Nectar in a Sieve

D AP World History Theme Analysis Our world is impacted by many things. Social structures, politics, economics, the environment, and our interactions affect how we live. They create the history of our world. In Nectar in a Sieve, many of these themes are represented. Gender roles and relations have always had an impact in societies. Men often believe they have the upper hand over women. It shows in the way females are treated. When Rumi was married to Nathan, she had to leave her family and go to his land.He didn’t have to live where show comfortable or on a neutral territory. Young women are often uprooted from their family and rarely see them again. When Ira had a child out of wedlock, she was looked down upon by many. However when a man does the same, there is no judgment and criticism. Nate impregnated Kunthi twice yet Rumi took him back without a problem (p. 84-85) Agricultural and pastoral productions are the center of life for millions of humans. The same can be said fo r the characters in Nectar in a Sieve.In the village, farming is how most survive. They live off the land. Without the land, there’s no income or food. They sell their crops, give their profit to the landlord, and save a portion of the crops for their families. Rumi and Nathan grow a variety of crops. When nature doesn’t work in their favor, their lives become difficult. Often the crops are ruined by droughts. During these times everyone struggles to survive. Rumi’s family became malnourished when the rains didn’t deliver. Her son, Kuti died from starvation. p. 99-100) The importance of the land is shown when they lose their land and homelessness is forced upon them. (p. 130-135) Land represented hope for Rumi. (p. 132) Without agriculture, the villagers would not survive. Trade and commerce is one of the main ways humans gain what they need. In Nectar in a Sieve, trade controls who has what and who survives. The tannery is the center of commerce. Village rs come to buy and bargain. As the years past, Rumi watches the tannery change, for worst in her opinion.It becomes harder to sell, trade, and buy because the economics of village change as new people move in. The tannery is looked at as the place of money so two of her sons get jobs there. Rumi resents the tannery because it represents change that she feels is not needed. Although themes look complicated on paper, they fit perfectly into our world and the world in Nectar in a Sieve. Male and females have double standards. Agriculture is the basis of life and survival in the village. Trade and commerce help villagers make money and get necessities to survive. These themes translate into real life.

Case Study Facebook (A) or (B)

Faceable have aided organizational communication by spreading information fast and father. In reality formal chain of command is an incomplete communication, so organizations need to develop informal communication network to better transmit information, such as grapevine. For example, the statuses on Faceable can contribute to the transmission of information. Although face-to-face interview is high in information richness, non-verbal language also has an important impact on the outcome of employment interview decision.For example, with the pictures posed on Faceable, the clothing people wears can transmit clear signals. On the other hand, it is complicated to transmit information through new media because with not all informal communication bring benefit to organizations, such as rumors. Therefore, organizations should focus on rumor control, and online media (Faceable) needs to enhance private information security because personal information may be misused by hostile person.Miranda ' reaction would not the same when she heard the rumor about Rick's activity which is not rue because interview, including face-to-face interview, telephone conversation etc. Is relatively higher in richness than rumor which Is thought belong to â€Å"chat† type. For example, Miranda has had an interview with Rich, so Miranda has more potential information about Pick with highly non-verbal and Para-verbal cues. Yes, it reflects the â€Å"one up, one down† of gender differences In communication because men tend to be more sensitive to power dynamics than women.For example, men are more boastful about their competence; Instead, women are low-key In showing their viability, so women Is considered In a one down position. Therefore, Deborah decreases the times of posing something on Faceable or even no accounts on Faceable. Miranda should hire Deborah. Pictures and statuses can show what Rick really looks like. Rick are more boastful about his capabilities than Deborah, and he minimizes his weakness In performance. Moreover, It Is easy to regular verbal behavior during Interview, so Miranda should turn attention to non-verbal cues. If Miranda hires Rick, uncertainty and risks will Increase.

Cultural Artifact Essay †Blue Jeans Essay

Blue jeans in the last thirty years have attained such world wide popularity that they have come to be considered an American icon. However jeans have not always been held in high stead, but rather have had a troubled history including its beginnings within the working class movement, being considered unsavory by religious leaders and also seen as a rebellious statement about ‘western decadence’. According to the University of Toronto, no other garment has served as an example of status ambivalence and ambiguity than blue jeans in the history of fashion. Throughout this essay I will discuss how jeans have become such a common treasured and even expensive item crossing over class, gender, age, regional, and national lines as reflected by the many changing political views and acceptance from various social classes over the past 50 years. History of Blue Jeans According to the University of Toronto, blue jeans were originally created for the California coal miners in the mid-nineteenth century by the Morris Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant who relocated to New York in 1847. Mr Strauss’ fate and the history of clothing changed forever when in 1872 he received an offer from Jacob Davis, a tailor from Reno Nevada. Mr. Davis, in order to improve the durability of the pants that he made for his clients, had been adding metal rivets to the highly stressed seams. The idea was successful and he wished to patent it, but due to financial constraints required a partner and hence Levi became the financial backer and partner. In 1873, the new partners received a patent for â€Å"an improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings†, and thus the history of blue jeans as we know them began. Blue jeans were originally called â€Å"waist overalls† by Levi Strauss and Co and in the 1920’s these were the most widely used worker’s pants in America. The name of these trousers changed to â€Å"jeans† in the 1960’s when Levi Strauss and Co. recognized that this was what the product was being called by the young, hip teenage boys. The history of â€Å"waist overalls† continues as the history of blue jeans. â€Å"Jeans† is now generally understood to refer to pants made out of a specific type of fabric called â€Å"denim† (Fashion Encyclopedia). Blue Jeans through the decades The popularity of blue jeans spread among working people, such as farmers and the ranchers of the American West. According to the Encyclopedia of Fashion, in the 1930’s jeans became so popular among cowboys that Wrangler formed just to make denim work clothing for those who rode the range. Jeans have tended to follow along in popularity with popular culture as evident with the popular Western films which found adventure and romance in the adventures of the cowboys who rode horses, shot bad guys, and wore blue jeans. Those who wished to imitate the casual, rugged look of the cowboys they saw in films began to wear jeans as casual wear (Fashion Encyclopedia). This effect is not hard to understand, as even today fashion trends are greatly influenced by what highly publicized celebrities choose to wear. During World War II blue jeans became part of the official uniform of the Navy and Coast Guard, and became even more popular when worn as off-duty leisure clothing by many other soldiers. In his book, â€Å"Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon†, James Sullivan states that the rise of the popularity of jeans after the WWII can greatly be attributed to the influence of the film and music industry, during the 1950s many young people began to wear jeans when they saw them on rebellious young American film stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean. By 1950, Levi’s began selling nationally and other brands started emerging, such as Lee Coopers and each with its own particular fit (Sullivan 287). According to the University of Toronto, in the 1960’s and 1970’s jeans were embraced by the nonconformist hippie youth movement, and the history of blue jeans even gets linked to the downfall of communism. Behind the iron curtain, jeans became a symbol of â€Å"western decadence† and individuality and as such were highly sought. Jeans had become extremely popular, but were still mainly worn by working people or the young. In the 1980’s through to the 1990’s jeans were no longer seen as rebellious or a source of individuality, but they were transformed as the term ‘designer jeans’ was discovered. Many designers such as Jordache and Calvin Klein came on board to create expensive jeans and some jeans even reached haute couture status (Fashion Encyclopedia). In the new millennium denim is seen on designer catwalks and there are now hundreds of styles, types and labels available and of various price ranges. Changing Popularity According to Peter Beagle in his book â€Å"American Denim: A New Folk Art†, the popularity of jeans can be attributed to the fact that jeans can be seen to embrace the American democratic values of independence, freedom and equality. Some Americans even consider jeans to be the national uniform. Blue jeans have evolved from a garment associated exclusively with hard work to one associated with leisure. What began as work clothes has transformed into one of the â€Å"hottest† items available on the consumer market today. What was once apparel associated with low culture has undergone a reversal in status. Blue jeans were the first to accomplish a rather revolutionary cultural achievement bringing upper class status to a lower class garment. Conclusion At one point or another throughout history, blue jeans have been the uniform of many groups and are considered the one garment of clothing that has remained hip for over a century and has survived everything from World War II to the eighties. For half a century blue jeans have helped define every youth movement, and every effort of older generations to deny the passing of youth. Fifty years ago America invented the concept of teenager, and it is probably no coincidence that the enduring character of blue jeans, claiming independence and the right to self-expression, can be traced to the same time. Jeans were once seen as clothing for minority groups such as workers, hippies or rebellious youth, but are now embraced by the dominant American culture as a whole. Works Cited â€Å"Material Culture†. Utoronto. ca. University of Toronto Department of History, University of Toronto, n. d. Web â€Å"European Culture 19th Century – Blue Jeans†. Fashionencyclopedia. com. Fashion Encyclopedia, Advameg, June 2010. Web. â€Å"Modern World 1980 – 2003, Designer Jeans†. Fashionencyclopedia. com. Fashion Encyclopedia, Advameg, June 2010. Web. Sullivan, James. Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon. New York: Penguin, 2007. Print. George, Diana and Trimbur, John. Reading Culture: Contexts for critical reading and writing. New York: Longman, 2007. Print. Beagle, Peter. American Denim: A New Folk Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1975. Print.

Article Critique on Responsibilities and Training Needs of

Critique on Responsibilities and Training Needs of paraeducators in Physical Education - Article Example The study also pointed out that 68 out of the 76 paraeducators were keen in receiving training. The areas in which training was desired were activity modifications, attributes of students with disabilities, and knowledge of motor development. An interesting finding that the study has is that less than 50% of the respondents have ever participated in physical education of students. It has been pointed out that the opportunity to participate in physical education through student escort, one-on-ones and cues were not used by this 50%. The participation of paraeducators in student assessments and behavior modification programs were also found to be minimal. Only eight out of the total respondents participated in the above mentioned activities. The major limitation of the study is its sample population size. Though 138 respondents were to participate, only 55 % of them filled in the questionnaires. This makes the sample size very small and thus is not the representative sample of the studied population. Another major lacuna in the research is that the participants were not blinded on the objectives of the research. This would have resulted in biased responses from the participants. As the results of the study implies on the capacity building of the respondents the chances for this are really high. The study limits its scope to the perceived observations on training requirements and responsibilities of paraeducators. These perceptions of the respondents have not been compared with the available literature. This further questions the scientific backing of the research with reference to the topic of the study. The topic suggests a broader research whereas the study has limited its scope to the perceptions of the participants. The study is further limited to the geographical convenience of the researcher. This further limits its scope from providing a holistic view on the larger The study would serve as a good resource for further research in the area. The study

Trade unions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Trade unions - Essay Example European trade union leaders, along with their 'London Declaration', studied the financial crisis and appeal for fair dealing and rigorous action. Practical suggestions were as well made to prevent this situation from happening again: successful measures should be taken to guarantee that the economy carries on enjoying capital investments, also to put a stop to disgraceful financial forecast. The addition of public funds into the economy should correspond to public regulation, whereas the control of financial markets at global and European levels should be enhanced (Satre 2005, 804). This paper's objective is merely a wake up call. While trade unions determinedly expand their organizing attempts and ideas, there remains a noticeable need for constant research on effective strategies and techniques. It is essential to acknowledge nowadays that organizing has turned out to be increasingly complex. Under the pressing burden of feeble and incompetently enforced labour laws, aggressive employers harbouring antiunion sentiments, and a progressively intimidating political and economic atmosphere, it is not fascinating that hardly any workers surmount the threats, anxieties and hindrances and continue to in fact organize a union and negotiate an initial agreement. Problems are only worsened when labor leaders are informed repeatedly by their believed allies in government and the academe that workers are not interested anymore in unions but perceive a more workable and less intimidating option in management-offered participation activities. Confronted with an increasingly unfriendly climate, the labour movement has started to concentrate its energy on the single component of the organizing mechanism that it has power over, union strategies and techniques. This part focuses on the means by which workers, whether unionized or non-unionized, are adequately represented at work, and by which they gain differing extents of voice in the decision making of the top management or employers. Apart from collective bargaining exercised by trade unions, it emphasizes the means of information dissemination and collaborative consultation contained within an employment relationship. One premise is that an interpretation of the interaction of these systems of representation is fundamental for a positive reception of the current and potentially future trends of worker representation in the United Kingdom. In particular, it proposes that types of representation aside from collective bargaining may prospectively establish more mainstream voice systems, with employers and employees alike, than what they actually have previously (Wigley 2002). In the past, employers single-handedly made majority of decisions on issue regarding work. In a number of circumstances, typically job-related matters, expert or strategically positioned employees could single-handedly control particular features of their working lifestyles. From the latter part of the nineteenth century up until the present, collective bargaining steadily developed. In a number of incidences, to defend

Girls and women in children's fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Girls and women in children's fiction - Essay Example and motherhood that run counter to the mainstream views of their time, but that the earlier book uses distancing narrative techniques to disguise this fact while the later book uses intimate narrative techniques to celebrate it. The difference in approach is due to the social pressures, or absence of them, which had an effect upon the authors in their respective historical situation. The three children labelled â€Å"the railway children† are introduced as part of a prosperous middle class English family who have fallen on hard times due to the mysterious removal of their father, Mr Waterbury. It emerges later that he was imprisoned on a false charge of spying. The father is therefore absent, and the children’s mother removes herself also for much of the time in order to write and presumably earn a living for the family. This leaves the three children Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, free to roam around the railway area and get to know Mr Perks, a working class station porter and and old gentleman who travels on the trains. The story is in many ways typical of Victorian children’s fiction because it is highly didactic and promotes moral behaviour and adherence to the rather stiff and formal rules of society. What is unusual about the book for its time is the way that the railway children switch social class for a time, and in a spell of relative freedom from middle class observation and control, experiment with autonomy, devising their own amusements and coming face to face with harsh economic realities and the limitations of conventional society. The children confront class prejudice in the episode of coal stealing with Mr Perks, race prejudice in the encounter with Mr Sczepansky and gender prejudice particularly in the character of Bobbie. The main character Goggle Eyes is a primary school child called Kitty whose parents are divorced, and who consoles a distressed classmate by telling her about the experience of having parents who divorce. The book shows how

Project planning with IT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project planning with IT - Assignment Example The ‘what ‘relates to the activities to be carried out in the project while the ‘how’ relates to how these activities are to be done to achieve the intended objectives of the project. In project planning, execution and management, there are factors such as how the team members communicate, how they functions how problems are anticipated and solved among many other factors that are essential in ensuring that a project succeeds. This proposal outlines the scope that would be followed in planning and executing a project that involves planning a website about doing a rock concert. The purpose of the proposed website will be to offer a platform where rock bands, their fans and concert organizers will interact. The website will offer valuable information that are required for any concert organizers, offer valuable informant concerning a particular band to the rock fans ion creating awareness about the band and facilitate an e-ticketing payment mode. No entrance ticketing in these concerts will be accepted once the website is operational and any ticketing will be made though the website. The website will be complete and ready for use by 30th April 2012, one month before the concert starts. The success of the project will be measured on whether participants in these rock concerts will have improved as compared to the number of participants before the web was designed. The stakeholders to be involved in this project will include the web hosting company, the several venues that rock concerts are usually held, which will offer information that relate to organizing such concerns. Lewis (2010, 10) argues that the organization and the project teams have to be considered as people, and they have to integrate to produce the required results. The stakeholders will also involve the theatres and managers that are involved in organizing these concerts and

Financial planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial planning - Essay Example The purchase of own residence would require one time down payment for the property. The salaries and the income of the household are mostly spent in the expenses for livelihood and therefore the source of funds is an issue for the couple to purchase the property. The couple is also worried about Vincent’s health as he is prone to heart attack as a hereditary symptom for which the family needs idle funds during emergency. The third on the priority list is to plan for a holiday tour in Europe which is desired by the client. Educational Planning Vincent and Linda are concerned about the high school education of their child Julie who is about 3 years old at present. The couple want to save for their child’s education in about 9 years time for which they wanted to start saving. The issues related to the education planning of their child is that Vincent may lose his job of an accountant due to strategic take-over of his employer by another bigger player in the industry. Also Vincent and Linda are not expecting any further increase in their salaries in the recent years. Thus the financial constraints in financing their child’s education could be serious issue for Vincent and Linda. Investment planning The investment planning of Linda is the next issue that is being faced. While Linda and Vincent are concerned about streamlining her investments, they also have the obligation to meet their monthly instalments payments of various liabilities. This requires sorting out of Linda’s superannuation funds which is currently distributed into three different schemes into one scheme so that the payments and receipts could be properly tracked. Risk Management Vincent and Linda should take into account the risk of repayment of new credit card debt that they have acquired recently. This requires a payment of $5000 on a monthly basis while the actual surplus of the family is $3000 after meeting all expenditures. Thus the client faces the issue of defaultin g on the payment of credit card debt. Financial planner’s assistance to the client The various ways in which the client could be assisted through financial planning in order to address the identified needs are given as follows. Assistance: Home and Health needs In order to address the first three needs against which specific issues have been identified as above, the client should be advised to undertake loans from the banks as well as undertake investment strategies to increase their wealth in order to meet the needs within a period of five years. In order to buy the home, the client could be advised to undertake a loan from the bank for purchase of property. By showing their employment proofs, the client would be able to get the loans. The savings of rental payments which were happening before could be used to accumulate funds for meeting medical emergencies like heart attacks. The accumulated savings could also be used to finance holiday plans as per the priority of the cli ent (Cordell, 1999, p.57). Assistance: Educational needs The educational need of their child is ranked fourth in the priority list of Vincent and Linda’

Balancing school work while maintaining full time employment with Essay

Balancing school work while maintaining full time employment with Wellpoint - Essay Example Now we should distribute the remaining 9 hours. It is quiet important to set clear priorities and outline a strict schedule. Workload is different in different semesters, but nonetheless, it would be better not to delay the tasks. On average for the beginning of the learning process 3-4 hours (for example, 6:15 pm-9:15 pm) a day may be a sufficient term. Most likely it engages in the evening (for example, Tuesdays and Thursdays) that unfortunately will affect the efficiency of employment, but to work a little every day is much easier than to deal with the whole information during twenty-four hours. This time on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, plus weekends we use for revising the material. Of the remaining hours, two of them will be spent on â€Å"work-home† way and the associated shopping. If you do not cook at home, then 1.5-2 hours will be enough for taking meals. Half an hour will be taken for the procedures which you could not refuse in any case, for example, taking shower. The rest hours will be used for the family needs and force majeure during the week. So, the week time would be divided nearly like

P.R Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

P.R Strategy - Essay Example Thus it is necessary for us to interpret strategy and PR as efforts to promote the working of an organisation, which includes sacrificing the unnecessary and using to full-advantage, the available resources. The dichotomy of views occurs in the private and public sector organisations, where the goals of a company are defined separately in terms of sheer competitiveness of the former and ability to deliver in the latter; the choice of ideals again resting on the middle level managers. Both PR and Strategy again rest upon the choices made by men in aptly using the money, material in a mechanised environment. If one of these variables is disturbed it can weigh heavy on the organisation thus rendering it unserviceable and not effective to serve its cause. (Thomson) However, the difference between the two concepts being too small they can be discerned as operating at crosses purposes. Strategy is supposed to be the internalisation of market functions of competitiveness into the system to make it more effective with a lean environment and PR a home-grown idea to make it achieve its objectives efficiently through successful implementation of small aims unit wise. Only when the company fares well in a competitive environment that the strategy is said to be successfully implemented. It is ostensible affairs with all divisions and hierarchical order putting to use the best of their abilities to achieve the goals of have an organisation that have been described at the top and are percolated downwards. There is hardly a scope of ’ifs’ and ‘buts.’ However it shouldn’t be construed that strategy hardly takes care to ascertain its own capabilities, resources and manpower. Rather on the hand it may entail ‘sacrifice s’ for achievement of its higher objectives that may not be discernible at all levels of hierarchy. Since PR gets its feed from externalities and works in a bottom upwards mode it is not seen with

Quantitative Decision Making-Inventory Control Models Essay

Quantitative Decision Making-Inventory Control Models - Essay Example Certain indicators tell us how inventory levels have been managed, as stated by Fleet-management consultant Roger Thompson, vice president, management, fleet and facilities with Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corp (Skipper 1). Roger Thomson has found some common parameters on controlling inventory levels, which can be used to fleets overboard irrespective of the industry sector they serve. Topmost priority is to find the major share of the parts stocked. What matters is the dollar value of parts released from stock divided by the dollar value of all parts released off late. There should be probability of around 50 or 60 percent of the time the inventory part is available. If it is not so, then certainly things need to change. If the availability of the part is quite high, say near to 98 percent, it is a sign of overstocking of that part (Skipper 1). Another parameter of maintaining the right stock is the stock movement rate. If the number of stock lines without any exit in the previous 12 months is divided by number of stock lines, it should not be more than 5 percent (Skipper 1). One of the leading parameters of well controlled inventory is the inventory turn rate, according to Thompson, which can be arrived at by deriving the value of all parts released from the stock keeping unit and dividing it by the dollar amount of average annual inventory (Skipper 1).

Coal Is Just Not Black Gold Essay Example for Free

Coal Is Just Not Black Gold Essay Based on the literature and observations, he then proposes few strategic recommendations to improve organisational effectiveness both to Law makers and to company. INTRODUCTION Coal India Limited (CIL) is a Government of India Undertaking, Maharatna (Country’s Jewel) company which employees 400,000 people approximately as of April’12. In ended last financial year, with net annual sales of 15 billion dollars, and a net annual operating profit of 3 billion dollars approximately by producing coal from its 466 Coal mines across India and selling it to Power generation companies. It is the biggest and only listed company in the sector, where private companies are not allowed to compete, Thus accounting to 80% of Annual national production of Coal in India. CIL has five unions, which represent all the employees in the company. Since the company is only major coal producer and acts more like a monopoly in the sector, wages are low compared to Industry average in other countries. Coal India apart from producing coal on its own also gives few coal mines to private third parties for contract. These mines are smaller in size and remote for the company to allocate resources, hence they are contracted. This strategy of contracting coal mines and not having enough regulations around Coal production has led to few private contractors preferring illegal means of employment in these coal mines and not allowing private competitors to compete with Public sector companies COAL IN INDIA Indian Coal Industry currently occupies third position by producing 400 metric tons per year ( mtpy), after US (1100 mtpy and China 2400 mtpy. Within the country Coal mining is nationalized and accounts for 60 per cent of electricity production. Coal being crucial resource for economic growth, it is safeguarded by government by passing many acts, Indian Mines Act of 1952, Mines and Minerals Regulation and Development (MMRD) act are the key legislative act meant for protecting labour working in mining industry and governing mining and exploration in India respectively. After further revision in 1993 and 2002, National Mining Policy was outlined by Government of India whose objectives are mineral development through exploration in both Onshore and Offshore fields. Policy is meant to promote mineral industry standardize training and research, considering future needs of the country with minimal impact of nature and ensure safety and health of all people involved in the industry. These objectives do make a progress in standardizing the rules, however it has to clearly describe how the law handles informal mines and how to deal with illegitimacy under current law. According to a Journalist expert of small mines Chakravorty (2002), Illegal mines in India constitute of 88 per cent of the total reported mines in count, producing approximately 10 per cent of the total value of mineral production of the country. This number has increased in the last decade , where 30 per cent of illegal mining. These mines comprise of poor people toiling for lowest wages and almost negligible security, health and safety conditions. According to MMRD Act, Mines Act and other Environmental Acts, all minerals are broadly classified into â€Å"Major† and â€Å"Minor† and rest the responsibility of mining with the state. MMRD has further classified mines has Class A or Class B determined based on the mechanical equipment used and Labour employment the mine generates. Based on financial investment, Labour work, Depth of deposits and technology deployed, mines are simplified to different Classes and given for contract. Typically Class B mines are given for contract to subsidiaries by CIL , One such example is Eastern Coal Fields, in state of Meghalaya, where even though they mines are Small, they are labour intensive and needs to have high security and health standards. National Institute of Small Mines (NISM) , a governing body has classified mines based on the production amounts. From various acts above, it can be understood that legal definitions hinge on physical dimensions of mine, which is in turn is used to determine the effort and time required to mine. However for a complex economic activity like mining with close social linkages and unique to the nature of the mine, such reductionist approach and simplifying mines obscures the diversity of mining practices across scales. As large formal processes of mineral extraction, processing and use cannot be applied to such small mines they tend to be rejected and Illegitimated. Clearly, existing laws have loopholes which are inadequate in handling perennial Informal and Illegal mining. Also Illegal miners cannot lobby for recognition, since current structure of the sector is monopolistic with over 80% reserves under CIL. This situation has resulted in dire consequences and well-being of Local society around colliery areas and environment. COAL INDIA , A MONOPOLY Coal India Limited (CIL) established in 1970, is responsible for mining the coal, while the ownership of which is vested with the state. Consequently the organization has played a critical role in meeting state’s growth plans. The decision making on mineral resources is influenced by engineers, geologists, bureaucrats and political groups and governance is solely vested with CIL. The Coal Mines Nationalisation Bill, 2000 allows state governments to mine coal only if CIL certifies with no Intention to mine certificate. The Ministry of Coal ( MoC ) has awarded CIL a near monopolistic power, giving rise to tight control on its country’s reserves and lack of transparency in many areas. Because of lack of more advanced technology for procuring coal and other social costs, it is also noted that mining cost of Coal in India is 35% higher than other exporting countries like Indonesia, Australia, because of poor productivity ( 3 tonnes / man shift ) as compared to 12 tonnes / man shift in Australia. As a solution privatising of coal sector is attempted, however it is still in preliminary stage. The challenge to policy makers in this regard is to ensure how to safeguard the wealth from illegal mining and environment within the region, at the same time benefit people in mining areas by making laws that do not outcaste people and their livelihoods as illegitimate also ensure greater transparency and standardization in pricing of coal. In coming years, demand for coal in the country is expected to increase multi fold, according to IEA 2006, Reuters 2007, hence the need for government to restructure the sector is critical to not only to answer many global implications concerning climate changes and Kyoto Protocol and but also streamline the definite increase in informal collieries which will continue to meet the demands of local consumers and ensure they meet minimum security and health standards of living. SOCIAL IMPACT Coal India Limited has destroyed environment in many coal traces with no or little concern for social implications, Inspire of Forest and environment controls. This behaviour can be attributed to sole monopoly power vested with one company on nation’s coal production. There were other instances of violation of human rights noticed while employee people at Coal mines One such example, It was noted that at Janita Hills, Meghalaya , India. 5000 children less than age of 18 was trafficked from Assam, Nepal and Bangladesh and employed by coal mines in Meghalaya which are contracted to private contractors by CIL . Many such instances were noticed not only in eastern part of India , but also across many nations’ coal traces in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka states. Inspite of the Mines Act , 1952 which doesn’t allow bonded labourers or people below the age of 18 to work. Sometimes even without environment degradations, large mining projects have impacted social lives with serious implications for the livelihoods of local communities around in and around coal traces, where people were forced to leave their traditional occupations for scavenging in left over coal traces, which are not economically viable for contractors. Such instances were noticed in Jharkhand, where government and company officials have neglected social and cultural issues around the mining areas for years impacting the livelihoods of people living in these areas. This has created a need for extreme leftist or Maoist Movements to resist such acts– as observed by Chandra Bhusan, Associate Director of Centre of Science and Environment. According to him Indian Mineralised tracts are mostly in conflict Zones, since Company officials, technical experts and governing bodies never seriously engaged with social issues. Current legal instruments are anti-poor and of colonial vintage and unable to deal with today’s realities. Many Civil Non-Governmental Organisation groups have taken a non-violent approach to use existing judicial mechanisms such as filing Public Interest Litigation(PIL) to bring justice to local communities whose daily lives are impacted. Ex : PIL filed against Eastern Coalfields Limited by Mazdoor Sabha in Country’s Apex court. Although Supreme Court Panel has lashed against CIL, It remained unresponsive SOCIAL LICENSE TO OPERATE Over the past 2 decades many changes were noticed in global mining industry. There is increased and concerted global efforts where nine major global companies supported a global scale project called Mines, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) Project ,whose direct outcome is to the increasing charges of environmental destruction and irresponsibility on coal mining companies to care socio-cultural changes caused by them in areas of operation are laid out and followed globally. MMSD group of companies agreed that Mining Company in developing countries not only needs Legal license to operate but also Social License to Operate. Under this backdrop At CIL, mining engineers who make all the plans , mining project itself assumes more importance over people living in these mining operations. This view was observed from many bureaucrats in India, CIL uses their rationale that Land Acquisition Act or Coal Bearing Areas Act does not provide assistance for Local people around the impacted areas, thus ignoring local needs and perpetuating illegal mining under its belt. ILLEGAL COAL MINING AND UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS In energy-hungry country like India, demand for coal has increased in the last 2 decades, coal production remained fairly stable, causing coal prices to surge in recent years. The lack of reform and rising demand have spawned a seedy underbelly of â€Å"Coal Mafia† and a class of workers that illegally scavenge the mines for coal. The Coal Nationalization act in 1952, revised in 2000 has made it legal for just the centre or state governments to authorize coal mining, i. . , only government owned companies, its subsidiaries and contracted third parties. Apart from illegally mining, scavenging from abandoned mines is another source of obtaining coal. In West Bengal state for instance Raniganj-Jharia region there are many abandoned mines by CIL subsidiaries which have neglected filling up the mines with sand, as per regulation , consequently villagers have ready access to scavenge. It was also observed that open abandoned underground mines release hazardous gases like Carbon Monoxide which are hazardous and can kill people who go to scavenge left over coal. Scavenging can occur in both underground and open cast mines. The later assumes greater significance. In these areas Poor Security of mines storage and transportation was observed where coal is transported with head baskets into awaiting trucks. Coal India also delivers coal to local sale dumps located near the mines and big dumps, pilferage takes place regularly on major highways from long distance. In eastern India, Its not unusual to see women and children work the unsafe mines with the most rudimentary tools. Most are drawn to it in the hopes of earning a better  income. According to World Bank, over 20 million people depend on mineral resource extraction for living. When this number is compared with formal mining industries it is immensely large. PAUPERIZATION IN COAL MINING AREAS IN INDIA In colliery areas where CIL operates, significant amount of social and environmental transformation takes place over a period of time. Within bureaucratic and political circles the notion that Coal as a commodity is being excavated for greater common good by a Central government owned body like Coal India Limited, represents lack of attentions to people’s interests and social impacts of mining coal. Decay of social fabric, erosion of traditional livelihood, rising levels of urbanisation are some of the socio impacts which vary according to physical proximity of the mine to livelihoods. Between 1971 and 2001, people in Ranijang region in west Bengal have slowly moved away from agriculture as an occupation to mining and scavenging , even in non-colliery areas. Women especially from downtrodden caste and below poverty line are most impacted by this migration. In areas of Jharkhand gradual pauperization of people around coal mining areas have taken place in which traditional land and water rights in the region in which they live are lost and few negligible short term benefits of mining are accrued which will is leading to steady extinction of tribal people in remote coal mining areas. In most of the cases, links between the legal and illegal coal mines are more complex than above example. Both the groups either co-exist or coal mining company complains against scavenging to local authorities as law and order problem, however bureaucratic reply is usually pointing the company should take care of its resources. Hence in the existing legal setup both parties formally or informally will try to co-exist peacefully. Similar setup exists between large scale and small scale transportation in centralized control manner controlled by mafia group. Part of the root cause for such inefficient maintenance, transportation and distribution systems lies with CIL and its subsidiaries where they are not standardized and do not consider domestic consumer, In the entire eastern region CIL doesn’t have large depot to cater the needs of domestic consumers. Hence often industry owner applies for a license to grant coal to fire the furnaces or generate power. This permission is difficult to get and consumer need to bribe any intermediate parties from company officials, bureaucrats and politicians leading to significant overhead cost for the company, there by preferring a shorter and simpler coal extracting methods by joining hands with mafia system or illegal mining. STRATEGY MAKING PROCESS FOLLOWED BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND COAL INDIA In the above sections, various issues faced by the community, company and the system at large are explained. To understand the issue in hand better and to analyse the issues lingering the sector better, Government’s and Company’s behaviour with larger society is compared with few Strategy making processes. According to author, current system has a predefined set of objectives and is thriving to achieve that without considering other subjects involved in entire scenario. This behaviour aptly fits into Classical approach highlighted by Grant (2008). The reductionist approach by MMRD and other acts by the Government can be mapped to this approach Government trying to oversimplify the complexities involved in various mines based on certain factors like Size, productivity etc. , such approach leads to formation of clear goals to the Company and doesn’t allow the company to recognize the emergent behaviour of the employees, people livelihoods in affected areas. Below is a modified representation of Grant’s Classical approach of Strategic Human Resource Management. Figure 1 : Common elements in successful Strategies , Adopted from Grant ( 2008: 7) Author notices that because of monopolistic nature of coal mining sector in India and sufficient support from political circles, there isn’t sufficient pressure on the company for Profound understanding of all the groups involved. In Most of the cases, Long term agreed objectives takes more priority over other priorities mentioned like Profound Understanding of all groups involved, Regular Appraisals of employees involved and Environmental awareness. Hence the company will focus on financial targets to achieve more than Social Impact it creates in thousands of people it impacts. Thus it can be stated that Classical approach readily doesn’t fit in or help in solving the issue. Current Intended strategy of Government of India, behind Nationalization of Coal mining in 1952 is to protect the reserves from exploitation by private parties is well understood, however with the changing times , growing demand and involvement of various other socio-political and technological factors, Intended Strategy is not being completely realized. There is a deliberate effort on its part , to ensure current intended strategy works by allowing illegal mining and scavenging by local people in coal mining areas in order to peacefully co-exist and continue to mine in coal traces. However by comparing the number of court petitions filed by local tribes in Jharkhand, WestBengal living nearer to various collieries, comparing the productivity / person and high cost of mining compared to other export countries it can be understood that , slowly they are moving towards an unrealized strategy where focus is only on net volumes realized and not considering environmental impact . EMERGENT STRATEGY OF STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT In practice organization approach can be explained by Emergent Strategy approach as suggested by Mintzberg (1987) are relevant. According to March (1976) and Mintzberg (1987), planned strategies are not always realized; strategies can often emerge and evolve over a period of time. The Strategy should be moulded over action . Similar such fluid approach can be applied, where an additional dimension as mentioned below in Emergent strategy is required to recover from unrealized strategy and to streamline the company’s goals. Privatization of coal mining along with a holistic review of existing mining policies impacting the sector is the emergent strategy to improve the productivity, transparency of coal production and livelihoods of people involved. However its application remains a challenge. Figure 2 : The Emergent Strategy, source from the strategy concept, California Management Review, Mintzberg. H, 1987. Systemic Approach of Strategic Human Resource management On similar lines to Emergent Approach of Strategic Human resource management, Whittington(1993,2001) systemic approach provides more answers to the issue, where Strategy is shaped by the social system the company operates within. This strategy is shaped by cultural and institutional interests of broader society, since organisations and decision makers are embedded in network of social relations, hence adept understanding of the needs of the society at large and acting accordingly should be key . OUTCOMES Profit-Maximising PROCESSES Deliberate Emergent Pluralistic Classical Evolutionary Systemic Processual OUTCOMES Profit-Maximising PROCESSES Deliberate Emergent Pluralistic Classical Evolutionary Systemic Processual Figure: 3Whittington’s (1993) generic perspective on strategy Author believes Emergent and Systemic approach to planning a strategy is apt and required by all parties involved( both policymakers and industrialists ) in order to operate in complex world with various socio-geo political limitations. This it can be concluded that to effectively manage human esources and to improve organisation performance , integration between human resource management and business strategy holds key for its success. (See Holbeche, 1999; Schuler and Jackson, 1999). EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN COAL INDIA Coal India has both union and non-union based workers. Starting from 2009, it has been recruiting more than 1000 employees every year from premier management and technology schools across India. This is one of managemen t initiatives taken to inject fresh blood and reduce the average age of its labour force. While the decision to recruit young highly talented workforce as change agents is appreciable, 30 to 40 per cent of these employees quit every year for below reasons. 1) Staff felt they were demoralized by senior staff from the beginning. 2) Apart from salary issues, the staffs were under-utilised and faced hostility from seniors. 3) While recruitment, the staff were promised a grade above engineers however not fully implemented even after raising the concern to top management. Hence realized there are limited growth options. Treasurer of Coal Mines Officers Association of India partially accepted the conditions and commented this situation reflects the larger problem of stagnation within the organization It is understood , if the situation continues, the county’s top coal producer is likely to grapple with unprecedented HR crisis across its executive cadre because of limited growth options and 6000 of their employees mostly from executive cadre getting retired every year. Falling on relevant literature , Kochan . T , 2000 has stated that Asian model of employee relations is designed to support an economic strategy that emphasises human resources as a competitive asset- A strategy that requires a highly skilled and committed workforce and a cooperative labour management culture and system. In Coal India, it can be observed that there are required structures in place like Unions for labour management, since the company is too big, management of resources is challenging. Since the company works in a monopolistic structure, there isn’t healthy competition which will push the management to focus on current internal and external problems with more vigilance rather than its current laid back approach and bureaucratic functioning. It can be noted that HR strategies should operate consistently as is a vital part of the overall business plan (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998). Within the organisation senior management there should regularly conduct analysis regarding the kind of HR competencies needed in the future, and accordingly core HR functions (of procurement, development and compensation) should work together collectively to meet such needs. (see Holbeche, 1999). The 2 core aspects which organization has to focus is Integration of HRM into the business and corporate strategy, and the devolvement of HRM to line managers instead of personnel specialists, thereby ensuring company doesn’t have power blockages and allow it to function smoothly. Brewster and Larsen (1992: 411–12) define integration as ‘the degree to which the HRM issues are considered to formulate long term business strategy’ and devolvement as ‘the degree to which HRM practices involve line managers has responsible rather than personnel specialists’. Similarly (Budhwar and Sparrow 1997; 2002; Hope-Hailey et al. , 1997; Truss et al. , 1997; Sisson and Storey, 2000) also highlighted the concept of devolvement for quicker response in large scale organizations. This process, highlights the need of prioritizing the issues and developing/ training more motivated employees for effective control. Instead of having a narrow hierarchy with in organization, there by leading to stagnation, it can be learnt from this theory that local problems should be resolved by local managers at grassroots level affording more time for senior management. Applying this theory to Coal India Limited, It can be understood that mine managers should be more proactive is liaising with local governments and bureaucracies to form an amicable solution for betterment of society as well as company. Company senior management should work closely and provide required assistance and authority to mine managers to perform their duties. In this context, the Coal India Limited management can learn from other global peers to understand how to deal with employee relations related issues effectively. Below is the summary of one such example stated by an author Young-Kee Kim, in his report on Employee relations. LG group from its inception till 1987 achieved high rates of economic growth with support from Government by suppressing unions, however in the period of 1987-89 it has faced severe hostility and strikes from its workers because of which resulted in 740 million dollars of loss. Post 1990 till 2005, as a result of research and many extensive internal surveys the roup has laid importance to new group level policy that emphasis the promotion of human dignity for employees and the maximisation of customer satisfaction. Voluntary employee participation in workplace organisational improvements has been identified as a critical success factor. Consequently the rapid realisation of co-operative labour relations and enlig htened ER practices has been recognised as tasks of major significance my member firms. * Company has evolved gradually from Passive support of Management perception of union to active partnership with unions.. It gradually made a cautious move from not just maintaining a stable labour relations climate in order to avoid labour disputes, it has invited a voluntary participation of employees and union leaders in management activities. * Unions characteristics of providing weak employee support to being professional in their activities and finally Employee Relations have moved from just dealing with basic issues to providing autonomy and participation of employees From the above example it can be understood that Firstly, without management innovation, co-operative Employee Relations cannot be achieved. For Labour management relations to be a positive sum game, these innovations should enable the company to achieve superior performance and the capacity to provide employees with better rewards. Secondly, much time and effort is required from top management to develop a constructive labour management culture. The Employee relations department cannot achieve the development of co-operative employment relations by itself. The labour management relationship should be viewed as a profit – creating relationship, rather than a cost –creating one. Thirdly, the company should support increased independence and professionalism on the part of the union and provide education for union leaders. A union that lacks professionalism is unable to get a full support of its members and lacks effective management strategies for administering union business because of high turnover of union officials. Fourthly, to be successful all these activities should be conducted consistently and systematically over time. Many companies only seriously consider the labour management relationship when faced by a critical problem. Such focused attention tends to fade when the strike is settled. As explained in the above example, LG group has chosen a different path and spent a year analysing its Employee relations. CONCLUSION IS PRIVATISATION A SOLUTION ? Currently both globally and in India, demand for coal is on the rise, thereby increasing the prices of coal. Due to the volatile times passing through, similar to other commodity sectors like Iron, steel, Coal Mining industry will also undergo divestment and monopoly of Coal India Limited will break. However privatisation is not a panacea for all issues lingering the sector. Time has come for Policy makers, bureaucracy and other parties involved come together to answer few critical questions while restructuring the sector. 1) How to deal with thousands of people making their livelihood from illegal mining of coal ? 2) Will the government able to accept few realities like people living in local region , have rights on mineral resources to strength the lower strata and provide a sense of security to their livelihood ? 3) Can the government, restructure the sector with more robust, full proof, social informed laws protecting and respecting the rights and interests of all involved ? ) With experience from privatising other commodities, after privatising coal mining ,it can be estimated that mushrooming of small coal mining leases can be experienced in an open market scenario. Hence laws and policies safeguarding the interests should be more inclusive than before. Where policies and laws have to deliver sustainable benefits to local and global communities, un like current laws that are focused only on mitigating the negative impacts of mining on the environment and marginalizing small groups over national priorities. Government policies need to take a more holistic approach in understanding about production of â€Å"Illegal mines† as well as marketing and distribution chains through which legally mined coal is illegally distributed. It is vital to integrate local interests in mine management plans to provide access to resources for local people and co-exist peacefully for inclusive growth.. References : Books and Internet Links * Bamber J, Park F, Lee C, Ross P and Broadbent K, 2000, Employment Relations in the ASIA-PACIFIC Changing Approaches, Allen and Unwin, Australia. BeardWell J ;amp; Claydon T, 1994, Human Resouce Management – A Contemporary Approach, Pearson Education Limited, Great Britian. * LG Group ( 1994) LG Labour – Management Relations Long-term Model Report * http://www. thehindubusinessline. com/companies/article2470720. ece * http://economictimes. indiatimes. com/coal-india-ltd/infocompanyhistory/companyid-11822. cms * http://articles. economictimes. indiatim es. com/2011-10-18/news/30295579_1_iits-and-iims-new-recruits-cil * http://www. firstpost. com/business/labour-pangs-for-coal-india-scrip-melts-in-the-heat-67084. tml * http://in. reuters. com/article/2012/10/12/tci-coalindia-idINDEE89B08G20121012 * http://www. dnaindia. com/money/report_coal-india-to-face-india-s-first-class-action-suit-in-15-days_1770358 * http://www. livemint. com/Companies/jEkLsitce5Qt0wx3gyS3sM/Coal-India8217s-UK-shareholder-to-file-petition-in-Indian. html * http://ibnlive. in. com/news/meghalaya-braveheart-fights-against-child-labour-in-coal-mines/266778-3. html * http://www. amusingplanet. com/2011/05/child-labor-in-indian-coal-mines. html * http://www. elshcoalmines. co. uk/forum/read. php? 4,50329,50370#msg-50370 * http://www. mining. com/los-angeles-times-uncovers-child-labour-in-indias-coal-mines/ * http://articles. timesofindia. indiatimes. com/2012-11-14/guwahati/35111450_1_child-labourers-coal-mines-meghalaya-government * http://www. businessinsider. com/photos-indias-illegal-coal-mines-2012-10? op=1 * http://www. thesundayindian. com/en/story/the-unfortunate-social-costs-of-coalgate-and-such-scams/42442/ * http://papers. ssrn. com/sol3/papers. cfm? abstract_id=1716581 *

Nature versus Nurture: The debate

Nature versus Nurture: The debate A View of Two Fields of Thought: Nature versus Nurture A debate has been brewing in the field of education and philosophy for hundreds of years. Many intellectuals have pondered over this subject and have taken one side or the other, but to this day no definite answer exists. The battle of nature versus nurture, or rationalism versus empiricism, has so long been debated and has been addressed in so much literature that one would be hard pressed to find an educator who hasnt thought about this topic and considered the merits of each school of thought. This debate affects how educators view their students as well as how they believe children can be taught, so it is important to explore the history of each side and investigate the evidence so educators as well as parents can understand how to access their childs potential. In 380 B.C.E. Plato wrote a play titled Meno. In this work, he discussed through his characters how intelligence was based on recollection. This concept was derived from the idea that once a human being dies, his soul is reincarnated into another human being and that newly born person has all of the knowledge that his former life possessed. Therefore, Plato believed in the idea that knowledge was innate (Allen 165-174). He believed that people were divided into social or intellectual classes by the type of metal that supposedly ran through their souls. These metals were gold, silver, brass and iron and they were used to keep the social hierarchy in check. If someone were believed to have gold in their soul, they would theoretically govern the state and be of superior intelligence. Someone who had silver in their soul was seen as a warrior of the state and if someone was believed to have brass or iron in their soul, they were never meant for a high ranking position in the social spher e but to dwell on the earth as members of the lower class (Voegelin 230). The next great mind to enter the nature versus nurture debate came around in the mid 1600s. Rene Descartes created an entire school that is known today as the Cartesian school of thought. Descartes and his followers adopted the idea of dualism, meaning that the soul is separate from the body and that the soul does not have a physical manifestation (Gardner 33). This idea goes along well with the previously mentioned theories of Plato. In a dedicatory letter to the Sorbonne, Descartes attempted to prompt his literary work, Mediations on First Philosophy. This letter outlined Descartes key ideas concerning knowledge and dualism. He emphasized that all that is known about God is manifested in people, and to figure out those manifestations one must use reasoning, which takes place in the brain. Also throughout the letter Descartes made it a point to mention how people have certain aptitudes for different vocations, such as metaphysical studies or geometry; he also explored the idea that people can be intellectually gifted, as to say they were granted their intelligence from birth. Descartes had little evidence to support this reasoning beyond his heavy reliance on philosophy and his strong religious beliefs. Like Plato, he believed that the soul lived on after the body had expired (Descartes 3-11). As time moved on, the nature argument started to move away from the religious vantage point and more toward scientific research. Francis Galton would be among the first men who conducted such experiments. In Galtons book Hereditary Genius he stated the argument that the high reputation of a man could be used as an accurate assessment of high ability. He studied eminent men such as the Judges of England from 1660 to 1868 and also the Statesmen during the reign of George III. Along with these men, Galton also studied men of a wide variety of professions since he believed it was important to study many different grades of ability (Galton 2). He studied nearly 300 families and concluded that eminent men do tend produce eminent sons (307). From this conclusion, Galton set out to continue his research, only this time he wouldnt focus his attention on the biographies of successful men; he would continue his research with the study of twins. Through the process of sending out surveys to people who either were twins or those who were close relatives of twins, Galton found further support for his rationalist theories. At first he addressed a number of twins who were very similar from birth, and then he addressed those sets of twins who were dissimilar from the very beginning, which he considered more relevant to his cause. He presented several testimonies from parents of twins stating that even though the twins were nurtured the exact same way from the moment they were born, they showed great difference. A specific case stated that two male twins acted as compliments to one another. One boy would possess a certain set of qualities and attributes where as the other would be the polar opposite of his twin brother who had received the same nurture. Galton states that through all of his correspondences, he could not find one case where the twins started out different and were assimilated through nurture (Galton 391-406). Galton continued to study the issue of hereditary intelligence in many other books and journals, but one his most famous proposals was his ideas on eugenics. Because Galton believed that knowledge was inherited, he thought that it would benefit humanity if only intelligent people were allowed to reproduce. In â€Å"Eugenics: Its Definition, Scope, and Aims†, Galton laid out his plan for how this process would go about happening. He went as far as to call this way of living a â€Å"new religion† that should be fully pushed upon people so they whole heartedly accept it (Galton ). We now know that for a period in history, Galtons ideas were successful and many people around the world were sterilized against their will as a way to attempt to breed the perfect human race (Dikotter). In Galtons later research he discovered â€Å"regression to the mean†, which is the idea that human beings tend to move toward the average no matter how above or below average their parent s are. This discovery disappointed his hopes of breeding the perfect human race (Galton â€Å"Regression†). Another interesting contributor to the nature argument was Cesare Lombroso. In his book, â€Å"Crime, its causes and remedies†, Lombroso attempted to lie out the naturally occurring tendencies of a criminal. He studied groups of people in Europe and came to the conclusion that features such as hair color, skull size and facial structure were indicators that a person was innately criminal. He also determined that race was a factor in finding naturally born criminals as well. He used the Jewish people as an example for his race theory. He said that Jews were much less likely to commit crimes compared to the gypsies, who he believed where in the same socioeconomic class. Lombroso wrote about schooling as well. He believed that if a student in elementary school displayed the characteristics that he had categorized as criminal then the student should be taken away from the other children and be caught in a way to discourage the innate criminality from surfacing (Lombroso). Much more recently, Charles Murray has addressed this debate and has strongly lobbied for inherited intelligence. In the book â€Å"The Bell Curve† written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, these men aimed to prove that Americas growing inequality was due to the fact that skilled labor was much more valuable today than unskilled labor. Because both Herrnstein and Murray believed that IQ directly correlated with skill, they believed that the gap between people in society will only continue to grow as unskilled jobs fade away (Murray bell curve). In an article written by Murray published in the Wall Street Journal, he claimed that a persons IQ is directly connected to their intelligence and that that number cannot possibly change no matter what kind of education is given to that student. Through his investigation, he found that when someone tried to raise their IQ, it only went up an average of about 8 points as after time progressed, the number returned back to what it had originally been. Considering the national assessment of educational progress scores, 36% of all fourth graders were below the standards of basic achievement in reading; Murray stated that this number should be considered acceptable since 36% of fourth graders, according to the normal distribution, have IQs lower than 95. He even made the bold claim that if you argue that an IQ test doesnt determine intelligence, then G, someones natural intellectual ability, does (Murray Newspaper). The other side of the nature versus nurture debate lies with those who believe nurture is the predominate cause of intelligence and personality. A few years after Descartes died, John Locke came forward with his views on rationalism verses empiricism. He thought it was wrong to believe a small child had any innate ideas, and he is well known for his theory that a mind is like a blank, white piece of paper that parents and teachers can write on as they see fit to shape and mold the child into adulthood. Locke believed that ideas came from two places: first from sensory information and second from reflections (115spiral). In Lockes â€Å"Essay Concerning Human Understanding† he attacked the theory of innate knowledge by assuming that if there were innate principles in the human mind, everyone would agree on these principles. Because not all people agreed, it proved to Locke that there were in fact no innate principals at all. Also, in what seems like a direct attack at Descartes , Locke argued the innateness of God to be fictional because there are cultures all around the world that do not recognize any god at all (Locke). Around the same time as Locke, George Berkeley achieved recognition for his theories on empiricism as well. Berkeley believed that the mind was what everything in existence revolved around and that matter did not actually exist, thinking that all things in the world were composed of ideas (Flage). He thought that all things were either sensations or perceptions and one can only know what one sees. Berkeley believed that when a person looks at something, they only see the appearance of the object and not the real qualities which arent perceivable to anyone. Human senses are the only way people can understand the things in the world (Berkeley 193-215). The third well know empiricist of the time was David Hume. Hume believed that what was in the mind could be broken down into basic sensations. He theorized that thinking was just a byproduct of disconnected sensations and ideas were like vague copies of distinct perceptions or impressions and everything past those ideas and perceptions were unnecessary to explore (D. Murray 11-12). Years later in the late 1800s, John Watson published a book called Behaviorism. He presented a thesis about human instincts and discussed what human beings are born being able to do. He claims that those functions are in fact not instincts as instincts were defined at the time. He claimed that everything that people had initially thought were instincts were actually learned behaviors that came about as a result of training. On this evidence, he stated â€Å"that there is no such thing as an inheritance of capacity, talent, temperament, mental constitution and characteristics† (Watson 75). He believed that if a child has a father that is a good swordsman, the child will only become a good swordsman if the father nurtures him to be so, not just because he has his fathers genes. He supported this idea by referencing all the different customs and tendencies of people all across the world and how they all differ due to their culture and environment (74-75). One relevantly recent phenomenon is the Flynn Effect, which is describes as significant increases in IQ over time. This effect has been attributed to a variety of factors such as â€Å"improved nutrition; increased environmental complexity; and family, parental, school and methodological factors† (Daley 215). All of these components of the Flynn affect were at first criticized for focusing on only industrialized and urban areas, but a group of people from the University of California went to Kenya to help strengthen the Flynn Effects environmental explanations (215). The study took place in the Embu District of Kenya. The first research was done in 1984 and then again in 1998 with two different groups of children. The researches administered three tests to the group of children they were studying. The tests were: the Ravens Progressive Matrices, the verbal meaning test, and the digit span test. It was determined that the second group of children in 1998 scored higher than those in 1984, proving that the Flynn Effect was definitely present. To explain these increases the researchers looked to see if the environmental factors had changed during the 14 years. Nutrition became better, which is represented by the increase in kilocalories and protein from 1984 to 1998 as well as a decrease in children who had an insufficient caloric intake. The environment also became more complex, with the addition of a few televisions as well as a majority of parents reporting to have read a newspaper or magazines at least once a week. Both of these factors had not existed in the community during the 1984 study. In addition, family size decreased in Kenya, which allowed the households to spend more on the individual children and the family structure shifted from nuclear families to single parent households run by the mother. Parental education and literacy also increased during the 14 years, going from 26% of mothers reporting no schooling in 1984 to only 8.7% in 1998. Schooling didnt change much during the time period, but there was an increase in the number of children who attended Sunday school, so this could be seen as an extra day of schooling. The health of the children didnt improve and the hemoglobin counts actually worsened over the time period, but the most severe causes of anemia decreased from 1984 to 1989 (217-219). The main impacts on the children according to this study were parental literacy, family stature and health. All of the children in the study belonged to the same tribe so the researchers believed this to be proof that the environment a child is raised in has much affect on his or her intelligence (219). One of the most recent empiricists is Geoffrey Canada. Canada grew up in inner city New York but moved to Long Island with his grandparents in his early teens. He graduated from high school and went to college and then attended graduate school at Harvard University. Canada eventually became the CEO and president of Harlem Childrens Zone. Currently, the program spans 97 blocks in New York City and caters to nearly 8000 students. He whole heartedly believes that with the right amount of guidance and direction, the struggling students in inner cities can learn to appreciate learning and to increase their intelligence through their environment in the classroom (Moore). In Paul Toughs book â€Å"Whatever it takes: Geoffrey Canadas quest to change Harlem and America† the program is described in great detail and it shows how the lives of the children have been adjusted to foster learning (Tough). The programs success became evident in 2009 â€Å"when its charter school, the Promise Academy, eliminated the achievement gap for math between average black students and white students in New York City† (Moore). The debate over nature versus nurture spans back to when philosophy was predominantly the way of explaining the acquisition of knowledge and continues in more recent times with scientific evidence consisting of facts and numbers giving support to one side or the other. Both the recent and historical back and forth between great scholars helps each individual, be they parent or educator, come to their own personal conclusions of whether nature or nurture is the more dominant factor contributing to a persons knowledge and IQ. Works Cited Allen, R.E.. Anamnesis in Platos Meno and Phaedo.The Review of Metaphysics13 (1959):165-174.JSTOR. Flage. 29 Mar. 2010. Berkeley, George. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. sax: Indypublish.Com, 2003. 193-215. Print. Daley, Tamara, Shannon Whaley, Marian Sigman, Michael Espinosa, and Charlotte Neumann. IQ on the Rise: The Flynn Effect in Rural Kenyan Children . Psychological Science 14 (2003): 215-219. JSTOR. Flage. 30 Mar. 2010. Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes (Volume II). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 3. Print. Dikotter, Frank. Race Culture: Recent Perspectives on the History of Eugenics. The American Historical Review 103 (1998): n. pag. JSTOR. Flage. 29 Mar. 2010. Flage, Daniel. George Berkeley (1685-1753). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . James Madison University, 4 Apr. 2004. Flage. 28 Mar. 2010. . Galton, Francis . Regression Towards Mediocrity in Hereditary Stature. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 15 (1886): n. pag. Jstor. Flage. 2 Apr. 2010. Galton, Francis. The History of Twins, as a Criterion of the Relative Powers of Nature and Nurture. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 5 (1876): 391-406. JSTOR. Flage. 29 Mar. 2010. Galton, Francis. Eugenics: Its Definition, Scope, and Aims. The American Journal of Sociology 10 (1904): n. pag. JSTOR. Flage. 28 Mar. 2010. Galton, Sir Francis. Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences (Classic Reprint). asdbjsadjkas: Forgotten Books, 2009. Print. Gardner, Howard, Mindy Kornhaber, and Warren K. Wake. Intelligence: Multiple Perspectives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1995. 33-36. Print. Herrnstein, Richard J., and Charles Murray. Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (A Free Press Paperbacks Book). 1st Free Press Pbk. Ed ed. New York City: Free Press, 1996. Print. Lombroso, Cesare. Crime: Its Causes and Remedies. 1918: Legal Classics Library, A Division Of Gryphon Editions, 1994. Print. Moore, Jina. Empathy is his superpower / The Christian Science Monitor CSMonitor.com. The Christian Science Monitor CSMonitor.com. N.p., 7 Sept. 2009. Flage. 4 Apr. 2010. . Murray, Charles. Intelligence in the Classroom Half of all children are below average, and teachers can do only so much for them. . Wall Street Journal n/a (2007): 1-3. Print. Murray, D.W.. What is the Western Concept of the Self? on Forgetting David Hume. Ethos 21 (1993): 11-12. JSTOR. Flage. 30 Mar. 2010. Tough, Paul. Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canadas Quest to Change Harlem and America. New York: Mariner Books, 2009. Print. Voegelin, Eric. The La. Plato. 1 ed. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2000. 230. Print. Watson, John. B.. Are There Any Human Instincts?. Behaviorism. San Diego: West Press, 2008. 74-75. Print. Theories of Crime and Gender: Research Study Theories of Crime and Gender: Research Study Crime Gender __________________________________ Contents (Jump to) Introduction    Why Gender? Why Crime? Ground Rules – Laying the Foundation for a Thorough Discussion: Feminism Sociological Motivation Offenders – Women who Violate the â€Å"Norm† Victims –   In their â€Å"natural† place†¦ In the System – The Influence of Dominant Social Structures Paradigms Field Perspective – A Short Experimental Inquiry into Current Perceptions about Women Violent Crime The Verdict – Moving Forward with Facts†¦ and assumptions References __________________________________ Appendix A Research Surveys Appendix B Annotated SPPS Output Appendix C Raw Data Introduction Why Gender? Why Crime? The answer to the question posed above could be any one of the following: In the tradition of Sir Edmund Hillary in referring to why he climbed Mt. Everst, simply, â€Å"Because it is there†. In the modern tradition of rhetoric, â€Å"Why not?† In ‘typical’ answer one might expect, because both are compelling, engaging topics in which virtually everyone has a vested interest in and both are issues fundamental to the social and political fabric of modern life. The truth is simply â€Å"all of the above† with a heavy emphasis on #3. These topics have the fortune of being both broad and â€Å"loaded†. It is broad in the sense that both subjects, in and of themselves, is the subject of the life’s work of numerous notable academians as well as that of many law enforcement, social service and legal professionals. Without question, the subjects, especially gender, is loaded with emotion. While many might believe that feminism is a wasted effort to redirect attention and funds, others pursue the topic with all the righteous vigor of that associated with the abolition of slavery. The topics of gender and crime would be much easier to cover if, like a traditional Venn diagram, there were but a small area of overlap. In contrast, the two subjects seem to only grow when combined. With this in mind, a logical treatise on the subject is yet possible by presentation with a logical stepwise progression through fundamental theoretical perspectives followed by the systematic treatment of each key stakeholder. Following this, original research will be reviewed and discussed in light of the foundations laid. Based on these findings, additional lines of inquiry to tease out further salient differences and issues will be proposed. Ground Rules Laying the Foundation for a Thorough Discussion: Feminism Sociological Motivation Feminism It becomes quite apparent with on a cursory review of literature that crime is a man’s arena. Unanimously, researchers agree that the overwhelming majority of crime is committed by men and that gender is the strongest predictor of criminality (Messerschmidt 1997, p. 1; Belknap 2001, pp. xii, 5-6; Heidensohn 1997, p. 491). In itself, this begs the question of why this is the case. Though any answer to this question falls short of the answer to the ‘whole’ question, it is enough to pique interest and to begin a line of inquiry into the simple matter, given the roughly 50/50 gender distribution, why must is be the case that men commit more than ten times the crimes that women do (or are they just not caught?). The simple fact that most crimes are committed by men and not by women creates questions as to the reasoning behind this. Though seemingly far from what might be considered a typical feminist agenda, the issue of crime and gender is indeed a fundamental issue of gender and, therefore central to the thoughts of feminism. In assigning a feminism interest to the issue of gender and crime, additional complications arise due to the multiple perspectives of feminism within its own ranks. While the uninitiated might label all feminists alike, this is not the case as there are five major division within the overall perspective of â€Å"a woman-centered description and explanation of human experience and the social world† (Belknap 2001, p. 16). Below is a table listing each major faction and the outlook regarding key issues: Label Perspective Liberal feminism Believe that women’s access to equality in education, employment and â€Å"public† things in general are blocked by generally accepted (but wrong) principles, policies and laws. Marxist feminism Disciples of this division are most concerned with class and economic inequalities. Socialist feminists Take issue with Marxist’s in that they insist that it is not class alone but also instilled systems and that perpetuate inequalities. Radical feminists Another reaction against Marxist feminism that again goes beyond it in that they emphasize patriarchal systems as sources of inequality and, of all the factions, this one is the most likely to â€Å"hold individual men, rather than society, responsible†. Post-modern feminists Advocates of a multiple perspective view in that the issues that any woman faces are different based upon class, race, age, etc. (Belknap 2001, pp. 16-17) Though feminism is a diverse and sometimes, even divisive, arena, each ‘faction’ has a belief that men and women should receive equal treatment under the law and in society in general. Criminology, with its overwhelming use of masculine models, theories and subjects has largely attempted to impose these models upon female crime, crime victims and system-issues in an effort to explain how and why female crime occurs. Though these models are insightful and useful, they do not fully explain male or female criminology. Consequently, the utilization of the feminist perspective may be quite useful in not only generating models for female offenders but able to shed light on what went wrong with male criminals. This feminist viewpoint is different from other perspectives in the following ways: Gender is not a natural fact but a complex social, historical and cultural product related to but limited to any biological basis for sex. Gender and gender relation create and sustain fundamental order in social life and institutions. Gender relations are based upon masculine and feminine constructs in which men are viewed are socially, politically, and economically dominant over women. The production of knowledge is gendered in that men produce it from their point of view. Women and women’s issues should be at the center of attention and inquiry. (Belknap 2001, p. 13) With the realization that half of the planet’s population is female, the duration of the dominance ‘typical’ perspectives becomes even more curious. Thus, in consideration of crime and gender, the feminist perspective can be enlightening both for the perspective on the majority as well as to provide novel insight into female-committed crime as well as how it is possible that approximately 93% of the [female] populate are ‘crime-free’. Were we able to find this mystery female ‘ingredient’ (is it butterflies?) and, were it able to be instilled, socialized, taught, administered or cultivated in any way in the other half of the population, the world would be virtually crime-free. An example of how the feminist perspective has already fundamentally changed the view of society at large is in regards to rape. Clearly a violent crime, [male] researchers had, prior to the emergence of the feminist perspective, simply gathered data on this crime in the same way that did not fully capture the reality of situation. Specifically, the number of rapes committed each year was reported based upon statistics gathered from police records, a source that is contingent upon a crime being reported and how a crime is defined. As it would turn out, many â€Å"rapes† are not reported and further, the legal definition of â€Å"rape† may not exactly fit the reality of a victim who may have been forced to have sex (Belknap 2001, p. 20). Sociological Motication: Why People Commit Crime There are a number theories as to why crimes are committed. Clearly, there are crimes of passion and as many other reasons as there are unfulfilled desires of the heart. Despite the overwhelming possibilities, there emerge a few predictable bases as well as other â€Å"systematic† rationale for deviant behavior. Without engaging in the broadest of philosophical arguments as to what constitutes â€Å"right† and what separates this from â€Å"wrong†, a key tenet to lawbreaking that we should accepts is that of â€Å"mens rea† or, â€Å"guilty mind†. This Latin phrase is central in that we excerpt from our discussion those who commit a crime â€Å"by mistake, under duress or while insane† (Hampton 1990, pp.1). Consequently, of the millions of crimes committed, it becomes imperative to study the matter to determine to cause and ultimately to prevent their commission in the first place as those who commit such acts do so willfully, with at least s ome idea of the potential penalties and with the knowledge that harm is likely or, depending on the crime, is certain to occur to persons or property though this will be presented not from a individual psychological perspective but rather that of a large scale sociological perspective. Early criminologists believed primarily believed that crime was a ‘class’ problem, an issue that was confined for the most part to lower socio-economic strata (Lynch 1996, pp. 4, 8-9). This view point is still widely held and, as regression goes, still has significant explanatory power though there are other variables in the equation. As criminologist evolved in their thinking, questions of gender and race began to be considered. Messerschmidt, in Crimes as Structured Action (1997), indicates that each of these variables is more than a simple binary-type factor that someone either has or does not. In the same way that feminists recognize different feminist experiences, Messerschmidt puts for a theory of structured action. Similarly, in this model, each factor is contextual and has a relational aspect with regards to the other factors. For example, in some circumstances, one may be a â€Å"male†, in others, and â€Å"African-American† while yet in others â⠂¬Å"working class†. These identities are constructed through social interaction and existing social structures such as church, home, work, etc. Defined in broader terms, social structures are those â€Å"regular and patterned forms of interaction over time that constrain and channel behavior in specific ways† (Messerschmidt 1997, p. 5). These social structures are created by culpable people and perpetuated by the same. In essence the perspectives that one accepts and endorses, even if implicitly, one also perpetuates, even in cases in which one ‘just goes along with it’ as ultimately, there is an accountability that people take on themselves when they choose to construe themselves as a certain way in a specific situation (Messerschmidt 1997, pp. 4-6). Though it is something of the ‘American way’ and reminiscent of some versions of Arthurian legend that a person who is ‘good’ or works ‘hard enough’ is not limited in their ability to achieve success as the world sees its, there seems to be a great correlation between one’s race, class, neighborhood, gender and other key factors as to how one’s life choices play out. This view is specifically termed the â€Å"structured life course† and indicates that ones choices about any given matter are often not so much a function of a true individual choice but are frequently arise of a function of nearly inevitable consequences caused by political, social or economic forces that serve to either increase of decrease the likelihood of any particular act (Lynch 1996, pp. 6-7,15; Messerschmidt 1997, p. 7). In support of this, consider the following facts: 34% of all families living under the poverty line are headed by single female workers. 65% of all females in the work force are either single, widowed, divorced, separated or married to men earning less that $15,000/year. African Americans earn, on average, 64% of what whites earn.  ½ Of African American children grow up in poverty. The wealthiest 1% possess 42% of the wealth in America. Most millionaires are born, not made. Class affects where you grow up, how you grow up, the quality of schools you attend (from elementary through college), occupational choices, career path, whom you marry and the cycle begins again with your children. (Lynch 1997, p.11, 12, 16) An additional explanation for the problem of crime that has the potentiality to build upon the precept of the structured action theory is the theory proposed by Hirschi and Gottfredson in A General Theory of Crime (1990) in which they posit that the critical variable in an individual choosing to commit a crime is that of â€Å"self control†. With the exception of a very few acts, the overwhelming majority of crimes are â€Å"trivial and mundane affairs that result in little loss and less gain† (Brannigan 1997, p. 405). Further, the authors suggest that crimes, though usually unplanned, are the result of deliberate (though poor) choices and incur a degree of recklessness or offensiveness that is variable to the extent of the â€Å"underlying criminality† of the individual. The degree of â€Å"criminality† is closely related to this extent to which they are impulsive and, according, have low self-control. In terms of their character or behavior, this has a number of outcomes which contribute to the ‘downward spiral’: a need for immediate gratification, the â€Å"utilization of simple means†, i.e., pay without performance, sex without marriage or commitment, justice or revenge without court costs or delays, etc., biases towards risky and exciting activities, little interest in â€Å"skilful or sophisticated criminal planning† and, insensitivity to the pain of others (Brannigan 1997, p. 406). From these behaviors, additional consequences follow such as tendencies to: smoke, drink, use drugs, gamble, have children out of marriage and engage in risky, illicit sex, be impulsive and insensitive, physical (i.e., not ‘intellectual’), short-sighted, and nonverbal (Brannigan 1997, p. 406; Storvall, E., L. Wichstrom, H. Pape Nova. 2003, p. 194) The character trait that produces this string of products is produced (or not) in the first six to eight years of childhood (Brannigan 1997, p. 410). During this period, the institution of the family is particularly important as a person is socialized and receives the psychological grounding that produces good impulse- and self-control. Without discounting either the structured action theory, life course theory or the general theory of crime (low self-control), a discussion of criminal behavior would not be complete without a discussion of life cycle theory of Sampson Laub. In the life cycle theory, the idea of internal and external factors in the commission of crime is viewed within the perspective that criminality is a function of age. In this theory, it is noted that, â€Å"the patterns of offending over [an individual’s] life cycle commonly follow an age curve – a peak†¦ which rises throughout the late adolescence and which declines into early adulthood†. Interestingly, the level of the crest of criminality varies with the race and gender of the offender as well as, accordingly, with those that can be labeled â€Å"high- or low-frequency† offenders (Brannigan 1997, p. 409). With this in mind, Brannigan points out, many programs that are aimed at curbing crime or rehabilitating o ffenders will commit grievous errors if the assumption is made that a certain regimen is effective that fails to account for this â€Å"invariant† feature (Brannigan 1997, p. 410). Another model, social capital or social bond theory, names the additional external factor of positive or negative social pressures in the form of relationships and so-called â€Å"social capital† that exists in the form of a steady job, a good marriage and other stabilizing (or not) relational bonds that influence criminality (Brannigan 1997, p. 411; Belknap 2001, p. 47, Batton 2004, p. 430; Giordano, Cernkovich Rudolph 2002, p. 990). The fundamental approach of this theory is on what induces most people and nearly all females to obey the law. Because of this, it is a distinctly feminist approach in light of the overwhelming data indicating that crime is, in nearly all cases a male issue. In all, there are a number of approaches that one can justifiably take to explain why people commit crimes. Though each one can be viewed as a separate proposition, it does not seem to be a crime to simply use each for what it is, that is, a partial representation of a broad and complex topic. In light of this, it seems to be a reasonable approach to posit a de facto theory by which race, class and gender, in combination with internal self-control and external relational factors work together to create real and virtually real structures and courses that interact over the course of a person’s life span to create a seemingly complete, reasonable and accurate explanation for most criminal acts. Viewed contextually, combinations of such risk factors as being male, having a corrupted network of friends could be overcome by being raised in a caring family environment with other ‘insulating’ factors. Similarly, a moment of poor impulse control could begin a process that quickly spirals out of control. Offenders Women who Violate the â€Å"Norm† In summary of women as principal agents in the commission of a crime, a few general trends become obvious: women commit a very small portion of all crimes, about 4-7% in the US and UK, the crimes they do commit are, on average, fewer, less severe and less likely to be â€Å"professional† or repeat offenders, women form a very small portion of prison populations. (Heidensohn 1997, pp. 491-492) Further, in all crimes except rape, the factor of gender becomes even more disparate as men are not only far more likely to commit a crime, they are even more likely to be a victim (Batton 2004, p. 423). According to 2000 statistics, men accounted for 89.6% of murder arrests and commit suicide at approximately 4x the rate of females (Batton 2004, p. 425). Though women commit far fewer crimes, some authors note that the rate of growth of female offenders is growing at a faster rate than that of males (Heidensohn 1997, pp. 494-496). Despite this, it is important to keep in perspective comparatively diminutive population of female offenders and that a large increase in the relative rate may yet still be quite a small number in absolute value. In regards to our ‘wholly unified’ theory as a composite of ‘all with predictive power’, a review of homicide data from 1960 – 2000 indicates that as female work for participation increased, the rate of murders committed by females has decreased. This suggests that as women gain greater power through increased penetration of established social structures, this has reduced the stress and frustration and subsequent ‘out-of-control’ feeling that can lead to lethal consequences. This finding is in contrast to male homicide rates that, during the same period, either stayed the same or increased, while workforce participation also remained constant (Batton 2004, p. 452). One theme that seems to emerge across studies of deviant behavior in females and males is the tendency of females to reports higher internal sources of problems than males (Storvall, E., L. Wichstrom, H. Pape Nova. 2003, p. 200; Batton 2004, pp. 428-429). Examples of this would be depression, stress from â€Å"success† in breaking through social structures or stress in being frustrated by them. This suggests the possibility that the specific motivations behind the commission behind criminal acts may be more internally driven for females and more external for males. In support of social bond theory are findings from research on female juveniles who socialize in three predominantly different setting with regards to support structures in the form of relationships and friendship networks. In this research, the greater the extent of the female-dominated friendship bonds, the less the extent of property crimes. This effect was greatest in â€Å"school females† and progressively weaker with â€Å"school males† and â€Å"street females† and virtually nonexistent for â€Å"homeless males† (McCarthy, Felmlee, Hagan 2004, p. 805). In regards to women who do commit crimes, particularly violent crimes such as domestic abuse or murder, they do so very much as men seem to do. For example in the case of domestic violence, both women and men were â€Å"equally likely to have used severe violence and inflicted severe injuries†¦, to have previously committed violence against nonintimates, and to have been using drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrest† (Busch Rosenberg 2004, p. 49). Victims In their â€Å"natural† place†¦ Despite males being victims of crimes more than females, no discussion of gender and crime would be complete with out a discussion of women as victims of crimes. Indeed, this fact may even be surprising to many that would think that ‘female’ is synonymous with being weaker and more vulnerable. Though women may not be, on average, physically as strong as men, the image is clearly more powerful than reality and this may propogate the well-documented fact that women, despite being a victim less, fear being a victim more (Belknap 2001, p. 206). There are however, certain crimes that are notably perpetrated almost exclusively against women. The most heinous of these is rape and no legitimate discussion of gender and crime would be complete with its omission. Rape is a crime typically committed against women and, in all likelihood, is committed far more than it is reported. While it is the case that it does disproportionately affect women with figures of 34% of Native American women, 18 % of white women, and 19% for African American indicating that they have been victimized (Belknap 2001, p. 218). An additional study surveyed 930 women randomly who gave responses indicating that 44% had been â€Å"victims of a completed or attempted rape† with 24% indicating a rape did definitively occur. Yet another study indicates that up to 53% of women experiencing some form of sexual assault (Belknap 2001, p. 231). TO put this into perspective, if you are a man, chances are 50/50 that your mother, your wife and your daughter has or will be sexually assaulted. If this was a female issue, it seems that the widespread dissemination of information such as this might affect matters. Though the incidence of any rape is too high, reporting and data gathering on this is itself a confounding issue, due in largely to the twin factors of social pressures to not report a shameful experience and the often uncertain definition of what actually constitutes â€Å"rape† or â€Å"sexual assault†. Also, there is likely the disproportionate reporting of certain types of rape such as the stereotypical â€Å"stranger assault† in which it is more socially acceptable to be a ‘victim’ (Belknap 2001, p. 233). The experience of being violated in the way of a rape is often difficult for women to admit, knowing that they may likely bring negative attention to themselves in the form of â€Å"victim blame† or potentially even with the threat of additional violence. Until comparatively recent times and not until the advent of the feminist influence was there much sympathy in the ‘system’ for rape victims (Belknap 2001, p. 215). Additionally, many of rapes are not the stereotypical ‘man in the bushes’ crime but are committed in situations that are â€Å"fuzzy†. Circumstances involving former consensual partners such as ex-boyfriends or ex-husbands or in scenarios where consent might have been given to point or scenarios that escalate out-of-hand but involved consent for some degree of sexual activity cloud the judgment not only police, prosecutors, and juries but the minds of victims as well. Regardless of the relationships of the victim to the offender who is convicted, Scully, indicates that none of them felt â€Å"guilt† regarding their proven actions. This finding corroborates the findings and predictions of the self-control theory as postulated by Hirschi and Gottfredson in which perpetrators are insensitive to others (Belknap 2001, p. 234). An additional crime that is typically thought of as one in which females are victims is that of domestic violence in which up to 23% of women reporting an incident with this over their lifetimes (Heidensohn 1997, p. 495). This is yet another situation in which there are social structure pressure as well as the familiar problem of definition. In regards to the degree of activity needed to constitute a â€Å"crime†, one study indicates that none of the men that completed a survey on the matter defined a number of listed incidents as a â€Å"crime† while 39% of the surveyed women identified them as such (Heidensohn 1997, p. 495). Clearly, a difference of opinion exists. This difference of opinion, though not justified, is nicely illustrated by research that indicated victims of domestic violence â€Å"justify† it and that the perpetrators â€Å"excuse† it. Specifically, regardless of the degree, women, who comprise 95% of the victims of this crime, either underreport the incidents or the severity of the incidents and men use excuses such as frustration, anger or intoxication to avoid or deny responsibility and justifications to deny â€Å"wrongness† (Belknap 2001, p. 268). In the System The Influence of Dominant Social Structures Paradigms The criminal justice system can be seen as part of the contextual framework that provides for the perpetuation of existing social structures. It can also and has been the cause of much positive change. In this irony of a duality of roles lie specific examples of how these can occur. An example of this occurs in the recently discussed situation of domestic violence. Following an incident, any incident, the police are typically the ones called to address the situation which, according to some view domestic disturbance calls frustrating because they feel they are â€Å"fighting crime†. Additionally, these types of calls can be among the most dangerous due to the unknown risks and the possibility to the police becoming involved with a very emotional perpetrator who may have the perspective that the police are ‘invading the sanctity of his home’ (Belknap 2001, p. 292). On arrival, police may find a situation for which they are untrained to deal in the case that skills such as mediation may be required. Additionally, many calls for assistance are made to prevent or in anticipation of a ‘situation’. If the police defuse the situation by their presence, the situation still exists when they leave†¦ it has only been deferred (Belknap 2001, p. 293). If the police are potentially unprepared to deal with a situation, the courts represent an additional layer of structure that imposes constraints on behaviors. For example, there is a good chance that a matter may not even go to judgment due to either plea bargaining or the defendants refusal to prosecute, sometimes to fear of retribution, sometime with false hopes but always in denial of the sequence of events that has begun (Belknap 2001, p. 294). Another component is the ‘system’ of the courts that merits identification is that of sentencing in cases in which women are offenders rather than being the victims. Though part of the reason the women’s prison population is far smaller than that of men is that far fewer women commit crimes. Despite this, with regards to sentencing for similar crimes, 20% of men convicted go to prison whereas only 5% of women do (Heidensohn 1997, p. 503). One reason for this is postulated to be that of â€Å"chivalry†. This phenomena is marked by the application of stereotypical, broadly-held and socially reinforced belief that one should ‘be nice’ to women (Heidensohn 1997, pp. 503-504). Of final note with regards to the idea of factors within the system that affect the issue of crime and gender are the patterns of employment of women within the ‘system’. In terms of women who are employed either in law enforcement or in the prison system, there are firstly comparatively few with women occupying 9% of police positions, 11.5% of corrections facilities and 20% of attorneys (Belknap 2001, pp. 357-358). This is again reflective a social system that reflects male dominance and a continuing male perspective that is, slowly, adapting to the influence of feminism. Field Perspective A Short Experimental Inquiry into Current Perceptions about Women Violent Crime To test for statistically significant variances with regards to perception of crime, a short survey (Appendix A) was administered to a group of 44 students comprised on 22 males and 22 females. Respondents were asked to read two brief crime scenarios and then recommend a sentence for the perpetrator. The two scenarios were identical with the exception that one involved bodily harm. The results of this survey indicated virtually indistinguishable responses with regards to gender with either case. Despite this, both male and female responders were significantly more likely to sentence more harshly the perpetrator who involved the use of bodily harm by an average of approximately 4.5 months. Utilizing a 2-tailed test, this was significant at the plonger sentence (H0 = sentenceA B) and not just simply a different sentence. With this in mind, the results were significant at the weaker p,0.10 level, a result that would likely change were the sample size larger. The Verdict Moving Forward with Facts†¦ and assumptions While the above experiment did not clearly showing gender differences that might have been expected, it is important to keep in mind that the crime involved property, a likely neutral proposition for which shared social