Hard Times Essay Example

Hard Times Paper A 19th century university once described a Victorian Gentleman as a person of nature and one who never inflicts pain. Dickens uses Bounderby in the novel Hard Times to make a mockery of the Victorian Gentleman. Bounderby is seen as a Victorian gentleman, but it does not take too much analysis to appreciate that Bounderby is a fraud. Bounderby is a very proud man. He tells the story or his own raising from the gutter many times throughout the novel, this is a short extract from a conversation that he had with Mrs Sparsit in Book 1 Chapter 3 I passed the day in a ditch, and the night in a pigsty. Thats the way I spent my twelfth birthday. Not that a ditch was new for me, as I was born in one. I was so ragged and dirty, that you wouldnt have touched me with a pair of tongs. It is relevant that this is the first time we meet Bounderby he is telling of his hardships as a juvenile as first impressions are important. Dickens obviously wanted to give us the impression that Bounderby was inconsiderate and self-praising. This may have been Dickens way of suggesting that the social hierarchy in Victorian times was unreasonable. We will write a custom essay sample on Hard Times specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Hard Times specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Hard Times specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Not only does Bounderby constantly remind people of his bad childhood, but also he claims to have made it on his own Nobody to thank for being here but myself The 19th century definition of a Victorian Gentleman also says he never speaks with himself except when compelled. This is in fact the complete opposite to what Bounderby repetitively does throughout he essay as he also speaks highly of himself, and only himself. Although he is a best friend of local school headmaster, Mr Gradgrind, Bounderby is more interested in money and power than in facts. He himself is a fiction, and a fraud as Mrs Pegler turns up and tells of how Bounderby paid her i 30 a year to stay away from him Josiah in the gutter.. no such a thing My dear boy knows, he comes of humble parents Dickens didnt think highly of Victorian gentlemen, this is shown when he uses Mrs Pegler to notify us of how Bounderbys love for money means more to him than his love for his family. When Mrs Pegler reveals Bounderbys status as a fraud, we react with irritation towards him. His whole character is based around his own raising from the gutter, the fact that this is a lie, makes us lose our trust in him, if we had any to begin with. It is not only our trust for Bounderby that we lose, but our respect for him too. The book is written so that the reader has a blatant dislike for Bounderby, but one must respect him for working his way from the gutter to the top of the social hierarchy. Until we hear the truth, all our respect for him is about his own self-raising, when we discover the truth, we lose that respect and we have little or no respect for him. This news about Bounderby is discovered it is rather ironic, as he has gone through life with his often-repeated declaration I am Josiah Bounderby of Coketown This quotation shows his inflated sense of pride for the way he was raised (by himself) and for how he turned out, in other words, his wealth. Darren Cave Page 1 5/2/2007 Although as it turns out, Bounderby was not actually raised by himself from the gutter, his parents were poor but did love him. This should mean that he has sympathy for others who are like he was in his childhood. Instead, he believes that everyman should work himself to the top, starting from the bottom, supposedly like him. This is shown in his treatment of Stephen Blackpool. Stephen comes to discuss how he could go about getting a divorce from his wife. Stephen works for Bounderby and has had a very troubled marriage as his wife is a drunken and robs him. When Stephen questions Bounderby about a divorce, Bounderby asks him if he wishes to be fed on turtle soup and venison with a gold spoon as he has unreasonable aspirations for a worker. This amplifies the lack of sympathy and respect that Bounderby has for his workers. That comment is very sarcastic and Bounderby finds it funny. This says a lot about his character. Not only is the unsympathetic to a man with real problems, but he makes a joke of him to go with it. It seems as if Bounderby is actually shocked that a worker would ask a question like that to him because in Bounderbys opinion the answer is so clear cut. By his sarcastic comment it is as if he is trying to say to Stephen are you trying to be funny? .

Free Essays on Excuse Me Flo, Where’d This Big Mac Come From

â€Å"Excuse Me Flo, Where’d This Big Mac Come From?† â€Å"Family farmers care about the land they farm. We need to keep as many farmers on their land as possible-for their sake and ours.† This quote comes from John Melloncamp who is the director of the Farm Aid organization. After growing up in a small country town I came to realize the hardships that family farmers have to endure. My grandfather farms cattle and pigs and I have witnessed the travesties that corporate America has caused them. In the following I will explain how the family farming dynamic has changed over recent years, how David C. Korten’s view on societal change applies to farming, and finally how one organization is trying to remedy this problem. Over the past few years several circumstances have come together to greatly increase the pressures on farming in general and small, independent farms in particular. In 1996 Congress passed the Freedom To Farm Act, which re-wrote farm policy and laid down a foundation and schedule for eliminating most farm subsidies and price supports. This legislation in combination with a number of severe weather events and the partial collapse of the global economy has led to an increase in the number of farmers facing either bankruptcy or the abandonment of their farms. In many cases, such as my grandfathers, these are farms that have been in the family for generations. The communities of which these farmers and farms have been a part have seen their lives undergo major change. Over these same years the primary action of Congress to meet these needs has been the appropriation of emergency aid funds. While this may be very helpful in the short run, this method has done nothing to change the evil systemic dealings in national policy. While the retail price of food over the years has generally remained stable, relative both to inflation and expenditure as a percentage of family income, the grower’s share of profits from ... Free Essays on Excuse Me Flo, Where’d This Big Mac Come From Free Essays on Excuse Me Flo, Where’d This Big Mac Come From â€Å"Excuse Me Flo, Where’d This Big Mac Come From?† â€Å"Family farmers care about the land they farm. We need to keep as many farmers on their land as possible-for their sake and ours.† This quote comes from John Melloncamp who is the director of the Farm Aid organization. After growing up in a small country town I came to realize the hardships that family farmers have to endure. My grandfather farms cattle and pigs and I have witnessed the travesties that corporate America has caused them. In the following I will explain how the family farming dynamic has changed over recent years, how David C. Korten’s view on societal change applies to farming, and finally how one organization is trying to remedy this problem. Over the past few years several circumstances have come together to greatly increase the pressures on farming in general and small, independent farms in particular. In 1996 Congress passed the Freedom To Farm Act, which re-wrote farm policy and laid down a foundation and schedule for eliminating most farm subsidies and price supports. This legislation in combination with a number of severe weather events and the partial collapse of the global economy has led to an increase in the number of farmers facing either bankruptcy or the abandonment of their farms. In many cases, such as my grandfathers, these are farms that have been in the family for generations. The communities of which these farmers and farms have been a part have seen their lives undergo major change. Over these same years the primary action of Congress to meet these needs has been the appropriation of emergency aid funds. While this may be very helpful in the short run, this method has done nothing to change the evil systemic dealings in national policy. While the retail price of food over the years has generally remained stable, relative both to inflation and expenditure as a percentage of family income, the grower’s share of profits from ...

Speluncean Explorer Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speluncean Explorer Case - Essay Example The jury will hear the arguments from both the parties and then he will decide the truth or punishment. Normally in adversarial system the trial will be followed by an inquiry of the issue. In my opinion, the judge Natural who upheld the judgment, but reduced the punishment to 20 years life in prison, is more likely to be the best judge who acted as per the criminal justice system in Ukraine. In criminal procedures, the humanity or morality will only at the second place. At first place the as per the criminal justice system the judges need to analyze that whether the crime has been committed by the accused or not. They should confirm that enough evidences are there to sentence the culprits. So the first duty of the judges is to ensure that enough evidences are there against the culprit. The circumstances under which the crime has been conducted, comes only after the crime is established. The circumstances of the crime only used to determine how much punishment needs to be enforced. If the judge feels that the culprit has no other way other than the crime to escape, the judge can consider a liberal approach towards the culprit. Or in other words if the crime was conducted under no forceful conditions then the culprit needs maximum punishment. Here in this Speluncean Explorer Case, the crime was conducted only when there was no other way for the culprits to escape. So the judge can think of a liberal approach towards the culprits. But at the same time, under no circumstances, a person can take the life of another person because of its immense value. Since nobody can create a life in the laboratory, nobody can take the life of another person also. So in this case judge Natural is absolutely right in his judgment in my opinion. He has analyzed all the aspects of the crime both legally and morally. Though the culprits may be right legally, morally they were not. Capital punishment has to be reduced considering all the

The Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing Decisions Research Paper

The Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing Decisions - Research Paper Example It is through such understanding that they grow up to become effective buyers and at the same time of the best products in the market (Wayne & Deborah, 2009). This will help avoid impulse buying among consumers hence invest in well. A good consumer should be able to portray the three major characteristics of a consumer namely a user, payer and buyer. This implies that relationship marketing is a vital aspect in the market decisions that are reached at by a buyer. Consumers in ant market setting are considered as the most vital aspect to the seller as they are a contributing factor to the profits that are made by the sellers. Branding Strategy The brands formed should be those that will help maintain the trust of the consumers. They are expected to be eye catching and convincing. It will serve as a form of company identity and it should be able to tell a lot about the company in question. As a government organization, our brand should be one that can be able to convince the consumers about our products or the services being offered. The company needs to define what its brand in order to be able to create a foundation for all the components that are to be included in it. It is through the brand that the company will be able to undertake a market evaluation and obtain all the required market related information and come up with practical strategies. The brand will also enable the organization to come up with objectives that will serve as a platform for working on (Edelman, 2010). Through the objectives, the organization will be able to focus on the target audience and this will enable them understand the consumer behavior. The company will also be able to set its market target in order to get the limit supply of their products to given consumers. This will become vital in avoiding unnecessary losses. In order to attract new hires, the company should discover and eliminate the brand barriers in existence. This is an analysis that will be undertaken in order to be a ware of the principle barriers that exist and can be responsible for the inability of the product to be successful. Branding is vital as it serves as identification in the market place. It communicates on behalf of the product and the company at larger and should be made in such a manner that it convinces the consumers (Wayne & Deborah, 2009). The target market has to be clearly defined and this is through a brand strategy where the consumers get to understand that you are talking specifically to them. To better understand your market group and consumer behavior, the company is expected to conduct an intensive market analysis. Competitors have to be known as they also influence the movement of goods in the market. Recommendations It is recommendable that as a company, we be able to consider people with common interests so that we can have goals that will enable the company adjust its strategies so that they are able to meet the market demands and competition. Communication is a vita l foundation through which the organization will build a good relationship with its consumers. Here ideas will be shared between the two parties and this will help the company to know where to improve on the services being provided. It is through communication that the company will be able to define better their brand strategy to their consumers in order for them to understand the company better. Secondly, the company shou

Communication's course assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication's course assignment - Essay Example The tenets of rhetoric that facilitates the persuasion of the audience include logos, ethos, and the pathos. In addition to these, there are also the five canons which are also used in the design and package of the persuasive speech so that it becomes more palatable to the audience, they include the following; arrangement, invention, memory, delivery, and style. In the three presidential debates that took place between the incumbent president Barrack Obama and the former governor Mitt Romney, the duo extensively used rhetoric to persuade and appeal o the audience in all the three occasions they confronted one another in the debates. In the first presidential debate, rhetoric took a fair chunk of the time when the two presidential aspirants were asked about the inequalities at the work place. President Obama made the first remark on the ‘glass ceiling’ that his grandmother had to go through during her time working in a bank, this was a perfect pathos appeal used at the right time to emotionally connect with the audience. The anecdotic phrase propelled Obama and the women could infer that Obama understands the problem the women have faced thus stands the best chance to find solutions to them. Obama also extended by making passionate logos appeal to the women on this consciousness about them in the work place, in this regard he me ntioned the Lily Ledbetter Act that he signed during his first tenure as a vivid clarity that his concern for the women is real and not a pretence. Romney responding to the same did not score him any point given the emotional connection Obama created by using effectively the pathos and logos. Romney in response to the equality of the women at work place did not explore the effective use of rhetoric, in fact, his statement about women flexibility at work to enable them attend to household chores. This statement worked against him as it was interpreted that he perceive women as homemakers and not as people who

Social Media In The Business World

Social Media In The Business World It is hard to believe that there once was a time when horses were the latest thing in media technology. Horses were a means of communication over large amounts of land, which as a technological innovation changed the course of history (AMTEC). Media and technology has come an incredibly long way since that time. The rate in which technology is advancing makes it hard to keep up. Todays society revolves around the latest technology and what is current in the mediam everyone wants the latest and the greatest. Technology today gives people endless possibilities at the touch of their fingers at any time of day. A study done by The Nielsen Company projects that by the end of 2011 Smartphones will overtake feature phones in the United States. They also believe that one in two Americans will own a smartphone by Christmas of 2011. Smartphones, which are mobile phones that offer more computing ability and connectivity than feature phones, make it possible to communicate with and connected to anywhere in the world at any time. Smartphones are just one example of the technological revolution we are experiencing today. Social media is a part of the obsession people have with media and technology today. As stated above, technology makes it extremely easy to communicate with people and social media makes it even easier. It is no longer required for someone to be at a computer in order to long onto their favorite social media sites. Smartphones have teamed up with these sites to create applications that allow you to access your social media profile right from your mobile phone. This makes it possible to be literally connected and able to communicate with people twenty-four hours a day. The popularity of social media sites is unbelievable. Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? asks Erik Qualman, founder of Socialnomics, which works to provide social and mobile statistics. One of the most popular social media sites, facebook, has attracted more than 500 million active users since it was created in February of 2004. Facebook added 100 million users in less than nine months (Qualman). In contrast, it took the television thirteen years and the internet four years to reach 100 million users. Facebook is not only used by people in the United States. About 70% of its users are outside of the United States and it is available in over 70 different translations, as stated on facebook.com. Also, people spend over 700 billion minutes per month of facebook. A survey done in a College Writing II class at Marist College showed that 100% of the students in the class have a profile on a social media site. The business world is certainly not being left behind by the social media revolution. Contrary to popular belief social media is not solely used for social purposes. As the popularity of these social media sites continue to grow at a rapid rate, businesses are starting to jump on the bandwagon. Businesses can certainly benefit and also be harmed in a number of ways by social media sites. As a result, Social Media is becoming a big factor in employment, affecting both job seekers and employers. People are mistaken when they believe that socializing is the only purpose of social media sites. Besides facebook, twitter and youtube, which are mainly used for social purposes, there are also sites that are used for professional business purposes. These sites are benefitial and present opportunities to both job seekers and businesses looking to hire new employees. One of the more popular professional social media sites is known as LinkedIn. The site defines itself as, A networking tool to find connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and business partners. With nearly 25 million users LinkedIn serves almost any industry and professions explains Jake Swearingen a reporter for BNET. On LinkedIn users simply make a profile including all their professional information, and start searching and networking. In his article for the CBS Interactive Business Network, Swearingen states that it is easy to create a profile but it takes work to make it as useful as possible. In the article he outlines steps to making a LinkedIn profile that will benefit the user the most. He says before a user connects with other users they must first create a profile with their detailed professional history. Simply copying and pasting their resume on the site will not cut it. A successful LinkedIn profile should reflect professional interests, passions and ambitions (Swearingen). The site is helpful in making sure that the user fills in all areas of their profile but, Swearingen believes there are two specific areas that are crucial in making a profile as effective as possible. The first is the section located right under the users name on their profile. This section is a short headline which is usually four or five words. This will be the first thing people see on a LinkedIn profile besides the users name. In other words, this will be the first impression made on all viewers. This section should be a simple explanatory headline that contains keywords that will help users find eachother, for example, Senior Project Manager at MacDonnell-Douglas or, High-Performing Aeronautical Engineering Projects. The second section contain past job experiences and ambitions for the future. Swearingen informs that when listing past job experiences users should make sure to use verbs as much as possible. It shows that passion about what the user learned from each job. Also, non-jobs can also be listed here. These include positions such as leading a group project. Mrinal Desai, a former LinkedIn evangelist and current vice president at CrossLoop, Inc recommends including what you want to do in the future in this section. After creating the best profile possible on LinkedIn, the user can get and receive recommendations. People who are happy with someones work can write a brief description of their experiences on that persons profile. These recommendations can be seen by anyone who views that specific profile. Recommendations serve a similar purpose as references someone would use when filling out a job application. Having recommendations from past and present colleagues and, or bosses shows that this particular person has good working habits, trustworthy and reliable. All of which are qualities companies look for in employees. As well as being helpful to people looking for jobs, LinkedIn is also extremely beneficial to companies looking to hire new employees. 40% of Fortune 100 companies are using LinkedIn recruiting solutions as of August 2009 (Srinvasen). Businesses can post open positions right on LinkedIn and users can search through the jobs posted for the ones that apply. Then companies can use the LinkedIn Recruiter which searches the entire site for the best possible candidates based on what the company is specifically looking for. The company can then contact the candidates directly through LinkedIn mail. This process is quick, easy and saves companies money. Social media used for pre-employment purposes poses many benefits for people who utilize its tools; however it also can be harmful. The popularity of social media sites makes it extremely easy to acquire information about almost anyone. For example, there are 500 million people on facebook anyone could get to know by poking around their profiles. As a result of this popularity, businesses are beginning to use social media as a part of the hiring process. The purpose of a job interview is to learn something about the candidates personality but that person tries to make the best possible impression on the interviewer. This impression may not depict the persons true personality. Employers want to make sure they are making the best choice before hiring someone and content on social media sites can tell a lot about someones true personality. CEO Max Drucker believes, I personally think were moving away from the one-page resume. I think were moving toward where your online history is your resume. Do you have content on your profile you would not want a possible employer to see? 45% of companies use social media sites to research potential job candidates according to a survey of more than 2,000 HR professionals which was commissioned by CareerBuilder.com. That is nearly half of all companies. In addition, another 11% are planning to start similar practices in the near future. Out of the companies who admitted to using social media as a hiring tool 35% said they had actually rejected a candidate based on content they found during their research. But what exactly do companies find to cause such decisions? Having provocative pictures or information was the main reason employers opted out of hiring someone. Sharing content that involved alcohol and drugs was not far behind. Also, companies dismissed candidates for bad-mouthing previous employers, co-workers, or clients on social media sites. Even the use emoticons or smiley faces that have become very common when communicating technologically are seen as a negative to companies. This does not mean job seekers can no longer reminisce with their friends about the party they went to last weekend on social media sites. Facebook, as well as other social media sites, have made it possible to make your profile private. There are many different settings that can be changed in order to make sure only desired people can see a full facebook profile. The settings can either be set to everyone, which means everyone can see everything on that specific profile, friends of friends, friends only, or custom. Custom makes it possible to block certain friends, but not all friends. Each of these settings can be applied to each aspect of a facebook profile separately. For example, say someone wants everyone on facebook to be able to see their profile pictures, but only wants their friends to be able to see their posts. The everyone setting can be applied specifically to profile pictures, while the friends only setting can be applied to all posts. Also, say someone is friends with their Aunt Joan on facebook, but does not want her to see pictures of what they do on the weekends. Aunt Joan can specifically be blocked from all pictures, still be able to see other sections of the profile and still remain friends with her family member. Users can also make themselves unsearchable, which means if someone types their name in the search bar, at the top of the facebook homepage, their profile will not come up. This assures extra safety from employers looking to do some online research. Researching job candidates online sounds like a convienient way for employers to find out about their personality, but theres a catch. Companies need to be aware of legal issues when doing online research. Michelle Sherman described which information about job candidates is off limits in her article for the Social Media Law Update Blog. She described that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion and gender when making employment related decisions such as, hiring, discipline and termination. The Age Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against people who are 40 years or older, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against those who are qualified disabled. Many states add other factors to the list of information that is off limit. For example, the state of California adds sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, cancer, political affiliation, genetic characteristics, and gender identity to the list. Companies can easily gain information about the factors stated above by investigating social media sites. Michelle Sherman said, The challenge for employers who are researching job applicants, or monitoring the social media activity of their employees, is to not let this protected status information bleed into their employment decisions. On the other hand, Renee M. Jackson of the National Law Journal believes, Employers should consider whether the benefits of using social media to research applicants outweigh the risks. She also states certain guidelines employers should consider if they decide to screen social media sites. One guideline describes that companies should have a neutral party screen social media sites and filter out any information that is considered off limits under federal law. This neutral party can then pass on acceptable information to the individuals making the hiring decisions. Whoever is doing the online research should never friend a candidate in order to gain access to information. Finally, employers must be able to state a legitimate and nondiscriminatory reason for the decisions they make with documentation to support their claim. CEO of Social Intelligence Corp. Max Drucker says, Look, the employer is damned if they do, and damned if they dont. If they do screening themselves, its a legal landmine. If they dont, they open themselves up to negligent hiring. The presence of social media in the business world does not disappear after the hiring process is complete. People believe that employees who use social media sites while at work can actually benefit the business. It is said to result in external business generation. Considering the popularity of social media today it is the fastest way to advertise to the public. In 2009, Sodexo, a food company, got a lot of buzz because they had their employees tweet under the company name (Welstead). To put this into perspective, if 100 employees get involved, each employee has an average of 100 friends on their social media profile, and they post one company-related status per week that status will reach 10,000 or more people per week. In a matter of minutes a company can advertise to tens of thousands of people they may not be able to reach otherwise. Companies dont always have to rely on their employees to advertise on social media sites. Facebook has made it possible for businesses to create business accounts. Business accounts are different than personal accounts and are designed mainly to as a place for companies to advertise. Once a business creates a business account on facebook it can edit the businesses profile and add photos, videos and events. For example, Honda has its very own facebook page. The page contains information about the company, pictures and videos of the different types of cars, links to pages dedicated to one specific type of car, and promotions of their latest products and campaigns. In addition, businesses can also create ads that will show up on the side of the facebook homepage when the user logs on. Each company can choose their audience by location, age and interests when displaying their ad on facebook. Although, using social media for advertising creates a lot on benefits, it also may harm companies. It is obvious that if employees spend their entire day on social media sites production may decrease, but that is a small speed bump compared to the damage that could be done. The biggest risk is the unauthorized disclosure of confidential company information (Jackson). Leaking confidential company information can cause the company embarrassment, public relations issues and damage to the employers brand or reputation. As a result it is suggested that each company have a social media policy that all employees must follow. It is unrealistic to ban social media as a whole considering the amount of people who own smart phones. In other words, if social media sites are blocked on the company computers, employees can still log on using their mobile phones. Renee Jackson outlined some possible guidelines in her article for the National Law Journal. She described that companies should make it clear that the misuse of social media can be grounds for discipline and even termination. After that is made clear, it should be prohibited for employees to disclose confidential company information, trade secrets or proprietary information. Employees should keep company logos off their personal profiles and bring work-related complaints to human resources before writing about it on the internet. Also, employees should be prohibited from using their company e-mail address to register for social media sites. These are just a few suggested policies companies should consider there are many more additions to this that can insure further protection to the company. Social media has been and can be a source of friendships, which can carry over to the work place. Renee Jackson believes, Employee use of social media can result in an internal creation of a collegial atmosphere through less formal interaction and shared experiences between co-workers. In other words, social media allows co-workers to interact in a less formal manner. They can communicate online in addition to having face-to-face conversations while at work. This strengthens the relationships between co-workers creating a pleasant and strong work environment. The closer employees are the better they work together in a team atmosphere. In contrast to the quote stated above, Renee Jackson also states, On the other hand, employee use of social media can create awkward and potentially harassing situations when such use turns inappropriate. An example of this is if a supervisor wants to be a subordinates friend on a social media site. If the subordinate accepts the request the supervisor now has access to all the information on their profile. On the other hand, if the subordinate decides not to accept it may create an awkward situation in the work place because the supervisor may be offended. Misuse of such sites can cause sexual harassment or create a hostile work environment in more extreme cases (Jackson). Social media is not just a fad. Since facebook first launched in 2004 it has gained over 500 million users. The rate in which it gained popularity was faster than that of any other technological innovation. Social media is beginning to permeate the business world. It can be extremely beneficial to business, but also very harmful. If social media is going to continue to be used in the business world, it needs to be used correctly. For job seekers, site used strictly for socializing should be protected from professionals looking to gain insight into personalities. Professional social media sites make job hunting and networking quick and easy, but in order for them to be successful they need to be developed fully. For companies, social media sites are a convenient want to research possible employees, but they need to make sure they stay clear of all legal issues. Facebook has made it easy for companies to advertise on the site, and they can use their employees to reach more possible cus tomers. However, companies should have a social media policy that all employees must follow in order to make sure all problems are avoided. The concept of professional social media can be extremely beneficial to Generation Y when they being the career search, since they are the majority of the users on social media sites. If they learn how to use social media properly it will put them in a better place for the rest of their lives. They can use social media as a tool to get them a good job. Once they are hired they can use it to make business better. The key to successful and safe social media use is know how to use it safely and to the best of its ability.

How Do the Major Theories of Child Development Essay

Social experiences play a vital role in the development of children. Theories of child development have been created to help us to understand how children’s minds develop, taking into account the differences between cultures around the world. Some of these theories explore the possibility that children gain knowledge, develop new concepts and bridge new ideas through interaction with experience and cognitive schemata. Some theories explore the theory that development also plays a role in social experience. There are many theories of development, but some are more influential and have inspired a lot of research. There are four main contrasting theories of child development that not only help us to understand child development as a whole, but also assist us in the understanding of the role of social experiences in child development. These four theories of development are often referred to as the ‘grand theories’ as they cover all aspects of child development, not just specific parts. The four grande theories are behaviourist theory, the social learning model, constructivist theory, and social constructivist theory. This essay will discuss and outling the four main theories of development, compare and contrast some of the concepts of the main theories, then discuss whether or not the theory is able to explain the role of social experiences in child development. Behaviourism used to be the most dominant theory in psychology throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s. The evidence provided by the behaviourist experimental technique has been was very important to the discipline of psychology, and many of the theories have stood up to the test of time. Behaviourist psychologists such as were Ivan Pavlov, John Watson and B. F. Skinner. They used techniques such as conditioning (classical conditioning and operand conditioning) to explore the theories of child development. The behaviourist view on child development is that children learn by conditioning, which means that children’s behaviour is affected by a series of rewards and punishments. This learning theory suggests that children are not active in the process of learning; it is as though they are allowing themselves to be shaped by agents in the environment around them, such as teachers and parental models. One criticism of the behaviourist approach is it’s inability to explain the role of social experiences in child development. This is because behaviourism is primarily focused on experimental and scientific methods, and it is limited in the respect that it does not take into account aspects of human nature which can not be measured by the experimental method alone. Emotions and feelings require can not be fully understood by observation alone; it requires a certain degree of introspection. The behaviourist model has explained some very important aspects of cognative development and learning, but more recent theories have shown that the shaping of a child’s mind is far more complex than conditioning alone. In the 1960’s, the social learning model was created and it was proposed that children learn through simply observing other people around them. Role models are an important part of the social learning model. Research has shown that children will often imitate aggression that they have witnessed through watching other people (Liebert et al. , 1977). This is in contrast with the behaviourist learning theory that children learn through reward and punishment. In 1965, Bandura conducted a study where he explored the hypothesis that children can experience social learning without conditioning. He argued that while children learn by observing and mimicking others, they are also extracting concepts and ideas from what they are observing, and making sense of situations on their own. This is in contrast to the behaviourist view that children are not active agents in their own learning. One criticism of this research is that while this is an insight into how children learn by observation, it tells us very little about the cognitive processes and the development of social schemata. The constructivist view of development was formed by Piaget in the 1920’s and 30’s. Jean Piaget’s stage theory suggests that there are four stages of development that every child will experience and progress through, regardless of culture. Piaget also developed the concept of schemata, and the theory that children gained knowledge through interaction between experiences and schematic concepts. Piaget’s theory is contrary to the behaviourist model as he believed that through observation, children ‘construct’ their own understanding of the world, based on their own experiences and prior knowledge. Piaget believed that this type of learning was more influential than instruction from a teacher or caregiver. Piaget and Binet conducted research into the role of cognitive schema and it’s involvement in the process of learning. They carried out an experiment where they conducted a series of intelligence tests on both children and adults. From this research, Piaget found that children and adults look at the world differently, which as a result causes children to build upon their own schemata on their own term. This is because their reasoning differs from that of adults, so they need to make sense of the world using their own rational. Piaget emphasised the importance of interaction with peers in development. Children learn through socialising with one another, and surprisingly they do not appear to benefit in the same way from contact with Adults. Piaget reasoned that children benefit from exposing one another to conflicting perspectives, which causes them to adapt and develop their cognitive schema. This development does not occur when children are in contact with adults, as they see adults as authority figures, and thus would be willing to accept an adult viewpoint without questioning it, which does not allow them to form new ideas or critique old ideas. The fourth and final theory of development that will be discussed is the social constructivism theory. This theory is similar to the constructivist theory as it proposes that children are active agents in their own learning and development. The social constructivism theory extends the constructivism model by introducing the roles of other agents, and by emphasising the role of interaction in the process of learning. The constructive theory places emphasis on social interaction as an important tool in cognitive development, and that schema are formed by children mostly through social interaction, not just through creating the ideas on their own . Vygotsky was a social constructivist whose theories can be contrasted with Piaget’s contructivist theories. Piaget believed that children are the main agents in developing their own knowledge and cognitive schemata about the things they have experiences in the environment. In contrast, Vygotsky placed more emphasis on the development of social schemata through the internalisation of social interactions using cultural tools such as language and expressions. The social constructivist model can be contrasted with social learning theories because it emphasises interaction with people and the environment, and put less emphases on observation. It can also be contrasted with behaviourism as the theory does not appear to value the possible effects of reward and punishment. The main differences between Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories is that Vygotsky believed that children play the most important part in shaping their cognitive development, which is in contrast to Piaget’s theory of the four universal stages of development. Vygotsky did not incorporate stages of development into his theory, and instead tended to focus on more social factors and role of language and other social tools. Vigotsky’s (1978) social constructivist approach was able to explore the social influences on cognitive development. Piaget’s theory was more focused on children creating new knowledge and cognitive schema through their own self exploration. Crain (2000) believed that some theories focus too much on learning by instruction, and that children were able to learn on their own and through social interaction, so it it important to allow them to explore this in order for them to be active, imaginative and ‘childish’. However other theories have suggested that if the process of learning under instruction is left too late then it may be too late to teach children more dult styles of thinking and reasoning. The social learning theory is possibly the model that places the least emphases on social experiences out of the four primary learning theories. The social part of the theory is the process of learning through observation. This theory does not place much emphasis on how social experiences relate to the development of cognitive schema, or how cognitive schemata facilitate social experiences. Children gain knowledge and bridge pathways through simply watching others in the environment around them. It can be seen from the descriptions of the four main theories of development that not all of them take into account of the role of social experiences in child development. They all appear to make valid claims about the different ways in which children develop complex ideas about the world. From studying these four theories, it seems as though children develop through many different means. Internal structures, role models, and traditional teachings in school, all play an important role in shaping a childs development. Social interaction is possibly equaly as important, if not more important in facilitating normal development in children.