Revisions on Strategic Planning Modules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Revisions on Strategic Planning Modules - Essay Example The strategic planning and budgeting projects provided timely insights which provided the opportunity to examine and evaluate an organization in terms of how its strategic planning and budgeting process enables it to cope with diverse factors that affect its attainment of organizational goals. ((1) external environment analysis, (2) strategic issues and opportunities, (3) core values, (4) mission, (5) goals and objectives, (6) strategic and other indicators, (7) evaluation, (8) action steps, (9) revenue and costs; and (10) assessment) and SWOT analysis in providing relevant information to guide decision makers in creating the most appropriate action plan given the challenges in the environment and other factors that influence the organization’s operations. Only with a comprehensive and timely strategic plan in place can top management participate in the preparation, evaluation, and assessment of its operating budget to guide its operations in the near future. Given the aforementioned insights, the operating budget that was previously presented should be revised to incorporate the following factors: (1) tuition fee rate per school year amounts to $36, 300 for a full load undergraduate program, (2) the lessons learned on SWOT analysis of current and future conditions should focus on the impact of the global financial crisis in cost reduction thereby reducing the projected expenses more, (3) the further reduction in costs would enable the university in generating additional income from $25 million as previously projected, to $29 million – which can be utilized to address needed repairs and maintenance and salaries of personnel.

How Do Drugs Interact With Receptors Biology Essay

How Do Drugs Interact With Receptors Biology Essay Illustrate with named drug examples. Receptors are highly important in cell function as they allow communication between a cell and its neighbours and controls the way a cell functions with stimuli or depression, usually from the central nervous system via the brain and spinal cord (Patrick, 2005). The nerves that communicate with their respective cells do not connect directly to their target cells, and there has to be some way of carrying their message across a gap of only 100 Ã…, and this is achieved by the release of chemical messengers from the nerve cell to interact with receptors in the target cell membrane (Patrick, 2005). These receptors are protein molecules, usually embedded in the cell membrane, with a certain area of this protein on the outside of the cell which is able to bind this chemical messenger due to the proteins structure. This binding of the chemical messenger leads to the activation of the receptor which leads to the desired effect which can occur via a numb er of methods (Katzung, 2001). When this process goes wrong, for example of too much or not enough messengers are released, then disease states can occur, with Parkinsons disease, depression and psychosis being among many diseases thought to be resulting from this sort of pathophysiology (Patrick, 2005). When this occurs, drugs, which may be defined as any substance that brings about a change in biological function through its chemical actions (Katzung, 2001), can be used to have an effect on the desired receptors to increase or decrease their activity, and hopefully restore the balance as close to the physiological normal as possible. In this essay, I shall first discuss how drugs can have their effect on receptors and will then go on to discuss how these drugs work on different types of receptors to treat disease. There are many, many different receptors in the body with different shapes, sizes, regulating factors and functions. These can be classified into five main classes: (i) ligand gated ion channels, (ii) intracellular receptors for lipid soluble agents, (iii) ligand regulated transmembrane enzymes, (iv) cytokine receptors, and (v) G proteins and second messengers (Patrick, 2005). Throughout the essay, I will try to explain how drugs interact with receptors and how this can affect their function. I will also try and use a balanced coverage of the above receptor classes as examples when describing how drugs can affect a receptors function. Firstly, a drug may be used to mimic the action of a natural chemical messenger to activate the receptor and cause an increase of activity at that cell, for example, initiating muscle movement or secretion of a hormone (Patrick, 2005). These types of drugs are called agonists, but their function at a receptor depends on a number of factors that need to be considered when designing new drugs. One requirement is that the drug has to have the correct binding groups, so that the required number of interactions, for example, ionic bonding, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals interactions etc.; can be made between the drug and the receptor, and that these interactions are strong enough to stimulate the receptor, but not too strong so that the drug does not leave the receptor after binding (Katzung, 2001). The drug must also have the correct size and shape to fit into the receptor binding site and allow these interactions to occur. If the drug is too small, the drug will not be able to sufficie ntly form the required interactions with the receptor, and if too big, the drug will not be able to fit into the binding site at all. This has become a lot easier since the protein structures of many receptors, and their binding sites, have been identified via genetic engineering, computer based molecular modeling and X ray crystallography, allowing for the design of specific drugs to fit these binding sites (Patrick, 2005). In terms of how the chemical messengers and drugs have their effect on the receptor to activate it, it is thought that the binding interactions of the messenger molecule cause the receptor to change shape. As an example, if a receptor had three binding sites, when the agonist reaches the receptor, it may only interact with two of the three required interactions. In order for the third interaction to take place, the protein must undergo a conformational change, and with this change, the receptor will become activated and cause a change in the cells activity (Katz ung, 2001). This is a very simplified view and in reality, the conformational changes needed to open a channel such as an ion channel are complex and often, the lock gate is not in close proximity to the receptor binding site, but the same ideas are common to both. A very common prescribed agonist is Salbutamol, a selective ÃŽ ²-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, in the treatment of asthma (Waldeck, 2002). This is a G protein coupled receptor which is expressed mainly in the lungs in the alveolar walls. When this receptor is activated, levels of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) via G-protein activation of adenyl cyclase. The increase in cAMP in the cells influences cAMP dependant protein kinases which contribute to regulation of muscle tone and reduce free calcium ions on the cell by stopping their influx from outside the cell and also their release from intracellular stores (Kroeze, 2003). This then results in relaxation of the central and peripheral airway smooth muscle and therefore bronchodilation (Sears, 2005). Benzodiazepines can be used as anticonvulsants for treatment of epileptic seizures and work by acting as agonists of the GABAA receptor in the central nervous system. These work by binding to a specific benzodiazepine binding site at the interface of the ÃŽ ± and ÃŽ ³ subunits which is present on a subset of GABAA receptors (Treiman, 2001). When a benzodiazepine binds to this site, it increases the affinity of the receptor protein to bind GABA, and therefore increases the chance that the channel will open. With the channel more likely to be open, this allows the flow of chloride ions through the channel and therefore hyperpolarizes the membrane and makes the associated neuron less likely to potentiate an action potential, hence the drugs sedative properties (Treiman, 2001). Agonists are a good therapeutics agent for when there is not enough chemical messenger in a system, but what if there is too much being produced? In this situation, an antagonist is used. An antagonist is a drug that can bind to a receptor binding site but does not produce a functional conformational change like an agonist, or if it does change the shape of the receptor protein, it does so in a way in which the desired effect on the cell does not occur (Patrick, 2005). These are called competitive antagonists as they compete with the natural chemical messenger for the receptor binding site and therefore block the action of the messenger, preventing it from having its effect. Competitive agonists are usually designed to bind to the binding site more strongly, so enhancing its anagonistic effects (Patrick, 2005). Antagonists can also work on the receptors but not actually at the binding site. These are termed allosteric antagonists with the drug binding to a different part of the recep tor and the interactions involved may then distort the shape of the receptor in such a way that the natural chemical transmitter cannot bind as the binding site will no longer be compatible. This is an example of non-competitive antagonism as the drug is not competing with the natural chemical messenger for the same binding site (Katzung, 2001). An example of an ion channel antagonist is Amlodipine, which has its effect on voltage gated L-type (slowly inactivating) calcium channels (Abernethy, 1999). This drug is used for a variety of cardiovascular diseases, for example, hypertension and angina pectoris (Abernethy, 1999). With the calcium channels blocked, there is less influx of calcium into the cell, and in smooth muscle cells, this decrease in the intracellular messenger leads to a reduction in muscle contraction. This means that vasodilation takes place and leads to a decrease in blood pressure (Abernethy, 1999). Sometimes, a drug is discovered that cannot be classed as a pure agonist or a pure antagonist, its action involves it having some effect on a receptor to produce its activation, but not as much as would be seen with an agonist. These are termed partial agonists. There are many theories into how these work because it does seem strange that an agonist can only work partially. One such explanation is that when the partial agonist binds to the binding site, it does form the required interactions to produce a conformational change, but this change is not exactly the same as a pure agonist, and so may only activate the channel partially, for example, by only partly opening an ion channel (Patrick, 2005). Another theory involves the partial agonist being able to bind to the receptor in more than one place, so one method of binding would produce an agonist effect and the other an antagonist effect. This balance between the two would result in only a proportion of the receptors being activate d, hence, the partial antagonistic effect (Katzung, 2001). An example of a partial agonist is clozapine which is classified as an atypical antipsychotic and can be used for its anti-depressive and anti-anxiolytic effects in some patients. Along with effecting dopamine receptors, it also binds to serotonergic receptors, particularly the 5-HT1A receptor, to which it has its partial agonist effect (Meltzer, 1989). There is another way drugs can interact with receptors and this is in the form of an inverse agonist. These work on the principle that some receptors have constitutive activity, for example the GABA receptors, in which they are active at all times, regardless of signals they are receiving, so can be active even without the presence of a natural chemical messenger or an agonist (Patrick, 2005). This can even be true when an antagonist is present as the antagonist has the same binding affinity to both the active and inactive receptors, so there is no change in biological activity because the active receptor remains active. An inverse agonist has the effect of binding to the receptors and stabilising them in the inactive state, so will reduce the number of active receptors that are functioning, so will almost prevent any receptors from being active as it even stops the constitutive activity, so has a negative efficacy (Patrick, 2005). Figure 1 represents a diagrammatical representation of this (Lambert, 2004). Cimetidine, a H2 receptor inverse agonist, is used for the treatment of dyspepsia and peptic ulcers (Wallmark, 1983). It works by blocking the binding of histamine to the receptor on the parietal cells which reduces the amount of acid that is secreted by these cells into the stomach (Wallmark, 1983). The parietal cells secrete more acid when stimulated by histamine release after a meal, but also have a constitutive activity, which the inverse agonist also suppresses (Wallmark, 1983). Fig. 1 Graphical representation of the negative effect that inverse agonists have on receptors when compared to an antagonist and an agonist (Lambert, 2004). In conclusion, there is many ways in which drugs can act on receptors to modify their effect and this can be utilised for treating disease when a system goes out of balance. As mentioned previously, huge advancements have been made since more is now known regarding the structure of receptors and their binding sites. In the future, with more knowledge acquired in this field, further drugs can be manufactured which can be much more specific to their respective receptor and so can produce specific desired effects. This is of particular importance in conditions affecting the brain as disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and Parkinsons disease are associated with an imbalance in neurotransmitters and improvements in the drugs available to us to treat such conditions will benefit millions of people all around the world.

Russians and Americans Essay -- essays research papers

Russians and Americans Americans often think that they have a better chance of finding a common ground with aliens from outer space than with "resident aliens" from Russia. Frequently Russian immigrants feel exactly the same way about their American co-workers, classmates and even spouses. A key to gaining and sustaining a mutual respect in cross-cultural relationships is an understanding of distinctive cultural norms of people from different countries. Without going too deep into historical and psychological aspects of typical Americans’ and Russians’ behaviors and traditions, let us look at a few dissimilarities between representatives of these two cultures. In Russia, children are customarily expected to stay with their parents in the same apartment or live nearby, and parents are often very upset when children move away. This closeness arises not necessarily by choice, but by deep-rooted traditions and, later on, by difficulties in getting a separate apartments. Many older people feel that several generations should still live together. Also, Russian grandmothers feel that it is their duty to raise grandchildren; in many cases they are involved in their childrens’ live much more than parents are and they greatly enjoy it. In the USA it is customary for the younger generation to leave home right after high school, often moving across the country to start college or a new job, and live in his or her own apartment or house. The older generation is even glad, when this move occurs, and happily builds plans for a free life that starts when "children are out of the house." Traditionally, Russian men are breadwinners, and wives are house-makers and full-time mothers. After the revolution in 1917, the majority of women entered the workforce, but people's mentality has not changed. All household duties are still considered a woman's responsibility, even if she works longer hours than her husband or makes more money. Lately, in the most "modern" families, husbands have started to take on more household duties, but in the majority of families, the situation remains the same as a hundred years ago. In the USA, if both spouses work outside the home, it is a norm to share responsibilities for housekeeping and for spending time with children. More so, it is quite normal for fathers in America to take care of children after work, even i... ...k for it beforehand. If a person get caught for a traffic violation he or she better give a policeman money right away even if the person did not actually speed; otherwise that person might loose not only his or her license, but also, for a few days, his or her freedom. Americans mostly mind their own business when it comes to somebody else's demeanor or behavior as long as it does not directly disturb them. Russians on the other hand, especially older folks, very often make it their business to know other people’s business. They might on the length of a persn’t dress or the misbehavior of a child and complement this opinion with a full lecture on appropriate clothing or upbringing of youngsters. In general, Americans are individualists and Russians are collectivists. This essay is the comparison of two great different nations, which are similar and different at the same time in our views and desires, aspirations, concerns and prejudices. It seems that Americans have much of an open mind than Rusians. Russians are very conservative. In most of cases it is difficult for them to a change in their beliefs. For the Americans freedom is good, but it is nothing without responsibility.

Integrating basic skills Essay

Graphing and Social Studies The Rationale Graphing skills are in important tool for participating in adult society. As such, they should be emphasized and integrated into the curriculum. Including a graphing exercise as part of a larger social studies unit is a good way to reinforce math and interpretive skills. A graphing exercise gives the student an opportunity to demonstrate what has been learned in a creative way. Reproducing the information in graphical form also helps the students to see the big picture. It helps them see how different elements relate, and it provides a visual representation of the information that can be more easily remembered. As adults, the students will find that graphs are not solely a mathematical element. Graphs are a way we communicate concepts as well as data. Early integration of this skill into a child’s education can only be beneficial. The Exercise Software and internet sites to assist graphing activities are plentiful. For this exercise, the Create a Graph website (http://nces. ed. gov/nces/kids/graphing/) sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics will be used. The students have been studying the Plymouth Plantation. This lesson points out that the Pilgrims attained a new sense of freedom, but it was not without hardship. The graphing exercise is designed to reinforce this concept. Before the exercise begins the teacher will run through a brief graphing tutorial. To begin, the students will each receive one of three different assignment sheets. They will later be divided into groups based on which assignment they receive. The students in group one will receive a handout summarizing the information obtained in the part of the lesson called â€Å"Step 2. † Their task will be to construct a graph at the Create a Graph website comparing the speeds of various forms of transportation, present and past, including the Mayflower. A bar chart will be suggested. The students may discuss the project as a group, but each student must complete a chart. The second group will receive a handout summarizing the climatic data obtained in â€Å"Step 3. † They will construct a chart showing the average temperature highs and lows for each month of the year. An area chart will be suggested. The third group will receive a handout describing population levels of colonists and natives in the area in the years 1620-1640. They will be asked to construct charts showing the population distribution (men, women, Native Americans) in the years 1620 and 1640. Pie charts will be suggested. Copies of each graph will be printed for each student in the group. Fonts, colors and labels will be at the discretion of the students, but the students will be asked to keep in mind that their chart must explain the data clearly to someone who might not already be familiar with it. After everyone has completed a chart they will return to groups to discuss their results. The graphs in each group will not be identical, but they should be similar. Each group will then be asked an interpretive question: â€Å"What is your graph telling us? † The answer should be one written sentence. The idea is to present a very concise summary of the information, i. e. â€Å"The population difference between men and women shrunk between 1620 and 1640. † The teacher will choose one or two members of each croup to present their graph, describe the process of making it, and describe the meaning. To reinforce the experience, the students will be asked, as a class a series of follow up questions including the following: – Could we have used different types of graphs to present the data? Why or why not? – Why do we use graphs? – What do the graphs tell you about life on Plymouth? The graphing exercise will help students visualize the data. They can then draw their own conclusions about what the data means. They will gain exposure to the different types of graphs and when it is appropriate to use each. It is also another chance to integrate interactive technology into the students learning experience. The group format will allow students to exchange ideas and develop for themselves a more creative learning experience. As with any group exercise, the job of the teacher is to facilitate interaction and full participation of the students. Sources Bergen County Intermediate School District. (2006). Technology Curriculum Integration Ideas! Retrieved 7/2/2006 from: http://www. remc11. k12. mi. us/bcisd/classres/intideas. htm Brooks, Susan & Byles, Bill. (2006). Idea Starters for using Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from: http://www. internet4classrooms. com/integ_tech_lessons. htm Evans, Janet. (2005). Literacy Moves On: Popular Culture, New Technologies, and Critical Literacy in the Elementary Classroom. New York: Heinemann. Howell, Will C. (1987). Grid and graph it: graphing activities for listening and following directions, grades 4-6. Belmont, Calif. : Fearon Teacher Aids. National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Students Classroom: Create a Graph. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from: http://nces. ed. gov/nces/kids/graphing/ Starr, Linda. (2003). Technology Integration Ideas that Work. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from: http://www. education-world. com/a_tech/tech/tech176. shtml Ventura, Fred. (2006). Graphing and Computers in Grades 3-5. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from: http://www,venturaes. com/graphing/.

Blood Promise Chapter Nineteen

For someone who had preached to Denis about impulse control, I wasn't setting a very good example. Once left alone in the suite, I continued trying everything possible to get out-emphasis on the â€Å"try† part. Nathan had acted like keeping a prisoner was a rare thing, but from what I could tell, this place had been built to hold people in. The door and window remained impassible, no matter how hard I beat at them or threw objects against them. I didn't bother with the chair this time and instead used one of the living room's end tables, hoping it would carry some extra heft. It didn't. When that didn't work, I actually tried entering random codes into the door's keypad. Also useless. Finally, exhausted, I collapsed onto the leather sofa and tried to assess my options. The process didn't take very long. I was trapped in a house full of Strigoi. Okay, I didn't know that for sure, but I knew there were at least three here, which was far too many for me. Dimitri had referred to this place as an â€Å"estate,† which I didn't find comforting. Estates were big. The fact that I appeared to be on the fourth floor was proof of that. A big place meant that there could be lots of room for lots of vampires. The one comfort I had was that Strigoi didn't cooperate very well. Finding large groups of them working together was rare. I'd observed it a couple of times-the attack on the Academy being one such occasion. They'd come then because the school's wards had dropped, and that had been a big enough incentive for the Strigoi to unite. Even when they did try to work together, the unions were usually short-lived. The friction I'd observed between Dimitri and Nathan was proof of that. Dimitri. I closed my eyes. Dimitri was the reason I was here. I'd come to free him from this state of living death and had promptly failed, just as he'd said. Now, it appeared I might be on the verge of joining him. Yeah, good job, Rose. I shivered, trying to imagine myself as one of them. Red rings around my pupils. Tanned skin gone pale. I couldn't picture it, and I supposed I'd never have to actually see myself if it happened. Strigoi cast no reflections. It would make doing my hair a real pain in the ass. The scariest change of all would be within, the loss of my connection to my soul. Both Dimitri and Nathan had been cruel and antagonistic. Even if I hadn't been around to start the fight, it probably wouldn't have taken long for them to find some other reason to turn on each other. I was combative, but it was always driven by some passion for others. Strigoi fought because they relished the bloodshed. I didn't want to be like that, seeking blood and violence because I enjoyed it. I didn't want to believe that of Dimitri either, but his actions had already branded him as a Strigoi. I also knew what he had to have been eating this whole time to survive. Strigoi could go longer without blood than Moroi, but it had been over a month since he was turned. There was no question he had fed, and Strigoi almost always killed their victims to eat. I couldn't picture that of Dimitri†¦ not the man I'd known. I opened my eyes. The topic of feeding had brought my lunch to mind. Pizza and brownies. Two of the most perfect foods on the planet. The pizza had long gone cold during my escape efforts, but as I stared at the plate, both it and the brownie looked delicious. If the outside light was any indication, it hadn't been a full twenty-four hours since Dimitri had caught me, but it was getting pretty close. That was a long time to go without food, and I wanted to eat that pizza badly, cold or not. I didn't really want to starve to death. Of course, I didn't want to become Strigoi either, but this situation was quickly running away from what I wanted. Starvation took a long time, and I suspected Dimitri was right: he'd turn me long before I had a chance to truly starve. I'd have to find some other way to die-God, not that I wanted that at all-and in the meantime, I decided I might as well keep up my strength on the feeble chance I might be able to escape. Once the decision was made, I gobbled down the food in about three minutes. I had no idea who Strigoi hired to do their cooking-hell, Strigoi couldn't even eat regular food, unlike Moroi-but it was fantastic. Some wry part of me noted that I'd been given food that required no silverware. They really had thought of every possible way I might get my hands on a weapon. My mouth was full of my last giant bite of brownie when the door suddenly opened. Inna slipped deftly inside, the door shutting almost immediately. â€Å"Son of a bitch!† Or at least I tried to say that through my mouthful of food. While I'd been debating whether to eat or not, I should have been staking out the door. Dimitri had said Inna would check in on me. I should have been waiting to overpower her. Instead, she'd gotten in while I wasn't paying attention. Once again, I'd slipped up. Just like when she was around Dimitri and Nathan, Inna made very little eye contact. She held a pile of clothes in her arms and paused in front of me, holding them out. Uncertain, I took them from her and set them beside me on the couch. â€Å"Um, thanks,† I said. Pointing at the empty tray, she actually glanced up at me shyly, a question in her brown eyes. Seeing her straight on, I was surprised at how pretty she was. She might even have been younger than me, and I wondered how she'd ended up being forced to work here. Understanding her query, I nodded. â€Å"Thanks.† She picked the tray up and waited a moment. I wasn't sure why; then it occurred to me she must be waiting to see if I wanted anything else. I was pretty sure â€Å"the combination to the lock† wouldn't translate very well. I shrugged and waved her off, my mind spinning as I watched her approach the door. I should wait for her to open the door and then jump her, I thought. Immediately, a gut reaction sprang up in me, hesitation at striking out at an innocent. Another thought squashed that one: It's me or her. I tensed. Inna pressed herself close to the door as she punched in the combination, effectively blocking my view. Judging by how long she was punching in numbers, the code appeared to be pretty long. The door clicked open, and I braced myself to act. Then-I decided against it at the last moment. For all I knew, there could be an army of Strigoi out there. If I was going to use Inna to escape, I probably only had one opportunity. I needed to make it count. So, instead of leaping up, I shifted slightly so that I could see beyond her. She was just as fast as before, slipping out as soon as the door unlocked. But in that moment, I caught a glimpse of a short corridor and what looked like another heavy door. Interesting. Double doors on my prison. If I did follow her, that would prevent me from making an immediate escape. She could simply wait by the other locked door, holding out until Strigoi backup showed up. That made things more difficult, but understanding the setup at least gave me a spark of hope. I just needed to figure out what to do with this information, provided I hadn't screwed myself by not acting now. For all I knew, Dimitri was about to walk in and turn me into a Strigoi. I sighed. Dimitri, Dimitri, Dimitri. Looking down, I took the time to actually see what she'd brought me. My current attire wasn't bothering me, but if I stayed here much longer, my jeans and T-shirt were going to get pretty gross. Like Tamara, someone wanted to dress me up. The clothes Inna had brought were all dresses and all in my size. A red silk sheath. A long-sleeved, form-fitting knit dress edged in satin. An empire-waist, ankle-length chiffon gown. â€Å"Oh, great. I'm a doll.† Digging deeper into the stack, I discovered there were a few nightshirts and nightgowns tucked in there-as well as some underwear and bras. All of those were satin and silk. The most casual item in the whole lot was a forest-green sweater dress, but even it was made of the softest cashmere. I held it up, trying to imagine myself making a daring escape in it. Nope. With a shake of my head, I heedlessly tossed all of the clothes onto the floor. Looked like I'd be wearing grungy clothes for a while. I paced around after that, turning over futile escape plans that I'd already spun around in my head a million times. In walking, I realized how tired I was. Aside from the blackout when Dimitri had hit me, I hadn't slept in over a day. Deciding how to handle this was like deciding how to deal with the food. Let down my guard or not? I needed strength, but each concession I made put me more at risk. At last, I gave in, and as I lay down on the massive bed, an idea suddenly occurred to me. I wasn't totally without help. If Adrian came to visit me in my sleep, I could tell him what had happened. True, I'd told him to stay away last time, but he'd never listened to me before. Why should this time be any different? I focused on him as hard as I could while I waited for sleep to come, as though my thoughts might act as some sort of bat signal and summon him. It didn't work. There was no visit in my dreams, and when I woke up, I was surprised at just how much that hurt me. Despite Adrian's infatuation with Avery, I couldn't help but recall how kind he'd been to Jill the last time I saw them. He was worried about Lissa, too, and he'd displayed none of his usual carefree bravado. He'd been serious and†¦ well, sweet. A lump formed in my throat. Even if I had no romantic interest in him, I'd still treated him badly. I'd lost both our friendship and any chance of calling for help through him. The soft rustling of paper snapped me from my musings and I jerked upright. Someone was in the living room, his back to me as he sat on the couch, and it took me only a moment to recognize who. Dimitri. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked, climbing out of bed. In my groggy state, I hadn't even registered the nausea. â€Å"Waiting for you to wake up,† he said, not bothering to turn around. He was overly confident in my inability to inflict damage-as well he should have been. â€Å"Sounds kind of boring.† I walked into the living room, moving myself far to the side of him and leaning against the wall. I crossed my arms over my chest, again taking comfort in that meaningless protective posture. â€Å"Not so boring. I had company.† He glanced over at me and held up a book. A western. I think that shocked me almost as much as his altered appearance. There was something so †¦ normal about it all. He'd loved western novels when he was a dhampir, and I'd often teased him about wanting to be a cowboy. Somehow, I'd imagined that hobby would go away when he turned. Irrationally hopeful, I studied his face as though I might see some radical change, like maybe he'd turned back to the way he'd been while I slept. Maybe the last month and a half had been a dream. Nope. Red eyes and a hard expression looked back at me. My hopes shattered. â€Å"You slept for a long time,† he added. I dared a quick look at the window. Totally black. It was nighttime. Damn. I'd only wanted a two-hour power nap. â€Å"And you ate.† The amusement in his voice grated at me. â€Å"Yeah, well, I'm a sucker for pepperoni. What do you want?† He placed a bookmark in the book and set it on the table. â€Å"To see you.† â€Å"Really? I thought your only goal was to make me one of the living dead.† He didn't acknowledge that, which was a bit frustrating. I hated feeling like what I had to say was being ignored. Instead, he tried to get me to sit down. â€Å"Aren't you tired of always standing?† â€Å"I just woke up. Besides, if I can spend an hour tossing furniture around, a little standing isn't that big a deal.† I didn't know why I was throwing out my usual witty quips. Honestly, considering the situation, I should have just ignored him. I should have stayed silent instead of playing into this game. I guess I kind of hoped that if I made the jokes I used to, I'd get some kind of response from the old Dimitri. I repressed a sigh. There I was again, forgetting Dimitri's own lessons. Strigoi were not the people they used to be. â€Å"Sitting's not that big a deal either,† he replied. â€Å"I told you before, I'm not going to hurt you.† â€Å"? ®Hurt' is kind of a subjective term.† Then, in a sudden decision to seem fearless, I walked over and sat in the armchair across from him. â€Å"Happy now?† He tilted his head, and a few pieces of brown hair escaped from where he'd pulled it back in a small ponytail. â€Å"You still stay beautiful, even after sleeping and fighting.† His eyes flicked down to the clothes I'd tossed on the floor. â€Å"You don't like any of them?† â€Å"I'm not here to play dress-up with you. Designer clothes aren't going to suddenly get me on board with joining the Strigoi club.† He gave me a long, penetrating stare. â€Å"Why don't you trust me?† I stared back, only my stare was one of disbelief. â€Å"How can you ask that? You abducted me. You kill innocent people to survive. You aren't the same.† â€Å"I'm better, I told you. And as for innocent†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"No one's really innocent. Besides, the world is made up of predators and prey. Those who are strong conquer those who are weak. It's part of the natural order. You used to be into that, if I remember correctly.† I looked away. Back at school, my favorite non-guardian class had been biology. I'd loved reading about animal behavior, about the survival of the fittest. Dimitri had been my alpha male, the strongest of all the other competitors. â€Å"It's different,† I said. â€Å"But not in the way you think. Why should drinking blood be so strange to you? You've seen Moroi do it. You've let Moroi do it.† I flinched, not really wanting to dwell on how I used to let Lissa drink from me while we lived among humans. I certainly didn't want to think about the rush of endorphins that had come with that and how I'd nearly become an addict. â€Å"They don't kill.† â€Å"They're missing out. It's incredible,† he breathed. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. â€Å"To drink the blood of another†¦ to watch the life fade from them and feel it pour into you†¦ it's the greatest experience in the world.† Listening to him talk about killing others increased my nausea. â€Å"It's sick and wrong.† It happened so fast that I didn't have any time to react. Dimitri leapt out and grabbed me, pulling me to him and spreading me out on the couch. With his arm still wrapped around me, he positioned himself so that he was half beside me and half on top. I was too stunned to move. â€Å"No, it's not. And that's where you have to trust me. You'd love it. I want to be with you, Rose. Really be with you. We're free of the rules that others put on us. We can be together now-the strongest of the strong, taking everything we want. We can eventually be as strong as Galina. We could have a place just like this, all our own.† While his bare skin was still cold, the press of the rest of his body against mine was warm. The red in his eyes practically gleamed while this close, and as he spoke, I saw the fangs in his mouth. I was used to seeing fangs on Moroi, but on him†¦ it was sickening. I briefly toyed with the idea of trying to break free but promptly dismissed it. If Dimitri wanted to hold me down, I would stay down. â€Å"I don't want any of this,† I said. â€Å"Don't you want me?† he asked with a wicked smile. â€Å"You wanted me once.† â€Å"No,† I said, knowing I lied. â€Å"What do you want then? To go back to the Academy? To serve Moroi who will throw you into danger without a second thought? If you wanted that kind of life, why did you come here?† â€Å"I came to free you.† â€Å"I am free,† he responded. â€Å"And if you'd really intended to kill me, you would have.† He shifted slightly, resting his face close to my neck. â€Å"You couldn't.† â€Å"I messed up. It won't happen again.† â€Å"Suppose that were true. Suppose you were able to kill me now. Suppose you were even able to escape. What then? Will you go back home? Will you return to Lissa and let her continue bleeding spirit's darkness into you?† â€Å"I don't know,† I replied stiffly. And it was the truth. My plans had never gone past finding him. â€Å"It will consume you, you know. As long as she continues to use her magic, no matter how far away you go, you'll always feel the side effects. At least as long as she's alive.† I stiffened in his arms and moved my face away. â€Å"What's that mean? Are you going to join Nathan and hunt her down?† â€Å"What happens to her is no concern of mine,† he said. â€Å"You are. If you were awakened, Lissa would no longer be a threat to you. You'd be free. The bond would break.† â€Å"And what would happen to her? She'd be left alone.† â€Å"Like I said, that's no concern of mine. Being with you is.† â€Å"Yeah? Well, I don't want to be with you.† He turned my face toward him so that we were looking at each other again. Once more, I had that weird feeling of being with Dimitri and not with Dimitri. Love and fear. He narrowed his eyes. â€Å"I don't believe you.† â€Å"Believe what you want. I don't want you anymore.† His lips quirked into one of those scary, smirking smiles. â€Å"You're lying. I can tell. I've always been able to.† â€Å"It's the truth. I wanted you before. I don't want you now.†If I kept saying it, it would be true. He moved closer to me, and I froze. If I shifted even half an inch, our lips would touch. â€Å"My exterior†¦ my power, yes, that's different. Better. But otherwise, I'm the same, Roza. My essence hasn't changed. The connection between us hasn't changed. You just can't see it yet.† â€Å"Everything's changed.† With his lips so close, all I kept thinking about was that brief, passionate kiss he'd given me the last time he was here. No, no, no. Don't think about that. â€Å"If I'm so different, then why don't I force you into an awakening? Why am I giving you the choice?† A snappy retort was on my lips, but then it died. That was an excellent question. Why was he giving me the choice? Strigoi didn't give their victims choices. They killed mercilessly and took what they wanted. If Dimitri truly wanted me to join him, then he should have turned me as soon as he had me. More than a day had passed, and he'd showered me with luxury. Why? If he turned me, I had no doubt that I'd become as twisted as him. It would make everything a lot simpler. He continued when I remained silent. â€Å"And if I'm so different, then why did you kiss me back earlier?† I still didn't know what to say, and it made his smile grow. â€Å"No answer. You know I'm right.† His lips suddenly found mine again. I made a small sound of protest and tried vainly to escape his embrace. He was too strong, and after a moment, I didn't want to escape. That same sensation as before flooded me. His lips were cold, but the kiss burned between us. Fire and ice. And he was right-I did kiss him back. Desperately, that rational part of me screamed that this was wrong. Last time, he'd broken the kiss before too much could happen. Not this time. And as we continued kissing now, that rational voice in me grew smaller and smaller. The part of me that would always love Dimitri took over, exulting in the way his body felt against mine, the way he wound my hair around one of his hands, letting the fingers get tangled up. His other hand slid up the back of my shirt, cold against my warm skin. I pushed myself closer to him and felt the pressure of the kiss increase as his own desire picked up. Then, in the midst of it all, my tongue lightly brushed against the sharp point of one of his fangs. It was like a bucket of cold water tossed upon me. With as much strength as I could muster, I jerked my head away, pulling out of the kiss. I could only guess that his guard had been momentarily down, allowing me that small escape. My breathing was heavy, my whole body still wanting him. My mind, however, was the part of me in control-for now, at least. God, what had I been doing? It's not the Dimitri you knew. It's not him. I'd been kissing a monster. But my body wasn't so sure. â€Å"No,† I murmured, surprised by how pathetic and pleading I sounded. â€Å"No. We can't do this.† â€Å"Are you sure?† he asked. His hand was still in my hair, and he forcibly turned my head so that I was face-to-face with him again. â€Å"You didn't seem to mind. Everything can be just like it was before†¦ like it was in the cabin†¦ You certainly wanted it then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The cabin†¦ â€Å"No,† I repeated. â€Å"I don't want that.† He pressed his lips against my cheek and then made a surprisingly gentle trail of kisses down to my neck. Again, I felt my body's yearning for him, and I hated myself for the weakness. â€Å"What about this?† he asked, his voice barely a whisper. â€Å"Do you want this?† â€Å"Wh-â€Å" I felt it. The sharp bite of teeth into my skin as he closed his mouth down on my neck. For half an instant, it was agonizing. Painful and horrible. And then, just like that, the pain disappeared. A rush of bliss and joy poured through me. It was so sweet. I had never felt so wonderful in my life. It reminded me a little of how it had been when Lissa drank from me. That had been amazing, but this†¦ this was ten times better. A hundred times better. The rush from a Strigoi bite was greater than that of a Moroi's. It was like being in love for the first time, filled with that all consuming, joyous feeling. When he pulled away, it felt like all the happiness and wonder in the world had vanished. He ran a hand over his mouth, and I stared at him wide-eyed. My initial instinct was to ask why he'd stopped, but then, slowly, I reached inside myself to fight past the blissful daze that his bite had sent me into. â€Å"Why†¦ what†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My words slurred a little. â€Å"You said it would be my choice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It still is,† he said. His own eyes were wide, his breathing heavy too. He'd been just as affected as me. â€Å"I'm not doing this to awaken you, Roza. A bite like this won't turn you. This†¦ well, this is just for fun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then, his mouth moved back to my neck to drink again, and I lost track of the world.

Expectancy violation theory Essay Example

Expectancy violation theory Essay Example Expectancy violation theory Essay Expectancy violation theory Essay Expectancy Violation Theory and Sexual Resistance in Close, Cross-Sex Relationships Jennifer L. Bean Although previous research has suggested a link between sexual resistance and the violation of the resisted partners expectations, communication scholars have yet to utilize expectancy violation theory in a sexual resistance context. As such, the current study examines the resisted individuals perception of sexual resistance message directness and relational context in terms of three aspects of expectancy violations: violation valence, violation importance, and violation expectedness (Fall Meets, 998). Findings indicate that participants view hypothetical sexual resistance from a long-term dating partner as a more negative and more unexpected expectancy violation compared with hypothetical rejection from a cross-sex friend. Further, when a participant is hypothetically rejected by way of direct communication of sexual resistance from his or her close relational partner, such a violation was perceived as more relationally important than indirect sexual resistance. These findings broaden the scope of expectancy violation theory to include sexual resistance in close legislations, replicate and validate the study of three separate expectancy violation aspects, and highlight sexual resistance as a potentially important relational event in close relationships. Sexual resistance researchers have established that long-term romantic partners believe that they can expect success when initiating a sexual encounter (Byers Heinlein, 1989). Further, new dating partners find sexual resistance to be more unexpected than do either cross-sex friends or individuals in ambiguous male- female relationships (Meets, Cup, laminar, 1992). Despite these findings, no now research has specifically linked the study of sexual resi stance to expectancy violation theory (VET). To provide theoretical insight into the degree to which sexual resistance is expected across close male-female relational contexts, the current study examines the level of directness of a sexual resistance message and the relational context the message occurs in from the resisted individuals perspective within an EWE framework. Expectancy Violation Theory The field of communication has been instrumental in integrating theoretical foundations into investigations of sexual compliance/resistance situations. Specifically, aspects of politeness theory and facedown (Fall Lee, 2000; Meets et al. , 1992), uncertainty reduction theory (Edgar, Freight, Hammond, McDonald, Fink, 1992), and planning theory (Fall Lee, 2000) have been examined in relation Jennifer L. Bean (PhD, University of Georgia) assumes her duties as Assistant Professor at the Hank Greenness School of Communication, University of Nevada at Alas Vegas, on 1 August 2 3 1 nee autumn wellness to tank Jerry Hale, Jennifer Monomania, Jennie Cameron, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript. Communication expectancies denote an enduring pattern of anticipated behavior and can be individualized to a specific person or relationship (Burgeon, 1993, p. 31). An expectation of another is violated when that behavior differs from what is typical or expected (Fall Meets, 1998). Such a violation results in cognitive arousal and a sequence of interpretation and evaluation that aids an individual in coping with the others unexpected behavior (Fall Meets, 1998). Moreover, when one violates a partners expectations, the partner is likely to be more attentive toward future messages relating directly to the nature of the relationship (Loopier Burgeon, 1994). In the interpretation stage of the VET model the valence of an expectancy violation is established and contributes to the overall assessment of how rewarding an interaction will be (Burgeon, 1993; Burgeon Hale, 1988). Fall and Meets (1998) have gently expanded EWE to include three separate, but related, aspects of how expectancy violations are interpreted: (a) violation valence, involving the extent to which the behavior is seen as positive or negative, (b) violation expectedness, defined as the extent to which the behavior varies from the range of expected behaviors, and (c) violation importance, characterized as the impact that the behavior will have on the relationship. This study extends these dimensions to the realm of sexual resistance. Sexual Resistance as an Expectancy Violation No known research has extended EWE to the study of sexual resistance between close Laotian partners. Never unless, TAHITI Ana Lee (UH, p. AY) note Tanat sexual resistance is likely a task that produces considerable uncertainty, cognitive demands, time-constrained information processing, and online adaptation, characteristics that are similar to the cognitive arousal, interpretation, and evaluation that often accompanies a partners unexpected behavior (Fall Meets, 1998). Further, sexual resistance is a situation that is highly vulnerable, volatile, emotionally sensitive, and accompanied by heightened emotional states and unique physiological changes (Edgar Fitzpatrick, 1988, 1990). Choices in sexual situations (such as resisting a close partners advances) could be caused by differing sexual goals and often result in conflict, frustration, and embarrassment for one or both partners (Edgar Fitzpatrick, 1988, 1990; Speeches McKinney, 1993). These characteristics of sexual resistance suggest strongly that its occurrence will result in the resisted parties believing that their expectancies have been violated. Two aspects of the sexual resistance situation-relational context and message directness-are particularly salient when considering sexual resistance as an expectancy violation because they eave been useful concepts in previous sexual resistance research (e. G. , Goldenberg, Genii, Salesman, Open, 1999; Meets et al. , 1992) and because relational characteristics and communication behavior represent two important considerations in EWE (Burgeon Hale, 1988). Relational Context Despite recent research on expectancy violations in cross-sex friendships (Fall 70 COMMUNICATION MONOGRAPHS Faulkner, 2000) and romantic relationships (Fall Meets, 1998), little is known about the effect of relational context on the interpretation of the violation (see Burgeon Hale, 1988 for a comparison between friends and strangers). Such a query is important, as relationship aspects are important factors throughout the expectancy violation model proposed by Burgeon and Hale. Specifically, relational characteristics such as prior history and liking are considered when one partner decides whether or not the others behavior is an expectancy violation (Burgeon Hale, 1988). One relational characteristic that seems important throughout the EWE process is the type of relationship the partners share. Put differently, societal and individual definitions of the relationship, acceptable behaviors between the partners, and implicit elation boundaries will likely play a significant role in how one interprets an expectancy violation. Thus, the role of relational context in the interpretation (I. E. , violation importance, valence, and expectedness) of expectancy violations logically advances knowledge both about EWE as a theory and the consideration of expectancy violations as three separate aspects. Though not specifically examining sexual resistance, Fall and Faulkner (2000) found that the presence of sexual activity in cross-sex friendships varied in impact according to both the violation valence scribed to the behavior and the extent to which the friends feelings and intentions rater ten sexual please were Known. Specifically, cross-sex Eternal tenant to use positive politeness strategies to resist sexual advances, possibly both to maintain the friendship and communicate sexual disinterest (Lee, 2001). Meets et al. (1992) found that sexual rejections occurring in new dating relationships were less expected, more face threatening, and more uncomfortable than rejections occurring in established, long-term cross-sex friendships and ambiguous male-female relationships. The current study extends Meets et al. Research by comparing two long-term close relationships, and by considering sexual resistance as an expectancy violation instead of as a face threat. Overall, sexual resistance between cross-sex friends is likely to have a significant impact because sexual interest and activity are moderately frequent but often ambiguous and confusing for both partners (Meets et al. , 1992). When considering long-term romantic relationships, Byers and Heinlein (1989) found that cohabiting couples were more lik ely than spouses to initiate sexual intercourse. Further, Quinn, Sanchez-Hushes, Coates, and Gillie (1991) found that males in long- ERM relationships would stop sexual advances such as overt attempts to kiss and fondle their partners more readily than those in short-term partnerships. Thus, preliminary evidence suggests that long-term romantic partners exhibit unique sexual compliance/resistance patterns. Little is known, however, about how long-term romantic partners perceive sexual resistance within their relationships. When comparing dating partners and cross-sex friends, sexual resistance between dating partners should be more negative, unexpected, and relationally important compared tit cross-sex friends. Because individuals in long-term romantic relationships were rarely unsuccessful in sexual initiations and are aware of their partners response to a sexual advance (Byers Heinlein, 1989), long-term dating partners will likely initiate a sexual encounter when they think the chances of success are high. In contrast, cross-sex friends are likely to view sexual resistance as a less negative, more expected, and less relationally important violation than daters because their relational definition does not include sexual behavior and their knowledge of friends captivity to sexual advances is likely to be fairly limited. The first hypothesis explores this possibility: 71 HI : Those being resisted by a dating partner will perceive sexual resistance as an expectancy violation that is (a) more negative, (b) more unexpected, and (c) more important than will those being resisted by a cross-sex friend. Message Directness In addition to relational context, message directness is relevant to the application of EWE to sexual resistance situations. Direct strategies in sexual situations indicate messages with clear intent and no ambiguity about what the persuader would like to occur, whereas indirect sexual tactics leave more room for doubt about the persuaders Intentions, provoking NV or nerd Walt plausible inelegantly (Eager Fitzpatrick, 1990). Both Fall and Lee (2000) and Meets et al. (1992) have found that participants preferred using direct sexual resistance messages that were also instrumental in protecting the face of the resisted individual (I. E. , Im not sure that were ready for this). In his language expectancy theory Burgeon (1995) proposes that individuals hold expectations about language that can affect whether or not they accept or reject a recursive message. Consistent with this idea, the level of message directness from the individual resisting anothers sexual advance is believed to be a potentially important consideration for the resisted individual when interpreting an expectancy violation. Learning about the relationship between message directness and expectancy violation interpretation in the sexual resistance context is important for two reasons. First, comparing direct and indirect sexual resistance messages potentially expands the scope of EWE to include a new communicative antecedent of the expectancy violation process. Second, research by Mangoes and Carrey (1996) on date initiation and expectancy violation theory suggested that whether one person initiated the date indirectly (I. E. , hinting) or directly (I. E. , asking) was partially responsible for the others expectancy violation with regard to the amount of sexual behaviors enacted on the date. This research suggests that a more focused inquiry into message directness and EWE is Justified. When considering the relational implications of sexual resistance message directness, Goldenberg et al. 1999), in comparing sexual resistance patterns in males ND females and American and Japanese cultures, demonstrated the positive relationship between use of indirect refusal strategies and the continuation of ones new dating relationship. Goldenberg et al. Focused upon new dating relationships and the participant cultural and gender differences when exploring sexual resistance message directness, which differentiates their research from the current project . Pertinent to EWE, Mangoes and Carrey (1996) reported that males had significantly higher sexual expectations when females directly asked them on a date, compared to the female indirectly hinting at date initiation. Even in long-term relationships, how directly sexual resistance is communicated can be related strongly to how that expectancy violation is interpreted. Thus, indirect sexual resistance should be perceived by long-term relational partners who are sexually resisted as a violation that is less negative, more expected, and less relationally important compared with direct sexual resistance. The second hypothesis examines this relationship: H2O: Both cross-sex friends and dating partners who are resisted will perceive partners use of a direct sexual resistance message to be an expectancy violation that is (a) more active, (b) more unexpected, and (c) more important compared to indirect sexual resistance messages. 72 Participants Data were collected from a college-age sample taking introductory and advanced speech communication classes at a large, southern university. The initial sample size was 342, but the elimination of individuals who did not respond to, or incorrectly answered, manipulation check items resulted in a final sample size of 307. Approximately 57% of the sample was female (n 0 174), with two individuals not reporting gender. The average age of the sample was 21 years (SD 0 2. 63, range 0 18- 0). Almost 89% of the sample classified themselves as White (n 0 272), 6% classified themselves as African American (n 0 19), almost 2% indicated that they were either Asian (n 0 5) or Hispanic (n 0 5), and 1% placed themselves in the other category (n 4). Two participants did not report their ethnicity. All participants reported that they were either straight (n 0 306) or bisexual (n 0 1). Almost 39% of the sample reported being single and not dating (n 0 119), 27% indicated that they have been involved in a committed relationship for more than 1 year (n 0 82), 15% stated that they were ingle and dating one person (n 0 45), 10% reported that they were single and dating many individuals (n 0 31), and 9% indicated that they were in a committed relationship for less than 1 year (n 0 29). One participant did not provide current relational status information. Finally, 69% of the sample reported that they had previously engaged in vaginal sex (n 0 213) and almost 30% reported that they had not yet had vaginal intercourse (n 0 91). Three participants did not respond to this item. General Procedures Participants received course research credit for taking part in the research. Their participation was voluntary and anonymous. Participants read and signed the consent form, and were then given the opportunity to ask questions about the project. To ensure privacy the researcher asked participants to not speak to one another while they were answering the questionnaire and also not to look at other students surveys. Participants then were given the written questionnaire, and told to take as long as they needed to complete it (1 5 minutes was typical). Participants read one of eight sexual resistance scenarios and then answered items intended to measure the realism and frequency of occurrence of the scenario in their own close legislations and items assessing perceived message directness and strength. The relevant dependent variable scales (violation valence, violation expectedness, violation importance) followed, along with two manipulation check items that measured the gender and relational context of the rejecter in the resistance scenario, items measuring participants level of sexual experience, current relational status, and demographic information. After they had completed the instrument, participants were given a debriefing form and an opportunity to ask questions about the research before being thanked and dismissed. Research Design and Pilot Test I nee Investigation employed a 2 (relational context: long-term cross-sex Eternal vs Eng-term dating relationship) 0 2 (message directness: indirect vs Direct) factorial design. The message directness independent variable was replicated so that a total of eight hypothetical scenarios were distributed randomly to participants, resulting in relatively equal distribution across conditions. 73 The scenarios, adapted from Meets et al. (1992), asked participants to imagine that they are either friends with or dating an individual named Chris, and then detailed a taxation in which the participants feel a sexual desire for Chris, attempt to initiate a sexual encounter, and are resisted. The use of hypothetical scenarios was employed to avoid participant biases in the recall and memory of actual sexual resistance situations that often accompany retrospective recall techniques, and to measure simultaneously participants immediate and direct response to the relational event of interest and provide control over the specific situations the participants were to consider (Unblock Solomon, 2002). To select four resistance messages that were fairly equal in levels of strength and erectness for each manipulation, a total of 10 resistance messages classified previously as direct or indirect by a variety of sources (Garcia, 1998; Meets et al. , 1992; Motley Redder, 1995; Unlearned, Andrews, Bell, 1996) were pilot tested using undergraduates taking speech communication classes at a large, southern university (N 0 50, 50% female). Each participant was asked to read six of the 10 potential messages and then indicate how direct and strong they found each message to be, using 7-point, Liker-type scales (e. . , 1 0 not at all direct, 7 0 completely direct). The number of participants who were exposed to each potential resistance message ranged from 25 to 30. A series of t-tests revealed that two indirect messages produced levels of strength that were statistically equivalent to one another and significantly more indirect than the direct messages: (1) Its getting late; and (2) He/she does not appear to notice your advances and instead asks you to change the channel on the television. Further, two direct messages proved to have statistically equivalent amounts of strength and were also significantly more direct and strong than each of the indirect assuages: (1) Please dont do that; and (2) l dont want to do this. Thus, these four resistance messages were used in the main investigation. Measures Scenario realism and frequency of occurrence. A number of items about the sexual resistance situation itself, adapted from Bean (1999) and Canary, Cody, and Marathons (1987), were presented. Specifically, three items assessed how realistic the situation was (e. G. , How realistic do you think this situation is? ), and two items measured how often or frequently the participant had actually experienced a similar situation (e. G. How oaten NAS tans salutation occurred In your own cross-sex Tarantellas/tattling relationship? ). All items were measured on 7-point, Liker-type scales (e. G. , 1 0 not at all realistic, 7 0 very realistic). As Table 1 depicts, participants found each of the eight scenarios to be realistic and easy to imagine, but did not experience these resistance situations frequently in their own close relationships. Because combining the realism items ( 0 . 91) and the frequency items ( 0 . 88) both resulted in internally consistent scales, two separate composite measures were computed. Sexual resistance message strength and directness. Strength and directness of the resistance messages were measured using items from Cameron (1998).

Bernard Arnault Essay Example

Bernard Arnault Essay Example Bernard Arnault Paper Bernard Arnault Paper Bernard Arnault (born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH, a large luxury goods conglomerate consisting of over fifty luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi. According to Forbes Magazine, Arnault is the worlds 4th and Europes richest person, with a 2011 net worth of US$41 billion. Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer and the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as the diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs. Jacobs is currently the Creative Director of the French design house Louis Vuitton. In 1997, Jacobs was appointed Creative Director of luxury French fashion house, Louis Vuitton, where he created the companys first ready-to-wear line. Jacobs has collaborated with many popular artists for his Louis Vuitton collections. Vuitton has worked in conjunction with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami and most recently American artist Richard Prince and rapper Kanye West. As of 2011, Jacobs remains the Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. Marc Jacobs has the midas touch and an innate ability to design clothes that people want to wear. Whether he designs a satchel or a shoe its always something everyone wants. From grunge to prom, from private jet to Tokyo nightclub, he has an outfit that suits. His workload includes Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc and Louis Vuitton a titanic selection of back to back collections but he still has time to build a world class contemporary art collection and dress in pigeon costumes at his annual fancy dress party. He has caught the fitness bug like so many male fashion designers. His muses include Sofia Coppola, Charlotte Rampling, Winona Ryder, Dakota Fanning, Victoria Beckham all have been photographed by Juergen Teller for Marc Jacobs ad campaigns (Mrs Beckham was hidden inside a Marc Jacobs shop bag after Juergen persuaded her that she was just a product). John Stuart, former CEO of Quaker, once said, if this company were split up, I would give you the property, plant and equipment and I would take the brands and trademarks and I would fare better. This commonly held belief illustrates the immense value of the brand today, but how do you create and manage a star brand? Perhaps this question is relatively easy for marketing and brand managers, but what about at board level, where the buck really stops? Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moi t Hennessy , the worlds largest maker of luxury goods), appears to have some of the answers. LVMH is a paradox in itself. A company that makes and sells products that nobody actually needs. A recipe for disaster? A managers nightmare? Far from it LVMHs combined revenue was estimated at $11 billion in 2001, with a market capitalization of $27 billion. With Arnault at the helm, this organization has gone from a small clothing manufacturer on the verge of ruin to a conglomerate of nearly 50 star brands including Dom Perignon, TAG Heuer and Christian Dior. According to Arnault, one key to success is his management technique. The process of creating a star brand begins with radical innovation and, for that, artists must be totally free from financial or marketing concerns. He firmly believes that If you think and act like a typical manager around creative people with rules, policies, data on customer preferences, and so forth you will quickly kill their talent. It is only later, when the product is being manufactured, that he introduces the strict, almost militant processes that ensure profitability. Take, for example, John Galliano and his dresses made out of newspaper surely the most impractical product imaginable. But when they were sent down the cat-walk, Arnault did not bat an eyelid. Consequently, when Dior sold dresses in newspaper-printed fabric for a considerable profit, Arnault was proved right. Star brands, in his opinion, are in themselves a paradox. They must simultaneously be timeless, modern, fast-growing and highly profitable. Arnault is keenly aware of the crucial role he plays in creating such an entity. He observes how many brands have the potential to be stars but they are poorly managed, and by this we are not talking of the marketing manager alone the problem often runs through the heart of most major organizations. If you continually pose these questions to consumers and analyze the findings, it becomes increasingly simple to pick up on small irritations or concerns that, in the future, could present massive problems for your brand. (2) See the brand as both an object and a person. Viewing the brand as an object increases the value of analysis and plays a fundamental and consistent role you are selling something to people. On the other hand, the brand as a person enables you to understand the delivery of this role and how well it fits into your corporate culture. This way you can become involved with the projection and promotion of the brand without ever losing sight of the bigger picture. (3) Look at brand promise to enable successful advertising.

6 Problems with Punctuation

6 Problems with Punctuation 6 Problems with Punctuation 6 Problems with Punctuation By Mark Nichol Six categories of punctuation errors include missing, extraneous, misplaced, excessive, incorrect, and inconsistent punctuation. Each of the following sentences illustrate one of those errors in that order, accompanied by discussion and revision. 1. One man jumped on a police car, leaving its front and rear windows smashed and the top dented in and other protesters sprayed graffiti on another law enforcement vehicle. The description of the effects of the man’s actions constitute a parenthetical phrase inserted into the main clause, which is â€Å"One man jumped on a police car, and other protesters sprayed graffiti on another law enforcement vehicle.† The parenthesis requires punctuation at the end as well as at the beginning: â€Å"One man jumped on a police car, leaving its front and rear windows smashed and the top dented in, and other protesters sprayed graffiti on another law enforcement vehicle.† 2. Security-monitoring techniques, that highlight potential incidents and enable a real-time response from the organization, are becoming increasingly important. The phrase located between the commas is not parenthetical; it is essential to the meaning of the sentence in describing exactly which type of security monitoring techniques are being discussed, so no punctuation should interfere: â€Å"Security-monitoring techniques that highlight potential incidents and enable a real-time response from the organization are becoming increasingly important.† (If all security-monitoring characteristics had these capabilities, then that phrase would be a parenthetical one that provides additional information to the sentence, but that would have to be replaced by which to signal that nonessential information follows: â€Å"Security-monitoring techniques, which highlight potential incidents and enable a real-time response from the organization, are becoming increasingly important.†) 3. Quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 290 yards and a touchdown, and perhaps more importantly, was not sacked all day. No comma is required after touchdown, because what follows is not an independent clause. However, â€Å"perhaps more importantly† is a parenthetical phrase, so a comma should precede it: â€Å"Quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 290 yards and a touchdown and, perhaps more importantly, was not sacked all day.† 4. Style comes from the characteristics that make one garment- a piece of clothing- or accessory- a nonessential item that you wear or carry- different from another. Too many instances of the same punctuation mark can confuse the reader because the sentence does not provide distinctive cues about its organization and the hierarchy of information presented. If a sentence has more than one parenthetical phrase (in this case, the definitions of garment and accessory), open and closed parentheses, which face each other and more obviously set off what appears between them, should supplant dashes or commas: â€Å"Style comes from the characteristics that make one garment (a piece of clothing) or accessory (a nonessential item that you wear or carry) different from another.† (Note that using commas in place of dashes is not an improvement, because the sentence organization is still confusing: â€Å"Style comes from the characteristics that make one garment, or piece of clothing, or accessory, or nonessential item that you wear or carry, different from another.†) 5. I’ve been there before, I found it overrated. Here a semicolon, rather than a comma, is required, because the sentence consists of two independent clauses: â€Å"I’ve been there before; I think it’s overrated.† (Alternatively, the sentence could be divided into two separate sentences, or a conjunction could replace the punctuation: â€Å"I’ve been there before, but I think it’s overrated.†) 6. Last year, a man agreed to give up his $6,000 drone system and promise not to fly a drone for three years. . . . Last month the FAA announced there are now more registered drone operators in the United States than there are registered manned aircraft. If one short introductory phrase is followed by punctuation, any similar construction within a piece of writing should adhere to this style: â€Å"Last year, a man agreed to give up his $6,000 drone system and promise not to fly a drone for three years. . . . Last month, the FAA announced there are now more registered drone operators in the United States than there are registered manned aircraft.† The same rule applies for any other style, such as how a list is punctuated; if one list is punctuated, for example, â€Å"lock, stock, and barrel,† another should not be styled, for example, â€Å"rock, paper and scissors.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph Examples34 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Better WriterHow to Send Tactful Emails from a Technical Support Desk

Washington As A President Born Abroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Washington As A President Born Abroad - Essay Example As per the requirements of the US Constitution, only a citizen by natural birth or an already citizen of the United States during the adoption of the constitution is eligible to election to the Office of the President. Additionally, the Office of the President remains eligible for persons with thirty-five years of age and above, and have been residents within the United States borders for fourteen years. From the amendment; however, all person born or naturalized in the United States are subject to their jurisdiction, citizens of the United States and in the particular state in which they reside. The Constitution clearly states that one's eligibility to run for president of the United States requires that the person be a natural-born citizen, an aspect that is then assumed by many that the president's eligibility refers to individuals physically born in the United States, but is such usually the case? Ideally, the constitution remains vague on the definition of natural born, with a n umber of status defining a natural-born U.S. citizen as an individual entitled to be so "at birth" or "by birth," without regard to the particular place of birth as long as either or both of the parents are United States citizens. Determination of George Washington's United States citizenship and eligibility to run and be elected as president of the United States is an aspect that requires an in-depth analysis. George Washington was a Virginian by birth, though the United States never existed during his birth.

The Vioxx disaster and BP Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Vioxx disaster and BP - Case Study Example Some public management theories were overlooked such as scientific selection and training of workers. This concept entails scientific training, selection and placement of workers (Hopkins, 2008). It is proper to allocate employees on jobs they are best suited as far as intellectual and physical abilities are concerned. Incompetency contributed to both disasters, for example, medical researchers involved in the manufacturing of Vioxx failed to meet all the scientific/intellectual demands for safe production (Ellsberg & Gerstein, 2008). Mutual collaboration of workers and management is another important concept that could help avoid such disasters. Cordial relations and active cooperation between workers and management enhances communication at the workplace. Disconnect between workers and management primarily caused the BP tragedy and six workers were dismissed upon accusations from officials of negligence and failing to sound an evacuation alarm. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Vioxx, into the United States’ market in 1999. The Vioxx disaster occurred between 1999 and 2004. More than one hundred million prescriptions were made in the United States of America alone and it caused enormous deaths and injuries (Abraham & Davis, 2013). It was established that the drug (painkiller) caused stroke and cardiovascular complications. Merck & Company, which was responsible for manufacturing the drug was accused of misleading patients and doctors about the drug’s safety; fabricating research results to suit the company’s interests and thwarting an FDA’s agent from revealing the complexities associated with the drug – it skirted federal drug regulations (Hopkins, 2008). Before its withdrawal from the market, in 2004, more that 25 million Americans who used the drug and it had caused over 38,000 deaths (Ellsberg & Gerstein, 2008). Texas City BP explosion occurred in 2005. It had resulted in 15 deaths

Alfred Russel Wallace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alfred Russel Wallace - Research Paper Example However, only Wallace and other two of his nine siblings (Fanny and John) survived past early adulthood. The deteriorating financial condition of Wallace’s family interrupted his education. However, his home was a rich source of maps, books as well as gardening activities, which Wallace recalled later with pleasure. He notes in his autobiography that he devoted far more time to the games that he played as a child than to the lessons that he received at school, and he found this to be boring and painful. Nevertheless, Wallace was a realistically good student since in his last year of school; he assisted in teaching the younger pupils. This anomalous position of being both a teacher and a pupil was especially repugnant to the tall young man, and he suffered from recurring dreams of colossal torment at school for two decades (Wallace & Camerini, 4). As discussed earlier, Wallace grew up in an underprivileged background, what may be designated as rural middleclass in rural Wales a nd then in Hertford, England. This upbringing was very different from that of other Victorian scientific counterparts (Wallace & Camerini, 4). ... He also had the opportunity of travelling abroad, which gave him exposure and respect for ‘savages’ (persons from non-European cultures) and to the colonial exploitation systems that they were exposed to. Therefore, that his enduring identification with the underdog eventually resulted in his becoming a socialist is not astounding (Wallace & Berry, 1). Wallace explains in his autobiography that in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, Britain’s economic base revolutioniz d from agriculture to manufacturing and the British Empire grew in power as well as in size. This was a period of new opportunities as well as mounting dissent. The traditional values of Britain’s agricultural society were based on the status and wealth of the family where one came from. Industrialization and expansion into colonial lands subverted the staid social structure, and there resulted a substantial wealth and power re-distribution out of the need for expertise as well as s cientific knowledge in the change to a manufacturing society. This wide context shaped the life of Wallace while he was young, a context charged with difficulties to traditional forms of authority, particularly the Church of England along with political power based on heritage. The fact that Wallace’s interests ranged so broadly makes it very hard to apply a single label to him. Depicting him as a natural scientist would do for the early part of his life, but so would travel writer and geographer; one would have to add spiritualist, intellectual and social critic for the second half of his life. Equally difficult to pin down is his status within the scientific community. To some historians, Wallace was a loner, an outsider or the ‘other’ man who discovered evolution. These terms however

TOCYO's Approach Managing People Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TOCYO's Approach Managing People - Assignment Example The report will discuss the issues that were currently being faced by the company. The company was in quite a lot of mess there were many issues in nearly all the departments of the company as well as the management alos had issues amongst themselves. The report will identify the issues, present the causes of the issues and then present a solution for the problem. The only solution for the company is to bring about a whole revamping era into his firm so as to make sure that they can grab back their marketing share and as well as start making profits. INTRODUCTION The company was founded by Harold Bennett who was an ex-marine engineer, he company was working successfully under him and there were no serious issues, but when issues started to raise their heads, he sold the company to another person and stopped his interference in the company, but later when once again the company was losing out on its market share the new owner decided to sell it. Gordon Bennett, who was a family member of the founder felt that the company should once again come back into the family decided to undergo a management buyout. ... Each departmental head was on the look out to create benefit for themselves and for her friends. The employee were not being paid properly, there was serious discrepancies in the pays that were being handed out and the employees hence felt degraded and left out. There were serious financial drains in the company in the form of part time workers and failed experiments. Also, some of the departmental heads had made many things an egotistical issue, when there was no such thing. The departmental head had also failed to account for the cultural structure of Mexico where unionism is quite strong and hence the difference in payments was treated as a huge issue. One major thing in the company was the increasing nepotism which always leads to the downfall of companies. Another major issue that he is currently facing is in relation to the relocation, if he merges the two units there will be some layoffs, but it would result in major cost savings, he has to make a decision about it as well and soon, and make sure that decision is in the favor of the employees and the company as a whole. Management Currently there are many issues in the management; in fact some of the major issues which are then leading to smaller issues are emerging from the management. The HR department at first needs a serious bit of change, although Swagg has a lot of experience in the same industry but she really lacks the honesty and the vigor that should be in her as a part of HR department. The kind of employees that you are hire are the ones that really make a difference in today’s business, employees help you create the niche that gives you a competitive advantage in the long run. She should know that

Smoking and how to quit it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Smoking and how to quit it - Essay Example Part of quitting smoking successfully is to make the right preparations so you don’t have a relapse. The first action to quitting smoking is to set a quit date. This date should be long enough to give yourself time to mentally prepare yourself about quitting smoking, but should also be within a short period of time so you don’t keep procrastinating. The next thing you can do is change the environment that you live in. This is a big part of quitting smoking because our surroundings can remind us about when we used to smoke. Another thing to do is to remember previous times when you tried to quit and thing about what worked well and what did not (â€Å"5 Easy Steps to Quitting†). The final thing you can do in preparing to quit smoking can be not feel tempted to take another puff ever again, because this will bring back memories. The next step to quitting smoking is to find friends and family who will encourage you in your decision to quit. Studies have shown that y ou have a higher chance of success if you receive help (â€Å"5 Easy Steps to Quitting†).

Democracy promotion Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Democracy promotion - Term Paper Example The spread of liberal democracy and freedom in the world facilitates the betterment of the people that live in the countries that exercise this conception through the promotion of individual liberty. For instance, democracy allows for the development of the freedom of expression, the freedom and right to own properties, and the aspect of conscience. It is inherent for the world superpowers to promote the democracy of the developing and other nations to ensure greater individual liberties to numerous people. Democratized countries provide maximum human rights to their citizenry through their involvement in the decisions that concern their lives. As studies illustrate, even the illiberal and imperfect democracies tend to allow liberty as opposed to the autocracies. Further, the increased levels of individual liberty improve the realization of full potential amongst the humans benefiting the humankind. For example, when a government utilizes autocratic leadership, more lives are in dang er. The situation is so because those who fight for their freedom get killed while the developed nations may withdraw their support to such nations posing more challenges to the citizens (Cho, 2015). If there is a promotion of democracy, there will be a mutual decision-making hence better lives to the people in the country. The United States need to spread the idea of liberal democracy to the nations in the attempt to stop the people from facing violence from their home governments. Most countries that do not implement the ideology of liberal democracy find themselves triggering civil unrest in their regimes causing deaths to their people. For example, apparently, there is civil unrest in Burundi due to the autocratic leadership of the incumbent president. In this case, more lives have been lost due to the forceful nature of the president to vie for a third term. Moreover,

Smoking and how to quit it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Smoking and how to quit it - Essay Example Part of quitting smoking successfully is to make the right preparations so you don’t have a relapse. The first action to quitting smoking is to set a quit date. This date should be long enough to give yourself time to mentally prepare yourself about quitting smoking, but should also be within a short period of time so you don’t keep procrastinating. The next thing you can do is change the environment that you live in. This is a big part of quitting smoking because our surroundings can remind us about when we used to smoke. Another thing to do is to remember previous times when you tried to quit and thing about what worked well and what did not (â€Å"5 Easy Steps to Quitting†). The final thing you can do in preparing to quit smoking can be not feel tempted to take another puff ever again, because this will bring back memories. The next step to quitting smoking is to find friends and family who will encourage you in your decision to quit. Studies have shown that y ou have a higher chance of success if you receive help (â€Å"5 Easy Steps to Quitting†).

Multiculturalism in contemporary english literature(how to do a Essay

Multiculturalism in contemporary english literature(how to do a research for this topic) - Essay Example multicultural education, or multicultural menu.† As pertains to contemporary English literature, contemporary multicultural English literature would be that body of written work by authors whose work comes to fruition during the twentieth century, incorporating themes and characters of a cultural diversity; such as the works of Salman Rushdie, wherein Rushdie’s work, as Deepika Bahri (2004) suggests, is reflects a body of work that represents â€Å"’hybrid temporalities of ‘of colonialism.† Rushdie’s work, as Bahri suggests, falls within the â€Å"paleocolonial† era; or those post-colonial writers who by time and space in a post-colonial empire, whose work has not been the subject of post-colonial resentment and suppression.1 While there indeed exists a variety of contemporary English literary works from which to select that include a multicultural diversity by way of author and theme, with the exception of a limited, albeit growing, bod y of works, they tend to be works portraying the English protagonist in a foreign setting. The goal of this paper became one of searching the existing body of contemporary literature for a work of literature reflecting a multicultural setting, written by author of other than a British born English heritage, and whose story presents a protagonist as hero, or heroine of that story in a multicultural setting and of a multicultural heritage. To that end, the focus rested on the works of author Salman Rushdie, whose body of work emanated from lands other than England, and brought to the reader the opportunity to both discover the essence of a rich multicultural environment and tradition through interesting multicultural characters. Narrowing down the selection within Rushdie’s body of work to the multicultural work encompassing the goals previously discussed, the focus of this paper is Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh (1997).2 The selection of support materials for inclusion in this paper were made on the basis of

Sociology families and households

Sociology families and households Functionalism is a structuralist theory. This means it sees the individual as less important as the social structure of society. It is a top down theory. The family can be defined as an intimate domestic group composed of people related to each other by blood, sexual relations and legal ties. When assessing how useful functionalism is when looking at the family, other views/perspectives need to be taken into account before making an overall conclusion. Views from Talcott Parsons, George Murdock, Ann Oakley, Edmund Leach, R.D Laing, David Cooper and Friedrich Engels will be taken into account as well as perspectives from Marxism, feminism, family diversity and radical psychiatrists. This will help draw the final conclusion. Functionalist sociologists suggest that the nuclear family is the norm in modern day industrial societies. George Peter Murdock (1949) supports the idea of functionalism. After analysing 250 societies, Murdock argues that the family performs four basic functions; sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. These are the essentials for social life, since without sexual and reproductive functions there would be no members of society, without economic functions life would cease, and without education there would be no culture. Human society without culture could not function. Clearly, the family cannot perform these functions exclusively. However, it makes important contributions to them all and no other institution has yet been devised to match its efficiency in this respect. A weakness of Murdocks view is that some sociologists may find his description of the family almost too good to be true. Some of his views on harmony and integration are not shared be other researchers. He also does not examine alternatives to the family, not considering whether its functions could be carried out b y other social institutions. Murdock is criticised for being Euro-centric, as he is only concerned about the Western families. However, he is supported by anthropologists; Morris (1968) said the family was a result of biology and culture over generations (socio-biology). This could be a strength as it shows some researchers have the same view. Talcott Parsons bases his ideas on the family in modern American society. However, despite this his ideas have more general application since he claims the American family has two basic and irreducible functions which are common to the family in all societies, unlike Murdock who argued there were four. These were, the primary socialization of children, where culture is learned and accepted by children so they know the norms and values that allow society to exist. Secondly the stabilization of adult personalities, which is where a marriage relationship and emotional security a couple provide for each other keeps a personality stable, and acts as a counterweight to everyday stresses and strains that can make a personality unstable. This process is otherwise known as the warm bath theory, where the family provide a relaxing environment for the male worker to immerse himself in after a hard day at work. A criticism of Parsons view would be that he idealises the family, much like Murdock, with his view of well adjusted children and sympathetic spouses caring for each others every need, when in reality not all families are like this. Also Parsons fails to explore the differences between working/middle class families, as his ideas are generally based on the American middle class family. Parsons perspective supports that of functionalism, that the nuclear family is the norm in society. Ann Oakley has described the typical or conventional family. She says conventional families are nuclear families composed of legally married couples, voluntarily choosing the parenthood of one or more children. This shows support for functionalism. Leach (1967) has called this the cereal packet image of the family. This image of a happily married couple with two children is prominent in advertising and the family sized packets of cereal and other products are aimed at this group. The family is functional for both its members and society as a whole. Increasingly this picture of the family is coming under strong criticism. Some observers are suggesting that on balance, the family may well be dysfunctional both for society and its individual members. This criticism has mainly been directed at the family in Western industrial society. The Marxist view on the family opposes that of the functionalists. It is seen to challenge the idea that the family is universal or natural, but instead that it is human creation; a social invention that has served a specific economic purpose. The Marxist theory on the family emerged from the work of Friedrich Engels. It is argued by Marxists that the working-class extended family has been deliberately discouraged by the capitalist ruling class, because its emphasis on a mutual support system and collective action encourages its members to be aware of their social class position. It is believed that the nuclear family under capitalist law in an anti-social family. It labels all other forms of family life as inferior and abnormal. However, a weakness of the Marxist view is that there is a tendency to talk about the family in capitalist society without regard to possible variations in family life between social classes. Family diversity supports the fact that the conventional family no longer makes up the majority of households or families. For example, women no longer aspire exclusively to romantic love, marriage and children. There are now acceptable alternative life styles some people prefer, such as pre-marital sex, serial monogamy, cohabitation, single-sex relationships, childlessness etc. Mens roles too are no longer clear in a postmodern society, and the resulting crisis of masculinity has lead to man redefining both their sexuality and family commitments. Others disagree with this view. They argue that family diversity is exaggerated, and that the basic features of family life have remained largely unchanged for the majority of the population. Nuclear families are still very common but alternate types of family are steadily increasing. When looking at a critical view of the family, radical psychiatry mat be taken into account. Edmund Leach supported the idea in the family there is too much emotional pressure on each individual to live up to expectations. R.D Laing associated schizophrenia with the emotional pressure and anxiety of the nuclear family. David Cooper suggested the personality of the individual is controlled by the family, forcing them to conform to the rules of both the family, forcing them to conform to the rules of both the family and wider society. These three radical researchers all agree that the family is a dangerous place and mental illness could be the result of pressures laid down to the individual. From this angle it can be seen that the family has a negative, this view does not agree with the view of functionalism. Friedrich Engels acknowledges that the position of women within the family is an important aspect of what the Marxists see as its harmful effects. However, he emphasizes the relationship between family and capitalism, and is less concerned with its effects on women. Feminism has broken itself down into different perspectives, Marxist feminists, liberal feminists and radical feminists. Friedrich Engels speaks for the Marxist feminist view. Liberal feminists believe that both sexes contribute to domestic chores in an atmosphere of mutual support and hegemony, and there is an equal division of labour. Radical feminist beliefs are that the nuclear family is based upon male power and serves to support that. Male power is often expressed in the home as domestic violence. It is seen that patriarchy is transhistorical; it is ever present in all societies and cultures. A weakness is that feminists often do not take into account the possible differences in family life, for example, social clas ses, ethnic groups, heterosexual and gay families etc. They just seem to assume every family is a nuclear family, so may exaggerate the effect of families to women. They therefore ignore the possibility of women fighting back against exploitation and do not see the positive side to the family. Now that perspectives and ideas criticising and supporting functionalism have been illustrated. A conclusion can be made. If looking at Murdock and Parsons it can be seen that they both tend to only take into account Western societies, and tend to generalise. Apart from that they both have strong, similar ideas on what the family is. Oakley and Leach support their ideas on the nuclear family being the majority of society. However, although the argument supporting functionalism is sound, other views need to be taken into perspective. For example Marxism, questioning the idea of a universal/natural family. Family diversity offering different options to how people choose to live, feminists saying the family exploits women and radical psychiatry claiming the family is a dangerous place and causes mental illness