“Revisiting ‘Bakhar’: Power, Knowledge and Communities” Essay example -

This paper concentrates on the study of the selected ‘bakhars’. The ‘bakhar’, means a Marathi prose historical narrative. Except Mahikavati bakhar, most of the ‘bakhars’ were written from the 17th century to early 19th century. These bakhars were written by Maratha officials on the directions from their masters or senior officials. Those officials were considered as ‘Mahitigar’ i.e. well-informed and knowledgeable persons. The word ‘bakhar’ derived from Arabic word ‘khabar’, which means news or information. The bakhars were about biographies of great personalities, descriptions of great battles or genealogies of prominent families. The origin of ‘bakhar’ literature, from Persian ‘tawarikhs’ and ‘akhabarats’ or from Sanskrit ‘akhyans’ and ‘puranas’, is a matter of debate among the scholars of Maratha history and Marathi linguistics. The most of the historians raised serious questions about the authenticity of ‘bakhar’ as a reliable source for history writing. However, historians had always used and still using ‘bakhar’ as source. The Marathi literary critics, considering ‘bakhars’ as an important Marathi prose genre of the pre-colonial period, focused on various aspects in their studies of bakhars such as writing styles, sketches of characters and events, uses of ‘puranic’ and mythical legends, ideal and moral values, uses of divine interventions, descriptions of society and places, vocabulary and uses of phrases, changing meanings of words, constructions of sentences etc in ‘bakhar’ literature. Unlike the literary critics who mainly studied the origin of bakhar through literary studies as mention above mainly focused on one question i.e. from where bakhar is derived. Making departure from this point, Sumit Guha locates the s... .... Sumit Guha, ‘Speaking Historically: The Changing Voices of Historical Narration in Western India.’ American Historical Review 109, no.4(October 2004):1084-2004. Prachi Deshpande, ‘Creative Past: Historical Memory and Identity in Western India 1700-1960’ Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2007, p.39. Ibid. See, Anirudh Deshpande, ‘Marathas,Rajputs and Afghans in Mid-Eighteenth-Century India: Bhausahebanchi Bakhar and the Articulation of Cultural difference in Pre-Colonial India’ , Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Occasional Paper: History and Society, New Series-10, 2013 Sabhasad Bakhar, Introduction, p.15 Ibid, pp.1. Ibid pp. 29-38, 116-127. Ibid, p.131 Ibid, p.132 Chitnis Bakhar, Introduction, p. 17, for more details see G S Sardesai, ‘Marathi Riyasat Khand 2’, Popular Prakashan, Mumabai, 2011. Chitnis Bakhar, Introduction, p. 17 Ibid, p.1

Pirates of Silverland Essay

A. INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE Palm Haul Sdn Bhd (PHSB) was actively engaged in the business of transportation of crude palm oil (CPO). It was in a niche market because of high demand in delivering the CPO from the mills to the refineries. In addition, due to this reason, the industry players were rewarded with high gross profit margin which ranged on 35% – 45% with low administrative overheads. However, as PHSB involved in service industry, high cost of sales was inevitable in the operations. This issue created higher competitiveness in the market because the industry players tend to operate more efficaciously in managing cost of sales. Furthermore, oil piracy was the major issue which was difficult to be solved and avoided by the industry players. It also caused to significant impact and losses in this industry. In more serious extent, the persons committed this siphoning cases were not identified and red-handed. This was the reason contributed serious impact to PHSB, as the gross profit margin was substantially narrowed due to highly increased in direct costs. The drastic decrease of gross profit margin certainly not only caused by the single reason mentioned. PHSB was found to incur high compensation paid for CPO shortfall, inconsistency of drivers’ attendance and high expensed on maintenance. PHSB was in critical situation due to the emergence of these challenges. In depth of analysing problem encountered by PHSB, the CPO consigned by PHSB was justified and led to the quality issue in refineries. Oilene Refineries Sdn Bhd (Oilene), one of the major customers of PHSB, criticised the CPO delivered was frequently short and contaminated with water or sludge. The low quality of CPO affected the processing plant of Oilene and additional works had to be performed for cleaning purpose, by shutting down the plant. Because of the serious impact given by PHSB, the management of Oilene decided whether not to proceed for the contract renewal, which would be expired in June 2009. Therefore, En. Rossly must review the operations of PHSB and necessary actions must be taken in order to secure the contract from Oilene. B. COMPANY BACKGROUND Palm Haul Sdn Bhd (PHSB) was established in 2002, in Taiping, Perak. It was a medium-sized enterprise in the CPO transportation business. It had about 200  employees, out of which, 80% was in operations, primarily drivers of the company’s customized tankers. Generally, PHSB was owned and chaired by Datuk S. Najeed, who was the former chief engineer of Ministry of Transport PHSB. The routine operation of PHSB was managed by En. Rossly, the CEO and son-in-law of Datuk S. Najeed. Furthermore, this company was branched into three major functions which included Account cum Finance, Human Resource and Administration functions. And, they were in charged by three key personnel, Romsee Rossly, Ramli Ali and Aliah Ibrahim, respectively. En Rossly decided to engage with a management consultant who was also a friend of En. Rossly’s, to provide effective solutions for the issues endangered PHSB. C. ISSUES LEADING TO THE INCREASE OF DIRECT COST IN PHSB 1. Rising compensation to CPO shortfall and low operating margins 1.1 Issues 1.2.1 Compensation to the refineries Referred to the PHSB’s two years financial reports (2008-2009), there were increasing trends of compensation being made by PHSB to the refineries due to the shortage of CPO during the transportation. It showed that until March 2009, PHSB compensated about RM2 million, which already increased more than 33 % from the compensation they made RM1.5 million in 2008. The compensation cost was on increasing trend which it could be seen from the compensation figures from 2006 until 2009. In 2006, the compensation that PHSB had to bear was RM345, 111 and it was increased double in 2007, RM645, 222, and then again another two-folded increased in 2008, which was at RM1.5 million. PHSB should shoulder the differences in the amount of CPOs that were short-delivered to the refineries. The PHSB’s customer, Oilene Refineries Sdn Bhd (Oilene), claimed that the CPO delivered by PHSB’s tankers, were less than the recorded quantity in the delivery order and some of the CPO had been contaminated with water or sludge. Compared to another transporter hired by Oilene, Tiger Oils Transporter, PHSB’s consignment was the most difficult to be processed. Despite the claim by Oilene on the delivered CPO, there was also a possibility that the CPO turned into sludge because of their chemical reaction to the changes of temperatures in the tanker. Therefore, PHSB should look into this matter as well. Nevertheless, there was a possibility of five years contract, between PHSB and Oilene, would be insecure if these issues were not amicably settled by the PHSB as soon as  possible. 1.2.2 Compensation to the staff Another compensation that PHSB had to cover was regarding the compensation to the staff, such as salaries, allowances and ex-gratia. The compensation amount recorded until March 2009, costing PHSB around RM8.03 million, an increase of 7.1 % compare to 2008. There is a possibility that the increased amount was due too many festive seasons during the year’s end. The amount from both compensation lead to the lower operating margin for the PHSB in 2009 compared to 2008. Operating margin is a measurement of what proportion of a company’s revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. A healthy operating margin is required for a company to be able to pay for its fixed costs, such as interest on debt. Low operating margin for the PHSB, meaning they are not making a good profit on every Ringgit that they spending on. It will jeopardise their bottom line for the financial year. 1.2 Recommendations There are five possible recommendations for this issue, which are monthly financial report for the PHSB and to have an additional staff to monitor this irregularity in the account. 1.2.1 Monthly Financial Report By implementing the monthly financial report, PHSB could monitor their expenses on a monthly basis, thus any regularity could be taken care as soon as possible. The standard monthly financial reporting package includes the following two core reports (University of Michigan, n.d.): i. Statement of Activity (SOA) The SOA reports display the posted revenue and expense transactions for an accounting period (i.e. one month period) for the specified parameters (e.g. Project/Grant). By presenting the SOA on the monthly basis, PHSB’s management could thoroughly monitor and review their activities for that particular month. If there is any unnecessary activity, the management could take corrective action before it could jeopardise their operations. ii. Gross Pay Register (GPR) The GPR report is a record of each employee’s paycheck salaries and  allowances. By having this report every month, the management will be able to identify the compensation made to the employees on a monthly basis. And, they will be notified on the additional or irregularities payment that the PHSB made during that particular month. 1.2.3 Close Monitoring on the Tankers Temperature To train and educate PHSB’s drivers on the measurement of the tanker temperatures in order to avoid any chemical reaction which it could turn the liquid form of CPO to sludge. PHSB also have to invest more on the reliable tankers to keep the CPOs in a suitable temperature. 1.2.4 Trucksecure’s System PHSB may install tankers with the Trucksecure System. It is a unique, simple, non-invasive system fuel loss can be detected from either the main or secondary tank, whether taken through the fuel filler neck, sender hole or from puncturing the tank. One of the main problems encountered by haulers is detecting small but regular amounts of stolen fuel. The Trucksecure system has the ability to measure minimal fuel loss to combat this problem with the additional benefit for the operator to detect suspected internal theft covertly via an optional GSM text message. By installing this system, PHSB will be alerted on any attempt to siphon or steal the CPO immediately. Security Company will be alerted as well and they will investigate that particular tanker. This will decrease the possibility of siphoning and stealing of CPOs. 1.2.5 Balance Inventory Levels PHSB have to cooperate with Oilene in implementing the balance inventory levels in checking and manage the CPO. Both companies could review the consignment through the purchase orders, receipt and credit notes, return notes as well as delivery notes which all of it will be validated by representatives from both companies. To follow-up on this method, both companies could have a thorough check on their inventory records. By implementing this method, PHSB could avoid the possibility of receiving less amount of CPOs than stated in the delivery orders. 1 High oil pilferage 1. 2. 3.1. Issues 2.1.1 Siphoning caused to higher direct cost incurred to refineries In the transportation industry, the transporter is required to bear for any losses incur during its consignment. The same practice applied to PHSB, hence, it had to reserve huge sum of money as the compensation to the refineries. In fact, the management found that many of the loaded tankers were not delivered to the refineries, but were found to be abandoned at the roadside by the irresponsible drivers. In addition, the siphoning case also contributed to the high compensation paid to the refineries. As per the case reported, the compensation cost per turnover hit at 7.7% in 2008, and increased to 8.3% as reported in total of three quarters of income statement in 2009. The increase of compensation cost had led to narrower of gross profit margin as it was a part of cost of sales. 2.1.2 Increase of insurance premiums PHSB took a good practice where it mitigated the consignment risk to third party, the insurer. PHSB had bad track records because many cases happened to be the tankers left abandoned by the drivers. The insurer, Allianz Insurance might not be responsible on the abandoned tankers. Moreover, it brought to higher operation risk of PHSB. Thus, there will be a ground for the insurer to charge greater insurance premiums to cover the inconsistency of operation in PHSB. And, the cost of sales of PHSB will be risen significantly due to the Goods-In-Transit insurance is incurred directly to operation in the nature of transportation. 3.2. Recommendations 2.1 2.2.3 Implementation of Fleet Management System (FMS) In the view of Mukhriz Mohd, FMS is a must to be enforced in PHSB. This system allows PHSB to minimise the risks associated with tankers in consignments, improve the operation efficiency and reduce in compensation cost. With this FMS, siphoning cases will be drastically reduced because the management of PHSB is able to detect the delivery locations of the tankers. In addition, it helps to reduce the fuel consumption as well. The problem of abandoned tankers will be eliminated as the drivers will be red-handed with  serious punishments. Therefore, FMS is vital to be installed as PHSB operates in delivery services, despite the high cost of implementation. For the greater reduction in cost of sales and better preventive action, PHSB is strongly advised to enforce accordingly. 2.2.4 Serious disciplinary actions will be taken against drivers As the increase of insurance premiums was due to the irresponsible drivers, actions must be taken to penalise them. This solution is made to reduce or even eliminate such cases to be happened repetitively. Ex-gratia will be deducted for the drivers who are identified to commit on wrong-doing. In more serious extent, if the drivers ignore the disciplinary actions, termination of service will be given to the drivers. This solution may not contribute to immediate financial benefits, however, the insurer will reduce the insurance premiums in future when the abandoned tankers cases decline. In other words, it contributes to greater profit margin of PHSB in long term. 2 High Absenteeism/ Driver Shortage 3.2 Issues As per reported by Ramli Ali, Human Resource Manager of PHSB, the company had the problem on driver shortage due to better offer from bigger company. The company also encountered issue on high absenteeism of drivers. The problem occurred because of irregular routes and away from home for a long period, caused the drivers tend to search for a better jobs or remunerations. 4.4.1. Unattractive remuneration package According to Ramli Ali, PHSB was unable to offer an attractive remuneration package to their drivers. With more attractive remunerations offered by big companies, drivers tend to bite the bait, therefore, PHSB needed to hire and train new drivers more frequently. This activity had made increment in the Administration and Operation Expenses for year 2009. The pilferage activities are recognized to happen during year end. This was identified that most of the drivers more likely needed money during this period of  time, hence, the temptation siphoning the CPO was high. 4.2.1. 4.4.2. Irregular routes and tight scheduling Ramli also declared that irregular routes and tight scheduling were the factors of drivers’ high absenteeism and shortage. By having this problem, it has affected the quality of operation service where refineries claimed that the CPO had not been delivered on time. Lack of drivers means that same driver might be running several deliveries. Each delivery requires them to stay away from home for a few days. Thus, some drivers might not get well rested and home away more than they supposed to be. 4.4. Recommendations 4.5.3. Offering attainable remuneration package PHSB needs to consider giving year-end bonuses to the drivers in order to earn their loyalties. Hence, this will help to reduce drivers’ shortage as well as absenteeism problem that troubled PHSB throughout the year 2009. PHSB can emerge good remuneration package where year-end bonuses given to the drivers and staff. The bonuses will be much lower than the compensation cost that PHSB is currently bearing. PHSB can as well offer rewards to drivers with satisfaction attendance by giving performance incentives by year end. These incentives also can be applied to those who have delivered CPO as per Purchase Order or sludge-free. This will hope to lower the absenteeism percentage. 4.5.4. Realistic Schedule PHSB shall also consider giving annual leave based on Malaysian Industrial Development Authority’s guidelines which is normally provided with annual salary increment that is calculated based on a certain percentage of the basic salary and performance. PHSB shall come out with more realistic schedule which drivers are allowed to have some rest after their long journey. PHSB may as well to schedule more carefully to avoid continual shifts. This may be seen as increment in PHSB’s expenses but in long term, it will help to reduce expenses in staff training as per stated in Administrative and Operating Expenses table. With new remuneration package and realistic schedule, drivers can give their greater commitments on their shifts, as a result, PHSB shall be able to enhance their transportation service. Consequently, PHSB will acquire higher profit since the customers  are satisfied with the service provided, and indirectly, PHSB will able to expand to a bigger network. 3 High Cost of Maintenance 4.3 Issues Being a logistic service provider specialised in transporting CPO, it is crucial to emphasise on the upkeep of its tankers. Indeed, PHSB’s predicament is also related to this matter. As we have gone through the case carefully, we have identified that PHSB is incurring high cost of maintenance. The maintenance costs incurred for the three quarters of years 2009 and 2008 are RM 5.5 million and RM 2,3 million respectively. Thus, PHSB faced a 143.8 % increase in maintenance cost for 2009 compared to 2008* (estimated based on average calculation of total maintenance cost for 3 quarters of the accounting period). Marginal planned cost accounting or flexible analytic cost planning and accounting studies by Sharman (2003) can be referred to understand the cost of sales in the case of PHSB better. Below are the possible root causes of this predicament. 4.4.5 No regular upkeep and maintenance of the tankers. It was found that PHSB did not regulate the maintenance of its tankers. The tankers were only sent for service and repairs when the drivers complained of breakdown. At times, the damages occurred were severe, hence resulting in high cost of repairs. 4.4.6 No standardised administrative mechanism. PHSB is lack of a standardised administration mechanism. At the moment, the perform vehicle and driver allocation and scheduling are done manually. Hence, a lot of time is wasted in the process. The situation get worse if there were any absentee, as the delivery route and allocation of drivers need to be rescheduled. 4.2 Recommendations 4.3.1 Scheduled maintenance program. PHSB should practice a more systematic method of maintaining its tankers. It should ensure each of its tankers have gone total check-up, let say in a  fortnight basis before be available for transporting scheduling. As we are concerned, PHSB is a small company with certain constraints. Its annual gross profit margin is just around 10% over the years. Thus, we understand it will be unable to spare extra cost especially if it wanted to establish an in house maintenance facility for its tankers. However, PHSB could overcome this problem by out-sourcing maintenance services from the market. A yearly contract with the service provider will assist PHSB to upkeep its tankers within a minimal cost. PHSB could use its power of negotiation to get good deals from the service provider for this mean. Moreover, PHSB would have an option to discontinue the contract and assign a new service provider in case of dissatisfaction too. Thus, PHSB will be able to cut sales cost, add competitive value to its company and eventually increase operating profit. 4.3.2 Computerised Scheduling. It was found that manual scheduling method utilised by PHSB delays time. Hence, a computerised scheduling method will be very convenient. This method will help PHSB to organise delivery routes, driver allocations, delivery durations, maintenance breaks and forecast the total cost of sales regarding this matter systematically. Some of Transportation Management System (TMS) softwares that are widely being used by major third party logistic (3PL) companies worldwide include RoadNet Technologies, TMW Systems and Precision. PHSB could employ any of these softwares too, to manage its operation and administration mechanisms. Moreover, this method does not need an expert to carry out or additional staffs as it could be done by single person who knows how to operate computer and familiar with data entering. Besides, PHSB could always acquire consultations and trainings from the system provider if it faces any difficulties related to the software. The quality of CPO transported and the safety of the drivers who work for PHSB are greatly influenced by the condition of the tankers. These aspects would affect PHSB’s entire operation processes if not tackled immediately. Therefore, we believe the recommendations given will hinder such quandary plus contribute to lower direct cost of sales in the future. Consequently, PHSB will be able to increase its operating profit. D. CONCLUSIONS As displayed on the financial statements of PHSB, the loss of RM 1.8 million  marked as the worst performance ever throughout seven years back. This circumstance shall not be repeated if PHSB wishes to remain its competitiveness and roles in the industry. From our analysis, we strongly believe the compensation cost to refineries is the â€Å"Achilles Heel† of PHSB operations. As mentioned above, 8.3% of turnover was solely contributed to compensation expenses. If PHSB is able to manage properly on the direct cost, the reduction portion of the compensation cost will be the additional gains to gross profit margin of PHSB. And, it surely remains PHSB at the higher competitiveness in the industry. However, the key personnel of PHSB must aggressively review on the inconsistencies of the financial reports. The financial reports shall be utilised effectively, as these reports provide a good avenue for the management to identify the weaknesses in the operations, although the informa tion is historical. It is reasonable that salaries and allowances of drivers are the leading cost component in direct cost, as the drivers are the human capital to PHSB. However, it should not be on increasing trend which the gap is bigger than the increasing turnover. Relevant of remuneration package is powerful to retain and attract more human capital. The relevance remuneration package would be in term of performance-based incentives. As this variable reward is individualised, drivers will be more motivated to work disciplinarily in PHSB. Although it will affect the gross profit margin, this direct cost is better to flow to the benefits of internal employees, which will improve the employees’ loyalty, rather than as the compensation cost to refineries. Besides, the upkeep and maintenance must be thoroughly monitored. As mentioned in the case, most of the tankers are fully depreciated. In other words, these aged tankers may lead to higher possibility of breaking down during delivery of PHSB. It is considered cost inefficient when high maintenance cost incurred repeatedly because it will cost a boom to PHSB. As a good recommendation, the tankers must be properly scheduled for regular maintenance checks. This is because preventive maintenance can avoid high repair and replacement costs. Last but not least, the effect from the inefficient operation of PHSB leads to higher inventories held by Oilene. This is because of the inconsistencies delivery provided by PHSB. This circumstance further indicates that Oilene will have poor inventory forecasting. The management of Oilene may find difficult to manage the inventory, as PHSB failed to  consign the accurate and planned quantities. And hence, Oilene is required to maintain high level of inventories. Furthermore, the low quality of CPO, which often contaminate by the drivers, also raises an impact on Oilene’s inventories. Therefore, higher operation cost will be incurred by Oilene. Besides, Oilene will encounter the bottlenecks issue when the inventories level is high. Production capacity of Oilene may not require huge volume of inventories in short period of time. Also, the product under demand will be another constraint which worsening the bottlenecks. As such, the identified inconsistencies of the financial statements shall be addressed with solutions proposed. These recommendations may contribute to higher confidence and possibility of PHSB to secure the service contract with Oilene. With tight monitoring and reviewing on the financial data, PHSB will be operated more consistently and achieve more competitive advantages for greater future growth. References University of Michigan. Financial Operation. Retrieved October 5, 2013 from http://www.finance.umich.edu/finops/reporting/department/standar Sharman, Paul A. (2003). â€Å"Bring On German Cost Accounting†. Strategic Finance (December)

The Dangers of Online Gambling Essay - 1376 Words

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Homelessness The Problem Of Homelessness - 1379 Words

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Generally defined by Statistics New Zealand â€Å"as living situations where people with no other options to acquire safe and secure housing: are without shelter, in temporary accommodation, sharing accommodation with a household or living in uninhabitable housing†, research has also found that there are four categories of homelessness including; without shelter e.g. living on the streets;Read MoreHomelessness Is A Problem Of Homelessness1658 Words   |  7 PagesHomelessness in Society Imagine you are homeless and have no shelter, or nowhere to go. You walk through storms in the same clothes you had on a week ago. You look around for help, but there is none. What would you do? Or imagine you are one of the forgotten ones, whom people call dirty, and disgusting. Suddenly you hear footsteps, with hope filled inside you, and then a sudden sadness strikes you as the 1378th careless person walks by you and doesn t notice you. 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We can’t imagine ourselves being lost or not knowing where to go or what to do. Spending every day and night either depending on someone else or finding a shelter where you can have a nap. Waking up with the noises of the cars and otherRead MoreHomelessness Is A Problem Of Homelessness1610 Words   |  7 PagesHomelessness is a monster. Each day, there are people on the streets suffering from homelessness. These unsheltered people litter the streets, and plead for help. There are different types of homelessness, but the most monstrous is chronic. The chronically homeless are left to endure the hardships of homelessness without hope of an effective solution. Americans disregard all homeless populations, but the most heart wrench ing group that is disregarded is the veterans. The veteran homelessness problemRead MoreHomelessness : The Problem Of Homelessness1584 Words   |  7 PagesHomelessness Awareness At some point in their life, a person has seen or heard of an individual who lives on the streets. The individual who lives on the streets and holds a sign that says they need money for food is consider homeless. Sadly, these individuals are everywhere and the amount of people under this title is slowly increasing. However, in this nation we have the ability to begin decreasing that number. By providing the necessary amount of assistance required to place these individualsRead MoreHomelessness : The Problem Of Homelessness2773 Words   |  12 PagesJosh Elliott November 5, 2014 Professor Clark English 1102 Final Draft Homelessness in families has become a much more prominent problem in communities and many struggle from it as they are people who are lacking in funds causing them to be without a home. Today, homelessness among families is becoming more common and is unfortunately spreading all over the world. Most home owning people are unaware of the actuality of the conditions that the homeless people reside in and many cannot comprehend

Racism- It Affects Everyone! Essay - 861 Words

Racism- It Affects Everyone! Racism is a plague spreading through the world. Over a million people have died due to lynching, burnings, stabbings, and beatings. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the dangers of racism and discrimination and the pain they cause, while offering solutions to help counteract them. Racism goes back a long ways, even before Jesus Christ was born. Jesus was actually a devout Jew, but the Bible portrays Jews as bad people who chose to save a barbarian instead of their savior, Jesus A21. Because of the spread of Christianity, many Jews have been discriminated against. Even Henry Ford, who was kind and not at all racist, unwittingly started an Anti-Semitic campaign when he said something about them in his†¦show more content†¦The United States was touched with discrimination, and it still is. In 1892, the Supreme Court passed a law that forced blacks and whites to sit in separate train cars, use different bathrooms, and go to different schools B1. This began segregation . In 1921 Congress also drastically restricted immigration A24 so that there would be less racial diversity. Then, in 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born B6. He decided that he wanted to make a difference in the fight against segregation. He led peaceful marches (meaning he didn’t use violence to show what he wanted) and eventually played an important role against segregation. Due to his and other people’s efforts, segregation was finally made illegal in schools in 1954 B2. Then, ten years later, in 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, ending segregation. Unfortunately, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death four years later, in 1968. We can fight racism and discrimination, too. Not with violence, but with love, just like Martin Luther King Jr. We can raise awareness about discrimination, and stand up to racists D11. If everyone stood up to racists who act upon their beliefs, and explain why what they’re doing is wrong, and if they listen, t hat would almost take care of the problem all on its own C3. The act would snowball; getting bigger and bigger, and might eventually stop racism with everyone working together in harmonyShow MoreRelatedDr. Wolfe s Sociological Training910 Words   |  4 Pages1. In Dr. Wolfe’s statement on the recent events that have taken place in Baltimore he talks about police brutality, crime, racism, and inequality. Dr. Wolfe’s sociological training affects the way he looks at these events. In his statement he talks about how police brutality is not just happening among â€Å"a few bad apples† but instead how it is a systemic issue. He may be right but he also may be wrong. 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Criminal Behavior the Negative Attribution of Societal Nurturing Free Essays

Running head: SOCIAL CONTROL, STRAIN, SOCIAL LEARNING, AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR Criminal Behavior: The Negative Attribution of Societal Nurturing Criminal Behavior: The Negative Attribution of Societal Nurturing Imagine someone telling you that â€Å"you are the product of your environment†, what does that mean? Imagine a girl who has decided to pursue a career as a stripper. All of her friends are strippers and the new people she meets are those she has met while stripping. Would it be easy for her to quit that job? What would happen if she moved away and was surrounded by well-educated individuals? – Individuals who gave her strong social support and a good positive influence. We will write a custom essay sample on Criminal Behavior: the Negative Attribution of Societal Nurturing or any similar topic only for you Order Now What about the youth living in a deprived neighborhood, surrounded by small hopes and dreams for the future and low supervision? Is it possible that they become just like everyone else in their community? Let us compare an individual who lives in a disorganized community with an individual in a more organized and structured community, which one is more likely to develop criminal and delinquent behaviors? The purpose of this study is to investigate the measurable affirmation of criminal behavior contributing to a selective demographic based on three theories: social control theory, social learning theory, and strain theory. The idea in which the environment is the context within which all social relations occur has been brought to our attention by Lewin (1943) and can be used to make concept of a major factor in developing criminal and delinquent behaviors. Lewin proposed that the fundamental principle of social psychology research is that human behavior is a function of not only the person, but of the environment as well (Opotow Gieseking, 2011). A large body of research has been done regarding the human behavior as a function of their â€Å"life space† and the person’s environment, such as neighborhoods, schools, work, and their friendships. Lewin states that particular places can serve as â€Å"contact zones† (Opotow Gieseking, 2011) and support certain kinds of interaction. These â€Å"contact zones† are formed between people and the physical characteristics of the built and natural world they live in (Opotow Gieseking, 2011). Social control theory, strain theory, and social learning theory were all proposed by a variety of researchers strongly supporting the link between environment and the development of criminal minds. The theories supported are thought of as individual-level processes (Hoffman, 2003). The social control theory, for example, is the thought that community disorganization lessens bonding mechanisms by making parental supervision and interpersonal attachments more vague (Hoffman, 2003; Elliot et al. , 1997; Shaw McKay, 1931). With community disorganization comes little to no control. The community is usually distinguished by residential instability and a high ratio of broken families as well as single parents; reducing the likelihood of efficient socialization and supervision of the youth. A research study was conducted by Baskin Sommers (2011) to determine whether placement instability played a role in developing delinquent/criminal behavior; results indicated that the children with more instability were more likely to be arrested and have a criminal record. Community disorganization reduces social support structure and weakens an important source of conformed bonding and success in socialization: effective parenting. Empirical research has sustained the idea that the influence of social bonds differs in each type of community and disorganized communities have a negative effect on the competence of social bonds to greatly reduce delinquent behavior. A lot of this is seen in our own communities and the communities surrounding us. It is all about where the person lives, where he goes to school, and whom he chooses to hang out with. The initial development of the strain theory was developed by Merton (1968) where he proposed that opportunity structures greatly affect the ability to grasp common cultural goals, such as the pursuit for monetary gain (Hoffman, 2003). The individual-level component of the strain theory is basically the strain of striving to reach goals within various forms of opportunity structures that could lead to adjustments such as deviant behaviors, delinquency, and even crime. With the assumption that opportunity structures differ in each community, it is safe to say that the effects of strains caused by the disunity between goals and means on deviant behavior will differ in every community (Hoffman, 2003). In other words, the strained youth in disorganized communities have a more realistic picture of their situation, so criminal adaption’s become more likely. Agnew (1992) elaborated this theory to form a concept by broadening the notion of strain with adding a variety of sources, such as families, schools, and cognitive skills (Hoffman, 2003). Agnew assumes that the deprived communities are more likely to have strained youths and that these communities will suffer from more blocked or â€Å"strained† opportunity structures (Hoffman, 2003; Agnew, 1999). What is meant by Agnew’s new definition of this strain theory is that these communities develop an atmosphere that is based on anger and frustration; this could mean a greater chance of â€Å"going with the flow† to maybe prove themselves as â€Å"tough guys† to other communities. The social learning theory or differential association proposes that criminal associations and favoring conflict differ within each community type; it is this differentiation that explains the distribution of crime rates (Hoffman, 2003; Cressey, 1960; Reinarman Fagan, 1988). Individuals embedded within certain communities are either exposed to or opposed to criminal behavior. Akers (1998) sees the sources in these differences: â€Å"The less solidarity, cohesion, or integration there is within a group†¦ the higher will be the rate of crime and deviance† (Hoffman, 2003). In other words, social structural influences on criminal behaviors are fully reconciled by social learning processes. Many researchers stress that the DSM-IV diagnosis applied to criminals completely misses the mark and the idea of their environment is not enough (Stuart, 2004). Some researchers believe that sociological and environmental theories do not include the important concept of individual choice: â€Å"Crime resides within the person, not the environment† (Stuart, 2004). Other research, however, supports the importance of living in a good environment to prevent the development of a criminal mind. Although some researchers may suggest the treatment should be to focus on changing the patterns of thinking of criminals and to hold them accountable for every violation of moral thoughts, other researchers now believe that these efforts are slightly misdirected (Hoffman, 2003; Stuart, 2004, Baskin Sommers, 2011). Other research suggests that even with punishment one can only discourage the criminal act to a greater or lesser degree, restrain the secret manifestation of a criminal urge, but the punishment ill not reconstruct the criminal mind, or avert its development in the individual (The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1928). The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology (1928) proposes that the criminal mind is not different from that of the sane mind. Of course, many individuals do deviate themselves from the strain of their environment and negative influences simply because of their own personal values and the will to want to better themselves and their way of livin g. The proposed study will examine the moderating effects of the environment on developing criminal behaviors based on where the individuals grew up/came from. The study is based on the social control, strain, and social learning theories. There have been very few studies that examine the impact of these theories and their consequences on the general individual-level processes that affect the person’s adaption’s to an environment exposed or opposed to possible criminal behaviors. Furthermore, by investigating these theories, this study might be able to determine which variables, if not all, indicate the development of criminal minds and delinquent behaviors. It is expected that participants will display more criminal and delinquent behaviors in the more strained and disorganized communities. Some participants will be from a more deprived area of town; they are considered to be part of a disorganized as well as strained community. Others will be from an average to more up scaled living environment; they are part of a more organized community who are influenced by everyone around them to want to have a better living. Each group of participants is expected to react to the way of their environment; to adapt to their â€Å"way of living†. However, in general, participants in a more disorganized and strained community will suffer from more blocked opportunity structures, poor supervision, negative bonding mechanisms, and poor residential stability because despite having personal choices, an individual is always a product of his environment. Method Participants There will be approximately 850 participants in the proposed study that will serve as a representative sample of ninth grade students from U. S. high schools. Participants will be selected from the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES). In exchange for their participation, participants will be given a raffle ticket for a chance to win a variety of small prizes. Design The proposed study will be using the longitudinal method. The independent variables will be the type of community the participants live in (organized/disorganized), their friendships, monetary strain, blocked opportunity structures, and parental supervision. The dependent variable will be their acquired behaviors, which will be examined (according to the variation of delinquency theories), by the data drawn from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS). The NELS is â€Å"a longitudinal study designed to explore the impact of families and schools on a variety of educational, vocational, and behavioral outcomes† (Howard, 2003). The friendship variable will be used to examine the learning theory, the stress for monetary gain and blocked opportunity structures will be used to examine the strain theory, and parental supervision will be used to examine the social control theory. Procedure The representative sample for this study will be drawn by NELS. This sample will then be interviewed. At the beginning of the interview, the parents of the participants as well as the participants themselves will be specifically informed that all private information will be strictly confidential and will be used for research purposes only. The parents will then be given an informed consent to read through. As the participants from the subsample come in for the interview, they will be asked a variety of questions regarding delinquent behavior. All of this data will then be entered in NCES. The NELS data will then be used to examine the community characteristics that condition the impact of pertinent variables on deviant behaviors in the modern lives of these adolescents. Data from NCES will match their residential addresses to census identifiers. Census tracts are used to examine the impact of neighborhoods on various outcomes. The participants will then be interviewed during their senior year in high school. Again, asking them a large sum of questions regarding deviant behaviors. The same data will then be entered in NCES and NELS to retouch the previous information. The issue being utilized in this study is the individual’s environment on his behavior based on a long period of time. The questions asked by examiners will pertain to their relationship with their parents, their thoughts on fighting and violence, cultural goals for monetary gain, and so on. Measures As mentioned before, the friendship variable will be used to examine the learning theory; the stress for monetary gain will examine the strain theory; and parental supervision will be used to examine the social control theory. Conventional definition (Howard, 2003). A conventional definition will be constructed from a set of ten questions that will ask participants whether it is acceptable to engage in deviant behaviors such as having a gun, being affiliated with a gang, fighting, vandalism, selling drugs, using drugs, and stealing. A sample question includes: â€Å"Do you believe it is acceptable to join a gang? †. Response set ranges from one (often acceptable) to four (never acceptable). The Strain Theory. Questions that examine the strain theory will be based on cultural goals for monetary gain and blocked opportunity structures: â€Å"How important is money to you? ; â€Å"Do you have a high or low chance of graduating from high school? †; â€Å"What are the chances of you joining a gang if you knew you would get lots of money? †. The responses will be based on coding: 1 if money is very important, 0 not being important; 1 if high chance of graduating, 0 if low, and so on. The Learning Theory. The learning theory will be assessed by asking four questions about their friendships. Sample questions include â€Å"Do you feel pressured to be involved in everything your friends are in? † and â€Å"Have you ver been influenced by a friend to engage in deviant behaviors? †. Response set ranges from one (always) to four (never). The Social Control Theory. This theory will be examined by parental supervision. The respondent’s parents will be asked a total of ten questions, with answer choices ranging from one (disagree completely) to four (agree completely). Sample questions include â€Å"Do you believe it is important to know your child’s friends? † and â€Å"Do you believe it is important to know how your child spends his money? †. Upon completion of each interview the respondents’ will be debriefed and given their raffle ticket for a chance to win a variety of small prizes. Discussion It is expected that participants will display more criminal and delinquent behaviors in the more strained and disorganized communities. Each group of participants is expected to react to the way of their environment; to adapt to their â€Å"way of living†. If the hypothesis is supported, then each group of participants would adapt to their way of living as a reaction to their environment. Significant findings resulting from the proposed study can be used in better understanding the role of the environment on the development of human behavior. If social control theory, learning theory, and strain theory are found to magnify the chance of developing criminal and deviant behaviors, this understanding could be applied to many different research studies and therapeutic training. Some research has already demonstrated that identifying an individual’s environmental background is quite important in understanding his criminal acts. In the psychological domain, recognizing the existing influences of each theory might be helpful in raising parental awareness of the importance of bonding mechanisms (supervision and interpersonal attachment) as well as children’s awareness of handling certain opportunity structures (cultural goals) and teaching the importance of maintaining strong values, raising society’s awareness of the importance of community organization, and implementing counseling programs. If people are made aware of the negative as well as positive effects of their environment on the development of their behavior, they might be more persuaded to maintain or develop strong values, develop cultural goals, and have a more positive realistic picture of their future, especially if they are living in a strained community. If the hypothesis is not supported, then there will be no difference between the influence of strained/disorganized communities and organized communities on the development of criminal and delinquent behaviors. Matching the social control, learning, and strain theories to each group of participants’ environment would have no effect in determining the possible implicit development of criminal behaviors. In this case, the type of environment (organized or disorganized community) would not justify the consequences on the general individual-level processes that affects the person’s adaption’s to the community exposed or opposed to possible criminal behaviors. Therefore, there would be no reason to raise the awareness of parents, children, and society of the importance of strong values and cultural goals when it comes to preventing the negative influences of the community on behavior. Whether or not the message raises awareness, people would just continue â€Å"going with the flow†. Unexpected factors that can occur during this longitudinal research study, which may skew the outcome, may include the unexpected death of several participants (i. . illness, accident, gang violence), or if a participant moves to a different country. A potential limitation of this study is that it does not involve clinical assessments, which can include family history and background to determine the presence of abnormal disorders (mood disorders, personality disorders). Being aware of the presence of abnormal disorders is an important factor in determining the prevalence and etiology of criminal behavior. As a result, assessing the environment would not be sufficient to determine the risk of becoming a criminal. Also, longitudinal studies of a large sample of the population require a large number of researchers and access to certain legal databases (depending on the study), which takes time and a considerable amount of money. Future research could investigate other factors that might have an influence on the development of criminal behavior (i. e. race, gender, psychological and biological vulnerabilities, and individual choices). It is possible that sufficient justification to support the influences of these theories (control, learning, and strain) could also be accompanied by or perceived as different depending on these factors, such that psychological vulnerabilities (cognitive development), which can be caused by abuse, in any type of environment could influence the development of such behaviors as well. Some researchers believe that crime does not reside in the environment and others say that the idea of their environment alone is not enough. Future research should be done to investigate the measurable affirmation of criminal behavior contributing to a selective demographic based on psychological, biological, and sociological vulnerabilities. Further investigation of the underlying causes of the development of criminal behavior is important not only to raise awareness, but to benefit our justice system as well as to contribute to the developing realm of research in psychology and criminology. References Hoffmann, John P. (2003). A contextual analysis of differential association, social control, and train theories of delinquency. Social Forces, 81, 753-785. Baskin, Deborah R. ; Sommers, Ira (2011). Child maltreatment, placement strategies, and delinquency. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 106-119. Opotow, Susan; Gieseking, Jen (2011). Foreground and background: Environment as site and social issue. Journal of Social Issues, 67, 179-196. Stuart, Bryan (2004). Inside the criminal mind. Journal of Psychiatry Law, 32 , 547-549. No authorship indicated (1928). The problem of the mind. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 23, 1-3. 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Confucianism vs Daoism free essay sample

China is a country that has been shaped overtime by many diverse and wide-ranging principles. Religion has served as one of the most powerful examples of these principles, specifically the three teachings, Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Daoism and Confucianism, which were both founded in China hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ, appear to approach the fundamentals of religion in the same fashion. Since Confucius and Laozi don’t directly address the question of God or an afterlife and both were concerned more with the present life, one would think their philosophical teachings would almost mirror each other. In the case of Confucianism versus Daoism, it appears that their methods and goals differ in most aspects, especially those surrounding the origins of their religions and the rituals they adhere to in order to achieve their goals. Confucius was born in an era of war and disparity. As a well-educated philosophical man, he realized the problem was chaos and unrest. He believed that order needed to be restored in humanity. In time he created a hierarchical social order that emphasized the importance of relationships: Ruler/Subject, Father/son, husband/wife, elder brother/younger brother, friend/friend. Unlike most social orders in societies though, these five primary relationships were a 2-way functioning system, each of which working for the other. For example, one relationship he listed being the ruler and the subject, in which the subject respects and works for the ruler and in turn the ruler must provide safety and well being to his subjects. Laozi, had a much different beginning to his story, in which he was a hard working man of the government with all the things he could need to flourish in his society. One day, he realized that civilization was in a â€Å"free-fall.† He left, but before he could leave, a boarder guard asked him to write something down. Later, these writings would be known as the Daodejing. Laozi, or Lord Lao as he was later immortalized as, believed the problem with society was the structure of society itself. Laozi took issue with the obligations, expectations, and responsibilities that were present in society as a whole. He instead placed a higher emphasis on man’s relationship with nature. The two religions appear, on the surface at least, to follow some of the same beliefs. They both attempt to create order out of the chaos that was their society. However, the paths taken to achieve said order, is where they begin to differ. Confucianism strives to achieve order from within the system. By  highlighting the value of personal relationships, Confucius relied on the societal systems already in place to further his teachings. Laozi on the other hand, believed that the same systems were in fact the problem. He instead advocated a withdrawal from society as a whole and instead called for an introspective look of one’s self. Confucianism and Daoism are known as very philosophical teachings, both of which focus on living in this world. Neither Confucius nor Laozi claimed to be divine figures, nor did they appeal to the supernatural worlds that most western religions seem to come from. At the beginning of the existence of these two religions, people generally rejected the teachings that these two founders brought to China. Like Jesus, Confucius didn’t build a large following until after his death. Laozi had vanished into nature before ever even seeing the full potential that his ideals in the Daodejing had brought to the people of that time. These beginnings would aid in the molding and divergence of the rituals associated with both religions. Prior to the rise of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), Confucianism did not contain any established rituals. During his life and the early beginnings of his teachings, Confucius was not concerned with creating a ritualized set of edicts for people to follow. He instead allowed society to shape his teachings instead of his teaching s shaping society. The Zhou Dynasty however, would change this ideal when it formally declared Confucianism as an official state sponsored religion. This formal declaration would bring along with it an official set of ritualized acts. Ancestor worship would become one such ritualized act. Ancestor worship would come to include not only commemoration and sacrifice, but also communication with one’s ancestors. This worship helped to serve the deep belief Confucius had in interpersonal relationships. Paying homage to one’s ancestors was a way to insure filial piety and also served as a way to strengthen and maintain the different relationships within society. The observation of Li would also become a major tenet for Confucianism†. â€Å"Li† is â€Å"doing the proper thing, in the proper way, under any given set of circumstances. To act, in short, in keeping with the way of Heaven.† (Prothero 116) Li would serve as a guidebook for living. It â€Å"defined manners, etiquet te, and body language. â€Å" (Prothero 117) Daoism was, conversely, very anti-ritual at its inception. One of the major tenants of Daoism in fact, is the concept of â€Å"wu wei† which means â€Å"the best action is  no action at all.† The closest Daoism gets to ritual is the adherence to the seven principles of the Daodejing. The seven principles are: live a more natural life in accordance with nature, yield and allow things to just be, connect and align yourself with the Dao, wu wei, embrace the life of the recluse, embrace simplicity and tranquility, and recognize and celebrate change. While not inherently ritualistic, these tenets create a common set of beliefs and ideals for followers of the Dao. Confucian beliefs rely heavily on ritual in order to maintain order and highlight the importance of personal relationships. Because the basis of Confucianism is relationships, ritual is a required component. Daoism, on the other hand, is by its very definition incapable of true ritual. Its formation was brought about by the chaos of structured society. As such, any true ritual would be against the very ideals that Daoism upholds. Thus, while Confucians feel that ritual brings them together and strengthens their belief system, Daoists would argue that ritual instead tears down their belief structure. Daoism and Confucianism both arose during similar time periods in China. They provide an interesting example of differing view points faced with similar situations. Confucius saw the turmoil of the era and decided that the solution called for deeper, more personal connections with those around him. Laozi on the other hand, decided that a separation from personal interaction was the most beneficial path towards the betterment of man. These two men would create two of the most enduring religious models. They provide a very good example of similar paths, that diverge greatly from a common starting point, yet still achieve the same goal.