Deviance & Control in a Feature Film `Boyz n the Hood`

Deviance is a variation from the norm. Everything from picking boogers in public to murdering somebody is considering an act of deviance. There are many theories of deviation and the film Boyz in the Hood and it provides a good base for understanding and providing real life examples concerning deviant behavior. The major issues apparent in the film are concerning the control and labeling theory which gives insight into the characters lives. Boyz N the Hood provides many examples of the deviance and control theories.Deviance in statistics is the variations in what the outcomes are supposed to be. In sociology a deviant is a person who isn’t what he should normally be. Any variation from social, cultural or religious norms can be deviation. â€Å"In a recent book about deviance, Douglas (1984) has identified rape, homosexuality and terrorism as major categories of deviance today, and his choice of these highlights a recurrent concern among sociologists to link an analysis of de viance with that of particular forms of sexual and violent behavior.Indeed, a quick glance through the contents of any book dealing with deviance is likely to reveal an interest in making sense of forms of sexual behavior as diverse as prostitution, child abuse, homosexuality, transexualism and extra-marital sexual activity. Similarly with respect to violence, interest has been shown in gang violence, rape, juvenile delinquency, football hooliganism and acts of terrorism. To this list of concerns, however, should be added studies looking at less spectacular forms of deviances such as alcohol dependence, childlessness, stuttering, and solvent use† (Aggleton 1-2)Many of these deviations are portrayed in the movie. The most significant ones relate to crime, murder, sex, and alcohol and drug abuse. A lot less spectacular forms of deviation are also apparent in the movie. One example of this is when Ricky urinates in one of the alleys right before his death. By studying this film c losely a lot of deviant behaviors can be pointed at easily. â€Å"John Singleton’s 1991 film Boyz N the Hood in the context on American sub cultural deviance theories†¦ presents aspects of many of the major theories of deviance (labeling, strain, social control, and differential association).(Leblanc, 1998, p. 64) The major characters Tre, tre’s father, Ricky and Doughboy represent different forms of deviance and control. Tre’s father is a controller because he continuously tells everyone around him to start thinking. Tre is different than the other people in the neighborhood because his father has raised him differently. The dad tries to instill good values in his son so he can succeed and not conform to the deviant norms of his surroundings. Tre’s dad is also active in social control. In one scene after the SAT exam Tre’s dad takes Tre and Ricky out to see something.He brings them to a billboard in the neighborhood and asks the two boys wha t they understand from it. While he explains to them what gentrification a small crowd starts to surround his sermon like speech. He says, â€Å"They want us to kill ourselves†¦ the best way you can destroy a people you take their ability to reproduce themselves. † This reflects the opening lines of the movie and the death toll concerning African Americans. â€Å"One of out of every twenty-one Black males will be murdered in their lifetime†¦most will die at the hands of another Black male.† The dad wants the people in the neighborhood to stop killing each other because â€Å"you’re doing exactly what they want you to do, you have to think†¦ about your future. † This reflects the control theory and how the dad manages to keep a strong relationship with his son. The control theory states that the closer people are to each other and the stronger their bonds they will be less likely to deviate. Continuously throughout the movie the dad talks to his son about everything and tries to teach him along the way. Another example in the movie is when the dad gives him advice about not having children at a young age.He says that any guy can a have a child but raising one makes him a man. Also after the SAT exam the dad tells the boys how the exam is biased and math is the only section that is universally unbiased in the exam. The father son relationship is not there when it comes to Tre’s friends. Ricky and Doughboy are half brothers and there father is never around. Doughboy is the deviant in the family whereas Ricky tries to stay away from trouble. The control theory states that people who have stronger bonds are less like to deviate compared to people who have weaker bonds.The boys’ behavior and their future can be observed and analyzed by both the control theory and the labeling theory. When their lives are analyzed according to the labeling theory it is easy to see why the two brothers act in a specific way. â⠂¬Å"The labeling theory states that of people are called something or told who they are often enough shall begin to act in that manner. † (Leblanc, 1998, p. 64) For example, if a child is labeled a bully in school even if he has done the act one and continues to be called a bully it is quite likely that he will try to or conform to the label that has been given to him.On the other hand if a person is told that they can excel over and over again they will most like live up to those expectations. In the movie this contrast is observed between Ricky and Doughboy. Their mother continuously puts Doughboy down and praises Ricky. â€Å"You ain’t shit, you don’t do shit, and you ain’t never going to amount to shit,† is one of the remarks passed by the mother to Doughboy. When we observe the first half of the movie which depicts the boys childhood it is apparent that Doughboy was not always a deviant. When the boys in the hood, pun intended, take away Rickyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s football Doughboy is appalled.The child simply wants his brother to have his ball back. He stands up for his brother and he gets beaten up. Because of his personality type he gets into trouble. Eventually his mother starts putting him down because he is continuously getting into trouble. â€Å"The labeling theory suggests that this would explain why he was in jail most of his life, deals drugs, kills people, and is eventually murdered in the end of the movie. This theory also suggests that the encouragement of his mother led Ricky to become a football star and receive a scholarship to USC. † (Leblanc, 1998, p.64)In the end of the movie, Ricky dies when other guys from the neighborhood shoot him and Doughboy dies two weeks after avenging his brother’s death. The assumption can be made that Doughboy was murdered by the people connected to his brother’s murderers. When he is young he gets into trouble and starts going down a slippery slope because he defen ds his brother and when he gets old he dies trying to avenge his brother’s death. When the lives of Ricky and Doughboy are observed according to the control theory we can have an even better understanding of why Ricky is the polar opposite of his brother.The control theory talks about the affect of strong bonds between people. Ever since Ricky is little he has had a stronger bond with the people around him. Although both the boys’ fathers’ are never present Ricky has a football that his father gave to him. When they grow up Ricky has a stronger bond with his mom and his mom favors him more. Ricky also has a girlfriend who lives in his house and a son. Ricky has reasons to not deviate. Although his premarital sexual relationship and having a child before marriage is a type of deviation he does not conform to the deviations that his brother does.At the end of the movie when Ricky is dead and Doughboy is talking to Tre he says that he has no one, no brother and no mom. He says that his mom never loved him and it was all about Tre. Doughboy and his weak bonds with the people around him led him to deviate more often. Both the labeling theory and the control theory help us understand the lives of the brothers and how they behaved. Tre’s father is one of the controllers in the movie and his portrayal of a Black man who thinks is presented respectfully. He continuously teaches his son to think and stay away from deviant behavior.After Ricky’s death he explains to Tre that he should not go out to seek revenge because that is exactly what the system is designed to do. He tells his son that if he wants to shoot a man he should shoot his dad first and that it is too stupid to loose Tre over a stupid battle. His message to Tre and everyone else has always been to stop killing each other and pursue a life that is better. With his guidance Tre is one of the characters that is alive at the end of the movie and goes to college. Although Ricky gets accepted and has a scholarship he dies before he can even embark upon the opportunity.The other controller is Tre’s mother. Ever since he was young he has taught him to stick to his word and that there would be consequences if he wouldn’t. He ends up living with is father because he has gotten into a fight at school and his acts have been a breech of contract with his mom. When we compare Tre’s and Doughboy’s childhood they were both involved in confrontations and physical fights as young children. The only thing different was that Tre had a set of parents who were controllers and instilled strong bonds with each other. The police officer is also a controller in the movie except he presented cynically.He believes that everyone in the neighborhood is a deviant and should die. When he comes to Tre’s house after a break in he tells them that the burglar should have been shot and that he shouldn’t have gotten away. He is extremely cynical and does not believe in the betterment of the people in the neighborhood. When Tre is older he is pulled over by the same police officer although he hasn’t broken the law. The officer pulls him over out of spite and just to see if he has been drinking, possesses any drugs or weapons. There are many acts of neutralization present in the movie when the deviants try to justify their behavior.At the sermon in front of the billboard that Tre’s dad gives about people killing themselves over stupid things and conforming to the system a few guys listening in try to defend their actions. They say that if someone â€Å"messes with them† or causes any trouble they are not going to tolerate anything and take action. They say that they will not tolerate any sort of misconduct or even an attitude problem and resort to killing if they need to. This is later reflected in the movie when Ricky gets murdered over an argument. At a party he gets shoved in the arm so he starts yelli ng at the other guys.Those guys are scared away initially by Doughboys gun but then they come back to kill Ricky. This shows that whatever Tre’s dad says has a lot of truth to it and that when a deviant deviates he doesn’t see it as a deviation. He sees it as an act of neutralization. He is simply standing up for himself and defending him self. He is simply justifying his cause. The quality of a deviant is that he fights back each time. Every little thing such as the role of an eye or an argument is reason enough to kill someone. Sometimes people deviate intentionally because they want to prove people wrong.Sometimes people deviate because they are living up to their labels. Sometimes people deviate because they don’t know any better. Tre’s insistence on having sec with his Catholic girlfriend can be considered deviant behavior because he is going against what his parents have told him. His girlfriend gets angry with him but he does not resort to further deviations. Doughboy gets labeled a deviant from an early age but he never fights back to clear the misconception. He continuously involves himself in activities that live upto his reputation.This film seeks to normalize society. The message at the end of the movie is to stop and to create peace. The movie shows a real life depiction of what happens in the hood and how it hurts everyone living in it. It sheds light on how their behavior is affecting them negatively. They show all aspects of particular societal trends in order to create awareness among the people. The movie asks questions about traditional ways of controlling a form of deviance when it highlights the role of the police officer and the kids who try to fight deviance.The police officer just wants to kill everybody and is an extreme cynic and Ricky believes that the only way to stop another deviant is by acting the same way with him. The police officer hopes that the guy who broke in the house should have been dead and that everyone on the street is a gangster. All throughout the movie deviant behavior can be clearly spotted. The only way to normalize deviant behavior is to understand why it happens and how it happens. Young kids like Ricky all over the world end up committing crimes because of the weak bonds they have.They end up deviating from societal norms because they have been labeled a specific way. They already have a reputation and they feel that they cannot get away from it. They accept what society has labeled them and give into the norms of deviation. Kids who have stronger bonds with family and society on the other hand can easily breakaway from any childhood delinquencies they were a part of like Tre. People should understand that the labeling theory is not always negative and that it can be used to boost people’s morale and have positive outcomes.This happened for Ricky because of the continuous support from his mom but in the end he did not live to see any of it. This is why the control theory should be implanted along with the labeling theory in a positive way. When people realize the roots of the problem only then will they be able to fix it. The movie is a message to all the people of America to realize what happens in the certain neighborhoods and how to eradicate the problem. The message is to stop killing each other and to promote peace. References Aggleton, P. (1987). Deviance. Society now. London: Tavistock. Leblanc, Lauraine (1998, January). Observing Reel Life: Using Feature Films to Teach Ethnographic Methods. Teaching Sociology, 1, Retrieved June 16, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/stable/1318681?seq=3 Singleton, J (1990). Boyz N the Hood. (movie)   

A Research Paper Shoplifting and Senior Citizens Essay

Background and Overview Shoplifting commonly occurs when an item is taken away from a retail or merchandise store by a visitor without the intent of paying for it. The offence under the Criminal Justice System falls under larceny/ theft and is punishable with various degrees of severity that can also include imprisonment for short terms. Shoplifting has always been seen as a serious social problem affecting mostly all grades of society and does not differentiate between sexes, age, income groups, race or cultures. As such because of the universality of the phenomenon it is sometimes associated with Kleptomania, a mental disorder which â€Å"involves a failure to resist impulses to steal items that are not needed or sought for personal use or monetary value†. However, in most cases shoplifting is deliberate, pre-planned and committed for monetary gain and is very different from Kleptomania. Shoplifting occurs among all age groups and becomes an extremely sensitive issue when it involves senior citizens, elderly people who are above sixty. The issue of elderly shoplifting is assuming graver proportions all over the world as birth rates decline and longevity increases. It is open to debate and research whether elderly shoplifting is increasing only because people with criminal tendencies are becoming older or whether other social issues contribute towards this phenomenon. This phenomenon is not restricted to the United States or Europe. Even in Japan, the number of elderly inmates in prisons is increasing and a significant proportion of the convictions are due to shoplifting.   The researcher developed an interest in the subject from reading a number of magazine and journal articles in the widely read popular press. Articles in the media take up the shoplifting issue mainly from the point of sensationalism and concentrate on the human interest angle, focusing on greed, act, retribution and shame. A growing interest in the subject led the researcher to read a few books on the subject and to the decision to study the social problem. Within the broad ambit of the issue, which of course has an extensive canvas, there was the need to develop a specific focus. A more detailed socio-cultural investigation drew the attention of the researcher to the problem of elderly shoplifters and the decision to investigate the reasons which could lead them to commit these petty criminal acts. Definition of Problem While the increase in shoplifting amongst elderly citizens is recognised as a matter of considerable concern very little investigative work has been conducted until now on the reason behind the phenomenon and the various corrective steps that may need to be taken to remedy the situation. A significant amount of research has been conducted on Kleptomania because of its classification as a mental disorder and there are determined treatments by way of medication and counselling to treat the patient. A number of articles have appeared in magazines and journals with regard to the seriousness of the problem. Some of these articles are written from a sociological angle but most treat the issue with salaciousness, especially if celebrities are involved. While the social science literature is rather modest, considerable public attention has been devoted to shoplifting. Articles on shoplifting appear regularly in mass media magazines and newspapers (e.g., Tooley, 1989; Tsiantar, 1989). They frequently highlight the seriousness of the problem, famous personalities apprehended for shoplifting (e.g., beauty queens, politicians, and other celebrities), or interesting types of shoplifters (e.g., middle-class housewives or the elderly). Moralistic themes are often developed, showing how lives have been traumatized by the embarrassment of a shoplifting arrest (Klemke, 1992, p. 3) While literature is available on the subject, very little research work has been carried out into shoplifting, per se, leave alone elderly shoplifting, and a number of questions still need to be answered on its causes as well as its effects. The problem of elderly shoplifting has not been investigated at length and in depth and is for social scientists and the criminal justice system a dilemma that needs to be tackled. Research Questions The researcher thus, will focus, during the Literature Review and the conduct of the assignment on obtaining answers to the following research questions. Are shoplifting acts caused by Kleptomania or any other mental disorders? What could be the different reasons behind the commitment of a shoplifting crime? Should shoplifting be treated on par with larceny and theft by the criminal justice system? How much is the involvement of elderly citizens in shoplifting episodes? Should elderly citizens be treated in a manner similar to younger age groups by the criminal justice system? What can be done to reduce the incidence of shoplifting by the social and legal system? The research assignment proposes to focus on the listed questions and through a structured and determined research methodologies arrive at findings that will lend themselves to analysis and conclusions. Purpose of Study Shoplifting is a serious social problem which appears to be increasing and, apart from being simple acts of minor crime, could be symptomatic of different social problems. The increasing incidence of elderly citizens involving themselves in shoplifting makes it an even more grim issue for study and adoption of corrective measures. The researcher hopes that the study will be able to investigate the issue in depth and come to findings and conclusions that will throw light on the basic reasons behind elderly shoplifting and thus succeed in illuminating the issue and possibly in being able to provide an original and interesting perspective to one of today’s extremely vexing and contentious dilemmas. At the cost of appearing presumptuous some of the solutions recommended may be worthy of implementation at the social level or be taken up for consideration by the criminal justice system. Research Methodology Data Analysis Methods This research assignment attempts to investigate the issues laid out in the section on Research Questions (in Page 5 of this proposal), namely the reasons behind the increase in episodes of shoplifting and possible solutions that will help to resolve this vexing social problem. The issue at hand deals with an increasingly traumatic global problem that today affects the societies of developed countries and could tomorrow, spread to the rest of the world. The appropriate research methodology for the purpose of this assignment needs to take care of the facts discussed until now and be tailored accordingly. An article on â€Å"Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Social Marketing Research† by Nedra Kline Weinrich, first published in 1996 details a methodology, wherein a balanced and well thought out mix of quantitative and qualitative research techniques could well be the most appropriate methodology for conducting this assignment   In the subject assignment the researcher feels that rigorous quantitative research surveys may not necessarily provide all of the data needed for proper analysis. An examination of the quantitative and qualitative paradigms will help to identify their strengths and weaknesses and how their divergent approaches can complement each other. In most cases, researchers fall into one of the two camps, either relying exclusively upon â€Å"objective† survey questionnaires and statistical analyses and eschewing warm and fuzzy qualitative methods, or using only qualitative methodologies, rejecting the quantitative approach as decontextualizing human behavior. However, it is widely accepted that each approach has positive attributes and that combining different methods, if handled properly, can result in the best of both techniques. (Weinrich, 1996) Research techniques used for quantitative analysis aim to achieve objective results and eschew subjective interpretation. The respondents are generally selected through random sampling in a statistical manner aimed at achieving a response from the selected sample, which will be representative of the total population. The research methodology pays much greater stress on the technique used and the basic premise on which the technique rests assumes that the quality of the researcher is independent of the results, his or her function being restricted to the following of guidelines. Weinrich postulates that while this technique is effective in a number of cases and is widely used, it suffers from an inherent danger of missing the finer nuances of an investigation and frequently leads to misleading results that are not supported by the future behaviour of the investigated population. As such, while this mode of research may be statistically sound, it could also be the reason behind the oft-quoted truth â€Å"lies, damned lies and statistics† Qualitative research methods are vastly different and concentrate on working with smaller groups known as focus groups. These focus groups are selected with great care but later subjected to intensive questioning and interviewing by trained researchers who are very well versed in qualitative techniques. It is the job of these researchers to ensure that their respondents are able to provide them with subjective and interpretative data, which would have never come out with quantitative techniques. The information tends to be much more detailed, full of nuances and give the investigation a holistic result, which is invaluable in assessing outcomes. A number of researchers believe that qualitative and quantitative researches are but two sides of the same coin and members of the same continuum. Qualitative research methodologies are designed to provide the researcher with the perspective of target audience members through immersion in a culture or situation and direct interaction with the people under study. Qualitative methods include observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups. These methods are designed to help researchers understand the complexity of social and organizational phenomena and elucidate mental processes underlying behaviors. Hypotheses are generated during data collection and analysis, and measurements tend to be subjective. In the qualitative paradigm, the researcher becomes the instrument of data collection, and results may vary greatly depending upon who conducts the research. There are however some techniques wherein it is possible to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods in research.   In the first approach, qualitative methods contribute to the development of quantitative instruments, such as the use of focus groups in questionnaire construction. The second model consists of a primarily quantitative study that uses qualitative results to help interpret or explain the quantitative findings. In the third approach, quantitative results help interpret predominantly qualitative findings, as when focus group participants are asked to fill out survey questionnaires at the session. In the fourth model, the two methodologies are used equally, in parallel to cross-validate, and build upon each other’s results. †¦ may operate under one or more of these models; the approaches are not mutually exclusive. (Weinreich, 1996) Choice of Information Source The choice of material to be used for the research assignment also needs decision and quantification. In this case, the researcher proposes to use both primary and secondary sources of information for compilation of data. Primary sources used will be derived from the information available publicly and information gathered by the researcher. Public material includes governmental notifications, texts of legal acts and statutes and original company websites of organizations providing tourism services.   The researcher has also depended on questionnaires from respondents chosen from within the contact resource base of the researcher. Secondary sources will include information available from texts, journals and magazines as well as information available on the internet. Population and Sampling The research methodology will focus on an investigative study of the data sources proposed to be researched as well as the texts intended for review in the Literature Review. The literature has been chosen with care and will be studied extensively. The researcher has explained the reasons behind the choice of techniques, a carefully thought out mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques and the choice of source of information, in this case both primary and secondary. In addition to all the secondary sources listed in the references and bibliography it is proposed to conduct a detailed survey of persons whose occupations put them in close contact with elderly shop lifters. It is proposed to restrict the primary research to policemen and departmental store security personnel, people who are generally the first to come in contact with elderly shoplifters after they are apprehended and who are the first to study their reactions. The researcher wished to investigate shoplifters directly but feels that it will be an extremely difficult task to locate and   obtain primary information from them. It is with regret that this route of investigation is not being considered in the course of this research study. The respondents will be chosen with the help pf the local police department and with the help of three major departmental stores. Structured questionnaires, detailed in Appendix A will be sent to ten policemen with experience of shoplifting episodes and to ten members of the internal security departments of three major departmental stores. It is anticipated that full twenty responses will be obtained as the researcher proposes to approach the respondents through senior officers of the police force and through the managements of department stores. The senior officers of the police force and store managers will be approached with letters of accreditation from the university authorities and the researcher is sure of receiving their cooperation, once the reasons for the research are explained to them. Data Collection Methods The purpose of research and material available from secondary sources has been used as the base for developing the questionnaire. The questions have been prepared on the multiple choice format asking the respondent to choose the most suitable answer from a set of responses. This will enable the researcher to obtain the categorical response of a â€Å"closed end† question yet allow the respondent a choice. The questionnaires will be sent by e mail to the respondents with detailed instructions on completing the questionnaires. All respondents will be assured of total privacy and questionnaires will be numbered numerically and not by name of respondent. All completed questionnaires will first be tabulated on excel spreadsheets and subsequently presented in a simple table format. Once the tabulation is completed and checked thoroughly the spreadsheets will be erased to have only one representation of primary data. Literature Review It is used to make substantial use of secondary material in the form of texts, journals and magazine articles as well as internet sources for purposes of data availability, analysis and investigation. Online libraries like Questia and other databases are already being used liberally and their extensive use in future during the course of the research is envisaged.. All sources used, cited in text or not have been arranged in the bibliography. The researcher prefers to take up topics for discussion sequentially and use inputs from a number of sources rather than deal with the sources and their authors separately for the sake of logical progression of ideas and cohesion of thought. The researcher has practically no first hand experience of shoplifting, no personal acquaintance with shoplifters and no close firsthand experience of shoplifting episodes. The interest in shoplifting was first generated by the books â€Å"The Sociology of Shoplifting: Boosters and Snitches† by Lloyd Klemke and â€Å"When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle-Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store† by Elaine S. Abelson. Both of these books are extremely informative try to look at the problem in totality. Abelson makes the point that shoplifting is not a contemporary phenomenon but has existed from the time huge stores started opening in the USA. Shoplifting was a regular phenomenon and when indulged in by women from the upper classes were defined as a mental disorder with many physicians taking up the case of kleptomaniacs. In fact the word â€Å"klepto† became a much used expression to describe people with the knack for picking up small items from here and there. The shops slowly became larger and larger providing temptation on a never before scale and gave rise to a social problem that would remain and increase through the years.   the excitement, the sensory stimulation, the profusion of goods, the crowds, the unnerving, often illusory, ambience that the large department stores still evoke. As the great bazaars became both magnet and danger to numbers of middleclass women, the shoplifter emerged as a significant social and medical problem. (Abelson, 1992, p. 5) Over time the image of kleptomania as a specific female disease weakened with the emergence of Freudian thought but the association continued for many years. It is only in recent years, however, that the connection of shoplifting and women has been eradicated completely. with the emergence of a new scientific language, the terms of debate changed. The biological image of a specifically female disease gave way to Freudian psychiatry. In this new language, as in the old, women still provided the model of the shoplifter as patient; even though men as well as women, adolescents as well as the elderly, made up the army of casual shoplifters. Only in recent decades has the singular association of shoplifting and women weakened. (Abelson, 1992, p. 197) On another tack, the books proposed to be studied in the literature review have tried to categorize deviant behavior into different categories. Mary Owen Cameron (1964) attempted to classify shoplifters using the patois of her time into boosters and snitchers. These are the â€Å"boosters,† who are professional shoplifters, and the â€Å"snitches,† who are amateur shoplifters. The most important difference is that boosters steal merchandise to sell, whereas snitches steal merchandise for their own use. Boosters are further divided into â€Å"heels,† who specialize in shoplifting, and â€Å"ordinary† boosters, who engage in shoplifting as just one of their many forms of illicit activity. The latter are frequently involved in prostitution, narcotics addiction, and alcoholism, and they shoplift to support their habits. (Klemke, 1992, p. 70) Apart from tracing the causes and reasons for shoplifting, the breadth of this investigation makes it necessary to obtain information about elderly shoplifters. There is very little information available on elderly shoplifters in the detailed texts available and most such information needs to be accessed from contemporary articles in magazines and journals, some of which are available on the internet. There is common consensus in the fact that shoplifting among the elderly has been growing for more than a decade and has become a serious matter of concern. The reasons for shoplifting appear to vary from depression to real need to simple momentary greed. Several studies have found diagnosed depression to exist in approximately 1/3 of the shoplifters studied. Depression was the most frequently found physiological problem. This helps to explain why so many shoplifters steal from stores on their birthday and around holiday times. (Berlin, 2006) The other point of concern is the fact that the number of first offences is also growing and more and more of the elderly are giving in to the temptation of pilfering items from departmental stores for the first time in their lives. Psychiatrists believe that, as most elderly shoplifters do not indulge in this sort of petty crime because of financial need the phenomenon may be indicative of psychiatric disorders and should be dealt with accordingly. There is also the theory that changing social conditions and difficulties in coping with increased expenses in old age leads some people to take up small crimes like shoplifting. The elderly are not only victims of crime, they are also perpetrators, particularly in the crime of shoplifting. The loss of income at retirement and the social isolation of the elderly are contributing factors in their involvement in theft. The raising of the compulsory retirement age and preretirement counselling could do much to relieve the elderly’s sense of desperation that often leads to crime. Public services that inform the elderly about crime prevention measures and provide victim services could do much to relieve the debilitating consequences of crime against the elderly. The elderly themselves could organize to attack their common problems. One activity they might undertake is ‘court watching,’ which involves monitoring how the elderly are treated by the courts as both victims and offenders. (Moak, Zimmer, Elliot, 1988) The researcher will study the literature available from a number of angles, chiefly the historical development of shoplifting, the increase in elderly involvement, the chief reasons for shoplifting, psychiatric responses to the issue, the role of counselling, the provisions of the criminal justice system and common punitive action. The bibliography contains a listing of a number of texts to be used for the literature review. This list is by no means exhaustive and additional books will certainly be used if they are relevant and become available. Analysis The researcher proposes tu use data from primary and secondary sources to arrive at findings for analysis and conclusions. Primary data, apart from questionnaires from respondents in the police force and security departments of departmental sources will be obtained from various legal and governmental websites. Secondary data, as stated earlier will be obtained from the various texts studied for the literature review. Once the data has been collected and collated in an Excel spreadsheet it will be analysed for responses and the data from all the questionnaires will be merged into tabulated formats that will give composite pictures of the responses from the primary population sample. Tabulations will need to be done separately for the responses from the policemen and the store security personnel to see the differences in the perceptions of these two different groups. It is important to understand that the analysis will need to be done with reference to the Research Questions. The responses from the secondary data and the primary data will need to be related to each Research Question separately and it will need to be assessed whether there are any contradictions between the secondary data, the different primary data sources and the Research Question. Responses in which all sources corroborate each other will obviously be considered to be strong and categorical and will need to be treated as such. A detailed analysis of the data will lead to findings that will determine the outcome of this research. Constraints Constraints, if any could arise in the collection of primary data. Respondents may not return the filled questionnaires or may fill them incorrectly. The researcher proposes to pay great attention to the complete procedure for collection of primary data and will meke sincere efforts to overcome problems and roadblocks, if and when they arise. Appendices Framing of Questionnaire The Questionnaire will be framed in a variation of a multiple choice format, where each question could have a direct response or 3 to 5 choices. In case of MCQs the respondent will need to specify one particular answer so that the best possible choice is forced out of him/her. A sample questionnaire is provided here below. This questionnaire is still open to revision and incorporation of fresh details, if so required. Apart from the questions the questionnaire will also have other administrative details which have been omitted in the preparation of this first sample. How many episodes of shoplifting have you been witness to? A. Less than 5, B. Between 5 and 10, C More than 10 In these episodes of shoplifting what were the numbers of A. Men B.Women C. Juveniles (Less than 18) D. Adults (18 to 60) E. Seniors (>60) In how many of these episodes were charges pressed in court? In how many of the cases were convictions obtained? Is the incidence of shoplifting growing? Yes/No In your perception are more elders indulging in shoplifting? Yes/No What is the most important reason for shoplifting? A. Financial Need B. Impulse Are episodes of shoplifting premeditated or impulsive† A. Premeditated B. Impulsive In your experience, do you feel that people involved in shoplifting come from poorer economic strata? Yes/No In your experience do you feel that people involved in shoplifting suffer from any mental disorder? Yes/No Do you feel that elderly shoplifters should be treated more leniently than the others? Yes/No Do you feel that elderly people are treated more leniently than the others? Yes/No What do you feel is the best way to treat first time elderly offenders? A. Punishment B. Counselling C. Warning D. Combination of the above (Specify) Do you feel that the Criminal Justice System should be stricter with shoplifters? Yes/No Location of respondents It has been decided that the there will be 10 respondents from the police force and ten respondents from the security departments of departmental stores. the researcher will access senior officials of the police force and the three chosen departmental stores. The researcher will write letters to them with the following contents Personal introduction Introduction of academic institution Reference to tutor and Head of Institution Purpose of Study Likely benefits of study Cooperation required Appreciation and gratitude. Despatch of these letters will be followed by personal phone calls, appointments and confirmation of respondents. References Abelson, E. S. (1992). When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle-Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store. New York: Oxford University Press. Arbetter, L. (1993, September). Security Spotlight: Shoplifting Reigns Supreme. Security Management, 37, 16+. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002195097 Berlin, P, (2006), Why do shoplifters steal? Retrieved October 7, 2006 from character-education.info/Articles/shoplifting.htm Collrin, C. B., & Hiew, C. (1983). Preventive Interventions in the Criminal Justice System: a Process Analysis. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 25(3), 319-328. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=95774187 Griffin, R. (1989, December). Why the Temptation?. Security Management, 33, 126+. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002152732 Hiew, C. C. (1981). Prevention of Shoplifting: a Community Action Approach. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 23(1), 57-68. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=95814646 Klemke, L. W. (1992). The Sociology of Shoplifting: Boosters and Snitches Today. Westport, CT: Praeger. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24370606 Moak, G, Zimmer, B and Elliot, M (1988) Clinical perspectives on elderly first time offender shoplifters, Retrieved October 7, 2006 from psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/39/6/648 Sacco, V. F. (1985). Shoplifting Prevention: the Role of Communication-Based Intervention Strategies. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 27(1), 15-30. Weinrich, N.K., (1996) Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Social Marketing Research, Social-Marketing.com, Retrieved October 7, 2006 from www.social-marketing.com/research.html Williams, J, (2002), Pyromania, Kleptomania and other Impulse-Control Disorders, Retrieved October 7, 2006 from www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/kleptomania.htm

Uses of Hris in Recruitment Process

INFORMATION SYTEMS AND RECRUITMENT Among the many definitions of Human Resource Management (HRM), this paper will approach it from a sistemic perspective. That is to say, HRM comprises the whole range of activities from the need to fill a free post to the time when an employee leaves the firm. The first one is the recruitment process, which is divided into three stages: Application, selection and socialization. This paper will leave out the latter, focusing in the use of HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) for the recruitment process until the final appointment decision.Specifically, the first decision to be made by the firm is whether the recruitment will be internal or external. Table 1 shows a comparative between the pros and cons of each type of recruitment. As it can be seen, the internal recruitment has, initially, more advantages than the external. This is why several academics (e. g. Deguy, 1989; Pena Baztan, 1990 and Diez de Castro et al. , 2002) recommend this option whenever it is feasible and suitable. Only in those cases that this is not valid or sufficient, the firm must resort to external recruitment. Nevertheless, it is necessary to keep in mind that this statement is to be taken cautiously.There is no perfect recruitment method; the choice will have to be made considering the particular circumstances of the firm and its objectives. European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) 2006, July 6-7 2006, Costa Blanca, Alicante, Spain J. A. Fernandez-Sanchez et al. Use of HRIS in recruitment process. The Spanish case. 2 Internal recruitment External recruitment advantages disadvantages Advantages disadvantages Low cost Limited offer Higher number of candidates High cost Faster results Interest conflicts Slower Better knowledge of candidates Lack of authority due to excess of trustNo prior knowledge of candidates Shorter socialization period Lack of innovation and new ideas Encourage change and innovation Longer socializati on period Business culture is fortified Business culture may stagnate Encourage modifications in culture Likely cultural shock Increases motivation between employees Likely discontent among non-selected May de-motivate Increases the build up of knowledge Factor for attraction and upkeep of staff Table 1. Internal vs. external recruitment The optimal use of internal recruitment processes requires possessing an updated and accurate knowledge of the personnel of the firm (Leal Millan et al. 1999), for which a HRIS can be used. The simplest and cheapest of them all, most likely, is a human resource inventory (also known as Internal IS): a database or registrar in which the largest amount of information possible is kept. Basic data to be included in this database are the personal details, the recruitment dates, the positions held, promotions, and other observations regarding their performance and potential (Pena Baztan, 1990). Following this, it must be reminded that the internal recruit ment sources are to be employed wisely, because, on occasion, they may lead to deception instead of motivation.Likewise, in order to ensure that all internal and external (if any) applications are considered equally, the former should be complemented with the most complete information available (Besseyre des Horts, 1988). Considering this frame of work, this paper intends to test two main hypotheses on the topic of the use of these recruitment sources from an empirical point of view. On the one hand, regarding the relationship between HRIS and internal recruitment processes: Hypothesis 1: â€Å"The firms that deploy HRIS in their internal recruitment processes will perform better than those who do not do it†.On the other hand, following those authors that recommend internal over external recruitment decisions, the research inquires whether: Hypothesis 2: â€Å"The firms that prefer internal recruitment decisions over external recruitment will perform better than those who do not do it†. Nevertheless, the implications that the assertion or rejection of these statements will not be fully understood unless a descriptive analysis of the presence and usage of business HRIS is carried out. This will be done prior to the actual test of the hypotheses alleged above.European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) 2006, July 6-7 2006, Costa Blanca, Alicante, Spain J. A. Fernandez-Sanchez et al. Use of HRIS in recruitment process. The Spanish case. 3 2 DATA ANALYSIS To study the two hypotheses, along with some descriptive data, a nation-wide empirical research was performed. It was founded on the results of a prior research limited to the province of Alicante (Spain), in which the questionnaire was tested and the model was validated. SCOPE Spain POPULATION 3000 Firms with more than 200 employees SAMPLE 334 valid answers (11,1%)STANDARD ERROR 5,2%1 Table 2. Technical data of the empirical research The T test, used to determine the infere nce of the observations, concluded that there were no significant differences between the group of firms that did answer and that who did not. Consequently, the data here shown can be considered as valid indicators of the behaviour of the Spanish firms with more than 200 employees. 2. 1 Use of HRIS in the firm: a descriptive analysis Before the two main hypotheses are tested, a complimentary analysis of the findings may lead to a better understanding of the implications of this research.This part of the study will deal with the descriptive analysis of the use of HRIS in the firm. The first dimension to be concerned about is the type of information system implemented by these firms (see Table 3). Traditional (manual) Files Computerised HRIS Management of C. V. online F % V% C% F % V% C% F % V% C% YES 259 77,5 77,5 77,5 165 49,4 49,7 49,7 207 62,0 62,3 62,3 NO 75 22,5 22,5 100,0 167 50,0 50,3 100,0 125 37,4 37,7 100,0 Total 334 100,0 100,0 332 99,4 100,0 332 99,4 100,0 F=Frequency %=P ercentage V%= Valid percentage C%= Cumulative percentage Table 3.Most common applications of HRIS A few facts stand out in table 3. For starters, over two thirds of the firms (77,5%) use manual HRIS, i. e. traditional files. This is likely due to their lower cost and easier handling. As for the most sophisticated systems, this is, the computerised HRIS, barely half of the firms employ them, although this has shown an increasing tendency when compared to the results of the previous experimental research (in early 2004, only a 38,6% of the firms gave an affirmative answer).The motivations underneath this evolution include the sheer necessity to adapt to the requirements of a more complex organization, the desire to imitate those successful firms that had implemented them, or the uprising of more knowledgeable managers in present time businesses, among others. Regarding the deployment of applications for managing C. V. s online (retrieving them and storing the information adequately), it seems easy and useful enough to be accepted by 62% of the organizations. Regarding the use of HRIS in the recruitment policy, table 4 shows that every stage may benefit from them.Even though, their degree of application is inversely related to the timing and the complexity of 1 This error has been calculated for N=3000, assuming p=q and a confidence interval of 95%. European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) 2006, July 6-7 2006, Costa Blanca, Alicante, Spain J. A. Fernandez-Sanchez et al. Use of HRIS in recruitment process. The Spanish case. 4 the task. As it was observed before, more sophisticated HRIS (and, therefore, able to assist in more complex tasks such as decision making processes) are implemented by a smaller number of firms. Reception of pplications Data storage Data retrieval Decision making processes F % V% C% F % V% C% F % V% A% F % V% C% YES 294 88. 0 91. 0 91. 0 285 85. 3 88. 2 88. 2 216 64. 7 66. 9 66. 9 151 42. 2 46. 7 46. 7 NO 29 8. 7 9. 0 100 38 11. 4 11. 8 100 107 32. 0 33. 1 100 172 51. 5 53. 3 100 Total 323 96. 7 100 323 96. 7 100 323 96. 7 100 323 96. 7 100 F=Frequency %=Percentage V%= Valid percentage C%= Cumulative percentage Table 4. Use of HRIS in different recruitment stages In sum, table 5 shows that 36,5% of the firms do use some HRIS application for all four recruitmentrelated tasks, which indicate two conclusions: ) HRIS are not an exclusive tool, but they are seldom used in combination with other methods; and b) These applications are good enough as assistants and support devices, but they will never be able to substitute human criterion. Frequency Cumulative frequency % Valid % Cumulative % 0 14 14 4,2 4,2 4,2 1 28 42 8,4 8,4 12,6 2 80 122 24,0 24,0 36,5 3 90 212 26,9 26,9 63,5 4 122 334 36,5 36,5 100,0 Total* 334 100,0 100,0 *0= no HRIS; 1= HRIS for only one task; 2= HRIS for two tasks; and so on. Table 5. Number of tasks performed through HRISFinally, there was an interest in seeing whether seve ral structural characteristics of these firms were significantly related to the use of HRIS. It can be seen in table 6 that only two classifications are affected by the use of HRIS: parent firms over subsidiaries, and the larger firms. These results respond to the logic that both types of organizations require a more complex structure, which may influence in their decision of relying on HRIS for leaner and more efficient recruitment tasks. VARIABLES CHI-SQUARED DEGREES OF FREEDOM SIGN. Family Business 4,241 4 ,374Parent /subsidiary 19,832 6 ,003 Public/private 1,295 4 ,862 Industry 36,434 28 ,132 % Permanent staff 13,960 12 ,303 Number of employees 28,320 8 ,000 Table 6. Use of HRIS concerning other classification treats European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) 2006, July 6-7 2006, Costa Blanca, Alicante, Spain J. A. Fernandez-Sanchez et al. Use of HRIS in recruitment process. The Spanish case. 5 2. 2 Hypothesis 1: The firms that deploy HRIS in their inte rnal recruitment processes will perform better than those who do not do itThe first hypothesis is tested with the aid of a new variable created for the purpose of measuring whether the firms use internal recruitment methods based on HRIS applications. A Chi-squared test, carried out on the actual results against the null hypothesis, assesses that the actual results are different enough to overcome a certain probability that they are due to sampling error with a statistical significance of 0,045, thus confirming the assertion of hypothesis 1.Hence, it is found that those firms that rely on internal recruitment processes based on HRIS applications have better outcomes in the performance of the appointed person than those who do not. Table 7 shows the observed frequencies and how this fact may affect the overall performance of the recruitment process. Regarding the firms’ impression on the effects of using HRIS to recruit good candidates, the majority of those that implement the m (89,3%) agree in considering this fact â€Å"quite† or â€Å"plenty† beneficial. It is outstanding as well the fact that only one of them has marked this item as â€Å"No beneficial at all†.Perceived outcomes recruitment/ selection No beneficial at all A little Quite Plenty Yes Internal recruitment and HRIS 1 (0. 3%) 31 (10. 3%) 209 (69. 4%) 60 (19. 9%) No 0 (0. 0%) 7 (21. 2%) 25 (75. 8%) 1 (3. 0%) Table 7. Concurrence of HRIS usage and internal recruitment. Effects on recruitment results. In addition, in order to find if the use of HRIS has a positive influence on the outcomes of the recruiting process, another Chi-squared test shows that a relationship is established between the independent variable (Use of HRIS) and the dependent one (Perceived outcomes of the process), with a 0,000 statistical significance.Therefore, it is statically confirmed that a greater application of HRIS contribute in a positive manner to the outcomes of the recruitment process, and , in consequence, to the overall performance of the firm. This evidence agrees, once more, with hypothesis 1. 2. 3 Hypothesis 2: The firms that prefer internal recruitment decisions over external recruitment will perform better than those who do not do itBefore carrying out this test, it seemed necessary to see whether firms prefer internal recruitment techniques over external ones. To do so, a frequency analysis was carried out, as illustrated in table 8. Frequency % Valid % Cumulative % Never 5 1,5 1,6 1,6 Very rarely 11 3,3 3,5 5,1 Rarely 19 5,7 6,1 11,2 Occasionally 62 18,6 19,8 31,0 Frequently 72 21,6 23,0 54,0 Very frequently 77 23,1 24,6 78,6 Always 67 20,1 21,4 100,0 Preference of internal recruitment over external recruitment Total 313 93,7 100,0 Table 8.Preference of internal recruitment over external recruitment The low values of the â€Å"very rarely† and â€Å"never† categories, and the fact that 69% of the firms prefer internal over external recruitment o n a â€Å"frequently† to â€Å"always† basis, demonstrate that it is internal European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) 2006, July 6-7 2006, Costa Blanca, Alicante, Spain J. A. Fernandez-Sanchez et al. Use of HRIS in recruitment process. The Spanish case. 6 recruitment what organizations favour. The reasons under this tendency can be found in the advantages of internal recruitment methods, as seen in the literature review.As for the consequences of this choice, table 9 provides the results of the relationship between the use of internal recruitment by the firms and the perceived degree of satisfaction with the outcomes of such a decision. None Of little satisfaction Moderately satisfactory Satisfactory Very satisfactory Addition of the last two Seldom 0 (0. 0%) 0 (0. 0%) 3 (30. 0%) 6 (60. 0%) 1 (10. 0%) 7 (70. 0%) Occasionally 0 (0,0%) 0 (0,0%) 12 (15,0%) 58 (72,5%) 10 (12,5%) 68 (85,0%) Sometimes 1 (0,8%) 0 (0,0%) 11 (8,7%) 97 (76,4%) 18 (14 ,2%) 115 (90,6%) Often 0 (0,0%) 0 (0,0%) 5 (6,9%) 44 (61,1%) 23 (31,9%) 67 (93,0%) Use of nternal recruitment Always 0 (0,0%) 0 (0,0%) 1 (5,0%) 11 (55,0%) 8 (40,0%) 19 (95,0%) Table 9. Degree of satisfaction with the outcomes of the recruitment process This contingency table indicates that those firms that use primarily internal recruitment processes seem more satisfied with their decision. Moreover, another Chi-squared test carried on these two variables rejects the null hypothesis of independence with a statistical significance of 0,013.Therefore, hypothesis 2 is confirmed, as has been argued by the work of other authors (namely Pfeffer, 1994 and 1998; Huselid, 1995; Delaney and Huselid, 1996; Delery and Doty, 1996) who show a positive relationship between the internal recruitment strategy and the performance of the firm. 3 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The main conclusion of this paper is the realization that the use of business HRIS is in a developing and retrieval. In spite of thi s, it is recognized the positive influence that these systems have in the recruiting process, which make us think that HRIS will gain a place in many organizations in the short and medium term.Regarding the commonest applications of HRIS, our findings indicate that a fairly large percentage of firms rely on these systems for at least one the stages of the recruitment process. Nevertheless, the presence of these applications is scarcer for the most complex and delayed in time tasks, such as decision making processes, because they require, in return, more complex HRIS. This conclusion is therefore reinforced by the findings expressed above, since it is the developing stage of HRIS what leads to this decompensate situation. It was also observed that two groups of organizations lead the HRIS mplementation trend: the parent companies, with regard to their subsidiaries, and the largest firms in terms of number of employees. This seems a logical finding because their more complex structure s may benefit more of the advantages of HRIS to increase the efficiency of their recruiting processes. Besides, HRIS are found to be preferred in combination with other HRM practices, instead of on their own. This reveals that human judgement is still the main criterion for making decisions in this area, albeit assessed or supported by the information provided by the HRIS.As for the main hypotheses tested in this research, internal recruitment is the favourite method for filling in vacant positions within the firms, which confirms the theoretical assumptions that asserted that, even though both internal and recruitment strategies are to be considered, the former is less costly and provides more advantages to the firms. Indeed, the evidence supports that a better performance is expected from the people internally recruited, which in turn will improve the overall business performance.European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS) 2006, July 6-7 2006, Costa Blanca , Alicante, Spain J. A. Fernandez-Sanchez et al. Use of HRIS in recruitment process. The Spanish case. 7 The same can be stated about the synergies caused by the interaction between HRIS and internal recruitment. The business managers, overwhelming, agree in the positive effects that the advantages of the latter, and the better quality information provided by the former, have in the outcomes of the recruitment decisions. Finally, we would like to express our own impression on this topic.It is our belief that HRIS add competitive value to the firm as a whole and to the HRM department specifically. Despite this conviction, shared with many other academics of the field, we have reservations supporting that information systems may endow businesses with a sustainable competitive advantage on their own. Classic strategic information systems benefited from their being the first to arrive, but they soon became a commodity, even a compulsory asset in order to remain in the industry. Their pe rvasive condition may inhibit other firms from developing the strategic changes needed for succeeding in the foreseeable future.

Employment training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

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Drug and Alcohol Abuse on the Police Force Essay

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Higher Education in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Why is knowledge of literary theory important for teachers in their Essay

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A memorandum - Case Study Example mit courts as well as local governments from subjecting religious, religious monitored institutions, clergy as well as their employees into penal acts for refusing to sanctify or recognize marriages that are against their religious doctrines. This law provides freedom to access of all places of public accommodation to persons of divere sexual orientation, religious affiliations, ethnic, cultural and political affiliations. That is, this law guarantees all citizens living in New York the freedom and the right to access all places that have been made public for provision of accommodation services. According to this law the term â€Å"public place of accommodation† includes road houses, inns, taverns, motels and hotels. The public is free to access such facilities whether for purposes of health, food, entertainment and rest. Additionally, this law provides the freedom and rights to the populace of New York to access saloons, parks enclosure and bar rooms where spirituous as well as malt liquors are sold; the public is also able to access ice-cream parlors, soda fountains, confectionaries and all any other facility that has been opened with an intention to provide services and products to the general public. From case provided, taking into consideration the telephone conversation that was recorded by Jennifer McCarthy between Mrs. Gifford and Melisa Erwin, it is indicated that Mrs. Gifford answered Melisa politely that they could not host a lesbian or same sex marriage on the Liberty Farm. This is a fact that could be claimed using the New Marriage Equality Act of 2011. The act hinders any kind of discrimination that may be directed to persons intending to engage in same sex marriage. It is therefore a fact that Mr. and Mrs. Gifford violated the terms of the New York Marriage Equality Act, by specifically asserting that they could not host McCarthy and Melisa’s wedding on their Liberty Ridge Farm on the basis that they were Lesbians. In relation to the New York

What is a professional Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

What is a professional - Essay Example However, training is not adequate definition of a particular profession. Professionals exhibit strict codes of conduct, encompassing strong moral and ethical obligations. As such, there are ethical considerations that every member of a particular profession has to adhere to whenever disseminating their duties and obligations. These act as rules of conduct that members should make sure they comply with at all times. Typically, the professional associations in any particular field set and agree on the professional standards and ethics of standards guiding professionals in that particular field. Every professional must exhibit a number of qualities whenever in their respective fields. Every professional must exhibit high levels of competency, whether on the job or not. Most valuable professionals understand more than just their job; they have adequate knowledge of the industry in which their companies operate and as such have a big picture of the way in which their efforts contribute to the growth of their firms. Professionals are learners who believe that learning is a continuous process that does not end with the award of the certificate. They keep on learning new things, whether in a classroom or at the job. Interpersonal skills are yet another important quality of a professional. Regardless of the skills that an individual has in the field, it is important to have interpersonal skills as lack of these could break their career. Finally, honesty is essential for the success of a particular field. Subsequently, for a person to qualify as a professional, they must exhibit h igh levels of

People as a huge asset Essay Example for Free

People as a huge asset Essay 1.1INTRODUCTION Organisations are made up of people and people are a huge asset to any organization. To be more successful in achieving their goal and objectives; organisations needs to have an understanding about their human assets, their behavior, tendencies, best practice etc..† Leadership is the ability of one person to influence a group of persons toward the achievement of common goals† (Yukl, 1994). Influencing others means that leaders must have an understanding about their behavior, which can only happen when they themselves understand their values, assumptions, beliefs and expectations. Understanding oneself means one must carry out self-assessment/evaluation as this is very important for leaders today. I will be carrying out an assessment about the benefit of self -assessment/evaluation to leaders today and the importance of understanding human behavior in oraganisations. 1.2 DEFINITION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR Human behavior is the way people behave and which can be influence by culture, emotions, attitudes, values, ethics, genetic etc.. Depending on the society and environment, human behavior can either be common, usual, acceptable or unacceptable. Human behavior can either be learnt as we relate to our environment; for example, tying your shoes is a learned behavior or it can be innate which can be inherited through genes. 1.3THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR TO AN ORGANIZATION Organisations depend on the behavior of both individual and teams to achieve their goals and objectives; as such it is very critical for organisations to have thorough understanding of human behavior. Understanding human behavior is a  key to organisational success. Human behavior defines how people work together and relate with one another. Communication being the cornerstone of behavior can only be effective when people understand one another. Interpersonal conflict can be reduced in an organisation once there’s an understanding of human behavior. Behavior can influence negatively on the achievement of an organization’s goals and objectives if not manage well; will lead to poor output and failure. Organisations need to plan their training programme, understanding the behavior of its employees will inform the planning process, thereby ensuring that training needs are effectively met. An effective understanding of the diverse behavior of personnel is important. Evidence has shown that as people get to know one another, they became less concerned about differences if they see themselves as sharing more important characteristics, such as personality and values, that represent deep-level diversity† (Stephen P Robbins Timothy A Judge, Organizational Behavior -15th Editions) A co-operative team that knows how to work with one another can produce better result than those who have problems relating to one another. 1.4 THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR BY LEADERS Organisations need strong leadership to achieve its goals and objectives. An organisation is only as successful as its leadership. Leadership is the ability to influence a group towards the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Individuals or group can only be influence when there’s an understanding of their behavior. Business necessity, enlightenment about differences and moral fortitude have combine to push organisations into hiring a diverse set of employees, as a result managing this diversity has proven to be a challenge to leaders†¦ Leaders can effectively manage this challenge through understanding this diversity. A leader who fails to understand his followers thereby focusing at a very superficial level by commanding others to do their will; is at the bottom of the leadership level. Deeper understanding provides more options, give one more potential tools, and frankly, makes one a powerful leader (Stephen P Robbins Timothy A Judge, Organizational Behavior -15t h Editions). This is a trait of level 5 leadership. â€Å"Understanding the behavior of followers will assist leaders in putting together teams to manage projects and it will also assist in  assigning task to employees in a way that will put to efficient use each member’s strength rather than their weakness â€Å" (www.employment-testing.com) Attempting to influencing individuals without understanding why they behave the way they do, might yield random or unpredictable effect and this will lead to leaders being unsuccessful as followers will be alienated; whereas understanding the personalities of subordinates and superiors informs leaders as to others expectations and provides insights into motivation, competitiveness and interpersonal relationships and communication. 1.5 LEADERSHIP SELF-EVALUATION/SELF-ASSESSMENT As leaders the ability to influence people has to be continuously improved; and the first step in achieving that will be by knowing yourself and gaining understanding of your leadership style, skills, traits, competencies, abilities, personality type and experience. According to Kevin Sharer of AMGEN CEO and president, â€Å"Leadership has many voices. You need to be who you are, not to emulate someone else.† An apt statement as leaders has the responsibility of influencing others in the achievement of goals and objectives; an achievement that will be almost impossible to attain when followers lacks faith in their leader. People normally have faith in authentic leaders as they are leaders who not only know what they believe in and value but also act on that values and beliefs candidly and openly. Most leaders are unaware of the effect their emotional intelligence has on their superiors and subordinates, many a time we blame negative outcome to those around us, all the time bei ng totally blind to the fact that our personality might have had effect on others action. â€Å"Those who use the emotional intelligence framework to guide their thoughts and actions may find it easier to create trust in relationship, harness energy under pressure, and sharpen their ability to make sound decisions-in other words, they increase their potential for success in the workplace†(Jones and Bartlett learning PTT) only by carrying out self-assessment/evaluation will you be able to understand your emotional intelligence and other traits. As leaders one should know what their strength and weaknesses as this will enable them build on their strength and march it to their leadership opportunities, it will also assist in the development of their weaknesses and allows for the  elimination of threats to leadership. 1.6 THE BENEFITS OF SELF- ASSESSMENT/SELF-EVALUATION TO LEADERS TODAY. Most of the benefits of self-assessment have already been discuss above, however some benefits are; A.Develop Emotional Intelligence When taking time to self-reflect you are looking inwards. Self-awareness gives you the ability the ability to understand your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals, and recognize their impact on others you are leading. Being self-aware will aid you in controlling or redirecting your disruptive emotions and impulses and adapt to changing circumstances. Building these emotional intelligence components will improve your leadership. B. ASSISTS IN BECOMING EFFECTIVE LEADER Authentic leaders are clear on their core values, and this will help to strengthen leadership integrity and lead you to better decisions. Understanding your core values will build followers trust in you as a leader and this will make decision making easier as our integrity is often put to the test during stressful and difficult times. C. BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE Confidence is crucial for leaders. It helps in effective communications, decision making, and influence building. People will see you as you see yourself, being aware of your strength as leader will build self-confidence and this will increase team effectiveness.

An Analysis Of A Mergers Profitability

An Analysis Of A Mergers Profitability Abstract Introduction In the last few years we have observed a revived surge in the number of mergers. They are more often observed in countries with better accounting standards. Companies undergo mergers for a number of reasons. The primary reason is the proper allocation of resources and thus, increasing cost efficiency. A small amount of research has been done in the past years analyzing the short and long term effects of mergers in creating value for the companies. It has been seen that most mergers result in failures but not much research has been done in analyzing the reasons behind it. My research would be based on few of the biggest mergers that have taken place in the last few years. Firstly, my analysis of a mergers profitability would be based on standard event study methodology. It would take into account the return to shareholders. Secondly, it would also aim to provide evidence regarding the signalling theory and the synergistic and the agency views. This would be based on an in-depth analys is of various determinants such as the excess returns around the announcement of the merger bid and around the termination of the merger and the significant differences in the responses of firms attempting focusing versus diversifying mergers respectively. Lastly, this would be followed by a thorough analysis of the valuation effects of mergers. There have been varied views but no one conclusion has been reached. I would thus, like to investigate deeper into it 2. Literature Review and Hypotheses Analysis revealed My research concentrates on the effects of a focusing and diversifying merger on the abnormal returns around the announcement period of the merger. The study by Delong (1999) can be seen as an extension to my research. He based his research on evaluating the stock pricing behaviour of the bidder and the target in bank mergers. He further studied the abnormal returns according to the nature of the merger i.e. focusing or diversifying. In my analysis, I take into account only activity focused mergers, whereas Delong (1999) considers mergers which focus on both activity and geography. His results show an enhancement in value of a focusing firm of about 2 % to 3 % as compared to a diversifying firm irrespective of the time period. On investigating further, he found that the relative market size of the target to the bidder and the pre-merger performance of the targets show an apparent relationship with the cumulative abnormal returns so calculated. Wong and Cheung (2009) analyse the changes in the stock prices of the bidding and target firms in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, following a merger or an acquisition announcement. It can be seen from their analysis that such an announcement yields positive results for the bidding firms but does not prove to be very beneficial for the target firms. Their hypotheses considered the consequences of the mode of payment, the type of acquisition and the type of the target firm on the stock pricing. Out of them only the second variable seems to have a direct effect on the post announcement returns of the bidding firm. Huang and Walkling (1987) conducted similar research by extracting a sample of acquisitions from the Wall Street Journal which consisted of all initial front-page acquisition announcements. But this, took into account slightly different variables as compared to the other analyses discussed above. They determined the effect of tender offers vs. mergers; cash offers vs stock offers and resisted offers vs. unresisted offers. Their analysis revealed higher abnormal returns for tender offers which were quite insignificant once the effect of the extent of resistance and the payment type were isolated from it. The deals which faced resistance during a merger or tender offer showed higher abnormal returns irrespective to the mode of payment. All the results obtained above were either insignificant or marginally significant, but the effects of the third variable i.e. the form of payment showed some concrete results. The cumulative abnormal returns obtained from cash offers were radically high er than those obtained from stock offer. This research carried out by Huang and Walkling gave quite a holistic overview of the effect of the announcement of an acquisition, as it took into consideration, variables which are affected by both the bidding and target firms decisions. All the literature discussed earlier in this paper, has illustrated some positive effects of an acquisition for both the bidders and the target firms. But, the analysis conducted by Bruner (2001) showed a little variation to the above. It suggested that only the target shareholders draw upon the benefits of the acquisition. No such profitable return is observed for the bidding firms. But, the combined returns of the bidder and the target yield positive results. The approach followed by Bruner differs significantly from most of the research discussed earlier. He measures the performance of a merger and acquisition based on the investors required returns. After observing the abnormal returns of the acquirer around the announcement date of the merger as per my research, the most obvious next step would be to analyse the long term effects of the merger. Various studies have been done in order to rightfully determine the outcome .The study by Asquith (1983) showed drastic negative returns after about three years of the merger. One of the best analyses that I found was by Agrawal, Jaffe and Mandelkar (1992) in their paper ‘The Post-Merger Performance of Acquiring Firms: A Re-examination of an Anomaly. Their results are based on a thorough analysis of a number of mergers that took place from 1955 to 1987. They explored the effect of the size of the firm and its beta risk, and found a loss of 10 % in the total wealth of the acquiring firm, five years after the merger was completed. An attempt was also made to find the additional NPV which is not captured by the announcement returns analysis. But, it was seen that the modification of t he market was similar for both the announcement and post merger analyses. Cole et al (2006) Investigate a number of unsuccessful mergers in order to determine if they create or destroy value for acquirers by using mainly two approaches. Their signalling approaches show that the value of the bidding firm is reduced by a large margin in the market, which is a form of a punishment for considering the acquisition of a low NPV project. They also find that horizontal mergers yield negative CAR. Hypothesis 1: The average abnormal returns (AAR) yield positive results for all sub-periods in the event Hypothesis 2: The Cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) yield positive results for all sub-periods in the event. Hypothesis 3: The type of acquisition, kind of acquisition, the mode of payment and the type of target firms affects the value of the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) around the announcement day t=0 in the event. Take into account focusing and diversifying 3. Methodology We begin by classifying the effective sample into two categories – Focusing and Diversifying. The classification approach has been adopted by Mann and Sicherman (1991).This can be done by comparing the two-digit SIC Codes of the acquirer and the target firm respectively. If both the firms involved in a deal have the same two-digit SIC Code, it can be classified as a focusing acquisition, whereas, if both firms have different codes, it is classified as a diversifying acquisition. Now we progress towards analysing the cumulative value created by a focusing and diversifying acquisition around the announcement date, using a standard event-study methodology described by MacKinlay (1997), Huang and Walkling (1987) and Wong and Cheung (2009). The Market Return Model is used in this case, to calculate the abnormal returns of the sample using a linear relationship between stock returns and market return. Rit = ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ²iRmt + ÃŽ µit (1) E (ÃŽ µit = 0) var (ÃŽ µit) = ÏÆ'ÃŽ µt2 Where: Rit : Return on security i on day t Rmt : Return on market portfolio on day t ÃŽ µit : Zero mean disturbance term ÃŽ ±i, : expected value of the difference between Ri and ÃŽ ²iRmt ÃŽ ²i : covariance between Rit and Rmt divided by the variance of Rmt ÏÆ'ÃŽ µt2 : variance of the error term We use the market model instead of the constant mean return model as it gives us a more accurate judgement of the effect of the event. This is true as it does not take into account the variation of the market return , thus, giving us more accurate abnormal returns. ( if any words remain add how to calculate rit and rmt) In order to calculate the abnormal returns, we use the market model parameter estimates. ^ ^ ARit = Rit – (ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ²iRmt) (2) Where: ARit : the abnormal return for security i on day t ^ ^ ÃŽ ±i and ÃŽ ²i : estimates of ÃŽ ±i and ÃŽ ²i In order to calculate the abnormal returns we use a maximum of 351 daily observations (Huang and Walkling, 1987). We start collecting data from t -300 to t +50 days, with t = 0 being the announcement date of the acquisition. These 351 days include non-trading days as well. In other words, we actually gather data from t -214 to t +36, taking only trading days into account. We use different time periods of an event for a complete comparative analysis of abnormal returns in each sub period which is described as below: Event period : day t -10 → day t +30 (41 days) Pre-announcement period : day t -10 → day t -2 ( 9 days) Announcement period : day t -1 → day t 0 ( 2 days) Post Announcement Period : day t +1 → day t +30 (30 days) diagram To analyse the effect of the event , we now calculate the average abnormal return (AAR) for all the securities for a time period t. AAR is the sum of all abnormal returns of firms on day t divided by N( the number of firms): (3) The t statistic, à Ã¢â‚¬ ¢, is calculated by dividing AARt by the standard deviation of the average abnormal returns. This is final step of the model, which helps in determining the significance of the AARt in the event period. (4) While calculating the standard error, an estimator is used to calculate the variance of the abnormal returns in the absence of but in this case we use the sample variance measure of that we derive from the market model regression. The estimator is as follows: In order to establish a more holistic viewpoint, the cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) are calculated: Where T1 to T2 is the duration of the event in which the AARt is collected. According to our hypotheses we have to calculate one more variable, the cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR) over a certain period. In order to find out the significance of CAAR we calculate its t statistic as follows: Where var(CAAR) is the variance of the cumulative average abnormal returns. We could use a variety of formulas to calculate the standard deviation and t statistic such as those described in Campbell, Lo and MacKinlay (1997) and Brown and Warner (1985). But we calculate using the method adopted by Kothari and Warner (1985): Where: : Variance of the average abnormal return for one period. L : Longer the L, the higher is the variance of CAAR To test the third hypothesis, another variable is taken into consideration the Cumulative abnormal returns (CAR). We now develop a regression model using dummy variables to test the effect of the type of acquisition, kind of acquisition, the type of the target firm and the mode of payment on the CAR of the acquirers. The control variables are the relative market size of the market value of the target to acquirer (RMV) and the market size of the acquiring firm (M) (Wong and Cheung, 2009). Where: : Cumulative abnormal return from day d1 → day d2 D1 : 1 if the type is acquisition D1 : 0 otherwise i.e. merger D2 : 1 if it is focusing D2 : 0 otherwise i.e. diversifying D3 : 1 if target firm is private D3 : 0 otherwise i.e. public D4 : 1 if mode of payment is cash D4 : 0 otherwise i.e. stock M : Market Value of the acquiring firm=Number of outstanding share *closing price on the announcement date The tests of hypotheses 1, 2 and 3 can be described as the following tests: H1 : H0 : AARt = 0 H1: AARt ≠  0 H2 : H0 : CAARt = 0 H1: CAARt ≠  0 H3 : H3i :ÃŽ ²1 = 0 (Acquisitions vs. Mergers) H3ii :ÃŽ ²2 = 0 (Focusing vs. Diversifying) H3iii :ÃŽ ²3 = 0 (Public vs. Private target firms) H3iv :ÃŽ ²4 = 0 (Cash offer vs. Share offer) 4. Data Description The number of mergers and acquisitions carried out in India has been quite extensive. Hence, certain criterion has been used to select a suitable sample. The deals carried out with Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Deustche Bank and Citi as their financial advisors should be included. These banks have been chosen as they deal with high valued mergers which are perfect for highlighting the true effects of a focusing or diversifying merger. All deals should have been completed from January, 2003 to March, 2010. The sample consists of only 178 completed transactions. All the acquirer firms must be publicly listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. The SIC Codes for the target and acquirer should be available in the CRSP Database. This helps in dividing the sample into focusing and diversifying mergers. Because of these restrictions, the sample reduces to 70 firms, three of which have some information missing regarding the stock returns etc and hence our effective sample is 67. It has been further classified into 44 focusing and 23 diversifying deals. Using only publicly listed firms enables us to extract information about these deals such as – announcement dates, termination dates, stock returns, market returns etc. from the Thomson One database, company websites and the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitivity Index or the BSE Sensex (30) has been used to gather the market returns of the firms.

Drama In The National Curriculum Education Essay

Drama In The National Curriculum Education Essay The aim of this report is to understand where Drama stands in education within England at present. It searches for its mention within the National Curriculum and interprets what this means for the teaching of the subject. It looks at primary and secondary schools current trends towards Drama as a discrete subject, and argues the benefits and disadvantages of it having its own subject heading within the National Curriculum. The evidence will be evaluated and a conclusion formulated. 1. Drama in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum website provides the most up to date information on how Drama is placed within the curriculum. At first glance Drama is absent but mention of it can be located, mainly within the subject of English. [See Appendix One for a description of the requirements and activities for Key Stages (KS) 1 2. (National Curriculum, 2011a)]. Whilst there are aims and objectives published for KS1 2, at KS3 4 there is mention of selected playwrights as subjects to be studied and the expectation that at least one Shakespearean play will be explored in depth at each stage (National Curriculum, 2011b c). References to the use of Drama appear under Literature [See Appendix Two] (National Curriculum, 2011d). For England the Teachernet (Teachernet, 2011), DFES Drama Objectives (DFES, 2011) and QCDA (QCDA, 2011) resources have been/are being decommissioned with edited highlights appearing in the National Archive. In fact most of the Government resources advocated by the Initial Teacher Education website for English are no more (ITE, 2011a). The Department of Education website is replacing it, but the only suitable material found for Drama is an item for the Speaking and Listening element at KS1 2 dated 2004 (Department of Education, 2011). In Ireland drama is within the arts sector, alongside visual arts and music. The strand is Drama to explore feelings, knowledge and ideas, leading to understanding. They expect that when this subject is taught correctly it can help children at a young age to understand/relate and deal with life situations that can occur (Irish Curriculum, 2011). Whilst Drama is placed firmly in Arts Education as a trio with the visual and aural mediums, there is little support to be found in their Curriculum Planner as well (NCCA, 2011). Compare this to 52 resources for Drama in the Scottish Curriculum (Scottish Curriculum Resources for Drama, 2011). In Northern Ireland Drama is mentioned in Language Literacy and has its own subject within The Arts and resources are well provided (N. Ireland Resources, 2011). At KS1 2 the statutory subjects that all pupils must study are art and design, design and technology, English, geography, history, information and communication technology (ICT), mathematics, music, physical education and science. Religious education must also be provided at KS 1 and 2 (National Curriculum, 2011e), although there is a non-statutory program of study. From the National Curriculum (2011e) for Religious Education there are the following two points: 1). Explore how religious beliefs and ideas can be expressed through the arts and communicate their responses. 2). Using art and design, music, dance and drama to develop their creative talents and imagination. Art and design does not mention drama until KS 2 as follows from the National Curriculum (2011f): Exploring a range of starting points for practical work [for example, themselves, their experiences, images, stories, drama, music, natural and made objects and environments]. Yet making puppet theatres, and also creating atmosphere in sounds, lighting, backdrops and costumes for full size plays would make the subject more fun whilst defining a practical purpose for the work. Drama in a similar way should be a fertile ground for scenery and special effects within Design and Technology yet it is not mentioned at all (National Curriculum, 2011g 2011h). Music and Physical Education in a similar vein have a relationship to Drama through Dance but there is no credit for it. History could conceivably use period dramas to illustrate points and the appreciation of accuracy in the texts and writers bias would then be covered in Drama. Stenhouse (1981, p.29) is against the idea that Drama is for teaching other subjects in the curriculum and rejects the imagined realities of Drama for the authenticated realities of pure history. ICT could provide a multi-media back drop similar to that of exhibition trade stands and modern performances that use computerised effects and giant screens. When the National Curriculum was being formulated teachers were vocal in their disapproval of the many curriculum subjects being loaded into the National Curriculum, such that subjects were curtailed following Music and Art (Baldwin, 2011). As the (NCCCE, 1999, p.75) report states there are more than ten subjects in the world. It also notes that Dance is not found with sport, games and athletics after education and that Drama is not just verbal. (NACCCE, 1999, p.76) points out that of all the countries in the QCA/NFER INCA archive, England was unique in having 10 discrete subjects from KS 1-4. When the National Curriculum was introduced, specialist drama practitioners eagerly awaited the National Curriculum for Drama. They are still waiting.  (Baldwin, 2011). Drama as part of English in the National Curriculum. One of the ongoing debates about the nature of English centres around its relationship [sic] the creative arts. Is English an Arts based, creative discipline, or a much more functional, competency led subject?, and Is Drama itself an Arts based discipline or a method of education, a form of learning? (ITE, 2011b) The role of drama in the curriculum remains in practice very much in doubt. It is believed that future employers have been unhappy with general educational standards of school leavers. A contributionary factor to this low estimation (for the subject) has been the political shift from a liberal view (of the centrality of aesthetic and artistic experience in education) towards a more vocationally orientated view in which the secondary curriculum is seen rather as a feeder of commercial, industrial and post-industrial requirements as they have been immerging in recent years. (Morton, 1984, p.56). The Arts Council England (2003, p.6) explains that all pupils minimum statutory entitlements for the study of Drama are acknowledged within the National Curriculum for English. According to Ashcroft Palacio (1995, p. 196), The national curriculum firmly places drama within the English domain. Neelands (2008, p.1) refers to the National Curriculum as the English Model where, Drama was first introduced into the secondary curriculum through the English curriculum and timetable. He amusingly cites the fact that Shakespeare was English to explain how we arrived at this unique position, which has not been followed elsewhere in the world except maybe Wales (Welsh Curriculum KS 1 (2008) Welsh Curriculum KS 2-4 (2008) where Drama is mentioned within English and to a lesser extent Welsh. Drama as a subject in its own right is not present in the primary curriculum, but as a part of English or R.E, or furnishing other areas and cross curricular themes. Even though Drama is absent from the curriculum for primary schools, it is still present through the activities and lessons which are taught using drama, many primary schools already include drama in their curriculum, without realizing that the activities the children are involved in are actually drama. (Arts on the move, 2010). For High School teachers, it can be a problem for them to know what to expect of pupils entering KS 3, this is because of the lack of continuity in Drama across all the Primary Schools, therefore only an educated guess can be made on the pupils prior drama experiences. Neelands (2004, p.9) offers 6 points of common reference which can be found in Appendix Three. According to Neelands (2008, p.2) statistics show that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦many schools in England do offer drama as a separate timetabled subject in Key Stage 3 and this makes drama the only subject in the English system which is unregulated in terms of a nationally agreed curriculum beyond the references to speaking and listening in the Orders for English. So only at KS 3 do some pupils get the opportunity to take Drama as a separate subject but it is still an unofficial one. Whilst this offers a complete freedom in how the subject is taught and presented [see Neelands (2004, p.5) for three different approaches at secondary level], it also means there is little in the way of a safety net for its practitioners that standards, assessments, guidelines and official support can provide. So it would appear that Drama has become a Cinderella subject that is busy working in the shadows whilst the Ugly Sisters of English and Religious Education take all the credit. 1.2 How we got to where we are now. Most of what young people know of the world, they know through representations of it. (Neelands, 2008, p.9), suggesting that schools have a moral obligation to help shape the citizenship of their stundents. There is little time allotted in the daily routine for drama in early childhood education settings, due to the pressure that many teachers feel to cover too many materials in too little time. (Jones and Reynolds, 1992, p.7). This suggests that head teachers and teachers are forced to focus their concentration and resources on the subjects the really matter For example, those subjects that are recorded as National statistics, showing how many A* C students have obtained; in particular on Maths, English and Science. Drama being mentioned in the curriculum saw a mixed reaction. Some celebrated the fact that Drama would now have to be taught. Others were quick to point out that there was a fundamental flaw here. There were few trained Drama teachers left. The reality has been, that hardly any Drama is happening (in Primary)  despite the fact that it is deemed statutory. (Baldwin, 2011). Yet Neelands (2008, p.1) states that, In the English education system, all students in the 5-16 age range have an entitlement to drama within the National Curriculum Orders for English. Baldwin (2011) the president of the International Drama/Theatre Education Association provides a background to how Drama fell from grace, how a timely reaction to the rigid curriculum being built subject by subject stopped it being included at the eleventh hour and then, as it was no longer a subject, support for it fell away. Practitioners were left high and dry, as Drama was no longer part of Ofsted unless a fee was paid to assess it, which in one case ended up being marked as a Satisfactory P.E. lesson. Dearing tried to soften the curriculum but then came the constraints of the National Literacy Strategy which concentrated on reading and writing for the Literacy Hour at the expense of speaking and listening. However Winston Tandy (2001, p.75-86) in their chapter entitled Drama and literacy provid e some ideas for including Drama within the hour. Then at Secondary level we find a carte blanche where anything goes with Drama either as a separate subject taught by a Drama specialist or as a continuing addition within English or as another entity, which perhaps suits the more pronounced different streams of ability. Neelands (2004, p.5-6) noticed that the various sources of national guidance for Drama, for example the specific references to Drama in the Programs of Study for English showed a general agreement for the aims and objectives for Drama, such as: Drama as personal, social and moral education Drama as English Drama as a subject in its own right. As stated earlier he cites three very different secondary schools each illustrating one of these points as their individual approach to Drama. The demands of a nationally prescribed curriculum put considerable pressure on teachers to fit everything in; each subject has it own expectations and makes its own particular demands. Finding the time for Drama, however highly you and your class may value it in its own right, can be difficult- the more so if we are going to give the Drama time to develop, deepen the childrens involvement and understanding, and reach a satisfactory conclusion. (Winston Tandy, 2001, p.54) Ashcroft Palacio (1997, p.6) infer that longer serving teachers will find the prescribed nature of the National Curriculum and all its revisions to be a bone of contention. On the other hand The lack of core guidance for Drama, the parallel development of Drama within English with its development as a discrete Arts subject, together with the diversity of models of curriculum and assessment to be found in schools make it a particularly problematic area of English teaching for trainees. (ITE, 2011c) Especially as: School Drama Co-ordinators disappeared almost overnight, as did LEA Drama Advisers and advisory teachers.   Drama courses became few and far between, relying more and more on professional organisations, which were and are run voluntarily, by increasingly stretched full time teachers and lecturers. (Baldwin, 2011). CHAPTER TWO ARGUMENTS FOR DRAMA BEING A DESCRETE SUBJECT As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, drama has a significant contribution to make (Winston Tandy, 2001, p.73). Drama, more than any other subject in the curriculum, mirrors life as it is lived and experienced (Winston, 2004, p.18). Please see Appendix Five for some positive results Winston (2004) notes as being seen in childrens writing due to their involvement with Drama.At least a national agreement provides some external, relatively objective and visible materials to discuss (Neelands, 2004, p.6). However, the absence of a nationally agreed framework for Drama gives two points of concern; The individual Drama teacher has no external framework to follow, therefore the success of the Drama class is completely at the mercy of the ability or lack thereof of the teacher; How Drama is perceived at the school may well be based on the head teachers predilections and prejudices. To illustrate this point I found at X High School, where the author has experienced Drama via a teaching training day placement, it was noticeable that Drama is thought of as a high priority subject. This was thanks to the Head realising that in a catchment area of high poverty Drama provided interest and expression for children that found reading and writing difficult. The school used Drama also as a marketing tool to promote itself to the wider community and its governors. It held annual Drama productions, school assemblies were punctuated with Drama in the form of funny sketches or more serious pieces designed to entertain and inform, it supported fundraising activities etc. Drama here is a timetabled subject throughout all the year groups, and is offered as an A-level subject. As Ashcroft Palacio (1995, p. 196) advocate, Primary school pupils can develop through drama an extensive range of language uses, including the majority of those referred to in the national curriculum. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦drama is a social process of making meaningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the framework and method of drama provides a unique context for developing a sense of identity and productiveness. (Morton, 1984, p.37). All Our Futures had already clearly recognised the importance of Drama, both as a creative teaching and learning medium and as the most powerful pupil motivator:  OFSTED data on pupil response to learning indicates drama to be at the very top in motivating learning (NACCCE, 1999, p.77). Drama in education can help pupils learn and understand whatever is required, in ways that are emotionally, aesthetically and cognitively connected and meaningful to children who are natural dramatic players. CHAPTER THREE ARGUMENTS AGAINST DRAMA BEING A DESCRETE SUBJECT à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦drama is a process that cannot be divided into a series of discrete and accessible outcomes in the kind of way that curriculum theorists have managed to do with many other subjects in the curriculum (Young, 1981, p.94). Baldwin (2011) states: Trainees are likely to encounter a diverse range of arrangements for drama within schools. In the absence of national orders and a statutory subject framework, schools are free to design their own local variations of a drama curriculum based on the specific value given to drama in a particular school. Cynics were heard to mutter, that with an assessment driven curriculum emerging, process based drama would be too problematic for SCAA (as it was then) to deal with.   Assessment in Drama has always been tricky as so much goes on cognitively and emotionally during the Drama process that is not easy or even possible to assess.   It is noted that this argument appears amongst many professionals, but no suggestions as to what criteria could be used is suggested. Is this because they believe there is to be none. Baldwin, (2011) continues. Assessment records were being revealed as lists of statements of attainment tick boxes and needed to be based on easily observable, extrinsic outcomes suggesting that Drama specialists were not sure they wanted such a meaningful and aesthetic art form measured and graded in this way.. Neelaands appears to contradict his issues by stating The local curriculum can be based on a highly idiosyncratic and ideologically motivated selection. What is taught may be left to the whim of an individual teacher and may reflect personal prejudices and interests rather that the breadth of depth of study which is a pupils entitlement (Neelands, 2004, p.6). Yet according to Neelands on the Initial Teacher Education website (ITE, 2011d), The non-statutory Framework drama objectives might usefully form the basis of the programme of study for drama at KS3. However, these specific objectives are unlikely to be considered sufficient as core objectives for drama as a discrete subject because they do not cover physical, visual, design and technical aspects of drama. This suggests that although the concerns of Patrice Baldwin are relevant, the concerns of the ITE is that without a defined structure and specific objectives, the importance of Drama could be overlooked. This point of view is rejected by Way (1967, p.12) who points out, If we make drama another subject, then we make another progressive straight line in fact many straight lines, one for infants, one for juniors, and so on through the different age groups. Again, because of its uniqueness there is a concern over how Drama can be measured i.e. marked. Way (1967, p.3) wrote, Education is concerned with individuals; drama is concerned within the individuality of individuals, with the uniqueness of each human essence. Indeed this is one of the reasons for its intangibility and its immeasurability. As Drama is not in the National Curriculum as its own subject, it might be seen as unimportant. With the pressures on schools to be ranked via league tables on the core subjects of English, Maths and Science, it is perhaps not surprising that schools focus on these subjects to the detriment of all else. However, the subject still has its own written examinations and an external examiner is called in to mark performances. It is therefore unclear as to the reasons behind why the subject is deemed by some to be difficult to assess. CONCLUSION Ultimately, drama is a valuable tool, but first the tool itself must be fashioned. (Way, 1967, p.7). There appears to be a divide in international practice over whether Drama should be used across the curriculum or as a subject within its own right and/or as part of the arts agenda. There were those who thought that if assessment was going to be the name of the game, then drama could and should be made to fit, in order to ensure its place in the new curriculum.   And there were those who breathed a sigh of relief that drama did not fit and had been left outside the new curriculum, where at least it would allow a greater freedom of practice and content, within the broader curriculum (Baldwin, 2011). Therefore, unless the individual schools value Drama, and encourage Drama teacher training, the concern is that the level of teaching Drama will not be sufficient to add any value to teaching within the school as a whole. According to Ashcroft and Palacio (1995, p.203) there are two types of Drama within the National Curriculum spectrum, one being performance based activities, such as assemblies and school plays, and the other being educational Drama, which involves children in the active creation and exploration of situations based on fact or fiction. it is regarded by many teachers as a learning method rather than a subject area because it can be employed to deliver many aspects of the curriculum very effectively. (Ashcroft and Palacio, 1995, p.204). Art is useful, not because it is true but because it is truly edifying. It is because drama as art functions in this way that a dramatic work cannot be explained, paraphrased or deconstructed into essays. Like any other art form, drama is unique and non convertibleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it resists crassly utilitarian efforts to corral it into the service of geography, history or management training as much as it refuses to be the acquiescent servant of personal, social, or political education. In a secular age, the usefulness of drama lies in its ability to articulate meaning in particular direct and accessible ways so that we, in turn, can make better sense of the world in which we live. For these reasons, drama is an indispensible part of the arts curriculum. (Hornbrook, 1991, p.40-41). Whilst we cannot expect the commitment of the National Theatre at every Primary School (Turner et al., 2004) they offer a model of best practice that can be used within the subject of Drama to really bring out the confidence and intellect of young children and this should be the ultimate goal whether Drama is housed within English or is a subject in its own right. Does this then mean that drama is yet another subject that has to be fitted into an already overcrowded curriculum? No. Drama is not another subject; theatre might be, with its ground work in history and its study of playwrights and their works but not drama. Drama is as intangible as personality itself, and is concerned with developing people. Indeed, it is as necessary to discard educational conventions as to disregard theatre conventions (Way, 1967, p.7). The arguments will rage on but only the will of the government can make a difference to the position Drama as a subject or non-subject is in. The conclusion drawn from all the evidence in this report is that Drama should be included as a subject in its own right in the National Curriculum, but not as the curriculum currently stands. There appears to be insufficient structure and no definitive way that the success of pupils taking Drama can be measured. To try and fit it into the current curriculum could restrict its usefulness as a holistic well being tool for the personal growth of pupils. How could this be measured in academic terms? There could be pupils who come alive as actors and give wonderful performances, but cannot translate this successfully into a written piece of work. How does one measure personal growth? How can we mark a student who has grown in confidence, can express themselves better than before the introduction of the Drama lesson, and interacts well with other st udents in the class? Whereas before the use of Drama they may have been antagonistic, dealing with personal issues which had no voice except in eruptions of violent behaviour. One can set tests to measure the knowledge of the literacy greats, the search for meaning in the works of the playwrights but should this lie here or within the realms of English Literature, such that it cannot be used as a mark of success or failure for Drama students. The conclusion gathered is that this testing should be left within the English subject, thus allowing students of Drama more freedom to express themselves through this wonderful medium. It has been shown that Drama is a useful tool in the understanding of other subjects, but it should first be enjoyed and understood in its own right. The greatest problem for Drama being included in its own right in the National Curriculum appears to be the way the success of subjects are currently judged. There does not appear to be current procedures that can fairly measure the true success and positive impact Drama can have on a students life. For example with a Mathematics exam there is a definite right answer with marks available for showing your workings out, but what is the right answer in Drama? The division between the teaching professionals as to the inclusion or not of Drama in the National Curriculum can be understood after researching and investigating this question. The concerns are that the importance of Drama within the schools is currently dependant on the will of the head teacher and the ability, passion and commitment of the Drama staff. Drama teachers experiencing schools who class Drama as a fill-in subject and not that important will have experienced first hand the argument that Drama should be included. It could be very demoralising to the Drama teacher who feels that their work, however committed they are, maybe seen as unimportant. However those Drama teachers experiencing and enjoying a school that appreciates Drama and uses it throughout school life for example in assemblies, community gatherings and the annual school performance may enjoy the freedom of the subject not being included in the National Curriculum, as they do not feel threatened about the validity of their teaching skills. There appears to be no straightforward conclusion over Dramas inclusion in the National Curriculum, however it must be pointed out that other parts of the British Isles make Drama a subject in its own right and provide excellent support for it. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from the way they have gone about this by an exchange of ideas on best practice. For example what criteria are they using to measure Dramas success as a subject; are more or less students choosing Drama as a subject at Secondary level; has its status had a positive or negative effect on the teachers? Without knowing the answers to these questions and many more besides we cannot hold these countries up as shining examples. There needs to be a way of trying to take the best from the arguments for and against Dramas inclusion in the National Curriculum. For example this research has shown that most of the Drama professionals feel that both the subject and they benefit from its inclusion to put them on a level playing field with other subjects. They believe that they may be taken more seriously and have more support from training being given. The concern of its inclusion appears to be that it could stifle the very creativity and freedom of expression some professionals believe Drama should be. They all appear to agree that Drama cannot be measured in academic terms as easily as other subjects as no marks are awarded for students personal development. Therefore after research and investigation into this question, the final conclusion is that Drama should be included in the National Curriculum as a discrete subject but only after the creation of relevant success criteria is added. Once there is an acceptable measurement formula in place Drama would then benefit from inclusion. As it stands at present there does not appear to be sufficient steps in place to recognise Drama students success.