Question Behind the Question Essay Example for Free

Question Behind the Question Essay QBQ BY john G. Miller IQ- Incorrect questions These are the questions that often pop into our minds first and tend to be negative. They point fingers and are not helpful in resolving problems. Who dropped the ball? Why didnt they take core of that? QBQ- Better, more accountable questions. These are the questions that are often behind the IQs. You may have to really think to get these questions to the fore front of your mind. What can I do to make sure you can get that done next time? How can I support the team better? how can I adapt better? How can I better understand the situation? What solution can I provide? What can I do to get more information to make a better decision? QBQs should begin with what or how. They should contain l. They should also focus on action. When we are in the middle of a situation, we need to not be a victim. Things are always going to happen at work and in our personal lives. If we allow ourselves to become victims then we wont be able to come up with good solutions. Stress is a choice, contrary to popular belief. Stress is a result of our actions. we can choose how we react to the things going on around us. We can to choose to be positive and make decisions to make the situation better or choose to let the situation take control and stress us out. When questions lead to procrastination on the individuals part. When we are waiting on someone else to do something, we are then becoming inactive ourselves. Along with this who questions lead to blame. We must first ask the questions about what we should have done to make the who go away. People are always talking about succeeding outside the box Lets work on succeeding inside the box! Lets not focus on having more people, more money or more time. How about hitting target and goals with what we have and making the most of the situation. Another syndrome is the we/they syndrome. This is where groups, departments, regions, stores or different day parts point the fingers about their issues at other people instead of taking the accountability themselves. There are always barriers out of our control must work to become so good that we can overcome those barriers. Ownership- A commitment of the head, heart and the hands to fix the problem and never affix blame! Each person on a team is different. A great team will learn to identify the strengths of each person, capitalize on them and appreciate them. Personal accountability begins with ME! Leading by example- Being what I am by acting according to my word. Believe or leave- If you are not on the boat with your whole hear t, maybe you should not be on the boat. QBQ Serenity Prayer- God grant me the serenity to accept the people that I can not change, the courage to change the one that I can and the wisdom to know i ME! *Action, even when it leads to mistakes, brings learning and gr inaction brings stagnation and atrophy. *Action leads towards solutions. Inaction holds us in the past. *Action builds confidence; inaction doubt. Humility in the cornerstone of leadership. As a leader, Im here to help the individuals on my team reach their goals and full potential. How can I help YOU?

Marx Materialist Conception of History

Marx Materialist Conception of History What is materialist about Marxs view of history? Introduction Marx himself never fully outlined his materialist theory of history, though ‘it occurs in fragmentary form in all his early work written during the years 1843-48, and is taken for granted in his later thought’ (Berlin, 1979: 56) thus it was left to later theorists to deduce it from his early work. In order to understand what is ‘materialist’ about Karl Marx’s view of history we must first situate his theory within the context in which he worked, for in developing his materialist theory of history Marx was heavily influenced by the theories of Hegel: for not only was Hegel the dominant philosopher in Prussia at the time, but Hegel also influenced Marx in his choice of doctoral dissertation. He chose a study of the materialist philosophies of Democritus [†¦] and Epicurus, a Hellenistic philosopher who wrote under the shadow of Aristotle in precisely the same way as the Young Hegelians seemed to be under the shadow of Hegel (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 487). Indeed, Marx has often been linked to the group referred to as the ‘Young Hegelians’ (Williams, 2003: 489) and which included Bruno Baure, Max Stirner, Ludwig Feuerbach and David Strauss (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 485-489) even though Hegel was long dead by the time Marx started his studies. Believing, as I do, that it is not possible to understand Marx’s materialism without first understanding Hegel’s idealist view of history, in the first section I provide a, very brief, overview of Hegel’s philosophy of history. In the second I examine Marx’s theory of history, demonstrating how he overturns Hegel’s idealist schema so that instead of being driven by ideas for Marx history is driven by inherent tensions within the mode of production: it is class based (Berlin, 1979: 59) and therefore materialist. In the conclusion I summarise my argument, highlighting the commonalities between the thought of Hegel and Marx whilst concluding that whilst Heg el was indeed an idealist, Marx’s view of history was undeniably materialist in that it was ultimately concerned with productive relations but, nonetheless, Marx remained idealistic in his methodology due to the influence of Hegel on his work. Hegel and Historical Idealism Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), pre-eminent philosopher at Jena, Heidelberg and later Berlin Universities (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 409) came to dominate German Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century. He was himself heavily influenced by previous philosophers, including Rousseau (1712-1778), Descartes (1596-1650), Kant (1724-1804), Herder (1744-1803) and those thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment (see Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 412-421). Hegel developed his ‘comprehensive’ theory of history through an in-depth examination of religion,[1] for he believed that religion, rather than being irrational, was ‘the way in which men generally achieve the consciousness of their being’ (Hegel in Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 416). For Hegel, history is the process of the unfolding of the ‘eternal, universal Spirit’ (Berlin, 1979: 57) toward absolute knowledge or self-consciousness: that is, down through history man has been increasingly freed from nature or necessi ty via the dialectic, ‘a constant logical criticism’ (Berlin, 1979: 58; Taylor in Marx and Engels, 1985: 8). Hegel thus argued that it was possible to identify in each historical epoch a dominant set of ideas and its negation (Taylor in Marx and Engels, 1985: 8), later termed thesis and anti-thesis, the emerging synthesis being progress. His view of history is therefore teleological and stagist; he believed it to be rational and progressive, moving toward improvement in distinct steps through the actions of ‘world historical individuals’ (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 419; 480). For Hegel then, history is driven forward by ideas; it is, ultimately, idealist: ‘all change is due to the movement of the dialectic, that works by a constant logical criticism, that is, struggle against, and final self-destruction of, ways of thought and constructions of reason and feeling’ (Berlin, 1979: 58). Further, Hegel, following Rousseau and influenced by the Ancient Greeks, believed that true freedom was to be found through, rather than against the state, thus opposing the negative freedoms of liberal thought (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 415, 424; 463): he argued that law and rights are products of man’s mastery over nature, rather than a continuation of the rights of nature as in Locke (Hinchman, 1984: 25), and that therefore equality is created in society via the act of mutual recognition (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 440) and which he illustrates with the mythical encounter between the master and the slave.[2] Therefore, for Hegel, the state is not oppressive, but li berating as it presents the means by which ‘man’ is able to realise his own freedom. It was both this idealism and this freedom via the state that Marx, following Feuerbach, sought to invert. Marx and Historical Materialism So, for Hegel, history or social change was the result of tensions between different ideas, between thesis and anti-thesis. Karl Marx (1818-1883) however, via his critique of Hegel, was to overturn this theory, turning the idealist schema into a materialist one: for Marx, rather than history being the result of ideological tension it was the result of tensions between the classes (Berlin, 1979: 59): in short, he sought to invert Hegelian idealism ‘the weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons, and material forces must be overthrown by material force (Marx, 1975: 251) in that he believed it was not ideas that drives history but the relations of production (Marx, 1975: 384). In short, Marx believed that it is practical activity by real humans that counts, and not the conceptual activity of Hegel, and it is economic history that is most important of all (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 500; 513): in short his history was materialist. Following Hegel, Marx believed that the ‘history of humanity is a single, non-repetitive process, which obeys discernable laws’ (Berlin, 1979: 57), but he disagreed with Hegel’s idealism, following the critique of Hegel by Feuerbach in believing that such idealism was in fact a ‘mystification’ (Berlin, 1979: 57) he instead argued that the point of philosophy was to change the world (Marx, 1975: 244-245): ‘Philosophers have only interpreted that world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it’ (Marx in Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 512) via praxis, or practical philosophy (Bottomore, 1979: 6). Further, unlike Hegel, Marx did not believe that Religion was ‘the way in which men generally achieve the consciousness of their being’ (Hegel in Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 416), but instead was made by man; it is an ‘inverted consciousness of the world [†¦] at one and the same time the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering [†¦] it is the opium of the people’ (Marx, 1975: 244, original emphasis). He also distanced himself from Hegel’s dislike of the empirical sciences (Berlin, 1979: 67); instead his practical philosophy seeks, like the empirical sciences, to be emancipatory. He argued that, when examining each historical epoch, it was possible to isolate the key tension; that is, like Hegel who argued that thesis and anti-thesis pushed history forward, for Marx it was a key socio-economic tension which led to revolution and so pushed forward history: ‘the ancient world gave way to the medieval, slavery to feudalism, and feudalism to the industrial bourgeoisie’ (Berlin, 1979: 64). In short: ‘all history has been a history of class struggles, of struggles between dominated and dominating classes at various stages of social development’ Marx and Engels, 1985: 57). Thus, rather than the actions of the ‘world historical individuals’ of Hegel (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 480) for Marx it was the actions of an entire class in the future this was to be the proletariat that drives progress: ‘one particular class undertakes from its particular situation the universal emancipation of society (Marx, 1975: 254). Each revolution in the past, itself the result of the classes’ material circumstances, or the mode of production, had contributed to historical progress. Thus, rather than the idealist history of Hegel, for Marx history is materialist; it is the result of actual conflict in the real world, conflict which is the result of material forces (Taylor in Marx and Engles, 1985: 9; 18). Hegel’s idealism becomes, under Marx, a method (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 489) which reveals that while the state may make men formally free, this freedom is in fact only abstract (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 492-493) as people are actually embedded in the relations of production and are therefore unequal. Conclusion I have simplified Marx’s philosophy here, and thus missed the importance of thinkers such as Rousseau, Voltaire, Saint-Simon, Bauer and the Scottish Enlightenment on the development of this thought (Bottomore, 1979: 4-11; Hampsher-Monk, 2001). Also, some authors, including Althusser, have argued that Marx should be divided into early and later Marx (Williams, 2003: 491); with the early stage representing his humanist phase, whilst the later his ‘mature’ work, being where he developed his materialist, social scientific view of history (Williams, 2003: 491). In this essay, however, I have concentrated on his early work in order to demonstrate the materialist nature of his understanding of history: I have done this for two reasons; firstly, I feel that to divide Marx’s philosophy into early and late stages misses the continuity of his thought; secondly, by concentrating on his critique of Hegel, a critique to which he does not return to in his later work, I ha ve been able to demonstrate both his continuation of, and opposition to, the idealism of Hegel’s philosophy of history: for while Marx undeniably sought to overturn Hegelian philosophy, ‘the framework of the new theory is undeviatingly Hegelian’ (Berlin, 1979: 57). Indeed, recent scholarship appears to stress the continuity between Marx’s and Hegel’s thought: ‘Marx and Hegel can be usefully read as sharing a common emancipatory theory of human social history, tempering any putative epistemological break between them’ (Williams, 2003; 495-495). Both believed that poverty was the result of commercial society, rather that the result of misfortune or individual failings and that such poverty entails alienation (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 456-457); both are positive when describing organizations in which men pursue common goals, for Hegel via the corporation (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 459) for Marx via the establishment of communism (Marx and Engles, 1 985). However, whereas for Hegel history was driven forward by ideas and the actions of ‘world historical individuals’ (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 480), for Marx it was to be the actions of an entire class, the proletariat, that would drive progress and bring about communism and whilst both theorists share a concern with alienation, for Marx this alienation is the result of material forces: ‘the process by which man creates things out of nature, comes to be dominated by those creations, but will finally overcome that alienation through recovering control of his own (material) creations’ (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 499). For Marx, therefore, history is ultimately materialist. Bibliography Berlin, Isaiah (1979 [1973]) ‘Historical Materialism’, Karl Marx, Bottomore, Tom (Ed.), Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 56-68. Bottomore, Tom (1979 [1973]) ‘Introduction’, Karl Marx, Bottomore, Tom (Ed.), Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 4-42. Hampsher-Monk, Iain (2001 [1992]) ‘G.W.F. Hegel’ and ‘Karl Marx’, A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 409-482; 483-561. Hinchman, Lewis P (1984) ‘The Origins of Human Rights: A Hegelian Perspective’, The Western Political Quarterly, Vol.37, No. 1, pp. 7-31. Marx, Karl and Engles, Friedrich (1985 [1888]) The Communist Manifesto, Introduced by Taylor, A.J.P. (Ed.), Moore, Samuel (Trans.), London: Penguin Classics. Marx, Karl (1975) ‘A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction (1843-4)’ and ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts’, Early Writings, Colletti, Lucio (Ed.), Livingstone, Rodney and Benton, Gregory (Trans.), London: Penguin, pp. 243-257; 279-400. Williams, Michael (2003) ‘Review Article: Marx and Hegel: New Scholarship, Continuing Questions’, Science and Society, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 489-496. 1 Footnotes [1] Art, religion and philosophy all represented, for Hegel, the development of the consciousness, with art being intuition in material form, religion ‘truth in a veil’, while philosophy was self-reflection (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 476). [2] In this encounter, which is a life and death struggle for mutual recognition, the loser becomes the ‘slave’ as he submits to the others will rather than face death, while the winner becomes the ‘master’: he has obtained the recognition of the slave but only by becoming dependant on the slaves labour. The slave becomes a labourer, but recognises his own worth through his own labour: he experiences self-hood through his impact on the physical world. The master’s selfhood is confirmed by the slave’s submission, but it is a negative identity; in order to attain true self-hood the master must recognise the other as equal. Society is thus the result of mutual recognition (see Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 426-427; Hinchman, 1984).

Hindu Rituals Essay -- Hinduism Hindu Religion Essays

Hindu Rituals The model worshiper for the Hindu religion would be one that expresses one's devotion in every action that they take. Though the this is true in most religion's the Hindu religion is different in that rituals, festivals and other such type of practice are not the same as worship in the Hindu religion. Worship only occurs at a special time, place and occasion. As in the religion's like s worship and ritual are performed mostly at the same time. The Hindu religion has many different types of rituals that are performed for different occasions. Some of the rituals can only be performed by certain social classes. Many of the rituals that take place can be found in the Vedic literature. The majority of the rituals are centered around sacrificial fires which are called yajna. Since the Hindu religion does not have a specific place nor time to worship many of them are done at temporary altars, there are not any types of deities, though there must be Brahmin priests to perform the ceremony. Majority of the rituals only involve the caste system, which is one of the highest social classes. The yajna ritual can be for two purposes, the first type is for the general welfare of a kingdom or for the world as a whole. The second purpose for the yajna is for the good of the household. Though the rituals can also mean different things for example the person who may want the ritual done for the good of his household may also want there to be good for the world as well. The only real difference between these two types of rituals is that the ritual for welfare of the world, or for the general public is more complex, longer and more expensive then that of the good of the household ritual. Another type of ritual that takes ... ...ey need to participate in the sacred power. Hinduism has many different types of rituals that serve for different purposes, social system and occasion. Some rituals like the yajna are for that of the general good of the world or their households. There is the puja in which a devotee finds strength in that of a god or goddess. Others are there to help the deceased get to that of the world of the dead. There are pilgrimages in which worshippers go to a destination and become a being of sacred power or become closer to it. Many Christians do not agree with the Hindu religion though if you look closely at their rituals and belief system it really is not that far off from that of Christianity. Hindu's believe that there should be good for the world, they believe in some form of god and they take pilgrimages just as many Christian people believe or participate in.

The Necessity of Positive and Normative Economics :: essays papers

The Necessity of Positive and Normative Economics Keynes once wrote: â€Å"The object of a positive science is the establishment of uniformities, of a normative science the determination of ideals.† (Blaug, 122) This is the dichotomy that economists recognize when approaching their field of study. The social scientist must recognize both positive and normative distinctions, means and ends, as important factors of fruitful research. Secondly, they must clearly express the conditions and assumption which theories holds in order for economics to be useful for society. Positive science is that which is a fact of nature or a fact by definition. In mathematics this is the difference between the knowledge that the angles of a triangle sum to 180 degrees, and the definition of a triangle as a two dimensional polygon with 3 sides. In economics, such facts of knowledge include that money is a store of value, or facts of definition that the UN’s Human Development Index ranks Canada above Mexico. These are all positive facts. Whether they rely or are associated with values does not reduce their factualness to a normative realm. One cannot refute positive statements by claiming they are arrived at due to values. It is up to normative science to judge the value of the HDI, a positive fact, and not mistake this action as denying the existence of the HDI. This is probably better stated with a topic from macroeconomics. Suppose that some economists agree that inflation produces the social cost of having to adjust prices to new levels. This is a completely positive statement. As long as every term has been clearly defined, one can understand the relation between inflation (as defined) and cost (as defined). Yes, the definitions have been chosen based on specific values, but this does not disaffirm the statement as a true reflection of reality. Suppose we make a true statement which denies that inflation produces this social cost, by defining inflation or the cost differently. The old positive fact of reality that the first statement asserted has not changed. By changing definitions, we have merely created a new positive statement. A statement is a true positive fact, according to Weston, when it â€Å"is consistent with definitions and axioms that define the system. We are not necessarily saying anything about what is true outside of that system.

Digital Divide Essay example -- Access to Technology, Gender Roles

The following comment was written by an anonymous author in response to the digital divide that is so evident in our society today. â€Å"Power is necessarily unequal when one group knows what’s going on and the other group does not. And the powerless, lacking information as they do, almost necessarily function at the bottom of the economic and political pyramid of almost any society† (Racial divide,2010). Whether it is gender, racial, economic or disability related, our nation is segregated by the haves and the have-nots. Digital Divide defined What is meant by Digital Divide? The Digital Divide is the lack of ability for certain groups, usually socio-economic and cultural, to access necessary information and communication technology (ICT) (Gorski, 2001). The lack of access usually includes the unavailability to computer and internet services. As describe by Gorski (2001), the digital divide is further subdivided by gender, race, income and disabilities. Gender With the increase of availability of access to technology in society today, women are still lagging behind their male counterparts (Conversations for a Better World, 2010). Why is this still happening in the Twenty-first Century? Globally, the root cause is the cultural treatment of women. In many cultures worldwide, women are denied access to education let alone technology. Even if they are given the opportunity to use a computer, most often they lack the computer skills to effectively navigate most websites (Digital Gender Divide, n.d.). In America and other developed countries, the digital divide that separates gender is much narrower, and often equal to that of males, depending on the survey. If a digital divide does separate the genders in developed n... .... In summary, the Digital Divide is real and has placed a severe gap between certain groups of people in the American culture. The Land of Opportunity is not necessarily made available to all. In her CNet article, Sonia Arrison (2002), provides a unique perspective as to the reason behind the gap. â€Å"The digital divide is not a crisis, and it is certainly not the civil liberties issue of the 21st century. The real issues are the sorry state of education and the push to raise the taxes that affect lower income families most† (Arrison, 2002). Arrison states that if the Government could improve the education in the American schools and stop luxury taxes on so many services, the Digital Divide could easily be narrowed. By narrowing the divide, more families could afford Internet if so desired, and students could have access to a better education.

Intergroup Relations: Types of Prejudice

Types of Prejudice PSY322 Intergroup Relations Jonathan Cadieux Outline †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Model of Prejudice Sexism Overweight Sexual Orientation Ageism Fiske Prejudice Model ? 4 Types of Groups ? Based on Competence and Warmth ? Competence: perceived group status ? Warmth: perceived competition ? Group 1: Incompetent but warm ? Low status, not competitive ? Results in Paternalistic Prejudice ? Group 2: Incompetent and not warm – Low status, competitive – Results in Contemptuous Prejudice Group 3: Competent but not warm – High status, competitive – Results in Envious Prejudice Group 4: Competent and warm – High status, not competitive – Results in Admiration ? Fiske Prejudice Model Competence Envious Prejudice Jews, Asians, Feminists, Wealthy people Warmth High Admiration In-group, Close allies Low High Welfare recipients, Poor people Contemptuous Prejudice Elderly, Disabled, Housewives Low Paternalistic Prejudice What A bout Working Moms? Competence Envious Prejudice Jews, Asians, Feminists, Wealthy people Warmth High Admiration In-group, Close allies Low High Welfare recipients, Poor people Contemptuous Prejudice Elderly, Disabled, HousewivesLow Paternalistic Prejudice Stereotypes of Working Moms Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick (2004) †¢ How are working moms viewed compared to working dads and working women without children? †¢ Ps rated fictitious targets – Competence, warmth, likelihood of professional rewards – Target: either male/female with a child or not †¢ Predictions from Fiske Prejudice Model – Working moms would be viewed as housewives are viewed: warm & incompetent – Working moms: warmer but less competent than working women without kids – Fewer professional rewards for working moms Stereotypes of Working MomsCuddy, Fiske, & Glick (2004) Gender Gap in the Workplace †¢ Women accounted for only 14. 4% of executive positions – Source: 2010 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors and the 2010 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners †¢ Women continue to earn less than men. For example, female managers earned 81 cents for every dollar earned by male managers in 2007 (Source: U. S. Govt Acctountability Office) On the other hand†¦ Sexism and gender roles †¢ Differences in wages are due to sexism, but this appears to operate differently than through overt discrimination. Sexism in the definition of gender roles seem to be at the root of discrepancies in wages. †¢ Potential solutions : – Encouraging women to enter higher paying fields (currently â€Å"male-dominated†) †¢ Stereotype threat? – Encouraging more equitable share of household chores and family caretaking . †¢ Maternity = Paternity leaves? Sexism †¢ Definition †¢ Types of sexism – Old-fashioned †¢ Endorse traditional gender roles & gender stereotypes à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Believe in different treatment of men & women – Modern †¢ Less blatant; denial of discrimination against women †¢ Nonsupport of programs & legislation to help women Benevolent vs. Hostile †¢ Benevolent: positive but stereotyped views; paternalistic †¢ Hostile: negative attitudes; belief in inferiority Old-fashioned sexism Old fashioned sexism For those of you who think it was half a century ago†¦ For those of you who think it was half a century ago†¦ Stigma of Overweight †¢ Overweight stereotype – Lazy, lack self-control, unattractive, slow †¢ Stigma is experienced differently – Seen as controllable †¢ Outcomes for overweight – Held accountable for negative outcomes – More openly derogated – Prejudiced against own group Well-being of the Overweight Quinn & Crocker (1999) Exp. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Role of Protestant Ethic (PE) Implications for overweight women Exp. 1: Correlationa l Study Independent Variables – Protestant Ethic, weight status (normal, somewhat overweight, very overweight) †¢ Dependent Variable: well-being Quinn & Crocker (1999) Exp. 1 Results Well-being of the Overweight Quinn & Crocker (1999) Exp. 2 †¢ Primed PE or inclusion – Mood effects of media messages – Read paragraph that primed PE or inclusion – Read another article that discussed negative social effects of being overweight †¢ Independent Variables – Prime condition, weight status (normal, overweight) Dependent Variables: well-being (post – pre), appearance SE (post only) Quinn & Crocker (1999): Psychological Well-Being Exp. 2: Well-being 1. 5 1 0. 5 Normal Weight Overweight 0 -0. 5 -1 -1. 5 Protestant Ethic Prime Inclusive Prime Quinn & Crocker (1999): Appearance Self-Esteem Exp. 2: Appearance Self-Esteem 3. 6 3. 5 3. 4 3. 3 3. 2 3. 1 3 2. 9 2. 8 2. 7 Normal Weight Overweight Protestant Ethic Prime Inclusive Prime Obesity in Canada Antigay Prejudice †¢ Forms of discrimination – Legal rights, hate crimes †¢ Heterosexism †¢ Current attitudes – Sex differences – Characteristics of high prejudicedAntigay prejudice in the Real World †¢ ‘The Voice’ Coach Makes â€Å"anti-gay† slur 34-year old The Voice Coach and country singer, Blake Shelton has gotten himself into hot water for making an anti-gay slur. It all started on Tuesday, when Shelton, Tweeted his own version of Shania Twain’s Any Mine of Mine: †Any man that tries touching my behind, he’s gonna be a beaten, bleedin’, heaving kind of guy. † Antigay prejudice in the Real World †¢ Tracy Morgan Apologizes for Anti-Gay Slurs †¢ (†¦)the alleged remarks during the show included how he would react violently if his son were gay and used â€Å"a gay oice,† that the gay community should â€Å"not be whining about something as insignificant as bull ying,† and he allegedly added, â€Å"Gay is something that kids learn from the media and programming. † Antigay prejudice in the Real World †¢ Gay rights group to launch complaint over ‘homophobic' comments by RDS (TV Sports) analysts †¢ Mailhot, a former provincial assistant deputy minister, and Goldberg, were discussing the skating of Johnny Weir, the flamboyant 23-year-old and three -time U. S. champion . – â€Å"This may not be politically correct, but do you think he lost points due to his costume and his body language? – â€Å"They'll think all the boys who skate will end up like him,† he said. â€Å"It sets a bad example. † – â€Å"We should make him (Weir) pass a gender test at this point,† Goldberg said, and Mailhot then jokingly suggested Weir should compete in the women's competition. Impact of Antigay prejudice †¢ Suicide risks – Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey 2007). – More than 1/3 of LGB youth report having made a suicide attempt (D’Augelli AR – Clinical Child Psychiatry and Psychology 2002) LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are more than 8 times as likely to have attempted suicide than LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection (Ryan C, Huebner D, et al. , 2009) – Visit http://www. thetrevorproject. org/ for more info on this issue. Canadian Students’ Attitudes toward Homosexuals (Schellenberg, Hirt, & Sears, 1999) †¢ University of Windsor students †¢ Completed short version of Attitudes toward Lesbians & Men scale – E. g. â€Å"Female homosexuality is a sin†, â€Å"I think male homosexuals are disgusting† †¢ Did attitudes vary by: – Gender, faculty, year in school? Predictions – Science or Business < Arts & Social Science – Men < W omen – 1st Year < 4th Year Canadian Students’ Attitudes toward Homosexuals (Schellenberg, Hirt, & Sears, 1999) Canadian Students’ Attitudes toward Homosexuals (Schellenberg, Hirt, & Sears, 1999) Stereotype Threat and Sexual Orientation Bosson, Haymovitz, & Pinel (2004) †¢ Gay and heterosexual male undergrads †¢ Primed sexual orientation or not †¢ Interacted with 4-6 year old children for 5 min – Interaction videotaped and coded for: †¢ Non-verbal anxiety †¢ Childcare performance †¢ Prediction? Non-verbal Anxiety Bosson et al. 2004) Childcare Performance Bosson et al. (2004) How can we change this? †¢ One way could be by confronting anti-gay behaviour/speech whenever we see/hear it. CONFRONTATION OF PREJUDICE †¢ â€Å"Verbally or nonverbally expressing one’s dissatisfaction with prejudicial and discriminatory treatment to the person who is responsible for making the remark or behavior ’’ (Shelto n, Richeson, Salvatore, & Hill, 2006, p. 67). Confrontation of Prejudice – Previous Work †¢ Almost exclusively with Sexism and Racism confrontation †¢ Little work done with anti-gay prejudice Confrontation of racial and gender biasCzopp, Monteith (2003) Study 2 †¢ Imagined setting (read scenario) †¢ IV : Racist remark or Sexist remark †¢ Testing for moderating role of the race or gender of the person confronting. Results Czopp, Monteith (2003) PERSUASIVE LIKEABLE THREAT GUILT AND NEG. SELF PERSUASIVE LIKEABLE THREAT Results Czopp, Monteith (2003) PERSUASIVE LIKEABLE THREAT GUILT AND NEG. SELF PERSUASIVE LIKEABLE THREAT Results Czopp, Monteith (2003) GUILT AND NEG. SELF Confrontation of racial and gender bias Czopp, Monteith (2003) †¢ General conclusion – Sexism and racism not equal – Non-target group members have a unique pportunity for prejudice reduction Other Findings Czopp, Monteith (2006), Rasinski, Czopp (2010) LIKEABLE LIKEAB LE Other Findings †¢ Confrontation is effective : reduces further biased responses in all participants (Czopp, Monteith, Mark, 2006) †¢ Witnesses rate non-target confronters as more persuasive, and more positive than target confronters (Rasinski & Czopp, 2010) Cadieux & Chasteen (2013) †¢ 136 Participants recruited from PSY100 (47 males, 89 females; Age M=18. 9, SD=1. 92) †¢ Read a script of an IM chat log and were told that we are looking at how social media affects everyday communication Scripts included either an antigay comment that : 1) 2) †¢ The confronter was either gay, straight, or did not have his orientation divulged and this was hinted to the participant on a profile page (Facebook) : †¢ A) †¢ B) †¢ C) †¢ Profiles were pilot tested to get baseline evaluations of likeability, masculinity, femininity, attractiveness, etc. Experimental conditions Sexual orientation Scenario – Straight – Comment WITH Confrontation â €“ Gay – Comment WITHOUT Confrontation – Undisclosed Results MAIN EFFECT (c) F(1,130)=3. 77, p=. 05 ? 2=. 028 Results MAIN EFFECT (o) F(2,130)=76. 31, p

Indiana High School Math Teaching

â€Å"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called â€Å"truth. â€Å"† ~Dan Rather This research paper was written to educate you and myself on various topics on becoming a high school math teacher. I enrolled at Ashford University to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in order to enter the transition to teaching program. This paper has allowed me to acquire pertinent and vital information about my future career choice. My research was done on the status of high school math teachers, as well as students, in Indiana. This paper will educate you on Indiana’s High School mathematics graduation requirements, percentage of math students passing these requirements, teachers’ salaries, and the effect that a minority teacher should have on minority students. To graduate High school in Indiana a student must complete the Core 40 requirements set by the state. These requirements were implemented in 2006. There are four different diplomas that a high school student in the state of Indiana could receive upon completing the Core 40 requirements: General, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, and Core 40 with Technical Honors (Indiana Core 40, 2006). Even after completing the courses required for the Core 40 High School students in the state of Indiana must pass an exam to â€Å"qualify† for graduation. This exam is referred to as the GQE (Indiana Core 40, 2006 ). Indiana has added a few nice provisions to this legislation to help out students who may simply not be good test takers, or for those who are ready to work and do not need the required math skills for their work. These provisions, which are found on the Indiana Department of Education website, are referred to as the â€Å"Evidence-based waiver† and the â€Å"Work readiness waiver. The evidence-based waiver is for those students who excel in the classroom, but have a hard time with tests. This provision, among other things, allows teachers to confirm that the student knows what has been taught in class and that they have kept up their attendance as well. The work readiness waiver is for those students who have completed the Core 40 coursework as well as a completed a Career Exploration Internship. This simply means that the student has done the work that was required of them and that they are, in fact, ready to enter the workforce even though they may not have passed the GQE. Both provisions have provided students additional opportunities to complete their Indiana High School Math requirements. After learning about the requirements to pass math in the state of Indiana I wanted to take a look at the percentage of passing students to see if the percentage had improved since the Core 40 and GQE was put in place. Since there had been a curriculum change put into place, I wanted to see if the students were being positively affected by this change. Although I could not find the passing percentage for 12th graders, which is what I wanted to evaluate, I was able to find the percentage of 10th graders that passed from 2006-2009. I found that there was a quite a jump in the percentage of passing students from the year ’06-’07 to the year ’07-’08; it went from 66% to 72% (Annual Performance Report , 2009). However, the following year the same increased percentage did not occur. Instead the Indiana 10th grade percentage of students passing their GQE went down two percentage points. The numbers for the ’09-’10 year in Indiana have not yet been released, but I hope to find that these percentages were on the rise and did not follow suit from the previous year. Based on these statistics I am unable to see the impact that the Core 40 was designed to have on Indiana’s High School math students. The new legislation has only been in place for a few years, so there is still time for this to have a positive effect on the students and their graduation rates. Looking at these statistics raised a question for me, â€Å"How do you measure a teacher’s worth? Well, based on some research I can tell you that the average high school teacher’s salary has been on a steady incline. Within the last 35 years the average public school teacher’s salary has went from $11,165 for the school year of 1974-1975 to $50,488 for the school year of 2009-2010(Teacher Salary, 2007). The increases in wages have been well over the national inflation rate also. As a future teacher this research shows me that the state is recognizing the hard work that its teachers are putting nto their students and the government is trying to retain quality teachers. The monetary compensation is one valuable form of measuring a teacher worth, but there’s still the intangibles of the career and that is community worth. I have found through conversations with family and friends who are educators, no one teaches for the money. However, it is reassuring to see that I will be able to have a career that I am happy with and be able to support my family at the same time. I was drawn to this research topic because of my background and love for coaching. As a coach you are a teacher, counselor, and father. As a minority I believe I will be able to relate to my Afro-American students better. In my experiences I have found it easier to relate to students of the same ethnicity or socioeconomic backgrounds. Bandura states that learning may occur as a result of watching someone else perform some action and experience reinforcement or punishment (Boyd and Bee, 2006). I served as a role model for my student athletes by showing them various life decisions and how to make the correct choices when they arouse. As a male I have been a father figure to a lot of young males. My advice has been used as education for life situations and life skills. I saw the self efficacy as a huge challenge in many young and economically challenged Afro-American males and females. Bandura defines self efficacy as the belief in one’s ability to perform some action or to control one’s behavior or environment, to reach some goal or to make something happen ( Boyd and Bee, 2006). Many students had the attitude that they couldn’t overcome the obstacles that life had placed in front of them. Many social problems that the students faced were looked at as obstacles that were to hard overcome. I was able to help one particular student with a life altering experience and persuade him to not give up on his dreams. This young man had the opportunity to obtain a full athletic scholarship to a division one school for football, however numerous obstacles surrounded this young athlete, but none were greater than his lack of mathematical aptitude. I realized with working with this student that all of my social and ethical skills teaching wouldn’t benefit him if he couldn’t not pass his mathematical requirements to graduate high school and also pass college entrance exams. I hope that someday I will be in this situation again and I will be able to help other student’s overcome what many people see as an adversity. The adversity I am speaking of is being able to complete their math requirements so that they may receive their high school diploma. One of the main reasons I have decided to become an educator is to help young students’ poor outlook on their futures. As a teacher I will receive tremendous gratification watching a student reach his or her full potential. Watching students that never believed in themselves enough to graduate walk across the stage during graduation and listen to the speaker announce their future plans to attend a university or college is something that cannot be matched. The social impact of this job is immeasurable and the joy that I will receive from the profession will last a life time. In conclusion, as a minority high school teacher I should be able to model correct life skills and teach proficient math skills to my students that will create a greater sense of self efficacy in them. After researching Indiana’s High School mathematic graduation requirements, the percentage of students passing math requirements, and teachers’ salaries, I have found that I will be teaching in a state that has transformed its educational curriculum and requirements to produce more societal ready students, whether they join the workforce or the campus. I will also be working for a state that has a proven track record of monetarily backing its educators and keeping them out of poverty. With any luck the salaries will continue to rise with the educational requirements of the students that we must prepare for the future. Lastly, I will have a career that will keep this great nation strong and also provide me with a great sense of community pride.