Relationship between Rose and Ruby in the novel The Girls Essay

Relationship between Rose and Ruby in the novel The Girls - Essay Example The girls in Lori Lansens’ â€Å"The Girls,† are the extraordinary ones. How to describe the relationship between Rose and Ruby in the novel, â€Å"The Girls†? Its description in one word is, ‘divine’! From the secular point of view, the relationship is both scientific and human. At the beginning of the story Lori Lansens (2007,p.5) makes mention of it in the own words of the sisters thus: â€Å"We have an unspoken, even unconscious, system of checks and balance to determine who’ll lead the way at any given moment. There is conflict. There is compromise.† Each moment, each day of their life is miraculous, yet regulated struggle. Is it a difficult one? One should be hesitant to assert thus. They find an unspeakable joy through their struggles. Their trials and tribulations are extraordinary ones, considering the fact that they are at the threshold of their thirtieth birthday. What a glorious saga it must have been! It is too poignant and adventurous for the printed page to capture! They faced ridicule and admiration with the rarest of rare equanimity of their minds and Lansens puts it thus: â€Å"We’ve been called many things: freaks, horrors, monsters, devils, witches, retards, wonders, marvels. To most, we’re a curiosity. ... ides of our twin heads.†(p.3)They are separate, yet joined together through a very, very special procedure that is difficult for the ordinary mind to comprehend. In the words of Rose, â€Å"When Ruby is tired; I’m hardly ever ready for bed. We’re rarely hungry together and our tastes are poles apart. I prefer spicy fare, while my sister has a disturbing fondness for eggs.†(p.5)The conjoined twins since their birth have many things in common. They remained joined at the head. Their ‘life-together’ began thus: Rub’s arm curled around rose’s neck, her foreshortened legs wrapped around Rose’s hips. The journey of their life has been an incomparable one. Rose enjoys reading and writing, Ruby likes to watch TV and spend time with the kids. They have the normal quota of quarrels like other sisters. If Rose consumes alcohol, Ruby would turn sick. Even the pattern of their jobs is different. In the library Rose shelves books and Rub y reads out the content loud to children. On every count of similarity and difference, their lives are delicate and baffling. In the chronicle of their life’s journey they create many head-lines. The physical relationship between the two sisters is a marvel right from birth. Lansens writes, â€Å"How long must they have stared before someone spoke? Our combined weight at birth was ten pounds seven ounces. I was the longer one; my legs perfectly formed my torso somewhat shorter than normal, making my arms appears somewhat longer.†(p.23) Ruby is pretty, but short and truncated and cannot walk. She is a permanent load on the hip of Rose. Though tall, Rose has a distorted and grotesque face because Ruby’s head constantly pulls at hers. The story has a great philosophical message explained through the struggles of the two girls, physical

Human Resource Activities of Qantas Airways Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Activities of Qantas Airways Essay The Qantas Airways is the largest airline in Australia. Its Human Resource Management operates in the company in four major areas, which are business segments, corporate, shared services, development, and learning. This report gives limelight to the Qantas airways HRM and its role in ensuring perfect operations of the company. It further discusses change management and job analysis and design. The company has undergone intensive change management such as cutting of prices and labor costs in order to ensure high productivity, moderation of wages as well as the introduction of flexible structures through a versatile and motivated workforce. Moreover, the HRM is also responsible of ensuring that right people are hired and given necessary training under job analysis and design. However, despite the roles that the company has entrusted the HRM, there have been heightened cases of accidents and strikes from dissatisfied workers alleging that they are paid meager salaries. This shows a HRM gap in delivering its responsibilities. Therefore, the report further argues that the HRM has failed in its change management and job design and analysis strategy. In order to correct the situation, the report further proposes that the HRM change its training and communication model. As a means to an end, the report discusses some of the implications emerging from the HRM problems and ends with a comprehensive summary. Description of Qantas and their HRM Activities The Qantas Airways is Australia’s largest airline. It has a solid history as it began its business years back by transporting passengers and mails. Today, the company has expanded its operations in almost 140 destinations across the globe. It is Australia’s largest employers with around 37,000 employees. The human resource management operates in the company in four major areas, which are business segments, corporate, shared services, and development and learning. Under corporate level, the HRM is responsible for employees’ remuneration as well as benefits, the industrial relations of the airline with its competitors and development of the management. In the business segment level, the HR teams often collaborate with other business segments to ensure successful delivering of strategies that will ensure competitive advantage. Human resource has a major responsibility in the company and under shared services; the HRM is responsible of managing  workers records, supporting remuneration and recruitment process and managing employees’ compensation as well as coming up with strategic plans on staff travelling schedules and schemes (Belobaba, Odoni and Barnhart, 2009). Finally, under the learning and development level, the HRM comes up with training programs for employees to help them deliver their work effectively. HR Functions: Change Management and Job Analysis and Design at the Qantas Airways Discussion of Two HR functions in the Qantas Change Management The Qantas airline was formerly owned by the government hence did not perceive efficiency and profits as its prime goal (Rothkopf, 2009). After its privatisation in 1995, the HRM had to adopt various management practices in order to overcome the company’s external and internal influences. The HRM in their change management has emphasised on cutting costs and more so reduction of labour costs to guarantee heightened productivity, moderation of wages as well as the introduction of flexible structures through a versatile and motivated workforce (Marks, 2007). Cutting labour costs in the Qantas airways have involved strict measures from the HRM such as reducing wages and salaries through eliminating costly practices (Hernandez, 2011.). The Qantas airline HRM has undertaken immense changes in order to cope with diverse external and internal factors (Gillen and Morrison, 2005). Various factors led to changes in the HR management such as the need to have more profits in the company a nd the fact that the company was under government ownership. This means that the airline had maintained its authoritarian hierarchical structure, autocratic form of leadership, and strict procedures and rules (Hughes, 2012). In addition, the airline has been involved in a major change as far as training is concerned and in 2003, the HRM facilitated in the expansion of the company’s apprenticeship programme (Gunn, 1988). According to Kirkpatrick’s model of learning and training, training helps in ensuring affirmative results (Kearns, 2010). Job Analysis and Design Job design and analysis is the cornerstone of the Qantas HRM. Job analysis can be viewed as the hub of all human resource management activities that are needed for effective organizational functioning (Berman et al, 2009). Under job analysis, the HRM is responsible for planning, recruitment, selection, placement, and induction of workers (Berman et al, 2009). The procedures that are often supported by job analysis process include personnel selection, training, job evaluation as well as performance appraisal (Berman et al, 2009). In addition, the process of job analysis supports the Qantas organizational strategy in dealing with market competition and talent crisis. According to human resource theory, strategic HRM focuses on connecting all HR functions with organizational goals (Rothwell and Benscoter, 2012). The Qantas airline HRM in the process of job analysis determines various training needs of workers. Moreover, in job analysis process, the HRM determines on some of the things that affect behavior in the company. After job analysis process, the next step is job design, which aims at outlining and organizing duties, responsibilities, as well as tasks in a single unit in order to achieve particular objectives. Job design in the Qantas airways is essential in enabling effective feedback. In addition, training is an imperative part in job design in order to make sure that employees are conscious of their work demands. Training encompasses leadership training to employee orientation (Aulenbach, 2007). Development and training plays an imperative role in ensuring success of a company. Today, most organizations view training as an imperative role of human resource (Price, 2011). From research conducted, it is apparent that most organizations such as the Qantas airways are spending a lot of money on training with a belief that it will consequently give them a competitive advantage in both global and local market (Jackson, Schuler and Werner, 2011). According to human resource theory (Bacon et al, 2009), workers need maximum support from human resource function. In that case, the Qantas airways offer training to staff in order to motivate them as well as ensure competitive advantage in the company. Frances (2009) avows that training is imperative in ensuring imperative piloting skills. In 2009, the company opened approximately $10 million staff training centers in an effort to build on economies of scale. The HRM through job design help the workforce to make vital adjustments. Problem s and Implications Faced by Qantas Although the two major basic functions of HRM is to ensure successful change management and job analysis and design, the Qantas airline has undergone  through various challenges in these two areas. The HRM in their change management focused on cutting costs such as labor costs in order to increase productivity, ensure moderate workers’ salary and introduce flexible structures. However, they have failed in ensuring effective and non-biased change management. This is because, workers recently have been complaining of being paid meager salaries and even gone for strikes. Under change management, they should have ensured successful remuneration of employees. However, it is embarrassing to note that a reputable company like Qantas with such successful change management strategy has failed to take care of its employees. The unsolved salary issues have caused employee outcry and various scandals in the company. The pilots have been protesting over meager salaries and the union workers have continued to demonstrate over pay inequality arguing they are paid 25% less than their equals in Victoria (Hernandez, 2012). In a survey that was conducted in 2012, on three thousand Qantas employees, the workers expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the company mostly the HRM (McDonald, 2012). Serious staff challenges have continued threatening the company yet up to now the HRM is still reluctant to come up with a new change management model such as ADKAR model that will cater for the interests of workers and allow the company to focus activities on particular business results (Hiatt, 2006). Under Job analysis and design, it is apparent that the HRM made immense mistakes in choosing the right candidates. Despite heavy training programs that the HRM has invested in during job analysis and design process, it is only in 2008 that the company was involved in an in-flight incident, which caused ser ious injuries to passengers and death of 129 passengers due to specious commands (Frances, 2009). In addition, it is apparent that training has not had a positive impact in the company since in 2006, the Qantas Airways pilots failed to monitor their position hence ended up to the wrong runway. Moreover, in 2009, the company’s pilots failed to acknowledge and decided to overshoot their destinations by 150 miles (Frances, 2009). Frances (2009) alleges that captains in the company are not competent enough as they lacked knowledge on use of stick shaker and stall recovery thus causing serious accidents. It is hence clear that the HRM department leaves a lot to be desired as incidences have continued to intensify despite the company’s change management and job design and analysis strategy (Louise, 2011). With such a successful airline company, it is apparent that its HRM is ineffectual and has only led to losses than success. The company asserts that it is committed fully to developing its people, yet they do not seem to know how they can forge a beneficial relationship with its staff. There has been a lot of change in the company including cutting of costs, developing training programs, outsourcing working rules and regulations, collaborating with the unions yet the situation seem to be moving from bad to worse. It is apparent that the HRM has been incompetent in hiring the right personnel and dealing with employees. Implications to Stakeholders Various stakeholders include trade unions, government, shareholders, customers, community, business partners, employees, the media, and non-governmental organizations. They all have a major influence on the company’s performance and its strategy. The media coverage on wrong decisions in the Qantas have affected negatively on the company’s image. The problems discussed obviously imply that the HRM, shareholders, and business partners have been reluctant in solving the current crisis hence affecting the performance of the company. Because of the accidents reported, most consumers are not keen on using Qantas airline hence affecting profitability (BBC News, 2012). Additionally, the challenges in the company have also affected employees and consumers on grounds that they have lost confidence with the running of the company (Sandilands, 2011). The looming disagreement between Qantas and its pilots shows clearly that the HRM and business partners have failed in ensuring they contribute in effective management of the company. In addition, the Non-governmental organizations have failed in conflict resolution between the Qantas and its employees. It is apparent that the HRM, business partners, and non-governmental organizations involved have failed in coming up with rational solutions to ensure such current disputes do not develop into a major crisis. Instead of the company’s CEO, Alan Joyce holding productive talks, he has been busy making provocative comments in numerous heated exchanges. For instance, he condemned union members on issues regarding wages arguing that their talks and protests were baseless (Bamber, 2011). The union leaders in return criticized N senior managers and accused them of tarnishing the brand image of the company while they were awarding themselves hefty salaries. This hence implies that the  community as well as Union members have lost confidence on the company’s stakeholders and this in return has led to bad publicity and reduced profitability. Consequently, the media has given a wide coverage on the company’s latest controversies meaning that it is benefiting financially because of the developing story. It is upsetting to see Qantas’ employees go on strike due to poor management issues in a company owned by various stakeholders. The shareholders, business partners, the HRM, CEO, and Nongovernmental Organizations have a major role to play in ensuring issues in the company are resolved and the company goes back to its initial profitable situation. Therefore, they need to sit down and come up with a rational plan towards improvement (Bamber, 2011). Action plan and Recommendations With the increasing incidences, there is hence a need to come up with an action plan. First, all the stakeholders must meet to discuss on ways to solve the recent crisis. In the meeting, there will be change of communication and training model to more rational models that are employee oriented. The HRM will carry out the process and engage other stakeholders to give ideas on how salary and training issues ought to be handled. The change process will take place from 1st to 28th November in the company’s boardroom. To carry out the process, the employees will be interviewed in order to show some of the areas they would need change. The entire company’s workforce and managers will be given information concerning the changed plan. The recent problems involving HRM function has caused the company to suffer financially. The Qantas airline in their website asserts that, â€Å"Qantas is committed to providing meaningful jobs with competitive salaries and superior benefits† (Qantas, n.d). However, they have failed in fulfilling their promise as the strikes reported tell a different story. In addition, they allege that they â€Å"provide targeted, quality training to the Qantas group and assists in the development of skills† (Qantas, n.d). However, the accidents reported show a major gap in their training strategy. The HRM should revisit their training and communication model and make a change on it. It is time the company moved out of a market approach change strategy that only focus on making profits and focus on employee oriented approach that consider the interests of workers. With an effective training  model, there will be workshop and focus group sessions where employees air their grievances and come up with solutions to their problems (Frances, 2009). In addition, effective HRM communication should contribute successfully to teamwork, learning, innovation, safety, and productivity (Krizan et al, 2010). Moreover, the HRM should invest heavily on their pilot candidates and ensure that they get the right training. Coming up with a HR strategic oriented communication model is important in guaranteeing that employees are at par with requirements and needs of the company. This will help in discussing paramount issues affecting the running of the company. Once there is fit between communicat ion and training model in relation to the role of the HRM, the next step should be to come up with a tactical plan on how the HR will be managing their roles to ensure there are no more scandals. The HR needs to be involved fully in daily operations of the company to ensure alignment with needs of the employees. Moreover, the HRM should come up with performance management plan, which is imperative in following up on the performance of the staff members. The HRM should also be transparent in its strategy. This means that the company’s operational and strategic agenda should be communicated clearly to workers and must be accepted. This will ensure employees’ needs are met and there are no operational challenges. In addition, its mission should be shared with other shareholders to make sure they are on the right path to correcting the image of the company. Today’s HR models recognize on the fact that people do not leave their issues at home when they are going to work. For the company to be successful, it should focus on the needs of the workers whether personal or professional. This will motivate the workers to deliver quality work. In that case, there will be less accidents and remuneration problems in the company (Frances, 2009). In addition, in training sessions, the HR should focus on changing staff members’ attitude towards work and teach them on how to have a positive attitude. This will help in motivating workers and encouraging them to air their grievances through dialogue.

history of the Atomic Bomb :: essays research papers fc

History of the Atomic Bomb The atomic bomb1 is the most destructive weapon known to mankind. A bomb of this nature is capable of obliterating anything up to four square miles and anything reaching outside that area receives very extreme damage. Albert Einstein was the man who had convinced the United States to research the Atomic Bomb.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Manhattan Project2 was the name given to the research and development of the atomic bomb. It was called the Manhattan Project after Manhattan Engineer District of the US Army Corps of Engineers, because most of the early research was done in New York. The person that was chosen to lead this project was General Leslie Grove and Robert Oppenheimer was appointed to lead the day-to-day running of the project. In order for an atom bomb to be produced the scientists had to separate the Uranium-235 from the much more common Uranium-238. The facility that was used to separate the Uranium-135 from the Uranium-238 was not held __________________________ 1 Atomic Bomb – Bomb using Uranium-235 for mass destruction. 2 Manhattan Project – Name given to the development and research of the atomic bomb in the U.S. in New York but in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The cost of this project was two billion dollars, which is equivalent to 26 billion dollars in today’s world and the factories employed 200,000 people, that was more then the amount of people employed in the United States auto mobile industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the first bomb was made a site in Alamogordo, New Mexico was chosen as the testing ground. In order for the bomb to explode, all the nuclei of the several grams of Uranium would have to be split. A sphere of Uranium the size of a baseball would cause an explosion that equaled the strength of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. When the bomb had exploded there was a tower and the explosion had turned the asphalt around the tower into green sand, the sky was extremely bright and seconds after the explosion came a huge blast that sent unbelievable heat across the desert. Also, there was a huge mushroom cloud that reached the sub-stratosphere that was at an elevation of 41,000 feet. 10,000 feet away a soldier was of right off his feet by the force of the shock wave and another soldier stationed five miles away was temporarily blinded. The explosion was able to be herd 50 miles away.

Greek Mythology and Religion :: Ancient Greece Greek History

Greek Mythology and Religion Mythology is the study and interpretation of myth and the body of myths of a particular culture. Myth is a complex cultural phenomenon that can be approached from a number of viewpoints. In general, myth is a narrative that describes and portrays in symbolic language the origin of the basic elements and assumptions of a culture. Mythic narrative relates, for example, how the world began, how humans and animals were created, and how certain customs, gestures, or forms of human activities originated. Almost all cultures possess or at one time possessed and lived in terms of myths. Myths differ from fairy tales in that they refer to a time that is different from ordinary. The time sequence of myth is extraordinary- an "other" time - the time before the conventional world came into being. Because myths refer to an extraordinary time and place and to gods and other supernatural beings and processes, they have usually been seen as aspects of religion. Because of the inclusive nature of myth, however, it can illustrate many aspects of individual and cultural life. Meaning and interpretation From the beginnings of Western culture, myth has presented a problem of meaning and interpretation, and a history of controversy has gathered about both the value and the status of mythology. Myth, History, and Reason In the Greek heritage of the West, myth or mythos has always been in tension with reason or logos, which signified the sensible and analytic mode of arriving at a true account of reality. The Greek philosophers Xenophanes, Plato, and Aristotle, for example, exalted reason and made sarcastic criticisms of myth as a proper way of knowing reality. The distinctions between reason and myth and between myth and history, although essential, were never quite absolute. Aristotle concluded that in some of the early Greek creation myths, logos and mythos overlapped. Plato used myths as metaphors and also as literary devices in developing an argument. Western Mythical Traditions The debate over whether myth, reason, or history best expresses the meaning of the reality of the gods, humans, and nature has continued in Western culture as a legacy from its earliest traditions. Among these traditions were the myths of the Greeks. Adopted and assimilated by the Romans, they furnished literary, philosophical, and artistic inspiration to such later periods as the Renaissance and the romantic era. The pagan tribes of Europe furnished another body of tradition.

Acc1101 Assignment 1

Reflective Journal On Wednesday the 13th of March 2012 in room H102 at 12-1pm Catherine Chinnock from USQ Careers came to talk to the first semester ACC1101 student about career development (ACC1101 2012). I was never one to listen to career expositions or pay attention to any type of career development presentation, because most of the time they would just repeat the same thing over and over again. So when it came to listening to the career development presentation in my first semester (second semester for USQ) I wasn’t too enthused at what Catherine had to offer.Though after listening to the presentation I was actually surprised at what I had learnt and was able to understand why career development learning is beneficial, especially at Uni. I learnt about the skills and attributes involved, and what employers look for as well as how these skills enhance my graduate employability and ways to obtain these skills. Catherine had talked about the 8 skills of employability some of I had already heard of, such as ‘teamwork communication, problem solving, planning and organizing, and self-management’ (Chinnock 2012).However certain ones I hadn’t heard of, such as ‘long-life learning, initiate and enterprise and technology’, which came as a bit of a shock. I guess growing up in a generation where computer skills are almost a natural action I hadn’t put much thought about this skill I had obtained and how it could actually help me throughout my career. The Career development presentation also gave some key attributes to help me as a student prepare for graduating, and those were Aptitude, Attitude and Academic performance (Chinnock 2012).I found that in order to gain these skills; study, employment, volunteer/community work, work experience and extra-curricular activities could help (Chinnock 2012). To which I did some further research and found that USQ offered the Phoenix Award, which is an award given to those who had d one extra-curricular, work experience and community work by accumulating points (The phoenix award 2012). I also gained information on how to get employment and work experience and where to find it, which was online at the CareerHub (Chinnock 2012).USQ also had a career mentoring program which in which I am assigned a mentor for six months to help with any questions, give guidance and provide goal setting for life outside of university in my given field (Chinnock 2012). She had also explained what workshops were intended for in regards to setting up university and life skills (Chinnock 2012). I had also learnt that USQ held events throughout the year such as, speed networking, a careers fair and Industry Experience Program (Chinnock 2012).One main event that had interested me was an Industry Experience Program which is ‘designed to assist student to develop and enhance their skills and knowledge’ (Chinnock 2012) thus allowing me to broaden my understanding of what to ex pect work wise, and give me career opportunities (Chinnock 2012). From what Catherine had taught me I was able to learn the importance of balance between university and personal life. I learnt about what USQ careers has to offer to help me really get a head start in my career as an accountant, the opportunities that can arise and the importance of community both at and after university.I was able to see how different skills, help improve job employability and that it’s not just about the academic results but also the extra mile that I as an individual can do in order to enhance my career. This also helped me identify my own strength and weaknesses in each of the skills to improve, and how I am able to do so to ensure that when I graduate I am able to graduate with all the skills needed to help maximize my employability.Because of this presentation it means that the phoenix award I had enrolled myself in at the start of semester will help me improve my career development skill s as well as still enjoy participating in activities. Because of this presentation it now means I am able to improve my skills and still collect point for my phoenix award, to become a more effective employee and person. Word count: 698 References ACC1101, Study Desk S2 2012, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, viewed 24 August 2012, Chinnock, C 2012, Career Development Presentation, PowerPoint slides, ACC1101, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, viewed August 2012, < http://usqstudydesk. usq. edu. au/m2/pluginfile. php/57316/mod_folder/content/11/Career%20development%20presentation%20Toowoomba. mp4? forcedownload=1> The Phoenix award, 2012, USQ Student Guild, viewed 20 August 2012,

Culture is the collective sum of knowledge experi Essays

Culture is the collective sum of knowledge experi Essays Culture is the collective sum of "knowledge experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions" learned by a specific group of people, well-defined by everything from "language, religion, cuisine, habits, music and arts." It is a "learned behavior" and is "socially transmitted," or more briefly, behavior through "social learning." It can also be defined as a "way of life" of a group of people and that are spread along by the means of "communication and imitation" from one generation to the next. "There are approximately 370 million Indigenous people in the world, belonging to 5,000different groups, in 90 countries worldwide. Indigenous people live in every region of the world, but about 70% of them live in Asia." (Wikipedia). Indigenous Peoples manage to live a "nomadic life" and have "small populations" comparative to the "prevailing culture of their country."They normally have their "own language and distinctive cultural traditions which are still practiced." "Indigenous Peoples are often thought of as the primary stewards of the planet's biological resources." Their modes of life have "contributed to the preservation of the natural environment" on which they "depend" on. "Indigenous societies are found in every inhabitedclimate zoneandcontinentof the world"(Wikipedia). The article is related to the " World Indigenous Games a multi-sport event involving indigenous athletes that was first staged in 2015 which was held in Palmas,Brazil , from October 23 to November 1, 2015 " and feature d " competitive sports and non-competitive demonstration events. " With delegations from as far afield as Ethiopia and New Zealand and two dozen indigenous peoples from across Brazil, the games produced nine frenetic days of competition in traditional sports, dancing, singing, commercial and cultural exchange and a dose of politics. Despite language barriers, tips were traded, stories swapped and traditional accoutrements traded. The next edition of the games will be held in Canada in 2017. Much of the criticism is due to a government proposal that would give the country's legislative branch, which is influenced by agricultural lobbies, the power to define indigenous lands, many of which are home to valuable natural resources. The Games were supported by the United Nations Development Program, reflecting the past several decades' movement toward advocating for indigenous peoples on a global platform, recognizing the common experiences of land loss, colonization, and discrimination that connect groups from the Sami in Finland to Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. In 2007, the General Assembly passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, treated as a watershed moment despite its lack of binding agreements. Even so, Canada, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand voted against it, the only member states to do so. But time will tell if future "Native Olympics'"have the power to change viewers' idea of indigenous people. The Games reveal "tensions between celebration and objectification,"Pablo Medina Uribe wrote in a piece for Fusion, a dilemma evident in some descriptions of the athletes: "Brazil's buffed-out, face-painted indigenous women reportedly strike fear in rivals' hearts,"one report noted.Another described participantsas "Supersized Maori from New Zealand, diminutive Aeta from the Philippines and native peoples of all shapes and sizes in between." As the Games draw to a close today, the competition has proven to be just as much about politics and PR as strength or speed. "Our life is not a game," one protester's sign reminded photographers perhaps before he dashed off to the next event. Few sporting pleasures can rival that of the post-victory brag. Shortly after the Kuikoro had seen off their Amazonian rivals, the Karaja , in arguably the most hotly anticipated event of the first World Games for Indigenous Peoples , the tug-of-war, one of the athletes could not resist emphasising the ease of their 40-second victory. Indigenous Games 2015 kick off in Brazil - in pictures View gallery "It was really simple," Pique Kuikoro said. "To win, you just have to stay prepared, breathe at the right time and keep your feet planted in the sand." Not all the games at this nine-day event in Palmas, a sleepy city in the sweltering agricultural heartland of Brazil , are quite so straightforward. There's football, of course, and archery, but also spear-throwing, log-carrying and xiknahiti

Write My Killing of 3 Muslim-American College Students Essay Cheap

Write My Killing of 3 Muslim-American College Students Essay Cheap Hashtag: #ChapelHillShooting The Motive and Potential Causal Factor Three innocent Muslim-American college students have been shot dead in their home at Chapel Hill. Deah Shaddy Barakat was a doctoral student at UNC-Hill’s School of Dentistry, while his wife Yosur and her sister Razan were students of the nearby University of California. The gunman, Craig Stephen Hicks who describe himself as a supporter of an â€Å"Atheist for Equality† and a student of Paralegal Studies in Durham Technical Community College gave himself up to the police minutes later. The police initially said that the motive for the killings was a parking dispute. However, the suspect’s Facebook page showed several pictures of Hicks with atheist slogan and images mocking religion such as the United Atheist of America with â€Å"Why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each other’s influence when they agree about so many ideological issues†. Hicks also shared a picture of a loaded 38 revolver, a holster, and 5 extra rounds of speed loader. Speculations about the motive are a hate crime and victims’ Islamic faith while others put the blame on Western media. An assistant professor at the University of North Alabama offered his opinion on Western media’s framing, a concept similar to agenda setting, where media representation of an event affects the choices of people. For example, Anti-Muslim criminals framed as â€Å"crazy, misguided bigot who acted alone†. This framing or generalization practices according to the assistant university professor make the killer act according to the larger and more common perception of himself. Therefore, Western media’s framing of Muslims as â€Å"backward, violent, fundamentalist, and threats to Western civilization† was likely causal factors in Anti-Muslim crimes such as the Chapel Hill murder. Find more information here: Contributing Factors of Student Suicides Violence against Female University Students Smoking in Public Places Should Be Banned Womens Right to Education Relieving Students School-Related Stress Academic Researchers Findings Academic studies conducted on Western media’s coverage of Islam and Muslims suggest that they often connect Islam to atrocity; Muslims are people of conflict and violence. Their tendency is to approach Islam and the Muslim from of difference and opposition and therefore creating â€Å"Islamophobia† or Anti-Muslim racism in Western societies. A good example is a magazine headline â€Å"Islam and Freedom: Are They Destined to Clash† painting Muslims’ as homogenous and zombie like people. Africa, on the other hand, has been framed as â€Å"uncivilized, crisis, and crime-ridden, corrupt, and negative† by the Western media. Other academic studies suggest the media encourage some people’s fascination with crime and criminal offenders. The reason is that public perception of crime and criminal justice system are greatly influenced by media’s presentation of framed ideas. The†Islamophobia† and frame of mind that was created by Western media may have been in some away accepted by a certain individual true and socially and politically accepted belief. In a similar manner, an Anti-Muslim framed, as a â€Å"crazy, misguided bigot who acted alone† would assume his role as an Anti-Muslim crazy and foolish extremist who works alone. Now, if the speculations are true that it is a hate crime and perpetrated because of faith, then is it correct to assume that the causal factor behind the #ChapelHillShooting is Western media?

Make Yourself buy Incubus essays

Make Yourself buy Incubus essays Incubus has been around for some time but their newest album has caught my attention and the attention of the music world. The album entitled Make Yourself features a great selection of music with every song on the record being good. Today there are cds that contain the 2 or 3 good songs played on the radio and thats it, with Incubus the songs on the cd are even better than the ones that are known. They are creative and use their own type of style and their own music. Incubus's third record, Make Yourself, is more then just your average album. The album consists of thirteen songs, each being different. This is one aspect that I believe is a major attraction in buying an album, along with each song being a good song. The album starts out with a great opening track "Privilege". This song really sets the whole tone for the rest of the music to come. It's a catchy tune with a great feel to it. As the Cd progresses on, songs like "Nowhere Fast" and "Make Yourself" show the bands rock side with hard riffs and a driving force that just pulls you through the songs. On the other side there are songs like "Consequence", The Warmth, and Drive which, give you a different feel. They are softer but are still rock/ metal; Unforgiven by Metallica is an example of this. Stellar and Pardon Me, the two songs played on the radio, fit right into the cd making it enjoyable. Both songs have a great beat and flow of music. They are catchy giving them a certain remembrance to them. At the same time they are totally different songs, each with different chords and rhythms, just like every other song on the album. Of course there is that general guitar and drum combination, but the way they use them to make new songs is what makes the album so original. Incubus is original, which I believe is an excelle ...

The Role of Orientalism in Western Conceptions of the Islamic Essay - 1

The Role of Orientalism in Western Conceptions of the Islamic Tradition - Essay Example In Orientalism, Edward Said writes that the West reckons the Islamic states to be static and undeveloped, which fabricates a view that Oriental culture can be studied, depicted and reproduced. This implies the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior. 1 Such view from the above does not give a complete picture of what the society has to offer. Some of the most famous ancient scientists, for example, Omar Khayyam, one of the supposed founders of algebra, belonged to the Oriental world; ancient Persia, unlike the tribes of the territory where modern Iraq is located, was the center of science, arts, and culture of its time. Islam as a very severe and, as it seems from the first look, cruel religion, creates its own image as a dictatorship of its norms and laws over a man and demands strict obeying, which is very difficult for the Western conscience of liberal world perception, and it leads to formulating of conceptions (and misconceptions as well) which a re not always true. It is necessary to define and investigate into such ones and to understand the role of Orientalism in their emergence. In Western Democracy and Islamic Tradition: The Application of Shari’a in a Modern World, Melanie Reed rises a matter of human rights in Islam. â€Å"While most scholars would agree that minimal human rights standards exist, the correct implementation of such standards is a topic of hot debate. In light of recent international conflicts, the relationship between religion and human rights, and in particular Islam and human rights, is a pressing topic.†2 Indeed, some Islamic countries, especially those with strong traditions of tribal society, Pakistan, Afghanistan, for instance, are an endless source of news about terrorist attacks, blood shooting, hostages taking and other possible violation of human rights. Islam, implying a solid faith in God, may result in society’s looking for the embodiment of such God – strong, wise, caring.

Accounting theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Accounting theory - Essay Example The money is the only and ultimate source of exchange in the world, and therefore, the companies have to acquire human and other resources by paying the suppliers money. The theory of Resource Dependence argues that organizations cannot survive without receiving social support from the relevant societies. However, the companies need to create success in order to gift their investors with the construct of trust that forms a cornerstone of any kind of human relation one can think of. The organizations have to serve the needs and wants of the investors and shareholders as well. The financial recordkeeping is far reaching in terms of sustaining a relationship with the stakeholders. The accounting systems might have the flaws, but despite that, one cannot possibly give up on them because they form an integral part of the business. The field of accounting is filled with corruption and dishonesty, but it does not mean that the system is wrongful in nature. However, those who are running it might be doing corruption (Cecchetti, 2006). In this way, the accountant becomes corrupt and dishonest with his or her profession. The field of accounting has become a flashpoint of corruption in recent years because of unveiling fraudulent activities in the departments of the leading companies. The conceptual framework behind the art and science of accounting has a design to pass entries in order to depict the exact situation of the business. The experts use the term creative accounting in order to refer to the practices that accountants apply to manipulate the stakeholders. The accountants create attractive level of working capital so that the financial outlook of their companies can appear attractive in the eyes of the stakeholders. The issues in the field began to intensify after the application of Generally Acceptable Accounting Practices (GAAP). The accountants apply the

Liability & Negligence Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Liability & Negligence - Case Study Example There are various reasons why the entities mentioned above can be found liable for the pilot’s accident. The manufacturer of the aircraft would have been found liable for the pilot’s accident under the strict liability act. Liability can be imposed on the manufacturer of the Cessna 337 without finding a fault such as negligence. In this case, the pilot who now becomes a claimant needs to prove that n accident occurred and that the aircrafts manufacturer was responsible. The law can impute strict liability in a situation like this, which can be considered dangerous (Edward, 2009). The manufacturer will be liable for the accident if he did not discourage the pilot against reckless behavior, which led to the accident. No matter how good the aircraft is, in a case of an accident like this, the manufacturer of the aircraft can be held liable. This is because; the pilot can accuse the manufacturer of a faulty product in case of product liability (Bernhard, 2012). The pilot however does not need to prove that the aircraft was faulty. In this case, strict liability will make the manufacturer of the Cessna 337 liable for the pilot’s accident. The manufacturer can also be liable for the pilot’s accident as a result of negligence. If the manufacturer did not provide enough warnings of the dangers of the flight, he will be held liable for the accident. The manufacturer is also liable for the pilot’s accident because he could have taken the flight for a test to ensure that it was in good condition. The pilot will be found liable for his accident due to various reasons. The main reason why he will be liable for his accident is negligence. In the presented case, the pilot has shown negligence in various issues. First, he decided to fly the aircraft when it did not have enough fuel. The pilot can also be considered to be negligent because he flew the flight when he was not comfortable with the night conditions. The pilot can also be sued for negligence because of

RESEARCH PAPER ON JAPANESE AMERICAN SEGREATION IN THE PERIOD OF Essay

RESEARCH PAPER ON JAPANESE AMERICAN SEGREATION IN THE PERIOD OF BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR - Essay Example For example, the FBI, along with the Office of Naval Intelligence and Military Intelligence Division, wrote Sonia Shah, had conducted surveillance of the Japanese American community since the early 1930s, a decade before the Pearl Harbor bombing. (p. 179) Anti-Japanese immigration has been present ever since in communities and in the media. And, finally, the success of the attack highlighted the â€Å"racial inferiority† of the Japanese in the American point of view. Barry Dean Karl (1983) offered us an account: The training of the young Japanese air pilots to fly aircrafts was to crash and explode was taken as an example of Japanese racial character rather than military patriotism. Suicide was acceptable to Japan†¦ That the attack on Pearl Harbor was a sneak attack, was also taken as demonstrating a character defect, and it was presumed to have been necessitated by another Japanese defect: that they were shoddy manufacturers whose equipment could not stand up in a proper battle. (p. 202) Pearl Harbor as the worst defeat ever suffered by the American Navy was unbelievable to Americans. The American racism which fueled the previously outlined American perspective towards Japanese led many people to believe that Japan could not have pulled off their stunning raid without inside help of some sort. Here, we also see that American prejudice played a role in the base being unprepared: Commanders at the base refused to focus on what the Japanese were capable of doing and instead focused on what seemed to make sense for them to do. 3 Anti-Japanese sentiment eventually obscured any Japanese-American efforts to display loyalty to the United States. Swiftly, only three months after the bombing, President Franklin D. Roosevelt codified the hatred towards the Japanese when he issued Executive Order 9066 which mandated the exclusion and confinement of 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps.4

Sonata form in Beethoven's piano sonatas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Sonata form in Beethoven's piano sonatas - Essay Example Initially, music domineered in courts and churches. Public concerts emerged in the music scene for enjoyment and entertainment for the commons. Developments in instrumental music made it equal and even at times superseded vocal music. Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven dominated composition of chorale music in the classical era. Advancement in music during the era was depicted in instrumental forms. The symphony, concerto, sonata and instrumental chamber music like the Beethoven string quartets became common.1 In the beginning of classical era, the harpsichord was replaced by the piano as a common keyboard instrument. Most composers used it to write most works including sonatas. The sonatas written had the same forms like those of symphonies, concertos and chamber works although they had three movements instead of four. Mozart’s piano sonatas were light and tuneful and therefore suited the piano that was available at that time. The piano mode l changed greatly from Mozart’s period to Beethoven’s time. Metal braces were added to the frame that permitted additional tension to the strings. This allowed the musical instrument to produce loud powerful sounds. Ludwig van Beethoven, a German, lived in the period of 1770 to 1827. He was a composer of instrumental music. Instrumentals he used were symphonies, the piano and string quartets. The music he developed from these instruments brought a transition from classical music to romantic style. His choral music formed part of repertoire with his Mass in D Major and Missa Solemnis taking key roles in traditional western music. Beethoven played an important role in development of sonatas. His main instrument was the piano. His piano sonatas are known by their numbers, key and nicknames. Beethoven wrote thirty-two piano sonatas which were longer and more profound than Mozart’s work. The piano sonatas contain repeated notes, characterized with sudden changes of d ynamic level. His opuses are technically demanding, making use of high and low notes on the piano (Dale, 1954).2 Beethoven also composed wonderful overtures, chamber music works, concertos and vocal compositions. Despite being deaf, he wrote many outstanding music that has inspired today’s music. This paper discusses Beethoven’s sonata Op. 53 and Op. 57. 2.0 Musical Form Musical divisions are marked with letters designated from repeated melody, new presentation and contrasting material. Common forms encountered in instrumental music of the classical period include strophic form, through-composed, binary form and ternary form. Strophic form is a design used in vocal music, repeated in several different verses or strophes of words. Through-composed is a form that has no repetition of the large-scale. Binary form contains two parts in which the important sections are repeated while Ternary form has three parts focusing a return of initial music after a contrasting section . In the course of the return, symmetry and balance is achieved. This paper explores classical music through sonata and sonata forms of Beethoven. 2.1 Sonata and Sonata Forms Sonata has a long musical history, with an ever-expanding and ever-changing organism. Through its history, it contains borrowed features of other types of musical form and texture. The design is composed of various series of short movements like those found in one, long unbroken movement that resembles fantasy. The

RESEARCH PAPER ON JAPANESE AMERICAN SEGREATION IN THE PERIOD OF Essay

RESEARCH PAPER ON JAPANESE AMERICAN SEGREATION IN THE PERIOD OF BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR - Essay Example For example, the FBI, along with the Office of Naval Intelligence and Military Intelligence Division, wrote Sonia Shah, had conducted surveillance of the Japanese American community since the early 1930s, a decade before the Pearl Harbor bombing. (p. 179) Anti-Japanese immigration has been present ever since in communities and in the media. And, finally, the success of the attack highlighted the â€Å"racial inferiority† of the Japanese in the American point of view. Barry Dean Karl (1983) offered us an account: The training of the young Japanese air pilots to fly aircrafts was to crash and explode was taken as an example of Japanese racial character rather than military patriotism. Suicide was acceptable to Japan†¦ That the attack on Pearl Harbor was a sneak attack, was also taken as demonstrating a character defect, and it was presumed to have been necessitated by another Japanese defect: that they were shoddy manufacturers whose equipment could not stand up in a proper battle. (p. 202) Pearl Harbor as the worst defeat ever suffered by the American Navy was unbelievable to Americans. The American racism which fueled the previously outlined American perspective towards Japanese led many people to believe that Japan could not have pulled off their stunning raid without inside help of some sort. Here, we also see that American prejudice played a role in the base being unprepared: Commanders at the base refused to focus on what the Japanese were capable of doing and instead focused on what seemed to make sense for them to do. 3 Anti-Japanese sentiment eventually obscured any Japanese-American efforts to display loyalty to the United States. Swiftly, only three months after the bombing, President Franklin D. Roosevelt codified the hatred towards the Japanese when he issued Executive Order 9066 which mandated the exclusion and confinement of 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps.4

What problems in other approaches to political analysis has feminism Essay

What problems in other approaches to political analysis has feminism sought to address - Essay Example Such a strategy can become an obstacle in managing efficiently, the types of problems, as described above. Precaution needs to be taken not to unnecessarily reject an approach leading to actual analysis, thus limiting feminist considerations (Lawson, 1999). The aim of feminist approaches in politics is to change the research and practice of politics, differentiating it from actions that just include women or links between women and men as a field of significance. For many academicians, a major add-on is the notion of ‘gender’. Although this term is mostly taken for ‘women’, feminist study is precautious to differentiate between ‘sex’, biological variations between women and men and ‘gender’, social contexts provided to these differences in terms. A change to gender has two wide implications: one is to shift the attention away from biological sex to framed gender identities, and the other is that it shifts overall concern with women while thinking of the effect of masculinities and femininities, besides the relations between men and women, on political awareness and results (Childs and Krook, 2006). Given women’s concurrent cornering from the political arena, centring on ‘women’ becomes significant for measuring designs of political empowerment, attitudes and impacts. Nevertheless, theories of gender provide an opportunity to study more deeply by researching masculinities and femininities, along with the comparative ranking of men and women, in the behaviour of political life. Another aim of feminists is to widen the scope of ‘politics’. Political scholars are in the habit of using this term to mean formal political procedures in relation to government and elections. Nevertheless, women’s movement activism has led scientists to theorize two more meanings. On the one side, feminists have enlarged the meaning of ‘politics’ to include informal politics and the f orces of routine life. Feminists view social movements as a type of inclusion equal to their participation inside the state (Beckwith, 2007)). On the same line, they point out towards the power relations that cover all aspects of social life, including relations within the private arena, assuming ‘the personal is political’ (Okin, 1979)). Other than that, feminists and postmodern theorists have also followed a concept of ‘politics’ as any representation of power relations (Butler, 1990)). This approach separates most from positivist premises, theorizing about not only the politics of the state and social movements but also the politics of language (Driscoll & Krook, 2011). A third trait of feminist study is a dedication to bring about political transformation. In certain cases, this aim is employed as an opposition to feminist work on the basis that it is not ‘objective’, as political aims intrude with the finding of ‘truth’ (Hamme rsley and Gomm, 1997)). In reaction to these objections, feminist philosophers debate for identifying the contextual and incomplete nature of all knowledge assertions, with some ideating that the outlooks of the sidelined should be considered as a man for creating relatively sound knowledge about the world (Hartsock, 1983)). Irrespective of their methodological approaches, which may catapult between wide agreement of the present instruments of the subject, a state called as feminist empiricism, to tryst

Role of the Registered Nurse in Pediatric Palliative Care Essay Example for Free

Role of the Registered Nurse in Pediatric Palliative Care Essay Nursing is a career that requires collaborative relationships among professionals that assist nurses to provide the best possible care for the client and family. These interprofessional relationships may involve a wide range of health care professionals of multiple members that work collaboratively together to deliver quality care. Nurses are required to work with other professionals on a daily basis on the floor whether it is with a doctor, a lab tech, a respiratory therapist, physiotherapists or even a fellow nurse. Registered Practical Nurses (RPN) and Registered Nurses (RN) work together on a daily basis and work in partnership with one another to provide the level of care that is required in order for a patient to meet their outcomes. Pediatric palliative care is a specialized setting that requires constant teamwork or consultations and majority of the centers only allow RN`s to work on that floor, however; some centers allow for RPN`s to care for these children. Crozier and Hancock (2012) state that â€Å"it has been estimated that 13.9% of all children are living with a chronic health condition †¦ and palliative care can be provided to these children as well† (p.2). This paper will discusses the role of the RN in pediatric palliative care in relation to family support through the three factor frame work which involves the client, the nurse and the environment. The Three Factor Framework The three factor frame work is used in many different settings to determine whether a RN or a RPN will be caring for a certain client. This framework consists of the client, the nurse and the environment (College of Nurses of Ontario [CNO], 2011). These three factors are implemented and have an impact on decision making related to care provider assignment for the RPN and RN. It takes into consideration the client’s needs, the needs for consultation as well as collaboration among care providers (CNO, 2011). The three factor framework document is available to â€Å"help nurses, employers and others make effective decisions about the utilization of individual nurses in the provision of safe and ethical care† (CNO, 2011, p.3). It also helps with outlining expectations for nurses that highlight similarities and differences of nursing knowledge and its impact on both personal and professional responsibility (CNO, 2011). This framework comes extremely important in specialized settings, such as the critical care unit, the emergency department, the operating room and especially pediatric care. The Client The client aspect of the framework focuses on the complexity of the client, the predictability and the risk for negative outcomes with the client (CNO, 2011). The client factors are combined to create a representation of a client that can be placed on a continuum that: †¦goes from less complex, more predictable and low risk for negative outcomes, to highly complex, unpredictable and high risk for negative outcomes †¦. the more complex the care requirements, the greater the need for consultation and/or the need for an RN to provide the full spectrum of care (CNO, 2011, pg. 2). In pediatric care there comes many different types of clients that a nurse may encounter and a topic that is not touched upon too often is pediatric palliative care. This type of patient would be considered to be on the more complex side of the spectrum which would require a RN to care for this child. Ferrell, Malloy, Uman, Virani, and Wilson (2006) tell us that â€Å"no one spends more time at the bedside observing, critically thinking, consulting, and providing direct care then the pediatric nurse† (p.1). This statement reinforces that a RN is more suitable for this task since the child’s health condition is unstable and constantly fluctuating, their coping mechanisms and supports are unknown, and the fact that they require frequent monitoring and reassessments (CNO, 2011). Pediatric care is a very complex area to work and requires a RN to care for these clients due to their needs not being well defined or established and their condition can change rapidly. Children can be unpredictable in their natural world and when it comes to their health they can be even more unpredictable. Crozier and Hancock (2012) tell us that â€Å"it is important to acknowledge that death occurs in pediatrics †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p.1) and those nurses caring for these children need to be aware that this could be the final outcome. The CNO (2011) document on the three factor frame work emphasizes the fact that a RN is needed when the client may have unpredictable outcomes as well as unpredictable changes in their health condition. With this being said this puts the risk for negative outcomes with this child at a high risk. Risk for negative outcomes comes with all types of nursing but it is a higher risk when talking about palliative care especially in children. Nurses are more likely to be aware of symptoms of a dying elderly client or an adult client rather than a child since this topic is not discussed that often. The CNO (2011) tells us that a RN is involved in care when the client is unpredictable, systemic or wide ranging responses, they have subtle signs and symptoms that are often difficult to detect and they are at a high risk for a negative outcome. Research studies have been done that create guidelines for nurses to follow in order to provide and meet the needs of the patient and their families when the child cannot benefit from intensive, life extending support especially when the family is dealing with a dying child (Anita Rushton, 2002). In order for pediatric palliative care to be successful this framework is used in order to give the child the best care possible. The Nurse When we discuss pediatric palliative care we are not just talking about the patient themselves, we are talking about the entire collaborative team including RPN’s, RN’s and most importantly the family of the patient. Not only do these nurses have the child to care for they also need to be there for the family and help them through their struggles they may be having. The nurse factors of the framework include leadership, decision-making, and critical thinking skills (CNO, 2011). Leadership is a quality that all nurses require in order to succeed in their career but being a pediatric nurse requires this skill on multiple levels. Anita and Rushton (2002) tell us that there is a need for increased leadership capacity in end of life care for children and their families. Nurses need to have the leadership skills to be an advocate for their client who may not be able to speak up for themselves depending on how ill they are. Ferrell, Malloy, Uman, Virani, and Wilson (2006) state that â€Å"pediatric nurses have a distinctive role in advocating, promoting, and providing excellent care to these children and their families† (p.4), they also emphasize the fact that education is key to the skills and confidence they need to perform this task. RN’s need to assume the role of a leader within the interprofessional team and they need to lead the team in order to develop plans of care to achieve client and family goals when overall care requirements are more complex (CNO, 2011). With the role of leadership also comes decision making in collaboration with the family and other health care members. The treatments at the end of life are something that is not easy for anyone to make let alone when it has to do with a child. Nurses have a key role in decision making when it comes to what treatment is provided, and they are there to guide the family in this process. Anita and Rushton (2002) tell us that â€Å"the goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their family regardless of the outcome† (p.2). In order for the nurse to make decisions that will benefit the client and the family nurses need to communicate therapeutically and make the focus on the client and their family (Palliative Pain and Symptom management, 2007). The RN then needs to take the information gathered from communicating with the family and make decisions actively as well as anticipating any possibilities and making proactive decisions (CNO, 2011). Communication is a key tool when it comes to care between patients and family, different health care professionals and those that are caring for the child directly (Crozier Hancock, 2012). With communication and decision making comes critical thinking which is a crucial aspect when caring for a dying child. Not only does the nurse need to critically think about the child’s health and final outcomes but they also need to think about how to help the family through this process. Everyone critically thinks on a daily basis especially in the health care profession, but RPN’s and RN’s working with children need to think critically at all times. As a RN they are required to anticipate and recognize subtle changes in the child’s health, assess further, identify relevant factors, understand the significance and manage the situation and family members appropriately (CNO, 2011). As a RN working in pediatric palliative they need to be knowledgeable, be able to make decisions in consultation with the family and other health care professionals and most importantly be able to critically think while managing multiple nursing interventions in rapidly changing situations (CNO, 2011). The Environment Pediatric palliative care is an area of nursing that can occur in multiple settings including the home of the child, a hospital setting, hospice centers and even nursing homes. In Bartell and Kissane’s article from (2005) they show that â€Å"72% of pediatrics die in the hospital (56% in patient and 16% as outpatients mostly in emergency rooms), 11% die at home, and just 0.4% in nursing homes† (p.2). The environment factors of the three factor framework include practice supports, consultation resources and the stability and predictability of the environment. The need for RN staffing is required when these factors are less stable. Pediatric palliative care is an area that is considered to be less stable and the practice supports vary. A RN is required if there are unclear or unidentified procedures, policies, medical directives, protocols, plans of care, care pathways and assessment tools (CNO, 2011). The CNO also tells us that a RN is needed if there is a low proportion of nurses familiar with the environment and if there is a low proportion of expert nurses or a high number of novice nurses. In Cox’s article in (2004) she talks about how the expert nurse may also support the developing nurse by sharing personal experiences and strategies. Having a RN work in pediatrics can allow the practice supports to become more of a stable environment by increasing the knowledge of all nurses and family members from hands on experience. Consultation or collaboration with health care professionals is a skill that is used every day but is very important when it comes to children’s health. Nurses need to be aware of the resources that are available to them and use them to their advantage to help provide better care to the children and their families. Ahmann and Dokken (2006) tell us that nurses need to view parent’s as partners in care rather than a visitor. Not only is it important that nurses collaborate with health care professionals but they also need to be communicating and consulting with the family. Involving the family in the child’s care makes them f eel more a part of the care rather than a by stander (Boyle Roberts, 2005). According to the CNO (2011) document a RN is needed when there are little consultation resources available to manage outcomes. With consultation comes how predictable and how stable the environment is that the child is being cared for. Death is a topic that many do not like to talk about but it is a reality of life that can cause for a high turnover rate in the health care system. Pediatric palliative care can have high turnover rates along with unpredictable events no matter how many assessments the RN performs (CNO, 2011). RN`s need to be aware of the type of environment that they are working in order to provide the appropriate care to the child. Even if the environment is at a high turnover rate the nurse still needs to be able to apply their knowledge, critically think, make decisions and care for the patient and their family. The three factor framework set out by the CNO is important when it comes to determining the role of the RN in pediatric palliative care along with the supp ort that is given to the family. Even though the three factor framework is needed when assigning patient assignments we need to keep in mind that with young children, a family centered model of care is a key concept (Bartell Kissane, 2005). The more complex the client situation and the more dynamic the environment, the greater the need for the RN to provide the full range of care, continually assess changes, establish priorities and determine the need for additional resources or consults (CNO, 2011). By considering the client, the nurse and the environment factors, it can be determined whether a RPN or RN is more suited to care for a certain client. RN’s require advanced critical thinking skills along with a large depth of knowledge in order to provide appropriate care to the children as well as their families. According to the three factor framework and research that has been done a RN is more suitable than a RPN to work in pediatric palliative care. References Ahmann, E., Dokken, D. (2006). The many roles of family members in family-centered care part 1. Pediatric Nursing, 32(6), 562-565. Anita, C., Rushton, C. H. (2002). Pediatric palliative care: The time is now!. Pediatric Nursing, 28(1), 1-9. Retrieved from http://moxy.eclibrary.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/199391320?accountid=12792. Bartell, A. S., Kissane, D. W. (2005). Issues in pediatric palliative care: Understanding families . Journal of Palliative Care, 21(3), 1-16. Retrieved from http://moxy.eclibrary.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214198065?accountid=12792. Boyle, L. A., Roberts , K. E. (2005). End of life education in the pediatric intensive care unit .Critical care nurses , 25(1), 1-6. Retrieved from

Effects of Manipulating Individual Identity

Effects of Manipulating Individual Identity Abstract: This study examined how changing the perception of social distance changed the way in which subjects interacted in the Trust Game specifically looking into the social preferences they displayed. A discussion of both economic and sociological research demonstrates the inherent variability of social identity and social distance and the interconnected nature these concepts have with social preferences. A two-stage experiment involving subjects of different nationalities and genders was carried out with a different identity focus in each stage. Findings show that subjects exhibit greater social preferences when interacting with those of a similar focused identity yet the degrees of these preferences displayed vary in accordance to the identity focus. Results suggest that social distance, although easily manipulated, is a powerful force in interactions. The results are consistent with previous studies into group membership, identity, nationality, gender and social preferences. Given this studys far-reaching implications it should be viewed as the premise for future study of this topic. Introduction The concept of social distance as elucidated by Akerlof (1997) is profoundly linked with social identity and social preferences. It is the differences in individuals social identities, including for example, race, gender, class and status, that determine the benefits of interaction and to what extent of social preferences are displayed. Yet when individuals are not entirely familiar with each other, the perception of social identities is based on very few observations and is therefore not entirely accurate. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine whether or not variations in the perception of social identity, and thus social distance, will affect the extent to which social preferences are manifested. Studies on the effect of identity are in no way new. Akerlof and Kranton (2000) studied its relevance and magnitude with regards to gender discrimination in the workplace, poverty and social exclusion, and the household division of labour. Akerlof (1997) also studied the effect of social distance, asserting that the social identity of individuals can substantially affect their interactions. What has not been tested, however, is to what extent identity is merely a perception. Individuals can and do possess multiple identities varying in dominance from situation to situation. The hypothesis of this paper is that social preferences are relevant in experimental games, but these are dependent on how each player perceives the others social identity, a perception that is inherently variable. Players react with varying degrees of self-interest according to the identity they perceive, even when identical character profiles are involved. Recent economic studies fail to sufficiently incorporate current sociological thinking as to the nature of social identity and although this study will give evidence for the relevance of social distance in determining degrees of social preferences, it will attempt to shed light on individuals inconsistent perception of the distance between them. In order to add weight to this position, an experiment was organised in which participants of various profiles were invited to play the Trust Game. Each game was played face-to-face with no verbal communication. The experiment was divided into two stages, a nationality focused stage and a gender focused stage. Each participant played the game twice and never with the same opposing player. Before each game, participants were assigned to certain rooms in which video clips were played depending on the identity focused on. In the first stage, participants were split into three rooms, one for each nationality present: Scottish, English and Chinese. After one play of the Trust Game, the experiment commenced its second stage and participants were split into two rooms, one for each gender, and again asked to play the game. The results show that there is significant variation in the degrees of social preferences displayed depending on the identity being focused on hereafter referred to as the focused identity. When nationality was the focused identity, those with this common identity exhibited greater social preferences than those of differing nationalities, regardless of gender. When gender was the focused identity, those with this common identity exhibited greater social preferences than those of differing gender, regardless, to some extent, of nationality. This lack of consistency shows that the perception of social distance is not a constant through both stages and yet it is still proves to be a determining factor in how players interact. The following content of this paper is arranged into four sections. Section 2 will address the relevant literature with regards to social preferences and identity, showing their relevance, interconnected nature and inherent variability, discussing the application of various theories in the context of this study. Section 3 will describe the design and implementation of the experiment used in this study with the results, analysis and comparisons to similar studies presented in Section 4. An interpretation of these results and further conclusions will be offered in Section 5. Theories of Preferences and Identity To clearly understand the argument presented, a holistic discussion of current theories must be embarked upon. The relevance of social preferences and the forms of their analysis through experimental games will be examined in this section to create the context in which this study is placed. The concepts of identity and how they shape perceptions and interactions will then be considered before discussing their relationship with social preferences. Social Preferences The assumption that man is motivated by self-interest is one that has dominated economic theory and is indeed fundamental to the very ideology of the vast majority of economists. As Adam Smith (1910:13) suggests, It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. Inherent in this analogy is the implication that self-interest is the primary motivator in our economic interactions, and it is through this impulse that equilibria are formed. In Game Theory, the Nash Equilibrium is obtained by each player assuming the other possesses purely selfish motives. This assumption, however, is not always consistent with reality. Many factors influence an individuals decisions and it is evident that the maximisation of material gain is not always a dominating motivation. Some of the factors influencing an individuals decisions can relate to social status, group membership, inequity aversion, reciprocity, s pite, envy, altruism and identity. These factors form a preference set, referred to in this study as social preferences. Although the theory of self-interest has been ingrained in traditional economics, modern economists have increasingly questioned this supposition. In fact the traditional authors of this theory were also wary of its realism. Even though Edgeworth (1881:16) writes that the first principle of Economics is that every agent is actuated only by self-interest, he concedes that Man is, in reality, for the most part an impure egoist, a mixed utilitarian, (Edgeworth 1881:104). It is evident that we are influenced by unselfish motives in our interactions with others and it follows that these interactions will in many circumstances involve material profit and loss. This is the realm of social preferences. Amartya Sen (1977:336), in his seminal paper on the irrationality of traditional preference theory states that the purely economic man is indeed close to being a social moron. He argues that theories that do not encompass the influence of sympathy and our commitment to it are incomplete. It is the result of this basic emotion that our social norms, laws and codes of conduct are formed and without which no society would be feasible (Johansen 1977). In various studies into social preferences, it is seen that they are comprised of multiple aspects. Reciprocity, inequity aversion, altruism and trust are all basic components of this preference set (Andreoni et al. 2002). When kindness or animosity is shown, the impulse exists to reciprocate in like manner. When inequity exists, the urge exists to rebel against it. Altruism is the virtue that depends on no form of expected gain or reciprocity, the purest form of good will. Trust is the confidence in the future actions of another and is arguably the most variable of the social preferences and one that will be revisited in this study. Each of these attributes are far from abstract philosophical concepts, exert great influence on our economic interactions. Agell and Lundberg (1995) discovered that as a result of workers being influenced by fairness and equity customs, wage cuts were often unprofitable, with workers objecting to an unfair action. This can have a direct impact on the extent that a company vertically integrates, with out-sourcing often being far more viable given the reciprocal attitude of workers. Bewley (1999) also noted that a firms policy can affect worker morale and as such companies must take into account the perceived fairness of their policies. The extent of tax evasion has also been correlated to how fair it is perceived, and in fact the entire structure of tax systems are thoroughly debated and altered according to the principles of equity and merit (Seidl and Traub 2002). The perception of unreciprocated generosity has been one of the causes of the general reduction in support from the US w elfare state. People are disinclined to support welfare structures that give the impression that they are helping a poor segment of society that refuse to help themselves, content to live off the goodwill of others (Bowles and Gintis 2000). Fukuyama (1995) also correlates economic prosperity with higher levels of trust, suggesting that social preferences are a very powerful force even in the current global economic system. Sequential games Although the examples given are wide-ranging in scope, involving relatively large economic issues, social preferences have also been proven to have a significant effect on individual interactions. Previously experimental games have been used to prove the dominating forces of self-interest, the equilibria of these experiments being calculated by assuming that all agents were exclusively self-interested (Fehr and Schmict, 2001). Recently, economists have carried out several experiments involving non-cooperative games that contradict this presumption. Guth, Schmittberger and Schwarze (1982) were among the first to create a game that did just this. It is called the Ultimatum Game. There are two players in the game, one a Proposer and one a Responder. The Proposer must divide an amount of money X between the two players, offering the Responder any amount Y = X. If Responder accepts, the Proposer receives the remaining money X – Y, if they reject, both receive nothing. Under self-interested preferences, the efficient equilibrium is the one in which the Proposer gives the least amount possible to the Responder, who will accept any amount. In reality however, offers of less than a fifth of X are rejected about half time and Proposers anticipating this generally offer around 30 to 50 percent of X (Hoffman et al. 1996). This result clearly shows that factors other than self-interest are at play. It would be reasonable to assume that altruism and reciprocity both play a part in the decision-making process of both players. The Proposer may be influenced by a code of morals and a concept of fairness to offer more than the standard equilibrium distribution. The P roposer must also take into account the Responders sense of reciprocity and animosity towards a seemingly unfair distribution. Although the Responder is under no monetary incentive to reject a low offer, yet his social preferences mean that he is able to achieve some utility by spiting the Proposer, thereby valuing a certain amount of reciprocity over monetary value. Given the fact that the Proposers actions may be driven only by the fear of reciprocity and no sense of altruism, it is worthwhile to look into the Dictators Game first introduced by Kahneman et al. (1986) and refined by Forsythe et al. (1994). In this game, the Responder, now called the Recipient, is not given the option to accept or refuse the amount given by the Proposer. If the Proposer is motivated by self-interested alone, they will offer nothing to the Recipient but as many experiments have shown, this is not always the case. Henrich et al. (2001) find that in most dictator game experiments there is a primary mode offer of zero percent of the Proposers total wealth and a secondary mode offer of 50 percent. Some groups show a primary mode offer of 20 percent and a secondary mode of 50 percent providing strong evidence of inequity aversion. In addition to supporting the notion that man is not exclusively self-interested, studies also confirm that fear of reciprocity is present i n the Ultimatum Game and that Proposers apply backwards induction with average offers being lower in the Dictator Game (Roth et al. 1991). The Trust Game, developed by Berg et al. (1995) is a game that can be used to test the presence of altruism, inequity aversion, reciprocity and its namesake, trust. The game is played with an Investor and a Trustee, with the former being given an initial endowment of X and the latter given nothing. The Investor is then able to give any amount Y between 0 and X. The amount the Trustee receives will be tripled, amounting to 3Y. The Trustee is then given the option to give any amount Z between 0 and 3Y back to the Investor thereby making the payoffs of the Investor and the Trustee X – Y + Z and 3Y – Z respectively. The Trustee is under no monetary incentive to return any amount and as such, under strictly self-interested preferences the Investor will predict this and give the Trustee nothing but, as with the Ultimatum and Dictator Games, studies show that many players of the Trust Game deviate from this equilibrium. Berg et al. (1995) find that almost all Investors give so me amount of money to the Trustee and that a substantial number of Trustees return at least the same amount and that a third even returned more than they received. The amount returned also increases with the amount given thus supporting the theory that reciprocity is an integral part of many preference sets. Investors and Trustees are able to display inequity aversion by choosing to give or return amounts that will equalise final payoffs. Trustees can also display altruism by returning anything over and above the amount needed to equalise payoffs. It is interesting to note that there is substantial variation in the amounts given, with no clear average amount entrusted. The variation is not unsurprising, however, given the inherent inconsistency in levels of trust that individuals demonstrate in their interactions with various individuals. In society, trust placed in an individual is dependent on who that individual is or, in other terms, trust placed is dependent on the perceived id entity of the individual in question. Identity Identity, at its most fundamental level, is at the base of all human interaction. For an individual to interact with another, the individual must have a clear concept of both himself and of the other. It is in the consideration of these two concepts that decisions are made. Descartes (1912:167) famously stated †¦I think, therefore I am, and in doing so sparked off the philosophical debate on what truly directs our thoughts and actions. Hume (1888) further develops this by exploring our perception of ourselves, our identity. It was his belief that we can only perceive ourselves, and build our identity, by categorisation in the light of selected characteristics and never perceive our true reality in objective terms. It is out-with the bounds of this study to discuss in depth the sociological and psychological complexities of this topic, yet it is worth-while bringing to light some key concepts to further the understanding of the interactions between this studys participants. An identity is a tool of recognition. It allows us to recognise individuals, categories, groups and types of individuals, Wiley (1994:130). More than this, it is also a tool of categorisation and emotional cues. It implies a conscious awareness by members of a group, some positive or negative emotional feelings towards the characteristics which members of a group perceive themselves as sharing and in which they perceive themselves as differing from others, Mennell (1994:177). Goffman (1968) further expounds these aspects of recognition by dividing identity into three sections: the personal identity, the ego identity and the social identity. The personal identity is the unique identification that each individual possesses to differentiate themselves technically, legally and realistically from all others. The ego identity is a purely subjective observation that is built from a multitude of social experiences and is a sense of ones own particular state and nature. The social identity pr ovides a way of categorising people and connects each person with a set of attributes and characteristics thought to be in keeping with the members of their respective categories. Individuals that possess commonalities in the form of thought, action, nature, experience or lifestyle can all be grouped into various social identities. Examples of social identities are nationality, gender, music-taste, age, profession and political views. It is important to stress that while individuals may only hold one personal and ego identity, they are able to juggle multiple social identities which have varying degrees of focus from situation to situation. Akerlof and Kranton (2000) put forward the theorem that our perception of our ego identity can have a significant influence on our decisions and actions. Their theorem sheds light on a number of seemingly irrational choices. Actions that are of apparent detriment to an individual can be viewed as a form of behaviour that it used to create a more unique self identity. Similarly, steps may be taken to symbolise the assumption of a particular identity or the membership of a certain group, be they conscious or otherwise. Men do not generally wear dresses, and as such this behavioural code is unconsciously subscribed to by the majority of men. Any behaviour to the contrary poses a challenge not merely to the social norm, but to the identity of manhood itself. Attempts to manipulate an individuals decisions can be based on the notion of identity. In order to influence people to buy their products, companies create advertisements that often show a stylised form of a particular identity that people may aspire to. Finally, as identity can play such a large role in determining our economic decisions and behaviour, and assuming that individuals can choose their own identity, Akerlof and Kranton (2000) conclude that identity choices can be a major factor in a persons overall economic well-being, a conclusion strengthened by the theory of role-identities. It is difficult to determine to what extent our identity is prescriptive or descriptive in relation to our own actions, but nevertheless the dual concepts of identity and role are deeply interconnected. Lyman and Scott (1970:136) clarify this link by stating that roles are identities mobilised in a specific situation; whereas role is always situationally specific, identities are trans-situational. By assuming an identity, we also assume a role. Despite that the fact that this role varies from situation to situation, it is at all times consistent with the assumed identity. It is from this notion that expectations and metaperspectives are formed. Laing et al. (1966) pioneered the belief that it is not I but you that is important. More specifically they claimed that we are all deeply influenced by considering our view of others view of ourselves and in such a way develop a role-performance that conforms to the expectation others have of our behaviour so as to receive positive feedback o r avoid negative feedback. In order to assess these expectations and act accordingly, we must first judge what these expectations are. With strangers, this is problematic, and as such we orient ourselves toward them in terms only of the ill-specified contours of their social roles, (McCall and Simmons, 1978:70). In this respect, we are only able to form rough estimations of a persons true identity and thereby rely on our perception of how they fit into vague boundaries of social identities. When we perceive people this way, our perception of the attributes they possess as ascribed by their social identity is often completely arbitrary when viewed in the context of an objective character analysis. The perception and reality can at times be poles apart, decreasing in accuracy with increasing social distance. Identities and Social Preferences Akerlof (1997) defined social distance as a measure of social proximity between individuals. The model he created summarises that people gain benefits from interacting to those socially closer to themselves, with these benefits decreasing with isolation. This model is supported by empirical evidence that suggests that trust and reciprocity are linked with social connection and that members of the same nationality and race exhibit greater degrees of these attributes towards one another (Glaeser et al. 1999). A common method of analysing social distance is through the construction of groups in experiments and many studies of this kind have provided quite significant results. Studying the effects of group membership on cooperation, Orbell et al. (1988) find that subjects are far more likely to cooperate with in-group members than out-group members, with 79% of participants showing cooperation with the former and only 30% showing cooperation with the latter. Through using a variation on the dictator game, Frey and Bohnet (1997) also showed how group membership affects social preferences. The experiment observed that in-group members were allocated far more of the total endowment than out-group members suggesting some correlation with membership and altruism and inequity aversion. An important finding of the literature on the topic of group membership is that subjects react to membership in a very subjective manner, disregarding objective considerations. Billing and Tajfel (1973) observe that the even most minimal connections within a group still give rise to in-group positive discrimination. Although subjects realised that the basis of group composition wa s entirely random, they still discriminated toward their fellow members in a very significant way. The fact that the weakest bonds are able to create positive in-group interaction is an important consideration when examining the relation between perceptions of social identity and expressions of social preferences. While group membership is a powerful force, transnational studies have shown that the cooperation inducing group mentality is not a universally consistent attribute. Buchan, Croson and Johnson (1999) find that subjects from the U.S. are more trusting when paired with in-group members but that this is not the case for subjects from China and Japan, who are more trusting in general, regardless of whom they were paired with. Buchan and Croson (1999) also find variations across genders observing that although participants trust men and women equally, women are seen to reciprocate more than men in Trust Games and are more generous in Dictator Games, findings that are consistent internationally. Another consistency that was found across nationalities in this study was the effect that communication between players had on trust and reciprocation levels, a conclusion also mirrored in other experiments. Roth (1995) found that even simple, seemingly irrelevant conversations significantly increa sed the levels of these social preferences. Regardless of variations across nationality, gender and communication levels, it is apparent that there is a clear connection between identity and social preferences. As we categorise individuals into social categories, we not only presume they possess certain qualities and attributes but we also predict how they react. In the same way we use metaperspectives to shape our own actions based on vague notions of the social identities of others, we also use these imperfect images to form inherently imperfect expectations of future interactions. The perception and reality can at times be irreconcilable and yet any initial interaction uses this as its basis. McCall and Simmons (1978) put forward the idea that any interaction that takes place is solely based on images that are constructed in the minds of those interacting. Taking into account the inaccuracy of these constructs when strangers interact, we can see how this translates into the laymans term of prejudice, a concept closely linke d with trust. The concept of trust, as mentioned earlier is based on confidence and at the heart of confidence is a deep reliance on predictions and expectations which are in turn based on the rough identities that we perceive others to possess. This results in great variance in trust levels which, although proven in studies referred to above, is readily seen in everyday life. Trust can be unquestioned with interactions with family members and friends but displayed with lesser and lesser extents to strangers and those who we perceive as untrustworthy. Just as signalling is used in the employment markets, so it is in our trust-dependant interactions. One may ask a well-dressed, polite and friendly stranger to watch over some personal belongings in a library but may be loath to leave anything unattended when in the presence of hooded youth. The hood can be seen as a signal that the wearer is dangerous and cannot be trusted. It is perceived as the expression of an identity, the perception of which ca n influence our attitudes and behaviour. The studies above also show that identity can greatly affect reciprocity, inequity aversion and altruism. Experiments based around group membership, however minimal, show the great influence groups have on these social preferences. One explanation of this is the concept of metaperspectives, in that individuals are more generous in experimental games because they believe that their counterpart expects them to be. Akerlofs (1997:1008) model of social distance also sheds some light on this by theorising that individuals benefit from lesser amounts of social distance between them and thus have the incentive to conform to expectations, what he labels The Conformist Model. A reduction of social distance between players can also be achieved by perceived acts of kindness and so experimental game players may be willing to sacrifice monetary gains so as to achieve social gains with another player. This incentive however, is again based on social distance and those players who feel socially far apart may feel no need to become socially closer, a feeling that is ultimately merely based on their perception of the current social distance and social identities. Two significant ways in which individuals identify themselves and others is by their nationality and gender. At the outset of mankinds evolution, gender has been a universal divider of the human race, preceding all other identities. Rooted in our biology, gender is the simplest form of classification, but its implications are far more wide-reaching than simple physiology. To the opposite sex, gender implies certain generalised roles, attitudes, commitments, experiences and lifestyles. The source of such clear social stereotypes is only in part biological and many academics are of the belief that behavioural and psychological differences are created and perpetuated by unbalanced power and privilege structures in society (Flax 1990). The amplification of social distance is caused by the notion that qualities are gender specific, with masculinity and femininity being attributes in themselves, and the fact that men and women are commonly associated with their relative positions in both f amily life and work life. Lockheed (1985) supposes that women are conceived as compliant followers and men dominant leaders only because of the common minority and majority balance that is common in social and work situations. The large disparity between the social identity and actual realities of members of the opposite sex provides a good opportunity to explore to what extent interaction is based on unqualified perceptions and to map the effect of variations in this perception. Unlike gender identities, nationalism is a relatively new force in the world (Smith 1995). It can be seen as a group identity that has transcended some cultures, as seen in the ethnically diverse nations such as India and Russia, but divided others as seen in the cases of North and South Korea and the Taiwanese and Chinese separation and is manifested in positive discrimination towards fellow nationals and negative discrimination towards foreigners (Macesich, 1985). Breton (1964:378) notes that governments utilise nationalistic instruments†¦ for the purpose of increasing the share of assets in a given assets in a given territory owned by the nationals of that territory. Breton (1964) also observes that nationalistic redistribution of investment and capital results in a lower rate of return than would be realised if resources were allocated efficiently, an observation that draws parallels with the nature of social preferences on a much larger scale. The practice of promoting thes e nationalistic policies that are not beneficial to certain population segments is centred on the formation of a nation-wide group identity that promotes solidarity in the same way that smaller scale groups do. The membership of these nation-groups is defined according to several commonalities. Members share an economy, a historic territory, myths and memories, a public culture, and a set of legal rights (Smith 1991). What is clear from this definition is the lack of consistent personal characteristics, illustrating that members of a nation-group vary considerably in their social and personal identities. The minimal nature of the nation-group is accepted by many academics, some seeing nationalism as an ironic tool that encourages members to appreciate things that are national for the mere fact that it is national (Breton 1964). Karl Deutsch (1969:3) aptly described a nation as a group of people united by a common error about their ancestry and a common dislike of their neighbours, evoking the notion that national identity is a predominately social construct inaccurately perceived to be connected to common characteristics, descent and preferences. (Smith 1996) stresses that the perception of ones own nationality and that of others is inherently only emotional, implying a subjective disregard for objective considerations that results in large social distances between foreigners and nationals, and smaller social distances between nationals. However erroneous, the very substantial influence nationality exerts can be seen through the stereotypical actions of distrusting of foreigners and supporting fellow country-men, making nationality another excellent candidate identity to examine how variations in perceived identity cause variations in the social preferences displayed. Experimental Design and Implementation It is social identity and its inherently variable quality that is at the heart of this study. It is this studys aim to discover in what way the perception of this identity can affect the extent that social preferences are displayed and whether or not a shift of focus from one form of social identity to another will cause a change in degree of social preferences manifested. Given its ability to expose these preferences, an extension of the Trust Game is used Effects of Manipulating Individual Identity Effects of Manipulating Individual Identity Abstract: This study examined how changing the perception of social distance changed the way in which subjects interacted in the Trust Game specifically looking into the social preferences they displayed. A discussion of both economic and sociological research demonstrates the inherent variability of social identity and social distance and the interconnected nature these concepts have with social preferences. A two-stage experiment involving subjects of different nationalities and genders was carried out with a different identity focus in each stage. Findings show that subjects exhibit greater social preferences when interacting with those of a similar focused identity yet the degrees of these preferences displayed vary in accordance to the identity focus. Results suggest that social distance, although easily manipulated, is a powerful force in interactions. The results are consistent with previous studies into group membership, identity, nationality, gender and social preferences. Given this studys far-reaching implications it should be viewed as the premise for future study of this topic. Introduction The concept of social distance as elucidated by Akerlof (1997) is profoundly linked with social identity and social preferences. It is the differences in individuals social identities, including for example, race, gender, class and status, that determine the benefits of interaction and to what extent of social preferences are displayed. Yet when individuals are not entirely familiar with each other, the perception of social identities is based on very few observations and is therefore not entirely accurate. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine whether or not variations in the perception of social identity, and thus social distance, will affect the extent to which social preferences are manifested. Studies on the effect of identity are in no way new. Akerlof and Kranton (2000) studied its relevance and magnitude with regards to gender discrimination in the workplace, poverty and social exclusion, and the household division of labour. Akerlof (1997) also studied the effect of social distance, asserting that the social identity of individuals can substantially affect their interactions. What has not been tested, however, is to what extent identity is merely a perception. Individuals can and do possess multiple identities varying in dominance from situation to situation. The hypothesis of this paper is that social preferences are relevant in experimental games, but these are dependent on how each player perceives the others social identity, a perception that is inherently variable. Players react with varying degrees of self-interest according to the identity they perceive, even when identical character profiles are involved. Recent economic studies fail to sufficiently incorporate current sociological thinking as to the nature of social identity and although this study will give evidence for the relevance of social distance in determining degrees of social preferences, it will attempt to shed light on individuals inconsistent perception of the distance between them. In order to add weight to this position, an experiment was organised in which participants of various profiles were invited to play the Trust Game. Each game was played face-to-face with no verbal communication. The experiment was divided into two stages, a nationality focused stage and a gender focused stage. Each participant played the game twice and never with the same opposing player. Before each game, participants were assigned to certain rooms in which video clips were played depending on the identity focused on. In the first stage, participants were split into three rooms, one for each nationality present: Scottish, English and Chinese. After one play of the Trust Game, the experiment commenced its second stage and participants were split into two rooms, one for each gender, and again asked to play the game. The results show that there is significant variation in the degrees of social preferences displayed depending on the identity being focused on hereafter referred to as the focused identity. When nationality was the focused identity, those with this common identity exhibited greater social preferences than those of differing nationalities, regardless of gender. When gender was the focused identity, those with this common identity exhibited greater social preferences than those of differing gender, regardless, to some extent, of nationality. This lack of consistency shows that the perception of social distance is not a constant through both stages and yet it is still proves to be a determining factor in how players interact. The following content of this paper is arranged into four sections. Section 2 will address the relevant literature with regards to social preferences and identity, showing their relevance, interconnected nature and inherent variability, discussing the application of various theories in the context of this study. Section 3 will describe the design and implementation of the experiment used in this study with the results, analysis and comparisons to similar studies presented in Section 4. An interpretation of these results and further conclusions will be offered in Section 5. Theories of Preferences and Identity To clearly understand the argument presented, a holistic discussion of current theories must be embarked upon. The relevance of social preferences and the forms of their analysis through experimental games will be examined in this section to create the context in which this study is placed. The concepts of identity and how they shape perceptions and interactions will then be considered before discussing their relationship with social preferences. Social Preferences The assumption that man is motivated by self-interest is one that has dominated economic theory and is indeed fundamental to the very ideology of the vast majority of economists. As Adam Smith (1910:13) suggests, It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. Inherent in this analogy is the implication that self-interest is the primary motivator in our economic interactions, and it is through this impulse that equilibria are formed. In Game Theory, the Nash Equilibrium is obtained by each player assuming the other possesses purely selfish motives. This assumption, however, is not always consistent with reality. Many factors influence an individuals decisions and it is evident that the maximisation of material gain is not always a dominating motivation. Some of the factors influencing an individuals decisions can relate to social status, group membership, inequity aversion, reciprocity, s pite, envy, altruism and identity. These factors form a preference set, referred to in this study as social preferences. Although the theory of self-interest has been ingrained in traditional economics, modern economists have increasingly questioned this supposition. In fact the traditional authors of this theory were also wary of its realism. Even though Edgeworth (1881:16) writes that the first principle of Economics is that every agent is actuated only by self-interest, he concedes that Man is, in reality, for the most part an impure egoist, a mixed utilitarian, (Edgeworth 1881:104). It is evident that we are influenced by unselfish motives in our interactions with others and it follows that these interactions will in many circumstances involve material profit and loss. This is the realm of social preferences. Amartya Sen (1977:336), in his seminal paper on the irrationality of traditional preference theory states that the purely economic man is indeed close to being a social moron. He argues that theories that do not encompass the influence of sympathy and our commitment to it are incomplete. It is the result of this basic emotion that our social norms, laws and codes of conduct are formed and without which no society would be feasible (Johansen 1977). In various studies into social preferences, it is seen that they are comprised of multiple aspects. Reciprocity, inequity aversion, altruism and trust are all basic components of this preference set (Andreoni et al. 2002). When kindness or animosity is shown, the impulse exists to reciprocate in like manner. When inequity exists, the urge exists to rebel against it. Altruism is the virtue that depends on no form of expected gain or reciprocity, the purest form of good will. Trust is the confidence in the future actions of another and is arguably the most variable of the social preferences and one that will be revisited in this study. Each of these attributes are far from abstract philosophical concepts, exert great influence on our economic interactions. Agell and Lundberg (1995) discovered that as a result of workers being influenced by fairness and equity customs, wage cuts were often unprofitable, with workers objecting to an unfair action. This can have a direct impact on the extent that a company vertically integrates, with out-sourcing often being far more viable given the reciprocal attitude of workers. Bewley (1999) also noted that a firms policy can affect worker morale and as such companies must take into account the perceived fairness of their policies. The extent of tax evasion has also been correlated to how fair it is perceived, and in fact the entire structure of tax systems are thoroughly debated and altered according to the principles of equity and merit (Seidl and Traub 2002). The perception of unreciprocated generosity has been one of the causes of the general reduction in support from the US w elfare state. People are disinclined to support welfare structures that give the impression that they are helping a poor segment of society that refuse to help themselves, content to live off the goodwill of others (Bowles and Gintis 2000). Fukuyama (1995) also correlates economic prosperity with higher levels of trust, suggesting that social preferences are a very powerful force even in the current global economic system. Sequential games Although the examples given are wide-ranging in scope, involving relatively large economic issues, social preferences have also been proven to have a significant effect on individual interactions. Previously experimental games have been used to prove the dominating forces of self-interest, the equilibria of these experiments being calculated by assuming that all agents were exclusively self-interested (Fehr and Schmict, 2001). Recently, economists have carried out several experiments involving non-cooperative games that contradict this presumption. Guth, Schmittberger and Schwarze (1982) were among the first to create a game that did just this. It is called the Ultimatum Game. There are two players in the game, one a Proposer and one a Responder. The Proposer must divide an amount of money X between the two players, offering the Responder any amount Y = X. If Responder accepts, the Proposer receives the remaining money X – Y, if they reject, both receive nothing. Under self-interested preferences, the efficient equilibrium is the one in which the Proposer gives the least amount possible to the Responder, who will accept any amount. In reality however, offers of less than a fifth of X are rejected about half time and Proposers anticipating this generally offer around 30 to 50 percent of X (Hoffman et al. 1996). This result clearly shows that factors other than self-interest are at play. It would be reasonable to assume that altruism and reciprocity both play a part in the decision-making process of both players. The Proposer may be influenced by a code of morals and a concept of fairness to offer more than the standard equilibrium distribution. The P roposer must also take into account the Responders sense of reciprocity and animosity towards a seemingly unfair distribution. Although the Responder is under no monetary incentive to reject a low offer, yet his social preferences mean that he is able to achieve some utility by spiting the Proposer, thereby valuing a certain amount of reciprocity over monetary value. Given the fact that the Proposers actions may be driven only by the fear of reciprocity and no sense of altruism, it is worthwhile to look into the Dictators Game first introduced by Kahneman et al. (1986) and refined by Forsythe et al. (1994). In this game, the Responder, now called the Recipient, is not given the option to accept or refuse the amount given by the Proposer. If the Proposer is motivated by self-interested alone, they will offer nothing to the Recipient but as many experiments have shown, this is not always the case. Henrich et al. (2001) find that in most dictator game experiments there is a primary mode offer of zero percent of the Proposers total wealth and a secondary mode offer of 50 percent. Some groups show a primary mode offer of 20 percent and a secondary mode of 50 percent providing strong evidence of inequity aversion. In addition to supporting the notion that man is not exclusively self-interested, studies also confirm that fear of reciprocity is present i n the Ultimatum Game and that Proposers apply backwards induction with average offers being lower in the Dictator Game (Roth et al. 1991). The Trust Game, developed by Berg et al. (1995) is a game that can be used to test the presence of altruism, inequity aversion, reciprocity and its namesake, trust. The game is played with an Investor and a Trustee, with the former being given an initial endowment of X and the latter given nothing. The Investor is then able to give any amount Y between 0 and X. The amount the Trustee receives will be tripled, amounting to 3Y. The Trustee is then given the option to give any amount Z between 0 and 3Y back to the Investor thereby making the payoffs of the Investor and the Trustee X – Y + Z and 3Y – Z respectively. The Trustee is under no monetary incentive to return any amount and as such, under strictly self-interested preferences the Investor will predict this and give the Trustee nothing but, as with the Ultimatum and Dictator Games, studies show that many players of the Trust Game deviate from this equilibrium. Berg et al. (1995) find that almost all Investors give so me amount of money to the Trustee and that a substantial number of Trustees return at least the same amount and that a third even returned more than they received. The amount returned also increases with the amount given thus supporting the theory that reciprocity is an integral part of many preference sets. Investors and Trustees are able to display inequity aversion by choosing to give or return amounts that will equalise final payoffs. Trustees can also display altruism by returning anything over and above the amount needed to equalise payoffs. It is interesting to note that there is substantial variation in the amounts given, with no clear average amount entrusted. The variation is not unsurprising, however, given the inherent inconsistency in levels of trust that individuals demonstrate in their interactions with various individuals. In society, trust placed in an individual is dependent on who that individual is or, in other terms, trust placed is dependent on the perceived id entity of the individual in question. Identity Identity, at its most fundamental level, is at the base of all human interaction. For an individual to interact with another, the individual must have a clear concept of both himself and of the other. It is in the consideration of these two concepts that decisions are made. Descartes (1912:167) famously stated †¦I think, therefore I am, and in doing so sparked off the philosophical debate on what truly directs our thoughts and actions. Hume (1888) further develops this by exploring our perception of ourselves, our identity. It was his belief that we can only perceive ourselves, and build our identity, by categorisation in the light of selected characteristics and never perceive our true reality in objective terms. It is out-with the bounds of this study to discuss in depth the sociological and psychological complexities of this topic, yet it is worth-while bringing to light some key concepts to further the understanding of the interactions between this studys participants. An identity is a tool of recognition. It allows us to recognise individuals, categories, groups and types of individuals, Wiley (1994:130). More than this, it is also a tool of categorisation and emotional cues. It implies a conscious awareness by members of a group, some positive or negative emotional feelings towards the characteristics which members of a group perceive themselves as sharing and in which they perceive themselves as differing from others, Mennell (1994:177). Goffman (1968) further expounds these aspects of recognition by dividing identity into three sections: the personal identity, the ego identity and the social identity. The personal identity is the unique identification that each individual possesses to differentiate themselves technically, legally and realistically from all others. The ego identity is a purely subjective observation that is built from a multitude of social experiences and is a sense of ones own particular state and nature. The social identity pr ovides a way of categorising people and connects each person with a set of attributes and characteristics thought to be in keeping with the members of their respective categories. Individuals that possess commonalities in the form of thought, action, nature, experience or lifestyle can all be grouped into various social identities. Examples of social identities are nationality, gender, music-taste, age, profession and political views. It is important to stress that while individuals may only hold one personal and ego identity, they are able to juggle multiple social identities which have varying degrees of focus from situation to situation. Akerlof and Kranton (2000) put forward the theorem that our perception of our ego identity can have a significant influence on our decisions and actions. Their theorem sheds light on a number of seemingly irrational choices. Actions that are of apparent detriment to an individual can be viewed as a form of behaviour that it used to create a more unique self identity. Similarly, steps may be taken to symbolise the assumption of a particular identity or the membership of a certain group, be they conscious or otherwise. Men do not generally wear dresses, and as such this behavioural code is unconsciously subscribed to by the majority of men. Any behaviour to the contrary poses a challenge not merely to the social norm, but to the identity of manhood itself. Attempts to manipulate an individuals decisions can be based on the notion of identity. In order to influence people to buy their products, companies create advertisements that often show a stylised form of a particular identity that people may aspire to. Finally, as identity can play such a large role in determining our economic decisions and behaviour, and assuming that individuals can choose their own identity, Akerlof and Kranton (2000) conclude that identity choices can be a major factor in a persons overall economic well-being, a conclusion strengthened by the theory of role-identities. It is difficult to determine to what extent our identity is prescriptive or descriptive in relation to our own actions, but nevertheless the dual concepts of identity and role are deeply interconnected. Lyman and Scott (1970:136) clarify this link by stating that roles are identities mobilised in a specific situation; whereas role is always situationally specific, identities are trans-situational. By assuming an identity, we also assume a role. Despite that the fact that this role varies from situation to situation, it is at all times consistent with the assumed identity. It is from this notion that expectations and metaperspectives are formed. Laing et al. (1966) pioneered the belief that it is not I but you that is important. More specifically they claimed that we are all deeply influenced by considering our view of others view of ourselves and in such a way develop a role-performance that conforms to the expectation others have of our behaviour so as to receive positive feedback o r avoid negative feedback. In order to assess these expectations and act accordingly, we must first judge what these expectations are. With strangers, this is problematic, and as such we orient ourselves toward them in terms only of the ill-specified contours of their social roles, (McCall and Simmons, 1978:70). In this respect, we are only able to form rough estimations of a persons true identity and thereby rely on our perception of how they fit into vague boundaries of social identities. When we perceive people this way, our perception of the attributes they possess as ascribed by their social identity is often completely arbitrary when viewed in the context of an objective character analysis. The perception and reality can at times be poles apart, decreasing in accuracy with increasing social distance. Identities and Social Preferences Akerlof (1997) defined social distance as a measure of social proximity between individuals. The model he created summarises that people gain benefits from interacting to those socially closer to themselves, with these benefits decreasing with isolation. This model is supported by empirical evidence that suggests that trust and reciprocity are linked with social connection and that members of the same nationality and race exhibit greater degrees of these attributes towards one another (Glaeser et al. 1999). A common method of analysing social distance is through the construction of groups in experiments and many studies of this kind have provided quite significant results. Studying the effects of group membership on cooperation, Orbell et al. (1988) find that subjects are far more likely to cooperate with in-group members than out-group members, with 79% of participants showing cooperation with the former and only 30% showing cooperation with the latter. Through using a variation on the dictator game, Frey and Bohnet (1997) also showed how group membership affects social preferences. The experiment observed that in-group members were allocated far more of the total endowment than out-group members suggesting some correlation with membership and altruism and inequity aversion. An important finding of the literature on the topic of group membership is that subjects react to membership in a very subjective manner, disregarding objective considerations. Billing and Tajfel (1973) observe that the even most minimal connections within a group still give rise to in-group positive discrimination. Although subjects realised that the basis of group composition wa s entirely random, they still discriminated toward their fellow members in a very significant way. The fact that the weakest bonds are able to create positive in-group interaction is an important consideration when examining the relation between perceptions of social identity and expressions of social preferences. While group membership is a powerful force, transnational studies have shown that the cooperation inducing group mentality is not a universally consistent attribute. Buchan, Croson and Johnson (1999) find that subjects from the U.S. are more trusting when paired with in-group members but that this is not the case for subjects from China and Japan, who are more trusting in general, regardless of whom they were paired with. Buchan and Croson (1999) also find variations across genders observing that although participants trust men and women equally, women are seen to reciprocate more than men in Trust Games and are more generous in Dictator Games, findings that are consistent internationally. Another consistency that was found across nationalities in this study was the effect that communication between players had on trust and reciprocation levels, a conclusion also mirrored in other experiments. Roth (1995) found that even simple, seemingly irrelevant conversations significantly increa sed the levels of these social preferences. Regardless of variations across nationality, gender and communication levels, it is apparent that there is a clear connection between identity and social preferences. As we categorise individuals into social categories, we not only presume they possess certain qualities and attributes but we also predict how they react. In the same way we use metaperspectives to shape our own actions based on vague notions of the social identities of others, we also use these imperfect images to form inherently imperfect expectations of future interactions. The perception and reality can at times be irreconcilable and yet any initial interaction uses this as its basis. McCall and Simmons (1978) put forward the idea that any interaction that takes place is solely based on images that are constructed in the minds of those interacting. Taking into account the inaccuracy of these constructs when strangers interact, we can see how this translates into the laymans term of prejudice, a concept closely linke d with trust. The concept of trust, as mentioned earlier is based on confidence and at the heart of confidence is a deep reliance on predictions and expectations which are in turn based on the rough identities that we perceive others to possess. This results in great variance in trust levels which, although proven in studies referred to above, is readily seen in everyday life. Trust can be unquestioned with interactions with family members and friends but displayed with lesser and lesser extents to strangers and those who we perceive as untrustworthy. Just as signalling is used in the employment markets, so it is in our trust-dependant interactions. One may ask a well-dressed, polite and friendly stranger to watch over some personal belongings in a library but may be loath to leave anything unattended when in the presence of hooded youth. The hood can be seen as a signal that the wearer is dangerous and cannot be trusted. It is perceived as the expression of an identity, the perception of which ca n influence our attitudes and behaviour. The studies above also show that identity can greatly affect reciprocity, inequity aversion and altruism. Experiments based around group membership, however minimal, show the great influence groups have on these social preferences. One explanation of this is the concept of metaperspectives, in that individuals are more generous in experimental games because they believe that their counterpart expects them to be. Akerlofs (1997:1008) model of social distance also sheds some light on this by theorising that individuals benefit from lesser amounts of social distance between them and thus have the incentive to conform to expectations, what he labels The Conformist Model. A reduction of social distance between players can also be achieved by perceived acts of kindness and so experimental game players may be willing to sacrifice monetary gains so as to achieve social gains with another player. This incentive however, is again based on social distance and those players who feel socially far apart may feel no need to become socially closer, a feeling that is ultimately merely based on their perception of the current social distance and social identities. Two significant ways in which individuals identify themselves and others is by their nationality and gender. At the outset of mankinds evolution, gender has been a universal divider of the human race, preceding all other identities. Rooted in our biology, gender is the simplest form of classification, but its implications are far more wide-reaching than simple physiology. To the opposite sex, gender implies certain generalised roles, attitudes, commitments, experiences and lifestyles. The source of such clear social stereotypes is only in part biological and many academics are of the belief that behavioural and psychological differences are created and perpetuated by unbalanced power and privilege structures in society (Flax 1990). The amplification of social distance is caused by the notion that qualities are gender specific, with masculinity and femininity being attributes in themselves, and the fact that men and women are commonly associated with their relative positions in both f amily life and work life. Lockheed (1985) supposes that women are conceived as compliant followers and men dominant leaders only because of the common minority and majority balance that is common in social and work situations. The large disparity between the social identity and actual realities of members of the opposite sex provides a good opportunity to explore to what extent interaction is based on unqualified perceptions and to map the effect of variations in this perception. Unlike gender identities, nationalism is a relatively new force in the world (Smith 1995). It can be seen as a group identity that has transcended some cultures, as seen in the ethnically diverse nations such as India and Russia, but divided others as seen in the cases of North and South Korea and the Taiwanese and Chinese separation and is manifested in positive discrimination towards fellow nationals and negative discrimination towards foreigners (Macesich, 1985). Breton (1964:378) notes that governments utilise nationalistic instruments†¦ for the purpose of increasing the share of assets in a given assets in a given territory owned by the nationals of that territory. Breton (1964) also observes that nationalistic redistribution of investment and capital results in a lower rate of return than would be realised if resources were allocated efficiently, an observation that draws parallels with the nature of social preferences on a much larger scale. The practice of promoting thes e nationalistic policies that are not beneficial to certain population segments is centred on the formation of a nation-wide group identity that promotes solidarity in the same way that smaller scale groups do. The membership of these nation-groups is defined according to several commonalities. Members share an economy, a historic territory, myths and memories, a public culture, and a set of legal rights (Smith 1991). What is clear from this definition is the lack of consistent personal characteristics, illustrating that members of a nation-group vary considerably in their social and personal identities. The minimal nature of the nation-group is accepted by many academics, some seeing nationalism as an ironic tool that encourages members to appreciate things that are national for the mere fact that it is national (Breton 1964). Karl Deutsch (1969:3) aptly described a nation as a group of people united by a common error about their ancestry and a common dislike of their neighbours, evoking the notion that national identity is a predominately social construct inaccurately perceived to be connected to common characteristics, descent and preferences. (Smith 1996) stresses that the perception of ones own nationality and that of others is inherently only emotional, implying a subjective disregard for objective considerations that results in large social distances between foreigners and nationals, and smaller social distances between nationals. However erroneous, the very substantial influence nationality exerts can be seen through the stereotypical actions of distrusting of foreigners and supporting fellow country-men, making nationality another excellent candidate identity to examine how variations in perceived identity cause variations in the social preferences displayed. Experimental Design and Implementation It is social identity and its inherently variable quality that is at the heart of this study. It is this studys aim to discover in what way the perception of this identity can affect the extent that social preferences are displayed and whether or not a shift of focus from one form of social identity to another will cause a change in degree of social preferences manifested. Given its ability to expose these preferences, an extension of the Trust Game is used