Organization Analysis, Part 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organization Analysis, Part 1 - Essay Example High staff turnover costs the company in terms of tangible and intangible resources. On the one hand, the company loses on the knowledge of the departing staff whereas on the other hand, it is forced to use more resources, which could have been put to better use elsewhere, on constant recruitment and job training for new staff. Another major HR challenge that the company faces is the effect of different cultures arising out of its global expansion. Wal-Mart cannot impose a standard HR practice in all countries because of their different cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2001). Nevertheless, Michael Duke, the President and CEO of Wal-Mart identifies developing staff as one of the five key strategies central to the company’s future (Wal-Mart, 2012). After all in retail it is the store and club associates that take care of customers and members which determines whether customer become loyal or not. On the legal front, Wal-Mart’s HR management has two chief areas of concer n, ensuring equal employment opportunities and improving their labor relations. Under the equal employment opportunity challenge, the important activity is to prevent the likely occurrence of discrimination practices among its staff. This aspiration should ideally reflect the spirit of the law as envisioned by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 by reinforcing illegality of making hiring, firing or promotion decisions on the basis of sex, ethnicity, race or religion (DeCenzo & Robbins, 2005). This act also includes the Glass Ceiling Act. Wal-Mart has been addressing the equal employment opportunity concern by embedding diversity and inclusion into its culture. This has been done partly through its Diversity Goals Program where managers are held accountable for elevating the standards of diversity and inclusion throughout the company, with up to 15 percent of management bonuses and ten percent of performance evaluation scores tied to their diversity goals achievement (Wal-Mart, 2011). T his program has seen the numbers of minorities’ rise from 21.3% in 2005 to 36% in 2011 and that for females rise from 38.8% in 2005 to 57% in 2011. Of the two HR challenges, Wal-Mart’s greater challenge has been its labor relations. Wal-Mart is America’s largest private employer and it has used its muscle to quash all attempts by its workers to form or be part of labor unions. The company’s low cost strategy relies on minimizing production costs and labor costs are often the major expense in production for low-end retail (Woodman, 2012). Without a union, Wal-Mart employees have had less bargaining power and this could be one of the reasons why the company has a rapid turnover. Nevertheless, the continued growth of the group Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart (OUR Walmart) demonstrates less likelihood of the company’s staff relenting on this issue. For this reason we envisage this power struggle on whether to unionize or not continuing in to the future unless either party relents. We however believe that it would be more productive for Wal-Mart to address the concerns of its workers if it seeks to remain competitive in the coming years. A possible solution is to meet workers’ demands half-way by giving them some of the demands they are requesting such as respect, affordable health care, stable and fair scheduling, and improved wages. Wal-Mart’

The Origin of the Word Hubris Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Origin of the Word Hubris - Essay Example Along with advancements in science, the Greeks made significant advances in philosophy. â€Å"Beginning with Hesiod, the Greeks stressed the virtue of sophrosyne (moderation, self-control) as the key to happiness and right living. Its opposite was Hubris, meaning pride, arrogance and unbridled ambition† (). Hubris encompassed many aspects of life in ancient Greece. It was not only a philosophical matter but also a legal and religious matter. Hubris was not only an act against humans but also an act against the gods, â€Å"Hubris against the gods is often attributed as a character flaw of the heroes in Greek tragedy, and the cause of the nemesis or destruction, which befalls these characters† (). The gods were free to punish that mortal who were guilty of committing hubris but were also free to commit hubris themselves because of the power they possessed over mortals. Athenian dramatists often wrote about this theme in their plays, â€Å"Herodotus attributed the Persian defeat by the Greeks to Xerxes overweening pride, for Zeus tolerates pride in none but himself" (). Ancient Greek writings such as The Odyssey also touch on the topic of hubris on a mortal to mortal level rather than an immortal to a mortal level. The most popular example is that of Penelope’s suitors who are made to pay for their crimes against the household of Odysseus from the hands of Odysseus himself rather than one of the gods. In this case, hubris was an act of violence but an act of arrogance. Penelope’s suitors believed that Odysseus would not be returning so they helped themselves to his property and wife. From a modern perspective, this act of hubris does not stem from excessive pride but from practicality. After all, Odysseus was gone for quite some time but according to Homer. this extended absence was not an excuse for arrogance.

Self Objectification and the Sexualization of Girls

Self Objectification and the Sexualization of Girls Contemporary Western culture has essentially commodified the female body and form and we now live in a society where womens bodies tend to be valued as appearance-based, sexual objects; objects that can be viewed and appraised, bought and sold, and ultimately consumed, by other individuals and society as a whole. Sexual objectification of the female body exists along a continuum ranging from the literal (e.g., human sex trafficking, modeling, participating in pageants) to figurative (e.g., media representations, using womens bodies in advertising). Further, sexual objectification represents both a cultural as well as interpersonal phenomenon; one in which women and girls are reduced to and primarily valued for their appearance and, more specifically, their ability to conform to societys increasingly narrow standards for a sexually desirable body. Thus, the experience of sexual objectification can be both direct (e.g., women and girls personal experiences of being judged on their appe arance and sexual desirability) as well as indirect (i.e., women and girls observation of the treatment and sexual objectification of other women and girls) (Crawford et al., 2009). A number of feminist theorists (e.g., Kaschak, 1992; Ussher, 1989) have argued that one of the many potential consequences of living in a society of pervasive sexual objectification, girls and women will internalize this sexual objectification and begin to objectify themselves. That is, over time women learn, through both their interpersonal experiences and vicarious observation of society and popular culture, that their looks matter, that other peoples appraisal of their appearance can determine how they are treated, and, these evaluations can even affect the quality of their social and economic lives. Objectification theory (Fredrickson Roberts, 1997) is a framework for understanding a variety of psychological and physical consequences women may face as a result of living in a culture that sexually objectifies their bodies. This theory describes the process through which women internalize both the belief that appearance is critical component of womens worth as well as cultures standards of near physical perfection and then ultimately determine their value as an individual based on their ability to meet these standards (Crawford et al., 2009). However, as each successive cohort of women since the late 1950s has faced standards of thinness and beauty that are increasingly more difficult to achieve (Garner et al., 1980; Wiseman et al., 1992), the current cultural body and appearance standards for women are now both incredibly unhealthy as well as virtually unattainable (Sptizer, Henderson, Zivian, 1999). For those women who connect these standards to their identity and self-worth, the failure to achieve or compare to this idealized female body is likely to result in feelings of shame and anxiety about their bodies (Bartky, 1988; Lewis, 2000). The traditional view of self-objectification (i.e., valuing ones body more on the basis of outward appearance than performance, health, or function), in turn, is theorized to be associated with an array of emotional and physical consequences, including an increase in body shame, body dissatisfaction, decreased awareness of internal states, depression, sexual dysfunction, and symptoms of eating disorders (Noll Fredrickson, 1998). In the literature, the concept of self-objectification has been used interchangeably with the term objectified body consciousness. McKinley and Hydes (1996) similar construct of objectified body consciousness consists of three primary components: Self-surveillance, body shame, and appearance control. An individual with an objectified body consciousness closely monitors their body from the view of a third person, exhibits body shame when they fail to achieve the cultural expectations, and believes that individuals are able to control their appearance, respectively. Over the last decade, a considerable body of evidence has been documented in support of the proposed tenets of these theories among both adult and adolescent women within a variety of contexts (for an extensive review: Moradi Huang, 2008). Self-objectification and objectified body consciousness have been empirically linked to a plethora of negative psychosocial and physical outcomes, including low body esteem (McKinley, 1998, 1999; McKinley Hyde, 1996; Noll Fredrickson, 1998), depression (Harrison Frederickson, 2003; Miner-Rubino, Twenge, Fredrickson, 2002; Muehlenkamp Saris-Baglama, 2002; Tolman et al., 2006), restrictive eating and eating disorders (Fredrickson et al., 1998; McKinley, 1999; Muehlenkamp Saris-Baglama, 2002; Noll Fredrickson, 1998; Slater Tiggemann, 2002; Tiggemann Lynch, 2001; Tiggemann Slater, 2001), sexual dysfunction (Roberts Gettman, 2004; Wiederman, 2001) and even an increased likelihood of smoking cigarettes (Harrell, 2002). Additionally, experimen tal induction of temporary states of self-objectification has resulted in decreased performance, both physical and cognitive. In one study of over 200 girls, aged 10 to 17 years, Frederickson and Harrison (2005) found that increasing levels of self-objectification predicted poorer motor performance while throwing a softball. Additionally, in their now infamous study, Frederickson and colleagues (1998) found that after asking women to try on a swimsuit and evaluate their appearance in a mirror, these women performed worse on a short math test compared to the women in the control group who completed the same appearance evaluation task in a sweater; findings which have been consistently replicated across multiple sexes and sexual orientations (Hebl, King, Lin, 2004; Martins, Tiggemann, Kirkbride, 2007). To date, much of this research has been conducted utilizing convenience samples of predominately U.S., undergraduate university students (e.g., Miner-Rubino et al., 2002; Morry Staska, 2001; Muelenkamp Saris-Baglama, 2002; Quinn, Kallen, Cathey, 2006) as well as other subgroups vulnerable to objectification, such as dancers (Parsons Betz, 2001; Slater Tiggemann, 2002; Tiggemann Slater, 2001) in part due to their high rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders as well as the perceived likelihood of these groups experiencing sexually objectifying situations. While these characteristics certainly make these groups ideal for testing predictions based on objectification theory and the objectified body consciousness construct, they also mean that demographic qualities such as age range, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity are restricted in comparison to the general population. This has greatly limited the generalizability of the findings to other groups of women and made it d ifficult to investigate developmental aspects of self-objectification. Furthermore, given the ubiquitous nature of the sexual objectification of women, self-objectification and an objectified body consciousness are likely to be relevant constructs in the lives of all women. This line of research is far from complete and prior studies and reviews have repeatedly called for additional research addressing group specific manifestations of self-objectification and its related concepts and outcomes within the framework of objectification theory. Despite the notion and evidence to suggest that eating and body image issues begin to develop prior to adolescence, from a developmental perspective, preadolescent girls remain one group that has been understudied to this date. Puberty and Adolescence One potential reason for this exclusion is due to the particular importance assigned to the contribution and timing of puberty in the emergence of self-objectification by both objectification theory as well as objectified body consciousness theory. Specifically, as girls physically and sexually develop into their mature adult forms, their bodies are increasingly judged and commented upon, and subjected to sexual objectification from others, which, according to objectification theory, results in girls adopting a outsiders view of their own bodies to ensure compliance with the social standard (Fredrickson Roberts, 1997). Although there is considerable variation in the individual timing and tempo of puberty (Tanner, 1972), research in the related, albeit more general, areas of body image and body dissatisfaction have routinely shown puberty to be an important risk factor for a variety of psychosocial problems in adolescence, including depression and eating disorders (Angold, Costello, Worthman, 1998; Stice, Agras, Hammer, 1999; Weichold, Silbereisen, Schmitt-Rodermund, 2003). This work in the areas of body image and body dissatisfaction suggests three primary ways in which physical development during puberty could result in body shame. First, the start of puberty initiates a series of dramatic appearance related changes for most adolescents. For example, normal female pubertal development involves the addition of approximately 24 pounds of body fat (Warren, 1983) which represents a typical change in body fat composition from about 16% to 27% and a muscle-to-fat ratio of 5 to 4 by the end of puberty (Brown et al., 2010; Smoll Schutz, 1990). This weight gain and increase in body fat is entirely inconsistent with the current social ideal of an ultra thin, prepubertal, female body ideal and a likely source of adolescent girls dissatisfaction with their bodies (Graber et al., 1994; Spitzer, Henderson, Zivian, 1999; Stice Whitenton, 2002). Similarly, all of these sudden physical changes may redirect or enhance adolescents already greater tendency toward self-consciousness (Jones, 2004; Rankin et al., 2004). Some of the previously described body image research with adults supports this concept and has shown that directing individuals attention to their physical appearance, even temporarily, can result in increased reports of self-surveillance as well as body shame (e.g., Fredrickson et al., 1998; Hebl, King, Lin, 2004; Martins, Tiggemann, Kirkbride, 2007). Finally, in addition to directing adolescents attention to their own physical appearance, the physical changes of puberty likely direct others attention to the adolesce nts body as well; attention that is commonly in the form of peer sexual harassment, particularly for early developing girls (American Association of University Women, 2001). A growing body of research suggests that sexual harassment during adolescence is normative and related to pubertal development (McMaster et al., 2002; Murnen Smolak, 2000). Likewise, in a study of 166 girls aged 10- to 12-years-old (mean age 11.2 years), Lindberg, Grabe, Hyde (2007) showed that more advanced pubertal development and greater sexual harassment from peers predicted increases in both girls engagement in self-surveillance as well as body shame. Consequently, much of the research on the tenets of self-objectification and objectified body consciousness, as well as the proposed psychosocial outcomes has focused on the experiences of mostly post pubertal adolescents and young adults. However, despite the proposed role of puberty in the development of self-objectification; research in related areas suggests that body image concerns are likely starting much earlier than puberty. Numerous researchers have documented that body image concerns and dissatisfaction are significant for most adolescent girls in both clinical and non clinical samples (Bunnell et al., 1992; Smolak Levine, 2001; Thompson et al., 1999b), regardless of eating pathology or weight (Rodin, Silberstein, Streigel-Moore, 1985); findings which have subsequently been explained as normative discontent. In other words, because a majority of women tend to be dissatisfied with their bodies, negative body attitudes are, in fact, quite normal. Thus, by adolescence, many girls have already developed weight and body concerns and may even have engaged in attempts to alter or control their weight and body shape. Although a significant proportion of the previous research on disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction has focused on adult women and adolescent girls, an emerging line of research has begun to examine these constructs among pre-pubescent children as well (Cusumano and Thompson, 2001; Davison, Markey, Birch, 2003; Dohnt Tiggemann, 2004; Field et al., 1999a; Ricciardelli McCabe, 2001; Ricciardelli, McCabe, Banfield, 2000; VanderWal Thelen, 2000). And thus, while the role of pubertal development is certainly notable, it is also an incomplete picture of why and how self-objectification likely develops. Sexualization of Girls A complimentary perspective and emerging line of research particularly relevant to the potential causes and outcomes of self-objectification concerns that of the sexualization of girls. According to the Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007), sexualization is used to describe the treatment of others or oneself as sexual objects and, as things rather than as people with legitimate sexual feelings of their own. Sexualized individuals are valued primarily for their physical appearance and, more specifically, their sex appeal. The phenomenon of sexualization has been observed and commented upon by an ever widening array of academics and cultural critics, as well as the popular media. Emma Rush and Andrea La Nauze of The Australia Institute (2006b) have similarly defined sexualization as, the act of giving someone or something a sexual character, which, when applied to children includes inappropriately imposing or encouraging, ster eotypical forms of adult sexuality. In the book, The Lolita Effect, Gigi Durham (2008) commented at length on the complimentary social phenomenon of viewing and treating little girls as sexy as well as encouraging adult women to be sexy by adopting childlike habits and clothing trends (e.g., Mary Jane shoes, lollipops, school uniforms). While children have always been exposed to adult sexuality through popular culture and media, the very direct sexualization of children by media and society, is a considerably more recent development. According to Rush La Nauze (2006b), the term corporate paedophilia is a metaphor coined by Phillip Adams to describe the marketing strategy of age compression, where previously adult/adolescent products are aimed at younger and younger children in order to guarantee more consumers (Lamb and Brown, 2006; Levin and Kilbourne, 2008; Rush La Nauze, 2006a). Rush and La Nauze (2006b) operationally define this concept as advertising and marketing that either seek to present children in sexually suggestive ways, or seek to sell product to children using overt forms of adult sexuality. Despite the potential negative connotations, with 27 million children aged 7 to 14 years, the contemporary tween market is a rather lucrative demographic with tremendous discretionary purchasing power, including a subset of 2.7 million that, in 2001, spent more than $14 billion on clothing alone (Nieder and Figueroa, 2001). Although both girls and boys are exposed to adult sexuality through popular culture and media, the direct marketing of sexualized materials to children is notably directed toward young girls (Rush La Nauze, 2006b). A 1999 article in Entrepreneur magazine described how girls represent a better niche market than boys because, like their adult female counterparts, girls tend to purchase predictable economic stuff, including clothing, accessories, and beauty products (Phillipps, 1999). And, in 2007, NPD Group reported that 7- to 14-year-old girls spent $11.5 billion on apparel, up from $10.5 billion in 2004 (Sweeney, 2008). Taking notice, corporations like MGA Entert ainment, producer of the Bratz dolls, have licensed a line of Bratz clothing and accessories for little girls that include a matching hip-hugger underpants and padded bra set (Opplinger, 2008). Slim-fit t-shirts in stretchy fabrics are now sold in childrens sizes with slogans such as, So many boys, so little time and, Scratch and Sniff across the chest and Pollett and Hurwitz (2004) noted that thong underwear are now offered in tween stores as well as childrens wear departments, often with decorations that will specifically appeal to children. Retail stores such as Limited Too and Justice, which cater exclusively to the tween demographic sell lingerie items such as camisoles and lacy panties, items that once would have been marketed solely to adults (Lamb Brown, 2006). Likewise, the younger sister of Miley Cyrus (of Disney Channel fame) recently began marketing her own lingerie line for tweens. National chains such as Target and J.C. Penny are now selling padded bras and thong pant ies for young girls that feature cherries and slogans such as Wink-Wink and Eye Candy, while in 2008, Wal-Mart offered a pair of thong underwear in childrens sizes emblazoned with the phrase, Who needs a credit card? Not to be left out, pink baby bibs sold at that same chain bore such phrases as, Always Dress to Impress, Kisses 25Â ¢, and Drama Queen. The cosmetics industry has also seen the value of marketing their products to younger and younger girls. In 2001, a survey by the NPD Group showed that, on average, women began using beauty products at 17. Today, the average is 13, and even this is likely to be an overstatement. According to the same report, 8- to 12-year-olds were already spending more than $40 million a month on beauty products. In 2003, according to Experian, a market research company based in New York, 43% of 6- to 9-year-olds were already using lipstick or lip gloss; 38% used hairstyling products; and 12% used other cosmetics. In a study last year, 55% of 6- to 9-year-old girls said they used lip gloss or lipstick and nearly two-thirds said they used nail polish. From 2007 to 2009, the percentage of girls ages 8- to 12-years-old, who regularly use mascara and eyeliner nearly doubled to 18% from 10% for mascara, and to 15% from 9% for eyeliner. The percentage of girls using lipstick also rose, to 15% from 10% (Qu enqua, 2010). Of serious concern within the medical community is research that suggests some of these products may have highly negative consequences from prolonged usage, particularly for children and pre-pubertal adolescents. While race, obesity, and genetics are likely determinants of pubertal timing, a growing body of research suggests that hormonally active environmental agents may also alter the course of pubertal development in girls, which is controlled by endogenous steroids and gonadotropins (Jacobson-Dickman Lee, 2009; Rasier et al., 2006). Some of these chemicals include a number of phenols and phthalates, such as Bisphenol A (BPA), which act like estradiol as hormone agonists and, in animals, have been shown to accelerate pubertal development (Rasier et al., 2006). In the previously described study examining early onset puberty among 7- to 8-year-old girls, Wolff and colleagues (2010) discovered elevated exposure to endocrine disruptors that are commonly found in nail polishes and oth er cosmetics. Toy shops now sell items such as the Girls Ultimate Spa and Perfume Kit (for use by up to eight kids and perfect for spa parties, sleepovers, and rainy days); the Body Shop has lip glosses intended for teens and fruity lip glosses for preteens; Claires, an accessory store in almost every shopping mall, offers lip gloss in flavors that appeal primarily to young girls (e.g., Dr Pepper, Skittles). Mattel Corporation, producer of Barbie dolls, offers lip glosses and perfumes to their junior consumers with names such as, Free Spirit, Summer Fun, and Super Model (Opplinger, 2008). Similarly, large spa chains and salons now offer a variety of services for children, including several companies devoted to providing services to child customers exclusively. Sweet Sassy salons and Dashing Diva franchises advertise services for girls 5- to 11-years-old and offer options such as virgin Cosmos in martini glasses and pink limos as part of birthday parties for groups of girls. Similarly, at any of t he 90 mall-based, Club Libby Lu stores nationwide, girls can mix their own lip gloss and partake in celebrity makeovers and mini fashion shoots (one of the most popular being Hannah Montana) (Sweeney, 2008). Products and services such as these highlight just how mainstream it has become to turn children into cute and sexy little objects. And, although adults and much of society have become somewhat desensitized to this sexualization of girls, children remain especially vulnerable to marketers efforts because of the very way they think. Under the age of eight, children have trouble understanding that the purpose of an ad is to get them to buy something and if they see a child smiling and looking happy, they are unlikely realize its because the child is being paid to look that way. Young children tend to believe what they see, so that when other children are presented as both sexualized and happy, they believe it will be that way for them too (Oates, Blades, Gunter, 2002; Singer Revenson, 1996). Young childrens thinking tends to focus on one thing at a time and only on what they can see. They dont consider multiple aspects of a situation or the relationships between those aspects and they tend not to look at what lies beneath the surface of objects, images, and actions such as the motives, intentions, and feelings underlying sexual behavior Singer Revenson, 1996). In other words, children are already predisposed to attend to appearance and this is particularly damaging and problematic to children and adolescents who are developing their sense of themselves as sexual beings (APA, 2007). Ultimately, girls are encouraged to construct a sexy appearance, yet it is highly unlikely they personally understand what it means to be sexual or to have sexual desires (APA, 2007). Strasburger and Wilson (2002) argued that preadolescents and adolescents are like actors who experiment with different features of their newly forming identities; a plasticity which may make them especially sus ceptible to media and cultural messages linking social popularity and acceptance with various sexualized products and services. Given the tendency for adult women to internalize and actively pursue these social ideals despite greater cognitive resources and media/marketing literacy, it is likely that young girls would also start to adopt an observers view of their bodies and an increased focus on appearance over time and particularly with increased interaction with and consumption of culture that promotes this ideal. Quite simply, between padded bras, adult fashions in youth sizes, make-up and accessories, girls are no longer living in a world where puberty is the true beginning of their sexual objectification by others. Thus, it stands to reason that given enough exposure to this appearance culture, some girls may internalize these values at early ages than previously theorized. Body Image and Concerns in Childhood Although the work is limited, as compared to studies with adults, body image research with children suggests that children as young as 3-years-old may start to show an awareness and even mild endorsement of popular social attitudes about bodies, most notably anti-fat bias and a preference for thinness (Cramer Steinwert, 1998; Musher-Eizenman et al., 2003). However, while measurable, research with young children is generally interpreted with great caution due to their limited cognitive development and generally studies show support for greater awareness and endorsement of these beliefs and preferences beginning between the ages of 5- and 6-years-old (Cramer Steinwert, 1998; Davison, Markey Birch, 2000; Lowes Tiggemann, 2003; Musher-Eizenman et al., 2003; Thelan et al., 1992; Tiggemann Wilson-Barrett, 1998). Because research with children is generally limited by their language and reading skills, most studies on weight and body image have relied primarily on a variety of verbal preference and adjective attribution tasks using age and sex specific figure arrays (Collins, 1991; Hill, Oliver, Roger, 1992; Gardner, Sorter, Friedman, 1997; Musher-Eizenman et al., 2003; Stager Burke, 1982; Truby Paxton, 2002; Williamson Delin, 2001) while reserving surveys and questionnaires for older children (Flanneryschroeder Chrisler, 1996). Unfortunately, a thorough understanding of weight and body image concerns in children is also limited by the great variety in actual constructs being measured (e.g., anti-fat bias, preference for thinness, body dissatisfaction, weight concerns, dieting) as well as differences in the age ranges of the child participants (Smolak, 2004). Despite these limitations, results from several studies suggest that childrens reports of weight and body concerns range between 3 7% and 50% for girls aged 8- to 13-years-old (Collins, 1991; Field et al., 1999a; Rolland, Farnill, Griffiths, 1997; Schur, Sanders, Steiner, 2000; Schreiber et al., 1996) and a 1998 review by Smolak, Levine, and Schermer (1998) found that an average of 40% of girls in late elementary school reported weight and body image concerns. In addition to simply being present and measurable at these ages, weight and body image concerns also appear to be rather consistent and predictive over time. In a longitudinal study of 182 girls, Davison, Markey, and Birch (2003) found that girls were consistent with regard to their reported weight and body concerns from 5- to 9-years-old. Furthermore, even after statistically controlling for weight, girls who reported higher weight or body image concerns between the ages of 5- and 7-years-old also reported higher rates of dietary restriction, disordered eating attitudes, and dieting at age 9 (Davison, Markey, Birch, 2003). Research on the relationships between childrens weight and body image concerns to dieting mirrors patterns in similar studies with adults (Feldman, Feldman, Goodman, 1998; Flanneryschroeder Chrisler, 1996; Freedman, 1984; Gilbert, 1998; Wardle Marsland, 1990) as in adult women. Although dieting behaviors are more commonly reported by older children ranging from 8- to 13-years-old (Rolland, Farnill, Griffiths, 1996; Thelen et al., 1992), there is evidence to suggest elementary school children (grades 3 through 6) are not only knowledgeable about weight loss methods (Schur, Sanders, Steiner, 2000), but they may be reliable reporters of dieting behaviors as well (Kostanski Gullone, 1999). Thus, while weight and body image concerns are perhaps more obvious during adolescence (Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, Rodin, 1986), their origins are likely found in childhood, as by middle childhood, weight and body image concerns are already normative among girls. Contributing Factors An overwhelming number of studies with adolescents and adult women point to a variety of sociocultural factors, most notably family, peers, and media, as the primary source of influence in the development of poor body image and disordered eating (Stice, 1994, 2001, 2002; Stice Shaw, 1994; Thompson et al., 1999b; Thompson Stice, 2001; van den Berg et al., 2002). The basic premise of these models is quite consistent with both objectification theory and the construct of objectified body consciousness and addresses a number of relevant constructs from Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954) while ultimately focusing on internalization of the thin ideal. In general, these theories posit weight and body image concerns develop as a result of discrepancies between the actual and ideal self resulting from social comparisons and feedback from family, peers, and media. As the previously discussed sexualization material suggests, children are likely no less subject to societal pressures tha n adults and adolescent and sociocultural models have now been adapted to explain the development of childrens weight and body concerns (Ricciardelli et al., 2003; Smolak Levine, 2001). Mothers Given the pivotal role of families, more specifically mothers, in young childrens lives, it is perhaps not surprising that much of the sociocultural research on the development of weight and body concerns in childhood has focused on the potential role parents (e.g., Davison, Markey, Birch, 2000; Hill Pallin, 1998; Kluck 2010; Lowes Tiggemann, 2003; McCabe et al., 2007; Ricciardelli et al., 2003; Smolak, Levine, Schermer, 1999). Despite many changes in contemporary culture and across a wide variety of developmental theories, families consistently remain important social reinforcers and role models often credited with constructing and maintaining environments that influence childrens beliefs and behaviors, not only during childhood and adolescence but across the lifespan as well (Bandura McDonald, 1963; Killeya-Jones et al., 2007; Parke Buriel, 2008). With specific regard to self-objectification and objectified body consciousness, McKinley (1999) found significant positive correlations between mothers and their late adolescent daughters body surveillance, body esteem, BMI, and desired weight. Similarly, in a cross cultural study of objectified body consciousness, Crawford and colleagues (2009) found that body shame in mothers was related to body shame in adult daughters for a Nepali sample. With regard to related body image and dietary constructs, numerous studies have identified similarities between mothers and daughters body image concerns and disordered eating patterns (Evans le Grange, 1995; Hill Franklin, 1998; Hill, Weaver, Blundell, 1990; Kichler Crowther, 2001; Rieves Cash, 1996; Sanftner et al., 1996; Smolak, Levine, Schermer, 1999). One way researchers have suggested that a mothers physical appearance orientation can negatively influence daughters is through modeling of behaviors such as dieting or disordered eating (e.g., Keel, Heatherton, Harnden, Hornig, 1997; Kichler Crowther, 2001; Pike, 1995; Pike and Rodin, 1991). Although much of this research has focused on adolescents, similar results emerge in studies of younger children (e.g., Abramovity Birch, 2000; Stice, Agras, Hammer, 1999 Williamson Delin, 2001). Interestingly, in a sample of 5- to 10-year old girls, Williamson and Delin (2001) found it was mothers weight concerns rather than the childs actual weight that predicted childrens weight concerns. Similarly, Abramovity and Birch (2000) found a sample of 5-year-old girls were twice as likely to report ideas about dieting if their mothers were dieting. Yet another way researcher have suggested that a mothers appearance orientation can negatively influence daughters body image and eating behaviors in a more direct manner through verbal comments, which range in form from criticism (Hahn-Smith and Smith, 2001; Smolak, Levine, Schermer, 1999) to teasing and fat talk (Nichter, 2000; Schwartz et al., 1999), and even encouraging to diet (Benedikt, Wertheim, Love, 1998); phenomena which appear to increase as girls approach adolescence (Striegel-Moore Kearney-Cooke, 1994; Thelen Cormier, 1995). However, while most studies have found strong positive relationships between daughters and their mothers self-reports of weight and body image concerns among late adolescents and adults, several notably inconsistent exceptions exist, particularly in studies of younger girls. In the previously mentioned cross cultural study (Crawford et al., 2009), none of the objectified body consciousness measures correlated between mothers and their late adoles cent daughters in the US sample, and in the previously mentioned McKinley (1999) study, there were no relationships between mothers and daughters scores for body shame or control beliefs. Likewise, Lindberg, Hyde, and McKinley (2006) did not find any positive associations between mothers and their 10 to 12-year-old daughters objectified body consciousness measures, and in fact, found small negative correlations between mothers and daughters surveillanc

Life Is Like The Movies :: essays research papers

Going to the movies is fun. You get your candy and your drink and are taken away into a fictional world for two or three hours, then leave the theater and get back to reality. But is what you're going back to really reality? Plato said no. In the "Allegory of the Cave" (chapter XXV) in the The Republic he proposes that we all live like people in a movie theater, only he uses prisoners in a cave to illustrate the situation. He creates an image of prisoners, chained down in a cave, so all they could see was shadows created by puppets in front of a fire on the cave wall. Their reality was merely the shadows and it is the same for us (as the common man.) According to Plato, our reality is nothing more than figurative "shadows." Everything in the cave can be attributed to a part of society. The fire can be equivocated to "unwisdom" (229) or even evil, and in society is created by the greed that some have for power over others. It is the driving force behind the entire scheme to misrepresent reality. By controlling what people believe is reality, they in turn gain control of the people by telling them what is true and what should be valued, which gives them the power they crave. The fire (greed) is necessary for the shadows to be cast, without it nothing at all could be seen. Without the fire, the puppeteers would have no purpose, no reason to hold the objects up at all. Without the greed for control, society's "puppeteers" would not have any desire to misrepresent reality. The puppeteers are the manipulators in society (the greedy people). People in a variety of different positions act as the puppeteers. Anyone who tries to skew reality for his or her own personal gain is a manipulator. Religious and business leaders, as well as politicians are all likely candidates for the role of the "puppeteers" because they often control people's realities. Religious leaders convince massive amounts of people that their ideas and their religion is reality. Business leaders use advertising campaigns to persuade people into believing their products are the best and will change their lives. Politicians often manipulate issues to make people see them their way. In conjunction with each other, all of these manipulative forces basically dictate society's values. These "puppeteers" take the objects and let their own greed (fire) distort them, so only a small portion of what is "real" is revealed (in the form of a "shadow").

The Episodic Novel Of Huckleberry Finn English Literature Essay

In his episodic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain fabricates a journey as the platform for the storyteller ‘s symbolic rite of transition. The supporter, Huckleberry Finn, discovers the true colourss of his individualism, as he voyages through his many escapades and additions invaluable experiences. While he matures and progresss, Huck discards his temperament as an ignorant and juvenile stripling hungering for joy and hazard and becomes a adult male, being able to firmly identify and set up his ethical motives and moralss. During this intricate procedure, he develops a chumminess with a Jim, a runaway slave, finally larning the true horrors of the blemished society, in which he lives in. As a function in Huck ‘s acquisition procedure, Mark Twain realistically utilizes the societal perceptual experience of Whites during the clip period to help Huck in detecting the defects of bondage, rejecting many critics ‘ premise that he is a racialist. Huck, a thirteen-year-old boy of a rummy, is recurrently strained to last on his ain marbless where sometimes it contradicts society ‘s criterions and Torahs. As he seems to trek down the Mississippi River, he besides journeys down his interior outlook, as Huck encounters challenges between his societal scruples and single scruples. Huck ever seems to look up to the educated, the high and mid-class. He appeared to do himself believe that his judgement was inferior or abased to theirs because he was nonreader, and non truly portion of society – or a civilised human being. He blindly follows Tom Sawyer, due to the fact that he was educated and brought up in a refined urbane scene. As the novel opens, Huck is forced to be integrated in society and civilisation. Though he struggles, he persuades himself to sublimate in. In the beginning, Huck is perplexed by the asinine intent of faith. As Widow Douglas and Miss. Watson seek really difficult to reform Huck to go â€Å" sivilize † , he does n't see the intent of Eden and snake pit. It ‘s these first marks of society ( faith ) that plays an impact on Huck, where he makes a connexion that his actions will find his finish after decease. Huck besides can be portrayed as an innate philosopher, where he is really disbelieving of the social tenet ( faith ) and in fact perceives these thoughts in his ain ways, as he tries to reform. This is seen with Huck ‘s thought that snake pit might really be a better topographic point than the Widow Douglas ‘s Eden. Thus this issue merely engenders Huck ‘s moral development. When Huck encounters Jim on Jackson ‘s island, and attends his narrative of a runaway slave, Huck sees Jim as a human being instead than a slave. Huck feels empathy and compunction, as he hears Jim ‘s sad narrative of his household being ripped apart. Huck, who merely was n't able to properly to the full mold with society, and Jim, a run-away slave, both were alienated from society in cardinal ways. Both now in some signifier freed from the falseness and unfairness of society, but knew this would non last long. When Huck realizes that his destiny was wrapped around Jim ‘s, he inquiry ‘s the morality of assisting a run-away slave, this in which was against jurisprudence, and interrupting a jurisprudence would take him to hell. More subtly, Twain knock the American South for its bogus romanticism and hypocritical Christianity. Huck decries the thought that the Christianity of the South is a living contradiction. Huck does non grok the fact how society accepts bo ndage yet ignores the Biblical impression of the equality of all trusters. ( â€Å" The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn † pg1 ) . However, Huck conceded and acknowledged that he would travel to hell, in which a forfeit he was willing to do. In farther context, Twain in his plant is non a racialist. In the mode he depicts Jim as a existent individual, who carries feelings and emotions, shows in fact that Twain is an opposition of bondage. Huck had the common sense to see how bondage was a echt blight to humanity. Perversely the so called sophisticated society accepted it, even the â€Å" good people such as Miss. Watson. † Huck matures farther as he breaks that mask that society gave Jim, and accepts him as a normal individual. Huck refers to Jim, â€Å" I knowed he was white indoors. † ( Twain, pg 46 ) . It shows how Huck, who was brought up in a really bigoted subdivision of the state, that ingested all the lip service of bondage, was still able to exceed it by merely cognizing this one â€Å" nigga † , Jim. Furthermore, Huck ‘s character alterations as Jim teaches him about friendly relationship. Their relationship becomes tighter, after the Huck ‘s gag about him ne'er had gone losing in the fog. Huck learns that Jim is a individual is with feelings, and finally Jim induces this motion into Huck ‘s adulthood. This is the critical point of Huck ‘s transmutation, where Huc k apologizes to Jim. Huck ‘s ocean trip down the Mississippi taught him much, but was chiefly a frolic. But once it resumes, when Huck is taken up the Grangerfords, he journeys to the dark side of American civilisation. The benevolent household who offer Huck to remain is in a firing feud between another household, the Shepherdsons. Twain uses these two households to use in some deriding absurdness and to mock an â€Å" excessively romanticizes thoughts about household award † . Ultimately, the households ‘ sensationalized feud gets many of them killed. Huck genuinely refutes society one time he saw his new friend Buck, be shot and killed. Twain uses this incident to notice on all systems of rule that rebuffs the humanity of another set of people. Huck becomes befuddled in this episode. The Grangerfords are a mix of contradictions where they treat Huck good, but they own slaves and act more unwisely with other household by killing one other. Is this what society dawns upon? In the denouement, Huck transmogrifies into a full stripling who now truly believes in his values, and deems that it should non be manipulable and tarnished by society ‘s Torahs. Near the decision of the novel, Huck and Tom make an effort to liberate Jim who is held captured. After Tom ‘s farcical program fails, everyone learns that Jim was really a free adult male for hebdomads ( because Miss. Watson, in her will, let Jim to be free when she died ) . This thought of liberating a free black adult male had a particular resonance at the clip Twain wrote this novel. Blacks during this clip had much problem incorporating with society because of the racial subordination that was still present predating the Civil War.Work Citedâ€Å" The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay. † Novelguide.com. December 14, 2009. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.novelguide.com/huckleberryfinn/index.html & gt ; . Couple, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. United States: Bantum Books, Inc. , 1884.

Position of women in 16 and 17 century Essay

Women were challenged with expressing themselves in a patriarchal system that generally refused to grant merit to women’s views. Cultural and political events during these centuries increased attention to women’s issues such as education reform. Though modern feminism was non-existent. The social structure women limited opportunities for involvement; they served largely as managers of their households. Women were expected to focus on practical domestic pursuits and activities that encouraged the betterment of their families, and more particularly, their husbands. Education for women was not supported—harmful to the traditional female virtues of innocence and morality. Women who spoke out against the patriarchal system of gender roles, or any injustice, ran the risk of being exiled from their communities, or worse; vocal unmarried women in particular were the targets of witch-hunts. The seventeenth century women continued to play a significant, though not acknowledged, role in economic and political structures through their primarily domestic activities.They often acted as counselors in the home, â€Å"tempering† their husbands’ words and actions. Women were discouraged from directly expressing political views counter to their husbands’ or to broadly condemn established systems; nevertheless, many women were able to make public their private views through the veil of personal, religious writings. Marriage: The seventeenth century represents a fascinating period of English history, drawing the attention of whole generations of historians. This turbulent age saw three major events that had a deep impact on England’ s political as well as social life—the English Revolution, the Restoration of the Stuarts in 1660 and the Glorious Revolution in 1688. Amidst the turmoil of the events, people’s everyday lives unfolded. While it was men’s preoccupation to keep the country’s political and economic affairs going, women had an indispensable, though far less public, part to play. This paper aims at providing an outline of the seventeenth-century English marriage, viewed from the woman’s perspective. It touches upon topics such as concluding marriages, basic marriage values, duties of a married woman and possibilities of divorce. Attention is paid to the areas in which the  seventeenth-century reality was different from today’s. In seventeenth-century England, marriage and sexual morals played a far more important social role than nowadays. A family centred around a married couple represented the basic social, economic and political unit. In the Stuart period, a husband’s â€Å"rule† over his wife, children and servants was seen as an analogy to the king’s reign over his people—a manifestation of a hierarchy constituted by God. A woman was regarded as the ‘weaker vessel’ (a phrase taken from the New Testament)—a creature physically, intellectually, morally and even spiritually inferior to a man; therefore, the man had a right to dominate her (Fraser 1981: 1). In a society strongly influenced by Puritan values, sexual integrity and the status of a married person gave a woman respectability and social prestige. This, together with the fact that it was very difficult for women to find ways of making an independent living, meant that securing a husband was a matter of great importance. Theoretically, it was possible for two people to marry very young. The minimum legal age was 12 years for women and 14 years for men. In addition, it was possible for the couple to get engaged at the age of 7, with the right to break off the engagement on reaching the minimum age of consent (Stone 1965: 652). However, early marriages were rather rare—the average age of the newlyweds was about 25 years. Interestingly, the basic requirement for a legally valid marriage was not a formal consecration in a church, but the completion of a marriage contract, commonly called ‘spousals’. Spousals were an act in which the bride and groom said their vows in the present tense—‘per verba de prasenti’ (Ingram 1987: 126). In a majority of cases, this procedure was accompanied by a church ceremony (banns). Yet if the marriage was concluded without witnesses and not consecrated in a church, it had the same legal validity. This practice had existed in England since the twelfth century and lasted till 1753. Not having to go through a church ceremony made it possible for lovers to marry secretly, without the knowledge of their parents. In this way, they could escape the dynastic scheming of their families.