Theories of human development

 Introduction

The major theory that accurately accounts for human development is the behavioral development theory. It is based on the premise that human behavior and development is greatly influenced by the impact that interaction with the environment and the people in it. The reason for choosing this theory is because it does not take away from the impact that a person’s experience has on their development (Lerner, 2013). On a personal level, my life has been greatly influenced by the environment I grew up in. my taste in music for instance is greatly influenced by the friends I keep and while I have my favorite songs, others are as a result of the music my friends listen to.

            Human development can also be explained through the four forces described in the bio psychosocial framework. The first one is the biological force and it explains the physiological developments that occur in an individual’s life leading to maturity. They mostly focus on the body and the various changes that occur through the development stages (Babalola et al., 2017). As a child, I was short and skinny. However, my body changed and I became taller and more buff as I progressed through the various stages of development. The weight gain was mostly caused by the change in diet as I grew up, I shifted from eating healthy foods to fast foods available due to my busy schedule at school.

            Psychological forces on the other hand refer to the thoughts and emotions that develop as people grow up and influence behavior. As people mature, the experiences they have through interaction with their environment help them understand the complex nature of the environment they live in. Personalities form as a result and people start making more rational decisions (Cavanaugh & Kail, 2013). At a young age, I would always cry whenever I wanted something but could not have it. My understanding was basic and I did not understand why my parent refused to buy me things I wanted. As I matured however, I learnt how to deny myself some of the things I wanted and prioritized on things that were necessary.

There are also sociocultural factors that consist of the values, beliefs and ideologies that influence an individual’s life through the development stages.  In order to understand how people function and why individuals do the things they do, one must first understand how the beliefs and ideologies affect an individual’s decisions (Calkins, 2012). Knowing how interaction with the environment influences one’s decision making process makes it easier to understand why people do the things they do. I have always been fond of soft music and my playlist comprises of songs that have a deep meaning in their lyrics (Shaffer, 2014). However, as a result of the growing popularity for hip hop music in my community my interests have shifted drastically towards hip hop. Although I still listen to soft music, my interest in music has advanced to include hard hip hop.

The three forces are combined with the life cycle forces to explain how people are affected differently by the same event. The life cycle forces focuses on development as a large system of events that are often influenced by an individual’s interaction with the environment they exist in (Orth et al, 2012). The life cycle forces help to understand the entire process of human development while still focusing on unique aspects of development. A good example is the case where I am patient and always seek peaceful conflict resolution methods. My brother on the other hand tends to result to violence as this is his idea of conflict resolution. Despite being raised by the same parents; brought up in the same house; going to the same school and sharing friends, our personalities tend to be different and this can be best understood when viewed under the life cycle forces.

The force in the bio psychosocial framework that fits best with the behavioral development theory is the social cultural forces. The two argue that human behavior, growth and development is greatly influenced by the experiences that one has through interaction with other people and the environment they live in. While biology and genes do play a significant role in determining human development, they fail to acknowledge the impact that the environment has on an individual (Hunt, 2014). The sociocultural forces focus on the importance of understanding human behavior as a way of understanding one’s personal traits and also how one interacts with others in the community. Similarly, the behavioral development theory focuses on how interaction with the environment affects the various stages of human development. An example of this is the case where an individual is born without any medical complications and leads a healthy life (Lerner, 2013). After interaction with the environment however, there is the likelihood that one can develop serious medical conditions such as diabetes. This is caused by factors such as lack of exercise and overconsumption of fast foods. Despite being born healthy, the development stage is influenced by a person’s lifestyle and this is a great indication of how is development is affected by the factors explained through the sociocultural factors and the behavioral development theory.

Conclusion

The behavioral development theory is the major theory that accurately accounts for human development. Human behavior is greatly influenced by interactions with the environment and the people in it.  Human development can also be explained by the psychological forces that include emotions and thoughts. As people mature the interactions, they have with the environment they live influences their behaviors. Social cultural factors that consist of the values, beliefs and ideologies that influence the life of an individual throughout the development stage also play a large part in influencing human development. Human behavior is greatly influenced by the experiences that one has with the environment and people.

References

Babalola E, Noel P, White R. (2017). The bio psychosocial approach and global mental health:    Synergies and opportunities. Indian J Soc Psychiatry    http://www.indjsp.org/text.asp?2017/33/4/291/218597

Calkins S. D. (2011). Biopsychosocial Models and the Study of Family Processes and Child             Adjustment. Journal of marriage and the family, 73(4), 817–821. doi:10.1111/j.1741-            3737.2011.00847.x

Hunt A, (2014) “Expanding the bio psychosocial model: The active reinforcement model”            Graduate Student Journal of Psychology

Kail, R. V., Cavanaugh, J. C. (2013). Essentials of Human Development: A Life-Span      View. United States: Cengage Learning.

Kail, R. V., Cavanaugh, J. C. (2019). Human Development: A Life-Span   View. Singapore: Cengage Learning.

Kipp, K., Shaffer, D. R. (2014). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and          Adolescence. United States: Cengage Learning.

Lerner, R. M. (2013). Concepts and Theories of Human Development. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Widaman, K. F. (2012). Life-span development of self-esteem and its             effects on important life outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,102(6),

            1271-1288. doi:10.1037/a0025558

Sexual Abuse in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

Sexual abuse and harassment is an everyday experience for every woman. It has come to be accepted as a norm in the society and instances of sexual harassment go unreported, which has contributed to increased sexual abuse with time. Almost every women experiences sexual harassment everyday as they go around their normal routines. The situation is worse for women who are below 30 years. Men especially those in power take advantage of women that are vulnerable and abuse them sexually without any fear, which has created a culture of rape and sexual abuse in the society. The actions of men taking advantage vulnerable women sexually have become a normalized concept, a good illustration being with the Harvey Weinstein case. Weinstein took advantage of women in the film industry for years all because he had the power to make their dreams come true. The women were too scared to tell their story because of how the society would look at them and interpret their stories, something that the #MeToo movement has helped change. Sexual abuse is a concept that is explored by Margaret Atwood in ‘The Handmaids Tale, this research paper will explore this concept to understand the role that society plays in motivating sexual abuse on women. The role that the #MeToo movement has played in helping to change the issue of sexual abuse in relation to Harvey Weinstein case will also be analysed.

Patriarchal society of Gilead

 ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a novel that takes place in a society that can best be described to be dystopian future. This is a time when the United States has transformed to become a Gilead, a society where women have no rights at all (Diemer et al., p 42). Radiation has affected fertility of many women causing them to be sterile, which has caused the Gilead elite society appoints the few women that are able to bear children to become hands maids by force as a quest to try and repopulate the nation (Beauchamp, p 14). Gilead is a society where men are given power over the women; they mistreat and sexually abuse them without any remorse or shame (Beauchamp, p 18). The way that the handmaids are treated as sexslaves by their commander’s is just as similar with the Harvey Weinstein’s case.

The role of society in encouraging sexual violence

Sexual violence in the novel is a result of creating and forming gender, creating an environment where women are preyed upon, raped and sexually assaulted. Being a woman is not something that is decided by the women, but rather by the totalitarian rule and society controlled by men (Diemer et al., p 46). Offred the main protagonist in the novel and the other handmaids are systematically raped by their commanders on behalf of the Gilead society during the monthly ceremonies. During the ceremonies, the commander reads a bible passage to Offred, his wife and the two aunts of the household who take care of the handmaids. As they gather around the commander, he says to them that he looks over them ‘as if taking inventory’, an illustration of the power that he holds over them (Atwood, p 86). For Offred to bear with the ceremony she has to be taken out of mind and also out of place, she has to let go of her consciousness just as if she is asleep, illustrating the fact that the sex was not in any way consensual. Her situation is just as similar to rape in that most of the times people who get rape are normally unconscious and hence in consensual.

The way that the ceremony transpires is an illustration of sexual abuse on the handmaids. Offred for one is fully dressed except for her underwear, she lies between the legs of the commander’s wife, and her head rests on the wife’s stomach. The wife just like the handmaid is fully dressed, the women being fully dressed is a stimulation of a typical rape scenario. Rape victims are often grabbed fully dressed by men on the streets and get raped. The fact that Offred’s arms are raised during the ceremony in Gilead society signifies that the two women are ‘one flesh, one being’ (Atwood, p 94). this interpretation is however wrong, what it really means is that Offred is not in control, Serena helps her husband to rape Offred by holding her in place. Offred constantly argue that this is not rape because it is the choice that she made, she sees two choices in the oppressive system; forced labour r forced sex. She hence party blames herself for her situation because it is what she chose, she thinks that she has control over her fate (Diemer et al., p 47). Offred thinking is however wrong, what she perceives to be a choice is not because her only other option was to be sent away to live with the unwomen cleaning up toxic waste. something else that points this to be an act of rape is the way that Offred not only wishes that he would hurry up and finish, but also her constant desire for therapy to help her get over the abuse. Offred constantly illustrate that the sex had nothing to do with passion, love or romance; there was no sexual desire especially for her (Atwood, p 94). As she turns to leave the room after the ceremony, Serena clenches her legs together a stimulation of the body language of a rape victim. Her behaviour is an illustration of her sympathising with Offred and what she has to endure, an indication that the ceremony was just a systematic rape.

Interactional perspective of gender

Sexual assault on Offred does not only happen when she is raped by the commander during the ceremony. For one becoming a handmaid, she had to be physically healthy and she had to go through obligatory monthly medical check-ups (Tolan, p 14). Offred describes the examination by the doctor as sexual assault and abuse, she is ‘poked and prodded’ (Atwood, p 60). He touches her inappropriately telling her that ‘ I could help you…I have helped others’ (Atwood, p 61). The doctor in this case just like the men in power in Gilead society believes that he has power over women like Offred and can take advantage of her any time. Taking advantage of the handmaids is something that the doctor has been doing for years and this is why he is not scared of touching Offred sexually without even her approval.

The situation with the doctor is a good illustration of how men in power are willing to take advantage of the needs of the women below them to sexually abuse them. The doctor preys on the handmaids desire to get pregnant to persuade them to have sex with him. He tries to convince Offred to accept his proposal by telling her that her commander is not capable of getting her pregnant (Atwood, p 61). He does this knowing very well that her getting pregnant was the only way that she would be able to survive the new regime. The main interest of the doctor is not to help her survive the regime; it is to feed his sexual desire (Wharton, p 34). Though Offred is offended and did not give in to his advances, she has to thank him at the end of the session to leave the impression that she was not in any way offended (Atwood, p 61).  

The behaviour of the doctor in pursing and violating Offred can best be defined from an interactional perspective on gender. These are the gender expectations that the society has on women and particularly the handmaids that have no power or rights and thus very easy sex prey for the men around them (Diemer et al., p 50). The fact that the women are stripped of their names also greatly contributes to the sexual abuse that they endure in this society. They are looked at as property of the commanders rather than individuals with rights and human feelings (Chapman, p 122). The rape and sexual assault that these women go through is not looked at as criminal offences on the women, they are only looked at in the view of someone taking another person’s property. The doctor is not scared of sexually assaulting the handmaids because he does not see it as a crime; his only fear is getting caught by the commander with is property (Chapman, p 128). The Gilead society hence does not see the sexual abuse on the women, because this is something that has become the norm and the handmaids are looked at as sexual tools for the men in power to take advantage of.

Gender socialization

Gender socialization is a theory within the individualistic perspective that attempts to understand the role that society plays in shaping gendered qualities and characteristics. Gender socialization can best be defined to be a two sided coin where there is the target of socialization (Neuman, p 857). This theory is relevant to the handmaids who have been introduced to a new society that has new rules and has different expectations from them as women. Janine shared her story of how she was gang raped at 14 years and the Aunts and the handmaid instead for comforting her, blame her telling her it was her fault that she was raped (Atwood, p 72). The reaction of the Aunts and the handmaids to Janine’s story is a clear illustration of the undeniable concept of rape in the novel. The Aunts and the Gilead system is trying to brainwash the concepts of rape causing the handmaids to think that what happens to them is their fault because they could have stopped it of they did not want it (Tolan, p 18). The brainwashing causes fear among the handmaids and it further creates room for sexual assault on them.

‘Me Too’ movement and the Harvey Weinstein Case

 ‘The Handmaids Tale’ has helped to shape the concepts of sexual abuse on women in the contemporary society. The novel has helped the society the issue of women objectification and the overt sexualisation of the female body (Radford, p 1). Women have for years been objectified in advertisements and general media, which undercuts their feelings of safety and self-worth and this has led to increased sexual abuse. ‘The Handmaids Tale’ has become a motivation for the #MeToo movement that was started more than ten years ago with the aim of encouraging sexual violence survivors. The movement main aim is to help support the victims of sexual abuse and to allow them to know that people understand their situations (North, p 1). The aim of this movement is to create change in a society where sexual abuse has become a normal thing and no one seems to care about the issue.

The allegations against Harvey Weinstein really transformed the #MeToo movement, it has helped the role of his organization to be understood much better. Women that were victims of sexual abuse by Weinstein have used the movement to share their stories and justice has been served for the victims (North, p 1). #MeToo movement has motivated change among Americans; the society has become aware of sexual abuse happening to women most especially in their work places. ‘The Handmaids Tale’ has further helped the society understand the issue of sexual abuse and power and its effects on the victims. Men in power as referenced in Weinstein case and in the novel are the main perpetrators of sexual abuse on women who are always scared, and who assume that there is nothing they can do about the abuse. The #MeToo movement has helped motivate Americans to speak against sexual abuse and ‘The handmaids Tale’ has greatly motivated the actions of the movement. Feminism activists have adopted the red robes and white winged bonnets worn by the characters as their symbol of resistance (Boyle, p 12). It has helped to unite female activists from all over the world that believe that women need to be delivered from sexual abuse and harassment. #MeToo movement  with the help of ‘The Handmaids Tale’ has helped give women a much stronger voice of speaking against sexual abuse by acknowledging that sexual abuse is wrong (Boyle, p 18). It helps bring women that have been sexually abused together, motivating them to speak against it and thus helping to create a safer society for future generations.

One issue that has been solved by the movement through the Harvey Weinstein case is the issue of nondisclosure agreements that have over the years been used by powerful men to cover their sexual abuse (North, p 1). A good illustration is with Zelda Perkins who was the former assistant of Weinstein, she signed an agreement as part of the settlement and it prevented her from disclosing the abuse from any one even her family members (North, p 1). This agreement prevented Perkins from speaking about her boss’s sexual misconduct for more than twenty years. This is just an example of the way that the wealthy to buy the silence of those they take advantage of and putting more women at risk of sexual abuse. #MeToo movement has helped to shape laws regarding sexual abuse and several states have prohibited nondisclosure agreements in cases of sexual misconduct (North, p 1). Acts have been amended to support the fight against sexual abuse, one of them being the ‘BEHEARD ACT’ that encourages victims of sexual abuse to courageously tell their stories. The #MeToo movement has also motivated better wages for workers especially those that work in restaurants (North, p 1). Tipped minimum wage is one of the elements that motivate sexual abuse, and if all workers were given the standard minimum wages them sexual abuse would decrease. The #MeToo movement has helped to change the thinking of the society about power and gender. The society now understands that power is being used to motivate sexual abuse and so the actions of people in power are watched carefully.

Conclusion

Gilead society is a depiction of the real life society where women have been sexually abused for decades. The society has always assumed that the only role that women can play at best is being sex property for men, most especially those in power. Weinstein cases are not any different from what happens in ‘The Handmaids Tale’, the women are vulnerable and they have to give in to the sexual abuse to survive under the powerful society ruled by men. Women sexually assaulted by Weinstein did not talk about their abuse because they were scared of what would happen if they reported the abuse and because of the signed nondisclosure agreements. Reporting the abuse meant that they would miss the opportunity of getting their careers in acting and they would also be blamed for the abuse just like what happens in the novel. The society needs to change its perception on sexual abuse, women are not sexual objects for men to admire and take advantage of. Policies and laws need implemented and enforced through the help of the #MeToo movement to ensure that women all over the world can go on their normal lives without fear of getting sexually assaulted.

Works Cited

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Penguin Random House LLC, 1986. 

Beauchamp, Gorman. “The Politics of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’” Midwest Quarterly, vol. 51,

25. 1, Sept. 2009, pp. 11–25. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=44641582&site=ehost-live.

Boyle Karen. (2019) #MeToo, Weinstein and Feminism. In: #MeToo, Weinstein and

            Feminism. Palgrave Pivot, Cham

Chapman, Suzette, and White, Craig H. “Alternative Identities: Sexual Redefinition of

Women in “The Last of the Mohicans”,” Jane Eyre”, “Democracy”, and “The Handmaid's Tale”. 1996, pp.117-153. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Diemer Llewellyn, Jana, and Hicks, Heather J. “Rape in Feminist Utopian and Dystopian

Fiction: Joanna Russ's “The Female Man”, Margaret Atwood's “The Handmaid's Tale”, and Octavia Butler's “The Parable of the Sower” and “The Parable of the Talents”. 2006, pp.42-75. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Neuman, Shirley. “‘Just a Backlash’: Margaret Atwood, Feminism, and ‘The Handmaid’s

Tale.’” University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 75, no. 3, Summer 2006, pp. 857–868. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/utq.75.3.857.

North, Anna. “7 Positive Changes That Have Come from the #MeToo Movement.” Vox, Vox,

4 Oct. 2019, https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/10/4/20852639/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-law-2019.

Radford, Ceri. “What Margaret Atwood's The Testaments Tells Us about the State of

Feminism Today.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 15 Sept. 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/testaments-margaret-atwood-feminism-handmaids-tale-metoo-a9103891.html.

Tolan, Fiona. “Feminist Utopias and Questions of Liberty: Margaret Atwood’s ‘The

Handmaid’s Tale’ as Critique of Second Wave Feminism.” Women, vol. 16, no. 1, Spring 2005, pp. 18–32. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/09574040500045763.

Wharton, Amy. The Sociology of Gender – An Introduction to Theory and Research. Oxford:

            Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2005.

Marquis de Lafayette

Marie de Lafayette was born in 1957 in France, in a noble family.  Although the noble class had more power to control the society and the government, Gilbert's family treated the richest and the poorest equally (Collins, 4).  After the death of his father in the Battle of Minden, Gilbert’s mother moved to Paris when Gilbert was 11.  Therefore, Gilbert stayed with his paternal grandmother.  Following the death of his father, the government in France granted Gilbert's family money that helped Gilbert to continue with education.  At school, he was very intelligent (Christine, 1763).  He was good at reading and writing, and he learned values.  He was passionate about the military while he was young, and therefore attended training to become an officer in the future.  He even had a dream of werewolf terrorizing the people and he used his power to fight the werewolf and defend the people (Christine, 1763).  This means that he had a helping heart for the poor.  Note  that he did not only want to succeed in life but he also wanted to become a war hero. 

He entered in the battlefield at 19 years and acted as the major general.  After the Revolutionary War, he went back to France and became a common political figure.  While in the American Revolution, Lafayette wanted America to win the war but the victory could not be achieved without money, troops, and supplies.  Thus, he requested France to provide the resources (Christine, 1764).  Although America had few supplies, they fought the British through inspiration.  Lafayette believed in word and actions  and his common saying was  "why not?". In all his life, he believed that all things are possible and he was committed to change society and especially the oppressed.  He sacrificed himself in the American Revolution and France revolution to end the political turmoil and create a better government.

 At the age of 14, Lafayette joined the Royal Army.  In 1777, the North American colonies in the American Revolutionary wanted to create the United States.  However, it was hard to find the support to fight the mighty British military.  Nevertheless, Lafayette from France volunteered to support the Americans fight Great Britain (Christine, 1764).  Even though he was a France native, he was willing to help America gain freedom from tyranny.  In 1777, he entered the battlefield and joined the America soldiers.  Lafayette also requested the French military to join the war and help Americans.  However, some  French people were not willing to offer help. For example, King Louis XVI did not support the Frenchman (Lafayette) but instead, he ordered the French military not to help America in the war with Great Britain (Christine, 1765).  Despite all these barriers, Lafayette did not lose hope but he continued to show his willingness to make a difference in America.  Nothing could change his decision to help  America.  Since Lafayette came from the French nobility, he was chosen to be the major general.  In America, he met George Washington who asked him to join the military camp where he received training (Christine, 1765).  In the battle, Lafayette was in the front lines in the Battle of Brandywine.  He was a strong and capable man.  Even though he was shot in the leg, he led the soldiered in the terrain.  Between 1777-1778, the soldiers experienced tough challenges such as tough winter, lack of money, lack of clothing, lack of shoes, starvation, and cold.  During this period, Lafayette was requested to move to Canada for the expedition.

 In 1778, he requested to return to France.  Since he disobeyed the king and Travelled to America, the king punished him.  Nevertheless, Lafayette had a purpose while returning to France.  It was a strategic plan of gathering support since America had inadequate resources such as money, food, clothe, and more (Christine, 1767).  While in France, he influenced people to help America.  In 1780, he  returned back to America with all the resources that America needed.  Before   Lafayette return to America, the colonists experienced the worst (Christine, 1767).  However, Lafayette brought hope to Americans by supporting them.  Remember he used to say that all is possible and his world and actions made America optimistic.

 The final great war of the revolutionary occurred in Yorktown.  Lafayette played a great role not only in being in the battle but also by providing the war fighters with troops.  Note that in the battle, Lafayette was in the front line and the final battle, Lafayette ordered the American and French soldiers to blocks all paths of escape (Christine, 1768).  The British surrendered and America gained the victory.

 Lafayette was a great leader and a hero.  He received a special award for the great service to Americans.  Even though he went back to France after the victory, he could visit America to do other jobs such as writing letters (Christine, 1768).  His leadership role was not only visible in America but he fought for liberty in France following the France and Australia war.  This means that he won the American Revolution and later was involved in the French Revolution to end the chaos and make a difference in people's life.  He loved his country France and America and ensured that the government served all people equally (Christine, 1768).  He was loyal to both countries and when he died in 1834, the America and French soil was put in his grave.

 Lafayette inspired Americans to believe in themselves despite the challenges they went through such as lack of supplies.  Lafayette was a great man who devoted himself to bring change in America.  He wanted Americans to achieve political freedom and peace, and end hostilities.  He was known as an improbable leader who despite his wealth, had a bright future of helping America gain independence (Christine, 1768).  He was  influenced by the principles of quality and liberty. He was against the wealthy and privileged and focused on quality and individual freedoms. In French, the king from the royal family ruled and controlled the country, whereas the poor people were oppressed.  Lafayette was against this type of government and he was willing to change the structure of the government (Christine, 1768).  During the American Revolutionary, French citizens such as Lafayette were inspired to support equality and freedom in America and end the monarchical government.  Thus, Lafayette was an important political figure who reformed the government and created  a representative government that supports both the poor and the rich.  He believed that it is possible to bring change through a reformation.

 During the French Revolution, Lafayette, together  with Jefferson believed that the American Revolution reformed France and therefore proposed that the National Assembly should issue a  declaration (Forsythe, 405).  Before the declaration, Lafayette and Jefferson reviewed the recommendations about the declaration and agreed that it should touch issues concerning taxes, laws, rights, freedom, and liberty.  After discussion, the draft was sent to the French Assembly and it was approved.  Lafayette heroism and leadership influenced the creation of the declaration (Forsythe, 405).  Note that the French Declaration was rooted in the American Declaration. In other words, Lafayette became familiar with the American Bill of Rights and this means that there was a similarity in drafting the Declaration. However,   the French Declaration and American Declaration differed in that France wanted a universal appeal whereas America wanted the rights of people (Forsythe, 406).  The similarity was on freedom first and the difference was on equality, liberty, and social equality in France.  In addition, there was a difference in terms of religious freedom.  America wanted religious tolerance whereas French attitudes focused on ideological atheism.  In general, French and Americans had a specific flavor that influenced the declaration.  Thus, the French stated the Declaration of the Rights of Man of the Citizen, which emphasized the natural and inalienable rights of man.

 Today, Lafayette is remembered for the friendship he created between America and France.  He is considered a great person who was committed to bring social changes in both America and France.  He is an important political figure for his heroic needs including providing support and helping America gain victory.  Today, his name is memorialized in the U.S and this indicates that he helped America gain an ultimate victory (Christine, 1760).  He restored civil rights in French and America and today, the countries enjoy equality, freedom, and liberty because of his great deeds.  He is a nation national hero who despite the challenges he passed through, wanted to end slavery and ensure that all people achieve equality and the right to rule themselves.

Work cited

 Christine Dugan. Marquis de Lafayette and the French. Teacher Created Materials, 2017

Collins, Kathleen. Marquis De Lafayette: French Hero of the American Revolution. New York:

Rosen Central Primary Source, 2004. Print.

Forsythe, David P. Encyclopedia of Human Rights. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Print.

Human Behavior of Greed

            Greed, as we know it, is usually a bad thing, or is it? What does greed mean anyway? To me, greed means wanting or having a selfish desire for something more than is needed. However the dimension of this definition is still very arguable in that it is not really understood what amount of excessiveness qualifies to be called greed. What qualifies to be called greed is that willingness of an individual to accept negative consequences for others all because of a great desire to get more of something that they already have. A narrow definition of greed is the desire for more money and wealth, this definition is however broadened as a desire for more resources that are deemed of value (Lambie & Haugen, p 33). People who are greedy are those that have more than they need while others around them have less or even nothing. This research analyzes the concept of greed, morality of greed and environment as a motivation for greed. 

History and Greed

Greed has always been presumed to be isolated in the popular culture; however greed is also relevant in financial crisis. What is presumed to be greed is often shaped by religious and philosophical values; greed is often rooted in local, societal, cultural and temporal realities. A behaviour that presumed to be greedy and excessive in one time line may be considered beneficial in another place and time (Lambie & Haugen, p 31). Greed is not a modern concept, it is an ancient social construct, that played a great role in in shaping political thoughts as well as philosophical ideologies. In the 6^th and 7^th century, there was always excessive accumulation of wealth and power and over time writers have focused on the negative consequences of greed on the society as well as on individuals. Greed is the concept that influenced modern economic societies and trading practices (Lambie & Haugen, p 31).

Morality of Greed

Wang & Murnighan begin their article with different quotes on greed being a positive thing, which is not always seen as something good, but we are born with it. It is our natural human nature to be greedy or to have greed in us. Almost anyone feels greed at one point in their life. The article goes on about different aspects of greed. From a historical, philosophical, and religious point of view, greed is seen as immoral and inappropriate (Wang & Murnighan, p 20).On the other hand, in economic, political science, and science psychology points of views, it is seen as not something bad, because it can be used as a strategy to achieve something you want. Anyone can view greed either positively or negatively, but when they are victimized, they see greed as immoral and unjust, and when they have acquisitive opportunities, they see greed as more appropriate and acceptable (Wang & Murnighan, p 22). Greed has often been viewed to be inevitable and there are different views on morality of greed.

 Economic theorists support greed arguing that it has positive contributions to the society and the economic systems. Greed is argued to be the generative mechanism that contributes to productivity; greed manifestations have the potential to improve behaviours and also organizations (Lambie & Haugen, p 32). Maximizing individual own interest, valuing competition and promoting self-interested behaviours can benefit the society and it can lead to economic growth. Those against greed argue that it is a destructive force that impedes progress in the society. Greed motivates corruption in systems causing civil discord and strife (Lambie & Haugen, p 32). A good illustration of the destructive nature of greed is with the downfalls of Wall Street and the 2008 recession. Greed has two aspects, the good and the bad; greed can motivate hard work on individuals promoting, ambition and accountability. Greed can also have negative manifestations where it can lead to excessive power, manipulation and exploitation (Lambie & Haugen, p 32). Greed can therefore not be intrinsically evaluated as moral or immoral, the consequences of greed are what should be defined as either destructive or productive.

Greed as a Trait

Greed cannot really be described to be an emotional trait because emotions are temporal and they specific according to the situation. This hence distinguishes them from the personality traits that are motivational and also enduring. Greed is a stable personality trait that that can be activated by situational characteristics, certain situations can temporarily trigger greed as compared to others. In the play The Bereaved Family by Branislav Nušić, it is obvious that these characters are extremely greedy. The one character who stands out the most would be Agaton; he tries to get the most out of the will and not let anyone else have anything from the will. He is the main character in the play, hence him behing the greediest of all. Wang and Murnighan explain that “chronic feelings of greed can lead to a selfish sense of entitlement over others,” which is exactly the type of person that Agaton is; he would boss the other characters around and think that only he is entitled to getting everything from the deceased’s will. The characters in the play are also somewhat hypocritical; they see others as greedy, but they do not recognize the existence of greed within themselves; each character catch each other stealing something from the deceased’s house and they call them out for it, but when they themselves are stealing, they don’t realize that it is wrong.

Wang & Murnighan, (p 2) reference Plato; “A person with a just and healthy soul would necessarily refrain from immoral and greedy behaviors”. This is categorized in the philosophical category. Treating greed as morally neutral would eventually lead to encouraging people to embrace greed, which would then increase the likelihood of people engaging in unethical, illegal, or immoral behavior. In a religious aspect, we can look at the Bible; Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Bible pg 851). People who are studying economics view greed as positive and beneficial, because it could be used as a strategy to achieve something. Sure, this could work for a while, but in the long run, this strategy would turn into something toxic to a human mind. Economic students or people in business would be so used to using greed as a strategy that they become greedy and selfish and could lead to, for example, a business ending in corruption.

Environmental influence on Greed

Greed is influenced by environmental conditions that play a great role in ensuring the survival and reproductive wellbeing of an individual. Environmental conditions in early life are particularly noted to influence an individual’s developmental pathways and thus influence the life history that they adopt in response to the challenges that they face in their environments. An individual that that grows up in a predictable environment can learn to expect the future to be similarly predictable, and hence adopt a life history strategy that is characterized by pro-social orientation and long tern goals. On the other hand an individual that grows up in an environment that is not predictable is likely to develop an expectation that the future is not certain (Chen, p 74). This individual is likely to adopt a life history strategy that is characterized by selfish orientation and short term goals.  If this is taken into consideration, the concept of greed can also be rationalized to have evolved as a life strategy to try and respond to unpredictable nature of environments. Greedy people tend to have an advantage especially those living in insecure environments and settings where resources are scarce (Chen, p 74). Being greedy can in this case be explained to motivate increased resources and it also helps to reduce risks that are linked with uncertainty.

Life history theory can also be used to help explain the concept of greed in adulthood. Childhood environmental unpredictability is positively related to greed meaning that people that grew up in disrupted families tend to place greater importance on financial security as compared to the people that grew up in stable intact families (Chen, p 75). A good illustration of this is a child that grows up in a home where food is not provided consistently by his parents because there is shortage. This child is likely to develop insecure attachment relationship with his or her parents. In this condition, this child will grow up always trying to store as much food as he can to ensure that he has future food access and this will influence his behavior as an adult (Chen, p 77). Children tend to be very sensitive to uncertainty about resource acquisition; people are likely to acquire internalized mind set of environmental unpredictability all because of the experiences as children. This can lead to such individuals adopting a greedy life character. People who are greedy will always be motivated to unconsciously solve issues in the environment that threaten future accessibility of resources because they always want more.

Managing Greedy behaviors

Resisting greed is not easy, it requires a mindset that would consider the consequences of being greedy. These mindsets would lead the individual to place him or herself in the shoes of other people and view it in another perspective other than their own. They would then realize that greedy behavior and actions can have adverse outcomes, which would then cause them to engage less in greedy behavior. These people would also be more empathetic as they can place themselves in someone else's perspective, in turns of a greedy person who might not be empathetic due to their selfish behaviors.

Feelings of Un-fulfillment within an individual are also a great motivation for greedy behaviors on individuals. There are those people that are never satisfied with their lives and so they always try to get more resources to try and make their lives as perfect as they can. Waska in his work examines greedy patients, he illustrates that many patients express a feeling of never being fully satisfied with themselves or their lives. This feeling of un-fulfillment would lead to greedy behaviors and patients acting out on it. They receive immediate satisfaction of greedy impulses, which naturally leads to short-term happiness, but this emotion disappears quickly afterward, causing them to have long-term guilt and more desire to acquire more of what they already have.

Self-Reflection after greedy behavior can lead to feelings of guilt and regret, which outweigh short-term satisfaction and excitement (Waska, p 41). Most patients in this article have suffered chronic trauma or disappointment in their childhood, such as parents getting a divorce, alcoholism, neglect, sexual abuse, controlling and dominating parents, etcetera. Due to them experiencing a bad childhood, these patients have feelings that prevent the lasting of contentment or fulfillment, and so, any good and satisfaction would be destroyed by greed and turned into loss; “Everything is sacrificed for the sole goal of finding a perfect self or object, leading to self-destruction along the way” (Waska, p 41).

Self-entitlement influence on greedy behaviors

Greed is greatly motivated by feelings of self-entitlement; the stronger one feels entitled to something, the more they desire to have more of it. Feelings of entitlement can excessively increase and they can motivate undesirable behaviors by individuals (Razen & Stefan, p 165). Social obligation does not in any way help in reducing greedy behaviors; they only increase the frequency of equal sharing. Now, I am a bit greedy myself at times, for example, I remember when I was nine years old, begging my mom for a second ear piercing and telling her, it will be the last one I ever ask her. So I got it when I was 10, but then at 14 I wanted a third one, and then at 17 I wanted three more. With each time, I wanted more and more and I would feel that satisfaction and excitement right after getting it. But after a few weeks or months go by, I would feel as though they are not enough, and I would still want more. And to be honest, it is hard trying to fight that feeling of wanting more. I do not quite understand why I keep yearning for more piercings, but this, in turn, does not have any real negative consequences other than my mom telling me my ear looks horrifying and abnormal.

In conclusion, greed is something we all have even if we want to deny it, the means that are employed to get the more of what one desires is what matter. It is what help in defining the extent of one’s greediness. Lying to others, and doing things that hurt other people just to accumulate more of what one already has is immoral. Greed as illustrated has its positive as well as negative impacts depending on the situations. Greed in economics is good in that it motivates people to work hard to achieve their goals and to increase their resources. There are however situations where greed can influence undesirable behaviors such as misuse of power and all this have negative impacts on the society. Greed is not something that can be eradicated, however policies can be put in place to help set out the standards on greed especially in the business world.

Works Cited

Chen, Bin-Bin. “An Evolutionary Life History Approach to Understanding Greed.” Personality

and Individual Differences, Pergamon, 9 Feb. 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886918300710.

Lambie, Glenn W., and Jaimie Stickl Haugen. “Understanding Greed as a Unified Construct.”

Personality and Individual Differences, Pergamon, 14 Dec. 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886918306469.

Razen, Michael, and Matthias Stefan. “Greed: Taking a Deadly Sin to the Lab.” Journal of

Behavioral and Experimental Economics, North-Holland, 7 June 2019, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214804319300618.

Waska Robert. Greed, idealization, and the paranoid-schizoid experience of insatiability, The

Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review, (2003) 26:1, 41-50, DOI: 10.1080/01062301.2003.10592906

Wang, Long, and J. Keith Murnighan. “On Greed.” Taylor & Francis, https://                                                        www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19416520.2011.588822.

Systemic Sexual Harassment

An inherent power imbalance in the workplace has been in existence since civilization, particularly for young women. One in every four working women lives in fear of being fired or demoted if they report sexual harassment against their superiors. The situation is not at all surprising since sexual harassment seems to be a common occurrence that has been institutionalized and victims silenced. In recent years more and more women are coming out to share their sexual harassment experiences in the workplace alongside a backdrop of cases touching high profile figures. Accusations, including inappropriate touching, rape, sexual assault against women, including minors, have emerged.

In essence, social media has provided the individual with a platform and voice to express their traumatic experiences and share their stories with the world instantaneously. The advancement of technology is something that should be applauded for the role it has played in uncovering the rise of systemic sexual harassment. The #MeToo Movement blasted across the social networking sites in 2017, igniting a global debate with regard to the extent and pervasiveness of sexual harassment in the workplace across all sectors, demographics, and ages. From the revelations, the issue is not a recent one but one that has existed for decades and is mainly fueled by masculinity.

Since the rise of the movement, their world-wide changes have been experienced as society begins to recognize the flaws of its cultural standards about power, politics, and gender. The outcome is not only documented on the loss of jobs by some powerful men as a result of their actions, but the movement has demonstrated significant achievements in changing the victim’s outlook and how the society treats them. In a nutshell, it has hewed off all the cultural customs and power structures responsible for protecting men and silencing women for decades.

Adele Haenel, a French actress, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Christophe Ruggia, an established film director. According to Michallon (2019) the actress stated that she was subjected to sexual harassment for years between 12 and 15 years by Raggia. She held that she failed to take a legal step due to the systemic violence women face when presenting cases to the judicial system. In the film industry, this has been more than common for both young men and women desiring to secure a role in a cast. Model Aaron Lesta Lopez narrated of being harassed by a film director who asked him to touch himself at a casting.

Similarly, during an interview, Rebecca Crookshank, who worked for the Royal Air Force (RAF), said that it took her fifteen years to gather the courage and talk about being sexually harassed at work when she was only 20 (BBC, 2017). She was offered a flight to silence her. The case shows that the problem affects males and females, but women are the most affected due to gender stereotypes.

While most people assume that modernity has been nothing but useful in pushing the need to stop sexual violence in the workplace, it has also created more platform to silence victims. In the business landscape, reputation serves as one of the essential things that any given organization seeks to protect. Companies have been pushed to reevaluate their policies to respond to sexual harassment cases and take responsive actions effectively. The need for more rigorous policies has not been ignored since it is clear to us all that sexual harassment complains pose the greatest threat to organizational reputation. However, we are using these policies to protect the image of our businesses rather than upholding justice for the victims.

Sexual harassment in the work setting has been a dominant issue, and it no longer permissible to brush off the allegations using money, threats, or other offers to silence the victims for the sake of corporate reputation. Business leaders today have options, and they need to be practical about protecting their employees irrespective of their gender or age and stop sexual misconduct in the workplace or sit and wait to face the wrath of the law. Not forgetting that the consequences are non-forgiving when it comes to destroying their esteemed reputation and their financial stabilities. Prevention, as they say, is less expensive than trying to manage and treat a problem.

The blame the victim mentality is the reason as to why young people continue to suffer at the hands of the aggressors at the workplace as noted by Wooten & Nolan (2019). Lawsuits are receiving more attention as more people are coming out to share their stories. In the past, companies would possibly spend legal funds in disputing claims or settling complaints outside out and giving offers to the victims to prevent media coverage. All these lean towards protecting the image of the companies rather than protecting victims and ensuring that the harassers receive the punishment that is well deserved to deter further abuse cases.

Undeniably, the culture has changed. Technology and social media have helped young people, especially by giving them a common ground, which has made them powerful. The outcome is a powerful base for social transformation and collective action. Awareness creation needs nothing more than an informative and action calling hashtag with the message reaching thousands of people within just a few hours. It is astonishing how much people are willing to share to help the next generation. Wounds that have been inherited from past generations are now beginning to heal as the new generation of females is dominant in today’s workplace.

Empowered by the increasing number of sexual harassment allegations and increased reflectiveness in the contemporary media, more than ever before, women have taken a firm and unwilling to tolerate such behaviors to protect themselves and generations from coming. The pressure from social media campaigns in mounting on companies to take comprehensive measures in dealing with these allegations. Technology is a powerful tool for bringing change as it is paving systematic change by empowering young people to change their attitudes and deal with the problem now. The issue of sexual harassment is not likely to go away sooner, but an important step has been taken courtesy of technology to deter such behaviors.

References

BBC. (2017). Workers Share Sexual Harassment Stories. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41830244

Michallon, C. (2019). French actor Adele Haenel files sexual harassment complaint against director Christophe Ruggia. Independent. Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/adele-haenel-christophe-ruggia-sexual-harassment-france-child-a9219196.html

Wooten L. & David J. Nolan. (2019). Beyond #MeToo: Re-examining sexual harassment in the workplace. Retrieved from: https://business.cornell.edu/hub/2019/04/03/examining-sexual-harassment-workplace/

 PRESENTATION OF SELF THEORY BY ERVING GOFFMAN: SOCIAL MEDIA

Human interaction is one of the most common experiences that individuals go through daily. Besides, people can observe various aspects of others, such as the way they dress, talk, and facial expression, among others. These observations are used by the individuals to give judgment as it indicates the way people presents themselves to the world. According to Goffman, social interaction has a certain similarity with the theatre, with people being the actors in stage taking different roles in the play (Goffman 1956). On the other hand, the audience is the people who do observations and react to performance. This paper will discuss the self-presentation of the use of social media in modern society.

Self-presentation is the way individuals express themselves or behaving in a manner that will create the desired impression from other individuals. In the current world, the emergence of the internet and the advancement of technology has shifted social interaction from the common face-to-face to unique styles in social platforms that can be expressed in terms of photos and statuses (Crossman 2019). However, the element of self-presentation is the same in all of them because people act in the way they want others to perceive them.

According to Goffman, like in theatrical performance, which has a front stage and back region. Social interaction has actors who are the individuals who are aware of what they are required to do and the expectation of others from them which thus, influence their behaviors. On the other hand, the back region represents the area where individuals can relax, be themselves, and play their role when they are in front of others (Crossman 2019). In social media, individuals post photos, videos, or anything they think of, while the viewers react to it. However, what is shared in social media is usually controlled to some extent by how others will take it.

Besides, the interaction of individuals in a social setting is driven by the act to impress others. This is because people try to present themselves in a way that will prevent the embarrassment of others or themselves. Thus, they play their roles and work with others collaboratively to ensure that everyone understands what is supposed to happen in a certain scenario, what to expect from others, and how they should express themselves (Crossman 2019). For example, when working in a retail shop, the seller understands that he/she needs to be friendly, similar to Uber drivers, mainly to prevent poor judgment and possibly losing customers. This can also be related to the family where the elder brother or sister is expected to act in a certain manner in front of other siblings; this awareness results in conformity.

In the modern generation, various development has occurred concerning the way individuals present themselves. Besides, the introduction of smartphones with in-build cameras and the ability to access fast internet, together with changes that have occurred in media technologies, have altered the way individuals remember, capture and communicate images of their daily lives (Nesvadba 2017). The current social media platforms have given the users the ability to have access to a broader audience who can be able to view their photos, videos, and their updates, and thus, it has a significant influence in the manner they interact with them.

Furthermore, the action of capturing images using phone cameras has become increasingly popular. The commonest one is the selfie camera, which enables individuals to be able to view how the photo will be like before they take and share in the social media (Iqani & Jonathan 2016). Besides, the image might comprise various cues that may have the ability to express a specific message in the photos. Thus, it has become a convenient visual expression tool in social media. According to Boetker-Smith (2015), it represents the continuous sharing of photos by individuals who do not necessarily think that the selfies they post are a reflection of oneself, but they are well aware that it is the reflection of representation of oneself.

Additionally, self-presentation has become part of individuals in the current generation. The availability of various platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn has made individuals play different roles in the majority of them. For example, adding family on Facebook, talking and adding followers on Instagram and Snapchat, critiquing on Twitter, and having a professional account on LinkedIn. Therefore, it allows individuals to play different roles that can be perceived differently by observers. Besides, the photos shared online, together with the notion of conventional beauty and perfection, have been found to be closely associated with the majority of beauty pictures posted by women (Aerni 2014). The majority of women in western cultures also believe that their appearance is the fundamental factor in their self-definition. Therefore, they try to look better through posing, flexing, or smiling hence attracting attention.

Conclusively, self-presentation in social interaction is a common element of daily living. However, behaviors expressed to the outside world mainly depends on the expectations of others and the role played by the individual to meet them. Besides, social media in modern society has enabled individuals to interact with a more significant number of people, which also influences how they dress, talk, behave, and look.

REFERENCES

Aerni, Marianne. 2014. "The passionate'sharing'of creative women: A Study of self-portrayal on Facebook and Instagram".

Boetker-Smith, Daniel. 2015. “ I SELFIE THEREFORE I AM”. [online] Available at: http://vaultart.com.au/ISS10/SELFIE.php [Accessed 2 Nov. 2019].

Crossman, Ashley. 2019. "An Overview Of Goffman's 'The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Life'". Accessed November 2 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life-3026754.

Goffman, Erving. 1956. "The presentation of self in everyday life. University of Edinburgh." Social Sciences Research Centre.

Iqani, Mehita & Jonathan E. Schroeder. 2016. "# selfie: digital self-portraits as commodity form and consumption practice." Consumption Markets & Culture 19, no. 5 (2016): 405-415.

Nesvadba, Noe. 2017. “THE PRESENTATION OF SELF IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: GOFFMAN AND THE STUDY OF WOMEN’S SELF PORTRAYAL ON INSTAGRAM THROUGH SELFIES”.

Decision making process

When buying a product, the family-decision making differs from individual-decision making in the latter means that an individual has a direct impact on the product. In other words,   an individual has the power to seek information about a particular product, conduct product evaluation, make buying decisions, and make a final decision about the product (USC Marshall, 2018).This means the individual has autonomy and will not consider the interests of family members. An individual can conduct a quality comparison, price comparison, among other roles (USC Marshall, 2018). On the other hand, family-decision making is a process where family members do not have the power to make product decision such as buying decision.  Family members only express their ideas and opinions.  Even if one of the family members wants a particular product, he or she cannot make a buying choice (USC Marshall, 2018).  Family members do not have the power to determine which product to buy, where, and when to buy

The family-decision making process results in conflict. This arises from the product purchase decision. For example, I have seen conflict in my own family while making family decisions. On early August, I wanted to go for a summer vacation in Boston. I was expressing my opinion, and my father said that he would compare prices for food, activities, transportation cost, lodging, entertainment, among other expenses to see how we much we would spend. After comparing prices, my father concluded that we would visit Harrah's Laughlin in Nevada. I was affected since my father did not meet my preference. My father had the power to decide where and when to go on vacation. However, I was able to get my way through impression management. Because I respect my father and we have a close relationship, I decided to support my father's idea so that I could be seen as friendly and nice.

 Reference

 USC Marshall. (2018). Families and Family Decision Making. Lars Perner

What is the purpose for the article? 

            The purpose of this article is to tackle the work-family interface through the use of Frone’s (2003 bidirectional model. As a result of that, from the perspectives of this mode, the article intends to explain the work-family conflict is linked with numerous negative results whereas work-family facilitation is a process that positively associated with enhanced physical and mental well-being. In connection to that, the article uses various model and perceptions, especially from the field of vocational psychology so as to connect them and let the reader understand what work-related interface means (Whiston & Cinamon, 2015). In return, the intentions of the authors of this article entail proposing hypothetical interventions that can be used to increase facilitation and decrease conflict.
What is the author trying to accomplish?

            One of the things that the authors of this article desire to accomplish is to highlight the significance of the work-family interface as it is associated with individual physical and mental well-being. To be in the position of enabling the reader to understand their views, the authors embark on utilizing existing organizational perspectives. As a result of that, it is easier for the authors to make people understand the significance of career counselors in assisting a person to maintain balance between family and work. The authors’ intentions entail further highlighting how career counselors have the capability of enabling clients to explain the dynamics of work-family conflict (WFC) and work-family facilitation (WFF) interfaces.

            Moreover, the intention of the authors is to let the readers of this article to understand how modern career counseling approaches and theories can be used by counselors to address the WFC and WFF issues. As a result of that, it becomes easier for the authors to let readers of this article to appreciate the fact that in the process of exploring all issues associated with work-family interface, using recent models, and career counselors, it is possible to improve the quality of life of a person (Whiston & Cinamon, 2015). In return, such a process indicates that it has the potentials of fostering social change through persuading people to try and maintain balance in their work and family.
What issues or problems are raised?

            One of the issues that the article tries to raise is the issues regarding how to maintain balance between work and family. Furthermore, the article indicates how the work-family conflict has the potential of negatively impacting the health of a person. Ideally, what this indicates is the fact that success in work and family is one of the hallmarks for improving mental health. Despite that, the conflict that exists evolves as a result of the conceptualized pressure that a person encounters from work and the family. Since both are mutually incompatible, it implies that individual participation in a particular task is ultimately made more and more difficult by virtue of engaging in another activity.

            Another issue that is raised by the article is that one concerning the controversies regarding whether gender is a predictive factor between work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict. The article, therefore tries to indicate that there exist no gender differences amongst the two in terms of its prevalence.  Similarly, the authors also try to raise the issues concerning the impacts of work-family facilitation and family-work facilitation (Whiston & Cinamon, 2015). It is found out the relationship between work-family facilitation produces both negative and positive benefits

                                                            Reference

Whiston, S., & Cinamon, R. (2015). The Work-Family Interface: Integrating Research and Career Counseling Practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 63(1), 44-56. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-0045.2015.00094.x

Sociological imagination

News post

 The progress on poverty as a result of capitalism

The capitalist system is the answer to the high poverty incidence in U.S. states. The government greatly influenced the labor market to eliminate poverty and improve other areas such as education and health. However, the labor market has changed, and it does not seem to meet the goal of employment protection, minimum wages, workers’ protection, and inclusive economic growth (Luna, 2016).  Today, capitalism is ruling the labor market. Everyone in the market is profit-oriented. Capitalism has exploited workers in that workers work in poor working conditions, they earn very little money, they work in low-paid jobs, and others are suffering from unemployment and underemployment (Luna, 2016). These factors are contributing to in-work poverty. The latter is worsening the living condition and elevating the poverty rates since the workers are unable to buy food and clothing.  Therefore, the capitalist system in the labor market has denied workers a decent living condition (Luna, 2016).  Workers live in extreme poverty since they do not have enough money to fulfill their basic needs.

 The sociological imagination is the ability to see the things that happening in the social world and interpret them to solve social problems (Scott, 2013).  Another definition is that social imagination is the act of moving out of personal view and applying a new way of thinking. Therefore, in solving social problems, one needs to connect the   problems with social structures. As a result, one will understand the current pattern of life, the factors that shape the current situation, and how the future will look like.

 On history and biography, Mills means that to understand the social world and solve the current social problems, one needs to apply sets of concepts.  For example, to understand individual life, one needs to conduct a historical inquiry and understand the social practices in different spans of time (Scott, 2013).  Note that the social structure is made of various structuring properties.  Thus, when analyzing history, one understands the social processes and historical scene. The historical perspective will help one know the course of life.

Troubles are personal problems, and only a single person feels the troubles. On the hand, an issue affects society as a whole, and they arise from the arrangement of social structures.  Mills makes the distinction so that people can gain sociological imagination- the ability to differentiate between personal troubles and public issues and ultimately, make personal choices.  Issues help people become aware that one cannot solve the problem alone, but society needs to offer help (Scott, 2013).  One understands that the trouble is rooted in society, and therefore, one must consider the social setting.

References

Luna, V. M. I. (2016). The persistence of Poverty in Capitalist Countries. Economía

Informa, 400, 67-82

Scott, J. (2013). C. Wright Mills and the sociological imagination: Contemporary perspectives.

Cheltenham: Elgar.

 Integrative critical analysis

What is the purpose of the article?

            This article serves the purpose of proving the effectiveness of life-design counselling as evaluated by Career Counselling Innovative Outcomes (CCIO). This articles also sheds light on the fact that life-design intervention effectiveness has not been explored a lot due to lack of narrative research methods that can fit the constructionist base of the life-design paradigm. This paper serves as evidence that the life-design intervention helps meet career challenges and adapt to changes taking place in the global economy and the digital era by helping individuals increase their metacompetencies of adaptability and their identity.  

What is the author trying to accomplish?

            With this articles the writer is trying to show the effectiveness of life design intervention over all the other interventions. The writer is also trying to prove that the need to develop qualitative assessment and the need to verify the effectiveness of life design counselling is as a result of emergence of the narrative perspective in career counselling.  The author tries to prove that the vast changes that are taking place currently in the world of work and careers will force the nature of assessing career intervention to change.  The author tries to show that the life-design as an intervention approach helps client to create meaningful changes in their lives by developing an expanded and clearer conceptualization of one self.  The author is also trying to show that there is a need to produce a new qualitative tool that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of life design interventions.

What issues or problems are raised?

            Issues such as the lack of extensive research that explains the effectiveness of the life design counselling approach.

            The reason as to why it is difficult to develop a tool that measures the outcomes of the life design tool is because this narrative approach to career intervention is intrinsically qualitative, and there are not many qualitative tools that are focused on assessing narrative change.

            Traditional quantitative instruments capacity to measure and comprehend the nature of qualitative changes in individual’s self-narrative is limited.

What data, experiences, and evidences are given

The data collected is in form of answers to seven questions that are given by a 25 years’ old female Biomedical engineering student who was about to transition from a university student to the field of work.  The narrative from those seven asked questions were coded using a system of five categories.  The data was also collected using an interview on five key areas. 

What concepts are used to organize this data, these experiences?

The trustworthiness of the data collected was guaranteed using concepts of data collection and analysis, including credibility, confirmability, transferability and dependability.  The answers to the seven questions that were used were based on five types of innovative moments, namely; action, reflection, protest, reconceptualization and performing change.

How is the author thinking about the world?

 The author is thinking about the world as a dynamic world that is ever changing and as a world where so many changes are taking place in careers and work fields.  The author also views the world as one with limited opportunities and one with economic crisis that have accentuated the already chances of finding jobs.

Is their thinking justified as far as we can see our perspective?

As far as we can see the authors thinking that the world is one with limited opportunities and one with economic crisis that have accentuated peoples’ chances of finding skilled jobs is justified by the high number of graduates that do not have jobs and those who have jobs that don’t match their skills.

And how do they justify it from their perspective?

The author justifies their perspective by using CCIO to help the student realized that she needs to look beyond her home town if she desires to find a job that matches her skills.

How can we enter their perspective to appreciate what they have to say?

To enter the perspective of the author in order to be able to appreciate what they say, one has to fist agree with the authors perspective on the world and understand the various reason the author hold this perspective.

References

Di Fabio, A. (2016). Life design and career counseling innovative outcomes. The career   development quarterly, 64(1), 35-48

Arab ethnicity

The history of Arabs can be traced back to as early as mid-ninth century BCE inhabiting the regions of Syria and the Arabian Peninsula. They existed during the time of Neo-Assyrian Empire and even the Neo-Babylonians that succeeded them. However, a closer history of my family lineage traces its roots to the Arabs inhabiting the 22 Arab League (Webb, 2016). I come from the region of Nasiriya in Southern Iraq and a Shia Muslim. If going under the general definition of the term Arab, I am a national of the Arab State, can speak fluent Arab and also quite familiar with the Arabian tradition. Growing up in an Arab community, I got acquainted to the customs, practices, politics, manners and social systems that make up the Arabian culture. While I was brought up in a community that exercised free will, I believe that my culture has had a significant impact on the type of person I grew up to become.

            Unlike most ethnicities that are formed depending on one distinct characteristic, the Arab identity is a product of various factors that are combined to give a basic description of an Arab.  Arab identity is formed by a combination the people’s common culture; sharing roots to a common land in history; a traditional lineage; and other regional and tribal factors that unite the people as Arabs (Sabry, 2012). Although the Arab identity has little to do with the religion that Arabs follow, the Islamic religion is often associated with people of my culture. The idea that Arabs are also Muslim is further intensified by the fact that most Arabs follow the Islamic religion with only a small number belonging to other religions such as Christianity and Baha’i. 

            Similar to other ethnicities, my culture is defined by various characteristics that people in society use to generalize people sharing common traits. Although the characteristics mostly originated from falsified stereotypes and beliefs shared by a majority, some of them are factual as they are based on the influence that a regions customs and traditions had on an individual (Sabry, 2012). In my case, most of the characteristics used to define the Arab ethnicity hold a great deal of truth as they are experiences I have went through in my daily activities not just in my home, but also in environments that have people from different ethnic backgrounds.

            One of the characteristics used to define Arab ethnicity is the position that family holds in a person’s life and how it impacts how Arabs live their lives. It is part of Arab culture to regard family as an integral aspect and most families maintain strong loyalties to each other and they extend even to tribes and clans. The generalized characteristic is true in my family as we hold each other in high regards. The relationships are not only limited to immediate family as we meet together as an extended family to celebrate holidays such as Eid al-Fitr (Betts, 2018). I grew up in a home made up of a big family and was taught the importance of family and respect for each other. Other than my immediate family, I also met my cousins and other relatives on a regular basis and this gave me the opportunity to get to know even distant relatives. From a young age, I was taught to always have the best interest of my family members and act accordingly, something I intend to pass on even to my children. 

            Family roles are also used as a distinct characteristic to define Arabs. Each individual in the family is expected to play a specific role. Men in Arab families have a patriarchal role whereby the financial needs of the family are the father’s responsibility (Betts, 2018). The belief that taking care of the family is the husband’s responsibility is borrowed from teachings from the Quran and those fail to fulfil this responsibility feel shame. Since men are described by the holy book as protectors of women, the responsibility of looking after the family’s needs is expected of men. Growing up, my father took on the responsibility of ensuring that our needs were met. Although the family chipped in different ways, I was brought up knowing that my father was responsible for ensuring our needs were met. The characteristic has however become somewhat outdated with time as the role of families continues to evolve. In my family, as is the case with other Arab families, my mother played a similar role and would often help out to ensure that the family’s needs were met. Although my father help the final say, he would often discuss with my mother, and even consult us and the needs of the family were addressed by all our efforts combined.

            Similarly, women had their own role to play even if it meant staying home and looking after the family. Women are believed to be mainly responsible for raising children and managing house chores (Barakat, 2012). Although the responsibilities for women were not only restricted to house chores and raising children, the belief is something I did not witness in my home while growing up. Like my father, my mother went to work and contributed to the family’s financial needs. She would also look after us, help with house chores and took on other responsibilities in the house. Children’s role in Arab families entail picking the examples set by parents and helping out in some of the responsibilities at home. Since I was brought up in a house that valued equality, I learnt to aspire to possess the traits from both my parents. Rather than desiring to be more like my father or mother, I tend to try and be the best for both my parents and follow their teachings equally.

            The generalized characteristics used to define the Arab have impacted my life and continue to influence the decisions I make even today. My parents brought me up knowing that privacy was important for all members of the family. Most of the challenges that we encountered and other information was restricted to only family members and our concerns were hardly ever discussed among non-family members (Gualtri, 2009). Since any person who talked ill of their family in Arab culture was looked down upon, I learnt the important value of privacy not just on family matters but also on personal issues. I find it difficult to open up to people and often prefer to resolve issues on my own. Although I am more than willing to listen to my friends’ grievances and problems they face, I tend to be better at listening than I am at sharing. When I encounter an issue that requires the intervention of a third party, I often prefer to get assistance from my siblings or my parents rather than someone outside of my family.

            The nature of relationships between men and women in Arab families has also made it difficult for me to associate with those of the opposite gender. The design for Arab homes is done in such a way that limits interaction between men and women (Gualteri, 2009). To begin with there are rooms designated for visitors and also those that guests should not venture into. In addition, the house is designed in such a way that male friends can easily visit and meet without interacting with the women in the house and vice versa. In the case of small houses, meetings are timed in such a way to limit interaction between people of opposite genders. Although such divisions were not as common in my house, I got to experience them when visiting my friends. The limited interaction with the female gender has made me rather anxious when talking to women. Despite having sisters and being close with my mother, I still experience a great deal of difficulty when talking to a girl, something that has made my dating life quite challenging.

            Whatever challenges I experienced as a result of relationship between different genders as part of Arab culture were overcome by the emphasis placed on hospitality. Arabs are regarded as hospitable and generous individuals that always try to establish good relationships with others. My ability to engage others with respect makes it easier to interact with all types of people regardless of the differences that separate us as humans. Although I still find it challenging to engage with women, I find it relatively easier when I try to be hospitable as it is seen as a sign of good conduct.

            The most significant impact that my culture has on my life even today has to do with my religion. I belong to the percentage of Arabs who also belong to the Islamic faith. Most of the values and ethics that govern the type of life I live are as a result of the religious teachings I follow. As a Muslim, the Quran forms the foundation of my religious beliefs as well as some of the laws that I try to uphold. The Quran is also responsible for the Islamic laws referred to as Sharia and they greatly influence how I interact with Muslims and also people that follow other religions (Betts, 2018). As part of my religious teachings and practices, I am required to pray five times every day and most of the activities I engage in revolve around my prayer times. When planning my schedules, I have to plan myself in such a way that whatever activity I undertake does not prevent me from engaging in prayers as required. I have faced some challenges especially in my pursuit for education. While most schools try to factor in my needs as a Muslim, exams tend to be a bit tricky because I have had to choose between prayers and sitting for an exam.

            In addition, some aspects of my culture that differ from others have made it quite challenging to engage with people from diverse backgrounds. A good example is the case with eating etiquette where my customs require me to turn down snacks and edibles the first time they are offered. While such a custom is easily implemented in places dominated by Arabs, it gets complicated when dealing with people that are governed by different customs (Betts, 2018). In some cultures, the offer for food is supposed to be accepted the first time. In such an instance, the decision to turn down food on the first offer could see me going hungry is the person offering it is not Arab. Other than food, there is also the issue with leaving after eating which is often interpreted as having an interest only in the food offered. However, in my culture, leaving after a meal is seen as a sign of someone who does not want to overstay their welcome.

            My personal identity is greatly influenced by my religion and the traditions that I follow. Since Arab culture is greatly influenced by Islamic teachings, I have learnt to merge the religious teachings with what is expected of me as an Arab. People in society have formed a set of beliefs and perceptions concerning how people belonging to the Arab ethnic group associate with one another and also with people from different cultural backgrounds. Since I was brought up to also respect other people’s cultures and hold their practices with in the same regard I hold mine I find it easier to interact with people regardless of their cultural backgrounds. I have learnt that respecting my culture also means giving other people a chance to show me their customs and traditions. In order to co-exist, I have to learn other people’s culture and then teach them something about my customs and beliefs. By doing so, I help them to better understand how to carry themselves around me and this has the same effect on their side. Regardless of what new culture I learn, I still remain deeply rooted to the customs and traditions of the Arab ethnicity as it best defines by beliefs and personal identity.

References

Barakat, H. I. (2012). The Arab world: Society, culture, and state. University of California Press

Betts J, (2018) “Arab culture values” Lifestyle Magazine, retrieved from,   https://family.lovetoknow.com/arabic-culture-values

Gualtieri, S. (2009). Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian-American Diaspora. CA: University of California Press.

Sabry, T. (2012). Arab cultural studies: Mapping the field. London: I.B. Tauris.

Webb P, (2016) “The origin of Arabs: Middle Eastern ethnicity and myth making” The British     Academy, retrieved from,            https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/BAR27-10-Webb-reduced_0.pdf

Impact of Celebrity Culture

Introduction

 Author Chikezie Emmanuel Uzuegbunam writes an article about the impact of media celebrities on the life of young Nigerians, and supports Packer's claim that today, celebrities have a big impact on modern society. Today, the increase in mass communication has increased the exposure of celebrities. The article concentrates on young people and it states that in the contemporary society, young people are exposed to both local and foreign celebrities through the Internet, magazines, television, print media, and other forms of mass media. The author states that celebrities have dominated modern societies and celebrity culture has transformed the lives of ordinary people. Note that Fame is not bad since celebrities help young people shape their future. However, fame or the celebrity culture has destroyed the lives of young people in that when creating their identity, they emulate the character of celebrity idols. Besides, there have an interest in infamous people and believe that celebrities' behaviors are acceptable. Generally, celebrity culture has negatively influenced modern culture by transforming the social attitude and lifestyle of young people. 

  In the past, ancient people created their gods and they recognized and worshipped them.  In modern society, celebrities have possessed God-like status and characters, and people are obsessed with celebrities (Uzuegbunam, 130). People look upon them and they believe that they symbolize a 'higher being'. The media has motivated people to idolize celebrities by placing great importance on them and increasing their power and authority. It is important to understand that celebrity culture has been influenced by the mass media in that the media is at the forefront to report the world events (Uzuegbunam, 130). Ordinary people do not treat celebrities as humans but they perceive them as modern gods. 

The author states that celebrity culture has affected the young generation in that even though celebrities may act as role models, they cause a detrimental effect on the life of young people. Note that teens pass through a transition period and at this period, they tend to create independence and identity.  In searching for identity, they do crazy things such as buy clothes, seek family relations, and they may even engage in antisocial behaviors such as alcohol use (Uzuegbunam, 131). In contemporary society, young people utilize technologies and media and the images they come across such as popular music, drama series, and celebrity interviews, among others, influence their identity. The author asserts that youth are responding to the modernized and sophisticated culture. Young people learn behavior from observing. When celebrities are portrayed in the popular culture through music, movies, dance, and arts, they become susceptible to these images which one way or another they control their attitudes and personalities.

The celebrity cultures and the age of globalization are influencing the social life of youth since they are most likely to incorporate the modern cultural practices into their lives.  In the study, full-time undergraduate students in the field of arts, law, social sciences, and education were selected and they were provided with one-ended questions (Uzuegbunam, 135). The questions were based on whether exposure to media content and lifestyle of celebrities impact their attitude and behaviors.  The results showed that 79% of students reported that the lifestyle of celebrities impacted their lifestyle.  The majority reported that celebrities affect their attitude and behaviors on sex and relationships (Uzuegbunam, 136). The main point is that celebrity culture has contributed to ‘celebrity worship syndrome' where young people become obsessed with celebrities life. Note that young people watch the way celebrities obtain wealth and social power and this becomes a driving force and the desire to achieve celebrity status. They perceive the celebrities as heroes and the desire to become like them in the future (Uzuegbunam, 136).  Rather than associating themselves with meaningful activities, they focus on the life of celebrities which later affects them mentally.

 Teenagers look up to celebrities in all aspects of their life.  For example, their copy celebrities fashion, clothing, hairstyle, body image, dress codes, eating behaviors, among other behaviors. They believe that celebrities are role models and thus there will guide them in making life decisions (Uzuegbunam, 138). However, celebrities may harm the life of teenagers since some of them are tied to antisocial behaviors such as drug abuse and vandalism. It is important to understand that celebrities as role models have a negative influence and they have the power to promote antisocial behaviors (Uzuegbunam, 138). Therefore, it is important to educate teens about the negative celebrity influence so that they can control themselves by avoiding copying negative behaviors and take a healthy message.

Conclusion

 Uzuegbunam supports Packer's claim that celebrities influence our culture. In contemporary culture, celebrities have influenced human society. Note that individuals and in specific young people are exposed to celebrities through advertisement, radio, television, among other means. The research paper has affirmed that exposure of the celebrities’ negative affects the lives of young adults. Note that they are exposed to appearance, behaviors, and lifestyle. All these elements create immorality which leads to perversion and rape culture. Note that young people like to be associated with celebrities and in specify they admire their fancy lifestyle, stylish clothing, entertainment, among other things which may negatively influence their attitude and behaviors.

Work cited

Uzuegbunam, Chikezie Emmanuel. "Between media celebrities and the youth: Exploring the

impact of emerging celebrity culture on the lifestyle of young Nigerians." Mgbakoigba:

Journal of African Studies 6.2 (2017): 130-141.