Saturday, August 31, 2019

Cowboys and Cattlemen Essay

The United States as a nation is ever changing. The U. S. population is growing every year, and the different types of ethnicities continue to flood into the country searching for the â€Å"American Dream. † However, how many people actually see this dream become a reality? The answer to that is incredibly disheartening and was even harder to obtain in the earlier years of America’s history. Unless you were a white male in the late 1800s to 1900s, the American Dream was exactly that: a dream. This failed ideal can be explored through the inequality expressed in that of race, gender, and class throughout American history, specifically during the time of cowboys and cattlemen. Additionally, such injustices can be portrayed in today’s fast food industry with the struggles of the employer to employee. Comparing and contrasting cowboys with cattlemen and managers with employees will demonstrate how such issues come into affect. In order to express the inequality faced within the workforce between cowboys and cattlemen, the background of their field of work, who did the work, and their differences need to be taken into account. When the Conquistadors came to the Americas in the 16th century they brought their cattle and cattle-raising techniques with them. Huge land grants by the Spanish government that was part of the hacienda system, allowed large numbers of animals to roam freely over vast areas (Wikipedia)[1]. Numerous traditions developed that often related to the original location in Spain. For example, the Vaquero tradition of Northern Mexico was more organic, developed to adapt to the characteristics of the region from Spanish sources by cultural interaction between the Spanish elites and the native and mestizo peoples (Wikipedia). As settlers from the United States moved west, they brought cattle breeds from the east coast and Europe and adapted their management to the drier lands of the west by borrowing key elements of the Spanish vaquero culture (Wikipedia). From 1865-1900, raising cattle was the most prominent job position in the western United States. The Homestead Act of 1862 attracted more settlers to come west and set up farms. This is because the Homestead Act gave someone the ability to own farmland for no cost at all; however, the only requirement needed was proof that the land had improved during the time of ownership. Therefore, it was very easy to obtain land, but improving it was the biggest challenge. Ranching is a difficult task of raising grazing livestock such as cattle for meat. The owners of these lands known as cattlemen had to invest time in farming and raising crops such as hay and grains for feeding their animals to produce a profit. The cattle would go from the ranch to the trail, to the slaughterhouse, and eventually be distributed throughout America. But who are the people behind the scenes that raise and break the cattle or horses, and who does all the work on the ranch? Cowboys. Cowboys were the workers on the ranch who helped maintain it. Cowboys strived toward becoming ‘men’ and they viewed the title of being a ‘man’ based upon the masculinity shown. Cowboys demonstrated their masculinity in terms of their skills on the job, their control over their working conditions, and their ability to make independent decisions. Even in their time of leisure, they still would do things to prove their masculinity such as gamble, drink, fight, and indulge in sexual pleasures with prostitutes. In the book, Cowboys and Cattlemen by Jacqueline Moore, she explains how Anglo cowboys recognized skill regardless of color, which provided exceptional men other than whites a chance to gain respect (Moore)[2]. However, a majority of the hard work was left to the Mexican or black cowboys. That’s why many black cowboys were so skilled in the more difficult areas of work such as breaking bulls because they were forced to do it the majority of the time. Today, many industries like the fast food industry employ people considered as the lower class. It is not common to walk into a McDonalds and see Donald Trump working the cash register. Cowboys are seen as these lower class people and it so happens people of color both in this time and today are still struggling to climb out of the lower class and into higher economic standing. Moore goes on to argue that cattlemen trusted the loyalty of their black cowboys and would often have them carry out sensitive missions, such as guarding large sums of money while on the trail (Moore). However, cowboys of color, despite their ability to gain respect with their amazing skill level, were still not able to become cattlemen themselves. Many cowboys for that matter didn’t have much room to improve, which is why the relationships the cowboys had with one another were so strong. Many of the cowboys weren’t ashamed to show affection towards each other because these relationships were the most important in their lives. The death of a friend was always the worst tragedy. Furthermore, many of these friendships seemed to be more than superficial. People questioned them because the cowboys bunked together which created chances for sexual relationships. To continue with their intimate relationship woes, these men had a tough time attracting the more respectable women, who usually fell for cattlemen because they were more financially stable (Moore). This lead to the cowboys’ encounters with prostitutes. Not many cowboys, for that matter, were married, and if they did get married it usually meant their career was over. To make matters worse, towns began to find ways to drive away cowboys by prohibiting guns and fining, arresting, and punishing them on the job which forced them to comply with the regulation of their public leisure. Discredited at work and in leisure, cowboys seemed more and more marginalized, out of step with the rest of American society† (Moore). Though cowboys of color were respected for their skill and, to an extent, racially tolerant, racism was still prevalent within society and in their work. Racism was not only existent during the era of Martin Luther King Jr. and the historic Civil Rights Movement, which was steered toward breaking color barriers in the â€Å"Solid South,† but it was seen as early as the times of â€Å"the trail† and cattle ranching. It affected the lives of the workers. People of color and women both were victims of discrimination. Women especially had no say in the way of life of the ranch because their opinion was not taken into account. The job of a women consisted of only three things. One: raise the children, two: do all the housework such as cooking cleaning and laundry amongst other daily household chores, and three: handle financial situations such as doing the bills and buying groceries. There were cowgirls; however, their stories aren’t heard because there were very few and women’s cattle raising positions at the time were irrelevant. Prostitutes were even more greatly degraded because of their less than condonable lifestyle. On the ranch, cowboys of color had no chance of becoming cattlemen. White Anglo cowboys had a slim chance but colored cowboys had even fewer. This is because these nonwhite races were seen as not sufficiently â€Å"evolved† to achieve true manhood. Segregation between white cowboys and nonwhite cowboys was also consistent on many ranches during this period. For example, Anglo cowboys ate with the owner while Mexicans would camp out with the herds. Such segregation and discrimination didn’t allow women or nonwhites to move up in the social class. Cowboys in general, if born into a cowboy family, were destined to be that and that only. Freedom for cowboys is a myth. Ultimately, cowboys were simply employees and lost what independence they had in their field of work. Cattlemen on the other hand had easy living. Cattlemen usually obtained their position because their fathers before them were. In a way, it’s like they were taking on the family business. Inheritance was a huge starting point for many of the men. However, to fully become a cattleman, emphasis on being â€Å"men† to prove themselves was stressed. This was done with a proper education, the contribution they made towards society, and getting married. Marriages usually lead to gifts or property, which was also another marker of manhood. The jobs cattlemen did were similar to that of businessmen- they did whatever they could to make a profit. Most of the successful cattlemen experimented with different types of breeding techniques and invested heavily in land. They even had other business interests outside of the cattle industry (Moore)[3]. Cattlemen looked to socialize with people in the towns around them rather than just the men on the ranch. As towns grew, so did the development of associations and entertainments that the men had known before coming to town, and socializing with men of equal status was more common (Moore). Nonwhite ranchers were nonexistent and those who were in lower classes would never be seen socializing with cattlemen unless it was on the ranch. Furthermore, the way ranchers carried themselves in public, and the economic stability they possessed allowed them to attract the more respectable women who were better suited to be housewives. Similarly, in order to understand the workforce of the fast food industry, background information about the industry needs to be taken into account. The fast food industry goes hand in hand with the cattle industry. In Central America, nearly 40% of the land was cultivated to become pasture for cattle that would supply cheap beef to North America’s fast food industry (Myers)[4]. Furthermore, the cattle raised in Central America are raised on grass, making the beef lean and only suitable for the fast food trade (Myers). Fast food has become in high demand because of its low prices and its convenience of location. It’s hard to miss these restaurants because driving around in a city you are guaranteed to see some of these consumer-crazed fast food chains on just about every corner. They can even be found in local retail stores, airports, and gas stations. Fast food is quicker than preparing home-cooked meals and according to the article, â€Å"Convenience, Accessibility, and the Demand for Fast Food,† fast food accounts for 35% of the total away-from-home food expenditures (Binkley, et al)[5]. Moreover, according to the same article, fast food chains have an increase in consumption when located in areas inhabited by African-Americans and Hispanics (Binkley, et al). Targeting low-income races with cheaply priced food allows this industry to continue to grow because those of low-income won’t be consistently eating at a sit down restaurant ordering a meal for twenty dollars when they can order one at McDonalds for as low as four dollars. Price, accessibility, and convenience are major factors to the success of this industry. Similarly to the point previously made about the low socioeconomic standing of cowboys, a majority of the employees of the fast food industry are working class people. The working class is becoming only certain ethnic groups- Hispanics, African Americans, and both legal and illegal immigrants. Once immigrants enter the U. S. they are placed in the lower class regardless if they have been in the middle class in their country of origin. These people of color are hard-working employees and have families. However, they still earn only minimum wage after years of experience. Typically, these ast-food jobs are oriented to be temporary positions for teenagers who are looking to make some extra cash before going to college. But it has become a social norm that it’s the job position of those who are living off a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, struggling to make ends meet. Jennifer Talwar’s book, Fast Food Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream, states, â€Å"the fast food restaurant offered me a way to understand how different ethnic groups relate to each other in their attempt to survive but also improve their circumstances at the bottom of the American urban economy† (Talwar). 6] Like the cowboys, workers in fast food become separated from the owners and higher-class society so they turn to the relationships of one another. However, unlike the cowboys who were unable to become cattlemen, employees of color in the fast food industry can become even owners of a McDonald’s or Burger King for example. According to Talwar, Phil Hagans an African American man started out as a burger flipper and later became an owner of four McDonald’s restaurants in Houston, as he was able to climb the hierarchies (Talwar). [7] Just because there is marginal room for improvement of a worker’s position in this area of work doesn’t mean there is an absence of inequality. The fast food industry is a business built on the ideal of low prices resulting it in having to keep labor and other operating costs to a minimum. According to the book, Labour Relations in the Global Fast-Food Industry, Royle and Towers explain that low wages, minimal benefits, tight staffing, and efforts to intensify labor are predictable due to competition environment (Royle and Towers). 8] This allows employers to have control and does not allow workers to have a say in changing working conditions. Such factors are not subject to change and the issue of unionizing poses no threat to the fast food business. This is because â€Å"major fast-food companies†¦are employed by franchisees, many of whom own only a few restaurants or just one,† like Phil Hagans (Royle and Towers). This fragments the workers not only physically but also to the extent that they are under different management. Unionization is also unable to arise due to the role technology plays in standardizing the work of fast-food crews. These new machines basically tell the employee when to proceed on to the next step of the routine of preparing a burger or fries, resulting in a minimization for the need of skilled workers. Furthermore, having an education is not needed to work for fast food places such as McDonalds because these jobs don’t require higher-level skills. However, â€Å"while fast-food work is generally treated unskilled, it is not easy to perform well† and it â€Å"can be hard and exhausting work, especially during busy periods† (Royle and Towers). 9] Mangers have complete control over their workers, starting with the scheduling of the workers’ hours. It is also a way to keep employment costs down and can be used as a disciplinary system. For example, managers can call in employees on their days off and have them work late hours. Cattlemen of the ranch had different tactics for maintaining control but the outcome was the same. Unionization is further challenged in the fast food industry because many unskilled workers are young teens that only see this type of work as a temporary position. According to Royle and Towers, only one third of those employed by the industry actually try to turn it into a career (Royle and Towers). Cowboys needed to have specific skill sets such as riding horses, being able to round herds up the trail, and manage the farmland. Teens and those who work the oven and fryers don’t need to have a specific skill set because each skill is specialized. It can be juxtaposed to an assembly line where a worker will perform one task all day that requires low input of labor. Therefore, the value of work from cowboys compared to employees of the fast food industry is diminishing. As seen with managers and employees of the cattle industry of the past and fast food industry of today, the hierarchies of the workforce are evident and haven’t been drastically modified. On the ranch, a cowboy (especially one of color) couldn’t become a cattlemen. In the fast-food industry a burger flipper can become an owner of his own franchise but, unless its handed down like a ranch from cattlemen to cattlemen, its an outrageous number of years to climb in rank. The hierarchy in a typical fast-food restaurant is as follows, from lowest job to highest: crewmember, crew trainer, manager trainee, second and first assistant manager, associate and general manger, store supervisor, and finally owner. By the time a worker reaches the top they’ll have white hair and be ready for retirement. Climbing the different levels isn’t promising. That’s how owners of big industries want it. The higher class will continue to improve and gain wealth while the lower class will struggle to fight for a higher economic standing for the majority of their lives. Many workers won’t ever obtain the life they thought they would achieve in a nation known to be the home of the free and the land of the brave and where an â€Å"American Dream† is possible. The United States needs to adapt to make lives easier for its people by giving health care, increasing minimum wage, and actually listening to the voices of the people who inhibit this great country. If the United States’ industries continue to suck the life out of their workers and have total control over every aspect of these laborers, then the ideology of being â€Å"equal† will be never be in existence.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Introduction of Information Technology Related to Hotel and Restaurant Management

Chapter II Review of Related Literature Students look forward to the opportunity to choose their academic plans and classes. According to the enhanced cognitive engagement theory, allowing students to choose which classes they enroll in increases motivation and independence which in turn increases a student's cognitive processing and performance, however, the task of course selection is very complex with multiple considerations, most of which overlap with one another.Students are influenced by the different academic portions of the class such as the value of the content, the structure, and the workload. They also have to decide what is important to them with regards to their interests, personal academic goals, and their schedule. But students do not make these decisions alone because they do occasionally seek advice from their family, faculty, and/or friends. Not all of the different considerations of a course are as influential as others, but it is important to know what students wa nt from their classes, what they expect of themselves, and who they will listen to.Educators and schools need to know this information; especially those of elective courses so they can meet the needs of students and have them continue to enroll in their class. More importantly though, if teachers can adapt their classes to better meet the needs of students the students will be more engaged which will increase their comprehension and excitement for the curriculum, which should be any teacher's ultimate goal. The following paper provides further analysis on the most current research based on influential factors of course enrollment.The first section deals with the academic considerations such as, value and execution, teacher, and workload. The student must also take into consideration their own personal preferences of their interests, capabilities, gender, and their schedule, which is explained throughout the second section. The third component deals with the influential sources a stu dent may listen to including their family, peers, and the faculty at their school. Finally, the gaps and limitations of the research are discussed along with the need of further research. Reference: (http://voices. ahoo. com/the-factors-influence-students-decision-for-8258751. html) Each course is a unique mix of many different ingredients — from subject matter, to fellow students, to the jobs it leads to. The following points can be used as a checklist of things you need to find out about courses of interest. Think about what you will learn and how you’ll learn it . Subject matter is the first step to success is studying something you are interested in. Intellectual style, some courses are mainly ‘quantitative' (how's your maths? ), others are ‘verbal' or language based.Some encourage you to have your own ideas, ask the big questions and find out about the world. Work patterns, courses vary in the time students spend in lectures, tutorials, studios and lab classes and completing self-directed study. Some courses also have an industry-based learning component. If it is tough to study and pass. Some fields of study are notoriously tough, with high failure and drop-out rates. How long they take, VET certificates generally take a year or less of full-time study, diplomas and advanced diplomas around two years and bachelor degrees three or four years.Double degrees, ‘honours' courses and part-time programs will take longer. How much choice they allow, some courses require all students to complete the same ‘core’ subjects, while others allow you to choose a lot of electives. International study opportunities, optional summer study tours or study abroad and exchange programs may offer credit towards some courses. How you can study, courses may be offered full time, part time, by distance education or on an accelerated trimester schedule. Not all courses offer all options.Quality, regardless of their subject matter, course s should be well run by experienced staff and (if applicable) meet industry standards.Reference:(http://gooduniguide. com. au/School-Leavers/Choosing/How-to-choose-a-course) Choosing the course that you are going to study for the next 3 or 4 years can be difficult. Course content will vary between institutions and it is important to check that the courses you are applying for cover the topics you are most interested in. Reference:(http://www2. warwick. c. uk/study/undergraduate/apply/choosing/) The number of courses you take each semester will be one of the most important factors affecting your success at school. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of choosing courses at the beginning of semester when you're rested and ready for a challenge. But you need to flash forward to mid-term – when the day-to-day reality of classes, assignments, reading, essays and exams will be all too real. Reference: (http://www. cmha. ca/youreducation/courses. html)

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Psychological Perspectives

In this assignment I will be explaining the principal psychological perspectives. I will explain the different psychological approaches to health and social practice and assessing the different psychological approaches to study. Psychology is the focus on different subjects such as the human development, social behaviour and cognitive processes. There are different approaches that have been developed in order to explain the psychology. These perspective or approaches include the behaviourist, social learning, psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive and the biological perspectives.These perspectives focus on trying to explain human development by focusing on how people learn and develop. Also the perspectives explain how an individual’s behaviour can be influenced by ones childhood (notes). The behaviourist approach focuses on how people are influenced by the environment and the behaviour of an individual is learnt from the environment. As psychology is a scientific study, beh aviorist, as a psychological perspective it obtains its evidence. The behaviorist approach uses scientific studies as they can be objectively measured.This perspective does not believe in what people say but believes in how the environment determines behavior. The behaviorist perspective as a scientific study it observe behavior relating to the basis that behavior can be reduced to learned stimulus-response units. The behaviourist approach includes two theories of learning. These theories of learning include the classical and operant conditioning. These theories explain how people learn from the environment (www. simplypsychology. org). The classical condition is was a theory which was developed by a Russian physiologist by the name of Ivan Pavlov.The classical conditioning theory is a learning process that occurs when there is a link/association between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. As classical conditioning involves a stimulus and a natural occurrin g stimulus. He used the dog experiment in order to back up his theory. Pavlov used the digestive research of the dog in order to back up his theory. The observation of the experiment suggested that salivation was a learned response. Dogs normally salivate when the see food, however Pavlov was intrigued and interested to see why dogs started to salivate when they see people who normally feed them.For him to reach to a conclusion he set up the dog experiment. In order to show that salivation was a learned response his experiment is as explained. (www. niu. edu) When it was time for the Pavlov assistant to feed the dogs, they would ring a bell. The amount of the saliva was measure. The assistant did this a couple of times to make sure that the dog was used to the routine. After the trials, Pavlov then rang the bell without showing the food and the result was that the dog had salivated the same way when it saw the food. The classical conditioning procedure Food was considered as the sti mulus or in other words the unconditioned stimulus. This stimulus caused the response to happen naturally. * The dog salivated when it saw the food. When this happened it was considered as an unconditioned response. This response happened naturally. * When the bell was rung the dog would salivate. This happened because that the production of saliva was there because the bell was associated with the presenting of food. This is a conditioned stimulus * The salivation is a conditioned response because the dog is reacting to the thought that the bell is associated with food. www. niu. edu) Then operant conditioning is a theory that was developed by an American psychologist called Burrhus Fredic Skinner. His experiment was based on his experiment on rats and pigeons. He developed a well-known device caused the Skinners Box. The operant conditioning looks at ones actions and its consequences. The operant conditioning was based on two types of reinforcement, the positive and negative reinf orcement. His experiment showed positive and negative reinforcement through his experiment. He did this by putting a rat in his famous box (www. sychology. uiowa. edu). The rat that he placed in the box was meant to be hungry. The rat would sniff around in order to familiarise itself with the environment while doing this the rat will, accidentally press the lever and a food pellet will be released. When the rat had done this frequently it would learn that when the lever is pressed food would be releases. The food pellet was a positive reinforcement (www. psychology. uiowa. edu). In order to show the negative reinforcement side of the experiment, Skinner placed an electric current on the floor of the box.A rat is placed in a cage and immediately receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses a bar and the shock stops. The rat receives another shock, presses the bar again, and again the shock stops. The shock was a negative reinforcement (www. psychology. uiowa. edu). (P2) Classical conditioning can be used in health practice. For example, a patient receives a, a certain injection frequently maybe for example 3 times a week. The injections are administered in a very small room every session. The drug causes increased heart rate.However, after certain trips to the hospital, being in a small room make cause the persons heart rate. Referring to the classical conditioning this is how the theory works: * The drug is the unconditioned stimulus. * The accelerated heart rate is the unconditioned response. * The small room is the conditioned stimulus. * The accelerated heart rate to the room is the condition response. (P3) Operant conditioning can be used in social practice. At a nursery operant condition can be used when dealing with children’s behaviour. When a child hits another child they are given time out which is negative reinforcement.When a child plays nicely with other and tidies up after play time they will receive a golden star. This is positive reinforcement. (M1) The behaviourist has been successful due to the methods it has used to explain people’s behaviour. The scientific experiments that have been used to study people’s behaviour tend to be very reliable due to the evidence that they end up with being based on facts. However, this approach is it does not considered mental processes that can affect an individual’s behaviour. This perspective only focuses on how people learn form their own experience.People like Bandura who introduce social learning approach disagree with this perspective as he believes that people can learn from observing and learning other people’s behaviour and experiences. Furthermore, studies of a wide range of human behaviours have shown that classical and operant conditioning cannot adequately explain how people are able to solve problems without the extended period of trial and error that behaviourism would say i s necessary. These findings imply that mental processes must play a part in explaining much human behaviour www. psychlotron. org. uk). The approach has been successful in explaining learning as it has provided a practical experiment which has shown results that are valid. This perspective has seemed to be working when dealing with people’s behaviour. For example, the operant conditioning is very effective as children are aware that when they do something good they are given a reward. This perspective can be improved by making sure it includes different factors that can influence individual’s behaviours such as genes and family influences.This is so because through for example genes a person can develop a genetic condition that can affect the person’s behaviour. People may not behave in the same ways as the behaviourist approach. This is so because it is not guaranteed that a child can change behaviour from being placed on timeouts when they have done something wrong. However, other people believe that people may behave the same way because there is the same influence of a combination of instinct and learning. The social learning approach explains how people learn from observing other people behaviour. This approach was developed by Albert Bandura an American psychologist. Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. † (Bandura). In order for people to learn from modelling, there are certain effects that should be present in order for an individual to learn from others. These effects include * Availability-in order for observation to take place a learnt behaviour should be available. * Attention – the individual who is observing should be able to notice the behaviour.The level of paying attention can be influenced by the characteristic of the role model. For example, if it is a celebrity that a person admires, chances are they are going to pay more attention to the behaviour. * Retention- the individual must be able to remember the behaviour that he/she was paying attention to. * Reproduction- is when the parson is bale to repeat the same behaviour that has been learnt (latent learning). * Motivation- the behaviour that has been learnt, the individual is now able to repeat it. The repeating can occur due to seeing and recalling the reinforced model. Moodle notes) The social learning theory explains the self-fulfilling prophecy and the social role. The self-fulfilling prophecy is a two way interaction that explains how we behave and how others see us and behave towards. For example, when a person who does not believe in him/herself that they can achieve a certain goal, if they are motivated they are able to fulfil the prophecy by working hard. The role theory is almost the same as the self-fulfilling prophecy. The role theory sugges ts that since we live within a certain culture or social group we are influenced by the society.When this happens it leads to an individual accepting that they are certain roles that they are expected to live to due to what society says. For example, the mother is expected to look after the children and feeding them. The role of the mother can change when they are in a different environment for example when going for an outing with friends the mother takes up the role of being a friend (Stretch et al, 2010). (P2) In health practice social learning can be used to change the health of an alcoholic or a drug addict. Positive and negative reinforcement can be used when explaining the behaviour of people who are alcoholic and drug addicts.Positive reinforcement is that when the people take drugs or alcohol they have a certain pleasure or euphoria they receive from that. The negative reinforcement that addiction can lead to unpleasant feelings such as depression or anxiety and also the ca n cause the developing of health related illnesses. Social learning will then relate to this situation. For example, public health authorities can use a role model to advertise a programme such as rehabilitation. By seeing the role model the individual will enrol for the programme in order to change their lifestyle (P3) The social learning approach can be used to promote health behaviours.By the media introducing health related storylines in famous TV programmes such as East Enders. The role model in that programme is able to influence people to change their behaviour. It easy for role models to send a health related message to the people than an ordinary person. For example a celebrity like Davina McCall was able to influence people to take up exercising by making sure she produced a DVD on how to exercise so that people are able to learn the behaviour of taking up exercising (www. dailymail. co. uk). (M1) The social learning is that it has demonstrated the strong effect of social influences on people’s behaviour.This approach has strongly explained how people are influenced by role models. People do learn from role model as they motivate individuals in achieving a goal. For example, without the help of celebrities such as Jamie Oliver who is the founder of Jamie Oliver Foundation, people who have not made an effort in changing their eating habits in order to improve their health. This show the effectiveness of this theory as social learning is influential to the people in the society. The social learning approach uses different approach as well in order to study the mind.For example, the social learning approach agrees to what the behaviourist approach says as children learn their behaviours by imitating their parents. In this case the parents will be the role model of the children. The social learning approach can be improve by stressing the point or explaining how children’s cognitive development can be affected as the child may observe the w rong information. This approach may not relate to everyone in the society as they are people who do not learn from observing others. For example, there are people called theorist who think logically. They like to learn things based on facts/theories.They like to know facts behind things. This approach would not apply these people. The psychodynamic approach was developed by an Austrian psychologist by the name Sigmund Freud. The psychodynamic approach suggests that experiences in our earliest years can affect our emotions, attitudes and behaviour in later years without us being aware that it is happening which is our unconscious. We can never have access to the information that is located in the unconscious part of the mind. Freud believed that the information that we are not aware of can sometimes ‘leak out’ as dreams or the slip of the tongue.When things that were are aware of it is explained as the conscious mind. When Freud came to explain the conscious and the unco nscious part of the mind he gave reference to an ice berg. He described the tip of an iceberg as the couscous mind as it is the small part being available to awareness. The middle part of the ice berg he described it as the pre-conscious minds where we can assess some of the memories. The bottom of the ice berg was the unconscious part of the mind where thought are kept and we do not have access to the information or memories. Freud suggested the psyche has three parts to it, the ID, Superego and the Ego.The Inner Desire is the part of the mind that is unconscious. The Superego is the formed due to socialisation as this part of the mind that represents a view of our ideal self. The Ego tries to balance the demands that can arise from both id and superego as the superego can be hash. Freud the argued how childhood experience plays a crucial part in adult development, including the development of adult personality. He believed that the behaviour is caused by the mind and portrait thro ugh the use of the ego-defence mechanism. This mechanism protects people from getting harmed by something that are stored in the unconscious mind.The defence mechanisms are divided into seven. * Repression-pushing painful memories deep down into our unconscious mind, so they are effectively forgotten. * Rationalisation- is making decisions based on reasons that have facts to it. * Compensation-when a person covers up their flaws by keeping a positive mind. * Transference-is when an individual transfers their emotions to another person. For example, when a person is angry the might shout at the other person. * Denial- is used when a person denies the fact that something wrong is going on with them so that they are not hurt much. Projection-is used when a person attaches their own thoughts, feeling and motives to another person. * Suppression- is used when a person hide their feelings in order for people not to know what is going to them. (Moodle notes) Freud also developed a theory o n personality development. This theory was known as the psycho-sexual theory. This theory explained the different personality development based on the different part of the body and age. He believed in order to reach the next step you were supposed to meet the all the needs before that. Freud believed that personality development in hildhood would influence the personality in adulthood. The table below shows the different developmental stage and the outcomes . Oral stage-He believed that the outcome was either going to be positive or negative for example, if the infant was weaned too early, it would forever feel under-gratified or this would lead to the person becoming a pessimistic or sarcastic person. If the child was weaned too late, it would be over-gratified . Due to this a person would develop a gullible personality, naively trusting in others and with the tendency to believe anything (notes).Anal stage- this stage the libido is focused on of toilet training. When a child feel s that they are being forced to potty train before they are ready they can retain their faeces in other terms it is defined as anal retention. When this happens to the child they may develop personality characteristic when they are older which includes obstinacy or greediness (Stretch et al, 2010). Phallic stage- the fixation stage is being associated with anxiety and guilty feeling about sex and fear of castration for males. At this stage there is an unresolved situation that a girl may become a lesbian.This can lead to personality characteristics such as castration anxiety (Stretch et al, 2010). Latency-at this stage the child develops a relationship with siblings, relatives and adults and solidifies the habits of earlier development stages. The personality characteristic that a person can develop is being Asexual (Moodle notes). Genital puberty- at this stage Freud’s believes that a person fixated on developing a strong heterosexual relationship. During this stage a person who is involved in a relationship is able to show love towards the partner. In order for this stage to happen other stages should have happened (Stretch et al, 2010).Erick Erickson was a psychologist who agreed with most of Freud’s theories. He believed that we develop through a series of conflicts. By this he meant that the stages the conflicts were basically a part of social nature. Erick disagreed with Freud as he believed that Freud only paid great attention on people’s desire for satisfaction and not really focusing on that people have needs that we want to be accepted by society so that we can live a meaningful life. He believed that people go through certain psycho-social life crises and these are trust vs. basic mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt initiative vs. uilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation and ego integrity vs. despair. For example, to the trust versus mistrust stage of Eri ck Erikson theory of psychosocial development this stage occurs between birth and approximately 18 months of age. According to Erikson, the trust versus mistrust stage is the most important period in a person’s life. This is so because how a baby is entirely dependent upon his or her caregivers, the quality of care that the child receives plays an important role in the shaping of the child’s personality.During this stage, children learn whether or not they can trust the people around them. If these needs are met the child is then able to go to the career for emotional support. If the child does not feel dependent on the parent and does not trust them it can lead to fear and suspicion in the later age (Stretch et al, 2010). (P2) The psycho-dynamic approach can be applied to understand why an adolescent in a child home who is continuously rebelling against all the rules and appears to be developing signs of delinquent behaviour. This can be explained by looking at Freud approach.The reason why the adolescent acts that way is because there is no balance between the ID and the superego in the mind causing the memories of his bad childhood to take over. (P3) The approach can also be used to explain how an individual who has been given a diagnosis of cancer but is refusing to accept that they have the disease. I think that the person does not want to accept as he is living in denial. When there is denial a person is able to trap certain though or emotions in order to hurt themselves emotionally. (M1) The psychodynamic approach explains how a child learning can be influenced by their childhood experience.If the child did not feel like he/she can trust a person it would to them withdraw from society and end up hating the parents. This shows that childhood is a critical period in one’s life. For the child to hate the parents the memories in the pre-conscious part of the mind would have been revealed and people will remember the bad childhood memori es. This approach can be improved by making sure that it does not only focus on how the psyche and the psycho sexual stages influence behaviour. However, it can considered factors such as bio chemistry and genetics.According to this approach people may behave the same ways as adults have the tendency of using the same defence mechanism (www. thestudentroom. co. uk). The humanist approach is a psychological approach that emphasizes the study of the whole person. Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. This approach was developed by two psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Abram Maslow’s believed that every individual is seeking to become the best we can be spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and socially.He developed a hierarchy of needs and it included the different needs that a person will need when growing up according to the importance. The hierarchy of n eeds illustrated that the basic needs should be met before reaching to the next level. For example, for an individual’s love and emotional needs to be met the basic physical needs and safety and security needs should be met. Maslow believed that the most important need is self-actualization. Self actualisation is when the person reaches the point of achieving full potential ((Stretch et al, 2010).Carl roger was interested in the concept of self-concept. Self-concept is the way a person see him/herself. Self includes how we see ourselves biologically and physically. Self-concept starts to develop from an early age. This is so because of a child is being constantly told that he/she is naughty. This can have a negative impact on their self-concept as they we start to see their selves the way they are being portrait as. On the other hand if a child is praised it encourages the child to work harder in order to achieve a certain goal they have set out for their selves (Stretch et a l, 2010). P2) The humanistic approach can be used to explain how staff is trained to understand the importance of unconditioned positive regard in working patients and clients. Unconditioned positive regard is when a person stays positive about a situation and does not concentrate on the bad side of the story unconditioned positive regard can be shown when a nurse comforts a patient when they are feeling down and shows empathy. This is very important to show this kind of attitude as it creates a better professional relationship between nurse and patient. (P3)Humanistic approach can be of value when providing counseling services in a social care setting. This approach can be used to show empathy when a counselor is counseling a patient. Rogers has used this approach as a way for people to understand another person not only on an intellectual; level but also on an empathic understanding. When a counselor is able to understand another person’s emotions and feelings they are able to help the client. For example, when a therapist is counseling an alcoholic the therapist is able to find a way to help the client by understanding the causes of the drinking.It might be because of a childhood event that has affected the clients’ life. (M1) The human approach focuses on how people learn from being given the free will and ability to change. This approach has been seen to be very effective as it helps people with less severe problems. The importance of the ,Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is to give people the learning direction as it looks at the different step a person much go through in order to reach a point of self actualisation and at this step the person is able to be fulfilled as they have achieved the goals they wanted.However, consequences of unconditional positive regard are that the person feels free to try things out and make mistakes, even though this may lead to getting it worse at times. People who are able to self-actualize are more likely to have received unconditional positive regard from others, especially their parents in childhood. As the approach only focuses on helping people with severe problems it can be improved in order to meet ability to help those with more sever personality or mental health pathology. This approach does not include people with severe mental health problems (www. allpsych. om). The cognitive approach was developed by a Swiss psychologist called Jean Piaget. The cognitive approach focuses on understanding the cognitive processes such as attention, memory, perception, information, processing, problem solving, thought and language. In simpler term it is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak and solve problems. Jean came to a conclusion that cognitive development is achieved by going through 4stages (Stretch et al, 2010). Stage 1 sensorimotor stage- this stage happens between the ages of 0- 2 years. At this stage the child learning is limited.The child only learns through using they sense. This is why it is called the sensorimotor stage at the child uses their senses in order to do motor skills such as using reflexes such as the protective reflex. These reflexes are used in order for them to adapt to the world. Objects and events can be mentally represented by the child (sometimes called object permanence this stage comes to an end when the child starts to learn how to use his/her memory and language (www. simplypsychology. org). Stage 2 pre-operational stages- this stage happens between the ages of 2 to 7 year.This is the stage when children start to apply their skills of language (www. simplypsychology. org). Stage 3 concrete operational stages- this stage happens between the ages of 7 to 11 years. This is when individuals start to think abstractly and make rational judgments even though their rational thinking is restricted to realistic situations (www. simplypsychology. org) Stage 4 formal operational stage- this stage happens at the age of 11 an d going on. This is when an individual is able to think logically and use hypothetical thinking (www. implypsychology. org). George Kelly was a developed the theory called the Psychology of Personal Constructs. This theory looks at a person as a scientific making prediction about ones future, while testing them and when necessary the records are meant to revise in order to develop new evidenced. Interpreting and being mindful of reality and the environment is considered as construct. For example, when a person has HIV/ AIDS they may withdraw their selves form any social activities as they may see it as the end of world and they nothing to live for.However, the may not feel that way at take it a positive ways in which they can educate other people so that they do not make the same mistake as she did. He believed that people do not necessarily have to learn from their past experience (Stretch et al, 2010). (P2) Cognitive approach can be sued to explain how irrational thoughts experien ced by people suffering from eating disorder. This perspective relates to the situation. For example, when a person who has an eating disorder he/she can find themselves fighting against the disorder.The individual needs is based on trying process the thoughts to need to control, need to be thin and also a need to feel that they are happy being thin. This perspective is based on how the individual wants to live their lives and be happy the way they are than pleasing other people. However, the way a person can see their selves and think about themselves can happen because of the bad experienced which are leading to the person having eating disorders(Stretch et al, 2010). (P3) The principle of cognitive behavior therapy can help an individual dealing with feelings of depression.The cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talking therapy based on cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy. It emphases on how people think about the things going on in your life, attitudes and how this imp acts on the way you behave and deal with emotional problems. It then looks at how you can change any negative patterns of thinking or behaviour that may be causing you difficulties. This approach is used as a way which is used to help people cope with their thoughts and behaviour.This therapy will help the person to solve their problems in terms of feelings. For example, when dealing with a person who feeling depressed the counsellor can first look for the cause of the person feeling depressed. Then the counsellor is able to relate to the cognitive approach in encouraging the person to be more positive(Stretch et al, 2010). (M1) The cognitive approach has been successful is explaining learning. This is so because the cognitive approach has been useful is contributing to most of the types that are being used.The success of the approach has comes form the fact the approach helps people to improve their cognitive processes such as language and memory. The cognitive behaviour help peopl e to understand what goes on in peoples mind. For example, the cognitive approach helps understand different people’s behaviour and thoughts of a person who it autistic. Furthermore the cognitive approach helps people who work with people who have difficulties in learning language as it provides different strategies to tackle the problem.The cognitive approach has become the leading approach in psychology particularly since it has become allied with neurology. The cognitive approach is now called the cognitive science. This is so because this approach has been able to provide a very refined understanding of how the brain processes information. However, the cognitive approach does not fully does not include other factors that can influence a person’s thoughts such as ecological validity which is the environment. The behaviour that this approach focuses on is not the behaviour that would happen in everyday situations (www. olah. co. uk). This approach can improve by addr essing reasons being a personality characteristic. According to the cognitive approach people think the same because the approach applies a nomothetic approach which includes studying a group of people. The biological approach (maturational theory) is concerned with how our genetic inheritance, evolution of the human species and the nervous system (both central and peripheral) affect how we think, feel and behave. Arnold Gessell was a very influential person in the field of development. He developed the maturation theory.Arnold Gessell described the maturation theory as â€Å"A highly biological theory that regarded child development as an evolutionary approach where there is a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically. It is believed that development has a biological process that occurs in predictable stages over time†. (www. maturationtheory. gov. uk) As Arnold believed that development happens with a series of maturation, his belief has been explain ed by how uterus develops in the womb. The stages are as follows * Heart forms first and at the same time the rudimentary nervous system. Bones and muscles develop * Then the organism develops into a completely working human life form. * When a persons genes allow the person to become who he/she is destined to be with the influence of the environment providing support in the unfolding skills. (Stretch et al, 2010). Genes are also influential when it comes to person behaviour. Other behaviours are caused by certain genes disorders. For example the Huntington disease which is caused when one of the parent’s genes is dominates. Any one of the parent can pass the disease to the child.Disorders caused by genes are very influential to the person behaviour. Another example, autism is also a genetic condition than can alter a person’s behaviour. Peoples with autism develop behaviour traits. These behavioural traits include repetitive motor movements such as rocking and hand fl apping, avoid physical contact and also challenging behaviour including throwing things around when distressed(www. chw. org). There are more common disorders that are not genetically determined; however they have chances of leaving people vulnerable when it comes to developing the disorder.In order to find out the contribution of genes on behaviour there have been twin studies which have been carried out. Two types of twins were used monozygotic (100% of sharing of genetic material which results in the pair being identical) and dizygotic (50% of sharing genetic material which will result in the twins being fraternal). In order to show that genes are influential, Ritvos study showed that out of 23 pairs of identical twins 22 of the twins were autistic and 4 out of 17 pairs of fraternal twins were autistic. This shows that genes are influential (Stretch et al, 2010).The endocrine system influences ones behaviour. The endocrine system has to parts to it the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The autonomic nervous system is associated with the endocrine system and it is divided into two systems. The sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for speeding up during response in activity and the parasympathetic nervous system that calms down the system. (Stretch et al, 2010). The autonomic nervous system produces effects by releasing hormones.These hormones are released from the endocrine glands which are stimulated by the system. There are different hormones that are released that alter behaviour. For example, testosterone which is hormone released in the testicles can cause a person to be aggressive. (P2) When a person is working a night shift they tend to find it difficult to stay awake when they are working. When the night shift is over the person goes home with intention of getting some rest however the person will find it hard to sleep. This happens because of the disruption to the circadian rhythm which is the rhythm of a day.The person’s behaviour is affected by the circadian rhythm. When a person is working at night his/her body temperature is low which will cause the person to be less alert. However, if the person is working during the day their temperature is normal which will cause the person to be more alert. The brain is influential to this process. In the brain there is a part called the pineal gland. This gland is responsible for producing a hormone called melatonin. When it gets darker, melatonin production is high because the pineal gland is triggered by the brain to produce higher levels of melatonin.When it is not dark the gland reduces the production of melatonin. The levels of melatonin can affect the person at a night shift because at night the levels of melatonin productions are high and this will cause the person to feel sleepy. This affects the person’s behaviour as the person is not alert when they are mean to be (Stretch et al, 2010). (P3) The biological approach is very important because it explains the importance of understanding the concept of circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings.It is important as is determines the sleeping and eating patterns of an individual. The manager of a workplace is advised to have knowledge of biological rhythms. This knowledge will help the manager to take into consideration of the hours a person works. With the knowledge of the circadian rhythm the manager is able to draw up a pattern of shift work that is able to help the worker to have even sleep so that when they are working the are alert. For example, the manager may assign the worker with three days of week and two days off during the week (Stretch et al, 2010). (M1) The approach has been successful in explaining learning.The biological approach explanations have been variable as they are best on scientific research which can be measured tracked and examines. The effectiveness of the biological approach has been proved by psychosurgeons who were able to see the functioning of the brain by removing a part of a functioning brain. This process has been used by psychologists to prove that certain parts of the brain are associated with aggression. The researches that are carried out are scientifically reliable as they fulfil the aims of scientific research which is to conduct objective, well controlled studies and, ideally, to demonstrate causal relationships.The strength of the biological approach is that it lends itself to scientific research that can then be used to support biological explanations. The biological approach is also determinist and this is an advantage because the approach is able to know what sets our behaviour and how we able likely to treat people with abnormal behaviour. The strength of the biological approach is that it is determinist and provides explanations about the causes of behavi our so that we can use such understanding to improve people’s lives.For example, if mental illness is caused by biological factors, then we can treat mental illness using biological methods such as medication. The biological approach can be improved in order to consider individual approach as this approach only looks at nomothetic approach. This is a weakness as people do not necessary behave the same way. for example, when coping with stress conditions women normally react by seeking social contact and support from other female friends whereas keep it to themselves(www. oxfordschoolblogs. co. uk). (M2 and D1)The approaches I will be focusing on are the behaviourist approach and the psychodynamic approach. Both of these approaches can help with a health and social care setting. The behaviourist approach looks at hoe different people are influenced by the environment. As psychology is a scientific study, behaviorist, as a psychological perspective it obtains its evidence relat ing to the basis that behavior can be learnt. The behaviorist approach has seemed to work when explaining people’s behavior as the experiment that Skinner and Pavlov evidently showed that behavior can be learnt.The psychodynamic approach explains how ones past experience can affect a person’s behavior in the future. The past experience is stored in the unconscious part of the psyche and the memories sometimes leak causing to affect the person’s behaviour. For example, when a person was abused when they were young and this will cause the person to develop behavioural traits with include being withdrawal to the society or become abusive too. The approaches can be used within a health and social care setting in order to help individuals.For example, the behaviourist approach can be used when helping people to overcome a phobia and also to changes ones eating behaviour. When dealing with people who have phobias, the behaviouristic approach uses a classical condition ing. By this the approach uses a procedure which help the person overcome their fear. For example, a child who has a fear of going through a surgery procedure can overcome this fear by creating a hierarchy of fears. The hierarchy will show the least feared and most feared procedure. When this is done the person is able to relax and et over their fear because this procedure helps a person achieve a state of deep relaxation. This approach changes the aspect of fearing something by replacing it with the state of relaxation. When a person is at the hospital they can been shown how the procedure is going to happen and this will help the person relax as they will know exactly what is going to happen to them. When helping people with bad eating habit. The behaviourist approach explains how positive role models are influential. For example, Jamie Oliver has helped people start eating healthy by re-introducing freshly cooked school meals.His suggestion was taken seriously as there are more c hances that the public will listen to what a celebrity say compared to an ordinary person. The psychodynamic approach can be used when understanding challenging behaviour and also understanding anxiety and finding ways to cope with it. When helping a person with challenging behaviour it is important to understand first what is going on in the psyche of the person by making an assumption that the behavioural trait is due to the symptoms of what is happening in the unconscious mind.For example, when helping a person who is aggressive, in order to understand what is going on a person might make an assumption that the person grew up seeing his/ her parents fighting. When a person is anxious they may understand it by making an assumption that it is caused by what is happening in the unconscious mind for example an event that has happened before. The person can use the psychodynamic approach to manage anxiety by relating to one of the defence mechanism such as denial. The approach has sim ilarities and difference.The approaches both have similarities. One of the similarities is that both of the approaches are both deterministic. They are deterministic because they are based on the principle that something apart from organism is responsible for its behavior. For example behaviourist approach is based on previous experiences such as punishments and the psychodynamic approach is based on it’s typically tension between conflicting forces such as the id and superego. Another similarity is that both of the approaches (www. ngfl-cymru. org. k). The approaches have differences. The behaviourist approach focuses on how behaviour is learnt and the psychodynamic believes that behaviour is not learnt. The behaviourist shows how behaviour is learnt through explaining the operant and classical conditioning whereas the psychodynamic explain that behaviour is not learnt and ones behaviour is caused by forces in the unconscious part of the psyche. Another difference is that th e behaviourist approach is based on scientific experiment and the psychodynamic is unscientific.The explanation for this difference is that the behaviourist approach explained is theory by using experiments which were observed, measured, and manipulated whereas the psychodynamic approach was not based on a scientific experiment which could be observed, measured, and manipulated(www. ngfl-cymru. org. uk). The strength of the behaviourist approach is that is that it focuses only on behaviour that can be observed, measured and manipulated. Therefore, this approach has proved that experiments under laboratory conditions can explain behaviour through observing, measuring and manipulating.The behaviourist principles of learning have been, and continue to be, tested in the laboratory where learning can be objectively measured. For example, the experiment that was done by Ivan Pavlov was successful on explaining how people learn and how they behaviour because the experiments results were va lid as there were scientifically based. The other strength of the behaviourist approach is that the behaviourist approach concentrates on the present and current behaviour rather than exploring a person’s past or their medical history (www. ngfl-cymru. org. uk).This is a strength of the approach because when it comes to determining a persons behaviour, by looking at their past experience may not be helpful as the person may not remember the past events that might contribute to their behaviour. However the approach has got weakness. The behaviourist approach has been criticised for determining ones behaviour by using an experiment of animals. This is a weakness as animals do not necessarily behave as humans. Due to this it is hard to say that the behaviourist approach has been successful in explaining how people behave as the finding of the experiment are hard to generalise.The other weakness of the behaviourist approach is that the approach does not focus on how the complexit y of the psyche contributed to learning. This approach has been criticised by the cognitive and the humanistic psychologists because it does not look at how the brain can be influential to determining a person’s behaviour (www. pages. 123-reg. co. uk). The strength of the psychodynamic approach is that this approach was able to provide an important insight into how a person’s past experiences can affect their adult personality.For example, the Freud’s theory on personality suggested that if a baby is weaned too early, according to the oral stage, there are chances that when the baby grows up to an adult he/she is going to pessimistic or sarcastic. The other strength of the psychodynamic approach is that the approach has explained about defense mechanism that every individual can use. These defence mechanism arise naturally when a person feels that they are being threatened of their superego is on demand. For example, if a person is going through a hard time they can use denial as a defense mechanism as it can help the person to refuse to experience the pain.However the psychodynamic approach has got weaknesses. One of the weaknesses is that the approach is reductionist. Due to this it only relies on a basic set of structures that attempt to simplify a very complex picture. This is a weakness because there are other aspects that can influence ones behaviour for example genetics. Another weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that it can not be proved wrong. Any theory for it to be successful it should be able tested that it can be wrong; however the psychodynamic approach can not be tested. Freud view can not be tested if they are false.For example, Freud viewed that all men have repressed homosexual tendencies cannot be disproved. It is hard to find a man who has no repressed homosexual tendency, if a person could find any man who had no repressed homosexual tendency then it could be argued that they have them, it’s just they are so repressed they are not apparent. In other words, the prediction cannot be falsified. Overall, both of the approaches have similarities, differences, strengths and weaknesses. Despite the weakness both of the approaches have been successful in explain how each of its approach can determine how behaviour can be influenced.Aidan Sammons. (2007). The behaviourist approach: the basics. Available: http://www. psychlotron. org. uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_BehaviourismBasics. pdf. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Brittan Barker. (2007). Glossary of Terms for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Available: http://www. psychology. uiowa. edu/faculty/wasserman/glossary/opcondition. html. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. (2012). Autistic Disorder. Available: http://www. chw. org/display/PPF/DocID/22122/router. asp . Last accessed 05/07/2012. Holah. (2010). Cognitive Psychology. Available: http://www. olah. co. uk/study-area. php? slug=cognitive. Last accessed 05/07/2012. Learning-Theories. com.. (2012). Social Learning Theory (Bandura). Available: http://www. learning-theories. com/social-learning-theory-bandura. html. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Liz Thomas . (2007). Fitness queen Davina McCall tops DVD charts again . Available: http://www. dailymail. co. uk/tvshowbiz/article-2082943/Fitness-queen-Davina-McCall-tops-DVD-charts-again. html. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Niu. (2007). Classical Conditioning. Available: http://www3. niu. edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2003/ClassicalConditioning. tm. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Psychology Perspectives. (2007). Psychology Perspectives. Available: http://www. simplypsychology. org/perspective. html. Last accessed 05/07/2012. Saul McLeod. (2007). Sensorimotor Stage. Available: http://www. simplypsychology. org/sensorimotor. html. Last accessed 05/07/2012. Science Daily. (2007). Circadian rhythm. Available: http://www. sciencedaily. com/articles/c/circadian_rhythm. htm. Last accessed 04/07/ 2012. http://pages. 123-reg. co. uk/psyuk-631767/advancedsuccessltd/id23. html http://www. ngfl-cymru. org. uk/vtc/ngfl/psychology/psy_1. doc

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Future of Cataloging, Resource Description, Indexing And Abstracting Essay

Future of Cataloging, Resource Description, Indexing And Abstracting - Essay Example The knowledge base comprises of information professionals who add their valuable info to pool up the system and for all this is for the achievement of a relatively better efficiency. The problem is how to acquire the relevant information or how to extract the required from the pool. This was once an issue in the past as record searching was very tedious and at times it took days for individuals to come up with the adequate set of retrievals. This was aided by the term ‘Cataloging’. Cataloging meant giving an appropriate identification of the item from where it can be easily retrieved. Cataloging can easily be understood if we take into account a library containing many books and journals and you step inside to search for data on economic facts in the World War II era. To get this information you needed to approach the librarian who will present you a book that is compiled of many abstracts from the various books that contain information about the desired World War II facts. This item is called as the catalog and it contains the description of the different books or journals referring to your search. From this catalog you can filter out your choices easily and as there is adequate resource description you could also go for different writer choices. Thus once decided which to choose, you look down at the catalog to find the location of the desired information tool (Book/journal). Thus the catalog acts as a fa ir assistant to you in minimizing your search time and effectively grants you the opportunity to identify your needs well. Cataloging has facilitated searching immensely. An important terminology within the catalog is the resource description. The catalog contains every bit of information required about the resource and therefore again is regarded as an effective tool for information handling purpose.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

How Souls Move Bodies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How Souls Move Bodies - Essay Example Elisabeth asks Descartes to clarify the interaction problem. The problem constitutes dualism as a central point of controversy. The fact that something, which does not have the physical property, interacts causally with physical objects is the central theme of conflict. Elisabeth inquires why thoughts in the mind can cause action in the physical body. She argues that anything that affects the physical body must also be physical and have extension and mass.  In responding to Elisabeth, he attributes the existing confusion to the use of notions that differentiate the mind and the body to explain the interaction between the two aspects. He uses an analogy of an individual who considers heaviness an actual thing that causes an object to fall. From this analogy, Descartes derives his conclusion that people are a misapplying concept. In the second reply, he says that Elisabeth should feel free to attribute extension and matter to the soul. He continues to argue that she will conceive of the union of the body and the mind if she does so. In summary, he avoids giving a precise answer to the prompt.  Descartes’ reply is unsatisfactory. It leaves more prompts than answers. Without the extension of the soul, how will people’s perception of it in that context explain the problem of interaction? Additionally, if people are to conceive of the union of the soul and body, it will mean that we perceive some causal connection. Therefore, it is harder to conceive of it as instructed by Descartes.

Project management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Project management - Case Study Example Roberge is still concerned about finding the right candidate with the required solid expertise and knowledge of IT and the software of ABC whole package. Initially, the general insurance company ABS acquired two companies, which are the western general insurance and the general maritime protection. It acquired the two to have a competitive advantage over the insurance market in Canada. The problem arose when the three companies could not function as one but functioned autonomously. Thus, Mr. Roberge was assigned to come up with the IMSP project to integrate the management system and processes. He embarked on looking for the best project manager candidate with the required ABC package to lead the project. His priority for the best candidate was one with experience in similar project management and one with an in-depth IT and ABC software package knowledge. The main problem that Mr. Roberge is facing is to choose the right candidate for the project. He is also faced with the issue of how he can combine the IT expertise of the candidate with other strengths present in each of the candidates. It is important that he make the right and informed choice for the good of the company and the project that is set. The three candidates have proof of participating in software development of ABC and in implementation projects in large enterprise in the course of their careers. Such expertise fits the technological requirement set. Secondly, candidates A and B have had experience in change managements in various integration projects. However, candidate A did not complete the business process re-engineering on the required time due to re-prioritizing of his clients. As a result, the project did not meet the client’s expectations. On the other hand, candidate B led successful projects that met the expectations of the clients despite his three years less experience. The integration project that he led has the most interest with the current IMSP project. Thus, in

Monday, August 26, 2019

Political changes in Europe due to the Rennaissance Essay

Political changes in Europe due to the Rennaissance - Essay Example The individual fame and development of trade and commerce became the main force that changed the political thinking and consequently the political history of Europe. Renaissance period is also known for consolidation of political power through the increased trade and commerce activities and consolidation. ‘Renaissance had brought an end for the most part to feudalism, the medieval form of political organization’ (Renaissance). The various Italian cities went for self rule and Monarchies also consolidated their position and political power through matrimonial alliances. Eminent diplomat and writer Leonardo Bruni believed in the representative form of government that was inclined towards the welfare of the society and encouraged patriotism. The period saw dramatic changes in the political, social and cultural environment of Europe that was based on scientific and cultural interpretation rather than religious orthodoxy. Discovery of new land by Vasco de Gama and Columbus greatly helped in the expansion of European power across the globe. England, France, Portugal, Italy and Germany all tried to establish their rule in far flung places like Africa, Asia and New America. The tradition of owning man as slaves was also started during the time and slaves from Africa were transported to America to be used as free thus establishing slavery. The renaissance is also known as an age of enlightenment because of the rebirth of cultural and literary supremacy of the Europe. The revolutionary political philosophy of Machiavelli is the highlight of the period who believed that the end justified the act. The decline of Roman Catholic Church can be contributed mainly to the philosophy of Bruni and Machialvelli, both of whom believed that religion and politics are two separate issues. Renaissance also saw the emergence of women in the corridor of power of the European

Sunday, August 25, 2019

EASING THE IMPACTS OF CUBA'S COMING CRISIS Essay

EASING THE IMPACTS OF CUBA'S COMING CRISIS - Essay Example In my opinion, Julia’s arguments are partly right and partly wrong. This paper critically analyses the claims of Julia E. Sweig. Even though United Sates is keen in establishing ties with communist China, the same interest they never shown against Cuba. This is because of the differences in attitudes of leaders in China and Cuba towards America. Moreover, keeping strong relations with China is necessary for America because of strategic reasons. China is rapidly emerging as the global power whereas same thing cannot be said about Cuba. China wants to sell their products in global markets and America is the most important market for them. So they realised that keeping strong relationships with America is necessary for their economic development. On the other hand, Cuba does not possess many products to sell in international market. So America’s negative attitude towards Cuba may not be a worrying factor for them. Moreover, the enmity between Castro and American administration forced Cuba to keep a distance with America. In short, America’s reluctance in establishing strong ties with Cuba can be ea sily understood. â€Å"China, Venezuela and Russia, along with American friends like Spain, Canada, Brazil and even Israel, are investing in Cuban oil, minerals, tourism, infrastructure, agriculture and biotech† (Sweig). In my opinion, if Israel can invest in Cuba, America can also do the same thing without a second thought. At the same time, is should be noted that Cubans cannot accept American presence in their soil because of the past experiences. In my opinion, America may think about stronger ties with Cuba only after the Castro era. Fidel Castro may not forgive Americans for the past attempts CIA made to kill him. However, it is not wise for Cuba to keep a distance with America because of the past bitter experiences they did suffer from the hands of America. Globalization and liberalization has opened many opportunities to developing countries and it is

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Io Vidi in Terra and Baroque Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Io Vidi in Terra and Baroque Music - Essay Example It was on a Friday evening and the all roads were heading to Las Vegas where revelers were raring to go all the way till daybreak. I was one of them, considering that I had an undying love for rock music, and watching my favourite artists performing live was more than a blessing to me. One of the rock star artists, that I had always wished to watch performing live was Ray Collins. For sure, I will confirm that I could not believe that I was going to party all night long and dance to my favourite rock music. The stage was all ready with state of the art equipment and colorful lights sparkling intermittently. Big speakers were strategically set in all corners of the building, sending a clear picture of the deafening sounds that revelers will be presented with. Even ahead of the start of the concert, the building was packed to capacity. Anxiety could be read in everyone’s faces as many revelers kept streaming in. As the sounds of the speakers began exploding from every corner, ev eryone went wild. The diehard fans began screaming at the top of their voices. The massive stage was reverberating with the passionate sound of the guitar as the American finest rock stars started streaming in with style and full of spirit. The mammoth crowd began moving back and forth in an unremitting wave. There was hardly any individual space as everyone pushed and shoved others around them. At this time, the audience was crowded like the sea. I was shocked to realize how people adored rock music and much more partying all night long.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Collaborative scholarly journal and literature review Essay

Collaborative scholarly journal and literature review - Essay Example The inability to integrate other communication approaches such as social media services and broadcast services has not only undermined the movements’ activities but has as well reduced their ability of attaining their goals and objectives (HAPCO and Global HIV/AIDS 678). Lack of clear and realistic communication strategy is as well a major factor that had interfered with anti- HIV/AIDS movements’ ability to address HIV/AIDS predicament in higher learning institutions. Lack of the required commitment among university management, inadequate training as well as lack of the required support from students has also been associated with inefficiency of HIV/AIDS movements. Some scholars have on the other hand argued that, the incompetence of the existing anti- HIV/AIDS movement is as a result of the ignorance and lack of knowledge among university students and other involved players. Ignorance has as well been a major factor that has led to the increased cases of HIV/AIDS infec tions in higher learning institutions. ... The subsequent writing will therefore explore the significance and relevance of incorporating social media services, broadcast media as well as non-media outlets in the fight against HIV/AIDS in higher learning institutions. Current States of HIV/AIDS in Higher Learning Institutions As explained by (Reinard 67), an expert in HIV/AIDS training, higher learning institutions students is more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS pandemic. So far, the ever-increasing HIV/AIDS cases in modern higher learning institution have killed thousands of incredibly intelligent students. Although the prevalence level of HIV/AIDS is decreasing in some countries, the rate of new HIV/AIDS infections is increasing in some countries. Some scholars have argued that, the increase in the number of HIV/AIDS infections in less developed countries is due to high level of poverty as well as limited access to healthcare institutions. However, as indicated by (Reinard 73), the raise in HIV/AIDS prevalence level is as a result o f lack of efficient and appropriate communication channels between the existing anti- HIV/AIDS and students’ body. In addition, the challenge of lack of communication flexibility can as well be associated with increasing cases of HIV/AIDS infections in higher learning institutions. As stated by MeKeel, et al (89), cases of HIV/AIDS in modern society is particularly higher among young and active people in the society. Recent studies have as well asserted that, young people who are in higher learning institutions are as well vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infections compared to young people who are in other social and professional institutions. In his observation(Wooley 11) asserts that, people who are at higher risks of being infected with HIV/AIDS

Thursday, August 22, 2019

“Complete, trusting surrender to God” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Complete, trusting surrender to God† Essay Although the Qur’an, its sacred text, was only revealed to their Prophet Muhammad more than five centuries after the death of Christ, Muslims trace the beginnings of Islam to the time of Abraham. According to them, the series of revelations of the Qur’an which started in 610 CE in a cave in Mount Hira, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, marked only the renaissance of a religion which sank into insignificance when the people of Mecca rejected the monotheism preached by Abraham. The Islamic claim further states that being the original religion, it provided the foundations for the development of Judaism and Christianity. (Fisher. 2005. Islam) Since the time of the first revelation in Mount Hira, Islam has rapidly grown to become the second-largest religious denomination in the world, next only to Christianity, claiming a following of almost twenty percent of the world’s population. However, its growth has been temporarily slowed down, particularly in the United States, by the effects of the American war against terrorism which is evidently directed against Muslims. This U. S. -orchestrated anti-terrorism war, coupled with the dearth of knowledge about Islam, has severely alienated the Muslims from the rest of the non-Muslim world. (Fisher. 2005. Islam) Yusuf (n. d. ) said that majority of the Muslims are convinced that while the U. S. government has been blaming terrorism on Islam for years, it was the 9/11 incident which dealt the most telling blow on the credibility and reputation of their religion. This was because the international media was able to depict that many Muslims around the world rejoiced after that incident. The truth is, however, that majority of the Muslim world was saddened by that incident and the repercussions it caused. They would like to tell the world that terrorism is not an official policy of Islam and that, in fact, Muslims also consider terrorists as enemies of their religion. He laments the fact that When a crazy Christian does something terrible, everyone in the West knows it is the actions of a mad man because they have some knowledge of the core beliefs and ethics of Christianity. When a mad Muslim does something evil or foolish they assume it is from the religion of Islam, not because they hate us but because they have never been told by a Muslim what the teachings of Islam are all about. Muslims are also complaining about the way non-Muslims always confuse them with Arabs. According to them, while most Arabs are Muslims, less than 20% of Muslims have Arab blood. (Almuslimin. org) Allah is the only authority of this religion. Muhammad was only the messenger and prophet with whom he entrusted the sacred texts called the Qur’an in a series of revelations and who, three years after the first revelation occurred, preached them to the people according to his instruction and his will. However, Muhammad was the role model for all Muslims. His life story and his sayings were saved in the Hadith for every Muslim to learn from and emulate. The central teachings of Islam are oneness of God and of humanity; prophethood and the compass of Islam; human relationship to the divine; belief in the unseen life; and belief in the Last Judgment. (Fisher, 2005. Islam) Islam teaches that there is only one God. This is why the first words spoken to a Muslim infant are the words of the Shahadah – â€Å"la ilaha ill-Allah Muhammad-un Rasulu-llah† (â€Å"There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God†). God may be called by many names, but all the attributes assigned to those different names make up the totality of the One God. They contend that there must be absolute unity among all men of all races because they are all brothers under the one God, and no one race should consider itself the chosen race. Islam teaches that the individual should be one with God, therefore his or her thoughts and deeds should always be inspired by God. This oneness of God and of humanity was very emphatically expressed by Abu Hashim Madami, an Indian Sufi sage, when he said that â€Å"There is only one thing to be gained in life, and that is to remember God with each breath; and there is only one loss in life, and that is the breath drawn without the remembrance of God. † (Fisher. 2005. Islam, p. 373) All the prophets from Abraham to Jesus Christ are honored, but they maintain that Muhammad was the last prophet sent by God with the final message. This means, therefore, that the Qur’an sums up all the messages from God so Islam should include all religions, including Christianity and Judaism which also trace their roots to Abraham. They believe that God created the universe for a purpose and set down laws to govern everything. For this reason, man could live in peace only if he recognizes these laws and abide by them. They accept the existence of the angels, especially Gabriel, whom they credit with bringing the messages of God. They believe that Satan exists just as they believe that there are saints. For them, the Last Judgment means that dead Muslims are allowed some rest before being raised from the grave for the final reckoning, after which the sinners and the unbelievers are sent to hell. (Fisher. 2005. Islam) Their basic practices consist of what they call the Five Pillars of Islam, namely: Beliefs and witness; Daily prayers; Zakat; Fasting; and Hajj. Every Muslim, without resorting to the use of force or intimidation, are obliged to spread the words of Islam so that other people may know about it, understand it, and use the knowledge to guide them in choosing their faith. Prayers should be recited five times a day while facing the direction of Mecca. It is believed that requiring every Muslim to face Mecca symbolizes unity among the devotees of Islam around the world, while the daily prayer emphasizes Islam’s teaching that every Muslim should remember God everyday of his or her life. Zakat, the third pillar, means â€Å"spiritual tithing and almsgiving. † Muslims are enjoined to help the poor by donating part of their annual income to charities of their choice. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for example, channels its contribution through the Islamic Relief Organization which aids people around the world regardless of their religion. Every year, the first Qur’anic revelation is celebrated with a month-long fasting called Ramadan. All able Muslims are required to abstain from â€Å"food, drink, sexual intercourse, and smoking† from dawn to dusk. Although fasting during Ramadan is an obligation, fasting, per se, is advised from time to time because it provides an individual with â€Å"a Transparent Soul to Transcend, a Clear Mind to think and a Light Body to move and act. † The last Pillar – the hajj – is a pilgrimage which is expected of every Muslim who is financially and physically capable even only once during their lifetime. Their pilgrimage destination is Mecca, where their holiest sanctuary, the Ka’bah, is located. (Fisher. 2005. Islam) Muhammad, whose name was taken from the Arabic word hamada which means â€Å"to praise, to glorify,† was born in Mecca, Western Arabia, in 570 CE to Abd bin Al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb. (Kikim Media. n. d. ) His parents were believed to be descendants of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian slave who mothered Abraham’s son, Ishmael. The story goes that Abraham fled to Mecca with Hagar and Ishmael after his wife, Sarah, also gave birth to a baby boy (Isaac) and became extremely jealous of Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham later built the Ka’bah, Islam’s holiest sanctuary and now the destination of pilgrims during the hajj, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, with the assistance of his son, Ishmael. (Fisher. 2005. Islam) The birth, life, and death of Muhammad impacted the world of Islam differently. His birth in 570 CE also signaled the rebirth of Islam which sank into obscurity for centuries when the people of Mecca rejected Abraham’s monotheistic Qur’an religion. His life as a preacher which began three years after the start of the revelations resulted to a rejuvenated Muslim world. The flight of the Muslims to Medina (or the hijrah) which he orchestrated in order for them to escape persecution from the hands of the Qurayshites of Mecca was what strengthened Islam as soon as they had settled in Medina. This later enabled them to raise a strong army to capture Mecca from the Qurayshites. However, while he re-established Mecca as the holy sanctuary of Islam, Muhammad himself chose to live in Medina. While his birth signaled the rebirth of Islam and his life rejuvenated their religion, his death in 632 CE in Medina caused a split in the Muslim world between what we now call the Shi’a and Sunni Muslims because of the issue of succession. Most of the surviving Muslims believed that although Muhammad was able to tell his followers what to do after his death, he failed to appoint his successor. Thus, the majority decided to settle the issue of succession by election. However, there was a minority group who insisted that it was not true that Muhammad did not name his successor because of a report that some weeks before he died, Muhammad held his son-in-law ‘Ali’s hand and uttered the following words: â€Å"Whoever I protect, ‘Ali is also his protector. O God, be a friend to whoever is his friend and an enemy to whoever is his enemy. † (Fisher. 2005. Islam, p. 380) The issue of succession was ultimately decided according to the wishes of the majority – by election – but the two factions have never reconciled up to this day. The Shi’a Muslims now form the majority faction in Iran, while the Sunnis are the majority in â€Å"Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, northern African countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union, and Indonesia. † (page 378) Their place of worship is called a mosque. When I interviewed Bonsan Go, a student from Indonesia, he described a basic mosque as A square building with a small box-type space in front which serves as an extension. It has a dome on the center-top of the main building and a turret or a small ornamented tower or a tower-shaped projection on another building. Inside, you will fine a division (usually a length of fabric) which separates men from the women. There are no tables, chairs, or figurines inside the mosque. I thought, maybe, Mr. Go described a traditional mosque which used to be an Islamic architecture with a dome and one or two minarets. However, the more recent ones especially those constructed in the United States have chosen to go without the dome and the minarets. The more modern mosques have also done away with the curtain-like division which separates the men from the women. I have located one such mosque in Urbana, Illinois. A photo of this mosque is shown below: This is the Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center at 106 S. Lincoln, Urbana, Illinois. It is unmistakably an Islamic architecture with the arches found in front, but without the dome and minarets of olden mosques. Their website (http://www. prairienet. org/cimic/) announces that the mosque holds congregational prayers five times during the day, the first session being at 5:45 in the morning and the last at 7:30 in the evening. The center also offers Arabic classes and is open to visitors any day. CIMIC Newsletter is published bimonthly. In my interview with Bonsan Go, I was able to gain some insights on how a lay Muslim understands and practices Islam. About the hajj, Mr. Go describes it as the â€Å"symbol of unity between the Muslim Ummah and the Oneness of Mankind. † According to him, this has to be done at least once in a lifetime and is very important because it is one of the five pillars of Islam. He said that the hajj is obligatory for all Muslims who can afford it financially and physically. It is also important that the money spent for the hajj comes from hard work and not from corruption. He also talked about the Sunnis and Shi’ites. He described the Sunnis as following the teachings of Muhammad, imitating his every actions and words while the Shi’ites believe that Hadhrat Ali was the real successor to Muhammad because he belonged to the family of Muhammad. He further said that the Shi’ites call their leader an imam while the Sunnis call their leader a caliph, just like they do in Indonesia where the great majority of the Muslims are Sunnis. On the question of marriage, he said that a Muslim is not obliged to have several wives. However, once a man decides to do so, he can only marry as much as four times and he is required to treat all of them equally and see to it that all his wives maintain harmonious relationships all around. The Muslims, according Mr. Go, have never worshipped Muhammad. It is Allah that they give praise to. He considers it very disturbing that most people tend to equate the position of Muhammad with the one who created him. He said that to worship Muhammad instead of Allah is considered a great sin in Islam. On jihad, this was what he said: â€Å"Jihad is not a declaration of war against the enemies of Islam but a striving and a struggle in the path of God. Commitment to God involves commitment to sacrifice one’s time, energy and wealth to promote the right cause. It may be necessary at times to give one’s life in order to preserve TRUTH. † Before we parted ways, he told me that he is deeply saddened by the war on terror being waged by the United States and is targeted at Muslims. He said that the U. S. government has categorized all Muslims as terrorists and as such, must not be trusted. He said that the claim that Islam, as a religion, supports the activities of terrorists is definitely not true because even a Muslim like him hates terrorists. In the study of the beliefs and teachings of Islam and Christianity, Fisher (2005) has shown us the similarities between the two religions. They are both monotheistic, they have their own prophets (Jesus and Muhammad), and both religions trace their roots to Abraham. Islam and Christianity teach their followers to treat their fellowmen with fairness and both religions profess anti-violence sentiments. The Muslims are making this especially clear at every opportunity, enough reason for them to feel very badly towards the U. S. -led anti-terror war. The central beliefs of Islam are also very identical to the central beliefs of Christianity: they both believe in the brotherhood of men, in the angels, saints, even in Satan, and in the Last Judgment. If a split occurred between the Shi’a and Sunni Muslims after the death of Muhammad, a great schism likewise rocked the Christian world when the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Church parted ways in 1054. Sadly, however, Fisher has also shown us that both Islam and Christianity have chosen the options of wars of aggression and occupations during the early days for the purpose of spreading their doctrines and widen their spheres of influence. (Fisher. 2005. Christianity; Islam) However, if Fisher (2005) has shown that Islam and Christianity have many similarities, they also differ in some aspects. The first difference is rather basic. While Islam revolves around Allah as its God and only authority, Christianity, as a faith, is based â€Å"on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. † Muslims disagree with Christians in this regard. They do not believe that Jesus is a son of God. To them, Jesus, like Muhammad, was only a prophet and messenger of God. Another glaring difference between the two religions occurred in connection with the death of Jesus and Muhammad. While Muhammad died peacefully in his bed because of some illness, his death divided the Muslim world into the Shi’a and the Sunni Muslims. Jesus, on the other hand, died a violent death (he was tortured and crucified), but his death strengthened and unified his people. (Fisher. 2005. Christianity; Islam). References Almuslimin. org. (n. d. ). Who Is Muhammad? (Retrieved March 9, 2007 from:http://drupalmalaysia. org/Islam/Muhammad) CIMIC. (n. d. ). Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center. (Retrieved March 5, 2007 from: http://www. prairienet. org/cimic/) Fisher, M. P. (2005). Christianity. Living Religions, Sixth Edition (pp. 284-361). Prentice-Hall. Fisher, M. P. (2005). Islam. Living Religions, Sixth Edition (pp, 362-416). Prentice-Hall. Kikim Media. (n. d. ). The Life of Muhammad. (Retrieved March 5, 2007 from: http://www. pbs. org/muhammad/timeline. html. shtml) Yusuf, S. H. (n. d. ). A Time for Introspection. (Retrieved March 9, 2007 from: http://www. masud. co. uk/ISLAM/misc/shhamza_sep11. htm) .