizations efforts to communicate plans of new projects and other events with the external audience. These percentages surpass half of the amount of respondents. However, they acknowledged SBABs efforts in communicating effectively and efficiently with the external stakeholders but there is definitely more to be done. Furthermore, almost 82% of the respondents definitely agreed on the fact that the external communication has an impact on the organizations reputation. In this case the correlation coefficient for this variable, external communication, in relationship with the organizations reputation, this was established to be .880 which means that there is definitely a high correlation between these two. These responses on the statements regarding these two variables regarding communication, are the main reason why the employees gave a 6- (5.92) for SBABs overall communication efforts. The variable that has greatly impacted this mark is the internal communication aspect which they consider to be below what is acceptable. The last variable to be analyzed in relationship with the corporate reputation is the corporate social responsibility strategy. The SBAB has scored very high in its efforts to give back to the society. The organizations strategy of giving back to the less fortunate children of our society and the involvement of the personnel in this process is a big hit with 95% of the respondents agreeing that these efforts help in the corporate reputation building. The overall mark provided for this business strategy is an 8.05. However, the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation was also established to be moderate (.619) because, as stated in the literature review, it is not mandatory for an organization to adopt this strategy in the reputation building process. Nevertheless, if this strategy is well implemented and consistent, it will definitely affect the stakeholders perception of the organization. For the organization to know what the steps are that need to be undergone in order to improve its way of doing business, it should know how it actually performs. Based on this, an analysis was also performed on the current reputation of the organization. It can be concluded that, although a lack of internal communication was identified, the employees do not think that the SBAB currently has a less positive reputation. More than 80% say that through the years, they heard more positive news about the SBAB than negative. Although there is a relatively large amount (respectively 41.7% and 50%) that say that the news that they hear about the SBAB in the media is not always positive and that they do not always receive a positive reaction when they tell an outsider that they work for the SBAB. 5.3 Recommendations In order to improve the reputation of the organization, the following actions should be taken to stimulate a clearer, timely and transparent communication towards the employees. The management should involve the employees more in the process of making decisions that directly affect the employees. In other words, stimulate more bottom-up communication as the employees can give valuable input in certain situations because they work in the field and definitely know better. This can be done by polls managed by the manager of each team. In the case a certain rule will be adapted, for example the team managers must gather with the team members and let them vote on the proposed change. The manager of each team must present their results in the management meeting with the accompanying arguments. After these have been analyzed, decisions can be made in personnel related aspects. Assign a person and a substitute when absent who are solely responsible for all communication towards the organization itself and the external audience (a Communication Officer). This in order to prevent misunderstandings and confusion about who is the one that gives the accurate information. Management meetings are mostly held once a month. Decisions taken and other significant information with regard to new projects and personnel, for example must be communicated to the Communication Officer who will develop a newsletter, on a monthly basis, to inform the internal audience properly. After the employees have been informed, decisions regarding the external audience must be made public through press releases and, where possible, television interviews. This last part is in order to achieve a greater awareness. All of these efforts must be done by the Communications Officer, thus by centralizing of the information channel, in order to also prevent misunderstandings and confusion by the press. This monthly bulletin will only cover management decisions and other objective information. For more subjective information about new colleagues, birthdays and other personnel-related, non-work related activities, the BAB Aktueel must be published quarterly as it is currently done.. In order to create a higher level of awareness of the core tasks of the organization and its corporate social responsibility strategy, a monthly column can be publicized in newspapers (both in Papiamentu and Dutch) as well as in short television program of approximately 5 minutes to be aired during prime time on both local television channels, in which an employee of the organization is interviewed about tax legislation changes, the way and reason of a tax audit and to highlight the organizations efforts in helping 150 less fortunate children of the society etcetera. A timely and accurate communication is not only part of the reputation building process but also in the maintenance hereof. A method of continuously monitoring the corporate reputation is also through an evaluation form that has to be handed out by the tax auditor to the tax payer. Although paying taxes and correcting what did not go well is not the most favorite subject and people tend to be negative about it; however, if the process has gone according to the rules and with the respect needed, the organization can also receive valuable feedback from the external stakeholders also. If these recommendations are aligned next to each other, the conclusion can be drawn that in order for the organization to be perceived positively among both the internal and the external stakeholders, timely and accurate communication is the key aspect. The communication within the organization itself and from the organization towards the outside world is like the heart in a human body. It is the main organ and the one which life is not possible without. A smooth corporate communication will definitely facilitate the core business and from an external point of view the organization will be considered a transparent one. Corporate communication Organization Figure 1 Human body and the heart function

Position Paper- Rene Descartes Essay

Rene Descartes was known as a modern philosopher who questioned everything unable to be proven true, a type of thinking called skepticism. He also was intrigued by reason and opinions of people and how they created the opinions from society and their surroundings. His ideas have evolved into modern philosophy all around the world. People are born with the natural sense of reason (the instinct to determine right from wrong). This natural sense is what creates opinions. No two people have the exact same opinion, because no two people reason the exact same way. The distinction between right and wrong is an opinion itself, therefore, reason is just a subject of opinion. Opinions are becoming a problem. Many people are either open minded or close minded based on society and their surroundings. Descartes’ was neither here nor there about how someone thinks, but the best lesson he learned during his life was â€Å"not to believe too firmly anything of which I had learnt merely by example. † This basically means to caution yourself from making opinions based on a set example, which implies the greatness of an open mind rather than a closed mind. Another subject of opinion is acceptance. Take the average Joe for example. He has an opinion, he accepts it, and that opinion is true, no question. But what about the other millions of people in the world who accept something different than Joe? Won’t they think Joe’s opinion is not true and he’s accepting something wrong? In the grand scheme of things, no one really knows what is true and what’s not. That’s why everyone should have an open mind and be willing to accept more than what’s in their zone of comfort or belief. Our society has a bad habit of manipulating the human mind and forcing it to believe what’s popular. This has become a controversy all over the world. Descarte would not appreciate what society has done to many of its citizens because more people than not are obsessed with their own belief and aren’t willing to think outside of the box. Everyone needs to remember what Descarte talked about in this document and create a balance of what they currently believe in and what beliefs they would like to explore.