Investment Behaviour of Women Essay Example for Free

Investment Behaviour of Women Essay Abstract Through an analysis of recent reforms in three policy areas in Chile—pensions, childcare services, and maternity/parental leave—the paper seeks to explore how equity-oriented reforms deal with the triple legacy of maternalism, male-breadwinner bias, and market reform. Recent studies of â€Å"new† social policies in Latin America have underlined the persistent strength of maternalist assumptions. Feminist research on new cash transfer programs, in particular, has tended to see more continuity than change in the gendered underpinnings of social policy. This paper suggests that once we broaden our ï ¬ eld of vision to include other social programs and reforms, the ways in which contemporary social policy (re)deï ¬ nes women’s productive and reproductive roles, social rights, and obligations are more complex and contradictory. Indeed, while some policies take unpaid care by women for granted, others point to an increasing awareness of inequalities   Staab that shape women’s and men’s differential access to market income and public social beneï ¬ ts. Over the last decade, there has been a veritable explosion of scholarship on Latin American social policy. In part this reï ¬â€šects the fact that—after decades of neglect—Latin American states have rediscovered social policy and scaled up their efforts to address the social fallout of liberalization. Indeed, while â€Å"Washington Consensus† reforms were mainly driven by the desire to cut costs and reduce the scope of the state, the late 1990s and 2000s have seen more coordinated state interventions to reduce poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. While not returning to post-war social protection schemes, countries in the region are experimenting with policies that break with the neoliberal notion of minimal safety nets (Barrientos et al. 2008; Molyneux 2008; Cortes 2009).  ´ What does this â€Å"return of the state† mean for women’s social rights and welfare? It has been argued that in contrast to the gender blindness of neoliberal reforms, â€Å"new† social policies have been gender conscious (Bedford 2007). However, relatively little systematic research has been carried out on the gender dynamics of this new social agenda (Macdonald and Ruckert 2009). The existing literature seems to suggest that there is far more continuity than change in the gendered underpinnings of â€Å"new† social protection programs. Feminist research on conditional cash transfers (CCTs)—a key innovation associated with Post-Washington Consensus social policy in the region—has tended to stress the persistence of maternalism (e.g., Molyneux 2007; Bradshaw 2008; Tabbush 2009), a set of ideas and practices with a long and ambiguous history in the region. Yet there is more to Post-Washington Consensus social policy than CCTs. Several Latin American countries are experimenting with other care-related policies alongside cash transfer schemes— including the introduction of full-day schooling, the expansion of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, maternity/ parental leave reforms, and in recent pension reforms, the introduction of child-rearing credits. While some of these programs take the unpaid care by women for granted , others point to an increasing awareness of gender inequalities that shape women’s and men’s differential access to labor market income and public social beneï ¬ ts. That these initiatives have received little scholarly attention leaves the impression that Latin American social policy is stuck on a maternalist track, when national and regional trends are likely to be more varied and complex. Against this broader backdrop, the main aim of the paper  is to provide a better understanding of the complex and contradictory  ways in which women’s productive and reproductive roles, social rights, and obligations are constructed and (re)deï ¬ ned in the context of recent equity-oriented reforms. I argue for a two-tiered approach. First, I propose to move beyond single policy analysis towards a more systemic view that takes into account and compares developments across sectors. Second, I aim to assess these reforms according to the ways in which they have dealt with three key legacies: marketization, maternalism, and male-breadwinner bias. I apply this approach to the recent reforms in Chilean social policy, a particularly intriguing case. First, Chile is often cited as the Latin American country where neoliberal principles have been most comprehensively applied. Its 1980s social sector reforms–particularly in pensions and health–have long been promoted by international ï ¬ nancial institutions as a model for other countries to emulate (Taylor 2003; Orenstein 2005). Recent innovations in Chile’s social policy regime thus merit close attention. Second, Chile combines market liberalism with strong social conservatism, particularly with regards to gender roles. We would expect these two legacies to create mounting tensions and contradictions –for example over whether mothers should be at home (maternalism) or in the market (liberalism)–that social and employment policies have to navigate. I have chosen to focus on the recent reforms in pension, ECEC, and parental leave policies, issues which have been high up the public agenda in Chile and elsewhere. This is reï ¬â€šective of both broader global discourses spearheaded by international organizations such as the World Bank and the OECD, as well as a regional trend to revising social protection frameworks with an emphasis on increasing the coverage of hitherto excluded groups.1 The selection thus consciously combines two more traditional policy areas associated with social protection/consumption (pensions and maternity leave), with an emerging area geared towards social investment (ECEC). While the former were directly undermined by structural adjustment and deliberately restructured following the advice of international ï ¬ nancial institutions (Orenstein 2005; Brooks 2009), the latter have acquired prominence over the past decades as a means of reducing poverty by facilitating women’s labor force participation and as a cost-efï ¬ cient tool to promote human capital development by investing in early childhood development. These ideas form part of an emerging global paradigm (Jenson and Saint-Martin 2003; Jenson 2010; Mahon 2010) and seem to have ï ¬ ltered down to the national level with several Latin American countries experimenting with childcare-related reforms.2 The combinat ion of protection and promotion implicit in this selection is also highly relevant from a gender perspective. While childcare services and parental leaves can facilitate women’s engagement in paid employment, pension systems can be designed in ways that translate labor market inequalities into unequal entitlements in old age. They thus represent two sides of the same problem, namely the extent to which the gender division of labor affects women’s and men’s differential access to income and social security. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. The next section brieï ¬â€šy illustrates the rationale for choosing marketization, maternalism, and male-breadwinner bias as key dimensions for assessing continuity and change. It takes a historical and  regional perspective to show how they became embedded in Latin American systems of social provision. The second half of the paper then provides a detailed analysis of recent reforms in Chilean pension, childcare, and maternity leave policies. The ï ¬ nal section draws out some comparative conclusions about the extent to which the recent reforms have dealt with the key legacies of marketization, maternalism, and male-breadwinner bias. Maternalism, Male-Breadwinner Bias, and Market Reform  Trajectories of welfare state formation and change in Latin America are in many ways different from those of advanced economies in Europe or North America that have formed the basis for theory building. The most important difference is probably the dynamism and radicalism with which development strategies have been recast over the last century (Sheahan 2002, 4). Thus, many countries moved from state-led import-substituting industrialization (ISI) in the post-war period to the rather radical application of neoliberal prescriptions following the recessions and debt crises of the late 1970s and early 1980s. These transitions left distinct legacies in systems of social provision. From the often incomplete formation of welfare institutions in the post-war era, governments in the region turned to retrenchment, deregulation, and privatization. Redistributive and universalist aspirations—however exclusionary or stratifying these had been in practice (Filgueira and Filgueira 2002)—were buried with the shift to market-led development and the region moved closer towards liberal-informal welfare regimes (Barrientos 2004). As the state was scaled back, reforms empowered business interests which became directly involved in education, health, and pension systems.3 Gender roles and norms as well as pervasive gender inequalities across states, markets, and households mediate women’s and men’s exposure to social risks as well as their speciï ¬ c need for social protection and services. Women face particular challenges due to  motherhood and other caring responsibilities that societies largely assign to them (Lewis 1992; O’Connor 1993; Orloff 1993). Yet, these risks and responsibilities have rarely been taken into account in the design of social policies. Thus, Bismarck-style social insurance systems, such as those founded across Latin American countries in the post-war period, had an inherent male-breadwinner bias.4 Women, in turn, tended to access social beneï ¬ ts as wives of a male breadwinner or as mothers whose maternal functions had to be safeguarded and protected (Gimenez 2005). Motherhood became the  ´ very basis on which women staked their claims to citizenship rights and states deployed their efforts to mobilize female constituencies. At the heart of this â€Å"civic maternalism† was the belief that women– and in particular their biological and social function as mothers– had to be recognized, valued, and protected (Molyneux 2000).5 This was, in Nancy Folbre’s words, the â€Å"patriarchal trunk† onto which market reform was grafted, but which â€Å"continues to inï ¬â€šuence the shape of the tree† (Interviewed by Razavi 2011). A large body of literature has documented how struc tural adjustment increased the overall burden on women. Thus, where privatization and trade liberalization triggered a rise in male unemployment, women were pushed into (largely informal) paid employment to make up for lost wages. Meanwhile, retrenchment and commercialization of social services shifted more responsibilities for social provision to the domestic sphere, where the prevailing gender division of labor meant that women spent more time on unpaid reproductive work (BenerÄ ±a and Feldman 1992; Sparr 1994; and Elson 1995). In  ´ social protection systems, the move from risk sharing to individualization exacerbated already existing gender inequalities. By tightening the relationship between contributory patterns and pension beneï ¬ ts, market reforms effectively deepened male-breadwinner bias (Dion 2008). In health, private insurance companies were given plenty of rope for deï ¬ ning premiums based on gender-speciï ¬ c â€Å"risks†, such as pregnancy (Gideon 2006). As a result, the costs of biological and social repr oduction were further individualized and passed on to women. Paradoxically, maternalism remained a strong theme in the neoliberal era, at least at the level of public discourse (Molyneux 2000). In short, market reforms layered new gender inequalities onto the already existing legacies of maternalism and male-breadwinner bias. As a result, conservative elements exist alongside (neo)liberal elements in the contemporary welfare architecture of many Latin American countries. How are these legacies challenged or compounded by the current wave of policy innovations and reform? If the state is indeed assuming greater responsibility for social  provision, does this trend provide a more favorable context for redressing gender inequalities? More particularly, does it reï ¬â€šect a greater recognition and redistribution of the responsibilities for and costs of care and social reproduction? The existing literature suggests that there is far more continuity than change in gendered assumptions even as new social programs are being rolled out: Recent studies have argued, for example, that new social programs have paid scant, if any, attention to the underlying structures of gender inequality in labor markets and households (Razavi 2007); that economic and social policies continue to place the burden of social reproduction on families (read: women); that the particular design of social programs tends to reinforce traditional gender roles without providing long-term strategies for women’s economic security through job training or childcare provision (Molyneux 2007; Tabbush 2009); and that new social policies increase social control and surveillance of mothers’ child-rearing behavior and performance (Luccisano and Wall 2009). Feminist research on CCTs, in particular, has tended to stress the persistence of maternalist orientations (e.g., Molyneux 2007; Bradshaw 2008; Tabbush 2009). This literature has been central for understanding the gendered nature of â€Å"new† social policies in the region and much remains to be learned about the actual diversity of  ´ these programs (MartÄ ±nez Franzoni and Voorend 2009) and their impact on women from different ethnic groups (Hernandez 2011;  ´ Rivera 2011). Analytically, however, the focus on a single scheme is insufï ¬ cient to assess the processes through which women’s productive and reproductive roles, social rights, and obligations are currently being (re)deï ¬ ned. Several Latin American countries are experimenting with other social policies alongside the much-cited CCTs, including the introduction of full-day schooling, the expansion of ECEC services, maternity/parental leave reforms, and the introduction of child-rearing credits in recent pension reforms. In each of these areas, equity-oriented reformers struggle with the legacies of maternalism and male-breadwinner bias, on the one hand, and the (ideological and de-facto) importance of markets, on the other hand. I argue that these struggles shape reform processes and outcomes in ways that are more complex and contradictory than the existing literature on CCTs suggests. The following analysis of Chilean social policy sets out to unravel some of these complexities by looking at the recent reforms in pensions, childcare, and leave regulations. Implicit in this approach is an understanding of the state as a concept that helps to contextualize present political conï ¬â€šicts and policy processes (Hay and Lister 2006). In other words, previously enacted policies, institutional choices, and strategic interactions constitute a â€Å"strategically selective terrain† (Jessop 1990, 203) that structures present political conï ¬â€šict, rendering it more conducive to some  demands than others. While not determining their behavior, the ensemble of institutions and policy frameworks that comprise the state offer opportunities to and impose constraints on, the political agency of those wishing to effect policy change. The three legacies outlined above form part of the institutional landscape of the state. As such, they are shown to play a signiï ¬ cant role in current attempts of reform and policy innovation. While these legacies constitute the main focus of this paper, they are by no means the only factor that shape change and continuity in Chilean social policy. In fact, sector-speciï ¬ c actors, partisan politics, and particular political contingencies come into play to differing degrees. Furthermore, the continuity and deepening of an economic model based on trade openness, macroeconomic stability, monetary, and ï ¬ scal discipline and ï ¬â€šexible employment, forms the backdrop against which more expansive social policies have emerged as a response to persistent inequality. However, the full meaning of recent reforms cannot be understood without taking into account the gender-speciï ¬ c legacies in each sector.  (En)gendering Change and Continuity: Recent reforms in Chile Chile is a particularly intriguing case for analyzing continuity and change in social policy. On the one hand, it is often portrayed as the country where neoliberal principles have most profoundly transformed economic, social, and political institutions (Kurtz 1999; Filgueira and Filgueira 2002). While radical market reforms were carried out under the aegis of a military dictatorship (1973–1989), many of the model’s features were maintained with the return to democracy. Consequently, the country’s policy framework is often represented as particularly resistant to equity-oriented change. On the other hand, Chile combines market liberalism with social conservatism—two features that conventional welfare regime analysis tends to locate in different clusters (the conservative and the liberal variant, respectively). Female labor force participation is among the lowest in the region (ECLAC 2008), the country’s welfare regime has been described as inherently â€Å"gender biased† (Pribble 2006, 86), and conservative social norms  regarding women’s role in the family loom large (Contreras and Plaza 2010).6 Despite this rather unfavorable context, recent reforms suggest that these frameworks are not carved in stone. Since the early 2000 s efforts to expand social protection, to improve access to and quality  of social services and to strengthen social rights have featured prominently on the country’s social agenda, leading some to argue that Chile may be approaching a â€Å"point of inï ¬â€šection† (Illanes and Riesco 2007, 406). The following sections shed light on the complex and contradictory ways in which the triple legacy of maternalism, male-breadwinner bias, and market reform is addressed by recent reforms in pensions (adopted in 2008), childcare services (signiï ¬ cantly expanded since 2006), and maternity leave (reformed in 2011). Before delving more deeply into the developments in each sector, it is necessary to brieï ¬â€šy describe the broader economic and political context since the country’s return to democracy in 1990. Context of Recent Reforms and Policy Innovations The return to democracy did not entail a drastic transformation of the institutional foundations of economic and social policy inherited from the military regime (Moulian 2002; Taylor 2003; Borzutzky 2010). In fact, in macroeconomic terms the center-left party coalition Concertacion that governed the country from 1990  ´ to 2010 validated and deepened the neoliberal model based on trade openness, macroeconomic stability, monetary and ï ¬ scal discipline and ï ¬â€šexible employment. To offset some of its worst effects, social spending increased steadily which, together with economic growth and employment creation, dramatically reduced absolute poverty from 38.6 percent in 1990 to 13.7 percent in 2006 (ECLAC 2008), although it did relatively little to improve income distribution or lessen social inequalities and fragmentation in education, health, and social protection (Solimano 2009). Explanations for this continuity are manifold, including the formidable constraints placed on  the autonomy of the ï ¬ rst Concertacion governments by authoritarian enclaves in the political  ´ system that granted right-wing political opposition important veto powers; the resistance of business interests whose power increased as a result of market reforms; the weakness of other civil society actors, particularly labor; a political culture eager to avoid the kind of political confrontation that preceded the military coup; and the adoption of market-oriented ideas by key decision makers within the centerleft coalition itself (e.g. Kurtz 2003; Castiglioni 2005; Borzutzky and Weeks 2010; Ewig and Kay 2011). The result of this complex and contradictory process has been described as a Chilean â€Å"Third Way† characterized by an â€Å"unwavering commitment to trade liberalization and privatization despite considerable public opposition† and a â€Å"predisposition to a policy process that discourages participation by civil society and rank-and-ï ¬ le party members, while affording business access to the  highest reaches of government† (Sandbrook et al. 2007, 164–65). This set-up makes some policy areas more amenable to equity-enhancing reforms and innovations than others. As the economic model rests upon a ï ¬â€šexible and restrictive labor regime (Frank 2004), social policy is largely conï ¬ ned to enhancing workers’ ability to compete on the market and to mitigating some of the worst risks that unregulated and precarious employment entails. This goes a long way to explain why the two socialist-led governments of Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006) and Michelle Bachelet (2006–2010) spearheaded health reform, pension reform and childcare service expansion in order to enhance equity, while shying away from reforms related to the country’s labor market where many of the fundamental social inequalities originate. While the  Bachelet administration’s employment policy and labor relations have been described as disappointing, (Lopez 2009;  ´ Sehnbruch 2009), it did turn social protection into a key priority. The concept ual pillars of her strategy included a life-course approach to social protection and the attempt to introduce a rights-based perspective (Hardy 2011). The latter materialized in a gradual lifting of budgetary restrictions on social assistance7 and the progressive relaxation of eligibility requirements for accessing a range of beneï ¬ ts. The life-course approach, in turn, is captured in repeatedly stated commitments to create equal opportunities and protect citizens â€Å"from the cradle to old age†. Tellingly, its translation into policy focused on the two extremes of the life course, namely the reform of the pension system and Chile Crece Contigo, an integrated early childhood protection system that included the massive expansion of childcare services. The working-age population remained caught in the middle with persistently low employment quality, including a high level of job instability and the limited reach of employment-based rights and beneï ¬ ts, a scenario that disproportionately affects women workers (Sehnbruch 2009). 8 Thus, the attempt to square greater equity and social inclusion with an open economy inï ¬â€šuenced the scope and locus of policy change during the Bachelet administration. While acquiring greater visibility, social protection remained subordinate to macroeconomic goals, including those related to employment, understood as not interfering with job creation through greater regulation and rights for workers. In this context, it is particularly surprising that a highly controversial employment-related reform was introduced under the new right-wing government of Sebastian Pinera (2010) which, in ËÅ"  ´ 2011, expanded (women) workers’ rights through a reform of maternity leave regulations.

Comparison of Panhellenic Structures and Greek Sanctuaries

Comparison of Panhellenic Structures and Greek Sanctuaries In What Ways Were Panhellenic Sanctuaries Distinctive in Comparison with Other Kinds of Greek Sanctuaries? This work is going to centre on the Panhellenic sanctuaries of Olympia and Delphi and what made them distinctive, but also the reasons why these distinctions occurred. To achieve this I am going to focus the discussion on the origins of the sanctuaries in comparison to others that did not have Panhellenic status and also the types of activity that were established at these sanctuaries that were able to appeal to such a vast selection of people. According to tradition the Olympic games were first held in 776 BC, but cult activity at Olympia had its origins some time before this as evidenced by the presence of terracotta and bronze votive figurines, which suggest a date of at least the late 10th century BC (Morgan 1990: 57). During this period however the sanctuary was by no means Panhellenic and was mainly used by local groups. The site of the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios at Olympia was located in a fertile plain on the banks of the River Alpheios in the northwest Peloponnese, and was not controlled by any one state, which, as we shall see, was a key requirement for it becoming Panhellenic. Metal evidence of bronze and occasionally iron tripods points to settlements from the regions of Messenia and Arkadia as the main groups participating in the sanctuary in this earlier period and the reasons for this may have been to do with the remoteness of the site. It may have been, as Morgan suggests, a neutral meeting place at which in ter-regional relations were developed (Morgan 1990: 30, 85, Hall 2007: 272). It can be seen therefore that even during its earlier history, Olympia took on a role that fostered relations between different groups, in this case of the western Peloponnese rather than the larger Greek world. In the 8th century the number of communities using the sanctuary hugely increased as shown by a massive rise in the number of tripods being dedicated there. Tripods were seen as high status items and were an indictor of wealth, and were among the prizes given by Achilles at the funeral games of Patroclus in the Iliad: For swift charioteers first he set forth goodly prizes, a woman to lead away, one skilled in goodly handiwork, and an eared tripod of two and twenty measuresfor him that should be first.'(Homer Iliad 23.264-265) It can be seen from this that in around 700BC, the approximate date of the composition of the Iliad, tripods were given as prizes, but as Osborne notes, it is difficult to determine whether this association existed earlier in the 8th century. Despite this he suggests that the rise in tripod dedication coincides with the traditional creation of the Olympic games in 776 and argues that the reason for there being many more tripods than the number of possible victors is that the range of type and manufacture points to people bringing their own tripods to dedicate whether victorious or not (Osborne 1996: 96). It is the view of Hall however that this date of 776 was exaggerated through the calculations of Hippias of Elis to increase the standing of the games. He asserts that as the other great Panhellenic games were not established until the 6th century the Olympic games may also have their origins in this century (Hall 2007: 32, 272). Morgan on the other hand, believes there may be an ele ment of truth in Pausanias account that the games were re-established in 776, and puts forward the idea that there may have been a small scale local festival tradition in place prior to the 8th century. She argues that although a precedent may have been in place, wider participation in the games did not commence until c.725BC (Morgan 1990: 48). It does seem odd however that the other Panhellenic games at Delphi, Nemea and Isthmia were not established until over a hundred years after those at Olympia, and yet these were apparently founded within quick succession (between c.582 and c.573). I am therefore in support of Halls position that perhaps the antiquity of the games was exaggerated, and it seems more likely that their origins lie in the late 7th or possibly even early 6th century. If it were not games then, what drew people to the Olympic sanctuary to cause the sudden increase in the number of tripods dedicated? There is another explanation which shows a changing attitude in the ideas of individual identity and the display of wealth. The dedications could reflect a new desire to display wealth for the viewing of a much wider audience. This would therefore have been a way of displaying social status but may also have provided opportunities for increasing your position within a social hierarchy. The sheer numbers of tripods may also reflect the need to compete with others outside of your own community. Olympia was therefore the ideal place for these activities, situated on two major rivers and so providing ample status boosting attention and also on neutral territory in a remote location, the distance, and thus the added danger, increasing the prestige of the dedicator (De Polignac 1994: 11, Osborne 1996: 98). This seems to be a valid suggestion in explaining th e influx of votive offerings. A fundamental change in attitude appears likely as an explanation for these new practices, as an increase in cultic practice was taking place throughout Greece. For example in the sanctuary of Pherai only two fibulae have so far been found dating to the 9th and early 8th centuries compared to 1783 from the late 8th and early 7th. This can also be seen in a range of other objects at various different sanctuaries, and is not restricted to the future Panhellenic sites (Osborne 1996: 93). Snodgrass suggests this represented a redirection of wealth to the dedication of the gods, and so it may be no coincidence that in this same period there was also a change in custom in that the dead were no longer buried with the range or wealth of grave-goods that they once were (Snodgrass 1980: 53-4, Osborne 1996: 82). This would imply a change in belief from the display of power, of an individual or possibly even just a family group, in death through the inclusion of wo rldly possessions, to an active display of wealth and social status in life. This may of course have been a factor prior to the 8th century but it is not as archaeologically visible as it becomes through tripod dedications. This is not to say that the games could not have been taking place at the same time, as neither activity is mutually exclusive; however it highlights the practical impossibility of identifying the origins of the games through available archaeology. The sanctuary of Apollo Pythios at Delphi had quite different origins to Olympia and there is no evidence that it had any cult associations until around the start of the 8th century, when bronze tripods and figurines appear. It is Morgans view that the sanctuary began life as a local shrine for the village of Delphi, which was subsequently adopted by neighbouring states (Morgan 1990: 106). During most of the 8th century dedications were relatively limited especially when compared to other sanctuaries such as Perakhora. These increased considerably in the last quarter of the 8th century, but unlike Olympia where this apparently trailed off in the 7th, these dedications steadily continued coming from locations as diverse as the Peloponnese, Attica and Crete (Osborne 1996: 202-203). Similarly to Olympia, Delphi was situated in quite a remote location on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, north of the Gulf of Corinth, in central Greece. This remoteness likewise allowed for its appeal to a wider audience, but it did evolve as part of a community, unlike the much more isolated Olympia and there was also a strong Corinthian involvement. The key issue however is that it did not fall directly within the territory of a developing powerful political centre. The aforementioned sanctuary of Hera at Perakhora for example became part of the territory of the city of Corinth and despite its similar origins and superior wealth in the 8th century at least to Delphi, it never achieved Panhellenic status. It would come under what Marinatos calls an extra-urban sanctuary, in that it fell under the direct administration of Corinth but was not within the urban space of the city. Urban sanctuaries, such as the Acropolis at Athens, were prominent features within the boundaries of a city and were used as an obvious display of the wealth and power of the respective city. Extra-urban sanctuaries on the other hand had a different political function; to define the territory of the city administering it, such as Corinth in the case of Perakhora. They also acted as small scale pan-Hellenic sanctuaries in as much as they united followers of a particular cult within a region and were not just for members of a specific polis. The Panhellenic sites of Delphi and Olympia fall under the title of inter-urban sanctuaries (Marinatos 1993: 229). This status largely depended on where the sanctuary was when cities became politicised, and the creation of, or claim for possession of a sanctuary probably indicated the beginnings of regional awareness (Morgan 1990: 7). The position of a sanctuary therefore defined its function, thus also changing the types of votive objects dedicated. Morgan believes Perakhora came to reflect the personal concerns of the people in the region of Corinth, while the elite utilized Delphi for the display of their wealth; this change in focus can be seen at Perakhora through dedications of items such as clay model koulouria and other feminine items linked to Hera (Morgan 1990: 144). The major investment in sanctuaries within polis territories however came in the form of monumental architecture which was constructed in these locations at least a century before that of any of the temples of the major Panhellenic sanctuaries (Hall 2007: 271, De Polignac 1994: 12). Prior to the construction of these temples the main focus of cult activity at all sanctuaries had been just an open air altar. The small temple of Hera at Perakhora built c.800 BC was one of the first to be constructed and was probably a one roomed building around 8 metres long and 5 metres wide. The initial temple of the Heraion at Samos was also constructed in this period; though it was far more monumental in structure at just over 30 metres long, although still only 6 metres wide. The temple to first be built entirely of stone however was not erected until the 6th century, though perhaps it is not surprising that this was also at a polis sanctuary; the temple of Artemis at Kerkyra (Coldstream 1977: 322, Coldstream 1985: 70-3). It is interesting then that these smaller, localised polis sanctuaries received this type of investment from communities long before the Panhellenic sanctuaries in the 7th and 6th centuries. Did this mean that urban and extra-urban sanctuaries were more important? Hall asserts that local sanctuaries must have been of a higher priority and Morgan takes this further in saying that the reason for this is that the state had to be defined politically, spatially and socially before formal investment could take place outside of its borders (Hall 2007: 271, Morgan 1993: 19-20). Coldstream also agrees with this view, and it is his opinion that the construction of temples, among other signs, marked the arrival of the polis (Coldstream 1985: 68). This would therefore seem to show that local temples such as that at Perakhora, were a key component of polis identity, and so it would seem only natural that city sanctuaries were invested in before competing against other poleis on the wider stage at the sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia. As a result, it would seem less an argument of which was the more important and therefore most deserving of communal investment, and more about which was the most fundamental to the establishment of a collective civic identity. This change in the notion of identity, away from the promotion of self interest of the individual and towards the collective identity of the polis, is also noticeable in the building of treasuries, particularly at Delphi. At first these were constructed by elites in order to promote their own status, such as the treasury of Cypselus mentioned by Herodotos: These bowlsstand in the Corinthian treasury though to speak strictly it should not be called the public treasury of the Corinthians, but the treasury of Cypselus, son of Eà «tion.'(Herodotos Histories 1.14) As Hall notes however, by the 6th century these, despite still probably being financed by the most affluent, were constructed in the name of the polis, the treasury of Knidos being built in c.560-550 and the treasury of Siphnos in 525 for example (Hall 2007: 272-3, Snodgrass 1980: 141). Their function would have been the same, but the focus had shifted to the glorification of the polis rather than individuals. Only once a city state, and thus the communal identity that went with it, had fully formed could this be possible and allow for competition between states. Treasuries also existed in state sanctuaries, but all would have been financed by local inhabitants of the controlling city again differentiating from the Panhellenic appeal of Olympia and Delphi. The Heraion at Samos for instance has several possible treasuries, which were likely funded by local elites (Kyrieleis 1993: 129, 133). As previously mentioned, the majority, if not all of the Panhellenic sanctuaries introduced games in the early 6th century and this is the period when they can truly be called Panhellenic, involving competition between many poleis, rather than just elite individuals from neighbouring states. Individuals were still fà ªted as heroes for victory, both by their polis and on a wider scale; through winning they had increased their own status, but also the prestige of their home city. All athletic competitions were linked to religious festivals, and by 500BC there were around 50 sets of games in place throughout Greece (Sweet 1987: 3). This wider recognition of ability of course, could not happen at these local games, such as those of the Panathenaia, and so added to the appeal of the Panhellenic games and must have been one of the main reasons for the assured interest of so many states. Again the reason that so many city-states could come together in one place to compete was because none of the Panhellenic sanctuaries were dominated by a powerful state. This meant that there was no reason to feel threatened as perhaps could happen at more urban sanctuaries, located within or close to a dominant polis. This was one of the reasons why the Panathenaia, despite efforts from the Athenians to make it an inter-state festival to rival the Panhellenic games, was ultimately unsuccessful in attracting other poleis to compete (Finley 1985: xviii-xix). The Pythian games at Delphi and the Olympic games consisted of similar events, except that Delphi also offered musical competitions: contests for harpingfor flute-playing and for singing to the fluteThe competitions being the same as at Olympia, except the four horse chariot, and the Delphians themselves added to the contest running races for boys, the long course and the double course.'(Pausanias Description of Greece 10.7.4-5) These contests clearly fixed the Panhellenic status of these sanctuaries, but could they have been classed as Panhellenic prior to the introduction of athletic competition? This is harder to determine with Olympia, as the games were the main attraction of the sanctuary but also because the origins of the games are so hard to determine. Delphi however was just as famous, if not more so, for its oracle. The Delphic oracle is believed to have been established in the late 8th century, although like the Olympic games this is disputed. Again the only material evidence is the rise in votive offerings at the end of the century, which as discussed above is present in many places and could be indicative of a number of practices. There is a mention of the oracle in the Odyssey however: in sacred Pytho, when he passed over the threshold of stone to enquire of the oracle.'(Homer Odyssey 8.79-82) If its provenance is to be believed, and if it was not a later addendum to the story, then this would seem to support an 8th century origin for the oracle. Whatever the actual date, it is Morgans belief that the introduction of the oracle may reflect early state domination of the sanctuary, in a similar fashion to the way treasuries began to reflect the polis rather than the individual (Morgan 1990: 184-5). Osborne advocates that the oracle was part of the wider appeal of Delphi, but Delphi was not the only sanctuary with an oracle, and this again brings us back to the question of when it first became Panhellenic and what determined this status; the oracle or the Pythian games (Osborne 1996: 204). No matter what the actual cause of panhellenism was, the activities in place at both Olympia and Delphi were available elsewhere at many other sanctuaries that never achieved the status Panhellenic. The apparent reason for this, as has been reiterated many times through this work, was the geographical location of the sanctuaries. The Delphic oracle would have been perceived as far less likely to give biased advice to protect its political allegiances, as its neutrality meant that it was not dependent on the ambitions of a controlling polis. Similarly, the Olympic and Pythian games would have provided impartial ground on which to compete for greater glory than was possible within the confines of a state or intra-regional festival. It can be seen therefore that the origins of both Panhellenic and civic sanctuaries were quite comparable, and it was only following the emergence of a fully defined state, with territorial awareness, that the varying roles of sanctuaries became distinct. Co nsequently, it is my belief that it was a combination of geographical location and the rise of the polis that provided the environment for Panhellenic sanctuaries to be set apart, but that they had to have something to offer in order to appeal to a wider audience, whether it was an oracle or athletic competition. It is mainly through these factors that inter-urban sanctuaries differentiated from those directly under the control of a city-state. Bibliography Herodotos. Histories, translated by A. De Sà ©lincourt (Penguin Classics). London: Penguin Books. 2003. Homer. Iliad, translated by A. T. Murray. London: Heinemann / Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1924. Homer. Odyssey, translated by A. T. Murray. London: Heinemann / Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1919. Pausanias. Description of Greece, translated by W. H. S. Jones and H. A. Ormerod. London: Heinemann /Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1918. Coldstream, J. N. 1977. Geometric Greece. London: Ernest Benn. Coldstream, J. N. 1985. Greek Temples: Why and Where? In P. Easterling and J. Muir (eds), Greek Religion and Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. De Polignac, F. 1994. Mediation, Competition, and Sovereignty: The Evolution of Rural Sanctuaries in Geometric Greece. In S. Alcock and R. Osborne (eds), Placing the gods: Sanctuaries and Sacred Space in Ancient Greece. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Finley, M. 1985. Foreword. In P. Easterling and J. Muir (eds), Greek Religion and Society. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press. Hall, J. M. 2007. A History of the Archaic Greek World ca. 1200-479 BC. Oxford: Blackwell. Kyrieleis, H. 1993. The Heraion at Samos. In N. Marinatos and R. Hà ¤gg (eds), Greek Sanctuaries: New Approaches. London and New York: Routledge. Marinatos, N. 1993. What were Greek Sanctuaries? A Synthesis. In N. Marinatos and R. Hà ¤gg (eds),Greek Sanctuaries: New Approaches. London and New York: Routledge. Morgan, C. 1990. Athletes and Oracles: The Transformation of Olympia and Delphi in the Eight Century BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Morgan, C. 1993. The Origins of Pan-Hellenism. In N. Marinatos and R. Hà ¤gg (eds), Greek Sanctuaries:New Approaches. London and New York: Routledge. Osborne, R. 1996. Greece in the Making: 1200-479 BC. London and New York: Routledge. Snodgrass, A. M. 1980. Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment. London: J M Dent. Sweet, W. E. 1987. Sport and Recreation in Ancient Greece: A Sourcebook with Translations. Oxford:Oxford University Press.

Chinas Cultural Revolution: Reforms in the Education System

Chinas Cultural Revolution: Reforms in the Education System The period of the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1969) witnessed a massive effort by the Maoist leadership to engineer the socialist transformation of Chinese society, one of the area most radically affected by the Cultural Revolution was the Chinese educational system. The Great Leap Forward has brought about much economic instability and lack of agricultural production, leading to the great famine. The goals and policies imposed by the government during the Cultural Revolution greatly decentralized the educational system and shifted focus from an industrial intensive production to an agricultural production. Although many rural schools continued to function throughout this period, formal education virtually ceased in the urban areas. In this paper, we will first take a look at the three main objectives in the educational reforms. With this general background description of the program, we hope to explain some of the goals that the Communist partied hoped to achieve. The second section of this paper will discuss the means that China employed to carry out the three main objectives, analyzing the decentralized manner in the implementation process and the structural impact it had on the educational system. Finally, we will evaluate the repercussion and critiques these reforms had on students and the society as a whole. Educational Reforms The Cultural Revolution had three basic objectives in reforming the educational system. In terms of the content of education, the first objective was to intensify ideological education so as to raise the political consciousness of the students. The second objective was to integrate theory and practice in the educational process in order to make education more responsive to the immediate production needs of the country. In terms of the scope of the educational system, the third objective was to popularize education, especially in the rural areas of China.[1] Prior to the Cultural Revolution, it seems that there was a tendency in Chinese education to emphasize technological and professional training often at the expense of the socialist revolution as envisioned by Chairman Mao. In 1956, with the exception of the third year of senior middle school in which a section of the constitution class was held each week, it was reported that political classes were entirely cancelled. This trend was further reinforced after the Great Leap Forward when educational policy emphasized more study and less work and politics. This general educational policy seems to have led to the consolidation of an elite technocracy drawn largely from the educated bourgeois elements of the past. Thus, the most important goal of educational reform in the Cultural Revolution was to mobilize the students and raise to a higher level their awareness of class contradictions still existing in Chinese society. As Mao made clear, all work in school is for changing the thinking of the student.[2] This educational objective was part of the massive effort of the Cultural Revolution as a whole to revitalize the commitment of the country to the socialist transformation of society. The economic objectives of the educational reforms of the Cultural Revolution should be seen within the context of the overall strategy for economic development. The emphasis on integrating theory with practice, or education with production, was not new in itself. The Ministry of Education stated explicitly in 1950 that the purpose of institutions of higher learning in the Peoples Republic of China is to train high level specialists for national reconstruction in accordance with the principles of the Cultural and Educational policy included in the Common Program of the Peoples Political Consultative Conference of China, and using a method which combines theory and practice. These specialists will have advanced standards of culture, will master modern science and technology, and will have total dedication to serving the people.[3] However, the way in which theory was linked to practice was quite different from that which Mao had in mind for the Cultural Revolution. And the problem her e was not simply one of implementation but of basically different concepts of economic development. From 1949 to 1958, Chinas strategy for economic development essentially followed that of the Soviet model, which stressed the growth of heavy industry at the expense of light industry and agriculture. As bottlenecks began to form, China began searching for alternative developmental strategies. Thus, the Great Leap Forward was an attempt to mobilize the masses on a large and intensive scale to break the bottlenecks in the economy. While this strategy as a whole failed, it marked the point at which China changed from its previous strategy to one placing relatively more emphasis on rural development. This change in developmental strategy brought a basic change in the definition of what practice constituted in the educational process. In one case, it meant working in the industrial sector primarily in a technological capacity, while in the other, it meant working in the fields to increase rural production. Thus, in the former case, linking theory and practice meant training more highly s killed specialists to advance the technology for Chinas heavy industry, while in the latter, it meant training less-highly skilled generalists in less time to meet the local production needs of the rural sector. Thus, the economic objectives of the educational reforms were oriented primarily to the development of agriculture and light industry. Up until 1966, educational opportunities, particularly at the higher levels, remained unduly concentrated in the big cities. The rural areas, despite some improvements since 1949, did not benefit from educational expansion to nearly the same degree as the urban areas.[4] In fact, according to a Russian source, after initial success at popularization of educational opportunities between 1950 and 1958, the number of students at all levels of education decreased markedly from 1960 to 1965. It was also said that Liu Shaoqi admitted that in the 1965-66 school year approximately 30% of the children in China were not covered by a system of primary education.[5] This bleak picture was partially confirmed by the Peoples Daily report that in 1965, 30 million school-aged children were not in school, most of them being rural children.[6] Thus, one of the major objectives of the educational reforms was to correct this situation by increasing the number of schools in the rural areas and initiating a large scale recruitment of peasants and workers into the existing educational system. Means of the Reforms The implementation of educational reforms was carried out via a decentralized process, as most schools were placed under local management. In fact, it was reported in 1973 that each school had its own Revolution in Education Committee responsible not only for implementing reforms but also for part of the planning process within its own institution.[7] So it would seem that local experimentation within the general framework of the new educational policies was encouraged. Experimentation was seen as necessary primarily because of the emphasis on adopting flexible methods to meet the diverse needs of different schools and regions. We will identify below the major guidelines regarding the implementation of the educational reforms, as well as describe some of the different ways the reforms were implemented. In order to elevate the political consciousness of the students, the curriculum was heavily stocked with political education courses. The major texts used were drawn from the works of Mao. Aside from increasing the number of political course, other courses also drew upon Maos thoughts to explain various approaches to the analysis of whatever phenomenon was involved.[8] This reliance on Maos thoughts was essentially the concept of putting politics in command of knowledge. At the same time, revolutionary mass criticism and class struggles were actively promoted to bring into sharp relief the various contradictions in society from a more personal perspective. The principal means of linking theory and practice in the educational process were to make production labor a major part of the students curriculum and to direct research to meet local needs. These methods were based on the concept of practical training, although their implementation in China seems to have gone far beyond that prac ticed by other countries. In the rural areas, students would spend much of their time working in the fields and learning from the peasants. The training of the students included clearing marginal lands, planting and harvesting, working on the construction of water conservation projects and irrigation systems and so on. [9]Research in turn was directed towards increasing the crop yield and the mechanization of the local production units. What the specific tasks would be depended on the particular needs of a given locality. As for the urban sector, secondary and higher learning institutions were reported to have set up local factories within the schools not only to train students in practical work, but also to engage in significant production work. In other cases, factories and schools established ties with one another so as to direct the research of the latter to the needs of the former, making possible the immediate application of new findings. At the same time, veteran workers were often brought to the schoo ls to teach in certain areas and students worked at the factories for practical training. Some factories even established schools of their own, although this method seems to have more or less faded out. In brief, the educational reforms designed to attain the economic objectives basically gave the students more practical training and actual work in production than did the previous educational system. It was said that prior to the Cultural Revolution, peasants and workers had much difficulty attending schools because of such obstacles as high entrance examination standards (primarily for colleges and universities), high costs and expenses, inaccessibility since most schools were located in the cities, conflict of class schedules with local production time tables, and the lack of direct and immediate relevance of the courses offered to local production needs. As a result, educational opportunities were still not extended to many in the country living in the rural areas. During the Cultural Revolution, many of the reforms were implemented specifically to erase such barriers to education. Some of the broad guidelines for popularizing education were: 1) lowering educational standards, thus making possible the large scale recruitment of peasants and workers into the existing educational system, and especially to higher learning institutions; 2) lowering educational fees and expenses; 3) shortening the number of years for a basic education, usually from a 6-3-3 to a 5-2-2 system, while higher education was usually reduced from four or five years to two or three years (this allowed more to enter the educational system since less time would be taken off needed production work and the school population would be reduced for a given amount of students going through); 4) promoting popularly-sponsored schools-this expansion occurred mainly in the rural areas and was limited basically to the primary school level; 5) adapting curriculum and schedules to local req uirements; and 6) simplifying teaching materials.[10] Within these reform guidelines, however, schools at all levels could experiment with different ways of implementing the reforms. For example, Peking University with its more carefully selected students continued to have higher standards of education than many other colleges and universities. However, an attempt was made to lessen the gap.[11] Or with regard to popularly sponsored schools, there arose mobile schools, spare-time schools, half-work, half-study schools and so on. Furthermore, the specific curriculum of each school, except perhaps for the political education courses, varied according to the needs of the particular region. Thus, the popularization of education was carried out under a flexible and decentralized educational system. Repercussion of the Reforms While the drastic educational reform measures have given peasants opportunities to attain basic education in rural areas, as well as agricultural production and political gains, it naturally came with lasting negative impacts that promoted many post-modernists critiques. In the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, values like collaboration, diligence, modesty, and respect for elders and teachers were discarded as a result of the purge of the old Chinese cultures and traditions. Many have failed to retain the virtues during the revolution. Second, due to political struggle and line drawn between working classes and intellectuals, as well as political and violent nature of the social revolution, substantial innocent teachers and professionals were subjected to personal attacks and humiliation, some even executed. Third, specific strategies of the reformed curriculum and examination system proved to be misguided and wasted the schooling of many young people. The disconnection between a cademic achievement and students future career, the emphasis on political correctness over academic achievement, and the neglecting of theory learning and over-emphasis on hands-on experiences were all examples of poor decisions. Fourth, the Cultural Revolution both liberated students and dominated them. It liberated students and people because it opened their eyes to the inequality existing in education and society; However, it imposed political control and dominated them because it did not allow real democratic, independent and critical thinking ability.[12] As Freire (1970) put it, If teachers help students from oppressed communities to read the word but do not also teach them to read the world, students might become literate in a technical sense but will remain passive objects of history rather than active subjects.[13] Conclusion The Cultural Revolution opened peoples eyes but imposed the governments intentions on the people and dictated their thinking. Thus, people were forced to follow the governments ideology. In accordance with the three objectives set forth by the Communist Party, strategies were carried out in a decentralized manner that placed significant amount of decision making on local management. To raise political awareness, much of the curriculum were inspired by Maos thinking. His principles such as practice training were also preached to the students, which compliments well with the second objective; to integrate theory and practice while increasing agricultural production. At the time, schools and factories were tightly assimilated, as much of the students from urban areas were organized to work in rural areas, in order to experience the real China and raise consciousness on the large class segregation that existed. Lastly, with adjustments to the curriculum schedules, time commitment, academ ic and financial requirements, the barriers to entry were significantly reduced for many rural youths. Basic education was finally attainable by peasants and popularized in the rural area. However, this caused a reduction of higher education and development of specialized skilled workers in the urban area, in accordance with the focus on agricultural production rather than industrial production. The extremist nature of the reforms achieved by China was unlike what other countries could have accomplish. While political agendas and production goals were met, it came at a great cost to students that lasted through the generation. Connections to their ancestors culture and virtues were cut in favor of Maos thinking and the way of the new China. This led to activities that post-modernists could consider contradictive to the development of humanity, which was evident in the case of innocent individuals who retained the old culture or decided against Maos thinking were humiliated or executed. Students freedom of critical thinking was taken away, replaced by political correctness and over-emphasis on hand-on experiences, ultimately hindering their theoretical knowledge and future career development. Bibliography Seybolt, Peter. Editors Introduction, 1971 Huey, Alison B. The Revolutionary Committee of Peking Middle School #31, 1970 Gardner and Idema, Chinas Educational Revolution, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1973 Klepikoy, V. Z. The Fate of Public Education in China, Sovetskaia Pedagoka #8, 1968, translated by J.ÂÂ   Barry Eliot, CE 1 Peoples Daily, Chinas Educational Revolution, 1965 McCormick, Robert. Revolution in Education Committees, The China Quarterly #57, 1974 Wuyuan Rev. Comm. et al., A New Type of School That Combines. Theory with Practice, 1968 Yu-lin Special Region Rev. Comm. and Kuei-ping Rev. Comm, Train Workers to Have Socialist Consciousness and Culture, 1970, Wan, Guofang. The Educational Reforms in the Cultural Revolution in China: A Postmodern Critique, 1998. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED427419 Lankshear, C. and Mclaren, P.L. Critical Literacy, New York: State University of New York Press, 1993 Shor, I. Empowering Education, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992. [1] Peter Seybolt, Editors Introduction, 1971, p. 4. [2] Alison B. Huey, The Revolutionary Committee of Peking Middle School #31, 1970, p. 206. [3] Seybolt, p. 4. [4] Gardner and Idema, Chinas Educational Revolution, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1973, p. 257 [5] V. Z. Klepikoy, The Fate of Public Education in China, Sovetskaia Pedagoka #8, 1968, trans, J. Barry Eliot, CE 1, p. 42. [6] Peoples Daily, Chinas Educational Revolution, 1965, p. 258. [7] Robert McCormick, Revolution in Education Committees, The China Quarterly #57,1974, p. 133. [8] Wuyuan Rev. Comm. et al., A New Type of School That Combines. Theory with Practice, 1968, p. 24-31 [9] Yu-lin Special Region Rev. Comm. and Kuei-ping Rev. Comm, Train Workers to Have Socialist Consciousness and Culture, 1970, p. 40-45 [10] Gardner and Idema, p. 279-280. [11] Ibid., p. 286. [12] Wan, Guofang. The Educational Reforms in the Cultural Revolution in China: A Postmodern Critique, 1998. [13] Lankshear, C. and Mclaren, P.L., Critical Literacy, New York: State University of New York Press., 1993

Imagery in The Tempest, by William Shakespeare Essays -- Tempest essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare's play The Tempest utilizes extensive imagery which goes beyond merely creating atmosphere and background or emphasizing the major themes of the play. The supernatural plays a considerable role in the play, thus so does the use of imagery, which is more extensive and somewhat different from many other of Shakespeare's works. The imagery is used as a mediator of supernatural powers, to emphasize the natural scene of action, and establish the enchanted island which becomes vivid through such a wealth of single features and of concrete touches. Therefore throughout the play imagery serves a much larger role than creating atmosphere, and is actually involved in most aspects of the play.    In The Tempest, the actual catastrophe is at the beginning, and not at the end or in the middle of the play. And everything derives and develops from this beginning. Thus the images in this first scene that act as links with the previous events have not the function of preparing what is to come; they are rather a reminiscence, or an afterthought, they keep awake our remembrance of what has happened. The manner in which an actual event, by means of the imagery, pervades and overcasts the whole play is a good instance of Shakespeare's technique, sometimes employed by him in his later plays, of transforming frequently used symbolic imagery into actual incident.    The "sea-storm" lingering in our memory, together with the recollection of wind, water and conflicting elements, thus constitutes one of the main streams of imagery which, from the second scene onwards, flow through the play. In the second scene, we are still under the impression of what we have witnessed just before; and, accordin... ...      The examination of the imagery in The Tempest showed how vividly, sensuously and precisely this nature-world was represented. As we have already said, this concreteness and realness; conveyed through the imagery, constitutes a counterpart to the world of the supernatural in this play. The supernatural, in being based on firm reality, gains probability and convincing power.       Bibliography    Shakespeare, W. The Tempest. Ed. Sutherland, J.R. (1990)    G. Wilson Knight, (1932) The Shakespearean Tempest, Oxford    Elizabeth Holmes, (1976) Aspects of Elizabethan Imagery, Oxford    Mikhail M. Morozor, (1989)"The Individualization of Shakespeare's Characters through Imagery", Shakespeare Survey.    Kenneth Goddard, "Imagery and Drama" (1992) University Journal    B. Thompson, (1995) Notes on The Tempest

Portrayal of Man in Dostoevskys The Brothers Karamazov Essay example -

Portrayal of Man in The Brothers Karamazov  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Debauchery, dueling, infidelity, orgies, and even monastery life are all used to help Fyodor Dostoevesky define his characters in The Brothers Karamazov. At the beginning of the novel, the reader becomes filled with contempt for a few members of the Karamazov family, yet filled with admiration for others. The legitimate members of the Karamasov family each represent a separate aspect of human character, which is applicable to society. In some ways the characters resemble separate factions and cliques of society that most often argue, but together can be productive. This is shown not by direct implication, but rather the reader discovers the fact on their own by becoming infuriated at the stupidity of the Karamazov men. This anger leads to the realization that in many ways, they themselves are in some ways similar to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fyodor Pavlovich Karamasov is the patriarch of the family. A shrewd businessman, Fyodor is very self-centered and cares more for himself than anyone else. He is a brilliant man for making deals and increasing his wealth, but manages to be oblivious of manners and societal rules. A tendency to act is an enormous fault in him, and he leaves an impression of having no deeply personal feelings, only overzealous acting to fit his "role" at any given time. When Fyodor's first wife dies Dostoevesky explains, "What seemed to gratify and flatter him most was to play the ridiculous part of the injured husband and to parade his woes with embellishments"(4). Because he has little, if any personal feelings, this enables him be indifferent towards others' emotions. Happiness is the only cause worth pursuing to Fyodor, and he will cross anyone to achieve it. Wh... ...e in their own ways. When searching for separate goals, and conflicting with each other, they can accomplish very little. The more inner-conflict within the family, the more problems they seem to find themselves in. These men, representing different aspects of society and humankind, have problems that they cannot solve on their own. If the Karamazov's were to work together towards a common goal, much could become accomplished, just as society could solve many conflicts through teamwork and cooperation. The characters in the novel The Brothers Karamazov show the reader that most societal conflicts are unnecessary and could easily be remedied through understanding and patience. WORKS CITED Dostoevesky, Fyodor Mikhailovich. The Brothers Karamazov. The Constance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Garnett Translation revised by Ralph E. Matlaw. New York: W. W. Norton   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  & Company Inc., 1976

Driving Age Should Be Increased to 18 Essay

The huge number of car crashes caused by young drivers is an issue which is now being strongly debated in Australia. According to the new research released on 7 April 2010 by Carhistory.com.au, Australia’s most comprehensive vehicle history website, one in ten Australian teenagers have had a car accident (Coffey, J 2010). Due to that serious fact, an idea of increasing the driving age to 18 with a minimum of 18 months on ‘P’ plates has been suggested to reduce the number of teens’ deaths by car accidents. Although that proposal will lead to some inconvenience for young drivers, it can prevent them from unsafe and immature way of driving, which guarantees the reduction on teens crashes. One drawback of the issue that the driving age should be increased to the age of eighteen is the inconvenience caused to teenagers. Driving is becoming essential in modern society, especially for the youth. 16 and 17 year old children should be allowed to drive to get to scho ol or work because taking public transportation is very time consuming, and it is also a big problem for them if they are late from the classes for they miss a bus. Furthermore, country kids who live in areas with few buses or trains and very far from city cannot expect their parents to drive them around every day, so having rights to drive is really necessary to them. On the other hand, everything has two sides. The increase in the driving age to 18 has been strongly advocated due to the fact that young drivers are not able to control the cars safely on the road. One major reason leading to car accidents is the distraction while teenagers drive. Multi-tasking is  becoming popular in many teens but it does not work for young drivers. They chat on the phones, listen to an iPod while driving, and even eat some fast food. They can also be distracted by debating with their friends or changing the radio station (The three top reasons why teen crash cars). Those actions directly prevent them from concentrating on the road, which is able to cause collisions. Even experienced drivers can have accidents when they leave their minds and eyes off the road, and their hands off the wheel. From the research for young drivers of South Australia government, having passengers in the vehicle is a distraction and can increase the risk of a crash. Inattention was reported as the cause of 32% of fatal crashes and 44% of serious injury crashes in 2005 (Government of South Australia 2005). Another element leading to car crashes is young drivers’ inexperience on the road. During the first 500 miles of driving, teen drivers are 10 times more likely to be in auto crashes than any other age group because they are lack of training (Ten tips to keep teens safe behind the wheel 2010). At the age of 18, one gets more exposure to traffic situations and experience in making decisions, so he drives more securely and is less likely to harm others. Moreover, the longer teenagers stay on ‘P’ plates, the safer they drive due to some restrictions like no alcohol while driving as well as the speed limit of 100 km/h even where the posted speed limit is higher (Government of South Australia, n.d.). Therefore, 18 months on ‘P’ plates is a good idea to make young drivers drive more consciously. Another factor leading to the raise in the age of driving is young drivers are not mature enough to be on the road. Firstly, teenagers’ brain does not develop enough to deal with all complicated situations while driving. This is clearly shown by the fact that some parts of the brain do not develop until late teenager, like the prefrontal cortex which is the most intelligent part of the brain and known as the brain’s executive. According to Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at MIT, the prefrontal cortex does not grow fully until the age of eighteen, nineteen and twenty (Patterson 2010). Moreover, young people are those who are at an age of demanding the independence, as well as taking part in a thrilling social life. They act at night, travel at a very high speed under the influence of alcohol or drug to show off because of peer pressure. Teenagers are also  irresponsible for what they cause. With the overwhelming desire to experience new more challenging actions, they usually do whatever they like without thinking about the subsequences. This is proved by the fact that the parts of the brain responsible for controlling impulses and considering the consequences of decisions may be under development until well after teenage years (Young Drivers: The Road to Safety, 2006). Therefore, they cause an enormous number of car accidents which result in a significant amount of deaths. In Western Australia, according to the Western Australia Government, young less experienced drivers, especially from 15 to 19 years old, who consume alcohol before driving are at higher risk of crashing than people in the other age groups (Government of Western Australia 2010) In conclusion, the increase in the driving age to the age of 18 with the minimum of 18 months on ‘P’ plates has raised many for and against arguments. For young drivers, that idea is indeed irritating. In spite of that fact, it cannot be denied to help to avoid the raising number in car accidents caused by young drivers because of reckless and unconscious driving. Modern technology such as car was invented to serve the society, but young people are abusing it and causing a lot of regrettable consequences. Therefore, the law of increasing the driving age should be applied as soon as possible to urgently lessen the bad results that young drivers may cause. REFERENCES Coffey, J 6 April, 2010, One in ten Aussie teens have has a car accident, Media release, accessed 13 April 2011, . Government of South Australia, 2005, Road crash facts 2005 for South Australia, Department for transport, Energy and Infrastructure, pp.15, accessed 13 April 2011, . Government of South Australia, n.d., P1 provisional licence, Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, accessed 13 April 2011, . Government of Western Australia, July 2010, Drink driving: Information sheet, Government of Western Australia, accessed 15 April 2011, pp.1. Patterson, L Mar 29, 2010, Earl Miller says younger generation will be better multi-taskers, Earthsky, accessed 12 April 2011, . Ten tips to keep teens safe behind the wheel, Jul 21, 2010, accessed 06 April 2011, . The three top reasons why teen crash cars, n.d., Car accident advice, accessed 06 April 2011, Young Drivers: The Road to Safety, Oct, 2006, Policy Brief, accessed 06 April 2011, .

How is ICT Used in Schools and What are the Effects? Essay

Introduction I have chosen to do a report on the effect on schools and colleges. I chose this topic because I attend school every day and I can find out a lot about schools. I can also find out about the use of ICT in colleges because my mother works at a college. I will be able to find out information to include from many sources. I think finding out about the development of ICT is very interesting and I can compare the ICT facilities. I will also be able to find out information about how ICT is used in schools. To do this I am going to use a range of sources, for example, books, the Internet and people. How has ICT changed over the last 30 years? Computers can be changed for interactive learning, unlike 30 years ago. The only disadvantage to this is the pupils will not be as motivated as they would with a teacher. Computers have changed dramatically over the last few decades. Computers started appearing in schools in 1983. At this time there were very few, they were called Caltext Word Processors. They were larger, slower, had less memory, the programs were not advanced. Now there are hundreds of machines, printers, scanners etc. Modern computers have more processing power than the larger, room-sized computers, which were around in the 60’s and early 70’s. How has ICT changed in schools? ICT is used in schools for many purposes, for example, recording grades and attendance. All the information for attendance is input into the computer and a spreadsheet is made. The percentage is calculated by the computer and a new monitoring system phones parents at regular intervals during the day to enquire about absences. It keeps phoning until there is a reply. School libraries use ICT for bar code readers and the librarian can access data about who has which book, the book on loan and the return date. It can also be an efficient form of identification. For example Hillcrest, our card system is an efficient way to but dinner. The cards can also be used for library cards because they have a photo on them. This is taken from a digital camera and was input into a computer and put on to a card. This is useful because they can be used as identity, because the coloured stripe shows which year each pupil is in. The black stripe along the back of the card stores information about the name, year and the amount of money on the card. An advantage to this system is it doesn’t show who has free meal, the information is not available to other pupils. As well as ICT being available to other pupils, it is also useful for teachers, because a database can be kept of all the details of the pupil such as the date of birth, emergency contact numbers, and progress in lessons and behaviour. With ICT help can be given in other subjects. Programs such as Encarta, The Way Things Work, and especially the Internet. The Internet is helpful because pupils can access any educational site and web page filters such as The Birmingham Grid For Learning, stop offensive pages being shown. The Internet also has a useful site for teachers, where they can input students work into the site and it tells them how much has been copied of the Internet. This helps to prevent Plagiarism. Teachers can also access prepared lesson plans and schemes of work. Students can also save their work on the network, in their own area. Which can be accessed from any network computer and it is also secure because each persons account is password protected. Schools can use Digital Cameras to put a photograph into the computer to put photographs on to the website, art students can include graphics into their work and the photographs can be used for swipe cards or identification cards. What are the historical aspects of the changes in ICT in schools? Years ago, computers may only have been used in computing, but now they are used in many other subjects, for example, Maths software, Science software, homework and revision programs, and business forecasting tools. Computers have become more developed, e.g. when computers were first put into the education system there may not have been printers in schools, but now there are many in each classroom. Computers are also much more advanced, the old dot matrix printers have been replaced by Ink Jet and Laser Jet printers which give a much better quality, are better value for money because printing off large amounts of paper is cheaper. It also has a higher resolution, which means the print out is better. What are the technological breakthroughs, which have helped in schools? Breakthroughs in ICT are helpful in schools for a number of ways. Bar Code Readers are useful in the school library to check out books; Voice Recognition could be useful for teachers who do not want to type a worksheet/handout. This is an advantage for disabled people who find it difficult to use a keyboard. They could dictate a worksheet into a program called Voicepad. Scanners are a breakthrough and any picture that is input into a computer can be edited, changes in colours, change the size etc. Also, Smart Cards are a breakthrough and are used in schools as identity cards as well as library cards. What technology is used and what is available for use? What is available to buy? Is it available in schools/ colleges? Who uses it? Scanners Available Might not be available to students Printers (laser and colour) Available to teachers and students, although some schools may have to restrict printing to save on resources which is an environmental issue Students and teachers, because they need to print their work. Photocopiers Available Students may have to ask a teacher to photocopy for them Computers Always available, though the ratio between schools may vary Teachers and students will need to use them for work A school network Available to every computer in the school Teachers and students will need to have an account Internet Available to most computers Will be limited for students because of the web page filters put in place by teachers Joystick May not be available in schools, but may be available in colleges May only be available for older pupils or teachers use Touch Screen May only be available in schools for children with disabilities. Would only be used with children who can not use a keyboard Light Pen May not be available at all May be available for teachers only What effect has ICT had in schools, and how would this be done without the use of ICT? ICT has had a big effect in schools and colleges for example e-mail is sent through the phone lines and is very quick. In my mothers’ work the students e-mail their work to the lecturers and have a reply with answers and their mark. The students with an e-mail account can contact the teachers and other students even when they are on study leave. In universities, worksheets, course details/notices and other important notices are e-mailed to group e-mail addresses, for example, all first year business students or all of first year computing rather than addressing it to each individual student. Tutors set up group e-mail accounts. All university e-mail addresses can be forwarded to home e-mail accounts. If ICT were not available pupils would have to go into college to find the teachers when they could be using that time to study. They would have to keep checking noticeboards for important information. The Intranet is useful because anyone who has a username and password within the school or college can find announcements, messages and company documents. Most universities have a program called â€Å"Blackboard† where the students can find notes assignments, web page links, and past exam papers. They can also find information from off-campus. This is very important for 2nd and final year, and also placement year students. How has ICT improved facilities in the area? Interactive whiteboards enable teachers to demonstrate and not have their backs to pupils. Touch screens can be used in education centres, not necessarily just in schools. Tests should be completed on touch screen computers because they will also tell you how much time you have left and they allow you to change an answer as many times as you like. It will record the answers you give. They use these on driving theory tests. How has ICT affected the way people work? ICT can affect the place where you work because with e-mail and Intranets you can work from home. The pupils could use distance learning. This is also available for adults who enrol on Learn Direct courses. Also, working from home is convenient because you can change the hours you work, and where you work to what is more comfortable for you. This benefits you because your stress load will decrease because you can e-mail work to the person in charge. This would be useful for someone who is unable to attend school/college and needed to make up the work with homework assignments because they can e-mail the completed work to the teacher. Although, working from home would cut off contact with people you see everyday at work. Learning in school means people have advantages when they go into work, e.g. having word processing skills means people need less training in basic skills. Teachers can carry around mobile phones and laptops to keep in contact with other colleagues when they are not a t work because they are on courses. Students can type up homework, coursework and revision notes. They can research on the Internet. They can also back up pieces of work, and if the first version was lost, they could retrieve the backup copy and continue to work from that. They can also carry between home and school, this dramatically reduce the amount of paperwork the pupils have to carry to and from school. Although, they must remember to take care of the disk and not subject it to extreme heat (by putting it near radiators) or magnets because they could destroy the disk. What rules and regulations need to be put into place to use ICT? Teachers will need to restrict Internet usage and put filters on offensive pages. This prevents them from being shown to students. The Internet can be useful for students work and revision, e.g. finding past exam papers. Although using copyright material is illegal, security is not always good on the Internet because people can hack into the Internet and find anything. Using computers for a long period of time can have a health risk: radiation, backache, wrist pain and eyesight.