The myth of king Aron

Aron was raised in the family of eight children. He was the son to Queen Joan and King Kevin. King Kevin was a very powerful king who had conquered most of the neighboring territories. He was a harsh king who did not like the people who he ruled. He was very harsh to his male and female servants. The people of Kumbu Empire feared him a lot and they trembled whenever he could speak. Disobedience was met with death to a man and exile to women. He was the true definition of ruling using an iron fist. Queen Joan was as cruel as her husband and she never tried to correct her husband on any account. The queen was always quick to anger when she was opposed by the people. King Kevin used to give people heavy work and taxed them heavily without mercy. He also paid them very low wages and fired anyone who would complain. The king would destroy the environment by digging it for gold and other ornaments which he liked to covet.

 Aron was one of the eight children. He had four brothers and three sisters. Aron was the least loved child out of the eight children. He was slightly tall than the rest of the people in the crowd. He was kind and humble. He would not harm a fly when it land on him, that’s how peaceful the boy was but this did not make him gain favor with his parents. He was given demeaning chores and was never allowed to rest. He used to live with the servants and also ate with them. His clothes were shabby and torn. Compared to his brothers, his brothers were well groomed and clean than him but could not much his handsome face. Villagers had mixed reactions about him; some thought he was cursed as his parents did not love him and others thought that his father only feared him because he would one day over throw him. Anyway, life never got better for him without the love of a mother and a father.

One day Aron prayed and cried to the Lord of Nature. He cried tears of blood to the lord of nature at the temple which was built for the Lord of Nature at the center of the Kumbu Empire. The lord of nature was very happy that a mortal prayed to him even though the other mortals had forgotten him. He did not answer him immediately; to test his patience if he would continue to pray consistently. Aron continued to pray consistently and one day the Lord of Nature came to him .Aron bowed to him and the Lord of Nature gave him super strength and the ability to have great insight to foresee the future. After receiving this gifts Aron thanked the Lord of Nature and bowed before him.

One day there was a war. The enemies of Kumbu Empire had planned to attack the fortified empire during the day time. Their plan was precise and well informed .The gates of the empire were destroyed by the giant soldiers of the enemy camp. King Kevin was caught off-guard and could not rally enough soldiers to fight the vast army of the enemy strong hold .A Lot of soldiers were slaughtered. Women and children were also killed. Aron was woken up by the voices of the children screaming and running. He immediately took his bow and arrow and swung to action. He effortlessly killed the enemy armies .That day it is estimated that he killed more than ten thousand soldiers. When the war was over, men and women bowed to him. His brothers and sisters revered him. His parents were brutally shocked by the strength that he possessed and they also bowed to him. He was immediately crowned king over his people. He ruled the empire which his father once ruled and people all over the world worshiped him. King Aron always had a thick beard and a dove was always over his shoulder. On his right hand he held a tall spear. It is said that his reign lasted more than two hundred years. He married beautiful a wife and had five children who became gods when they grew into adulthood. His reign was prosperous and the empire of kumbu was fruitful. When he died he did not rot but his body froze on his seat like a statue and it is said that his spirit rose and he became a god.

One of the meaning of this myth is that evil doers will be punished in the end no matter how successful one is. The cruel king Kevin was attacked by his enemies who could have defeated him if Aron his son did not come to the rescue. This myth also shows that people should treat each other equally without any spite or hatefulness. Another meaning shows that we should live a disciplined life so that we can be ready whenever anything attacks us. This is seen when the empire of Kevin is attacked as he is caught off-guard due to the luxurious life he was living. Aron has been personified as the convergence of both the spiritual world and the physical world. The Lord of Nature gives him extraordinary strength which he uses to defeat enemies. Aron is also forgiving to his parents and siblings who usually showed him hate and no compassion at all. The spear of king Aron represents conqueror and the white dove represents peace within the land and purity of the heart. This myth establishes the function of good morals such as humility; in whatever position one is in charge of equality among people of the society is most important. It also establishes the moral uprightness associated with good governance.

One of the main theme that is seen in this myth is the theme of heroism. The king Aron is seen as a persona who goes to war by himself and is able to bring back victory to the whole kumbu empire due to the strength given to him by the lord of Nature. He defeats thousands of soldiers who had destroyed the fortified walls of the empire. Love and patience are other themes clearly portrayed in this myth. Forgiveness is another theme that stands out in this theme, Aron forgives his father and mother and even after taking the thrown, he does not exude any hatred toward them. Sacrifice as a theme is also seen when Aron decides to fight the enemies in order to save his people. Having faith in the gifts given to him by the lord of nature shows Aron that is trustworthy and faithful to use what he was given, it also portrays generosity. Another theme is perseverance. Aron persevered through his tribulations of mistreatment and abuse by his own parents.

            Bad leadership in today’s society has been experienced in many parts of the world. Some leaders oppress the people they are supposed to lead and protect by not doing what is right. Some leaders introduce high taxes on basic commodities hence resulting to poverty. Some leaders are corrupt and squander the taxes meant to build roads, schools and medical facilities. Some citizens are like king Aron who stand up and fight the enemies of their countries whose main aim is to destroy the economy of the country through dubious ways such as corruption (Furnham, 189) .Through this myth the society is portrayed as wanting change from bad leadership to good leadership. This is seen when they immediately crown king Aron after he fought for them. The family fabric of today’s society is very weak and is faced by a lot of challenges. For example family rivalry in families is very familiar nowadays due to parents being in favor of one sibling than the other. This brings discord to the family. Prosperity and order can only be brought about by good leadership that is not greedy nor corrupt. From this myth it is safe to safe to say that the society’s ailments can be rectified by the society itself. Also this myth is structured along language than symbolism and spiritual powers that are most use to bring the meaning to myths (Helms 617).

Works cited

Furnham, Adrian. Sweet Dreams and Nightmares: Learning from Good and Bad Leaders. London: Henry Stewart Talks, 2010. Print.

Helms, Ludger. Poor Leadership and Bad Governance: Reassessing Presidents and Prime Ministers in North America, Europe and Japan. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2012. Internet resource.

            Can ‘GoodToGo!’ Decrease Congestion on Roads in Seattle?

Introduction

In most cases, individuals tend to believe that congestion is a thing that occurs on roads stretch only occurring when the rate of motors exceeds the general capacity of the roads which forces everyone to engage in the going and stopping movements. However, on the contemporary roads, there are likely to be more causes than a high number of cars which include poor intersections timing signals, merging of lanes and functionality of roads traffic controls (Falcocchio & Levinson, 2015). Traffic congestion is a major challenge for the flow of traffic particularly in the urban settings which in turn creates complexity in the daily existence in the locations. Traffic congestion lowers the quality of living by stealing most of the road user’s time that would instead be utilized in productive activities to grow the economy. Traffic congestion has been a primary issue for decades now in Seattle and some of the implemented policies have failed to lower the occurrence. Traffic congestion is a critical social as well as economic issue in the contemporary society (Bull, 2003). The issue cannot just be solved through the use of only physical constructions such as increasing the capacity of roads, creating bridges increased authority controls.  There is a great necessity of building a technological system for the management of transportation that can be utilized in controlling the issue. Traffic controls systems such as control systems hold direct on the issues that are derived by congestion (Gillen & Levinson, 2004). These systems can be useful in improving the general flow of traffic and lowering motors congestion throughout. GoToGo pass as a form of technological adoption can be useful in assisting a significant number of drivers to pass while easing congestion. This study will seek to establish how "GoodToGo pass’’ tolls can be set to achieve efficiency in decreasing congestion on roads in Seattle by at least 50 percent.

Literature Review

Congestion is a primary transportation issue that has been discussed by most studies and solutions proposed. However, most of the proposed solutions normally fail based on the poor implementation and the fact that the policy implementers mostly focuses on building larger roads capacity thus ignoring some of the primary causes such as inadequate signals (OECD, 2007). Traffic congestion is derived from the imbalance of both demand and the supply of road spaces but the projections for creating the better way out of congestion are limited. In addition, a number of the congestion reduction approaches remains ineffective over time while some approaches only offer short-run relief (Bullinger, 2009). GoToGo is a strategy that offers a long-term relief. In that, it cannot be doubted that human drivers, in general, are responsible for enhancing the worsening of traffic. Each time there is a lane change, slow drive or any form of unpredictable erratic this sets off a reaction chain that is felt within the traffic lane. Thus the use of GoToGo may be essential in maintaining consistency thus reducing the errors involved. In addition, this strategy will be useful in creating more road capacity and easing traffic (Gillen & Levinson, 2004). The application of GoodToGo tolls in Seattle as a system of control is a major approach to remedying traffic issues through the application of programming and technology through the use of tolls. The systems are effective because they can be utilized in the control of movement thus growing the capacity of the roads to accommodate more motors.

Methodology

The research will utilize a descriptive research design which will be incorporating both a qualitative as well as quantitative research. A study design can be described as the general plan that is structural developed with the objective of answering all the research queries and objective. Research Methodology, on the other hand, is a primary study of investigating and presenting answers to the study (Vogt, Gardner & Haeffele, 2012).This study will seek to answer on how GoodTOGo tolls can be utilized in controlling traffic in Seattle. The descriptive design will be incorporated into a random method of sampling to establish the effectiveness of GoodToGo tolls and how best they can be implemented within Seattle in lowering the level of traffic congestion by at least 50 percent.

Research Method

The simple random approach will be utilized for both qualitative and secondary procedures. The qualitative research that will be utilized in the study will incorporate the use of structured interviews as well as questionnaires. Physical and online individual interviews will be conducted based on the flexibility and the convenience of the respondents. The questionnaires will be containing primarily 15 queries which will be both closed and open-ended. This will be useful in creating maximum information.  Random sampling will be utilized in ensuring biases does not occur while selecting the sample populace. Random sampling is important in the research because the strategy seeks to ensure that the generated findings from the populace are both reliable as well as truthful so that efficiency can be utilized (Vogt, Gardner & Haeffele, 2012). On the other hand, quantitative data will be acquired from secondary sources such as peer-reviewed articles, books as well as journals.

Research Strategy

The research will utilize an inductive approach in accomplishing its purpose.  Based on the approach researchers starts the study through making observations which are then utilized in the production of generalized concepts as well as conclusions that are derived from the research. The approach was selected because it considers the general context where the effort of the research is active and it is additionally suitable for a reduced sample utilized in qualitative research (Tavakoli, 2013). The approach will seek to develop fresh information while comparing it with the existing one that will be acquired through a systematic review of some studies. The approach will be useful in creating fresh findings that will be supporting the adoption of technological control systems in controlling traffic in general.  However, the approach is characterized with several weaknesses because it generates generalized concepts as well as conclusions on the basis of a few observations which leads to the study’s reliability being questioned.

Data Collection Tools and Methods

The study will utilize in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires in collecting primary data. The will seek to identify the thoughts, experiences as well as the opinions of the respondents. Individual interviews are beneficial because they increase the general contact amid the researcher and the respondents thus eliminating any chances and the rate of the non-responsive level. In additional, the use of interviews, as well as descriptive questionnaires, is more flexible as it creates more room for generating conclusions that were not primarily anticipated in regard to the subject. This additionally helps in establishing the existing assumptions and understanding how they can be overcome. However, the use of these collection tools if not appropriately applied can result in a deviation from initially specified aims as well as objectives. The questionnaire will be utilized as the guide to the researcher in the process of carrying out the interviews in ensuring that the objectives are fully satisfied and create additional ideas and questions in the process (Tavakoli, 2013).

Sampling

Persuasive sampling will be utilized in the selection of a suitable sample populace. This method will be applied through the use of a non-probability sampling strategy that the sample population is selected on the grounds of the experience, knowledge as well as expertise regarding the study’s subject. In this study, the sample population will be selected on the grounds of relationships as well as expertise regarding the subject. Sufficient as well as relevant experience in regard to traffic congestion in Seattle was a primary necessity. In this context, the study seeks to utilize at least seek road users as well as traffic controllers which will be 15 and 5 people respectively.

Data Analysis

Primary acquired data will primarily be analyzed using content analysis methodology. The primary benefit of the method is that it permits the reduction and the simplification of the acquired data while still generating results that can be evaluated with the use of quantitative methods. In addition, this method offers the general capability for the researchers in structuring the acquired data in a manner that satisfies the study’s purpose.

Ethical Considerations

The current research is a subject to a number of ethical issues and therefore this issues must be accounted for. All the selected respondents will report with their filled acceptance as well as signed consent forms during interviews and prior to the acquiring of questionnaires.  Through the signed consent, this will offer briefs of what the study will mainly entail. The objective of the consent form is to ensure that the respondents understand that their responses will be treated as confidential and that they are free to make their withdrawal at any given period without giving any reason. In addition, the research is a voluntary one and only for scholarly use and their findings will not be utilized for any commercial operation and confidentiality will be maintained since the researcher will analyze the data personally.

Potential Challenges

The primary anticipated challenge in carrying out the study includes respondents withdrawal based on the fear of exposing some of the challenges that may expose the government or the policy developers. In addition, most of the people may not be willing to offer their actual experiences and thoughts based on the fear that their confidentiality will not be maintained. In this context, the sample size, as well as the respondent's size, may be low which may affect efficiency, accurateness as well as reliability (Lim, 2013). A larger sample populace would be essential in the research because it is normally effective in the enhancement of the research reliability. This would additionally increase the amount of information that is gathered from the study thus creating more grounds to analyses and create a conclusion to offer support and reflect the thesis of the research. In addition, since the study will mainly rely on qualitative research this may lower the capability of the research in measuring the examined issues.

The increase of traffic congestion in Seattle even after the implementation of several solutions may additionally be influenced by several issues which may not be accounted through primary research. Despite the fact that the study will utilize secondary sources in supporting and justifying a number of claims that are generated through the use of primary sources this may prove to be inadequate. This may affect and accuracy of the acquired data which will ultimately affect the ability of the research to be focused on answering the research query. Funds and time may be additional challenges since the study is limited by time and the residents may not be flexible to fill the questionnaires and participate in interviews with the given periods (Lim, 2013). This will require a significant amount of money in printing the papers as well as communicating often with the respondents to ensure that the objective of the study is not altered. Moreover, the research topic is broad in a way and therefore this will, therefore, require the researcher to utilize more time in narrowing, summarizing as well as analyzing the provided information to form a uniform pattern and adequately answer the study query.

Conclusion

In summary, traffic congestion does not only signify economically effects but also social. In Seattle, it is apparent that some of the previously implemented measures in lowering the rate of congestion have failed. GoToGo may be essential in creating more road capacity by permitting some of the vehicles to pass. Traffic congestion depresses the quality of living by stealing most of the road user’s time that would instead be utilized in creative activities to grow the economy. Traffic congestion has been a primary issue for decades now in Seattle and some of the applied policies have failed to lower the occurrence. Traffic congestion is a dangerous social as well as economic issue in the contemporary society. The issue cannot just be solved through the use of only physical buildings such as cumulative the capacity of roads, creating bridges increased authority controls.

Research Findings Usefulness

Based on the study’s analysis it is apparent that the research can be utilized by policy developers in creating technological as well as innovative solutions to the persisting issue in regard to traffic congestion in Seattle. In the past more of physical as well as structural solutions have been implemented in solving the issue but none has been effective. Through establishing the general causes of traffic congestion to be mainly driven by other factors in exclusion of road capacities and the number of roads that can be accommodated by the road this will create better grounds to effectively apply the knowledge in creating more effective solutions. The research will additionally create increased understanding in regard to the effectiveness of traffic control system and how they should be set for efficiency to be achieved both in the short and the extensive run. The possible benefits of utilizing the findings of the research are that it will develop more grounds through which the complexity of the issue can be understood. This can help in understanding the negative implications that have mainly been resulted by traffic congestion both on the economy as well as socially. On the other hand, the failure to use the findings of the research would promote the utilization of more physical solutions such as expanding roads and creating motorways and roads divisions. The findings can thus be utilized in obtaining economic as well as social benefits through reducing stress and asserting the utilization of time in economic benefits.

References

Bull, A. (2003). Traffic congestion: The problem and how to deal with it. Santiago, Chile: United Nations, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean [u.a.

Bullinger, H.-J. (2009). Technology guide: Principles - applications - trends. Dordrecht: Springer.

Falcocchio, J. C., & Levinson, H. S. (2015). Road traffic congestion: A concise guide. Springer.

Gillen, D. W., & Levinson, D. M. (2004). Assessing the benefits and costs of ITS. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Lim, W. M. (2013). Research methodology: A toolkit of sampling and data analysis techniques for quantitative research. Place of publication not identified: Grin Verlag.

OECD. (2007). Managing urban traffic congestion. (Managing urban traffic congestion.) Paris: OECD.

Tavakoli, H. (2013). A dictionary of research methodology and statistics in applied linguistics. Tehran: Rahnamā.

Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design. New York: Guilford Press.

Field Analysis

Field Log

5:30 am: Waking up, interaction with family members

6:00: Go to gym, Interaction with parents, siblings. Preparation, showering and taking breakfast

7:30: Arriving at the airport, interaction with security personnel (Transport Security Administration), customer service of the airline, queuing.

8:30 am: Waiting and interacting with fellow passengers to board the flight: buying snacks and drinks at the coffee outlets; interacting with who seems to be very busy; some people seated close by are having their drinks; others are using their phones; some are reading some books; a group of men nearby is watching the news while discussing about politics and cultures in other countries; children were mostly seen with women.

9:30. on flight with few young people having a hard time with flight attendants who is trying to control their rowdy behavior; a couple seated nearby is having a deep conversation and laughing all along.

11:30: Arriving at the destined aircraft; driving for an hour to meet friends and some family members.  There are many people selling various products along the way. Some people are lazing around, others are asking for direction , and some students walking in groups while playing; others seems to have fallen on hard time and they are looking for work. Some people own fancy homes and some residential areas seem congested;

3:30 pm: friends and some family members arrive for a gathering; sharing memories and catching up; watching local and international news- child abuse and assault case and corruption in some public offices come up. Whatever I did especially during the travel the norms dictated how I was supposed to carry out my activities.

6:30: stopping in the neighborhood to meet friends who are holding a religious meeting in their home; many religious literature; a discussion arise on social injustice, racial profiling and the need for social integration.

Application

Social norms influence how I behaved and even my thinking in various situations and certain moments.  These norms influenced what to do at a certain moment   such as waking up early , going to the gym for physical exercise , greeting my family members in the morning, what to do or not do in their presence. Since the norms are shared socially and many people have an understanding of them, they influenced how I should interact with everybody I came across throughout the day. These norms have an element of sanction or control, which was able to invoke feelings, fear, shame or guilt if they are not met. They also constrained my behavior and at times my behavior and interaction with people in various were situations were highly influenced.  Theses norms affected how I treated different kinds of people, how to communicate to them and the extent to which I could interact with them. What I am expected to do in the society may be different from what I am feeling, but I still followed the social norms which sows the extent to which the society influences ones behavior and thinking. Hence, queuing at the airport, fastening of seatbelts as a requirement in-flight and observing the toad signs during driving were part of the social norms that I had to follow. That influence can be attributed to the fact that people are not automations but emotional actors who are malleable and whose decision making is affected by the social networks, shared values and the contextual cues in a given situation. 

The concept institution is depicted in the family whose interactions are present throughout the unfolding of the day. As a social institution, family seems to be a common and intimate in which major and larger functions are carried out (Newman, 2011).  From the moment I woke up, the family played an important role in my planning and preparation of the day a head. It is served as the foundation for all the activities that are carried out in the society. Belong to a family means having certain rights and responsibilities which one cannot detach from given that interactions and relationships start from this institution.  That family as an institution has laid down some specific fabrics that forms the basis of interaction and influences human behavior and interaction with their specific environment.  Family provides an environment in which basic functions can be performed freely without fear of being judged by the rest of the society. It is also a place where basic human emotional and relationships needs are met making it a very powerful cultural symbol.

The social norms defines the gender roles in the family institution and this is indicated by the fact that women were mostly found with young children as seen in the field log observations.  As such the family systems are majorly based on the roles of specific gender which are pre-designed and which assist in running the various responsibilities in a family set up. A disturbance in the role of a given gender in the family can have devastating effects or can even lead to dysfunctional institution.   The field of sociology has continuously studied how the modern life affects the gender roles and hence the family structure. There is a great meltdown of the gaps between the different genders, where the society is promoting the growth of equality in family institution (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). This goes hand in hand with the changing roles of different genders in the society, where even if women are incorporated into the workforce, men are expected to continue being heads of family finances.

Another concept is social interaction which is a fundamental feature if human life. Almost every activity carried out by a member of the society involves interactions with others unless such an individual chooses to be alone. For any order to exist in an institution, an effective interaction should be possible.  In fact, for behaviors and roles expected of different people in the society to be developed, interaction must exist between individuals.  For buyers and cashiers in a coffee shop, the social interaction is developed automatically and we find ourselves performing these roles without having to think about them.  Roles and interactions go hand in hand and these are established as social norms in the entire society. Sociologists who are interest in the field of micro-sociology have been trying to explore social life through an analysis on how people interact and how they do so (Tischler, 2013).

The other concepts include groups and social class. The groups involve the social groups, primary groups and secondary groups. The social groups can be explained by the interaction of people doing various activities together or the various family members or friends found together (Tischler, 2013). The people working at the various offices at the airport form different groups that they identify with a specific job or the couples and families at the airport or on flight .The primary groups are represented by my nuclear family, with whom there is a daily and even of some members are away from one another they still form a closely knit group. The secondary groups include those that are impersonal and are seen in the aforementioned staff at the airport and the customer care offices.  These are temporary groups with shallow relationships or interactions amongst themselves. Some people in the secondary groups end up becoming part of primary group (Tischler, 2013). Social class is a concept portrayed in the log , where people seems to be divided along the economic line or financial capability .The various  classes of people are seen where some live in congested areas , with little level of economic development while others own fancy houses . The society is therefore divided into the upper, middle and lower class across different geographical locations.

Reflection

My interaction with the society is very close and it affects how I influence the behavior of others and how they affect me. However, this interaction is based on the social norms that influences people’s motives, feelings and actions and even limit what they can and cannot do.  My roles in the society are affected by the social norms such respect for rules and regulations and the culture of different people. The decisions I make do not exist in a vacuum and as such, they are bound by what is expected of me at home, at school and work and even in the community at large.

References

Newman, D. M. (2011). Sociology: Exploring the architecture of everyday life, brief edition. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press.6-8

Tischler, H., (2013). Cengage Advantage Books: Introduction to Sociology. Nelson Education. 137-138

Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2008). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. 20-23

Social movement

  According to Jenkins (1983), social movement is an organized group of people who are driven by structural conflicts in social institutions and who focus on long-term social changes and collection action. The author introduces the resource mobilization theory and asserts that organized groups form a social movement to achieve institutionalized actions and institutional changes. Both changes are designed to build a new social structure in the society. In addition, the theory  mainly reflect on the institutional change movement  and assert that the purpose of this movement is to  create rational actions  and centralized organization  which will control the resources  and create tangible gains (JenKins, 1983). The author also introduces mobilization and asserts that in mobilization, the organized group needs collective control and collective action for controlling resources.

According to Kitchelt, social movement is a political structure or a political group which   creates a protest movement with an aim of achieving social mobilization, resources and institutional arrangement. In this definition, the author asserts that social movement takes different approaches which are explained by theoretical approaches. First, Marxian-macrosociology states that social movement is formed with aim of achieving socio-economic development such as the anti-nuclear movement. Second, microsociology approach states that social movement is created by social protests group for the need of social changes on policy and institutions.  Third, resource-mobilization approach state that social movement is created by a social group that needs rational decision making and collective actions for fulfilling the national interest (Kitchelt, N.D). Generally, the different approaches show that political opportunity structures   leads to the creation of social movements through different ways. For example, the social group is influenced by instructional rules where the social group needs a change or creation of new policy.

 According to Macadam (1986), social movement arises when an organized group is influenced by motivational factors toward achieving specific goals in social setting.  The author introduces the differential recruitment and asserts that many groups creates social movement in dealing with the issue although different group posses different characteristics which drive them toward reaction.  In social moment, the social group may have high-risk activism or low-risk activism (Macadam, 1986). The former means that social groups in social movement have strong ties which are rooted from strong relationship. The strong connected is responsible for creating high-risk activism. The latter means that social groups have weak ties for example social media as it does not directly participate or motivate in social movement (Macadam, 1986). 

 According to Tarrow (1994), “contentious collective action” is a process where an organized group or “discursive communities” create social movement and develops claims to challenge the authority to take collective actions and bring solidarity.

 This definition means that all groups in social movement demonstrates their interest and requires the authority to take collective action and bring sustainable development. Interaction and relation between the social movement and the authority is reinforced by challenging actions and cultural frames (Tarrow, 1994). In addition, the definition by Tarrow allows the reader to understand that social movement emerges when social actors lack political opportunities and when they join forces, they claim for collective action. Other important point to understand is that contentious collective actions are associated with positive results in that by challenging the opponents, the authority takes steps to bring solidarity and fulfill the interest of a particular population. Thus, the purpose of contentious collective actions is to bring social solution through collective challenges (Tarrow, 1994).

Reference

JenKins J. Craig. (1983). Resource Mobilization Theory and the Study of Social Movements, Annual

Review of Sociology, Vol. 9 (1983), pp. 527-553

Kitschelt P. Herbert. (N.D). Political Opportunity Structures and Political Protest: Anti-Nuclear

Movements in Four Democracies.  Printed in Great Britain B.J. Pol.S. 16, 57-85

Tarrow Sidney. (1994). Power in Movement, Cambridge U Press

McAdam (1986).  Recruitment to High-Risk Activism: The Case of Freedom Summer. American Journal

of Sociology, Vol. 92, No. 1.  The University of Chicago Press

Gentrification in New York and the pushing out of minorities in once urban areas, causing minorities to suffer with the cost of living now becoming unaffordable able to the middle and lower class.

Introduction

Gentrification in New York City has caused painful experience to the middle and low-income minority residents who are unable to cope with rising cost of living and this makes them be marginalized economically and socially.  The major aspects gentrifications are desirable and include the reduction in crime, investments in new infrastructure and buildings and increase in economic activity in the city.  However, these benefits are only enjoyed by a few people in the neighborhoods while the minority established residents find themselves with the increased costs associated with these changes.  This issue has led to conflict in the city along economic and racial fault lines since the change is viewed as a miscarriage of justice, where the wealthy and mostly white are hailed for bringing about improvements the place. However, for this to happen, the poor residents belonging to minority groups are pushed away by the increasing rents and cost of living.  The effects the economic changes range from a reduction in racial minorities' proportion, size of the household and the replacement of low-income families by young and wealthier individuals. The increase in home prices and rents make the life difficult for the minority groups who encounter evictions as the rental units are converted to ownerships and luxury housing are developed. The issue of gentrification and how it has affected the minority in this area is discussed through various changes such as demographic and rent l relate to the increased cost of living. The benefits of gentrification can only be realized if a system is put in place that improves the economic status of minority residents so that they can afford the increased costs.

In 2014, Spike Lee expressed his contempt for the various forces of gentrification shaping the New York City. In his reaction to some reports on the benefits of gratification, he expressed how such arguments are out of touch with the plight of the minority residents. "Why does it take an influx of white New Yorkers in the south Bronx, in Harlem, in Bed Stuy, in Crown Heights for the facilities to get better?" "What about the people who are renting? They can't afford it anymore!" (Florida, 1). This criticism is a reflection the narrative of a flow of wealthy residents into this once-low-income and mostly minority neighborhood and pricing out the residents completely.  Reports have found that most of the demographics changes that have been observed throughout the city especially in 2014 were majorly felt in the gentrifying residential areas of the city.  The entire city has become more educated and comprising of many single person households or those households that do not have related adults. These shifts took place more in the gentrifying neighborhoods of the city than those not gentrifying and neighborhoods consisting of higher- income households.  The observations also include a rise in white population even though there is a decrease throughout the city and a larger decline in the black population than in the whole city.  Accompanying these changes is a decline in household income among the non-gentrifying neighborhoods while the average income remained constant among the higher-income neighborhoods (Austensen et.al 4).  Even though these neighborhoods are becoming more integrated racially, are having improved faculties and reduction in crime rates and hence higher values for housing, the increased cost of rent is becoming a burden to the minority groups.

In various respects, the gentrification of New York City has become a prey to its own success as the upward rise of desirability and more rents and even values of property have eroded the very qualities that first attracted more people.  With an improvement in the city, the benefits do not always come to residents who are already established and the increased cost of living is the biggest troubling effect (Smith, 1).  The renters who belong to the minority groups are the most vulnerable to these effects. With an increase in rent, the tenants are cannot afford and are pushed out either through evictions, natural turnover or rent hikes. Hence, displacement has become a big issue in large cities and urban areas where there is an increasing pressure for an urban living.  The cities are attracting new businesses, workers who are highly skilled, major real estate developers and even large corporations a combination which drive up the housing demand and cost (Zukin et al, 47). Due to such demands and increased costs, the neighborhoods who are mostly renters are under a lot of pressure to look for affordable locations.  Therefore, the middle and low-income households are hard hit by the displacement.  With a surge in real estate prices in cities like New York, there are sufficient reasons to believe the issue of displacement may become worse as time goes.  A bigger issue is that even those neighborhoods that remain untouched by gentrification experience a persistence and deepening of poverty.  For every neighborhood that has been gentrified, there are other areas in the surrounding that remain poor and the neighborhoods that were previously stable become or experience concentrated disadvantage. A reality that may be ignored is that the displaced minorities become pushed out of those neighborhoods considered as working class and people and investments are attracted in return (Smith, 1).  Therefore, the neighborhoods that are most vulnerable due to poverty remain stalled in concentrated disadvantage and persistent poverty.   

As rents rise in New York City, the minority who are also the moderate and low-income families bear the most burdens, as the share of affordable rental units reduces sharply in the neighborhoods that have been gentrified.  Research has indicated that average rents have increased by about 30 percent between 200 and 2014, and at the top of the list are the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods. In these two neighborhoods, the average increase in rent was around 78.7 % between 1990 and 2014, in comparison to about 22.1 % rise in the entire city (Austensen et.al 5).  Even in those neighborhoods that were not gentrified, the rent burden was being experienced by more households than in the past cases.  In addition, income in neighborhoods that experienced the shift went up while in other neighborhoods such an increment was not largely observed.  The rent increases are not the only indicator of such neighborhoods but also demographic changes also define them.   The minority groups who are not educated and whose income cannot sustain the high rise in rent are forced to look for alternatives and end up moving to other low-income areas and this continues increasing the level of poverty in such areas.  The rise in the rents also becomes a threat to the long-term diversity of the minority communities in the area (Austensen et.al 7). The loss in affordable housing units presents a problem to the minority community since most of them are uneducated and their income is not sufficient to serve the rents for the newly developed housing units.

The common story of gentrification across the American urban areas has been that gentrification is driven by white people belonging to the middle to upper middle-class individuals. These people move to the neighborhoods filled with minority groups and drive up the cost of living by paying for services and rents by higher amounts than can be afforded by the locals. They end up enticing businesses that provide expensive products such as coffee shops, restaurants and the older businesses providing affordable services are displaced so that they are no longer found in such areas.  In fact, being among the people who drive gentrification should not attract compliments since kicking low-income earners out of their homes should not consider a value (Newman & Elvin, 25).  However, the people who bring about changes are not only whites but also people belonging to minority groups like blacks who are educated are on a course of upward mobility. Even these minority people make enough money like the entrepreneurial and educated white individuals make which means that they have the financial ability to move to push out their fellow minorities from their residential areas. Most people belonging to minority groups like in New York City low-income neighborhoods are black people who find themselves as an inhabitant of neighborhoods that are undergoing transition and hence fall victim to the effects of these changes (Newman & Elvin, 27).  The fact that few people in such groups had the opportunities to get enough education means that few hard the chance for an upward mobility. Also, those few who had the opportunity are able to earn more, move their childhood neighborhoods and contribute towards the increment in cost of living in these areas. Therefore, the minority people may feel that they are being economically and socially marginalized since they were not opportunities to prepare themselves for the future changes in residential areas that come with increased cost of living. The economic marginalization is not only driven by the movement of high-income earners white people but fellow black and Hispanics people who are educated and looking for comfortable living environments.

Gentrification may be considered a new form of colonialism which has deep economic, health and societal impacts to the minority people of color living in the low-income neighborhoods. Of course, some wealthy individuals move to these places and come up with programs that aim at alleviating the problems found here (Pearsall, 1013).  At times they become leaders in initiating programs that can bring better amenities and public services and even beautification projects. However, when this may be good at first but the negative effect of gentrification on the cost of living may outweigh these benefits.  While the real estate sector and the wealthy individuals have the right to purchase or rent in whatever area they wish, they should understand the impacts of their actions.  As these neighborhoods are becoming improved areas which evoke memories or images of poverty , riots and burned-out buildings, those people who lived there through hard economic hard times deserve and should be allowed to stay in their residential areas and live in a community where their needs are supported and provided.  The impacts of gentrification make it appear like as system of systematic displacement of minority people from areas that they can afford rents and other services (Zukin et al, 53).  As the wealthier people are moving into these areas where low and middle-income minority can live comfortably, the landlords increase their rents so as to cash in from this wealth presented by this influx of high-income people.  The low-income tenants are bullied by landlords to move out by use of cunning ways such failing to maintain the apartments or not renewing the lease.   The tenants are allowed to pay for all the upgrades and repairs of the apartments when owners fail to do so, with an aim of bullying them to leave and rent these apartments at higher cost of rents.  Even where these actions of by the landlords are illegal, the people living here cannot afford lawyers to press charges against these injustices. Therefore, the minority blacks and other people of color living in gentrified neighborhoods are placed between a hard place and a rock. The people cannot afford housing in other neighborhoods hence cannot move and the landlord continuously pushes them to the limit. 

For a person who has no understanding of the law or cannot hire a lawyer who can assist in navigating the legal system, telling them it is illegal to be forced out does not help. Part of the population consists of immigrants who have lived for long times in New York City and other urban areas and yet the little resources available in their communities that can help them.  Some also have cultural, language and societal barriers that places them at a disadvantage while facing the developers or real estate firms. They people continue to face the high cost of living wrought by high rents demands and lack of access to the legal system that can provide a reproof for them.  In addition, the local businesses that provide affordable goods and services to the low and middle-income areas suffer as large firms start extending to these areas that were previously undesirable. The businesses experience hard times serving two distinct kinds of clientele even where they try to obtain the right mix.  Grocery stores may sell various products so as to attract the newcomers in the neighborhoods (Zukin et al, 47). However, the expected increase in profits is not realized since the wealthier residents do not have to buy in this business but can in places where they feel more comfortable. The businesses end up with poor performance hence they close down or fire their workers hence complicating the already hard financial conditions of these people. In addition, the larger businesses expanding to cater for the wealthier new residents increase competition to the older ones and this further strains the community. Older businesses are also affected by the increase in rent as much as they impact on low-income minority residents (Zukin et al, 53).  The only companies that can survive such harsh conditions are the large ones.

Moreover, the poor New York neighborhoods are only places where the income level of the minority people can feel comfortable and at home.  As the neighborhoods get gentrified, various activities like panhandling and even sleeping in public places get to be criminalized. The poor people living in the streets do so since they lack a way of earning a decent living, and pushing them away while not providing any support does not work to the best interest of the neighborhoods. The increasing cost of living does not help them to earn a decent living and the fact that gentrification is being driven by private does not help the situation.  The new developments are driven by a desire for profits but are not community oriented. The communities living in the poor and low-income neighborhoods thrive on businesses that are socially conscious and whose benefits are felt by everyone.  The local shops allow households to buy products on credit, while such families can comfortably utilize the public assistance money.  Such an environment allows the low-income earners to thrive in a community which takes care of their basic human needs, but the arrivals of wealthier residents and constructions of new and expensive houses disrupt the system and make the place unaffordable for established minority residents.

Conclusion

Gentrification in New York City has caused the painful experience to the middle and low-income minority residents who are unable to cope with rising cost of living and this makes them be marginalized economically and socially. Those who propose gentrification considers its positive impacts while not paying attention to resulting the high cost of living that displaces the minority lower and middle incomes households.  The benefits of gentrification in New York cities and other urban areas can only be realized if the minority groups are economically empowered to conformably afford life in these neighborhoods. That way they won't feel economically and socially marginalized.

Works cited.

Zukin, Sharon, et al. "New retail capital and neighborhood change: boutiques and gentrification in New York City." City & Community 8.1 (2009): 47-64.

Newman, Kathe, and Elvin K. Wyly. "The right to stay put, revisited: gentrification and resistance to displacement in New York City." Urban Studies 43.1 (2006): 23-57.

Austensen, Maxwell, Ellen, Ingrid. I, Herring, Luke, Garfunkel , Brian,  Jush Gita K., Moriarty, Shannon, Rosoff

Traci Sanders, Stephanie, Stern, Eric, Suher, Michael, Willis, Mark A., Yage, Jessica. State of New York City's Housing and Neighborhoods. New York University. 2015.4-7

Pearsall, Hamil. "Moving out or moving in? Resilience to environmental gentrification in New York City." Local Environment 17.9 (2012): 1013-1026.

Florida, Richard. This Is What Happens After a Neighborhood Gets Gentrified. 2014.Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/this-is-what-happens-after-a-neighborhood-gets-gentrified/432813/

Smith, Greg .EXCLUSIVE: NYCHA residents see little benefit from gentrification in their neighborhoods, report shows.2015. Available At: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gentrification-doesn-poor-report-shows-article-1.2393396

Progressive Movement

The progressive movement was a movement which was formed by the educated and the elite in the United States, who believed that the issues of poverty, racism, greed and violence, could be dealt with through the provision of better education, good working conditions, and a conducive environment. These intellectuals new the atrocities which had been taking place, thus limiting the workers from being able to achieve certain goals (McElvaine, 2009). The rich continued being richer, through oppressing the poor through forcing them to do a lot of work for a very low pay. In addition, due to greed, the elites consequently oppressed the poor through punishing them in case of any issues. These punishments included being laid off or receiving reduced salaries.

The progressive movement was consequently born, in order to change the type of lives which the poor used to lead. These was a movement which aimed at improving the living standards of the Americans, through providing education as a means of balancing social lives in the country. In addition, the movement aimed at bringing to an end the issue of racism, since the African Americans had been sidelined by the rich, and they could only work as potters (McElvaine, 2009). They were not given the chance to be able to work in other sectors. This was consequently a strategy by the rich to make the African Americans poorer, since they could not be able to do high paying jobs, thus remaining in their poor state forever.

The Movement worked very hard in advocating for constitutional changes, which helped in allowing the African Americans to be allowed to go to school. In addition, the working conditions were also improved in order to make sure that the rich do not exploit the poor (McElvaine, 2009). President Roosevelt, who was the party leader of the Progressive party, really helped in advocating for the grievances of the progressive movement. In addition, the movement called for a national insurance, which would cover all workers, a minimum wage law for women, and the removal of the political leaders who were not hard working from office before the end of their term. In order for the progressives to try and confront this issues, they went forward to give their recommendations to the party leader, President Roosevelt.

The movement had its own successes and failures, the following were the successes of the movement. The growth of the living standards of those in the middle class (McElvaine, 2009). The improvement of the laws protecting women’s rights, and the rise in the minimum wages for the poor. In addition, the levels of corruption also dropped in the country and in the government. The following were the failures of the movement, the levels of racism further increased, and the lack of equal rights among the people of color. The successes of the movement were clearly visible, since the president had done what it takes in order to make sure that such laws were implemented. On the other hand, the failures of the movement were as a result of the Jim Crow, which consequently segregated the blacks and the people of color from being able to access certain amenities and jobs.

The progressive movement consequently came to an end in 1920, after the rise of consumerism in the country, a move which made manufacturers to unite with the consumers in order to improve the sales of their products. On the other hand, the World War I helped in uniting the country, thus leading to the reforms in the government (McElvaine, 2009). These reforms led to better treatment of people in their working place. The World War I allowed the progressive movement to be able to learn a lot of things, hence incorporating them in order to ensure fair treatment of all citizens in the country.

Reference

McElvaine, R. S. (2009). The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Has the World learnt anything from the Holocaust?

Introduction

The holocaust was a genocide which led to the mass killing of six million Jews from Europe. The genocide was mainly influenced by Nazi’s Party leader Adolf Hitler. Hitler was determine to clear all Jews from Europe, and he therefore came up with laws which allowed him to kill all Jews living in Germany between the periods of 1941-1945. It was estimated that nearly 200,000 Nazi sympathizers took part in killing the Jews. The German government used its resources in order to be able to achieve the goals of its leader Adolf Hitler. This paper is therefore going to look at the lessons learnt from the holocaust, and to also provide recent events of genocides in the world, in a bid to explain if the world has really learnt any lesson from the holocaust.

The world has learnt a lot of things from the holocaust, and it is therefore the role of the international community to take charge of avoiding genocides in the world (Rupprecht, Nancy, & Wendy, 30). The holocaust was a very sad act, which left most people shocked, since they could not believe what had become of Germany (Jacobs & Zev, 55). The world seems to learn very quickly, and at the same time to forget very quickly. Whenever an act of genocide takes place in the world, the international community is usually in the first line to condemn such actions, however little or no efforts are put in place in order to contain such an issue.

The holocaust was supposed to prepare the world in order to make people understand the effects of a genocide. Moreover, the international community had been given an insight of what may happen in case of a genocide (Bauman, 81). However, the international community seems not to pay much attention to such issues, even as there are still a number of genocides which are currently taking place in the world. The world has done a lot of things in order to deal with the issues of genocides, but the body’s mandated with that responsibility seem to be weak (Rupprecht, Nancy, & Wendy, 31).

During the period when the holocaust was being conducted, there were no international bodies which could be able to deal with the issues of genocides (Jacobs & Zev, 57). This therefore allowed Adolf Hitler to be able to undertake such atrocities without any problems at all. However, the current world is very different with international bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) (Moeschberger & Rebekah, 21). The ICC acts as a toothless dog, and it is therefore controlled by the dictates of the wealthier and stronger countries in the world.

Many atrocities have been committed by different leaders in the world, but the ICC has done little in order to deal with such issues. For instance, in the year 1997, there was a mass killing of nearly 5 million people who lost their lives in Congo after the country was invaded by Uganda. The main cause of Uganda’s invasion into the country was in such of copper, since the country is very rich in copper. The international community did nothing in order to deal with the issue (Bauman, 81).

The ICC is given the right to arrest and convince the main perpetrators of such actions, thus making them to suffer because of their actions (Jacobs & Zev, 59). However, it is unclear on what the ICC did to the main perpetrators of the killings, since the court did not arrest and convict anyone concerning the invasion of Uganda into Congo. This therefore explains the reasons as to why the ICC is usually termed as a toothless dog. This is mainly because the court only talks but it never acts, a thing which encourages mass killings in the world (Rupprecht, Nancy, & Wendy, 31).

In Libya, civil wars led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people, and the war had been financed by the western powers. This was a move which was undertaken in order to oust the then president of Libya the late Muammar Gadhafi (Moeschberger & Rebekah 21). Gadhafi as a leader, stood by his word and he would not therefore allow any country to control his actions, however strong the country was. He therefore posed a threat to the developed countries, since he was on a mission of uniting African countries thus coming up with a common currency of trade. This was a move which would have really impacted the economies of most African countries positively, on the other hand the move would have negatively impacted the trade between developed and developing countries (Jacobs & Zev, 59).

Conclusion

Developed countries therefore plotted to murder President Muammar Gadhafi in order to continue exploiting African nations which are developing countries. Developed countries therefore financed rebels who then overthrew the government of Libya. The ICC was then after the Libyan president, and it therefore wanted to prosecute him as the main cause of the war. The ICC is therefore a court which usually operates under the influence of the developed countries. It cannot therefore be able to undertake its tasks effectively due to being bias. This therefore explains why the world seems to have learnt totally nothing from the holocaust.

Work Cited

Rupprecht, Nancy, and Wendy Koenig. The Holocaust and World War Ii: In History and in Memory. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Pub, 2012. Internet resource.

Moeschberger, Scott L, and Rebekah A. P. DeZalia. Symbols That Bind, Symbols That Divide: The Semiotics of Peace and Conflict. , 2014. Internet resource.

Jacobs, Steven L, and Zev Garber. Maven in Blue Jeans: A Festschrift in Honor of Zev Garber. West Lafayette, Ind: Purdue University Press, 2009. Print.

Bauman, Zygmunt. Modernity and the Holocaust. Hoboken: Wiley, 2013. Internet resource.

Children’s Functional Health Pattern Assessment

Short Answer Questions

Address the following based on the above assessment findings. Expected answers will be 1-2 paragraphs in length. Cite and reference outside sources used.

• Compare and contrast identified similarities as well as differences in expected assessment across the childhood age groups.

A child faces a lot of challenges in the process of transforming from being a toddler to being a preschool-aged person. People and environment has a greater influence in his or her life to the extent of impacting his or her developmental growth. The pressure a child encounters in his or her life is directly linked to the culture, religion, and values of his or her family (Sawyer, 2012).

• Summarize how a nurse would handle physical assessments, examinations, education, and communication differently with children versus adults. Consider spirituality and cultural differences in your answer.

When talking to the teenager, the nurse should ensure that the parent/s is available in the room. This is to ensure that the child is more comfortable. Moreover, the nurse should ensure that he or she is aware with the way the child will be communicating or explaining the pain being experienced before administering treatment (Cole et al, 2012).

 References

Cole, C., Hill, O., & Saunders, R. (2012). Jarvis's physical examination & health assessment: Pocket companion. London: Saunders/Elsevier.

Sawyer, S. (2012). Pediatric physical examination & health assessment. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Masculinity in men

A choice of accommodations

Our two characters, in this case, are Mega and Amit who went for a wedding function for their old friend Pam in one of the neighboring schools which happen to be the same school where Amit attended. Megan puts on a dress that is torn and asks Amit to shield against people noticing. Going back to the previous school triggers his mind on how things used to be during his time, Amit discovers that there have been changes in Langford. During socializing as normal people do when they meet their former classmates, Megan flirts with a certain former classmate and this ends her into trouble leaving her wasted and totally drunk (Lahiri, pg20). At this stage, Amit is looking for his girlfriend but with no luck. In the morning they find themselves together and in the same room and due to whatever happened last night, both have a disconnection emotionally and this in a way triggers their connection and eventually finds them in the dormitory making love.

Man at work from Manhood by America by Michael Kimmel

With the assertion that there has been no America manhood history ever printed, Kimmel outlines a number of actors from an early centralized era into these times. These main characters are obtained from a first triumphant U.S play. Kimmel names the characters that are mostly subjective by the European lifestyle, the brave Artisan who is explained as the plain-spoken, craftsman or simply an independent farmer, and finally a self-made man who has dominated the US industry as the hero. Certain strategies have always been used over and over again in America as Kimmel explains, in order to determine in terms of individualism that the individually made ideals required are also three in number, therefore, his decision to bring in three characters (Kimmel, 30). The frightened escape, the defensive exclusion, and the obsessive self-control are the major considerations. Kimmel also highlights the aberrations which are for instance the sexism and white racism which have attended the strategies and concluded by stating that a man gives up a battle to be a real man which is ultimately very unwinnable.

The brotherhood at stay home dads -NY Times, 2014

This is a specific article to the world at large where various men who are actually the stay-at-home dads have come in one voice to identify with other fellow men who feel like they have been left out or they feel that they are not being respected as they should by the society. A stay-at-home group network organizes for a convention for all the men who stay at home taking care of their kids and also working on a part-time basis. It is a difficult situation since every member of a society feels that the women should be the ones taking care of the family (Bennet, pg1). It is not ironic since most women still dictate what should be done or what should not even when they are busy working full time in offices. With this perspective, most men have been given the responsibility of just being the breadwinner in the family. Times have changed and there are women who are making double the salary that a man makes. Such a scenario can force men to jump into taking care of the family since if the wife can afford to take care of the family financially, then they take up the house duties. Many men converged at the conference and exchanged words as they welcome each other and others in the society who feels left out. Currently, the network has attracted thousands of men and they feel comfortable in the network. Women, on the other hand, do not feel safe leaving the men responsible for the kids and time can never pass without enquiring.

Manhood in the Age of Trump: The New York Times, 2017.

According to this article, manhood in the times of Trump is very much difficult and so outdated. The author of this article is a proud gay man who wants to find the truth on whether being gay is actually, for lack of a better word, to be a lesser man. An interview with the U.S president, Donald Trump shows that he regards a man as a person who dictates and conveys with authority whatever he wants.  Men survey indicates that most of them do not do female jobs such as changing diapers. The survey indicates that over 60% of men do not accept and cannot change diapers (Bruni, pg1). It is clear that even though time has changed, the male gender wants to feel respected which makes it impossible to do such activities. Responses from men who are straight and gays respond in a similar way in case the same question in regards to manhood is asked. In this scenario, only people who think like Trump are out of context.

Considering the different articles, it is clear that men should either find a way to cope with current trends or quit being out of context. Measuring manhood in regards to how well one can associate with the female gender is a thing of the past. Currently, women have taken up men jobs and are shaking the same industry even more than men. In certain action movies like in the case of Dwayne Johnson, popularly known as the rock, there are female actresses who do almost what he does showing that the only difference is the fact that men have the physical appearance of strength but the women can perform the same tasks as the men (Lahiri, pg20). Taking up jobs in regards to your gender is nothing but a feeling but considering the same can be done to the opposite gender clearly brings out a dispute. For instance, men taking up house duties seem so ironical but this does not make them lesser men in the society. Women have been taking up the difficult jobs in the society but they only get a label as being hard working or at times no comments on their part. Trump is a state leader and encouraging his younger men to dictate the same as his ideas make the world be at stake and in this case the men. Such actions can be registered in the minds of young people and retain them even in future. Someone of that mind can be very had and lack of flexibility as a man can create laziness and sometimes the home violence. Being masculine is a choice and should remain a choice since we have women being masculine than other men in the society. In the TV shows and other media platforms, the females have been marvelous in their works and even featuring in more shows than the men as major characters.

Work cited

Bennet, J., The brotherhood at stay home dads -NY Times, 2014

Bruni, F. Manhood in the Age of Trump: The New York Times, 2017.

Kimmel, Michael S. Manhood in America: A Cultural History. , 2017. Print.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Unaccustomed Earth. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. Internet resource.

Sociological imagination

The essay The Souls of Folks is a classical work done by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois in relation to the blacks. Du Bois was one of the American Socialists, civil rights activists, Pan-Africanist, an editor and an author. The novel was published in the early 1903 and it contains several other essays. In the development of these works, Du Bois really concentrated the ideas from his involvement as an African American in the American social life. From outside its much-known meaning in the society, the novel, The Souls of Black Folk, does also withhold some very important position in the social life as one of the past tasks in this field of sociology[1]. In every section in this novel, it starts with some pairs of epigraphs. For example, the text from a poem done mainly by the European poets and musical score of the spiritual which the author, Du Bois, explains in the foreword as in relation to the African American past. It is very important to note that Du Bois prefers to exclude the lyrics into the spirituals that mostly serve to clarify any arguments in either chapter.

Brief summary of the sociological imagination

The Souls of Black Folk novel is basically a work in the African American literature which up to this date is thought of as one of the vital sections in African-American and the sociological history. In this kind of collection of an essay, Du Bois puts across two major terms which have advanced to theoretical field’s study which are the veil and the double consciousness. On the double consciousness, this is basically a belief which mostly the African-American from the United States thrive with two contradictory identities which cannot entirely be put together. Firstly, the most important factor to the black kind of understanding is the black identity. Secondly, the next important factor is the American identity which is an identity that the blacks were born only because of the past and the historical slavery remnants. Having the ideology of these double consciousness, this is the veil which basically explains that the African-American thriving understanding occurs behind the veil. While they are mostly able to get what mostly life is all about for individuals outside the group and inside the group.

It is simply very hard for people who are whites to get what kind of life the blacks go through all their life. This novel by Du Bois explains the deeper truth to the general world which lacks an understanding of what is behind the veil. Du Bois presents the reader with situations which the blacks pass through during the time of reconstruction[2]. The first essay describes clearly for the reader to experience oneself within the veil, recognition of the discriminations he/she would experience only because of the skin. The second essay, the author outlines that the problems faced in the twentieth century are the problems to do with the color line.

Combining both of these cases assists Du Bois in getting the basis for the remaining part of the essay where the author also analyzes the marginalization and the stratification procedures which are present due to the fact that the invisible lines still are present. Coming to the third essay, Du Bois gives a case study of the rise of Brooker T. Washington to being prominent in the American world including how his successes were meaningful to the African Americans. Instead of recognizing that the oppressiveness from the Negro was the main idea behind his lack of being educated, Washington thinks that the Negro had to focus very much on the education for them to achieve the ultimate goals of success. In the fourth essay, Du Bois starts to explain the kind of experience he got as a teacher in the southern United States[3]. After quitting his career as a school teacher, the town in which he had taught became so industrialized. This industrialization mow becomes the new obsessive way of making wealth.

People from the south who had previously relied on being simple now were all inclined with the desires of being wealthy with materials which are thanks to the industrialization processes. This kind of changes which were brought by industrialization had a meaning that the United States had to apply a more experienced workforce. In the next essay, giving training to the blacks, Du Bois describes how well the blacks had the skills and which would be very helpful and useful for the industrialization process. But this presented another set of problems, the blacks had been so submissive during slavery so the training was required to provide more education to the black man.

Another part in this novel is the part where Du Bois lost his son at infancy. This really devastated him and all his happiness came down into sorrows and sadness. Finally, the collection ends with the hope that everything in life is not lost and the future holds the best.  The main theme of this essay is to know how development progressed the black Americans living in the south during industrialization. Having a religion and also being educated, this now helps to equate with the Americans in almost every level[4]. Contrary, the real fear of what will be the final results or what is basically behind the veil is really difficult to comprehend.

Connection between the sociological imaginations

Sociological imagination connects to the essay The Souls of Black Folk in a way that it tries to explain that the world today is basically an effect from the historical world part of it[5]. The blacks received a lot of mistreating and deaths together with being discriminated in the society because of slavery. Slavery in the United States has always been the most difficult thing in the minds of the common black man and this influences racism in the real sense. African Americans have been forced to live in their own cities and even own nothing except from maybe what seems useless in the eyes of the Americans. Slavery affected most parts of the world with blacks being shipped from their motherland, Africa, and being used to do the hard duties in the American world. Duties such as cleaning, sex tools, tending to animals, fighters and cookers were the kinds of jobs that they were given. The author of this novel had the sociological imagination since most of these kinds of slavery activities defined the common blacks. The coming of industrialization really helped the blacks get out of slavery and have something they could call theirs and be comfortable. It came a time when most of the blacks could never attend any social function due to their skin color. This kind of discrimination affects a person both physically and psychologically making that person prone anger and make indecisive decisions generally. Working on the large plantations in the south daily with no rest or pay was inhuman but the Americans saw nothing wrong with doing such.

Slavery started long ago in the late 1600s and went on until the south underwent industrialization which brought it down slightly but today several minor slavery cases are being experienced in the world[6]. The blacks were supposed to work on the plantations for a full day from when the sun rose to when it became dark. Some slaves were trained to do certain jobs which allowed them to shift immediately a chance to being free arose[7]. Others decided to be so submissive and this called for other inhuman illegal actions that saw some even lose their lives. The training was so strict and practical and never theory since the Americans were convinced that in any one day that they involve the books, the blacks would leave the jobs immediately and teaching them practically was the only option left. Du Bois has applied sociological imagination in the sense that he had taught the south United States for a while. This being a territory where the blacks dominated made it possible for some of the blacks to open up their minds and think of what they could do to enslave themselves from the Americans. For example, Du Bois has explained in the essay that understanding the ways of a common black man, get into his shoes and have the same experience[8]. The harsh kind of life discouraged the black Americans against associating with the whites since the whites seemed as they never cared about the blacks lives. For the case of Washington, a leader for the blacks who negotiated that education is the only way out in life connects to the following events where the blacks now had the opportunity to create their own schools and jump out of slavery.

Connection to own experience

Synthesis to on experience ignites the need for a social mutual understanding between the different colors. Being of a different color to another individual should not raise any unwanted speculations. The America we know of today still has some remnants of people living in the past. Slavery ended centuries back but what people do not understand is that slavery was replaced by the word racism. In the just ended United States of America elections, racism ruled the elections and this creates an unethical kind of lifestyle to the minds of the affected individuals. People talking of deporting others because of their skin color is a thing of the past which most people do not understand. It is even better to live with different people in order to enhance each other’s knowledge and minds as well. Basically, living together harmoniously is not a hard thing to achieve but a serious step the victimizers should understand. For example, songs and videos were being produced in the United States by people concerned about the rising level of racism. Looking at the essay by Du Bois, it is significantly clear that the generation that was there during the colonial times never had the privilege of experiencing smooth life but they fought to uphold their stand that being black is just but a simple matter. Discrimination even in the universities is still very rampant. Currently, in the United States there are more schools for the whites than there are for the blacks and in places where there are American students, the number of black students keeps diminishing each day.  Street life is what the blacks have been put through by the Americans in the name of being pure.

Conclusion

Sociological imagination is an evitable ideology since the future is being determined by the current. What drives a right minded human being is the urge to make tomorrow a better place for the future generations. The freedom that the current blacks are experiencing in the United States in as a result of the many battles the first parents when fighting against social discrimination especially on the basis of color. Humanity has struggled to uphold the dignity and entrusts a fellow humanity with the same trust but this seems to be moving south in some countries. Some of the super power countries, there has been more deaths of the minority group. This can be attributed to the fact that marginalization on the basis of skin color has not ended and it is far from ending. Citizens turning on fellow citizens is the kind of lifestyle being experienced in the twenty-first century. Countries such as south Africa has in the recent been on the rise in cases to do with racism after more than a decade of people leaving in peace now they are turning on each other fighting for the same resources as in the past[9]. Du Bois in his last quotes in the novel The Souls of the Black Folk hoped that the world would be a better place today but evidently, change in humanity is difficult.   

Works cited

Beck, Roger B. 2000. The history of South Africa. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=115     4430.

Kellogg, William O. 2010. Barron's AP United States history. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series.

[1] Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1154430.

[2] Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1154430.

[3] Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1154430.

[4] Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1154430.

[5] Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1154430.

[6] Beck, Roger B. 2000. The history of South Africa. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

[7] Du Bois, W. E. B. 1994. The souls of Black folk. New York: Dover. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1154430.

[8] Kellogg, William O. 2010. Barron's AP United States history. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series.

[9] Beck, Roger B. 2000. The history of South Africa. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

 Is it realistic? 9/10

Certainty in Terms of the Specific Usage of Donation:

 Some of the non-profit organizations involved in technology development may have carried out research that has failed to yield the desired results, meaning that the time and money invested have gone to waste. For the shoes donating organization, the main portion of donations have to be used to purchase shoes, every donor has to ensure the shoes are being delivered to the children. Each school is held responsible for making sure they identify children that are most in need and report the exact shoe size. There is a high likelihood that the majority of donations are directly used to solve the problem.  91% of the fund goes to serving every child but there is a low risk of failure in the process. Therefore, there is a greater degree of certainty in terms of the specific usage of the donation.

Questionable Sustainability:

 Children aged 5-12 outgrow their shoes fairly quickly, and this logic explains why families can't afford shoes that fit their children. Hence, this fact implies that every new pair of shoe people donate won't fit the children for longer than few months. That is not very sustainable.

Improvements that could be made:

A solution would be to develop a long-term donation plan that would constantly follow up with one child a benefactor aids. If he or she outgrows of the shoe size, news pairs are bought for her.

 Additionally, the shoes could be recycled or children return the shoes to get bigger pairs. Staff members from Shoes that Fit can collect the shoes and send them to other needy children. In this way, more people can benefit from the program and resources are saved.

2. Are the people qualified to take on this work? 9/10

Claremont Based Leadership:

 As mentioned, the first shoes were donated by a Harvey Mudd faculty member. Their board members are Claremont-based and include the city manager of Claremont, CFO of Pomona Valley Hospital Center, Director of Pomona-Pitzer Athletics, and the CEO of Claremont University Consortium.

Organization structure

4 Board Directors

Board President, Ann Morgan, Psychologist

Board Vice President, Tony Ramos, City Manager of Claremont

Board Treasurer, Juli Hester, CFO of Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center

Board Secretary, Ron Cohen, Partner of Sidley Austin. LLP

 The board directors of Shoes that Fit gained leadership skills from their working experiences. In fact, among the 13 board members, 4 of them work for schools, including the Pomona Unified School District. The work experience in the education field is key to legitimizing Shoes that Fit because it focuses mainly on educational institutions.

Volunteerism

There are only 7 administrative staff members. All the other operations, such as the distribution of the shoes and measuring the students, are run through an impressive network of volunteer-run local grassroots chapters. This arrangement cuts a lot of operation costs, while not necessarily reducing the efficiency of the program due to the point to point shoe delivery model as previously mentioned.

The credibility of the Leadership:

 In this Charity Navigator's Assessment of Accountability and transparency of the organization, Shoes that Fit qualifies independent voting board members, audited financials prepared by independent accounts, and documents board meeting minutes. There are also conflicts of interest policies, whistleblower policies, records retention and destruction policies, CEO listed with salary, processes for determining CEO compensation, and board listed/ board member not compensated.

Compensation % of Expenses           Paid to       Title

$115,000 2.64% Amy                Fass                   Executive Director

 This organization receives a score of 100 on transparency and accountability, which implies a healthy organization structure and policy. A healthy internal structure is the base of a sustainable company.

Your Home Is a Good Place Inc.

Bill Norwalk comes from a very humble background of three children in a family that has less to show off in regards to his parent’s achievements but decides to offer a solution to the problems that mostly affected him from his neighborhood. Norwalk from Ohio knew nothing but just doing what the normal children do in their villages as he grew up. Norwalk went to the Miami University and graduated with a degree in business which was part of what made his future different (Coulson and Swanson, ND). Like anyone who has already completed college and optimistic about his future, he joins in construction jobs which finally lands him into being a successful constructor in future. Before joining the construction industry fully as a career, Norwalk was a DJ where he hosted a number of activities such as weddings and bars. Through his talented commitment, he got customer loyalty and this brought in a new phase in his life. Regular recommendations and referrals to take various steps forward increased his expertise and experience. Various individuals suggested and convinced him to take up the jobs of installing music systems to supplement his income (Coulson and Swanson, ND). Through these jobs, Norwalk was always the kind of person who never did anything halfway but ensured that he completed the jobs to customer satisfaction. This is a vital skill which transforms his future to higher levels of starting his own successful business in his neighborhood.

When Norwalk joined the construction business after being employed for so long, there were problems which needed urgent solutions and his talent and skills, he had the perfect solution to the problems. Constructors on the ground had various dislikes in regards to customer service which is vital for customer creation. Poor constructions were carried out but this never disappointed the customers but something had to be done to make the customers more satisfied with their work. Various customers never had an idea of what they really wanted and that presented a challenge to them on the end results of the construction (Coulson and Swanson, ND). Norwalk designed a way to ensure that every situation had a solution and he took the initiative to showcase good customer relationship and make his customers more satisfied. Ideally, this move brought together the demand and supply to present a totally new ideology for a problem. The birth of the company Your Home Is a Good Place Inc. was the solution designed to offer solutions to these problems. Having a one stop shop to cater for every consumer need presented a valuable way to improve the minds of his consumers more than he did on his part. Combining different professions for the best results was a classic move to benefit both the investor and the constructor.

In this kind of business, competition is inevitable since according to research data, more house units were constructed compared to any other kind of business. Using adverts to create awareness of the company created a good opportunity for the business growth but according to his contact list, many of his customers were ladies thus a question why were men not interested in the type of solution he was offering. Conducting various advertisements to attract more members into his business seemed like a possible strategy to win the market (Coulson and Swanson, ND). Creating a reputable business with the banks enhanced his continued success.  Having a neat environment at the end of the day seemed like the best customer attraction strategy and this in a way helped the business grow. Every person would prefer to walk in a clean environment even if there is still work in progress and this was a solution for the consumers. Working on a timeframe presented an opportunity for Norwalk’s business to thrive but lacked the manpower to make that happen. Giving customers a complete work schedule for billing also engaged the customers to be timely at making payments. The possibility of expansion to other cities and towns and in this case Michiana provided an opening for the business but joining new firms could present a new challenge. 

For a successful business, Norwalk should partner with certain businesses such as the architect related in order to create referrals as the best constructor to develop the designed homes (Coulson and Swanson, ND). Showcasing his works using the media cannot create a customer base like it is required but it creates an awareness that might be useful in bringing members on board. Certain skills are also important in creating a wide market for his products. For example, having to hire another supervisor might seem as an expensive move but will ultimately increase the level of work done on a daily basis. Also, a consultant can be a good investment as he/she will oversee that the construction activities and budget are within reach and they bring a rather big return into the business. Having six employees in his business is not enough to create huge revenue since the less the number of employees the more the workload and this might bring delays in the final results (Coulson and Swanson, ND). The chief of operations currently did not operate to the maxima and this can cause the business less active. Having serious individuals on the ground can be the best option as this enhances the business capability to do something within the shortest time possible.     

The kind of business that Norwalk has designed can generate a lot of income compared to just offering construction solutions. Contracting from scratch to completion needs a lot of investments but these investments can be wasted if the target market is not approached cautiously. Targeting the social network to his advantage can bring in new clients. This strategy can be vital to creating a huge income since most people are glued to social networks than they are in real life. Integration is also very important to diversify the business with one goal of making it successful. The major group for his type of business is the construction industry and so looking for interests such as exhibitions within his limits can offer a viable return. Most people tend to concentrate on a single common goal but finding solutions to specific challenges is also important. On promoting the business, a one on one or business to business promotion can be a success and save the company some revenue. Business to business tends to have some favorable response when clients need solutions. For example, partnering with renowned businesses will slash down expenditures on promotions as it does not require capital to communicate a business idea with the specific businesses. Norwalk is well known for his liking of being an independent thinker but allowing others to invest in his ideas can be beneficial as exchanging ideas assists in coming up with the best solutions.

Reference

Your Home Is a Good Place Inc by Kevin Coulson and Zane Swanson, ND.