The economic downturn Essay Example for Free

The economic downturn Essay A. Analysis The economic downturn across the United States caused a decrease in funding to performing arts. Thus a proposal to merge the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera companies was made. There have been very few mergers of this type in history. In 1963 the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Madison Opera merged. Also, in 1985, the Chattanooga Opera and Chattanooga Symphony combined. These entities remained combined for a period of time, but ultimately disbanded due to ideologies and methodologies that differed. The Utah Symphony and Utah Opera merger discussion began in December 2001. The cultures of both entities are very different and divergent. This leads to a process to unite the two companies that is a challenging process. A1. Bill Bailey Mr. Bailey’s position is to survive the economic downturn and reduced funding currently affecting the performing arts. He holds the position of board chairman for the Utah Opera Organization. Maslow’s hierarchy of need can help Mr. Bailey influence the behavior of those involved in both organizations by appealing to their interests. Human beings have biological and psychological needs. Biological needs are those needed to survive such as food and sleep. Psychological needs are those that provide positive reinforcement to that individual, such as, success and love. Maslow’s hierarchy of need address the physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization needed to influence human behavior on a basic level (Tay Deiner, 2011). Physiological needs address the desire to find human comfort and reasonable conditions. Safety needs, in regards to work, lead an individual to seek opportunities that provide job security, reasonable compensation, and work conditions that are safe. The love need leads individuals to seek out co-workers to bond with and provide positive daily interactions. The esteem need provides individuals with positive reinforcement and seek job challenges and promotions to help provide this reinforcement. Finally, the self-actualization need provides the individual  the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes and more challenging tasks that may arise. Leaders to motivate individuals can utilize a basic level of Maslow’s hierarchy. The Utah Opera and Utah Symphony both want to continue performing. The economic downturn has affected both entities and Mr. Bailey could appeal to the employees through use of Maslow’s hierarchy. The safety need can be met through continued job security, compensation, and work conditions should a merger go through. The love need or social need could be appealed upon through the use of the same leaders after the merger progresses. The performers would also have the same peers as before and would expand this peer group. The artistic expression and excellence could be preserved through employment of the same artistic leaders post-merger. This would also help with the self-actualization need, since positive reinforcement would be generated for the members of the musical companies. They would have been involved in the decision-making process and the ideals of keeping leaders that had previously been employed by the entities. This would help the musicians remain autonomy and actively seek challenges out to continue with motivation in the self-actualization arena. A2. Scott Parker Mr. Parker is the board chairman of the Utah Symphony. His position is to also survive the economic downturn affecting the performing arts. Mr. Parker must find supporters that are influential and willing to support the merger with the Utah Opera. Mr. Parker has one influential patron who is not willing to lend support for the merger. Mrs. Abravenal does not want the Utah Symphony to lose the prestige that it has found, especially since her husband, Maurice, was maestro of the Utah Symphony for 32 years. Mr. Parker can utilize Alderfer’s ERG Theory for motivation. The ERG Theory steps do not rely on each other to work. The ERG Theory consists of 3 distinct parts: existence, relatedness, and growth (Steel Konig, 2006). The existence needs are the desire for physiological well-being. The relatedness needs are the desire to develop relationships with others is meaningful. The growth needs are the desire to reach an individual’s full potential. The ERG Theory need for exis tence and the desire for physiological well being is the main motivator under this theory. A merger  would help the symphony maintain in existence, since they are financially unstable at this time. Mrs. Abravenal can be educated that support from opera supporters will help keep resources available that are not currently available when the entities are separated. The ERG Theory for relatedness need will be a second motivator under this theory. The human desire for meaningful relationships will provide positive reinforcement to those involved. The supporters of both companies do not want to see them fail and disappear. The passion of the supporters can be utilized and capitalized upon to create a relationship between the two companies. Finally, the ERG Theory for growth needs can provide positive reinforcement for both companies during the merger proposal. The companies are failing separately, but together they could flourish. Resources would be combined and supporters for both would be involved in the growth processes. Mrs. Abravenal could continue her husband’s vision and help keep the symphony alive and flourishing. A3. Power The future CEO of the combine entities is Anne Ewers. She has both positional power and personal power. She has formal positional power and has the authority to get things accomplished. Ms. Ewers has a legitimate leader role and expects her orders to be complied with. Positive legitimate power involves influencing others to effectively work better whereas negative legitimate power influences others to follow directions due to intimidation or fear of consequences. Ms. Ewers also has referent power. Referent power is the charisma an individual has from his or her own personality (Krietner Kinichki, 2010). Effective leaders have charisma that include positional and referent powers. Effectively using the powers together would allow Ms. Ewers to inspire through her own personality and lead by authority. A3a. Positional Power Ms. Ewers has a proven record in strengthening finances within an organization. She has been a proven and successful leader for many years within the industry. The following examples are characteristics important in positional power: * Centrality – Ms. Ewers would need to establish communication roles between the symphony and the opera. The central role would be important in the chain of command, since she would control the flow  of information to both entities. * Flexibility – Ms. Ewers would need to be able to adapt to frequently to the work environment. She must be ready to be diverse and produce unique ideas regarding the merger. * Visibility – Ms. Ewers must minimize the negative press surrounding the merger. She must capitalize on positive news regarding the merger and be available to communicate the information to the interested parties. Ms. Ewers must be open and available to those who have a vested interest in the company’s merger. * Relevance – Ms. Ewers must be able to provide accurate information that is relevant to the company’s needs. She must be able to communicate with staff to procure the required information from both companies and prioritize the goal and tasks for both. This should also include integration of the goals and tasks of the merger as well. A3b. Personal Power Ms. Ewers will need to use her referent power to influence those involved in the merger. She will need to gain support from Mr. Lockhart to help influence the merger. Ms. Ewers has a proven record of reducing financial obligation of organizations. She can work with Mr. Lockhart, who has the support of the symphony, to help everyone see the benefits of the merger. Ms. Ewers and Mr. Lockhart can be co-leaders during the merger process. This would help decrease the opposition from the musicians currently seen. A4. Organizational Performance The musicians for the symphony and orchestra have contracts that were hard fought for. A merger would challenge these agreements and the musicians are concerned they would lose their livelihood and artistic autonomy. Thus, a merger is not viewed positively. The symphony and orchestra both have different cultures. They are both run differently and have different expectations. It is clear they cannot be organized into one entity for simplicity. However, this causes potential issues. For instance, if donations were placed in a singular account for both organizations this could cause resentment among the musicians. Also, the musicians may not like answering to one governing board. This could lead to feeling unappreciated and resentment. However, should there be two governing boards, both sides would be represented equally and the musicians would feel  less resentment and more musical autonomy. The biggest challenge would be among pay for the musicians. The musicians for both entities must be paid competitively and fairly. Options for non-salaried positions may be a viable idea. The organizations must be committed to remain impartial and fair during the merger to reduce any animosity. A4a. Recommendations Christine Osborne is the chairwoman for the musicians and has presented their guiding principles to Ms. Ewers. The musician support is important to the organization during the merger. The musicians are dependent upon Ms. Ewers and Mr. Lockhart to become the future leaders within the new organization. Ms. Ewers is an authority in the industry and is the future CEO. Ms. Ewers has a proven record of reducing financial liability within organizations in the industry. She has the power to combine the organizations and utilize a singular vision for excellence in financial and artistic realms. She can use the guiding principles set forth by the musicians to demonstrate her desire to see the organization succeed. Ms. Ewers must first use her referent power to influence the leaders of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera. She will be the future CEO of the newly formed organization and must demonstrate her vision for the future. This will hopefully provide sufficient motivation to gather support from both entities. Her referent power and vision must continue to provide a passion to the individual management team within the new organization. Ms. Ewer’s passion should extend to all involved and continue within the organization. This passion created within the organization can help develop self-actualization and esteem within all involved. Next, Ms. Ewer will need to focus on the financial stability of the new organization. The economic downturn has decreased the funding to the performing arts. Ms. Ewer will need to address the decreased funding and find additional funding through different avenues. Ms. Ewer is experienced in fund-raising and will be able to promote the organization via this avenue. Also, performer salaries will need to be revised. The musicians have a current agreement in place, but with the merger this would need to be renegotiated. A challenge Ms. Ewer will face is a decrease in salary for the musicians, but she may be able to effectively place emphasis on the new organization and the musicians desire to see it continue, instead of the old organization failing all together.  Finally, Ms. Ewer must put together a management team that will be empowered during the merger. This team must be trustworthy and desire to see the new organization succeed. Ms. Ewer must empower this team to remain pro-active during the merger and to promote the interest of the new organization. A5. Influence Tactics Leaders to promote new ideas often use rational persuasion. Rational persuasion relies on knowledge, reason and facts to encourage someone to follow or endorse an idea (Krietner Kinichki, 2010). Consultation influence is another tactic which allows individuals involved to participate in the decision making process. This gives everyone involved empowerment within the process. Ms. Ewer can utilize consultation influence to involve the musicians in the decision making process and provide empowerment throughout the merger. The decision making process can be enhanced through rationale persuasion. Ms. Ewer can provide background information on both entities and the precarious financial position both faces. This will provide necessary information to rationalize why a merger would be beneficial to both entities. The information provided can be including Ms. Ewer’s vision for the future of the new organization. Ms. Ewer would provide the information necessary to make an informed decision and empower them throughout the merger process. Conclusion The merger between Utah Symphony and Utah Opera requires key individuals be in place that have the knowledge and skills to make it successful. The two boards will need to be pro-active and back leaders Ms. Ewers and Mr. Lockhart. The task will be far from easy, but if prioritized and a determination and passion are unified then the task will be much easier to attain. References Kreitner, R., Kinicke, A. (2010). Organizational Behavior. 9th Ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, NY. Steel, P. Konig,C. (2006). Integrating theories of motivation. Academy of Management Review 31: 889–91 Tay, L. Diener, E. (2011). Needs and subjective well-being around the world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(2), 354–365.

Characteristics of the Clothing Industry

Characteristics of the Clothing Industry The high quality fashion market is based on modern technology which has a relatively well paid labour force and designers with various degrees of flexibility. Many firms within this industry try to capture the market through various designs which is targeted at meeting the taste and preference of consumers. Most of the firms under the high quality fashion markets are in the developed and industrialized countries. The mass production low-quality/standard products markets are found in the developing countries. These categories are basically involved in the production of uniforms, under wears, t-shirts and many more. They are found in exporting zones working with major importers if the industrialized countries. Outsourcing in this market is basically to household productions, (Nordas, 2004). The Clothing industries operate under free import quotas. This means that both clothing and textile industries do not have to pay import tariffs when importing raw materials connected to clothing and textiles. These tariffs are made possible by the World Trade Organisation, to improve the importation of varied clothing among producing countries. As a result of the protectionism, many developing countries producing clothing were able to survive the industry. This however did not go well with the developed countries since there were great competition between the developing countries like China and the developed countries. On the part of employment, the industry has engaged the services of millions of people worldwide and also with other individuals who are not registered but work in their homes and factories. The industry was the first to trade on a global dimension, simply because of the low barriers in entering the production of clothing. The industry is governed by the international labour laws, employing the most sensitive part of the labour force with females and ethnic minority as the leading employees. Most of the employees are immigrants. The European community, and the US and UK also have blacks as the major employees of the industry. Most of the producing countries in the developing world have females as the majority of employees in the industry. As indicated above, the total labour force of the clothing industry is made up of 80% of women. This is largely due to the fact that women are immobile and therefore are able to take care of domestic chores. A greater number of the female workforce is also unskilled or semi-skilled. In the developing countries, many of the workers spend up to 12-14 hours per day and are paid with very low wages, THE PRODUCTION CIRCUIT The clothing industry is part of a large circuit which involves the production of textiles. The industry is more fragmented organisationally and less technological in nature. The industry outsource most of it components and products. The garment industry therefore produces to unpredicted consumer markets. The industry serves as a distribution point for all garments. Through retailer efforts, the organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s geography has been shaped accordingly. The industry is also known as a buyer driven industry, in the sense that they purchase most of the raw materials from producing countries worldwide. There are six stages that individual producing countries have passed through, that is from the embryonic stage to the maturity and decline stage of the development process of the clothing industry. This can be seen in (Figure 1 below). The stages indicate how raw materials flow within the industry, from the fabric production stage, design, preparation, production, distribution and consumption stage. In the reverse state is the information flow from customer orders down to the fabric production stage. There is no much technological change since inception of the clothing industry. The majority still uses the manual operations due to the complex nature of the production process. The clothing industry can be related to a supply chain function, where activities flow from raw materials to textile designs, apparel plants through distribution centers and other retail stores to consumers. The chain is seen as an integrated network of marketing from production stage to the finish product to consumers. The various activities are located where each can be able to make a contribution to the value of the finished product. The various variables considered in the industry include quality, cost, reliability, access to quality inputs and transportation cost. From the figure 2 above, the black lines represents the flow of goods whereas the white lines represent the flow of information. The arrows indicate Demand-Pull System, where the design of a product is made from customer orders, (Nordas, 2004). The supply chain indicates the interplay of several companies, where logistics and other services are coordinated. In the industrialized countries, most companies engage the ser vices of consultants or independent service providers in the provision of logistics. PRODUCTION COST AND TECHNOLOGY The clothing industry is characterized by low intensity of capital and high intensity of labour. The plant size is very small with simple technology. Figure 4 represent percentage of leading exporters of Clothing worldwide. The figure compares percentage of 2000 and 2011. Asia dominates the clothing industry in-terms of exports with over 50% of world market. China has doubled their share within 11years of operation, with approx. 37% of the total exports worldwide. Closely followed is the European Union and Euro extra with a combined total of 35% of world export share, which I a combination of intra regional exports. Figure 5 represents share in value for exporters for 2011. China leads with 38% representing 154 billion Dollars in 2011, (www.wto.org) European union closely follows with 36% of Share in value representing 144billion US Dollars including intra regional trade. Bangladesh also did better in 2011 with a share in value of 5%, representing an amount of 20billion US Dollars, www.wto.org). LEADING IMPORTERS ( SHARE IN VALUE AND PERCENTAGE) The EU is the leading importer of clothing worldwide, with combined percentage of 67.2% of total imports. The EU imports much of its clothing from China. Available records indicates that EU imports about 39% if Clothing from China, 14% from Turkey, 7.7% from India, 6.3% from Bangladesh and 3.6% from Tunisia, ( www.ec.europa.eu). It is also evidenced that China exports clothing more than imports. Whereas China leads in exporting clothing, in-terms of imports, they only imports about 0.90% of world clothing. The US is the second largest importer of clothing as evidenced on figure 4 above. The US imports about 20.5% of clothing in the country, followed by Japan with 7.6%. The remaining countries imports less than 3% worldwide respectively, (WTO 2011 chart II.69) The share in value for the leading importer of clothing (EU) is 60%, representing an amount of 290Billion Dollars. The EU is therefore the largest importer of clothing worldwide. The US is the second largest importer of clothing with about 18% share in value, representing 89 Billion US Dollars TOP TEN SUPPLIERS The clothing industry has about ten major suppliers. China plays a leading role with about 29.45million Euros in 2011 as compared to 2007 where it made a supply of approximately 21.9million Euros. Bangladesh also improved in their supply in 2011 with 7.5million Euros as compared with 2007 with a supply of 4.4million Euros. India also had a slight increase in supply for 2011 with approximately 4.5million Euros as compared to 2007 where the supply was approx. 3.8million Euros. However, Turkey had a decline in supply in 2011 with an amount of 8.2million Euros as compared with 2007 with approx. 8.9million Euros. Other countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam had their supply below 2million Euros as evidenced on figure 2. Top 10 suppliers in clothing (million Euros) Basic characteristics of the industry (share in value added and employment, structure and  characteristics of the production process) The role of trade policy (multilateral tariffs and quotas, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“grey area protectionism, trade conflicts, preferential trade, etc.) Trade policies are rules and regulations governing the operations of international trade among countries worldwide. Trade policies play a major role in the industrialization of the clothing and textiles market. Regarding market access, trade policies TEXTILES AND CLOTHING AGREEMENT The textiles and clothing industry has long history in-terms of agreement for protection in trade across the US and Europe. Voluntary export restraints were agreed upon by China, Japan, Hong Kong, and India to enable them export cotton products to the US in the 1950s. The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs were incorporated in the agreement with the Long Term Agreement (LTA) on Cotton. This agreement was later replaced by the Multi-Fibre Agreement in 1974, (Nordas, 2004). The main purpose of the MFA was to open up the restricted markets so to limit the disruptions of markets. The MFA was also extended to cover all man-made fibres in-terms of restrictions. However, according to Nordas 2004, the MFA violated the multilateral system principles as follows: The most favoured principle was not adhered to Instead applying tariffs, it rather applied quantitative restrictions Developing countries were discriminated against It was not also very transparent for easy understanding By 1st January, 2005, the Textiles and Clothing were fully integrated in GATT which also gave way for quotas to be fully integrated making it easy for member countries to trade without trade barriers. In the views of Nordas, the eliminating quotas lead to welfare economic gains of about 42% of the Uruguay round liberation, and about 65% for dynamic models. In her view, Nordas indicated that much of the Welfare gains went to the importing countries where as the exporting countries made welfare loss through the static version of the model and welfare gain through the dynamic model. A tripartite committee report on promoting fair globalization in textiles and clothing indicates that phasing out quotas will benefit China, being the leader in exporting of clothing in the industry, where as the importing countries will lose market share, (www.ilo.org) . The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) ended in 2004, which led to an increase in competition in the clothing market. Some countries were affected as a result of the new entrants of the Asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, and other competitors like India and Bangladesh which are traditional exporters. This led to a decline in the importation of clothing from the affected countries by the US at an annual rate of 13.4%. With the implementation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) which were imposed by the US and EU on the importation of textiles and clothing from China, inroads were created for some developing countries to experience marginal growth in their exports. The PTAs also made it possible for small countries like Madagascar and Haiti to increase their exports by 26% and 15% respectively, (www.ito.org). THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT The US Free Trade Agreements has given the textiles and apparel industry the opportunity to enter in the world market and compete freely. The agreement enables the reduction of tariffs rates and improves the intellectual property rules and regulations, (Web.ita.doc.gov). The US has therefore signed agreements with the following countries and Institutions on textile and clothing industry. Notable among them are; Australia, Bahrain, CAFTA-DR, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Korea, Morocco, NAFTA, Oman, Panama, Peru and Singapore, (www.otexa.ita.doc). These agreements assist foreign governments to ensure that non-discriminating laws and regulations are enforced to streamline trade relations between the US and member countries, (www.otexa.ita.doc). The FTA provides that transparent measures be put in place for effective rules to be enforced. The FTA also ensures that all non-tariff barriers are removed completely, which opens the markets of the member countries to the US products. Under this ag reement, all goods that qualify are said to be duty free the US markets.

Karl Marx Continuation Of The Enlightenment Sociology Essay

Karl Marx Continuation Of The Enlightenment Sociology Essay Karl Marx is regarded as one of the classics of sociology. His social thought, considered one of the most important social theories, was a humanistic theory, concentrated on the condition of society and a place of individual in social structure. Marx is known as one of the greatest ideologists of the nineteen century. His political theory was revolutionary. As a sociologist though, he is regarded to be a great heir of Enlightenment  [1]  , using and developing key concepts of the eighteen century thinkers. This paper is aimed to discuss Karl Marx theory in comparison to the Enlightenment philosophy. I will try to answer a question: to what extend Marx work inherited from the Enlightenment thinkers? In order to that I will discuss the key concepts of the Enlightenment that were further developed in Marxs works. In the following part of the paper I will compare the ideas of the eighteen century thinkers with Marx theory, in regard to notions of progress, social structure, religion, science, materialism, state and individualism. Social development, progress and social change The theory of social development and progress was the key concept of the Enlightenment  [2]  . The experience of Renaissance recovery from the dark ages, rediscovery of antique philosophy, the expansion of colonialism and exploration of non-European cultures, violated established order and lead to expansion of new ideas doubting tradition. The Enlightenment recognized that human history changes and that societies experience material and mental, moral or philosophical progress. It became clear, that modernity is just another stage of development, that does not lead the end of history, but might be as well a beginning of some better, new society. Eighteen century thinkers considered reason as the leading force of change, believing, that human knowledge and consciousness may develop linearly. Since the Enlightenment was an age of science and reason, philosophers tend to classify and order possessed knowledge. That lead to a few theories of historical stages development of societies that arranged historical periods in progressive order  [3]  . Marx inherited from the Enlightenment that linear and deterministic perspective on development of societies, building his theory on the idea of progress. In his works he wrote about successive stages of development of societies: primitive society, feudalism, capitalism (bourgeois formation), socialism and communism. He abandoned the concept of reason as the leading force of progress, though. For Marx the key force of development was ownership and mode of production emerging from it. HeEach of the stages presented different social relations, policies, politics and consciousness all of which resulting from economic relations. The mode of production representing each of historical formation of society was regarded as a base, and resulted in different superstructures culture, religion and politics. Every stage of history was more complex than another and lead to the next one. For Marx it meant that the history of all societies is inevitable and must lead through the same phases. The Enlightenments attachment to the notion of progressive development of societies lead to the ideas of future utopia final, goal stage of social evolution. It was a very optimistic concept of history, beginning in dark, oppressive periods of the past, through ambiguous and chaotic modernity, leading to some enlighten, better and just future. Such utopian vision was described by Condorcet, for whom future society would prevail tyranny by changing tradition and superstition into reason  [4]  . Delany wrote of the Enlightenment as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦characterized by a certain utopianism, which was a reflection of the belief in the promises of modernity to bring about freedom. Unlike earlier social thought, it displayed a great belief in the power of human action to shape the future  [5]  . The same was true for Marx, who saw communism as the perfect and most of all just, social system. For Marx the end stage of human history communism represented the most desired and final pha se of human development. As Sideman wrote: Marx never gave up his Enlightenment faith in the coming of a new era  [6]  . But contrary to the Enlightenment philosophers, for Marx, the utopia was not to be obtained through evolution and development of reason, but through revolution of working class. The idea of revolution was not present in eighteen century before the experience of French revolution. Though it is sad, that the Enlightenment prepared the ground for the revolt in France, works of eighteen century thinkers did not appeal to force or violent change. Marx shared the romantic vision of revolution with socialist thinkers and activists supporting French strife. Moreover, unlike his eighteen century ancestors, Marx sought emancipation in proletariat the working class of modernity. The Enlightenment was an age of intellectuals, giving special role to philosophers in the process of development of society  [7]  . In eighteen century thought, reason had the emancipatory force. Marx violent vision of revolution did not reserved place for intellectuals, though Marx was one of them. Social structure The Enlightenment was a period of a great expansion of egalitarian theories. The idea of natural laws developed and notion of equality had spread. Eighteen century philosophers attempted to find and describe origins of social order as well as discover best social conditions to maintain and expand individual freedom. Especially the latter freedom, understood as unconstrained development and expansion of reason was an important issue in the theory of state and governance. The Enlightenment cherished the idea of liberated individual in the society free from state, church and other collective forms of organizations. To reconcile the concepts of state and freedom, the idea of civil society was developed. Individuals became citizens residents of a state that had their natural, internal rights, individuals who through that civil rights gained freedom. Though human beings were not equal, especially because of different kinds and sizes of ownership, they had the potential of equality inte rnalized through their natural, inalienable rights. For Marx idea of equality was a goal of the development of societies. Contemporary social structure was far from egalitarian one. To describe social structure Marx used a concept of class as sets of people or parts of society that differ by the effective control over the means of production and property ownership  [8]  . The class designated people who lived in similar conditions. For bourgeois stage of development social structure was basically dichotomous, consisting of two classes owners (capitalists) and workers. Since individuals within one class shared alike economic positions they also shared the same interests. Individuals from different classes, on the other hand, remained in permanent conflict as they interests were opposite. For in Marx theory class structure is a structure of permanent class-conflict. As E.C. Cuff and others expressed it: Since the inequality between the owning class and the labouring class is not simply an economic one, narrowly defined, but involv es a social relationship of power and control, the difference of interest between these classes refers to freedom and further: The conflict of interest between owning and labouring classes is, then, a conflict over power and freedom.  [9]  Once again Marx theory rejected peaceful and optimistic assumptions of the Enlightenment. Ideologies and religion The end of the Middle Ages ended the era of gods laws and theological explanation of social order. The Enlightenment separated religion from politics. Eighteen century brought to life the concept of public private spheres. Religion became private matter of citizens. Gods rights no longer decided on political questions and social relations. Secular society was based on secular rules. The Enlightenment believed in reason and science, and through them sought emancipation from religion and superstition. Social change required that cultural traditions be weakened to allow for new ideas and attitudes favoring social progress  [10]  . Religion and tradition constrained social change and overruled the utopian vision of future. It does not mean that the Enlightenment was a truly secular era. Rejection of religion covered only public, political sphere. None of the great philosophers of the period Becon, Diderot, Locke postulated atheism  [11]  . The issue was to separate religion fr om science, theology from logical reasoning. Religion intruded cognition, so had to be abandoned in the sphere of knowledge. Marx also shared with the Enlightenment the concept of secular society, though he brought the idea of secularization further. For Marx every ideology and meta-narration of society, in every stage of its development, was a product of current economic relations, and so was religion. Religion internalized rules, regulations and prohibitions served justification of the conditions of production and hence, the justification of exploitation. In this sense religion was a mechanism of oppression. It was no longer a private issue, but a political one, that justified bourgeois order. As in the eighteen century religion obstructed change, but this time, though, it was not suppose to be withdraw from public life, but destroyed absolutely. That is why, according to Marx, emancipation not only required rejection of theological order of the world, but also complete rejection of religion. Once again this emancipation required revolution dramatic and sudden change of economic conditions that would change social relations, including execution of religion. The role of science The Enlightenment was the era of development of sciences. A great expand of sciences such as mathematics, medicine, natural sciences changed the view of modern philosophers on the world and human kind. Science revealed mystery of existence and the order of nature. That is why science became one of the ways to obtain individual freedom. Eighteen century philosophers presumed that one day science will lead to discovery of logical, rational order of human and societal relations. For Marx science also had an important role in revealing the rules of organization of society. Marx knew that in order to change, it is necessary to understand the social forces institutions, cultural traditions, social groups  [12]  . In Marx theory science held the explanatory role by revealing the real nature of social order, gave information about social classes, modes of production and rules of historical development. According to Marx, science should be based on rational assumptions and logical laws, it should reject common sense and superstitions. When discussing the role of science in Marx theory, his contribution to scientific methods is worth mention. The Enlightenment admired achievements of modern mathematics and physicists, especially those of Newton. Philosophers were dreaming of finding scientific method, similar to methods used in physics and mathematics, to investigate and describe social world. Modern thinkers presumed that since the complex world of nature can be characterized through clear rules and patterns of numbers, the same can be done with human environment. Marx sought different path of inquiry. His scientific method characterized as historicism  [13]  postulated investigation on every social phenomena in their historical context. Marx claimed that all individuals and their actions are embedded in broader setting, since none human being exists separated from his environment. Moreover he posed the question of a researcher as a social actor, entangled in social reality beside investigated objects. Marx claimed that scientist shares common consciousness to the same degree as all other members of society. True scientific method required from the researcher detachment from false, superstition knowledge embedded on the surface of social life  [14]  . Here again Marx expressed belief in reason and logic, similarly to his eighteen century ancestors. Economic perspective Though Marx theory shares materialistic perspective, he was not the one to introduce economic interpretation of social life. Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson and others eighteen century thinkers saw the leading role of economy in social life. Those early economists wrote about dehumanization of work and disintegration of society through modern specialization of production and technical development of the production process  [15]  . Industrial revolution of eighteen century brought to light new phenomena that were not overlooked by present-day thinkers. Negative effects of industrialization, demographic explosion and urbanization were thoroughly discussed by that time. As we can see, the importance of material conditions for human individual and collective life was not the Marx invention, though he also observed that technology destroys social relations. According to him, innovations, machines and devices used in the process of production serve the dominant class for exploitation of workers  [16]  . Nevertheless, with his materialistic view on society, Marx went further with the idea, claiming that: the reproduction of material life precedes the production of culture  [17]  . For Marx material conditions of existence were the basis for all other characteristics of life. In this concept, living conditions determined social structure, policies, rules and morality. Marx showed that certain social conditions shape certain forms of consciousness. That was a great contribution of Marx thought to social sciences. Since Marx, social scientists began research on the role of material conditions on human thoughts, believes and attitudes, giving a star t to many disciplines of social sciences, as sociology of thought, sociology of knowledge or sociology of religion  [18]  . Moreover, since then, social scientists considered development process and ownership relations of societies as some of the most important criteria of social studies analysis. The concept of state Eighteen century philosophy was critical towards the old order or regime. The Enlightenment developed several state theories  [19]  , all connected with the concept of social contract. Hobbes, claimed that the states are made on the basis of common agreement in which citizens give their rights to absolute power. John Locke postulated conception of liberal state based on tolerance, private ownership and freedom of economic action. In this conception it was not the absolute ruler but society that hold the power. Kannt, on the other hand, proposed peaceful republican regime of federation of states. Finally Rousseau wrote about egalitarian regime of equal chances, conditions and rights of citizens. All the eighteen century concepts of authority were positive ones, assuming rationality of power and universality of interests. Marx concept of the state was not the optimistic one. In his works state power had class character  [20]  . Regime authority served class interest of dominant group of society capitalists, through organized violence towards the suppressed class. There was no possibility to gain freedom through or within the state. Unlike the eighteen century theories, Marx project of desirable future assumed abolishment of the bureaucratic, oppressive, class regime. Decomposition of the state should be accomplished through a proletariat revolution that would lead to class-free society of common owners. Individualism and collective action In earlier philosophy, the status of human being in society was constant and determined, not by human himself, but by external forces the world order, gods will, some kind of justice and internal sense of social existence. Enlightenment and especially the French revolution, brought the idea of civil society and civil rights  [21]  . The Enlightenment claimed that all human beings share some common characteristics that are independent of external, historical or natural conditions. It was the kind of individualism, that claimed that human nature in general have some common qualities inherited from the state of nature. That is what makes society egalitarian differences between human status in society are merely secondary, in a sense that all (male) human beings are equal and share the same civic rights. Emancipation in this context was a political emancipation of citizens from feudal, traditional relations. Marx connected human position in social structure with material conditions and idea of work and ownership. For him the idea of society was not based on the idea of civil rights, but on the idea of economic relations between different social groups classes. It was dichotomous vision of society made of workers and capitalists the owners of means of production. Emancipation was possible not on the basis of civil rights, but on the basis of changing economic relations. This was a revolutionary perspective, leading to turnover of social order. Unlike the Enlightenment, Marx did not perceived emancipation and concept of freedom in individual actions. He clearly rejected individualism both in terms of individual social actions and as the method of inference about human conditions. Marx claimed that every individual is rooted in his collective history and society, and his consciousness, as well as beliefs, goals and needs are shaped through that heritage. That is why not only analysis of human conditions, but also the projected change of social relations, has to take into consideration collective baggage and collective effort. Conclusions As we can see, Marx benefited much from the Enlightenment philosophy, though we have to keep in mind, that issues presented in this paper are merely examples of eighteen century tradition in Marx thought. Marx indeed was a child of the Enlightenment in a sense, that he took form that tradition in different ways, sometimes directly, sometimes developing further ideas and sometimes criticizing and negating the eighteen century thought. This heritage however seems somehow natural, since we cannot abandon of our history and are always influenced by previous discourses. What we have to remember about is, that eighteen century tradition does not exhaust Marx thought but merely enriches and embeds it in historical context.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Veterans Essay -- Post-traumatic st

Military service members who are and have been deployed to the middle east show high levels of emotional distress and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both active duty and reserve component soldiers who have experienced combat have been exposed to high levels of traumatic stress. As a consequence, many have gone on to develop a wide range of mental health problems such as PTSD. â€Å"According to researchers, PTSD is a long-term reaction to war-zone exposure that can last up to a few minutes, hours, several weeks, and for some a lifetime.† Common symptoms include: emotional numbing, anxiety, feelings of guilt, and depression. If the disorder turns chronic veterans may experience functional impairment (Friedman, M. J. et al., 1994, p. 265).† PTSD is on of the most prevalent mental health disorders from veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In general, the younger veterans are the more likely they are to develop PTSD when deployed. Deployment related issues f rom veterans may have a devastating impact on their relationships back home. â€Å"Numerous research studies have linked PTSD to family relationship problems (Goff, Crow, Reisberg, & Hamilton, 2006).† PTSD is likely to be â€Å"the† contributor to relationship problems that are not related to deployments. Spouses or partners of veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD are at greater risk of hostility and aggression in their relationship than spouses whose veterans are not diagnosed. To combat this direction and effective coping skills have been shown to improve adjustment, stress management, and problem solving within a relationship. Family focused approaches bring down the psychological risk of developing PTSD and exploit constructive outcomes. Fundamental education is a method that... ... of the military have been related to stress. â€Å"[Both veterans and their spouses,] on average, valued Army service in general more than they valued the current mission in Iraq and Afghanistan (Allen, E. S. et al., 2011, p. 244).† Those that feel less enthusiastic about the military’s mission are more likely to experience greater stress. Male can be decreased if they obtain more rank, are financially stable, and are able to balance work and home related issued more efficiently. By comparison, spouses stress can be predicted by negative communication outcomes with their love one. In closing, I suggest psychologist researchers to review sampling methods being conducted on veterans because, in my opinion, there are a significant amount soldiers with PTSD are not known. I Also suggest that research not be limited to Caucasians but other groups to include minorities.

Problems in Australian Society :: australia

Australia: Still the Lucky Country? Fire, flood, drought & cyclones. These are just some of the natural disasters that the so called, Lucky Country, Australia endures every year. And, with 5% of Australia’s population living overseas, we are beginning to question if Australia really is ‘the lucky country’. IT’S true, that Australians are luckier than people from most other countries in the world, but are we really living in THE lucky country? Is there even really a lucky country at all? Once a dumping ground for criminals and never-do-goods during World War II. Australia became a home for almost seven million immigrants, many of them British people who sought a new start over in a sunny country with a hopeful future. Australia was once a dumping ground for criminals and never-do-goods during World War II. Now, Australia’s luck may have run out. Australia has had many different sorts of problems throughout the recent years, as: Twenty years ago, the regular Australian employee was too busy to worry about the happenings of parliament. Numerous people waited until Bob Hawke became Prime Minister, after only two years in parliament. The politically naive voted for this â€Å"regular bloke† who understood â€Å"real Australians† and he spoke like one to. His â€Å"fair dinkum† accent was his greatest asset. As soon as he became Prime Minister; this courageous, fair minded, man for the nation’s citizens turned into a wimpy, deceitful man, who had lost touch with his fellow Australians and walked the same direction as his forerunners. The Howard government was not much improved; it improved the economy, but had a terrible record on human rights issues. It’s only actual triumph had been to restructure the indirect tax system and to boost the reserve bank’s independence. Then there are natural disasters; over the years, Australia has experienced more than enough natural disasters. Drought is without doubt one of the most complex troubles that Australia must deal with. Due to the fact that Australia has an enormous area of desert, and very low annual rainfall, the country is very dry. Fire is another problem within Australia. They are among the natural disasters that cause the greatest loss of both humans and material. The fires break out for many different reasons, but one of the main causes is the dry air, that throughout summer, blows from the deserts to the coast. Another cause is during droughts, there is a lot of dry land, the heat from the sun can cause fires.

Part Three Chapter IV

IV ‘Very sad,' said Howard Mollison, rocking a little on his toes in front of his mantelpiece. ‘Very sad indeed.' Maureen had just finished telling them all about Catherine Weedon's death; she had heard everything from her friend Karen the receptionist that evening, including the complaint from Cath Weedon's granddaughter. A look of delighted disapproval was crumpling her face; Samantha, who was in a very bad mood, thought she resembled a monkey nut. Miles was making conventional sounds of surprise and pity, but Shirley was staring up at the ceiling with a bland expression on her face; she hated it when Maureen held centre stage with news that she ought to have heard first. ‘My mother knew the family of old,' Howard told Samantha, who already knew it. ‘Neighbours in Hope Street. Cath was decent enough in her way, you know. The house was always spotless, and she worked until she was into her sixties. Oh, yes, she was one of the world's grafters, Cath Weedon, whatever the rest of the family became.' Howard was enjoying giving credit where credit was due. ‘The husband lost his job when they closed the steelworks. Hard drinker. No, she didn't always have it easy, Cath.' Samantha was barely managing to look interested, but fortunately Maureen interrupted. ‘And the Gazette's on to Dr Jawanda!' she croaked. ‘Imagine how she must be feeling, now the paper's got it! Family's kicking up a stink – well, you can't blame them, alone in that house for three days. D'you know her, Howard? Which one is Danielle Fowler?' Shirley got up and stalked out of the room in her apron. Samantha slugged a little more wine, smiling. ‘Let's think, let's think,' said Howard. He prided himself on knowing almost everyone in Pagford, but the later generations of Weedons belonged more to Yarvil. ‘Can't be a daughter, she had four boys, Cath. Granddaughter, I expect.' ‘And she wants an inquiry,' said Maureen. ‘Well, it was always going to come to this. It's been on the cards. If anything, I'm surprised it's taken this long. Dr Jawanda wouldn't give the Hubbards' son antibiotics and he ended up hospitalized for his asthma. Do you know, did she train in India, or – ?' Shirley, who was listening from the kitchen while she stirred the gravy, felt irritated, as she always did, by Maureen's monopolization of the conversation; that, at least, was how Shirley put it to herself. Determined not to return to the room until Maureen had finished, Shirley turned into the study and checked to see whether anyone had sent in apologies for the next Parish Council meeting; as secretary, she was already putting together the agenda. ‘Howard – Miles – come and look at this!' Shirley's voice had lost its usual soft, flutey quality; it rang out shrilly. Howard waddled out of the sitting room followed by Miles, who was still in the suit he had worn all day at work. Maureen's droopy, bloodshot, heavily mascara-ed eyes were fixed on the empty doorway like a bloodhound's; her hunger to know what Shirley had found or seen was almost palpable. Maureen's fingers, a clutch of bulging knuckles covered in translucent leopard-spotted skin, slid the crucifix and wedding ring up and down the chain around her neck. The deep creases running from the corners of Maureen's mouth to her chin always reminded Samantha of a ventriloquist's dummy. Why are you always here? Samantha asked the older woman loudly, inside her own head. You couldn't make me lonely enough to live in Howard and Shirley's pocket. Disgust rose in Samantha like vomit. She wanted to seize the over-warm cluttered room and mash it between her hands, until the royal china, and the gas fire, and the gilt-framed pictures of Miles broke into jagged pieces; then, with wizened and painted Maureen trapped and squalling inside the wreckage, she wanted to heave it, like a celestial shot-putter, away into the sunset. The crushed lounge and the doomed crone inside it, soared in her imagination through the heavens, plunging into the limitless ocean, leaving Samantha alone in the endless stillness of the universe. She had had a terrible afternoon. There had been another frightening conversation with her accountant; she could not remember much of her drive home from Yarvil. She would have liked to offload on Miles, but after dumping his briefcase and pulling off his tie in the hall he had said, ‘You haven't started dinner yet, have you?' He sniffed the air ostentatiously, then answered himself. ‘No, you haven't. Well, good, because Mum and Dad have invited us over.' And before she could protest, he had added sharply, ‘It's nothing to do with the council. It's to discuss arrangements for Dad's sixty-fifth.' Anger was almost a relief; it eclipsed her anxiety, her fear. She had followed Miles out to the car, cradling her sense of ill-usage. When he asked, at last, on the corner of Evertree Crescent, ‘How was your day?' she answered, ‘Absolutely bloody fantastic.' ‘Wonder what's up?' said Maureen, breaking the silence in the sitting room. Samantha shrugged. It was typical of Shirley to have summoned her menfolk and left the women in limbo; Samantha was not going to give her mother-in-law the satisfaction of showing interest. Howard's elephantine footsteps made the floorboards under the hall carpet creak. Maureen's mouth was slack with anticipation. ‘Well, well, well,' boomed Howard, lumbering back into the room. ‘I was checking the council website for apologies,' said Shirley, a little breathless in his wake. ‘For the next meeting – ‘ ‘Someone's posted accusations about Simon Price,' Miles told Samantha, pressing past his parents, seizing the role of announcer. ‘What kind of accusations?' asked Samantha. ‘Receiving stolen goods,' said Howard, firmly reclaiming the spotlight, ‘and diddling his bosses at the printworks.' Samantha was pleased to find herself unmoved. She had only the haziest idea who Simon Price was. ‘They've posted under a pseudonym,' Howard continued, ‘and it's not a particularly tasteful pseudonym, either.' ‘Rude, you mean?' Samantha asked. ‘Big-Fat-Cock or something?' Howard's laughter boomed through the room, Maureen gave an affected shriek of horror, but Miles scowled and Shirley looked furious. ‘Not quite that, Sammy, no,' said Howard. ‘No, they've called themselves â€Å"The Ghost of Barry Fairbrother†.' ‘Oh,' said Samantha, her grin evaporating. She did not like that. After all, she had been in the ambulance while they had forced needles and tubes into Barry's collapsed body; she had watched him dying beneath the plastic mask; seen Mary clinging to his hand, heard her groans and sobs. ‘Oh, no, that's not nice,' said Maureen, relish in her bullfrog's voice. ‘No, that's nasty. Putting words into the mouths of the dead. Taking names in vain. That's not right.' ‘No,' agreed Howard. Almost absent-mindedly, he strolled across the room, picked up the wine bottle and returned to Samantha, topping up her empty glass. ‘But someone out there doesn't care about good taste it seems, if they can put Simon Price out of the running.' ‘If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, Dad,' said Miles, ‘wouldn't they have gone for me rather than Price?' ‘How do you know they haven't, Miles?' ‘Meaning?' asked Miles swiftly. ‘Meaning,' said Howard, the happy cynosure of all eyes, ‘that I got sent an anonymous letter about you a couple of weeks ago. Nothing specific. Just said you were unfit to fill Fairbrother's shoes. I'd be very surprised if the letter didn't come from the same source as the online post. The Fairbrother theme in both, you see?' Samantha tilted her glass a little too enthusiastically, so that wine trickled down the sides of her chin, exactly where her own ventriloquist's doll grooves would no doubt appear in time. She mopped her face with her sleeve. ‘Where is this letter?' asked Miles, striving not to look rattled. ‘I shredded it. It was anonymous; it didn't count.' ‘We didn't want to upset you, dear,' said Shirley, and she patted Miles' arm. ‘Anyway, they can't have anything on you,' Howard reassured his son, ‘or they'd have dished the dirt, the same as they have on Price.' ‘Simon Price's wife is a lovely girl,' said Shirley with gentle regret. ‘I can't believe Ruth knows anything about it, if her husband's been on the fiddle. She's a friend from the hospital,' Shirley elaborated to Maureen. ‘An agency nurse.' ‘She wouldn't be the first wife who hasn't spotted what's going on under her nose,' retorted Maureen, trumping insider knowledge with worldly wisdom. ‘Absolutely brazen, using Barry Fairbrother's name,' said Shirley, pretending not to have heard Maureen. ‘Not a thought for his widow, his family. All that matters is their agenda; they'll sacrifice anything to it.' ‘Shows you what we're up against,' said Howard. He scratched the overfold of his belly, thinking. ‘Strategically, it's smart. I saw from the get-go that Price was going to split the pro-Fields vote. No flies on Bends-Your-Ear; she's realized it too and she wants him out.' ‘But,' said Samantha, ‘it mightn't have anything to do with Parminder and that lot at all. It could be from someone we don't know, someone who's got a grudge against Simon Price.' ‘Oh, Sam,' said Shirley, with a tinkling laugh, shaking her head. ‘It's easy to see you're new to politics.' Oh, fuck off, Shirley. ‘So why have they used Barry Fairbrother's name, then?' asked Miles, rounding on his wife. ‘Well, it's on the website, isn't it? It's his vacant seat.' ‘And who's going to trawl through the council website for that kind of information? No,' he said gravely, ‘this is an insider.' An insider †¦ Libby had once told Samantha that there could be thousands of microscopic species inside one drop of pond water. They were all perfectly ridiculous, Samantha thought, sitting here in front of Shirley's commemorative plates as if they were in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street, as though one bit of tittle-tattle on a Parish Council website constituted an organized campaign, as though any of it mattered. Consciously and defiantly, Samantha withdrew her attention from the lot of them. She fixed her eyes on the window and the clear evening sky beyond, and she thought about Jake, the muscular boy in Libby's favourite band. At lunchtime today, Samantha had gone out for sandwiches, and brought back a music magazine in which Jake and his bandmates were interviewed. There were lots of pictures. ‘It's for Libby,' Samantha had told the girl who helped her in the shop. ‘Wow, look at that. I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating toast,' replied Carly, pointing at Jake, naked from the waist up, his head thrown back to reveal that thick strong neck. ‘Oh, but he's only twenty-one, look. I'm not a cradle-snatcher.' Carly was twenty-six. Samantha did not care to subtract Jake's age from her own. She had eaten her sandwich and read the interview, and studied all the pictures. Jake with his hands on a bar above his head, biceps swelling under a black T-shirt; Jake with his white shirt open, abdominal muscles chiselled above the loose waistband of his jeans. Samantha drank Howard's wine and stared out at the sky above the black privet hedge, which was a delicate shade of rose pink; the precise shade her nipples had been before they had been darkened and distended by pregnancy and breast-feeding. She imagined herself nineteen to Jake's twenty-one, slender-waisted again, taut curves in the right places, and a strong flat stomach of her own, fitting comfortably into her white, size ten shorts. She vividly recalled how it felt to sit on a young man's lap in those shorts, with the heat and roughness of sun-warmed denim under her bare thighs, and big hands around her lithe waist. She imagined Jake's breath on her neck; she imagined turning to look into the blue eyes, close to the high cheekbones and that firm, carved mouth †¦ ‘†¦ at the church hall, and we're getting it catered by Bucknoles,' said Howard. ‘We've invited everyone: Aubrey and Julia – everyone. With luck it will be a double celebration, you on the council, me, another year young †¦' Samantha felt tipsy and randy. When were they going to eat? She realized that Shirley had left the room, hopefully to put food on the table. The telephone rang at Samantha's elbow, and she jumped. Before any of them could move, Shirley had bustled back in. She had one hand in a flowery oven glove, and picked up the receiver with the other. ‘Double-two-five-nine?' sang Shirley on a rising inflection. ‘Oh †¦ hello, Ruth, dear!' Howard, Miles and Maureen became rigidly attentive. Shirley turned to look at her husband with intensity, as if she were transmitting Ruth's voice through her eyes into her husband's mind. ‘Yes,' fluted Shirley. ‘Yes †¦' Samantha, sitting closest to the receiver, could hear the other woman's voice but not make out the words. ‘Oh, really †¦?' Maureen's mouth was hanging open again; she was like an ancient baby bird, or perhaps a pterodactyl, hungering for regurgitated news. ‘Yes, dear, I see †¦ oh, that shouldn't be a problem †¦ no, no, I'll explain to Howard. No, no trouble at all.' Shirley's small hazel eyes had not wavered from Howard's big, popping blue ones. ‘Ruth, dear,' said Shirley, ‘Ruth, I don't want to worry you, but have you been on the council website today? †¦ Well †¦ it's not very nice, but I think you ought to know †¦ somebody's posted something nasty about Simon †¦ well, I think you'd better read it for yourself, I wouldn't want to †¦ all right, dear. All right. See you Wednesday, I hope. Yes. Bye bye.' Shirley replaced the receiver. ‘She didn't know,' Miles stated. Shirley shook her head. ‘Why was she calling?' ‘Her son,' Shirley told Howard. ‘Your new potboy. He's got a peanut allergy.' ‘Very handy, in a delicatessen,' said Howard. ‘She wanted to ask whether you could store a needleful of adrenalin in the fridge for him, just in case,' said Shirley. Maureen sniffed. ‘They've all got allergies these days, children.' Shirley's ungloved hand was still clutching the receiver. She was subconsciously hoping to feel tremors down the line from Hilltop House.

Pttls Assignment Essay

1. Types and methods of assessment used in lifelong learning 1. Types of assessment used in lifelong learning 2. Assessment methods used in lifelong learning 3. Strengths and limitations of assessment methods 2. Importance of involving learners in the assessment process 1. Evaluation of involving learners in the assessment process 2. The role of peer and self-assessment in the assessment process 3. Requirements for keeping records of assessment in lifelong learning 3.1 Reasons to keep records of assessment of learning 3.2 Summary of requirements for keeping records 1. Types and methods of assessment used in lifelong learning 1. Types of assessment used in lifelong learning Macmillan Dictionary defines assessment as `the process of making a judgment or forming an opinion, after considering something or someone carefully` Assessment is aimed to measure the breadth and depth of learning.( Geoff Petty) According to Ann Gravells assessment types include initial, formative and summative which could be on a formal or informal basis. Initial assessment called diagnostic usually takes place before commencing a particular programme when students are diagnosed what they know about the subject they are going to look into. Formative assessment called continuous is part of the learning programme where assessment occurs continuously to measure the students progress of learning. Summative assessment called final and always takes place at the end of the course or programme taught. 2. Assessment methods used in lifelong learning Assessment methods are different from assessment types. Usage of assessment methods can be formal or informal depending on what the teacher is going to assess: knowledge, skills or attitudes states Ann Gravells. Formal assessment methods include: assignments, essays, examinations, tests, observations, professional discussions, multiple-choice questions Informal assessment methods include: discussions, quizzes, role plays, puzzles and crosswords, self-assessment, peer assessment 3. Strengths and limitations of assessment methods 2. Importance of involving learners in the assessment process 3. Evaluation of involving learners in the assessment process 4. The role of peer and self-assessment in the assessment process 3. Requirements for keeping records of assessment in lifelong learning 1. Reasons to keep records of assessment of learning 3.2 Summary of requirements for keeping records Reference: 1. Gravells, A. (2012) Preparing to Teach in Lifelong Learning Sector, 5th ed, London, Learning Matters/SAGE 2. Petty, G. (2009) Teaching Today, 4th ed, Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes Ltd 3. Cohen, L. et al (2010) A Guide to Teaching Practice, rev. 5th ed, Oxon, Routledge 4. Cowley, S. (2007) Guerrilla Guide to Teaching, 2nd ed, London, Continuum International Publishing Group 5. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/assessment 6.