The Most Dangerous Gangs and How to Stop Their Violence

There are a lot dangerous gangs out there in the world. Some may be even closer than you think, for instance in your children schools, their playgrounds and even in some after school church groups. So everyone should take a part in trying to stop gang violence before it gets to be too late. In this paper it will be explaining, the most dangerous gangs, and interview and most importantly how to stop gang violence to make a better place for our future. In the United States, the top most wanted gang is the Ms13, a very commonly well known gang. This gang is not just some want to be thug gang in some guy’s basement, trying to act all big and bad when they’re not. This is a very well organized and well thought out gang. â€Å"They are known for being a part of selling drugs, human trafficking, murder, contract killing, extortion and kidnapping.† Their territory would be considered Central America and the United States. Their exact location is not certain, that is pa rt of what they do, stay unknown and it’s easier to do business like that. About 70,000 in the United States are members of the MS13. Something that you may have heard of them would be the kidnapping of the son of the Honduras president. (gangs.umd.edu) The second most wanted gang in the United States is the very well known Crips. These guys are wearing blue, to support their love for their gang. Being a part of this gang is kind of like being a part of a special religion. They have their own beliefs, prayers andShow MoreRelatedChicago Gangs and History Essay1307 Words   |  6 PagesChicago Gangs, Then and Now with Solutions Nick Crot Marist High School Abstract This paper deals with gang violence in the city of Chicago since the beginning of time. It takes a deep look into the history of Chicago gangs and how they interact today. Also the past problems the City of Chicago made when dealing with gangs and the problems that gangs today have and how Chicago has the worst gang problem in the country. Also how gangs have turned themselves into big, and lucrative enterprisesRead MoreA Brief Note On The Problems Of Gangs891 Words   |  4 PagesJosh Grice Mrs. Gallos English 3 Research Paper 24 November 2014 Gangs: The problems they make Gangs are a big problem in the world and it causes a lot of crime in the United States. There are a lot of different types of gangs in the world. You have the small gangs that are just made up of a group of friends and family, but then you also got the large gangs that are made up of hundreds of different kinds of people. Gang members go around committing so many crimes. They rob people in theirRead MoreCharacteristics Of A Criminal Street Gang1212 Words   |  5 Pagescriminal street gang. Not only does MLO fit the definition of what a reasonable person would believe a street gang to be, but most importantly it fits the definition of a criminal street gang as it is defined in the California STEP act. According Ludeke’s article, MLO has been responsible for nearly killing a young man, beating another, and threatening witnesses with death if they went to the police. While he recognizes that MLO is not as big a threat or as notorious as other well-known gangs, it doesRead MoreMs 13 Gang Essay1704 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish IV CP April 21, 2011 Hidden Violence The word gang-everyone knows what it means or what it stands for. Of course by the time children get to the end of their elementary years they’ve heard of know gangs such as; the Cribs, Bloods, Latin Kings, Vatos Locos, but none of those names cause as much fear and terror as the gang called La Mara Salvatrucha aka MS-13. La Mara known for their psychotic methods of killing and running their turf, no other gang comes close to causing the same fear asRead MoreAnalysis Of Enrique s Journey And Journalist For La Times1344 Words   |  6 Pagesmaking his seventh attempt to America to reconnect with his mother after 11 years. Many unaccompanied children go on the same quest to America as Enrique to escape gang violence or to find a job to support their families. On this journey children ride on top of train cars, encounter gangs and corrupt officers, witnessed many acts of violence and death, and do their best to blend in and not get caught by officers who will deport them back f rom where they came. I learned immigration is frowned upon inRead MoreThe Gang Member Of The Eight Tray Criminal Hoover Essay1425 Words   |  6 Pagesthe most well known gang member of The Eight-Tray Criminal Hoover in Memphis.   Gottie believes that gangs are becoming to spin out of control, that it needs to be a solution to gang activity. On July 10, 2016 Gottie says â€Å"I ain’t never seen heaven before, but it was like a Memphis heaven everybody was on one accord â€Å", if the gangs could be on the same page for Black Lives Matter (Jones and Fretland, 2016) . Why can’t it happen for the youth? Ar’tavius Brown was 18 years old and joined a gang calledRead MoreStreet Gangs : Americas Growing Problem1056 Words   |  5 PagesStreet Gangs: Americas’ Growing Problem Gangs have increasingly become a serious problem over the past few decades. A report from the FBI’s 2011 National Gang threat assessment states that there are 1.4 million active gang members comprising of more than 33,000 gangs in the United States. This growth migration of gangs has had a negative effect on our youth. Gang violence causes fear and changes how kids behave in school. In a poll of 2,000 teenagers, â€Å"the respondents reported that their fearsRead MoreThe Is A Gang And His Article Develops A Convincing Argument1640 Words   |  7 Pages Ludeke believes MLO is a gang and his article develops a convincing argument. According to the STEP Act, a gang is: Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons . . . having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage inRead More The Effect of Gangs in There Are No Children Here Essay949 Words   |  4 PagesThe Effect of Gangs in There Are No Children Here  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Throughout There Are No Children Here, a continuous, powerful tension always lurks in the background. The gangs that are rampant in the housing projects of Chicago cause this tension. In the Henry Horner Homes, according to Kotlowitz, one person is beaten, shot, or stabbed due to gangs every three days. In one week during the authors study of the projects, police confiscated 22 guns and 330 grams of cocaine in Horner alone (KotlowitzRead MoreSecurity Threat Groups And Prison Gangs1665 Words   |  7 PagesSecurity threat groups and prison gangs are responsible for a lot of the crimes that occur in prison. Well-organized and highly structured prison gangs who have leaders and influences have been around decades. Gangs in prison can be described as groups whose activities pose a real threat to the safety of the institutional staff and other inmates and also to security of the correctional institution (Beth, 1991). These gangs always have strong leaders and use that leadership role to their advantage

Sociology Essay - 1991 Words

Social order requires social behaviour to be predictable and individuals to cooperate. Amongst the explanations of social order are five outlined by Hechter and Horne: (shared) ‘meaning’, ‘values and norms’, ‘power and authority’, ‘spontaneous interaction’ and ‘networks and groups’. Following Hechter and Horne, describe how at least TWO of these explanations might account for social order, and discuss the extent to which you find those explanations convincing. Social order is one of the most central aspects of sociology. Two main factors are necessary for the existence of social order: predictability of society and cooperative behaviour of individuals (Hechter and Horne, 2003). In this essay I will describe how ‘values and norms’ and†¦show more content†¦This idea is supported by Goffman’s discussion of interactions between strangers. Goffman (1963 in Hechter and Horne, 2003) argues that the goal of social interaction between two people is not to cause harm or discomfort to either of them. This leads to the emergence of norms such as civil inattention. This example shows how when people are following social norms their behaviour becomes predictable: civil inattention is expected and cooperative: people act in consensus towards a common goal, in this case avoiding mutual discomfort. To understand why people comply with these norms further explanations are needed. Hechter and Horne (2003) note that unlike internalised values, norms have to be enforced externally. They suggest that: ‘norms are more likely to be enforced if doing so will provide benefits for group members with minimal efforts for enforcement’ (Hechter and Horne 2003:99). This argument although logical is not very convincing because punishment is often associated with some cost for the person enforcing it, for example the discomfort of a direct interaction with a stranger. In addition Fehr and Gà ¤chter (2002 in Hechter and Horne, 2003) provide empirical evidence for what they call ‘altruistic punishment’. In their experiment participants kept punishing group members for selfish behaviour even at a significant cost to themselves. Fehr and Gà ¤chter conclude that peopleShow MoreRelatedSociology Essay20437 Words   |  82 PagesAS Sociology Sociology Nik Jorgensen Text  © Nelson Thornes Distance Learning 2010 Illustrations  © Nelson Thornes Distance Learning 2010 All rights reserved. The copyright holders authorise ONLY users of NTDL AS Sociology to make photocopies for their own or their students’ immediate use within the teaching context. No other rights are granted without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby StreetRead MoreEssay Sociology676 Words   |  3 PagesPolitical and Social Research (Kendall, 01/2014, p. 49). The flaws would be if not all students were counted or were recorded incorrectly. Also some information may not be available that would make the study more precise. Kendall, D. (01/2014). Sociology in Our Times, 10th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781305450387 Read MoreEssay Sociology and Religion1158 Words   |  5 Pagessome experience with religion. Whether our parents are religious, our own religious views, or others who try and convert you to a religion, we have all come in contact with a religion. But what do sociology and religion have to do with each other? The answer to this question is that religion meets sociology in the affects that it has on an individual or society (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323). What is a religion? A religion is defined by Richard Schaefer as a unified system of beliefs andRead MoreSociology as Essay640 Words   |  3 Pagesour understanding of how social identity is shaped by gender. (24 marks) An identity is who we are, this is made up of how we see ourselves and how others see us. Social identity is based on ones membership to particular groups in society. This essay will examine the way in which sociologist contribute to our understanding by providing theories and ideas of how social identity is shaped by gender. Ann Oakley, a feminist sociologist suggested that there are four ways in which gender socializationRead MoreSociology and Deviance Essay2077 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"Becoming a deviant involves a social process of definition†. The purpose of this essay is to show how this sociological perspective can assist in understanding drug taking in society. In the essay I will discuss the notion of deviance and will demonstrate that people do not become deviants on the strength of their behaviour alone, but by the sanctions of a society whose norms that the offender has deemed to have violated. I will examine approaches to deviance through biological, psychologicalRead MoreSociology of Sport Essay1085 Words   |  5 Pagesin Society: Issues and Controversies 8th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Craig, P., Beedie, P. (2008). Sport Sociology. Exeter, UK: Learning Matters. Jarvie, G. (2006). Sport, Culture and Society: An Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge. Messner, M. A. (2007). Out of play : critical essays on gender and sport . New York: State University of New York Press. Mewett, P. (2000). Sociology: Australian Connections 2nd edition. Sydney: Allen Unwin.Read MoreReflective Sociology Essay2218 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿ The last six weeks have challenged my preconceived ideas about sociology and the role that it plays in society in the popular and social media, my values, behaviours and belief system. What I hope to highlight throughout this reflective essay is what I have learnt and how that has shaped my new thought process and reinforced old thought patterns. Week one I learnt about the Sociological imagination where to quote C Wright â€Å"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp the connection betweenRead More Sociology and Globalisation Essay2142 Words   |  9 Pages Globalization has been recognized as a new age in which the world has developed into what Giddens identifies to be a â€Å"single social system† (Anthony Giddens: 1993 ‘Sociology’ pg 528), due to the rise of interdependence of various countries on one another, therefore affecting practically everyone within society. In this essay I will give a detailed explanation of what sociologists mean by the term ‘globalisation’ and how they have tried to explain it. Globalisation can be construed inRead MoreSociology and Common Sense Essay1546 Words   |  7 PagesExplain the difference between a â€Å"common sense† and a â€Å"sociological† view of human behaviour, giving relevant examples. Sociology is a social science that enables people to understand the structure and dynamics of society. By using a scientific approach, and by critically analysing society using qualitative and quantitative methods, sociologists can find patterns and connections within human behaviour to provide explanations of how society affects people. Sociological views are based on theoriesRead MoreAvatar: Sociology and Jake Essay1547 Words   |  7 PagesThe argument that I will be talking about in my essay is how the themes inclusion, otherness and social solidarity take place in the movie avatar. All these three themes relate in many different ways to Jake and the atmosphere in the movie itself. The three philosophers that will be discussed are Durkheim, Goffman and Mead. The concepts that are used in this essay are to argue the thesis. Front stage and back stage, self, presentation of self, me and I (the diagram), social inclusion, organic solidarity

Introduction to E- commerce Kogan

Questions: 1. Define the role of using electronic commerce on the business expansion.2. Recognize the type(s) of business model(s) employed in the selected website.3. Recognize the target markets and related revenue model in the selectedwebsite.4. Recognize the implemented business strategies in the selected website.5. Describe the development of secure electronic transactions on the Internet.6. Explain privacy policies, online auctions and any potential legal or ethical issues.7. Describe the ways that the website manages the customer relationship.8. Recommendation for improvement of the website performance. Answers: Introduction Electronic commerce consists of the buying and selling of products and services through the internet. E-commerce websites is used by most businesses whether small or big business houses to gain larger profits and larger market share. It is the place where retailers, manufacturers, and clients come together to trade. Todays customers are getting addicted to online shopping; the reason behind this is convenience, as they can shop without going out from their home place and 24/7 shopping availability of the websites, as it is not necessary for all the buyers to buy products and services in the day time only. Overview of the Business and Description of Kogan In case of kogan.com it is the largest online department store in Australia. The company was founded in 2006 by Ruslan Kogan. The company has headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The kogan.com website was started by offering LCD televisions. And by November 2010, the company entered into the UK market with a range of LCD televisions and GPS units. In 2011 itself company also started shipping its product all over the world by bypassing wholesalers, retailers, and distributors. And by this the company enabled its selling across the world and started offering big brands like apple, canon, Nikon, Samsung, Motorola, and more at low prices. This helped the company as the only Australian-owned international customer electronic brand. On 15th march 2016, kogan.com acquired dock smith holdings online business. Main Business Features of the Websites Kogan mission statement is: to make the latest technology affordable for all the customers. Kogan.com removes all the middlemen, agents, so that customer can avail the product at a cheap price. It also cuts the prices by doing cheap advertising by using popular widgets on its website to connect their customers with social media like Facebook, Instagram. By enabling this customer who purchased its product online through social media it immediately extends its customer audience by making the customers know about the company. Positive and negative Aspects of the company Positive Aspects Prices are very competitive as compare to other websites and local retailers because of cost advantage. Products exactly match with the features as told by the customer. Company in its introductory stage was only offering LCD televisions but now it is in high definition televisions, tablet computers, smart phones, digital cameras, home appliances, digital radios, PVRs, net books, blu-ray disc players, video cameras, e-book readers apart from electronic products. There are several shopping search engines which help in comparing prices while shopping. Negative Aspects To improve customer care team. Because sometimes in case of online marketing product becomes out of stock, hence it need to be informed the customer immediately and the price should be repaid. To maintain image in the minds of consumer it is very essential to fulfill the needs of customers. Increasing sale is not only the aim of the manager, rather there should be after sale services provided. Kogan company warranty procedure must be improved. It has been observed that customers usually prefer those product and services which are providing a good after sales services. One of the important issues is security because there is nowhere guarantee that payment is done by the card owner only. One of the most challenges in online marketing is to analyze from technical point of view rather than of a strategic or marketing prospective.(ASX Corporate Governance Statement,2016) Website Design with Respect to user Interactions, Trust and loyalty In case of online marketing it is very difficult to create trust in the minds of the consumer and to maintain to too. Hence the company must adopt these practices are like; to connect customers such as social sites networking. Because people tend to purchase a product more if others are saying well about that. A good customer service can help to restrain the consumer. Because lack of face to face interaction does not confirm that there will be no assistance required. Hence customer services should be fast and speedy. Loyalty programs should be implemented, which can be done through email coupons, free shipping perks, contests etc. Apart from that as an e-commerce company there should be multiple payment options example credit cards, pay pal, gift offers. Kogan Secure Electronic Transactions Secure electronic transactions (SET) is a non proprietary industry joined by master card and visa for secure online e-commerce, credit card transactions over the internet (Clark, Hoyle Hynes, 2016). Kogan privacy Policies Here the privacy policies adopted by the Kogan.com are discussed below: Openness and transparency: Kogan.com Pty Ltd is committed towards the customer privacy and upholds all the rights discussed under the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Personal information: in personal information company collect name, address, email address, telephone number(s) and date of birth of the customer. Collection: information would only be collected by lawful and fair means. Disclosure of personal information: this is only when the customer has given consent to disclose or when the company is authorized by law. (Kogan.com, 2016) Relationship Between the Kogan applied Business model and its Life Cycle Stage: Business model: There are several types of ecommerce business models a company can easily take. The Kogan Company use the white labeling and manufacturing business model. This model says that when the company buy its product in bulk and store them in a warehouse somewhere. This is usually common in B2B market. In November 2010, ruslan Kogan expanded business to UK with a range of LED TVs and GPS units. The expansion helped the company to be the only Australian owned electronic brand. In 2011 Kogan started shipping its product from Hong Kong and supply to customers of all over the world. And hence by bypassing wholesalers, distributors, and retailers enabled the company to offer the products at a very low price. Hence by this we can say that Kogan Company is manufacturing product overseas or importing them and putting the company brand on them. In this model the margins are very high that can lead to cost leadership management and can make the product price cheaper. Website Life Cycle Stage There are three stages in which as per this report Kogan is at e-commerce stage. At this stage the internet becomes the bloodline of the organization. The client not only communicates with the company rather it also purchases goods and services through the website. (Botha, Bothma, Geldenhuys, 2008) E-Commerce Implementation Strategy Successful implementation of any e- commerce business is dependent on implementing for adopting these seven key steps: Planning for e-commerce business: There should be clear cut vision, mission and objective to be achieved. Without a goal, planning cannot be done effectively.Technology selection/website analysis: Website should be selected analytically, because it is the only place from where audience would be targeted and customer segments would be done.Customer acquisition: Here the role of digital marketing arrives, because in todays era customers generally engage in using multiple devices that can be reached out through search engine optimization, paid advertising, email campaigns, display advertising.Customer engagement: Customers seek to engage more with that brand which provides offers, discount during special seasons.Customer retention: There needs to be constant effort to look out for features and functionalities that will enhance the customer trust.Optimizing key metrics: Some of the key matrices are the total revenue generated, cost of customer acquisition, percentage of customer converte d and percentage of customers entering into website through different channels.Business analysts and customer insights: This is the last step. Here comparison between the product well performed and the other products displayed in the organization is done. When implementing e-commerce firm may face several inhibitors and enablers like; Management commitment comes to very crucial for it success. It has been noted that unwillingness of the manager to be responsible for technological change. No company can survive without the help of financiers, suppliers, distributors. Hence entrepreneurs must use social capital to access resources. There should be readiness of acceptance of government support and national IT infrastructure for e-commerce adoption. There might be some cases that to remain competitive in the market company also started doing online business. Issues Regarding E-commerce: Some of the policy issues that government must address in regulating e-commerce are as identified by U.S. government are: Financial issues which includes custom and taxation and electronic payment system, legal issues which includes uniform commercial code for electronic commerce, intellectual property protection, privacy and security. Another issue is market access issue which includes telecommunication infrastructure and interoperability, content, and technical standards. Conclusion and Recommendations To stay competitive in electronic market the company must require staying updated, technologically advanced, user friendly. Hence to achieve all this company requires changing its business models, its structure sometimes. The main restriction is the fear of lack of after sale services, lack of physical contact with the product and inability to touch the product, wait for a long time for delivery of the product. The board of Kogan believes that the directors are able to objectively analyze the issues before them in the best interest of shareholders. But the corporate governance requires that there should be 2 independent directors out of 4 directors. Hence the company is recommended to work through on these issues and recommendation. References: ASX Corporate Governance Statement. n.d. [Online]. Available at https://www.kogancorporate.com/resources/pdfs/Corporate%20Governance%20Statement.pdf [Accessed on 20 December, 2016] Kogan.n.d. [online].viewed on https://www.kogan.com/au/privacy-policy/ [Accessed on 21 December 2016] Kulyk. P Michalowska. M. 2016. Consumer behavior on the e-commerce market in the light of empirical research in lubuskie voivodeship; vol.20, no.1.[online] Available at https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1sid=6bf579f6-f9be-400a-bae4-1a6c6f36462e%40sessionmgr1 [Accessed date 20 December. 2016] Isaias. P (2003). Journal of electronic commerce in organizations (JECO), vol 15, available at https://www.igi-global.com/journal/journal-electronic-commerce-organizations-jeco/1076#contents Turban. E., king.D. lee.J.K. viehland.D.(2006). Electronic Commerce: Managerial Perspective 2006. Graduate school of management university of Dallas [online] edition 4th ISBN: 0-13-185461-5. Gangeshwar.D.K.(2013).E-commerce or internet marketing: a business review from Indian context[online] vol 6, pages 187-194, available at https://www.sersc.org/journals/IJUNESST/vol6_no6/17.pdf Clark.E, Cho.G, Hoyle.A, Hynes.P, 2010, Internation encyclopedia of laws/cyber law, The Netherlands, Page 615-617 Botha.J, Bothma.C, Geldenhuys.P, 2008, Managing E-Commerce in Business, 2nd edition, South Africa Gefen.D.(2002) customer loyalty in E-commerce.journal of the association of information system,[online]volume[3],pages27-51,available at https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1197context=jais

The Malkuth Grimoire by Alkaloid free essay sample

Alkaloid is a German progressive death metal band that was spanned and formed from the other German prog bands like Obscura and Necrophagist. Otherwise a supergroup. This happens to be their debut album and is shined upon for it being a great first impression, but then again, this comes from musicians that know perfectly well what theyre doing. The Malkuth Grimoire was released this year and has since been heavily regarded by many to be among the best of the year even rivaling the likes of Enslaved, Steven Wilson, and Blind Guardian. Yeah, if the baby can compete with the long-running grandfathers, you know youre a great album. You have to give this an A for effort because of that. While you dont have many long tracks, you are greeted with twists and turns and madness everywhere. There is not one part it seems that sounds anything like the rest. We will write a custom essay sample on The Malkuth Grimoire by Alkaloid or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You get total chaos and oodles if solos galore as well. Now some may say that they are overstaying their welcome, and Id have to agree with them to some extent. I even read one comment that said that they seem to have an identity crisis which does make sense because of the fact that there are people from different bands in Alkaloid here, I dont see that issue all to much. While you may say this sounds like the death metal version of Dream Theater, you can surely find more than chaos and shedding solos like in Dream Theater. The track names are also pretty cool like Funeral For A Lonely Continent and Carbon Phrases just to name a few. This album definitely has alot going for it and despite the 70+ minutes on this album, you will wonder how fast everything went by once you get to the end. You can just almost tell, that this is not something to sleep on or mess with. I give this a 9.5/10. I am the Grim Reaper, signing off.

Solar System and Outer Planets free essay sample

How are the outer planets similar to each other? The outer planets are made up from mostly gases. They have atleast one moon. They don’t have solid surfaces. 2. How are the outer planets different from each other? Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants, while Jupiter and Saturn are made from helium and hydrogen gases. 3. How are dwarf planets different from true planets? They have celestial bodies in their orbit, and they are smaller. 4. What is the arrangement of the outer planets? What effect does their placement have the planets? Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, they take up 99% of the mass of the celestial bodies orbiting out sun. 5. What is Titan? Why are scientists interested in it? Titan is Saturn’s giant moon, it has a surface tempurature of around 270 degrees fahrenheit , it has a think atmosphere that’s regarded by scientists as one of the most complex chemical environment in our solar system Critical Thinking Questions 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Solar System and Outer Planets or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page How do the outer planets differ from the inner planets? Inner planets are classified as rocky planets while the outer planets are classified as gas giants, the outer planets have a greater mass then all the inner planets. The outer planets also have small cores. They are also cooler than the inner planets. 2. Which of the outer planets is MOST like Earth? How? Saturn because they both have at least one moon, they both get seasons like summer and winter, and the gravity is similar. 3. Do you think the outer planets contain any life? Support your response with facts. No creature can survive any where but on earth, because anything alive needs water to live, and the other planets do not have water. 4. Why was Pluto reclassified from a planet to a dwarf planet? Why did this create controversy? Its so far away from earth to get a good look at the planet. It is way smaller than all the other planets Pluto is also mad up of a combination of rocks and ice which is different from the other planets, similar to comets which puts it in a ifferent classification. 5. How has the concept of a planet changed since the 16th century? Do you think this shows scientific accuracy or disproves future facts, as one assumes that they will be discredited in time too? They defined planets as bodies that orbited the sun, now they know that planets don’t just orbit the sun they can be pulled in and orbit other planets due to the gravity, and now we have a better conception on planets and their gravitational forces.

Reframing the Abortion Issue

Reframing the Abortion Issue Free Online Research Papers Abstract One of the most volatile social issues facing our country today is abortion. There have been approximately 45 million abortions performed in the United States since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973. Nearly one billion pregnancies were terminated worldwide in the last fifty years. Abortion finds itself afloat on the murky waters of social, political, moral, and personal agendas all fighting for consideration. The institutional and non-institutional construct of abortion policy development has spawned numerous debates and growing division. This paper examines the social construction of this problem and its ability to drive creative framing techniques to support agenda-setting motives; specifically in redefining the abortion issue. Motive is always a question and reality is confined to situational and individual ecosystems that are sometimes miles apart in ideologies, moral tenets and belief systems. Perhaps this latest effort by the State of North Dakota will dash all hopes of gainin g mutual support for accurate problem identification and solution solidarity. The perpetual struggle between social work and social reform is like the ultimate game of tug-of-war being fought across a great abyss. The distance between the participants is miles and the cost of failure is considered certain death; and yet the battle rages. In certain ways, this tension is reflective of the perpetual battle between policy makers, practitioners and the general public. This tension does not negate mutual respect, but cohesion and potential synergy become casualties as individual purposes collide. As social workers we generally agree that we are in the field to improve the human condition, pursue social justice and work to eliminate inequality. But our field is so vast, so complex, that it becomes apparent that we must part company at some point in our journey. Practitioners become street-level bureaucrats and policy-makers become administrators; and then there is the politics that seems to forever impede the effort to move from problem identification to effective s olution development and implementation. Abramovitz ((Abramovitz, 1998) discusses the pressures between containment and change and how they have plagued social work since its inception and the accusation that the profession has been the â€Å"handmaiden of the status quo† (p.512). How can social work effectively advocate for social reform when these struggles exist? Is it possible to navigate the deep waters of social reform when social workers are so intimately connected to multiple, diverse individual causes? If there is no thread running from the microsystemic realities of the practitioners and the public they serve to the macrosystemic world of the policy-makers can genuine reform ever really be accomplished? Nelson (1984) did a superb job of asking a very important question, â€Å"Which issue, or issues should I choose (p. ix) (Nelson, 1984)?† In an attempt to better define and understand the breadth of these questions, the abortion issue is taken to task. There is little doubt that the move toward multiplicity and integrative perspectives in practice will enhance the field. Borden’s (2009) insight that there is scant discussion of integrating differing concepts, procedures and empirical data concerning the life of a given intervention is noteworthy. There is a dilemma on the administrative side that could benefit from the idea that supports taking multiplicity seriously. This dilemma is more precisely the lack of integration of fact and usable ideas from thinkers outside of our political, moral or religious base. Perhaps taking some of the insights Lipsky (1980) presented that brought to light the power-structure mere mortals hold at the street level can at least help us to better understand the tension that exists between the needs of the general population, the distribution of public goods and services, and the politics that holds it all together (Lipsky, 1980). Abortion is the shot heard around the modern world and there ap pears to be no middle ground on the issue. One of the criticisms of integration of therapeutic models is the idea that there are contrasting perspectives of reality (Messer Winokur, 1980) and nowhere is this more prevalent in the realm of social reform than it is in the abortion debate. Ignoring the fundamental reality that compromise and convolution lessen the impact of ground-floor policy initiatives as they make their way through the approval, funding and implementation mechanisms, ignores the fact that different worldviews create chaos. If the individual cannot be changed, can society still be changed? How does the social worker bridge individual differences to enhance societal reform initiatives? Taking a closer look at the complex issue of abortion may provide some valuable insight into bridging these gaps. There are three primary areas of focus and contention surrounding the abortion subject. First, there is the rights issue; second, the privacy consideration; and third, the volatile question about the presence of life viability. These three areas of contention yield further complications depending on worldviews, or conceptual realities. The complexities of the Supreme Court decision rendered in Roe vs. Wade severely complicated the political, social and moral landscapes by focusing more on medically approved autonomy than on the constitutionally based sexual equality issue. This invited a great deal of academic, legislative and public resistance to the ruling (Ginsburg, 1984), but was perhaps necessary to get the ruling – a classic example of reframing an issue to further the cause of legislative rhetoric and the approval process. This is of vital importance because what is seen in the aftermath of Roe vs. Wade is simply the clash of worldviews – the frontline of a perpe tual battle of individual opposing realities. Simply taking sides and charging into the arena of social reform will not solve the abortion issue. Likewise, cheapening our professional competence by total disregard and disgust of opposing worldviews would only highlight a professional hypocrisy. Social workers cannot devalue any individual beliefs, moral values, or religion simply because we do not agree. Doing so would only ignore the history of the profession and the ethical considerations and responsibility toward the individual. However, in the effort to heal and to promote wellness, empowerment and equality, we have a responsibility to find the common ground that will allow the productive discussion of volatile issues like abortion, capital punishment and assisted suicide. These issues must be re-framed. We have a professional and moral obligation to move in the direction of the practice sector and to look for the truth, the facts, and to boldly proclaim an initiative that is no t self-centered, self-based, or biased by our personal realities. To do so would only foster shortsightedness and ineffective persuasion. Abortion is correctly classified as a social problem, but how that problem is defined and what solutions are identified to address it are critical questions in understanding how the larger context, the ecological construct, can manipulate the process (Linders, 1998) of change. Claims-makers want to persuade, but their motives must be addressed. Simply making the claim that women have the right to terminate a pregnancy because their body is their own does not negate the viability of the argument that if life begins at any point prior to the abortion, the rights of the fetus are equal and therefore infringed upon. Likewise, simply disbelieving the possibility of motives embracing population control, eugenics, and welfare costs, does not negate their influence in policy direction and legislative decision-making. Dismissing the Christian worldview without dismissing the Muslim, Jewish, Hindi, or other worldviews embracing fetal life preservation is dishonest and duplicitous. Exercising the right to abort based on individual rights of ownership and privacy does not extend equal rights to the father who may share ownership of the fetus. Claims-makers work to convince others that a specific problem exists, that a particular solution is necessary, and that a certa in policy should be adopted that utilizes the proposed solution to correct the problem (Best, 1987). However, if the problem is inaccurately identified, the proposed solution and policies are useless; and even worse, potentially incendiary. Any attempt to remove ourselves from the role of subjects, or observers, and to pretend that our perceptions of the object, or problem are personally non-motivating does nothing but reinforce the dualism we must move beyond; especially if social workers are going to effectively bridge the gap between social problems and social reform. The complicated interactions we share with the individuals in their microsystemic realities are only one ingredient in the larger social construct, and this construct is filled with opposing worldviews and personal realities. If we take sides, we only add to an opposing argument. If we fail to act, we reinforce the status quo. However, if we desire social reform and change, something must change. The pro-life Evang elical Christian is never going to accept the worldview of the Agnostic pro-choice feminist; and vice versa; and why should they? Both realities and worldviews are just as valid in their own ecological sphere. Attempting to change mindsets for the sole purpose of propagating our own personal worldviews is not social reform; it is an attempt to get everyone to agree with our reality to the exclusion of their own. The critical thinking mandate demands a non-biased, selfless approach to healing. Dismissing the opposing viewpoint simply because it is not our own dismisses on average, fifty-percent of the potential input to effective problem-identification and solution-building; it castigates holistic synergism and grows strong negative emotions and sometimes hatred. Leaving ourselves behind we must pursue a reality that transcends the opposing worldviews and work, empirically, to find the thread that makes its way through both camps. Stephen Toulmin (1958) presented a basic structure for logical argument that has contributed greatly to the field of critical thinking and rhetoric as potent weapons in helping claims-makers persuade more effectively (Toulmin, 1958). Toulmin drew a distinction between the claim or conclusion that we are trying to justify, and the facts that we use to build our position (Best, 1987), but he also acknowledged the necessity to understand the â€Å"constellation of int erests and resources held by the various constituencies in the process, the way claims are articulated also affects whether they persuade and move the audiences to which they are addressed† (Best, 1987 p. 102). This process is the key to effective interventions on the practice side and it is welcomed in the move toward multiplicity, critical thinking, and pluralism. When Hacking says that some evil actions are public and discusses the constructing of the child abuse issue he definitively states that child abuse is the worst of private evils, he has the ear of an entire nation, if not the entire world (Hacking, 1991). Interestingly enough, if one were to rewrite his article switching the term â€Å"child abuse† with â€Å"abortion,† he would split his receptive audience in two while simultaneously making a great deal of enemies. If everyone believed that life began at conception perhaps abortion would be considered child abuse. But everyone does not share this bel ief and this causes two specific framing elements, or objectives to take form; and they are mutually opposing. The difference here is not that one term is more evil than the other; the difference is simply the amount of people who share your interpretation of the definition you are choosing to utilize. The practice side sees merit in numerous theoretical perspectives and strives to improve their scholarship through mastery of these theoretical frameworks so that their clinical skills can be more effective; they can become better healers. On the policy side there is tension between differing political camps, religious affiliation and morality. These typical tenets of separation contain the very worldviews and ecosystems we need to explore, accept as valid and embrace if we are to effectively reform society. There is a bridge to be built and maintained between the data we have and the claims we are making. What Toulmin called the warrant, the link between the data and the claim, is a third type of proposition that authorizes â€Å"the sort of step to which our particular argument commits us† (Toulmin, 1958. p.98). Can the abortion issue be restated in a way that will garner open ears and consideration from both sides of the debate? Historically, abortion was not condemned; during the classical period the ancient Greeks actually advocated abortion to regulate population and stabilize economic conditions. Much like today, clinical urgency and socio-political origin were the two predominant criteria employed in the abortion decision. Possibly the earliest recorded account of abortion use as a population control measure was a recommendation of Aristotle to ensure an ideal size of a city, but specifically in cases where couples already had †sufficient† children (Farr, 1980). Throughout the ages the three areas of constraint legal, religious, and medical were always present but in differing capacities. English law allowed a woman to have an abortion at will from 1307 to 1803 as long as the first movements of the fetus had not yet occurred (generally around 16 to 18 weeks); an abortion performed after the fetus started to move was considered a criminal offense though only a misdemeanor (David, 1992). How ever, beginning in 1803 with the reign of George III, the Lord Ellenborough’s Act made abortion before fetal movements could be felt, a felony, and any abortions after fetal movements could be felt, murder, punishable by death (David, 1992). During the remainder of the 19th and 20th centuries, abortion was very restrictive in most cultures. The legislative trends that began in the 1920’s were felt worldwide, were extremely complex, and resulted in numerous challenges to restrictive abortion laws and opened a divisive dialogue between opponents and proponents. Since the 1960’s there has been a tremendous movement toward lessening the restrictions placed on induced abortions worldwide, and specifically in the United States with the finding of the Supreme Court in the Roe vs. Wade decision. The legislative footprint surrounding the abortion issue is extremely diverse, and perpetual legislative manipulation wrought by the dynamic political processes associated with many newer abortion laws have attributed to a growing divide among supporters and non-supporters. The social revolution that has occurred over the past fifty years regarding abortion legislation has been enormous. As of today, Europe, which in 1954 had only three countries where abortion was not legally restricted (Sweden, Denmark and Iceland), has completely reversed their position (David, 1992). The multicultural expansion of the pro-abortion movement can likely be attributed to one of the following four interrelated causes according to David (1992): The general recognition of the threat to public health of legally restricted abortion; support for a woman’s right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy under safe conditions and an early stage of gestation; liberalization of legislation concerning the availability of modern contraceptives; and provision of equal access to all methods of fertility regulation for woman of all strata of society. These considerations were benchmark defenses for loosening many of the previously restrictive abortion laws. However, these very defenses are also the foundation for much opposition and though it is probably a safe assumption to say that abortions, at least in some sense, are here to stay, the bridge between opposing sides of the issues has yet to be built. Regardless of stance, both sides have to acknowledge certain, irrefutable facts. In the United States an estimated 44.6 million abortions were performed between 1973 and 2005, or slightly more than one in five pregnancies resulted in abortion (Jones, Zolna, Henshaw, Finer, 2008). And though the abortion rate in the United States has seen a decline in abortions since 1992, the latest numbers still reflect an annual rate in excess of 1.2 million abortions. One of the most common medical procedures undergone by women in the United States is abortion (Owings Kozak, 1998). The maternal death rate from induced abortions has declined from 4.1/100,000 to less than one percent per hundred-thousand over the past 35 years (Bartlett et al., 2004) but still remain disproportionately high for women receiving abortions after eight weeks of gestation. It may be assumed that the rise in use of medical abortions using Mifepristone may have lead to a decrease in abortion related deaths, however, rese arch shows that the mortality rates from medical abortions are statistically equal to the mortality rates of induced and spontaneous abortions, and therefore the reduction in the mortality rate cannot be directly attributed to a reduction in surgical abortions (Grimes, 2005). Furthermore, even with the addition of the medical abortion regime, abortion is still considered to be one of the safest medical procedures in contemporary practice in the United States (Grimes Creinin, 2004). David (1992) said that â€Å"Abortion is a social reality that can no more be legislated out of existence than the controversy surrounding it can be stilled. No matter how effective family planning services and practices become, there will always be a need for access to safe abortion services† (p.1). This quote came from an article written following the keynote address at a conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR in October of 1990 titled, From Abortion to Contraception: Public Health Approaches to Reducing Unwanted Pregnancy and Abortion through Improved Family Planning Services. This brings us to our second irrefutable fact; there is a universal effort to stem the flow of unwanted pregnancies, and therefore abortions. Considering the fact that one of the most common medical procedures in the United States and Europe is abortion (David, 1992; Owings Kozak, 1998) and that most medical professionals do not advocate unnecessary medical procedures, especially surgical procedures, one must consider the cause. A global snapshot of total abortions, legal and illegal, worldwide in 1995 tallied an estimated 46 million abortions in one year; citing that 26 million were legal and 20 million were illegal, abortion accounted for the termination of 26% of all pregnancies worldwide in 1995 (Henshaw, Singh, Haas, 1999). Henshaw concluded that, â€Å"Both developed and developing countries can have low abortion rates. Most countries, however, have moderate to high abortion rates, reflecting lower prevalence and effectiveness of contraceptive use. Stringent legal restrictions do not guarantee a low abortion rate† (p.1). Again, the consensus is to look for better contraceptives, family practice services, and a global reduction of abortion practice. Looking at global rates of abortion over the past 25 years shows a staggering estimate of nearly 800 million abortions (David, 1992; Finer Henshaw, 2006; Henshaw et al., 1999; Jones et al., 2008; Sedgh, Henshaw, Singh, Ã…hman, Shah, 2007; Shain, 1986; Ventura, Abma, Mosher, Henshaw, 2006; Wilkinson et al., 2006). This number of aborted fetuses is equal to the entire United States and European Union populations combined. The third indisputable fact is that abortion is a world-wide concern on many different levels. To summarize, we have determined that there are to this point, three discernable facts surrounding the abortion issues: First, that in the United States alone there have been an estimated 46 million abortions since the passing of Roe vs. Wade; second, there is a universal effort to stem the flow of unwanted pregnancies, and therefore abortions; and third, that abortion is a world-wide problem. But what are we to do with the issues of women’s reproductive rights; the question of when life begins; the rights of the unborn; the moral obligation to personal responsibility; and the population questions? Fighting the abortion issue on these levels will never bring about cohesion and healing on both sides of the issues. The determinant of any perpetual social problem is the viability of the fight between two or more opposing sides. If both sides can acknowledge the claims of the opposition and demonstrate a willingness to find common ground the fighting can stop and progress can be m ade. However, when any of the negotiating parties are incapable of either accepting the opposition’s claims as valid, or unwilling to refocus their efforts on a larger, nobler cause, the problem will continue forever. What needs to be done in the case of the abortion issue is to begin to reframe it into a more palatable issue. We must shift lenses, share lenses and find a unified focal point. There is little doubt that abortion is a universal phenomenon, but attitudes toward abortion have been changing. In the years following the historic Roe vs. Wade decision over 80% of Americans approved of abortion in cases of rape, serious birth defects and health issues, and over 40% approved of abortion under most circumstances (Shain, 1986). The political debate has grown over the past twenty years as new methods are tested and employed that are medical alternatives to surgical abortions. Politically, an interesting correlation was found in a clinical trial of medical abortion using Mifepristone-Misoprostol demonstrated medical abortion choice as a political support consideration that increased with education level (Clark, Ellertson, Winikoff, 2000). Another claim states that women who disapprove of abortion tend to have achieved lower educational levels (Shain, 1986) Sociodemographically, there are numerous claims and accusations being made on both sides of the issue. Petchesky (1998) makes several claims regarding the increase in the abortion rates among adolescent teenagers stating that the increase should be viewed as positive, demonstrating that teenagers now have a choice whether to marry or not marry. She goes on to make the claim that abortion is a necessary good and that the rise in abortion rates indirectly indicates that women have gained power (R. Petchesky Judd, 1998; R. P. Petchesky, 1990a). Presently, the issues are broad and complex. What makes this social problem so important is its volatility, the propensity for fierce emotion, and the extent to which either side will go to enforce their views. The passing of House Bill 1572 by the sixty-first Legislative Assemble of North Dakota was a bold stroke at reframing the entire abortion issue from a reproductive rights campaign to a campaign for human rights; they simply defined human life (Davey, 2008; Johnson, 2007; Koch, 2008; Richardson Times, 2009): b.Human being means any organism, including the single-cell human embryo, irrespective of the method of reproduction, who possesses a genome specific for and consistent with an individual member of the human species. c. Human embryo means all human beings from the beginning of the embryonic period of their biological development through eight weeks, irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of reproduction, whether in vivo or in vitro. d. Human fetus means all human beings from the beginning of the fetal period of their biological development, which begins at nine weeks gestation through birth, irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of reproduction, whether in vivo or in vitro. e. Human genome means the total amount of nuclear and extra-nuclear DNA genetic material that constitutes an organism as an individual member of the human species, including the single-cell human embryo. f. Person or individual means the legal recognition of a human beings full status as a human person that applies to all human beings, irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of reproduction, including their preborn offspring at every stage of their biological development. Simply by refocusing the issues, the State Legislature of North Dakota undermined the entire â€Å"rights† agenda simply by redefining and advocating for these very rights. It was a broad-stroke of political magic that will eventually see its way to the United States Supreme Court. It was masterfully done, considering the new â€Å"issue† of defining the beginning of human life, because this will be very dangerous political ground. Who will step up to the plate and actually proclaim when human life actually begins? North Dakota was the first to act on this human-life interpretation, and in this case, being first may prove to have been the greatest asset to claims-making and agenda-setting in our recent history. Perhaps, taking into consideration political self-survival, the abortion issues may finally be remanded back to State control. In any case, it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next several years. Abortion cannot be globally defended as a stand-alone issue aside from some obvious serious medical issues such as rape, incest, or serious birth defects. In these cases, even in the United States following Roe vs. Wade, 80% of the people thought abortion was a viable consideration in these types of cases (Shain, 1986). However, when we activate mutually exclusive ideologies and begin to provide radical demonstrations of opposing moral, medical, and gender equality concerns we may find ourselves in the middle of political, social and religious minefields. Even bringing the issue of parental notification into the arena causes a watershed of debate and hostilities even though some research claims it to be effective in reducing abortion rates (Joyce, Kaestner, Colman, 2006). The downside of this type of front is that it drives division and rhetoric that fans the flames of strife rather than quells the heat and advocates for cooler heads and progress. Many times we become more radicals than advocates when we take sides at the exclusion of the rights and consideration of those who oppose us. Diversity is a wide, two-way street. And though there are times for fighting and self preservation, the first response should always be mutual recognition and support. There are many voices speaking in the fields of social reform, but anything less than perfection in navigating the treacherous waters of rhetoric, politics, and research will leave many facts unusable and distorted. Perhaps a warning can be found in the study looking at the disposition toward critical thinking when we find that â€Å"Entering college freshman students showed strengths in open-mindedness and inquisitiveness, [but] weaknesses in systematicity and opposition to truth-seeking† (Facione, Sanchez, Facione, Gainen, 1995). Truth-seeking is a selfless character trait and open-mindedness is not an indication of one’s ability to see, find, apprehend, embrace, or simply acknowledge fact, which is the gateway to many truths. Redefining the abortion issue is a key component to solving this volatile social problem. In finding middle ground we must side-step issues that some embrace as their holy grail, such as fetal right to life and women’s right to reproductive ownership. These are sizable, interesting and valid issues, but a closer look at their foundations leads to a skewed reality of the problem. Abortion is simply a means to terminating unwanted pregnancy. Even taking into consideration the number of abortions performed because of incest, rape, or because of vital health concerns of the mother, the numbers are statistically insignificant when compared to the total numbers of abortions performed world-wide on a yearly basis. Forming an argument incorrectly can produce some unwanted resistance as well as to reinvent, or even worse, shift problem focus. Even considering what some may consider positive attributes of pro-abortion legislation, such as higher college graduation rates among women (Ananat, Gruber, Levine, Staiger, 2006), are nullified by the voices condemning the practice because of the moral repercussions. New research might confirm that most people who have been educated about the decrease in maternal mortality in countries where abortion has been legalized would find that a positive outcome, but weighing that outcome within the framework of their personal moral beliefs would have little effect on their acceptance of legalized abortion as an advanced method of birth control. Looking at abortion and defining it differently would be to conclude that in the vast majority of instances it is simply an advanced method of terminating unwanted pregnancies. There are those who hear the women’s rights issues about privacy and right to reproductive sovereignty but would conclude that those rights are no different than those exercised by an obese person who cannot control their physical urges to get surgical or medical relief from their unwanted pounds. Some see the voices of women calling out for the right to abort as waving a white flag of surrender to sexual irresponsibility. When looking at the abortion issue from the moral perspective of most conservative groups they do not simply see the lives of nearly 45 million babies destroyed on a yearly basis, they see it as more than 5000 lives terminated against their will every hour, every day of the year. Regardless of the issue live-viability, the liberal cannot concede to anything less than would allow them to get their abortions on demand, and the right will equally resist the demand to concede to their beliefs. A careful look at the Roe vs. Wade case will show the complexities of the social, legal and political construct necessary to move this country to legalizing abortion (Ginsburg, 1984). The Annulla Linders study was a monumental progressive work toward understanding the social, political and moral dynamics that drive policy and decision-making on the institutional and non-institutional fronts (Linders, 1998; Linders, 2004): The question of social movement outcomes is obviously a pressing concern to movements themselves, and increasingly so to social movement scholars. The question is not only, or at least not simply, to what extent a particular movement succeeds in accomplishing its goals, but also what the larger social consequences are of movement activity-for movement constituents, for other movements, for the political process, and for the organization of social life more generally. Movements certainly do make a difference in contemporary democracies, but in order to understand exactly how and why movements matter, we need to reach beyond them and examine the larger social and historical context in which movements formulate their demands and press for change. In conclusion, if we want to understand what happens to movements and their goals in the long term, and why, the findings of this paper suggest that our explanations of social movement outcomes need to be sensitive to the dynamic interplay of protest, targets, institutions, and other environmental constraints in distinct historical locations. This approach not only bridges movement- and policy-oriented approaches to the study of movement out- comes, but also has implications for how we think about and conceptualize social movements. While the abortion challenge in the United States clearly looks like a social movement, comprised as it did a wide range of loosely connected national and local grass-roots organizations and groups, the Swedish challenge is more difficult to distinguish from institutional politics, or politics as usual. And yet, in both Sweden and the United States the efforts to liberalize the abortion law amounted to a major challenge of institutionally protected forms of privilege and an entrenched system of gender inequality. Thus, comparisons across different nations (or other con- texts) provide opportunities for extending our understanding of the origins and organization of social protest in such a way that both institutional and non-institutional politics get incorporated into the analysis of what Zald calls ideologically structured action (Linders, 2004). Restructuring a social problem to make it more palatable to opposing sides is a challenging venture but in the course of productive social change and reform advocacy without consideration of the global impact of choosing sides, it could be catastrophic. Refocusing, or realigning ourselves with a new problem identification agenda will further establish mutual acceptance of opposing ideologies with concessions, not compromise. Advocacy is different than social reform, and in some cases where it demands taking a position simply because we believe in it as opposed to because it the right thing to do, it can discourage open and honest communication and work against a cultural and national realignment. Abortion, in all its definitions is rarely described as something good. Most reiterations of the abortion term are negative, which constitutes support of its distastefulness in naked terms. There are physical (Bartlett et al., 2004; Grimes, 2005; Grimes et al., 2006), psychological (Coleman, Reardon, Rue, Cougle, 2002; Fergusson, John Horwood, Ridder, 2006; Najman, Morrison, Williams, Andersen, Keeping, 1991), social (Hansen, 1980; Linders, 1998), moral and personal (Correa Petchesky, 1994; Joyce et al., 2006; R. Petchesky Judd, 1998; R. P. Petchesky, 1990b) considerations to be navigated. As social work professionals we may find that we are short-selling the larger social reform agenda by grasping too tightly to any one of these multiple, interrelated issues surrounding the abortion problem. Advocating for any one position over another may inadvertently set us at odds with each other and lesson the greater hope and cause of simply working together to lessen the occurrences of unwanted pregnancies and thereby reducing the incidence of abortion without even addressing abortion. Working together to reduce unwanted pregnancies is a cause everyone can get behind, abortion will never be an issue that everyone can support. As social workers, our hope may be to open a few minds to the potential of solving one mutually-agreed upon problem – unwanted pregnancies – and inadvertently reducing the incidence of abortion without ever addressing the abortion issue, a global and irreconcilable social issue. Abortion is a symptom, it is a reciprocatory action taken only when a very specific set of circumstances comes into play. It is interesting to note that regardless of the dynamic banner we stand under gender equality, equal rights, woman’s rights, reproductive rights, right to life, right to choose, conservative, liberal or independent abortion and it’s very construct and purpose are forever static. Nonetheless there are numerous political, social and moral holes to fall into to distract us from the real problem of unwanted pregnancies. There are fewer and more hopeful solutions to reducing pregnancy on all sides of this social problem than there will ever be to calm the tumultuo us seas of numerous personal agendas. Finally, the fourth and probably most indisputable fact is that every abortion is at the very least a termination of a potential life. Considering that the world has aborted nearly one billion fetuses over the past fifty years, the potential of having destroyed millions of possible writers, artists, musicians, sculptors, mathematicians, teachers, and others is a sobering fact. In our practices we have collectively met millions of people, most in dire straits or going through hard times, but how many have actually said and believe that they wish that they were never born? Every human being alive today is alive only because their mother decided to give birth to them, regardless of circumstance. 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Research Papers on Reframing the Abortion IssueInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyTwilight of the UAWComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoPETSTEL analysis of IndiaMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresOpen Architechture a white paperRiordan Manufacturing Production Plan

Managing Employee Relations in Contemporary Organisations Essay - 1

Managing Employee Relations in Contemporary Organisations - Essay Example To gain political millage the unions were supported and integrated into legislation in the 1900s. Workers union were the largest change to impact employee relations, in the political excerpt, causing indulgence of employee employer relations into acts of governance to protect every party. Unions impacted on politics based on the collective power member had and the power therein in swinging the vote. The workers in the British society, as it is with other societies, have always influenced political ambitions. In politics, the aim involved is getting the majority vote and this can only be obtained by having favour with different groups. Different workers and their categories can easily influence the vote of a given region by aligning with a particular context that favours them. This is the case with governance in the UK with trade unions having been initially illegal, legalized and then instituted in the constitution such that workers favoured the governance that provided rights and be tter working terms and conditions. Economic context In the economic sense, managing employee relations experienced changes through the growth of the Human Resource Management programs. The unions were vessels in which the employees made their demands. At first, the unions were destructive and mostly were expensive to the economic sector, with destruction and looting of property. Legalizing the unions saw members initialize a standard under which employee relations were approached in groups as opposed to individuals. Adoption of different employee relation strategies in the twentieth century, abandoning of unions, allowed the employers to make bargains with individual employees based on their capacities and responsibilities (Hardy and Leiba-O’Sullivan, 1998, p. 455). Economically, agreements with individuals are less costly compared to having to strike deals with unions. The working class is a fundamental group economically in the UK. The input by the workers in most cases det ermines the output or productivity of a region. The employee relations thus affect various economic concepts such as the GDP, GNP, Exports as well as Imports. Initially, before the industrial revolution, productivity was based on human resources and overworking was a common occurrence, but its increase came to be in the industrial revolution. During the era, the merchants and producers realized that by incorporating machine, productivity increased twofold and that meant more working hours for the employees. Employers introduced shifts and targets for every worker straining the relations as it was affected by the degree of comfort with the jobs. In the revolution, economic increases were recorded but it was soon followed by an outcry by the working forces, which led to unions to fight against oppression. Adopting new employee relation strategies after unions privatized the matters of employment as modern terms of work are negotiated based on personal responsibilities and performance. Social context Socially changes in employee relations have seen an increase in productivity. Changes from unionisation to HRM have seen employees take on more responsibilities within organisations. Socially allocation of responsibilities to workers has improved relations between employer and employee. Unions’ responsibilities included taking on blames by actions purported to have been by their members. Individual members in unions had little sense of