The Rise of Western Power When China Ruled the Sea Essay

The rise of Western power is a relatively recent development in the modern era. Previously the world could be seen as polycentric with overlapping spheres of influence (Marks 34). However, by the fifteenth century, China held considerable economic and military power, leading the world in size, population, agriculture, and commerce (Mungello 1). China also excelled in technology, military strength, learning, and the fine arts (Mungello 2). Leading China through its glory days was the Ming Dynasty which endured more than 250 years until its decline in 1644 (Dardess 1). Before the Ming dynasty, China had become little more than a portion of the Mongol Empire. Hongwu, formerly Zhu Yuanzhang, became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty†¦show more content†¦These treasure ships or bao chuan were built in the docks of Nanjing and the first voyage consisted of 317 ships that were up to 400 hundred feet long (Levathes 21). The sheer size of the bao chuan can be compared to the ships of Columbus and de Gama nearly a century later and a quarter of the size (Levathes 22). Zheng He and his treasure fleet traveled from China to the coast of East Africa, stopping in major ports in the Spice Islands, India, and Arabia. For centuries the Indian Ocean had been a coveted and profitable source of commerce and trade due to the market for spices and textiles especially after the fall of the Roman Empire and the decline of the Mediterranean. The Silk Road served as the primary route to reach the trade cites of the East until its decline with the fall of the Mongol Empire (Pagden 57). As the Silk Road fell into decline, navigation techniques improved, and the Ottoman Empire rose in power, sea routes became an increasingly important way to reach trade in the Indian Ocean. The voyages of Zheng He had a couple of effects on world history. The primary effect of the voyages was to opening a sea route that connected the China Seas with the Indian Ocean (Marks 48). This allowed for trade to flow from the eastern coast of Africa to Japan making the East an extremely profitable market. InShow MoreRelatedXi s Consolidation Of Power : Why China May Define Our Future World Order1485 Words   |  6 PagesXi’s Consolidation of Power: Why China May Define our Future World Order On October 27th 2016, the world watched as China officially named its President Xi Jinping the ‘core leader’ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the Sixth Plenum of the 18th CCP Central Committee. In the new directive released through state media, all party members should â€Å"closely unite around the party center with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core...and unswervingly safeguard the party leadership’s authority and centralizedRead MoreROMAN EMPIRE AND THE HAN DYNASTY IN CHINA1441 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE HAN DYNASTY IN CHINA Rodrick Carter HIEU 201 Liberty University 29 November 2014 Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty in China The Roman Empire and Han Dynasty in China are two kingdoms that, despite the geographical difference between them, managed to achieve great success and failure in equal measure. Both were characterized by imperial dynasties that were headed by the emperors and they held large territories. 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NeedhamRead More Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Culture Essay2837 Words   |  12 Pagesconsolidation of the many Mongol tribes. The second part will discuss the rise of Borjigin Temà ¼jin to the post of Genghis Khan and which of his qualities allowed him to achieve this. The third part will discuss his legacy and how even after his death his planning was evident and his empire continued to expand. All these parts will have explanations on how they connect to our present day study of organizational behavior. â€Å"When we examine [organizational] culture and leadership closely, we see thatRead MoreExpansion Of Expansion Early Civilizations1476 Words   |  6 Pages Through expansion early civilizations were able to attain great power and wealth. Early civilizations were always looking into ways to expand their empires or territories. War and violence was the most common form a civilization would expand their power. 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Research Outline Gay Marriage Free Essays

Introduction The Controversy â€Å"Same-sex marriage permits couples of the same gender to enter legally-recognized marriages and provides them with the same legal rights as couples in heterosexual relationships† (Same-Sex Marriage). â€Å"Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that the institution of marriage should apply to only unions between one man and one woman. Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, they say, undermines the institution of marriage† (Same-Sex Marriage). We will write a custom essay sample on Research Outline Gay Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now Where the Issue Stands Today â€Å"In America, six states plus D. C. allow same-sex couples to marry, three more respect marriages of same-sex couples validly preformed in other states, eight provide civil unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships, and three more have limited domestic partnership systems. That’s twenty states plus D. C. that provide some significant state-level relationship protections, and those states are home to 130 million people† (LGBT Relationships). â€Å" Unmarried couples who live together can now tell their Facebook friends they’re more than just â€Å"in a relationship†. The social networking service added â€Å"in a civil union† and â€Å"in a domestic partnership† to possible relationship status options in its user’s profiles in Canada, the U. S. , the U. K. , France, and Australia (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Thesis: Same-sex couples deserve the same full marriage rights and benefits given to heterosexual couples; marriage is one of the basic civil rights and denying any American that right is unconstitutional. Issue 1: Legislative History First Push For Marriage Rights â€Å"In 1942 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in Skinner v. Oklahoma that marriage is â€Å"one of the basic civil rights. Loving v. Virginia, decided by the Supreme Court in 1967, ended race discrimination in marriage and also affirmed: â€Å"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free me. † These decisions paved the way for same-sex couples to demand equ al marriage rights† (Same-Sex Marriage). â€Å"The tide began to turn in 1933, when 3 same sex couples in Hawaii sued the state for marriage licenses. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the state was required to demonstrate sufficient reason for denying the licenses, or stop discriminating. In the 1996 trial decision, Judge Kevin Chang ruled that there is no good reason to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Despite this clear ruling to end discrimination in marriage, Hawaii amended its constitution to block same-sex marriages† (Same-Sex Marriage). â€Å"In 2001, the same year the Netherlands became the first country to to give same-sex couples full marriage rights, seven same-sex couples in Massachusetts who had been denied marriage licenses sued the state. Their case was bolstered by a U. S. Supreme Court decision in 2003, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws and stated that the â€Å"moral disapproval† of voters or government is not a valid basis for discrimination in marriage. In 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state constitution mandates equality in marriage for same-sex and heterosexual couples. Three months later the court specified that civil unions did not meet this requirement, and on May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. † (Same-Sex Marriage). Defense of Marriage Act The word marriage means only a legal union between 1 man and 1 woman as husband and wife† (United States Cong. ). â€Å"No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or including Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as marriage u nder the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or right or claim arising from such relationship† ((United States Cong. . â€Å"Obama said he would indeed work to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, calling it â€Å"discriminatory†Ã¢â‚¬  (Zeleny). Federal Marriage Amendment â€Å"Since 2002 opponents of same-sex marriage have worked to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) to the U. S. Constitution. This amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. It has been introduced to the U. S. Congress in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2008 but has failed to gain enough support to pass† (Same-Sex Marriage) Proposition 8 On June 16, 2008, California began allowing same-sex couples to receive marriage licenses. But on November 4 of that year, Proposition 8 passed, again banning same-sex marriage† (Same-Sex Marriage). â€Å"California’s Proposition 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage, is an attempt to suppress per sonal rights and force religious beliefs and codes of behavior on everyone, including non-believers. Narrow-minded interpretations of faith often have led to self-righteousness and oppression of others, and they are again on the rise† (Stone). One might argue that Proposition 8 discriminates against gays and lesbians in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. One might argue that Proposition 8 unconstitutionally limits the fundamental right to marry. One might argue that Proposition 8 violates the separation of church and state† (Stone). Issue 2: Domestic Partnership and Civil Unions v. Marriage Difference in Rights â€Å"The right to marry is not just about the actual legal ceremony, but an equal right to the extensive list of legal protections awarded to married couples. These benefits given to legally married couples range from tax relief to medical decision making. Civil unions and domestic partnerships may seem like equal unions, but the protections they give to registered couples is often far less than that of marriage† (Johnson). Specific Differences in Benefits: â€Å"Marriage: Over 1,049 federal and state level benefits, Civil Unions: Over 300 state level benefits† (Johnson) â€Å"Tax Relief. Marriage: Couples can file both federal and state tax returns jointly. Civil Unions: Couples can only file jointly in the state of civil registration† (Johnson). â€Å"Medical Decisions. Marriage: Partners can make emergency medical decisions. Civil Unions: Partners can only make medical decisions in the registered state. Partners may not be able to make decisions out of state† (Johnson). â€Å"Death Benefits. Marriage: In the case of a partner’s death, the spouse receives any earned Social Security or veteran benefits. Civil Unions: Partners do not receive Social Security or any other government benefits in case of death† (Johnson). Child/Spousal Support. Marriage: In case of divorce, individuals may have a legally-binding financial obligation to spouses and children. Civil Unions: In the case of dissolution , no such spousal or child benefits are guaranteed or required out of state† (Johnson). â€Å"Immigration Rights. Marriage: U. S. citizens and legal residents can sponsor their spouses and family members for immigr ation. Civil Unions: U. S. citizens and legal residents cannot sponsor non-legal spouses or family members† (Johnson). Public and Political Opinions â€Å"According to a Pew Research Center report in 2009, 53% of Americans oppose same-sex marriage, but 57% support civil unions for same sex couples† (Same-Sex Marriage). â€Å" In 1996 when Obama was running for the Illinois Senate, Barack Obama stated, â€Å" I favor legalized same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages. † But during his presidential campaign in 2008 Obama shifted his views, stating his support for civil unions† (Same-Sex Marriage). Political Action June 17th 2009 â€Å"The package of domestic partnership benefits that President Obama established for federal workers on Wednesday drew the loudest protests from some of those it was intended to help, gay men and lesbians who criticized the move as too timid. The administrative memorandum extending some partnership rights to federal workers in same-sex relationships allows administration personnel to take leave to care for sick partners and requires the government to recognize their partners as household members when determining overseas housing allocations for State Department employees, among other things† (Zeleny). But several of the nation’s most prominent gay and lesbian political leaders quickly attacked the president for failing to extend full health care benefits to the same-sex partners of federal workers, questioning the administration’s explanation that it is precluded from doing so by the Defense of Marriage Act, which Mr. Obama had vowed to repeal during his presidential campaign† (Zeleny). â€Å"†I think it’s insulting,† David Mixner, a prominent gay rights advocate, said of the new benefits plan. ‘Without minimizing how it will improve lives to some extent, what they said to us today is we will give you family leave, some things like that, but the most important thing, health care, we’re not giving you† (Zeleny). Issue 3: Race and Religion’s Influence African American Resistance â€Å"In our world there are divisions and even tensions among minority groups, and the quest to legalize same-sex marriage has met particul ar resistance from African-Americans. This isn’t a topic that advocates for gay rights or their many black supporters relish discussing, because it focuses on a wedge where they wish there was a tighter bond. But polls indicate that support for same-sex marriage lags among black Americans† (Bruni). â€Å"In 2008 Californians passed Proposition 8, which prohibited state recognition of same-sex marriage, with a 52 percent majority. Voting analyses suggest that between 58 and 70 percent of black voters backed the prohibition† (Bruni). â€Å"Wade Henderson, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, noted the existence of phrases like †gay is the new black† and said that attempts to equate the persecution of gay and black Americans can be †deeply offensive. †African-Americans were enslaved. And during their brutal struggle for justice, they couldn’t make a secret of what set them apart from others, Henderson said during a phone interview Friday† (Bruni). â€Å"Two weeks ago the Human Rights Campaign inaugurated a new effort to move public opinion nationwide by unveiling a video testimonial, being distributed on the Internet for now, in which Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, speaks up for same-sex marriage, not yet legal in New Jersey. In its infancy the H. R. C. effort, called Americans for Marriage Equality, has showcased three prominent black Americans in a row. That’s no accident† (Bruni). Religious Reasons for Opposition â€Å"Much of the debate on same-sex marriage stems from religious teachings on marriage and on homosexuality. Islam, for example, officially prohibits same-sex marriage, whereas Reform Judaism has long permitted same-sex couples to celebrate their commitment. The Roman Catholic church opposes same-sex marriage, and American bishops, stating that â€Å"marriage is a faithful, exclusive and lifelong union between one man and one woman,† strongly support the FMA† (Same-Sex Marriage). The first is that the Church does not recognize an ontological distinction between a homosexual and a heterosexual, whereas modern society, in creating the concept of â€Å"sexual orientation,† insists there is such a distinction. If the Church rejects â€Å"orientation,† how does it deal with the fact that some men are sexually attracted to other men, but not to women? Isn’t it fundamentally discr iminatory and unequal to allow heterosexuals a sexual outlet, but not homosexuals? The Church answers this very simply. Homosexual temptation, just like any other illicit sexual temptation, should not be acted upon. (Williams). â€Å"In the Church’s eyes, every act of sexual relations must [be] open to procreation. The Church believes human life is always a good thing, and that God wants people to â€Å"be fruitful and multiply. † It also teaches that the procreative act is the way God brings life into the world—remembering that, according to Christianity, human life is more than just the physical body. According to the Church, a married couple participates in God’s creation of new life, but God himself is seen as the Creator of new life. Shutting the sexual act off to procreation is literally shutting out God† (Williams). Why Basing Law on Religion is Unconstitutional â€Å"Proposition 8 was enacted by a vote of 52% to 48%. Those identifying themselves as Evangelicals, however, supported Proposition 8 by a margin of 81% to 19%, and those who say they attend church services weekly supported Proposition 8 by a vote of 84% to 16%. Non-Christians, by the way, opposed Proposition 8 by a margin 85% to 15% and those who do not attend church regularly opposed Proposition 8 by a vote of 83% to 17%. What this tells us, quite strikingly, is that Proposition 8 was a highly successful effort of a particular religious group to conscript the power of the state to impose their religious beliefs on their fellow citizens, whether or not those citizens share those beliefs. This is a serious threat to a free society committed to the principle of separation of church and state† (Stone). â€Å"The Framers of the American Constitution knew that throughout human history religious self-righteousness has caused intolerance, discrimination and injustice. It was for that reason that they embedded in our Constitution a fundamental commitment to the separation of church and state. The Framers were not anti-religion. They understood that religion could help to nurture the public morality necessary to a self-governing society. But religion was to be fundamentally private. It was for the individual. It was not to intrude unduly into the political sphere† (Stone). â€Å"While religious faiths differ in their definition of marriage, the government has an obligation not to engage in unconstitutional discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. The concept of equal protection under the law, enshrined in the constitution, requires that fundamental rights like the right to marry be made available equally to same-sex couples† (LGBT Relationships). Issue 4: Common Misconceptions â€Å"Gay Marriage is Wrong Because the Bible Says So† A few months back I found myself debating a lady from the General Synod. The presence of a verse in the book of Leviticus was her justification for arguing against any rights for gays. ‘What about the imprecations against all sorts of dietary laws in the same book? ‘ I asked her. ‘What of the warning against the mixing of fabrics? What about that verse in Exodus, â€Å"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live? â€Å"‘ ‘Well, I don’t know anything about that,’ she said†(Murray). â€Å"Gay Marriage is Wrong Because Same-Sex Couples Can’t Have Children† â€Å"The idea that marriage is solely for the procreation of children is equally dismissible. Plenty of straight couples, particularly older ones, do not marry to have children. † (Murray). â€Å"There are many gay couples that are in committed and happy relationships. These relationships are often long lasting and sometimes involve adopted or naturally born children† (Johnson). Same-sex couples are raising hundreds of thousands of children in the United States. And, according to a long-term study, those kids are competent and well-adjusted. The study followed about 80 children conceived by lesbian moms using donor insemination in the mid 1980s. By the age of 17, the kids rated better in academic and soci al competence and had fewer behavior problems than a nationally representative sample† (Kids Thrive With Two Moms). â€Å"The LGBT Community is More Promiscuous† â€Å"Often, people associate gay men with sexual addiction. However, the majority of gay individuals are no more sexually active than heterosexuals. Many gay men visit bars, clubs or the internet in an effort to find sexual partners, however just as many seek long term relationships in the same places â€Å"(Johnson). â€Å"An aspect of male ‘gay life’ some heterosexuals claim to have a problem with is the perceived promiscuity. Whether this is in reality any more distinctive than among straight people, gay marriage offers a remedy, giving gays, like straights, a public and private path towards commitment. At a time when many heterosexuals are spurning the idea of marriage, here is a section of society positively lobbying for the right to respect and continue the institution. Perhaps gay marriage will encourage more straight people back on to the marital path? † (Murray). â€Å"AIDS is a Gay Disease† â€Å"Many rumors about AIDS still linger from the 80’s. Those misconceptions were based on a lack of understanding and fear. Though the source of the deadly disease hasn’t been traced to it’s root, AIDS is not just a gay disease† (Johnson). Conclusion Restatement of Thesis: Denying equal marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional, and currant legislation that denies these rights should be removed. Why must things change now. Not allowing same-sex marriage denying gay and lesbian couples there constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. The basis for many arguments opposing gay marriage are on religious grounds, and it is unconstitutional to create laws based on a religious view not held by all American citizens. â€Å"Despite arguments that so called â€Å"same-sex marriage† seeks to redefine â€Å"traditional marriage†, allowing committed gay and lesbian couples to marry does not change the meaning of marriage. Gay and lesbian couples want to get married and make a lifetime commitment to the person they love and to protect their families† (LGBT Relationships). How to cite Research Outline Gay Marriage, Essays

Date 6/4/00 125326 PM Eastern Daylight Time Essay Example For Students

Date: 6/4/00 12:53:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time Essay POeDate:6/4/00 12:53:26 PM Eastern Daylight TimeThe Glass Menagerie: Plight of the WingfieldsIn Tennessee Williams: A Portrait in Laughter and Lamentation, Harry Rasky uses extensive interviews with Williams to explore the playwright’s intent. Through these interviews, Rasky presents a glimpse of the playwright’s life-world and the driving force behind his creations. Rasky reports Williams as saying: â€Å"I have always been more interested in creating a character that contains something crippled. I think nearly all of us have some kind of defect, anyway, and I suppose I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge on hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person† (134). This statement supports the idea that Williams incorporates something crippled into all his major characters. In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams portrays a crippling mother and child relationship comprising fundamental themes of dysfunctionalism. He poignantly illustrates that none of the characters are capable of living in the present. They believe their functionality and life’s happiness lies in their repeated quests for escape from plight. As such, they retreat into their separate worlds to escape life’s brutalities. Their daily tribulations thrive in an overcrowded building’s rear apartment where lower middle-class population is a symptomatic impulse of a large and fundamentally enslaved section in American society. Set in Depression-era St. Louis, the overbearing Southern ex-charmer, Amanda Wingfield is the de facto head of the household. A former Southern belle, Amanda is a single mother who behaves as though she still is the high school beauty queen. Williams’ still-resonant study reveals her desperate struggle with the forces of fate against her dysfunctional relationship that looms and grows among her adult children. (Gist) Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim resort to various escape mechanisms to avoid reality. Laura, fearful of being denigrated as inferior by virtue of her innate inability to walk, is shy and detaches herself from the unfeeling modern world. Amanda tries every means to integrate her into society, but to no avail. She sends her to business school and invites a gentle man caller to dinner. She is both unable to cope with the contemporary world’s mechanization represented by the speed test in typing and unable to make new acquaintances or friends due to her immense inhibition with people. Her life is humdrum and uneventful, yet it is full of dreams and inundated with memories. Whenever the outside world threatens Laura, she seeks solace and retreats to her glass animal world and old phonograph records. Amanda, her mother hints at the alternative of matrimony for fiasco in business careers and Laura â€Å"utters a startled, doubtful laugh. She reaches quickly for a piece of glass.† (Williams, ). The glass menagerie becomes her tactile consolation. The little glass ornaments represent Laura’s self and characterize her fragility and delicate beauty. In particular, the glass unicorn greatly symbolizes her. As the unicorn is different from all the other glass horses, it adds a unique quality and virtual â€Å"freakishness† t o her very characteristics (Kapcsos). Laura’s physical handicap differentiates her from others. She is just as easily broken as the glass unicorn is as unique. She instantly regresses, just as it appears that Laura finally overcomes her shyness and hypersensitivity with Jim, the gentleman caller. Jim accidentally bumps into the unicorn, as it falls and breaks. The unicorn no longer retains its unique quality. To comfort Laura, he kisses her and then shatters her hopes and dreams by telling her he is engaged. Both Laura and the glass menagerie break upon exposure to the outside world. Laura offers Jim her broken unicorn, symbolizing her broken heart that Jim will take with him. She is unable to cope with the truth and once again retreats to her fantasy world of glass figurines and Victrola records. Laura can only live a brief moment in reality. Amanda obsesses over her past. The moment Tom or Laura worry her, she uses her Mississippi Delta childhood memories like a cooling balm. She flashes back to her days dancing at the governor’s ball in Jackson, Mississippi and recalls the gentlemen’s â€Å"chivalric nature† during her youth. (Ghiotto) She constantly reminds Tom and Laura about that â€Å"one Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain† when she receives seventeen gentlemen callers (Williams, 148). The reader is not confident that this actually occurs. However, it is clear that despite its possible falsity, Amanda has come to believe it. She refuses to acknowledge that her daughter is crippled and refers to her handicap as â€Å"a little defecthardly noticeable† (Williams, 157). Only for brief moments does she ever admit that her daughter is â€Å"crippled† and then she resorts back to denial. Moreover, Amanda does not perceive anything realistically. While she has not met him yet, she be lieves that Jim is the man that will rescue Laura. As Laura nervously awaits Jim’s arrival, Amanda tells her, â€Å"You couldn’t be satisfied with just sitting home† (Williams, 192). Yet, Laura prefers that. Amanda cannot distinguish reality from illusion. Amanda dresses in the same girlish frock she wore on the day she met their father. Upon Jim’s arrival, she reverts to her childish, giddy days of entertaining gentlemen callers. Amanda chooses to live in the past. How Moods Are Affected By The Sun EssayAlthough Jim pulls himself into the Wingfield’s illusory world, he sustains his reality senses. This accounts for why Jim is such a â€Å"stumble john† in the Wingfield apartment. He is more realistic than the others and is clumsy in such a delicate world. Likewise, Laura’s fragility and hypersensitivity prevent her from participating in the outside world, a world that is harsh and brutal. Just as Jim is clumsy in Laura’s world, Laura is clumsy in Jim’s world, as she slips and falls on the fire escape and in another instance, throws up on the floor at Business School. Laura’s irrational fear of the outside explains why she cannot successfully enter the outside world. The major characters in this play are so warped and their lives so distorted and perverted by fantasies that each is left with only broken fragments of what might have been. Accordingly, Judith Thompson, in Tennessee Williams: Memory, Myth , and Symbol, believes that memory is the avenue Williams uses to approach the collective unconscious. Through Tom’s recollections, Williams demonstrates how powerful memories revolve around characters whose actions reflect the inner turmoil of the person doing the remembering. Thompson states that Williams’ characters are representatives of a modern suffering humanity, victimized by their own conflicting drives and desires and existentially alienated from a world become a metaphysical ‘heap of broken images’ (11). These representatives form the constituency of Tom’s consciousness; the suffering in each character reflects Tom’s pain. Along with this, Williams reveals that one’s inability to communicate functionally in meaningful ways with other human beings is one of the modern life’s most tragic situations. His interpretation of familial love, shattered hopes, frustration to the point of rage, entrapment, and ultimate guilt throughout The Glass Menagerie depicts each character’s gloom and futile dreams. Tom, Laura, and Amanda seem to believe that escape is possible. Inevitably, no character makes a clean break from the situation at hand. Perhaps Tennessee Williams conveys a message that running away is not a means to solving life’s problems. One’s only escape in life is to solve their problems, not to avoid them. Gist, Richard. The Glass Menagerie 5 April 1997. *http://saber.towson.edu/gist/glass.html*. Ghiotto, Chubby. â€Å"The Glass Menagerie.† Alligator Online 5 March 1998. 15 March 1998 *http://hipp.gator.net/glass_alligator_review.html*. Ng, Ben. â€Å"Dreams and the Notion of Escape in the Glass Menagerie.† Home page. May 1999 *http://web.hku.hk/h9818830/EngLit3.html*. Kapcsos, Kristal. â€Å"The Glass Menagerie.† Online posting. 13 Nov. 1997. The Glass Menagerie 21 Nov. 1997 *http://www.mccnic.mohave.az.us/wcb/schools/NMC/dl/dtimpson/1/forums/forum12/me†¦/26.html*. Rasky, Harry. Tennessee Williams: A Portrait in Laughter and Lamentation. New York: Dodd, Mead Co., 1986. Thompson, Judith J. Tennessee Williams’ Plays: Memory, Myth, and Symbol. New York: Peter Lang, 1989. Williams, Tennessee. â€Å"The Glass Menagerie.† The Theatre of Tennessee Williams. Vol. 1. New York: New Directions, 1990. Bibliography:

The Business Environment of India

Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to prepare a country report of India in order to assess the business environment of this country and to provide the CEO with important information for making a decision about business. In order to do so, this paper considers political, social, and economical environment of India, Gross Domestic Product, FDI, geographical position, natural resources, work force values, and consumer attitudes.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Business Environment of India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction NCAER (2010) argued that the global financial downturn caused by the Western countries in 2008 and prolonged all over 2009 has seriously injured the world economy but China and India have gained tremendous economic growth under the recessionary economy. India has achieved such challenging success for its policy, business innovation, and skilled human resource. Prabhud esai (2010) analysed the economic survey of India 2009 and pointed out that the country is going to record 7% GDP growth in 2009-10 whirl it largely connected with the US Economy and the quick recovery of financial crisis. Indian policy has vastly aimed to accelerate the economy with balanced Human recourse development, Information Technology, Agricultural and infrastructural development while the county is the pioneer of global outsourcing market. Meanwhile the government and private sector of the country to grasp greater equity in the banking sector while it has also aligning of attracting FDI1 inflow, export oriented Industrial growth and regulatory reforms in higher education. Country Profile Geographic Demographic Overview According to the report of World Wealth Report and World Economic Report, India is now the ideal place for multinational companies to do business because it situated in Southern Asia (between Myanmar and Pakistan), which has link with the Indian ocean, the A rabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal by Bangladesh (Hamsapriya, 2010, p.10). IndexMundi (2010) provided the data of the total population of India and it was about 1,156,897,766 in 2010 while it was 1,166,079,217 in 2009. Initially, the population growth rate was high but not this rate is reducing dramatically, for instance, in 2004, 2005 it was 2.91 % and 0% gradually and now the growth rate is -0.79%.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 1: – Total population of India from 2003 to 2009 Source: – IndexMundi (2010) Age (Year) Percentage 0 to 14 30.5% 15 to 64 64.3% 65 and older 5.2% Life expectancy Age (Years) women 67.17 Men 65.13 Total (Average) 66.09 Table 1: – Life expectancy, Age groups Source: Self generated IndexMundi (2010) Economy of India India has a highly developed economical environment, as it is the eleventh positio n in world economy and its economy grew at its fastest rate due to rapid growth of software sector, infrastructure development, industrial revolution, and proper use of its resources. According to the report of Library of Congress (2006) from 1947 to the late 1970s, central government centralized the economy of India, but this position changed from 1880s, for instance, privatization of government industries and reduced tariffs help the country to experience 7% annual growth rate.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Business Environment of India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Library of Congress (2006) also addressed that FDI has enlarged to an annual range of $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion, but the annual progress was not reach at expecting level due to local corruption and external bureaucratic problem with China. However, the currency of India is â€Å"Indian Rupee† (INR), where 1 dollar is equals to 4 0.55 Indian Rupee, all currencies are in notes and coins, which issued and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. Despite huge development of this country, the Indian currency has depreciated gradually against the dollar since the 1971; for example, in 1993, the average exchange rate was only Rs31.290 for $1 while this rate was Rs46.590 in 2003. Indian Exports According to the view of Dewett (2005), exporting indicates the promotion and direct sells of locally manufactured products in the foreign market and it is a well-developed and conventional form of strategy to acquiring foreign markets. Therefore, export is the core basis of revenue for the India’s financial system since it generates large amount of money from this sectors, such as, India’s exports totalled $165 billion in 2009 and about $200.9 billion in 2008 (IndexMundi, 2010). Figure 2: – Total Exports from India 2003 to 2009Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Source: – IndexMundi (2010) According to the Library of Congress (2004), major exports items are textile products, finished gems and jewellery, electronics items, iron, steel, chemicals, vehicles, petroleum products, oil, fruits and vegetables, beverages and tobacco, precious stones, machinery, leather, leather goods and so on. Imports to India India has to import very few items such as raw materials for manufacturing and its main imported commodities are– crude oil, precious stones, fertilizer, Specific chemicals Machinery equipment and transport equipment; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; Foods as well as Beverages Other luxury products (Library of Congress, 2004); Fiscal Year Total Imports ($billion) Rank 2003 53.80 24 2004 74.15 23 2005 89.33 24 2006 113.10 22 2007 187.90 17 2008 230.00 16 2009 305.50 15 2010 253.90 14 Table 2: – Total imports to India (Year by Year) Source: – Self generated from IndexMundi (201 0) India and its GDP IndexMundi (2010) stated that the economic situation of the country is much more favourable for business than any other countries of the globe because India’s GDP for 2007, 2008, 2009 were $3.113 trillion, $3.344 trillion, and $3.561 trillion gradually. As GDP demonstrates the main economic strength of the country, it is essential to compare the recent data with previous years and after comparing the data, it can say that the GDPO in India has fall but it is still stable position and the following figure shows it more perfectly – Figure 3: India and its GDP for last 10 years Source: IndexMundi (2010) Foreign Direct Investment in India IndexMundi (2009) mentioned that the foreign direct investment in India measured as $161.3 billion at the end of 2009, which was $123.4 billion in 2007. Figure 4: – FDI at India Source: – IndexMundi (2010) On the other hand, India Company’s investment in abroad where they have significant perce ntage of equity is treated Direct Investment Abroad (DIA) of India. Figure 5: – FDI at India at abroad Source: – IndexMundi (2010) Political System Kohli (2001) pointed out that after a two centuries British colonial rule India became independent in 1947 and established a multi party federal democratic system based on secularism and social justice. India the world’s biggest democratic country has evidenced successful balance of power between the central and state government with rich diversity of nations. The major political parties are Congress- that carried out independence, BJP and Left Alliances though there are dozens of regional parties in every state with strong institutional infrastructure. With high religion diversity such as Hindu, Muslim, Buddha, and Christen, Indian political system has ensured human right, freedom of speech, liberty of media, and nourishing scholars to face the challenger of globalisation. Legal and Regulatory Environment India is a budding market and so it endorses Foreign Direct Investments in the nation; therefore, the legal system for firms in India is very flexible and the government tries to afford the highest possible business-friendly environment to new-entrants too. However, it is arguable that commercial legislations regarding labour and environmental concerns are indeed very strong. As per NASSCOM Newsline (2006), India lacks specific laws on privacy and data protection and due to the emergence of IT businesses in the economy, the government is trying to fortify the existing legislations regarding data protection issues including the Indian IT Act, the Indian Contract Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Indian Copyright Act. Socio-Cultural Environment Many people argues that the impact of socio cultural factors are embracing every perspectives of Indian economy, starting from entrepreneurial behaviour, workforce management, consumer attitudes, to overall corporate environment. The consumer attitude s and their buying behaviour, for example, are widely influenced by their religious backgrounds; according recent studies, the Indian consumers show marked increases in demand for many consumer-goods during periods of religious festivals (like Durga-Puja, Diwali, Eid, Christmas, etc). The following table shows the percentage of the population in to context to religious backgrounds: Religion Percentage Hindu 80.5% Muslim 13.4% Christian 2.3% Sikh 1.9% Buddhist 0.8% Jain 0.4% Zoroastrian 0.01% Other 1.3% Table 4: Religious Background of the Population Source: Self-generated from neoncarrot (2009) Numerous generations and cultures in the workplace have caused alterations in motivations and values affecting personal-preferences; India is a place where managing workforce diversity effectively is the most challenging work to do; on the other hand, according to NASSCOM Newsline (2007), there have been significant improvements and changes in values in India in allowing and appreciating women in workplace. Availability of Resources Natural resources: India’s total cultivable area is 1,269,219 km ², and it has a total water surface area of 314,40 km ² are the main natural resource for the country; in addition, Coal, Iron, steel, oil and natural gas also key natural resources; however, the following figure shows that earning from oil exports – Figure 7: – Oil exports Source: – IndexMundi (2010) Human resources: The human resource of India is one of the key factors of why the country is showing marked trends in economic development. The country has over years emphasized in edifying and training the HR that has resulted in the creation of highly skilled workforces specialising in different sectors of the economy. Concern of Ethics and Social Responsibility The multinational companies operating in India are very much concerned about the imposition of corporate social responsibilities within their organisations in order to ensure that the Indian communities, environment, labours, and other stakeholders does not have any adverse affects by their regular operations. Many large Indian businesses strictly follows their own corporate regulations regarding ethical concern, but, however, as India is still a developing country, the issue of social responsibility is still quite new to the local businesses and many other new-entrants in the market does not comply to the ethical issues at all. Visser (2007) argued that the issue of corporate responsibility is still quite immature in developing countries like India and the large companies operating there more often relates CSR with doing charities and spending on education, health, and games; making an economic contribution is often seen as an effective way for a company to built social reputation. Conclusion As an emerging economy that always promotes, appreciates, and affords the best possible business environment in order to develop the economic conditions, India is indeed an ideal marketplace where any kind of business can have a good prospect. Additionally, the rural areas of the country with its conventional observations have developed over time and it is now growing at two-times quicker rate than urban cities, contributing to 60% of the overall national demand that makes these markets as an attractive place for businesses too. These enhancements of the Indian economy would continue to rise in near future turning it into one of the most promising nations throughout the world. Recommendation India rapidly developed their human resources, as a result it would be a perfect place for business; Excluding corruption and some legal barriers, Indian government is cooperative to help foreign investors; India is the ideal place for trade because of geographic location, business environment and less burden imposed by the government and all legal established products can easily enter in the market of India; The labour cost is comparatively lo wer than other countries, so India is a potential place for business; The rural areas of India are currently contributing more than the urban areas in the economy and the labours in those regions are specially trained for the manufacturing industry. Most importantly, the wage costs in those areas are far lower than the central cities, so setting up the business over there will undoubtedly be more profitable than any other places. Reference List Dewett, K. K. (2005) Modern Economic Theory. 22nd ed. New Delhi: S. Chand Company Ltd. Hamsapriya. (2010) Culture And Business Environment In India. [pdf] Web. IndexMundi (2010) Exports, Import GDP of India. [Online] Available from:  https://www.indexmundi.com/india/exports.html . IndexMundi (2010) India Age structure. [Online] Available from:  https://www.indexmundi.com/india/age_structure.html . IndexMundi (2010) Population of India. [Online] Available from:  https://www.indexmundi.com/india/population.html . Kohli, A. (2001) Succes s of India’s Democracy. 1st ed. UK: Cambridge University Press. Library of Congress (2004) Country Profile: India. [pdf] Available from: https://www.loc.gov/item/96019266/ . NASSCOM Newsline (2006) Regulatory Environment in India. [Online] Available from:  https://www.nasscom.in/ . NASSCOM Newsline (2007) Workforce. [Online] Available from:  https://www.nasscom.in/ . NCAER (2010) Annual Report 2009-10, The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). [pdf] Available from:  http://www.ncaer.org/index.php . Neoncarrot (2009) All India Quick Ref stats. [Online] Web. Prabhudesai, A. (2010) India Economic Survey 2009 – Analysis and Full Report. [pdf] Available from:  https://trak.in/tags/business/2009/07/03/india-economy-survey-2009-analysis-full-report/ . Visser, W. (2007) Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries. [Online] Available from:  http://www.waynevisser.com/chapters/csr-in-developing-countries . Footnotes 1 Foreign Direct Investm ent This report on The Business Environment of India was written and submitted by user Jordan Jefferson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Key Benefits And Challenges Of An Integrated Approach To Working With Children With Additional Needs And Their Families In An Early Years Setting. The WritePass Journal

Key Benefits And Challenges Of An Integrated Approach To Working With Children With Additional Needs And Their Families In An Early Years Setting. Introduction Key Benefits And Challenges Of An Integrated Approach To Working With Children With Additional Needs And Their Families In An Early Years Setting. IntroductionDefining the term ‘Additional needs’Legislative framework.Education and Library BoardsIntegrated approachBenefitsConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction Many families who have children with additional needs often fear sending their children to mainstream schools (Wang 2009). Such parents often fear that their children will not be treated equally in mainstream school, and also worry about how well their specific needs can be met (NCSE 2011). As such they often place them in special settings with low student-pupil ratios and with specialized teaching. However, the effectiveness of special settings has recently been questioned. Placing children with special needs in special settings has been a subject of considerable debate over the past few years (Wall 2011). While the general public view is that special needs students can benefit from individual and small group instruction, there is no compelling evidence to support this claim. In fact, the opposite seems true. According to a study conducted by Casey et al (1998), it was found that special schools with curricula designed specifically for special needs students did not necessarily result in better improvements in children’s cognitive ability or developmental outcomes. A similar study by Bunch Valeo (1997) came to similar conclusions It was claimed that special placement of children with additional needs has not demonstrated substantive advantages over mainstream classes, despite specialized teaching and lower teacher to pupil ratio. More recent researches by Brown et al (2005) and Allen Cowdery (2005) have made similar conclusions. In this regard, this paper examines the key benefits and challenges of an integrated approach to working with children with additional needs and their families in an early years setting. Defining the term ‘Additional needs’ Before exploring further, it is worthwhile to first define the term additional needs. This term is used in reference to certain conditions or circumstances that might lead to children requiring special support (Owens 2009). Children with additional needs are mainly those that have health conditions and needs related to learning and physical development (Roffey 2001). That is, children with additional needs include: those who are physically handicapped, those with developmental delay or intellectual disability, communication disorders and those diagnosed with conditions such as Down syndrome, Autism or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Owens 2009). ‘Inclusion’ Having defined the term ‘additional needs’, it is important to understand the context in which the term ‘inclusion’ is used. As Connor (2006) points out, the concept of inclusion is used to describe placement of children with additional needs in regular settings rather than special facilities. It should be noted that inclusion goes beyond just teaching the child in inclusive classroom settings and includes the quality of the childs experience of school life and association with other peers. Legislative framework. Key legislations governing provision of services to special needs children include the ‘Education (NI) Order 1996’ and the ‘Special Education Needs and Disability (NI) Order 2005’ (DoE 2009). The former outlines the rights and duties of the following in relation to special needs students: schools, parents, Health and Social Services Boards, Education and Library Boards Department of Education It also sets out a Code of Practice and establishes an arrangement for issuing a statement and assessment of these children’s education needs (Porter 2003). The ‘Special Education Needs and Disability (NI) Order 2005’ resulted from amendments made to the first one to include the right of special needs children to mainstream education and introduction of new disability discrimination responsibilities (DoE 2009). Integrated approach In the UK, these children with special needs are integrated into the mainstream schools provided that there is adequate equipment, enough staff and the right resources to ensure that they achieve their full potential ( Heinemann Vickerman 2009). However, it is not mandatory for mainstream schools to enroll children with special needs. Rather, it depends on the ability of the school itself to meet their needs. If the mainstream school setting cannot provide for their needs, the child is placed under the local authority which then seeks to provide solutions (Silberfeld 2009). There is a growing recognition of the benefits of including special needs students in mainstream schools as opposed to remedial settings. Now more than ever, there is an increased emphasis on collaborative model and joint working to ensure that children with special needs are included in mainstream education (Duke Smith 2007). Perhaps this has been driven by the recognition of its benefits and increasing trend in children in need of special attention. The number of children with educational needs in the UK has been on the rise over the past few years. For example, their proportion as a percentage of the total school population increased from 14.6% in 2003 to 17.7% in 2007 (DoE 2009). Benefits There are several benefits for such an integrated approach to working with children with special needs. First, such inclusive programs will help other children to understand them, accept them, appreciate and value their similarities and differences (Sammons et al. 2003). This will enable them to see each person as an individual as opposed to seeing them in terms of their needs. Another benefit to such an integrated approach is the reduction in stigma. There is compelling evidence that shows that placing children with special needs in mainstream schools in the early stages can significantly reduce stigma (Griffin 2008). Inclusion programmes have the potential to facilitate a relationship that can be mutually beneficial for both groups of students. It allows children from both groups to develop awareness and to value their differences, thereby reducing stigmatization and labeling. An integrated approach to learning enhances social integration and reduces stigmatization and prejudice against children with special needs (Griffin 2008). Inclusion also reflects the acceptance of special needs children in the society. The integrated approach makes children with special needs to feel accepted to the society and by their peers and gives them a sense of belonging (Robinson Jones-Diaz 2005). Such inclusive programmes can as well be of benefit to the parents. All that parents want is for their children to live typical lives like other students including being accepted by their friends and peers (Owens 2009). Families’ visions of having their children experience typical life like other regular students can come true (Weston 2010)Furthermore, maintaining an inclusive setting can be more economical than running a special setting (Weston 2010). Additionally, the economic outputs can be greater when special needs students are educated in mainstream schools because of the self-sufficiency skills stressed in such settings (Mitchell 2009). Other benefits to such an integrated approach include: improved academic performance , opportunity to participate in typical experiences of childhood, and gaining confidence to pursue inclusion in other settings such as recreational groups (Jones 2004). Research seems to suggest that special need children perform better when placed together with other peers in the natural setting (Brown et al., 2005). As Allen Cowdery (2005) points out, special need children who receive services such as occupational therapy, language therapy and special education perform even better when provided with these services in the natural settings with their typically developing peers. Challenges While the arguments in favour of integration are valid, it should also be remembered that integration in itself is a two-way process. In most cases, the benefits of integration have been argued from the side of special needs student. What about the other group of students. Arent they going to be affected by the way services are devoted to special needs students? Such an integrated approach raises several key challenges. One particular challenge relates to the issue of fairness. Given their inclusion in mainstream classrooms, how can fairness be determined? What is fair for a typical average student? And what is fair for a special needs student (Swartz 2005)? It is questionable whether the educational needs of these students can be met in mainstream classes especially given that they requires some sort of specialized services and special attention as well. There is a danger that the attention given to the special needs students will affect the quality of services that the regular students receive (Hoccut 1996). Given the developmental delays that most special needs students experience, the other regular students may rate themselves with these students in terms of academic performance which eventually might lead to the decline in their creativity and critical thinking capabilities (Wang 2009). Can this be termed as fair to either group? This r emains a major challenge to such inclusion programmes. Another challenge relates to the aggressive nature of some of these children. Coping with emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children can be particularly challenging for both the students and teachers (Cohen et al 2004). This can be seen with the recent push by some schools for responsible inclusion. Some of these children mental health needs are beyond what the mainstream education can deliver and as such can be disruptive to other students. Schools have become de facto mental health providers for children with special needs yet they were not set up for such purposes (Heinneman Vickerman 2009). Despite these challenges, the focus should be on promoting integration of special needs students into the mainstream education. While there are many arguments in favour of and against integrations, the benefits for such integration are significant. Those in favour of special facilities argue that these facilities are best for children with special needs in that it helps them maintain self-esteem and experience greater success (Cohen et al. 2004). They argue that segregation helps them with self-esteem and protects them from stigmatization. To some extent, they raise a valid argument especially given that the mainstream schools do not have enough human resources and adequate material for catering for the needs of such children (Hocutt 1996). However, such an approach will only further enhance stigmatization and negative labelling. Also, it might lead to social isolation from their peers and a lack of academic press, and higher order thinking among children with special needs. Moreover, placing such students in special facilities conjures up images which render them as failures and this may further reinforce their low-self esteem (Cohen et al 2004). Perhaps this might be the reason why some of these students become physically aggressive or verbally abusive. They end up viewing aggression as the only way to be recognized (Cohen et al 2004). There are several benefits to such an intergrated approach to learning including better social adjustment and stigma reduction. Children with special needs may also benefit from inclusion programs through participating in typical experiences of childhood, gaining an understanding about diversity of people in the community, and gaining the confidence to pursue inclusion in other settings such as recreational groups (Nutbrown Clough 2010). Other regular students may benefit from the opportunity to meet and share experiences with special needs students, and developing positive attitudes towards students with varied abilities (Weston 2003). There is a need to ensure that these students receive as broad and balanced an entitlement curriculum as possible, similar to that received by the regular students (Cohens et al. 2004). Regardless of their condition or of the developmental delays that children with special needs may experience, they should all be allowed to learn and participate in everyday routines just like other children (Weston 2003).It should be remembered that children of all ages have the same intrinsic value and are entitled to the same opportunities for participation in child care. Conclusion Research has shown that special needs students who are mixed with their peers in mainstream classrooms are more likely to achieve better outcomes academically and socially while those in segregated classes fall further behind. There are, however, challenges to such an integrated approach to working with special needs children. Challenges related to coping with emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children and the challenge of ensuring fairness have been highlighted in this paper. Despite these challenges, the paper calls for an integrated approach to working with children with special needs. Unless there is a compelling reason to put special needs children in special settings, they should be placed in the mainstream educational setting. To ensure the success of this integrated approach, it is important that all the professionals involved value and appreciate their individual roles and those of others in order to ensure that these children receive best education, care and support. Families must also show their commitment to the multi-disciplinary partnership approaches. References Allen, K. E., and Cowdery, G. E., 2004. The exceptional child: Inclusion in early childhood. Albany, NY: Delmar. Brown, J.G., Hemmeter, M.L. and Pretti-Frontczak, K., 2005. Blended practices for teaching young children in inclusive settings. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K., 2004. A guide to teaching practice. Psychology press Connor, J. (2006) Redefining inclusion. Every Child. 12(3) Watson ACT: ECA Department of Education (DoE), 2009. The way forward for special educational needs and inclusion. Department of Education Dukes, C. and Smith, M., 2007. Working with parents of children with special educational needs. London: SAGE publications. Griffin, S., 2008. Inclusion, equality and diversity in working with children, Professional Development. Oxford Heinemann, A. and Vickerman, P., 2009. Key issues in special educational needs and inclusion. London: Sage Hocutt, A.M., 1996.’Effectiveness of special education: is placement the critical factor?’ The Future of Children Special Education For Students With Disabilities, Vol.6 (1) Jones, C.A., 2004. Supporting inclusion in the early years. Supporting early learning. McGraw-Hill Mitchell, D. (ed) 2009, Contextualizing inclusive education. London: Routledge National Council for Special Education (NCSE), 2011. Children with special educational needs, National Council for Special Education Nutbrown, C. and Clough, P., 2010. Inclusion in the early years. London: Sage Owens, A., 2009. Including children with additional needs in child care. National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc. Porter, L., 2003. Young childrens behaviour. Practical approaches for caregivers and teachers. 2nd edition. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Robinson, K.H. and Jones-Diaz, C., 2005. Diversity and difference in early childhood education. Issues for Theory and Practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press Roffey, S., 2001. Special needs in the early years London. David Fulton Sammons, P., Taggart, B., Smees, R., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford and Elliot, K., 2003.The early years transition and special educational needs (EyTSEN) project. London: University of Oxford Silberfeld, C. et al., (eds), 2009, UEL early childhood studies reader. London: Sage publications Swartz, S.L., 2005. Working together: a collaborative model for the delivery of special services in general classrooms. Wall, K., 2011. Special needs and the early years. A practictioner guide. 3rd edition. London: Sage publications Wang, H.L., 2009. ‘Should all students with special educational needs (SEN) be included in mainstream education provision? a critical analysis’. International Education Studies, vol. 2(4) Weston, C (ed), 2010. UEL special needs and inclusive education reader. London. Sage publications Weston, C., 2003. ‘Educating all: inclusive classroom practice’. In: Alfrey, C., Understanding Childrens learning. London. David Fulton.

USS Nevada (BB-36) in World War II

USS Nevada (BB-36) in World War II USS Nevada (BB-36) was the lead ship of the Nevada-class of battleships which were built for the US Navy between 1912 and 1916. The Nevada-class was the first to incorporate a set of design characteristics that would be employed in a series of American battleship classes during the years around World War I (1914-1918). Entering service in 1916, Nevada briefly served overseas during the final months of World War I. The interwar period saw the battleship take part in various training exercises in both the Atlantic and Pacific. On December 7, 1941, Nevada was moored in Pearl Harbor when the  Japanese attacked. The only battleship to get underway during the attack, it sustained some damage before beaching on Hospital Point. Repaired and heavily modernized, Nevada took part in the campaign in the Aleutians before returning to the Atlantic. Serving in Europe, it provided naval gunfire support during the  invasions of Normandy and Southern France. Returning to the Pacific, Nevada participated in the final campaigns against Japan and was later used as a target ship during the atomic testing at Bikini Atoll. Design Authorized by Congress on March 4, 1911, the contract for constructing USS Nevada (BB-36) was issued to the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, MA. Laid down on November 4 of the following year, the battleship’s design was revolutionary for the US Navy as it incorporated several key characteristics that would become standard on future ships of the type. Among these was the inclusion of oil-fired boilers instead of coal, the elimination of amidships turrets, and the use of an â€Å"all or nothing† armor scheme. These features became sufficiently common on future vessels that Nevada was considered the first of the Standard-type of US battleship. Of these changes, the shift to oil was made with the goal of increasing the ship’s range as the US Navy felt that would be critical in any potential naval conflict with Japan. In designing Nevada’s armor protection, naval architects pursued an â€Å"all or nothing† approach which meant that critical areas of the ship, such as magazines and engineering, were heavily protected while less vital spaces were left unarmored. This type of armor arrangement later became commonplace in both the US Navy and those abroad. While previous American battleships had featured turrets located fore, aft, and amidships, Nevada’s design placed the armament at the bow and stern and was first to include the use of triple turrets. Mounting a total of ten 14-inch guns, Nevada’s armament was placed in four turrets (two twin and two triple) with five guns at each end of the ship. In an experiment, the ship’s propulsion system included new Curtis turbines while its sister ship, USS Oklahoma (BB-37), was given older triple-expansion steam engines. USS Nevada (BB-36) Overview Nation: United StatesType: BattleshipShipyard: Fore River Shipbuilding CompanyLaid Down: November 4, 1912Launched: July 11, 1914Commissioned: March 11, 1916Fate: Sunk as target on July 31, 1948 Specifications (as built) Displacement: 27,500 tonsLength: 583 ft.Beam: 95 ft., 3 in.Draft: 28 ft., 6 in.Propulsion: Geared Curtis turbines turning 2 x propellersSpeed: 20.5 knotsRange: 9,206 miles at 10 knotsComplement: 864 men Armament Guns 10 Ãâ€" 14 in. gun (2 Ãâ€" 3, 2 Ãâ€" 2 superfiring)21 Ãâ€" 5 in. guns2 or 4 Ãâ€" 21 in. torpedo tubes Aircraft 3 x aircraft Construction Entering the water on July 11, 1914 with Eleanor Seibert, the niece of the Governor of Nevada, as sponsor, Nevada’s launch was attended by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. Though Fore River completed work on the ship in late 1915, the US Navy required an extensive series of sea trials before commissioning due to the revolutionary nature of many of the ship’s systems. These commenced on November 4 and saw the ship conduct numerous runs along the New England coast. Passing these tests, Nevada put into Boston where it received additional equipment before being commissioned on March 11, 1916, with Captain William S. Sims in command. World War I Joining the US Atlantic Fleet at Newport, RI, Nevada conducted training exercises along the East Coast and Caribbean during 1916. Based at Norfolk, VA, the battleship was initially retained in American waters following the United States’ entrance into World War I in April 1917. This was due to a shortage of fuel oil in Britain. As a result, the coal-fired battleships of Battleship Division Nine were dispatched to augment the British Grand Fleet instead. In August 1918, Nevada received orders to cross the Atlantic. Joining USS Utah (BB-31) and Oklahoma at Berehaven, Ireland, the three ships formed Rear Admiral Thomas S. Rodgers’ Battleship Division 6. Operating from Bantry Bay, they served as convoy escorts in the approaches to the British Isles. Remaining in this duty until the end of the war, Nevada never fired a shot in anger. That December, the battleship escorted the liner George Washington, with President Woodrow Wilson aboard, into Brest, France. Sailing for New York on December 14, Nevada and its compatriots arrived twelve days later and were greeted by victory parades and celebrations. Interwar Years Serving in the Atlantic during the next few years Nevada traveled to Brazil in September 1922 for the centennial of that nation’s independence. Later transferring to the Pacific, the battleship conducted a goodwill tour of New Zealand and Australia in late summer 1925. In addition to the US Navy’s desire to accomplish diplomatic goals, the cruise was intended to show the Japanese that the US Pacific Fleet was capable of conducting operations far from its bases. Arriving at Norfolk in August 1927, Nevada began a massive modernization program. While in the yard, engineers added torpedo bulges as well as increased Nevada’s horizontal armor. To compensate for the added weight, the ship’s old boilers were removed and fewer new, but more efficient, ones installed along with new turbines. The program also saw Nevada’s torpedo tubes removed, anti-aircraft defenses increased, and a rearrangement of its secondary armament. Topside, the bridge structure was altered, new tripod masts replaced the older lattice ones, and modern fire control equipment installed. Work on the ship was completed in January 1930 and it soon rejoined the US Pacific Fleet. Remaining with that unit for the next decade, it forward deployed to Pearl Harbor in 1940 as tensions with Japan increased. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Nevada was single-moored off Ford Island when the Japanese attacked. Pearl Harbor Granted a degree of maneuverability due to its location that its compatriots on Battleship Row lacked, Nevada was the only American battleship to get underway as Japanese struck. Working its way down the harbor, the ship’s anti-aircraft gunners fought valiantly but the ship quickly sustained a torpedo hit followed by five bomb strikes. The last of these occurred as it neared the channel to open water. Fearing that Nevada might sink and obstruct the channel, its crew beached the battleship on Hospital Point. With the end of the attack, the ship had suffered 50 killed and 109 wounded. In the weeks after, salvage crews commenced repairs on Nevada and on February 12, 1942, the battleship was refloated. After additional repairs were made at Pearl Harbor, the battleship moved to Puget Sound Navy Yard for additional work and modernization. Modernization Remaining in the yard until October 1942, Nevada’s appearance was dramatically altered and when it emerged it looked similar to the newer South Dakota-class. Gone were ship’s tripod masts and its anti-aircraft defenses had been dramatically upgraded to include new dual-purpose 5-inch guns, 40 mm guns, and 20 mm guns. After shakedown and training cruises, Nevada took part in Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid’s campaign in the Aleutians and supported the liberation of Attu. With the end the fighting, the battleship detached and steamed for further modernization at Norfolk. That fall, Nevada began escorting convoys to Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic. The inclusion of capital ships such as Nevada was intended to provide protection against German surface raiders such as Tirpitz. Europe Serving in this role into April 1944, Nevada then joined Allied naval forces in Britain to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. Sailing as Rear Admiral Morton Deyo’s flagship, the battleship’s guns pounded German targets on June 6 as Allied troops began landing. Remaining offshore for most of the month, Nevada’s guns provided fire support for forces ashore and the ship earned praise for the accuracy of its fire. After reducing the coastal defenses around Cherbourg, the battleship transferred to the Mediterranean where it provided fire support for the Operation Dragoon landings in August. Striking German targets in southern France, Nevada reprised its performance in Normandy. During the course of operations, it famously dueled the batteries defending Toulon. Steaming for New York in September, Nevada entered port and had its 14-inch guns relined. In addition, the guns in Turret 1 were replaced with tubes taken from the wreck of USS Arizona (BB-39.) Pacific Resuming operations in early 1945, Nevada transited the Panama Canal and joined Allied forces off Iwo Jima on February 16. Taking part in the invasion of the island, the ship’s guns contributed to the pre-invasion bombardment and later provided direct support ashore. On March 24, Nevada joined Task Force 54 for the invasion of Okinawa. Opening fire, it attacked Japanese targets ashore in the days before the Allied landings. On March 27, Nevada sustained damage when a kamikaze struck the main deck near Turret 3. Remaining on station, the battleship continued to operate off Okinawa until June 30 when it departed to join Admiral William â€Å"Bull† Halsey’s Third Fleet which was operating off Japan. Though near the Japanese mainland, Nevada did not strike targets ashore. Later Career With the end of World War II on September 2, Nevada returned to Pearl Harbor after brief occupation duty in Tokyo Bay. One of the oldest battleships in the US Navy’s inventory, it was not retained for use postwar. Instead, Nevada received orders to proceed Bikini Atoll in 1946 for use as a target ship during the Operation Crossroads atomic testing. Painted bright orange, the battleship survived both Able and Baker tests that July. Damaged and radioactive, Nevada was towed back to Pearl Harbor and decommissioned on August 29, 1946. Two years later, it was sunk off Hawaii on July 31, when USS Iowa (BB-61) and two other vessels used it gunnery practice.

New York State report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

New York State report - Essay Example (Cuomo, 2012) Using the $10 billion dollar waiver awarded, the state plans on transforming the health care system of its people through the MRT plan. Some of the key issues outlined in the waiver include: expansion of high quality primary health care, grants to increase health homes for patients in need of extensive health care and facilities, strategies to increase Medicaid savings in the long-term and evaluation of ongoing and new MRT initiatives to ensure that public funds are not embezzled. The plans will ensure that health insurance becomes affordable through reduction of insurance premiums, pulling of resources together to reduce individual costs like coinsurance, copayments and deductibles and providing credits to ease the purchase of the insurance cover for low income earners. The benefits of these reforms are numerous. First, it reduces the high cost of Medicare due to the spread of costs among many people. Pooling of risks and costs among many people will result to lower premium rates and therefore, all costly health care would be affordable to all people. Secondly, a good health system will result in higher productivity since the labor force is healthy. Lastly, people under the insurance cover seek medical attention regularly; this reduces the chances of illnesses occurring and the general cost of the health care. Health insurance exchanges refer to marketplaces where individuals and small businesses can compare and buy health insurance. The exchanges will be accessible through physical offices, phone lines and websites. There are four categories of coverage offered by insurers: platinum, gold, silver and bronze with platinum being the most costly while bronze being the cheapest. The following grants were awarded to the state of New York to develop the Exchange program: Exchange Planning Grant, Early Innovator Grant and Exchange Establishment Grant. (Slavik & Webb, n.d.) The law requires

Trademark Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Trademark - Assignment Example Identifying trademark-offending companies is not an easier task. This is because it can only be done by technologically advanced modes of comparing the quality of the products of the same company’s logos by the consumers. Dinwoodie and Janis (2008) note that trademark-offending companies have been on the rise, which has either increased or reduced the costs associated with various goods and services (Dinwoodie & Janis 2008). This calls for the identification of the complaints consumers raise about trademark-offending companies to reduce the increasingly burdensome business domains in the analgesics and financial market structures. An email, like written letters, merits copyrights protection. Copying and forwarding emails violates a sender’s copyrights with a prima facie case for copyright infringement. This issue can only be mitigated through a well-established cyber-crime control laws (Dinwoodie & Janis, 2008). In conclusion, consumers are more likely to face challenges in establishing the origin, sponsorship or the approval of the gripe site created by the trademark-offending companies due to lack of a better understanding of the original companies’ logos. Customers usually confuse counterfeit logos with the original companies’ symbols. Therefore, they should also not be blamed for tarnishing the company’s name. Additionally, they cannot be held responsible by the Federal Trademark Dilution act as they do these actions only as patriotic citizens and concerned

Affect of Women in Advertisement Essay Example for Free

Affect of Women in Advertisement Essay Abstract Due to advertisement clutter in the 21st century customers are exposed to a variety of advertising appeals that aims to influence their attitudes towards a wide range of products and services. Many companies worldwide are using women as an object to attract and influence consumers’ attitudes towa rds the products they sell. Women appear in huge number of advertisement as a sexual object or as attractive decorative model standing nearby a product, even when the sexual image has little relevance to the advertised product. This article looks at Jordan ian male consumers’ attitude towards using women in advertisement. Results reveals four factors tend to influence consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement. Culture, control, and emotion were found to have a significant influence on consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement, while there was no significant influence for women appearance on consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement. In general Jordanian male consumers’ were opposed to exposing, exploiting and objectifying the woman and her body in advertisement. Introduction Research on advertisement featuring sex role focused on how content and imagery affect cognitive responses and attitude toward the advertisement, which in turn affect attitude toward the brand and purchase intention (Jaffe, 1994; Leigh and Whitney, 1987). Attitude toward advertising can be defined in general as learned tendencies to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to advertising in general (Lutz, 1985; Mackenzie and Lutz, 1989). The link between attitudes, intentions and behavior has been explained primarily by Ajzen (1985, 1988), Ajzen and Fishbein (1980). This theory is based on the assumption that human beings usually behave in a sensible manners where they will take into account information available to them and consider the consequences of their actions. Thus people are expected to act in accordance with their intentions. The personal factor is the attitude toward the behavior, which is the individual‟s positive or negat ive evaluation of performing the behavior of interest. Whereas the social determinant of intention is the person‟s perception of social pressure to perform the behavior under consideration. People generally intend to perform a behavior when they evaluate it positively and belief that important others think they should perform it. Advertisements perceived as contentious will not be effective in capturing the attention of people or changing their attitudes towards the advertised products (Michell and Al-Mossawi, 1995). Based on that, it‟s very essential to choose the appropriate advertisement strategies employed in advertising which range from informational to emotional. Among those designed to stir emotions or rouse particular feelings, we can find fear, humor, warmth, novelty, contrast, animation, music, and sexual arousal. According to Reichert et. al. (2001) sex appeal advertising invokes any message, which, whether as brand information in advertising contexts or as persuasive appeals in marketing contexts, is associated with sexual information. It has long been an accepted belief that this form of advertising is very effective at attention-grabbing, considered by some commentators as a powerful step in reaching one‟s target market, especially in the current clutter of 21st century marketing and communications (Reichert Lambiase, 2003). Sexual economics theory (SET) is a stimulating theory about sexuality that combines the idea of gender differences in sexual attitudes with social exchange theory, which S precher, (1989) conceptualize as two or more parties that each give up something with the aim of getting back something of greater value. Much research suggests that sex as an end in itself is less valued by women than men (Baummeister et al., 2001). Ther efore, sexual economics theory posits that women possess substantially greater negotiating power than do men in the context of a sexual exchange. Based on this theory, the current study will focus on men and the way women are used to persuade them in adver tisement to influence their attitudes. Using women in advertisement as a sexual appeal has transferred women to a marketing instrument by many firms. Women are used as a material mostly in advertisements (Bayraktar, 2011). In many advertisements, the ideal woman is an object that exists to satisfy men‟s sexual desires. Many researchers have shown that women in advertisements are portrayed as sex objects (Baker, 2005). Advertisers feature provocative images of sexually attractive women in ads (Reichert, 2 002). Sexual appeals in advertisements consist of a variety of elements models. Courtney and Whipple (1983) describes sexuality in advertisements as sexuality in the form of nudity, sexual imagery, innuendo, and double entendre used as an ad object for dif ferent kinds of products. Reichert (2002) reveals that common forms of sexuality in ads includes nudity (dress), physical attractiveness, seductive behavior and interaction, innuendo, and other factors such as setting, context and camera effects. While Lambiase and Reichert (2003) propose that there are five types of sexual content in ads: Nudity, sexual behavior, physical attractiveness, sexual referents, and sexual embeds. Ramirez and Reichert (2000) propose that viewers consider physical characteristics the most sexual in ads and the sub-categories of these characteristics are clothing, attractiveness and body. Table 1 shows the categories of women appearance in advertisements and their meanings in USA. It‟s noteworthy to say that women misrepresentation in advertisement is a world wide phenomenon. In India, for example, Bag and Roy (2010) bring up various reasons behind unaccept ed representation of women in advertisement, such as poverty where still a number of women, particularly young girls with intolerable economic misery compelled to represent themselves in different forms of uncultured version for survival. To the contrary some rich womens do it as a hobby, just to get mental or psychological satisfaction through modeling, front page sensational attraction in different popular magazines. Globalization is another factor responsible for misrepresentation of women in advertisement. Being attracted to western culture, teenager girls have been adopting western style in their garments and manners and hence, they have been losing their own culture and tradition, social values and moral character. Consumerism, which tries hard to inc rease the consumption of people, is another cause of such unaccepted representation. Much consumption means much economic profit which a group of people highly want. Profit maximization has escalated the introduction of women in a number of advertisements of different companies in television, magazine, T.V., Cinema, Newspaper, Cartoons, painting and even in the Internet to attract customers from different age groups. The different types of women representation in advertisement are presented below. Representation through Television- There is a lot of representation of women in advertisement through T.V. which affect common people and children adversely. It is obvious that visual indecent representation of them has been perverting psychologically all youth. Representation through Newspaper- Newspaper is another source of representation in indecent manner. Readers from almost all age group are intensely influenced while observing and reading those undesirable advertisements. Representation through Magazine- Similar examples will be cited in several advertisements in several reputed magazines where the honor of women have not only been despoiled simultaneously people are being psychologically endangered. But interestingly, by virtue of human instinct, neither presenter nor consumer is realizing its adverse impact. Other forms of Representation- There are other forms of uncultured representation which we can find rarely but have both internal and external effects on common people. Despite fewer in number, such representations are noticed in different sorts of paintings, hoarding hanging or fixed in cities and towns, and even displayed in Internet. Painting of undesirable quality is often displayed in cinema hall for greater publicity. Similarly, a lot of painters draw naked or half naked figures, which may have inner good meaning, but it is a matter of question how many people are finding that inner good meaning and how many are taking those adversely. Research Problem and Significance Very few studies tries to explain the influence of using women in advertisement based on cultural factors. Researchers have either concentrated on or compared dissimilar cultures, such as the U.S and Japan or they have focused on similarities or differences on similar cultur es, such as Great Britain and Australia (Al-Olayan and Karande, 2000). Many researches explain ads by using Hofstede‟s cultural dimensions or Hall‟s high and low typology and other country specific variables. Culture dominates communications, such as langu age, traditions, beliefs and music (Al-Olayan, Karande, 2000). Therefore, the main motivation behind this article is to identify the influence of using women in advertisement on male consumers‟ attitude in Jordan. This study is conducted in a Muslim country where Shariah (Islamic Law) prohibit the use of sexual appearance or body in a way to attract or convince consumers with company products, brands or services. This study is significant for the reason that there is no any study has been done in this field regarding this issue. Another reason for doing this study is to increase our understanding of the Arab societies, and in this case Jordan. Research Objectives The objectives of this research are: 1) To identify the factors that may affect male Jordanian consumers‟ attitude towards using women in advertisement 2) To examine consumers overall attitude towards using sexy women in advertisement Theoretical Background Culture and Advertisement Marketers need to observe the cultural traits, environments, norms, beliefs, and values of a particular country or region to obtain an understanding of whether their future behaviors will be perceived as ethical (Haque et al., 2010). For example, companies advertising their products or services in different countries should be aware of a country‟s existing norms concerning role portrayals and the way these organizations affect these norms (Gilly, 1988). Clow and Baack (2009) maintained that culture, religion and value system determine the levels of nudity, sexual references, and gender specific issues that are permitted in a country. Several differences have also been recognized across countries for men and women appear in different settings and for different products. Women are more likely to be portrayed in domestic environment as sex objects, while men are more likely to be portrayed being occupied. In Sweden, for example advertisers show men and women in greater variety of nonworking roles than in the U.S.A and Germany and women in Asian countries are less likely to be shown as sex objects (Das, 2000). Since in many Middle Eastern countries, sex and gender issues are taboo subjects, sexual appeals are not used in advertising and even sexually related products are difficult to advertise (Bryant, 1998). Muslim nations tend to reject any kind of nudity and any reference to sexuality and other gender -related issues. Any hint of sexuality or display of the female body is strictly forbidden. In Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, women must be shown in family settings. They cannot be depicted as being carefree or desirable to the opposite sex. Marlin (2008) conduct a study on how culture affects advertisement, he used an advertisement showing a sexy picture for Paris Hilton, the famous model wearing a bikini and asked respondents to writ e their reactions. About 27% had positive reactions, 45% had negative reactions and 28% were indifferent. For this advertisement some respondents were confused whether it is an advertisement for a burger or for a car. The results show that different cultures imply different reactions, some of the comments the respondents wrote were: †¢ Unrealistic, bizarre (German respondent) †¢ It is not about the product, they are selling a lifestyle (Iranian respondent) †¢ Nice, interesting (French respondent) †¢ Too much naked skin (1 Ethiopian and 1 Swedish respondent) †¢ I am discussed, angry and feel fat (Swedish respondent) †¢ Too naked, too unrealistic (Moroccan respondent) †¢ Sexistic (Swedish respondent) †¢ Inappropriate, bad taste (French respondent) †¢ It is totally unnecessary for the object of advertising (Swedish respondent) Muslim countries are not the only ones with restrictive advertising for sex appeals. Many Christian countries such as Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Mexico and the Philippines have similar standards. 184 While in Canada, France, and Sweden, sexism should be avoided in any advertising directed toward children (Boddewyn, 1991). Based on that, understanding how religious beliefs influence the attitude towards the advertising is of great importance to international advertisers and advertising agency managers in their efforts to improve advertising effectiveness without offending or alienating their target audience. It‟s important to comprehend that Islamic social philosophy is based on the belief that all spheres of life: spiritual, social, political, and economic form an indivisible unity that must be thoroughly imbued with Islamic values. Advertisement and Women in the Muslim world The aim of this section is to give an in-depth understanding on the nature and position of women and advertisement in the Muslim world to help and benefit marketers and the advertising producers in the Muslim world to gain a profound understanding of Muslim values. As a starting point, it‟s important to note that the Holy Quran does not prohibit advertising (Al-Makaty et al., 1996). Some advertisements use religious terminology to reassure consumers of the Islamic integrity of products and services. For example, in a television advertisement, a Saudi Investment ba nk in Egypt had used religious terms to show that it had no unlawful transactions and that all of its financial products Shariah compliant. The use of selected Quranic injunctions and words can enhance the mood of the advertising communication to make it more appealing to Muslim consumers. Luqmani et al. (1989) provide an example of a manufactured water pump that uses a verse from the Quran in advertising. Although it is obviously welcome to keep in mind that the Islamic regulations related to business and marketing, appropriate implementation of precise Islamic terms is crucial. Contrary to this, a business may face unexpected troubles in gaining markets in Muslim populous areas if some how its advertisements create feelings that are inconsistent with religious sensitivities. In such a context, the most potential and contemporary issues in Islamic markets should be carefully introduced, developed, and offered through appropriate advertising and communication messages which meet the commitment of ethics as gu ided in the Islamic Shariah. For example, the Islamic system encourages moderation in living, while prodigality and waste are denounced. Costly promotional efforts and massive commercial advertisements by businesses are considered unnecessary. Producers of advertisements must make sure that their advertising campaign does not overstep any social or legal norms. Little attention has been paid on the exposure of advertisement in the Arab societies. Except from investigations in Saudi Arabian ads, there is only one study that has examined the cross-cultural differences in advertising content in other countries in the Middle East and only one study of the portrayal of Egyptian women in television commercials. Luqmani et al., (1987) study focused only on the influence of Islam on advertising content and regulation in Saudi Arabia while Michell and Al-Mossawi, (1999) study focused on message contentiousness among Gulf Co-operative Council countries, and showed that religious Muslims scored lower in terms of recall and were unfavorable towards contentious advertisements relative to lenient Muslims. The findings suggest that there is a difference in perceived controversial elements in advertisements between a devout and a lenient Muslim. These findings also highlight the importance of matching creative execution and message content to a society‟s socio-cultural environment. Michell and Al-Mossawi claim an offensive advertisement will not be effective in capturing an audience‟s attention or changing his/her attitudes. Both of these studies revealed the importance of understanding the Islamic religion in relation to effective advertising. In particular, Luqmani et al., assert that unconventional advertisements must obtain prior approval from religious authorities. While in Malaysia, Unilever‟s used an ad for Pond‟s skin lightening moisturizer showing a Malay college student using the product for a fairer complexion to attract a boy‟s attention. The ad is deemed offensive to the Muslim ethnic culture (Haque et al., 2010). In addition to the above mentioned facts, the women‟s status is debated among traditional Islamists, reformist Islamists and feminists, secular or Islamic. The traditional Islamists are clear about the male-female differences and insist on the distinct sex roles. They view women as emotional, sentimental and weak humans whose duty is in the household. The traditional Islamists take every verse in the Qur‟an as a source of protection of women and see women as minors that need to be protected by superior men. In return the woman will nurture the family and try to please her father, brother or son, or whoever may be the head of the household. The woman has a responsibility to maintain the honor, reputation and status of the family. Traditionally, a man‟s hon or depends on the extent on the virginity of his sisters, wife and daughters, and widows divorcees‟ sexual continent. 185 The Islamic reformists believe that the inferiority is only in relation to the woman‟s physical strength and weaker autonomy, thus she is capable of participating in all spheres or public and social life. Modern and liberal reformists are trying to accommodate the Islamic rules with the realities of modern times. The feminist view is a secular movement whose aim is to achieve equality for women. The roots of this movement consider the woman as totally subordinated to the man and that the veil is a symbol of this. Advertising in Jordan Jordan‟s media sector has seen significant privatization and liberalization efforts in recent years. Based on official rack rates, research firm Ipsos estimated that the advertisement sector spent some $303m towards publicity in Jordan‟s media, 80% of which was spent on newspapers, followed by TV, radio and magazines. In recent years, Jordan has also seen a spectacular rise in the number of blogs, websites and news portals as sources of news information. The increasing diversification of Jordan‟s media boosted advertising revenues and private initiatives. Recording growth of 30%, 2007 turned out to be yet another outstanding year for Jordan‟s advertising industry. Following nearly a decade of double-digit growth, the Jordanian advertising had some catching up to do with the rest of the region in terms of average expenditure per capita. Since 2000 total ad spend increased from $77m to $303m in 2008, an increase of 260%. The Jordanian telecoms sector was the biggest ad spender in 2008, accounting for around 20% of the market, followed by banking and finance sector (12%), services industry (11%), real estate (8%) and the automotive sector (5%). Research Design In order to measure Jordanian male consumers‟ attitude towards using women in advertisement , male respondents between 18-55 years were selected. The survey instrument included a list of 22 statements from which respondents were asked to indicate their level of personal acceptance on a five-point scale, where 1 means â€Å"Strongly Disagree† and 5 means â€Å"Strongly Agree†. Statements from 1 -17 was designed to measure factors affecting consumers attitude towards using women in advertisement. Most of the statements were adapted from earlier studies, for example (Al Makaty et al. 1996; Nordà ©n 2006; and Baker, C.N. 2005). While statement 18-22 were designed to measure consumers overall attitude towards advertisements. The statements were adapted from earlier studies as well such as (Usman, 2010; and Ashill, 2005). Respondents belonging to different demographic groups in terms of education level, marital status and profession were considered in the study. The sampling frame for the study was male consumers living in west of Amman. For respondents‟ selection, simple random sampling procedure was adopted. Questionnaires were filled by the respondents. The total number of respondents was 450. The responses received were 353 (80.5 per cent). Cronbach alpha reliability analysis was conducted for the items included in the study. The internal consistency Cronbach alpha value for reliability of the questionnaire was found to be 0.74. All items were well above the 0.70, which was the commonly accepted threshold (Nunnally 1978). Respondent Profile Respondents from different parts of west Amman were asked to fill in the questionnaire. Table 2 depicts a summation of the study‟s respondents‟ demographic information. As per research objectives all the respondents are male consumers. Of the 353 respondents, 79.0 per cent were less than 25 years of age. A larger number of respondents were unmarried (74.4 per cent) the maximum respondents fell into this age group, since youth is the target market and they are the ones who pay maximum attention to the advertisements. Out of the remaining sample, only 2.3 per cent were above 55 years of age. The remaining 29.5 per cent belonged to the age group of 26–55 years of age. The larger number of r espondents was unmarried (74.4 per cent), and this could be attributed to the young age of the respondent. In addition most of them 78.5 percent were with undergraduate education. The maximum respondents in the category „profession‟ belonged to the student group with a major share of 68.2 per cent and the remaining 31.8 per cent included businessmen, executives and others. The overall composition of respondents included in the study was young, unmarried and students.