Discuss Marxism and Functuionalism and Compare

Compare Marxist and Functionalist Perspectives Compare and Contrast Functionalist and Marxist Perspectives Sociology is a systematic way of studying the social world. It seeks to discover the causes and affects of intercommunication and interaction that arise in social relations. â€Å"The science of society† was developed as a discipline in the 19th Century by Auguste Compte, a French philosopher. For him, common sense and the obvious would not suffice; he wanted to build scientific theories based on critical awareness of society. The two main stems of sociological concepts are Positivism and Phenomenology. Both Functionalism and Marxism are Positivist theories. This means that philosophies are built by using scientific research methods to create structural perspectives. Positivism is called macro sociology because it looks at society holistically; it also emphasises the power of Society and how this effects man’s behaviour. Positivism was a philosophy from the Modern Era when society was industrial, England’s culture untolerating, the mass media conservative and pro-establishment. Role in society was extremely important; it was traditional and genders specific. Functionalism provided a static view of society. It was rooted in the work of Emile Durkheim, a French Sociologist and during the later stages, Talcott Parsons. Although functionalism was not a dominant theoretical perspective in sociology until the 1940s and 1950s, it first emerged during the 19th Century. Marxism was founded by a German philosopher, economist and sociologist, Karl Marx. Fredrich Engels also contributed to development the works. Marxism offered a radical alternative to the functionalism perspective and was developed in the 1970s. Both perspectives of Marx and Durkheim, aspired for a Utopian society. Functionalism views society like a biological organism. The parts or institutions of the organism or society function appropriately to ensure the whole structure works efficiently and effectively. The whole has greater power than the individual parts. The three main aims and objectives of functionalism are to maintain order, stability and equilibrium in society. Marxism became increasingly influential due to; the decline in functionalism, its promise to provide answers (which functionalism did not) and its mood reflected that of the times. It originally consisted of three related ideas: a philosophical view of man, a theory of history and an economic and political program. The basic principal was that production equals social enterprise. Man needs to produce food, materials, etc†¦ for survival, and in doing so; man enters into relations with other members of society. From a functionalist perspective, the main parts of society (its institutions such as education, religion and the family) are the foundations for social structure. These institutions have interconnected roles and interrelated norms to form a complete system. All of the institutions have a role to meet the functional prerequisites (society’s basic needs). Integration between the parts is necessary so therefor integration is a functional prerequisites in itself. Social relations are organised, in result of values providing general guidelines for behaviour. Functionalist, Talcott Parsons set out four functional prerequisites essential for society: Goal Attainment- setting goals, e. g. Government/Education, Adaptation- development of material world, e. g. Mass Media/Industry, Integration- promoting harmony and social solidarity, e. g. Religion/Family, Latency- meeting individual needs to satisfy demand, e. g. Family/Mass Media. From a Marxist view, the force of production is the collective term for all things needed for production. The means of production are those parts of production which can be legally owned (land, machinery, and slaves†¦ . Society’s infrastructure was made up of the forces of production plus the social relations. The Superstructure includes the institutions of society and is shaped by the infrastructure. This therefor means that the institutions are primarily determined by economic factors. Marxism relates class not to income or family like functionalism does, instead it is measured on how much land, mach inery†¦ is owned and controlled- so it depends on the means of production. The person(s) who had the most means of production are the ruling class. The ruling class produces the dominant ideas in society. Their domination relies heavily on the exploitation and oppression of others. The employer to employee relationship of exploitation is concealed by ideology. Some accept the ruling class conflict as natural and so are lulled into false consciousness. Functionalism relies on social stratification. Kingsley Davis, an American Sociologist and Demographer said â€Å"As a functioning mechanism society must distribute its members in social positions and induce them to perform the duties of these positions†. Without this casting of society’s members, the institutions would be unbalanced and equilibrium could not be reached. Functionalism sees this as a positive and inevitable aspect of society. In Marxism, the lower classes are exploited because they can be. Social change in Functionalism occurs when one of the institutions alters in some way. These changes only come about when society requests it. These changes in institutions cause society to behave, inevitably different. Marx believed all historical societies contain basic contradictions: the exploitation of one social group by another. Perhaps in a way, Marxism is perhaps a little more realistic than functionalism. Therefor, they cannot survive in the existing form. The major frictions are between the forces and the relations of production. A great deal of the wealth, produced by the workforce is appropriated in the forms of profit by the Capitalists- the ruling class. The wages of the workers are not equivalent to the wealth they produce and so the ruling class was exploiting and oppressing the working class. Marx predicted a new and final epoch. A society that would have complete equality. There would be no new force of production but the relations of production will be transformed. The ownership of production would be collective, as the members of society would share the wealth. The ruling class would no longer exploit or oppress the workers. It is interesting how Functionalists see people as unequal a positive thing and Marxists believe it a negative one. Functionalism fails to recognise social change, contrasting to Marxism which recognises and aspires to it. It is a conservative ideology which ignores the dysfunction’s and assumes every institution is positive for society. Marxism, on the other hand, accepts conflict and the arising social problems. The perspective tries to understand how to overcome societies problems by looking back over history and learning from past mistakes. Functionalists assume that everyone in society is in agreement and shares norms. It believes in the power of the institutions to socialise its members so well that deviance is rare. However, every society has deviants and so this statement is a little too confident. Functionalism shows us clearly the primacy of culture and socialisation via the social institution. Marxism underestimated the resilience of Capitalism, for example, Americas tragedy on the 11th September 2001.

Literature research Essay

I found a lot of valuable information from doing my literature research. I was able to see that many people have different answers on how to combat bullying. I also found out very interesting stats on bullying over the past 3 years. They showed me that each year there was an increasing amount of children calling child line about bullying issues compared to the previous years. This is statistical evidence to support my hypothesis, â€Å"bullying is spiralling out of control†. If I had been able to conduct my interview my results would have been much more valid. Valid data is a true picture of what is being measured. From the interview that I did conduct I was able to look at the views of a head teacher who had been in education for many years so was able to see if bullying really was getting worse. She believes that bullying hasn’t got any worse it is just society now has a greater awareness of it. She also says as there is now much more media coverage that gives young people ideas to do different things to people to get attention. This would refute my hypothesis but as this is of only one persons view it is not as valid as I would like. When conducting my questionnaires I had 10 participants for the adult questionnaire and 10 participants for the children’s questionnaire. This was fairly small scale therefore making it lass valid. If I had a longer period of time I would be able to get much more respondents and get them from a wider area making my results more valid and more reliable My results from the adults questionnaire showed me that all the respondents believe that bullying isn’t spiralling out of control its just society has a greater awareness of it. 70% of my respondents were also aware of bullying when they were at school. My questionnaires that I received from the children showed me that they have a lot of knowledge on the subject. All of the children said that bullying had been around for a long time and 0ver half of them thought that it was getting worse. This could be due to the fact that as the get older they are starting to experience more bullying situations and see this as it is due to the fact that bullying is getting worse. In conclusion my results both support my hypothesis ( bullying is spiralling out of control) and refute it. I found supporting evidence for both of these so I cant say which one I believe is true. My questionnaires and interview are supporting evidence for my hypothesis but the literature research shows me strong evidence to refute it especially the statistical evidence I found. Therefore I cant conclude from my research that bullying is spiralling out of control but it is a strong possibility that society is now more aware of it which may make bullying look like it is spiralling out of control with all the recent media attention there has been. If I repeated my research project to make it more valid and reliable I would do a longitudinal survey. With these I would be able to analyse the changes of bullying and make comparisons over time making the results I already have more reliable as I would be able to back them up with these repeated results. I would be able to gain a lot of quantitative data which would enable me to produce more reliable stats and help me to analyse statistical data over a longer period of time. I could also use supervised questionnaires as I would then know that the person that I wanted to fill in the questionnaire actually did making them more valid. A way of getting more respondents to fill my questionnaire within the short space of time that I would have would be to use postal questionnaires. I could cheaply reach a large amount of people making my results more valid. The problem with these is that they have a low response rate (less than 50%). I could also look at bullying from a different angle, to gain a better understanding of it. I could look more at the types of bullying that happen and the different effects it has on the victims. This could give me a deeper insight into the different aspects of bullying and could possibly show me ways in which bullying could be stopped. Bibliography   http://news.bbc.co.uk

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 14

Business Law - Essay Example ct to gain the protection of the law, it must satisfy the element of offer, acceptance, purpose to create legal representation, and there must be a consideration. Under the element of offer, a promisor invites a promisee to a responsibility and he makes it in such a way that he expects an acceptance from the promisee1. For example, person A offers to rent out his building to person X, for business purposes. In this example, â€Å"responsibility† is denoted by the building that person A wants to rent to person X, for business purposes. In acceptance, a promisee agrees to take up the responsibility offered by the promisor. For example, after person A offered to rent out his building to person X, person X agree to become a tenant under the conditions offered. This amounts to acceptance. For a contract to exist, it must be legally binding document. It must be recognizable by the law, and its provision acceptable by the legal principles of the nation. Finally, a valid contract must have some values exchanged, and this is termed as consideration. For instance, take our case above. He can pay either in cash, or through some valuable products. This paper also identifies the public, social and business issues that influenced the courts in their rulings. This paper has a conclusion, which is a summary of the main points addressed2. One key fact that relates to the enforceability of a contract is whether there is an element of substantial performance within a contract. This fact is better portrayed in the case involving, Jacob and Young vs. Kent (1921). In this case, the plaintiff did not build the house as per the contractual agreement with the defendant. However, the portion left was minimal, and redoing the work would have meant demolishing a large percentage of the whole building, and on this basis, the plaintiff refused to re-do it. The plaintiff won the case, as the court ruled that when there is a defect in contract performance, and it is minimal, then the concept of

Communication of corporate social responsibility Annotated Bibliography

Communication of corporate social responsibility - Annotated Bibliography Example Becker-Olsen, K., Taylor, C., Hill, R.P., and Yalcinkaya, G. (2011). A cross-cultural examination of corporate social responsibility marketing communications in Mexico and the United States: strategies for global brands. Journal of International Marketing, 19 (2), 30-44. The study highlighted the impact of corporate social responsibility communications on the perceptions of organizations along with their brands among consumers in two distinct cultures. It was primarily assumed that the global brand positioning theory is widely applicable, explaining that consumers’ perceptions can be improved if the brand is considered as global. On the whole, CSR communication can bring about positive outcomes for firms; multinational companies that highlight global CSR initiatives and efforts can bring about favorable perceptions among the public. Nonetheless, there is still a great need to consider the significance of certain needs based on local values and experiences. Bhattacharya, C., and Sen, S. (2004). Doing better at doing good: when, why, and how consumers respond to corporate social initiatives. California Management Review, 47 (1), 9-25. As the paper highlighted the impact of corporate social responsibility communication on the public, findings showed that consumers are more sensitive and demonstrate greater reactions towards negative CSR information compared to positive CSR information.... Through the use of content analysis methodology, it was found out that although Spanish companies associated CSR with great importance, usage of websites as a means of communication was not entirely effective. Information was limited regarding the concept of CSR as well the companies’ engagement with environmental and social initiatives, thus the need to further look into the type, quality, and quantity of CSR information that should be communicated through websites. Chaudri, V., and Wang, J. (2007). Communicating corporate social responsibility on the internet: a case study of the top 100 information technology companies in India. Management Communication Quarterly, 21 (2), 232-247. The paper looked into the communication of CSR carried out by the top 100 Information Technology (IT) organizations in India in relation to their use of websites. Specifically, the study examined the importance of communication, scope of information, and presentation style. Findings showed that th ere are only a small number of companies that integrate CSR information in their websites. Moreover, many of these companies do not utilize their websites with regards to the style and amount of CSR communication. Although CSR communication is not necessarily absent in IT companies in India, findings demonstrated there is inadequate CSR communication. David, P., Kline, S., and Dai, Y. (2005). Corporate social responsibility practices, corporate identity, and purchase intention: a dual-process model. The literature review of the study emphasized the importance of communication as a means of promoting the program as well as its performance to stakeholders. It was also asserted that initiatives for CSR communication can affect

Cultural Differences and People Management Essay - 1

Cultural Differences and People Management - Essay Example As the paper stresses the current situation is showing a change in the mind set and work domain involving women; from a survey conducted by the ORC worldwide, as of 2008, the ratio of men to women assigned to work overseas was 83.5: 16.5, the number being quite low for women, but a growth of 2.5 % from the previous survey conducted in 2002. Some would consider it fun to move into a new place, but the reality dawns on them once they are there. International mobility and repatriation requires a lot of resources, ranging from time for planning to financial support, to facilitate smooth transit into the new environment. Apart from work purposes for mobility, the other large group who feel the pressure of international mobility are the vast number of international exchange students. The jostle for any of these groups extends from issues of administrative management dealing with the countries of destination, and expatriate support in the moving out and settling in new environments, to cult ural shock and adjustment. It has never been easy, but it calls for the foreigner (employee or student) to be flexible enough to cope with the new life. Depending on the organization one is involved, there could be welcome activities that ease up the tension and familiarize new settlers in a place. This study declares that students studying overseas have experienced this programs based on the different international exchange student groups and the admitting institutions. However, whether these people have moved in temporarily or permanently, the multifaceted experience in the unfamiliar environment, way of life, and transition in the different cultures, results to serious influences and implications. Cultural Shock occurs in different ways among people who encounter unfamiliar situations, or any happening that was not expected in a mix with different cultures. Based on the profound personal experience in the environment, it could reoccur differently immediately after settling or lat er in the adjustment period, as people would be forced to respond to the changes in situations. Due to its way of emergence, some people argue it as one event happening, but the majority view it as a process. According to Furnham, culture shock depict unpleasant effects as surprises or shock experienced after touring or living in different cultures, because the occurrence were unexpected and could lead to negative evaluation of the diverse (own and new) cultures. The shock is experienced by those in mobility, whether internationally or within the region or society (such as organisation restructuring and population social changes), highly skilled or less skilled, but facing unfamiliar environments of cultural context. However, there are minor situations that make one less affected or perhaps not experience the cultural shock; this depends on the previous experiences in other cultures, the variation of one’s culture and the newly available, one’s preparation (psychologic ally and resourcefully) before and/or after encountering unfamiliar culture, which all influence the degree of the culture shock and individuals reactions.

History of US Army National Guard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

History of US Army National Guard - Essay Example In 1636 Massachusetts followed in the footsteps of Virginia and established laws for militia on 13th December at the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Dutch settlers in America also formed an organization on the similar lines as the English militia and named it the Burgher Guard. However, in 1653 the Dutch and the English engaged in a conflict over land. Such conflicts would arise time and again but in 1964 the British captured Amsterdam and the Burgher Guard surrendered and was then transformed to foot soldiers under the leadership of Captain Nicholas Bayard. The militia of each colony was responsible for its own funding and upkeep, thus the militia of each colony was vastly different from one another on basis of military equipments and substantial training. The militia assisted the Continental army during the Revolutionary wars and though it is believed that the militia had no crucial role in the winning strategy, it steadily gained importance. The Continental Congress passed its own f irst Militia Act on 18th July, 1775 while New York coded its own Provincial Militia Act on 22nd August, 1775. Federalists were of the opinion that instead of a militia regiment, fully trained and professional soldiers should be hired. But, no one paid attention to their arguments. In fact in 1776, New York’s militia was reorganized into two divisions. The first division included all the Manhattan (present New York) units while the Second division included the rest of the units. Again in 1789 the U.S constitution was signed and soon after in 1792 the U.S. Militia Act was passed. Both these steps proved that U.S supported the idea of including citizens in the military. Though such measures showed the firm belief that the Government had in the militia’s ability, but for some time the ability could not be tested because there was no such need. But, soon enough the militia got an opportunity to display its skills to safeguard the interests of the U.S. The British and the Fr ench were engaged in wars between themselves which interfered with the sea-trading rights of the U.S. The goods ship of several U.S. merchants were seized by the Europeans illegally At last the U.S congress had no other choice but to propose the Embargo Act in 1807 on the recommendation of President Thomas Jefferson which was finally passed as law on 22nd decenber,1907. On12th February, 1808, New York successfully passed the Act of Defense of the Northern and Western Frontiers, to protect its own interests. This increased hostility among the countries and in June, 1812. U.S declared war on Great Britain. This war, known as the War of 1812, continued for almost three years. However, here again the militia had no substantial role in the victory, because the militia was poorly funded and lacked good equipment and leadership. Yet, the U.S won because of the fact that Britain had no interests in the war and was fighting it almost for show. In fact all of Britain’s resources were e ngaged in war with France. Even after defeating France in the wars, Britain had no interests in the War of 1812 and again engaged herself with the colonization of the Eastern parts. The U.S had won the War but Britain did not acknowledge the defeat and offered peace to U.S on 11th February, 1815. The treaty of peace was signed on 20th

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES TO Dissertation

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES TO CREATE THE BEST POOL OF APPLICANTS - Dissertation Example Finally, the chapter concludes on discussion on ethical considerations and contribution of this study to academic literature. 3.1.1 Deductive Hussey and Hussey (1997) have highlighted the importance of deductive approach so that the researcher could test the findings from project by using theoretical models and frameworks. For instance, this deductive approach enables the research in checking the scope of data and its relevance. In other words, this approach is quite useful because the researcher could accomplish his / her aims and objectives through performing various tests for confirmation of hypotheses (Chapman & Webster, 2003; Lallemand, et al., 2005). Saunders et al. (2009) also pointed out that deductive approach is feasible for researchers that conduct tests to prove / disprove hypotheses and to draw inferences in the light of results. 3.2 Research Philosophy Easterby-Smith et al. (2006) have argued that one of the research philosophies for data collection is known as positivi sm. For instance, this approach holds that only authentic knowledge is that which is based on sense, experience and positive verification. Saunders et al (2009) have highlighted that positivism is a philosophy which holds that the scientific method should be used to investigate the processes. However, Spens and Kovacs (2006) confirmed that the probability of personal / observer bias and structural limitations is high in positivism. Nevertheless, this is an HRM project and the researcher is concerned with investigation of recruitment procedures that would create best workforce within an organisation; therefore, the scientific method (quantitative) would enhance the scope and validity of this research project. 3.3 Research Design According to Saunders et al (2007), there are four major types of data collection methods including survey, experiments, observations and interviews. For instance, the primary data could be analysed by using case study approach in which a research focuses on comprehensive investigation of different aspects in an organisation. The research, therefore, will use case study method to comprehend the effectiveness of recruitment methods used in Kraft Foods for creating best pool of employees. The researcher will not adopt inductive approach because he is not inclined to develop a new theory. 3.3.1 Case Study Approach Eisenhardt (1989) has made significant contribution towards the use of Case Study Approach by pointing out that Case Study analysis could be used to develop theories. Indeed, this type of analysis takes into account a particular setting and then focuses on explanation and ‘understanding of dynamics’ (Stake, 1994). For instance, Yin (2003) maintains that the Case Study approach focuses on comprehensive evaluation and multiple levels of analysis because it covers a case from many aspects (Cameron & Price, 2009). In addition, this approach is quite useful because it helps â€Å"providing description, testing any existi ng theory and generating a new theory† based on findings from previous researches and literature, current theoretical frameworks and new research project (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 535). 3.3.2 Excel Once the data on recruitment techniques have been collected from filling of questionnaires, the researcher will utilise Microsoft Excel software (depending upon his convenience) for making calculations, creating tables, charts

Course Paper Assignment. You are required to write a 5-7 page paper on Term

Course Assignment. You are required to write a 5-7 page on a concept investigating the social effects of aviation an - Term Paper Example In fact, global tonne-kilometers (total weight of freight carried multiplied by the distance flown) increased by a factor of 23 as against the global domestic gross domestic product, which increase by a factor of 3.8 (Whitelegg, 2000). It is also forecast with unconstrained growth in the aviation industry, that air travel will double between 2000 and 2020 and triple in 2030 (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Postnote, 2003). Concurrently, there has been increase threat especially from the world of terrorist on the aviation industry. This threat has led to the implementation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger screening to ensure that certain items and persons prohibited from flying do not board commercial airliners (Elias, 2011). This spectacular growth in the aviation industry is associated with some social effects which have either beneficial or adverse effects in the society. This growth in the aviation industry is mainly concentrated in cert ain societies in the world, for instance, North America, Europe, some parts of Asia and South America (Zinnov LLC, 2007) thereby suggesting a cultural influence on the growth of the aviation industry. This article seeks to answer some questions associated with the growth of the aviation over the decades. ... Discussion Social Effects of Air Travel Indeed, air travel has impacted socially on humanity, changing not only the human relationship but also human culture. Like the interstate highways that reduce continents to global cities, air travel has likewise shrunk the world to a global city. For instance, with the advent of air travel, the connectedness between people increases considerably. Air travel makes it possible for people to connect easily with far away family members and friends. The business arena was also affected positively as business partners across continents can meet face-to-face to carry out business deals within days. Related to this connectedness between people is the improvement in communication. By the late 1930s, the airlines carried mail from coast to coast thereby improving the speed of communication and the connectedness between friends, family members and business partners (Hudson, 1972). Indeed, with the advent of the air travel, people became global citizens a nd can enjoy the excitements and cultures of societies other than theirs. Indeed, people can travel to far away resort centers for holidays. Air travel led to the growth of the tourist industry. Also affected is entertainment industry and arts. The enthrallment and allurement of air travel has been reflected in the literature. Many pilots have written about their careers. For instance, War World 1 hero, Eddie Rickenbacker wrote about their exploit during the World War 1 (Rickenbacker, 2001). Many children books feature famous military pilots as well as civilian pilots, and later astronauts. Related to literature are arts dealing with aviation. For instance, the Renaissance humanist, Leonardo da Vinci illustrated his notebooks with sketches of

Culture shock Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Culture shock - Research Paper Example Even if a student is not aware of the culture shock, he or she is always aware of the differences in culture and social setting. A student in this context is basically a sojourner who stays temporarily in another social setting. So is a worker or the missionaries or armed forces. In order to perform efficiently it is important for these people to adapt to the new culture. This adaptation might be costly to them in terms of both individual and physical health conditions. The United States has been witnessing the largest inflow of foreign students. The exchange of education provides a very useful instance to reflect this phenomenon. In 1955 the number was around 34000 from the overseas and it grew to 450000 in 1996. As a result of the rising levels of migration from the economically backward nations to the wealthier ones, the societies are moving form predominantly mono-cultural to multicultural setting. Societies of US, Britain and Canada are eventually transforming themselves into cu lturally diverse ones. As the ambience of an individual changes or as the person relocates to a different cultural background, he or she needs to build some new perspectives or thoughts along with behaviors in order to fit into the new surroundings. A culture shock is basically a process instead of being a particular event and its impact grows weaker as it recurs in the life of the same person. This is because the individual learns new strategies to adapt to these changes once he faces the new situation. (Pederson, vii) The paper will emphasize upon the culture shock related experiences encountered by students who move abroad to earn a foreign degree and eventually work there or return to their home country. Culture Shock – theoretical frameworks A culture is referred as the collective psychological plan formation of the human mind. While the time one takes his food is decided by his human nature driven by hunger, the way the food is eaten is decided by one’s culture ( using fork or using hands). Again whether an individual is going to choose the fork and knife to eat i an individual decision irrespective of what the cultural programming suggests or what the society infers.(Nunez, Mahdi, and Popma, 5) The theoretical setting of similarity attraction hypothesis is applicable in this circumstance. This hypothesis states that an individual tends to interact, feel comfortable with and trust people with whom they share something common in the cultural settings. This might include religion, values and beliefs apart from interests and other characteristics. Cross cultural communications occur between the people who tend to differ in terms of these essential characteristics. Another theory which might be studied in this respect is the cultural distance hypothesis. In this theoretical setting, the geographical distance plays a major role in understanding the cultural differences. For instance Australia and New Zealand are comparatively more similar in term s of cultural setting compared to India and USA. The more the cultural distance is, the greater is the probability of experiencing cultural shock. In fact empirical evidence can prove that Australian executives are more comfortable working in Auckland than at Taipei (Ward, Bochnan and Furnham, 9). The experience of a student who moves aboard for his studies usually undergoes five stages of culture shock. Peter Alder

A piece of wire Essay Example for Free

A piece of wire Essay Using this graph, we can predict the resistance of any length up to 100cm. To test if these results are accurate, we can compare the experiment we have performed, with those of previous resistance experiments. The book value, in ohms, for the resistance of a 100cm length of 28swg wire is 4. 4?. This convinces me that these results are accurate as our result of 4? is very similar. It may seem a way off the mark but considering the difference in resistance a couple of swg makes (e. g. the resistance of a 30swg wire is around 7. 5? ) the similarity ensures success. The slight deviation may have been caused by a number of factors, like the variations of the power packs used and variations in the actual wire. I have recorded these results in a graph. From this graph, we can immediately see a few things. The line of best fit is a straight line through the origin with a positive correlation. This means that the resistance and voltage are directly proportional to one another, and that length of wire and resistance are directly proportional. This ties into ohms law. We can also measure the gradient of the graph. This is done by taking a y value under the line of best fit, and dividing it by the corresponding x value. On my graph, the y value I have chosen is 0. 9? , and the x value 23cm. The formula for this is: G = ? y ?x So G = ? y ?x = 0. 2 5 = 0. 04 So the gradient is 0. 04. We can examine the results further by referring to the resistivity formula: Resistance, R = Resistivity, p (? m) x length, l (m) or R = p l (? ) Cross-sectional area, A (m2) A The diameter of a 28swg wire is 0. 367mm, so, using the formula: A = ? r2 We can figure out the cross sectional area. Therefore, the cross sectional area is 0. 105784493mm2. Converting this to metres squared, this is 0. 000105784493m2 And, since we know that the resistance is 4. 0? , we can rearrange the formula to find the resistivity of the wire: We rearrange from this: R = p l to this: p = R A A l Now we can find out the resistivity (p) of the wire, in ohm meters (? m). Resistivity is a useful figure to have (much like resistance) but can also be used to check our work. To check the gradient of the graph, we can divide the resistivity of the wire, by the cross-sectional area. So Gradient   04 is the same value I got for the gradient directly off the graph, I can rest assured that it is the correct value. As this is the correct value, I can work backwards to see that the previous calculations were correct. In order to obtain this gradient value, I used resistivity, cross-sectional area, and resistance. So we can be sure that the calculations for these is correct as the outcome is the same as the separate calculation for gradient, using the graph. So, from these results we can see that:   Resistivity = 0. 00000423137972 ? m.   Gradient = 0. 04.   Cross-sectional area = 0. 000105784493m2.   Voltage is directly proportional to the length of the wire.   Resistance is directly proportional to the length of the wire.   As the length of the wire doubles, so does the voltage and so does the resistance. Conclusion From the consistency of the results I have gained, and the fact that proving the results using the gradient was successful, I can conclude that these results are reliable. The values that I noted were also very similar to the catalogued book values, which further supports the reliability of the experiment. The drawn line of best fit is accurate as the gradient drawn from it is identical to the one I figured out using the formula. If I were to repeat this experiment, I would change it only slightly. I would allow more class time for the analysis and possibly allow a shorter time for the practical as it is very quickly finished (in fact, to do all the results in one lesson minimises the chances of getting irregular results, because you know that the conditions are the same). The whole thing worked very well. The experiment went smoothly, and the inclusion of a preliminary experiment helped a great deal. The actual physics of this assignment were challenging, but understandable. It was a very well rounded task. Extension work that could be included may be to test the resistance of other wires and compare them, or to go up to 200cm and see if theres any difference. Also, by using another wire, other than constantan, we could see how temperature affects resistance, although, one would need to have done a constantan experiment in order to understand the dynamics of the other factors, otherwise the experiment would be to complicated. Daniel Moffat H11NF 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section.

Constructivism in International Relations

Constructivism in International Relations Explain and discuss how constructivism in IR attempts to re-shape discourses on security away from materialistic conceptions of power politics and towards a conception that takes account of power of ideas. Since the end of the Cold War, security studies in international relations have witnessed an overwhelming emergence of new academic literature reflecting the changes in international political environment. Concept of global security has evolved throughout the history going back as far as ancient Greece but arguably never been challenged and re-structured to the extent that it was in post Cold War era. Critical theories in general and constructivism specifically added a new dimension to the international relations studies with focusing on influence of social elements such as norms and ideas and rejected the notions of purely materialistic approach to world politics and security.  [1]  Collapse of the Soviet Union, following the suspension of the activities of the Communist Party by Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the U.S.S.R on August 29 1991, validated and renewed the International relations scholars concerns about the methodology of the international relations study and the ex tent in which it had played a role in the production of international powers.  [2]   The aim of this essay is to identify and discuss how constructivism influenced the concept of security in international relations with emphasising on the role of social elements and the extent in which constructivism has criticised the materialistic approach. In doing so this paper explores the structure of global security from the standpoint of constructivism and its core elements regarding the power of idea in response to the materialistic view of power politics. Furthermore, it will analyse the constructivist response and effort to alter the discourses of security in international politics theory by studying the process of social interaction in forming identity and role of norms and ideas in global security. Finally, concepts of Human Security and Collective Security will be looked at from both viewpoints. The end of the Cold War came as a surprise to the classical dominant scholars, who failed to predict or explain the changes in global politics, whilst simultaneously providing the opportunity for further development of critical thoughts, which were around since the mid 1980s. Realist theory and positivist methodology in international relations were criticised for their materialistic approaches by constructivism, which quickly flourished and was recognised as a theory that emphasised on the social dimension of international politics. This advance towards the possibility of change equipped the theory to capture important features of the worlds relations  [3]  .Among the many aspects of mainstream presumptions and beliefs in world politics, which were challenged by constructivism, was the pessimistic view towards peace and over-deterministic nature of these theories about the conflict, threat and the world security. Constructivism challenged the theory of power politics, dominant pe rception of the threat and struggle in global politics and took a completely different approach in studying the transformation of the security dilemma by focusing on subjects such as evaluation of security factors, construction of the threat, and appropriate responses.  [4]   Constructivisms approach to the subjects of threat, conflict and security in global politics originated from their fundamental emphasis on the social dimensions of international politics, thus it defined them as socially constructed elements in the process of identity formation under the influence of the norms and shared values of society. Over the years and especially after the Cold War, constructivism positioned itself as a major critique of the dominant theories in international politics by addressing issues such as balance of power, democratic peace and the re-introduction of the phenomena of collective security, security community, human security, human rights and many other social elements to the field of security studies of international politics. One could argue that most of the constructivists work was formed around their aim in explaining the changes in world politics in the period towards the end, and after the Cold War when dominant international relations theories failed to predict the sudden change in the global politics and old security regime. These changes to the international political environment, which occurred in the 1980s, raised questions about social construction and the methodology of international relations theories and their involvement and effects in the production of international power. The term constructivism was introduced by Nicholas Onuf in 1989 and identified simply as people and societies construct or constitute each other.  [5]  According to Wendt, constructivism assumes that the fundamental structures of international politics are social and these structures shape actors identities and interests.  [6]  World in constructivists term is constituted by both knowledge and material factors and moreover as a social theory, it is concerned with the relationship between agents and structures. Furthermore, all constructivists share a common concern when explaining how international structures are defined by ideas and how identities and interests of the states and non-state players are shaped by the structures.  [7]  It is at this juncture when a comparison is needed to understand the differences between mainstream international relations theories and constructivism in security studies. As a result, it is crucial to see global security from realisms point of view to fully understand the role of the elements such as threat, response and survival in constructing the realists approach to the security dilemma. Likewise, it is necessary to analyse constructivisms view of ideas and knowledge and to study the relationship between structure and agency as well as the construction and identification of threat. Security studies is a multidimensional subject in the field of international relations and has changed and evolved throughout history. This evolution was impacted, probably more than any other subject in international relations, by recent technological advancements and historical events. However, as far as history goes the core concern of security studies has centred on the states strategy to defend and protect its borders against external threats. Attempts to understand security and provide an answer to security dilemmas can be traced back to Greece in fifth century BC when Thucydides theorised the violence and war and describe the security dilemma based on Peloponnesian war. Many centuries later Carl Von Clausewitz and Thomas Hobbs devoted much of their time and work to define these contemporary security dilemmas. By following the work of these scholars we reach the conclusion that despite the differences in language, economical development, social and political intuitions, religio us and cultural beliefs, states faced almost identical threats and suffered from the same security dilemmas throughout history. Here a comparison is needed to understand the differences between mainstream international relations theories and constructivism in security studies. It is crucial to see the global security issue from realisms point of view to fully understand the role of the elements such as threat, response and survival in constructing the realists approach to security dilemma. Similarly, it is necessary to analyse constructivisms analysis of idea and knowledge in order to study the relationship between structure and agency as well as construction and identification of threat. In recent decades critical schools and other theories of international relations have challenged the traditional materialistic approach to security study, which focused on politics and power. Among them constructivism played an important role in developing an ideational approach that emphasised the effect and role of norms and ideas in global security.  [8]  Norms are produced through social practice as intersubjective beliefs about social and the natural world that defines the identity of the players, their roles and the possibilities of their actions.  [9]  Thus actors and their meaningful actions are constituted by the norms on the basis of their social roles and environments. These norms could also balance the actors behaviour by defining the appropriateness and effectiveness of their action.  [10]   Constructivisms approach differs with regard to the actors and social structures of the international politics in comparison with the rationalists view. The political environment in the Realists and Neo-liberalists view is comprised of rational actors, whose actions are self-interested in order to maximise their ultimate goal of survival and relationship between these actors, and is structured by the balance of material power.  [11]  In contrast, constructivism focuses on the actors and structures in a dynamic context, where actors are influenced by the environment and social elements and structures and are produced and reproduced by the actors.  [12]  On the other hand, in the constructivists view idea plays an important role in forming the actors and their actions.  [13]  This means that when ideas become norms, they can constrain the actors behaviour and reactions but at the same time they constitute actors and legitimise their action by opening the space for them to a ct and influence the social structure.  [14]   In essence, constructivism criticises the rationalist approach of ignoring the role of social factors in interaction between players in International relations. The constructivists critique of neo-realists and neo-liberalists concerns not what these scholars do and say but what they ignore: the content and source of state interests and social fabric of world politics.  [15]  According to Paul Kowert, rationalist theories explain how states should choose or how they should bargain. They offer answers to some important questions about when states should cooperate and when they might be expected to fight. Yet they say nothing about who the actors are or how their interests were constituted.  [16]   Constructivism believes in the dynamic nature of international politics and promotes the vision of change. In doing so it criticises the rationalist view of static material and considers the system of self- help, power politics and threat as socially constructed elements of international politics. Alexander Wendt notes, that self-help is an institution, one of the various structures of identity and interest that may exist under anarchy.  [17]  In examining the subject of security in international politics, constructivism concludes that threats are constructed in the process of social interaction in the process of formation of identity and interests. In such an environment therefore, norms and shared values play a role in improving the cooperation between actors by forming the economical and political structures that promote peace between the actors in international politics.  [18]   The constructivist account of identity formation in the process of social interaction in security studies attempts to answer the important question of how threats are formed and how international actors act against this threat. Both traditional and defensive realists share the view that threatening forces are formed around the phenomena of the balance of power, and states reactions are determined and guided by the state-centric system of self-interest and the anarchic nature of international politics. However, they engage in a different view when defining the kind of reaction states portray, as traditional realists believe that states balance their power against threatening forces whilst the defensive realists maintain the view that states form allies to increase their capability and security against the common threat. In contrast to this opinion, constructivists developed the idea of legitimacy and demonstrate that states reactions to threatening forces are influenced by social elem ents such as norms and shared values in the process of interaction, and are directed by the logic of appropriateness. In other word, norms and shared values define the legitimacy and appropriateness of states actions, as opposed to the traditional view of logic of consequence. Another aspect of global security is the phenomenon of security dilemma, which can be defined as a states uncertainty in evaluating and assessing the intentions of others. Hopf argues that while the security dilemma is an important factor to understand the conflictual relationship between the states, it may not be relevant to many others which face less or no conflict and have many common interests.  [19]  The constructivists account of security dilemma is quite different to that of the realist. In constructivisms view the reality of the world, which includes the world of international relations, has been socially constructed via a complex of inter-subjective understanding . In other words, anarchy as the prime structural feature of the international sphere around which all considerations of security and insecurity revolve is not an autonomous phenomenon that generates its own inescapable logic. This also means that the security dilemma, for example, does not exist before any int eraction between states but is in fact a product of social interactions of states.  [20]  In addition, Hopf notes that norms can reduce uncertainty: by providing meaning, identities reduce uncertainty. Enabling states to recognise their enemy may not result in security, but identity can replace the uncertainty with certain insecurity.  [21]   Constructivist security theory has also addressed the absence of war between liberal democracies or namely, the concept of democratic peace. Here liberals believe that democracies do not oppose each other since norms of compromise and cooperation prevent their conflicts of interest from escalating into violent clashes.  [22]  This can be interpreted in various ways first; it could be argued that these norms are bound to competition and constituted by domestic democratic principles,  [23]  or second, that they can be seen as the product of domestic institutions and their effect on states behaviour.  [24]  One could also argue that domestic principles and practice work together and therefore are mutually constituted. In constructivist ideology, the important aspect of peace or absence of conflict among the democratic states is the role played by norms within this context. Thus without accepting or rejecting any of the above arguments it could simply be stated that democrati c peace could be made possible with the concept of norms playing an important role in preventing conflict.  [25]   Constructivist interpretation of global politics as a socially constructed structure provides the necessary means, for the theory under examination, to respond to another important subject in international security study namely that of security community. The concept of security community was introduced by Richard Van Wagenen  [26]  in the early 1950s and further developed in a study by Karl Deutsch and his associates in the same period.  [27]  Theories and ideas evolved around this concept by attempting to explain the states actions in the face of a security threat from a different perspective than the rationalist view of balance of power. One theory included the idea of formation of a security community developed around the concept of collective security with the focus on the states effort to strengthen their own security by acting together. The distinctive feature of the security community idea, which set it apart from the traditional concept of democratic peace, was in it s emphasis on the states security and not on the democratic structure of the states. Lawson commented on this approach by adding that in a constructivist approach the idea of community is not limited to democracies.  [28]   The study of collective security and the constitution of the security community aim to explain how states react when facing threat and insecurity in the international political environment. In other words, a group of states identify a common threat and form a relationship to defend themselves by acting as a unified whole. Formation of such communities, based on a collective knowledge of a common threat not only improves the security of the states against the threat, it also results in peace between the members of such a community. More succinctly, those who are acting as one against the common threat would not fight each other for the same reason. As Deutsch illustrates, the security community as a group of states come together to the degree that they feel real assurance that members of the community will not fight each other physically, but will settle their disputes in some other way.  [29]  He identifies the states sovereignty as the point of differentiation in formation of tw o types of security communities and explains that a pluralistic community forms when states retain their sovereignty, whereas in an amalgamated type states formally unify in order to form a community security. Despite the earlier references to collective security by traditional international relations theories such as liberalism, the modern concept of collective security and states acting as a community against a common threat is a relatively new idea and has only been seriously considered subsequent to the Cold War in both academic and practical senses. The fact that the Cold War almost ended without serious confrontation between the two blocks has positively changed the international political atmosphere. A move towards a more peaceful future has been attained as well as an enhancement of the influence of theories, which have emphasised the role of identity, norms and social basis of the structure of international politics. Moreover, states once again saw the opportunity for constructing a new foundation to achieve a peaceful and stable international order.  [30]  Meanwhile, the social elements of international politics have received much more attention accompanied by friendlier treatment from politicians and Deutschs original ideas of shared understanding, transnational values including the possibility of peace, which were brought back to attention again.  [31]  In his observations Adler tried to address the issue of the circumstances where states are more likely to agree on forming a security community in the face of thre at, and noted that, those who realise the devastating effects of the insecurity of war on the economical, political and social aspects of a democratic system will agree on coming together in order to defend themselves and promote peace and stability. He believed that such an agreement was founded on shared values and actors identities and notes: security communities are socially constructed because shared meaning, constituted by interaction, engenders collective identities. They are dependent on communication, discourse and interpretation, as well as on material environment.  [32]  Almost all the literatures about security community agreed on the critical and centric role of identity, and identity formation processes in the construction of the collective security and formation of a security community. Identity in this case, is the distinctive characteristic of one group against another. Unlike the mainstream theorys approach to actors identity as a static and pre-defined status of the states, constructivism defines identity as a variable factor, which changes with time and is associated with cultural, political, historical and social contexts. As stated before, the introduction of collective security and security community can be traced back to the 1950s. However, despite Van Wagenen and Deutschs efforts to develop the idea, it did not receive much attention until the end of the Cold War. It can be argued that the dominance of the realist paradigm during the Cold War in the realm of global politics on the one hand, and the hostile circumstances of bi-polar structure of global security on the other hand are to blame for the states lack of interest in any security arrangements other than one which could guaranty their survival. The United Nations failure in bringing the sovereign nations together from both sides in order to form a pluralistic security community at an international level also added to the uncertainty of the nations in considering any order other than a bi-polar system. Following the Cold War, international politics has witnessed a new wave of ideas and theories which have found a voice in an attempt to theorise the new world order in global politics. At this time it can be said that the concept of security community and collective security has benefited from the critical theories emphasis on social dimensions of international politics and their special attention to social norms, culture, identity and shared values. For many decades realism and neo-liberal institutionalism were dominant forces in global politics and security studies and consequently played a major role in defining international politics. Whilst both of these theories assume that war is inevitable and always expected, realism identifies the distribution of material power as the defining element of global politics and relationships between states following with the conclusion that, factors such as the balance of power, the role of superpowers and alliances are only the means for preve nting war and not for creating peace. Neo-liberal institutionalism shows more interest in finding the means to encourage cooperation between the states and focuses on the role of institutions in enhancing cooperation between self-interested states in order to prevent conflict. As it appears in both paradigms, war and material capability remains inevitably at the centre of these theories about war and conflict, which continues to dominate global security in both theory and practice until the end of the Cold War.  [33]   Peaceful change and the idea of achieving long term peace and global security, not on the basis of material capability and deterrence but based on the concept of identity-formation processes and the role of norms and values, became the feature of critical theories in the mid 1980s. This notion was developed further with the rise of constructivism as an international relations theory. Constructivism explained how ideas and identities are created and how norms and shared values shape the states affairs, strategies and reactions to global security. Since it is unrealistic to ignore the power of material in the backdrop of international relations and security studies, constructivism complemented the existing theories by adding the social dimension to the international relations field and emphasising the importance of collective identities and shared values in developing security in particular, and the idea of collective security in general.  [34]   Human security is a relatively new subject in international relations and has dominated an integral portion of international security studies after the Cold War. Human security in its current form is the product of the shift from state-centric views of security and power politics towards accepting the role of social elements in global security.  [35]  The phenomena of security in the area of international relations has traditionally been limited to the military defence where states compete with each other for gaining or improving their security and survival in an anarchic system with their focus on military power. In such an anarchic structure national security becomes equally as important as defending the territory against external military threat.  [36]   The more modern approach in security studies accepts the crucial role of traditional views in protecting the states but does not believe that it is sufficient to protect human welfare, whether within the states borders or internationally. Basic human needs are the focus of modern security studies in the context of human security and as such the 1994 Human Development Report of the UN Development Program stressed that: for most people today, a feeling of insecurity arises more from worries about daily life than from the dread of cataclysmic world events. Job security, income security, health, environmental security, security from crime these are emerging concerns of human security all over the world.  [37]  The changing context of state security, especially after the Cold War, opened the space for the critical ideas to challenge state-centric, power-based systems of global politics that gave priority to high politics. It has also increased the opportunity to address transnational issues around the globe such as HIV/AIDS, the control and management of weapons of mass destruction, illegal arms and rug trades and environmental and population problems.  [38]   Widening the boundaries of security studies following the introduction of social and economical elements, which were not traditionally considered as part of the field of security, was not received well by the mainstream classical theorists and attracted criticism from traditionally dominant theories in international relations. The key argument against the critical thinkers and constructivists was that security should only engage with issues centred around the use of force and threats thus, elevation of the social and economical issues to the study of security and the promotion of non-military issues to the same level of real security elements is a threat to the coherence of the subject. Therefore, the broadening of security studies was criticised by a wide range of traditional scholars. On one side of the spectrum were those who believed that only military power and threatening force were subject to the field of security studies, and on the other side were scholars who could see the need for change. Furthermore, while they endorsed the conventional view that the military is the primary factor in security studies they also accepted the fact that especially in post Cold War era there is a need for opening the international studies to non-military cases of conflicts as well.  [39]   For traditional thinkers such as Chipman, opening the concept of security to non-military issues was only acceptable if they played the role in a context of utilised force and threats between political actors. He noted: the structuring elements of strategic analysis must be the possible use of force.  [40]  The essential point in Chipmans hypotheses is that he acknowledges the role of non-military aspects of security but at the same time emphasises that the use of military force should remain at the core of strategic analysis. Despite the shift among the traditionalists of moving away from the state-centeric system towards the wider approach to security, some traditionalist thinkers never accepted the idea of social elements playing a role in security and strongly argued against it. One of the most strongest traditionalists Stephan Walt, defines security as studying the threat and use of military force and opposes the widening of security fields and the inclusion of issues outside the miliary domain into security studies. He argues that, (it) runs the risk of expanding security studies excessively; by this logic, issues such as pollution, disease, child abus

Brain Death and Organ Donation in Children and Adults Essay -- Science

Brain Death and Organ Donation in Children and Adults Introduction Does one try to save a premature baby who has little chance of survival? When do doctors or family members decide to "pull the plug" on a loved one? When is organ donation the correct choice? Is this patient the one on which God will choose to perform a miracle? What about a postmortem delivery? Is it realistic to be able to have a child postmortem? These questions are difficult for any of us to answer - even more so if we are dealing with a situation in which we may have to answer one or more of these questions. Yet, for some of us, these questions are all too real. If someone is considered to be in a vegetative state and the doctor determines that they are not coming back, when do family members decide to let go? When do family members give up hope? These questions can only be answered once a person is faced with a situation where he or she needs to determine another's fate. All of the answers to the questions are personal answers and no one should judge another person for making a choice in a difficult situation. Decisions regarding organ donation and when an unconscious person has died or experienced brain death are very difficult decisions for the family to make, even with the help of medical professionals. Organ donation started in 1869 and since then the procedure has improved but doctors with unethical practices still, and always will, exist. After all of the improvements in adult organ donation, questions still remain about organ donation and anencephalic infants. Should these infants be treated as human beings, should they be allowed to donate their organs? What happens to any infant whose mother dies before delivery of the child? Def... ...tion? Works Cited Ackerman, Terrence. A Casebook of Medical Ethics. New York:Oxford UP, 1989. Gorman, Christine. "Are Animal Organs Safe for People." Time. 15 January 1996. Henderson, Allen. Get With It-Teen Perspectives on Donation. The Indiana Heart Institute. 1994. Humber, James M. Biomedical Ethics and the Law. 2nd Edition. New York: Plenum, 1979. Koukl, Gregory. "Babies as Organ Farms". L.A. Times. 8 June 1995. Lamb, David. Death, Brain Death and Ethics. Albany:New York UP, 1985. Mason, JK. Human Life and Medical Practice. Great Britain:Edinburgh UP, 1988. Neufeldt, Victoria. Webster's New World Dictionary. 3rd Edition. New York: Prentice Hall, 1991. Pothier, Richard. "Animal Tests Saved My Life." Newsweek. 1 February 1993. Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Stedman's Medical Dictionary. 24 Edition. Baltimore:Williams and Wilkins, 1982.

Analysis of South of the Slot by Jack London Essay -- South of the Slo

Analysis of South of the Slot by Jack London The slot is a metaphor of the â€Å"class cleavage of society†. There was a contrast between the North and South of the Slot in terms of building types: in the North were the higher-class centers of diversion, lodging, and business; and in the South were the lower-class centers of lodging, unskilled work/business. The buildings are figures of two contrasting classes that were segregated (?). In order to study the southern people (the working class) a sociology professor of the University of CA, Freddie Drummond (FD), decides to work temporarily as an unskilled laborer. Initially he experiences social problems of adaptation and acceptance by his fellow workers. For example, he doesn’t understand their insistent admonitions to reduce his work pace. As a result of his fierce competition against them, by the 6th day FD doubles his earnings. He misunderstands their lack of loyalty to the business, and looks down on them. Being unable to convince Drummond, and as a last resor t, his co-workers jumped on him and attacked him so badly that he becomes ill. Once recovered, Drummond changes job. He finds himself working as a fruit-distributor among the women and decides not to change their work conditions. In six months, Drummond works at many jobs, and succeeds in imitating a genuine worker. As FD makes tentative generalizations about the working class, he is applauded by the business people, who divulge and spread his studies to the working cl...

To Kill a Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

To Kill A Mocking Bird To Kill a Mocking Bird is based in about 1935, right in the middle of the depression. It is set in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb. Maycomb, like most small southern towns, has a problem with widespread racism toward Negroes. The novel focuses on one family, the Finches. In the family there are three people, Scout, Jem and Atticus. Atticus is a lawyer and is defending a Negro man in court (Tom Robinson), something that was not often done in the south due to racism. Many people feel threatened by this and feel very resentful toward Atticus. Throughout the novel all the members of the Finches and many others display courage in their attempts to stand up for what they believe in. In the beginning of the novel we meet Jean Louise Finch, or Scout for short. Scout is an energetic little six year old. She still has her innocence and has not yet been able to understand the concepts of racial discrimination or hate. Scout is confused by what some of her classmates have been saying abou t her father, Atticus Finch. Many of her classmates call Atticus a nigger lover. Being only six Scout does not know how to handle such situations so she solves her problems by fighting. On the day that Tom Robinson was moved to the Maycomb jail to await his trial, Atticus left the house to go and sit outside of the jail to watch over Tom to make sure that nothing happens to him. Scout, Jem and Dill followed him there to make sure that nothing happened to him. Suddenly several cars pulled up at the jail. A mob got out of the vehicles and demanded that Atticus step aside so that they could get at Tom. Frightened the children came running to Atticus' side and asked him if everything was okay. Atticus told them to go home, but they refused. Suddenly, Scout saw a man that she knew, Mr. Cunningham. She said hi to him, twice before he acknowledged her. She began asking him questions about his entailments and talking about Walter, his son. At first he said nothing, Scout was afraid that she had done something wrong. Then finally he said something, he said that he would tell Walter that she said hey. After that, they all left. By singling out Mr. Cunningham she turned to mob into individuals and thus making them more aware as to what they were doing.

Risk Management Failures of British Petroleum

BP is a British global energy company which is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. As a multinational oil company, BP is the UK's largest corporation, with its headquarters in St James's, City of Westminster, London. BP America's headquarters is in the One Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas; the company is among the largest private sector energy corporations in the world, and one of the six leaders.In order to project social responsibility and improve its image British Petroleum changed its name into BP in year 2000 with a logo of green and yellow sunflower patterns. Paradoxically the same company symbol is now under derision and the object of controversial attacks from environmentalists and damaging court cases. The company’s predicament further worsened when it was listed as one of the â€Å"ten worst corporations† during the year 2001 and 2006. In fact, BP and its competitors Royal Dutch-Shell were co nsidered by activists to be responsible with the threatening phenomenon of climate change.BP was warned before the oil pipeline leak happened in Alaska, but no action was made by the higher officials to mitigate its possible occurrence and reduce damages. In March 2005, BP's Texas City, Texas refinery, one of its largest refineries, exploded causing 15 deaths, injuring 180 people and forcing thousands of nearby residents to remain sheltered in their homes. A large column filled with hydrocarbon overflowed to form a vapor cloud, which ignited. The explosion caused all the casualties and substantial damage to the rest of the plant.The incident came as the culmination of a series of less serious accidents at the refinery, and the engineering problems were not addressed by the management. Maintenance and safety at the plant had been cut as a cost-saving measure, the responsibility ultimately resting with executives in London. The fall-out from the accident continues to cloud BP's corpor ate image because of the mismanagement at the plant. There have been several investigations of the disaster, the most recent being that from the U. S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board which offered a derisive evaluation of the company.The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation and said management failures could be traced from Texas to London. The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, was fined $50 million, and sentenced to three years probation. On October 30, 2009, OSHA fined BP an additional $87 million— the largest fine in OSHA history— for failing to correct safety hazards revealed in the 2005 explosion. Inspectors found 270 safety violations that had been previously cited but not fixed and 439 new violations.BP is appealing that fine. In August 2006, BP shut down oil operations in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to corrosion in pipe lines leading up to the Alaska Pipeline. The wells were leaking insulating agent called Arctic pack, consisting of crude oil and diesel fuel, between the wells and ice. BP had spilled over one million liters of oil in Alaska's North Slope. This corrosion is caused by sediment collecting in the bottom of the pipe, protecting corrosive bacteria from chemicals sent through the pipeline to fight this bacteria.There are estimates that about 5000 barrels (790 m3) of oil were released from the pipeline. To date 1513 barrels (240. 5 m3) of liquids, about 5200 cubic yards (4000 m3) of soiled snow and 328 cubic yards (251 m3) of soiled gravel have been recovered. After approval from the DOT, only the eastern portion of the field was shut down, resulting in a reduction of 200000 barrels per day (32000 m3/d) until work began to bring the eastern field to full production on 2 October 2006.In May 2007, the company announced another partial field shutdown owing to leaks of water at a separation pl ant. Their action was interpreted as another example of fallout from a decision to cut maintenance of the pipeline and associated facilities. On 16 October 2007 Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials reported a toxic spill of methanol (methyl alcohol) at the Prudhoe Bay oil field managed by BP PLC. Nearly 2,000 gallons of mostly methanol, mixed with some crude oil and water, spilled onto a frozen tundra pond as well as a gravel pad from a pipeline.Methanol, which is poisonous to plants and animals, is used to clear ice from the insides of the Arctic-based pipelines. From January 2006 to January 2008, three workers were killed at the company's Texas City, Texas refinery in three separate accidents. In July 2006 a worker was crushed between a pipe stack and mechanical lift, in June 2007, a worker was electrocuted, and in January 2008, a worker was killed by a 500-pound piece of metal that came loose under high pressure and hit him.On April 1 2009, a Bond Offshore He licopters Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma ferrying workers from BP's platform in the Miller oilfield in the North Sea off Scotland crashed in good weather killing all 16 on board. On April 20, 2010, a semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded after a blowout and sank two days later, killing eleven people and causing a massive oil spill threatening the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida. The rig is owned and operated by Transocean Ltd on behalf of BP, which is the majority owner of the oil field.The company originally estimated the size of the leak at about 1,000 barrels a day but later accepted government estimates of a leak of at least 5000 barrels per day. On April 30, BP stated that it would harness all of its resources to battle the oil spill, spending $7 million a day with its partners to try to contain the disaster. BP was running the well without a remote control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producin g nations, Brazil and Norway, as a last resort protection against underwater spills. The use of such devices is not mandated by U.S. regulators. The U. S. Government gave the responsibility of the incident to BP and will hold it accountable for costs incurred in containing the situation. On May 11, 2010, Congress called the executives of BP, Transocean, and Halliburton to a hearing regarding the oil spill. When probed for answers regarding the events leading up to the explosion, each company blamed the other. BP blamed Transocean who owned the rig, who then blamed the operators of the rig, BP. They also blamed Halliburton, who built the well casing.Coming to analyze BP's risk management, it is noted first that BP organization employs the systems of centralized direction and decentralized implementation. The centralized direction system was designed to attain business goals and objectives. The company unifies the corporation by implementing strategic objectives, values, behaviors and standards to be performed and easily understood by their people. On the other hand the systematic objective of BP is decentralized implementation of its operations in order to deliver the best quality of products or services and satisfy the needs of the consumers.The decentralized implementation covered three business segments namely: Exploration and Production, The Gas, Power and Renewable and Refining and Market. As is well known, procedures and controls are a necessary condition for effective risk management, but not a sufficient one. A company’s standards and processes will fail if employees do not feel empowered to follow the standards during times of stress or they fear retaliation for reporting â€Å"unwanted† information. Reading the report of BP and other esources at my disposal I have found that how parts of BP’s culture may have tolerated shortened safety procedures as they fell behind investment schedules and other deadlines. For example, the compan y cut short a procedure involving drilling fluid that is designed to detect gas in the well and skipped a quality test of the cement around the pipe (another buffer against gas) despite BP’s report finding that there were signs of problems with the cement job and despite a warning from the cement contractor company.The experts also concluded that there was not a strong culture of communication across its own team leaders and partner companies. Having multiple players can restrict access to critical knowledge and slow decision-making processes to a dangerous point. Nor did there appear to be a culture where managers were expected to seek out or share contrary information from a different perspective. These cultural elements allowed issues to continue without the application of comprehensive expertise.It seems to be necessary adding more controls, more checks and balances, with auditable risk management processes new minimum standards, and increased self-audits. While some crit eria and thresholds did not exist prior to the accident, it is unclear whether the lack of these controls and audit mechanisms directly caused the accident itself Companies are not able to entirely shift operational or reputational risk to a partner, subcontractor, or supplier. Presumably, BP had in place significant and comprehensive controls and contractual requirements for its contractors and other service providers.However, questions remain about whether these contractual requirements were actually implemented, assessed, and monitored by BP. Anyway, risk management referred to in this paper are the activities related to managing an organization that integrates recognition of risk, risk assessment, developing strategies to manage it, and mitigation of risk using managerial resources. Its primary objective is to reduce the different risks related to threats caused by environment, technology, humans, organizations and politics.Firms usually formulate strategies in order to manage o r mitigate risk by transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular risk. BP must apply risk management in its corporate financing as the technique for measuring, monitoring and controlling the financial or operational risk on the firm. The commonly used framework breaks risks into market risk (price risk), credit risk and operational risk and also specifies methods for calculating capital requirements for each of these components.In enterprise risk management, a risk is defined as a possible event or circumstance that can have negative influences on the survival of a company. Its impact can be on the very existence, the resources (human and capital), the products and services, or the customers of the enterprise, as well as external impacts on society, markets, or the environment. In a financial institution, enterprise risk management is normally thought of as the combin ation of credit risk, interest rate risk or asset liability management, market risk, and operational risk.All risks can never be fully avoided or mitigated simply because of financial and practical limitations. Therefore all organizations have to accept some level of residual risks. In the case of BP, the following must also be undertaken in addition and consideration of those discussed above. Firstly, it is of major importance to planning how risk management will be conducted must be undertaken: in this regard the plan must include risk management tasks, responsibilities, activities and budget.Secondly, managers responsible for BP will assign a risk officer who will be responsible for foreseeing potential problems. In this respect, it is important also to maintain the risk database and each risk should have an opening date, a title, a brief description, a probability and a suggestion of importance. Once potential sources of risk have been identified, it will also need preparing a p lan for reducing the risk (mitigation plan) for risks that are chosen to be mitigated.In this regard, it is well known that the purpose of the mitigation plan is to describe how this particular risk will be handled what, when, by who and how will it be done to avoid it or minimize consequences if it becomes a liability. BP, in a perspective of reducing the risks described above in the long run as well as in order to optimize and reduce the resources used for that purpose, must eventually summarizing planned and faced risks, effectiveness of mitigation activities, and effort spent for the risk management. Risk Management Failures of British Petroleum BP is a British global energy company which is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. As a multinational oil company, BP is the UK's largest corporation, with its headquarters in St James's, City of Westminster, London. BP America's headquarters is in the One Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas; the company is among the largest private sector energy corporations in the world, and one of the six leaders.In order to project social responsibility and improve its image British Petroleum changed its name into BP in year 2000 with a logo of green and yellow sunflower patterns. Paradoxically the same company symbol is now under derision and the object of controversial attacks from environmentalists and damaging court cases. The company’s predicament further worsened when it was listed as one of the â€Å"ten worst corporations† during the year 2001 and 2006. In fact, BP and its competitors Royal Dutch-Shell were co nsidered by activists to be responsible with the threatening phenomenon of climate change.BP was warned before the oil pipeline leak happened in Alaska, but no action was made by the higher officials to mitigate its possible occurrence and reduce damages. In March 2005, BP's Texas City, Texas refinery, one of its largest refineries, exploded causing 15 deaths, injuring 180 people and forcing thousands of nearby residents to remain sheltered in their homes. A large column filled with hydrocarbon overflowed to form a vapor cloud, which ignited. The explosion caused all the casualties and substantial damage to the rest of the plant.The incident came as the culmination of a series of less serious accidents at the refinery, and the engineering problems were not addressed by the management. Maintenance and safety at the plant had been cut as a cost-saving measure, the responsibility ultimately resting with executives in London. The fall-out from the accident continues to cloud BP's corpor ate image because of the mismanagement at the plant. There have been several investigations of the disaster, the most recent being that from the U. S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board which offered a derisive evaluation of the company.The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation and said management failures could be traced from Texas to London. The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, was fined $50 million, and sentenced to three years probation. On October 30, 2009, OSHA fined BP an additional $87 million— the largest fine in OSHA history— for failing to correct safety hazards revealed in the 2005 explosion. Inspectors found 270 safety violations that had been previously cited but not fixed and 439 new violations.BP is appealing that fine. In August 2006, BP shut down oil operations in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to corrosion in pipe lines leading up to the Alaska Pipeline. The wells were leaking insulating agent called Arctic pack, consisting of crude oil and diesel fuel, between the wells and ice. BP had spilled over one million liters of oil in Alaska's North Slope. This corrosion is caused by sediment collecting in the bottom of the pipe, protecting corrosive bacteria from chemicals sent through the pipeline to fight this bacteria.There are estimates that about 5000 barrels (790 m3) of oil were released from the pipeline. To date 1513 barrels (240. 5 m3) of liquids, about 5200 cubic yards (4000 m3) of soiled snow and 328 cubic yards (251 m3) of soiled gravel have been recovered. After approval from the DOT, only the eastern portion of the field was shut down, resulting in a reduction of 200000 barrels per day (32000 m3/d) until work began to bring the eastern field to full production on 2 October 2006.In May 2007, the company announced another partial field shutdown owing to leaks of water at a separation pl ant. Their action was interpreted as another example of fallout from a decision to cut maintenance of the pipeline and associated facilities. On 16 October 2007 Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials reported a toxic spill of methanol (methyl alcohol) at the Prudhoe Bay oil field managed by BP PLC. Nearly 2,000 gallons of mostly methanol, mixed with some crude oil and water, spilled onto a frozen tundra pond as well as a gravel pad from a pipeline.Methanol, which is poisonous to plants and animals, is used to clear ice from the insides of the Arctic-based pipelines. From January 2006 to January 2008, three workers were killed at the company's Texas City, Texas refinery in three separate accidents. In July 2006 a worker was crushed between a pipe stack and mechanical lift, in June 2007, a worker was electrocuted, and in January 2008, a worker was killed by a 500-pound piece of metal that came loose under high pressure and hit him.On April 1 2009, a Bond Offshore He licopters Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma ferrying workers from BP's platform in the Miller oilfield in the North Sea off Scotland crashed in good weather killing all 16 on board. On April 20, 2010, a semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded after a blowout and sank two days later, killing eleven people and causing a massive oil spill threatening the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida. The rig is owned and operated by Transocean Ltd on behalf of BP, which is the majority owner of the oil field.The company originally estimated the size of the leak at about 1,000 barrels a day but later accepted government estimates of a leak of at least 5000 barrels per day. On April 30, BP stated that it would harness all of its resources to battle the oil spill, spending $7 million a day with its partners to try to contain the disaster. BP was running the well without a remote control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producin g nations, Brazil and Norway, as a last resort protection against underwater spills. The use of such devices is not mandated by U.S. regulators. The U. S. Government gave the responsibility of the incident to BP and will hold it accountable for costs incurred in containing the situation. On May 11, 2010, Congress called the executives of BP, Transocean, and Halliburton to a hearing regarding the oil spill. When probed for answers regarding the events leading up to the explosion, each company blamed the other. BP blamed Transocean who owned the rig, who then blamed the operators of the rig, BP. They also blamed Halliburton, who built the well casing.Coming to analyze BP's risk management, it is noted first that BP organization employs the systems of centralized direction and decentralized implementation. The centralized direction system was designed to attain business goals and objectives. The company unifies the corporation by implementing strategic objectives, values, behaviors and standards to be performed and easily understood by their people. On the other hand the systematic objective of BP is decentralized implementation of its operations in order to deliver the best quality of products or services and satisfy the needs of the consumers.The decentralized implementation covered three business segments namely: Exploration and Production, The Gas, Power and Renewable and Refining and Market. As is well known, procedures and controls are a necessary condition for effective risk management, but not a sufficient one. A company’s standards and processes will fail if employees do not feel empowered to follow the standards during times of stress or they fear retaliation for reporting â€Å"unwanted† information. Reading the report of BP and other esources at my disposal I have found that how parts of BP’s culture may have tolerated shortened safety procedures as they fell behind investment schedules and other deadlines. For example, the compan y cut short a procedure involving drilling fluid that is designed to detect gas in the well and skipped a quality test of the cement around the pipe (another buffer against gas) despite BP’s report finding that there were signs of problems with the cement job and despite a warning from the cement contractor company.The experts also concluded that there was not a strong culture of communication across its own team leaders and partner companies. Having multiple players can restrict access to critical knowledge and slow decision-making processes to a dangerous point. Nor did there appear to be a culture where managers were expected to seek out or share contrary information from a different perspective. These cultural elements allowed issues to continue without the application of comprehensive expertise.It seems to be necessary adding more controls, more checks and balances, with auditable risk management processes new minimum standards, and increased self-audits. While some crit eria and thresholds did not exist prior to the accident, it is unclear whether the lack of these controls and audit mechanisms directly caused the accident itself Companies are not able to entirely shift operational or reputational risk to a partner, subcontractor, or supplier. Presumably, BP had in place significant and comprehensive controls and contractual requirements for its contractors and other service providers.However, questions remain about whether these contractual requirements were actually implemented, assessed, and monitored by BP. Anyway, risk management referred to in this paper are the activities related to managing an organization that integrates recognition of risk, risk assessment, developing strategies to manage it, and mitigation of risk using managerial resources. Its primary objective is to reduce the different risks related to threats caused by environment, technology, humans, organizations and politics.Firms usually formulate strategies in order to manage o r mitigate risk by transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular risk. BP must apply risk management in its corporate financing as the technique for measuring, monitoring and controlling the financial or operational risk on the firm. The commonly used framework breaks risks into market risk (price risk), credit risk and operational risk and also specifies methods for calculating capital requirements for each of these components.In enterprise risk management, a risk is defined as a possible event or circumstance that can have negative influences on the survival of a company. Its impact can be on the very existence, the resources (human and capital), the products and services, or the customers of the enterprise, as well as external impacts on society, markets, or the environment. In a financial institution, enterprise risk management is normally thought of as the combin ation of credit risk, interest rate risk or asset liability management, market risk, and operational risk.All risks can never be fully avoided or mitigated simply because of financial and practical limitations. Therefore all organizations have to accept some level of residual risks. In the case of BP, the following must also be undertaken in addition and consideration of those discussed above. Firstly, it is of major importance to planning how risk management will be conducted must be undertaken: in this regard the plan must include risk management tasks, responsibilities, activities and budget.Secondly, managers responsible for BP will assign a risk officer who will be responsible for foreseeing potential problems. In this respect, it is important also to maintain the risk database and each risk should have an opening date, a title, a brief description, a probability and a suggestion of importance. Once potential sources of risk have been identified, it will also need preparing a p lan for reducing the risk (mitigation plan) for risks that are chosen to be mitigated.In this regard, it is well known that the purpose of the mitigation plan is to describe how this particular risk will be handled what, when, by who and how will it be done to avoid it or minimize consequences if it becomes a liability. BP, in a perspective of reducing the risks described above in the long run as well as in order to optimize and reduce the resources used for that purpose, must eventually summarizing planned and faced risks, effectiveness of mitigation activities, and effort spent for the risk management.

The Islamic Worldview

UNGS 2030 THE ISLAMIC WORLDVIEW SEMESTER 1 2012/2013 ASSIGNMENT #1 TITLE| WORLDVIEW:THE MEANINGS,NECESSITY AND ELEMENTS ACCORDING TO MUSLIM SCHOLARS| COURSE TITLE| THE ISLAMIC WORLVIEW| COURSE CODE| UNGS 2030| SUBMISSION DATE| 30 OCTOBER 2012| NAME| NURUL AMALINA BINTI MD ALI| MATRIC. NO| 1215762| SECTION| 2| LECTURER NAME| DR. MD YOUSUF ALI| ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Bismillahirrahmanirrahim Assalamualaikum, First and foremost, I would like to thank to my instructor of this assignment, Dr. Md Yousuf Ali who is my best lecturer of The Islamic Worldview subject for the valuable explanation, guidance and advice especially during lecture session. He inspired me greatly to work in this assignment. His willingness to motivate me contributed tremendously to my assignment. I also would like to thank him for showing me some example that related to the topic of my assignment about The Worldview in term of its meanings, necessity and elements according to Muslim scholars. Besides, an honourable mention goes to my family and friends for their understandings and supports on me in completing this assignment. Without helps of the particular that mentioned above, I would face many difficulties while doing this assignment. During complete this assignment, I faced many difficulties and challenging things especially midterm examination and Eid Adha Celebration was around the corner. I found the information that related to our topic through The Holy Quran, the Internet, magazine, reference book and people in surrounding. However, I had done and can overcome these problem by maximize my effort and pray to Him who is The Most Helpful to His servant. Alhamdulillah. THE MEANINGS THE MEANING OF WORLDVIEWS In this assignment, first and foremost, before us knowing about worldview in Islamic perspectives, we must know the introduction and definition of ‘Worldview’. Where is term come from? And where is it used? The word of ‘Worldview’ is come from many sources. Its meaning is defined by many of scholars either western scholars or Muslim scholars. One of them comes from German’s term which is called as â€Å"Weltanschauung. Meanwhile, in Arabic’s term it is refer as â€Å"Tasawur or Ru’yah al-Islam li al-Wujud â€Å",   *The Meaning of Worldview by Western Scholars In the end of 1700s, Friedrich Schilling who is the German philosopher defined that, worldview (Weltanschauung) is refer as â€Å"The self-realized productive and conscious way of apprehending an d interpreting the universe of beings†. After a century, about in 1868, â€Å"Weltanschauung† was known as â€Å"a comprehensive conception of the world especially from a specific point of view†. Based on German scholars perspectives defined that Worldview is comprises of set of attitudes on basic matters like the way people think about the world. *The Meaning of Worldview by Muslim Scholars Muslim scholars and thinkers started use the precept of â€Å"worldview† during modern period. This percept appeared in the works of a lot of Muslim scholars like Sheikh Badiuzaman Nursi (1877-1960) in â€Å"Rasa’il al Nur† (letters of light) and in some Iranian thinkers such as Ali Shari’ati (1933-1977), al-Mutahari Ayatullah Murtaza (fundamentals of Islamic thought: God, man and the universe), Sayed Husein Naser (1933-) in â€Å" Man and nature: the spiritual crisis in modern man†, â€Å"Islam and the plight of modern man†. Isma’il Raji al-Faruqi (933-1982) â€Å"cultural atlas of Islam†, â€Å"Tawhid: its implications for thought and life†, Muhammad Naqib al-Atas â€Å"Islam and secularism†. In Arabic literature Sayed Qutb (1906-1966) came in the first place in his â€Å"in the shade of the Qur’an† (Fi Zilal al-Qur’an) â€Å"The Islamic Perspective† â€Å"al-Tasawwur al-Islami† occupies a central position. In contemporary period, valuable works have been produced dealing with the issue from Islamic point of view by Sardar Ziauddin (Islamic civilization: history of sciences), Alam Shoudhury (economics) (The Islamic worldview: socio-scientific perspective), al-Messiri (Thought & Political science). The meaning of Worldview by Muslims’ approach stands that the worldview is made from the aspect of both al-Dunya and al-Akhirah, in which the Dunya-aspect must be related in a profound and inseparable way to the Akhirah-aspect which the Akhirah-aspect has ultimate and final significance. In other word, worldview is a set of attitudes on a wide range of fundamental matters. It has a comprehensive set of propositions about various aspects of the world around us and man’s place within it. It is also defined as a basic assumption about the way of thinking about the world, which provides a more or less coherent, though not necessarily accurate. A worldview is a profile of the way the people within a specified culture live, act, think, work and relate. At the same time, it can be act as a â€Å"map† or culture’s social, religious, economic and political views and relationships.THE MEANING OF ISLAMIC WORLDVIEWSBased on Syed Naquib Al-Attas, a great Muslim scholar, he mentioned that Islamic Worldviews is, â€Å"a vision of reality and truth that appears before our mind’s eye revealing what existance is all about†. â€Å"a metaphysical survey of the visible as well as the invisible worlds including the perspective of life as a whole†. According to Al-Attas, worldview is considered as vision of reality and truth (ru’yat  al-Islam  li  al-wujud) from the Islamic point of view. Another Muslim scholar, Professor Kamal Hassan ,Professor  Area of Specialization: Contemporary Islamic Thought IIUM, also stated that, Worldviews is a comprehensive conception of Allah,man and the universe and their relationship from Islamic perspectives. † The worldview of Islam encompasses both al-dunia and al-akhirah in which the dunia aspect must be inextricably linked to the akhirah aspect, and in which the akhirah aspect has ultimate and final significance. Hence, Islamic worldviews concern with this universe (world) and the hereafter or the Day of Judgment as far as Islamic nature of reality is concerned. The belief in dual worldviews has made Islam looks exceptional. Since these views are principally derived from the  Quran, this reflects that Islamic worldviews are identical to  Quranic  worldview. Unlike in the Western, their emphasizing is on logical reasoning as well as rationality. Due to this, Islam has distinguished itself from other available worldviews as mentioned by Khurshid  Ahmad as cited by   Mawdudi. For instances, the Western’s and Christian‘s worldviews are secular and religious respectively. Islamic worldview is about the seen and unseen matter like the universe, creator, prophethood, society, man, and hereafter. Amalgamation or historical concoction or any addition stories of various cultural values are not a worldview that is formed merely. Rather, it is a well established framework derived from the revelation and interpreted by Muslim scholars throughout Islamic history. Then, it is implement by Muslims today. This frame of reference provides us with correct and consistent answers to the ultimate questions pertinent to the issues of God, unseen, man, universe, and life. It also guides man as a vicegerent of Allah to the correct belief system, shari‘ah, and ethical values. THE NECESSITYTHE NECESSITY OF ISLAMIC WORLDVIEWWe all need a certain worldview, even if it is not made fully explicit, to interact with our world. There is a practical need to have at least an implicit and for that reason naive answer for each of the worldview questions. The Islamic worldview is more than a religion. In Islam, it covers all aspects of life for its followers. Many religious scholars treat the Islamic worldview as a monotheistic religion following five simple pillars of faith. In Islamic worldview, it has views about the words like astronomical, spiritual, physical, intellectual and many aspect of life. The outlook of life in this perceptive is highly emphasized which is show us the vision of life to achieve certain goal in world and the ultimate goal in hereafter. Islamic worldview is important in order to provide the Muslims with the true knowledge and explanation about the world seen and unseen as they are explained in the Quran. Quran is the best guidance for all questions about life. This revelation is restricted to deny. The answer from this revelation cannot change and make this worldview become stable due to have ultimate guidance. For instance, if we are question about something, we can refer to Quran to find the solution. This guidance also encourages us to get the answer through the learning and reading. In Surah Al-Alaq, Allah mentioned that: Another that, Islamic worldview helps us to interact with nature, individuals, peoples, nations, cultures and civilizations. It helps us to know them comprehensively and can plan neighborhood among them. After we have relation with certain culture, we have to recognize what is their ethnic and culture. This will helps us to correct our own values, perspectives, attitudes and behaviors. This perceptive guide and teach people the way and method how to achieve the main values of Islam in human life. We can differentiate which one is bad and good. In Islam, the aspects regarding our morality and virtues (akhlaq) are become one of necessity aspect of life although we are struggling to achieve a success in life. As an example, we need to cover aurah during working at workstation. Furthermore, this percept is purposed to establish the fundamental ethical precepts, such as justice, freedom, trust, and dignity of human life and existence. Some of worldview not emphasize ethical aspect very well. By this perception, it will formulate theories of politics, sociology, culture, etc.THE ELEMENTS THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC WORLDVIEWThe fundamental elements of Islamic Worldview are the key terms of this perceptive. These elements act as integrating principles that place all our systems of meaning and standard of life and values in coherent order as a unified system forming the worldview. The highest principle of true reality as stated in Quran is focused on knowledge of the nature of God. The w orldview of Islam is characterized by an authenticity and finality that points to what is ultimate, and it projects a view of reality and truth that encompasses existence and life altogether in total perspective whose fundamental elements are permanently established. Quoted back of Syed Naquib Al Attas word,† A metaphysical survey of seen and unseen world including the perspective of life as a whole†. The element of worldview are include visible anfd visible things. They are: 1. The Nature of God This the supreme principle of Islamic Worldview. This all about the existence of God. 2. The Nature of Revelation- The Qur'an ; Prophethood This element are totally derived from Revelation, the change which is possible in this case is restricted to the manifestation of these elements in different units of time and space. 3. The Nature of Revealed Religion- Islam 4. The Nature of the World and Hereafter (dunya wal akhirah) 5. The Nature of Man The Psychology Of Human Soul (insan) 6. The Nature of Knowledge (‘ilm) As mentioned in Surah Al Alaq which is encourage us to seek knowledge. 7. The Nature of Adab (values and virtues) The aspects regarding our morality and virtues (ahlaq) are become one of necessity aspect of life although we are struggling to achieve a success in life. 8. The Nature of Freedom 9. The Nature of Happiness (sa'adah) 10. The True Meaning of Change, Development, and Progress 1. Concluding Remarks All of them are together with the key terms and concepts that they unfold, have profound bearing upon our ideas about change, development, and progress. These fundamental elements act as integrating principles that place all our system of meaning and standards of life and values in coherent order as a unified system forming the worldview and the supreme principle of true reality that is articulated by these fundamental elements is focused on knowledge of the nature of God as revealed in the Qur'an.CONCLUSIONIt is a high time that the initiative of integrating the Islamic worldview into the planning of neighbourhoods takes off in the Muslim world. Worldviews play the main role in the human being life. Its affect every single action of a man. Different worldviews will certainly shape different qualities of mankind which will eventually lead them to different end means of life as well. This distinction due to man’s aql (intellectual) which is very limited and sometime buyers (not fair). Worldview is a complex and a comprehensive perception. A worldview manifests itself in all aspects of life, social, political, economic, civilization etc. This complex includes the spiritual, cognitive, intellectual and behavioral abilities that Allah has endowed him. Thus, a worldview is at once a mean and a fruit of human spiritual, cognitive, and behavioral efforts. The worldview perceptive can be human-made as well as Revelation based precept. Islamic worldview is a collective and based on ummatic unified. A worldview is similar to any other human ideas which is it develops according to their accumulated knowledge, historical events, and human experience and then it is implemented by the people. However, as far as the Islamic worldview is concerned, the fact of change takes significantly a different position. Although we are busy to achieve world’s mission of life, hereafter’s goal become significant and our priority to achieve it.REFERENCES* Lecture Notes  © Department of General Studies IIUM,2007- 2008. * The Islamic Worldview: Glimpse on Studies and Definitions,Abdelaziz Berghout,Introduction to the Islamic Worldview,Study of Seleceted Essentials,IIUM Press (2010). * Basic Principles of Islamic Worldview ,Sayyid Qutb Islamic Pubns Intl (September 15, 2005). Vidal, C. (2008) Wat is een wereldbeeld? (What is a worldview? ). * David Naugle: Worldview: The History of a Concept (Eerdmans, 2002). * Merriam –Webster 1994 (Britannica Encyclopedia 2001). * Contribution Of The Islamic Worldview Towards Corporate Governance Mohamed Asri, Mohamed Fahmi Msc Accounting Sem 2   2003 IIUM. * http://wikipedia. com/worldview/ * http://www. allaboutworldview. org/is lamic-worldview. htm * http://izat2009. blogspot. com/worldview * http://ungss. blogspot. com * http://web. usm. my/islamicworldview/